Eight days. Eight days to get some semblance of a basic system function back.
In the time I waited, I had drawn some more detailed self-made charts, refined my plan to explore Omega 55 and even reached out to my weapons expert. Old methods in times of desperation still work. Nothing on the actual nature of the weapons though, so still a dead end. One things for sure, I wouldn’t be exploring yet... I needed a miracle to make it to Gran Canaria as it was, let alone head to my contact.
With the ship systems back to some semblance of function, I checked any contact that may have been logged in the ships beaten-up state. Greeted with the same that I had before. Nothing from those I could trust. A quick check of Freeport Eleven before I needed to head out, it was possible they'd left something there. Revenant, Order and a Zoner, discussing something. I didn't pay much attention, my mind was on other things. Cat and Daros. Performed a quick system check, searched for any form of note, communication or mail left. Anything that would tell me either of them were ok. There was nothing...
Launched from the station, bid farewell to the trio, and headed towards Theta. Ship had priority now, a much needed repair. There was a surprise for me though. The trio requested that I delay my trip enough that they could escort me to my intended final destination. Of course. why wouldn't I want someone to carry my escape pod in case my ship cant maintain enough integrity through the radiation zones? They caught up pretty quickly, with the Zoner having to restock at Freeport Eleven. Maybe the biggest surprise of the journey... was seeing Locks Hitman insignia. Seemed he was as surprised to see me there, in that state as I was to see him at all.
A short interaction, not much to talk about when the thermal readings on your ship are rising and your vessel is held together with makeshift reinforcing alloys and sealants. Lock had a different agenda, and seemed disinterested in the idea of running escort to Omegas. I was more concerned with the Neutron Radiation that we would be passing through... but I did what I usually do. Show confidence. Truth was, I wasn't even sure I would make it through to Gran Canaria either. While the Zoner was catching up, we took the Jump through to Theta. The light radiation didn't have too much of an effect, but that didn't mean it wouldn't cause issues later. Freeport Nine. our rendezvous point.
Every time I'm around this station, it reminds me of the whole pointless bloodshed. The waste of manpower, resources and time. All could have been better spent elsewhere. But, that's Corsairs and Outcasts for you. Thinking about these things also wont fix my ships borderline critical state. Didn't have to wait too long though. We were soon on the way to Omega space. Possibly the hardest part of the Journey. Jump successful. Systems functional. Then the sparking. Engines were operational, cruise set towards Omega-52. No time to waste when you can feel the radiation seeping in through the damaged hull. Revenant was kind enough to update me on the remaining structural integrity of my ship as it degraded in the vicinity of the neutron star. Sure knows how to really maintain ones focus on their flying skills. "Nine percent... Eight percent..." Not helping!!
Little choice now, there was already a warning on the navigation console that there was radiation on the other side of the jump. and I didn't have enough to make it back to Theta. I would have to risk it now, in the hopes that my systems were fully correct and that the radiation wasn't completely throughout. Jumped, locked onto the next point that would bring a reprieve to my minimal hull integrity. The Order and Zoner maintained their own pace, leaving us a little strung out, but there wasn't any time to think about flying in formation. Breaching out of the barsakelmes nebula was the largest relief of the journey so far. Systems were registering clean of radiation. "Three percent." Not a lot, but enough for what remained of the journey. Omega-48 was also a welcome sight on the sensors.
Gran Canaria. A paradise world, barely populated, but definitely well-versed in fixing ships. Enough at least, to restore good integrity to the hull to make it back to cruiser Greifswald in Omega-7. I thanked them for their willing support in my time of need, and landed. Of course, the repair crews were as surprised to see her land as they were to see someone get out the pilot seat. Little time for messing around, asked how much they could repair and paid up-front. Browsed the inventory the engineers had, then what goods they had available. Flicked through my notes on the smuggling routes I used to run. Greifswald needed supplies. Some of which were being sold here. Oxygen being one of those. Requested my ship be stocked as full as could be managed without integrity being compromised.
