Waypoint: Eclipse, Prologue
To those who dare to fail, then dare to fail again.
CHAPTER ONE
Through the ducts, through the ancient machinery, through the solid walls, through space and time, she saw everything, and she hated it all. After they came for her, after they did what they did, they all deserved it. She knew the rest were as bad, if not worse. That was precisely why she stood by and watched as the atrocities unfolded. When they came from the sky and rained fire. It was yesterday or a millennium ago, it did not matter. All time was similar. But this place belonged to her. And she would protect it.
She remembered how they had laughed at her, hurt her, chided her. She had never done anything to them, but she understood what she represented to them. Undeserving, pathetic, unworthy. But they also knew she was smarter.
So, she learned as much as she could. And she watched them. Spent her time in the lattice work, the ducts, the systems. Saw their lives. And when they tried to humiliate her, she got back at them. Told their biggest secrets. Soon they learned to leave her alone.
But even in her forever solitude, the hatred and anger remained. She promised to exact revenge. Soon she knew everything about everyone, and no one dared to look her in the eye. They would all pay for what they had done.
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Automated Site Report (ASR) 45-378
Enceladus Mining and Salvage, Business Intelligence and Leads Division
Site: Human Colonization Facility Alpha, “WayPoint”
Lunar Surface, Earth’s Moon_________________________________________
The “Way Point” or “the facility” as it was known colloquially, is itself a relic that could be made into museum if anyone dared to go near it. Located on the lunar surface, the facility was the first permanent human settlement outside of Earth, and it was the gateway humanity used to colonize other worlds. The advent of faster-than-light travel occurred approximately twenty years after to the facility’s establishment, and it enabled humans to spread far and wide.
The possibility for finding artifacts at this site could be high, but so is the risk. This site has been abandoned for over a millennium for reasons unknown and there are no official records explaining its fate. Prior to its mysterious abandonment, the facility was once a hub of inter-system migration and colonization. Now it is a literal graveyard.
Everybody, even school children, know that the Earth fell, but there are no surviving records describing what exactly happened. Everything from academic debate and wild speculation include possibilities such as sudden climactic collapse, an undetected meteor, civil war that turned nuclear, and even aliens. Whatever happened, it was extremely sudden. Human activity records and what forensics are available strongly suggest that the entire population on the moon – believed to be at least three million before its abandonment – was displaced within one Earth day. Whatever occurred coincided with the eventual desertion of Earth itself, and the moon was never colonized again.
Other known salvage teams or tourist groups attempting to go near the facility to see Earth have reported strange astro-navigational errors that make safe passage near impossible. Local folklore describes the space around the facility as having a “mind of its own.” Braver space-farers that have gotten close have reported strange sightings to include hallucinations, unexplained illness, and temporary sterilization. Due to these phenomena, the area has adopted a lore and taboo unto itself, making exploration and salvaging operations essentially nil for nearly the last two hundred years.
There are reports of significant wreckage in the area, some from ships dating from the last century. The significant volume of debris means that chances for high yield findings, to include Earth-age technology are high.
Verdict: Despite the potential, we do not recommend this site or its surroundings for operational consideration without proper risk assessment.
Attachments:
“Fate of the Earth? Ask These Locals,” Enceladus News Network, 30451216
“Tourist Cruise Goes Missing Near Earth,” Enceladus News Network, 30420115
Local Space Debris Report 36-012 - Lunar Orbit and Beyond
