Heleus Cluster: The Initiative's New Frontier
The Andromeda Initiative's Destination in Andromeda
The Heleus Cluster was a resource-rich region of star systems on the outskirts of the Andromeda galaxy, chosen by the Andromeda Initiative as its foothold in the new galaxy. Centered on a massive black hole and seeded with abundant Element Zero, it held the worlds the Initiative hoped to settle.
The Heleus Cluster was a resource-rich region of star systems lying on the outskirts of the Andromeda galaxy, chosen by the Andromeda Initiative as the destination for its long voyage from the Milky Way. Comprising thirty-eight star systems and hundreds of planets, it was centered on a massive black hole and held what early surveys promised would be habitable, mineral-rich worlds. The settlers who crossed to it established their headquarters at the station known as the Nexus and pressed outward into a cluster that proved far less welcoming than the scans had suggested.
A new frontier in Andromeda#
The Heleus Cluster sat in the outer reaches of the Andromeda galaxy, a sprawl of thirty-eight star systems and hundreds of worlds. Long-range scans carried out from the Milky Way had picked it out as a seemingly resource-rich region, and on the strength of those readings the Andromeda Initiative chose it as the foothold from which it would build a future in the distant galaxy. The cluster showed a notably high prevalence of ringed terrestrial worlds compared with the systems familiar to travelers from the Milky Way.
At the apparent center of the cluster lay a massive black hole, and its formation may have been the source of the abundant Element Zero deposits scattered through the region. From among its many planets the Initiative identified seven viable locations, known as the golden worlds, which were intended to become the first homes of the colonists once they arrived.
Naming the cluster#
The cluster took its name from Heleus, in Milky Way mythology the youngest son of Andromeda and Perseus. In keeping with that custom the Andromeda Initiative named a number of the cluster's systems after noteworthy explorers drawn from the histories of the Milky Way species. Among them, Dar'hegah honored the first batarian astronaut, Kindrax the first turian aeronaut to cross one of Palaven's oceans by balloon, and Tecunis the first salarian expedition to reach the Citadel, while others bore the names of human travelers such as Leif Eriksson, Zheng He, and Ida Laura Pfeiffer. The result was a frontier mapped in the language of exploration even before its settlers had set foot upon it.
Frequently asked questions
- What was the Heleus Cluster?
- The Heleus Cluster was a region of space on the outskirts of the Andromeda galaxy, made up of thirty-eight star systems and hundreds of planets. The Andromeda Initiative selected it as the destination for its journey from the Milky Way, drawn by long-range scans that suggested it was rich in resources and home to potentially habitable worlds.
- What were the golden worlds?
- The golden worlds were seven locations within the Heleus Cluster that the Andromeda Initiative identified from afar as the most viable candidates for settlement. They were meant to serve as the first homes for the colonists who had crossed the void between galaxies.
- Why was the Heleus Cluster so rich in Element Zero?
- A massive black hole lay at the apparent center of the cluster, and its formation may have been responsible for the unusually rich Element Zero deposits found throughout the region. The cluster also held an unusual prevalence of ringed terrestrial worlds.
Sources
- WikiHeleus Cluster — Mass Effect Wiki entry
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