THE HIVE SHIP
20 Mar 2024Jav Marlo
THE HIVE SHIPAfter finding out the truth about the disappearance of his father and the involvement of Professor Palin, commander Jav Marlo returns to the Thargoid front to work on a ship that can trespass into the maelstrom Taranis. He also partners up again with his old associate Ayumi. The solution is provided by professor Palin, who offers a prototype of a Thargoid Pulse Neutraliser. Despite the old grudges, commander Marlo decides to collaborate with professor Palin again to unveil what lurks within the maelstrom Taranis.
10 MAY 3309, Hodgkin Dock, Senocidi system.
This is a log by commander Jav Marlo for professor Ishmael Palin.
You were right, the Pulse Neutraliser worked. Thanks for advocating for me with Aegis to get one of the first prototypes. So, as promised, here is your research report, directly from the field… the very deadly and caustic field. I am still overwhelmed by what we just witnessed. I say we because Ayumi insisted in accompanying me. Yes, I contacted Ayumi upon my returned to the front and, after a very heated discussion, she agreed to partner up with me again. I won’t lie and say that working again with her makes me very happy.
Jav Marlo and Ayumi at the docking bay of the Xenophon
We worked together on the Xenophon, the ship I told you I used the first time I ventured into the maelstrom, and installed the Thargoid Pulse Neutraliser. I will attach the specs of the Xenophon, but it is an Imperial Cutter that I salvaged from a pirate gang some time ago, and I have upgraded it with hull reinforcements, heat and caustic launchers and enhanced AX weapons to survive within a maelstrom.
Jav Marlo and Ayumi on the Xenophon
We set sail to Hyades Sector FB-N b7-6 and directly into Taranis avoiding interdictions. On this occasion, I opted for a silent run using heat sinks to dodge the caustic generators while boosting directly into the heart of the Maelstrom. The caustic launchers worked beautifully and soon we reached the ominous cloud I could not trespass the last time. The sensors went crazy as we saw the huge energy pulse building in front of us. I triggered the Pulse Neutraliser and the shock wave passed over the Xenophon shaking every bulk panel of the ship but just slightly reducing its speed. We passed through.
The Xenophon passing through the shock wave
Soon we found ourselves within an asteroid field, surrounded by rocks and with some caustic generators floating around. But the caustic cloud dissipated as we advanced towards the vortex, where we could perceive a massive superstructure, something even bigger than a Coriolis starport.
The Xenophon flying towards the vortex of the Maelstrom
I drifted the Xenophon towards the system’s main star to have a clearer view of the shape in front of us. And there it was, magnificent and threatening. The Thargoid Hive Ship. Have you seen the footage I send you? It has to be the same class of ship that commander Jameson found during the First Thargoid War. Look at the shape of that thing. It matches with the Thargoid sites I explored for you. Those Thargoid sites must have been hive ships that felt from the First Thargoid War.
The hive ship
We were mass blocked and I assumed that we would need to pass by the caustic cloud in order to come back, but there was no hostile activity, so we decided to take a closer look. We slowly approached the hive ship while keeping the Xenophon as cool as possible.
The Xenophon approaching the hive ship
We saw that there was some kind of maw on top of the structure, so we thought it would be safer to approach from the bottom, assuming that that was the bottom. There were several pylons there, that matched the ones I have seen in the Thargoid surface sites.
The pylons in the bottom of the Thargoid hive ship
In the middle of its ventral side there was what looked like some kind of huge valve or exhaust port. The whole structure looked dormant.
The hive ship exhaust port
We slowly drifted on top of the superstructure were we could see some active heating vents on the fins that proved that the hive ship was not dormant at all and It had some energy intensive activity within its interior.
The hive ship heat vents
We had not been attacked so far, so we decided to do a cautious approach to the big dorsal maw.
Jav Marlo and Ayumi on the Xenophon exploring the Taranis hive ship
The diameter of the maw was much larger than the Xenophon. And its interior was flat and opaque. We did not get any interesting reading from the sensors. We were about to pull back when something happened.
The Taranis maw
The whole hive ship lighted up, and the membrane at the bottom of the maw kind of… melted, at least apparently. We prepared ourselves for a quick retreat, but we wanted to see if something was coming out of the hive ship.
The Taranis maw activating
Suddenly, the unmistakable shape of a Thargoid interceptor appeared, like emerging from a pool of goo. The massive Thargoid vessel looked tiny in the immensity of the maw. We wondered how many Thargoid interceptors could the hive ship host. Or perhaps that maw is a portal that brings Thargoids from someplace else. Anyhow, the Interceptor was just some hundreds of meters away, and it clearly could see us. Our silent approach was over.
A Thargoid interceptor emerging from Taranis
We turn around and boosted through the asteroid field towards the caustic cloud as fast as we could with the Thargoid Interceptor at our tail.
The Xenophon pursued by a Thargoid Interceptor within Taranis
The Xenophon is fast, despite its size, and the pursuing interceptor did not trespass the limits of the asteroid field. We made it back to the caustic cloud and passed through it again with the help of the caustic sinks. We did not triggered the shock wave on our way out.
The Xenophon leaving the Taranis maelstrom
So, that is my report. You should have received too the telemetry data we collected. The good news is that, once you trespass into the heart of the maelstrom, the caustic cloud dissipates, meaning that a fleet could sustain combat in the inside without corroding. The bad news is that I do not think any conventional weapon can hurt that thing. And Guardian weapons melt when close to the maelstroms. And there is also the fact that we should assume that we are facing eight of those hive ships.
Jav Marlo signing out.