..-{Achieving signal linkup... done}-..
..-{Incoming transmission. Verifying... done}-..
..-{Transmission type: txt. Rendering... done}-.. SENDER: Aspen Charles Harlow
LOCATION: Ikarus Station, Tau-23
SUBJECT: Checking in after chance encounter!
Howdy! I'm Aspen Harlow. Hopefully you receive this message; we didn't have much of a chance to chat as we passed you by in Omicron Kappa.
I was acting in the role of ship's captain at the time for Starlight Research Consortium resource ship "Commutator", on my first trip at length into the Omicrons on behalf of the organization. Among other dangers out there, we'd encountered a vessel that I was deeply unfamiliar with, but I'm told now was in fact an entirely autonomous artificial intelligence, one of many! We'd been bumping into it the entire way from Theta to Kappa: it seemed harmless enough at first but easily agitated, so after getting a close enough look, I erred on the side of caution in staying away from it to safeguard the crew. It seemed to maintain its interest in us, however.
If you receive this message, I'd like to know you're alright after encountering it chasing us in Kappa. I'd hate to think I led it right to you and got you blown up!