Murk Ring

The Voidcloud makes all the fastest routes through the void untenable for most pilots. Step up to the bench at any port and you’ll hear tales, tall or not, of a mysterious siren song. The song starts as an intoxicating hum that inexorably shifts into screams of abject terror and doom as it consumes all matter it touches, ships and drifters alike. The Voidcloud is a hive mind eusocial organism that lives in deep space, its movement is sporadic and unpredictable outside of rumor and legend. They say it follows gravity, light, or maybe heat. Few ships navigate through Voidcloud space without trouble, and many are never seen again. The difference is mastery of the Murk Ring. Its inventor is a mystery. If you imbue a small sample of Voidcloud matter into this apparatus, it acts as a compass for the skilled Longhauler. A queenless hive is harmless and docile, but proximity to the hive will make it sing and surge in the direction of the Voidcloud. Pilots lucky and savvy enough to fly with a Murk Ring can use that signal to stay alive. Best to make sure you’re one of them.