{"data":{"id":16005,"title":"DISCOVERED: The Best Mistake","rsi_url":"https:\/\/robertsspaceindustries.com\/comm-link\/spectrum-dispatch\/16005-DISCOVERED-The-Best-Mistake","api_url":"https:\/\/api.star-citizen.wiki\/api\/comm-links\/16005","api_public_url":"https:\/\/api.star-citizen.wiki\/comm-links\/16005","channel":"Undefined","category":"Undefined","series":"News Update","images":[{"id":3564,"name":"DiscoveredFI2.jpg","rsi_url":"https:\/\/robertsspaceindustries.com\/media\/aaz0teb4vjf3xr\/source\/DiscoveredFI2.jpg","alt":"","size":598002,"mime_type":"image\/jpeg","last_modified":"2015-11-30T23:05:12+00:00","api_url":"https:\/\/api.star-citizen.wiki\/api\/comm-link-images\/3564","similar_url":"https:\/\/api.star-citizen.wiki\/api\/comm-link-images\/3564\/similar"},{"id":26463,"name":"source.jpg","rsi_url":"https:\/\/media.robertsspaceindustries.com\/weozjmuuh3hwh\/source.jpg","alt":"","size":843046,"mime_type":"image\/jpeg","last_modified":"2019-09-19T15:49:32+00:00","api_url":"https:\/\/api.star-citizen.wiki\/api\/comm-link-images\/26463","similar_url":"https:\/\/api.star-citizen.wiki\/api\/comm-link-images\/26463\/similar"},{"id":27892,"name":"source.jpg","rsi_url":"https:\/\/media.robertsspaceindustries.com\/w3o9r4zgppm77\/source.jpg","alt":"","size":900916,"mime_type":"image\/jpeg","last_modified":"2021-09-06T14:48:40+00:00","api_url":"https:\/\/api.star-citizen.wiki\/api\/comm-link-images\/27892","similar_url":"https:\/\/api.star-citizen.wiki\/api\/comm-link-images\/27892\/similar"}],"images_count":8,"translations":{"en_EN":"Today\u2019s Discovered pulls an excerpt from the Imperial Cartography Center archives to share a story from the fledgling days of the organization (when it was still known as the Government Cartography Agency.) We\u2019ll hear firsthand from expedition leader Seline Novikov on the mysteries uncovered during the initial charting of Hades II.\n\nBEGIN RECORDS:\n2531.07.11_02:27 SET\nAfter eighty-five hours of silence, I finally got word from the home office. Turns out there\u2019s a reason the comm drones have been so spotty. Seems the initial jump charts aren\u2019t proving as stable as first thought. Real comforting to hear that after you\u2019ve already gone through, right? Donovan\u2019s attempting to rechart a more secure path, but it\u2019s going to take time. We should be fine with limited communications and we definitely have enough supplies to last till they can get a shipment through \u2014 even if there might be a few complaints about having to eat nothing but heat-em-ups for the last week or so. No, our biggest problem is that we won\u2019t get the extra equipment we need to start doing the detailed surface scans of the third and second planet. Not quite the start I was hoping for my first time as lead.\n\nOut of curiosity, I had Jans rig up two of our normal scan-packages with some extra environmental protections to see if we could get any worthwhile information while we waited. However, the package dropped onto world two got clogged within a few minutes and stopped broadcasting, and the world three package didn\u2019t even make it to the surface. Guess we\u2019ll have to leave the reports as \u201cash\u201d and \u201ccraters\u201d respectively for now. It\u2019s going to put the resource analysis way behind schedule, but I\u2019m hoping the brass will understand.\n\nOn the brighter side, until the jump gets sorted, we will have a legitimate excuse to focus significant additional resources on the data returns from the split world. Who knows, maybe before any of the other teams arrive we\u2019ll be able to figure out what caused the fourth planet to break in half.