Tale:Hadal

Kachiro

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Index / Lexica / Timeline

"A Boundless Constellation Lays in Wait..."

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By TheStellarExplorer

Preceding: The Call

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Date: 04.13.7104 | Galactic time: 15:24 | Local time: 1:24

Fuck. Please, please, please. Tell me it's working. YES. It fucking works. Right, I have to keep this as short as I can. My name is Kyes Vel, and I am, or well, was, the navigator onboard the survey ship Endriel. The ship, or whatever little remains of it, is currently sitting on the seabed of the planet recently designated as Lyria. I have attached the necessary coordinates to this file. The instruments here are broken, but, I managed to do a couple of calculations, and I have figured out that I am two hundred and, uhh, twenty-five kilometers deep. Yeah. It's a fucking miracle the ship is intact. For all intents and purposes, the ship should have instantaneously collapsed before it reached even a quarter of this depth.

Moving on, moving on. I have attached the ship's logs inside this message. It took me days, but somehow I managed to restore communications. Everyone else is long dead. God, I pray this cabin stays pressurized for just a second longer. They need to know that it wasn't just a crash. This fucking planet is cursed. This... This thing that lurks down here, I think it wants us here. I can sense it. Enveloping the wreck. Staring into my soul. God, I have no clue what it is I'm even talking about.

Whatever you do, do not come looking for us. I repeat, do not come looking for us...

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Iora™ file recovery system... File integrity 78%, displaying selected log data.
04.12.18.176 Preparing to disengage Seraph drive
12.12.18.176 Dispersing coolant into Seraph drive.
26.12.18.176 Initiating deceleration.
08.14.18.176 Deceleration successful. Stable low-altitude orbit achieved. Fuel reserves acceptable. Initiating
Seraph drive shutdown protocols.
06.15.18.176 Seraph drive shutdown within expected parameters. Minimal integrity loss. Engaging main sublight
thrusters.
...
...
15.32.18.176 Unusual electr̸o̴m̵a̷g̶n̶etic activity detected on body 3.
22.32.18.176 Electrical fir̷e̵ ̶d̶e̶t̸e̵c̵ted in engineering sub-deck 5. No p̶e̵r̴s̶o̶n̷nel detected at loca̸t̶i̶on.
Depressuri̶z̸i̵n̴g̷.
36.32.18.176 Dep̴r̴e̸s̶s̷u̴r̴i̸z̸ation successful in en̷g̵i̴n̵e̵e̴r̴i̵ng sub-deck 5. Fire extin̷g̷u̴i̴s̵h̵ed. Hig̵h̵ ̵damag̷e̷ ̴sus̶t̶a̶ined.
42.32.18.176 Losing alti̶t̴u̸d̵e̶. Co̷u̶r̸s̵e̴ ̴c̷o̴r̸r̴e̶ction initiated. Overcloc̴k̶i̴n̸g front mane̴u̶ve̴r̴i̴n̷g̵ thrus̵t̷e̶r̴s̶.
56.32.18.176 Bac̵k̶u̴p̶ ̵p̸o̵w̸e̶r̷ ̷r̵er̸o̷u̸ted to front man̷u̷e̵v̶e̴r̵i̷n̸g̸ ̸t̸h̶r̶u̵s̶ters. Increa̵s̴i̶n̸g̴ po̸w̸er plan̴t̵ ̸r̶e̷a̴c̴t̸i̸o̷n̵ ̶r̸a̵t̶e bey̶o̶n̶d̴ 
s̶afe̷ ̷l̴i̵mits.
...
...
12.36.18.176 B̵r̸e̵a̶c̵h̴i̷n̶g̴ ̷c̶l̶oud la̵y̵er. Reac̶h̶e̴d̷ ̶s̷u̸p̷e̷rsonic vel̸o̴c̸ity. Struct̷u̶r̶a̷l̸ ̵c̵o̶l̵l̷a̴pse at dec̴k̸s̸ ̷3̷ ̷a̷n̵d̵ ̷7̸ ̷d̷e̴t̶ected.
31.36.18.176 I̸m̴p̵a̶c̷t̴ ̶i̷n̶ ̸f̶̴̴̸̵̻̚ȋ̴̴̶̶̸̥v̵̶̷̴̶̘̈́è̸̩ ̸̞̾ ̸̦̏s̷̲̚e̸͉̋c̶̬̈o̵̤͆n̴d̵s̸.̶ ̴D̴i̸s̴t̸r̷e̷s̷s̶ ̵c̴a̶l̷l̷ ̵I̶D̸ ̸r̵e̶ǵ̴͔í̶̹s̴̭͝t̶͍̕e̴͇͗r̵̖̓e̶d̴.̶ ̷T̷r̵a̴n̴̞͗s̶͚̔m̴̤̾i̴̼͌t̸̨̿t̶̰̂i̸̧̎n̷g̵ ̴t̵o̷ ̴e̶v̶͚̾ẽ̸̡̱ṙ̷̢͠y̷̯̙͒̓ ̵͙͛r̵͚͙̕é̴̫̟̑s̶͍͋̐c̶̪̹̈̕u̵̹͒è̸͇̦ ̵͍͐f̵͉͑ȓ̸̹̫̆e̵̠͍̔q̷͉̦̔̑ȕ̸̩̦ë̷̗ñ̸̺̘c̶̢͒̍y̴.̷
...
...
Unauthorized input detected. Syncing with outgoing signal.

  31.36.18.276
  

T̶H̸E̵ ̷A̴B̴Y̸S̶S̸ ̵G̷A̷Z̵E̶S̸.̸ ̵S̶H̷E̴ ̶C̶R̷I̷E̷S̸ ̸O̸U̴T̵ ̶I̶N̵ ̵C̸O̴N̵C̸O̴R̸D̴A̴N̸T̸ ̶A̴G̴O̴N̵Y̶.̴ ̵H̴E̸R̷ ̸H̶E̴A̸R̴T̴ ̶B̸E̸A̸T̸S̵ ̸I̵N̷ ̷S̸I̷L̵E̸N̶T̶ ̶H̸A̴R̸M̵O̵N̶Y̵.̵ ̶H̴E̴E̷D̴.̴

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Not a soul knew what was lurking in the crushing abyss of Lyria. Any mentions of it have been redacted, the charts leading there redrawn.

Lyria had effectively been erased from the galaxy.

Or so they believed...

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