Third Exploration Fleet Doran, Encounter Report -- Galeika system 26-BB-07

Report from the home offices of the Thiran Republic Galactic Exploration Fleets. The following is an extract of the ground party's field report.

Mission Objectives: Investigate repeating signal, originating from the third planet in the Geleika System. Report back to Fleet Central upon contact with sapience.

Commanding Officer: Commander Guv'we Firn

Mate: Second-Commander Tirionokta Forensata

Report given by Second-Commander Tirionokta Forensata, on behalf of the ground party consisting of herself, Medic Toren Rinata, Rating Pir'na Gorn and the Observational AI 'Cogitator'. A extract is included below.

'i-|/ -i'-L ^'`i'_| .^v-:|-.L |:-L`i=|¬i>^=v

The signals were getting stronger as our buggies approached the source. That same, repeating pattern. Cogitator made neither head nor thorax of it; insufficient data, despite it being repeated ad infinitum. The technological remnants left on the planet were scant – drones recovered some for research, but the metal was worn, and information chips near useless. No help for working out the signal either. The curious part was, the planet itself was never colonised, or at least the archaeological record doesn't suggest as such. All the devices found were remnants of satellites, space stations and shuttles, which dropped out of orbit millennia ago.

The signal was emanating from a structure. Satellite photos showed it from above, but with it being inactive except for this same, damn signal, a ground team was dispatched to identify it. It's odd, it's clearly intelligent, someone put enough effort to keep this online and broadcasting yet abandoned it entirely otherwise.

'i-|/ -i'-L ^'`i'_| .^v-:|-.L |:-L`i=|¬i>^=v

This structure itself was even more peculiar. Not scattered and scrapped like the rest of the terrain on this planet, but purposefully built. Its architecture was not that of a ground facility, however, but that of a space station; clearly it was built to stand here for lifetimes. Cogitator seemed to take umbrage at this, with a clearly advanced, post FTL species embracing this “inefficient design”.

What was its purpose? An empty shell of a building, constructed by a long-dead culture, blaring its message out into the void. The building itself had only two purposes, first to survive; it was built to last, sending this repeated signal out into space. The second was to preserve. Inside, on libraries of databanks buried into the earth, was civilisations' worth of knowledge. Astrological data, technological blueprints, genome maps, music, art, literature, all in an undecipherable alien language.

'i-|/ -i'-L ^'`i'_| .^v-:|-.L |:-L`i=|¬i>^=v

Cogitator has asked us to leave them be, sequestering themselves away, tearing through these databanks, making as much progress on this mysterious language as it can. The structure still sends out its message, repeated and consistent. It's an archaic form of the language, Cogitator so far has had insufficient data to translate it, but perhaps its a motto? A creed? A promise?

'i-|/ -i'-L ^'`i'_| .^v-:|-.L |:-L`i=|¬i>^=v

Whatever it was, they believed it was important. It was their final message to us. Their last song, calling out.

'i-|/ -i'-L ^'`i'_| .^v-:|-.L |:-L`i=|¬i>^=v

'i-|/ -i'-L ^'`i'_| .^v-:|-.L |:-L`i=|¬i>^=v

'i-|/ -i'-L ^'`i'_| .^v-:|-.L |:-L`i=|¬i>^=v