A single bright silver star shone brilliantly, as if it were trying to outdo all other stars, blissfully unaware of its insignificance in the grand scheme of things. It wasn't alone, at least. It had a few, unremarkable, small rocky bodies slowly orbiting it. Despite how generic and unimportant this unnamed system may be; it has nonetheless attracted some attention.
A salvage ship, an Anaconda class vessel named Hamilton, passed through here looking for salvage. The ship hasn't been heard from since, and its disappearance made news in local systems, but went largely unnoticed by the larger powers. Ships go missing daily, after all, and all manner of mechanical failures, crew errors, or even pirate bands could have contributed to this disappearance. The Hamilton would have been forgotten along with thousands of other lost vessels, if it weren't for a single man who happened to be sitting in a dim drinking hole in a trading outpost which was the Hamilton's last port of call. This man was Rickshaw Mason, a bounty hunter and occasional trader, with a keen interest in all thing mysterious. Rick saw the news article and thought it warranted a look. Anything to break the monotony of HazRes pirate hunting and cargo transport.
Rickshaw Mason, however, is only one of his personas. For this venture, he would need to don his former identity, that of former Marquis Cyril Caelus of the Empire. For this rescue, and maybe even salvage, operation he would need resources and equipment that his Python lacked. He made a secret, encrypted communique to one of his friends and asked if they could meet at this unexplored system.
. . . . . . . . . .
Captain Darragh Oisin looked out on the bright star disappearing from view as the Donnager maneuvered away after coming out of witch-space. He was contacted out of the blue by his former Lord, Marquis Cyril Caelus, who gave him a rather cryptic order; to retrieve the Donnager from hiding and bring it to this useless system far out on the Frontier in search of a simple salvage vessel, the Hamilton. Why Lord Caelus wanted the Donnager specifically he didn't say. Nevertheless, if his Lord deemed it necessary for him to not only navigate the perilous asteroid field concealing the station that held this ship, locate the Donnager specifically, and bring it all the way out to the Frontier, then Captain Oisin would do so.
The Donnager itself was a modified Clipper, outfitted for ground assault, with all the radars and sensors you would expect for ground operations. It also had a colossal 'Thunderer' cannon housed where the fighter bay would be. This cut their complement to two Imperial Fighters.
"Captain," The systems officer, Maeve, was a middle aged woman who had been serving with Oisin for years, ever since he got his first command. She was listening to the various signals bouncing around the system. Much of it was background, but one caught her attention. "I may have something."
Captain Oisin, still a member of the Imperial fleet, along with his crew, secretly remained loyal to Marquis Caelus. For this mission, they all donned their former uniforms; simple white outfits with orange and teal trim. The captain walked over the Maeve. "Report."
"A distress signal of some kind, emanating from this planet," she gestured to the system map. "It's degenerating; I think it has stopped being transmitted."
"This may be what Lord Caelus wants us to find," the Oisin turned around, "Helm, plot a course."
"Yes, sir."
The Cutter maneuvered. the reduced G forces mess with people's heads sometimes, but that is what it's like in supercruise. Over several minutes, a featureless, brown, rocky world slowly grew to fill the large bridge canopy.
'Orbital Flight engaged' the computer chimed.
The pilot rotated the Donnager, so it was now parallel with the ground, and maintained orbit.
"Captain, I'm picking up a new contact," announced Maeve, "A point of interest. It seems to be a settlement of some kind. A salvage vessel like the Hamilton would make a good profit from an abandoned settlement."
"Very well, take us down."
Within seconds, the ship lurched as it exited supercruise and glided ever closer to the surface. The settlement came into view. It was only visible as reflected light at first, but the shape of round habitation modules slowly formed.
"Captain, the settlement appears to be abandoned, I'm not detecting any heat signatures or movement, but there are some very feint seismic spikes. If we weren't in the Donnager, they would have gone unnoticed."
"Is that strange?"
"Depends on the planet. This one is unexplored and, without a full survey, I cannot make an informed conclusion. It presents no immediate danger, and the fact there is a settlement there means it is harmless."
"Regardless, let's be careful. Launch the fighters, have them do close air reconnaissance."
Dull thuds echoed throughout the ship and the launching mechanisms fired the Gu-97 'Hunters' out of their bays and away from the ship. The spindly forms arced in on the settlement, transmitting telemetry back the Donnager.
A new contact flared on the ship's sensors. An Imperial Clipper just dropped out of supercruise. As it closed, its sensor profile solidified, and it was identified as the Deviant Reprisal, the personal ship of former Marquis Cyril Caelus.
"Ah, sir Caelus, I'm glad you could join us."
"Sorry I'm late. It's been a while since I've had to wear a formal uniform. I've forgotten how difficult they are to put on."
"Gotten used to an outlaw's life have we?" Oisin joked.
"Probably, though I have missed my Clipper, this thing is a joy to fly." Unlike other Imperial leaders, Caelus promotes an easy going, relaxed atmosphere of equality, not superiority, probably because of his Federal heritage. This definitely contributed to his being forced into hiding, though any opportunity to make contact with some old friends was welcome. Being in hiding over the last year has definitely shaved off a lot of his acquired formality, but he would gladly give up his freedom for reinstatement, though that won't happen for a long time.
