Private An Outback Mystery: The disappearance of "Sori" SH-300

[Davak]

- New Outback -
- The spaceport of Sedaire's Landing-​

"This is Captain Percy Fowl speaking of the SORI SH-300 we are ready for take-off on this fine afternoon, do we have permission to start out engines?"

A voice answered over speakers "Permission granted, farewell captain".

And with that, the Superlift Ore & Resource Importe Vessel lovingly dubbed "Sori" by its crew took off into the cloudless sky breaching the atmosphere of New Outback and entering its orbit only a few minutes later.

Captain Fowl, a human in his early thirties had countless transport runs like this under his belt. Nothing leading up to the events of today would have given him any suspicion that this one would be any different.

He was an alumnus of the Zark Amroth Naval Academy and had served for a few years in the navy of the Outer Planets Alliance before retiring. Moving mostly ores and refined metals but sometimes also more dubious goods from New Outback to nearby planets. It brought in a steady income and he was far less likely to explode or end up in the cold vacuum of space than if he were still steering those fighter vessels for the Alliance.
Everyone needed resources and he was quickly hired as a captain for one of the many mining corporations in the Outback.
He commanded a relatively new model of the hauler. A vessel just about 150m in length of which almost all space was dedicated to storage capacity and manned by a small crew of seven.

They were well on their way and it was planned to link up with two armed cruisers steered by some mercs they had hired of Porty Mynock that would escort them to their destination on Freehold.

The bridge of the Sori was relatively large considering there were only so few living beings on board. To his left was a large oval space they called the "crows nest" thanks to its thickly layered glass dome that allowed them to look out into the never-ending darkness of space. Further right from there was Roys seat, another human of similar age who was the second officer and a fellow veteran. In front of him, large monitors flickered revealing a grid that displayed their plotted route and was already showing their escorts as small dots coming ever closer to the largest dot that represented themselves.

"Were about to reach the coordinates for the rendezvous cap, throttle them thrusters and keep her steady" he remarked.

There were still a few seats next to Roys, one of which belonged to the ships medical specialist Akabil a Uukaablian who spoke just enough basic to get by. He was too busy to listen as he was concentrating on a handheld pad that was showing him charts on the vitals of the crew members.

The last of the squad currently on deck was a Jarell with a hopelessly complicated name thus nicknamed Url, he was the muscle of the group and tended to stick to himself and the multiple cargo decks he patrolled.

The other three were down in the engine rooms along with some droids making sure the heart of the ship was functioning and keeping them going.

Roy had his eyes on the main set of screens showing the current location as he was waiting for his escorts to come into sight and pick up comms.

Then suddenly everything went to shit.

The entire vessel began to rumble and stir, the screens began flickering, alarms went off and the windows that had just been covered by the darkness of space were now filled by an almost blinding light. The four males raised their heads in shock as the now almost quake-like rumbling was shaking the ship. Percy was thrown off his feet and over the railing leading to the observation deck, he hit the metal floor hard and could hear the rushing of the pale-skinned Uukaablian who was attempting to come to his rescue. At nearly the same time Url's legs gave in and he fell to his knees before throwing up a green slime mass and coughing loudly.

Only Roy seemed to keep his cool as he was trying to gain control of the software that should be tracking their location.

"Good god" he muttered.

With a blinding last flash, the light that was filling the room abruptly disappeared along with the terrible trembling and darkness and silence set in again.

Captain Fowl, had a throbbing headache as he attempted to get to his feet squeezing his eyes due to pain. He looked out towards the large windows and his eyes widened.

Seconds later the alarms rang again this time different ones though more siren-like, Roy yelled into the room "Mulitple large objects approaching all around, brace for impact!"

Percy was seeing with his very eyes what objects his second officer was referring to, large jagged giant rocks as far as he could make out in every direction. They were no longer in New Outbacks orbit, no he was sure of it. They had somehow made a jump right into an asteroid field.

 

[Bovos]

- Ios -
- The Halo Fields -
​

Plenty of time passed since Bovos arrived in the Mithrax tribe. He has been at work every day since exploring the wonders of newfound technology and creating the signature Mithrax weaponry and armour. Bovos was learning much from the engineers that were working with him and he formed some close bonds with them because of their interest in technology.

