Space Trials Log #6
18 Mar 2020Rexicles
I was right to be cautious. The moment the SRV hit the ground I started hearing strange noises from the structures. The rovers scanner fed back really unusual signal noise - normally I'd expect that clean sweep sound from metallic objects but this is totally different. Note to self: take a log of the scan sounds for later reference.Having done some roving into human installations I'd seen skimmers and co. surprise attack from their buried berms; so I wondered if anything similar had survived the millenia inert in the ground. And they had. Seriously tough opponents for a little SRV to take on - I got flipped a couple of times in the low grav after some sort of energy missile attack. The trick appears to be to get in very close and full pip weapons. Blast 'em at close range and they don't appear to be able to fire missiles effectively at all.
The site itself is fascinating: there's alien objects scattered around the site and it appears that the shape of these objects correlates to the symbols on some of the triangular prism-shaped objects scattered around the site. The codex provided by Cannon indicates the relationship between the objects and the symbols, but all the scan reveals is some 'obelisk' data of varying types and a garbled message. Sort of like a cosmic puzzle with no instructions.
Whilst reading I learned that the Guardians were not dissimilar to us in stature - bipedal and red. Taller possibly due to a preference of low-g habitats and had scythed forearms used for hunting. Used to eat raw meat and genetically engineered creatures for food. Cooking was apparently a luxury for formal occasions. So strange that cuisine was so basic for such an advanced space-fairing race. I sat in the darkness for some time imagining what they would look like wandering amongst the buildings in ancient times.
I moved the rover onto the main hillock at the site and was rewarded with buried pillars rising out of the ground. Closer inspection of the rest of the site revealed more of these - six in total. I noticed that the ship attemped spin up engines in a dismiss cycle... even though I'd issued no command to the auto-pilot - I immediately cancelled the order and continued exploring without another word. Further justified all the time spent on my customisations of the security systems to prevent hacks. Also noticed a shifty-looking code analysis scan picked up by one of the detection systems I'd built. I'll check the auth logs later but suspect I'll be revoking Susans access in due course. I didn't say anything aloud as I wasn't sure if the spare rover was listening or not.
Anyway, following the principal from the beacon I used the SRV repeater to energise the glowing pillars - took a few goes and a refill to get it right but...
...It was worth it for the sheer majesty of a million year-old technology suddenly sprunging back into life. Beams of light shot into the skies above us and a data point was exposed in a glowing, rotating sphere. Scanning it gave me a blueprint for some sort of alien module. Is this what some of my squadron mates had done to get thier unusual hyperspace signatures?
More espresso and reading ahead of me. Note to self: stock extra Twiglets for the next expedition. I've barely touched the locker but already there's an entire crate empty. Also stock up on anti-rodent drones and do a pest scan on the ship. Maybe that dealer had rats on his premises. Want to learn much more about the ancient Guardian-Thargoid conflict. Think we can say that the space trials for the new ship are complete after this unexpected discovery, so likely I'll head back and find a tech broker to see if the 90+ objects and substantial data haul is worth anything.
Incredible that machinery that has lain silent and untouched during our own evolution still works today. Hopefully there's some mistakes we can learn from before we may repeat them ourselves.
Log ends.
