Arkan sighed. It had been a long day of trawling through sensor readings, looking for, as humans would have once said, a needle in a haystack. They had recently unearthed another human facility from before the Calamity, and it had given them some hints towards the possibility of something big hidden near his assigned sector. Problem is, the humans were really good at hiding things. A still-unsolved mystery of an apocalypse and the passage of time did not help the matter, as well.
But it was his job, and so he trudged on. Until one reading caught his lower-left eye.
That’s strange. He thought to himself.
That area of space should be empty, why am I getting a gravitational reading?
If he wasn’t so desperate for an answer, he might’ve shrugged it off as a sensor malfunction and moved on. But Arkan had been looking through this sensor data for the entire past cycle and he was getting tired of it. He needed something to show his superiors. So he brought up the long-range scanners and began checking the area the reading was in. While the scanners ran, he brought up an archive of the area going back into recovered human sensor data from before the Calamity.
According to them, the area was perfectly normal. It should have been an area of empty space, going back even to human times. Which made it all the more strange when the long-range scanners finished their check and confirmed that, yes, something was messing with the gravity out there.
This left two possibilities - either both the passive sensors and active long-range scanners were all being affected by a malfunction causing them to give the same wrong reading, or something had been purposefully hidden there by the humans. Given the first possibility was extremely improbable, Arkan was inclined to believe the latter was the case.
And that was bad. Humans hiding something this thoroughly could only be bad. The last time they managed to find something hidden by the humans like this it was the HCN Tyr, a massive mobile weapons platform with an orbital strike laser that shamed Gamma-Ray Bursts. Luckily enough, it had been disabled, likely by whatever had caused the Calamity that destroyed Humanity.
As he sent the readings and his analysis up the chain of command, he could only hope whatever was out there had been disabled as well.
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The CAS Kaon’s Shadow was built a lightly armed exploration vessel, but had recently been retrofitted for the specific purpose of exploring pre-Calamity structures. It had already been fast, but with the new additions it was now safe to say it was the fastest non-human ship in the known galaxy, and had quite the defensive suite to boot. This didn’t leave much space for a large crew, but Kaon’s Shadow was simply meant to act as a first scout, that would carry a small exploration team to get an initial read of any newly discovered human structures. Other, slower, more vulnerable ships would follow with larger and more extensive exploration crews and equipment suites after the Shadow had finished initial exploration.
Today began another of the Shadow’s routine exploration missions.
Though, thought the captain, anything to do with humans is never truly ‘routine’, now is it?
The captain observed his crew from his vantage point at the center of the bridge. WHile they were all exemplary members of his crew, and he could see them doing their work diligently, there was an unmistakable air of uncertainty. They had been given even less information than normal for this expedition, and it didn’t sit well with a crew so used to the insane possibilities when exploring human ruins.
“Captain! Jump coordinates have been finalized! Ready to launch on your order.” reported the navigator.
“Good, navigator. What's our jump time looking like?” responded the captain.
“Approximately 4 hours, sir.”
The captain used his terminal to call the away team, and a holographic screen appeared in front of him, showing several members working on gear and other various preparations.
“We’ll be making the jump soon, ETA 4 hours. Will your prep be finished by then?”
“As much as we can prep for with so little information, yeah,” responded the closest being to the screen, “Though that isn’t too much. There’s way too many things to prepare for entering an entirely unknown human facility.”
“I understand. Do what you can.”, the captain replied, closing the call.
Four hours later, the captain was getting worried. While he hadn’t been as worried as his crew had been about this mission, something had been bugging him since they left port, and it had only gotten worse during the monotony of warp travel. He thought back to what they had been told about the location.
It had been discovered nearly by accident - a few documents in the ‘trash’ folder of a human researcher from before the calamity, discovered in a recently unearthed high security human research facility. It contained some access codes and cryptic messages hinting towards something hidden in this area.
The only thing they could get on sensors were a few small gravitational readings, inferred to be caused by a small rogue planet, likely what the facility was built on.
But that didn’t make much sense, not only would it be super unnecessary to place even the most secret of facilities on tiny rogue planet in the middle of interstellar nowhere, it was insanely hard to get to and from any facility like this when it is trying to be hidden. The few extra-solar settlements that exist today need to be constantly blaring signals to make sure their position is tracked correctly and ships don’t over- or under-shoot their warps when they want to get there.
Which means the humans really didn’t want anyone to find whatever it was they were hiding here.
If there even is anything out here,the captain thought, before looking up to the navigator.
“How close are we?” he asked.
“We should arrive any mo-”
CRASH
The whole ship shook with the unmistakable force of being forced out of warp by an outside influence.
The captain recovered first, beginning to issue rapid-fire orders, the crew followed suit, going through the procedure as the captain called each department head one by one to confirm their members were safe.
“Sensors, you have a read on what the hell just happened?” he asked after confirming nobody had more than minor bruises from slamming into safety belts.
“This can’t be right, Captain. These readings look like we got ripped out of Warp because we got too close to a massive object!” reported the stunned sensor operator. “We had nothing on all sensors until we got too close. How do you even hide the grav-signature of a black hole?”
“Did you just say black hole?”
