Welcome to Dirigibilious, the image archive generated by the Earth Exploratory League as a chronicle of its undertakings on Memnilliuth. A Class IV, Earth-temperate planet, Memnilliuth is one of the giant geode worlds which are found in profusion in the vicinity of Orion's belt , and is a satellite of Mintaka, a star which is, of course, called by many other names by the sentients of its five inhabitable worlds. Three of the five planets in the system are geode type; while approximately equal to Earth in gravitational force, mean temperature, and biological diversity, Memnilliuth has seven times the surface area of the Earth, divided into equal amounts of continental mass and ocean. The interior sphere of the planet has yet to be explored, yet it is rumored to have an internal mini-star much like that within Absalom 17.

Under the new openness agreement with the ChiSho Conglomerate, The Earth Exploratory League has been granted permission to explore Memnilliuth, and other worlds within the Orion region. However, the technological limitations clauses in the treaty have created a unique challenge: While issuing ulitmately from the starclipper Whimsey--a battlecruiser representing the best of Earth's military might--the scientists, cartographers, artists, and soldiers charged with the exploration of Memnilliuth must undertake their task using the dirigibles of the Clans of Kyrinth, an Earth Colony on Magus 3, which circles Saiph in the right knee of Orion. Items of primary concern in the exploration of Memnilliuth could be asked of many worlds in this region of the galaxy: How did the animal and humanoid types of obviously Terran origin arrive on the planet, and when? In attempting to find the answers to such questions, the explorers often found simply more complex riddles.

Below is an image of Taszhmochk, the northern continental region of the planet, and the first area to be explored. Geographical placenames are approximations of native names. As Memnilliuth has such a wide expanse of land areas to explore, this is but a feeble beginning. As a geode-class world, the center of gravity on Memnilliuth is difficult to define, and it is as yet uncertain if it is in the actual center of the planet (the electromagnetic field of a small, internally burning star), or if it resides in a gravitational shell which exists somewhere between the inner and outer crusts. The poles of the planet are shifting slightly at all times, making navigation difficult at best. Therefore, an equal proportion of the crew of the four airships are both EEL officers and Kyrinthian airmen, the latter skilled from an early age to undertake hazardous duties in lighter-than-air craft.

The following pages are snapshots of the ongoing exploration of Memnilliuth, sent to EEL Command by Lightspeed Courierwave from the Starclipper Whimsey. Please view them freely, as all of these particular images have been declassified and cleared by the Commandant General of the EEL.

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