(SIPRNET) Feeling Like a Traitor
18 Mar 2019Gatimũ Kamau
ENCRYPTION PROTOCOLS ENACTEDCMDR’s Log, 3305.03.17, Sol Calendar; I probably shouldn't be documenting this in my logs. It could very well be tracked. And even if it isn't, it will likely be confiscated and redacted when this is all over. But i don't care. I need to talk about this.
I stepped onto the bridge of the Skies of Africa yesterday to find our cat, Jolie, spread out on the deck as if she owned it. Sleeping like a baby. I wish that I could sleep half as well.
Neither I nor my wife have slept soundly in months it seems. When she's not tossing and turning in our bed, she's on the bridge manning the consoles or in the engine room tinkering with the SOA's innards. And I'm much the same. And I don't think that the proverbial skies are going to clear anytime soon. On the contrary...it will likely get much worse before it gets better.
All of our plans to explore the galactic centre have been put on an indefinite hold by the Federal Navy. Understandable with the Thargoids pushing ever deeper into human controlled territory. The Federation believes that they may be making a play for Earth. And we can stand by and let that happen. We can't allow them to take our home.
We were both pulled into a meeting with the admiralty and given the opportunity to volunteer for task most important: The Federation needed better technology than what we currently had to deal with the looming threat. And to that end, aside from the new tech that the bubble's technology brokers were dreaming up. it was decided that better shielding was a top priority. And nobody has better shielding technology then the Prismatic Imperium. Our Anaconda, with its heavy modifications and classified hybrid alien technology, has the distinction of being one of the most advanced privately owned vessels in the bubble. And because it's privately owned, it can't be directly tied to the Federation proper..so we were asked to defect, pose as Imperial sympathizers, gain the trust of the Empire, and get our hands on prismatic shielding technology for the Federation to reverse engineer.
Needless to say, we both hated this idea. But we're nothing if not loyal to our home.
So now here we are. Wearing the Imperial flag on our jumpsuits, flying Imperial colors on our ship, and feeling wholly like traitors despite the fact that we're not.
It's all grimy wetwork, high risk black box retrievals and disavowed actions on this side of the galactic fence. (You know...all of the dirty jobs that the overly privileged, naturally born Imperial citizens can't be bothered to soil their gloved hands with.) We're still considered outsiders by many who fall under the Prismatic Princess' sway, yet because we are willing and (because of the SOA's capabilities) able to do these jobs that need doing, we've already started climbing the Imperial Navy's ranks. (Our elite-level standing with both the Trade Commission and the Explorers Guild also doesn't hurt in this respect.)
I hate these pretentious people. I hate this glossy empire. I hate Aisling Duval's inexperienced youth, her ridiculously fake and unnecessarily flashy blue hair and her hypercritical policies. (She claims to be an anti-slavery monarch, yet she lives in a sickeningly opulent palace in the equally wealthy Cemiess system whose wealth is supported HEAVILY and openly on the back of the slave trade.) In fact, the ONLY good thing about all of this is the fact that since we've "defected", I've been able to drop the name I took up in order to make myself more appealing to the Pilot's Federation and make it easier to get my licence. Nationality doesn't matter as much to the Empire as does lineage and credits. And finally being able to hear people refer to me as CMDR Kamau as opposed to CMDR Robinson is a welcome change.
Still, I hope that we're done with this "mission" soon. I want to go home...