Mefitas Sector

The Mefitas Sector is the region of space that lies between the Saggitarius Arm and the Perseus Arm in Gliese Space. The sector separates two of the four major factions of Gliese Space (specifically, SAINT and PHAROS). Named after a minor Roman Goddess of poisonous vapours from Terra, the Mefitas Sector is entirely made up of a thick, uninhabitable particle cloud. Because of the properties that make up the cloud, ships of any size are unable to use warp drive while traversing it, lest they risk being torn apart by the force of the violent chemical reaction created by the particles of the cloud mixing with the particles left behind by the warp drive. Ship sensors are also incapable of penetrating the cloud, rendering them blind.

It is currently unknown if anything resides inside the Mefitas Sector, as nothing has ever been encountered by passing ships- not even the remains of other ships that traveled the same route. There is currently no piece of technology from any faction capable of penetrating it.

Appearance
The particle cloud that spans the entire sector consists of a deep purple hue. Light that refracts off of it, mostly caused by ships, can make bits of it appear yellow or green. As this only happens to some sections, Scientists currently researching the cause theorize that the cloud is infact made up of different types of particles. Due to the fact that the substance that makes up the cloud is extremely deadly, progress with research is slow as the significance of it is concidered not very high. Very old ships made from an inferior type of iron no longer used often report patches of green rust appearing when travelling through the cloud, suggesting that the cloud is, in part, made of chlorine in it's gaseous form.

History
Playing a major role of the development of the four main factions, the Mafitas Sector has developed a dark reputation as being a ship graveyard. Throughout history, hundreds of thousands of ships have traversed the miasma only to disappear. Scientific research on the cloud, conducted by the El-Al faction, report that the particles that make up the entire cloud are in fact poisonous to almost all known lifeforms, and that breathing it in can result in a painful death. Ships that travel the miasma are strongly urged to ensure that the particles do not enter the ship through breaches in the hull or malfunctioning equipment. As no ship ever doomed to the miasma has been found, scientists are unable to determine exactly what is causing the high death count.

In [insert date here], ships tasked to researching the sector discovered that the particle cloud was, while equally dense, much narrower at certain points. These sections have since been often used by ships, a much improved 70% making it safely out of the cloud instead of the previous 52%. Scientists theorise that the other 30% of ships might have accidentally strayed from the path, as while the section is often traversed, there is still no adequate means of navigation within the cloud.