<< BACK TO RS001 LOG ======================================================================== // QEC TRANSMISSION LOG // ORIGIN: HRVST FARMING UNIT-59 (NASCARIA IV - 47.89° N, 122.67° W) // DEST: RELAY STATION 001 (SOL-L4) // TIMESTAMP: [CYCLE 2478.09.25] [T: 23:00:32] [LAG: +11d 05h 42m] // ENCRYPTION: NONE | BANDWIDTH: STD (78 CHAR/LINE MAX) ======================================================================== --- > BEGIN TRANSMISSION [FILE: dog.txt] --- /* [HEADER] */ TO: RS001@SOL-L4.RELAY FROM: HRVST-59@NASCARIA-IV.COL SUBJ: UNUSUAL FINDINGS PRIO: MEDIUM /* [SYSTEM STATUS] */ [LOCAL COND: CLEAR SKIES (AFTER 24H HEAVY DEUTERIUM RAINS))] [EXTERNAL TEMP: 8°C] [BORZONIUM LEVEL: 95% (SLUDGE DEPTH: +1.2M)] [QEC TERMINAL: OPERATIONAL (LAST CAL: 2478.09.22)] --- /* [BODY] */ --- This is HRVST Farming Unit-59, again. We didn't get any delivery confirmation after our last message, so we still aren't sure if this thing is working or not. Surprisingly though, just hours after our transmission we got a hefty supply drop a couple clicks away from our module. Is it Christmas already? Given the sludge depth after two days of heavy rain, reaching it was quite a challenge: we had to use horses** to get there. Something rather odd happened, too. Near the drop site, hidden in a pile of space junk - we get a lot of that too on Nascaria IV, it must be a favorite hotspot for ships to get rid of their trash - we found a beaten up cryopod with a living dog inside. A real dog! Could you believe it? We've seen a lot of synthetic ones, but never an organic specimen. Could it be a remnant of some ancient space mission? Or maybe part of a long-dead crew, wrecked in the depths of space? We managed to wake him up, and despite his right front leg being busted, he seemed pretty lively. My wife says it could be a pup, less than one year old, but we're not equipped for this kind of veterinary diagnostic (well, not even for human medical diagnostic, indeed). He had a collar and a tag with the word "FOOTER" engraved on it, only. What kind of name is that? Is it even a name? Wife insisted we needed a dog (for what??) and since there's no point in arguing we're going to keep him. We decided to name him "BUCK": we feel like it's a better suiting name. I know that "finders, keepers", but can we actually keep him? After all he came from a cryopod, he must be someone's. Is it even legal? And what about contaminations? Well, I guess it's too late for that. I've reviewed our contract and nowhere in the 278 pages dogs are ever mentioned. We will have to wait for an official answer from the company on this. In the meantime, I'll try fixing up his leg with some sort of makeshift cybernetic implant. I'm just an IT guy, but I'll do my best. P.S. If we can keep him, is there any kind of dog food you could send us with the next drop? We realized we have no clue what kind of stuff they eat. If only he could feed on this freaking borzonium mud... Standing by, HRVST-59 --- /* [PERSONAL LOG ADDENDUM] */ --- // ** Among the native biological species of Nascaria IV, there are // these free roaming horse-like creatures called "Starquus zebra". // They are pretty wild and shy animals, but we managed to snatch a // couple. They turned out being fine draft beasts when tamed! --- /* [FOOTER (NOT THE DOG)] */ --- [TX END] [QEC LINK STATUS: OPERATIONAL] [LOCAL TIME: 23:00:32] [NEXT WINDOW: CYCLE 2478.10.15 @ 09:00:00] --- > END TRANSMISSION ---