//------------------------------// // Day 9: S.O.S. // Story: Through the Darkness of Space // by Lt Rainbow Slash //------------------------------// 21 November, 3603 Day 9 2,717LY from Cel Today started out pretty slow. All I found before lunch was a couple of terraformable mineral rich planets. There were a few other planets miners might want to have a look at, and a few interesting sights but otherwise there was nothing. After lunch things picked up a bit when I came across a terraformable water world. In the same system was another metal rich terraforming candidate. But what I found an hour later is by far the most interesting thing today. I jumped in system as I always do and began scooping fuel off the system's sun. Just as I finished I went to scan one of the nearby planets. It looked mineral rich so I headed in to do a surface scan. But as I left the star's orbit I picked up a transmission. Now I don't think I have to tell you this but I'm over two thousand lightyears from inhabited space. There is nopony else out here. I'm in the middle of nowhere. So I certainly never expected to pick up a ship's distress beacon. Except I did. I snapped my ship around faster than I thought possible and went straight there. It was less than a light second away so I dropped out of super cruise pretty quickly. I don't know what I was expecting. Maybe a ship without fuel, or perhaps a damaged FSD. Instead I found this: Wreckage. No escape pods. No life signs. Just a debris field of a destroyed ship. It was eerie. I didn't even know what type of ship it was until I had my flight computer analyze the debris. An Asp Explorer. Apparently some poor bastard was out exploring and got themselves killed. I was on edge. Here was another pony made ship, lightyears from inhabited space, in pieces. I had no clue how it got destroyed. Was it pirates? This far out, unlikely. Perhaps overheating? It is in low orbit over a star. But how? I wasn't overheating at that distance, and I doubt whoever the pilot was they were stupid enough to activate their FSD this close. Everypony knows how much heat that damn thing puts off. That combined with the heat of a star makes it suicide to activate it this close to a star. Maybe aliens? I mean, those Thargoid aliens were just discovered. But nopony has seen any of them outside the Platois Cluster. And we would've certainly found an alien civilization if it existed this close to us. 2,000 Lightyears isn't that far on a galactic scale. So what in the whole damn galaxy destroyed this ship? There was an easy way to find out. I was able to pick up the Asp's black box, and get some data off the distress beacon. The main flight computer's data storage was intact on one of the larger chunks of debris. The first thing I noticed was the age. The beacon had been transmitting for four years and three months. The date on both the black box's data recorder, and the flight computer was August, 3598. This wreck is OLD. Which also means whatever destroyed it is long gone. That put me more at ease. I was quickly able to get the registry off the BB: Lakon Spaceways Asp Explorer IR-E59. The ESS Starswirl owned by CMDR Sparkling Peak. I was able to access the pilot's federation database and look her up. And indeed, she's been missing for the last four years. Still, I didn't know what brought about the ship, and it's owners, demise. I went digging through the data and managed to find the cockpit audio recording. It's as follows (pardon the language): Sounds of an FSD winding down Ah shit...how many barren systems am I going to come across? ... ... What? ...What the hell is that? ...Oh Celestia fuck me with a sword!! Shit! Sounds of impacts on the hull and a loud crash. Mayday! Mayday! Mayday! This is Commander Peak of the Asp Explorer Starswirl! I'm under attack by unkno- Explosion and static. Nothing else is heard. That...Scares the crap out of me. What scares me even more is the last minutes of sensor data. It turns out that CMDR Peak is now on record as the first known pony to meet the Thargoids. And be killed by them. Yeah. Aliens. Fucking ALIENS. I sent in a report of her fate to the pilot's federation. No body though so I can't confirm her death. But this close to a star and with a ship that destroyed? Yeah she's as dead as a doornail. At least it may give her family some closure. I went a few more systems to where I am now after that. Just in orbit of a gas giant for the night. I'm gonna have nightmares and not sleep a wink tonight. I wonder if Princess Luna can do her dream walking thingamajig with me way out here... Very scared and creeped out, -Con Today's Discoveries: Sifi SY-S D3-36: 2 High Metal tf Sifi VE-R D4-5: Water World tf, Sedna High Metal tf Distress beacon, Sifi GY-Q B18-5: Wreck of Lakon Spaceways Asp Explorer IR-E59 Black Box, Beacon, and Flight Computer Data: recovered