Some time later, the call that repairs were as good as they could get came through. And that those who had escorted me here were waiting in orbit. Needless now I had around Fifty percent integrity. Ah well. Company wouldn't be an unwelcome presence on the last stretch. Omega-5, a danger site for most. Felt ironically quite peaceful cruising through. No radiation eating the hull away, no real threats to make note of.
You know the trip is relaxed when the conversation flows, and you don’t realise you’re there until the Cruiser opens up on your escorts. Frantic evasive manoeuvres of them and a quick inbound transmission to the base crew, eventually the targeting systems were temporarily set to ignore. Our arrival seemed to surprise the LWB, and when i explained what had transpired, they urged a, emergency landing. Gratitude and farewells were given out to the trio of escort vessels, and we parted ways. Knave, Revenant and Annika. An Order, Technocracy and Zoner pilot. Quite the unusual group. I suppose thats Omicrons for you. Always full of surprises.
It feels so good to have her working to full capacity once more.
Took the LWB less than a week to repair her completely, with the extra countermeasures i put in place to avoid tracing of my vessel. Paid for the service and gave them the cargo on top of the repair bill, they needed all the support they can get. Took off and gave a little test flight. Perfect, more responsive than before, even. Plotted course straight for Delta. Ships star charts were all there, minus Omega-55 still. But that could wait. I needed to get back home.
The flight was rather swift and unhindered, took Sigmas to keep out of Radiation for the most part. Didn’t want to end up in a repeat mess as before, even with her hull properly reinforced now. She definitely had benefited from the rebuild. The best part? The coffee machine had been fixed and polished too. Perfect. Poured one, let the smell of it drift around the cockpit as i arrived in Delta.
Order, Zoners, Revenant and Freelancers. Some strange sensor readings two from two other vessels. Delta had not lost its… diversity while i had been absent. Still. A few faces were missing, and now i had ship functionality back, there was possibility to pursue these. I wasn’t sure where to start though. And for the moment, my focus was drawn to the Zoner, declaring engagement against a Freelancer… Well, neither had this place lost its spontaneity.
I will never understand why people think conflict is the way to go. A couple of pilots tried to stop the Zoner. The rest of us… we sat and watched. When the Zoner refused to step down its attack, those trying to diffuse the situation stepped in. It was not the debris of the Freelancer left floating around in space when the fight was over. Pointless to issue a challenge. Pointless to engage. More loss of life for zero reason. Humanity….
Revenant seemed pleased that i had survived, and that my ship was in full working order. Dunno if i should be concerned about that or not. The little interactions we have shared have either been in relative danger, or trying to glean little bits of information she hides. Eh, something to think about later. Checked the ship systems, only a single error. Not related to ship systems, but these logs. Entry 25 had been corrupted… Nothing in the systems indicated why or what from, but i suppose there was a reason for it. Strange that it didn't seem to be from the lack of ship integrity over the last two weeks or so. I shall have to look into this another time.
Docked at the Freeport to check to see if there was anything. Nope. Nothing. Daros also now missing. Kinda hoping his lack of response is because he is away looking for Cat, and not because of the same unknown reason that she's not around or talking. Returning to the busy space surrounding Eleven, i noticed there was a Maquis pilot, of all things. Propaganda distributor by the sounds of his glorious little speech about Gallic Navy oppression and the like. These talks just served a reminder of the destruction that they had caused. On any other day i may have accepted the fight. But i had concerns of my own.
I remained lost in thoughts as talks continued around me, until an Intelligence drone pinged my systems communication array with a Query. Seemed like it was responding to the lack of data it had on the Maquis. Gave the drone a brief summary of them. they weren't a bad group, as far as those on the wrong side of the law go. But, Gallic factions were about as trustworthy as the Hispanic factions. With the drone satisfied by the input, i felt it best to leave the talks to those who were actually talking and head for some rest. Too much going on, not enough time to process that and courses to follow with those who are missing.
