As the group moved forward through the dense clouds, asteroids were being left behind and the green nothingness prevailed as an immaculate screen.
“Ehm, what should we be looking for? I don’t think we are going to reach the Asesinos in the middle of space.”
Alberto Cruz asked to the rest of the members, wondering if it really was a good idea to come here after all. The density of the clouds fluxed in brightness, as the compounds and the light were added to the gloom mix. Several minutes passed after boredom overcame Cruz, and the sentiment of awe and wonderment felt diluted by the patience required for this sort of task. Before a yawn could have started to appear, sensors picked a strange and multiple objects. A rumor became fact for Cruz, as he noticed what it was being detected on the distance:
“Amigos. What is this? A minefield in the middle of nowhere! Did you know about this? I think I have heard before, from some other Maltese, about a mysterious minefield around here…but I did not know where it was! I really thought it was a tale to scare people on taking alternative routes, and that’s assuming an Outcast would be scared of something like that.”
The dangerous and apparently impenetrable perimeter did not look well to Cruz’s concerned eyes.
“If the Asesinos reached this place, surely their instruments would have detected this area; I do not think they tried to travel into it…do they?”
Juan just stared at the minefield in front of him. He had never seen anything as dense, not even the notorious omicron Mu field was as thick. If the men went in there, would the trio even be able to find them? It seemed unlikely at best.
"Cut your engines hermanos. Let's not go into the field before we can confirm they are in there."
Juan's stomach churned at the though of having to navigate through there. Normal minefields already made him dizzy. This though, was something else... He had a a bad feeling that something was in there, there would be no reason to build a minefield if there was not something to hide or protect.
"It's... it's almost magnificent. What could be in there, that they are looking to hide? Surely there is a reason for this, right? You... you don't think there is a hidden jump gate in there, do... you?"
Juan powered up his weapons, there was more to this than they thought. He heard voices in his head, like something was calling out to him. Worse yet, it was coming from inside the field.
Santiago heard the voices as well and he desired to know more about them. "Maybe there is a gate in there. Perhaps we should investigate" He wanted to get a closer look at the area
The voices got louder and he tried to get them out of his head. "Any one else hearing voices in their head?" He hoped he wasn't the only one with that.
“Voices? I guess there’s a name for that. Madness.”
Cruz tried to stop his sudden chuckle, trying to disguise it as a cough. Not even the scared and sweaty Alberto Cruz would think that something similar could be happening around here, but he was not fully calmed yet; this quest was just beginning. Before additional frightening feelings could provoke a jaded response from Cruz, he tried to suggest a quick idea:
“Why don’t we scout ahead? We could surround the minefield; if we divide ourselves without losing each other’s comms range, I guess we could improve our search.”
Even if Cruz dismissed Rosario’s claims, he silently tried to check several comm frequencies. The artificial obstacles and solitude in this ominous place did not bode well; Cruz wanted to make sure that no loose ends could be left. In contrast, the suggestion made by Harabero was not completely crazy, according to Alberto; as the lost transmissions could have been the result of Asesinos exiting the system abruptly.
As Cruz prepared himself for an already assumed long trip bordering the volatile constructs, a faint signal emerged. Feeling lucky, he almost lost his composure as odds did not seem to favor him, followed by a yell:
“I got something!”
A lone and crippled Sabre drifting, slowly getting far away from the minefield. Charred components could be seen from the outside, inner systems dripping off the vital compounds, the pilot’s windows shattered and the user frozen. The general condition of the vessel did not suggest valuable data could be gathered from it.
“Unfortunate. Should we take a closer look? Its trajectory seems to be out of the field...it has some weapons fire on the hull, according to the superficial scans. I cannot guess precisely what happened here…Maybe a fight near the minefield? In any case, what should we do with it? And him?”
Maybe he wasn't going insane. The place still unnerved him, however, even after all he had been through. Juan couldn't admit to hearing things, he could be stripped of duty. Even though he felt drawn to whatever was inside there, he dismissed Rosario's claims.
"Negative, likely just scattered transmissions from the pilots."
The voices got louder as he got closer.
"What the..."
Juan stared at the remains of the broken vessel Infront of them. The voices did not increase.
"The minefield must have caused this. There's no traces of no marks of weapon fire, human or alien, at least that I can tell."
