Trails of the Past - Salomé’s Mystery - Conflux Expedition
27 May 2024Kasumi Goto
"Only a small part of the mystery revealed, and another added on top. Yet more questions, and almost no answers. I felt discouraged, but I would carry on. It felt like the only option I had, in the face of giving up."
"Why does this have to be so difficult to see?"
I stood near a patch of bacteria on the surface of an icy planet, looking it over, frustrated at barely being able to distinguish it from the surrounding terrain... because it was effectively the same color as the ground. Matters were not helped by it being horribly slippery, the gravity being low, and my body generally getting in the way.
"I do not have an answer that would satisfy you, Kira.", EDI replied, in the usual calm tone. "Unless you would like to hear about the coloration being a result of local environmental conditions."
"I know!"
I sighed, looked at the nearby parked Scorpion, then at my body, one hand on the hips, scanner in the other. I already knew dealing with low gravity conditions, outside of a station or a settlement's metal walkways, wouldn't be fun, but this just hammered it in.
"I am... too thick, for this.", I let out, in a... theatrically desperate tone, knowing how this was a predicament entirely of my own creation.
Because I was just too, thick, literally, not in the sense of being stupid. For all that I enjoyed my shape, its inappropriate and unordinary nature, it was just not at all practical for this specific activity. While the upper half was kept in place by the suit... I spent more time fighting my thighs than I did move around, and I'd basically crossed barely any distance before returning to where the vehicle was now. Near this colony of germs which had started this, because I'd chosen to poke a volcanically active moon with a biological signal, found while occasionally scanning a system between carrier jumps. And here I was, learning 'important life lessons'... about how ordinary human things weren't so ordinary for me.
On top of that, it wasn't even a specimen found near geological activity, but something called "Bacterium Acies", which spread in any neon atmosphere. And it was a royal pain to find.
I gave up on the idea of looking for this stuff on foot, scanned this current colony for a second sample, and went back into the Scorpion, still feeling tempted to curse its narrow interior... not very compatible with a form like mine either. I'd definitely need to figure out a different way of... 'doing things'. And how to spot this stupid stuff. Because after nearly slipping and face - or rather, chest planting - or risking to land right on my backside, a few times, this wasn't it for me.
"EDI, can you... help me... look for this? From the ship?"
"Of course. I will attempt to locate another colony from the air, then you can follow over to it."
I stayed put while watching the ship go sniffing for me. My patience for this, "Bacterium Verrata", or whatever its name was again, had run out already, but I didn't want to leave without a full sample set either.
'I should have just stayed on the carrier.', I thought to myself.
And I told you this would be an issue with your nice big hips., a familiar snappy voice within me remarked.
Please be quiet. I do not need you to make me more annoyed., I retorted, sometimes wishing I didn't share a mind with the original me. Because of situations like this where the excessive nature of my body was pointed out to me.
No more comments followed. I could have been using a Scarab with a scanner configured to locate biological signals, but I hated the complete lack of traction, and apparent disrespect for physics, which that vehicle had. So a Scorpion it was, even if less adequate for the task... and I had no Scarabs with a seat fit to accommodate my big, wide frame, anyway.
I drove over to my ship when I got a positive ping on bacteria from it, trying to spin out on the slippery ice as little as possible - in part, so that my chest was not too inclined to go in those same directions - and, when I got there... just didn't bother getting out of the vehicle properly, instead popping open the windshield - good for this, not so much to make for my exit unless an emergency - and, with a bit of struggling, leaning out to let the bio analyzer do its thing.
Once it had, and saved the data of its scan of the material, I closed the Scorpion off again, removed the canister and set it to burn off the contents. Preventing cross-contamination or something. But I was done running scans on this world, so I simply left the analyzer right in the vehicle once it was securely within the ship. I'd probably use it again later.
For now, I had a carrier to catch up to, and then be lazy on. While also performing more jumps with it.