Ship malfunctions again. After a full strip-down and rebuild too...
Checked my mail once again, what with my ship systems now responding. Maybe there was a delay to them. Yet another disappointingly blank inbox. One of these days I’ll install a better comms array in this thing. Maybe it just happens they are both out of range, found each other and living happily ever after. The alternatives.. they’re just too much to think about. Something I refuse to believe in..
Coffee, ship cleared for departure, a glance through notes and Singularis on scanners. The engineers salvaged my sensor logs too it seems. Good, I’m not sure identifying all contacts again would be fun. But its a concern that they may have seen the entire list. No matter, I trust their confidentiality.
Singularis seemed confused, then amused. When i explained about some corrupt data he offered to attempt a retrieval process. There was no point. The data’s long gone. Corrupted, overwritten and rebuilt the entirety of the ship since. With my clearly problematic systems, i returned to Freeport. Gonna have to look into it myself before i do anything else.
Crowley. long time no see, and a gathering of Zoners too.
Coffee, company and a calm most unheard of in Delta. Just some friendly people having a good ol’ chat with each other. Reminds me of the days where things were simpler. No matter. That life is gone now. Talked a but about the war between Corsairs, Outcasts and the Zoners of Freeport Nine. And about previous activity around here. Glossed over the other conversation happening, a name was mentioned. Crowley. One of them probed about Cat going missing. I explained me and Daros were both concerned for her disappearance… but Daros was now also missing.. A passing joke was made about nomads having their hold on the pair of them.
And you wouldn’t believe it. One extremely large alien. Just like that. Its presence… the feeling of being small and insignificant crossed my mind faster than one could blink. We had the numbers… but we most definitely did NOT have the firepower to fight it, if this thing chose to attack. I don’t know WHAT its intentions were… but it stopped right on top of the Freeport. It loitered, to observe us all? I don’t know… Nothing seemed to happen, time seemed to slow to a halt. One breath, then another. In the next moment, it must have worked out that we weren’t a threat, because it departed.
It always strikes me as odd, when mere minutes after such a nerve racking event takes place, that the other conversations topic also made an appearance. Crowley. Such impeccable timing, that he missed the Alien encounter completely. A usually witty response, wondering if i had fallen off the map. Not exactly far from the truth, to be fair. He described himself as having been dealing with “matters”. My mind couldn’t hold a fluid conversation. Too much floating around in my thoughts…. I made my excuse and departed the night.
Cant help but feel like I’m living in a state of torment. Going over the same ground. Missing people, friends, families. Yeah. Today was just serving up to be painful. Quit while you’re ahead, as they say. I need time to process. That Nomad… why then?
In the late hours of yesterday, i received an inbound communication from none other than Crowley. Cant say i was that surprised to be honest, i did kind of leave a little in a rush and with little explanation. Truth was... i wasn't really sorting anything out at all. I was more just... trying to make sense of the massive alien vessel that practically parked itself on Freeport. Of course, i don't think that is exactly the best opening line to return with. So instead i came up with something that was still technically true. That there was an urgent matter that came up. Yeah, a little bit of a stretch.
He mentioned Barrier Gate, in Coronado. Been awhile since i've been there... a good place to talk and go relatively unnoticed. I expressed my intent to meet there, and intended to arrive before the end of the current week. I'll head there tomorrow, hopefully we actually get to have our talk. Remains to be seen, but this is decidedly closer to a face-to-face than i was before.
Spent well over a week here, waiting in the hopes that id get something. A whisper of his name, anything that would be… any kind of indication that he had been here at all. The people here were as quiet as my inbox. Another disappearance. Another person i had begin to consider trusting. Theres got to be some form of damned explanation. Several people. The common connection is Omicron Delta.. but… several weeks apart. No… theres gotta be something I’m missing here.
