~ by Andrew Robins
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Unknown System, Year Unknown. Estimated -14000 Solar Era

Free_Trader_Mistral\ Core\Private_Log_Amelia_Delaware \2397

Three weeks in the tank. In the end it took all of us to maintain gestalt, and we even had to ask for help from the passengers.

I have never seen rift storms that violent before. First time I have ever seen Mademoiselle Chinks lose her enthusiasm for running new analyses in rift space. We were all too busy fighting and just hanging on.

So we made it out, but only just. Our jump drive is well and truly busted. In fact large parts of it just appear to be missing – which is one of the things near the top of a list I have started called “things which should not be possible”

Top of that list right now is the system we have arrived in. At first glance the system appears to consist of:

• A medium sized yellow star right in the middle of intergalactic space. Roughly 75 million light years from anywhere nice…
• A single planet
• Solar wind
• A planet massed object we are calling the “Anomaly”, sharing the same orbit as the planet, on the opposite side of the star.

And nothing else. No dust. No comets. No asteroids. Nothing else – at all.

Which means this system cannot be natural, and it has to be an artefact.

That someone built.
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Free_Trader_Mistral\ Core\Private_Log_Buffy_Chinks \2415

So – in system and, Yay! System appears to be really weird. Not going to be bored. Note to self – opportunities to die a lingering death appear to be high here. Must look for ways to avoid J

So first thing to do is extend the sensor baseline so we can REALLY SEE where we are. Remotes are fuelled and ready so won’t have to wait long.

In the meantime need to figure out how in the hell it is that we are still getting data from Sentry Gun 5. We left that back on mission target three. Normal range for comms is 5 clicks. Not 75 million light years.

We have already worked out why it seems to be broadcasting data collected from the day that we arrived on MT3, and why the frequency we are receiving on seems to be slightly off. Glandin put this together. Redshift. We are receiving on a slightly higher frequency than we should, because we have arrived 15000 years in the past, and space is slightly more compact here, so the frequency is higher than expected. Simple really! “Wibbly wobbly timey wimey balls of stuff” appear to be involved. Gotta love the classics!
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Free_Trader_Mistral\ Core\Private_Log_Glandin_Frutnok_van_Glomzimmer \2425

It has fallen to me to try to make sense of this situation, as usual. The sensor data I have requested is revealing and tends to support Amelia’s assertion that what we are dealing with here is mega structure of some sort.

With the increased resolution provided by our extended baseline array it has been possible to resolve two additional objects in system.

The first of this appears to be NRRNV Frigate Lepanto A New Ragusan Republic warship (back when we bothered with either of these things) that went missing about 400 years before we left MT3. It is broadcasting a transponder signal, and appears to be in orbit around “the anomaly”

The second object is relatively small, and metallic. It is in a decaying solar orbit, and should burn up in the sun in about 40 years or so.

More interesting to me is that the single planet in system appears to be the source of a massive amount of radio traffic. So we must assume that it is inhabited. So far the signals we are picking up show no coherent pattern. Fascinating!

Oh yes – and a whole bunch of planet sized masses that appear to be orbiting the system about half a light year out. These are of less interest to me.
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Free_Trader_Mistral\ Core\Private_Log_Bob-Stark \47

Finished supply inventory, and we should be able to keep going for a good while. Spent some time downstairs with the Ramadan circle. Glandin had been acting like a bit of dick and some feathers were ruffled. All sorted now. We are going to give the Ramadan’s a better feed, and access to the upstairs lounge so they can let their hair down a bit. I am going to set up the wet bar again so it will be like old times for me. Not sure what drinks they will like.
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Check back in on Saturday 26 (Boxing Day) for Episode 3 of 58 Eridani.

You can read the previous issues by clicking on the following links:

Introducing Eridani 58, a Game Log

58 Eridani Episode 1

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Andrew Robins is a long time reader – and sometime reviewer – of science fiction, fantasy and history. People pay him to test stuff, which most of the time is more fun than it has any right to be.

To check out Andrew’s book reviews, see “Book Reviews for ‘on Anything, Really’” in the right-hand side bar.