Starborn: Origin of the Stars

“Impossible!” Landom said with conviction, “That is absolutely impossible.”

“Hold on a second…” Robin said and stopped Patience who also wanted to throw in some questions with a raised hand. Once more he closed his eyes and focused on the ship above him while he tapped into his mutation. Soon, his mental image turned into a blue fog, only leaving a blank space at the exact spot where the ship began. If his range was a little bigger or the ship smaller, he would be able to see the whole vessel’s shape as a void in a sea of blue fog.

“Green for energy, red for Æther. Green for energy, red for Æther. Green for…” He repeated it like a mantra and only a short while later the image changed color, immersing everything in a bright green hue.

“So far so good…”

Next he concentrated on filtering out all ambient energy. It took him longer than last time as he still had to keep chanting his little mantra but after some time, the green haze in his mental image faded away. Only then did he notice the faint red lines criss-crossing the ship’s hull. It wasn’t much, but definitely more than just remnants. Robin wanted to look for hotspots and the Æther source, however his skill soon stopped and the network of red lines faded away.

“Jup, this thing is powered by Æther. Must be from the Keeper, there is no one else working with that kind of energy, right?” He said and looked at Landom who could only shake his head in disbelief.

“There isn’t anyone else. But… a ship from the Keeper themselves? That is not possible…”

“Why are you so insistent on-”

“No, now it’s my turn to ask questions!” Patience interrupted him, “How would you even know all that? Didn’t you just say that the ship is shielded?”

“And I mean it. The ship is definitely shielded. Right now we have a high level of ambient energy but none of it is penetrating the hull. To my senses it feels like a hard cut between the hull and the air surrounding it. Normally it’s more like the energy is slowly fading out, getting less intense the deeper it penetrates into the metal.”

“I’m pretty sure energy shields are active defense mechanisms, using the ship’s power to create an energy net around the surface that disrupts any source of electricity that is added externally…” She mused, “Doesn’t look like this ship still has enough juice for tricks like that.”

“Well, there is running energy - Æther, not electricity - all over its hull. However, it is so faint that I don’t think its function is to shield the ship. Seems more like the metal from the outer shell has some neutralizing properties.”

“There are dozens of metals and alloys like that, but the problem is that they work both ways: no energy is getting in your ship and also none is getting out. That’s why no one is using them, you are nullifying most of your systems like communication, scanning and so on.”

“But that only applies to energy as we are using it, or everyone else at that. But maybe it’s different in this case and Æther can pass unhindered.”

“Passive energy shielding? That is stuff from legends mate. You would render most scanning useless, disrupt targeting and tracking systems… immunity to jamming and maybe even resistance to some energy weapons. All that without any costs? Holy plasma…”

“Landom, if the Keeper had such tech at hand, we would know about that, right? Do you know anything about the research we did on their tech?” Robin asked.

“That’s my point all along: we don’t know! Never before has mankind, the UAS, or anyone else gotten their hands on a piece of Keeper technology.” Landom said, “There are a few Keeper Info Stations, yes. But those are crafted to fit our needs, same with the wandering Keeper we meet from time to time at the outer rims of the civilized territories. Their ships have a unique style but are basically built with parts from the UAS or the Drel. The first time I ever heard about Keeper technology that was not specifically designed for compatibility with non-Æther-users was the monolith we visited before. Everything else is just small handhelds or storage devices like the pyramid you touched.”

“Can’t be… the Keeper have been around since the era of the Starborn, probably longer. Someone must have found some relics, ships or something by now, right?”

“There are theories about Keeper cities hidden far away from the rest of the civilization, unique ships running on Æther and high-tech devices used to observe and monitor every corner of the universe. But that’s it, theories and myths, nothing more. At least as far as I know. Maybe Keran and his people would know more, but I doubt it.”

Robin sat down and thought about Landom’s words. It was in line with what he had learned before beginning this mission, but there has to be more, right? It can’t be that they just found the fuckin’ first Æther ship ever. The universe is so big and the Keeper have been around for at least 4.000 years…

Landom’s explanation is coherent with the information in the UAS briefing

Theory:

While it actually is unlikely that there never has been found anything before, we normally can’t use their tech due to the dependence on Æther. The Keeper are known to learn all secrets quite quickly. It’s highly probable that they get back whatever is found before anyone has a chance to start a proper research.

