A Moonlit (white) and Az (blue) co-post
“Away team, have you identified any weaponry on the wreckage capable of causing the shot wounds on the corpses?”
“Nothing.” Pedro reported as he drifted carefully along a connecting tunnel into a domed chamber, which by the number of screens and panels he was willing to bet constituted the ship’s control hub. “None of them were carrying a gun...or at least nothing that looked like one.”
“It is imperative to know whether the wounds were caused by internal struggle, or if the ship was boarded by external hostiles. I refuse to allow the ship to linger in a known zone of danger.”
Pedro swallowed. “Copy.”
A pulse thrummed through the dead heart of the vessel. In response the lights came alive, flickering at first, but then they settled steady. The halting thwok thwok thwok of an air circulator started up, faint in the still-thin air of the forward module, but bringing welcome relief to the eerie silence that had descended since the survivor’s departure.
“Lights up, look alive!” Tink chirruped across the radio.
“Nice one!” Pedro transmitted back as all around him the screens of the control hub began to blink online. His enthusiasm was dampened a few minutes later when, after repeated scans of the winding, looping script that comprised the alien language, the universal translator behind his suit camera splashed a red Translation unavailable rune across his visor.
“Come on, there’s more than enough for you to work with here.” the dwarf pilot muttered, tapping his wrist to set the pattern scanner running a second time.
Translation unavailable.
Pedro chewed his lip. And there seemed to be no wireless link for him to shunt his implant into; no visible ports that he could use to download data. If we could even decrypt whatever machine code they use. He frowned in frustration. “Damn.”
* * * * * *
The flickering of lights let Ayo know Tink had worked her magic yet again. “Thanks for the better lighting.”, she said with appreciation over their share intercom. At this point Ayo had already gotten lost within the twisting and turning metal halls. She hoped she would be able to find her way back.
Next she heard over the comms. '[APPREHENSION] I apologise for the late reply. Away team, have you identified any weaponry on the wreckage capable of causing the shot wounds on the corpses? It is imperative to know whether the wounds were caused by internal struggle, or if the ship was boarded by external hostiles. I refuse to allow the ship to linger in a known zone of danger.'
“The bodies I found definitely were murdered, whether by outside forces or their own have yet to be seen. I will collect data and let you know what else I find. “ Ayo also made a mental note to collect samples of any of the bodies they might come in contact with in the future for Sirc. Her and the doctor shared a similar scientific curiosity.
This was about the time she found a random room off to the left. It looked like a storage area. Not many signs of life were in here, let alone signs of a struggle. This seemed to be where things were rationed. She found some sealed rations and decided to take a few back to the ship. One should never give up on collecting resources when they are so finite.
Her long bent legs finally brought her back out into the halls. She did her best to retrace her steps until she bumped into Pedro again. The small human visibly twitched in surprise when he noticed her. He was clearly spooked by the disaster they had stumbled across, even if he was trying to keep his unease under close control.
“Heya, Ayo.” he said, managing a smile through his bubble helmet as he turned back to the now-active screens that festooned the odd-angled walls. It appeared he was trying to translate the language of this alien species.
“Hey.” she said casually and pulled out one of the journals she had taken from the lab. “Would this help at all?” She doubted it would, but wanted to help anyway.
Pedro reached out a stubby arm for the journal and turned it over for the camera in his suit to run it by the universal translator. Ayo saw a rune flash red, projected briefly onto the inside of his helmet. Pedro chewed the inside of his cheek.
“Maybe the translator’s just throwing a tantrum.” he suggested. “I’ll give it a proper review when I can plug back into the Falcor. We’re going to need some way of talking to the survivor.”
“Where should we go next? I know we should figure out what happened here.” Her hand then went to rest on one of her pistols, showing she was ready for a fight and not scared if raiders were still aboard the ship.
She saw Pedro purse his lips. She had gathered from previous conversations that the way she walked around everywhere, casually armed, was strange to him - but no doubt he was glad of it right now. The pilot considered for a moment, then nodded, pointing down a circular shaft that sank away into the floor of the room.
“I haven’t checked down there yet.”
Catching hold of wall handholds to spin themselves round, they carefully crawled headfirst down the connecting tunnel and into what looked like some kind of crew berth, with multiple small cabins branching off.
“Uh oh.” Pedro murmured as he crawled out after Ayo and took in the scene.
Underneath the busted, flickering lights, chunks of metal and plastic tubing drifted where they had been torn from the walls. The ceiling and floor were scored with black weapon impacts, and splashes of green and red.
Ayo paused as she took in the scene before her. As if she did not put the pieces together before, there was a struggle here. This poor crew is raided by who knows what. Part of her instinct was to flee. To use her strong jumped legs and high tail it back to the safety of the Falcor. However, instead she unclipped her pistol and held it up, ready to shoot any threat.
She spoke in a hushed tone in her native tongue to Pedro, in case enemy ears were nearby. “This doesn’t look good. We will do a quick sweep and then get out of here. We do not want the Falcor brought up into this mess.”
“Take it slow.” Pedro nodded quietly, switching back to Trade as he turned his head slightly towards his mic pickup. “Falcor, we’ve got more signs of a fight down in the crew berths. Keep an eye on us, yeah?”
Ayo could hear the strained smile in the pilot’s voice as she inched forward and avoided the chunks of metal floating through their path.
It was not long before the two came upon some more helpless victims. Three creatures were drifting above the floor, insectoids with segmented bodies and long, chitinous limbs. They were curled up in foetal position, seemingly dead. Despite their obvious difference from the other dead crewmen, there were no weapons to be seen.
“Are those Tek-Haxxar?” Pedro asked behind her, “Falcor, are you seeing this?”
The Tek-Haxxar were no friends of the Federation, their name inextricably linked with the Trellonite Holocaust. A hundred worlds and over five trillion sapients burned to cinders - nothing in galactic history even came close to the scale of the destruction they had wrought. What were they doing here?
She was about to crouch down to inspect before quick movement caught her eyes. Ayo in fast response pointed her gun to what had caught the attention of her peripheral vision.
It was a survivor! Her heart beat fast as hope filled her being. The blood let her leap forward to close the distance between her and the victim.
“Ayo, be careful!” Pedro shouted out behind her.
She resumed the common tongue most species knew, speaking in a relaxed tone.
“Hello, I am Ayo. Our ship came across yours and we wanted to offer her help. Please respond if you can understand me.” She hoped the creature understood her, if not at least recognizing she was not a threat. The blood from its injuries still appeared to be bleeding out. This poor creature did not have long.
“Pedro see if you can buzz for Tink to come down an help us. If we act fast maybe the Doc can help save them.”, she said without looking back. Instead she gently lifted her hand and applied pressure to the open wound, utilizing her small knowledge of first aid. Curses, at a time when I need my plants! she thought to herself.