The Unexplored Places

This week, on Tango Sector: It's now or never.

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[ LOOSE FLYER FOUND IN AN ALLEYWAY BETWEEN STALLS ON THE OUTSKIRTS OF NADIR, VERITY ]

[ image description: a large, bold, black letter "U" with a circle around it and a slash through the circle, intersecting the "U." Above the image, bold, red, typed font reads "JUSTICE FOR HOMILY!" and, below it, the same font reads "DEATH TO UNION SCUM!" ]

This week, on Tango Sector: In the wake of the attack on Homily, the need to find a way to destroy the Leviathan has become even more pressing. Face to face with firsthand evidence of the kind of devastation it can cause, the fellowship begins to work towards a plan—or rather, a number of plans, a wide array of options for how to deal with the problem at hand. When it comes down to it, can they come together and agree on an approach, or will their disparate preparations splinter them?

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[ POSTER, HALF RIPPED, ATTACHED TO AN ALLEY WALL IN LOWER CITY, LISIANTHUS, THISTLE ]

[ image description: a drawing of the Leviathan in black, gray, and blue marker. The image is not very detailed, a series of overlapping gray rectangles that make up the shape of a snake, with its mouth open and a blue beam of light coming out of it. Below the image, typed font in the style of a wanted poster reads "WANTED: DEAD OR ALIVE" and then, smaller "FOR THE CRIME OF 6700 DEATHS ON SNOWMELT" ]

This week, on Tango Sector: Eight months since the crew of Pelagian went missing, Tango Sector is a changed place. The Union's control is firm, criminals and dissenters have been driven underground, and the war machine Leviathan reigns above it all. Behind the scenes, alliances form, research is underway, and plans are made, but when an unexpected attack hits the unsuspecting civilian population of Homily, can a group of plotting revolutionaries cohere into a force with a fighting chance?

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[ PERSONAL CORRESPONDENCE // FROM: OMEGA BLUE, BLACKFORD & DESAI ECOLOGY // TO: CONSUL SENECA WARD, THE ELECTORATE INC. ]

Consul Ward,

On behalf of Blackford & Desai, and more specifically Project Leviathan, I would like to thank you and the Electorate for your continued support in our endeavours. The funding and resources offered to our project by the Electorate have been invaluable in the research and development process, and we expect that you will be satisfied with the results. To that end, I am writing to invite you to visit our station at Lovelock in two weeks time for the unveiling and first demonstration of the completed prototype of the project.

Let us know if you plan to attend and, if so, how many will be in your party and the registration information for the ship in which you will be arriving. Coordinates and further information will be sent upon your RSVP.

Best,Omega BlueProject Director, Project LeviathanBlackford & Desai Ecology

This week, on Tango Sector: With their theft finally discovered and the stakes getting rapidly higher, the crew of Pelagian makes one last attempt to get the rest of the Remnant cores off of the station. Melas makes a mad dash. Liam makes a decision. Claus makes an apology. Cash tries out some new powers. Flux tries out some new gear.

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CONTENT WARNINGS: injections, head trauma

[ LEVIATHAN STATION INTERNAL COMMUNICATIONS - PRIVATE DIRECT MESSAGE LOG ]

Axelle: oh fuck today was NOT the day to try to get away with being out of uniform

Orlov: ???

L. Axelle: you haven't seen them yet?

L. Axelle: lol good luck, she's gonna tear you a new one

This week, on Tango Sector: With some of the Remnant cores in hand, the crew of Pelagian presses on in their attempts to rescue the rest from Blackford & Desai despite the increasing risk. Flux alerts the crew of danger. Liam opts for fists when words don't work. Cash takes a peek at what lies ahead. Melas raises an alarm. Claus takes a wrong turn.

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[ A SELECTION FROM THEORETICAL NOTES ON PRACTICAL APPLICATIONS: A SURVEY OF REMNANT TECHNOLOGY BY DR. A. VINCENT SARAMANDO ]

If the theory of field suspension holds across more than just this limited range of contact—an experiment unfortunately far beyond the capabilities of any lab currently extant on any planet, moon, or station in the Sector—the potential applications for this kind of technology are remarkable, potentially life changing, allowing for a kind of motion-in-concert, a coordination of so many vastly separate moving pieces that one might make a mechanical army of millions and synchronize their movements to the motions of a single soldier. It is beyond the scope of imagining, what this kind of technology might afford us, and beyond the scope of moral philosophy to grapple with the ethical implications of the very idea. Imagine, if you will, the cheap elimination of the need for human or other sentient labor in dangerous circumstances such as those that led to the deaths of hundreds of gas miners in the explosion of Rho only two decades ago. Imagine, if you will, the eased extraction of ore on Snowmelt. Imagine, if you will… the collapse of the civilizations that have spread in the wake of this kind of necessary labor, the abandonment of Penrose, the collapse of Torus Station. For every advance, a loss felt in equal measure; for every loss, a yearning towards some new technology to fill the gaps that caused its deeply-felt absence.

