Forums » Role Playing
Entry 12
May 4, 4433
En Route to Fort Betheshee, Betheshee O-6
The latest news from Yukinari came both as a relief and as a shock to me. More so a shock. Granted, it was good to know he was not on the frontier anymore, but the fact that he was under attack by the Serco almost made me faint.
I, for all intents and purposes, led them to him. If I had known it would end like this, I would never have accepted that offer from Martialis and the Triumvirate. I can only assume a large sum of credits will be added to my account and that I will be given a medal of service for my deeds. Sickening. Absolutely sickening.
Yuki, it is unfair not to say that you love me after all this time that I have spent looking for you. Have I been wasting my time? I'd rather you die having told me one way or another than you be alive and not say a word.
Know this, Yukinari. I will find you, wherever you are, no matter what the Serco do to you. I will plead with them until I have you safe in my arms, even if all I get back is a coffin.
May 4, 4433
En Route to Fort Betheshee, Betheshee O-6
The latest news from Yukinari came both as a relief and as a shock to me. More so a shock. Granted, it was good to know he was not on the frontier anymore, but the fact that he was under attack by the Serco almost made me faint.
I, for all intents and purposes, led them to him. If I had known it would end like this, I would never have accepted that offer from Martialis and the Triumvirate. I can only assume a large sum of credits will be added to my account and that I will be given a medal of service for my deeds. Sickening. Absolutely sickening.
Yuki, it is unfair not to say that you love me after all this time that I have spent looking for you. Have I been wasting my time? I'd rather you die having told me one way or another than you be alive and not say a word.
Know this, Yukinari. I will find you, wherever you are, no matter what the Serco do to you. I will plead with them until I have you safe in my arms, even if all I get back is a coffin.
Entry 13
May 5, 4433
Fort Betheshee, Betheshee O-6
As I set the Maizuru down in the hangar, I noticed a pair of Serco warriors escorting an officer. The officer had an archaic message transport cylinder in his hand. Eyeing him and his rather bulky escort, I made my post-flight check as slow as possible, attempting to evade the inevitable.
I slowly stepped out of the hatch and looked up at the officer as my foot hit the ground. He seemed to hesitate for a second -- what for, I don't know -- and then began to approach me. As he started to come closer, I found myself frozen in place out of fear.
"You are Miharu Sena Kanaka, are you not?"
I nodded slowly, now not removing my eyes from the floor.
"This is for you."
I felt the cylinder shoved into my hand. I grasped it tightly and held in the tears that were beginning to flow as I heard the sound of the officer's boots walking away across the hangar floor. I turned and went back into the Maizuru, where I opened the cylinder in the privacy of my small but comfortable bedroom -- I had a small section of the cargo bay converted into a living space for long trips -- and read the letter inside.
Miharu Sena Kanaka,
The Serco Triumvirate would like to thank you for your cooperation in the apprehension of the criminal Yukinari Sasaki. His theft of several weeks' worth of purified Xithricite will not go unpunished.
We understand you and he were previously in a relationship together, and that this is why you originally went out searching for him. However, his actions have resulted in the loss of a large amount of purified Xithricite as well as the lives of over 15 Serco personnel including that of Lieutenant Mikgo Sebas. We will not allow him to continue as he has previously. To let him go with you, even bound to your side by a chain, would be taking too much of a chance, and we cannot do that.
As a token of our gratitude, you have been awarded the Medal of Civilian Intelligence, and five hundred thousand credits (500000) has been transferred to your account.
Below that were the three handwritten signatures of the Triumvirate. I couldn't do anything but weep at this point. What had I done to deserve this?
I don't want your money. I want Yukinari back. And if I have to go to the Akanese to get him back, so be it.
May 5, 4433
Fort Betheshee, Betheshee O-6
As I set the Maizuru down in the hangar, I noticed a pair of Serco warriors escorting an officer. The officer had an archaic message transport cylinder in his hand. Eyeing him and his rather bulky escort, I made my post-flight check as slow as possible, attempting to evade the inevitable.
I slowly stepped out of the hatch and looked up at the officer as my foot hit the ground. He seemed to hesitate for a second -- what for, I don't know -- and then began to approach me. As he started to come closer, I found myself frozen in place out of fear.
"You are Miharu Sena Kanaka, are you not?"
I nodded slowly, now not removing my eyes from the floor.
"This is for you."
I felt the cylinder shoved into my hand. I grasped it tightly and held in the tears that were beginning to flow as I heard the sound of the officer's boots walking away across the hangar floor. I turned and went back into the Maizuru, where I opened the cylinder in the privacy of my small but comfortable bedroom -- I had a small section of the cargo bay converted into a living space for long trips -- and read the letter inside.
Miharu Sena Kanaka,
The Serco Triumvirate would like to thank you for your cooperation in the apprehension of the criminal Yukinari Sasaki. His theft of several weeks' worth of purified Xithricite will not go unpunished.
We understand you and he were previously in a relationship together, and that this is why you originally went out searching for him. However, his actions have resulted in the loss of a large amount of purified Xithricite as well as the lives of over 15 Serco personnel including that of Lieutenant Mikgo Sebas. We will not allow him to continue as he has previously. To let him go with you, even bound to your side by a chain, would be taking too much of a chance, and we cannot do that.