One afternoon or morning, Bovos could never tell because he had not seen the sky in a long time, he was informed by two hunters that he was to come with them on an expedition. They explained that they needed his technological prowess in the field and that no questions could be asked. He immediately complied with their summoning and followed them back up to the surface of the asteroid, there three groups of about twenty Cha'ta'ri were supplying their dropship with materials like weapons and "food".

Approaching the three dropships Bovos was given some boxes to load onto the ship. Whilst he was completing his task, Bovos could make out the squad leader he was standing just outside the loading dock giving orders and advising his hunters on what was needed for the expedition. The Cha'ta'ri was a menacing figure, he was bold just like Bovos and like most of his kind was lacking an exoskeleton on his head. This Cha'ta'ri was wearing dark-spotted clothes and a hood hiding parts of his face and in his hands was a unique type of helmet that is similar to what the other hunters wear but it had other technology that the hunters did not possess.

The hunters finished their preparations, the three groups split into their designated drop ships and Bovos was told to go in the same ship as the squad leader who he identified as Darakses. Now the journey could start and Bovos was more than excited.

Bovos and the rest of the crew had been traveling for a while and nothing had happened but, suddenly Darakses told his men to ready and so they did, Bovos grabbed his slugthrower imitating what the others did around him. Bovos could tell something was happening outside of the dropship, some Cha'ta'ri closer to the front were talking to Darakses. Something was being planned and Bovos was bothered that he did not know about it.

 

[Darakses]

It had taken months to line up this string of events but everything was going according to plan now.

The intel they had gained infiltrating the cantinas and back alleys of Port Mynock had revealed itself as extremely reliable. A tip about some hired muscle for a transport operation that had first set Darakses on the trail of the transport vessel “Sori”.

Understaffed, huge in size, and loaded to the brink with valuable cargo. It was the perfect prey and from its bones and flesh, they would build their own vessels. Crafts with which they could conquer new hunting grounds and lay siege to colonies on stars that were nothing but specs of light in the dark heavens above.

A blissful perspective, and the next big hurdle in their undertaking of setting themselves free from their hungering shackles.

The tunnels of the Hunter Guild were a bustling commotion, an army of arms and legs that stampeded through the large open rock formations moving cargo and setting up their scavenged dropships. Three of their six space fairing vessels were going to be used in this undertaking, a risky move if it ended in failure but one with a large upside were they to succeed. The Machinists had been tinkering with the crafts for the better part of the last 12 feeding cycles but their Eldest Gorn had insured him that the ships would safely carry them to their destination.

A handpicked selecting of Hunters and Machinists would make up the bulk of the operation, each only having been told specific orders for their necessary role.

As the Hunter chieftain overlooked the offloading of the troop's gear he noticed the stare of the newcomer Bovos. A stranded Cha’ta’ri who had proved himself to be both a survivor and a gifted mechanic. He hadn’t yet interacted with the outsider but was advised to trust his skill.

Once Wingless, the sort of unpointed captain of the Mithrax ships and fellow Hunter gave him the clear he ordered their departure.

It would be almost a weeks worth of travel. Their current technology still limited them this way, but they had flown this far before visited what they dubbed “Worlds Grave”. An asteroid field the size none of which any Cha’ta’ri records have ever spoken of before. The Halo Fields as they were officially referred too were one of those many Outback wonders travellers all over the galaxy whisper about. The resting place for almost every planet and moon in this system. Ripped apart and reformed here as a never-ending stripe of rocks running through the darkness for assumably forever.

A place filled with a frequency distributing radiation that makes navigating them both treacherous and lonely. Yet this was exactly what Darakses was betting on. For he had yet another Outback wonder on his side. Thesiks the Wise, the herald of their people would come down from his marble throne to deliver the gifts of his godly abilities.

Until their arrival in the system, Darakses who had settled himself at the helm of the ship overlooking the crew on board would remain almost entirely motionless. Reserving his energies this way was a vital technique that was studied and passed on among the Hunters guild. His only action would be to set free their carbonized stock, splitting it and then having it be devoured.

But once they were in view of the initial layer of these great grave fields he would spring into action. First, he had to coordinate communication between the ships, then bring them to a halt at their chosen locations.

Each of the others vessels was led by one of two twin sisters that were reendowed for their bravery and past endevouirs. They had been some of the first to shed the blood of prey on previously unexplored planets and had helped to put this plan together since the very beginning.


