Acheron (Specops306)

Private corporations have a long history of trying to avoid UEG jurisdiction. Some use them as permanent employee housing, incentives to work exclusively for that company. The fact that, if they resign, they will lose their home and have to scrape together the money to travel to a more open colony is a strong disincentive to leave. Others keep them secret to avoid the authority of Colonial Authority Administration oversight, often as weapons development or research facilities. Others simply hope to avoid paying the mandatory colonial taxes. For whatever reason, it would not be until 2557 that the UNSC discovered that Acheron, in the Zeta2 Reticuli system, had been discovered and colonised, and that this colony had been destroyed before even the Insurrection. More importantly, rogue elements of ONI had returned to Acheron, establishing a biological weapons research facility. The exact circumstances, as well as much of the colony's history, would be uncovered by Operation: VENATOR, part of the larger Operation: VORAUSSICHT.

Quotes

 * "You ever hear the phrase "Hell on Earth"? Imagine that, and then multiply it by 100%."
 * "Zeta2 Reticuli is between six and eight billion years - Acheron, on the other hand, can be dated at around ten billion years. So either radiocarbon dating has some flaws, which we've disproved, or it predates the stars it orbits."
 * "Who'd want to colonise that rock? There's absolutely nothing there to make it worth it."