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Starlight Research Consortium
Chasing starlight since 829 A.S.

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To: SLRC Members

From: Galileo System

Subject: Fair Winds

Encryption Strength: Routine

White noise. It's all it was at first. A recording. A ghost story. Locals called it the 'Prophet', a by-product of the dark matter storm's expansion from whatever had happened in Alberta. Dark Matter. My predecessors died for it in an attempt to exploit it's supposedly boundless applications and, if properly harnessed, the similarly boundless advances humanity would make in terms of space travel.

Three probes. The area around the anomalies surrounding the wreckage is laced with a literal minefield of gravitic distortion that would suck you in and crush you in an instant. We lost three probes finding that out and an additional three trying to map it. I was curious what had brought it out there in the first place. Did it come with the storm when the field began to rapidly expand? Some poor captain and his crew that thought they could make one last trip to Ames before the gates shut down and ended up being flash-frozen in time, cursed to a never-ending loop of trying to move but unable to?

We salvaged what we could from what little wasn't eroded or eaten away by the storm. The anomalies nipping away at it's hull like a pack of piranhas.
It's official nomenclature - identified as an L-584-B "Oasis"-class passenger liner, originally designed and commissioned 799 A.S. in Baltimore Shipyard with original designation as OSC Luxury Liner "Donahue" until it was scrapped, sold and re-designated in 806 A.S. as the Independent Freelance Ship "Starcrest". Due to the lack of functional blackboxes, on-board flight and obvious disconnect from powered systems we were unable to ascertain it's journey and subsequent end. It is a ghost ship, by and far the first genuine "ghost" ship that I've ever encountered in Sirius. Despite there being no power our drone's heuristic sensors continue to pick up a message that repeats. Over and over. Clearer now.

I've cleaned up the distortion. The static. The corrupted data. Pieced it together over a night and a day with my linguistics team.

I'm going to Kansas now. To root around and see what Edison meant when he said it spit him out near there. Some as of yet unknown jump hole that we just don't anything of? A hidden jump gate? Who knows. It's why I joined the SLRC. Research and Exploration. Ever upwards, towards starlight, no?

--Dr. Lillian Genda
Research and Exploration Division, SLRC
Ever upwards, towards starlight!

Audio File Attachment (1)

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Starlight Research Consortium
Chasing starlight since 829 A.S.

From: "Allentown, Planet Erie" - Dr. Aspen Harlow

Subject: "Rumours of my death", and all that.

Encryption Strength: Impossible

Howdy everybody. Sorry for the dramatic exit from 23. Turns out we're not dead yet after all, so we have that goin' for us.

Me and my buddy Points are safe on Erie for now. He took us somewhere safe after I ended up injured on account of bein' recklessly curious when I aught to know better. I can't exactly tell you where, but we left it behind and made for Erie once I was stabilized. Sorry if I stressed you folks out, I was taking it easy for a bit to make sure I heal right and to take the chance to clear my head.

I feel obligated to share some of what I've picked up from my galivanting around recently with the Technocrats, and it's deeply relevant information regarding the bizarre Nomad forms that emerged from the T-23 anomaly and jumped us. The biggest takeaways are regarding Auxo's relationship with a tribe of Nomads (who seem at least kind of tolerant of us?), the circumstances regarding the Sentinels (our erstwhile visitors) and their purpose, and a little clarity about the broader situation straight from one of the Nomads in question. It's a little overwhelming; believe me, I know.

I'll attach some classified transcripts of a couple encounters with critical intelligence regarding our safety. Maybe everyone's safety, everywhere. Bear with me as far as the transcriptions for the Nomads go, I had to write all that down from memory. Psychic communications lose so much of their color in the translation to plain text, but I think it's all accurate to what was shared with me. Probably. I hope. Yep.

A few things to keep in mind:

Take a deep breath, and relax. It's intimidating stuff, but we're qualified for this. (Y'all more than me. I've just got dumb luck.)
Don't spread this around to everyone you meet!
Try not to jump to conclusions. Still a lot we don't know.

I'm about done enjoying the solid earth under my feet again, so you'll see me soon. We can talk finer details once I'm back. See ya.

--Dr. Aspen Harlow
Exploration, SLRC

Attachments-(1)

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Starlight Research Consortium
Chasing starlight since 829 A.S.

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From: SLRC "Research Vessel" Norant

Subject: ??? ?? ????

