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June 21st 2017
Every day, our understanding of the universe is reforged as new mysteries are brought to light, shifting our perception as readily as the grains of sand within an hourglass. It seems all too often that our tenuous grasp on reality is affixed in time only by the dark shadows of our collective consciousness. It is there that forgotten whispers echo just out of reach, waiting to be heard. These are Untold Tales.
Today, we travel to Bremen, where on June 20th, 2941, freelance mercenary Sera Misagaru was flying a sweep pattern along the shipping lanes that crisscross between Rytif and Bremen III, looking to pick up whatever work could be found. For the previous six months, Sera would, if the credits were right, offer to assist any ships that had found themselves in harm’s way. Although Bremen’s considered a safe system, those who make their living traversing the black learn quickly that in space, safety is a relative thing. It was there, amidst the flow of commerce, a routine operation began that was destined to become anything but.
Sera accepted the contract and hurried to the coordinates where the distressed ship had sent its plea for help. Upon arriving, the mercenary had been prepared to do battle against a fleet of outlaws but instead, a surprise was waiting.
Sera Misagaru had become the most recent pilot to respond to what has become known as the ‘Unanswered Cry.’
All together there have been fourteen reports during the past century of pilots responding to the Solomon and its captain’s cries for help. All of them reported a similar experience: a ship in need, a contract accepted, and the discovery of an empty stretch of space waiting for them at the end.
A hauling ship owned and operated by Captain Laramy Stevens, the Solomon spent an honest and industrious fifteen years servicing the area around Rytif. Then on October 21, 2794, the ship vanished. We spoke to ProtLife Insurance associate Genevieve Atrella to learn what little is known about the Solomon’s tragic fate.
Not only were the outlaws never found, neither were the Solomon and its captain. Beyond the black box, no trace of either the ship or Stevens have ever been discovered. How did the black box get removed from the ship? If it was attacked, why were there no signs there or anywhere else in the system?
But will we ever know what really did happen? While these are all ready explanations, none help to reveal the source of the messages or why they keep sending decade after decade. Could it be that Laramy Stevens is actually still trying to call for help?
The oldest living person to have experienced the unanswered cry, Tolomer Winsome heard the message in 2843.
And so, the search for the Solomon continues while the questions grow. Many have supposed that the signal is just some kind of cruel joke. But why go through all that trouble? What is there to gain? Is Captain Stevens really still out there? Is the unanswered cry just some glitch in the system? When Untold Tales returns, we talk to computer expert Johana Quint and see what happens when someone tries to trace this mysterious signal to its source.
That and more when Untold Tales returns.