For now, though they all just had to wait. Since they could not rely on the scanners each vessel had sent out three Hunters to act as lookouts. Strapped to the top of the ship and equipped with nothing more than a breather they would take shifts keeping their three sets of eyes peeled on the ocean off floating rocks before them.

After about 8 more hours of waiting it suddenly appeared, a purple and blue flash of cosmic energy flared up in the utter darkness of space and there she was the “Superlift Ore & Resource Import Vessel”. The ship and its crew had been heisted light-years away.

A feat of incredible power, a space fold from afar. Thesiks had once again proved his god status among his people and delivered them a meal served on a silver platter.

It was theirs for the taking now.

As he was shrieking and screeching orders in Cha’tar into the comms the three dropships came into motion and sped toward the much much larger cargo vessel.

 

[Bovos]

A bright blue and purple flash appeared out of nowhere, it only lasted a short period of time but it was visible from far away. This must have been what they were waiting for because the vessel in which Bovos was stationed started moving towards the previous location of the flash. Bovos could not see much of what was happening and he was confused but he was soon going to find out why he was brought to this expedition.

The sound of clicking and buzzing filled the ship, the Cha'ta'ri were beginning to approach a vessel of sorts and everyone was getting excited. They were moving quickly through the asteroid belt, dodging impacts with their highly maneuverable vessels.

It did not take long until they arrived at the spot where the light was seen, however, in place of the light, there was now a large cargo ship. Bovos looked towards Darakses he had no facial expression, Bovos was expecting him to be bewildered about the sudden appearance of a large cargo ship but he was not. He remembered about the group of mechanics he worked with, because they mentioned a unique idea for a drop-ship of sorts, though they were lacking the resources to manufacture it. This realization made everything clear. He and all the other Cha'ta'ri were about to raid this cargo ship for food, but more importantly for the resources that it bears.

The three ships that the Cha'ta'ri were commandeering were now extremely close to the Cargo ship. There was a moment of silence and it seemed as if nothing were moving but this moment fleeted and Bovos and the other mechanics were called to Darakses.

"You have noticed that we are attacking the cargo ship, yes, this is why you are here mechanics, tell the hunters where the points of interest are and how we get into the cargo ship. Then we attack, also once the battle is over you tell us what parts are needed whole and what can be scrapped Yes" His voice was direct and the clicking of his chelicerae when he took brakes was unswerving and patient.

The directions were clear and easy to follow. The mechanics and Bovos analyzed the ship for its points of entry and then administered the information gathered with Darakses who then presented a battle plan for his hunters.

The entry points were few but easy to spot. most of them would lead into the ventilation and lower compartments of the ship from where the hunters could secure the cargo and work their way up to the bridge where most of the crew would be stationed. Bovos estimated about 6-8 crew members as more would not be needed to maneuver this size and class of vessel. Blood pumped within Bovos he was getting increasingly thrilled with the second.

The cargo ship was not retaliating as the Cha'ta'ri moved into position. Most likely they were trying to step into contact with the backup and find out where they are to send for help, but it was too late for that. The Cha'ta'ri hunters from the other two ships exited their vessels and hooked onto the Cargo ship with their harpoons fate was decided for the crew of the SORI SH - 300. Bovos explained to Darakses that the glass protecting the bridge from the cold vacuum of space was in fact not reinforced and so could easily be shattered if a force was to crash into it with a decent amount of speed. Darakses smiled and order to the pilot to do exactly that.

Bovos now at the front of the ship could see his clan members crawl to the entry points and split open the shafts, they swarmed into the cargo ship. Now it was time for their attack. He readied for impact and before he knew it he was flying straight towards the bridge.

As Bovos opened his six eyes he could see the glass shards floating about the bridge. They now left the protection of their own vessel. He could feel the coldness of space but so did the corpses of the dead crew members.

 

[DarrVack]

-

 

[Darakses]

The scavenged vessel their Machinists had been tinkering with for so long held up. They ramed the small shuttle straight into the large orbital windows of the haulers left side. A thud as the Cha'ta'ri on board were pushed forward and then immediately backwards as the crash pushed their ship back.

Darakses roared loudly and his mandibles clapped fearfully, breathers were equipped, weapons were drawn and with the loud rushing sound of the decompressed air, he and his men were hurled out into space.

From here they would use magnetic harpoons, throwing them at the front of the ship and then grappling themselves towards its hull. As they did the cracks in the SORIs glass dome from their previous attack burst and the cold vacuum of space took a grip of all that was within.

