To learn the truth

[srwu_npc2]

[1]

"I promised to tell you what I discovered. This is all secret information, try not to spread it around."

Elan Cubis is safe, and now he has a few words to say to everyone.

"I'm sure you remember the derelict ship Progtech had a research station at. The thing is... I did examination of the Nine-Ball, and its subsystems are similar. Not the same obviously, one's a ship and the other is an AC. But the similarity in design is there. Who made that ship, why, how long ago? We don't know. But there's an obvious connection."

"And a lot of people who worked on solving the mystery behind that connection are now dead."

[2]
There is one other person that has things to tell you. And while Elan did not care much for official channels, this time it's a talk behind closed doors, and you were informed that what you learn is classified and you're not supposed to share it with the rest of the world.

The person you talk to is an elderly scientist - Professor Dupond, the inventor of TSEN.

"I am not the inventor of TSEN." He says.
"No, this is not fully accurate. I have copied the design, modified it so it works using Earth technology. But I did not come up with it. When we made... the discovery, it was already there. Among others."

"What is the discovery?"

"It is a facility. Or a space ship? I am not sure. I am sure it is very ancient however, even older than the Macross. I was the expedition leader and I was able to uncover one of its many mysteries, this is why you have TSEN now. But before I could unearth more marvellous technology..."

"The facility disappeared. The giant underground cave that housed it was suddenly empty one day. Our ancient treasure trove was just gone - with one of my assistants. His name is Aaron Anso Antema. Does this name sound familiar to you? Constans Ricard Antema is his nephew. The same Antema who pilots Blue Blood, the Lady's Good Men combat robot."

"I have cooperated with Elan and pooled our resources to find some answers. He hoped to find the truth behind Nine-Ball, I - to discover my find's current location. We both made good progress, and I am sure this is why we were targetted."

Comments

2

[gold_four]

...Great, that sounds like more aliens. Maybe that assistant guy awoke something, and now he worships it like his own goddess...

[srwu_npc2]

"There's no need to reach for a supernatural explanation. I did not see anything sentient on board the ship... facility." Professor Dupond explains.

"Aaron is worshipping the facility itself, most likely. Or even more likely, he has created a fake religion, a cult around it, and manipulates it like a puppetmaster."

[gold_four]

I said like a goddess, not that it actually was one. Besides, don't you know? Its common to refer to ships as if they're female, and every ship needs its good men...

[He pauses, thinking.]

Though perhaps... that's what they're been meaning about its 'gifts'. Technology aboard that ship - which they might see as being theirs whilst they hold said ship.

[srwu_npc2]

"Consider the origin of TSEN and that they consider it one of the gifts. You are right young man, this is not a 'perhaps'. It's almost entirely certain."

1)

[break_the_nine]

That's why he killed all those people?

[Leos sounded downright confused to say the least.]

But a lot of robots on are using weird and crazy technology! Why go to all that trouble to hide it?

[srwu_npc2]

"If I knew, that'd solve a lot of my problems, wouldn't it? This proves the connection was important for Hustler One, and keeping it a secret even more so."

[break_the_nine]

... Yeah... I guess. Doesn't matter now he's dead though...

That means you and other people can work on that stuff without getting killed now... unless someone else tries to do the same thing.

[srwu_npc2]

"Yeah, that's a relief. It's almost impossible for Hustler One to have worked alone, but it still feels like Death stopped breathing down on my neck."

2

[actuallyselfish]

"An ancient spaceship or facility?" Dido inquires. "What part of the world was it in? For that matter...what did the ship look like?"

[srwu_npc2]

"I did not uncover it fully, but the part I saw was made of metal, yet... stone-like. It reminded me of a beautiful cathedral." The Professor's gaze is absent just for a moment, as if pondering a precious memory.

"Its location was in Africa, but there is nothing but an empty underground cave there now."

[actuallyselfish]

"Were there inscriptions or icons on what you saw? Or an electronic inteface? These Lady's Good Men keep talking about their precious Lady...maybe they're talking about the Ship's onboard AI or something!

[srwu_npc2]

"There was no such thing, and I did not see any iconography or recognized anything that could serve its function. But it is possible for a ship of this size to have a centralized computer, and I found no such thing."

"It is possible it was hidden deeper than I was able to reach. Or maybe someone - or something, removed it before I made my first step into the cave."

[actuallyselfish]

"Something to figure out later, I guess."

She strokes her chin in thought. "Wait-a-sec. The Lady's Good Men have been going after Loni Gavin's uncle to retrieve 'The Gifts of the Lady'. Does that mean that Gavin's Uncle was part of this research team of yours too?"

[srwu_npc2]

"Very perceptive." The Professor nods, a glint of appreciation in his eyes.

"Perceptive but inaccurate. He was not a member of my team but rather a sponsor."

2

[itbelongsinamuseum]

I thought I had been caught up in weird archeological topics...

So you think he teleported off with all of the installation?

[srwu_npc2]

"TSEN is a teleporter after all. A small scale one, relatively speaking - but it would not surprise me if its origin had a much larger version functioning, somehow."

[itbelongsinamuseum]

I know...I'm just worried about where somebody could hide something that big.

[srwu_npc2]

"Somewhere where it cannot be detected. Geological records do not show many caverns that massive, and I am an expert at subjects other than military yet even I know how hard it'd be to hide it in a city or similar place."

"So wherever Aaron hid my find, he did a really good job."

2

[cloningblues]

All this time we've been teleporting by using alien technology...

Who were they? The people who made TSEN?

[srwu_npc2]

"No, not alien. Human reproduction of alien technology. The diference is subtle but important."

Professor Dupond smooths his beard. "This is an important question. I am afraid I can't answer it. The trace left by the makers in their work is very small. I did not find any corpses or recordings."

[cloningblues]

I understand. It's not the first time I encountered tech created like this.

Couldn't the makers of TSEN be an alien race we encountered already? Some of them are quite ancient.

[srwu_npc2]

"It's possible. Visual similarities were scarce but it is not that aesthetics cannot change in time. This is a question for a xeno anthropologist - after I regain access to my find."

[cloningblues]

Do you think... The Lady's Good Men have it?

[srwu_npc2]

"Occam's Razor says yes, and I agree with the old man himself."