“Yes. That’s the only thing that could give us these readings.”
“Alright, first let’s -”
“Captain!” shouted the comms officer, “We’re being hailed!”
“WHAT?”
“Should I pass it through?” asked the terrified officer.
“Yes, officer. And get those authorization codes we were given ready. I’m getting a feeling we’ll need them.”
As the comms officer passed the link through and established communications with whatever hailed them, a holo-screen popped up and the whole bridge went silent.
The face displayed on the screen was human. Based on the captain’s knowledge of human biology, it was an old man, with white hair and wrinkled peach skin.
Hello unknown vessel. Please provide authorization codes. If valid authorization codes are not provided within the next minute, you will be terminated.
The face didn’t move when it spoke, implying it was not a live human. That relived the crew, until they processed what it just said.
This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.
Terminated.
“Comms, send those codes!” shouted the captain.
“Already on it,” the comms officer replied as he frantically sent all of the codes they had. They were not labeled well, so he wasn't sure which to send and just sent all of them.
Authorization codes received. Entry authorized. The coordinates to the visitor’s hangar have been supplied. Enjoy your visit, Doctor.
And with that, the face was gone.
The bridge crew was silent.
This was the first ever encounter with what seemed to be a still fully-functional human facility, and although there were no indications this was more than an automated system, it scared them.
The captain called the away team.
“You guys see that?” he asked, despite only needing one look at the faces of the team to know they had. The team may have been made up of several species but some emotions are universally recognizable.
“We’ve got hanger coordinates, and by the looks of it the Shadow is too large to fit. You’ll have to use the shuttle. You ready?”
The away team leader’s gaze hardened.
“As we’ll ever be.”
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The away team consisted of five members - each specializing in separate areas of expertise. Human Anthropology, History, Technology experts, as well as a security officer and the team captain.
The team was silent as they packed all their equipment into the shuttle, and they stayed in silence as they began the journey towards the facility they now knew to be orbiting a large black hole, way too close than should be physically possible. Luckily the hanger coordinates including approach instructions for how to enter the modified ‘gravity channel’ built to facilitate safe access to the facility.
The anthropologist, Keena Arganosk, was the first to break the silence as they came in closer to the facility, and they could make out details lit by outer lights.
“Wow, look at that,” she spoke, “It’s definitely human construction, but it doesn’t really resemble any of the styles of the human factions i'm familiar with.”
She began taking notes on her personal data tablet.
“Is that… text?” asked the security officer.
“Text? Where?”
‘Right there, “the officer pointed at what looked like white text above the hanger they were slowly but surely closing in on. “What does it say?”
“It says…” Keena squinted all four of her eyes as she got closer to the viewport. “It says TARTARUS.”
The security officer gave her a confused glance.
“And that means…?”
“Its a name. From an old human mythology. MIllenia old. It refers to the deepest pit in the underworld, a prison for great titans and terrible evils.”
“Well that just fills me with hope about what we’ll find in there, huh.”
“The humans certainly do have a flair for the dramatic, don't they?”
“Alright people, focus here,” spoke the captain, “we’re just about in.”
As the shuttle glided towards Tartarus, the hangar doors opened for them, allowing them to land inside. The shuttle’s outer sensors determined the interior atmosphere had not been compromised, and every member of the team was compatible with human-standard station atmosphere mix, so they left the full enviro-suits in the shuttle.
Despite their experience, the team couldn’t help but wonder at the place, and felt a strange sort of unease when exiting their shuttle, as if they had trespassed on sacred ground.
Lights on the walls led them to the door into the main facility from the hangar. Through the door was what looked like a reception room, but behind the counter was no living being, but rather a screen with the same face that had requested their authorization codes.
Welcome to Tartarus, Doctor. The prisoner has been notified of your arrival, and standard meeting protocols are being enacted. You may watch the extraction through the observation deck, if you wish. When you are ready to meet with him, please proceed to the marked door.
The whole team stayed silent. The face either didn’t know they weren’t this ‘Doctor’, or it didn’t care, but either way, the way it spoke implied there was something alive imprisoned in Tartarus. A door had opened to the left when it spoke of the observation deck, and lacking any other direction, the team decided to go there and see this ‘extraction’.
The observation deck was honestly quite small for such a large station, but that was hardly noticed by the team. None of them could take their eyes off of what they could see out of it.
A gargantuan, black chain, lit by floodlights on the exterior of Tartarus, was leading from the station directly into the black hole it orbited. And it was moving. Pulling something out of the black hole.
The viewing window was no simple window however, and the center was magnified so they could see just what was being pulled out of a black hole.
It was a simple black box, and the whole team stood in stupefied silence as they watched it being slowly pulled towards the station, until they were snapped out of it by a small ‘ding’, and a door on the right side of the observation deck lit up. Keena made to open the door, but was stopped by the security officer, Raisa Iklam.
“I’ll go first. It is my job after all,” she spoke, before slowly opening the door and entering the hallway that lied beyond.
The team followed her through the door, into a small, white-walled room divided in the middle by what looked like a glass wall.
Behind the wall sat the one thing none of them thought they’d ever get to see.
A living human.
