Its pitiful glow might have been missed if not for the colourless world in which it finds itself; but it flashes on, unfazed by its own irrelevance.
The intermittent light catches the corner of a palm-sized screen. It's obvious from the dust and scratches coating it that it's seen better days - but it's not broken. Not just yet. Chances are that there is still some dribble of power haunting its circuits.
Under the light is a single, solid black switch.
Turn it on?
The screen lights up with a flicker and a flash, carving though the darkness. White light stutters and breaks into the pixelated visage of a Traveller, blue light fragmenting across the purple surface of their helmet. "H- hello? Is this on?" Their voice is as distorted as the image.
"Ah. Of course it is. Uh, hi. Sorry about the - kzzt - lighting, there's been a blackout on my freighter...heh, this probably wasn't the best time to film this. Anyways, welcome to my personal journal! I'll be - ktzztk - recording some of my adventures in here - cool planets, experiences, photos and the like! I've seen a lot but I haven't seen everything, so hopefully this is interesting for - kztt - for you..."
The Traveller trails off. There is a long pause. "Who am I even talking to?" they murmur to themself.
Eventually, the Traveller draws in a breath and continues, slower. "I suppose I should put my name here. It's...I don't really have a proper one, since I don't use it much, but for now, you can call me Flicker. Flicker, he/they.
Anyways. Here's my little collection of moments. I should be uploading to this regularly, so there will - kkzzt - always be new stuff! That's it from me - kzzttkkt - kzzt -"
The recording cuts off, the screen glitching into blue. A menu displays itself, waiting.
So my ship has 3 supercharged slots in an upside-down L-shape, and I put my Infra-Knife and some upgrades in there...let's just say that dreadnoughts aren't a problem anymore.
The screen turned black, giving the stage to the speakers. A voice pierced the heavy air - a different voice, clearer and more confident than the lighthearted excitement of Flicker.
"-kzzt-ah. Is it working? I think it is." There was a funny lyrical quality to the voice, one that did not quite seem natural. "Ah. Well, would you look at this. You have done a most excellent job, my friend. Didn't even try to tamper with the signal..." There was a clinking sound, something sweet echoing in the background. "A perfect connection, between so many Travellers - this will be a good starting point. Well done- was it Flicker? I can't quite remember your name. But never mind. Now, there is nothing to do but wait."
[LIVE TRANSMISSION RECEIVED // VIDEO CONNECTED: Iteration Flicker]
The screen begins to glitch, striping itself with vibrant colours. The speakers hiss as noise flows through them, and the video kicks in - Flicker is crouching in front of the camera, partially obscuring it with his hand as he adjusts something. " - kzzt - okay - there we go!" he exclaims, the audio crackling with stray interference. "Is it working? Hello? Can anyone hear me? Am I..."
The string of thoughts dissipates into breathlessness. Lights and colours sparkle, reflected in of Flicker's visor as he touches the terminal, scrolling through something. "...whoa! I think- I think it's working! Oh wow, there's so many of you..."
Flicker shakes his head, returning his attention to the camera. "I should probably explain all this. When I got this journal recorder thingy, I thought it was for storing data and didn't have any long-range signal capability. But the other day I got a transmission of some sort from a couple other Travellers. Took a look inside - turns out there was some sort of broadcasting contraption wired to the journal, and it had been sending a signal this whole time. After some reverse engineering I identified the frequency you guys were transmitting on, and I found...this! A whole network of Travellers, all communicating...this is so cool!" Flicker's hands wave around his face. "Now I can finally communicate with you guys...if you don't mind, that is. This is so exciting!"
Flicker shifted, sitting down. "Still haven't figured out what the transmitter was installed for, though. No malicious connections have been identified, but I'll be keeping a close eye on it for a while. Knew that trader I got it from was a little shady...but anyways, it's worked in my favour! I'll see you guys around, for real this time! Flicker out!"
Flicker is breathing heavily, static coursing through the speakers with each exhale. The blue lights of the space station filtering through their cockpit are deceptively calm. Flicker himself is sitting tensely: visor stained with soot, gloves clutching the sides of the seat.
There is a long moment.
"AAAAAARGH!" he screams, burying his head in his hands. "WHY?! What is wrong with me? What is-" the exclamation collapses into pained mumblings as he shakes his head erratically, staring down at his knees. "It just...blew up...I let them get away..."
