Introduction
I can’t even with these assholes.
So the aliens are us. Though I’d argue that seven thousand years have passed back at the ol’ cradle of humanity and I bet they’d all seem pretty fucking alien.
This is what we’ve been fighting over? What the hell are they afraid of us knowing? What do they think would happen? I’ve often wondered: what else did they know about this? What did they fear? I struggle to believe it was all about control. But then again, we were dealing with centuries-old bluebloods who had a vested interest in the status quo.
I’m not ashamed to admit, though, I became a little obsessed with how the human race had gotten on in seven millennia.
-The Memoirs of “Gentleman” Jack Cartwright
25 September - 13 November, WY603 – Solace, Helena, Jericho
The crew briefly discusses the implications of the plaque before moving to secure the rest of the facility. Once in command of the security center, they’re able to deactivate the anti-air emplacements, allowing Blackmoon to bring the shuttle in. A thorough search of the facility reveals that all data storage devices had been destroyed, but two major artifacts were recovered: the functioning gravity manipulation system from the hangar, as well as a paired set of quantum-entangled communications devices. Meanwhile, Dirk and the crew on Legitimate Salvage recover and deactivate the gravity-well-generating satellite that was in orbit.
Considering that most of the staff of the facility are Whistler natives and there’s no clear way to determine who can be trusted (aside from Aiden’s former lab assistant Bhavesh), the crew offers to take everyone at the facility to their choice of Helena or Jericho. The only exception is Dr. Hannaford, the BioGen administrator of the facility, who Aiden insists be turned over to Benny as a prisoner. Fifteen of the facility staff and security detail decide to take their chances with Helena, with the rest opting for Jericho.
Questioning Bhavesh reveals a little more about the artifacts themselves. While the junior researchers were never formally exposed to the artifacts, the facility is tiny and people talk. The artifacts all came from a probe that crashed on Solace roughly 3000 years prior. The timing is such that it was sent from “Terra Primus” millennia before the Leif Eriksson expedition was due to arrive. The gravity drive was badly damaged in the crash and had been mis-firing - which caused the catastrophic failure of Aiden and Wei’s expedition those years before. Bhavesh believes the probe was a sort of “care package” that was meant to be waiting for the colonists when they arrived, armed with tech to allow jump travel and a means of communicating back home - but something obviously went wrong in the probe’s extremely-long journey.
The crew shuttles the facility staff up to the ship and puts them in freezers for the trip, first to Helena.
The crew arrives at Helena two weeks later, drops off the facility staff who opted in, and gets the opportunity to receive their first news updates in quite some time:
- By this point the entire Reach is aware of the bubble surrounding Whistler, Roberts, Rebekkah, and Storey. Economies that are dependent on Whistler, such as Foxglove, have crashed entirely. Jericho and Grove, which were largely self-sufficient, seem to be weathering the storm.
- The Anderson Expeditions corporate governors on Helena are making overtures to the Whistler Union for supplies and support. There’s not much to be had while Gove remains blockaded by Damocles.
- Anderson Northwinds continues to be successful emancipated from AEX. They’ll need much of the same imports as the rest of the planet, but they’ve begun refining Tritium fuel and made mention to “some friends down in the caves”.
- Influencers following the Legitimate Salvage crew have spotted them in Jericho.
- Daniel checks for evidence of Charity Cartwright’s location, but all leads point to her being trapped in the bubble in either Whistler or Roberts.
After the drop-off, the crew takes the four-week trip to Jericho. They arrive to find the majority of the Jericho navy mustered, as well as a small flotilla of Murphy-class destroyers, led by the rechristened WHS San Anastasia. There’s also a cruiser present that is almost, but not quite, the silhouette of a Grove Cheyenne Drive Yards Iriquois-class assault cruiser. Its IFF is broadcasting WHS Indomitable.
Legitimate Salvage is granted a high-priority berth at the naval shipyards and once docked, Benny meets them at the gangway. The crew gives him the rundown of the mission to Solace and Benny has a security detail arrive to take the artifacts (he tells them to keep the communications devices “that secret’s been out for a few years”), as well as security and medical personnel to help them decant and process the science team. The crew is escorted to a conference room where they’re treated to a nice dinner while they wait.
Benny arrives shortly thereafter. He lets the crew know that both Jack and Felicity Randall are on the station. They also briefly discuss how to handle Damocles. Apparently, Admiral Rourke has rebuked all attempts from the Republic of Jericho and the Whistler Union to negotiate now that the 1st Fleet is cut off from Whistler. He’s threatened to continue his mission to end the “uprising” on Grove. Benny makes some noises about the crew lending a hand with the problem. He lets himself out when Jack arrives.
Jack enters the room dressed in an unfamiliar military uniform, presumably the uniform of the newly-formed Whistler Union, and he has unmistakable admiral stars on his lapels. Dirk opens the conversation by stating that Admiral Halsey is dead and Jack is visibly shaken. He tells the crew that he had hoped she was hiding, or had even been killed, instead of being at the head of Task Force 7. There’s a brief discussion about how Jack is flying in his condition, and Aiden points out that he shouldn’t be, that he’s visibly sicker for it. They discuss politics briefly, and Dirk is incredibly belligerent towards Jack. Jack states that “Wheeler isn’t keeping many secrets” and they touch upon the threat from the “sea monsters”. He also states how intensely curious he is to discover more about this “Terran” civilization. He’s further interested as their gravitic method of propulsion would make it so he could travel extensively again without concern for his medical condition. He lets the crew know there’ll be a briefing the following day about what to do about Admiral Rourke and the crew is invited. He also mentions Felicity Randall is on the station and that Cara “maybe surprised at the path she’s taken”.
Porters arrive to take the crew to their accommodations, where they’ll be staying through the refit of Legitimate Salvage.
The next morning, most of the crew head to the briefing, observing an additional level of tension in the station’s personnel. They arrive at a small auditorium containing several dozen Jericho senior officers, Jack and several other officers in Whistler Union navy uniforms, Benny, and Felicity Randall, who is wearing a Jericho Marine officer’s uniform.
Prime Wheeler arrives and takes the podium.
“We just received word. Six weeks ago, Damocles bombed Grove.”
