Outside Context Solution part 4
UNKNOWN SYSTEM, Fifth planet, 2524 CSD
The system was seemingly unremarkable for a "homeworld" system in a pre-spaceflight era. The natives of the fourth planet were an artistic and industrious species, somewhat avian in appearance and more than a century away from any serious heavy industry, high technology or attempted space travel.
What made the system interesting was a fairly well concealed outpost that had been located only due to clues found elsewhere.
The outpost was undeniably Prothean, and it's contents were fascinating to the crew of the SUSS Silent Step
Dr. Lorn Solus was looking over the very well preserved, if sparse facilities while the experts among his crew were attempting to glean more information from the computer systems. Prothean computers were notorious for being difficult to break into for information, but it was usually worth it.
"Facility small. Obviously not meant for long term use. Labs useful for examining specimens. Possible checking for uplift possibilities?" Dr. Solus noted into his omnitool "Will know more if computers can be translated."
Operative Rezzik poked his head into the small lab area.
"Dr. Solus? We've managed to unlock a good portion of the computer, you should come and see this" he informed his friend and commander.
The two of them proceeded down the short corridor into the computer room, were Technician Wix and Operative Daelon had been working on the Prothean computers.
"Sir!" Daelon snapped to attention, saluting " We've found that this appears to be a part of a covert operation spread over a number of systems."
"Interesting" Dr. Solus replied, returning the salute absently "Covert uplifts? Other purpose? What information is stored here?"
Daelon looked a bit abashed at this, as the Prothean systems were being... difficult, as Prothean computers usually were.
"It's not entirely clear sir, however it seems that they were studying the natives of the fourth world and we have located what may be the headquarters for this covert operation" he took a breath "There is a system, slightly off the regular routes, it's relay is covered in ice. It can only be approached via regular FTL."
Dr. Solus cupped his chin in his hand as he considered this, his thoughts moving at dizzying speeds even for a Salarian.
"Clever of them, only way to break a Relay open in such cases is at the Relay. Otherwise connecting Relay won't work" He said, speaking out loud, but mostly to himself "Good place to hide headquarters of covert operation. Interesting."
He and Rezzik looked at each other, the long familiarity of the nine years they had been on this mission allowing them to cover an entire conversation with a single look. Dr. Solus nodded to Rezzik and left the room heading for the facility's small hangar and their shuttle.
Rezzik looked at the techs in the room "Retrieve everything of value, we'll leave a stealthed satellite here in case of an Outsider portal opening on the fourth planet and proceed to this hidden system at once" he commanded.
Daelon and Wix immediately got to work.
ORBIT OF PLUTO, Sol System, 2524 CSD
After two months journey, the SUSS Silent Step exited FTL with a flash of blue light. The ships scanners and receivers immediately lit up with all of the activity in the system. The ship's low profile and sensor absorbent hull rendered it unlikely to be detected, but the crew took no chances as they maneuvered deeper into the system.
Inside the ship itself, the crew was going about their business like the seasoned professionals they all were. After nine years of this mission into the unknown, surprises were considered normal and every member of the crew was superlative at their tasks.
"Sir, in addition to all of the transmission chatter emanating from the third planet, we are picking up portal emanations from what is likely one of the planet's oceans" reported Technician Wix from the main sensor station
Dr. Lorn Solus sighed, he had vowed that he'd stop something like this from happening again, but here was another relatively young species getting attacked by the Outsiders. He started looking over the sensor data himself.
"What! Radiative decay indicates portal open for two decades! Almost as long as attacks on rest of galaxy!" Dr. Solus' mind raced "Planet environment hostile to Outsiders? No. Planet wouldn't support life then. Must find out what is happening here."
Operative Rezzik, from the XO's station, brought the computer lab up on screen "We need context-positive translations of spoken, written, and computer languages for the third planet as soon as possible." switching his link to the probe bay he continued "We'll need our best stealth probes for orbital insertion of an early spaceflight culture and smaller units for infiltration of satellites"
Dr. Solus kept muttering under his breath as he went over the thus far limited information at his disposal, willing it to show him the answer to the seeming impossibility of a planetary culture surviving so long under these circumstances.
Then, he smiled to himself. Another Outside Context Problem, this may contain the solution we are searching for, he thought allowing himself to indulge a bit of optimism.
The Silent Step continued it's journey toward the third planet, maintaining strict stealth procedures the entire way, as they did not have a "perfect " stealth system, they relied on guile and experience to make up the deficit.
When the Silent Step passed the fourth planet, two shuttles were detached and went in search of the covert Prothean base they had originally come to this system to find. If nothing else, it could also provide some answers to other questions, perhaps even insight into the natives of the third planet.
A short while after their flyby of the fourth planet, the Silent Step took up it's position watching the third. Hiding behind it's rather large moon, the probes and communications infiltrators were deployed to fully infiltrate the planet's systems.
This was a practice the Salarian Special Tasks Group was long familiar with, having had thousands of years to perfect their skills. It could be legitimately said that there were none in the galaxy so adept at intelligence gathering as the Salarian STG.
Dr. Solus maintained his position on the bridge, multiple screens full of information floating in the air before him, all now translated, with more data pouring in by the moment.
"Incredible! Using mechs to fight Outsiders, or "Kai-ju" on an even footing, concentration of force prevents widespread environmental damage! Remarkable!" he crowed, feeling irrationally proud of the young race's achievement "Engineering must be more advanced than spaceflight operations would indicate, neural control, advanced VI interface!"
Somewhat lees sanguine, Rezzik pointed out "They've strained themselves to the limit building them, and are being pressed by the Outsiders horribly." He paused "If you notice, even now they are trying to build a wall..."
This brought a mood of somberness to the bridge, all of them remembering what was left of the last planet they found that had attempted to build a wall against the Outsiders. The last testament of that race was now contained in computer storage in the cargo section of the ship.
"Hmmm... Morale weakened over time, many leaders looking for easier solutions. Understandable. If short sighted" Dr. Solus replied
Looking over at reports from the teams dispatched to the fourth planet, his eyes widened.
"A full Prothean archive, with multiple ships and other tech! No such finds in centuries!" He declared "This system a treasure trove!"
Looking back at his displays on this "Earth" he switched the main viewer to various news reports coming from one of the "protected" cities.
"Now we will see if this wall has any more value than the other we have seen" Rezzik pronounced darkly.
The crew watched grimly as the Outsider battered down the wall around the coastal city, knowing what would come next. They were pleasantly surprised to see the powerful beast engaged by one of the planet's remaining mechs or "Jaegers" designated "Striker Eureka".
The resounding victory caused all on the bridge to cheer, even the normally reserved Dr. Solus.
His eyes flickering over the data before him, Dr. Solus was struck with inspiration.
"Use all of our assets in their systems to follow this "Marshall Pentacost" he seems to be the only military leader on the planet still taking a proactive stance." Dr. Solus took a hopeful breath "Bares watching, the next week will determine much about this world's fate".
