The Lutuma Report

The Lutuma Chronicles Chapter Three

With the data gathered from the Shadow-barb links, it is revealed that Lutuma ships are responsible for the drilling activity in the surrounding sectors. With no answers to hails, leaders prepare to engage with the Lutuma ships directly for answers.

Mission Briefing

The Shadow-barb Links have been relaying data on several tagged ships. While we know the general location of their ships and have been monitoring their activities, there is still much to discern. We need to consider plans for engagement.

The ships belong to a race called the Lutuma.
What do we know about them ?

They occupy the Oruas region in the opposite quadrant. Our records on them are sparse, however... They certainly have traveled quite a distance to accomplish whatever they are after.
Have you tried to make contact ?

Several times. They aren't responding to our hails.
What did the Shadow-barbs reveal about the ships ?

We've been able to monitor drill activity on a number of vessels. There isn't any indication that they are aware of the Shadow-barbs yet.
Any new insight into the drilling ?

Data would suggest that the operation is a delicate process.
Delicate ?

The ships spend a great deal of time aligning themselves in an extremely precise synchronized orbit before engaging the drill.
What are they extracting ?

Unfortunately, we're still not able to discern that. If they are indeed extracting something from these planets, we have no clue what it might be.
Our original scans were more than extensive. If there had been even tiny amounts of exotic materials, we would have seen it.

I know... but we've missed something... Given their silence, engaging with the Lutuma directly is our next course of action.
I agree.

Due to their ships' advanced cloaking, the Shadow-barb Links provide only a generalized location where we can find them. We'll still need to narrow down their exact location on our own.
Alright.

As before, you'll need to return here periodically for updates on their current location.
Understood.

Use force if necessary, but the priority is getting those ships' memory in one piece.
Recommendations ?

The links provided a wealth of information on how their energy is distributed. Their ships have a major power node running through their primary memory cells.
Sounds like quite a design flaw.

Not entirely. The drill requires massive redundant power joints. There may not have been a better alternative given its purpose.
We can use this to our advantage.

Indeed. With controlled bursts of inverse pulses, the nodes can be overloaded once their shields are down. The Lutuma ships will have no choice but to eject their nodes, and the cells with them.
Can't the Shadow-barbs extract the data directly ?

Unfortunately, no. It's only capable of capturing data that is transmitted throughout the ship. We'll need the physical archives.
And... what happens to the ships after we capture their cells ?

I'll leave that to you... but I would be wary of those drills. If they intend to use them as weapons, I imagine they could do considerable damage.

End Transmission

• Mission Image

• NOTE: you must click through the mission briefing (at least once every 40 hours) in order to remodulate the shadow-barbs.
  

• Additional Mission Note: You must use your new 'Shadow-Barb Deployment' ability on unoccupied planets to acquire Shadow-Barb Links.

Ability: Shadow-Barb Deployment Releases modulated Shadow-Barbs near the planet - creating a Shadow-Barb Link. Planet must be unoccupied, and not an existing Nanosheared Drilling Site. Requires 50 CTP. Cooldown Timer: 2 Minutes. Shadow-Barb effect duration: 40 hours.

"You acquire a Shadow-Barb Link Artifact" (on valid targets).

"Not a valid target. The planet must be unoccupied, and NOT an existing Nanosheared Drilling Site or Shadow-Barbs deployment." (on invalid targets).

"You deploy the Shadow-Barbs." (shadow-barb effect placed on valid target planet, but no Shadow-Barb Link artifact is added to cargo). Re-visit the mission briefing in order to re-modulate the Shadow-Barb ability in order to resume dropping the mission-required arti.

Requirements: 400 Energy, 1 Shadow-Barb Link (50 ctp)
Rewards: 400 XP
XP Return Ratio: 1.00

Requirements: 8,000 Energy, 20 Shadow-Barb Link (1000 ctp)
Rewards: 8,000 XP, 1 NSX Tracking Matrix

Requirements: 88,000 Energy, 200 Shadow-Barb Link(10,000 ctp)
Rewards: 80,000 XP, 1 NSX Tracking Matrix (fully upgraded)

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