Private Lost City of Salacia

[Judah Dashiell]

Judah ran a hand down his face as he read a series of messages between a contracted shipyard and the head of vehicle and vessel management. Salacia had been in dire need of new deep-space research exploration vessels. There seemed to be a disagreement on price and speed of build. Not the first time they had ran into problems and it made him tempted to build a shipyard for their own personal vessel use. He started a message to finance and property acquisition while it was fresh in his mind.

Until a notification from one Doctor Sade T. Nova popped up in the lower right hand corner.

Sadie,

Woostri Archives is not the type of pit-stop I would make on my own, so I have not had the chance to visit. I do not remember spending much time on planet and this was ages ago. More than likely more aquatic than land activities were had.

How goes your flight? From what I can tell it seems aggravating. Business as usual on this end.

-Judah


[[ Sadie Nova ]]

 

[Sadie Nova]

[[ Judah Dashiell ]]

Was it too soon to be proud of the fact she managed to keep this string of messages under Feren's nose? A second later determined that she frankly didn't give a damn about what Feren thought of her.

In the midst of the Chiss explaining the layout of the ruins from the last broadcast received, Sadie kept one eye on the holographic presentation and another on her screen. Here she quickly shot out another reply.

Only this time one she hit send, did she realize about her improper informally.

Judah,

That makes sense. I've heard that the archives are a wonder to view. None the less, it is good to hear that you had an enjoyable time there. Are there any other worlds you are interested in visiting?

As for my flight... it comes and goes. Work and having to navigate around clashing personalities can be... exhausting. As it is, before I start another round of glares, I will bid you adieu.

Sadie

 

[Judah Dashiell]

Nirauan | Outskirts of Salacia Salvage Reclamation Facility WS-04

Care had been taken to land the Salacia vessels well out in the grassy plains next to the sprawling reclamation facility. Ramps were lowered and security had ventured out first, creating a perimeter for those exiting next. Hills rolled in the distance, wind blowing the grass like waves all around them. Judah descended down the ramp, squinting his eyes in the bright sunlight. He had never been on planet before and so far, so good. Quiet and peaceful - so why did the entire crew go missing?

Crates were already being pulled out of the last research vessel, beings standing around with hands on hips. Judah joined a group with a holographic map projected above the waving grass, slowly rotating the facility in question.

"No signs of life according to security. Getting some energy signatures but it may be from the facility itself. A team is forming to investigate. Goal is to reach flight control and check all logs. Engineering will be checking anything we can think of - maintenance logs, datacomputer upgrades, equipment sign out - just to give us a timeline. Everyone stay connected, don't know whats out there. Something could pop up at any moment."

Judah nodded, the teams starting to form. Off in the distance he could see the University crew starting their landing.

[[ Sadie Nova ]]

 

[Sadie Nova]

[[ Judah Dashiell ]]

Once they landed, Sadie, as she was prone to do, reverted into project management mode. She had a tendency to hyperfocus and now, it was all about setting camp and trying to determine what exactly occurred and where the previous expedition crew went off to.

"How far is the facility?" Sadie would ask, her braided ponytail swaying at her back. She wore a white button-up blouse, tan breeches, and calf-high brown boots with notable scuffs that indicated how well worn they were.

"About a klick," came the response from another university employee currently assisting with the disembarking of cargo. "The jungle is so thick up in here that the spaceport had to be built a ways from the facility."

"Any contact?" she inquired, bringing one hand up to shield her eyes. She should have grabbed her hat from the cabin.

"None yet. Salacia said they were going to start diagnostics and attempt to pull as much as they could from the computers."

 

[Judah Dashiell]

Salacia was setting up camp for the long haul. There was an estimation of two to three weeks at the minimum. Nirauan would be their home base of operations during this time. The hope was they would find a lead on what happened to the missing crew. Judah was still suspecting pirates but they wouldn't know until they dug deep into logs and records. Typically such things as pirate activity or warships would be logged and passed on to spacers coming into the area. Considering their scrap shipments had stopped when the crew disappeared, someone in the area had to know something.

There wasn't much for him to do right now. He wasn't trained in engineering or any type of forensics.

One thing did weigh on his mind - the Professor known as Sade T. Nova . Their messages ended days ago and he was eager to make himself known. A bit eager and perhaps schoolboy like but he was willing to take the chance. It was a quick walk anyways and after days of being cooped up inside the vessel it was good to get some exercise.

At least this is what he told himself in justification.

Checking out with security, Judah started the walk through the knee-high grass towards the University vessels.

[[ Sadie Nova ]]

 

[Sadie Nova]

[[ Judah Dashiell ]]

So it would take at least fifteen to twenty minutes depending on how clear their path was. Sadie would have her answer shortly, the route to the facility was covered with growth. At least several weeks' worth, maybe over a month and a half.

"What happened here?" the woman would ask herself, frowning in contemplation. However, her internal musings were cut short when she spotted the Salacia crew already clearing the area.