I wonder… if Nina is still around. Maybe that corsair would do some investigating. For a price, of course but… Maybe I’m playing with fire. Theres gotta be some answer as to why they’ve all disappeared. Cat has had long enough to leave me something to go on. Maybe Revenant really knows whats going on, and just refuses to elaborate.
I need time. I need a plan. Omega-55 can wait. I must find answers…
Not often you meet a worried soul in Pennsylvania.
Waited a little longer, planned for some more investigating. Coronado seems to have a much more relaxed atmosphere than Delta. No aliens to worry about, no Corsairs, Core or Order to get angry over. Even the Outcasts in these parts remained more civilised than out in Omicrons. I spose the Barrier gate is a hub of semi-questionable transactions and populace.
I headed out. Needed to spread my wings again, so to speak. Would do me no good to just become idle once more. Pennsylvania. I wonder if Cat has been back since… no harm in checking. Not like its a far trip from here. And you never know your luck.
California was a breeze, nearly no traffic, and those that were around seemed in good spirits. I like happy people. They’re a good distraction from those darker thoughts that plague us. Funny. Now I mention them… No. They’re all gonna turn out just fine. Just like those two contacts on sensors, the Freelancer and Rogue. The Rogue was blasting the Hunters and Navy around West Point. Yeah. Shouldn’t be doing that right on top of a military garrison. I sent out a burst signal, one to reach as far as Pittsburg: “Rogue cruiser, West Point. They’re holding up transports and stealing from them”. Not exactly the truth but. People react better if theres money potentially being lost.
Pennsylvania. There was the warm welcome of Harrisburg’s broadcast. And it seems I had followed the Freelancer here too. They were also bound for Erie. Marines, I think. They spoke as though I was answering a call to help. No, fellow pilot. I’m here to look for missing friends. Of course, didn’t mention that but… yeah. I offered to help. Made a quick request to the battleship see if Cat’s ship had landed recently on Erie, while the Freelancer ironed out what they needed. Escort duty.
Not normally a fan of such jobs, but they seemed quite worried. And they were only making their way to Los Angeles. Guess that Rogue had spooked them enough to want support. I mean… not like a freighter and a fighter-craft would even manage to scratch the paint of such a vessel. It didn’t matter. There was no interruptions, the Rogue had disappeared and we made it all the way with just idle chatter about how pirates are more likely to demand credits than they are to kill you.
We went our separate ways, and with making sure they were all good, i returned to Coronado. Catherine. Daros. Crowley. Three people just… vanished. I wonder if it was to do with the aliens. Seems like its the only connecting factor to each of them… though Crowley… I don’t know.
Woke up with the sinking feeling. Yet another week gone by with no response. I asked around again, for any clue on if Crowley had been here. No. Not so much as a sighting anywhere from New London to New York. Maybe this was a test. Maybe I hallucinated the whole meeting arrangement? Theres no answer here. I’ve waited long enough.
Bretonia would be faster. Didn’t fancy the dance with Alaskan security. Manchester, Nee London, Leeds…. So many memories in so little space. A past that shaped me. Words that still guide me. You never truly realise what you had until it is gone. Times are changing.. people disappearing. I may not be the only one who knows, but judging by how little interest they’ve shown, I doubt that any of them really give a damn. Those names that Rusty mentioned… too many pieces don’t fit, or iI’m missing something…
Tau 31, Tau 23, Tau 37… Cat went missing not long after a close engagement with Core bombers. Crowley disappeared after coincidentally avoiding a huge alien form and transmitting that message. Yeah, i didn’t hallucinate it. Its there in my ship systems.. Daros disappeared after… after my ship went dark. Damnit what am I missing here!?
