Ep. 17: Strong Suit

The distress signal has been delivered, but the questions are only getting louder.

After weeks of travel, the Outcaster crew reaches the Vanguard Council and hands off the enigmatic message. Now, they wait. 

Because sometimes the most important part of a message… is what comes next. 

Directed by Ro Glenn 

Written & Produced by Laurel Steele 

Editing & Sound Design by Alex Godina 

Assistant Sound Design by Max G 

Episode Art by Alex Durazo 

Original Design for Outcaster Ship by Alex Durazo

Graphic Design by Yesica Mendoza 

Sound Editing by Montse Márquez

Sound Mixing by Alin Brindis 

Science-Fiction Consultancy by Javier Calatayud

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Transcript

SPEAKER_01 0:04

Outcaster radio.

SPEAKER_09 0:08

I don't know what this video.

SPEAKER_08 0:10

Good morning, Outcasters. This is Captain Tanaka. Tuning in from the transmission station on the far side of Lunar 9, the fifth moon of Dravala's Prime in the Orionus Verge. It's March 26, 2143. And after nearly a month of traveling and navigating unexpected obstacles, we've officially delivered the distress signal to the Vanguard Council. There's relief in knowing the message is in the right hands, but waiting has never been this crew's strong suit. Today, all we can do is stand by and hope the Federation sees things the way we do. For now, let's break the cosmic silence a bit. Here's Wavelength Reverie by Astro Vance. A track for transitions, both subtle and seismic.

SPEAKER_10 1:55

Correction. Around our bomber.

SPEAKER_05 2:05

Oh hell, that's Kriter. I lost a bet to him three stations ago and still owed him 200 credits.

SPEAKER_13 2:13

So just to clarify, we're not being shadowed because we're suspicious. We're being shadowed because you're bad at cards.

SPEAKER_12 2:23

Heads up, Joe. I think he just stuck his tongue out at you.

SPEAKER_05 2:28

Oh, real mature Crenor, real professional.

SPEAKER_03 2:35

You should probably pay to the man before he starts charging interest. All right, all right.

SPEAKER_01 2:54

Broadcast by the Fed 57 Frequency.

SPEAKER_08 3:04

Next up is The Purring Companion by Helena Hale, a musician who composed her first album while traveling on a colony ship. She says the engine rhythms played a major role in her signature sound.

SPEAKER_04 3:40

Anyone heard from Chapman? He said he'd help me recalibrate my external sensors.

SPEAKER_09 3:50

Something about needing to spread his artistry across the cosmos.

SPEAKER_05 3:55

Uh-oh. What's he doing this time?

SPEAKER_11 4:00

He's trying to convince the station techs to let him broadcast his latest love ballad to Lolly from the Seraphim. That's so cute.

SPEAKER_05 4:13

He does realize the station is strictly for fleet communications, right?

SPEAKER_12 4:19

Uh-huh. Which is why he's telling them that it would seal intergalactic diplomacy with a perfect cord.

SPEAKER_14 4:30

That's bold.

SPEAKER_05 4:33

That's Chapman.

SPEAKER_08 4:45

Here's Infinite Pulse by Lyra Finn.

SPEAKER_01 4:48

Outcaster Radio.

SPEAKER_06 5:18

And their last known coordinates from deep in the Andros Periphery.

SPEAKER_02 5:24

The Andros Periphery. At the Academy, people used to call it the place where things and people go to disappear. I always thought it was just to scare first-year cadet.

SPEAKER_12 5:38

It's scary, all right, but very much trouble.

SPEAKER_02 5:44

So what's actually out there? Planets? Empty space?

SPEAKER_03 5:50

A little of both. Sparse colonies, abandoned mines, stretches of nothing. They call them dead corridors. Ships go in and don't come out. No wreckage, no comms, nothing.

SPEAKER_12 6:03

Just gone. Old miners talk about strange lights. Blinding bright. Next thing they know, their systems are toast and they're stuck.

SPEAKER_13 6:16

Or worse, a friend of a friend of a friend told me about a crew that boarded a derelict ship out there. Said it looked fine from the outside, but once they got on board, no crew. Yikes indeed. Everything's still running, too. Engines, life support, even dinner on the table, just empty.

SPEAKER_06 6:45

That sounds more like a cosmic campfire story to scare some kids. Hard to say. That signal felt big, bigger than just a regular distress call. But we're way out here and the fleet spread thin.

SPEAKER_12 7:14

They could send a larger ship higher in the ranks to investigate.

SPEAKER_13 7:22

But let's be real. We're the closest military craft to those coordinates by at least a thousand parsecks.

SPEAKER_03 7:31

Yes, they'd be smart to send us. We've already got the context and the head start.

SPEAKER_10 7:40

Or they could decide it's not their problem. The fleet has their priorities, and sometimes those priorities aren't the ones that make sense to uster radio.

SPEAKER_01 8:07

This transmission is generation approved.

SPEAKER_08 8:17

To close out, here's Chrono Tides by Alara Muse.

SPEAKER_07 8:41

I've just heard back from the council. Here's the official directive. We are to resume our regular patrol road immediately and take no further action regarding the distress signal.

SPEAKER_06 8:53

Wait, what? That's it? We just walk away?

SPEAKER_09 8:59

Called it. They don't want us stirring the pot.

SPEAKER_13 9:06

So all that effort to decode and deliver the message, and they're telling us to forget it?

SPEAKER_08 9:13

They didn't phrase it quite like that, but their disapproval of our time spent on the matter was evident.

SPEAKER_14 9:23

But we're the only ones close enough to investigate. How can they just ignore it?

SPEAKER_08 9:31

Outcasters. Let's put some distance between us before our slap on the wrist turns into a pair of handcuffs. Today we delivered a message. That's a simple statement. But its implications stretch far beyond the words themselves. Sometimes it's about strategy, sometimes protocol, and sometimes it's about something else entirely. As always, outcasters, stay sharp, stay safe, and remember, we may be far from home, but we're never alone. This is Captain Tanaka signing off.