Log Mundy, 161217-2237

[Adele MundyParticipant]

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 MundyParticipant]

//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. //

[DraecoParticipant]

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

[Adele MundyParticipant]

//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.//

[Author]

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