09-11-2018, 08:29 PM
It became louder.
That wistful melody that had licked and floated around Kimiko her whole life, injecting itself into the quiet and lone moments,
had finally grown in volume. She had been aboard her little ferry, staring at the snow-white star of Omicron Lost, when the humming made itself known again. Its melody, as always, was one that could hardly be reproduced by human instruments or voice. It touched the very body of Kimi's mind and wove itself between the threads that made up her soul, splashing rainbows of color and feeling across her heart.
I have to follow the sound. The starsong has never been so strong... she thought, and focused deeply on the aura reverberating through the system. Whenever she usually attempted to track down a source, it was always in vain. The mystical music would almost always fade before she could find it. The dulcet tunes would constantly remain in the periphery of her awareness, making themselves known during quiet moments.
But this time, something peculiar happened. Instead of being everywhere at once, it actually sounded as if it were coming from somewhere. That purple marble floating contentedly in the distance. Planet Moros. Hastily, she set the autopilot to seek the sound's source. None had ventured onto the planet's surface before, so the only guide to a suitable landing site would be her own senses. This time, the song would be heard at its source.
The Gossamer groaned and struggled to keep stable as the OS&C ferry wove in and out of the asteroid ring surrounding the planet. The occasional small meteorite smacked the hull and pushed the vessel around. But Kimiko persisted, taking over with manual flight controls and finding the right approach vector to begin atmospheric entry. The real challenge was yet to begin, however.
"DANGER: ENTERING ATMOSPHERE," the shipboard computer declared. As the ship pierced the upper atmosphere, the ship's bottom heated up slightly as the friction of gases and metal fought each other. With a brief raising of shields, the problem was quickly averted, only for another to emerge in a few moments. Upon entering the stratosphere, temperatures dipped down to incredibly low numbers, and the canopy glass began to freeze over. In the next instant, the troposphere came into view, and a massive wall of purple fog consumed the ferry. Loud clattering and the sound of ice hitting the hull echoed deafeningly through the cabin. The frozen hailstones of carbon dioxide were like a hail of bullets impacting the hull with all the sound and fury of a Maxim chaingun. The ship's shields rose in response to protect the vessel, though even they would begin to waver after some time. Just when the hail became too much for the Gossamer, a respite was visited upon Kimiko's beleaguered chariot. The dark surface of Moros was made plain before her below the cloud, and a serenity that should have been impossible filled the air.
The scarred ferry leveled out and began searching for some shelter to land in before the hellish weather could start up again. It passed a variety of rock formations and towering crystals, and lakes of argon dotted the landscape as the ship entered the southern polar region. Every now and then, something vaguely artificial-looking would pass by. Old ruins, maybe? The song kept leading her south. Desperately pleading to whatever spirits might be listening, Kimiko hoped there would be something waiting at the end of the song. She needed to know what was calling her in the little, quiet corners of Freeports and bulk freighters.
The ferry eventually touched down on top of an elevated area, groaning under the increased gravity and shuddering as the landing struts made contact with the ground. The outside temperature read an inhospitable -146 Celsius.
"Who could possibly be crazy enough to settle down here?," she asked to no one, slipping into her bulkier, climate-controlled spacesuit. She had enough oxygen and power to last a few days, and the ferry had rations for quite some time. With a small kit of exploration gear, she would be able to scale any obstacle in her way. For once, she felt like a bit of a badass.
The cargo bay doors opened with an audible hiss, revealing a foggy purple plain littered with similarly-colored sands. Tiny fragments of CO2 crystals and hail flew through the sky, bumping off of the ship before continuing their endless journey in the winds. Turning on the helmet's floodlights didn't help matters at all. The fog was just so unbelievably thick that very little light could hope to pierce the veil. In the distance, the silhouettes of smooth stone formations towered dauntingly. With little to go on except her intuition and musical sonar, Kimiko closed the doors behind her and began her hike towards the song.
That wistful melody that had licked and floated around Kimiko her whole life, injecting itself into the quiet and lone moments,
had finally grown in volume. She had been aboard her little ferry, staring at the snow-white star of Omicron Lost, when the humming made itself known again. Its melody, as always, was one that could hardly be reproduced by human instruments or voice. It touched the very body of Kimi's mind and wove itself between the threads that made up her soul, splashing rainbows of color and feeling across her heart.
I have to follow the sound. The starsong has never been so strong... she thought, and focused deeply on the aura reverberating through the system. Whenever she usually attempted to track down a source, it was always in vain. The mystical music would almost always fade before she could find it. The dulcet tunes would constantly remain in the periphery of her awareness, making themselves known during quiet moments.
But this time, something peculiar happened. Instead of being everywhere at once, it actually sounded as if it were coming from somewhere. That purple marble floating contentedly in the distance. Planet Moros. Hastily, she set the autopilot to seek the sound's source. None had ventured onto the planet's surface before, so the only guide to a suitable landing site would be her own senses. This time, the song would be heard at its source.
The Gossamer groaned and struggled to keep stable as the OS&C ferry wove in and out of the asteroid ring surrounding the planet. The occasional small meteorite smacked the hull and pushed the vessel around. But Kimiko persisted, taking over with manual flight controls and finding the right approach vector to begin atmospheric entry. The real challenge was yet to begin, however.
"DANGER: ENTERING ATMOSPHERE," the shipboard computer declared. As the ship pierced the upper atmosphere, the ship's bottom heated up slightly as the friction of gases and metal fought each other. With a brief raising of shields, the problem was quickly averted, only for another to emerge in a few moments. Upon entering the stratosphere, temperatures dipped down to incredibly low numbers, and the canopy glass began to freeze over. In the next instant, the troposphere came into view, and a massive wall of purple fog consumed the ferry. Loud clattering and the sound of ice hitting the hull echoed deafeningly through the cabin. The frozen hailstones of carbon dioxide were like a hail of bullets impacting the hull with all the sound and fury of a Maxim chaingun. The ship's shields rose in response to protect the vessel, though even they would begin to waver after some time. Just when the hail became too much for the Gossamer, a respite was visited upon Kimiko's beleaguered chariot. The dark surface of Moros was made plain before her below the cloud, and a serenity that should have been impossible filled the air.
The scarred ferry leveled out and began searching for some shelter to land in before the hellish weather could start up again. It passed a variety of rock formations and towering crystals, and lakes of argon dotted the landscape as the ship entered the southern polar region. Every now and then, something vaguely artificial-looking would pass by. Old ruins, maybe? The song kept leading her south. Desperately pleading to whatever spirits might be listening, Kimiko hoped there would be something waiting at the end of the song. She needed to know what was calling her in the little, quiet corners of Freeports and bulk freighters.
The ferry eventually touched down on top of an elevated area, groaning under the increased gravity and shuddering as the landing struts made contact with the ground. The outside temperature read an inhospitable -146 Celsius.
"Who could possibly be crazy enough to settle down here?," she asked to no one, slipping into her bulkier, climate-controlled spacesuit. She had enough oxygen and power to last a few days, and the ferry had rations for quite some time. With a small kit of exploration gear, she would be able to scale any obstacle in her way. For once, she felt like a bit of a badass.
The cargo bay doors opened with an audible hiss, revealing a foggy purple plain littered with similarly-colored sands. Tiny fragments of CO2 crystals and hail flew through the sky, bumping off of the ship before continuing their endless journey in the winds. Turning on the helmet's floodlights didn't help matters at all. The fog was just so unbelievably thick that very little light could hope to pierce the veil. In the distance, the silhouettes of smooth stone formations towered dauntingly. With little to go on except her intuition and musical sonar, Kimiko closed the doors behind her and began her hike towards the song.