The silence of space was a known phenomenon to the hunters of the Mithrax. Each of them had plenty of experience chasing prey in this environment, they had slain the occasional Purrgil herd that got lost in the Outback as well as pirating operations such as these.

Via simple hand signs, they communicated their next steps.

They watched patiently as the bodies of the inmates along with various equipment were hurled out into the darkness, before one by one slipping into the large cargo ship themselves.

Once inside Darkases ordered the opening of the main door connecting to the rest of the ship, while another group mostly Machinists were tasked with shutting down any remaining power. His prey would be going nowhere and would not be given a chance to ask for help either.

Their last imminent objective was to deactivate any sort of tracking that could be used to give away their location, the Hunter Eldest had not chosen this spot without reason and while he believed in the grave fields ability to hinder most transmission he did not want to take any chances.

Their conquest of the great vessel ended almost as swiftly as it had begun. The remaining survivors of their initial strike had been found by some hunters in the engine rooms and were promptly clawed apart and gulped up on the spot. A lucky few would feed, those that were involved in the kills deserved their fair share. That was the Hunter way.

Once it was entirely under their control, Darakses would describe the rest of the plan, for this he would communicate in writing using his claws to etch into the walls of the still airless room.

A shelter had to be built somewhere to breathe easy and rest, the ship would have to be prepared for hyperspace travel, a feat only a few of the most experienced Cha'ta'ri Machinists could complete.

Cables would have to be ripped out and rewired, coordinates calculated and much of the technology on board would have to be understood before they could attempt to jump.

He left this to the tinkerers as he now moved on with most of his Hunters to cataloguing everything they could find within the vessel's belly:
Valuable ores, droids, equipment, maps, blasters and anything else they could find.

Anything the Machinists needed would be passed on while some of the more capable Cha'ta'ris would be posted outside the ship in the vastness of space and act as lookouts. You couldn't be too careful in these parts.

It would take days possibly weeks for them to fix most of the damage they had caused and alter the ship to their liking.

But once they were ready they would attempt to jump right back into the Gorgon Fields.

 

[Bovos]

With the disposal of the crew, and the securement of the craft Bovos and the other mechanics were prompted to get the ship back to its functioning state. The job would not be easy, they would need to act fast and he only had one chance to test the hyperdrive for if it would not work all members of the expedition would be blowing to bits.

The task was to fix the bridge, dislocate the tracker and get the remaining system back on track.

The power of the vessel returned quickly, it was only a matter of using the backup generators and some rewired cables. With the power being back in store Bovos was able to access the bridge's computer from where the remote control tracker could be found and deactivated.

Theoretically, this task should have been simple, but what Bovos did not keep in mind when they shut down the power was the emergency signal it would send out to its home port. More modern vessels had special security installments that would allow them to be found by other ships in case they were attacked, or for some other reason, that would cause their power to go out.

Bovos had less time than he thought. Even with the tracker being shut off the Sori could be located because the coordinates of its last known location would soon arrive and what followed would not be good for the Cha'ta'ri hunters and himself. Luckily the coordinates took a while to be sent and the natural protection of the Asteroid field would mean no vessels could directly jump to their location.

Bovos estimated one and a half weeks until the arrival of the enemy vessels, this would be a close encounter but he believed in himself and the mechanics. The tasks were plenty but the mechanics were limited in their numbers, to maximize their results Bovos split up the ten mechanics into groups of two. His group would work on arranging the hyperdrive plus having the system booted up, the other group was working on fixing internal and external damage done to the vessel.

The second group started with working on fixing wholes in the vessel, with the wholes being fixed they would be able to decompress the void and fill the vessel once more with oxygen to sustain the Cha'ta'ri.

The large hole in the bridge was fixed by mending it with scrap metals found on the Sori the rest of the damage was fixed in similar ways this was not the safest way of filling the wholes but it was the fastest. With all wholes being covered up the ship was able to decompress the void. This was an essential part of the repairs because now everyone could breath proper oxygen and relax without having to worry about floating into the emptiness of space.

Five days passed with no sleep or rest, he could not afford to lose that valuable time. Bovos could locate the bridge's main system where all the cables were placed that flowed within the vessel.

Relocating energy cables was essential in getting enough power to the hyperdrive. Other cabals such as lights and the defensive system could be shut down as they were not needed momentarily. To understand how this was done Bovos needed the manual for the vessel. These books were on board of most vessels and this knowledge was important to the mechanics in order to succeed.