As a token of our gratitude, you have been awarded the Medal of Civilian Intelligence, and five hundred thousand credits (500000) has been transferred to your account.
Below that were the three handwritten signatures of the Triumvirate. I couldn't do anything but weep at this point. What had I done to deserve this?
I don't want your money. I want Yukinari back. And if I have to go to the Akanese to get him back, so be it.
Entry 14
May 7, 4433
Jallik Watch, Jallik E-15
Talk about coincidences... I ran into a young man about my age that looked exactly like Yukinari yesterday. We had a nice chat, but a few things kind of puzzled me... like his apparent lack of memory coupled with the three implant sockets in his neck, one of which was empty.
I think Yukinari mentioned in his last transmission something about his personal implants... one contained information about the wormhole-enlarger device, one piloting techniques and wormhole physics, and the third he thought was his personal memories. Could it be more than a coincidence that Drift (the young man) looks exactly like Yukinari? Could the Serco have taken out one of his chips and let him loose, not realizing they had removed the wrong one?
I cannot say for sure, but I will talk to the Serco lab technicians; maybe I can turn up something about a third chip. In the meantime, I'm going to continue talking to Drift even though he says he will forget who I am each new day I come to speak to him.
May 7, 4433
Jallik Watch, Jallik E-15
Talk about coincidences... I ran into a young man about my age that looked exactly like Yukinari yesterday. We had a nice chat, but a few things kind of puzzled me... like his apparent lack of memory coupled with the three implant sockets in his neck, one of which was empty.
I think Yukinari mentioned in his last transmission something about his personal implants... one contained information about the wormhole-enlarger device, one piloting techniques and wormhole physics, and the third he thought was his personal memories. Could it be more than a coincidence that Drift (the young man) looks exactly like Yukinari? Could the Serco have taken out one of his chips and let him loose, not realizing they had removed the wrong one?
I cannot say for sure, but I will talk to the Serco lab technicians; maybe I can turn up something about a third chip. In the meantime, I'm going to continue talking to Drift even though he says he will forget who I am each new day I come to speak to him.
Story will be delayed for a while.
But I must know more!!!
;)
;)
Entry 15
June 11, 4433
Jallik Watch, Jallik E-15
I apologize to those of you who do actually read these logs for my month-long absence. Last time I was on Serco Prime, I must have caught a bug or something--it's completely unlike anything that has been seen in Itani space, so I'm still being treated. I've been cleared as non-contagious, so I'm allowed to wander the station when I'm not supposed to be asleep in the hospital wing. They don't hold too tightly to that so I'm able to stay out pretty late. As long as I'm back before 0600... ;)
Today would have been more special for me had I had Yukinari here to share it with me. Oh well. I'll go check the mail office; maybe my family sent me something. Turning eighteen sure sucks when your best friend isn't around. Well, I'm gonna go take another walk around the station and see what the MO has for me...
... and mail I did get. Lots of crap stuff--you know, general stuff that shouldn't see the light of day but does because the UIT Commerce Board has their claws in the Senate. Notable stuff included: another letter from the Serco Triumvirate, this time signed by the council, again thanking me for my "help"; a notice from the IDC that it was again time for me to report for Border Duty; and a package from home. The package from home contained a short note from my sister and a wrapped object.
Miharu--
I know life has been hard on you these past few months; I just want you to understand that we're all thinking about you here at home--and that even if we would feel better if you were here with us, and not out and about wandering the universe, that what you are doing is best for you. I know you don't have much to celebrate this year on your birthday, but at least celebrate your family, okay?
I bought you this to go with that pair of earrings your boyfriend bought you last year. It cost me a pretty penny, so don't go and lose it, okay, Mih?
Maharu
PS: What is a penny anyway?
Woah. Just... wow. After unwrapping the package, I found a necklace made of various purified rare ores, much like the earrings I'm currently wearing. Wow... she must have spent... four or five thousand credits on this thing. Not much by my bank account, but it's still a lot for Maharu.
I passed the room Drift is supposed to be staying in when he gets recloned on my way back to my room. I haven't seen him, nor has he come to visit. I gave the doctors those files for him to read. Files that specifically had to do with Yukinari's history. I included photos.
Today is a special day, even if it's not special to me personally. It's special to the entire Itani nation. Today is the 1772nd anniversary of the great Exodus of the Ark from Terra II. The 1772nd anniversary of the start of a long mission for peace. And I wait for the year that the success of that mission is something that we as a people, no, as a species, are able to celebrate.
June 11, 4433
Jallik Watch, Jallik E-15
I apologize to those of you who do actually read these logs for my month-long absence. Last time I was on Serco Prime, I must have caught a bug or something--it's completely unlike anything that has been seen in Itani space, so I'm still being treated. I've been cleared as non-contagious, so I'm allowed to wander the station when I'm not supposed to be asleep in the hospital wing. They don't hold too tightly to that so I'm able to stay out pretty late. As long as I'm back before 0600... ;)
Today would have been more special for me had I had Yukinari here to share it with me. Oh well. I'll go check the mail office; maybe my family sent me something. Turning eighteen sure sucks when your best friend isn't around. Well, I'm gonna go take another walk around the station and see what the MO has for me...