"With all due respect sir, is it worth the risk coming out of hiding for a simple missing ship, and for a salvage vessel no less? They were surely criminals anyway."
Cyril brought his Clipper down meters off the surface and did a low speed fly-by of the settlement. The large one-hundred-meter-long graceful from of the Clipper dwarfed both the Hunters and the settlement. "Do be honest, I'm curious. This sort of incident would normally go overlooked, but with everything else that has been happening - aliens and the like - I feel that this deserves an investigation. And I also feel I'm the only one who thinks that," Cyril lowered his voice, "Because those politicians need to politic."
"Shall I give the situation report?"
"Please do." Cyril brought the Clipper up and circled the Donnager. The Donnager was larger, but not by much.
"We entered the system 20 minutes ago and, after brief scouting run in supercruise, detected this settlement. Preliminary scans show it as abandoned, though we are detecting slight energy readings and feint seismic activity. Something to note is we detected the remnant signals of a distress beacon. We triangulated it to this planet, though we cannot find a source. It is possible that there was an active beacon here that has since been disabled. We have not yet attempted ground reconnaissance. We have not found any trace of the Hamilton. Should we leave and continue searching the system?"
"What kind of transmitter did the distress beacon have?"
"Radio. We would have detected any hyperspace transmission lightyears away."
"The Hamilton was here. They would have entered the system and gone straight for the source of the distress signal, if they behaved like typical vultures that is. Regardless of whether they were here or not, we should investigate the settlement. Strange energy and seismic readings have piqued my curiosity. I'll take my SRV and inspect the town."
"Aye, sir."
Cyril brought the Deviant Reprisal down slowly with grace you wouldn't normally associate with such a large vessel. The Donnager remained in flight, hovering a few hundred meters up and away from the settlement. "That's odd," Maeve said, confused.
"What?" asked Oisin.
"When the Reprisal touched down, seismic activity spiked."
"It couldn't have been the impact from landing?" the captain asked as he leant over her to view the holographic readouts.
"I'm sure. Seismic activity has been at a constant low this whole time, but when Sir Caelus landed, it became slightly more intense."
"Is he at risk?"
"I don't think so; it could just be tectonic movement underground."
"Do you have ground penetrating radar?" interjected Cyril.
"Yes," replied the captain. He smiled. That was why he wanted the Donnager specifically. "It works, but it probably isn't in very good condition. Systems like that tend to suffer if they aren't maintained regularly It'll take us a while to map out the area."
"Focus on the settlement first, then slowly circle it. Have the fighters spread out and scout out a twenty kilometre circle."
"Yes, my Lord."
"Fighters report the settlement appears abandoned," said Maeve.
The Donnager moved in position above the settlement, hovering just one hundred above the surface. The systems officer fires up the ground penetrating radar.
. . . . . . . . . .
Cyril Caelus hated extravehicular activity. In a ship, you are safe, not from guns and missiles of course, but you accept that risk, and you can normally see them coming and can do something about it. In a space suit however, all it takes in one little snag, and there is a rip. Pressure goes, your lungs burst, and you are nothing but a very cold corpse. This particular venture however, was getting his adrenaline flowing just thinking about it. Missing ship, abandoned settlement, strange signals, underground vibrations. Any sane person would run the other way. Cyril wouldn't because of his insatiable curiosity, and the Hamilton wouldn't because of the salvage opportunity, so on it was with the EV suit, and out with the SRV.
Despite the Clipper's size, Caelus was flying alone. A year ago, he flew out of Ackerman Market in his Sidewinder alone, he flew trading missions in a Cobra Mk IV alone, and he has since been piloting his Python alone. He looked at the array of EV suits along the wall and thought back to his old crew; friends that had defected with him from the Federation all those years ago. A pang of loneliness rushed over him, but he quickly pushed it away. He chose this lifestyle. Best he takes the brunt of the Empire's justice, lest his friends suffer for it.
He ordered the computer to place the SRV in the cargo chute, and entered the large bulbous cockpit. Slowly, the ship's cargo arm lowered it to the surface, and with dull thumps the wheel arms extended and the vehicle was dropped onto the fine soil.
"SRV touchdown. Transmitting camera feed. Are you receiving?"
"Yes, sir." Replied the captain.
"Alright, I'm heading towards the settlement now."
"Be aware," Maeve chimed in, "seismic activity has been increasing slightly."
"I don't feel anything."
"It's still very feint, sir, but increasing nonetheless."
As Cyril crested a rise, the settlement came into view. "I'm picking up some strange signals, and they are definitely coming from the colony."
"Are you sure. We detected some strange echoes as well, but we thought it was just background radiation."
"The Wave Scanner is telling me there's movement."
"I thought you said the fighters reported the settlement was abandoned?" Oisin asked Maeve.
"They did, and our sensors aren't showing…I swear, that wasn't there when we entered orbit."
"I believe you," the captain said quietly, equally confused.
Cyril continued to approach the colony, and he entered through its main 'gate', a sign supported by two posts positioned over what could be considered a main road. 'Dixon Dock', never heard of it.
