Distant Worlds 2 - Day 053
09 Mar 2019Comrade_Aleksand
Ship System Log:CMDR Log: Comrade_Aleksand
Personal log
03/08/3305 - 1750 UTC
Location: Stuemeae FG-Y d7561
Status: Docked at Explorer's Anchorage
RAXXLA
"To the jewel that burns on the brow of the mother of galaxies! To the whisperer in witch-space, the siren of the deepest void! The parent's grief, the lover's woe, and the yearning of our vagabond hearts. To Raxxla!"
- Alleged toast of the Dark Wheel
The legend of Raxxla has been circulation, in whispers, for centuries. The quest for this mysterious place, the location of which is a deadly secret, was said to be the principal aim of the Dark Wheel, a putative fraternity of legend-chasers from the early days of interstellar travel.
The earliest recorded mention of Raxxla dates from 2296, from the journal of Art Tornqvist, a shipboard mechanic based in the Tau Ceti systems. He writes: 'Cora comes home soused and raving with wild stories, a new one every night. She claims she's found a map to some pirate stash, and all I have to do is load her my ship so we can go dig it up. Maybe we should go find Raxxla while we're at it!' Although Tornqvist's account is the first known attestation of Raxxla, it is clear from the text that the myth was already in circulation.
It is extremely difficult to find consistency among the various fragmentary rumors of Raxxla. Much like the ancient myths of Atlantis, El Dorado and the kingdom of Prester John, interpretations of the story range from the skeptical to the outlandish: Raxxla has been suggested to be anything from an unremarkable moon to a state of cosmetic enlightenment. The earliest document stories tend to agree on several points, however: that Raxxla is a definite place and that it holds a mystical secret.
Several versions of the Raxxla story mention an alien artifact, the Omphalos Rift, described as a gateway or tunnel through which parallel universe can be accessed. These details, however, were later shown to bear a striking resemblance to children's story Princess Astrophel and the Spiralling Stars, and soon lost credibility. Undaunted, some Raxxla seekers insisted that the story's author had cunningly concealed facts about the mysterious locale in his book as hints for those with eyes to see.
Students of Raxxla lore have noted that the legend exerts a strangely potent fascination on the minds of seekers. Commentators have compared this sensation to 'fernweh'. the unaccountable longing for a place one has never seen. More than one interstellar treasure-seeker has become obsessed with Raxxla to the exclusion of all other dreams and spent his or her entire life in a futile search for it.
Raxxla also plays a role in several conspiracy theories, most of which attest that it has already been discovered by some kind of sinister cabal (or sole tyrant), which has leveraged its power to establish covert dominance over humanity.
Whatever the truth of the matter, one thing remains irrefutable: the legend of Raxxla continues to inspire explorers and conspiracy theorists to this day.
For several days now there have been reports of Commanders believing they may have found a way to locate Raxxla. Some of them have dropped the Distant Worlds Expedition and return to the Bubble. What I understand is one must locate every megaship and get their audio logs. Some which will be very difficult to get to since one of two of them are located near a neutron star. After that, they will receive tip-off missions after flying some six hundred light years from the said megaship. (Or just fly around until you receive them) Which they must complete, e.i. getting into an SRV, attacking a planetary base, disabling it and getting what the mission needs from them and getting out of there alive or you'll fail the mission if you die. There's also the rumor about The Dark Wheel in Shinrarta Dezhra and getting a certain rank with them. These Commanders believe that these tip off missions are "tests," (and not about the payout of these missions) to see if you are "worthy." Though some of them are quite difficult to complete even in groups. After completing these all of these missions sooner or later they will be contacted and awarded with an unknown permit to some permit locked system where they will find it.
Whether this is true or not, more than a dozen Commanders have had already started locating every megaship, scanning their audio logs and getting the tip off missions. Who knows, maybe that's how you find its location. I am a bit skeptical and very curious at the same time. It may be a waste of time or it may pay off and will solve the biggest mystery since day one it was first mentioned.