Infancy

by Wandering Axioms

Rating: teen
Tags: Adventure, Human, Dark
Length: 453

A peculiar planet draws the attention of several outside powers. Some more malicious than others.

A peculiar planet draws the attention of outside powers. Some more malicious than others.

Published 1970-01-01 00:00:00 UTC
Last updated 2015-07-30 04:22:43 UTC

Overture

--A Message for the Brave Pathfinders: Katuren Celtan, Relika Maruvis, and Belorev Iosinof the Laridian Class starship Paradisium---

As intrepid explorers such as yourselves are no doubt aware, a particular star system, VS 1581 in the Lesser Keldonic Cluster, has drawn the attention of the scientific community of our great Empire.  This star system has been noted for one particular phenomenon that was, until recently, unobserved anywhere in the universe.  VS 1581 itself is a typical main-sequence star, still in the prime of its life; not unlike our own home system’s Solara.  This is where the similarities with Solara (and indeed all other observed and indexed star systems in the cosmos) end.

We will admit that there’s no way we can state this matter of fact without sounding as though we have forgotten the most fundamental laws of how the universe functions, so I shall state it as such: VS 1581 is not the nucleus of its own system; VS 1581-3 is.  VS 1581-3 is, from what we can discern at our far distance, a terrestrial planet, roughly eighty-five to ninety percent the size of Gaia.  Naturally, one would agree that the gravitational force exerted by a star the size of VS 1581 would easily overpower that of any planetary body, which are but mere specks of dust by comparison.

And yet, as if to spite nature itself, VS 1581 rotates around VS 1581-3, as do the other six planetary bodies, asteroids, and comets within the system’s boundaries.  Some of our resident magi suspect a rip in the Aetherium to allow such unnatural occurrences.

The three of you should be capable of discerning the purpose of this message by now.  Our request is for you to travel to the VS 1581 system, map out its orbital structures, and discern the source of this anomaly.  We here of the 37th Fleet would undertake this task ourselves, but we unfortunately find ourselves engaged in combat in the Eneveran system with the vile Skanan brutes who hinder Humankind’s noble initiatives at every turn.

Rest assured, the second sentence of my previous paragraph was not dishonest; this is indeed a request, not an order.  We are not commandeering your vessel, nor are we in any way forcing you into a taxing voyage to the atypical system.  But do keep in mind that you all have a duty to your species and to the Motherworld.  Know that Gaia does reward those that serve Her, and your services to the Empire will be met with well deserved compensation.

--Admiral Cerekon Unali of the “Harbinger’s Ascent”

37th Fleet of the Imperial Armada

“For Gaia and Her Children, Whose Destiny is to Inherit the Universe From Those Less Worthy”