After my misadventures from the previous entry, I elected to turn my attention back to the task set before my by my mysterious benefactor. I clambered aboard the Talon as soon as it arrived and turned my nav target to the third point, which happened to be the first point I’d been given in this system. I was already on the target planet of Amptonbea Kiha, but it seemed I was on the wrong pole – or at least in the wrong hemisphere. No matter, though. One of the perks of owning a starship (or two) happens to be that long-distance travel suddenly becomes much quicker. I turned the nose skyward, flying vertically at upwards of 200 meters per second. Once I’d cleared the atmosphere the engines were freed from wind resistance, which boosted my max speed to roughly 12,500 m/S and shortened the previous travel estimate from sixteen hours to about thirty seconds. I landed on the far side of the planet around dusk. I was briefly confused at first, since I’d only just watched the sunrise as I’d waited for the Talon, but I quickly realized that it should have been expected; after all, I’d just flown to the other side of the world. After taking a moment to get my bearings, I started toward a large stone monument. I’m not entirely sure how to describe this place. It felt both natural and artificial at the same time. Crisp, clean lines marked the edges of every form, but these edges were scattered such a way as to suggest they’d fallen randomly, purposelessly. Stairs led up to an elevated platform which lay at the middle of a larger ornate section of the structure, and this piece -at least- appeared to have some purpose. The platform held an odd circular dais, which whirred and glowed slightly as I climbed the steps. The structure was absolutely alien to its surroundings, as though it had been transplanted there by some giant hand playing with a toy figure. The material of which it was constructed was different from anything I’d seen before – except, perhaps, the word stones, the Knowledge Stones I’d encountered many times already. In fact, three of these very stones marked the corners of the monument. Noticing these, I realized that the two must somehow be related. It stood to reason, after all, that if the smaller structures are meant to convey the meanings of words to a system, then perhaps the larger structure had an even greater purpose to serve, even greater knowledge to share. I stood on the edge of the dais, staring at the center in an effort to discern how to activate the structure. It seems my presence on the platform was enough, because in a moment words formed themselves in my mind, odd fragments of broken speech. Without thinking I responded, “It is Traveller.” I don’t know why. It’s odd to be asked questions like that, out of nowhere and with no clear indication of whether I, personally, was being asked. However, something clearly noticed my reply; as I spoke I was overwhelmed with a sudden feeling of being watched closely. I hesitated before responding. There was no way to know whether I was first, but it was unsettling to consider the alternative, to say the least. “It is first,” I answered hesitantly. I don’t know how it spoke to me. I can’t say whether the words were actually uttered, or just an echo in my mind. The structure looks worn, weathered, and unfathomably ancient. I can’t escape the feeling that it’s asked these same questions many, many times before. I wonder… has it asked me before? Words come to me once more: All at once I was absolutely certain I was the intended audience. The Crimson Eye… it’s been haunting me ever since I first awoke all that time ago on the planet where I met Carl. It’s chased me across planets, across solar systems even, and undoubtedly has played a major role in setting me on the path I now follow. I’m still not quite certain what that path is, but I now know that I must follow it to the end. My own curiosity will allow for nothing less. So, I speak my response with confidence. “Both.” The words fade from my awareness, and I reel back from the dais, almost falling off of the platform. Likelihood of anomaly… that must be me. Having two completely unrelated systems refer to me as such – the emergency beacon at the Pillar’s crash site, and now an alien Monolith in a completely different star system – was too great a coincidence to accept. I must be the anomaly to which they refer… whatever that means. And the second part: “The Boundaries Fall. The Walls Collapse. Your Universe awaits.” My mind drifts back over the days, weeks, however long it’s been since the day after I awoke from a dream which wasn’t a dream. I remember the odd glowing orb which turned out to be Nano, whom I’d only met in that sleeping world. I recalled the feeling of power, of something strange and wrong tearing through reality when I tried to make contact. The walls collapse. Could that be the walls they’re talking about? The walls between realities? I don’t like the sound of that… Your universe awaits. My universe? Was this all somehow created for me? Was… was I created for it? Find us, Traveller. …I’ve procrastinated long enough. It’s time to take action. I turn my ship to the stars, following a beacon which has been pulsing since the I arrived back at the Talon. We’ll see what comes of that in due time. Within moments of breaching the atmosphere my ship’s computer alerted me to an incoming transmission from an unknown source. Drawing on prior experience, I pinged the ship’s scanner to try and locate the signal’s origin. It was like I’d set off a beacon of my own – an interstellar signal flare. There was a blinding flash directly in front of me as a space station – an entire space station – warped into orbit directly above Amptonbea Kiha. I hit my “space brakes” – reversed thrust until I came to a standstill – and stared in awe for a moment until my mind caught up to events. The station was a perfect sphere, dark grey in color. I slowly closed my mouth as I watched, and similarities started to click into place for me. The material and design of the station seemed to be in one unnaturally large piece of greyish black, dense material carved into such a perfect curve that I knew no living being had constructed it. In fact, the station seemed very similar in form and substance as the monuments and knowledge stones I’d been encountering all throughout my journey so far. And my navigation systems were pointing me directly toward it. Was this my destination? The place where I’d finally learn all the answers I’d come to desire – where I’d come from, why I was there, what my purpose was? Could it possibly be that I was about to meet the entities who had been guiding me for so long? Well… yes, and no. Numbly, I guided the Talon toward the entry aperture, my heart thudding in anticipation as the autopilot took over the landing maneuver. I was taken into a room just as perfectly spherical as the outside of the station – the “Anomaly,” as ASIS identified it to me (another one?) – where my ship touched down on the one and only landing pad, dead center on a circular platform with only one exit: a shallow ramp leading to an ominous door with three reddish circles on it, which sealed off access to what appeared to be yet another spherical chamber. Cautiously, I exited the Talon, leaving all systems engaged just in case I needed to make a quick escape (memories of the biological horrors flitted across my