The outburst slowly subsides as Flicker leans back, letting the chair support their upwards-tilted head. "Damn Explorer...why was I in an Explorer? Ugh, they got my hyperdrive...damn expedition..."
They stare down dejectedly at the terminal the video was recording from, placing a hand on the screen. "Why did I turn this on?" he mutters.
He exhales slowly. "I- I'm sorry. It was just - when I warped just then, it threw me into the middle of a big battle...there was a whole freighter, attacking another one. I wasn't ready- I didn't know what to do- agh. Last time this happened, I swore that if I ran into another pirate freighter, I would blow it up myself...but I failed. Again. Just like that." He turns away, fingers drumming the terminal.
"I- It wasn't fair! I was in an Explorer with zero weaponry! I couldn't- it was-" he breaks off. "...no use trying to justify it. Things happen, I guess. The Atlas does what it does."
He looks off into the distance, making a feeble attempt at wiping the soot from his visor.
"Last time, when the freighter blew up...I didn't see the explosion. I was looking the wrong way. This time, I saw it. And it was so...underwhelming. When the Sentinel freighters go out, you can hear them so clearly, and you feel the vibrations as the whole structure shakes and erupts and destroys itself - but this one wasn't like that. It was hit for the last time, then bam, a bit of a flash, and the whole thing was gone. Just disintegrated." His voice is shaking a little.
"It's making me think...is that how small we are? All of the crew on that ship, everywhere it has been and everything it has seen - does it matter so little that it can just be erased like that, nothing special? Just a little flash like a dying firefly? Is that all we get?"
Flicker is not sure what to say next.
His voice is as muted as the cockpit's dim interior. "...Flicker out," he says, and the transmission ends.
The camera shakes as Flicker fumbles with it, pointing it at himself as he walks down a dimly lit hallway. "Uh, hi. So I'm on my freighter - kzzt - power's slowly coming back so we just got a connection with frigate captains and - kzzt - look at this." He turns the camera to point at a screen on the freighter's terminal, where a frigate report is displaying. Several of the frigate names are outlined in red. "The first mission in quite a while -kzzt - and we somehow managed to - kzzt - damage both of our industrial frigates. And our support frigate. Are you - kzzt - serious? I need to have a word with the captains once everything's back online..."
He turns the camera back towards himself. "I should go start repairs. But also..." He looks around to check if anyone's watching. "... - kzzt - I could do it later..."He steps over to the teleporter to return to his starship. "I am a terrible procrastinator. Flicker out."
Settlements are funny. I run a Korvax settlement called Amlingville on the planet Ehem XIII (one letter away! nooooo!) and I found this weird room in it. It's literally a building that's just one tiny square room, with one wall of these. Is this the Korvax server room or something?
The recording opens with about a minute of rapid laser blasting, smattered with occasional explosions. Judging from its clarity, it was likely made in Flicker's starship.
The noise suddenly stops, and there is a long stretch of static silence.
A voice crashes through the speakers. "OH. OH WOW. DID YOU SEE THAT?! Dammit, I set it on audio- but oh my god that was INSANE. Take that, pirates! That's what you call FORTY EIGHT THOUSAND DPS!"
Flicker relaxes in his seat, exhaling deeply. "That was so worth it. All the ship scrapping...wow. That must have been less than a minute...talk about the Infra-Knife being good."
Technology beeps as he adjusts his settings. "Welp, time to go blow up some Sentinels. Flicker out!"
Realised today how little I know about my new home planet! Its name is Dori 22/Q1, and it has 14 fauna species - the most I've found on one planet is 16, but it's still a lot!
The storms are basically constant, and they make everything a hundred times more beautiful. The grass stars blowing in the wind and the sky covers itself in these really dark clouds, and the way the light changes is just amazing.
Oh, and I thought I knew where the best sunsets were, but it looks like Hazele Omega has some competition!
I remain amazed that I found this place in Calypso, a harsh galaxy. And by complete chance - the Atlas warped me here at the end of a mission. And the bubbles...I could talk about this planet for hours. Expect more logs about it!
Its pitiful glow might have been missed if not for the colourless world in which it finds itself; but it flashes on, unfazed by its own irrelevance.
The intermittent light catches the corner of a palm-sized screen. It's obvious from the dust and scratches coating it that it's seen better days - but it's not broken. Not just yet. Chances are that there is still some dribble of power haunting its circuits.
Under the light is a single, solid black switch.
Turn it on?