Reading the manual proved to be tricky because of the language barrier but, Bovos had prior knowledge of galactic Basic. with a good understanding of how the hyperdrive worked and its energy needs, the mechanics relocated the cables. After that, they were able to move on to the calculating of coordinates and comprehending the system of the Sori.

Seven days had passed spent studying the vessel's systems and their functions. The other group of mechanics was almost done with their assignment. Things were starting to look promising and so Bovos allowed himself a small break.

That day the last patch of food was handed out to the Cha'ta'ri and Bovos was able to score himself a very nice piece. Before devouring it like the rest, Bovos grabbed a small pouch from his belt. It contained spices and ingredients he discovered that made the meat taste better. He sprinkled some of them on his meat sniffed at it and then started devouring his prey like the others. The meat tasteless bland and bloody when Bovos added the spices and he liked that. When he was eating he wanted to taste something else but the pain of his victim.

After a long ten days, the ship was ultimately ready, the wholes were fixed, coordinates were determined and the hyperdrive was powered and on stand by. Bovos and the other mechanics had finally figured out the logistics of the control panel. The group was able to give the ship coordinates to their home asteroid and with a combination of educated guessing and assuming words they were ready to jump into hyperspace.

The ship was scarcely holding together but all that could be done was done. Not much time was left until the cavalry came in charging for their heads and so Bovos gave the word to ready the ship for a hyperjump.

Most Cha'ta'ri were with him on the bridge when they initiated the jump but some stayed behind to bring back the ships that were used to initially attack the vessel. Bovos was allowed to commandeer the ship because of his technological prowess and prior knowledge of hyperjumps.

Everything happened very quickly once they were out of the Asteroid belt, the machines were readied the commands were given and before he knew it Bovos was gazing through the windows at his home.

 

[Darakses]

Patience and endurance were some of the Cha'ta'ris greatest assets. In this case, there was also a lot of trust. Trust in their fellow brethren to repair these damages and bring the ship back on course and to their home.

Darakses made sure to use the vitality of his people wisely, whoever was not needed was to stay put, hibernate and store their energies.
On his order, a few Hunter took shifts as lookouts on top of the hull in the naked void, while another small group assisted the Mechanics in manpower and strength.
He himself tried to show face but keep a distance, the truth was he hadn't eaten in weeks and knew he wouldn't until it was truly necessary. The resources were spacre and he needed his people to come through here, achieve another victory for their tribe, aspire to the prosperous future of their colony.
And he would do whatever it takes to prove it could be done, was achievable.
ß
To his surprise but admiration, many of his brothers and sister proved not only to be up to the task but performed brilliantly.

The Twin Sisters, some of the oldest Hunters of the pack maintained firm control of the troops and keep operations on track. They oversaw the food distribution and kept reports of the watch's observations.

The Engineers and Mechanics worked day and night with without pause, splitting into groups to best tackle the vast amount of tasks that had to be completed. Especalily the newcomer Bovos stood out and quickly took lead of their operations.

Darakses was proud to witness the transformation of the separate crews trained in their own subset of skills becoming one and working so effectively as a unit and towards a comom goal.

After a draining ten days of hardship he was notified by one of his lietaunants that they were prepared to make the jump to the best of their kownlegde. He didn't give himself the time to overthink it, he had become accustomed to this believe into trust. The Hunter Eldest confirmed the order. He accepted the weight of the decision and joinined the others not currently resting in the now modified bridge.

He was dumbfounded at the level of comradeship he found there, Hunters and Mechanics as one new uniform team. A strike team of pathfinders.

A few hours later they were back in the Gorgon fields, at the borders of their settled territories. Even for a creature as hardened as him it was a relief. Great risks had been taken and he was glad to no longer have to bear the weight of failure.

His kinseman assisted them in moving the ship into a previolsy picked location where a group of closely aligned asteroids would hide it from sight. In the shadows of these stone titants, they would prepare to dissablme and strip the ship of its hull, interieos down to the wires, and lastly it stored ressoruces. From it flesh and bones they would forge their own vessels, and with them he planned to hunt the hungers in places no Cha'ta'ri before them had ever seen.

Now only a husk would remain of the ship once known through the ports of Fort Mynock as the "Sori" and its dissparance would go down as one of many Outback mysteries, tales of unexplainable phenomena.