Was Judah around?

Part of her wanted to inquire. Another told her that if she didn't get started on gathering information, Feren was going to sneak up and glare at her again.

She bit her lower lip, grey eyes scanning the area. Was that his figure walking along the grass? It was hard to tell.

 

[Judah Dashiell]

[[ Sadie Nova ]]

Breeze kicked up as he walked, tousling salt-and-pepper as he continued on through the rough grass. From time to time he would stop to take an assessment of his surroundings, trying to piece together what possibly went wrong. Vines and vegetation covered the reclamation facility. Paths that were usually clean and weed-free were starting to become overgrown. Smarter minds than his own would have a rough idea on time, his untrained eye said two months easily.

Grass bent and crunched underneath in some spots as he drew closer. The University staff was already out speaking amongst themselves, Judah figuring their main task was to track down the missing student. Or perhaps not. He wasn't sure their motive quite yet beyond Doctor Nova's.

He thought he could make out Doctor Nova and waved a hand in greeting. Best to keep it neutral until he was sure otherwise.

 

[Sadie Nova]

[[ Judah Dashiell ]]

A closer inspection proved to show that it was indeed the CEO of Salacia. She caught his casual wave and her hand rose to give one of her own.

Making her way over, Sadie’s well spoken voice went sailing over to Judah, “Good morning, Mr. Dashiell.” She said, courtesy once again in her proper voice and a warm greeting across her lips.

“I see you are already setting out to investigate.” Coming up beside him, she would pan her attention across the route.

“Strange circumstances already... it looks as if no one has made their way across here in a few months.” It wasn’t a good sign.

 

[Judah Dashiell]

[[ Sadie Nova ]]

"Good morning Mi...Doctor Nova."

Judah quickly caught himself, looking a bit sheepish. He felt like an idiot compared to the Doctor, even the way they were dressed. Dark colored mechanics pants and a simple shirt were contrast to the breeches and explorer chic the woman wore.

"Very strange. Even if the crew abandoned the facility I would expect to see signs of pilfering from pirates or even large animals."

Hands were on his hips as he looked at the looming facility. The weight was certainly on his shoulders concerning the lost crew. The responsibility weighing down.

"I'm hiking out to get information from a perimeter sensor. We've got a crew checking things out and attempting to restore power in order to check logs."

Judah looked the Doctor over.

"Do you have time to spare to hike to the sensor? I could use a forensic eye."

 

[Sadie Nova]

[ Judah Dashiell ]

The fluster was cute, mused Sadie, the corner of her mouth curving upward in mild amusement.

“I can spare it.” She told him, although adding with notable dry wryness, “However, the cost of my subject matter expertise is high.”

Her grey eyes would twinkle with proper mischief.

 

[Judah Dashiell]

[[ Sadie Nova ]]

"Go ahead and put it on my tab. I'll settle up after this is through."

Grass rustled once again as they got underway. Judah could squint and see the sensor up head. Familiar territory for an once-farmboy, fixing such things. His goal was to see when it was last tripped and get the equipment back up online. The entire disappearance made him a little uneasy - not that something could easily get around a sensor. It would make things harder for whoever wished to attack them.

"I didn't mention this earlier but its a pleasure to see you again. I found the messages most....revealing, in nature."

 

[Sadie Nova]

[[ Judah Dashiell ]]

The grass would crunch under each of Sadie's steps, a gust of wind sending loose silver strands of hair from her braid. She quickly caught them with her fingers, tucking them behind the shell of her ear.

There was a muted pleasure at hearing Judah's complement of their exchange. However, being a woman of her age meant that she wasn't going to allow herself to get overexcited so easily.

She did allow herself a ghost of a smile. "Certainly was entertaining. I have taken your advice on handling my coworkers." well, to a degree. It had seemed to throw Feren off in a loop.

Glancing around, she took note of the scenery. It just made no sense. "When was the last time Salacia received any communication?"

 

[Judah Dashiell]

"I'm glad my advice could be enlightening."

Judah could make the sensor out up head, standing sentry in the tall grass. Squinting, there appeared to be no damage beyond vines and other flora crawling up the metal structure. Any real issues wouldn't be revealed until closer inspection though. Grass bent with each step, leaving a trail behind them. In the back of his mind he was grateful, just in case something was lying in wait they could potentially be found.

"We've narrowed it down to two months. Realistically if the crew abandoned the station for any reason, one of the vessels should have pulled into a port by now. They are slower in nature and given our distance something should have been heard two weeks ago. Currently trying to track down any vessel but they could be deep space and disabled, already cut down for scrap, somehow rebranded and gutted..."

Hand ran through salt-and-pepper hair.

"Needle in the haystack situation."

 

[Sadie Nova]

|| Judah Dashiell ||

Hearing what could have occurred to the vessel should have attempted to leave the facility and head back to known worlds only to be gutted and stripped by opportunistic pirates was grim.