... and mail I did get. Lots of crap stuff--you know, general stuff that shouldn't see the light of day but does because the UIT Commerce Board has their claws in the Senate. Notable stuff included: another letter from the Serco Triumvirate, this time signed by the council, again thanking me for my "help"; a notice from the IDC that it was again time for me to report for Border Duty; and a package from home. The package from home contained a short note from my sister and a wrapped object.
Miharu--
I know life has been hard on you these past few months; I just want you to understand that we're all thinking about you here at home--and that even if we would feel better if you were here with us, and not out and about wandering the universe, that what you are doing is best for you. I know you don't have much to celebrate this year on your birthday, but at least celebrate your family, okay?
I bought you this to go with that pair of earrings your boyfriend bought you last year. It cost me a pretty penny, so don't go and lose it, okay, Mih?
Maharu
PS: What is a penny anyway?
Woah. Just... wow. After unwrapping the package, I found a necklace made of various purified rare ores, much like the earrings I'm currently wearing. Wow... she must have spent... four or five thousand credits on this thing. Not much by my bank account, but it's still a lot for Maharu.
I passed the room Drift is supposed to be staying in when he gets recloned on my way back to my room. I haven't seen him, nor has he come to visit. I gave the doctors those files for him to read. Files that specifically had to do with Yukinari's history. I included photos.
Today is a special day, even if it's not special to me personally. It's special to the entire Itani nation. Today is the 1772nd anniversary of the great Exodus of the Ark from Terra II. The 1772nd anniversary of the start of a long mission for peace. And I wait for the year that the success of that mission is something that we as a people, no, as a species, are able to celebrate.
Entry 16
June 20, 4433
Remley Orbital, Latos N-15
I went back to Jallik briefly a few days ago intent on the acquisition of an empty copy of one of the chips that Drift (I'm completely certain that he's Yukinari) uses--apparently the medlabs in Jallik have been making them for him as well.
It took a few hours and a lot of holos, but I did eventually get what I came for. I've been gazing absentmindedly at the chip since I left Jallik, wondering how so much data could fit into a chip half the size of my little finger. I tried using the interface I had been given by the medlabs to test moving data to and from the chip; it worked perfectly.
So here I am now, idly listening to the CommNet (sometimes participating in the chatter) and worrying about what I'm going to do next. I think I'll let a random number picker decide...
June 20, 4433
Remley Orbital, Latos N-15
I went back to Jallik briefly a few days ago intent on the acquisition of an empty copy of one of the chips that Drift (I'm completely certain that he's Yukinari) uses--apparently the medlabs in Jallik have been making them for him as well.
It took a few hours and a lot of holos, but I did eventually get what I came for. I've been gazing absentmindedly at the chip since I left Jallik, wondering how so much data could fit into a chip half the size of my little finger. I tried using the interface I had been given by the medlabs to test moving data to and from the chip; it worked perfectly.
So here I am now, idly listening to the CommNet (sometimes participating in the chatter) and worrying about what I'm going to do next. I think I'll let a random number picker decide...
Entry 17
July 2, 4433
Siren's Call, Eo
Well, I have the data that I was looking for. How I got it... not exactly smart to tell precisely what I did on a public forum, given what I did--let's just say I had to "persuade" a mainframe or two into getting it for me.
I got it in the end--and I've been slowly working my way back to Jallik since then. I'm beginning to get worried about Drift... I haven't heard from him in several weeks, and the medlabs still refuse to tell me what he's been doing for them. I can only assume he's working for them, but judging from logs of his that I have seen... he's more likely to be working for them than any other group.
I did try to examine the data within the chip, but without much success; it had been heavily encrypted and my ship's computer wasn't up for the job. Hopefully Drift will be able to deal with it... if not, I can send it to the people at IA who do this for a living.
July 2, 4433
Siren's Call, Eo
Well, I have the data that I was looking for. How I got it... not exactly smart to tell precisely what I did on a public forum, given what I did--let's just say I had to "persuade" a mainframe or two into getting it for me.
I got it in the end--and I've been slowly working my way back to Jallik since then. I'm beginning to get worried about Drift... I haven't heard from him in several weeks, and the medlabs still refuse to tell me what he's been doing for them. I can only assume he's working for them, but judging from logs of his that I have seen... he's more likely to be working for them than any other group.
I did try to examine the data within the chip, but without much success; it had been heavily encrypted and my ship's computer wasn't up for the job. Hopefully Drift will be able to deal with it... if not, I can send it to the people at IA who do this for a living.
MORE =D Interising Story Celkan =D
Entry 18
July 12, 4433
Jallik Watch, Jallik E-15
I ended up giving the IA a copy of the chip a few days ago. Apparently, the person who would be doing the decrypting has gone on vacation, and a new person stepped in and took over the task. Borb, a former Serco now turned renegade, has been most helpful in this endeavor. While our first attempt with the IA supercomputer Deep Blue ended mostly in failure (we didn't get the whole thing decrypted, and what audio/visual parts were done were missing various other components) and Borb took the chip to the BLAK's counterpart supercomputer, whose nickname I am not aware of.
