Windswept Fates

Our team arrived safely on … and quickly got to work surveying our new surroundings.

From the looks of it, the recent violent cosmic storm that plagued this system also uncovered enough layers of dust and soil to reveal the remnants of an old civilization.

As our scientists continued to delve into these archeological findings, they were struck by the fact that the layers of sand covering the remnants were of an entirely different composition than the surrounding soil. Planetary scans indicate these deposits came from a desert hundreds of miles away and could only have ended up here through great force, such as an extremely volatile planetary storm.

Despite the strange weather conditions troubling this planet, our … have made great strides. But with every passing day, their discoveries became increasingly baffling and disturbing.

It began with remnants of stonework and charcoaled organic materials. Then, torn fabrics, leather work, vests layered with polymers, and eventually the organic remains of the planet's former inhabitants.

Body after body was uncovered, their desiccated organs filled with sand and their nails worn down from struggle. Each corpse was outfitted in heavy … military equipment and armed with projectile weapons. What we thought was an abandoned city was in fact a mass grave.

It's possible these specimens might be eons old, but due to their complete isolation from ultraviolet radiation and reactive chemicals both the organic remains and gear have been meticulously preserved. What happened to them here remains unknown.

The findings on … continue to disturb. … believes that the location is unlikely to have been a burial site, as these aliens appeared to have been in a good physical condition until they were suffocated by the sands.

What's more, we have also uncovered a number of weapon installations capable of launching heavy ordnance. Surprisingly, they are not aimed at the surface, but instead target the depths of space itself.

Whatever enemy these people were facing likely came from the stars.

Our theories regarding the strange mass grave we found on … led to no useful conclusions. The only remaining lead pertained to the origin of the sands that swallowed this army whole.

After performing a series of immensely complex calculations and simulations, we have determined that the very storm which brought the sands here continues to rage elsewhere on the planet. A small expedition force was set out to explore.

A violent tempest greeted them, its brutal winds having carved out a deep recess in the ground. If any answers are to be found here, they are no doubt contained within this abyss, right where the eye of the storm finds its home.

Navigating to the site was difficult, and required the utmost skill and attention. However, in the center of the crater and amidst the raging storm we discovered a most unusual skeleton. The remains are as ancient as those within the mass grave, though both the phenotype and genotype of the body were entirely different from the corpses we found there.

The skeleton's uniform was surprisingly well preserved, and it too showed significant differences in design. There were also signs that some of the appendages were deliberately removed...

But most curious were the readings from our sensors: we detected energy fluctuations around the body and from within. These signatures bore a surprising similarity to those inside this massive storm, as well as to the cosmic storm that originally uncovered the mass grave.

A theory began to form: Was this individual linked to the storms we've encountered so far? Might they even have been responsible for the burial of the army? It felt bizarre to consider, but the facts were leading us this way.

Cross-referencing the uniform's symbols with our database produced a baffling result: the body belonged to a citizen of the adAkkaria Convention! The very same civilization whose broadcast station we explored not too long ago. To our even greater surprise, the uniform, the age of the body, and the information from the broadcasts paint a surprisingly cohesive picture. We now believe that this is the world mentioned by those broadcasts.

With the linguistic knowledge from the Propaganda Station in hand, … deciphered the victim's name: haToor Gailon.

Only moments later, the surrounding storm rapidly increased in size and intensity. Due to the weather's highly unpredictable nature, it became too dangerous to stay, and we were forced to abandon this world to the maelstrom. The trail of the adAkkaria Convention has grown cold again.