vision briefly). The door opened automatically as I approached, and I was met with a truly confounding sight. Inside the spherical chamber was a circular platform suspended in the center of the chamber. The platform ran around what appeared to be a blue column of energy, with no clear point of origin above or beneath, and which coalesced into a sort of living embodiment of pure energy a couple of meters above the platform. Just above this was a viewing stand, complete with an observation terminal of some kind, as though one was supposed to use that to monitor whatever was going on with the beam. Other than that, the room was just like the one I’d left, with two other doors leading away, some sort of massive container on the right-hand end of the platform- And two innocuous beings – A Gek and a Korvax – who smiled amiably when I walked in, as though to an old friend. Cautiously, I approach the closest one, whom ASIS identifies as Priest Entity Nada. I would wonder at how my exosuit’s computer knows the identity of one who I’d never met before, but for several similar encounters I’d already had. Obviously, it picked up identifying information from the Korvax’s own systems. Hesitantly, I approach and greet the being, on whose faceplate a digital eye regarded me with robotic interest. The panels and systems go idle as Nada speaks the word, clearly and in my own tongue. They wait quietly while I slowly come to realize that something is expected of me. Slowly, I respond in kind. 📷Priest Entity Nada “…sixteen.” I can’t for the life of me fathom what the Korvax is getting at, until I get a notice from ASIS of a request for my “milestone data” – apparently, ASIS keeps tabs on everything that I do, from how many units I’ve accrued, to how many and which species I’ve discovered; from how many worlds I’ve visited, down to even how many steps I’d taken. Not certain what sort of useful data Nada could get from that, I reluctantly agree (if only for the implied reward) to transmit the data. To my surprise, ASIS pings again as the Korvax transfers 1400 nanite clusters into my account. I’m at a loss – this is the currency used at every station and shop I’d yet encountered. It’s not all that easy to come by, and it’s the preferred currency for any technology exchange, be it blueprints or pre-made modules. With this, I could easily improve any of the major systems on which I depend for my very survival! But… why give me this? And what should I understand? I try to ask, but Nada seems uninterested in explaining, turning back to its panels. Apparently it had gotten what it wanted in my “milestone data,” and had nothing more to say unless I could provide more data. I slowly passed by the indifferent Korvax, turning my attention to the odd little Gek standing a little way behind him. The creature hadn’t interrupted our encounter, demonstrating either an advanced sense of etiquette, or some mild fear. Now as I approached, it smiled once more in greeting. 📷Specialist Polo At this point I realized that neither of these entities were actually speaking in my tongue. ASIS was automatically translating as they spoke, and playing the result directly into my ears. But, why do that so effortlessly with these two creatures, and not with every other one I’d encountered? I had no chance to dwell on this as the Gek wiped a grease-stained hand on it’s grease-streaked suit and presented it to me, introducing itself as Specialist Polo, Fugitive of the Gek. I blinked. Fugitive? That’s an odd thing to admit up front, for one. But the Gek I’d met until now seemed quite peaceful, concerned with little beyond trade. What could this one have done to be considered a fugitive? I don’t have to wonder long. As though hearing my thoughts, the Gek went on to explain that they’d given up trade, units, and all material possessions to flee into an anomaly outside space and time with a robotic priest. All things considered, they seemed fairly happy about the situation. Naturally, this revelation spawned dozens of new questions in my mind, but I wasn’t given the opportunity to present them, as Polo immediately pressed me for information as well. They wanted to know about my travels, and what sentient species I’d encountered. Nonplussed, I answered honestly, utterly confused as to what the heck was going on. Suddenly delighted, Polo turned to Nada with an enormous smile – though I suppose all Gek smiles are enormous, given that their mouths take up most of the lower half of their amphibian-looking faces. Polo returned its gaze to me, poring over the information I’d already given, seeming to compare it to what I’d said for accuracy. I was suddenly glad to have been honest; it would’ve been awkward to be caught in a lie, especially over something that seems so inconsequential as what species I’d encountered. Others, Polo said, driving my thoughts back toward the recent path. Others like the friendly Vy’Keen traders? Or others like Nano, the entity I’d encountered across dimensions? The Gek’s words seemed to imply that there was more to the question that was apparent on its surface, but I simply couldn’t fathom what the exact meaning was. Whatever Polo had intended, the Gek didn’t elaborate. It applauded the data I’d given them and embraced me, to my surprise, as it offered to craft me a special new technology for my multitool. It claimed that we are now bonded in “Glorious Friendship.” The strange little being then gave me a blueprint for an access card of some sort. Again, before I could say a word, Polo turned to me with a request. By “our home,” I could only assume they meant this space station. As for finding “interesting stories,” I wasn’t sure exactly what they meant, but I suddenly had a feeling that this was important. They’d asked about where I’d been, what I’d seen, who I’d met, and while I had some experiences to share, it clearly wasn’t what they were expecting of me. In fact, they had greeted me with such familiarity that I now suspected they knew more about my origins than they let on. This only made more sense when I realized that everything up until now had led me here. “You will find us, when you are ready,” and “Find us.” Us. These two had been guiding me so far, but to what end I still cannot fathom. All I can do now is follow their advice – continue exploring, searching for truth out there in the stars. Perhaps something out there will trigger dormant memories in my mind, make me realize who I actually am, or where I’m from. Perhaps I will learn the truth of myself, or perhaps they want me to discover something more… I am dedicated now. I must go down to the worlds I once flew by, searching for beings to speak to, to learn from, and by doing so perhaps I will be able to present something to my hosts which will convince them to help me discover even more… Hmm… actually, I’m starting to think I’ve already learned something. I’m meant for this, it feels right. I am meant to explore, to discover, to study. I will log what I can, and report my findings here. For now, I’m going to focus my study on the Vy’Keen, and do what I can to learn their language and history. In doing so, who knows, maybe I’ll learn something about myself? As I continue forward, though, I feel like my own history is not relevant. I can’t see how it matters, now, when there’s so much more out there among the stars to discover, to learn, to know. I can’t wait to get started.

