Downloading data entry...
System: Attifi-Gekuit, Euclid Galaxy
Day 2: I awoke today feeling bad, not from sickness, or anything like it, but perhaps yesterday's epiphany had scared me a little. Whatever this feeling was, I could not put my finger on it.
I decided to roll from under my ship, climb straight into the cockpit and leave Usuki for good. On the journey across to the space station, the emptiness of the system left me only time to think. I still, after all these years travelling, do not know who I am, where I have come from, or what it means to be a traveler. What is my purpose here?
I was a few clicks out from the space station when some commercial freighters warped in, the ricochet of their entry into the system rattled through my ship with a great force. They were followed by a number of frigates. In my passing, one reached out over the communications unit and offered their services in combat. I had no interest in this offer, but I did board to greet the fellow Gek and to stretch my legs a little... Or is it stretch my little legs.
While aboard I had time to reflect upon my life's work, looking out across the stars and to the many frigates passing by, from the landing pads.
All I could think to myself was that I could not settle here... it was no home. I'm not even sure I know what home is... Sleeping in the cargo hold of my starship was the closest thing I had to a home I suppose.
When they released me from the research facility, I knew nothing of my own life, where I came from, if I had relatives, ancestors... Anything... The more I thought about it, the angrier I became. I mean, think about it. As a young Gekling, they took me and concealed my real life from me, training me for some cargo pushing job like an absolute icerittel taajan.
I wasn't going to hang around much more. I boarded my ship and engaged my warp drives, in search of something more than... More than this, my life.
I spent a few solitary moments in the the swirling vortex of the warp, until finally it dissolved around me and I was thrust into the expanse of space among a toxic green sky.
I sat motionless watching my monitors and checking that I hadn't lost anything during my journey here. But from the corner of my eye I saw that the location reader was just flickering...
I tapped gently upon the screen, just to see another shudder in my display, before that same message appeared.
Leaning forward I did a visual survey of the area, only a single ringed planet lay behind me, and a further distant planet lay behind it.
I set a course for the planet closest by...
Just as I rolled my ship over to head into orbit, warp holes opened all around me. They exploded with bandit ships pouring out in what appeared to be an ambush. The system was eerily vacant for these bandits to be operating like this and in such great numbers.
Immediately I engaged in a frantic combat, I spent a large amount of my time in evasive manoeuvres due to the sheer amount of fire I was receiving. After a final barrel roll out of the firing line, I positioned myself behind two of the ships who were gearing up to loop around and pincer me, as they engaged their pulse engines I fired on one of the bandits engines, successfully disabling them and causing them to spin out, crashing into the other.
The final fighter was hot on my tail, utilising as many of its weapons systems as it could. I had obviously pissed him off, yet the fight was far from over. No matter what I tried, every manoeuvre I executed... He was right behind me. One blast from the enemies Phasers and I was almost out of shields.
I took the fight through an asteroid field weaving through the jagged rocks and boulders. It seemed to have given me some space and enough time to spin my ship around... Scanning the countless rocks for a sign of the enemy... Nothing... My ship was rattling, various bleeps and rumbles emitted from the interface... I had taken some serious damage.
As I lifted my hand to adjust course and retreat the Fighter bandit rolled over the top of a large asteroid, firing directly upon me. The force of the impact knocked my ship off centre and disabled all power to my thrusters. My head jolted forwards and I hit my forehead against the control panel. I had no control of my ship, testing the thrusters, wing calibration... Nothing!
Disorientated, my head spinning and a high pitched ringing in my ears, I lifted my hand and reached for the weapons controls, the trigger for my canons to find that they were still operational. As they fired into the distance, I noticed that the recoil wasn't being counteracted, what with my thrusters not working. I decided to use this as a means to knock my ship into the direction of the enemy.
I continued to fire as my ship flipped over... looking over my shoulder I saw him honing in for the kill, his engines roaring, so with little time left, I chose to divert all reserve power to the weapons systems and blasted the enemy with a killing burst right through the cockpit of his fighter ship. The outside vacuum sucked the bandit straight out of the shattered hole, shredding him to ribbons. The moments of stillness after would stay with me for eternity... his body floated off, his entrails, slung behind him as blood scattered in clumps behind. I sunk back into my seat, relieved... But sad. Killing has never been easy for me, but if I have learnt anything out here, it is either you or them...
My shields began to recharge...
As my ship stabilized, I continued to navigate my way to the surface of the nearby planet. As I entered the atmosphere I was lucky enough to spot a small structure sitting in the heated wasteland.
As my ship touched down, a cloud of dust kicked up around me. Slowly it settled and through the particles, emerged the doorway to the structure. Yet another abandoned facility... I ran from my ship in the scorching storm outside to be met with yet another terminal... At least this one was tentacle free...
The screen burst to life... it looks like the set up was for some sort of logistical control centre. After being presented with some sort of numerical lockout puzzle, I was allowed access to the interface. Hidden among the countless data logs was a black box report from an old freighter that seemed to have come into trouble just over the planets atmosphere...
I always here about these freighter warping too close to a planets surface, but have never seen one for myself. The prospect of discovering it's story was too appealing, so I took the navigational data and plotted a course for the freighter.
The flight over was short, I could see from my ship that the place was a harsh and unforgiving environment, but not devoid of life. Surprisingly, many creatures seemed to roam the boiling dunes below.
Just beyond a large dune lay the freighter, it's large red metallic structure erupting from the surface, jagged panels lay strewn across the surrounding area.
As I landed the sun began to cool as it sunk away over the distant hills, I jumped out of my fighter and clambered up one of the freighters storage compartments to get a better view of the area... In this moment, the heat settled... The storms and clouds began to disperse.
And from over the dunes, arose a creature so magnificent, so beautiful in its stride... it grazed among the flora, running in what seemed to be a small herd. I couldn't help but take this hiatus and just watch, this spectacle of raw beauty as it traversed the desolate wastes. So out of place, but yet so perfect.
The sun was setting, I couldn't face another strom so got to work on excavating for buried caches and storage units. I found a number of valuable resources but nothing from the wreckage gave me any clues on what caused it.
Could it be that they warped in too close the the planets atmosphere? Or did they get ambushed in what has already been proven to be a hostile system? I could no longer hear the creatures around me, as if they were settling for the night... Or hiding...
I loaded the last of my spoils from the wreckage into 'The Leviathan of Despair' and hopped into the cockpit to scan for any other local settlements or buildings. Nothing local came up... Nowhere to sleep but my blasted storage again.
At least the Silicate haul will make a nice bed...
