Stranded After DW2..epilogue- Part 1: Colony on the Galaxys Edge...
29 Jul 2019Count Iblis
The Imperial Cutter "Indefatiguable" had been planet bound and immobile for over 2 months now. Originally part of the epic DW2 expedition, Reece ended up taking a detour on the way back and split from the swarm of explorers and colossal pioneering jump ships.What had happened to leave one of the most robustly engineered vessels (from the Empire no less!) stranded like this? It was a long story.
The fond memories of the final party at the last campsite at Legacy Crater at Waypoint 12 (or what became known as the 'party basin') in Beagle Point was incredible. Reece hadn't met so many like minded wandering souls for as long as he could remember. Travel mates and characters whom he'd gotten to know well during this epic expedition. Some warriors, some tech systems specialists, and even bounty hunters like him. The celebrations lasted all week and were carried out within various vessels and outside in space suits, with various alcoholic inducements and scary spacecraft acrobatics ensued. Reece had to smile when he thought about the formation of a new fleet- from the ashes of this endeavor: The 12th Squadron and the aggressive recruitment drive.
Reece believed in humility and his actions and his achievements speaking for themselves without the need for grandstanding or boasting. This was something he learned from his upbringing and not a style that seemed to be in vogue around the core systems of the bubble these days. Marco Sparks of the 12th squadron decided he was making such a gracious gesture offering Reece a position as a junior Lieutenant. With Reeces 25 years experience, over half that working for Core Dynamics themselves developing the Vulture Multi purpose craft, was titled Duke by the Empire itself , he held a Deadly combat ranking and was only a whisker away from becoming Elite, it was difficult for Reece to keep from laughing. Although It was difficult to view this as anything but an insult he did oblige and join the 12th squadron, however to keep social ties, if for nothing else. Increasing your network was seldom a bad thing and in times of trouble they could help. It was interesting to observe, even in the formative stages of the squadron their cliquey nature. Special privileges and self declared promotions and elevation for friends of Marco Sparks and the Fleet admiral. It was like Corporate Galactic all over again, and no different to an Imperial fleet , or worse, a Federal fleet. Except with those there were systems in place to TRY to minimize that.
From waypoint 12 , Reece decided to splinter off from the main fleets with only a few others. He decided to ape the route travelled by the much fabled legendary ‘USS Voyager’ crew, back to the bubble but taking a route out towards the galaxies edge. Reece grew up with the legendary ancient tales of the USS Voyager and they fired his imagination. If only real life was like that.
It was heading eastwards with the small splinter fleet that Reece stumbled across the stray modulated signal. The others dismissed this as some kind of a freak sensor echo that had made its way up here losing energy and changing form. Reece isolated too many signal subtleys and cues that hinted towards a humanoid signature to be a coincidence. With that he split off from the main group to investigate, scheduled to rendezvous later. This far out, this was Reeces first mistake.
When Reece came across the colony, this far out, on a distant world that was the source of the signal- there was initially no indication of the deception and strife to come. The colony was centuries old, and indeed originally left generations ago from the ‘bubble’. There were dilapidated vessels, Cobra Mk1s, Asp Mk2s, Boas and a few Geckos and Moray Star Boats. All ‘patched together’ and flyable. Some even had ancient military drives!
At first things were amazing, the colonists were welcoming, opening and enamored with their new guest of honour. There was Alicia, the VP of Colony Security, Ron, one of the council elders, and Mary Beth, one of the Chief Engineers of Social Mobility Action. These folks were the descendents of a colony group that had left ‘The Bubble’ centures ago. Reece had found nothing on them in the codex archives but kept searching. It seemed on first encounter , that Reece would become great friends with these people.
Little did he know. Yet again, like a lesson that was being pounded into Reece over and over, ‘be more critical and less trusting of new people on first encounters….’