From what I can tell (I have the chip back now), that attempt managed to finish the job off. I dropped off a copy of Borb's results with the Medlabs with instructions for them to convert the data back into the format that Drift uses from the more easily viewable VR format. I, in the mean time, have been spending the evening browsing through my copy of the data; I've been mostly sticking with the parts that are after Yukinari and I met, but I took a few peeks at times from near the beginning of the file and came up with nothing I could understand. I think Yukinari would have to explain it to me before I would even have a chance at understanding that section.
Anyway, I should be heading back to the Medlabs; they said they would be done by now. I'll write more when I see the final results.
July 12, 4433
Jallik Watch, Jallik E-15
I ended up giving the IA a copy of the chip a few days ago. Apparently, the person who would be doing the decrypting has gone on vacation, and a new person stepped in and took over the task. Borb, a former Serco now turned renegade, has been most helpful in this endeavor. While our first attempt with the IA supercomputer Deep Blue ended mostly in failure (we didn't get the whole thing decrypted, and what audio/visual parts were done were missing various other components) and Borb took the chip to the BLAK's counterpart supercomputer, whose nickname I am not aware of.
From what I can tell (I have the chip back now), that attempt managed to finish the job off. I dropped off a copy of Borb's results with the Medlabs with instructions for them to convert the data back into the format that Drift uses from the more easily viewable VR format. I, in the mean time, have been spending the evening browsing through my copy of the data; I've been mostly sticking with the parts that are after Yukinari and I met, but I took a few peeks at times from near the beginning of the file and came up with nothing I could understand. I think Yukinari would have to explain it to me before I would even have a chance at understanding that section.
Anyway, I should be heading back to the Medlabs; they said they would be done by now. I'll write more when I see the final results.
FINALLY I read it all.
/me leans back in his chair and grins. My good deed for the day he thinks to him self.
Entry 19
July 29, 4433
Jallik Watch, Jallik E-15
Medlabs did successfully and completely convert the data to the format used by Drift/Yukinari about a week ago, but I didn't find him until late last night.
Needless to say, he acted like a stuck-up kid of four years. In the slot where the data I spent hours finding and getting decrypted and converted, he's stuck an AI that he says he's known since he was little--and lost before his memory blanks out.
He was extremely short with me, but I did manage to get him to take the money to pay for an operation to add another slot for my chip.
I figure writing about the conversation isn't going to help my mood much, so if people are curious, they can ask me personally if they care. I may end up writing about it in more detail in another entry or by editing this one.
Scratch him being short... he was downright rude. He can't remember who I am, but he can't guess my feelings from my actions? I think Grey (his new AI friend) is doing something to him to make him like this. Hell, he said no when I asked him for a hug. I can't think of anyone who would say that. I'm tired of this, Yukinari. You're getting your memory back even if it's the last thing I ever do.
July 29, 4433
Jallik Watch, Jallik E-15
Medlabs did successfully and completely convert the data to the format used by Drift/Yukinari about a week ago, but I didn't find him until late last night.
Needless to say, he acted like a stuck-up kid of four years. In the slot where the data I spent hours finding and getting decrypted and converted, he's stuck an AI that he says he's known since he was little--and lost before his memory blanks out.
He was extremely short with me, but I did manage to get him to take the money to pay for an operation to add another slot for my chip.
I figure writing about the conversation isn't going to help my mood much, so if people are curious, they can ask me personally if they care. I may end up writing about it in more detail in another entry or by editing this one.
Scratch him being short... he was downright rude. He can't remember who I am, but he can't guess my feelings from my actions? I think Grey (his new AI friend) is doing something to him to make him like this. Hell, he said no when I asked him for a hug. I can't think of anyone who would say that. I'm tired of this, Yukinari. You're getting your memory back even if it's the last thing I ever do.
Entry 20
August 12, 4433
Esta Outpost, Eo L-4
Well, it's been two weeks and I've neither heard nor seen anything from Drift. I can only hope that the operation occurred as well as occurred flawlessly.
I've kept myself amused, though--I've spent the past several days going around known space prospecting for the various factions, and two days ago I was awarded the status of "Master Prospector". Not much, but it does allow me to buy a more advanced scanner and a much better mining beam in the outfitters.
It has been discovered that the Hive has been building up Bastions in Sedina with the intent to protect a hidden Leviathan's Stronghold. I for one will attempt to stay far away from the Stronghold unless I am scouting for one of the many groups that is intending to launch suicide missions against these foul creature--I will have no part in the actual attack. Far too many people have died already against these things, and I do not intend to be added to the list.
Well, I guess I should head over to Eo... I'm in the area, family would be extremely angry if they knew I had been in the area and didn't visit...
... and believe me, they find out.
... somehow.
August 12, 4433
Esta Outpost, Eo L-4
Well, it's been two weeks and I've neither heard nor seen anything from Drift. I can only hope that the operation occurred as well as occurred flawlessly.
I've kept myself amused, though--I've spent the past several days going around known space prospecting for the various factions, and two days ago I was awarded the status of "Master Prospector". Not much, but it does allow me to buy a more advanced scanner and a much better mining beam in the outfitters.