The screen lights up with a flicker and a flash, carving though the darkness. White light stutters and breaks into the pixelated visage of a Traveller, blue light fragmenting across the purple surface of their helmet. "H- hello? Is this on?" Their voice is as distorted as the image.
"Ah. Of course it is. Uh, hi. Sorry about the - kzzt - lighting, there's been a blackout on my freighter...heh, this probably wasn't the best time to film this. Anyways, welcome to my personal journal! I'll be - ktzztk - recording some of my adventures in here - cool planets, experiences, photos and the like! I've seen a lot but I haven't seen everything, so hopefully this is interesting for - kztt - for you..."
The Traveller trails off. There is a long pause. "Who am I even talking to?" they murmur to themself.
Eventually, the Traveller draws in a breath and continues, slower. "I suppose I should put my name here. It's...I don't really have a proper one, since I don't use it much, but for now, you can call me Flicker. Flicker, he/they.
Anyways. Here's my little collection of moments. I should be uploading to this regularly, so there will - kkzzt - always be new stuff! That's it from me - kzzttkkt - kzzt -
The recording cuts off, the screen glitching into blue. A menu displays itself, waiting.
A pair of Travellers make their landing on an islet at the heart of a planet's great sea. A cluttered and once-bustling space, Eden Islet Outpost was empty and quiet - the Twin-Iterations and their crews had moved on for a time, seeking other stars. It's quiet and still, save for the waves lapping at the shores.
The Twin-Iterations make their rounds, half-heartedly ensuring everything was still running smoothly in their absence. "It - it's.. -kzzkt- ..nice to be back here," Onfim says, "can't believe I'm say - say - saying this, but it feels good to be some - somewhere quiet."
Raskol only gives a small hum in response at first as their base check-up leads them to the comms tower, the only building aside from the lighthouse that looms taller than the trees. The Twins look up, and then at each other. "I doubt there's anything waiting for us, but remember how cool the view was?"
"Don't have t-.. -zzkkt- ...don't have to tell me twice," Onfim chuckles, playfully shoving Raskol aside, determined to be the first through the short-range teleporter, but the elder Iteration isn't far behind. Truly, neither were expecting anything to be waiting for them up there...
So they're surprised when they warp up to the wide, cluttered space, and find the terminal screen for incoming transmissions alight and blinking. Onfim turns to Raskol as they enter, "Hey - hey, are you seeing-"
"Move," Raskol says with an excited intensity, rushing to sit at the desk, a cloud of dust displaced in the process. With a whoosh of breath they clear the dust from the terminal's screen, and there it is, clear as day:
[ Transmission received. Traveller signal detected. Begin download? Y/N ]
> Y
The download finishes rapidly, and a dimly lit video broadcast plays. Raskol listens intently to this new voice, and behind them, Onfim works to turn on the terminal used for their outgoing transmissions, almost literally buzzing with excitement as it, too, sits down. Surely they're not letting this go without a response.
As they wait for the terminal to power on, they click through the collection of logs and files. Raskol almost reconsiders responding, though; it's unclear how old this transmission is, or if a response is warranted or necessary - perhaps some of these attached ventures were newer than the video, who knows how long it had been sitting here, waiting to download? But they remember reaching out into the void for something, anything - assistance, a companion, or just another voice. Raskol is shaken from their musings, though, as Onfim suddenly starts up a response.
"He - hel-.. -kzzzzkkkt- ..hello, Flicker! Ah, sh - sh - shit, my interfe-.. -zzkt- ..-ference still doesn't like - like - like this stuff."
"I got it, move back a little," Raskol huffs, turning the terminal screen to face them instead, as Onfim scoots back in its chair. "Flicker, I am not necessarily sure how or when, but our communications tower caught your transmission! I am Raskol (they/them), and my static-riddled companion back here is Onfim (it/they)."
The cables making up Onfim's neck uncoil and stretch, tentatively moving its head closer to the screen, resting its chin on Raskol's shoulder; its form shimmers and glitches. "He - hel - hello.. -zzkt- ..-lo again! Sor - sorry, I make these things a lit-.. -kzzzkt- ..a little funky." They smile sheepishly, before continuing to rattle off, "we - we - we saw some of your.. -kzzkt- ..of your ventures! That tornado? Woah, man! I lo - lov-.. -zzkt- ..I love a good storm-chase, but not if there's any - any lightning."
"Yes, yes, but before more fun I have to ask," Raskol interjects, "Flicker, you said there was a blackout on your freighter? Is this ongoing, are you in need of assistance?"
