The camp is so quiet, and yet so much is happening.
Orvar regained consciousness shortly after the others left, and it appears that he will be fine. That is the good news, but in a somewhat distressing turn of events, once Orvar could speak he informed us that it was not Thraxxians who had attacked him and Thraya, but it was actually a group of what he described as “wasteland nomads in TU5CC gear”. We now believe that Kurnn Ray lied to us, which means that Vellok and Kogg willingly went away with a group that attacked our friends and abducted Thraya.
We are obviously very concerned about this information, but Uularia pointed out that they did return Orvar to us. They could have left him for dead and blamed it on Thraxxians, but they brought him back to our camp. If their intentions were genuinely malicious, why would they spare his life? This gives us hope that our friends have a chance of returning to us soon.
Uularia instructed me to tune my instruments to search for nearby transmissions, hoping that we could intercept something from the strangers. We had seen a rudimentary comm setup on their rover along with some other gear, so Uularia guessed that they may be using the comm-box to communicate with others in their group.
For the past few clicks I’ve been alternating between broadcasting our distress signal outside of Planet Thaxxon and scanning terrestrial frequencies to try to learn something about the strangers. Finally, I got something. It was a coded message, but it was a basic cipher and I translated it pretty quickly. The message read:
Target acquired. One other guest onboard.
Rover is loaded and on the way. Harrow Zone entry soon.
Hostiles anticipated. Support requested.
A short time later, a reply came across:
Message received.
First group has returned. Science Officer is secured.
Hostiles confirmed across Harrow Zone. Be ready.
The final message I intercepted read:
Hunters engaged. Pursuing us now.
Hylor and Jobara taking defensive measures. Guests are also helping fight back. We underestimated the numbers of the hunters.
Support requested immediately.
We are not sure what to make of these messages. The “Harrow Zone” that they refer to is the name that the strangers used for the stretch of wasteland that they said runs from the area where our camp is located to where their settlement is on the Northern side of Thraxxon. We know that is where they were headed in their rover, but these messages seem to state that they have been attacked along the way, which has added to our fear and uncertainty over our friend’s safety.
Orvar suggested that we should follow them, but he is really in no condition to go anywhere, and Uularia shot down his suggestion immediately, reminding him that we needed to continue trying to make a connection to AEXOR3 to arrange for a rescue. He began to argue his point, but then a response came in to our signal.
The reply to our distress signal was still garbled, but less so than the previous reply. Uularia instructed me to run a trace on the message, which I did. I discovered that the message is coming to us from a great distance, which means they are still far away from Thraxxon, likely on the edge of the Third or maybe even somewhere in the Fifth. I was also able to identify the associated designation of the responding frequency. Unfortunately, it is more bad news. The signal is coming from a T.U.5.C.C. vessel.
I am just a comm officer from a crew of junkers, so I don’t pay too much mind to the dramas out there beyond my own job, but even I know that AEXOR3 stays away from any kind of T.U.5.C.C. involvements. Word is that the Traders Union has been trying to bring A3 under their control for years, and they don’t take too kindly to AEXOR3 refusing those deals. I know this is a bit off topic for this log entry and I will probably hear it from Vellok when he returns and reads this, but I think it is somewhat relevant since a Traders Union vessel is the one answering our distress signal.
I asked Uularia if I should respond. It is a sign of how desperate we are that she gave me her approval. We have transmitted our coordinates to the T.U.5.C.C. vessel and asked for them to come rescue us from Thraxxon. Hopefully our friends will be safe in the Harrow Zone, or wherever the strangers are bringing them, and they will be back at camp soon. In the meantime, we await the arrival of the Traders Union. We did receive another reply from our would-be rescuers, which simply stated:
CONFIRMED. COORDINATES RECEIVED. RETRIEVAL UNDERWAY.
EXPECTED ARRIVAL IN +12- CYCLES.
And now, we wait.
::/DISTRESS SIGNAL – AEXOR3 VESSEL DESIGNATION:QORGONOX AWAITING INCOMING ASSISTANCE. Current location = Thraxxon. Current status = 6 surviving crew members / split across multiple locations. Unsure of current safety status. Native contact made – multiple species. COMM BAND REPLY RECEIVED. EVACUATION IMMANENT. /::
Published on 07.31.24