This week, on Tango Sector: Aboard their captured ship, the crew of Pelagian sneaks into the Project Leviathan lab in pursuit of the stolen Remnant cores. Claus takes a call. Flux averts disaster. Cash gives orders. Liam dons a disguise. Melas offers some alternatives.

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CONTENT WARNINGS: vomit

[ EXCERPTED FROM A BLACKFORD & DESAI STANDARD EMPLOYMENT APPLICATION FOR POSITION ON A SILVER-TIER CLASSIFIED PROJECT ]

I, the undersigned, [print name], do hereby consent to Blackford & Desai's terms of non-disclosure and project classification. I acknowledge that failure to abide by these terms will result not only in the termination of my employment and the forfeiture of all pay, benefits, and other perks of my employment under Blackford & Desai, but also in a sentence of no less than ten years in a Sector penitentiary. I also consent, in the case of a leak of classified information from or related to this project, [project name], to the expectation that I will cooperate with any and all investigations into the source of a leak. I acknowledge that, by signing this application, all work I partake in, whether related to the project or independently pursued, is the legal intellectual property of Blackford & Desai and may be utilized and/or monetized as project leaders see fit.

This week, on Tango Sector: With the information they've gathered so far about the mysterious Project Leviathan, the crew of Pelagian sits down to make a plan to get to Lovelock undetected. Cash gets a look at what they're in for. Claus and Flux study up. Melas talks his way into somewhere he shouldn't be. Liam does what he does best.

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CONTENT WARNINGS: forced interrogation

[ POSTED ANONYMOUSLY TO THE PUBLIC DIGITAL NOTICES BOARD, CENTRAL CONCOURSE GAMMA, THE CHORDS, HOMILY ]

DISCREET, EXPERIENCED TREASURE HUNTERS WANTED FOR EXPEDITION TO CHANDRA. INTERESTED PARTIES CONTACT AT 458-38773 X. 12.

This week, on Tango Sector: As they come back together on Homily, the crew of Pelagian has a much needed catch-up—and puts a few pieces together to form one large, apocalyptic puzzle. Cash does some interrogating. Melas publishes some news. Claus delves back into some old research. Liam tries out his new abilities. Flux uses her sharp eyes to notice details others might have overlooked.

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[ SHIPPING MANIFEST, BLACKFORD & DESAI BRAMBLE CLASS SCIENCE VESSEL BRYONY, EN ROUTE FROM THISTLE TO LOVELOCK ]

One small box, containing ███ ███████ ████, ℅ Project █████████.

This week, on Tango Sector: A meditation on potential futures.

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CONTENT WARNINGS: depictions of extreme violence and severe injury, temporary blindness

[ ARCHIVED DOCUMENT FROM THE EXCAVATION OF EARLY REMNANT FINDINGS ON CHANDRA ]

. . . The technology seen here is markedly different from that which we have grown used to in our own society—different mechanical parts, different points of connection. The internal logic of the mechanical structure is akin to reading another language in the same script: familiar letters, unfamiliar words, foreign grammar. Some of the pieces are obvious, but the shape of the thing is impossible to conceive of fully.

When we first awoke the remnant, which seemed to be dormant while still having some power either stored or generated from somewhere within its chassis, it was not the remnant that began to move but several nearby pieces of scrap metal from the wreckage. There appeared to be some sort of interference from the technology, some kind of resonant hum creating a field of activity in the area. However, once we cleared away the interference, the chassis came to life, silently observing the group of us through almost-familiar eyes . . .

This week, on Tango Sector: Finally face to face with the beacon—and not the only ones there to make a grab for it—the crew of Pelagian puzzles out a way forward without all the information they need. Melas thinks on his feet. Kala'ax rushes into the fray. Flux reaches out for help.

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