“But now it’s different. Goya is dying and the interferences are so strong that not even the Keeper can find a lost ship on Terulos.” Robin mumbled, “What does this mean for us now?”

Before his mind could linger on that any longer, he noticed a rushed movement behind him.

“What is it?” He asked as he spun around together with Landom.

“I… I don’t know. I think I saw something move over there…” Patience, who had startled them by jumping up from her crouched position, said and pointed at a cluster of bushes.

“Stay here!” Landom said and slowly walked around the green spot, his weapon at the ready. When nothing moved after a few moments of absolute silence, he picked up one of the few stones from the tidy floor and threw it. Nothing moved.

Step by step, Landom inched closer to the bush. When he finally reached it, he used his free hand to push a few twigs aside without lowering his weapon.

“Patience, there is nothing here.” Landom said after he peeked inside.

“I swear I heard something.” She pouted and still looked a bit insecure.

The officer eyed her a moment longer and turned to Robin.

“Maybe we should hurry up. Even if it is a Keeper ship, it doesn’t help us in our momentary situation. We need to prepare for the upcoming attack.”

“Okay, give me a few more minutes to scan the ship. Maybe I’ll find an entry or something.”

“Make it quick!”

Minutes ticked by while his head started to pound and he wanted to curse himself for not bringing a Mind Refresh with him, but how was he supposed to know that they would find such a treasure out here in the wilderness. The red Æther lines were so faint, that he needed to stay focused all the time while using his mutation to not miss anything. At least he got better at fading out the ambient energy and the image in his mind became a little clearer.

Robin could only sense the thin Æther on the ship’s hull. Even when standing next to one of its huge legs and touching it, he didn’t find the slightest whiff of Æther inside. He wasn’t sure if this was because his senses couldn’t penetrate the shiny second layer of the hull or if there wasn’t anything else to sense after all these years.

If he had to guess however, he would put his money on the former. If there was still energy flowing on the outside, there had to be a source somewhere inside, right? Whatever it was, it made his scanning a little less straining as he only had to look out for anomalies in the outer Æther-net. With the slowly fading ambient energy it got only easier.

After seemingly endless uses of his mutation, Robin finally noticed a change when he examined the last big leg.

“Of course it had to be the last one…” He grumbled even though the rising excitement pumped a fresh dose of adrenaline through his body. With renewed enthusiasm he concentrated on the cold metal he was touching and forgot everything else around him. Well it wasn’t as if he had paid his friends any mind since he began to scan the ship, but he trusted that Landom would give him a warning if anything-

“Robin, this is Landom on the private comm. Do you read?”

“Ugh…” Robin sighed as the image in his mind faded away after he lost grip on his skill, “Really, now? I think I finally found the entrance. It seems to be a locking mechanism not unlike the one we found with the monolith. Maybe a bit more complex but if we get Timothy here, I’m sure we can-”

“Robin! We need to leave. Now!” Landom’s stern voice rang through the comm in his helmet, “Patience is getting more and more paranoid. I’m afraid something isn’t right here. Also, time is running out, we don’t know how much longer the storm will last and we have to get back to the others and prepare for the attack.”

“This…” Robin wanted to object but stopped himself and looked around. Landom stood a few meters behind him and he saw Patience nervously going from bush to bush, poking each with her foot before jumping back in fright.

“What the hell?” He said astounded, “Hey Patience, how are you doing? Everything alright?”

“No, Robin, it’s not! I already tried to explain it to Landom, but we are not alone here. Something else is observing us… someone else!” She said with a whispering voice.

“Uhm…” Robin looked at Landom who only shrugged. He then turned back to the ship’s leg once more, gave it a quick scan and tried to remember as much of the image as possible. After that he stood up, walked over to the Security officer and switched to private chat.

“Damn, what has gotten into her? You are sure that she is imagining things? It’s not like her to be so tense.”

“I have no idea, but it’s probably for the best to get her back to the Hubble and put her through a full medical check.”

“Fine, this stupid itching is driving me crazy anyway.” Robin said and started to walk back to the hill they came from, leaving the amazing ship behind with a heavy heart.

