Log Mundy, 161217-2237

[Adele Mundy]

Personal Log, Lt.Cmdr… I mean, SubKommandant Adele Mundy…

Stardate: 161217-2237

… I think…
Oh, Voiddammit.

Computer, access personal logs since first date of active duty… Computer, what do you mean, passwork required?

(Sound of fist on desk)

Hell’s bells and buckets of blood!

(Computer voice)
Access granted

Oh… well, that seemed to work…

Personal Log, Mid. Adelaide Mundy, ISN Raptor’s Talon, 2nd Flotilla, 4th Hunter Group
Stardate: 101015-2237

Computer, initialise secure recording protocol Mercy Hospital 1.

(Computer voice)
Recording protocol Mercy Hospital 1 in effect.

Recovering in my quarters, after having been dismissed from Sickbay as fit for duty. The explosion at my console, according to Maintenance reports, was an accident. Matsiyan raised an eyebrow at me when the Chief Engineer concluded the report and we were dismissed… I can tell he doesn’t quite believe the accident findings, and he’s been assigned to Engineering on a regular basis, so he should know if anything is amiss.

“Watch your back,” Great-Aunt Adele told me when I left Praetoria for the Academy. “Our family connection might help on a superficial level, but it might stir up old resentments, too. And then there’s…” She didn’t say his name. We don’t say his name any more, not since he betrayed the Imperium. We have disowned him. He is nameless.

I don’t see what gain could be made by eliminating me, given how low I am on the chain of command. For now. But if the rumours that circulated in the Academy about the fastest way to get promotions are even partly true, I’d better be watchful.

More watchful.

Computer, end log and restore environmental settings to standard.

[end log]

Personal Log, Sub. Adelaide Mundy, ISN Raptor’s Talon, 2nd Flotilla , 4th Hunter Group
Stardate: 171015-2237

Computer, initialise secure recording protocol Mercy Hospital 1.

(Computer voice)
Recording protocol Mercy Hospital 1 in effect.

Well of the Furies… so, those are Caltrons! Interesting puzzle, sentient machines that combine – no wonder the Imperium wants to reprogram them, they’d be invaluable in the war to regain our lost territories. And no wonder the Arvonians are driven wild by the thought, we might just as well be hunting space whales; their childish attitude towards machines would be endearing, if it didn’t pose a threat to human existence. So, we do what we must to defend ourselves. The fate of humanity is in our hands.

Admin news: I was on temporary assignment to Talon again, with Intendant Allard in command. He is… unconventional. Still, one may learn much about what not to do; and because he is too lazy to tell the Helm officer what course to set, it gives me, as Science officer, the opportunity to become ever more familiar with the strategic situation.

More admin news: I was promoted to Subaltern. One step at a time.

Computer, end log and restore environmental settings to standard.

[end log]

Personal Log, Sub. Adelaide Mundy, ISN Raptor’s Talon, 2nd Flotilla, 4th Hunter Group
Stardate: 241015-2237

Computer, initialise secure recording protocol Mercy Hospital 1.

(Computer voice)
Recording protocol Mercy Hospital 1 in effect.

This is where I am actually formally entitled to put Talon in my log heading, as I received my permanent assignment as one of her Science officers. She is a beautiful ship, sleek and dangerous as her name. Int. Allard was in command again, and the initial sims went none too smoothly, what with technical problems (is someone on the tech crew trying to make us look incompetent?) and human error causing damage (albeit virtual) to ourselves and to Relentless Pursuit.

That might have been a harbinger of things to come: on a mission to deploy Marines to recapture stations from the Torgoths (Styx drown them!), we had just delivered our contingent when the self-destruct alarm sounded on the station. We barely managed to recover our Marines and take off, when the Kommandant ordered us to change course to assist another ship; and the new course took us within the station’s blast radius as it blew.

All personnel on the bridge made it to the life pods; not everyone on the ship was able to. We waited, listening to the rest of the engagement over comms, and when the pachyderms had been routed, our pods were picked up.

