Not Alone in the Dark: Musca Dark Sector / The Coal Sack
14 Nov 2020OmegaPaladin
The news had come in that the Alliance was expanding out into the Coal Sack, and I had been doing a bit of trading and courier work for the Alliance while prospecting for new mining sites. After a busy week of courier work, the Alliance had given me access to Alioth system. For the Alliance capitol system, it was not nearly as locked down as Sol. The stations were still a sight to see, especially Irkutsk. Plenty of spacer bars and clubs, and the drinks weren't even overpriced (they wanted us to buy their goods by the ton, after all)That's where I met Natalya Margulis, an Elite trader well ranked in other areas. We had both been at the tracking display for the Alliance Expansion when she introduced herself. We chatted over local brews, talking shop, when she mentioned her next mission. She was taking her Anaconda out into the Coal Sack. She wanted a co-pilot to so she could run shipments extra long hours. The money was good, and it was more interesting than staring at the same asteroids over and over again. I offered, and after a quick glance through my piloting record, she accepted. I ordered a local wine bottle to celebrate.
After a nap, I boarded her ship and got to work. I ran the routes and gave to her to check. After a quick stop for industrial supplies, we left civilized space behind. Before she went to her quarters for a nap, Natalya said I should map out the systems we traveling through. I had used the sensor systems for mining sites before, but I hadn't mapped a system since training. It took some time to get used to scanning the system after scooping protons off the star. I had to make sure each star was an actively fusing star, as opposed to the many brown dwarf objects out there. As we got closer, I was able to locate an Earth-like planet and an amazing ammonia planet. There was a beauty out here that was stunning, a sense of vastness not present in the inhabited region of space. My mind returned to the message I had received, whoever it was from - is this what they meant?
As we came within a few jumps of the destination, I noticed the scanner had lit up. After scanning in all the different types of planet and asteroid, I still had dozens of returns. When I looked up what the return designated, a chill went up my spine. Non-human signal source... Thargoids.
Like every aspiring pilot, I had heard about the Thargoid Wars that had occurred over the centuries, and how Jameson defeated them - supposedly for good. Hearing about the sightings and the station attacks had me worried, but it was always elsewhere. But here they were - this system was absolutely infested with them. It only got worse as we approached the Spirit of Nysa. As we approached the station, Natalya came onto the bridge. "First time seeing the bugs?"
I nodded as I processed the sale order. "At least in person."
"I run exploration for Canonn, they have the inside information on aliens." Her smile widened a bit. "Then again, if you are feeling a bloodthirsty, I have contacts in the Anti-Xeno Initiative, but remember the Thargoids will ruin a battleship's day."
I suppressed a shudder. "Have you ever fought them?"
"Only scouts, and that was in my Chieftain. Interceptors, those need your A-game and the latest custom outfitting." She finished tallying the load with Alliance contact and prepped to depart. "Hey, it's my shift on the controls. Why don't you try to get some rest?"
I gave a quick nod and went off to my quarters. As I lay in bed, I kept thinking what was out there.
After the numerous trips were over, I left her Anaconda and walked down to the Lakon dealer. I had heard they sold discount Asp Explorers. It was time to head into the black.