"I find that I am happiest with a new colony at my stern and the unknown off my bow." -- The Positives of a Life in Negative Mass: The Collected Poems of Arlene Hammerli If there is such a thing as the spirit of exploration, it has decided to haunt the Hannu clan. No clan has explored further, and been the first to set foot on more new worlds, than the members of this clan. The clan finances expeditions to the furthest stars, forever expanding the borders of human space and the boundaries of human knowledge. For many years, this meant that the Hannu clan had little political power, as its most influential members spend more time in sleeper tubes than they do in the Core Worlds. But, over the centuries, the new colonies have begun outnumbering the older core worlds, and those colonies were often founded by, and settled by, members of the Hannu Clan. Some clans breathe a sigh of relief that the clan is so preoccupied with exploration that it does not know what kind of power is at its fingertips, and hope the spirit of exploration haunts them just a while longer. Others fear the clan will explore too far, and awaken something in the depths of space that will turn their dreams of discovery into all of humanity's nightmare. Enjoy, and let me know what you think.