\n\n2531.07.13_22.44 SET\nJans just nearly took my hatch off its hinges trying to wake me up. I was going to start yelling about bothering me off-shift, when I saw the datapad that he was excitedly shoving in my face. The world two probe had survived. It\u2019s a weak signal, but it\u2019s there. The best theory that we\u2019ve put together is that the atmospheric ash has traces of kherium in it and as the storm moves, it disrupts the broadcast signal. We didn\u2019t get much this time before the ash bank blocked the signal again, but the weather forecast shows that we might have another break in about four hours.\n\n2531.07.14_07:03 SET\nI\u2019m absolutely exhausted, but am still too wired to sleep. The forecast was right and we were able to get another burst of data before the window closed again. When we took a quick glance through the packet, Gibson pointed out that what we had initially taken for land deformations in the orbital scans actually had a pattern to them. Fast forward through three hours of intense arguing and analysis, and Gibs had convinced all of us \u2014 they\u2019re not naturally occurring. Which means whatever\u2019s down there is probably manmade. Well, not \u201cman\u201d made. I mean, unless we found where the Artemis crashed, we\u2019re potentially talking about a sapient xeno-species.\n\nJans wanted to pull together a team to go down and have a look, but no way we\u2019re cleared for that. I pointed out that we\u2019ve been listening since we got here and haven\u2019t heard a single peep from the surface, so if anything is down there, they don\u2019t exactly seem eager to talk. Plus, after what happened with the Xi\u2019an aliens, I\u2019m pretty sure we\u2019d not only lose our jobs, but possibly be jailed for making unauthorized first contact. Both Gibson and Jans gave impassioned speeches about how this was our once-in-a-lifetime chance to make history. Even Lace said that we should go, and Lace won\u2019t even listen to music on shift because it\u2019s against policy.\n\nI held firm. As much as I want to go check out what\u2019s down there, our job is data analysis. Maybe once the surface team arrives and has a chance to do a full sec by sec, we\u2019ll get the green light to check it out ourselves.\n\n2531.07.14_07:37 SET\nI\u2019ve been looking at the scans. The pattern creates almost a network. You can start to see hubs and branches that connect and spin off. I wonder if they\u2019re some sort of mine? Perhaps they\u2019re a massive earthworks project that\u2019s used for transportation? Agriculture? To be honest they remind me of how our town was arranged around the initial colony outpost at its hub, but if this is a settlement or a city of some kind then \u2014\n\nI really need to stop sitting here speculating. It\u2019s not getting me anywhere and I\u2019m sure once someone goes down there they can figure it out. Not that it will be easy. You park anything down there for too long without the right shield and you can basically kiss it goodbye. You would probably have to set up \u2014\n\nAnd there I go again. Okay, I\u2019m gonna grab a can of coffee and see where we are with the drone launch for this afternoon.\n\n2531.07.14_07:41 SET\nI just realized that the surface team will need to really hurry when they arrive to try to preserve anything at risk. I mean, imagine finding out that we missed being able to study important alien artifacts because the caustic atmosphere got to it before we could. It\u2019s probably not a huge risk. Who knows? Maybe it\u2019s all been there for centuries. But on the other hand, maybe there\u2019s a clock counting down and we just don\u2019t know it yet. Hopefully, the jump point will open soon.