Asteroid K9204

After the Gap - March 30, 317 @ 15:51

Having obtained from Captain Alera Okwana of the Rusty Rivet the coordinates of the asteroid where the Corpse Fleet ships had gone, Nict enters the location into the navigating computer and steers the Sunrise Maiden through the asteroid belt. It takes about four hours to make it to the location of Asteroid K9204.

Seaching the historical databases on the Sunrise Maiden, Yiris is able to obtain information about Asteroid K9204. About a mile wide and featuring light gravity and a thin but breathable atmosphere, Asteroid K9204 was acquired in 199 A.G. by Roclift Mining after prospectors discovered a valuable vein of pure iron ore. Over the next 20 years, the asteroid was extensively mined, with the ore extracted, stored, then shipped out by transport back on Absalom Station. 

The site suffered a sudden catastrophe, however, and communication was severed. When a rescue mission arrived five days later, it was discovered that all miners and every piece of machinery and equipment had vanished. No cause was ever found. Asteroid K9204 has been abandoned ever since.

Bratrizik downloads the mining map of Asteroid K9204, and superimposes them on current geological surveys. As Nict maneuvers the Sunrise Maiden to land, he detects several burn patterns on the ground indicate that a large ship, most likely the capital ship of the Corpse Fleet flotilla they were tracking, also landed here recently. Nict puts the ship down in the center of the landing area. Yiris sets up the Sunrise Maiden's sensor to notify them if another ship enters the airspace above the asteroid, and the trio departs.

Observing the ground, Nict determines that at least 20 to 30 humanoids went through here recently, leaving tracks in the iron dust that has accumulated over two decades of mining.

Intrigued by the missing buildings that spontaneously vanished almost a hundred years ago, Bratrizik videorecords the site of the administrative building, hoping to discover clues as to what happened. Yiris notices that the cliff face here has been carved flat, indicating that a building was present and featured a concrete pad. 

As they trek through the dust following the tracks left by the larger group, a grenade lands in the trio and explodes, inflicting damage to all. Nict is able to jump out of the way and avoids some of the damage, but Bratrizik and Yiris take the brunt of the explosion. They run back to the Sunrise Maiden and regroup. Bratrizik suggests using the ship's turret cannon to destroy the surrounding peaks, neutralizing the sniper.

Yiris sits at the control, maneuvers the turret's weapons and fires on three of the surrounding outcrops, turning them into piles of dust and rubble. Bratrizik reviews the video footage but does not see anyone escape, even when he studies the recording frame by frame. Fairly certain the sniper is dead, the party emerges from the safety of the ship, and begins exploring the pillars. Roles are assigned as Nict and Bratrizik cover the cliffs with their weapons, while Yiris navigates the ground.

Bratrizik finds a crude staircase carved in the base of what remains of a pillar. In the debris he sees a boot sticking out. He calls down to the others, who come and help. After some digging, they are able to pull the body of a Sarcesian out of the rubble. His weapons have been crushed, and his environmental suite is ruined. Searching him, Nict discovers a ring of sustenance and a credstick. Nothing indiates why the sarcesian attacked them, but Nict postulates that perhaps he was left behind by the Corpse Fleet. However, he was clearly not an undead.

Continuing to climb what remains of the staircase, Batrizik spots another body in the rubble. They spend more time digging it out, and this time the body is that of a human who has clearly been dead for a few weeks. Most of the human's uniform is ruined, but Bratrizik identifies surviving symbols as being those of the Cult of the Devourer. This body has clearly never been animated so it probably was not a member of the Corpse Fleet. The vesk continues to the top.

Arriving at the top of the crystaline and iron structure, Bratrizik locates a small improvised shelter built against a protective wall. This site would provide an idea location to see any ship approach the landing area and would at the same time provide shelter against ships' scanning systems due to its high content in iron. In the shelter the vesk finds a bundle with 2,800 credsticks, three weeks' worth of dried provision, a personal digital device with a drained battery, and a leather-bound journal. He grabs everything and returns to the ground below.

They pursue their march forward, following the steps of the larger group of individuals who walked here recently. Coming into another large cove, the trio is startled when a flight of skreelings emerges from the cliff face to the south and engage the party. Yiris's devastating attack hurts most of the skreelings, while Bratrizik, Nict and BARGO inflict heavy damage. The skreelings deliver damage of their own and inflict several bleed effects in the process, but they are soon defeated.

Skreeling

Bratrizik climbs the cliff, and finds several nests of skreelings in shallow caves. In one of the caves he also finds two more Sarcesian bodies who each carried a tactical dueling sword and a advanced diasporian rifle, with little else. They died, recently, most likely within the last month. The Sarcesians wear a similar uniform to that of the body they found earlier. In another cave the vesk discovers the body of a human worker with a belt buckle sporting the Roclift Mining logo and name. The android follows him to the cave, and examines the body. It has been dead for hundreds of years. Yiris determines that the bones were irradiated quickly and death would have been fast and painful. She takes a knee bone to bring back to the ship for analysis. Under the body she finds four bars of pure silver in a foot locker marked with Roclift Mining. Yiris places the silver in BARGO''s storage compartment, and packs the body in the locker for repatriation.

Having now dealt with the dead bodies, Yiris and Bratrizik climb down the cliff, meet up with the Shirren mechanic and his robot, and return to the path traveled by the others ...