I’m not exactly sure what I expected. I arrived into the Slyuri system with high hopes and eager anticipation, only to find myself diverted to a nearby planet called Xicopius. Vibrant green from the atmosphere, the uniform appearance of the world was quickly cast aside upon approach. Small ridges became yawning mountain valleys, dots of color gave way to massive untapped mineral deposits, and hints of foliage became massive sprawling forests whose leaves glittered in the sunlight with every color of the rainbow. I nearly missed my destination as I admired the scenery, coming in to land near the top of a mountain where an elevated trade platform stood. I was being directed toward an entity in the main terminal, but I was too enthralled by the glowing red-orange of the setting sun streaking across the sky to pay it any mind. With barely any hesitation I leapt from the edge of the platform, using my jetpack to quickly ascend to the very peak. Words cannot properly describe what awaited me there. I watched until the sun dipped below the horizon and the sky deepened to a warm cerulean which suffused across the landscape. Reluctantly, I pulled myself away from the vista and returned to the task at hand. The being awaiting me was another Vy’Keen, this one with pink and green war paint coating its head. My suit’s systems picked up an ID tag in the entity’s possession which labeled it as Captain Ruanxiezh, an absolute mouthful which I didn’t even pretend to try and pronounce properly. Not that it mattered, as once again I’m certain that the entity in front of me was not the source of the voice I heard. The being’s voice was nothing like other Vy’Keen I’d encountered, oddly mechanical behind the guttural vocals typical of the race. Its eyes were distant, as though it weren’t aware of what was happening. Oddly, I understood their every word this time, even if I still don’t know what they meant. The being offered me a blueprint. To my surprise, it seemed to be instructions to create my own antimatter. This would make further interstellar travel easier, though I have to wonder about how casually these plans seem to toy with the very laws of physics. Apparently, digitized products can be combined mathematically in ways which would be impossible otherwise. I don’t understand why I’m being led down this trail, but I will not stop now. I sense a greater purpose awaiting me. What it is I cannot fathom, but I am eager to continue along this path. Well… maybe in a day or two. I want to see more of this beautiful world. A kindly Vy’Keen trader offered me this fighter for a very reasonable price! I call it the Talon Rake. It’s an improvement on the Radiant Pillar, certainly, but I couldn’t bring myself to sell it. The local trade platform has graciously allowed me to park it there until I either change my mind, or can send for it. So. It’s been a while since my last log entry. There’s a good reason for that. In short, I did something very stupid. In the time I spent on Xicopius (three Sol’s, all told, and most of it exploring just the area surrounding the trade platform) I found many more of those odd cylinders from so long ago. Where before I’d been granted a vision of a battle from long ago, I was now only gifted knowledge of certain words in the Vy’Keen tongue. I don’t know who left these stones of knowledge – no, knowledge stones, that sounds better – but I am grateful to whoever it was. I found dozens of the objects before leaving Xicopius, and was beginning to feel quite accomplished in my understanding of Vy’Keen language. It would seem I was… overconfident. Sure, I was able to work out the intent of the Vy’Keen on the trade platform easily enough – they were mostly warriors, I discovered, not traders as I’d originally suspected – but my hubris came back to me after I jumped to the next system my exosuit’s guidance system was directing me toward. (Side note: I’m getting tired of referring to it so mechanically, so I’ve given my guidance system a name. I took inspiration from the words I first heard upon awakening, all those Sols ago – Commencing Atlas Suit Initialization Sequence. Since then I’ve come to think of the automated voice I keep hearing as my Atlas Suit Interface System – ASIS. It doesn’t respond to the name, but it makes me feel better to have a name to shout when I get annoyed.) Upon reaching Rayvoria, I was directed toward a world which ASIS’ scan returned as an Acrid Planet. I didn’t feel terribly compelled to go directly there, so I went to the local space station instead. Here I met two entities, one of whom gave me more questions which need answering, while the other made me realize just how little I still know. The first was a Vy’Keen whose name I didn’t catch, but I approached them with confidence after briefly reviewing my suit’s linguistic records. Luckily, ASIS’ translation systems seem to automatically replace the original sounds of the entity’s language with the corresponding words that I understand. Unfortunately, there was no translation given for the what was spoken. The creature’s body language suggested that it was making some sort of request, and so I (naively) agreed, thinking perhaps I’d get a better understanding when he spoke again. He didn’t, though. Instead, he transmitted a simple contract into ASIS’s system: a dossier for an ongoing missing-persons case. No name, no details, just the last-known location of the entity in question. I tried to protest this to the Vy’Keen, but it was clear he either couldn’t understand my words, or didn’t care. I was stuck with it. The other creature I met was like none I’d ever seen before. It wore a purple jumpsuit with armor similar to my own, but that was where the likeness ended. Its skin was a vibrant yellow, its face as wide as its shoulders with large, bulbous eyes, each the size of my closed fist, jutting outward on strangely motile masses from the sides of its skull. Two more protrusions poked vertically from these masses, doubling the height of the head on their own. Whether these were antlers, ears, or some other vestigial feature from ages past, I had no way of knowing. Oddly, the creature didn’t truly seem real as I approached. There was an unusual shine about it’s person, almost as though it were a hologram of some kind. But that’s not possible… right? I hesitantly greeted the being in my own language, and it astonished me by responding not only in familiar words, but with a fluency that suggested an odd kinship of sorts between me and this entity, whom ASIS had tagged as “Tr.avel/er Pepinash” It was odd, to say the least. Once again, I understood the words but not the meaning behind them. I tried to ask for clarification, but the entity – the Traveller, I suppose – ignored my inquiry, as though it didn’t understand my words. In fact, the being seemed disinterested in anything whatsoever. I was about to leave when it suddenly reacted – something in my pack had attracted its attention! Curious, I opened my inventory screen