\n\n2531.07.14_08:16 SET\nScrew it. We\u2019re going to go take a look. What\u2019s the point of exploring the unknown if you don\u2019t actually go explore the unknown?\n\n2531.07.16_19:12 SET\nDefinitely not first contact. It was like we had accidentally wandered into some forgotten pit of hell. Ash everywhere. Everything in ruins. Nothing alive.\n\nWe had waited for another break in the storm, and set down near the package drop site. Jans had hoped to be able to do some maintenance on the scanner before we left. We knew at most we\u2019d have three or four hours down there. Our suits\u2019 oxygen wasn\u2019t the problem, it was the corrosive ash. Stepping out of the shuttle, we had almost no visibility through the dense atmosphere. Our lights penetrated only a few meters before they were swallowed by the darkness. It didn\u2019t help that our comm range was a tenth of what it should be thanks to residual kherium. We tied a lifeline to make sure no one got lost, and set an excruciatingly slow pace.\n\nEven with those constraints, we came upon signs of life almost immediately, but not any life itself. The surface was terribly scarred, seemingly torn apart by impact, but there was no mistaking the manufactured fragments that were littered throughout the debris. Initial scans of the pieces came up with question marks. We collected samples where we could. I found a smooth piece slightly bigger than my hand that had a peculiar non-repeating pattern etched into it. I stared at it the whole ride back and I couldn\u2019t tell you if it\u2019s some language, an intricate aesthetic design, a natural feature of the strange material or some combination of the three.\n\nIt was Lace who found the first intact entrance. The structure lead deep underground, but it had collapsed in on itself almost entirely. Standing there looking around at the size of the archway and the dimensions of the architecture made me feel like an alien for the first time in my life. It was clear that this was a world where Humans didn\u2019t belong.\n\nWe were debating if we should proceed farther when Jans sprang a leak in his suit. We had to quickly reseal it and even with the patch in place and holding, we hurried back as fast as we could. It looked like enough things had died on that world without Jans needing to join them.\n\nAs I sit here, my head is spinning trying to process everything we saw. One question, though, keeps returning \u2014 how soon can we go back?\n\nEND OF RECORDS\n\nSeline Novikov, one of the first Humans to ever step foot inside a Hadesian ruin, was removed as expedition leader a week later when the jump point re-charting was finished and the GCA received word of the unauthorized landing party. When asked if the decision to go down to the planet was a mistake, Seline replied, \u201cOh, yeah. Best one I ever made, too.\u201d","de_DE":"Today's Discovered zieht einen Auszug aus den Archiven des Imperial Cartography Center, um eine Geschichte aus den jungen Tagen der Organisation zu erz\u00e4hlen (als sie noch als Government Cartography Agency bekannt war.) Wir werden aus erster Hand von Expeditionsleiterin Seline Novikov \u00fcber die Geheimnisse h\u00f6ren, die w\u00e4hrend der ersten Kartierung von Hades II. aufgedeckt wurden.