Thargoid War - First entry
01 Dec 2022Nathan Ex
In a war where our continued existence is at stake, how many will choose to sit on the sidelines and let Fate take its course? I arrived in the region of Hyades Sector FB-N b7-6 a couple days ago, after it was determined that the first Thargoid anomaly, nicknamed 'Taranis' by people who are all now dead, would arrive there and do...whatever it is that it's doing. I'd seen the destruction of the megaship Kingfisher in Hyades Sector YO-Q b5-1, watched the anomaly fly past. Even tailed it for a while, though its speed, even slowing as it was, was still beyond our technological capabilities. Whatever the moral and political arguments about why these things are here and who's ultimately to blame, the fact remains that they are here now, and they aren't playing nice anymore.
Then the distress calls came out. Stations and settlements under direct assault. Ground forces overwhelmed. Thargoids controlled the skies and made life miserable for any pilots, whether those rigged for combat or those bringing in medical supplies or evacuating the wounded. I parked the carrier nearby in Senocidi (Xenocide? I'm sure there's some obscure language where that's the translation...perhaps an omen?) and made plans. First, the anomaly, now being called a 'maelstrom' by the people who decide what we call these things. I had heard that the whole system was under a 'Proteus' effect, similar to the one in HIP 22460, so I'd stripped all Guardian gear out, lest it be destroyed, and loaded up on AX multicannons and hull reinforcements.
Getting into Hyades Sector FB-N b7-6 was challenging enough. First, I was hyperdicted by two hostile Basilisk interceptors just trying to jump into the system. Being in a ship geared more for reconnaissance than combat, I didn't stick around. Once in system, I was immediately interdicted, yes from supercruise, by a flight of scouts. I wanted to save my hull for what lay ahead, so I gave them the slip as well. I continued to where the maelstrom was located, hovering about the local ammonia world, dealing with several more hostile interdictions, this time by interceptors, along the way before finally arriving.
A murky, stormy cloud filled with lightning and buffeting winds, similar to what I've experienced in some Lagrange clouds around the galaxy. But this cloud was far more hostile. First, I began to get warnings of corrosive damage. The effect was relatively mild around the edges, my hull reinforcements holding up well, though as I began to plunge deeper I deployed decontamination limpets to contain the damage. I came across several strange cross-shaped structures. Having seen similar objects floating about Lagrange clouds before, I prepared my composite scanner and carefully approached. These things were no docile clumps of primitive organisms though. The first one I approached expelled a stream of gas, propelling itself towards me, before exploding against the shields. While the damage seemed minimal, the force of the blast did spin the ship, an anaconda so no small feat, about. After that I tried to avoid these mine-like objects. Several other objects were found, identified as collectable materials of new types, that I scooped up. Maybe Palin or someone else can use them for something one day. While I did encounter one interceptor, a lonely cyclops, within the cloud, unlike everything else nearby it was not hostile, wandering about, doing random scans, and generally acting like we're used to non-hostile Thargoids acting. I let it be and plunged deeper.
The targeting computer struggled to lock down exactly where the heart of the cloud was, frequently updating its location and forcing a course correction. Though I'm certain I saw something indistinct within the deepest clouds, illuminated by the near constant lightning flashes, I was never able to get close enough for a positive ID. As the corrosive damage began to overwhelm the ability of my limpets to maintain the integrity of the hull, I was suddenly hit with a massive energy wave from deep within the cloud that flung the ship about harder than anything I've encountered before. Again, damage was minimal, the pulse seemed mostly designed to push things away that were getting too deep within the maelstrom. Oddly, the computer was able to store encoded material from the blast itself. Something else for the big brains to study.
After that, it was time to work. 63 Eridani was one of the first systems reporting attacks, so I hopped in the Krait. No Proteus effect in this system, so Guardian tech is safe. And boy do we need it. Again, hostile hyperdictions are guaranteed trying to enter any system under Thargoid control or attack. Combat zones are scattered about, with several battles also taking place directly in the vicinity of stations and planetary bases. Interdictions also happen regularly and without warning, as the thargoid ships don't appear on the radar while in supercruise. System security indicated two stations under direct assault, so I headed to Galois' Inheritance, a planetary base.
Upon arrival I saw the whole station in flames, with a cloud of noxious green gas that seems to accompany any Thargoid hostilities obscuring the rising sun in a haze. Scouts swarmed about, attacking the buildings and landing pads. Several interceptors engaged with local security and independent Commanders in the skies above where, thankfully, a Federation capital ship hung suspended, it's advanced AX weaponry mowing down scouts and aiding in destroying the interceptors. The station itself was still active, able to provide repair and rearm services, though they did not have to materials to resupply limpets. A lone orca, piloted by a courageous Commander, was just lifting off the pad, taking a load of wounded to the rescue ships that have been deployed around the bubble. I passed that brave soul as they made their way fearlessly through the chaos and landed to coordinate with station security. There was desperate demand for emergency medical and other supplies, as well as for evac for the wounded.
After that it was non-stop combat above Galois as seemingly endless scouts and interceptors arrived. The capital ship proved its worth time and again, its weaponry able to cover Commanders who needed to descend for repairs, their hulls burning with acidic goop. The local security forces also showed their mettle, holding their own next to elite AX pilots. From sunup to sundown the battle raged, until finally the Thargoids were pushed back. Today, they have ceased their assault of Galois, though they are still a threat to ships in the skies far above. The station burns, but is no longer under direct assault. The numbers of civilians listed as critically wounded and in need of evac is immense. Any pilots who can fly evac are desperately needed.
We won that battle, pushed the Thargoids back. But the war is only starting. Several new systems are now under Thargoid alerts, and two more 'maelstroms' have arrived with more on the way. This could very well engulf us all. Even if the thought of the Thargoids fills you with fear, if you've never encountered or even thought to encounter them, this will require all of humanity to join together, whether it's to take the fight to them or transport supplies or help the wounded. Or we will die.
