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>>1929417
>>1928114
>>1928120
>>1929069
I lean in on the conversation about the lost fleet.

The people involved are a pair of pirates and scavengers.

"Nah, man, don't believe you." The scavenger replies, "The Salvage King was a myth. a way to explain how the Republic got those ships." I swear I am going to send this guy through a table if he doesn't shut up soon.
"It's the truth! I saw them!" The pirate proclaims out of a mangled jaw, "They were Pyresian ships! Great massive white ones around a ship so big..."
"Around a ship so big? Pyresian ships are a mile long at MINIMUM. The fuck would they cluster around?!"
"A worldship! Possibly the biggest Pyresian ship in existence!" The pirate declares.

I already know where these are located when they started chatting... should I go for it?
>Keep listening for rumnors
>Watch the news
>Get a head start on that lost fleet, head to the rifts.

>>1929441
>Watch the news
I want to know how that battle ended, and if the Confederacy did capture that T-Drive.
Though I suppose that they wouldn't boast about something that important until they've unlocked it's secrets and they're ass-fucking the Republic.

>>1929483
Supporting

>>1929483
>>1929531
I glance to the screen. An alien speaks obn matters across various intergalactic nations. The Liram Union recently reduced more freedoms of the citizenry... the Caredis Federation recently ratified a bill and brokered a peace treaty with Liram...

Ah, here we go.
"Spirits are low in Narellia as the recent Firios conflict left a massive loss to the Confederate forces. Although some losses were incurred, surprisingly, by the Republic, they were able to claim hundereds of star systems by taking the planet, creating a strike point to eliminate Narellian supply lines. During the battle, an unknown ship was spotted sneaking in-" Oh shit "-and stealing away a supply-filled warship. Without these supplies, The Narellian forces were unable to build a strong position on the planet. Narellia has put a bounty out for the ship, which appears to be an old Luninous Empire design, a Cordyceps-class. The Intergalactic Republic had this to say:" The screen switches to the president of the Republic.

The gleaming visor of the robotic politician hides any sort of expression that would appear, "Although we condone piracy of this sort, we cannot forget that this worked in our favor. The Narellian warship caused a distraction among both forces involved. In the end, the pirate's actions prevented Narellian ground forces from taking a downed vessel, albeit at a large loss of life."
"Nevertheless, the sacrifices of our brave men and women will be remembered and honored, as Firios is developed into a new world to join the Republic."
The alien reappears, "Firios is the latest undeveloped world forced into the modern era, something the Luminous Empire opposed, but the Republic doesn't hesitate to do. Time only can tell how a world of bows and blades will deal with interstellar life."

Well, looks like the Republic won.
>Get a head start on that lost fleet, head to the rifts.
>Keep listening for rumors

>>1929621
>Get a head start on that lost fleet, head to the rifts.
Gotta lay low, maybe change our paint job and transponder ID. We just made galactic news and have a bounty on our heads.

>>1929621
>>Get a head start on that lost fleet, head to the rifts.
>>Get a paintjob for your ship before you blast off

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>>1929642
>>1930368
I decide to head out to the rifts. Early bird and all that. I rush to the ship. With my upgrades, it already looks different than any images. No need to even repaint it.

I step into the cockpit. The new computers shimmer at me. I can't do better until I get a better ship. Well, no time like the present! I leave the station, dialing up for the rifts.

It takes a long time. I actually take a rest and shower before the ship arrives.

The Kodel rifts... a place where space warps due to the presence of several wormholes. I loop around several warped planets. No denizens there. This is where space gets weird.

I start to think I'll never find them when signals begin blinking on my scanners... Pyresian ships! I nose towards them.. and I am greeted by a swarm of inactive white dots around a larger one.

I note a few more signals nearby. What are they? One is... organic? I zoom in on it... Oh god, it's a matter-eater! A spaceborne nightmare hurtling through space. The pyresian ships were likely safe, they aren't online. but the other signals... and my ship...
>Bug out, matter eaters only linger by wormholes.
>go dark and approach the lost fleet.
>fly to another signal, drawing the matter-eater to them.

>>1930566
>go dark and approach the lost fleet.

>>1930566
>go dark and approach the lost fleet.

>>1930566
>go dark and approach the lost fleet.

>>1930566
>>Bug out, matter eaters only linger by wormholes.

>>1930569
>>1930577
>>1930861
Fuck it. I turn off most of my systems, and the ship goes dark. Nothing will be able to detect my signals right now. I drift towards the white ships, propelled by my own speed. The matter eater wriggles through space towards one of the signals I spotted earlier.

As I near the fleet, I note some asteroids. Odd metallic outcroppings are on them, three in total. They are out of range, but...

I look back, The matter eater miiiight see me if I boot up now.
>Drift past them to the fleet like a derelict
>scan the asteroids (minor signal blip)
>tactical jump past (big signal flare)

Rolled 40 (1d100)

>>1932824
Drift past them and hope!

Rolled 32 (1d100)

>>1932824
>>scan the asteroids (minor signal blip)
Just take a peek, they might be hiding something really interesting.

>>1932824
>scan the asteroids (minor signal blip)

>>1932966
>>1933428
I activate the sensors. Glancing back, the matter eater hasn't noticed yet. I run a scan over one of the asteroids...

Silicates run the interior like veins... wait... those aren't asteroids... Those are Kirri hiveships!

Kirri are hivemind aliens, with an appearance like insects. As silicate-based life, they are naturally spaceborne, feeding off rocks and minerals. For the longest time they were considered pests. Until the Republic recruited them during its early years.

I'm not certain if these hiveships are Republic Kirri or wild hives. They could be sentinels for the fleet.

With my ship dark, it's easy to pass them, though. Kirri hiveships aren't known for sensitive sensor suites.
>Continue to the lost fleet
>Get out of there, this is too dangerous.

>>1933619
>Continue to the lost fleet

>>1933619
>Continue to the lost fleet

>>1933619
>Continue to the lost fleet

>>1940354
>>1934470
Oh shit, didn't realize I had voted the other day

>>1933619
>>Continue to the lost fleet

>>1940356
Pft, nice.

Think you might want to start a fresh thread ir8, its hard to find a thread once its fallen off the first 3 pages.

>>1952822
>its hard to find a thread once its fallen off the first 3 pages
The catalog is there because going through the pages individually is not the way you're supposed to find threads.

I will probably make a new one because I was unintentionally inactive with both jobs having me work.