Site 426
30 Jul 2018Robert Phillips
I was taking the Millennium Dustbin out of the bubble to gather some materials.I passed through the star system HIP 54181 and noticed a signal appear on my Nav Panel - a listening post was transmitting in orbit around the 3rd body of the primary star (HIP 54181 A 3). The listening post had intercepted the following message fragment:
ANOMALOUS SIGNAL DATA
…Transponder Signal LCA-895-A Detected…
Matches signal detected at listening posts: (hip 49538, wregoe pv-c c26-16)
Approximate Signal Range: 35-37 LY
…situation unacceptable… long:176.946 …neutralisation…………authorised.
…Beacon Signal Lost…
The signal fragment pointed to 2 other fragments in HIP 49538 (around the first body):
ANOMALOUS SIGNAL DATA
…Transponder Signal LCA-895-B Detected…
Matches signal detected at listening posts: (hip 54181, wregoe pv-c c26-16)
Approximate Signal Range: 38-41 LY
…situation unacceptable… Iat:65.837708 …neutralisation…………authorised.
…Beacon Signal Interrupted…
...and the other around the main star in Wregoe PV-C c26-16:
ANOMALOUS SIGNAL DATA
…Transponder Signal LCA-895-C Detected…
Matches signal detected at listening posts: (hip 54181, hip 49538)
Approximate Signal Range: 27-29 LY
…situation unacceptable… 1 …neutralisation…………authorised.
…Message Corrupted…
Collectively, the 3 signal fragments revealed the location of the signal source to be at coords 176.946, 65.87708 on the first body of a system that was:
- 35-37 LY from HIP 54181
- 38-41 LY from HIP 49538
- 27-29 LY from Wregoe PV-C c26-16
There were several candidate systems in the sector that closely matched these parameters, but the only matching system which had a landable first body orbiting the primary star was Wregoe JI-B D13-130 (36 LY from HIP 54181, 39.68 LY from HIP 49538, and 2842 LY from Wregoe PV-C C26-16).
I targeted the body and circled my way down to the target coordinates. There, I found an abandoned base: Site 426.
A cursory examination of the base gave no indication as to what Site 426 was, nor who it belonged to. I deployed my SRV to investigate further, and found 3 Settlement Comms Log Uplink points that I was able to scan and download the last logs from the base:
INDUSTRIAL REVOLUTION 1/3
Encrypted data log:
Huke, Stuart are you getting this? It’s on.
We go once the guards switch after lights out. They’ll never see it coming.
Thorn has the weapons stashed in the access conduits in Hab 2. We’ll make these scumbags pay for everything they’ve ever done to us.
Tonight we become free men my friends.
INDUSTRIAL REVOLUTION 2/3
Communication Log:
We run this place now! You hear us out there’? We run this place!
We will no longer be your slave labour. We will no longer be treated like animals, breaking our backs to make your fortunes.
We are free and will never be enslaved again.
INDUSTRIAL REVOLUTION 3/3
Corporate Memo:
Situation unacceptable.
Neutralisation of Site 426 authorised.
Leave no trace of them. Not a trace.
It seems that whoever the mysterious owners of this base were, they did not take kindly to their employees forming a union, or going on strike.
Working conditions are harsh, and life is cheap, in the 34th Century...