REVELATIONS
10 Jan 2022Jav Marlo
REVELATIONS10 JAN 3308, Eotienses system.
This is commander Jav Marlo, recording this log on Roe Dock, a remote outpost in the Eotienses system.
Roe Dock in the Eotienses system
Admiral Patreus arranged for us to hide here after I rescued Ayumi from Cremona Penitentiary. The station is almost empty and commercial traffic has been reduced to a minimum and is being carefully monitored. We have been hiding here for the last ten days waiting for Ayumi to recover from her wounds and the torture she received by the agents of Chancellor Anders Blaine. The doctors here do not understand the complex array of modifications and enhancements the Exemplars did to her body, but they say that she has amazing healing capabilities and that she is fit to fly.
The habitat section of Roe Dock
I have told Ayumi most of what happened after we part ways and my abduction, but we have not talked about what did she discovered at the Alacagui Holding bases, and she still has to make a decision about what does she want to do with her life now. I did not mention that I know her true identity either. I would like her to come with me and partner up again, perhaps we could move to the fringe of the Bubble, to Serebrov Terminal, and build a life for us there, far from the Feds or the Empire. But when I talked her about my plans for us she just smiled at me. I guess she needs more time. We agreed to meet today at the concourse and talk.
Ayumi meeting Jav at the concourse of Roe Dock
Hey, there you are, …are you busy?
No, just recording one of my logs. Let me switch it off.
No, it is OK I can come back later.
No, please stay. Have you thought about what we talked: telling Denton Patreus about what you found on those bases? He helped me getting to you, and he is not in good terms with the Chancellor.
Jav Marlo and Ayumi meeting at Roe Dock
Yes. I want. I am ready to talk to that rat.
Please, remember he rescued me and helped me getting to you… well… on his own way. And he has been hiding us here. Would you be diplomatic?
(Deep sigh) I can try.
Jav Marlo talking to Ayumi at Roe Dock
Then I´ll keep recording. I want to keep track of this. And what about my offer? I hope you are not planning to go against the Chancellor… I have told you… I think we make such a great team, would you like to partner up again with me?
(Chuckles) I have been thinking about that. Perhaps you are right. I was blinded by my hate to Blaine and what he did to my family. But that is in the past, and pursuing it only brought more pain to me, and I almost lose you. I think I am ready to move on and bury the past, just like you did… The answer is yes, you can count on me.
Ayumi at Roe Dock
I am happy to hear that. We are ready to go then… I guess. The sooner we leave imperial space the better.
I am eager to fight the Thargoids with you again. Are we going to the Pleiades? I have heard it is quite hot there.
I was thinking more on settling on Serebrov Terminal and look for some quiet contracts there.
Jav Marlo and Ayumi staring out of Roe Dock
There are no quiet contracts there, and I hope you are not restraining because you think I am not ready for action, because…
It´s OK. We can go wherever we want.
Jav Marlo and Ayumi at Roe Dock
Let´s go to the hangars and talk to the Admiral. I have a surprise for you.
You are not going to tell me that you are keeping that creepy COVAS Patreus gave to you, right?
It´s not that, and yes, I am keeping Alix. She has proved herself very useful. She can fly the ship…
I can fly the ship too.
She has access to multiple databases and, besides, she is the only way we have to contact Patreus.
You made your point. Let´s get rid of her after our talk with the… Admiral.
…
Jav Marlo and Ayumi at the hangar of Roe Dock
Well… what do you think? Thanks to Patreus now I have access to imperial military grade gear, and I have been able to upgrade the railguns and the shields.
Your good terms with the senator scare me.
(Chuckles) Now seriously. What do you think? I even kept that Gu-97 Imperial Fighter of yours.
… (Chuckles) Feels like home.
Jav Marlo and Ayumi observing the Athena
…
Alix, we are on board. Take the Athena out of the hangar for a better connection and contact Admiral Patreus. We are ready to talk to him.
COVAS Alix: Right away commander.
(Mocking) Right away commander.
Jav Marlo and Ayumi onboard the Athena landed at Roe Dock
(Comms buzz)
Admiral Patreus, let me introduce you to…
Miss Eveline Hutchinson.
Patreus, you pathetic resemblance of a senator, you scheming rat, how do you dare to pronounce that name? Eveline Hutchinson and her family are dead, and nobody on the empire moved a finger to avoid it. You coward. I am Ayumi now.
And there goes the diplomacy.
(Chuckles) Charming.
Please, do not let our resentments get on the way. Ayumi has some information to share with you about the Alacagui Holdings.
I am all ears Miss… (Chuckles) Ayumi.
