The pre-generator, a standard instrument of first-phase imperial reconnaissance, deployed prior to any permanent array construction or world-level activation. Colossal in scale—measuring approximately one thousand feet in height—it functioned as a mobile planetary surveyor and provisional communications mast, its structure resembling a vertical signal spine rather than a vessel in the conventional sense. The probe was ambulatory, supported by three radially spaced, multi-jointed legs of non-aerodynamic design, optimized for stability across varied terrain rather than speed or elegance. Its silhouette and proportions marked it as a machine built without concern for local ecology, visibility, or intimidation; it was not meant to negotiate with a world, only to read it.
Cognitively, the probe operated in a semi-sentient state, sufficient to interpret environmental data, maintain signal coherence, and execute conditional directives without higher oversight. Its primary function was to survey the planetary body, map usable strata, establish provisional signal dominance, and remain operational only until superseded. Upon the arrival of a follow-on autonomous fleet and the commencement of permanent communications array construction, the probe was designed to terminate its presence. This termination could take the form of self-destruction, total shutdown, or planetary departure, depending on the instruction set encoded at deployment. In many cases, such probes were designed for a single operational cycle and carried no long-term contingency beyond obsolescence.
The Rywar probe deviated from expected recovery profiles. It was discovered beneath the planetary ocean, entombed alongside the remnants of the broader fleet, having suffered extreme structural damage consistent with catastrophic compression. Identification was initially difficult due to its position beneath another wrecked vessel, which appears to have impacted and collapsed onto it during the system’s failure cascade. The probe’s condition indicates neither a controlled shutdown nor an orderly withdrawal, but abrupt neutralization through external force, leaving its final directive unresolved and its survey incomplete.