by the creature, passing by one item after another until it reacted, to no avail. After a few minutes of this, I sighed and swiped the screen again, meaning to close it and move on, when the Nanite Cluster header flashed erratically, in time with the odd shimmer around Pepinash. Thinking quickly, I asked the question which had been burning into my mind for the last few minutes: “Where did you come from?” There was a flicker, and suddenly my balance lost 100 nanites. Pepinash spoke not a word, but ASIS dinged another alert – Coordinates Received The being went still. I touched it gently on the shoulder, and it seemed solid, but reacted to nothing around it. Still, it had given me some information, which was better than nothing. Only, now I had more questions: What exactly was Pepinash? Why did it behave that way? Where is it from? And over all that, why did no one else in the station seem to notice the strange being? Disconcerted and mildly annoyed, I departed the station shortly after that interaction. Checking my navigation system, I learned that the two new destinations I’d been given – the Missing Persons report, and the ostensible origin of Pepinash (marked as Unknown Grave by ASIS, oddly) – were a very short distance from each other on the planetary surface, as well as from the nav marker ASIS had given me upon entering the system. So, I decided to take out two drones with one beam, as it were. I went first to the Unknown Grave, out of sheer morbid curiosity. There happened to be a landing pad nearby, and so I left it behind and crested the hill leading toward the gravesite. What I found was perplexing to say the least. It was an oblong diamond, pale ivory in color with golden highlights at each corner. In its core was a sphere of orange and black, which seemed to float independently of the main mass. Oh. Did I mention that the whole thing floated about two feet off of the ground? Anyway. I don’t know why, but I felt compelled to reach out and grab the core of the device. As soon as I touched it, the device powered on and began emitting a holographic display of a familiar figure: Traveller Pepinash. It spoke in pained tones, as though dying: Included with the message was an encoded glyph, which had also been etched onto the pale gravestone. Somehow I knew this would be useful to me in the future, but I didn’t know how just yet. My mind buzzed. What are the Sentinels? It was such a mind-bogglingly simple question, and yet even I had never thought to ask. These beings are on every planet I come to, guarding the resources strewn across each world, down to the smallest pebble. But, why? Where did they come from? What, if any, is their greater purpose?D I made a mental note to keep an eye out for more Travellers in the future. Something about them is oddly familiar, and if more of them appear to me I just may learn a bit more about my own origins. After leaving the grave, I decided to go on-foot to the next destination – the missing person’s last known location. Unfortunately, I forgot to account for a couple of things. First off, the planet I was on had a toxic environment, and had forgotten to resupply my sodium reserves since leaving Tuzesinto VI. This obviously meant I was woefully unprepared for such a long trek across the planet’s surface, and the decision to walk the distance – which had seemed so insignificantly small from orbit – led me straight into a fight for survival, pitted against the very elements. The other thing I forgot was that Sentinels are very touchy when it comes to disturbing planetary resources. The sun had been set for hours before I depleted my sodium reserves. Carelessly, I went directly toward a glowing patch of sodium-rich plants (Oddly, these plants and others seem to be identical on many worlds… hmm…) and started to harvest all that I could carry. I didn’t notice ASIS’s warning that I was being watched. The next thing I know, I’m being shot at. I bolt away as fast as possible, throwing myself forward before blasting my jets in an attempt to get a little more speed. It seems to be working for a moment, but then suddenly another one of the little drones just appears out of the ground in front of me and starts firing! Surrounded now, I flip my multitool over to Blaster mode. I’d installed the mod after the close encounter with the burrowing horrors on Desboniu Major so as not to be caught off-guard like that again, and now I was glad to have done so. The blaster was powerful, and in moments I’d dispatched the Sentinel in front of me. By then the other two had caught up, but it was a fairly simple matter to shoot them down, even with the armor plating they put up after my first few rounds hit home. Just when I thought I was safe, ASIS chirps into my ear: Two more drones appear nearby, and I stood there gawping like an idiot until they signaled in a third, unfamiliar drone. This one was a quadruped, which loped along the ground with a measured, steady gait. I was still for too long, and the new drone lined up its sights and fired a massive laser beam directly into my chest. My shields took most of the hit, but they were badly damaged. Finally regaining my senses, I booked it over the nearest ridge and hit the ground running, sprinting as fast as possible. I took another hit from the laser, a glancing blow which still managed to destroy what remained of my shields. I stumbled, but kept on, once again lurching forward to drive a little more speed behind my jetpack’s thrust, putting as much ground between us as possible. It didn’t take long to get out of their firing range, but their dogged pursuit kept me moving. After a couple of kilometers with no reprieve, I decided to duck into a cave I found just after putting a hill between their line-of-sight. According to ASIS, the drones couldn’t detect me now that I was underground. Somehow, though, they seemed all too aware that I was nearby, because they didn’t call off their pursuit. They milled around the entrance to the cave for hours, and I eventually realized I’d have to find another way out. I ventured deeper into the cave to seek out a rear entrance (or exit, whatever), but I soon discovered that the caves ran far deeper than I’d expected. First hours, and then days passed, and all the while I walked aimlessly through the labyrinthine passages. Thankfully the air down there was clear, so I didn’t need my hazard protection systems, but I put my life support to the very test. I moved slowly and carefully, preserving my oxygen for as long as possible, and all the while the cursed Sentinel drones continued their dogged pursuit along the ground above my position. I can only assume that their pursuit is based off of something more than vision. Perhaps the same exosuit modules which provide names to me through ASIS also let the Sentinels triangulate my position? It would explain why they kept following me for so long despite being underground – they were still tracking my systems. After several days of endless wandering