An article by Louis Calvert of The Sagittarius Eye – http://www.sagittarius-eye.com

In the log-distant past we were a single-planet species and the Galaxy was a vast and unknown place. Before the development of Hyperspace travel (and even for a while afterwards!) our ancestors flung themselves into the void in Generation Ships.

These massive vessels were designed for long-haul flights lasting anywhere from decades to centuries. Around 70,000 of these gigantic ships were launched from Earth starting in 2097 and continuing until the 22nd Century brought more affordable FTL systems.

Many reached their destinations, but tragically many did not. Of those, some turned back, some arrived at unexpected places and made new homes. The majority just vanished. The collective term for these lost early pioneers is The Missing, and the stunning truth is that some of the ancient ships are still being discovered to this day.

The first recorded find was the Generation Ship Lycaon, discovered in the Alaunus system by CMDR Lexic Meise on April 23, 3303. More followed in rapid succession; The Venusian was discovered by CMDR Klumpozyte on April 26, 3303 in the Kitae system. The Hyperion in Lalande 2966 was discovered by CMDR Vall on April 27, 3303. The list goes on. To date around a dozen lost ships have been re-discovered, and estimates are that there may be hundreds remaining between the stars. The reasons these ships never made it to their destinations can often be recovered by hacking into the ships logs. Among the most harrowing to listen to are the logs of the Artemis, discovered by CMDR Friend 360 in Mu Cassiopeia, where a single psychopathic killer stalked and murdered the crew.

If you’re considering going hunting for The Missing, you need to first locate a Listening Post in a system and listen for faint messages trapped in the comm buffers. Such a message, once found, will often be faded by time and distance and may need further triangulation before an exact origin point for the signal can be found. Listening Posts are visible in the navigation tab once you jump into a system if you’re within 1kls. Concentrate your searches on Listening Posts up to 90 light years from Sol, since using slower-than-light travel methods most ships won’t have travelled very far – although that doesn’t mean there isn’t wonders to be found further out.

Good hunting, and remember Commanders, don’t dock with a Generation Ship, more than a few have been found to carry deadly pathogens and rogue computer viruses that can prove deadly, even in 3304.