Juan immediately felt unnerved. Then a chill went up his spine. He had a feeling something saw them. Something else was there. Something else was watching them. Something else was with them.
Confirmed no weapons fire......wait that is some weird carbon scoring on his ship He noticed that as the voices got even louder Are you sure you guys aren't hearing voices? Santiago was very nervous and scared
I wonder what could be causing these voices? He wanted to know if he was paranoid or actually hearing something.
“Wha-what do you mean there is no weapons fire!?! I JUST TOLD YOU THAT THERE-“
Cruz, getting more closer to the wreck, checked the sensors again and he noticed that his previous claims were completely wrong: No signs of it whatsoever. Baffled by the inconsistency, Alberto did not believe what he was seeing; as he was completely sure about his readings.
“What is happening…”
Cruz trembled, as his emotions flourished menacingly towards the already disregarded madness, unintelligible whispers clouded his senses. Voices? They did sound like those to Cruz, harmonic patterns of complete non-sense to the ears for the untrained, or so he thought. As Cruz decreased the speed in direction to the Sabre, the voices remained in the same incomprehensible form and intensity. He tried to maintain a pragmatic, logical view regarding to what was happening; but Cruz was not as tough as his proud brethren and he found trouble showing resilience in this type of situations. Cruz finally concluded that the group should do something before bad events could happen to the trio. Shaking his head, troubled by the current circumstances, he mentioned a possible course of action:
“May-maybe we should destroy it. The Sabre. All of it. There’s nothing else to see here and we should continue the search for the others...The voices…They-they will be gone if we get rid of it, ri-right? Who wants to do the honors?”
Juan was terrified. In all his years he had seen some disturbing stuff, but this was something else. He felt adrenaline and his heart pumping like crazy. Oh, how he wished he had brought his capital ship. Maybe he wouldn't even be safe then. Then he heard Cruz say about the voices too.
"Negative, y-you are on the line of insanity! I am going to be calling superiors-"
It was like a wave of calm went over him. Juan felt warm, like a heavy blanket had been cast over him. Though he said all of those words, he didn't mean any of them.
"Actually, I... may- maybe..."
Juan pointed his vessel's weaponry towards the wreck.
Yes let us destroy this th.........I feel weird.....like we shouldn't.... He felt a wave come over him too, it seemed to make him less violent and more calm. We should.....NO!
He tried to shake off the feeling but he couldn't. Anyone else...f...feel....that? A warm feeling? He hoped he wasn't becoming crazy
Overwhelmed by the clash of sensations from him and his wingmen, Cruz tried to verify what he was seeing. Scans confirmed what was already being noticed, the dead pilot was one of the Asesinos and not just a random traveler with a full equipped Sabre. The skull could be seen from the outside, the insignia representing their kind. He was already dead and Cruz, being suffocated by the voices and the depressing mumbling of his brethren, thought that he could be soon dead as the one in front of him; but he considered the possibility to be brave, at least for one time, before his fatal demise was inevitable. Desperate and hoping that the incoming nightmare would be softened in a miraculous manner, Alberto Cruz pulled the trigger and the weapons commenced their expected function.
Instead of an explosive outcome, the Sabre divided itself. The vibrant ammunition pierced through the hull, heating up and bending the materials. Plasma leaks ensured the lack of internal combustion and the Saber could clearly be seen taking several hits. In other circumstances, silence would have dominated the scene, as the members remained silent at the spectacle; but the voices, even if they decreased, remained around them. The warm sensation that started to erupt on each pilot ceased completely.
“I-I just had to do it, amigos. I couldn’t stand much longer. It was worth the shot, though.”
The wrecked ship was being dispersed in numerous fragments. Scrap after scrap, their trajectories collided and went directly into the deepest of the minefield. Some of them touched the devices, and exploded consequently.
“It manifested like an…conduit of some sort? I-I can still hear the voices, but at least I can think properly. Maybe we should try to follow them. I am not excited about the idea but…”
Cruz did not finish the sentence, stressed by the act. The ominous sounds seem to be the only clue they had at the moment, and Cruz tried to reach a pattern to follow with the instruments at his disposal. He found none, except his mind being permeated by the strange phenomena. Igniting the engines for cruise control, Cruz decided to move forward, to where the voices could go louder; hoping that his cowardice would not betray him on what lies ahead.
![[Image: 0WfuF9g.png]](https://i.imgur.com/0WfuF9g.png)