through clammy caves, I realized that I was almost directly beneath my destination – only about a kilometer away. Shortly after that, I found what looked to be daylight seeping in from down the passage. I had to make a decision, and there was only one sensible way to go. I had to surface, and put as much distance between me and the drones as I can before they blast me away. A quick check of my HUD showed no drones directly between me and my destination, so I bolted out of my hiding spot as fast as I possibly could. After only a few meters I spotted a blue flower just over the top of the hill I was racing toward. I would have paid it no mind but for the tag ASIS had given it:  Quickly, I harvested the plant’s buds. I didn’t know what would happen, but a boost seemed like a good thing at the moment, so caution was cast aside. The buds burst with shocking speed, releasing spores which flew directly toward my jetpack’s intake vents. I had no time to panic before the pack started vibrating and heating up. There was apparently an excess of energy in the system now, no doubt from those spores, and the only way to reduce it was to burn it. Well, if I had to do it, I was gonna do it right. I sprinted as hard as I could, leapt forward with everything I had, and engaged the jets. Holy crap. Before I jumped, the nav marker on my HUD showed my destination as 1,206m away. Within seconds of engaging the thrusters I was only 500m away, and there was no sign I was slowing down. At this rate I’d pass my destination! No sooner had the thought passed than ASIS chirped an alert:  I fell to the ground from far too high, but there was enough reserve fuel in the pack that I was able to land safely. I was only 250m away. The Sentinels still pursued me, but they were so far away now that I felt certain they’d lost the signal. They had to give up soon. I was right, too! It took less than a minute for ASIS to announce the all-clear. For the first time in days, I wasn’t being pursued, and not a moment too soon – I had arrived at the last known location of our Missing Person. I raced inside as quickly as possible, and had just enough time to curse the fact that you can’t slam automatic doors before I noticed the entity standing inside, staring at me with wide eyed and – for a Vy’Keen – bizarre horror. I had ASIS pull up the missing person’s report, checked a few key features, and heaved an incredibly tired sigh of relief. Pulling up my comms system, I patched into a dedicated frequency, reported his location with barely-masked disgust (seriously, he was right where you’d left him this whole time?!), and promptly fell into a chair, where I’ve been ever since. I’m going to send for my ship from here. Walking is for fools.

The Anomaly comes for the stars. Take flight. These are the words which awaited me at my destination, recorded over the Black Box archive of the crashed ship’s final moments. Attached to them was a hyperdrive schematic. This was only made more odd by the fact that I was led to the wreckage of a large freighter, rather than a conventional starship. The blueprint, as well as the message, were clearly planted here by someone who wanted them to be found. By me, apparently. It seems unlikely, but who else would it be for? The coordinates were given to me by a traveler on this world, the code to unlock them gathered from a computer terminal also found on this world. And the last nail in the coffin for the idea of coincidence was this: the wrecked freighter was to be found, yes, on the world I had chosen for my home. Who could have left all of this for me to find? That’s the burning question. Something queer is going on. I must build this hyperdrive and find out. Maybe the local space station will have what I need… It took some time, but I eventually found what I needed at the local space station. I'd never been there before, so I spent a good while marveling at the sheer immensity of the place when I arrived. I realize it's not the best frame of reference, but the aperture through which I entered was more than ten times the height and breadth of the Radiant Pillar. The aperture itself was easily small enough as to be nearly invisible while approaching the station, at least until the top half is no longer in view. I was guided in by a brilliant blue beam, coming in to land at a platform with a dozen landing pads and plenty of room to spare between each. It took me a quarter minute to reach the platform at cruising speed. Given the scale of the runway and exterior, I am surprised at how little of the station is accessible to the public. There were two large ramps on either side, each leading up a level to expansive common areas where visiting travelers could mingle. The common areas were lined with vendors' shops, but many of them weren't too friendly with me. I suppose they were unimpressed at my appearance. Speaking of which, I found a remarkable machine at the back of one of the common areas. It appears to be some sort of clothing modifier. I can't say for certain how it works, but I believe it has something to do with a field of suspended nanomachines. I suspect these machines latch on to the exterior of a user's exosuit in order to actively rearrange the molecular configuration as the user desires. I spent a while at this particular device, fascinated by the hugely varied customization of which it is capable. After I had modified my own exosuit's appearance to something I felt more comfortable in, I took another look at the device. This is where I first learned of the other sentient species which frequent the station. The creatures I'd already encountered - the bestial creatures on the trade platform - were apparently known as Vy'Keen. It seemed there were three other races which commonly visited as well - the Korvax, who appeared to be living robotic beings; the Gek, an oddly amphibian-looking species which appeared to be comprised mostly of traveling merchants (going off of the few I could see wandering the station, at any rate), and the Travelers. There was something odd about these last entities. Based on the system's customization options for them, I cannot fathom how they came into being. The heads of these creatures, for one, are so inconsistent as to be ludicrous. Some appeared animalistic in nature, while others were explicitly mechanical. I wonder if these beings are, in fact, machines like the Korvax, with interchangeable heads. It's the only explanation I have for why there appear to be no exosuit helmets available for them - they may not need them! Of note, one of the customization options for these creatures appear to be an exact replica of Nano's orbital cameras. Once I'd learned what I could from this machine - which was at once surprisingly much and upsettingly little - I returned to the vendors to try bartering with them once more. Only a couple were accepting of me with my new appearance; most seemed to still be unimpressed. In any case, none of them had the materials I needed. No, it