GCS Sarasvati

The GCS Sarasvati is a megaship that was operated by the Galactic Cooperative's Project Equinox between 3151 and 3172. It was abandoned, and can be found in the Sheron system, formerly designated IC 4604 Sector FB-X c1-16, in an orbit above planet Sheron A 1 a.

History

The GCS Sarasvati was one of multiple stationary deep space monitoring outposts deployed in 3151 under Project Equinox, a GalCop initiative to watch for Thargoid activity in the vicinity of the Core Systems that was set up in the aftermath of the First Thargoid War. However, by 3155, no new Thargoid presence had been detected whatsover, and Project Equinox's purpose came into question. The project was finally deactivated on August 16, 3172, only two years before GalCop itself dissolved, a consequence of it devoting much of its trade fleet to the war effort and most of its members breaking away over the following years amid a declining economy and rising corruption. Unfortunately, the end of Project Equinox was poorly timed, as project lead Dr. Cassandra Lockhart had unearthed evidence that the Thargoids had planted the seeds of their future return; her warnings went unheeded. The GCS Sarasvati was abandoned and forgotten until September 27, 3303, when CMDR Smarty771 stumbled upon it during a survey of the IC 4604 Nebula.

The vessel was also apparently detected by a listening post orbiting Jotunheim 7 a, after it reactivated on its own in response to public broadcasts mentioning confirmation of the Thargoids' return in mid-3303 and emitted an encoded transmission. The listening post which picked up that transmission either contained or was an extension of Project Thunderchild Unit 01, a possibly semi-sentient program created by Project Thunderchild, another GalCop contingency to guard against the Thargoids. The program was seemingly designed to monitor Project Equinox and relay any Thargoid-related findings to GalCop authorities. It functioned exactly as intended, but was unaware that GalCop had ceased to exist over a century before.