Serial Saturday: The Suggestion Box #3

Featuring the contribution of Mary C. Findley.

The List: Ignatz Ratzkewatski,  5 minutes before Midnight, USO outpost on Vega 12, An heirloom Watch

2315 INCOMING MESSAGE
IDENTIFY SOURCE: Corporal Ignatz P. Ratzkewatski, Commanding Officer, Outpost VEGA12
ALLOW CONTACT
COMMENCE MESSAGE: All quiet on the Vega front. Nothing to report. Battle proceeds as normal.
2317 END MESSAGE

2326 INCOMING MESSAGE
IDENTIFY SOURCE: Corporal Ignatz P. Ratzkewatski, Commanding Officer, Outpost VEGA12
ALLOW CONTACT
COMMENCE MESSAGE: Slight increase in casualty rate. Suspect enemy has acquired new zero-grav ballistics technology. Increasing ArtiSoldier output to maintain defense population.
2329 END MESSAGE

2332 INCOMING MESSAGE
IDENTIFY SOURCE: Corporal Ignatz P. Ratzkewatski, Commanding Officer, Outpost VEGA12
ALLOW CONTACT
COMMENCE MESSAGE: Sustaining heavy casualties. Cannot maintain a positive defensive force. Have dispatched ground forces to collect the excess biological materials for recycling in the biometric progenator. Commencing attempts at increased ArtiSoldier manufacture and deployment.
2340 END MESSAGE

2345 INCOMING MESSAGE
IDENTIFY SOURCE: Corporal Ignatz P. Ratzkewatski, Commanding Officer, Outpost VEGA12
ALLOW CONTACT
COMMENCE MESSAGE: Collection Team have discovered topographic anomaly on the far side of the planet. Preliminary scans indicate that it is a functional compartment of some sort, approximately 2.5 meters square, 3 meters tall, and deep blue in color. Apparently we are not alone. Will report again as events develop.
2348 END MESSAGE

2352 INCOMING MESSAGE
IDENTIFY SOURCE: Corporal Ignatz P. Ratzkewatski, Commanding Officer, Outpost VEGA12
ALLOW CONTACT
COMMENCE MESSAGE: Secondary reconnaissance reports deny the existence of the anomaly previously reported. Secondary team investigated the site and retrieved a strange item. Initial examination indicates that it is an early chronometer such as would be used in early 20th-century civilizations, called (if early historical records are to be believed) a "watch." It is approximately five ounces in weight, silver-metallic in color, and covered in narrow, circular etchings on the face. It appears to possess the capacity to hinge open, though it does not appear to do so easily. Technicians are still verifying the threat level of the object. Will contact again when technicians have established the contents of the watch.
2354 END MESSAGE

2355 ALL FRONTS BULLETIN
Vega12 has been compromised. Witnesses report that a brilliant flash of light disclosed the outpost location to enemy forces, yet when they landed, the planet held no signs of life. All that remained was the unconfirmed watch, resting upon the surface of the planet. The casing had evidently been forced open, yet there was nothing inside. We can only assume that whatever the Vega Regiment discovered initiated their demise. Propose Cease-Fire until further notice.

We are not alone, troops. There seems to be pre-existing life on these planets that we did not suspect. 

The 2013 Suggestion Box Series:

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