It has been discovered that the Hive has been building up Bastions in Sedina with the intent to protect a hidden Leviathan's Stronghold. I for one will attempt to stay far away from the Stronghold unless I am scouting for one of the many groups that is intending to launch suicide missions against these foul creature--I will have no part in the actual attack. Far too many people have died already against these things, and I do not intend to be added to the list.
Well, I guess I should head over to Eo... I'm in the area, family would be extremely angry if they knew I had been in the area and didn't visit...
... and believe me, they find out.
... somehow.
Entry 21
August 15, 4433
Pyronis Command, Pyronis D-13
I finally got away from home. My family always spends a good two hours of every day I'm there trying to convince me to hang up my flightsuit and stay with them at home. They know it's not going to work, so they waste my time and try anyway. They even went so far this time as to follow me to my ship.
I don't hate them, I really don't, but the only one there I can actually hold respect for is Maharu. She seems to understand now what I'm going through and why I'm doing what I'm doing. If you're listening, Maharu, I apologize for what I said several months back. I really am truly sorry. I just wish that you could agree to come out here with me; it's becoming rather lonely...
I haven't heard from Drift or the Medlabs in Jallik yet, so I'm assuming that the operation hasn't occurred yet. I guess Fortune doesn't have such good luck herself.
Actually, I might as well talk about that... I have nothing else to talk about at this point, and I always try to make a habit of making these entries more than 5 minutes long. I guess I've become well-known over CommNet. Hard not to when CommNet spans the entirety of Known Space, but hey, what can you do? I really don't understand how it was started, but apparently a few Serco pilots, the leader of the troupe named Zoras Ock, decided it was in any one person's better interest if they were on my good side, and gave me the nickname "Fortune" as a result. I don't know how or why they came to that conclusion--I assume some people I may have yelled at or argued with must have met some sticky end or something--and I certainly wasn't looking for a nickname, but it seems to have stuck. Seems people are now joking about "one's status with Fortune" in a reference to my personal opinion of them. Well, I'll say here that I think it's a bunch of nonsense, but if the Serco and others want to believe my opinion of other pilots figures into said pilots' destiny, let them. I really don't think... oh... wait. Hold on. I'm getting a message. Pause recording.
*A few moments of silence*
Continue recording.
I think it utterly ironic that I should be talking about my new nickname and its connection to people's destinies when I should recieve a message that informs me of the deaths and disappearences of several people I admire above all others. I have just been informed that a large explosion in BLAK's headquarters has resulted in the deaths of Alamar, Holden Caulfield, Shape, a pilot whose callsign was tumblemonster (I remembered his name as I had mentored him many months ago in various flight techniques), and most disturbingly, Borb. The largest fragment of any of them that has been found was a finger--the rest being smaller fragments, still large enough to determine a DNA match. The rest of the Lance is missing, and I have not heard from any of them. So far, the evidence points towards sabotage, but a culprit has not been announced yet.
I however, have my suspicions, and will head to Odia M-14 as soon as I am able.
August 15, 4433
Pyronis Command, Pyronis D-13
I finally got away from home. My family always spends a good two hours of every day I'm there trying to convince me to hang up my flightsuit and stay with them at home. They know it's not going to work, so they waste my time and try anyway. They even went so far this time as to follow me to my ship.
I don't hate them, I really don't, but the only one there I can actually hold respect for is Maharu. She seems to understand now what I'm going through and why I'm doing what I'm doing. If you're listening, Maharu, I apologize for what I said several months back. I really am truly sorry. I just wish that you could agree to come out here with me; it's becoming rather lonely...
I haven't heard from Drift or the Medlabs in Jallik yet, so I'm assuming that the operation hasn't occurred yet. I guess Fortune doesn't have such good luck herself.
Actually, I might as well talk about that... I have nothing else to talk about at this point, and I always try to make a habit of making these entries more than 5 minutes long. I guess I've become well-known over CommNet. Hard not to when CommNet spans the entirety of Known Space, but hey, what can you do? I really don't understand how it was started, but apparently a few Serco pilots, the leader of the troupe named Zoras Ock, decided it was in any one person's better interest if they were on my good side, and gave me the nickname "Fortune" as a result. I don't know how or why they came to that conclusion--I assume some people I may have yelled at or argued with must have met some sticky end or something--and I certainly wasn't looking for a nickname, but it seems to have stuck. Seems people are now joking about "one's status with Fortune" in a reference to my personal opinion of them. Well, I'll say here that I think it's a bunch of nonsense, but if the Serco and others want to believe my opinion of other pilots figures into said pilots' destiny, let them. I really don't think... oh... wait. Hold on. I'm getting a message. Pause recording.
*A few moments of silence*
Continue recording.
I think it utterly ironic that I should be talking about my new nickname and its connection to people's destinies when I should recieve a message that informs me of the deaths and disappearences of several people I admire above all others. I have just been informed that a large explosion in BLAK's headquarters has resulted in the deaths of Alamar, Holden Caulfield, Shape, a pilot whose callsign was tumblemonster (I remembered his name as I had mentored him many months ago in various flight techniques), and most disturbingly, Borb. The largest fragment of any of them that has been found was a finger--the rest being smaller fragments, still large enough to determine a DNA match. The rest of the Lance is missing, and I have not heard from any of them. So far, the evidence points towards sabotage, but a culprit has not been announced yet.