Ok. Let´s finish this. You must be aware that my family, the Hutchinsons, had the concession of Alacagui Holdings before… before our demise. Well, any trace of my family was deleted when we were sold as slaves, so I infiltrated the industrial bases on the Alacagui system looking for some record of our pass as patrons of the empire and I found that those bases were producing armament for the Neo-Marlinist Liberation Army.
(Sighs) I understand.
NO, YOU DON’T. CAN’T YOU SEE? THAT MONSTER OF CHANCELLOR BLAINE GAVE OUR CONCESSIONS AND STATE TO ANOTHER PATRON AND NOW THEY ARE SUPPORTING THE NMLA. HE IS A TRAITOR TO THE EMPIRE.
It goes beyond that, my dear… Thanks to the NMLA threat, our good Chancellor has managed to send her Majesty the Emperor to a remote place, for her own security of course, and now he controls the senate.
There you have it. So, what are you going to do? Are you going to apprehend him? He must be stopped.
He must indeed. But, let me ask you, do you have any proof of what you are saying? Any evidence of the connection of Alacagui Holdings or the Chancellor with the NMLA?
You know I don´t. They wiped out the bases. Killed everybody. They said it was me. Then they set a trap for me. I barely scaped but then they got me… and my records and logs. THEY TORTURED ME. YOU MUST DO SOMETHING.
You are asking me to start a civil war within the Empire based only on your word. I am afraid I can´t do that.
I CAN TESTIFY. I COULD APPEAR AT THE SENATE, WITH YOUR SUPPORT, AND EXPOSE THE CHANCELOR.
I am sorry to say this, but your word carries no weight, to the Empire you are nothing but a terrorist.
You rat. You lousy coward. YOU ARE ALL THE SAME. YOU DO NOT CARE ABOUT PEOPLE. YOU ONLY CRAVE POWER. Salomé knew, she knew so well, she exposed you, you and your dark cabal… scheemers… manipulating the course of mankind… YOU AND THE CHANCELOR ARE ALIKE.
Senator Denton Patreus
MY LOYALTIES ARE WITHIN THE EMPIRE. And you should watch your tone child. You both are so naïve. Like senator Kahina Tijani Loren. You do not understand the Powerplay. You´ll never do. Do you think I have to power and strength to fight and overcome the Chancellor? You are fools. And, even if I had, do you think that would bring any good? It would only provoke a civil war within the Empire. Look what senator Kahina Tijani Loren, your beloved Salomé, did to the Prism system.
SHE FOUGHT FOR THE TRUTH.
She was foolish, and reckless, like you, and she died for that.
SHE DIED BECAUSE YOU KILLED HER. YOU PUT A BOUNTY ON HER HEAD AND SHE WAS ASSESINATED. BECAUSE SHE WAS EXPOSING YOU AND YOUR CLUB.
(Deep sigh) SHE DIED BECAUSE SHE HAD TO. She went too far. She was doomed, whether if it was going to be me or that Club. And she made me look weak when her allies dared to attack my ship. She knew too much. And by dying she became a martyr, a saint, a patron for all the truth seekers of the galaxy. Her cause is now stronger than ever. Look at you.
I… I do not understand.
I know you seek the Club. You have seen the Zurara, listened to the logs there. Commander Marlo believes that they might be involved in the disappearance of his father, probably right; and you believe that Chancellor Blaine is linked to that Club, also probably right. Well, I seek them myself too. I would love to see them exposed. I cannot allow them to interfere on the Empire. They must be stopped. Can´t you see. We want the same thing.
THEN WHY DID YOU KILLED SALOMÉ?
Ayumi talking to Admiral Patreus on the Athena
Because she was reckless. She was out of control. She brought that onto herself. And her death was useful to our common cause.
HOW CAN THAT BE?
Have you heard the old Earth expression: a river uprooted, gain of fishermen? That is how the Powerplay works. We watch each other waiting for the contrary to make a mistake. We act through others and try to do things that disturb the plans of our rivals. We accumulate leverage against our enemies, and we wait for the right moment to strike.
You are a monster.
From your point of view. I just do what I do for the best of the Empire. My methods may be radical, yes, but believe me, it is the only way.
Jav Marlo and Ayumi onboard the Athena talking to senator Patreus
I think we can finish this meeting now, Admiral. I expected it to be less… intense. This conversation was pointless. I see you are not going to do anything against the Chancellor. I thank you for your help, but you would understand that we want to leave imperial space and never see you again.
That would be a pity, commander Marlo, I cannot move against the Chancellor, not yet, but I would be very interested in any information about that Club that you might find in the future. And to prove to you my good intentions, as I promised, there is some information that our Miss… Ayumi would be interested in knowing.
No more plays Patreus.