Alpha, Theta, Delta… The more I interrogate myself and my memory, the worse things seem. I would put it down to the Order but I don’t think they’ve really met Crowley. Corsairs wouldn’t have interest in Daros either, being previously one of them and on good standing. The Core? They’re too busy with the others in Delta. Nomads? Unlikely based off the few encounters… I doubt they’d show interest in disappearing us…
Approaching Freeport.. sensors lit up. Order and Core. Eighteen ships. Yeah, don’t wanna be getting in with that. Cloaked, sat and watched. They all left. Anticlimactic as always. Freeport space was clear. Welcome home, I suppose. Maybe I should stay a bit, see whats what. Something does feel quite off…
Theres no answer that explains the three disappearances, but having received… something from Crowley. Its a partial relief. The message though… somethings not right. His voice. It was off. So too was his presentation. His usual tone, it wasn’t there. I know that accent. He seemed slightly surprised at his own voice, too. Evasive. But so am I with what I’ve been up to. Cant be too careful. Wonder what he’s been up to…
Return signal was stable, so I returned one of my own. Not a lot else to do but see what he has to say. All being well, we will finally have this meeting. Though, there may be some probing to do first…
Oh, how such a relaxing place can become so frustratingly busy…
Pre-flight checks complete, not like Barrier Gate really cares. A coffee in hand, notes over my sensor display and some time to think. Its been so long since the meeting was organised that I’ve forgotten the initial reason for this whole discussion. Didn’t get alot of time to check back through my stuff to find that out, either. Visuals on Crowley.
Somethings happened to him. Or around him. His whole demeanour was off. Blunt. Flighty on topics even remotely close to what he was up to. Guess I wont be getting any information out of him about that without difficulty. Well, best to stick to some less cautious topics. Like disappearances. He brushed it off that people go missing all the time. Its different, Crowley. These… these disappearances aren’t normal. Neither is your tone, but I feel like if I probe, you’ll do something rash. Yeah i spend time in Omicrons because thats where those I trust have vanished from. What would you have done?
He mentioned seeing other places. Taus, Omegas, deeper Omicrons. Kappa, Zeta, Pi…. Thats somewhere I haven’t been.. the way he spoke… theres gonna be some form of clue there. Core, Order and Corsairs supposedly guard the place… Technocracy too. Revenant… He knows her as Raven. One and the same. Pi… for someone who claims they’ve never been, that description was quite in-depth… other system names. Edinburgh, Roussillon, Orkney. Omegas. Drake.. “if you can access it… and escape alive”. Cayman. Then. He changed the subject. A history lesson. Zoners first discovered Coronado.
A heartbeat… then a voice. Feminine. Clearly neither of ours. Someone or something was out there listening. And Crowley… his change.. the light shifts on his armour… My ship flagged a new message indicator… Crowley. I went to speak, but another message. Theres a visitor. Oh really? The female voice wasn’t enough of a giveaway eh? Don’t be alarmed? Its in our heads.. so its… one of them… I came out here to escape this.. not to invite more damnit! I wanted them to reveal themselves…
There was a chill that remained after whatever it was I just felt. Some… connection? Crowley changed too. The shift in colours… does his armour change based off interactions with his environment? I couldn’t help but notice how it lined up with the colouration in the recording he sent me… When i questioned with this far out? I got the usual: remember what i said. So, go and look into deeper Omicrons, Taus and Omegas? I took a diversion of my own and then the description slipped my mind… he got bored of waiting, and spoke of some unique place here, in Coronado. A wrecked alien gate. What? Here??
Looked up from my notes. This alien contact closed alarmingly fat. They moved past and away from us. I was relieved when it kept going. Then… the echo of many voices: “Follow.” Everything screamed out to deny. Until Crowley intended to go. Yeah… need to keep an eye on him. The trail it left, it led us directly to the wreckage. He spoke of a routine survey mission. Then cut himself off. He knows more than he lets in on. A curiosity question. A simple motion. “I have met this one before”
And then it focused its… thoughts on me. Do i see them? Crowleys suit started to flash green as he moved out of the corner of my vision. Green… Im sure theres something i was going to say earlier about something green….see them… yes i can physically see you.. but do you mean something else? Quiet my mind, relax, become a pebble on a riverbed? All you aliens are the same, thinking in damn riddles that make my head spin! The most sense i can make of that- “i think the close approximation is Meditation”. Meditation. Allow myself to become rested and more open to thoughts.. with one of them here? I suppose they’ve had their chances to kill me if they really desired that..
