Cut scrap at the Leviathan
Hold E beside the hull with your Salvage Cutter. Small wrecks take 3 s for 2–4 Scrap Iron, hull plating takes 6 s for 5–8. Each wreck takes three cuts, then needs five minutes to come back.
PLANET_01 · The Dune Territories
Kestrel
Sunbaked dunes, red rock arches and the half-buried wreck of a colony freighter. Every pilot’s story starts in Solace.
UNLOCKS AT CLEARANCE 1CITY SOLACEMATERIALS 3STORY 5 CONTRACTS
01 / THE WORLD
The Dune Territories
Kestrel is a frontier world of sand seas and banded rock. The city of Solace grew up around a spaceport on the edge of the dunes: a grid of adobe blocks and shade trees under the Avolis tower, with a grand bazaar, a forge and a ring of trading counters. It is a working town, and the work is out there in the sand.
West of town lies the Fallen Leviathan, a 300-metre colony freighter that came down hard and never left. Scrappers have been cutting its hull ever since. East of town the law thins out into Outlaw Territory, where Dustwake raiders run the dunes and Hollowpoint’s bounty hunters keep their own counsel. Further out, deep in the desert, abandoned drone foundries are still turning out machines for nobody.
Dusk is the hour that matters here. The frontier trees run rich with Ember Resin from 16:00 to 20:00 on the day clock, and when a sandstorm rolls in, lightning fuses the dunes into Sunglass for anyone quick enough to catch it.
NEW · YOUR OWN SHAFT
Claim mines
Out on your own land you can sink a claim mine. A finished build is a real mine-head: a headframe, a yard and a cage you ride straight down into a private, two-level mine of your own (46 m and 86 m below the surface).
What comes up depends on where you dig. A claim only holds its own planet’s materials, weighted by the spot you chose, and the deeper level holds the rarer ore. On Kestrel that means Scrap Iron, Ember Resin and Sunglass; sink one on Borealis or Vanta for theirs. There is a daily output bin at the headframe too.
RAIDS
Drone foundries
Three abandoned factory towns deep in the desert still build drones: turrets, tripwires, mines, flak that shoots at ships, and hatches you can seal with a Ship-breaker Cutter. Hack a terminal for 90 seconds of quiet or throw the breaker for five minutes.
You can scout a foundry at any level, but its caches and vault answer only to Clearance 12 and up. Shed caches pay 800–2,400 CR plus materials once a day; the vault pays 8,000–15,000 CR and rare materials, then refills three days after you crack it.
Things to do on Kestrel
Tap resin at dusk
Frontier trees weep Ember Resin at any hour, but dusk sap and the outlaw grove pay double. The Oasis grove is the closest to town. A Resin Tap (180 CR) adds to every tap.
Chase lightning
Sandstorms blow in every six minutes and last 90 seconds. Strike points glow on your compass; reach one inside 20 seconds with Glass Tongs (Harvest 2) and lift the Sunglass before it cools to grit.
Run the Dune Colosseum
The Drone Gauntlet, north of town. Press E at the gate stone and survive three waves. Each clear adds a wave to your next run, up to six, and the purse grows: 1,500 CR plus 600 for every extra wave, with scrap, sunglass and resin on top.
Raid a drone foundry
Three abandoned factory towns lie deep in the desert, about a five-minute flight in a Nomad. They are hard, but always plannable. Anyone can scout a foundry; its caches and vault only open at Clearance 12. See the raids section of the guide.
Sneak into Hollowpoint
The bounty hunters’ den in Outlaw Territory has no drones, just people: patrols, a watchtower and a guarded lodge. Four chests refill every mining day (250–600 CR each plus loot), and each hunter you drop pays 150 CR.
What you gather here
Scrap Ironprimary
Cut from the Fallen Leviathan, a colossal freighter crash half-buried in the dunes.
Salvage 1, Salvage Cutter (standard issue). Outlaw wrecks give 1.6×.
Fly or walk out to the Fallen Leviathan and hold E beside its hull to cut. Hull plating takes longer and pays more than the debris field.
1.2 kg24 CR
Ember Resinsecondary
Tapped from frontier trees; the sap runs twice as rich at dusk.
Harvest 1. Dusk (16:00–20:00, to 23:00 at Harvest 10) and the outlaw grove pay double.
Hold E at a glowing frontier tree to tap it; it weeps back in three minutes. Dusk sap and outlaw groves yield double, and amber pockets in the Rustvein Mine (Mining 5) hold fossil resin.
0.5 kg30 CR
Sunglasssecondary
Sand fused by lightning in Kestrel’s storms.
Harvest 2 with Glass Tongs (420 CR), during a sandstorm only.
During a sandstorm, lightning strike points glow on your compass. Reach one within 20 seconds and hold E to harvest it before it cools.
0.4 kg46 CR
THE MINE
Rustvein Mine · Foreman Dace
An adit into a great cavern with side passages full of ore. Rocks go dark after a few strikes and refill every 24-minute day cycle. The deep vault sits behind a Mining 12 gate, guarded by crawlers. You need a Mining Pick (120 CR, or free from the first foreman you talk to).
Rust vein → Scrap Iron (Mining 1)Amber pocket → Ember Resin (Mining 5)Sunstone geode → Sunglass (Mining 12, deep vault)
04 / POINTS OF INTEREST
Landmarks
- The Fallen LeviathanA 300 m colony freighter crash west of town and the only salvage site on the planet.
- The Grand BazaarA trading post with a rare stall.
- The SunforgeFurnace, anvil and workbench. Forge gear here if you don’t have a home bench yet.
- Dune ColosseumThe drone-wave arena north of town.
- Sunward RefineryDune-oil fuel works out to the east.
- Sandstone ArchA banded rock arch tall enough to fly a ship through.
- Leviathan BoneyardsThe spine, ribs and skull of a sand leviathan, half buried.
- Hoodoo FieldsDozens of banded sandstone spires with balanced caprocks.
- Salt FlatsWhite crust cracked into polygons, studded with salt pillars.
- Ember HollowA hidden site. Somebody called Sable is waiting there.
05 / DANGERS
Watch out for
- Dustwake raidersDrones roam the open desert: Scrap raiders (55 HP), Sentinels (95 HP) and Hunters (130 HP). Raids get far more frequent near the foundries.
- Outlaw TerritoryEast of Solace. The pay is better and the wrecks richer, and so is the welcome.
- SandstormsVisibility drops while they blow. Good for sunglass, bad for flying low.
- Hollowpoint’s huntersThey see in a cone, hear you sprint, and everyone hears a gunshot. Hold C to sneak.
Your first day: Mara’s arrival contract pays 1,600 CR, enough for the 600 CR micro-loft and the 900 CR Nomad.
Buy the Resin Tap early and plan your evenings around dusk.
Leave the Colosseum mid-run and the run is lost.
Act I on Kestrel
Story contracts radio in when you are on their world and meet their requirement. Several hand you the tool the next material needs.
| Contract | Needs | Reward | Tool |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bones of the Dunes | Open | 600 CR · 900 XP | Resin Tap |
| Dusk Tap | Open | 700 CR · 1,000 XP | Glass Tongs |
| Chasing Lightning | Harvest 5 | 900 CR · 1,200 XP | — |
| Wrong Side of the Line | Open | 1,500 CR · 1,600 XP | — |
| Halcyon Comes to Town | Open | 800 CR · 2,400 XP | — |
Set down on Kestrel.
Every pilot starts on Kestrel. Your first contract is waiting at the terminal. New here? The guide covers your first hour, and the ships page shows what you can fly.