ARRIVAL- Chapter Two: Distress Call
09 Jul 2017Tranquil (BORGGY)
II
With an eager thrust to engage the frame shift drive, quietly, Joe gazes out of the canopy into this darkness of space that we are all too familiar with. A mediocre tone where it is not so bright yet not wholly black either, between the galactic core and outer rim. A humming grows louder and louder till the charge completes and triggers a countdown, numbers in red appear...4, 3, 2, 1, and they jump.
Transitioning into the Witchspace dimension, lights whiz by at incomprehensible speeds, gases and forms of energy swirl and envelope, and possible galaxies shoot pass as well amidst an eerie song; heard by those who use this method of travel. These are whispers that elevate and fade as the ship navigates through the universal webbing.
POW!
The Wraith is spat out from Witchspace and soars close to a stars imminent proximity. Joe then throttles up ever so lightly just to give the ship an extra oomph to enter the star’s corona bringing about the fuel scooping stage. Once the ship reaches a sustainable number for a better quality to harvest hydrogen, Joe throttles down and locks onto the star for a scan, whilst at the same time initiating a discovery scanner to collect system data.
“Here we are, an F-Class star designated HIP 14909, possessing a radius of 1.1542 and a mass of 1.2891; registered as one of the many systems to contain a Thargoid base”, Ali informs.
“Riiiight, which planet?” Joe asks, keeping his eye on the fuel scooping, and then before Ali responds...Fuel Scooping Complete.
“Need to shut down that virtual piece of garbage!” Ali remarks with a hint of annoyance, fed up of hearing it.
“Does it ever get to you?”
With a chuckle Joe replies, “Meh, I’ve got use to it, not bad once you’ve met one ten times....urrr”
“Yes???”
Awkward silence follows and Joe flicks through the system data linking it into his helmets visor so that he can view at better quality and efficiency. A system map spans out before him.
“...Which planet?”
“Moon actually, designated 2A, it orbits a Class III gas giant 1,540.17 Light seconds away from the star”
“Okay, lets....”
“Hold on, we have an incoming distress call from a nearby planet 13.99 light seconds away, I cannot pin-point when it was sent, and it seems to be messy”
“Punch it into the navigator and lock on...”
A stream of data mumbles away and then a click, “Already done”, Ali says.
***********
Arriving at the scene of the distress call, Joe and Ali study in awe at the compromised Corvette. No surviving crew whatsoever and no message of utter despair. A silent wreckage roaming above the planet it is bound to crash into, scorched with marks unknown to any weapons that Humanity wields.
“I’m surprised it is mostly intact”, Joe points out.
“Hmm, systems appear fried, life support disabled and whatever this green residue is my calculations can’t make anything of it”
“Thargoid?"
“Possibly, yet it is imprecise, of course we need further data. Perhaps the base will hold such knowledge?”
“It is certainly the same stuff that has affected other ships and particularly the Farragut Capital cruisers”, Joe says whilst plotting a course to the moon.
“Federation sticking their noses in to far”
**********
High above the rings of the gas giant the Wraith blissfully flies as Joe runs some checks on the SRV unit before descending down to the moon- in which lies visibly amidst the distance.
“Okay, everything looks in working condition, wheels look great as their were no rips or punctures and I’ve added some extra coating to them just in case, seeing that the surface around the base is...odd”
“Shall I activate Supercruise?” Ali offers.
“Yeah, let’s go and find out what’s in store for us!”