wasn't until I hesitantly approached what appeared to be a large eye-shaped aperture mounted on one wall that I discovered what I needed. When I drew near, I was scanned briefly by a pale blue beam, and then a holographic screen appeared in front of me listing the goods I'd procured on my journey so far. As it happened, those cubes I'd carelessly stowed and forgotten about on my first sol were worth quite a few units! As they'd served me no purpose in the interim, I sold them without hesitation and then touched the icon to toggle the system to Sales mode. At last, I found the components I needed to make my hyperdrive! Who would have guessed a few simple circuit boards would be so well hidden, and yet so readily available? I got to work installing the hyperdrive into the Pillar at once, and in short order I had finished. Unfortunately, it turned out, I had no fuel which the new system accepted. After a brief search, my system interface helpfully informed me that, apparently, hyperdrives use antimatter as fuel - which, of course, no one on the station could provide. Just when I'd given up hope, another message popped up on my visor - coordinates to some new location, given again by an unknown source, at no request. It seems clear at this point that someone is guiding me - no, aiding me, making sure I have what I need to complete some greater task. As to what that task may be, I'm not yet certain. But I'm going to find out. I was directed down to the surface of a nearby radioactive moon. The coordinates I’d received brought me to a building which had definitely seen better days. For starters, the front door had been forced open and knocked off the tracks. The roof and walls of the structure were buckled and smoking in several places, and debris was scattered across the field all around. The most unsettling thing, though, had nothing to do with the building itself. It was the growths. Huge cilia-like plants and odd bulbous masses clustered near every opening of the building. Strange tentacles rose from the ground in places, surrounded by strange pinkish objects which my visor recognized as “whispering eggs.” Something about these objects was simply unnerving. Maybe it was that they were on the site of what looked to be a violent interaction. Maybe it was because they actually seemed to be whispering softly in an odd, otherworldly tongue. Whatever the reason, I didn’t want to go anywhere near them, but they were right by the door. Steeling myself, I slowly slowly crept by, taking extra care to not disturb the faintly audible bulbs. The inside of the building had been overrun by more of what I now recognized to be some odd type of fungus. It crept along the floors, oozed from the walls, and even dangled from the ceiling in places. To my dismay, my nav system pointed me directly toward a particularly large pile of the stuff. After a moment’s examination, I realized that I was actually looking at the control console for the station, completely overgrown with an odd greenish ooze. I scraped the stuff aside with a shudder, and my touch activated the screen. The stuff writhed away from my touch, clinging to the sides of the terminal after I peeled it away. Luckily it didn’t stick to me, but I made a note to avoid further contact with the residual goop if at all possible. The terminal blinked at me, the screen dissolving into static for just a moment before resolving into a single image – an unblinking crimson eye. Without further input, the console transferred a sample of antimatter into my suit inventory. Before I’d even registered the act, a new image flashed up on screen of a simple message: The message burned into my memory for just a few seconds before the screen blinked out, leaving me bewildered and alone in the dim, decrepit shelter. A moment later a guidance message popped up on my visor, instructing me how to create a container for the antimatter sample so that I could use it as warp fuel. Thankfully, the exosuit automatically digitizes everything it pulls into storage, so the impossibly hazardous physical interaction of the antimatter with my cells had been neutralized by simply turning the substance into harmless code. Unfortunately, it was useless to me in that state, so it was imperative that I get that container crafted. Thankfully, it only took a bit of ferrite dust to make, with a bit of pressurized oxygen to prevent the substance from making contact with the container’s walls, and before long I had my warp fuel in hand. Feeling good about things, I went to leave, and that's when I made a mistake. Due to a loose panel (or maybe my own carelessness, who can say?), I stumbled on my way down the ramp on my way out of the building. I pitched forward and fell, one hand landing on, and then punching through, the shell of a Whispering Egg as I tried to catch myself. I’d barely registered that I’d fallen, and that my hand had come to rest on a spiky, glowing orb, before a horrendous shrieking filled the air. The ground rumbled briefly all around, and then exploded into clouds of dirt as some ungodly creatures – which my visor quickly labeled as “biological horrors” – leapt into the open! The first thing I noticed was that each of them had dozens of dagger-like fangs jutting in neat rows from their too-wide mouths. The second thing was that somehow, on their four stubby, clawed legs, they were incredibly fast. Mindlessly clutching the glowing orb, I scrambled to my feet and bolted toward my ship. The monstrosities – there must have been dozens of them – chased me with gusto, shrieking a terribly cry and gnashing their horrible, razor sharp fangs at me. I almost thought I’d make it away unscathed, but when I was mere feet away from my ship one of the beasts tackled me from behind, knocking me past the Pillar and breaking through the protection of my Kinetic Shield system! Quickly, I skirted around the back of the ship and darted for the cockpit from the far side, and that slowed the creatures down just enough that I made it in. I wasted no time punching in the launch code and leaving the blasted site behind, along with the horrible greenish-black creatures and their wicked fangs. I’m now in orbit around the planet, my heart thudding in my chest as my exosuit alerts me to the erratic vital signs. It’s been ten minutes, but I still haven’t quite calmed down – not surprising, especially after recounting the tale again for my log as I’ve done. I’ve loaded the warp fuel into the hyperdrive. Now I’m being urged to take to the stars by the same system which had led me down to that horrible site. I’m loathe to follow its direction again… But if I don’t, I suppose I’ll always regret it. There’s something pulling me forward, now, a craving for knowledge about what’s going on all around me. There are odd happenings all over this star system, and who’s to say that it’s limited to this place? No. I must press onward. I must know, must discover the face of those who guide me. I’ll see you on the other side.

