LOG #047 - Commander A. Adair - TITAN Contractors
06 Sep 2021Aurora Adair (Radiumio)
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Initiating voice-recording...
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LOG: #047
RECORDING TYPE: Personal Log LOG PUBLICISED
What does Log Publicised mean?
In our squadron lore, these logbooks are not supposed to be publicly viewable by Commanders. However, in some circumstances, a log may be compromised OR publicised, allowing it to be considered publicly viewable - in this case, the information within can be used for story or discussion purposes in-character. Compromised implies the logbook has been leaked, whereas publicised means the logbook has been willingly released for story purposes.
In our squadron lore, these logbooks are not supposed to be publicly viewable by Commanders. However, in some circumstances, a log may be compromised OR publicised, allowing it to be considered publicly viewable - in this case, the information within can be used for story or discussion purposes in-character. Compromised implies the logbook has been leaked, whereas publicised means the logbook has been willingly released for story purposes.
RECORDING LOCATION: The Andromeda (Anaconda, AD-01X)
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I... I was right... Oh god... I wish I wasn't. I can't stop [#@$!]ing shaking. It's... Okay... It's okay now... But uhm... I've locked myself in my room. I need to record this... and I need to make this public... Something's going on, and people need to know... Okay...
Okay... I'm calm... ish.
I'm going to apologise in advance... if you're reading this. I'm [#@$!]ing wired right now... and I'm just... I'm just going to say how I feel. A lot just happened... so I'm sorry... Uh... Alright... I'll start at when Tori went missing, with those two Peacekeepers. So... I uh... came back from that souvenir shop... and I boarded my ship... I knew something was wrong... usually I check the security system before I do anything in the ship, and I noticed no-one was registered on board... Which was odd. I registered the two Peacekeepers and Tori after I found them on my ship. So... if they weren't on the register, then... where were they?
So... I roamed the ship... It took me a few minutes, but there wasn't a single person around... Then I checked my room, and didn't find Tori there. When I left, they were all still there. Tori was asleep on my bed... the Peacekeepers doing... I dunno, security stuff, as usual. I wasn't gone that long... then I tried to justify it by saying they had... I dunno, gone for a walk or... recalled... I'm an idiot... Ugh! Sorry... So... I walked out the ship and asked to speak to one of the ground crew. They were running some additional checks on my SRVs in the Andromeda, so they were probably around to see where Tori and the others went... And I was right, this guy did see them...
Apparently, a team of four soldiers entered the hangar. Armed... which is against star port protocol, obviously. He said they were about to call it in, but these soldiers kind of shut that down and said they were here as an 'official protection detail'. According to the worker, they even had the right paperwork. So, without thinking much about it, the ground crew let them board my ship... [#@$!]... I almost punched the guy when he told me that... Anyway... they came out a little while later with Tori and the two Peacekeepers. They left without incident... and the ground crew didn't go further than that. But... I asked him what the soldiers looked like... a-and... uh... ugh...
He... He said they had all had a e-... [#@$!] sake... an emblem, a helmet, with two rifles, and the letters 'CSF' under it, on their chest plates. Their visors were polarized, and they never identified themselves... So... I... uh... I tried to contact Tori. And it just bounced immediately... so I panicked a little... then the maintenance worker started getting worried and asking if he needs to call someone for me. I didn't know what to do, so I... Well, I told him to leave me alone... and I ran back to my ship... and I think I put my Maverick suit on in record time.
By the time I'd rushed to the bridge, took the controls... I had this inbox message from an unknown sender. It was mostly empty but... it contained a system name, and short coordinates for a planet in that same system. I made a note of it... BD+07 2869 4 A. I didn't know who it was from... but I had to check, so I launched and flew over. It was a few hundred light-years from Quince, so I'm glad I brought the Andromeda with me. Crossed that distance in no time... Anyway... the planetary coordinates ended up exactly matching the location of a surface settlement. I took the Andromeda down and I... parked a little ways away... made sure I had my gear, and I started to walk.
I didn't know what to expect... and yeah... I was scared. A lot. They don't really explain to you that being a Commander can be such a hazardous job. So here I was, walking across the surface of a pitch-black, frozen world... the temperature control barely fighting back the frost on the visor. The night-vision came in handy... but it was eerie... and very quiet. Everything felt different... but eventually, I could see the base. It was powered down... so luckily I had the foresight to bring one of the backup power regulators from my ship with me. But, even though it was powered down, I could see flashlights.
My heart stopped a little. Yeah... I know. I fully expected to encounter someone, but when I realised that was actually going to be the case... Yeah... It hit differently. I was able to get a vantage position easily, thanks to the low gravity, and I was correct. There were quite a few people roaming around. Scavengers, I guess... but they looked pretty well armed for simple scavengers... so it already felt like something was off.