I however, have my suspicions, and will head to Odia M-14 as soon as I am able.
Entry 22
August 15, 4433
TPG Headquarters, Dau K-10
I hate it when I'm right in times like this, and my suspicions were spot on the credstick. Someone had sabotaged the BLAK headquarters with a jury-rigged bomb--specially made from a jackhammer warhead arming device and a fully loaded proximity mine launcher. The arming device was not from Corvus space, but from a UIT station in Dau, and the mine fragments... they were from an Ineubis station in Bractus. This, according to the massive supercomputer belonging to the Lance fondly nicknamed "Hive" (I got in on Borb's login--he had kindly left his estate to me, it seems, which apparently included a BLAK Hive login), left only one possible culprit.
I was angry. Angrier than I had ever been in my life. I had known this particular person for a while, and yes, I had disliked that person, but I had never thought them capable of this. I should stop here for the evening. I have a funeral to prepare.
August 15, 4433
TPG Headquarters, Dau K-10
I hate it when I'm right in times like this, and my suspicions were spot on the credstick. Someone had sabotaged the BLAK headquarters with a jury-rigged bomb--specially made from a jackhammer warhead arming device and a fully loaded proximity mine launcher. The arming device was not from Corvus space, but from a UIT station in Dau, and the mine fragments... they were from an Ineubis station in Bractus. This, according to the massive supercomputer belonging to the Lance fondly nicknamed "Hive" (I got in on Borb's login--he had kindly left his estate to me, it seems, which apparently included a BLAK Hive login), left only one possible culprit.
I was angry. Angrier than I had ever been in my life. I had known this particular person for a while, and yes, I had disliked that person, but I had never thought them capable of this. I should stop here for the evening. I have a funeral to prepare.
Entry 23
August 16, 4433
Dau Senate, Dau L-10
The funeral went well, and appears to have continued for a good while after I left. Many people attended from all over known space, and I thank them for it.
I learned this morning what had happened to Borb. He had indeed died, but not in the explosion on Corvus Hold. He had sacrificed himself to destroy the current leading council of the Order of Akan. The others... I do not yet know. I have seen and talked to Martin and chatted with Isa, but I've not heard anything about the rest of them.
The universe is changing. Many of us can feel it. The hive drones have set themselves loose in Sedina, and are beginning to wreak havoc on the mining economy there.
I look out at the stars now, sitting here in my dark grey Guardian Vulture, wearing my new black and grey flightsuit, my obsidian helmet in my lap. What now? I know not. Time will tell.
Until then, warriors... look for me in grey.
August 16, 4433
Dau Senate, Dau L-10
The funeral went well, and appears to have continued for a good while after I left. Many people attended from all over known space, and I thank them for it.
I learned this morning what had happened to Borb. He had indeed died, but not in the explosion on Corvus Hold. He had sacrificed himself to destroy the current leading council of the Order of Akan. The others... I do not yet know. I have seen and talked to Martin and chatted with Isa, but I've not heard anything about the rest of them.
The universe is changing. Many of us can feel it. The hive drones have set themselves loose in Sedina, and are beginning to wreak havoc on the mining economy there.
I look out at the stars now, sitting here in my dark grey Guardian Vulture, wearing my new black and grey flightsuit, my obsidian helmet in my lap. What now? I know not. Time will tell.
Until then, warriors... look for me in grey.
Entry 24
August 21, 4433
Corvus Hold, Odia M-14
It seems the man responsible for the bombing of the Black Lance's headquarters was found by UIT authorities last night... or what was left of him, anyway. Said authorities are, however, completely baffled at how someone could have broken into the man's apartment, eaten the man alive (as the evidence clearly states according to their forensics teams), left his entrails on the floor, and left the station without arousing the station's security protocols.
They may be baffled. I, however, am not. I know exactly who did this. I know exactly why they did this. How they did this? No, of course not. But I'm not telling anything to anyone. This man deserved what he got. One life for four is a fair trade. I can only hope his death was as slow and painful as those of Alamar, Holden Caulfield, Shape and tumblemonster were not.
I still mourn them. I still lie awake at night, thinking about the what ifs and the could bes and the maybes. I still have nightmares--they have not lessened over the past few months, but have sharply risen in the past few days. I cannot close my eyes for a moment without seeing Drift's operation going horribly wrong or seeing the last few moments of the lives of those in the Lance's headquarters. I cannot sleep anymore. I need something positive to hang onto, something more permanent than the fact that the Lance has been avenged... something good.
Something... or someone... human.
August 21, 4433
Corvus Hold, Odia M-14
It seems the man responsible for the bombing of the Black Lance's headquarters was found by UIT authorities last night... or what was left of him, anyway. Said authorities are, however, completely baffled at how someone could have broken into the man's apartment, eaten the man alive (as the evidence clearly states according to their forensics teams), left his entrails on the floor, and left the station without arousing the station's security protocols.