"Oh - oh, yes! I - I can.. -kzzkkt- ..I can trace your - your - signal from that broadcast very easily." Onfim chitters happily, pulling a small cord out from behind its head. "We're always - alw-.. -zzkt- ..always looking to find new frie - friends, and - and - help.. -kzzk- ..help friends old and new!"
"Alright, I think we need to get Onfim away from this stuff, but yes, if you need us, please don't hesitate to reach out! Now that we've got your signal, all that should be a bit easier. For now, Raskol and Onfim are signing off!"
The screen flashes proudly, holding the full loading bar up for a few seconds before it vanishes. The file imprints itself at the top of the menu.
Nothing happens.
The dust slowly begins to settle again, fragmenting the light from the screen as it floats down. The swirling pattern it forms changes with every pensive breath. Perhaps the universe had already forgotten this lonely Traveller; perhaps this nebula of dust is the last stars their log will see.
Suddenly, the screen turns black.
Blue light glitches, reappearing as two bright lines of text:
[Anomalous Signal Detected / Attempting transmission...]
[ACCEPT] // [DECLINE]
[Broadcast connection successful.]
The light on the side of the terminal flashes faster and faster as a buzzing noise emerges, resonating in the dark as bursts of colour skim the screen. From the static, a familiar voice begins to form.
"H- kkzzztzt - hello?! Wh- where did this - kzzt - file come from? I- I- this wasn't- connected to - zkktt - anything...I-"
Purple pixels light up to form the distorted visage of Flicker's helmet, still surrounded by darkness. They seem panicked and confused, but there is something else behind the mask - relief? Excitement? Hope?
"I, uh- hi! Hi! Hi Raskol and - kzzt - Onfim! H- how did you find my signal? Where are you? This log, it - ktttkzt - shouldn't be broadcasting..."
The image jitters as the Traveller looks around questioningly, apparently examining his terminal for some clue as to what was going on. After a fruitless search, he looks back at the camera, composing himself.
"Um...I guess this is pretty cool! Hello hello! So you read my log? That's - kzzt - that's awesome! How- where are you receiving this from? - tkzzz - Thanks for asking about the freighter - yeah, everything's okay, just had a - ktz - close call with pirates so power's off non-essential while we repair. Got kinda bored so I started filming an intro. Not much else to do, y'know..."
Flicker pauses, not expecting a reply. It's suddenly questionable whether he can see the other side of the camera, or whether this is a live broadcast at all.
"But now I have this!" Their voice is brighter. "Now you guys are here; it's so nice to meet you! F - kzzt - feel free to keep uploading here! Promise I'll listen to everything!"
The Traveller raises a hand, presumably to switch off the transmitter; it lingers there for a long moment.
The Traveller is speaking, but his voice is barely audible over the pops and whistles of the raging wind drumming the microphone.
"Aah sh- ow- oh, this was a mistake- [inaudible]- oh, um, journal! Welcome to Flicker's Terrible Decision Making! Joining you from the inside of a tornado! This planet is [inaudible], uh, and OH THAT'S A BIG ROCK- and when it showed up as Least Hospitable- OW- it- [inaudible] professional obligation to check it out-" The voice was replaced for a moment by a jetpack boost and several thunks. "...ow...oh, and of course, when I saw [inaudible] wind event, it was...uh...a professional obligation to walk into it. Yeah, may have been a bad idea."
The noise of a jetpack can be vaguely recognised over the cacophony. "Gotta- [inaudible]- out of here- too much spinning--"
There is a loud clunk, followed by a skidding noise, and the wind interference dies down.
"Ooh. Ouch. That's gonna hurt for a while. I should NOT have done that..." Footsteps stutter, then stop as Flicker presumably sits down. "Ough, I feel sick..." There is a pause, then a distinctly unpleasant noise.
"...oops..." He inhales deeply. "...wow. I am REALLY bad at this. But you know what?" There is a slight smile in his voice. "No regrets. Flicker- oh no, it's all over the- kzzt-"
Whatever the Atlas was on about, it mustn't have been too mad, because it dumped me here! A purple grass bubble paradise, with these kinda views - didn't expect to find somewhere like this in Calypso. It's got funny storms that don't actually do anything - they just make it cloudy and a bit chilly. The best kind of storms, honestly. I think I've found my new home for this galaxy!
Well, it will be a home once I figure out how to do make something that's not just a few slabs of carbon glued together...heh, I guess we all start somewhere!