But seeing these guys patrolling... they weren't just scavenging the base. They were defending it... Why? It was offline... useless to them. Surely there was more to it? And I was right... I had become so tunnel-visioned that I didn't even notice the Vulture sitting, landed outside the base. With the night-vision, it was hard to tell who it belonged to... But I felt sick for some reason. Like something was horribly wrong... and when I got closer to the ship, and shone my flashlight on it for a moment, I saw the CSF emblem. Why the hell were CSF here with a bunch of scavengers? And why did I get a message pointing to this settlement?
And... And... [#@$!]... the only thing I could think about then was Tori. Did she send out the message? Was she in danger? And the thoughts just kept... running through my mind. So I rushed back to the settlement, rifle in hand... and I went into the command building. The airlock was already overloaded open and the whole place was on fire... and there were bodies of the settlement occupants too. If I had to guess... the scavengers were using the damaged settlement as temporary shelter... since they probably thought no one cared about it. It'd make the perfect hide-out for a little while...
[#@$!]... I'm sorry. This is... Uh... Difficult...
Okay. I was inside the command building... and I got my way into the security room...After... I uh... walked into the security room... there was a CSF soldier... just standing next to a body... He turned and... and he saw me... I didn't... [#@$!]... I didn't have a choice. He suddenly drew his gun and... Yeah. ... the... the body was one of the Peacekeepers from my ship... just laying there. Dead. They... [#@$!]ing shot him. I didn't know him... but it hurt... And... of course, then I couldn't stop [#@$!]ing thinking about whether or not the same happened to Tori... So... I combed the settlement, trying to avoid the scavenger patrols...
Eventually I found Tori and the other Peacekeeper in the habitation building. They were tied up in a dorm, and there were a few, so it took a little bit to find them. But of course, it wasn't that simple... I stepped through the doorway, and when I saw them... well I went to run over... and that was almost a fatal mistake. There was a CSF soldier hiding in a corner, and he didn't hesitate like the first one... The shot just missed my face. I had my shields on... but... Yeah. The point still stands...
Once I... [#@$!]... this sounds bad... "dealt" with him... I untied Tori and the Peacekeeper. They even had their mouths taped... Why the [#@$!] would CSF do this? I didn't have time to talk to Tori... so I told her the bearing of my ship, and I told them both to run there, and to watch out for the patrols... Thankfully, I guess she understood the situation... because she left without a word with Kiara, the Peacekeeper. Made it easier for me. Then... I took the time to examine the CSF soldier I just shot... And uh...
Based off the armor... I guess he was a Praetor operative. So I sliced his PDA and... [#@$!]... It was mostly empty... but him and his team had... orders... to take my security detail out of the picture and... me thereafter. Something real cryptic about using a biological agent as well... And then I got to thinking about what's happening on Taurus right now... And reading these orders now... it makes sense. It's because of me. Someone's trying to stir up the squadron... Split our resources so they can get to me, I guess... And these orders just told me who it is.
I left the habitat building after that, bringing that PDA with me. I walked back to the Andromeda... had some thoughts I'd rather not talk about... and then I relocated the Andromeda off-planet... We're now sitting in space somewhere... safe. So... Now I've told you what happened... Tori and Kiara are fine... So... At this point, you might be asking; why did Aurora bother recording an entire log just to tell us how she heroically rescued her two companions and that she's...
...
... Nevermind. I've already transmitted the data on the PDA back to the operations crew before I started recording this... and hopefully if we get the virus under control... we can [#@$!]ing end this... Sorry. I probably swear too much... But I... uh... I didn't record this entire log just to bring awareness to CSF's involvement. I... [#@$!]... I have something to say... and I know you probably don't care... but what else do I have to lose?
So... Yeah. I just... I want to thank you. Everyone. Things have been rough lately, for all of us... And when that anonymous document came out... I thought that was it for me. I was scared of what people would think of me... but I... I was surprised. There was positivity... still. Somehow. And... people wanted to help me get better... God... I'm going to start crying again... Sorry. I just want to thank you for supporting me. That's why I made this... this log public. I know I'm an emotional mess right now... And I know I'm not the most experienced... and I'm not brave. And I'm sitting in a corner in my room, opening up my feelings... It's stupid... and I'm an idiot...
But the only reason I get up every day is because of the squadron. And how it makes me feel when I'm not upset. And how it pushes me to be a better version of myself... And the Commanders who support us... support me... it means more than you can imagine... And I still am keeping my promise to do the best I can to support this squadron... It's a struggle right now, but I'm trying... Trying to keep it together.
So thank you... For giving me purpose.
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Credit:
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