The surgeon said she could remove the scar once I’m properly healed. I don’t know yet whether I’ll take her up on it. It’s a reminder, every time I look in the mirror, of how close we came to death. On the Kommandant’s orders. The specific course we took might have been a mistake on Int. Allard’s part (he gave Helm the bearing, for once); or it might have been the Kommandant’s intention all along. Is Allard that much of a thorn in the Kommandant’s side? Best to keep watch on them both, and try not to get caught in the crossfire.

Computer, end log and restore environmental settings to standard.

[end log]

Personal Log, Sub. Adelaide Mundy, ISN Raptor’s Talon, 2nd Flotilla, 4th Hunter Group
Stardate: 311015-2237

Computer, initialise secure recording protocol Mercy Hospital 1.

(Computer voice)
Recording protocol Mercy Hospital 1 in effect.

Remembrance services for the fallen in the service of the Imperium as the Cerberus campaign draws to a close – a chance to put on dress uniform and watch the power play among the Senior Officers. They were watching each other, too. Was anyone not somber enough? Was here any twitch of a satisfied smile at the mention of a name on the list of the dead?

Then a relatively routine mission escorting an Ambassador to his post. Kommandant Evans was in command of Talon, with Allard as XO; from my station on the Science console, I had a satisfyingly complete view of our surroundings, and of the pirates we destroyed on the way, as they foolishly tried to stop us. Scum of the Black, preying on fellow humans… they deserved every beam and shot we sent their way.

Computer, end log and restore environmental settings to standard.

[end log]

Personal Log, Sub. Adelaide Mundy, ISN Raptor’s Talon, 2nd Flotilla, 4th Hunter Group
Stardate: 71115-2237 to 141115-2237

Computer, initialise secure recording protocol Mercy Hospital 1.

(Computer voice)
Recording protocol Mercy Hospital 1 in effect.

Shore leave. The balmy air of the Praetorian spring, the gentle sound of water lapping on the shore of Nova, the familiar sight of the Emperor’s Tower over the skyline; the comfort of my bed, my rooms, my books… Even though they almost seem on loan now. And everyone was so busy. The company, the lab, everybody’s life continues. I stopped at the Magisterium to say hallo to former colleagues; we had lunch at one of the outdoor cafés on the edge of Praetor Plaza, while Clockwork trimmed the grass and swept the pavements. There were no Seers nearby, yet my colleagues seemed more than usually reluctant to talk about their latest research.

So, the following day I made a short excursion into Neutropolis, to see what the big tech companies might be up to. And that’s a matter for another day.

And the next time I have shore leave and I can go home, I have to find a way to get into the service tunnels. I caught a few whispers, among the people who haunt the less savoury corners of Neutropolis, and I wanted to find out the truth for myself. The tunnels are out of bounds to civilians, of course, they’re reserved for the Clockwork maintenance teams, and access is guarded by Praetorian Police; I thought I might be allowed in, since I’m not a civilian any more, but either the ISN uniform isn’t impressive enough, or my current rank is too low. Or I haven’t found the right people to talk to. Or the right entrance. We shall see.

Computer, end log and restore environmental settings to standard.

[end log]

Personal Log, Sub. Adelaide Mundy, ISN Raptor’s Talon, 2nd Flotilla, 4th Hunter Group
Stardate: 211115-2237

Computer, initialise secure recording protocol Mercy Hospital 1.

(Computer voice)
Recording protocol Mercy Hospital 1 in effect.

There’s nothing that says welcome aboard like a full shift of back-to-back escort missions. Which are necessary, of course, given the recent pirate activities, and the occasional raids by the TSN…

[sounds of an object being slammed down onto a hard surface, chair being pushed back, pacing]

The only way to be sure, the only way, is either to see the body or to wipe out the whole traitorous lot of them…

Both Relentless Pursuit and Gaze of the Basilisk were overwhelmed by pirate ambushes, tractored, their shields shot, and raked with enemy fire. They launched life pods, and Int. Allard flew us in to pick them up, as light and agile as if we were a shuttle. Credit where credit is due, the man can fly.

Computer, end log and restore environmental settings to standard.

[end log]

Personal Log, Sub. Adelaide Mundy, ISN Raptor’s Talon, 2nd Flotilla, 4th Hunter Group
Stardate: 281115-2237

Computer, initialise secure recording protocol Mercy Hospital 1.

