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The Awakening of the Adamastor

*Pilots Federation ALERT*

The Adamastor, a 200 year old ‘ghost ship’ in orbit around Chukchan 5 b, has received a mysterious encrypted signal. The derelict vessel has been undergoing investigation by Alliance Salvage Guild teams since its discovery last October. They released this report:

“Months ago, we cut open one of the Adamastor’s damaged cargo holds to find an undeployed communications beacon. We managed to power it up, but it contained no data and had never been used.”

“This beacon has now automatically activated, and is receiving and rebroadcasting a long-range signal. The transmission’s source cannot be identified, but is definitely of interstellar origin. Its encoded content has yet to be deciphered.”

The Adamastor vanished in 3111 after an incident that may have involved the first historical encounter with the Thargoids. It reappeared in 3306 when it entered the Chukchan system at sublight speeds on autopilot, with no sign of its crew.

It was recently learned that in 3113 the Adamastor’s sister ship, the Hesperus, also disappeared. Both were owned by a corporation called Azimuth Biochemicals, which was absorbed by a rival named Pharmasapien. Little is known about either company, but it is believed they were competitors in the field of xenological research.

Galactic Mysteries: The Adamastor

Erik Gunnarson and Francesca Wolfe, two detectives from the Wallglass Investigations Agency, examine the background of the Adamastor megaship.

Gunnarson: “When Wolfe and I started this project, we knew this case would come first. We’re both protégés of Benjamin Chester, creator of the Wallglass Archive. He retired years ago, but that old spark kicked in when a ‘ghost ship’ turned up on his doorstep!”

“The Adamastor is a 200 year old derelict that drifted into the Chukchan system on autopilot. It’s still there, with the Alliance Salvage Guild poking through its guts. Chester investigated its owners, a super-secretive company called Azimuth Biochemicals. We don’t know what they were searching for, but what they found was possibly the first recorded Thargoid encounter.”

“I’ve since tracked down evidence that the Adamastor had a sister ship – the Hesperus – which in 3113 was sent to… somewhere! Neither ship returned, but we only know what happened on the Adamastor mission. Of course, Wolfe had to go see that with her own eyes.”

Wolfe: “Musca Dark Region PJ-P b6-1 is a busy system nowadays, but was unexplored when Professor Carver’s survey team were there. Listening to their logs from two centuries ago while examining the research base was chilling… ghost voices from a ghost ship.”

“There was evidence of blast scars, but I’ve seen enough battlefields to know what exchanged gunfire looks like. Azimuth’s mercenaries weren’t just firing at Thargoids, but at someone who shot back with laser rifles.”

“Gunnarson tells me Azimuth was swallowed up by a rival called Pharmasapien. Did they infiltrate the Adamastor and try to take over? Or did the thing that Carver captured drive everyone insane?”

“This is a seriously cold case, even for us. But maybe one day, more tantalising clues will emerge. And that’s what we live for.”

‘Ghost Ship’ Leads Alliance to New Resources

Discoveries made two hundred years ago by an abandoned megaship have revealed untapped sources of meta-alloys within the Coalsack Nebula.

The Adamastor, which was launched in 3111, returned to the Chukchan system from the Coalsack Nebula on autopilot with no traces of its crew. Thargoid barnacle sites were found in the nebula by independent pilots.

The Alliance Assembly has announced an expedition to thoroughly explore the nebula, with the primary goal of securing fresh sources of meta-alloys. A press release stated:

“Recent Thargoid activity in the Witch Head Nebula and over-exploitation of that region mean that this latest discovery has come at an opportune time. The Coalsack Nebula will now be the focus of an initiative to identify sites of commercial and scientific interest. To achieve this, we have established new partnerships with several corporations including Sirius Atmospherics.”

“Although the mystery of the Adamastor may never be fully resolved, we hope it will leave a positive legacy for the people of the Alliance.”

Mention of corporate partnerships caused ripples in certain industries, with speculation that these have been in the pipeline for months. Political commentators also observed that 3307 will be an election year for the Alliance, placing pressure on Prime Minister Edmund Mahon to secure economic stability.

‘Ghost Ship’ Arrives in Chukchan System

*Pilots Federation ALERT*

An abandoned megaship that set out two centuries ago has returned on automatic pilot to the Chukchan system.

Local security forces were scrambled to intercept an unidentified vessel that was detected on a collision course with Chukchan 5 B.

The megaship displayed no signs of life, so tugs were deployed to wrench it into a safe orbit. This caused onboard power systems to overload with explosive results, damaging cargo holds and spilling debris.

The name of the ship was confirmed as the Adamastor, but no further information is available in the public domain.

Specialists from the Alliance Salvage Guild boarded the derelict to conduct an investigation. Their preliminary report stated:

“The Adamastor has been travelling at sublight speed through interstellar space for nearly two hundred years. There are no remains of the crew. All escape pods and secondary craft have been launched, and several airlocks were manually opened from within.”

“A complete absence of identification suggests that this ship was intended for clandestine operations. All data drives have been deliberately erased.”

“There is evidence of a reinforced cargo hold, fitted with what looks like the remains of environmental equipment. Recent fire damage makes it impossible to be more specific.”

“The ship’s original destination is unknown, having returned to its launch point on autopilot. Calculating its trajectory implies that it passed near the HIP 61595, HIP 64011 and HIP 65201 systems.”

The Adamastor will remain in orbit for further examination.

Senators Support Nova Imperium

Several Imperial senators have spoken in support of isolationist group Nova Imperium.

Senator Pal Vespasian made the following statement:

“Many of us see Nova Imperium not as extremists, but as realists. The citizenry is afraid of both Thargoid invasion and of being weakened by collaboration with foreign systems. They look to the Emperor for salvation…and she offers them none.”

“We intend to invite Imperator Mordanticus to address the Senate and detail his policies. This is a historic opportunity to restore the Empire’s honour and integrity.”

“Furthermore, Nova Imperium’s proposal to install a new Emperor has my full backing.”

Fringe Doomsayer Cults on the Rise

An increasing number of religious movements in the core systems are proclaiming that humanity is on the verge of destruction.

Awareness of the issue has been raised by independent reporter Gethin Okonkwo, who published an article outlining the phenomenon:

“The return of the Thargoids has led to the emergence of dozens of radical groups. Although their nature varies, the message is the same: the apocalypse is coming.”

“Some of these groups are distinctly religious in flavour. The Church of the Eternal Void, for example, preaches that the war for human souls is almost lost. Their view of the Thargoids as ‘demons from a hellish universe’ and the Guardians as ‘beings of light who have decreed us unworthy of salvation’ runs along classic theological lines.”

“Others, such as Generation Omega, stoically accept that our time is almost over. They state that ‘superior spacefaring lifeforms will naturally destroy inferior ones, just as our own cultures have overrun each other since prehistory’. Generation Omega plans to build mass euthanasia centres for planetary populations, declaring that the human era deserves to end in a dignified manner.”

“Of course there have always been ‘doomsayers’, and naturally our governments refuse to accept them as legitimate. But that hasn’t stopped these organisations from attracting thousands of citizens and millions of credits, with their followers growing in number rapidly.”

“During wartime, many people become desperate for the certainty that such belief systems provide. We are likely to see these radical elements increase their influence as long as the shadow of the Thargoids falls over us.”

Authorities in the core systems responded to Okonkwo’s article by restating that the Thargoid threat is being controlled and that such fearmongering is unwarranted.