The Following Transcript is from Research Base #███ in the remote Sector F12 of the Opasno District. The Vodkaslavian Stellar Date is Mascoli, 3216, Liaks 9. The Research Base is operating a Dig Site on the Planet ████ [DATA REDACTED]. The Site was designated to find any Artifacts left behind from the Planet’s turbulent past, in case there used to be a Civilization there.
“How long do you think we’ll be out here for?”
“Um… Depends on how long we need to find something important.”
“What would you define as important?”
“Oh I don’t know, maybe something big, something old, just something.”
“So, then what?”
“Sell it to the government, sell it to a collector, donate it some place, who knows. The hope is we can potentially make Jewels off it, but that depends on what we find.”
“At least we’re mak-”
ATTENTION! THIS IS AN EMERGENCY BROADCAST FROM THE OPASNO DISTRICT WEATHER SYSTEM!
AUFMERKSAMKEIT! DIES IST EIN NOTFALL-SENDUNG AUS DEM OPASNO DISTRICT WETTERSYSTEM!
ВНИМАНИЕ! ЭТО ЭКСТРЕННАЯ РАДИОПЕРЕДАЧА ОТ ОПАСНЫХ РАЙОНА ПОГОДЫ СИСТЕМЫ!
“Oh great. What’s this about?”
THE OPASNO DISTRICT IS EXPERIENCING INCREASED RADIATION LEVELS IN SECTOR A23. THE SOURCE OF THE RADIATION IS CONFIRMED TO BE XRO-022A, A STELLAR BLACK HOLE. ALL COMMERCIAL SPACECRAFTS MUST DIVERT THEIR COURSE AWAY FOR UP TO 3 PARSECS. REPEAT. THE OPASNO DISTRICT…
The Emergency System continues to ramble on in the various languages.
“Ah, lovely. Just what I wanted to hear. I hope it’s nothing too bad.”
“Stop worrying, we’ll be fine. I bet the alert will be done by the time we finally finish.”
“I hope so. What have we found so far of interest?”
“Uh… Hold on.” Papers rustling “We found some neat looking stones. Beyond that, not much.”
“Eh, let’s go out and see if there’s anything actually worth something.” Office Log ends here.
———————————————— [A Few Days Later]
Researcher Dave T████: To Dig Site Manager Eric L███ “Find anything new, Eric?”
DSM Eric L███: “No. Not much. We found some odd stone formation, but beyond that there is nothing of interest.”
R Dave T████: “I’m gonna be honest, I’m not sure if it’s even worth digging here anymore. How long have we been here… fifty days?”
DSM Eric L███: “Fifty-four days to be exact.”
R Dave T████: “You see. And all we have are these rocks. I’m beginning to believe we were assigned a planet that was dead from the start.”
DSM Eric L███: *Shrugging* “I don’t know sir. Remember, we still have another… er… sixteen days. Maybe we’ll find something by then. This planet is awfully windy, so I wouldn’t be surprised if it was buried under a few feet of dirt, sand, and rock.”
R Dave T████: “Fine, we’ll go until the contract’s up. Now, you were saying abo-”
Researcher John C██: “Dave!” Running up to the two of them. “Dave! Emergency!” Stopping in front and out of breath. “Dave… Gah. Dave, we have an issue.”
R Dave T████: “What is it?”
R John C██: “Remember that emergency warning from a while ago? The weather service extended the ‘No-Fly-Zone’ from two days before the contract’s end to two weeks after the contract is up.”
R Dave T████: “We’re gonna have to get a pass from the government to be allowed through the area. Maybe we may even get an escort due to all the ships.”
R John C██: “The issue is, do we have anything to show for why we were here?”
DSM Eric L███: “No, not yet.”
R Dave T████: “But we are government contracted, so they have to let us out. Plus, you said something about a fancy rock?”
DSM Eric L███: “Yes. Follow me.”
————————————————
Digger Gary T█████: Touching the rock formation. “So… What did we find?”
Digger Derek D███: “No clue. But it broke my pickaxe so I figure it’s something important.”
D Gary T█████: “Didn’t we find something else like this earlier?”
D Derek D███: “I think? Hold on.” Turning towards another digger. “YURI!”
Digger Yuri I████: “Chto?”
D Derek D███: “Didn’t you find little pebbles earlier that looked like this?”
D Yuri I████: “Da. But I gave most of them to the researchers in charge.”
D Gary T█████: “Most? What about the rest?”
D Yuri I████: “I have them here in my pocket.” Pulls out two small stones.
D Derek D███: “What would happen if we put those in here?”
D Gary T█████: “Let’s try it. Maybe we found the million Jewel item.”
D Yuri I████: “What if it’s dangerous?”
D Gary T█████: “You’re too cautious, Yuri. Live a little.”
D Yuri I████: Handing stones over. “I was never here. Do svidaniya!” Walks away towards the dig site office.
D Derek D███: “Well, Gary. Put them in.”
D Gary T█████: “Alright.” Steps over to rock formation. “Here goes nothing.”
Gary slaps the stones into the receiver, causing a large static charge to go off, shutting off all electronics within a mile of the device before sending a large electric bolt into the air, meanwhile all the devices turn back on. Both researchers and the Dig Site Manager rush over a nearby hill, trying to figure out what happened.
DSM Eric L███: “WHAT ARE YOU DOING?!”
R John C██: “STOP!”
The three of them rush down to the Diggers. Gary is just staring at the device, seeming to be in a trance-like state.
DSM Eric L███: “WHAT DID YOU DO?!”
D Derek D███: “We just put the stones in the rock. We wanted to see what would happen.”
R John C██: “Who knows what that thing is! You could have just gotten us all stranded here if that was an EMP device!”
D Derek D███: “We didn’t know!” Looking over at Gary. “Gary?” Stepping over to him. “Gary? You okay?”
There is no response, Derek trying to snap Gary out of his trance as the researchers look over the formation to see what it is. Eric radios back to the main office to call for military intervention, believing there may be a problem.