\n\nANFANG DER AUFZEICHNUNGEN:\n2534.07.11_02:27 GESETZT\nNach f\u00fcnfundachtzig Stunden Stille bekam ich endlich eine Nachricht aus dem Heimb\u00fcro. Es stellte sich heraus, dass es einen Grund daf\u00fcr gibt, dass die Kommunikationsdrohnen so fleckig waren. Scheint so, als ob sich die ersten Sprung-Charts nicht so stabil erweisen wie urspr\u00fcnglich angenommen. Wirklich tr\u00f6stlich, das zu h\u00f6ren, nachdem man es bereits durchgemacht hat, oder? Donovan versucht, einen sichereren Weg wieder einzuschlagen, aber es wird Zeit brauchen. Wir sollten mit begrenzten Kommunikationsm\u00f6glichkeiten einverstanden sein und wir haben definitiv genug Vorr\u00e4te, um eine Lieferung zu gew\u00e4hrleisten - auch wenn es einige Beschwerden dar\u00fcber geben k\u00f6nnte, dass wir f\u00fcr die letzte Woche oder so nichts als Heat-em-ups essen m\u00fcssen. Nein, unser gr\u00f6\u00dftes Problem ist, dass wir nicht die zus\u00e4tzliche Ausr\u00fcstung bekommen, die wir brauchen, um mit den detaillierten Oberfl\u00e4chenscans des dritten und zweiten Planeten zu beginnen. Nicht ganz der Start, den ich mir f\u00fcr mein erstes Mal als Lead erhofft hatte.\n\nAus Neugierde lie\u00df ich Jans zwei unserer normalen Scan-Pakete mit einigen zus\u00e4tzlichen Umweltschutzma\u00dfnahmen zusammenstellen, um zu sehen, ob wir w\u00e4hrend des Wartens wertvolle Informationen erhalten k\u00f6nnen. Allerdings wurde das Paket, das auf die Welt zwei fiel, innerhalb weniger Minuten verstopft und stoppte die \u00dcbertragung, und das Paket der Welt drei schaffte es nicht einmal an die Oberfl\u00e4che. Ich sch\u00e4tze, wir m\u00fcssen die Berichte vorerst als \"Asche\" bzw. \"Krater\" belassen. Es wird die Ressourcenanalyse weit hinter den Zeitplan zur\u00fcckstellen, aber ich hoffe, dass die Verantwortlichen das verstehen werden.\n\nAuf der anderen Seite, bis der Sprung sortiert ist, werden wir eine legitime Ausrede haben, um erhebliche zus\u00e4tzliche Ressourcen auf die Datenr\u00fcckgaben aus der geteilten Welt zu konzentrieren. Wer wei\u00df, vielleicht k\u00f6nnen wir vor der Ankunft eines der anderen Teams herausfinden, was den vierten Planeten in zwei H\u00e4lften gerissen hat.\n\n2534.07.13_22.44 SATZ\nJans hat gerade fast meine Luke aus den Angeln genommen und versucht, mich aufzuwecken. Ich wollte anfangen zu schreien, mich au\u00dferhalb der Schicht zu st\u00f6ren, als ich das Datenadressier sah, das er mir aufgeregt ins Gesicht schob. Die Sonde der Welt zwei hatte \u00fcberlebt. Es ist ein schwaches Signal, aber es ist da. Die beste Theorie, die wir zusammengesetzt haben, ist, dass die atmosph\u00e4rische Asche Spuren von Kherium enth\u00e4lt, und wenn sich der Sturm bewegt, st\u00f6rt sie das \u00dcbertragungssignal. Wir haben diesmal nicht viel bekommen, bevor die Aschebank das Signal wieder blockierte, aber die Wettervorhersage zeigt, dass wir in etwa vier Stunden eine weitere Pause einlegen k\u00f6nnten.\n\n2534.07.14_07:03 GESETZT\nIch bin v\u00f6llig ersch\u00f6pft, aber immer noch zu aufgew\u00fchlt, um zu schlafen. Die Prognose war richtig und wir konnten einen weiteren Datenstoss bekommen, bevor sich das Fenster wieder schloss. Als wir einen kurzen Blick durch das Paket wirkten, wies Gibson darauf hin, dass das, was wir urspr\u00fcnglich f\u00fcr Landverformungen in den Orbitalaufnahmen genommen hatten, tats\u00e4chlich ein Muster f\u00fcr sie hatte. Schnell vorw\u00e4rts durch drei Stunden intensiver Auseinandersetzung und Analyse, und Gibs hatte uns alle \u00fcberzeugt - sie treten nicht von selbst auf. Was bedeutet, dass das, was da unten ist, wahrscheinlich von Menschenhand gemacht wurde. Nun, nicht \"von Menschen gemacht\". Ich meine, wenn wir nicht herausfinden, wo die Artemis abgest\u00fcrzt sind, sprechen wir m\u00f6glicherweise \u00fcber eine sapient Xeno-Art.