Encryption Strength: [CORRUPTED]

ɘ̷̢̨͙̱̻̤͍̠̘̩͙̣̥̰̼̰̜̋́̍̔̈̋̈́͂̌́̍̿͊͋͛̾͂͝ɿ̶̢̢̟̗̙͇̯͔̻͖̞̼̼̜͚̤̬̜͕͈͆̏̀̈́̓̈́̍͊̀͌̀͛͆͛͌͋͘ɘ̶̨̧̺͔̱͓͔̩͇̲̫̜̼̗̱̰̩͎̔͒̆̄͐͋̏́̅̌̒̿̂̆͂̀͘̚ͅ ̵̨̳̖͍̤̫̪̝͙̖̘͖̻͈͓̟̭̮̘͇̓̇͗̀͗̃̎̅͋̄͌̋͗͂̀̾́w̴̢̩̠̝̳̱̻̳͓̬͓͉̥̯̔͐̀̑́̀͊̌̆̍̄̾͌̓̽͆͛̕͜͜͝͝ͅɘ̵̮͙̖̱͍͉̮͉͚̹̯̬̦͚̜̖̬̭̓́̆̎͌̔̍͊̈́̇̀̾̊̈́̚͝͝͝ ̷̨̞͚̰̙̺̮͉̮̜̦͈̭̬̮͉͖̲̜̀̈́̇̈́̀̍͂̈́̀͑̌̇̎̽̋͘̕͝ƨ̴̧̧͔̹̻̘̞̖̣̪̖̟̗̜͎̩̰͖̦̍̒̾̎̀̈́̄̾̎̒̄̈́̈̕̚̕͝Ɉ̸̢̡̛̝͓̱̭̥͚̳̞̥̗̺͎̰̪͛́͒̎͛̌̅͊͂̂͗͊͛͐̇̕͜͝ɒ̷̢̡̢̪̻͉͔̺̰͕̝̘͓̳̭̹͌̽̈̈́̄̌̏͊͊̇͒̂͘̕̚͜͜͠͝͠͝͠γ̷̨̢̛̱̫̙͉͕̗̲͙̲͎͇̭͍̪̘̄͗́̒́̒͋̌̓͆̀̄̀͒͂͂͒͆͘͜

--Dr. Lillian Genda
Research and Exploration Division, SLRC
Ever upwards, towards starlight!

Attachments (4)

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Starlight Research Consortium
Chasing starlight since 829 A.S.

[Image: e93e7ba2f5493269e79af436f46b2c86.jpg]

From: "SLRC->Unknown" - Dr. Sailas Montgomery(?)

Subject: Eyes Open

Encryption Strength: Clearance Level Red 1 Required

There are things lurking in the night...

I've received reports from various individuals within SLRC and outside that the Baxter Anomaly near the station is waking up from a period of inactivity.

I'm issuing the following standing referendums:

All research and exploratory vessels are hereby cleared for weapons systems. Head to Freeport 10 and see the equipment master, they will be able to set you up.
Powered armor developed and researched by our teams at [CLASSIFIED] are now available for use. See your supervisors for issuance. These are for protection against radioactive encounters as well as for general protection of your person. All are required to obtain theirs from Ikarus. If you have any problems, let your direct supervisor know.
I'm submitting a recommendation as well to standardize cloaking systems across all ships currently used by our people. If you need one, let us know and we will develop or purchase one.
The Dreamscape is being taken offline for a heavy retrofit under the watchful eye of our researchers at [CLASSIFIED]. Any researchers delegated to this task are to ensure that radiation meds are taken within your required windows to avoid cell decay.

Lastly, we will be looking for volunteers for research at [CLASSIFIED]. These individuals will be apart of a research group investigating things such as Cryogenics and the amount of time the human body and psyche can withstand sustained hyperspace travel. These individuals will be paid well for their time and their aid in this rersearch.

Be ready for anything.

...also, has anyone heard from Dr. Genda? Her transmission came in garbled and her encryption standard was jumbled. Respond immediately if you locate her and ascertain her condition.

--Dr. Sailas Montgomery
Director and Lead Researcher, SLRC

Attachments-(0)

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Starlight Research Consortium
Chasing starlight since 829 A.S.

From: "SLRC->D̴̼͚̮̰̙̳͕͉̀͘ͅŗ̵̪̳̺͚̪̦̖̎͊̒̐̆̃̑͋͂̂̌̄̚͝͠e̸̢͕͎̣̝̱̲͆̓ä̸̧͓͇̩̥͈͂̄̀̓ͅm̴̡͉̬̟̜̙̹̑̈̅͊̔̉̈́͆̏̑̔̚͝͝s̸̤͙̯̜̻̻̦̝̜̼͓̻̎̓͂́̐̆́̊͛̕̚c̸̝͖̖̳̦̖̏͗̓̚̚ą̵̲̥͈̥̬̤͇͍͕̣̃͐́̕p̶̛̳͙̭͆̑͊̃̓͋͋̑̃́͘̚ę̸̭͍͚͙̏́" - Dr. Soalos Mentgemury

Subject: Hyporspituil Laap

Encryption Strength: Null

Don't have much time Dreamscape is stuck in some kind of Hyperspatial loop. If you receive this message, configure a JD to the following matrix configuration.