(Computer voice)
Recording protocol Mercy Hospital 1 in effect.

It seems Relentless Pursuit was damaged so severely, she can’t be repaired. She’s being replaced by another scout, Elegance of Excision, and her crew was taking her on her first outing, testing systems, and tweaking them so her Kommandant would be happy with the way she runs. Matsiyan was in charge of her engineering crew, so I heard all about it…

I shouldn’t complain, it’s good to have the extra insight into the workings of another ship. Knowledge is power, as they say.

More escort missions this shift, a slow progress to the Arrin Gate to make sure the repair crews didn’t get ambushed. They did, of course, by Well-damned pirates, but they were little more than an annoyance. The rebel ship seemed to come out of nowhere, and we barely made a dent in her shields. Whoever was in charge of her guns was damned good, too: they caught us in a nuke blast, and alarms started blaring, wiring was sparking and burning on the bridge, casualty reports started coming in…

Furies rake the xenophiles, placing a higher value on their alien friends than on human lives! Talon had to limp away, while the rest of the Hunter Group worked together to immobilise and destroy the rebel ship. They wouldn’t surrender, either – they probably know what’s in store for them if they’re brought in to Praetoria: interrogation in secure facilities first, and a public execution once the Praetorian Guard are satisfied there’s nothing more of use to be gained from keeping them alive. A couple of life pods did try to sneak away among the debris by drifting with engines off and no power but life support; but I had operational sensors again, thanks to our Damage Control teams, and I spotted them. We picked them up, and the traitors on board shall be dealt with as they deserve.

[end log]

Personal Log, Sub. Adelaide Mundy, ISN Raptor’s Talon, 2nd Flotilla, 4th Hunter Group
Stardate: 121215-2237

Computer, initialise secure recording protocol Mercy Hospital 1.

(Computer voice)
Recording protocol Mercy Hospital 1 in effect.

Matsiyan was promoted to Sub-Intendant, and immediately started dispatching the Midshipmen all over the Hunter Group for our shift. He’s posted on Elegance of Excision, which is sometimes distracting, but often useful, as I have two perspectives on the Group’s progress.

After training exercises that were uneventful enough to allow some conversation on the bridge, we received a distress call from a civilian transport flotilla. And once we reached them, I was warned by the sharp pain in my head that we were about to encounter Caltrons. And we did. A singularity opened up, and Caltrons emerged.

Thanks to the latest research by the Imperial A.I. labs, our Science officers were able to send the latest data packages to determine whether the Caltrons will respond to our communications. We had mixed success: some of the single units seemed to be affected by our data, others did not respond at all. None of the larger units were affected. I’m talking in general terms here, because my full report is in the Science Log, and there’s no need to duplicate it. The log, of course, will be made available to the A.I. research labs, as they continue their work towards understanding, and ultimately controlling, Caltrons.

That would be a great achievement, of course, and would ensure the security of the Imperium by supplementing our Navy with artificial intelligences we could send into situations where human crews cannot operate; I do hope that our medical science can keep up with the discoveries, though, because ordinary painkillers are absolutely useless against Caltron headaches. Which leads me to suspect that somehow, part of their communication might be psychic, or else that they emit some kind of wavelength that doesn’t affect the muggles.

Perhaps I shouldn’t indulge in speculation, but hell’s bells, this is my personal log. And my security protocol. Which reminds me, it may be time to update it.

Computer, end log and restore environmental settings to standard.

[end log]

Personal Log, Sub. Adelaide Mundy, ISN Raptor’s Talon, 2nd Flotilla, 4th Hunter Group
Stardate: 191215-2237

Computer, initialise secure recording protocol Magisterium.

(Computer voice)
Recording protocol Magisterium in effect.

Computer, stop playback.
Computer, what is the latest secure recording protocol?

(Computer voice)
Most recent secure recording protocol: Seed of Hamidon

Computer, you and I are going to have a quiet little chat. First, let’s change this password…
[pause]

Now, let’s see what we can do about the recording protocol, shall we? Computer, end log.