\n\nJans wollte ein Team zusammenstellen, um nach unten zu gehen und einen Blick darauf zu werfen, aber auf keinen Fall sind wir daf\u00fcr bereit. Ich wies darauf hin, dass wir seit unserer Ankunft hier zugeh\u00f6rt haben und keinen einzigen Blick von der Oberfl\u00e4che aus geworfen haben, so dass sie, wenn etwas da unten ist, nicht gerade gespr\u00e4chig zu sein scheinen. Au\u00dferdem bin ich mir ziemlich sicher, dass wir nach dem, was mit den Xi'an-Aliens passiert ist, nicht nur unsere Jobs verlieren, sondern m\u00f6glicherweise wegen unbefugter Erstkontakte ins Gef\u00e4ngnis kommen werden. Sowohl Gibson als auch Jans hielten leidenschaftliche Vortr\u00e4ge dar\u00fcber, wie dies unsere einmalige Chance war, Geschichte zu schreiben. Sogar Lace sagte, dass wir gehen sollten, und Lace wird nicht einmal w\u00e4hrend der Schicht Musik h\u00f6ren, weil es gegen die Richtlinien ist.\n\nIch blieb standhaft. So sehr ich auch herausfinden m\u00f6chte, was da unten los ist, unser Job ist die Datenanalyse. Vielleicht bekommen wir, sobald das Oberfl\u00e4chenteam angekommen ist und die Chance hat, eine ganze Sekunde nach der anderen zu arbeiten, gr\u00fcnes Licht, um es selbst zu \u00fcberpr\u00fcfen.\n\n2534.07.14_07:37 GESETZT\nIch habe mir die Scans angesehen. Das Muster erzeugt fast ein Netzwerk. Sie k\u00f6nnen beginnen, Hubs und Zweige zu sehen, die sich verbinden und abspalten. Ich frage mich, ob es eine Art von mir ist? Vielleicht sind es ein riesiges Erdbauprojekt, das f\u00fcr den Transport genutzt wird? Landwirtschaft? Um ehrlich zu sein, erinnern sie mich daran, wie unsere Stadt um den urspr\u00fcnglichen Kolonieau\u00dfenposten an seinem Zentrum herum angeordnet war, aber wenn es sich um eine Siedlung oder eine Art Stadt handelt, dann -\n\nIch muss wirklich aufh\u00f6ren, hier zu sitzen und zu spekulieren. Es bringt mich nirgendwo hin und ich bin sicher, wenn jemand da runtergeht, kann er es herausfinden. Nicht, dass es einfach w\u00e4re. Man parkt da unten zu lange ohne den richtigen Schild und kann sich im Grunde genommen verabschieden. Du m\u00fcsstest wahrscheinlich einrichten -\n\nUnd da bin ich wieder. Okay, ich werde mir eine Dose Kaffee schnappen und sehen, wo wir mit dem Drohnenstart f\u00fcr heute Nachmittag stehen.\n\n2534.07.14_07:41 GESETZT\nMir ist gerade aufgefallen, dass sich das Oberfl\u00e4chenteam bei seiner Ankunft wirklich beeilen muss, um zu versuchen, etwas Gef\u00e4hrdetes zu erhalten. Ich meine, stell dir vor, du w\u00fcrdest herausfinden, dass wir es verpasst haben, wichtige au\u00dferirdische Artefakte zu studieren, weil die \u00e4tzende Atmosph\u00e4re sie erreicht hat, bevor wir es konnten. Es ist wahrscheinlich kein gro\u00dfes Risiko. Wer wei\u00df? Vielleicht ist das alles schon seit Jahrhunderten da. Aber auf der anderen Seite, vielleicht gibt es eine Uhr, die herunterz\u00e4hlt und wir wissen es nur noch nicht. Hoffentlich wird sich der Sprungpunkt bald \u00f6ffnen.\n\n2534.07.14_08:16 GESETZT\nVergiss es. Wir werden einen Blick darauf werfen. Was n\u00fctzt es, das Unbekannte zu erforschen, wenn man nicht wirklich das Unbekannte erkundet?\n\n2534.07.16_19:12 GESETZT\nDefinitiv nicht der erste Kontakt. Es war, als w\u00e4ren wir aus Versehen in eine vergessene Grube der H\u00f6lle gewandert. \u00dcberall Asche. Alles in Tr\u00fcmmern. Nichts Lebendiges.\n\nWir hatten auf eine weitere Unterbrechung des Sturms gewartet und uns in der N\u00e4he der Paketabgabestelle niedergelassen. Jans hatte gehofft, den Scanner vor unserer Abreise etwas warten zu k\u00f6nnen. Wir wussten, dass wir h\u00f6chstens drei oder vier Stunden da unten haben w\u00fcrden. Der Sauerstoff unserer Anz\u00fcge war nicht das Problem, es war die korrosive Asche. Als wir aus dem Shuttle stiegen, hatten wir fast keine Sicht durch die dichte Atmosph\u00e4re. Unsere Lichter drangen nur wenige Meter vor, bevor sie von der Dunkelheit verschluckt wurden. Es half nicht, dass unsere Komm-Reichweite ein Zehntel dessen war, was sie sein sollte, dank des Restkeriums. Wir banden eine Rettungsleine, um sicherzustellen, dass sich niemand verirrte, und legten ein entsetzlich langsames Tempo vor.