"All we can do right now is see what tracks they left behind. Maybe find something. My preliminary research was indicative of some sort of material that could potentially have been used for some sort of power. If there was an ancient civilization here, then they could have stumbled upon something they shouldn't have." or disease, poison, or something else. But no mayday?

Up overhead, Sadie would bring her palm up to shield her from the red glow of the distant sun. She'd done preliminary research regarding the geology and archeological initial surveys that indicated that there may have been some form of an ancient civilization on Niraun. The jungle was so thick to properly be able to gather much information, which is why the preliminary university team had been sent in with Salacia, as the original probes indicated a high amount of mining resources.

"Does it seem too quiet?" from her original studies there should be a sentient species on the planet. The Qom Qae and the Qom Jha, a batlike species. Even then, there wasn't even the sound of rustling birds or wings.

It just had a strange, eerie quality to it.

 

[Judah Dashiell]

[[ Sadie Nova ]]

"Very quiet. I haven't heard the normal insects or bird calls I would expect. Especially this early in the morning - it should be very loud in my experience. In my experience this usually means we should watch our backs, stick close."

Footsteps slowed as they approached the perimeter sensor, Judah removing a hydrospanner from his back pocket. Other hand reached out and started yanking off vines and spiderwebs from the sensor. Despite not knowing Doctor Nova for any real time span, he was entrusting the woman to literally watch his back while he worked.

Panel was pried open and he sighed, looking over the wiring. Nothing seemed disturbed which made it that much more difficult to figure out the problem.

"Ancient civilizations? Cannibals? Or mere locals hellbent on protecting their way of life? Doesn't seem possible someone wouldn't have noticed a....tribe...or something similar on a fly-in but stranger things have happened in the 'verse."

 

[Sadie Nova]

|| Judah Dashiell ||

"There seemed to be a sort of interference," Sadie explained, moving beside Judah to get her own hands dirty at clearing out the area around the panel. Her brows gave a distinct pinch. "I requested to be in charge of the original team so I could further my assessment." there was a certain edge of irritation at what came next, "However, the school board decided to select another."

"Initial reports thankfully do not indicate a cannibalistic society. Initial surveys from preliminary sites indicated it may have been an advanced society." however, shortly after, they stopped communicating.

"If nothing reveals itself on the facility, I will head with the university crew towards the last surveyed location."

 

[Judah Dashiell]

[[ Sadie Nova ]]

"I detect a bit of tension there."

Judah couldn't help himself, finding a tad bit of humor in the situation that the Doctor still felt so strongly about the assessment. Now, due to unfortunate circumstances, it seemed Doctor Nova was back on the project. He was poking around inside the sensor, pulling out a few wires to strip and reclean. Due to the environment it seemed things were getting corroded without regular maintenance.

"Well at least I don't have to worry about being eaten alive just yet." Judah scraped off some kind of hard mold, frowning. "Advanced society? Such as more advanced than ourselves?"

 

[Sadie Nova]

|| Judah Dashiell ||

A lady-like snort, if one could call it, was Sadie's response regarding the tension. Gray eyes stared at the heavens for a moment, her brisk cultured voice adding, "Oh, nothing some choice words can alleviate." Feren was a Chiss through and through. It was just a matter of handling him when he was insufferable.

"Well, that is what I am afraid of." her brows went furrowing forward, "A type one world such as this one should have some sort of fauna." it only made sense. Turning back to him she added, "Yes," came her nod.

"Geological surveys indicated that this world previously was uninhabitable, yet..." her hand would gesture to the flora around them, "Such a change would not have occurred without some outside influence.

 

[Judah Dashiell]

"So...the advanced civilization world built this planet, if I am understanding you correctly?"

Judah wasn't sure what to think of that information. Of course it could happen, in the past world building had happened before with outer-galaxy invaders. How or why was lost to him, just stories passed down in tales and fables and bar talk. To think that it actually happened and he was standing one of these worlds was something else. Perhaps he should be in awe but to be frank it made the hair on the back of his neck stand up. If a civilization could do all this to a world then they were just a insignificant speck on their radar. Something to be swatted away.

Mold cleaned off the connections, Judah started to rewire the sensor.

"If this indeed the case I feel we are in greater danger than I first expected."

[ [ Sadie Nova ]]

 

[Sadie Nova]

Judah Dashiell

"You hit it right on the nose, Mr. Dashiell." Sadie responded, peering in close to watch him work. She gave a slight frown, observing him with the focus of a scholar, watching his every move. He certainly seemed to be good with his hands. A mechanic of sorts? He had mentioned that he had a tendency of working on the field with his staff as much as he could.

"What sort of sensor is this?" she inquired, only to become distracted at the sound of voices behind them. It was a pair of Salacia employees, they appeared to be trying to flag Judah's attention down.

Did they discover something already?