[end log]

//[to be continued…]

[Adele Mundy]

//I intend Mirror Mundy to be equally mean and suspicious towards everyone, so don’t take it personally when she gets round to talking about you. //

[Draeco]

// wow, how long did writing all that take? Your logs are always fun to read but you outdid yourself with this one!

[Adele Mundy]

//Thanks, I’m glad you like them. I’ve been writing them a bit at a time over the past couple of weeks, to work in parallel with Mundy’s original logs.//

[Adele Mundy]

Personal Log 161217-2237, supplemental

I ought to go back to what happened before, just so you know. Yes, you. Not your computer, I’m not talking to it, it’s a stupid machine and I’m not going to make my life more dangerous by teaching it anything. I’m talking to you, Adelaide. This log is for you, and any logs that follow, until we find a way to go home. I won’t preach, though the Stars Around know I’m sorely tempted; I’ll report, and you’ll know exactly what we’ve done, and why. You could even use the logs as proof it wasn’t you, when the Authorities come asking questions.

They will ask questions, I’m sure of it.

So, housekeeping first: after literal housekeeping of your quarters, I’ve found three bugs. I’m sure you knew they were there, why else would you have the secure recording protocols? I’ll keep using my own, and change the password each shift, because I suspect I haven’t found them all. I’ll change the password back to one of yours when we leave. So, if you’re reading this or listening to me, that’s why it was that easy. I wanted you to have access to these logs.

Back to the beginning of the shift: we arrived on station just in time to hear the news reporting us Missing In Action, and then excitedly announcing that we were back. Now that we’re really missing, but you’re there instead, have they noticed yet? What have they been saying?

Morlock was promoted to Lt. Sr., and appointed as XO on Viper. I’ve been searching your records for reports on Morlock… interesting balancing act.

We started with standard sims, I was XO and Science officer on Sabre, with the Fleet Captain in command, Quinn on Helm, Ironclad in Engineering, Xansta on Comms and Cdt. Phat on Weapons. Matsiyan took Viper, Hall took Horizon, as Cmdr. Aramond was on duty compiling data for our mission to come.

Then we set out on the mission, out into the Poseidon Rift again, with Section Blue’s Excalibur and the supply ship Grant joining us. In our previous forays into the Rift, we had had to rescue a couple of lost research ships; we were now told that one of the things they had been researching was an unusual resonance frequency. By unusual, I mean that each of the four Artefacts resonates on a particular frequency, and we think that’s how the Artefacts might communicate with each other; and now a fifth frequency had been detected, so Section Blue postulated the existence of a fifth Artefact. And we were setting out to find it.

Because we were going to be out in the Rift for an unspecified time, we were taking Grant along to carry extra supplies, and also CIC, to obviate the comms difficulties in the Rift. The Blue frigate would also be carrying special (and classified) equipment, and part of her remit was to escort Grant.

Needless to say, I put in a request to MedBay for medication. Because when dealing with Artefacts, Caltrons are never far. We were also warned that the gravity storms had returned to the Rift after its unnatural calm during our last mission there, so our search for the source of the fifth frequency would need particular watchfulness from all bridge officers.

We kept the same bridge crew on Sabre as we had had in the sim; on Horizon, Cmdr. Hall was in command, Nhaima on Helm, Draeco in Engineering, Agoom on Weapons, and a new cadet, James Brigham, on SciCom. Slate, despite being on medical leave, somehow managed to persuade the MedBay personnel to let her link in to the bridge. On Viper, her new XO, Lt. Sr. Morlock, took Command while Matsiyan transferred to Grant to join Aramond in CIC; Beaumont was on Helm, Vaj on Science, Xiph on Weapons, Maxwell in Engineering. On Excalibur, our two resident Hands of Blue, Espiar Azul and Frederick Autumn, took their places beside Vimes in Command, Graybeard in Engineering, Donovan on SciCom, Act. Ens. Ben on Helm, and Cdt. Spok on Weapons.

I’m listing them all so that I remember, when it’s time for awards nominations. Because dammit, this is the stuff of science fiction.

