Merry Christmas, Temperance
24 Dec 2021Maul Montresor
With the holidays just around the corner, I decided to pop down from Ray Gateway and spend the week at Rothman Vista. A settlement nestled in the icey planet that is Diaguandri AB 1. Just the kind of place where you can sit by a window and down a cup of hot chocolate while watching the sun rise.
At least, that's what I had in mind. I did find a window with a nice view but was interrupted by a woman going by the name Temperance Blanchard. Said she'd recognized me from Ray Gateway and wanted to talk. I politely agreed and offered to buy her a drink, to which she refused. Now, honestly, if she recognized me, and with my reputation, odds are I'd pissed her off in some capacity. So I kept a mental guard up. That was until she began to look...kind of sad. She explained to me that her cousin had been wrongfully accused of sabotaging an agricultural settlement in the nearby system of Amaunet. She continued by describing her cousin as an honest man with a wife and kids who was just trying to make ends meet. She'd also apparently hired a P.I. to investigate the situation. No surprise that the guy came up with no evidence to work in her cousins favor.
I finished my hot chocolate and asked her the name of the settlement; "Sharpe Cultivation Holdings". That was enough. I agreed an took my leave.
When I arrived at the settlement, it was eerily dark. There was no power, and no power means no way to access the surveillance logs. First thing I needed to do was to find the power center and see about fixing the power regulator. I turned on my flashlight and began looking for the nearest terminal.
As I walked around the settlement I started to come across multiple bodies, security and workers alike. Just like Temperance said, none of this was adding up. This couldn't have been the work of some run of the mill employee. Someone was clearly trying to frame her cousin for this.
I finally found a terminal and used my energy link to power it up. My suit battery level took a slight hit but that's why I always pack at least a few energy cells in my backpack. With the terminal powered, I used it to locate any data ports that may potentially hold the surveillance logs. First one I saw was in the loading bay of a warehouse, so I made my way there.
Well, that explains why I couldn't get in the front door.
But at least now I don't have to worry about finding another power regulator.
With the regulator secured, I made my way towards the power center. A few breached doors and a little bit of hacking later, I managed to power the settlement again. Alarms began blaring as the settlement security systems began to notice the fires that were blazing within the structures. I spent the next stretch of the adventure depressurizing and pressurizing the structures to put out the fires. With the amount of dead that are strewn around this place, I'm sure at some point they'll be sending a team of folks to come collect the bodies for the families of the deceased. The least I can do is save them the time of dealing with these fires.
With the fires extinguished, I made my way back to the warehouse loading bay to see if this data port did indeed hold the surveillance logs. After a few minutes of bypassing some security measures, I had the logs stored on my data slate. I gave it a once over just to confirm Temperance's and, well, my suspicions at this point. I was relieved to discover that her cousin was actually innocent. The logs showed a team of gunmen exiting a ship and ransacking the settlement, leaving only one survivor, her cousin the scapegoat. We human's really are an absolute disgusting stain on this galaxy and some of us are just so fucked in the head. This footage only proves to help reassure me of that fact. So many innocent people killed for what? Creds? A bit of Rep with some local faction? Now, I'm not saying I'm some sort of angel or anything. I have done and continue to do some very bad things but this kind of thing really REALLY pisses me off.
Let's leave that nightmare behind.
The job took a few hours and seeing all of the bodies scattered through out the settlement was hell but when I returned to Rothman Vista to find Temperance anxiously waiting for my return, I couldn't help but smile knowing the good news already. I explained to her what I had found and handed her a copy of the surveillance logs. She thanked me a couple dozen times and wouldn't stop until I accepted some creds for the help. It didn't feel right taking pay for this but whatever, that's what she wanted.
After chatting for a bit, Temperance took her leave. Said she was going to deliver the evidence herself and to make sure it lands in the right hands. I reassured her and informed her that I would keep a copy as backup if anything happened. I hope all of this helps. There are too many innocent people out there getting crushed under the boot of various corporations, governments and these super-rich assholes. I'd know, because I've experienced it first hand. For example, my entire life was uprooted by some wealthy cushy suit wearing bitch who also happened to be the CEO of a very successful transport company that would moonlight as a drug smuggling ring. Blah, never mind. That's a story for another day.
But...No...I've decided not to let this ruin my vacation. Besides, we've got enough people out there making moves currently to right wrongs and balance things out. I'll drink to them.
"Isaiah, buddy, another hot chocolate please. The suns just about to rise!"
