Log Mundy, 10218-2237

[Adele Mundy]

Personal Log, SKdt. Adelaide Mundy, ISN Oblivion, 2nd Space Flotilla, 4th Hunter group.
Stardate: 10218-2237

First, the good news: Kmdt. Matsiyan was awarded a ribbon for his work in the Intelligence Dept.; Int. Donovan received a Distinguished Service Medal for his exemplary performance during a mission, where he filled the roles of injured bridge officers and covered damaged consoles.

Then, the not too bad news: Invictus having been repaired (again), we were to be on the lookout for any power imbalances, since one of the causes of its damage had been a flaw to power distribution. We were also supposed to test some new upgrades to ships’ systems, and to try our hand on sims against TSN ships, since we had received some data updates on them from Command.

So, yes. TSN ships as enemies. Hell’s bells. Do I really need to say more?

We took Oblivion, Relentless, Invictus and Excision on the sim. I had caught sight of OKmdt. Jemel during the briefing, so I was expecting him to be commanding Excision. However, it seems his duties called him elsewhere, and I was sent to Excision instead, with OInt. Graybeard in Engineering, Int. Nhaima in Tactical, Int. Parra on Helm (it’s been a while since I last saw Parra, I didn’t even have the time to ask him which shift he’s been working, and on which ship), and, after a brief stint when I was also running SciComms, Mid. Avirson to take those consoles over.

More TSN enemies for our second sim, where the Group Leader was called to CiC, and I was called to Oblivion. Not quite as literally as later, in the mission. But that’s the bad news, and I haven’t got to those yet. Quinn and Ironclad were on the bridge as normal, but since Graybeard was reassigned also, Ironclad deferred to him for Engineering (who wouldn’t? To maintain diplomacy, let’s keep to that fine Celtic tradition of calling Graybeard one of the Three Best Engineers in the 4th). So Ironclad took Science instead; Donovan took Tactical, and Parra took Comms, since one would have to pry the Helm controls from Quinn’s cold, dead hands, and Parra didn’t fancy his chances in a knife fight.

I’m joking. TSN officers don’t indulge in knife fights, even when wearing ISN uniforms that include knives. How does it feel to wear a uniform that does not contemplate the use of personal weapons bar exceptional circumstances, and only when ordered by the Captain?

After what I shall call an interesting encounter with simulated TSN vessels (Gallu and Destroyers and, eventually, a Griffzungenschwert), we returned to receive our mission briefing. Our orders were to push back the remaining hostiles in Volantis Sector 3, while the 3rd Assault Group held on to Volantis Command. In other words, they took up tidy little patrols in the area we had already cleared, while we set out to secure the perimeter of Volantis System.

I was on Excision again, and with a reshuffling of crews we had Graybeard in Engineering, Parra on Helm, Starry on Science, Avirson on Weapons. The idea was to stage a fast paced skirmish assault on the bases in the sector, bearing in mind that they would probably be deploying fighters and drones, as we had seen in the defence of Volantis Command.

Following the Group Leader’s orders, we headed for one of the stations, dealt with a cloud of fighters, and had to retreat while we tried to recover some energy. At which point, and this is the bad news, four Skaraans with low vis or cloak, tractor beams and shield drain jumped us, immobilised us, and fired at close range. And…

Dammit.

Life pods, and sitting in the dark to conserve life support, looking at the blinking lights and listening for comms signals from rescuing ships. It seemed to take for ever. Are we dead yet? And Matsiyan asking, “Where’s Excision?” just before something went critical on Invictus, too.

They picked us up, once the area was clear. We even recovered Excision, towed her to one of the stations Oblivion and Relentless had retaken, and put her back together again, mostly. The most seriously injured stayed on the station, to be ferried back to Promethean Command once they were stable and the area was deemed safe for traffic. Some of the bodies stayed too. A few of the bodies are out there, either frozen or blown to dust. It’s taken me this long to start my log, because I had to write their letters home. And Furies, Adelaide, why do I have to go through so much Void-damned red tape to get the records of the dead crew? Yes, I needed their official records. I couldn’t very well write about the people I remembered, and the careers I remembered. I was writing about strangers, when the people who died were my crew.

If we… When we find our way home, and you return here, what shall we find? Did Specialist Chen survive, on your side? Kazinsky? Watanabe? What happens when there’s no body for them to switch back into? What happens to a body whose consciousness has died?

I’ve just killed two people for every death I caused. I’d better write a second set of letters, for when we go back. No, not here, that wouldn’t do any good. I have a room in the Memory Palace, just for them. There’s a cemetery in Croatoa, between the centre of Salamanca and the beach. You can hear the waves, and you can smell the grass between the gravestones. It’s quite peaceful – well, sometimes at night you see the glow of human forms around the graves, and on the cast iron railings that surround the cemetery, but that’s only appropriate. The ghosts will leave you alone if you don’t get too close. I write the letters home on the tombstones. It’s slow work, but that makes it easy to remember.

We were sent into Cerberus System for our next mission, with orders to assist in retaking Cerberus Command. The main concern is that while we’re busy in Volantis, the Kraliens may have time to stage a major invasion into Atlantis, or even into Promethean itself. So, we were to coordinate a multi-stage assault, first boarding Cerberus Command, sending specialist Marine teams to download intel about Hegemony forces in Cerberus System. Once that had been acquired, we would move on to take bases as staging facilities to secure Cerberus Sector 3. It seems that another unit was tasked with this mission previously, and failed – I’m afraid I was too self-absorbed to pay attention to which unit that was. Not the 3rd Assault Group again, surely? Anyway, we were sent to mop up after them, and some ships from First Command were to join us.

Excision was in a battle group with Relentless leading. We coordinated our attacks on drones and fighters, taking turns with drawing their attention while firing EMPs on weapons platforms. And we got out again, in one piece. Marines were dispatched from each ship to board the stations and retrieve that information on Hegemony troop movements and heavier elements in the occupied Cerberus territory, and once that information has been analysed, we’ll be able to use it in the missions to come, as we start taking back territory.

Territory the Empire lost, not the USFP. We’re fighting your war, Adelaide. Granted, it feels right. This is an area of space that’s been home to humans for a long time, on our side. I don’t think we’re doing any more harm, helping to reconquer it, than we would in any other action against alien aggression. But am I missing some information? I don’t have all the history of this war. I feel like I’m still walking around in a fog, and hell’s bells, Adelaide, I don’t like it one bit.

[End log]

[Adam Parra]

Angry Mundy…
Mundy smash!

[Adele Mundy]

//Oh, Parra, you sweet summer child, you’ve never seen Mundy anywhere close to angry.

[Author]

Posts