We were warned we’d find unstable conditions, and we did: we came through the Gate from Arietis into Poseidon 1 almost straight into a singularity. Thanks to prompt responses from Quinn and Ironclad, we warped out with no damage, though we chewed through energy to do so.

Pirates and gravitational eddies were the main dangers in that sector, but nothing out of the ordinary. We transitioned to Sector 2, and Excalibur shared intel that the resonance we were looking for had been detected coreward of Sector 2: meaning, in unmapped territory.

The image I saw as we transitioned into the sector was of massed Caltrons and asteroids in an unnaturally orderly spiral… then something affected the sensors, and I only had a partial image on my screen, still consistent with the spiral arrangement. The Caltrons were inactive, and we kept our distance, speculating that they might be triggered into action by proximity. I could read something in the centre of the spiral, but we had to work our way closer to be able to recognise a Hegemony transport.

We surmised the Kraliens were seeking the Artefact; as for how they had reached the centre of the formation without disturbing the Caltrons, we had seen cases where Caltrons had not attacked Kraliens, and speculated on the possibility that in the centuries of interaction with the Artefact they kept in their Oracle temple, the Kraliens had developed some form of communication that kept the Caltrons quiescent.

As we flew closer, we also detected something that registered as a USFP docking port at the centre… that’s much more difficult to explain. It also became clear that the Kraliens had gained access to the artefact and set up their base next to it, guarded by a science vessel and escorts.

Then one Caltron Primary attacked a nearby Senary: Section Blue had transmitted a command interference signal, which appeared to be successful. So we moved forward towards the base, and the Caltrons started waking up and turning towards us. Really, that’s what it felt like. They were coming online at our approach, turning, recognising us as threats. We engaged, and there was no time for speculation, just shield frequencies and damage reports.

And an injection of meds.

A few of the Primaries changed Status to friendly as Excalibur kept transmitting, but not enough. We had our work cut out with the combining Caltrons, and the Kraliens that jumped into the sector to defend the Artefact.

Eventually, Excalibur docked with the central base and the Artefact, dropped science teams on board, and switched the transponder frequency somehow. They managed to interface with the Artefact, disabled it, and met with increasing success in controlling the nearby Caltrons; meanwhile, some Zolmari ships entered the sector and the battle.

As the techs on the base continued to work to extend their control over the Caltrons and the Artefact, they reported they could keep it quiescent so that we could relocate it, as long as the sector was freed from outside interference. Meaning, that we had to keep new waves of hostile Kraliens away, and do that without docking at the station to refuel or resupply, in order not to disrupt the delicate operations in progress there.

There was a massive energy surge from the Artefact area. We cleared the final Kralien resistance, directed the Zolmari ships away, and the sector was finally under our control.

Back to Promethean… We were wrung out. I needed sleep, and probably detox, after that dose of meds. We got a debrief instead. ONI were energised by our success, finally seeing results after their continuing work. They had synced with the fifth Artefact’s systems, and while not saying anything actually meaningful, they declared themselves optimistic.

But there’s always a but: expectation of a Kralien invasion, because after all, that was at least two sacred Artefacts we had taken directly from them. I could muse about religion and the accumulation of spiritual and temporal authority, and how it did the Holy Roman Empire no good, but where would that get us?

The prospect of a Kralien attack made Section Blue especially eager to learn how to use the Artefact. They determined that conditions in the Rift had contributed to the success of their attempts so far, so they postulated that if all five Artefacts were to be brought into the Rift and placed in proximity to each other, they might establish stable communications, and could then be used… for what, exactly, Section Blue wouldn’t say.

What could possibly go wrong? Well, we know now.

Therefore, our next mission was to be to provide security overwatch for Section Blue and Directorate 13 (wheels within wheels: a front for Section Blue and other Naval security ops – does all this seem terribly familiar to you?). The prospect of some decisive event occurring when all five Artefacts were brought together lured Section Blue into thinking we might have an instrument that would allow us to decisively turn the tide against the Hegemony invasion. A decisive event definitely happened, just not the one they were expecting.

We took the same ships, (Aramond on Grant again), and were warned to look out for Caltrons and Kraliens – needless to say, nobody was surprised.

