A mystery for us to solve
25 Nov 2020Sheronimo
It's morning, according to the clock, but, it's hard to tell here. The Coal Sack region is darker than dark. Great place to mine, as you are close to home, yet pirates are few and far between. I am certain that will change before long, but, for now, this is great. Rock to rock, scan, scan, release prospector, scan, meh, It's a life. Makes me rich, keeps me busy, and, as I am about to tell you, can bring you adventures like you never imagined. MINING? Yes, mining.This morning, as I glide from rock to rock, looking for nearly anything of value, I suddenly see a contact on my radar. OH GREAT, here they come, either an authority vessel to check my permits, or, a pirate to check my cargo. With a little luck, a fellow miner minding their own business. Well, none of the above. I bring the throttle to zero, and wait. I wait, and wait. This is strange, the blip hasn't moved, weird. Well, not gonna waste anymore time on this, I fire up the thrusters and turn towards the blip. As I approach, I see a greenish misty cloud around the area. THARGOIDS. Never saw them in a planets rings before. Slightly different than normal, I continue to approach, slowly the blip comes into view. Its a ship alright. Its an Imperial Cutter. I can see that the left wing is missing, and the hull is covered with caustic wounds from the aliens weapons. Why can I see it on the radar, It looks very dead, can't be heat coming from it, maybe some residual energy? I creep up on it, carefully trying to see anything, light, energy, salvage maybe. OH, THERE, what is that. LIGHT! There is energy there, something is making a flicker of light inside the broken hull......
It is not unusual to find something like this in the Coal Sack region, at least, not since the Alliance came out here to investigate the Adamastor mystery. I, too, came out here for similar reasons. Where did the ship come from, where had it been, and why was it abandoned? Everyone loves a mystery, but, who can resist a creepy one that shows up a few days before Sols Halloween holiday. That mystery, though still a curiosity, has been mostly solved. Perhaps that's why this Cutter is here, all banged up, and looking like a Thargoids chew toy. I hope they got away. I cannot see any escape pods, damaged or otherwise. Good sign I guess, for them. Now, about that light......
I come as close as I dare to the tumbling Cutter, matching rotation and direction. I send a recon limpet and attempt to scan the ship. Neither help me much. Hmmmmm, how about a collector limpet. If my radar can see it, maybe the limpet will grab what is lit up. I launch, the little drone heads into the broken ship. I hear it bang into a few things, then, it comes out, carrying what looks like an escape pod, but, it kinda shaped strange. It goes by my window so fast, I barely get to see it before the limpet knocks on the cargo hatch. I open it, it deposits the pod, then runs off again. It returns again, with another one. Both look a little different. The limpet gives it up, and shuts down. The light is gone, the blip is gone. Guess I got it, or killed it. I fire up the thrusters, and head out of the field. NOW, I have to head back to the Glaurung and see what's in the boxes.
The Glaurung, my home away from, well, everything. I mined non-stop for months when I heard Personal Fleet Carriers were going on the market. Cost me a pretty penny, and still does maintaining it, but, its exactly what I wanted. My own little station/shipyard/market. I have all my belongings on board, ships, modules, everything. I have traveled halfway across the galaxy in her, and wouldn't give her up for the world. She has a good crew, her Captain is experienced, and works with all my demands well. She also has a cargo hold to die for, very large, and used a lot, which is where I am headed next.
I dock on pad 5, transfer limpets and cargo, and I head to the airlock to get out of my flight suit. They save your life sometimes, but, they aren't very comfortable to walk around in. I clean up, and head down the the cargo hold. I find 2 crew members going over the pods with handheld scanners. "SIR, we have determined that these pods were roughly modified, probably in a hurry, to make them little airlocks". Wait, what? "Are you saying that they have atmosphere and temperature control?" The 2 crew members nod, and back away from the pods. Can't say I blame them. Who knows what is in them, a human, an alien, a pile of insects eating a dead body? One can only imagine. I ask them to place the pods in a containment field, and then we will work on opening them. What ever is in them, if its bad, I don't need it spread all over the ship. We will open them slowly and safely. The crew load them on a cart and start hauling them away. I hear a ship wide page come over the sound system. "Commander Sheronimo, please report to the bridge." Guess I'll have to open them later, for now, they are safe, and their systems appear to be working.
Wonder what the Captain wants.....