\n\nTrotz dieser Einschr\u00e4nkungen kamen wir fast sofort auf Lebenszeichen, aber nicht auf ein Leben selbst. Die Oberfl\u00e4che war schrecklich vernarbt, scheinbar durch den Aufprall auseinandergerissen, aber es gab keinen Zweifel an den hergestellten Fragmenten, die in den Tr\u00fcmmern verstreut waren. Erste Scans der St\u00fccke zeigten Fragezeichen. Wir sammelten Proben, wo wir konnten. Ich fand ein glattes St\u00fcck, das etwas gr\u00f6\u00dfer war als meine Hand, in das ein eigent\u00fcmliches, sich nicht wiederholendes Muster einge\u00e4tzt war. Ich starrte ihn die ganze Zeit an, und ich konnte Ihnen nicht sagen, ob es sich um eine Sprache, ein kompliziertes \u00e4sthetisches Design, ein nat\u00fcrliches Merkmal des seltsamen Materials oder eine Kombination der drei handelt.\n\nEs war Lace, die den ersten intakten Eingang fand. Die Struktur f\u00fchrte tief in den Untergrund, war aber fast vollst\u00e4ndig in sich zusammengebrochen. Als ich dort stand und die Gr\u00f6\u00dfe des Torbogens und die Dimensionen der Architektur betrachtete, f\u00fchlte ich mich zum ersten Mal in meinem Leben wie ein Au\u00dferirdischer. Es war klar, dass dies eine Welt war, in die die Menschen nicht geh\u00f6rten.\n\nWir diskutierten, ob wir weitermachen sollten, als Jans ein Leck in seinem Anzug hatte. Wir mussten es schnell wieder verschlie\u00dfen, und selbst mit dem Pflaster an Ort und Stelle und in der Hand eilten wir so schnell wie m\u00f6glich zur\u00fcck. Es sah so aus, als w\u00e4ren genug Dinge auf dieser Welt gestorben, ohne dass Jans sich ihnen anschlie\u00dfen musste.\n\nW\u00e4hrend ich hier sitze, dreht sich mein Kopf und versucht, alles zu verarbeiten, was wir gesehen haben. Eine Frage kommt jedoch immer wieder - wie schnell k\u00f6nnen wir zur\u00fcckkehren?\n\nENDE DER DATENS\u00c4TZE\n\nSeline Novikov, eine der ersten Menschen, die jemals einen Fu\u00df in eine hadesische Ruine gesetzt hat, wurde eine Woche sp\u00e4ter als Expeditionsleiterin entfernt, als die Rekonstruktion des Sprungbrettes abgeschlossen war und die GCA die Nachricht vom nicht autorisierten Landungsteam erhielt. Auf die Frage, ob die Entscheidung, auf den Planeten zu gehen, ein Fehler war, antwortete Seline: \"Oh, ja. Der beste, den ich je gemacht habe.\"","zh_CN":"Today\u2019s Discovered pulls an excerpt from the Imperial Cartography Center archives to share a story from the fledgling days of the organization (when it was still known as the Government Cartography Agency.) We\u2019ll hear firsthand from expedition leader Seline Novikov on the mysteries uncovered during the initial charting of Hades II.\n\nBEGIN RECORDS:\n2531.07.11_02:27 SET\nAfter eighty-five hours of silence, I finally got word from the home office. Turns out there\u2019s a reason the comm drones have been so spotty. Seems the initial jump charts aren\u2019t proving as stable as first thought. Real comforting to hear that after you\u2019ve already gone through, right? Donovan\u2019s attempting to rechart a more secure path, but it\u2019s going to take time. We should be fine with limited communications and we definitely have enough supplies to last till they can get a shipment through \u2014 even if there might be a few complaints about having to eat nothing but heat-em-ups for the last week or so. No, our biggest problem is that we won\u2019t get the extra equipment we need to start doing the detailed surface scans of the third and second planet. Not quite the start I was hoping for my first time as lead.