(SIPRNET) Too Long in the Black
07 Sep 2019Gatimũ Kamau
ENCRYPTION PROTOCOLS ENACTED CMDR’s Log, 3305.09.07, Sol Calendar; This has got to be a trap. Either that, or we've been too long in the black.
I know that we haven't been found out (insofar as I can tell), so it's likely that I'm just over reacting. But the news still seems unreal. We've been playing the part of Imperial loyalists for so long, bathed in all of their narcissistic opulence, and we've been so long gone from human-controlled space that maybe we've just lost touch with the galaxy at large. But I find it hard to believe that we're so far removed or sheltered from the true front-line conflict of the human/zeno war that we've completely missed the news on that Galnet that our Federation handler reported to us yesterday.
As per our Duke, we were ordered quite a few months ago to complete a clandestine data delivery drop on behalf of our Imperial leaders to a virtually unheard of colony called, uniquely, Colonia. After a VERY long trip (which, thankfully, we'd designed our Anaconda from the ground up for) we arrived and were subsequently ordered to stay put near the galactic core due to the increasing hostility of the Thargoids. I can't say that we liked the idea, but the ability to gather information on this "secret" colony that was so lousy with Imperials was so alluring that it didn't take much convincing. At a mere 11,000ly from the centre, no one has ever dared colonize this far away from The Bubble. And, as if it weren't baffling enough, it wasn't just one station in the middle of nowhere...it's several outpost spread the entire sector.
How in the name of the Goddess did the Federation NOT know about all of this?! How did we not get a jump on this?
And to add insult to injury, apparently in corroboration with the Pilot's Federation and Cannon research were building a research station named Explorer's Anchorage in Stuemeae FG-Y d7561...only 4ly AWAY FROM THE CENTER OF THE GALAXY!
Nope. We had to rectify this. After forwarding everything we'd gathered back home, we took this as our one and only opportunity to plant the flag fro the Federation. We were going to chart the galactic centre. Now. Three months of hurried planning later, we did just that.
And it was at this moment that we very nearly died when we jumped into proximity of a f*cking super massive black hole. Looking back on it, it makes all of the sense in the verse that the gravity from such a phenomena would be what's responsible for holding the Milky Way together; so much so that I can't believe that the thought had never crossed my mind.
As one could imagine, if our Anaconda hadn't been as highly modified as ours is, it's doubtful that we would have survived the encounter. The heat and pressure alone would have crushed us like so many eggs; time slowed to infinitely small increments as our very atoms are slowly crushed for all of eternity. But, on the bright side, the terabytes of data our computers auto-recorded from that brush with death could have many unforeseen benefits for the Federation.
We were all smiles and champagne as we limped back to Colonia after a haphazard emergency jump out of the black hole's reach; having just accomplished our life's goal and experiencing a giddy type of joy that we hadn't experienced since we were children under the Afrikan sun, when we received the news. Federation military reports placed the Thargoids 100ly away from Sol. Some reports had were said to have them as close as 40ly.
A SINGLE JUMP AWAY FROM THE CRADLE OF HUMAN CIVILIZATION!
Needless to say, my wife and I promptly decided to disobey the Duke's orders and return to human-controlled space. Consequences with abandoning the Empire and being outed as Federation spies be damned. We needed to reach Earth. The Skies of Afrika needed to be in that fight. We had the prismatic shield data. That was the point of this whole endeavor after all. We had no further reason to play the part of the spy. And our people needed us. So we forwarded all of the data we had on the prismatic shield harmonics along with some of the generator improvements we'd been experimenting with which effectively shored up its thermal weaknesses via several heavily encrypted data packages to Federation headquarters, completed basic repairs to the SoA, filled up our cargo hold with as many medical supplies as we could from Colonia's "local" medical station and started frame shifting as fast as we could towards The Bubble.
Then, not four dozen jumps later, long enough for the empire to realize we were going against their orders if they were thinking to track us, my wife receives a declarative statement from our handlers.
"The Thargoids have totally withdrawn from The Bubble." she stated as she nearly tripped over our little Jolie to bring me the news.
"F*CKING WHAT? We won? You sure?"
"The Big Three think so. Admiral Turner even came public. His official statement is all over Galnet."
"Well, if Aegis is taking a stance, then it's pretty definitive. So that's it. The war's over?"
"Maybe not." she said as she handed me a rather lengthy statement form the empire.
We were being ordered back to Capitol along with a good portion of the fleet by one of the Princes. We were to report for debriefing, at which time we were going to be dispersed around the Witch Head Nebula. No reason why was given. But it was made apparent that both the Federation and the Alliance were also making a move to stake claims there. Was it the home of the Thargoids and mankind was prepping to finish the fight? Or was it the former home of the Guardians and everyone was simply staging to war for any Thargoid killing tech they could find?
I made it clear that I didn't care. After all, we'd resolved to return to Earth. But that's when my wife informed me that our orders from the Federation had changed. After pouring over everything that we sent them about the frontier colony and the station being built near the supermassive black hole, we were being ordered to stay embedded with the Imperial Navy for the time being. The Federation wanted to know what the empire's goals were in Colonia, in the Witch Head and their future plans beyond. And their plants in the Alliance were being ordered to do the same. My wife and I'd changed the very nature of our conflict.
Right now, it seemed, we and the SoA were better served working for the enemy indefinitely.
I begrudgingly agreed and we were now utterly alone. But as a consolation, we received several encrypted packets (along with several other Federation commanders much like with our shield designs) that together outlined a design for an interesting seeker cluster missile platform. The blueprints were apparently sent to our ship designers in the fleet from our spies within the Alliance. These "pack" type missiles were alluring, but the numbers indicated that they would generate so much heat per volley that we'd likely cook ourselves inside our own hull after but a few exchanges. So, until we can figure a workaround, those schematics will stay shelved. I won't risk the SoA on something so fickle.
In the meantime, we've responded to the Imperial fleet that we're setting course for Witch Head...albeit at a much slower pace now that the immediate danger has passed; stopping to do repairs planet-side along the way when we can. At the pace we're traveling, I imagine we should be back before the end of the month. My dearest wife has also decided to take this time to get better behind the stick of our on-board fighter craft.
"No disrespect to Abeni [our long-time contracted fighter pilot], but you never know when we'll need a third gun on the battlefield in this day and age." she said to me. And I heartily agree with her.
