I Have Stared into the Abyss, and it Stared Back.
17 May 2023Caelum Incola
After many hours and credits spent building, tweaking, destroying and rebuying my Maelstrom research vessel, an Alliance Challenger named Icarus, I had bought and fitted a corrosion resistant cargo rack, several caustic sink launchers and had spent time very carefully collecting tissue samples from the extremely unpleasant caustic generators guarding the periphery of the Maelstroms. Added to that being violently repelled from the crackling red clouds by the Pulse Wave multiple times, I now had enough materials to purchase a new and game-changing TG Pulse Neutraliser. I settled into the cockpit and gathered all my materials together to go along to the nearest rescue ship in order to purchase one. I was a little dismayed to learn that those materials are not an unlock as such, but the purchase cost for each, in contrast to the Caustic Sinks which do unlock and can be bought with credits subsequently. Nonetheless I bolted one on the DBX I was using to taxi it back to my carrier (65ly away) and mulled over which ship to take into the Maelstrom for my first attempt at penetrating the energy pulse. I settled on my anti-xeno Krait MKII over the Challenger as it has more hull and a little more speed, but I stripped the Guardian weapons from it given they would be rendered useless by the presence of the Maelstrom, added a fuel scoop (for those pesky hyperdictions) and two caustic sink launchers as well as the TGPN of course.
I arrived at the Maelstrom ‘Taranis’ and ploughed straight in, anticipating the now familiar blue/white pulse as I got deeper into the cloud. I had to fire off a few caustic sinks on the way as expected, then I saw the tell tale sign of the pulse building from the centre of the cloud before the huge wave came speeding towards me. I was unfortunately a little early deploying the TGPN and was repelled at speed away from the centre as I had been multiple times before. Once my ship had recovered, undeterred I turned and boosted back in to try again. This time, with four pips to SYS, I waited until the pulse was almost upon me before firing the TGPN and it worked! I remained on course, but was suffering from a rapid overheat which peaked at around 260%, although after deploying a heat sink it returned to normal quite quickly. Thankfully there were no Interceptors nearby to pick up my very hot signal and turn their attention towards me. As I got closer a second pulse wave approached and I managed to get through that one without incident, deploying the TGPN at the right time again.
The cumulative caustic damage I'd become accustomed to then seemed to slow and stop as I flew through the boiling red clouds, towards the centre and an asteroid field that slowly emerged from the gloom as well as ...something… brooding in the shadows. As I flew through the asteroids, keeping half an eye on the interceptors patrolling in the distance, the shadowy bulk became more defined until I was close enough to make out its shape.
Colossal. Haunting. Unsettling. Alien.
I won’t describe in detail what I saw, you’ll have to see it for yourself, if you're brave or foolhardy enough, but I did manage to spend a good 10-15 minutes in there, flying around and trying to take in what was in front of me before discretion determined I should leave with enough hull (I was down to 45%) to hopefully get me back to the relative safety of the Eye of the Beholder, my fleet carrier.
A couple of uninterrupted jumps later I settled onto the landing pad and descended into the hangar. I paused and thought to myself that even here, in 59 Eridani, 37.7ly away from what I’d just witnessed, I felt uncomfortably close to it.
Repelling, defeating, negotiating a concord or even a collaboration perhaps with not only one, but eight of these Titans and their countless Scouts, Interceptors, Hunters, Scavengers and Revenants seems like an overwhelming task and one at this moment I feel humanity may never achieve.
I think a trip somewhere quite far away may soon be on the cards.