I’ve spent the past six Sols poring through the Base Computer. It wasn’t hard to find the materials to set it up, and since I was already lugging around the portable refinery I made back on Desboniu Major there wasn’t much effort involved other than that. Unfortunately, it seemed the only way to access the logs stored in the Base Computer was to set up a base of my own. I was drawn to the horizon north of where I’d found the copper deposit. A mysterious haze loomed over a crater in the distance, a suggestion of water hugging the lip in the morning sun. Nothing could have prepared me for the majesty just beneath the mist: a deep crater valley, largely filled by rainfall with sparkling blue water. A few outcroppings lined the base, and a couple of islands dotted the middle. It was secluded. It was beautiful. It was home. I regretted my decision shortly after setting up the Base Computer. I barely had enough materials to craft a crude gazebo. Unfortunately, there was a protocol in place that prevented me from reaching the archived records I was searching for. Here’s where I realized my mistake: I didn’t have nearly enough resources to feed into the console. To complete the protocols, I needed to out and gather more. Which meant I had to leave the crater. The walls seemed so much steeper going up than coming down. Luckily it wasn’t much work for my jetpack to bring me back to the top. Unluckily, I had to scrape my exosuit against the wall for almost 200 distance units (meters, if you want a more familiar measurement) to get out. So, I gathered a lot more carbon. A lot more. I went back down to complete the task, and guess what? I needed more. Apparently base building takes a lot of Carbon. Up I go. -scrrraaaaaaaaaaappe- Gather more carbon, head back down...still need more. …I need to build stairs. There was something bothering me about the datalogs I’ve recovered from the computer so far. In log #4925C, the being who left the logs mentioned his hazard protection failing him. This was mentioned again in #4925D and #4925E. However, this planet is so calm and beautiful, I couldn’t imagine what sort of hazard might have befallen whoever left the messages. My first assumption was that it had been so long ago that the world’s climate had entirely changed. I was proven wrong today. Apparently, despite the tepid weather most days, this planet sometimes has scalding hot rain. Well, according to my analysis visor, anyway. Judging by how quickly it drained my hazard protection, I don’t doubt it. I didn’t feel a thing, thankfully. Positive note: my stairway out is almost complete, and I have an actual shelter now. Also, it turns out there’s a natural pool nearby! I’ll have to remember to take a dip when the weather improves. I have spent the day in a haze of confusion, rushing from one planet to the next. So much has happened that I don’t know where to begin. I’m sorry, I need to focus. Talk through things from the beginning. It’s the only way I’ll ever make sense of this. It started with a dream I had last night. Actually, I’m not quite sure it was a dream at all, for reasons which will soon become apparent. In this dream, I was wandering aimlessly across a grassy plain near my home when I heard a voice from the stars. Before I knew what was happening, a fantastical crimson ship alighted the hilltop before me. As I stared, aghast, an odd entity emerged from the craft and approached me. The being was quirky, to say the least, and eccentric at best. In the place of its head were two large metal orbital cameras. If I hadn’t been certain I was asleep, I would have mused that this odd traveler couldn’t possibly exist in a rational world. The dream carried on in a series of fleeting images which largely escape me now. I feel as though he followed me home, but after that everything blurs together in an unruly haze, at some times serene and at others violently frenetic. I’m shaken by the appearance of burrowing monstrosities which linger, but I have no waking proof of their existence. The strangest part of the dream is what occurred at the end, and what I discovered upon waking. I vaguely recall landing on a ringed planet, which I’ve never done before. On this world, I descended into a valley of seemingly endless depth. After an eternity we finally arrived at the base, at which point my visitor – who I now recall referred to itself as “Nano,” an oddly close approximation to my own chosen identity, “Ano,” – decided to start building a home there… No… it was a research station. Mustard yellow walls rose from the valley floor as quick as I could think, and for no reason other than bemusement I did what I could to assist the entity with his task. While searching for materials (for even in dreams, it seems, one must follow the laws of physics), I stumbled across a collection of ancient technology – floating red cubes giving off a crimson light (why does that color haunt me?), from which I somehow downloaded several sets of navigational data. Considering this merely another quirk of the dream world, I paid no mind and returned to continue work on the research station, even going so far as to add a teleporter for ease of access. This, I should mention, is a technology I had gained a blueprint for but lacked the materials – and therefore the ability – to manufacture them. The missing ingredient was an ion battery, which Nano graciously granted me. In fact, he gave me a second one when we parted company, that I might create my own teleporter so as to return with ease. I don’t recall much of the dream after, but I suppose that’s no matter because it is what I found upon awakening that is truly confounding. Gently humming in the corner of my little island cabin, emitting a soft blue glow, was a teleporter which I did not recall creating. Vague flashes of the dream raced across my memories, and in my confusion all I could think to do was look dumbly into my databanks for some confirmation of reality. I discovered with some relief that only one night had passed since I lay down – surely all which I had experienced had not occurred in so brief a time! But the feeling was short lived as I discovered, shining in my databanks, the collection of navigational data I’d collected from those crimson cubes. My heart dropped out of my chest. I glanced around in a daze, and my bewildered mind eventually noticed a new navigational marker floating in the sky. ‘Nanos Base’ The next thing I knew, I was flying the Radiant Pillar at breakneck speed out of the atmosphere in pursuit of this phantom marker, this relic of a dream. In no time I found myself curling around the horizon of Tuzesinto VI as a now oddly-familiar ringed planet rose into view. The marker led me down onto a scorched world, down past towering mountains into a cavernous valley. My heart thudded in my ears as I approached, silently praying to -kkzzktt- that I wouldn’t see what I was expecting… But it was there. The mustard-yellow base from my dream, looking decrepit and weather-worn but nonetheless real. I landed, stunned, and wandered inside. Here was everything as it had existed in my dream, from the decals on the walls to the plants lining each floor. I proceeded in a daze through the site before winding up at the base computer. Oddly, it wouldn’t respond to my touch as it had in the dream; still, everything I recalled building with Nano was there, as clear as day. Something caught my attention on the