So much for that. Less than a day after I set out, my mission hit a wall, or more specifically, an invisible energy barrier that extends around this entire area. Definitely in my bottom ten landings of all time, by the way. My shoulder's still feeling it.
Once I reported back, I took Santiago to inspect the barrier. He thinks it's also the culprit that's responsible for jamming our long range signals. So basically, as long as this barrier exists, we have no way to reach the outside world. We're completely isolated.
Unless, of course, we find a way to take it down.