Galnet archive

Scriveners Clan Abandons the Hesperus

*Pilots Federation ALERT*

The dredger belonging to the Scriveners Clan has left the Perseus Dark Region KC-V c2-2 system, where the Hesperus megaship is located.

The 200-year-old ‘ghost ship’, once owned by Azimuth Biochemicals, was discovered in April when the nomadic clan began salvaging it for materials and data.

Erik Gunnarson of the Wallglass Investigations Agency speculated:

“When the Scriveners laid claim to the Hesperus, I expected only a cloud of fragments would remain. But their salvage operation has been prematurely abandoned, after stripping the megaship’s innards and leaving behind a mostly intact hull.”

“Why have they done this? Perhaps because this particular dredger clan avoids outsiders. Public interest in the Hesperus inspired thousands of curious travellers to see it for themselves, potentially drawing more scrutiny than the secretive tribe could bear.”

“Alternatively, the Scriveners detected richer pickings elsewhere – either fresh resources for the dredger to consume or new information for their ‘Knowledge Core’. In theory they could still be tracked down as their vessel’s hyperdrive has a similar range to modern-day fleet carriers.”

“We know very little about the Scriveners, and even less about other clans. However, with the recent appearance of the Blue Viper Club dredger at Kumo City, I’m hopeful more may be revealed about these roaming societies.”

‘Salvation’ Eclipses Aegis to Obtain Guardian Artefacts

*Pilots Federation ALERT*

Rival delivery campaigns by Aegis Research and Taurus Mining Ventures in the PMD2009 48 system have concluded.

Guardian artefacts were delivered to the megaship Glorious Prospect, which was contracted on behalf of the anonymous ‘Salvation’, in greater quantities than to the Aegis megaship Archimedes.

Patience Middleton congratulated those who supported Taurus Mining Ventures:

“This is a clear show of faith in the noble goals of ‘Salvation’. As a further sign of our commitment to those goals, we are pleased to provide the top 75% of contributors a specially engineered Class 2 Fixed Guardian Shard Cannon.”

The Pilots Federation has issued a caution that any ship modules offered by Taurus Mining Ventures will be automatically marked as ‘‘hot’, requiring extra costs to be cleaned prior to installation.

Aegis and ‘Salvation’ Compete for Guardian Artefacts

*Pilots Federation ALERT*

Aegis Research and Taurus Mining Ventures have requested deliveries of Guardian artefacts to the PMD2009 48 system.

Their rival campaigns follow the discovery of an ancient battleground between the Guardians and the Thargoids on Trapezium Sector YU-X c1-2 1a.

Patience Middleton, representing Taurus Mining Ventures, broadcast this statement:

“‘Salvation’ has claimed the exclusive rights to exploit the Proteus site, which was only discovered because of his specialist knowledge. He has contracted us to pay for Guardian caskets, orbs, relics, tablets, totems and urns brought to the Glorious Prospect megaship.”

Aegis Research has also positioned a megaship, the Archimedes, in the PMD2009 48 system. Professor Alba Tesreau announced:

“It is vital that Aegis replaces the Guardian artefacts that were lost aboard the Alexandria. Without sufficient materials, our anti-xeno research programme will be severely hampered.”

“We recognise the risk that collecting Guardian technology on a megaship may attract the Thargoids, as happened in the Delphi system. However, this system is much farther from any known areas of Thargoid activity, so we hope to avoid drawing their attention.”

The Alliance, Empire and Federation consider depriving Aegis of resources to be a criminal act. As a result, pilots are warned that any ship modules received from Taurus Mining Ventures will be marked as ‘hot’, thereby incurring extra costs to be cleaned prior to installation.

Guardian-Thargoid Battlefield Discovered

*Pilots Federation ALERT*

An Anaconda from the Hesperus megaship has been found at a historical battlefield on the moon Trapezium Sector YU-X c1-2 1a.

The discovery was made by pilots who tracked down a series of signal beacons, following instructions provided by the anonymous ‘Salvation’. The beacons were deployed by the Hesperus during its voyage nearly 200 years ago.

The Anaconda, named Proteus, was one of the megaship’s secondary vessels and had been outfitted for long-range exploration. It was used by an Azimuth Biochemicals science team to flee the Hesperus after the megaship was overtaken by saboteurs from rival company Pharmasapien.

Upon landing, the Proteus was converted into a research facility to study the ancient structures and wreckage on the moon. The proximity of both Guardian and Thargoid technology suggests this was the site of a battle fought by the two civilisations over a million years ago, although in 3113 neither species had yet been identified.

Professor Alba Tesreau of Aegis Research gave this statement:

“This is a significant xenoarchaeological find – physical evidence of the war between the Guardians and the Thargoids. Our advance teams are conducting preliminary surveys, and a megaship is being prepared. Following the Alexandria’s tragic disappearance, we hope this may serve as a fresh source of Guardian artefacts for our anti-xeno research programme.”

The Legacy of the Hesperus

*Pilots Federation ALERT*

Commanders in the Chukchan and Perseus Dark Region KC-V c2-2 systems have reported being contacted by ‘Salvation’.

