On the outer fringes of the isolated Velak system, asteroids drifted silently through the ebon void. Scraps of metal, wreckage and debris, floated amidst the
massive asteroids, testament to the dangers present in the system. For even at the best of times, the GMC had a difficult time recruiting workers to harvest
and refine anthracite at the massive refinery in the Velak system. Even with the vast amounts of credits on offer, few were so greedy - or so desperate - as to
be willing to travel out the very edge of the Outer Rim, were isolation and loneliness were more than capable of ddriving a man mad. If, of course, they
survived the hazardous harvesting proces for long enough to go mad.
Despite this, the asteroid fields were usually abuzz with activity as automated scanning drones flitted between the asteroids searching for rich deposits of precious anthracite and massive harvester pods followed tentatively in their wakes. But now the drones were silent, motionless, and the harvestor pods floated lifeless in the ebon void. Many had been crushed by asteroids, but even those that remained were in poor condition; something had happened in the Velak system. Something terrible.
Despite this, the asteroid fields were usually abuzz with activity as automated scanning drones flitted between the asteroids searching for rich deposits of precious anthracite and massive harvester pods followed tentatively in their wakes. But now the drones were silent, motionless, and the harvestor pods floated lifeless in the ebon void. Many had been crushed by asteroids, but even those that remained were in poor condition; something had happened in the Velak system. Something terrible.
* * *
A flicker of cerulean light on the very fringes of the system marked the arrival of the vessel carrying the GMG emergency response team. By name, it was
the Ishim, and by nature it was a heavily modified shuttle of the old Curich-class. It was not, by any
means, a fast or nimble craft, nor a particularly well armed one. It was not meant for warzones or battlegrounds. But this was no warzone, though the
figures suggested the asteroid belts had claimed more lives in recent years than many of the wars that had rocked the galaxy, so the crew weren't
concerned. Why would they be? It was just a routine mission; go in, fix whatever had gone wrong with the facility, then get the hell out and enjoy a couple
of weeks of R&R until the next so-called catastrophe cropped up. Nothing they hadn't done a hundred times before. Easy money.
At least, that's what they thought for the first five minutes after entering the system.
By the sixth minute, they were starting to feel a little uneasy.
By the seventh minute, they just wanted to get the hell out.
By the eigth minute, they were all dead.
The call went out from GMC an hour later; something was seriously wrong in the Velak system, and they'd pay handsomely for someone - anyone - to clear it up.
At least, that's what they thought for the first five minutes after entering the system.
By the sixth minute, they were starting to feel a little uneasy.
By the seventh minute, they just wanted to get the hell out.
By the eigth minute, they were all dead.
The call went out from GMC an hour later; something was seriously wrong in the Velak system, and they'd pay handsomely for someone - anyone - to clear it up.
