Our intrepid adventurers, upon discovering that one of the ships they are chasing jumped to Borite, decide to follow suit. Borite is jump-2 from Torpol, so the Phoenix will arrive with no fuel for a quick jump. Noticing that the Borite system has only a class E starport, a decision is needed on where to get fuel.
Weighing up the options, Captain Slaid chooses to jump to the 100 diameter point of the planet Borite to source fuel from either the starport (a slim chance), or from landing elsewhere on the planet and getting fuel from a body of water (frowned upon), rather than heading for the gas giant.
Arriving in-system is uneventful, with no other ship transponders detected. A deep sensors scan, to hopefully discover signs of the pursued Type-S Scout and its captain Krrrsh, detects instead a very very faint distress call coming from the vicinity of the systems gas giant. This raises some interesting possibilities. Is it a legitimate distress call or is it a trap?
The crew discuss matters and soon the captain decides to head to the gas giant, just over two days away. The journey is uneventful. Two ships, a large freighter and a small trader, are separately detected arriving at the planet, but ahead all that can be sensed is the faint distress beacon. More questions arise. How long has the beacon been active? Why is nobody else responding to it? And why are all new ships arriving at the planet rather than the gas giant?
Caution is very much the order of the day. As the ship approaches the beacon each type of sensor that comes into range is brought to bear. The visual sensors detect a dispersed structure space station, but thermal sensors do not pick up anything. The station appears abandoned.
On a hunch, Senior Pilot Sparrow searches the library data on board the Phoenix for information on the Borite system, and discovers that two thousand years ago the Sindal Empire had a station in orbit to protect ships refuelling at the gas giant. This one looks like it might be old enough to be that very same station.
Edging closer more sensor types are brought to bear. It seems that the beacon is from a vacc suit, but the signal is amplified beyond what a suit could produce. Perhaps whoever set it off has connected it to a more powerful system?
Closer still.
Finally the densitometer can be used, which shows the internal structure of the station. The most interesting discovery is that there is a portion of the station that still has structural integrity with air and power detected. At this range thermal sensors are also more useful, and they show a single man-sized heatsource (#1), but oddly it's not within the pressurised areas of the station.
The source of the distress beacon is detected as being a small dish on the side of the station (#2) which is some distance from the detected person. The station also appears to have been repaired from time to time - people must spend some time here. In fact it looks like a ship was repaired here recently, based on some small scraps of hull metal and rivets that are detected.
Going in
Close up the station reveals itself to be pockmarked with holes. Centuries of micro-meterorites, and larger, have taken their toll. Some holes are bigger than others, and one large one quite near the detected heat-source is selected as the entry point. The away team suit up, strap on their thrusters, arm themselves, and attach various tools and accessories to their suits. The ship is positioned at an appropriate location for ease of access, and the away team departs.Carefully crossing to the station and entering takes a little while. Once inside the only way to see is using the light from helmet mounted lights. There is no gravity. Those back on the ship track progress by using the sensors and open comms channels. In future perhaps the suits can be augmented with cameras and other devices.
The first room is lit only by the light of the stars shining through the impact holes in the walls. Small items - metal flakes and scrap - float and jostle in the null gravity, perhaps dislodged by the movements of the station, or perhaps someone has been this way recently? The team makes their way through the door leading further into the station, which is open just enough to let suited people through one at a time.
The next room is darker and quieter, although on one wall, in the torchlight, is seen a large image, preserved by the vacuum, of some long-dead Sindalian Emperor. He is wearing the traditional crown jewels of the Sindalian Empire – the lanthanum-alloy crown, the Thalassan Pearl, the diamond-encrusted rings of Kether and the fabled Eagle of Sol. Is this what the King of Drinax wants to become?
There are two ways out of this room. To the left is a sealed door which has a small red light on a panel to one side. This way leads to the pressurised portion of the station. The other way leads to the heat source and is dark and closed. Someone will have to force an opening.
At this moment all comms are affected by a strange organic static. Communications between the away team, and even between away team members, is blocked. It is not clear what is causing this effect, but the away team continue on using hand signals.
Ship: Confusion on the ship is replaced by concern as a small, faint heat signal is detected near the away team. The Captain and Senior Pilot consider what to do.
Away Team: The team forces the door into the next room open. Lady Nitrane is on alert, and constantly scans for danger. Silent Unter leads the team into the room. One of the away team feel their leg being pulled on, but when they look down, there's nothing there. All the team are now in the room and actively looking around. Lady Nitrane, who is somewhat afraid of spiders, thinks she sees a huge spider shape scuttling around but loses sight of it.
Ship: The heat signal is now seen to be in the room with the away team, but the team do not seem to be reacting to it. The Captain decides to engage sensor jamming in the hope that it will affect the small heat source in some way. It is not immediately apparent if it is successful, but monitoring of the sensors continues.
Away Team: Someone has something spat at them. It doesn't affect their suit but it's clear there's something in here. All away team members are on the lookout. Lady Nitrane thinks again that she has seen something but it is fleeting. Suddenly the comms are active again. The team reports into the ship.
Ship: Advising the away team of the faint sensor signal the Captain turns off jamming when the signal disappears. Everything is quiet again.
The away team opens the door to the next room which is bathed in starlight from impact holes. One more door, behind which is the being responsible for the beacon. The party open the door.
To be continued...
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