The anonymous individual is known to have an interest in the Adamastor and the Hesperus, the ‘ghost ships’ within those systems. Both of the derelict megaships were operated 200 years ago by Azimuth Biochemicals.

Commander Tyler Thorsen told Vox Galactica:

“I was taking some sightseers on a trip round the Hesperus, and getting as close as I dared to the Scriveners Clan dredger. I scanned the tourist beacon for them, and suddenly received a direct message from this ‘Salvation’ guy.”

“He asked me to track down some old signal beacons, which are listening posts configured to retransmit long-range comms. Apparently these could help locate the survivors from the megaship. But the Hesperus is ancient history. Surely there can’t be anything or anyone left to find?”

In April, ‘Salvation’ unofficially recruited independent pilots to locate the Hesperus, and to deliver its surviving logs to Taurus Mining Ventures.

The Pilots Federation is running an inquiry into ‘Salvation’ and his associates. Commanders are being cautioned against undertaking tasks for what may be an illegal enterprise.

The Voice of ‘Salvation’

*Pilots Federation ALERT*

The enigmatic ‘Salvation’ has sent a message to the Commanders he recently recruited to discover the Hesperus megaship.

The vessel was found in the Perseus Dark Region KC-V C2-2 system, after ‘Salvation’ provided an access key to read its automated SOS. Pilots were then encouraged to deliver any surviving logs to Taurus Mining Ventures at the Hind Mine asteroid base in the T Tauri system.

Patience Middleton, a representative of the corporation, announced:

“‘Salvation’ has authorised us to offer two million credits or ten units of void opals for delivering the Hesperus’s logs. This contract ends on the 21st of May 3307, after which payments will not be available.”

“We have been asked to relay the message below.”

“‘This is Salvation. I call myself this as I cannot yet reveal my identity, but my scientific breakthroughs will literally save all of humanity. The Adamastor and the Hesperus were just the beginning, as I have always known. For my intrepid agents, there will be further work to come.’”

Little is known about Taurus Mining Ventures, and ‘Salvation’ remains anonymous. Commanders are therefore being cautioned against undertaking tasks for a potentially criminal organisation.

Galactic Mysteries: The Hesperus

Francesca Wolfe of the Wallglass Investigations Agency examines the Hesperus megaship and the Dredger Clan that caused its recent discovery.

“When the Adamastor derelict received a strange signal, smart money was on it originating from its sister ship, the Hesperus. Both were owned by Azimuth Biochemicals and had vanished 200 years ago.”

“After a united effort to decode and trace the signal, independent pilots located the Hesperus in an asteroid belt around the second star of the Perseus Dark Region KC-V C2-2 system. Like the Adamastor, it was devoid of life – but not alone.”

“Alongside it was a dredger, whose proximity had triggered the Hesperus’s mayday. This was a rare sighting of a Dredger Clan, one of the nomadic tribes that Gunnarson recently discussed.”

“The Scriveners Clan was originally a fleet of research vessels for a long-forgotten academic consortium. Over centuries they became a self-sufficient society, constantly acquiring materials and information. They’re not aggressive, but shun outsiders and jealously guard their ‘Knowledge Core’. I’m fascinated by mentions of research-sergeants and lector-generals, suggesting their culture is a merger of scholastic and military.”

“With the Hesperus claimed as salvage by the Scriveners and its drives stripped, all chance of learning more was lost. Luckily, four encoded data files had resisted upload, and a gap in the dredger’s antiquated firewalls allowed pilots to hack them.”

“The decrypted logs have now been preserved for posterity in a nearby tourist beacon. They tell a disturbing story of corporate rivalry, murder and revenge, but also leave many unanswered questions...”

“We know that survivors abandoned ship to continue searching for ‘alien artefacts’. Did they all die in space or did they find something? What did Azimuth’s probes detect back in 3113? And who the hell is ‘Salvation’, the shadowy figure who contacted pilots to find the Hesperus?”

The Adamastor Enigma

*Pilots Federation ALERT*

Commanders have reported receiving anonymous instructions regarding the 200 year old derelict megaship orbiting Chukchan 5 b.

A communications beacon stored onboard the Adamastor began receiving and rebroadcasting an encrypted signal on the 8th of April. Efforts by authorities to trace and decipher the signal proved unsuccessful.

However, a number of independent pilots claim to have been contacted by an anonymous source, who provided an access key to decode the Adamastor signal.

Commander Rex Trevelyan gave this statement to Vox Galactica:

“Not long after arriving in the Chukchan system, my ship received a message from someone calling himself ‘Salvation’. He provided a decryption key, and when I downloaded the signal from the Adamastor it became readable. It seems to be an automatic SOS from its sister ship, the Hesperus.”

“I’ve heard that some Commanders have made sense of the navigational data in the signal. It feels like pilots are being recruited for something, but who exactly are we working for?”

The Pilots Federation has begun an inquiry into the situation. The identity of ‘Salvation’ remains unknown, but there are reports that the Adamastor signal contains data that has led to its sister ship.