"That's odd. I see SRV tracks leading into the settlement."
"An SRV isn't showing on scanners," reported Maeve.
"Do you see it?" asked Oisin.
"No, though there is a lot of shadow. Can I get some light down here?"
"Of course, sir." Moments later, large searchlights bathed the colony in white light.
Eyes. A face stared at him from a building only meters away. The shadowy figure disappeared as quickly as it has appeared.
"SHIT!" cried Cyril.
"What?"
"I thought I just saw…" Cyril's heart was pounding. He stared at the building, unable to look away. "Must have been a trick of the light," he sighed. "I'll follow the tracks."
"Sorry sir, I didn't mean to frighten you."
"Me? Frightened? Never," Cyril forced a smile, grabbed the controls, and continued his drive.
Despite the light, and the presence of a massive friendly ship overhead, Cyril's heart didn't stop pounding. The image of that ghastly, dark face was burned into his vision. He could swear he saw it, peering at him from the dark shadow, and his Wave Scanner wasn't helping. It was telling him there was movement, lots of it, but he couldn't see a thing.
Slowly but surely, Cyril crept his SRV deeper into the town, trying to suppress the overwhelming feeling of being watched. The movement patterns on the Wave Scanner were behaving strangely, as if the objects were flickering in and out of existence. He wished it would provide him with more detailed information like distances, the simple wave patterns being generated on the holographic strip just weren't enough.
"Sir, the ground penetrating radar is behaving strangely." Maeve's soft voice provided welcome comfort from the eerie notes of the Wave Scanner. "I'm not getting a proper image; it shifts whenever I scan the next zone."
"What does the full image look like?" asked Cyril.
"Like a botched panorama photo, lines and shapes that don't match up. I think the device is too far gone to use."
Or something is moving.
Cyril had no idea where that thought came from, but it chilled him to the core. Unfortunately, he didn't have time to contemplate.
"Captain, seismic activity has spiked!"
Cyril felt it this time, the ground was definitely shaking. His Wave Scanner started screaming. Movement flourished all around, but there was still nothing to see. Cyril felt a lump develop in his throat, and his eyes begin to water.
Genuine fear.
"That's it, I'm leaving." Cyril opened the throttle and yanked on the control yoke, pulling his SRV around and speeding back towards his ship.
"Seismic activity is now highly localised; it's becoming centred around the Deviant Reprisal."
"What! Explain," barked Cyril.
"Recall the fighters, now!" ordered the captain.
"Ground stability is weakening. My Lord, don't approach your ship…"
"Good god…" came the captain's astonished voice.
Cyril, ignoring Maeve's warnings, accelerated.
"My lord…"
Cyril crested the rise. There was nothing. Dust settled around an empty, desolate field.
"How!?" cried Caelus. His fear became infused with rage. His precious ship, his first command, his only real home left. It was gone, just gone, not even a trace.
"It was as if the land just…swallowed it whole." Oisin was stunned.
"Seismic activity has settled to just before…the Reprisal disappeared."
Cyril turned the SRV around for another look at the settlement. The Wave Scanner was calm, no more movement. His rage subsided, being replace with sorrow, but his fear soon dealt with that.
How does a ship just disappear? What was all that movement?
"Um, sir. I'm sorry to disturb you," came Oisin's voice, "but we're picking up a signal, and you'll want to listen to it."
Cyril glanced at his panels, "I'm picking it up too," he said in a dull monotone, "Let me hear it."
An electronic, yet eerily human, female voice filled the communications channel. "Settlement clear. Enter when ready."
That's the Reprisal's computer!
"Sir, isn't that the voice of your ship's computer?"
"Settlement clear. Please, Commander Caelus, you must investigate."
Cyril's breaths became short and ragged, "The computer never addresses me personally. It's not programmed to."
"Settlement clear. Please Commander Caelus…" the computer paused, and its voice changed to a barely discernible warble, "…Run…Run…Run…Run…Run…Run…"
Movement again, lots of it, centred on the settlement, but growing stronger, as if a swarm was coming towards him. The ground started shaking again. "Pick me up, now!" Tears welled in Cyril's eyes. The feeling of genuine fear again.
The Donnager slowly moved towards him. It didn't extend its landing gear; this would be a hot retrieval. Cracks appeared in the ground around him.
"Hurry up!"
The cargo hatch of the large ship opened and its crane extended down and latched onto the SRV, causing it to lurch. Dust flew up around him, blocking his vision. Another lurch. The wheels retracted. Grey metal slowly descended around him as the vehicle was lifted into the cargo hold of the Donnager. The hatch below him sealed and the high G forces of intense manoeuvring pushed him back into his chair followed the dull symphony of boosting Imperial engines. After a short few seconds, the ship lurched again, and the G forces relented. They were in supercruise.
Caelus clambered out the bulbous cockpit and collapsed onto the ground. His legs were jelly, his pulse was thready, his breathing erratic. A definite panic attack. Medics rushed to him and put him on a stretcher. He silently vowed to return to this world…with his armada.
One thing is certain, this unremarkable system, is now on Cyril's watch list.