horizon. A movement, a light, I’m still not quite sure which it was, but I felt drawn toward it as an insect to a lightbulb. On a hill some distance up the valley wall, I found something which made my jaw drop: A large glowing sphere, hovering daintily a meter or so above the ground, which my visor tagged as “Nano.” Incredulous, I reached out a shaking hand to touch the floating body, as though to assure myself it was real. There was an incredible flash of light which made me reel back, sprawling on the ground as something tore into the very fabric of existence! A blue light now shone from the point where my hand had met the pale sphere, a light which I could not approach. A haze drifted upward from it in a perfect line, unaffected by wind or dust. I have a feeling that something went very wrong there – that for just a moment I had reached across realities and touched something on the other side, and that action had torn into the living flesh of the two realms. Because in that instant, that moment of contact, I was absolutely certain I had encountered Nano once again. I have since returned home to reflect. Having dictated this to you, dear log, I’m left with only one logical conclusion: that I am not alone. However, I also may not be able to truly encounter other beings like me outside of this odd dream world. Now I must reflect on how I might return to such a place. Having said that, I suppose the matter will have to wait. I have some more building to do before the Base Computer will reveal the next bit of data to me. Until next time. I have become complacent. This planet is so peaceful that I had forgotten why I came here in the first place. That is, until I went out for a walk early this morning. Or maybe it was yesterday morning. The day before? What Sol is it… oh. Three days. Well… at least I know my exosuit’s life support module is fully operational. Anyway, I’ve gotten distracted again. It seems to happen more and more often of late. I’ve become enraptured by the beauty of the land where I’ve found myself. I’ve been wandering for days, it seems, and the only thing which brought me back to my senses happened by sheer coincidence and random chance. Or… did it? I have to wonder... Anyway, while wandering I happened upon an elevated Trade Platform some great distance from my home. On board were the first sentient lifeforms I’ve seen since I first woke on that Toxic planet where I left Carl. They were large, bestial beings with gaunt, angular faces. Oddly, most of them were a shade of bright pink, though there were a few who sported more subdued greys, greens, and purples. Out of curiosity I approached one, but before I could speak my awareness was overcome with a memory of red light… I’d heard these words – the latest part of the archived datalogs recovered from the base computer – just before I’d started wandering. For some reason they’d fallen out of my awareness, and all I’d known was a simplistic desire to leave, to get up and go away. I suppose I was meant to have used my starship to get here, but in my wanderings I’d arrived just the same. Now a compulsion drew the words from my lips, the red light flashing against my awareness until I had repeated the code words: “The Traveller finds their wings…” An odd look overtakes the entity. Its eyes glaze, its head turns slightly to stare both directly at me and through me as it begins to respond. Though the alien speaks, the words are not their own. They echo back to me through the red glare, transformed somehow into a set of coordinates which my suit AI logs automatically. The crimson light fades away, and I see the lifeform glaring at me. Whatever has happened, they do not appear to have been aware of it. I should leave, and find whatever has been left for me. My heart is soaring, because I now have proof of something, a greater truth that I haven’t even had hope for until this moment: Someone is looking for me. Someone knows who I am. I suppose it’s finally time to get off of this rock. I will miss it, until I am able to return.

I ascended to the stars soon after awakening. As I'd expected, the sheer massive beauty if it was breathtaking. There was a planet nearby with what looked to be two sets of rings directly in front of me as I left the atmosphere, invisible from the ground. To the right, a brownish world hid ineffectively behind its much smaller moon. The ship's navigation system flared to life, revealing the name of the star system to me: Adiyshl-Slis. I wasn't given time to enjoy it, unfortunately. It seemed I was barely in orbit when a light began to strobe on the console. Reluctantly, I slowed the Pillar to a relative standstill and answered. I sit in stunned silence for a moment. There's someone else out there? How do I respond? With a shaking hand, I reach out and flip the radio switch, opening the line of communication between us. "Hello? Who's there? I'm Ano-" It's not until now that I see my main display flashing the words Comms Override at me, followed by 16/16/16/16. The broadcast suddenly cuts off, leaving me once more in silence. All that remains are the numbers on screen. 16... why is that important? I punch the coordinates into my nav system, and am immediately redirected to another nearby planet, hidden over the horizon from Desboniu Major. Girding myself, I aim the ship toward my new destination and activate launch thrusters. I'll be arriving shortly. The planet I arrived on was hugely different from where I first awoke. Gone were the toxic fumes and towering spores, replaced with flourishing reddish grass and marvelous trees. The atmosphere was warm and inviting, and I landed, it seems, just before the sun set on the world. I took a moment to marvel at the wonder around me before heading toward where I'd been directed - a small bit of abandoned debris, long forgotten in an otherwise empty field. A message was already awaiting me on the screen of the device, somehow activated upon my arrival. There were those numbers again. 16, and 4925. Only, this one was 4925-C, whereas I had already encountered A and B. I hadn't thought much of it then, but I'm starting to recognize something here. It seemed like I was following a trail of breadcrumbs left behind by some unknown entity of long ago. Where will it take me, I have to wonder? I plug into the device and attempt to decode the signal. Here, at last, was my reward for following the trail. At the end of the transmission were encoded blueprints for a base computer, and something called a terrain manipulator. With any luck, the base computer will have more information for me. There's a mystery here, and for some reason I feel compelled to solve it. I'd hardly stepped away from the device when I encountered something both wildly fascinating, and incredibly terrifying! The creature had four long, spindly legs, each taller than my starship is long, which shook the ground on each step. Its body and head appear to be one piece, a large beetle-like mass hoisted some six meters off of the ground. I hid carefully, scanning it before I risked an encounter. Luckily, it appears to be not only docile, but nearly blind. Reassured now, I leave my hiding spot and continue on, back on the breadcrumb trail... Oh, also, I have discovered a new module in my exosuit! I seem to have a sort of deployable camera. I will use it to supplement my logs from here on. Attached is a test shot using the big beetle I encountered previously.