98. Records from the Vault IV - A New Frontier
Chapter 98: Records from the Vault III – A New Frontier
<This record is access-level 3 classified. No copies are to be made. Adherence to confidentiality is expected.>
Record codename FRONTIER is one of the clearest phantom frequencies we have received – nearly 100% fidelity of signal transmission was maintained. Its coding suggests early 1st millennium MGE and its origin point was determined to be the border of the Arklight sector and the Uncharted Zones.
<Begin Vault Record codename FRONTIER>
The beauty of space never ceases to astound me. Its vast obsidian expanse twinkling with the light of a billion-billion stars. A thrill like no other flows through my veins at the thought of exploring it: of uncovering what lies hidden in its depths.
Even now, on the brink, I still feel that excitement. This is the final message of The New Frontier, whoever may be listening out there please bear witness to our story. Uplink connection is spotty, so I shall regale you with our first, and final, story.
Do not necessarily take this as a warning - space exists to be explored, and I still firmly believe that. Risks may be there, but they come hand in hand with rewards and complacency only leads to stagnation.
Our expedition cruiser, The New Frontier, was a state-of-the-art ship. We were equipped with the bleeding-edge technologies of our times and manned by only the most qualified. We may have been a science vessel first and foremost, but our defence systems were rigorous enough to deter most threats we could encounter.
And so, we set out on our maiden voyage, amidst the roars of celebration and cheer across countless worlds. Ours was a time of peace after a long war, and our expedition was to be the mascot for a new era. Politics aside, it represented an opportunity for scientific advancement on an exponential scale. One of our telescopes on a colony-planet had spotted something in the outer reaches of the galaxy. A spike of strange energy that washed outwards in rhythmic ripples. This was to be our first destination.
It was far beyond the borders of our humble civilisation, into a treacherous sector of space ridden with wormholes and abnormalities that made it almost impossible to navigate. For most people, that was. The New Frontier was equipped with <corrupted file> which allowed us to travel relatively safely.
We travelled through the gate-net for the most part, switching to the <corrupted file> once we had travelled beyond its reach. The journey was not without danger, despite our extensive preparations. The gravitational anomalies were within tolerance thresholds, but stranger things abound. Crew reported seeing ghosts, shadows moving unnaturally, clanging sounds from within the ships.
Cries of children from beyond.
We were worried: our doctor, a high-order psychic, pleaded with us to turn back. But there was much responsibility on our shoulders – we represented a hopeful future. We could not fail at the first hurdle.
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Is what I said to him, but I lied. The truth was the idea of these unexplainable phenomena only captivated me further. This was what I truly wanted to do.
I joined the navy young and naïve, expecting to explore worlds and discover new things. Instead, I found myself signed up to a war. One that I had not started, nor had any stake in the outcome of. Now that it was finished, and the opportunity arose to captain this expedition, I jumped at it like a ravenous beast.
Finally, by wanderlust could be sated. And so, I pushed us unequivocally onwards. My lieutenants were inclined to agree with me, though not for the reasons in my heart but for the patriotism I spoke. The doctor bowed his head muttering doom and gloom, but he too acquiesced in time.
We travelled past many artefacts on our journey to the source of the energy spikes. Elder Constructs, ravaged from unknown enemies, floated through space aimlessly. We harvested what we could from them, though ever-fearful of the retaliation of their slumbering Sentinels. Each and every thing we encountered out here beyond civilised space had our scientists drooling and salivating.
Talk of “a hundred years of advancement” and “an upheaval of scientific thought” was ever-present throughout the ship. Morale and confidence were high and, soon enough, we had long forgotten the strange whispers we heard upon entering this space. It seemed they had forgotten about us too as I heard no more reports on the topic.
I know the truth now. They had simply learned how to hide themselves better.
But I was oblivious of this at the time, only focusing on our destination that grew ever closer. Soon enough, we were on the border of the energy spikes. Our sensors were primed and specialists huddled over screens on the main deck, debating in hushed whispers over the readouts.
It seemed that it was hard to get a clear enough read-out from outside its range, so an unmanned probe was sent out. As it reached the edge of the wave, I saw something flash on the display screen. The probe was lit up in iridescent colours, much like the interaction between charged particles and a planets magnetic field.
The probe did not venture much further: caution was still paramount. We retrieved it and input the data it measured. We were too shocked to think of the ramifications of what we found.
Something capable of exuding this much energy of that type on a scale that could cover a solar system was inconceivable even in our wildest imaginations. A giddiness flowed through me, and the many others present at the time of our discovery. Perhaps even a flicker of greed - to be the one to head this expedition would guarantee my name engraved into history.
No doubt all others were in their own delusions of grandeur. Except one. The ship-doctor came to my room later that evening. He looked unwell, for lack of a better word to describe him. His hair was matted to his pale forehead and his eyes darted around nervously. He seemed to jump at every hidden corner and unfamiliar sound.
Perhaps I should have paid more attention that day. Perhaps I would have, but a tinge of annoyance had crept into my mind. We had just made the greatest discover since the signing of the Treaty of Calan, and this man would break from nerves?
I was terse with him; I dismissed his pleas. I ordered him to be temporarily relieved from duty and suggested that he partake in the celebrations. Maybe they may cheer him up. He agreed begrudgingly, muttering to himself that perhaps he may have just been confused.
And soon enough, I had put this encounter behind me. There were more pressing matters to attend to. What came next was a truth so harrowing that it left nothing in its wake except for sweet oblivion. I shall save you from having to experience such a thing, instead leaving with you this single warning:
In that place where the Gaze of the Watchful Eye thins, its grasp on hyperspace lessening, things from beyond seep through the cracks. Nameless horrors, dwellers of the Abyss and things far, far worse.
There is a reason The New Frontier has been scrubbed from all records, save for this final transmission. It is not out of shame, it is out of fear. Fear that its demise may follow its hollowed out corpse back into the galaxy proper. Let me leave you who listen with these final words:
This is not a warning. Do not stagnate out of dread, for such a path only guarantees a slow death. This is merely message of caution. Do not stumble in the same place we fell; instead let our corpse be the ground upon which you tread.
Do not feel hesitant about such a thing, for it is our greatest honour. We have all done it after all.
We who stand upon the shoulders of giants.