Not at all. You see. Since his Majesty Hengist Duval was killed, I have been seeking evidence of Chancellor Blaine involvement on the crime. That brought me to look for the victims of the Chancellor´s purge, like the Hutchinson family but, as you know, all leads point to the Pegasi sector, where I lose the track. The Chancellor must have a deal with the pirates ruling there and everybody disappears. Most of my agents never came back. But one of them found something about the Hutchinsons before the communication was severed.
(Hard breath) Careful now senator.
(Chuckles) Your temper does you no good. Listen carefully child. I get to know your family was sold as slaves in the Mu Capricorni system. There my agent lost track of you, my dear, but knew that the rest of your family was sent to work on the gallite mines of some pirate system. My agent found the place and your family. They are dead my dear. A mining accident it seems. I am sorry for your loss. But when he was DNA identifying your parents and brothers corpses, he saw something strange. Your sister´s corpse DNA did not matched yours or your family.
Do you mean…?
My agent questioned some of the other slaves and he was told that your sister changed her identity plate with another prisoner a day before the accident, and that she was not in the base anymore. Not bad for a bratty spoiled little imperial girl. I guess that the survival instinct is a trait strong on the Hutchinson females.
Is she alive?
Well. At least we know she is not dead for sure. I am transmitting to you all the information I got from my agent. And since you have an urge to leave imperial space, perhaps the Pegasi Sector would be an appropriate destination for you. See, I have managed to clean the official bounties of you. But your reputation with most of the imperial factions now is that of a terrorist. Your incursion in Cremona Penitentiary has not been reported, but I doubt the Chancellor will forget about you so easily. You probably will have assassins following your trace. The Pegasi Sector is not a safe place, Archon Delaine and the pirates from the Kumo Crew control the place and anarchy reigns, but you already know that, don´t you my dear?
(Sobbing) Those pirates are savages. I did things to survive there that I cannot speak off. If there is a chance that my sister is there, I need to go and try to find her.
You do not need to go there alone. I am with you on this. But we need a plan.
Admiral, I would lie if I say that it has been a pleasure working with you. We need to depart.
The Athena reading to depart
I understand. Just remember commander. Weather you like me or not, I am on your side on this. You can always reach me through Alix. I suggest that you keep her. She could be incredibly helpful. Farewell commander Marlo and Ayumi. Until we meet again. Patreus out.
Well. That is quite unlikely.
Let´s get out of here and find a place to plan how to get to the Pegasi Sector. Are you OK?
Yes, it is just that… what Patreus said, about my family, I assumed the worst long ago, but… but the news about my sister… got me by surprise… I am still processing it.
Yes, talking to the Admiral is never easy, he likes to reveal information like that. I am sorry for your loss.
Do not worry for me. I will be fine.
The Athena departing Roe Dock
Jav, now I feel bad for not having told you my real name or whom I was before… well before I became Ayumi. I am sorry you had to discover it this way.
Hey. It is Ok. For all that matters to me, you were Ayumi when I found you and you are still Ayumi to me.
The Athena flying by Roe Dock before jumping
Thanks. It means a lot to me… And now listen. You have never been in the Pegasi Sector, but I know the place. If we are going there, we need to disguise ourselves. Find a new identity. Those blood thirsty savages only respect strength and credits. Life has no value there.
A hangar opening at Roe Dock as the Athena fly by
And we should keep our eyes open. I am worried about what the Admiral said about assassins and Chancellor Blaine not letting us go so easily.
A black Diamondback Explorer leaving the hangar of Roe Dock
Well. I have been hunted relentlessly for the last five years of my life. Killed many pirates and bounty hunters that tried to collect my head. If Chancellor Blaine is sending assassins after us, as far as I am concerned, they can get in the line.
A mysterious black Diamondback Explorer landed at Roe Dock
We should not take this lightly. I doubt the Chancellor hires regular bounty hunters. Remember the assassin we found on the Delta Site. You mentioned during the rescue that he questioned you about our trip to the Formidine Rift and what we saw at the Zurara. He clearly has an interest on us that goes beyond what you know about him and his ties with the NMLA.
A mysterious black Diamondback Explorer with an unusual designation
Do you think Chancellor Blaine is part of the Club?
I think Patreus believes so. He could be a member, an associate or even being manipulated too. As far as we know, Patreus could be a member too, though I doubt it.
A mysterious black Diamondback Explorer leaving Roe Dock
Do you want to find out? I thought you moved beyond all that, but what Patreus said about the Club being involved in your father´s disappearance…
First thing first. We need to go to find out if your sister is alive. Then we will worry about the Chancellor, the Club and the assassins. But I doubt they will track us into the Pegasi Sector.
A mysterious pilot following the Athena
Do not worry now. The Athena is one of the finest ships in the galaxy, and as far as we keep moving, we should be safe.
Jav Marlo signing out.
The Athena about to jump