Interlude - Alzenei
Safely back on Alzenei, the recovered data tapes from the Sky Raider craft were analysed at the Institute for what answers they could provide. As well, the crew had recorded the murals from the temple and along with the now-decoded Sky Raider script a clear picture emerged of the history of the Sky Raiders. The data was fragmentary but ultimately yielded hard information. This was cross-referenced with Institute records and other data that was thought to be unrelated, along with the research of Professor Laskan (the xenoarchaeological linguist from Regina).
As Laskan theorised from their Vilani-influenced linguistic structure and script, the Sky Raiders were descended from the Loeskalth culture. Little is known about the Loeskalth other than they were a minor human race on the fringe of the Vilani Imperium, considered to be barbarians and threatened with assimilation and annexation. The reason so little is known about them is that after years of warfare with the Vilani the Loeskalth were not absorbed into the First Imperium. Instead, they simply vanished as their empire was overrun. What was unusual was that their home world wasn't, as expected, "behind the claw" in Deneb or the Spinward Marches. But Loeskalth was rimward of Vland, in Gushmege Sector, on the far side of the Great Rift from Far Frontiers.
As their neighbors and then their own territory was absorbed the Loesakalth found themselves surrounded with their backs to the Great Rift. In desperation they decided that they would not surrender but attempt to cross the Rift instead. This was far beyond the Jump capability of their starships, even with extra fuel the trip seemed impossible. Using an ice asteroid they constructed a massive starship kilometres on a side. The ice would be fuel for fusion drives and be supplemented interstellar hydrogen collected by an electromagnetic field. The Loeskalth had used Bussard Ramjets in antiquity to forge an interstellar empire before they gained the knowledge of Jump drives from the Vilani through intermediaries. And not just a ramscoop would allow for interstellar travel. This ship also possessed immense Jump drives, making it a very unusual hybrid and possibly the largest Jump-capable ship known to humaniti.
When the Vilani finally broke through the last lines of the remaining Loeskalth defences and conquered their homeworld they found it impoverished and with much of the surviving military, leaders and even civilian population gone. It was theorised the missing population somehow escaped in a secretly-built fleet of starships to rimward. As they were never found they receded from memory. Meanwhile, the Loeskalth starship was crossing the Rift at sublight speeds. The trip took centuries and possibly involved stops in the Islands Clusters. Entire generations were born on this part of the voyage. Once across the Rift it began using its Jump drives to cross the Trojan Reach, Spinward Marches and Foreven Sectors.
Eventually, they reached the Far Frontiers sector and it was here they felt safe enough from Vilani retribution. The ship carried a wide array of non-Jump capable subcraft, battle riders, fuel tenders and cargo craft, as well as a number of Jump-capable warships and scout craft. Using the asteroid ship as a travelling base these ships ranged out to raid systems as they passed through or by them. At this time the Loeskalth developed into the Sky Raider subculture, one dedicated to centuries of plunder and pillage. It's likely these vast riches were once intended to fund an effort to strike back at the Vilani and liberate their homeworld but after so many generations separated from home their original cultural purpose was lost or changed. Superior technology and firepower made the Sky Raiders invincible as they ravaged the Far Frontiers sector. They established a few scattered bases on worlds like Mirayn and Qarant, mainly to provide resources to repair their ships. The asteroid ship remained their home base and they ceased to even think about forming a colony.
Eventually, 5000 years ago, some kind of plague or civil war broke out on the ship as it passed by Qarant. Possibly, the plague was released during the fighting or the collapse of order was caused by the plague. Either way it was similar to the one that destroyed the Mirayn culture that existed at the time of the Sky Raiders. It's possible this was the same one that had jumped species, as sometimes happened, from Mirayn to Loeskalth or vice-versa. Some survivors in sublight ships made it to Qarant and formed a colony which lasted for several generations. Other survivors made it to other nearby systems. Over time the Qarant colony failed, perhaps due to a limited gene pool, lack of resources and a poor environment. Possibly it was attacked by another Sky Raider faction, possibly there was a resurgence of the original plague. The records were vague on this.
In the fighting and disorder the ship's engineering sections were badly damaged, leaving the ship to drift out of the system at a fraction of lightspeed (less than 1%). After 5000 plus years of drifting, course analysis has indicated an area some 11 parsecs from Qarant, in the neighboring Mnemosyne Principality, that has a good chance of holding the stricken hulk.
It has now been several months since the crew made it back from Qarant. Everyone has received a reward of Cr500000 for their services, but the Institute is wondering if they are still looking for work...
This message was last edited by the GM at 01:35, Sat 25 June 2016.
