First Thargoid Encounter!
19 Nov 2017Vizz Curio
::CMDR Vizz Curio on The Valkyries' Hot Rod, at station Mars High, Sol::::personal log::
Holy Waters of Shinrarta, I got to see a Thargoid ship in person!
CMDR Delco had been traveling to Maia and was pulled out of witch space by a Thargoid ship. He told me it sent a pulse wave that overtook his ship and shut it down for a few minutes, while the ship scanned him. Then as his ship booted and came back online, the Thargoid ship flew away at incredible speed before vanishing into a shadow in space.
We had heard of reports of these "hyperdictions" happening around the Pleiades for months, but haven't seen it ourselves nor been able to find anyone to give us a first-hand report. Rumor no more!
He returned back to the bubble, and we met up on Mars High since I was in the Sol system doing some personal sight-seeing of the cradle of humanity. (Hoping I could also gain some insight from the local scene on what makes The Federation tick.)
While we initially wanted to fly our FDLs to Obsidian Orbital, I plotted an efficient route and it came out to 23 jumps. Much longer than I'd like right now. I could get there faster in my DBX, aptly named Fast Track, but it was still in the process of getting a tune-up and the new blue paint was still being applied (and flair ship name detailing to be applied after).
CMDR Delco was piloting his Anaconda, Profit Seeker, and it's kitted as an exploration vessel so has a long jump range.
I boarded his ship, and he plotted a course to the Pleiades.
We arrived uneventfully at Obsidian Orbital and checked the local news. He found a mission listing for the recovery of a black box from a destroyed ship a few lightyears away. Destroyed by what?
He launched us off on an adventure.
While in supercruise I launched one of the 2 camera drones I brought along. Using telepresence, I flew it to survey the nebula in the black. Barnard's Loop was clear and large. Someday I should make a pilgrimage there.
It was also effective to watch our six, as I saw a ship pass us and then immediately make a U-turn and get on our tail. Just about when I shouted to Delco this observation, my camera drone's vision got blurry with blue waves & pulses.
Interdiction!
Delco masterfully avoided it, but I lost my camera drone to the space-time distortion.
A few minutes later he located the signal source of the black box and we dropped out of supercruise to the scene of the wreckage of a Federal Corvette.
Without pause I had launched my other camera drone and we both saw the same thing at the same time: a massive Thargoid ship!
It was firing a lemon-lime green beam at the ruined ship, and there was the tell-tale green gas all around.
Delco kept the Profit Seeker at a long distance. We dared not approach.
The alien ship stopped firing its destructive corrosion beam and it looked like it started scanning the wreck with green lasers. Then its lights turned red all over and it launched dozens of small craft or drones that swarmed all around it.
It moved over to a debris field and seemed to scan that.
Then it turned and zipped off with very fast acceleration -- Delco and I both had the same wide-eyed idea and he punched the booster rockets and went full throttle to chase it.
It vanished in a black cloud in space, almost like it ripped a tear in space-time open and slipped in, leaving a black cloud as a wake. Delco's ship wasn't equipped with the recently released Anti-Xeno scanners or any of the other Aegis "AX" tech, so his computers weren't able to resolve much data on the Thargoid ship nor its bizzare wake pattern.
A little on edge and a lot excited, we headed for the first discovered Thargoid planetary base site in HIP 19026.
30,000ls traveling from the main star we descended into a steep orbital curve. The alien base site was easily visible on approach, I'm certain it's either grown or risen from the first time we were there. Those sentries or drones were everywhere. We decided to play it safe and launched camera drones to survey the scene. The drones didn't react to Delco's massive ship landing, nor to our camera drones zipping around.
There were no other signs of alien activity, no obvious changes to the base, no massive Thargoid ships docked, so we headed back to Sol system.
Coincidentally, yesterday there was a new bulletin published on GalNet quoting the heads of the Feds and Empire making statements about not being scared by the aliens and pledging humans' strength is greater, blah blah blah PR crap.
Just read this junk:
Galactic News: Galactic Authorities Call for Calm
Now that I've seen a Thargoid vessel in person, witnessed the immediate aftermath of its weird destruction beam, and seen the massive swarm of drones that just one ship carries, I am scared. We should all be scared.
Pretending we're superior, or that "we will overcome any adversity" is short-sighted at best.
::end transmission::