They may be baffled. I, however, am not. I know exactly who did this. I know exactly why they did this. How they did this? No, of course not. But I'm not telling anything to anyone. This man deserved what he got. One life for four is a fair trade. I can only hope his death was as slow and painful as those of Alamar, Holden Caulfield, Shape and tumblemonster were not.
I still mourn them. I still lie awake at night, thinking about the what ifs and the could bes and the maybes. I still have nightmares--they have not lessened over the past few months, but have sharply risen in the past few days. I cannot close my eyes for a moment without seeing Drift's operation going horribly wrong or seeing the last few moments of the lives of those in the Lance's headquarters. I cannot sleep anymore. I need something positive to hang onto, something more permanent than the fact that the Lance has been avenged... something good.
Something... or someone... human.
Entry 25
August 26, 4433
Corvus Hold, Odia M-14
I had my sister send me my old logs from flight school last week--it appears she only got around to sending them just last night, as the filenames were sitting there glowing in my inbox this morning when I woke up.
I do know there are a few of you who actively find time to go through these logs of mine, and I figured that considering the relative lack of activity in the universe, I'd go over what started this whole saga--if 'saga' is the right word.
Anyway, why not start in the beginning? My first term at the Eo School of Flight began on the first of January in the year 4431. Here's the log from that day:
It's nice to actually be here. I almost had to run away from home to get here, but my mother and sister gave up in the end, and here I am.
It seems that we will be having one class all the way through our term, and I for one am very glad for it. Suffice to say, seating is assigned, seemingly permanent--and this placed an extremely good-looking young man of about my age to my right. As he sat down, he gave me this smile... a smile that had I not the viscosity of a human, I would have ended up a messy puddle of goo on the floor, but alas! Oh, my good luck will never end at this rate!
I did manage to get out of my eventual (and inevitable) daydream long enough to figure out his name--Yukinari Sasaki--a name that will surely be ringing in my ears for years to come.
I still laugh at the bit about the smile--as well as the uncanny foresight in the remark about his name. As it turned out, his room was next to mine, so we ended up getting to know each other rather quickly as the entry from the fourteenth of January suggests:
I've been hanging out a lot with Yuki lately--sometimes in his room, sometimes in mine, sometimes out on campus. He's really a fun guy to be around, and I really enjoy the time I spend with him. [...] When I'm with him, I feel like nothing could ever hurt me. I feel like I don't want to even leave the room. His presence has become in a short few days a necessity to me. I am thankful for his nearby location in class--it allows me to nap on his shoulder should the economics teacher decide to get extra boring--and he has not ever failed to be there when I have needed him.
Yukinari, you are a true friend.
In regards to the comment about "nothing could ever hurt me", this did actually seem to be more or less true--a classmate (and friend from my hometown) was killed in a flight operations accident during our first flight training session, and I got over the worst of it without any noticable issues by just staying with Yukinari.
And yes... I did take a lot of naps during economics. He had a confortable shoulder, but when I upgraded to the lap, I was usually asleep within seconds.
That should do for tonight.
August 26, 4433
Corvus Hold, Odia M-14
I had my sister send me my old logs from flight school last week--it appears she only got around to sending them just last night, as the filenames were sitting there glowing in my inbox this morning when I woke up.
I do know there are a few of you who actively find time to go through these logs of mine, and I figured that considering the relative lack of activity in the universe, I'd go over what started this whole saga--if 'saga' is the right word.
Anyway, why not start in the beginning? My first term at the Eo School of Flight began on the first of January in the year 4431. Here's the log from that day:
It's nice to actually be here. I almost had to run away from home to get here, but my mother and sister gave up in the end, and here I am.
It seems that we will be having one class all the way through our term, and I for one am very glad for it. Suffice to say, seating is assigned, seemingly permanent--and this placed an extremely good-looking young man of about my age to my right. As he sat down, he gave me this smile... a smile that had I not the viscosity of a human, I would have ended up a messy puddle of goo on the floor, but alas! Oh, my good luck will never end at this rate!
I did manage to get out of my eventual (and inevitable) daydream long enough to figure out his name--Yukinari Sasaki--a name that will surely be ringing in my ears for years to come.
I still laugh at the bit about the smile--as well as the uncanny foresight in the remark about his name. As it turned out, his room was next to mine, so we ended up getting to know each other rather quickly as the entry from the fourteenth of January suggests:
I've been hanging out a lot with Yuki lately--sometimes in his room, sometimes in mine, sometimes out on campus. He's really a fun guy to be around, and I really enjoy the time I spend with him. [...] When I'm with him, I feel like nothing could ever hurt me. I feel like I don't want to even leave the room. His presence has become in a short few days a necessity to me. I am thankful for his nearby location in class--it allows me to nap on his shoulder should the economics teacher decide to get extra boring--and he has not ever failed to be there when I have needed him.
Yukinari, you are a true friend.
In regards to the comment about "nothing could ever hurt me", this did actually seem to be more or less true--a classmate (and friend from my hometown) was killed in a flight operations accident during our first flight training session, and I got over the worst of it without any noticable issues by just staying with Yukinari.
And yes... I did take a lot of naps during economics. He had a confortable shoulder, but when I upgraded to the lap, I was usually asleep within seconds.
That should do for tonight.