A few days later…
March 24, 3310
Pru Aescs TY-J a64-1
Conflux Alpha Site, planet 1
Another frozen rock, another mysterious outpost lacking any kind of obvious markings, except for the entrance gate labelling it as the “Conflux Alpha Site”. Its buildings looked the same as the ones over in Hawking’s Gap, only differing in how they were scattered around the site.
Some of them had an external data node, of sorts, too. Not one that contained any kind of useful data or a connection point into deeper systems… of course. Because that would have been too easy, and not careful enough to be whoever had buried this mystery out here. Still, it provided an “intel package” in my ship’s transaction panel when scanned, whatever that was worth. I’d probably drop this by Aegis on their megaship in Duamta, some time after returning… right now, poking into this matter was more important. So I got to it… in the Scorpion, of course, with the ship safely waiting above, below the orbital cruise marker.
CONFLUX ALPHA MISSION 1/4
Expedition Log: 21/08/3270
So we’ve hauled right out into unexplored territory. Heading corewards, doubt anyone has been this far before. Star density is rising fast, the galaxy looks pretty amazing from this vantage point.
It definitely was an interesting sight, compared to the star field which was visible from within the Bubble, itself… at least ten thousand light years away. I hadn’t bothered to check precisely how far. Made me wonder what it was like even closer to the core itself… but I couldn’t get distracted by that now, and I wasn’t in the mood to poke distant stars anyway.
Not to mention, this log was not really helpful, instead only providing insights into the person that recorded this entry.
CONFLUX ALPHA MISSION 2/4
Expedition Log: 30/08/3270
We’ve been tasked with dropping off these beacons. New tech it would seem. Looks like long range comms stuff to me, but I’m no expert. Can’t see why anyone would want a beacon this far out.
In effect, the same task as the ships out by the other outposts. But nothing to the purpose yet, either… and “new tech” was probably just ‘new’ for the time, four decades ago. Though it was likely still good now, because those beacons in this system - and the other four locations - were still active now, though not actively transmitting anything.
Whatever they were for, I doubted they held the answer. There were literally no planets of any kind of interest here - all just ice rocks circling around a dull brown dwarf. At least I didn’t have to go walking around any of it… and didn’t want to, after my experience on the one hunting after barely distinguishable bacteria.
Controlling the Scorpion on this type of surface was already bad enough on its own, at that. And it spinning out… had a tendency to cause rather unwanted and unpleasant movement on the disproportionate upper half of my body. As if I needed more reasons to dislike ice worlds. It was just as well I had no reason to drive around on this slippery mess much more. Only to return to the ship.
CONFLUX ALPHA MISSION 3/4
Expedition Log: 17/09/3270
Reckon I have it figured. We’re dropping these beacons around Earth-like worlds. Can’t be a coincidence. I guess it’s some kind of long term planning by someone. Not sure who’s paying for this gig. Best not to ask too many questions. They’re paying a proper wedge.
Finally something useful. Definitely couldn’t be a coincidence that it was those types of worlds the beacons were getting dropped around… also told me that these were hubs from which the mission ran, but it did raise the question of why, or rather didn’t answer it. Surveying Earth-like worlds was obviously for the prospect of creating colonies on them, but why this far out? And why hadn’t anything been done with them in decades, the whole project buried and hidden from existence?
Now my curiosity was definitely piqued, going from some mere interest to more of a burning desire to learn. And so I would… after ensuring I’d picked this spot clean. Which it turned out to be, because the final log basically just reported on the job being done, and something about wishing they could head for the galactic core, but weren’t able to. And now Colonia was there… had been there twice, too, apparently, but gotten bored of it quickly. It was not in my logs why, though, so I’d maybe go there again… some time in the future. Maybe locals would appreciate being graces by this figure… or maybe not. I’d still like it, anyhow.
Just as the expedition crew had departed from this planet, I would, now, too. Except my journey wouldn’t take me back to the Bubble, but the other three local outposts… and then even further, into the Formidine Rift. I had a feeling I’d find much more there… somehow, it just seemed more important, perhaps because that was where the derelict megaship had been found. But with it being so far from here, in a completely different galactic sector, that was a goal far removed, both in time and distance.