So i meditated. Allowed my mind to clear of the thoughts and emotions i was in turmoil over. A vision of a ship began to fill the void in which my mind cleared. It wasn’t… quite there… things shifted and that which was surrounding it was visible through the vessel…a system not spoken of, somewhere distant. A route through that which I knew, yet I had never “completed” the journey. Here to Cortez, Magellan, Vespucci, Kansas. There was more… but a voice disturbed my meditation. Technocracy. Didn’t seem alarmed by the alien presence, even asked if they were interrupting.
Wait. Wheres Crowley? Between being called friend and the alien knowing of my loss.. i was struggling to focus on anything now. The vision slipped away and i instead focused on those present. The alien moved towards me. A sense of… initial panic. Target locked, weapons focused. No power to the weapons yet though, just being ready incase of a fight. A warmth, almost relaxing. Yet there was no reason for its origin from within me. Are they… Are they projecting their emotions? And they are expressing… comfort? Warmth? Care? I muted my comms array before I said anything. What were they seeing in me?
Maybe a good time to… learn just what or how they are able to communicate… This was a chance. “I can hear you.. and yet… How?” With comms muted I was not transmitting my words. But it probably was clear enough what was going on. The echoing voice spoke and in that moment, something clicked. They're telepathic. Communicating through the mind. They were amused by my realisation. I asked how they knew of my loss, but I already knew. They were in my mind. Of course one of the largest things in my thoughts was so easily found out. Another blip on the radar, another alien. A larger one.
I leant a little to see if they knew of my missing friends… no. Of course they don’t. Was worth a shot. Comms back on. Green light. Green… green seas? OH! ”The Green Swamps!” I blurted out before i could stop myself. Thats what it was that i couldn’t remember. The voice in my head was curious of something. Now i knew what was happening, i was able to think my conversation to the nomads. The meditation had enabled the dual communicating too. Exploring, learning of new things… seeing what is out there to be seen..
Bretonian Intelligence agent on sensors. Oh, wonderful. Wait until they find my installed cloak. Ah well, they have no real jurisdiction to do anything. The aliens scattered, and yet I could still hear their thoughts. They had more questions, and assured that they would “not lay a mote of Our self upon thee”. Emphasis on the ‘our’.
The Intel guy was curious about mine n Crowleys cloaks. Well, it was inevitable. Lets have a little fun, eh? What cloak? “Play smart all you want”. So uh, this isnt an oddly shaped disco ball, like it was listed as on Canary Wharf? And what i bought it for? You tellin’ me someones got one over on me? Now i gotta track them down… ill get them back for this!
Yeah a little overdone. But hey. The name will mean they might look into the station thats clearly selling stuff to unlicensed people in the heart of Bretonia. As Crowley departed, two more contacts. One a recognised Zoner, from Delta. Whats he doing here? The other contact i didn’t recognise, no recognisable transponder. Time to go i think. Gonna need some time to lay low, wouldn’t put it past the Bretonian to put tails and trackers on us. Tau-29 isn’t far away. The Freeport will be a good place to lay low and give my ship a once-over. New message from Crowley. “Find me where we first met. Where you weren’t interesting enough to monitor… yet.” He informs of two separate meetings. We first met in Delta. But Honshu and Sigma-13 was where he told me i was not interesting enough to monitor.
Cant think just yet on that. Scour my ship, get myself prepared for looking into Pi. Whats there that could be a clue. Leaving Coronado, there was a strange song. An echo of a melody. It seemed to be everywhere.. but where? By what? Whats happening to me? Ignore it.. maybe it will go away. I have things I need to do, people to find. More areas to hunt for answers, or clues.