Shit! It's charging again I'll try to--

Starlight Research Consortium
Chasing starlight since 829 A.S.

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From: Ikarus Station, SLRC Research Vessel Norant

Subject: Distress

Encryption Strength: CONTAINED

This is a recording. It is not a last will and testament.

I made the executive decision to attempt an interface with the alien jump gate. It denied us and I sought to wonder why. A malfunction in it's long centuries of inactivity, a bug in the hardware, a genetic code it looked for and thus we lacked. As humanity we believe ourselves to be the font of knowledge, technology, supremacy of arms and the conquerors of the stars.

We are. Damn the Dom'Kavash, the Nomads, the ghost stories and the intelligence that believes we deserve no less the self-destruction we wrought upon one another. Whilst Liberty, Rheinland, Kusari, Bretonia and the once mighty Gallia fight amongst themselves the Starlight Research Consortium will explore, figure out, and solve. That is what I did. I explored and attempted to solve the largest question since our race first looked up at the sky and wondered

"What if?"

A baxter anomaly, it's ridiculous to even call it that now after seeing what it could do, dragged the Norant into a nascent jump hole. We were no longer in the Sirius system. Our maps, cartography, star charts, and readings rendered useless. From what I could tell we were, for lack of a better term, pulled and spit out approximately two-hundred and sixty-seven light years away from point of entry to point of exit. But the stars were all wrong. There were signs of civilization though, as far as we could tell, the basic infrastructure for a space-faring civilization was in place. The Norant caught electro-magnetic waves none too similar from our own communications sattelites. We listened in, why not try to establish first-contact with an unknown species, I am an explorer now after all.

It was a surprise though. We heard English. French. Japanese. Chinese. Italian. Arabic. The language of our people. Somehow we had piggy-backed into their network and was monitoring the communications of a thriving civilization coming in from hundreds, potentially thousands, of worlds. It also meant we were a blinking beacon, an anomaly in the system, easy to find and track. There were no trade-lanes, no known locations nearby that would suggest a jump hole when a wing of fighter-craft came about. To the untrained eyes it would have seemed like they came from nowhere but I knew better. Subspace. A theory that one could utilize a microsized jump-drive, a "Mini-Drive", that once powered would oscilate and in terms one can better understand "loosen" the molecular structure of organic and inorganic matter, allowing one to then open up a "tunnel". A localized n-dimensional tunnel that connects one point in the universe to another point. It's similar to our jump drives where we need properly surveyed coordinates to input in order to, as accurately as possible, instantaneously "jump" from one point to another. Impressive, truly. We weren't in another paralell reality as some radical theorists like to believe but an entirely different star system that had developed seperate from our own in Sirius; no doubt it retains the same chain of events that occurs but technologically they had charted a different path from our own.

At least that's when I had time to think and look over our scanner log. At the time I was as panicked as anyone else but professionalism took over emotional and I acted as I should as Head Researcher aboard the Norant. To open up dialogue. Despite speaking the same language it was as if our communications had a mind of it's own. Everything we said back was hostile, targetted towards our far-flung cousins as vehement slander and racism. Everything our comms officer said, a trained Arbiter by the way, became a challenge; openly hostile and debased. Such language I had never heard come from her mouth before and had I not heard it from the Captain himself I would have thought her mad for instigating a clearly armed, technologically advanced race with war and genocide. It was as if some outside force had decided we couldn't be cordial, make alliances, share ideas, cultivate and acknowledge one another as human beings. We were made to be monsters and warmongers, sent as an advance scout from another galaxy to make war upon their way of life.

Our way of life.

Dr. Hausenberg once interacted with a group of like-minded individuals that traded secrets, information, and science for money. I always wondered where he got his funding from. I don't think the mysterious ships that attacked us were from them though, no. Organizations such as theirs, no matter how enigmatic and advanced, would have managed by themselves what took five super-powers united under one banner to do. There is perhaps more we don't know of our past before we came to the Sirius system to escape our wars. What if we had more ancestors that simply took the wrong turn and ended up somewhere else, further beyond even.