\n\nOut of curiosity, I had Jans rig up two of our normal scan-packages with some extra environmental protections to see if we could get any worthwhile information while we waited. However, the package dropped onto world two got clogged within a few minutes and stopped broadcasting, and the world three package didn\u2019t even make it to the surface. Guess we\u2019ll have to leave the reports as \u201cash\u201d and \u201ccraters\u201d respectively for now. It\u2019s going to put the resource analysis way behind schedule, but I\u2019m hoping the brass will understand.\n\nOn the brighter side, until the jump gets sorted, we will have a legitimate excuse to focus significant additional resources on the data returns from the split world. Who knows, maybe before any of the other teams arrive we\u2019ll be able to figure out what caused the fourth planet to break in half.\n\n2531.07.13_22.44 SET\nJans just nearly took my hatch off its hinges trying to wake me up. I was going to start yelling about bothering me off-shift, when I saw the datapad that he was excitedly shoving in my face. The world two probe had survived. It\u2019s a weak signal, but it\u2019s there. The best theory that we\u2019ve put together is that the atmospheric ash has traces of kherium in it and as the storm moves, it disrupts the broadcast signal. We didn\u2019t get much this time before the ash bank blocked the signal again, but the weather forecast shows that we might have another break in about four hours.\n\n2531.07.14_07:03 SET\nI\u2019m absolutely exhausted, but am still too wired to sleep. The forecast was right and we were able to get another burst of data before the window closed again. When we took a quick glance through the packet, Gibson pointed out that what we had initially taken for land deformations in the orbital scans actually had a pattern to them. Fast forward through three hours of intense arguing and analysis, and Gibs had convinced all of us \u2014 they\u2019re not naturally occurring. Which means whatever\u2019s down there is probably manmade. Well, not \u201cman\u201d made. I mean, unless we found where the Artemis crashed, we\u2019re potentially talking about a sapient xeno-species.\n\nJans wanted to pull together a team to go down and have a look, but no way we\u2019re cleared for that. I pointed out that we\u2019ve been listening since we got here and haven\u2019t heard a single peep from the surface, so if anything is down there, they don\u2019t exactly seem eager to talk. Plus, after what happened with the Xi\u2019an aliens, I\u2019m pretty sure we\u2019d not only lose our jobs, but possibly be jailed for making unauthorized first contact. Both Gibson and Jans gave impassioned speeches about how this was our once-in-a-lifetime chance to make history. Even Lace said that we should go, and Lace won\u2019t even listen to music on shift because it\u2019s against policy.\n\nI held firm. As much as I want to go check out what\u2019s down there, our job is data analysis. Maybe once the surface team arrives and has a chance to do a full sec by sec, we\u2019ll get the green light to check it out ourselves.\n\n2531.07.14_07:37 SET\nI\u2019ve been looking at the scans. The pattern creates almost a network. You can start to see hubs and branches that connect and spin off. I wonder if they\u2019re some sort of mine? Perhaps they\u2019re a massive earthworks project that\u2019s used for transportation? Agriculture? To be honest they remind me of how our town was arranged around the initial colony outpost at its hub, but if this is a settlement or a city of some kind then \u2014\n\nI really need to stop sitting here speculating. It\u2019s not getting me anywhere and I\u2019m sure once someone goes down there they can figure it out. Not that it will be easy. You park anything down there for too long without the right shield and you can basically kiss it goodbye. You would probably have to set up \u2014\n\nAnd there I go again. Okay, I\u2019m gonna grab a can of coffee and see where we are with the drone launch for this afternoon.