Pytheas - The Spear of Exploration

[Dave Synk]

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The other day, we moved several assets to Omega-48. I took the Pytheas specifically to Primus Outpost. It's fascinating how these machines chose to create a secluded outpost in the Omegas, though not without reason. The AI Cruisers I observed were busy extracting raw molten metals from the magma asteroid field. I was allowed to moor with the station and exchanged navigational data from the surrounding area with what I had already gathered in Pytheas’ sensor array.

I even engaged in some basic conversations with them, but they eventually started ignoring my queries, always replying with, "We are making consensus." I took it as their polite way of saying, "Stop wasting our time." The crew had mixed feelings about these machines, especially my old Order shipmates. My second-in-command, Veradrix, made a few remarks about how she also found my questions redundant. She felt my curiosity made me seem almost naive, like a child in front of them. She didn’t phrase it quite like that, but I could read between the lines. When I suggested she take some R&R on the observation deck, she simply stared at me before shifting her gaze back to her console.

At first, I knew she found my way of commanding the vessel too loose and perhaps not entirely in line with Technocracy’s ship protocols. But I prefer to keep a friendly banter—it builds trust. She’ll come around. Some moments later, my sensors detected the Archangel and Titania arriving near Gran Canaria. We rendezvoused, and as I went to greet them, I made full use of the sensor upgrade I implemented during the ship’s retrofit: a full array of Sub-Particle Entanglement Scanners. Think of it like an underwater sonar, but powerful enough to map an entire ocean in a single ping.

I had already identified several points of interest across the system's grid-patterned map. When the Andraste later jumped in, I was recommended to explore and observe these locations. The Archangel and Titania quickly joined. Two massive carriers risking their armor in a dense ice field, right where the first anomalies had appeared on Pytheas’ scanners.

It felt like a treasure hunt. I triangulated a signal leading to a single container deep within the ice nebula. For a normal vessel, it would have taken months to find—if they even stumbled upon it at all. But the Pytheas was designed precisely for this purpose: anomaly detection and uncovering the unknown. Even with exact coordinates, I still had to make last-minute adjustments as I approached. Fortunately, a massive alignment of asteroids provided natural markers. Coincidentally or not, they led toward the unstable Dublin jumphole.

The asteroids acted as amplifying beacons for the container’s signal. In the end, it turned out to be a collector’s hidden stash. Not quite what I expected, but it served as an excellent test for the Pytheas’ sensors. The Archangel’s commanding officer wasn’t particularly thrilled, nor was the additional Technocratic escort, but one crew member enjoyed the trip. A newcomer with the call sign “Perun,” a Zoner scientist, was ecstatic about the natural formations in the field.

Despite the Archangel’s captain’s frustrations, it was a valuable exercise in pinpointing a small target amidst heavy interference. A crucial test for the Pytheas’ systems. Before leaving, I also investigated a radiation signature near the collapsing Dublin jump point. It turned out to be the shattered remains of a station built inside an asteroid. The structural connectors to storage modules and other sections were broken and salvaged. It made me wonder if the site could be repurposed as a remote research station.

Upon returning to the group, our conversation shifted to the mysteries of hyperspace and theories surrounding Earhart. Someone mentioned ancient ships, centuries old, lost in the void, which immediately sparked my curiosity. Then came the final test—the one that could have been fatal.

Leviathan suggested we travel there so I could see these relics for myself. In moments, one of the carriers opened a temporary jump point to hyperspace’s nexus. I’d been there before but never stayed long enough to study the ships. Scanning one vessel, I identified its origins: the "Liberty Space Exploration Council." It dated back over 700 years—an artifact from Liberty’s early colonization efforts. Even fragments from the Texas Incident drifted in a corner of Earhart. Seeing it firsthand was surreal. A legend once whispered across Liberty about an old "ghost ship" near the Texas Dark Particle Cloud—"Brown Bessie." It was there, abandoned by time itself.

As I moved in for a closer look, something struck me. A lance-like energy beam hit the Pytheas. My companions quickly warned me that Earhart’s defense system had locked on. The first shot pierced the shielding, disabling the main generator instantly. The backups kicked in just in time, but before I could react, another shot followed.

I tried to retreat, pushing the Pytheas to its limits, but a final lance struck the hull. Almost all systems fried. For a few moments, the vessel went completely haywire. Another hit would have been catastrophic. The crew remained calm, each deck executing emergency protocols flawlessly. The Pytheas’ resistive armor absorbed most of the energy, acting like a Faraday cage. The cargo compartment blew apart, leaving the interior decks partially exposed. The crew sealed the area immediately to prevent total atmospheric loss.

It was a harrowing experience—but invaluable. Not only did the Pytheas withstand the full force of an advanced weapon system, but as a flying sensor grid, it also recorded extensive data. Energy frequencies, atomic alignments, particle configurations—all captured. The ship’s energy absorption capability was remarkable, though dangerously close to catastrophic overload.

This was, without a doubt, the most intense test the Pytheas had ever faced. And it delivered. Now, I will compile a report on the data gathered. With our existing database, perhaps we can make a breakthrough in understanding K’Vosh energy manipulation technology.

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Rudimentary creatures of blood and flesh, you touch my mind, fumbling in ignorance, incapable of understanding.
- Sovereign