The Mystery Unfolds.
02 Dec 2022Kalous
-Log Entry Start[Date: 02.12.3308]
[Location: Tisiphone (FURY2), Ildano]
“I’ve got one, moving to drop.”
CMDR Omnicognate and myself have been trawling systems looking for the illusive Orthus variant of interceptor. And now we’ve got one.
“Dropping in 7 seconds…”
I ready my wits and my scanners as I follow close behind in supercruise. This hasn’t been an easy chase by any means. Near constant interdictions in system by Thargoids makes actually travelling to an Orthrus signal an ordeal in itself, if they appear.
“I’ve dropped in, no probe, waiting on you.”
Showtime.
As I drop into normal space besides CMDR Omnicognate’s Krait I feel a knot in my stomach. First contact with an Orthrus? We’re armed but we have no idea what to expect.
“Here it comes…”
*Frameshift Anomaly Detected*
The COVAS just managed to spit out the words through garbled speech, this is it. I hit silent running and Omni does the same, we’re ghosts now.
The Orthrus arrives and glides in that oh so familiar way into position and then spits out a probe into empty space.
So that’s what you’re for…
It has a trail behind it not too dissimilar to the caustic clouds I found within Taranis, surely no coincidence.
I get close and start my xeno scanner and composition scanner, it’s a dull yellow with some kind of barnacle-like protrusions on its ‘petals’.
“Arming weapons, you ready?”
The scan is done but I’m not sure this is a good idea, I give the all clear and swap to my guardian shard cannons and take aim.
“3-2-1 Fire!”
No sooner had we fired off our first salvo had the Orthrus corkscrewed out of our firing arc and doused myself and Omni in Caustic residue, not ideal.
As we turn back to fire again it lets out a shutdown field that catches myself and Omni unaware and we’re drifting at the mercy of the Orthrus.
Something is different though, my shard cannons are rendered inoperable instantly and my guardian internals are shredded just the same.
Just like HIP 22640.
By the time we’re back up we’re surrounded by scouts with the Orthrus gone and more interceptors on the way. How quickly empty space can be turned into a warzone…
Me and Omni agree to split and high wake out to nearby safe systems with our ships limping out into hyperspace.
-
A few hours have passed and me and Omni have talked the experience through, we’ve learnt a lot, but there’s still so much more to know.
We will try again to kill one of these things, they definitely look important and judging by its backup it’s got some kind of use within the greater Thargoid ecosystem.
That shutdown field scares me though, a mobile proteus wave outside of the Maelstroms. Just how powerful are our nemesis?
-Log Entry End