The Beta site awaited next, just a single jump away even for my current ship. I found it on a planet, “CD 1”, orbiting in the so-called ‘barycenter’ of the third and fourth star. Not much else interesting in the system, beyond the usual beacon marking this as one of those expedition hubs, or whatever. They seemed hardly relevant, because nobody was going to use these again, their purpose already fulfilled. I was just following in the trail, left by the footsteps of people unwittingly involved in something much greater.
I was beginning to feel like I wouldn't be bothered down here, but precaution made me dismiss the ship once I took off with the Scorpion anyway. Dealing with what I potentially was - though I still had some doubts about the ramifications and depth of it all - I couldn't be careful enough. Still, since all looked quiet, I got to the task at hand. Which, also, remained nothing more than driving until I found each and every log uplink, plus an eventual data point to create the location package, for all that was worth.
CONFLUX BETA MISSION 1/4
Expedition Log: 01/10/3270
Witch-space once again. We’re almost to our destination in the Conflux area now. That’s odd… looks like… can’t be! You can’t be interdicted in witch-space… that’s impossible! We’re back in normal space. Systems off-line, no power, what in Randomius is that…
Now that was curious... it sounded like a Thargoid hyperdiction, or so the text log hinted at, at the very least. And this was... really far away from any other known sites of Thargoid activity, including the one where they had been found investigating a Guardian site for no apparent reason, before vanishing just as mysteriously. What I wouldn't have given to get a chance to communicate with that particular group of Thargoids, if only to figure out what they were doing.
But that wasn't an opportunity I'd have any time soon... if ever. And that was probably a different lot of Thargoids than this one... whichever differences existed between them within the hivemind. If there were any, at all, but I doubted they all just shared the exact same ways of thinking and personality, as opposed to it acting as a simpler or more effective means to exchange those differing thoughts and viewpoints. Because if they were intelligent enough to get as far as they did... there was little doubt they had enough of it to be "sapient", as I'd heard it be called.
What do you think of this?, I inquired toward Kira.
I'm curious what Thargoids were doing out here. If we found this log, doesn't sound like it killed those guys it pulled out either., she replied. Also still want to know whatever the hell 'Randomius' is, like you. Right now, that thing just sounds like some total nonsense.
I provided no further answer, but secretly, I agreed. It made no sense to someone who had no idea about that, and sounded rather stupid, too. Certainly couldn't imagine any meaning to it. I moved over to reading the other logs, to see if they had more mentions of Thargoid activity. Presumed Thargoid activity, at least... but I couldn't imagine anything else, under the description which I'd received here.
CONFLUX BETA MISSION 2/4
Expedition Log: 30/08/3270
Signed on for this one as I had the exploration bug, but we’re just jumping and jumping. We’re not staying in systems to survey, just refuelling as fast as we can and then it’s back into witch-space. We’re spending more time there than in real space. Someone is in a hurry.
Nothing interesting, or at least nothing I hadn't learned before. All travel to the destination, nothing else, only work at the destination. No point in lingering on the log.
CONFLUX BETA MISSION 3/4
Expedition Log: 12/09/3270
Reminds me of what my father told me about witch-space. it’s haunted. There’s weird lights, shifting clouds, who knows what they are. Makes you wonder whether we should be out here at all. So much stuff we just don’t understand.
I'd noticed those same things myself. I wondered if they were stars, and gas clouds, like nebulas in our own universe... if Witch Space was one of its own, at least. It strongly seemed that way, and the wormholes we opened into it only provided an inaccurate glimpse into it, which explained the odd shifting of the clouds and light in the "tunnel".
This reminded me of an old article I'd dug up, too, mentioning 'structures' in Witch Space... but I'd never caught any sort of glimpse of anything like that, myself. Yet, if Thargoids were inhabiting that reality, too... maybe it was their structures which people had caught glimpses of. And though that was curious, it also had little bearing on what I was after. Or so I thought, at least, but I'd certainly keep it in mind that they'd been seen around here. Especially with this looking to be the closest of the three locations to what was now known as Colonia.
