We were thrown out of the hyperlane all of a sudden. And not only is there no one around us, but there isn’t even a star nearby. That’s all I know.
There were only light wounds, and everyone went into the simple medipod to get examined.
The interior of the ship took a lot of damage. All the hydroponic planters. The moss slime is missing, and a drone is looking for it. The pillows in the living room went all over the place. Apparently the big monitor in the living room is broken, and it doesn’t respond even after unplugging and plugging. The PC we call fixed information device was stabbed into a wall.
And the dominoes in the living room are in an awful state.
The food printers are even worse. The liquid one was fixed in one spot, but it got blown away and broken. The mastery chef had some clogs in some parts, and Saratha is currently using a small drone to repair it.
The bath’s water is running fine, but Vasilisa’s mixing room is a mess. We threw disk battle drones we use for cleaning in there and left them.
As for the cargo bay, an armor made contact with the elevator and its arm got stuck, so the elevator isn’t moving. Kori is operating a drone remotely to do something about it.
Everyone’s rooms are a mess, but we’re turning a blind eye to them. At least there were no leaks in the pipes.
At least that’s all there is in terms of problems with the ship’s functions. If I had to go into combat right away, I could.
“I didn’t expect the power armor fasteners to break…”
“A bipedal one broke, but the four-legged ones stayed in place and are okay.”
“I wonder if we can fix the broken one.”
“The joints popped off with the impact. I think it will take time.”
What is going on here geez… Everyone except me is running around cleaning and tidying.
“Is the hyperdrive all right?”
“Yes, it is working. But we cannot enter hyperspace or a hyperlane. FTL communications are not working either. Fairies and spirits could be stopping us from entering, but they would not be blocking communications.”
“I don’t get this… So the most likely culprit is that?”
“Yes, it could very well be that, but I really do not think so.”
The proud dwarf generational spaceship Raised Pickaxe did something… I honestly don’t think that’s it either.
After all, as the words generational spaceship imply, they probably don’t have FTL technology.
What are generational spaceships anyway? They are spaceships that go very far away. But since they are made in an era before FTL travel, they move slower than light and take hundreds of years to reach their destination.
Goals and techniques are passed down to sons and grandsons as the ship moves forward and generations are born and die.
It’s hard to believe a generational ship without FTL technology has a hyperspace jammer.
“But I can’t think of any other causes. We need to investigate that ship.”
“True… The problem is that it is not responding to our communications. We know its name because a signal is going out, so it has power.”
“What a pain… And it looks tattered. Should we board a five meter battle drone and go from there?”
“I think that would be good… I would like an attack drone for boarding as well.”
“Where would we put it? We wouldn’t have a lot of chances to use it either… Maybe we’ll get it.”
There’s no problem with the movement of Tortilla Double, so we approach Raised Pickaxe until we’re ten kilometers away from it, and stop after confirming it’s not attacking.
We give instructions to the battle drone in the cargo bay, open the rear hatch, and it goes. I’m watching with Iris through an external camera as it attaches itself to Raised Pickaxe.
“It doesn’t look like they’ll attack…”
“It seems like they have defensive lasers, but they are not moving.”
“How long did they say that ship was flying… Four hundred years…? I feel like someone complained about that in the beacon.”
“If their technology is similar to ours, they should be operating normally… but that is hard to say considering its state.”
Going back to Raised Pickaxe.
It’s pretty big. I’d say it’s three hundred meters long and two hundred meters tall. I think it’s about two hundred meters wide, and it’s a rectangle without much in the way of affectation.
There was information that it had five thousand dwarves on board. It was adrift, and it failed to fulfill its purpose.
It didn’t say why it was adrift. Maybe there was some sort of damage… I can see it’s full of holes. It’s to the point where I wonder why it still has power.
The five meter battle drone goes in through one of those holes.
“The passages are big, so it’s not having trouble inside.”
“Were they five meter tall dwarves?”
“I don’t think so… There are no lights on the inside.”
“It is likely it is abandoned. I want to go in with a spacesuit and a camera after checking if it is safe.”
Why? Apparently to make a video. Apparently they edited stuff about the octopuses too and uploaded it onto a video site in Brefilmora Prime.
“Hn, it’s getting tighter…”
“Did the drone enter through a hangar…”
“Would a generational ship have such a thing…”
“I think it could… but would they have it with their level of technology?”
Well, it’s iffy. Leaving that aside, the five meter drone can’t go in. And the servicing droids aren’t fit for exploration.
“Iris, sorry, but get ready.”
“Yes master, how far?”
“We have time, so let’s secure the control room or the cockpit. You can use all firearms, and make sure to take shields.”
“Very well. I will be checking in periodically, so take it easy in the cockpit, master.”
It’s been two hours since Iris went into Raised Pickaxe.
“<Master, I am making no progress.>”
“I see…”
She reached a room that controls some machinery, that could be the cockpit, but there’s no useful information.
There’s only a bunch of degraded machinery and what we can only call scrap.
“That doesn’t tell us why the signal of the Pickaxe is transmitting, and it shows no reason to believe something like a hyperspace jammer is there.”
“<Yes, I reached the same conclusion. I will search some more. How are the repairs of Tortilla Double going?>”
“We can walk barefoot in the living room again, but individual rooms are still a work in progress. We want to prioritize repairing the elevator, and finish changing the cables.”
“<That is good news. It will be easier to reach the food in the containers once the elevator is fixed.>”
Yes, food is a problem with two food printers out of order. We have years worth of food if they’re working, but it’s a big problem if they aren’t.
We’d have to do something like scoop out the contents of food cartridges, add flavorings, and cook them on a hot plate.
Saratha is working hard to fix mastery chef, and since she’s taking parts from the alchemist crafter, the prospects are looking good.
But according to her it’s going to take at least five hours, so today we’re eating from retort bags or frozen foods. I want to put as little pressure on her as possible.
“<Master, I found an anomaly. Check the footage.>”
“Checking.”
Iris’ voice is as calm as always, but what I see is baffling.
It’s like a fancy golden chandelier rotating vertically with a white light. What is this?
The rotation speed changes randomly, and it switches to rotating left and right occasionally. It’s like it’s trying to communicate. I have no idea if it’s friendly or hostile.
There’s a pile of scrap metal around, and a shining chandelier.
“Iris, lower your weapon… Voice… Won’t get through because it’s a vacuum…”
<It does? It does?>
“Iris, did you hear that?”
“<Yes, I can hear it master. Please give me instructions.>”
Well, this…
“Is it getting through…?
“<Master?>”
<There? There?>”
“Is it telepathy like the space whales? How, no, can you hear me?”
<Understand, understand? Far, far, there? Over there? Problem? Me and you, problem. Path bambam.>
Is this the kind of being it is?
<Adjusting. I’m Luca. Spirit. Wait, bit.>
“Luca, I’m Genma, Can you come to my ship?”
<Thanks. Want magic energy.>
Good thing the hyperdrive is working.
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