Reynolds
Well-Known Member
8/38 - Kerata Anathema - Heartbreaker Bridge - 1000 Hours
The transmissions had been growing more and more clear as the Heartbreaker continued towards the next system on their list. While Edtoto had been translating them for the crew herself at first, over the last few hours Ochiko's translation program had grown more precise. The MEGAMI had been developing it while listening to the alien's mumblings and the fragments of the distress call, but with Edtoto's assistance and a clearer signal, it had come together just in time. An artificial voice began to play the full version of the transmission for the Taii, Rin, Edtoto and the others on the Bridge. It sounded similar to the alien's voice, which itself had originally been copied from the artificial voice the I'ee had used to speak Trade and Yamataigo. A strange sort of circular creation.
"I don't even know if this transmission is being received. The station has been hit hard...worse, we were taken totally unaware. Security teams, both blue and gold, have been decimated! If anyone responds to this distress call, be advised that station security was deactivated from within! As hard as it is to believe, we've been betrayed...by one of our own! Incredible as it sounds, Nar has gone insane. The Sivaro Clan was the first to die. I'm the only one left to send this message, power's out everywhere else. It's our own fault, really -- reappearing after all those years, we should have never trusted that there were no adverse effects. We knew so little about what he'd come in contact with outside the station. Wait, is that...here!?"
This time the signs of a second person entering the recording area and initiating a struggle were more obvious, the Vekimen screeches and hisses easy to identify for those familiar with Edtoto. "You?!" And then, a second voice. Deeper, raspier, somehow predatory. Somehow familiar. "Of course, child! Did you truly believe, even for an instant, that you would escape the same fate which befell the rest of your family?" "I don't believe you -- I can't believe you! You may have killed the others, but the clans will never...!"
"...die?" The sounds of the struggle began to fade. "On the contrary, my child." Quiet. "The clans are dead."
The transmission crackled as it came to a stop, leaving a similarly heavy silence hanging on the Bridge. The Taii carefully observed Edtoto for any signs of another emotional outburst, before Funabashi suddenly spoke up. "Exiting fold space in 3...2..." "Entering real space, adjusting ship to local time. Beginning scans." Rin had been handling the last stages of the trip herself, switching the Heartbreaker to more conventional movement as they entered the system. The distress call was easy to pinpoint, at this distance. A large asteroid, floating through a system otherwise relatively devoid of them. Transmissions, power emissions and life signs, in a system that otherwise showed no signs of life. Focusing in, it was easy to see the manmade bits protruding from the rock, right angles and glowing light standing out on the rugged, lifeless rock. The cloud of debris around the station made it even more obvious why the distress call had been blasting out ceaselessly for weeks now, the station obviously drifting and putting out so little power that locating it outside of the system would have been nearly impossible. Fortunately, the Heartbreaker had known just what sounds to listen for.
Unfortunately, it seemed they were not the first to follow the strange sounds to their source.
"Readiness Condition 2, all hands to their stations!" The Taii quickly called out, as the red lights and warning klaxons began blaring. The image of familiar ships was broadcast across the ship as well. Large, rectangular carrier type ships, with small, round fighter sized craft darting all about. The I'ee.
Rin sent orders to crew members to begin armoring up, as Usagi spoke up with more bad news. "Captain, another ship has just exited fold space nearby. It's smaller, lightly armed...and...broadcasting a Star Army registration number." The Captain scowled, remembering the tactic the I'ee had used before to draw their attention by bouncing the Heartbreaker's own registration information back at it. "Hoshitomo-Shoi, lock on weapons and hail them. If I do not like their answer, prepare to fire."
The transmissions had been growing more and more clear as the Heartbreaker continued towards the next system on their list. While Edtoto had been translating them for the crew herself at first, over the last few hours Ochiko's translation program had grown more precise. The MEGAMI had been developing it while listening to the alien's mumblings and the fragments of the distress call, but with Edtoto's assistance and a clearer signal, it had come together just in time. An artificial voice began to play the full version of the transmission for the Taii, Rin, Edtoto and the others on the Bridge. It sounded similar to the alien's voice, which itself had originally been copied from the artificial voice the I'ee had used to speak Trade and Yamataigo. A strange sort of circular creation.
"I don't even know if this transmission is being received. The station has been hit hard...worse, we were taken totally unaware. Security teams, both blue and gold, have been decimated! If anyone responds to this distress call, be advised that station security was deactivated from within! As hard as it is to believe, we've been betrayed...by one of our own! Incredible as it sounds, Nar has gone insane. The Sivaro Clan was the first to die. I'm the only one left to send this message, power's out everywhere else. It's our own fault, really -- reappearing after all those years, we should have never trusted that there were no adverse effects. We knew so little about what he'd come in contact with outside the station. Wait, is that...here!?"
This time the signs of a second person entering the recording area and initiating a struggle were more obvious, the Vekimen screeches and hisses easy to identify for those familiar with Edtoto. "You?!" And then, a second voice. Deeper, raspier, somehow predatory. Somehow familiar. "Of course, child! Did you truly believe, even for an instant, that you would escape the same fate which befell the rest of your family?" "I don't believe you -- I can't believe you! You may have killed the others, but the clans will never...!"
"...die?" The sounds of the struggle began to fade. "On the contrary, my child." Quiet. "The clans are dead."
The transmission crackled as it came to a stop, leaving a similarly heavy silence hanging on the Bridge. The Taii carefully observed Edtoto for any signs of another emotional outburst, before Funabashi suddenly spoke up. "Exiting fold space in 3...2..." "Entering real space, adjusting ship to local time. Beginning scans." Rin had been handling the last stages of the trip herself, switching the Heartbreaker to more conventional movement as they entered the system. The distress call was easy to pinpoint, at this distance. A large asteroid, floating through a system otherwise relatively devoid of them. Transmissions, power emissions and life signs, in a system that otherwise showed no signs of life. Focusing in, it was easy to see the manmade bits protruding from the rock, right angles and glowing light standing out on the rugged, lifeless rock. The cloud of debris around the station made it even more obvious why the distress call had been blasting out ceaselessly for weeks now, the station obviously drifting and putting out so little power that locating it outside of the system would have been nearly impossible. Fortunately, the Heartbreaker had known just what sounds to listen for.
Unfortunately, it seemed they were not the first to follow the strange sounds to their source.
"Readiness Condition 2, all hands to their stations!" The Taii quickly called out, as the red lights and warning klaxons began blaring. The image of familiar ships was broadcast across the ship as well. Large, rectangular carrier type ships, with small, round fighter sized craft darting all about. The I'ee.
Rin sent orders to crew members to begin armoring up, as Usagi spoke up with more bad news. "Captain, another ship has just exited fold space nearby. It's smaller, lightly armed...and...broadcasting a Star Army registration number." The Captain scowled, remembering the tactic the I'ee had used before to draw their attention by bouncing the Heartbreaker's own registration information back at it. "Hoshitomo-Shoi, lock on weapons and hail them. If I do not like their answer, prepare to fire."