We followed a gravitational anomaly and it spit us into the middle of Nomad space. We came under attack so swiftly that by the time we managed to get away half the crew were dead, dying, or in the medical bays. The Arbiter, Jonathan and half the bridge crew are gone. The Norant accomplished it's mission. We searched for starlight, found mysteries and attempted to solve them. We have been boarded by unknown individuals after transiting from jump. If you find our ship, isolate it immediately and do not listen to what we distress. Send a sizeable hazard team with armed security and begin clearing the ship from front to back, deck by deck. What's left of us are barricaded behind Research Lab Two. We are armed.

Make sure you let us know you're coming in or you'll have a hole punched into you.

--Dr. Lillian Genda
Research and Exploration Division, SLRC
Ever upwards, towards starlight!

Attachments (1)

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Starlight Research Consortium
Chasing starlight since 829 A.S.

[Image: 3c423aae5c4cbe298b6edeb139406301smol.jpg]

From: "Ikarus Station" - Dr. Sailas Montgomery

Subject: Dreamscape Repairs, Maintenance, and Review

Encryption Strength: Impossible

We risked another hyperspatial jump back to Ikarus. With the onboard computer properly configured, there was no additional Hyperspatial Loop...thank Eris.

We're breaking down the systems (as well as the experimental Singularity Drive) to review the wear and tear generated by the continued jumping and the Event Horizon which operated within the confines of the ship. With the Singularity being so small, it quickly evaporated and all that was left was mild Hawking Radiation from relativistic quantum effects. Our crack Hazmat team cleaned up that radiation and confirmed all clear in the Jump Drive chamber.

The upside to this mess is we obtained a lot of data. One, from all of the systems the Dreamscape jumped to (including Cayman of all places) as well as the stressors of continued long term hyperspatial travel on the human body (glad I volunteered) and on the systems and structure of a vessel as large as the Dreamscape. Our analysts are going to have a field day with some of this information.

The Dreamscape will be down for a couple days as we review these items, without a drydock it'll take a bit longer...we really need to upgrade the base to have one...one thing at a time.

I'll be in the medbay getting looked over if anyone needs me.

--Dr. Sailas Montgomery
Director and Lead Researcher, SLRC
Ever upwards, towards starlight!

Attachments-(0)

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Starlight Research Consortium
Chasing starlight since 829 A.S.

From: "Ikarus Station" - Dr. Aspen Harlow

Subject: Grant Fulfillment: A-109-3

Encryption Strength: Impossible

Reporting assignment complete on the ferry job for the Barrier Gate survey team bound for Mindanao. Not without some complications though.

The picking them up and getting there was simple enough. It didn't take nearly as long for the Barrier Gate crews to secure the landing module to my spaceframe as I thought it might. Nice and stable ride for our colleagues the whole way! Once we made it to the vicinity of the old Sarawak derelict, I calculated the approach and set to have them disembark just after settling into a steady spinward orbit, which went without a hitch. We were looking at serious radiation alerts even before they detached, but they insisted they'd made all the proper preparations and were wearing top-of-the-line protection. Insisted, I tell ya.

I decided to hang around just outside the planet's radioactive band for a while just to be on the safe side. Make sure they don't get themselves into trouble. Well, wouldn't you know it, about an hour later, their comm buzzing woke me from my nap. Someone's "radiation-proof" lining in his suit failed and he racked up a deadly dose. They launched in the landing module to meet me in orbit and I tugged them to Borneo fast as I could for whatever emergency care was available - he wouldn't have lasted out of the system, not that it ended up mattering for the poor guy. Turns out that they all picked up more serious doses than they'd expected with their level of protection, even with suits that didn't fail. The first fella didn't make it, I'm sorry to say.

I had to go through some serious decon myself: the Spatial's protection wasn't a guarantee this time. Nothing major, though. I got off better than they did.

I wasn't interested before, but I think I might want to take a look at that powered armor we've got lined up after all, if the rad-protection is as good as it sounds. I might need a high-intensity supplement to my own EVA suit if the current levels of "stepping in it" we're seeing across Starlight are gonna become the new normal!

--Dr. Aspen Harlow
Exploration, SLRC

Attachments-(1)

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Starlight Research Consortium
Chasing starlight since 829 A.S.

From: The Auora Borealis - Dr. Brandon Wright

Subject: Burst Transmission - Heisenberg Research Station Relay

Encryption Strength: Impossible

[Transmission begins]

Static... Static... SLRC-RV>Aurora.Borealis to Command... Static... We have encountered the Baxter Anomaly... Static... In Gallic House Space... Static... Zurich System... Static... Our engine power has been reduced... Static... Radiation levels are increasing... Static... Requesting... Static...

[Transmission ends]