“Itching? What itches?” Landom asked, confused.

“Nothing, just a side effect from my mutation that is reacting to the sto… Fuck!” Robin stopped dead in his tracks and Landom bumped into him.

“Damn, what is it now?”

“The itching… it’s gone!” Robin gasped and concentrated his throbbing head to read his mutation’s feedback from their surroundings.

“That’s… good for you?” Landom asked, unsure what to make of it.

“No! That’s bad.” Robin said and turned to Patience, “Come on, mate. You were right, we have to get out of here fast!”

“Told you!” She yelled and quickly followed them up the hill.

“Robin?” Landom asked while he followed him.

“The itching is a reaction to the storm. Now that the itching is gone…”

“...the storm is fading? Since when?”

“I have no idea. I only noticed it now. I thought I was just getting more used to filtering out the ambient energy.” Robin said and fell into a light sprint, “How long have I been inspecting the ship?”

“About two hours, maybe? We’ve been here for roughly three hours total.”

“Shit, then we’ve lost at least an hour or two since the first signs of the storm letting up.”

“You…” Landom gnashed his teeth, “Just hurry up and get us back!”

***

“I’m not getting in there!” Patience hissed and raised her hands in a boxing pose, “What if it is a trap? What if someone has sabotaged the ship and we crash to death moments after take-off?”

“Damn, you stupid Burlag. We don’t have time for your paranoia. We’ve to go back to the others before the storm completely subsides!” Robin angrily yelled and wanted to head towards her. However, a hand firmly gripped his shoulder and held him in place.

“Leave this to me and prepare the Melody.” Landom said with a calm voice.

Robin threw him a quick glance and when he saw the man’s eyes behind the visor, he remembered their talk back on Seavis.

‘Trust your crew…’

Slowly he nodded and climbed into the Melody.

“Be careful…” Robin muttered and began to boot the systems.

“Patience, you have to calm down.” Landom said, his palms held up in a de-escalating manner, “Breath…”

Step by step he got closer to the woman who stared at him like a scared animal. He saw her fists shaking, obviously Patience was fighting a fight only she could see.

“Hopefully she wins, I don’t see us taking her against her will…” Landom muttered to himself and he tensed up a bit when he finally reached her.

“Now I get it…” Patience suddenly said with wide eyes and the shaking stopped, “It was you, wasn’t it? You lured us here to kill us when there are no witnesses around!”

“What? What the hell are-”

“Shut up!” Patience yelled. Her fist flew forward and slammed into his chest with unstoppable force. The heavy blow lifted Landom’s feet off the ground and he flew back more than a dozen meters before hitting the ground hard.

“Cough… Patience… Cough… you need to-”

“I need to do nothing. Your little scheme was revealed. Now you will pay for betraying your friends!” She growled, being upon him before he could even crawl back to his feet.

“Patience!” Landom shouted, “Think back to Sevastian. He is at the Hubble and needs our help. We are stranded here all together and we will leave all together. You, your friends… your love. We are going home, okay? You just have to calm your mind and reflect on what you are about to do!”

He tried to reach her once again and the mention of Sevastian actually did make her stop; her fist was already pulled back for the next punch, a punch he would not be able to stand up from no matter the enhancement his mutation bestowed on his body.

Then, a menacing grin grew on her face, “You talk about him? You wanna kill him too, don’t ya? You fuckin’ bastard, I’ll blast your fucking face to pieces!”

Just when Landom thought he’ll meet his maker, Robin appeared behind Patience and the woman suddenly stiffened up. Moments later she fell to the ground like a dead log face first.

“Oh damn, that was close…” Landom muttered while he slowly stood up, still wobbly on his feet. When he looked down at Patience, he saw a syringe sticking out of her shoulder in the exact spot where the spike had hit her before and destroyed her armor.

“Trust your crew!” Robin complained self-mockingly, “A bunch of lunatics are we, nothing more!”

“Well, to be fair, I did distract her long enough for you to knock her out, right?” Landom tried.

“Tsk… Just grab her feet, we have to get her into the Melody somehow! I really hope Timothy finds out what’s wrong with her.”

“Ugh, and really I hope she doesn’t wake up while we are still on our way to the Hubble, sharing the seat in the back…”