Regardless... I was here for whatever this told me of the "Club", or what their involvement in it was. It seemed increasingly likely it was all just their doing, though.
CONFLUX BETA MISSION 4/4
Expedition Log: 18/09/3270
Witch-space is different out here, there’s something odd, those lights we were seeing are less frequent now, but they seem to be hanging around, almost as if they’re following us. Maybe I’m going nuts.
'Or maybe you weren't.', I thought to myself. Considering the contents of the first of the four logs - which, almost, felt like it belonged to the end of the chain rather than to its start - the exploration crews sent out here were probably being observed. Certainly not by humans, very probably Thargoids... and the third alternative, that one was a lot less entertaining to consider, because it would be even worse for humans than eight Thargoid Titans. Which, it felt like, were not being used to anywhere close their full operational capability, but that was a - somewhat unwelcome - sidetrack, so I quickly discarded it from my mind again. This outpost's secrets had been revealed, and not really told me much about the supposed conspiracy at work behind this stuff.
Just one other thing entered my mind... double-checking the log dates at a glance, it turned out that log "1/4" was in fact the fourth, if going purely by the dates. So the crew recording this had noticed the "lights", which began to follow them, and some time later, one of them got curious enough to 'investigate' the human presence, probably without the object of interest ending up as scrap. But only probably, considering how certain humans very quickly got jumpy and trigger happy at something they didn't know... even if it posed no immediate threat.
With that out of the way, I moved to the Gamma site, not suspecting that I was being followed, certainly not by humans. But the "lights" in the hyperspace tunnel looked the same as all my other jumps, I arrived at the destination uninterrupted and unharmed... and safety procedures still applied when I arrived at the outpost on moon 1 a, after the necessary scans to uncover its precise location.
CONFLUX GAMMA MISSION 1/4
Expedition Log: 30/08/3270
I’m just the navigator ouboard this ship. Never flown an Anaconda before, but it’s quite a beast. This one is stripped right down, just cargo space and jump capability. Nothing else. We had an escort to the edge of inhabited space, but our destination is right out there…
It was a beast. A horribly sluggish one that I could never imagine taking out anywhere this far. Even sounded like one of those things current day explorers would take out to "explore"... an Anaconda stripped down to the barest minimums, undersized thrusters, power distribution systems, which in some cases could not even boost... I could not understand it. The excuse this expedition had, at least, was that they needed cargo space, and the Anaconda offered that while retaining jump range.
Log 2 was entirely uninteresting. Just a crew member talking about the distance, destination, going through systems without so much as a survey stop, and some wondering about the purpose of the expedition. As quickly as I'd opened it, I took to the next entry.
CONFLUX GAMMA MISSION 3/4
Expedition Log: 18/09/3270
So, we’re here now. Took us five months to reach this part of the galaxy. A team of hired spacers are out there now, dropping off some kind of cargo. Looks like beacons from what I can see, but some guy in uniform came and switched off the scanner. Best not ask too many questions. Might not be wise to be logging this to be honest…
Curiosity definitely didn't pay on this mission. If anything, it was more likely to follow the saying that it killed the cat, but whatever had happened, this person wasn't here to tell now. If even still alive at all.
CONFLUX GAMMA MISSION 4/4
Expedition Log: 10/10/3270
On our way back home again. Just dropped off whatever it was, turned about and started back. Five months out… probably five months back again. Managed a quick scan of the site when no one was looking. Definitely beacons. Why would anyone want a beacon right out here in the void is beyond me. Not my problem though!
'It would have been your problem if your 'employers' noticed your log and killed... made you run into an "accident".', I added in my thoughts, and... also moved on again. I already knew the beacons were getting dropped around Earth-like worlds, though not the purpose of the action yet. Only the Delta site remained here, so I recalled my ship and got moving toward it.