He was sitting in a chair, facing away from the door and glass wall, staring at his own fingers, mindlessly flexing them, before he spoke.
“You know doc, I don’t think i’ll ever get used to the time dilation thing, its so weird to think about how little time I spend in there between your visits, when you only visit me-”
His words caught in his throat as he turned towards the door and saw not the doctor he had been expecting but rather a five-being group of aliens he had never met before.
“You’re not Doctor Shiba.” he said, an incredulous look on his face.
“How did you get in here?”
The team was frozen. None of them knew what to do. The humans had been gone for over a century now, and none of them had been trained to interact with one. It wasn't even considered a possibility. Facilities had been unearthed that were found to be shelters or preservation sites built by the humans to survive past hypothetical apocalypses, and not one had contained a corpse, let alone a living, breathing human.
As they stood there, frozen, Keena began to notice some things. This wasn’t just an ordinary human. First, it was big. Based on their records of human biology, Keena knew this man was quite tall compared to the average. He also had clearly visible muscle definition, wearing only a tight-fitting skinsuit, similar to the underskin of an EVA suit. Upon closer inspection, she noticed clear signs of cybernetic augmentation in almost every visible part of the man's body, including a ring of silver dotted by circles around his neck.
Not only that, but the human’s presence was strange. It reminded Keena of the first time she saw the Great Inkus mountain range as a child, or when she first saw her planet from space. It was a strange awe usually reserved to such natural things of immensity, and yet this being contained wholly within a room not larger than her own quarters on the ship exuded the same presence.
Before she could continue thinking however, she was snapped out of her analytical fervor by her captain.
“You can speak Terran Standard, right?” the captain asked, worry apparent on her face.
“Y-yeah, I had to learn it to join the team, remember?” Keena stuttered, still reeling.
“Yeah, sorry, I know, just making sure you're with me here. I need you to translate for me.”
“Alright, yeah I can do that. What do you want to say?”
“First thing, apologize for pretending to be the doctor. Ask him if he knows what happened to humanity.”
“Guess I should have expected aliens to speak alien languages, huh. That makes this difficult, “ he spoke, starting to pace his side of the room, until Keena spoke up.
“Um, H-hello?” Keena tried.
His eyes went wide.
“So you do speak Terran Standard.”
“Yes, I had to learn it to be a part of this team.”
“Team, huh. Like a diplomatic team? Though I was sure nobody other than a few humans would ever know I existed after all the trouble they went through to hide me.”
The human seemed almost lost in thought, staring at the wall, before his head snapped to the side and his gaze bore into Keena.
“Why are you here?”
Keena gulped. This human was definitely not normal. His stare seemed to almost elicit a physical pressure upon her being, and she found it hard to breathe.
“First I should apologise for pretending we were this Doctor you speak of, we had used his codes to enter and it seems the automated systems thought we were him.”
“Ah, automated.. Charon, eh? How’d he mistake you guys for the doctor? Well, I guess you guys wouldn’t know that if you’re using someone else's codes to get in, huh. But you still haven’t answered my question. Why are you here?”
Keena nearly crumpled as his gaze increased in intensity.
“We- We’re explorers. O- of human ruins!”
His gaze softened instantly, giving Keena some much-needed room to breathe.
“Human ruins? What do you mean? And sorry about the pressure, I sometimes forget the effect I can have on other people.”
Keena caught her breath before continuing.
“Approximately 100 standard years ago, all humans disappeared for reasons unknown.”
The human’s expression changed, but he stayed silent, content to hear the rest.
“This quickly caused the collapse of the burgeoning galactic society forming around the humans and the myriad species they were in the process of uplifting, In recent decades the new Conglomerate of Allied Species put together teams of explorers like ours in order to explore the remaining ruins of human society and attempt to figure out just what happened to them.”
The human hadn’t moved at all while she was speaking.
“You are the first live human to have been discovered since. OR, more accurately, the first human alive or dead.”
He stayed silent for several seconds, seemingly lost in thought.
“That’s quite the story, “ he began, and before Keena could attempt to speak, cut her off, “it's not that I think you’re lying. If there’s a being alive with the ability to lie to my face I haven’t met them. And I've met a lot of people, many trained in the art of lying. It’s just a lot to take in. Well, if human society is gone I guess that means I have no reason to stay in here anymore, huh?”
Keena began to speak, but stopped short when twelve metallic serpent heads emerged from the ring around the man’s neck. They all pointed to different spots in the room, before each firing some kind of high-energy beam at different spots around his cell, burning holes through the wall instantaneously.
“You might want to step out of the room for a second,” he said, running his hands along the clear divider in the middle of the room.
After Keena told them what he’d said, the whole team rushed out of the room, nearly falling over each other, just in time to hear the crash of a shattered wall, and made way as the human walked out of the room. His serpents had retreated back into his neck. He looked at Keena.
“Are you the leader of this team?” he asked.
“No, that would be captain Enna Illusk, “ Keena replied, pointing at the captain.
“Translate for me, would you? Hello, Captain. I am known as Typhon. I thank you for releasing me, “ he spoke, before bowing his head slightly. “Would it be alright if I joined you back on your ship?”