\n\n2531.07.14_07:41 SET\nI just realized that the surface team will need to really hurry when they arrive to try to preserve anything at risk. I mean, imagine finding out that we missed being able to study important alien artifacts because the caustic atmosphere got to it before we could. It\u2019s probably not a huge risk. Who knows? Maybe it\u2019s all been there for centuries. But on the other hand, maybe there\u2019s a clock counting down and we just don\u2019t know it yet. Hopefully, the jump point will open soon.\n\n2531.07.14_08:16 SET\nScrew it. We\u2019re going to go take a look. What\u2019s the point of exploring the unknown if you don\u2019t actually go explore the unknown?\n\n2531.07.16_19:12 SET\nDefinitely not first contact. It was like we had accidentally wandered into some forgotten pit of hell. Ash everywhere. Everything in ruins. Nothing alive.\n\nWe had waited for another break in the storm, and set down near the package drop site. Jans had hoped to be able to do some maintenance on the scanner before we left. We knew at most we\u2019d have three or four hours down there. Our suits\u2019 oxygen wasn\u2019t the problem, it was the corrosive ash. Stepping out of the shuttle, we had almost no visibility through the dense atmosphere. Our lights penetrated only a few meters before they were swallowed by the darkness. It didn\u2019t help that our comm range was a tenth of what it should be thanks to residual kherium. We tied a lifeline to make sure no one got lost, and set an excruciatingly slow pace.\n\nEven with those constraints, we came upon signs of life almost immediately, but not any life itself. The surface was terribly scarred, seemingly torn apart by impact, but there was no mistaking the manufactured fragments that were littered throughout the debris. Initial scans of the pieces came up with question marks. We collected samples where we could. I found a smooth piece slightly bigger than my hand that had a peculiar non-repeating pattern etched into it. I stared at it the whole ride back and I couldn\u2019t tell you if it\u2019s some language, an intricate aesthetic design, a natural feature of the strange material or some combination of the three.\n\nIt was Lace who found the first intact entrance. The structure lead deep underground, but it had collapsed in on itself almost entirely. Standing there looking around at the size of the archway and the dimensions of the architecture made me feel like an alien for the first time in my life. It was clear that this was a world where Humans didn\u2019t belong.\n\nWe were debating if we should proceed farther when Jans sprang a leak in his suit. We had to quickly reseal it and even with the patch in place and holding, we hurried back as fast as we could. It looked like enough things had died on that world without Jans needing to join them.\n\nAs I sit here, my head is spinning trying to process everything we saw. One question, though, keeps returning \u2014 how soon can we go back?\n\nEND OF RECORDS\n\nSeline Novikov, one of the first Humans to ever step foot inside a Hadesian ruin, was removed as expedition leader a week later when the jump point re-charting was finished and the GCA received word of the unauthorized landing party. When asked if the decision to go down to the planet was a mistake, Seline replied, \u201cOh, yeah. Best one I ever made, too.\u201d"},"links_count":0,"comment_count":48,"created_at":"2017-07-12T00:00:00+00:00","created_at_human":"8 years ago"},"meta":{"processed_at":"2026-05-08 00:03:29","valid_relations":["images","links"],"prev_id":16004,"next_id":16006}}