Entry 26
August 27, 4433
Corvus Hold, Odia M-14
By the twentieth of January Yukinari and I were spending our evenings studying together, and on the twenty-third we went out to dinner in downtown Pacifica (that's the city the SoF is in)--our first date.
Yesterday after class, Yukinari pulled me over to the side of the hallway on the way back to our rooms. He waited for the crowds of cadets to pass by, then... he asked me if I would go to the Cassul--apparently a fairly fancy restaurant according to my roommate, Morwen--with him for dinner tonight. I of course said yes. For the duration of today's classes I have been not entirely as attentive as usual to the material presented. A single guess is not even necessary.
As soon as classes were done for the day, I rushed back to my room to find the set of formal dress clothes I had brought. It's a black dress with white trim-- no sleeves, but it has "straps" that hang about the middle of my upper arm. There's a white bow on the front that my father nicknamed the "Bow Pi" because its shape is very similar to the Galactic Standard symbol for pi (π). I have matching boots to go with it, and because the weather outside was a bit nippy, I put them on over some socks.
At about 1700, Yukinari came and rang the chime on the door. I opened it, and was greeted with an even better-looking Yukinari than the one I had met almost a month ago. And this one had a bouquet of flowers, too! I must have hugged him a little too eagerly, because he turned pink when I did. I invited him inside my room as I went to find the vase I had brought with me (I knew it would come in handy!) so I could put the flowers somewhere while we went out.
Dinner was exquisite. I've never had a finer meal in my life, and I think Yukinari could tell. I don't even remember what I ate--that's how good the food was. Afterwards we took a walk along the river from the ocean back towards the SoF campus. The stars came out as we we neared the campus, and one of Eo's several moons glowed in the sky overhead. We stopped briefly in a park to watch the evening departures from the local spaceport.
The lights of the exhaust ports gave the impression of a meteor shower in reverse--instead of going down to the ground, they were going up into space. I was slowly falling asleep--only to be gently awoken by the sound of Yukinari's voice telling me that we should finish the walk back to campus.
When we got back to our rooms, I didn't really think a simple verbal "Thank you" was enough to thank Yukinari properly for the evening, so I did the first thing that came to mind--I kissed him. And not just on the cheek, either.
I can't really describe how it felt--there was a little discharge of static electricity between our lips (but that was probably from having walked on the rug in the entrance hall), and it was soft, like a piece of freshly baked bread (that's the closest thing I can think of at the moment). Would I do it again?
You bet I would.
Yukinari and I went out on dinner dates often-- sometimes as often as twice a week. I think my favorite thing about them was that they always ended as the first one did.
August 27, 4433
Corvus Hold, Odia M-14
By the twentieth of January Yukinari and I were spending our evenings studying together, and on the twenty-third we went out to dinner in downtown Pacifica (that's the city the SoF is in)--our first date.
Yesterday after class, Yukinari pulled me over to the side of the hallway on the way back to our rooms. He waited for the crowds of cadets to pass by, then... he asked me if I would go to the Cassul--apparently a fairly fancy restaurant according to my roommate, Morwen--with him for dinner tonight. I of course said yes. For the duration of today's classes I have been not entirely as attentive as usual to the material presented. A single guess is not even necessary.
As soon as classes were done for the day, I rushed back to my room to find the set of formal dress clothes I had brought. It's a black dress with white trim-- no sleeves, but it has "straps" that hang about the middle of my upper arm. There's a white bow on the front that my father nicknamed the "Bow Pi" because its shape is very similar to the Galactic Standard symbol for pi (π). I have matching boots to go with it, and because the weather outside was a bit nippy, I put them on over some socks.
At about 1700, Yukinari came and rang the chime on the door. I opened it, and was greeted with an even better-looking Yukinari than the one I had met almost a month ago. And this one had a bouquet of flowers, too! I must have hugged him a little too eagerly, because he turned pink when I did. I invited him inside my room as I went to find the vase I had brought with me (I knew it would come in handy!) so I could put the flowers somewhere while we went out.
Dinner was exquisite. I've never had a finer meal in my life, and I think Yukinari could tell. I don't even remember what I ate--that's how good the food was. Afterwards we took a walk along the river from the ocean back towards the SoF campus. The stars came out as we we neared the campus, and one of Eo's several moons glowed in the sky overhead. We stopped briefly in a park to watch the evening departures from the local spaceport.
The lights of the exhaust ports gave the impression of a meteor shower in reverse--instead of going down to the ground, they were going up into space. I was slowly falling asleep--only to be gently awoken by the sound of Yukinari's voice telling me that we should finish the walk back to campus.
When we got back to our rooms, I didn't really think a simple verbal "Thank you" was enough to thank Yukinari properly for the evening, so I did the first thing that came to mind--I kissed him. And not just on the cheek, either.
I can't really describe how it felt--there was a little discharge of static electricity between our lips (but that was probably from having walked on the rug in the entrance hall), and it was soft, like a piece of freshly baked bread (that's the closest thing I can think of at the moment). Would I do it again?
You bet I would.
Yukinari and I went out on dinner dates often-- sometimes as often as twice a week. I think my favorite thing about them was that they always ended as the first one did.