TIGRIS
GA 344 / 06 / 24 02:65:00
Aboard the Vigil
"Tigris?" Jakk says, looking at the starmap.
"That's what the decrypted files say," Redd says, as she sits down next to her.
"Fuck that place, Jakk," Jules says, putting his hands on the table. "Let's quit this bullshit, we're chasing ghosts. There's nothing to know, nothing to find, just a myth."
"What, are you scared, Jules?" Ray asks, sitting on a crate. "What's up with that place? More life-risking bullshit?"
Jules waves Vigil to intervene, as the Synthetic Intelligence's projected apparition fades into view.
"Let's try to clear some things up," Vigil says, sounding curious. "I looked up Tigris on the Nexus and here's what it has to say:
Tigris is a large emission nebula within the neutral territories of the Galactic Core. It is located approximately 5,000 light-years directly above Nadir, the black hole at the center of the Milky Way. Viewed from the Perseus arm, it takes the shape of an ancient mythical beast, leaping to catch its prey. This is the source of its name. Tigris is the remnant of a suspected Type Ia supernova. This has resulted in a massive abundance of Iridium, Platinum, Gold, Rhenium and varying amounts of other rare elements. With no controlling party to secure its very sought-after territories, the nebula is criss-crossed with mining and haul routes to and from all of the Spiral Arms and is in a constant state of war, between the Spiral Arms fighting over space and the Norma Castes' rampant piracy, grasping for resources."
"Jakk's already getting a hard-on," Ray says, looking at Jakk.
"Dude, shut up," Jakk says, waving Vigil to continue, "This is our lead and that's what we have to do."
"So," Vigil says as he continues reading, "It says here that at Tigris' "head" lies Tigris Eye, a sporadically active, massive black hole. A radius of 1 light-year around Tigris Eye is declared a CLASS 5 DEATH HAZARD - attempted exploration is extremely ill-advised."
"ILL-ADVISED," Ray reels, as he raises a finger, turning to Jakk. "So that's where we're NOT going to go. NOT. You hear me, Jakk?"
Jakk rolls her eyes as Vigil continues. "In Sagittarian folklore," he says, "Tigris Eye is legendary and remains unexplored. There is a myth that a god-like being has created it out of spite for Nadir and that this is why it is directly above it on the galactic plane."
"This is it," Jakk says, holding her head. "It's exactly what we've been thinking. It all leads up to Tigris. The artifacts, the dormant megastructures we found, the documents, the trail of dead Sagittarian explorers..." She looks at the team, turning around as her eyes widen. "It's all about Those who Came Before. Whatever 'The Sentinel' is, it's there, and it's something worth hiding. Some truth that the Helms don't want to be known."
Silence lingers for a moment as Jakk stares at her team, waiting for a response.
"I'm going to get killed by a fucking black hole," Ray says, shaking his head.
"Oh please, relax," Jules says, chuckling. "We're not even going to get anywhere close. We'll just die to classic gunfire."
"If we die," Jakk says, with fire in her eyes, "We'll be dead having learned what's hidden in Tigris."