If that didn't hold the answers, the outposts in the Formidine Rift would have to, or my final deep space destination before I returned to the Bubble - the Zurara. But all in due time. First, I'd finish up locally.
CONFLUX DELTA MISSION 1/4
Expedition Log: 30/08/3270
I’m just the engineer on this particular jaunt. I was advised to prep the ship for a seriously long haul into the void, so I’m loaded up with as many hyperdrive spares as I can cram in. When I asked why, the captain just responded with ‘Don’t ask’.
So, an engineer's logs of the flight, or mission. Possibly interesting, if they had any different insights or discoveries about their mission. Certainly not in this first log, though.
CONFLUX DELTA MISSION 2/4
Expedition Log: 12/09/3270
It’s putting a strain on the ship, that I can tell you. I’ve asked for some downtime so I can run some maintenance, but the captain says we have to hit a schedule. What can be quite so important a thousand light years from the nearest inhabited planet I can’t say, but we’re in a mighty rush.
... and not in this second one, either. I did wonder myself why there was such a demand for this project to be completed as quickly as possible, when there was no apparent threat to humans back in that time. It certainly wasn't Thargoids... even between then and their re-appearance, it had been just over three decades. As for this particular mission, I had a feeling that 'lack of maintenance' hadn't worked out well for them.
CONFLUX DELTA MISSION 3/4
Expedition Log: 18/09/3270
I warned ’em. We blew the hyperdrive initiator coil jumping in today. Caused a right mess down here. Lots of collateral damage. Scanners are offline and the main generator is running hot. Can’t figure out why, looks like we’re in empty space, but the heat is fierce!
What a surprise. They'd probably landed right near a star or some such thing, probably a little too close for comfort. Maybe they'd gotten out of that pickle, though, since I was seeing their logs here.
CONFLUX DELTA MISSION 4/4
Expedition Log: 01/10/3270
We figured it out. Gravity. We’ve dropped out near a neutron star. Can’t see it, but we can feel it. The ship is cooking around us. No way we can jump out before it gets us. We’re being pulled in. Odds are even as to whether the heat, gravity or magnetism kills us first. We’re jettisoning the logs, if anyone ever finds this… save yourselves! Beware the neutron star.
Or maybe they hadn't. That... certainly wasn't a particularly pleasant way to go, and a very avoidable one at that. The question of how the logs had gotten here was still open, but I quickly arrived at the conclusion that one of the other crews had to have found and brought them here. Maybe, but it was the most likely explanation.
Just like that... I was already done, again, and barely any wiser. I sighed, and called the ship back down. Didn't feel like I wanted to be here any longer, at all. I could as well have spared myself the trip here, if it wasn't for learning about the Thargoid presence. And that one tidbit about the habitable planets. It showed when I was walking back toward the cockpit, too.
"The data you found was not to your satisfaction, was it?", EDI inquired.
I shook my head. "No. No, it was not. Is it obvious?"
The question was rhetorical. More than just a little, including my tone.
"It is visible in your body language.", the AI replied. "Your posture is leaned forward more than usual, and your shoulders hang more than normally. However, I can also tell by the emissions from your implant differing, compared to when you are in a better mood."
'Not even that, I can hide any more.' Thinking that to myself, I felt like snapping back, but... just decided to hold it in. "I want to be gone, from here. Tell the crew, we will be jumping again, soon."
"To where? Do you wish to return to the Bubble?"
"No. I need to keep looking. And, there are more places to check. Only when we are done there, will we go back."
"I see. You appear as determined as you were before."
I said nothing more to that and just settled in the pilot's seat again, instead, quickly getting the ship back off the surface, and onto my carrier. The Formidine Rift awaited, and I wanted to unearth what it held. The mystery was yet still slipping through my fingers, but it had to hold the answers. The feeling that it would, certainly, was quite strong.
But I needed to get there, first. And that meant another, very long, carrier journey. One that I was not looking forward to, too much, but it beat doing the distance myself... and the only danger to me would be boredom.