Ep. 21: The Space Slurper 17

The Outcaster's emergency detour takes them to the exact coordinates they were told to ignore. What a strange coincidence.

Directed by Ro Glenn 

Co-Written & Produced by Laurel Steele 

Editing & Sound Design by Alex Godina 

Episode Art by Alex Durazo

Sound Editing by Montse Márquez

Sound Mixing by Alin Brindis 

Science-Fiction Consultancy by Javier Calatayud

Transcript

SPEAKER_02 0:11

Good morning, Outcasters. This is Captain Tanaka, broadcasting from, as chance would have it, the Android's periphery. It's July 16th, 2143. Our detour to avoid confirmed pirate activity took us across something we couldn't ignore. A wreckage field just a few hundred clicks from the coordinates of the distress signal, originally sent at least six months ago. We located a hull plating that confirms the worst. This is where the GESMEC III met its end. While preliminary evidence suggests that this crash site is far from recent, as Captain Mangold said in his message, hope remains. Federation protocol is clear. Any uninvestigated crash site demands a full search and rescue operation. That directive stands. Whether or not we can make contact with the fleet. And out here in the Andros periphery, we can't. Waiting for authorization right now isn't an option. That means we move with efficiency and purpose. If they're survivors, we find them. And if there are answers, we document them. So between the eight of us, we've got a few dozen drones investigating the crash site, piece by piece. Meticulous work of this sort demands a playlist. So we'll begin today's mission with Unearthed by the Ediths. Salvage second. Amara has assigned each of you a quadrant. Stick to it. Silk, I want you running a wide patrol. The wreck might be half a year old, but that doesn't mean no one's keeping an eye on it.

SPEAKER_00 3:24

Copy, Captain. It was an attack then.

SPEAKER_02 3:41

Joe and Ket, what's the latest on the bioscans?

SPEAKER_03 3:46

I've got half a dozen drones scanning for life science, Captain. Nothing yet. Whole or fragmented.

SPEAKER_00 3:54

No luck here either. In fact, I haven't found any organics. Period. Kind of eerie, isn't it?

SPEAKER_04 4:07

Or a relief. If no one's here, there's hope they got out.

SPEAKER_03 4:14

Or they got erased.

SPEAKER_00 4:18

Or taken. You make getting taken sound worse than getting erased.

SPEAKER_01 4:26

It is.

SPEAKER_04 4:33

Chapman, please report in.

SPEAKER_00 4:39

I'm gathering microdebris with the Space Slurper 17. Trademark. The what now? Metal, mineral, and the supernatural. The SS 17 slurps and sorts it all. Good goddess, Chap. Relax, everyone. Tanaka approved Chapman's cosmic vacuum. And so did I. Music across the Milky Way voted best broadcast in seven quadrants.

SPEAKER_04 5:52

My drone just entered what's left of the bridge. Looks like they were using some pretty advanced tech. I see an atomic scanner and vacuum chambers.

SPEAKER_00 6:13

Can any of it be salvaged?

SPEAKER_04 6:16

I don't think so. Most of the systems have been destroyed. No signs of power. Hold on. I see a flashing light. It's a standalone unit.

SPEAKER_02 6:30

Do you see a way to activate it?

SPEAKER_04 6:35

I think so.

SPEAKER_02 6:38

I'm here at Facebook. Combos have awakened. It's the distress signal transmitter. Can you disable it? I'm here at Facebook.

SPEAKER_04 6:52

Got it. This thing looks ancient from the 20s at the latest.

SPEAKER_00 7:00

Well, it was strong enough to get a message out.

SPEAKER_03 7:05

Just not strong enough to send their signal far.

SPEAKER_00 7:09

Well, it reached the seraphim. That was dumb luck.

SPEAKER_02 7:18

Joe, extract the transmitter and deliver it to the outcaster.

SPEAKER_04 7:24

Copyright Outcaster Radio.

SPEAKER_00 8:23

Is that your drone cruising around Quadrant Seven Eight? Affirmative, Amara.

SPEAKER_04 8:34

I just picked up what seems like a nameplate fragment. It's about ten meters to your drone starboard. Can you take a closer look?

SPEAKER_00 8:44

On it. Hold on. It looks like it says Harbinger.

SPEAKER_03 8:56

Harbinger. That's one hell of a name.

SPEAKER_04 9:01

It's beautiful. Maybe prophetic. Let's make sure its message found us for a reason.

SPEAKER_02 9:21

Well, Outcasters, our search continues. And I, for one, remain hopeful. Even if our ship's official name is Fed Carrier 467A, it has always been the Outcaster. It appears the Gezmech 3 had a name of its own, the Harbinger. Hopefully the Harbinger still has stories left to tell. Until we find them, we keep searching. As Federation Protocol dictates.