Because Directorate 13 had deemed Poseidon Sect. 4 the ideal place for the attempt, we headed Rimward from the Gate – we had to navigate some strong gravitational eddies, and search for a relatively stable area, preferably with singularities moving away from it, so that the Artefacts could be deployed. Large Kralien fleets, and a few Caltrons, attempted to interfere, and we fought them while Artefact 1 was placed in position.

Oh, yes, and I took more intravenous meds, dammit. So if I’m not entirely myself, I blame… oh, wait, I’m not, am I? Dammit. But you know exactly how I feel.

Do you know who I am yet? Have you found out about Paragon? I’m sorry for you if it came as a shock… or do you even care? I want to contact your family, I want to see them all, talk to them, go home – but we’re holding comms silence for now, and even when we determine we can contact the Naval authorities, what can I say? I’m glad you’re not dead? I’m glad the planet isn’t a burnt out husk? I’m glad my niece is going to grow up? They’d think I was mad; and I have no desire to try out the facilities in Mercy Hospital, from what research I’ve been able to do on the place. Hell’s bells, Adelaide, what kind of doctors do that to patients? Does it seem normal to you?

Hell’s Bells, by the way, should actually be Hell’s Belles. It sounds the same, but the difference is crucial. They were a group of Hellions Mita and I made up when we were children: all girls, they developed superpowers, beat up their boyfriends, and left for the Rogue Isles to form their own supervillain group. We had dolls, you see, and this seemed the best use for them. We designed and replicated costumes for them, and we had avatars for them on our games console, so we could program them into scenarios. We even made a supervillain lair for them, decorated with skulls and bat-winged statues and spooky stuff. There was Belle St. Trinian, whose favourite weapon was a hockey stick, and Belle Lacrosse (no need to guess), and Bow Belle (trick arrows), and… well, we were children, you can’t expect maturity and originality. Anyway, the team’s battlecry was “Hell’s Belles and Buckets of Blood!” which was about the most evil thing we could think of at the time. So it was our secret swearword, for when we really meant business. And that explains how I stumbled onto your password. The question remains, what made you choose to set it?

Back to the Rift: we fought and refuelled, fought and refuelled, as more Kraliens and Caltrons tried to stop us, but one by one the Artefacts were being deployed; singularities started closing in on them, seemingly unaffected by the gravity waves; and on my Science console I started getting odd readings, as the Command vessels moved in to set the final Artefact in place.

The gravity waves decreased and stabilised; the singularities stopped drifting through the sector; everything was unnaturally calm.

Matsiyan was seeing… I’m not sure, actually, if there was a demarcation line between what was reaching my brain through his, or through my own optic nerves. I think there were more colours than the human eye can perceive; objects were at once crystalline and nebulous, not in the sense of unfocused, because the edges and surfaces of things were preternaturally sharp, but in the sense that I thought I could see into the insides of them. It was the opposite of a Caltron headache, a sense of lightness, clearness, as if I was about to see further and deeper into the universe

Then all systems failed. The ship went dark, and silent, except for the human voices. The same happened on Viper; the same, I’ve heard since then, happened on every ship. It was a brief eternity. Then systems rebooted, life support was functional, comms were operational, we were able to check that every ship was there, though nothing was quite the same as it had been. I expect you went through something similar: structural changes to the vessels, changes to uniforms, even on our consoles, inability to establish our position with any certainty, inability to make comms contact outside our Division. Or Hunter Group.

Morlock’s uniform has a symbol on it that can’t be removed, not rank… and he’s the only non-human bridge officer in the Division at present. From what I find in your logs, that’s no coincidence. Really, Adelaide? Really?

I said I wouldn’t preach. I shan’t.

I look in the mirror, and there’s a scar on my… your face. I’ve read how you got it. I feel so tempted to go to MedBay, when the emergency abates, and ask Doc to grow new skin. I don’t know if that’s ethical. That’s really the least of our problems at the moment. It can wait.

Dammit, I could do with a cool cup of Hjocoa… and there’s none on Grant. If there’s no Hjocoa to be had on the first station we dock at, I shall be profoundly disappointed in your universe. No amount of Zeppelins can possibly make up for Hjocoa.

[end log]

[Author]

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