An Unregistered Comms Beacon can be found in orbit of HIP 8396 2. The transmission times of this beacon are not known. Reports indicate that a transmission occurred on the hour at least once:

14 15 23 9 3 18 25
(repeated four times)

Decodes by letter positions to:

NOWICRY

This message is the decryption key for an encoded Galnet article in the local Herald:

HIP 8396 Herald
25 Oct 3302

***Compromised Carrier Signal***

X-ray 7 7 3 Echo Hotel Uniform Uniform Delta Bravo
Sierra Kilo Delta Hotel Kilo – Quebec Bravo Echo Hotel
Victor Delta Bravo Alpha Hotel India 1 – Sierra Delta
Foxtrot Hotel Victor Kilo Hotel Romeo India Whiskey
Uniform November – Sierra Kilo Foxtrot Delta Quebec
Bravo Whiskey Uniform

The message consists of a series of words that can be interpreted as the NATO phonetic alphabet, yielding the message:

X773EHUUDBSKDHK-QBEHVDBAHI1-SDFHVKHRIWUN-SKFDQBWU

Applying a Keyed Caesar cipher with the key of NOWICRY taken from the beacon yielded the message:

V773CASSIOPEIAE-LOCATIONAB1-PIRATEAMBUSH-PERILOUS

This leads to a “Distress Call” signal source in orbit of V773 Cassiopeiae AB 1. This appears to be a permanent equivalent to the Distress Call (Threat 4) signal source sometimes seen in other systems.

Contains a disabled Federation controlled Farragut Class Battlecruiser along with a number of pirate ships, the Farragut transmits the following message to all ships in range:

Encrypted Message…To all pilots in the vicinity, we are in need of assistance. We have taken heavy damage. Please assist us until our support team can arrive.

Another Farragut Class Battlecruiser will arrive, this one Pirate-controlled, and attack the Federation-controlled one. Should the Pirate-controlled ship be driven-off, Federation support ships will arrive.

Not of any known scientific interest.