Entry 1: Footprints
24 Feb 2023Wolf258
I guess you could call the research trip a success. The value of optimism was ingrained into me at a young age, but my experience over the years has left me questioning how success is measured. Sure, we brought in 2.4 billion credits from our exobiology findings, and the profit is a victory in itself. What about the Thargoid sensor that lay there on the planet surface?The plan was for our crew to take our carrier, Pneuma, into the galactic core near Sag A. We came across a large section of systems that had been untouched by people—so naturally, we had to touch it. These systems were only about 5,000 LY from the bubble, yet it felt so distant. It’s difficult to fathom that this simple excursion would have been unthinkable a thousand years ago. Then here I am, 5,000 years away from humanity’s birthplace if I had travelled here as a ray of light.
Here I am—standing in front of this Thargoid sensor, thoughts racing, but only in circles going nowhere. There have been many reports of these random sensors throughout the galaxy. Random? Methodically placed? As far as I know, we only have theories.
The sensor was clearly damaged, but it still emitted a pulsing glow as if it still had a purpose. I’ve been scanned before by these devices in my Xeno encounters. Was it scanning me now? I can’t shake the feeling that I am being watched, and I continually glanced toward the sky for that familiar dark cloud of Thargoid wake. The skies are clear, but their eerie moans echo in my head. Why is this here?
I scooped up the sensor fragments to add to my collection, and returned to my Asp. An unsettling start to the trip, but there was work to be done.