LOG #065 - Commander A. Adair - TITAN Contractors
01 Oct 2021Aurora Adair (Radiumio)
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LOG: #065
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.
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H-hey... Uh... So I'm... we're not dead, thankfully. It actually... wasn't as bad as I expected, but uh... they let me keep my PDA... though most of the main functions are jammed, so I can essentially only record logs. I don't have my camera either, sadly... so I can only talk.
So... today, we went over the plan once more... essentially the demand was to go to Newton's Prospect at 1600 UGT - yeah, the same settlement I almost died at - get into the operations center... somehow, probably by breaking in... and then there was supposed to be two headbags and cuffs inside of them, according to the message. You can... probably guess the rest... we go and put our helmets on so we can breathe at least, put the bags over them and then cuff ourselves... And then wait for an hour, I guess. That's how the plan was supposed to go, all done by 1700 UGT. Only... it didn't exactly go that way.
Alexis and I opted to take the Paladin and just go alone, just the two of us... plus CSF is grounded anyway for the time being so they wouldn't be able to transport us. However, when we arrived at Gliese 113.1 and at Newton's Prospect on time... the settlement was online, and occupied by its inhabitants... By the faction that owned the place. I guess they brought it back online finally.
I'm not sure if AC knew this or not but... we had to try the plan anyway. So, we got out, I dismissed the Paladin to orbit, so it would be safe and undetectable up there... and we... tried to make our way to the command building. No one recognised me, and they didn't seem like mercs or anything, just actual faction guards... so I guess the security footage or any logs were wiped, or they just didn't care...
Alexis wanted to break in sneakily when we got to the command building, but I said it wouldn't work anyway, because we'd have to sit in the operations room, restrained and unable to see... so someone would find us eventually, and probably apprehend us. So, she kind of implied we could clear out the settlement silently, but that made me feel sick just saying it. They're innocent people... so I told her no.
I think she understood, and part of me doubts she would've gone through with it... at least I hope so. Besides, we had no weapons with us. So, we tried another entrance. There was a junction in the command building that we could get into without a security clearance, leading into the habitation section, but one of the guards stopped us and asked us what we were doing. But, we should've probably thought about what we'd say beforehand, because Alexis and I both gave a different answer at the same time.
Yeah... Smart move on our part, for sure. That made the guard a bit anxious, and I could see his firing hand tighten around his rifle's grip... [#$@!]... I uh... looked into his eyes, and his reaction reminded me of my position at Obi. Being a guard... never knowing who you could trust, or when something bad might happen. And just as he was starting to ease off... there was suddenly gunfire outside.
He got this look of surprise and turned to look out a window, but then he turned back to us. I guess he thought we were responsible for it or at least involved, so he shouldered his rifle, and was about to raise it, but Alexis was a lot quicker than me... She kicked his rifle aside and knocked him down, grabbing him a chokehold.. and I, uh... I quickly told her not to kill him, and she sighed a bit, before just choking him out. I know he was probably about to shoot us, but... he didn't deserve to get killed, y'know?
The gunfire continued, and we just kind of stood there, unsure what to do... but no alarms were going off, and the shots were slowly becoming less and less frequent, to the point where they just suddenly stopped. No guards came down the hallway, no yelling... it was just dead quiet. But that changed when the airlock we came through suddenly opened, and this entire squad of mercs... all dressed in the same heavy-duty, black armor... polarised visors and all, stepped in.
I can kind of recall them yelling at us to not move, and, as they got closer, one of the mercs... [#$@!]ing stepped forward and shot the unconscious guard on the floor. His... oh god, just thinking about it makes me want to throw up... I w-... was surprised and... confused, but... angry. I... [#$@!]ing said he didn't deserve to die.
So... I just remember stepping forward to one of the mercs and yelling at him, but they couldn't care less, because the next moment I took a rifle stock to the face. It was... uhh... as you'd expect, I guess. My vision was blurry and I remember falling back on the ground... I could barely hear Alexis screaming as well, and could just make out that they had shoved her against a wall and pulled out these pretty solid-looking cuffs...
Then they cuffed her, deployed her helmet and slid a bag over her head. I tried to get up, but the same merc that hit me kicked me in my side, forcing me to roll over... then he pressed his [#$@!]ing knee into my back and cuffed my hands... Same deal, he deployed my helmet as well and put a bag over my head so I couldn't see.
But, it wouldn't have mattered anyway... I couldn't really see much, because my hair was in my face from the hit. Ah, the downsides of having long hair... Anyway... uhm... I got dragged to my feet, still a little out of it... then we started to walk, exiting the airlock, and after what felt like forever, they eventually walked us up a ramp and sat us down in these chairs. I eventually realised it was a ship when I could hear the engines starting up, and two mercs sat down next to me.
It was a... quiet journey for the most part... except for the start... Alexis kept asking if I was okay, but I... guess I kind of zoned out. It's not every day you get voluntarily kidnapped and hit in the face, y'know?
I did answer her eventually, even though my head hurt like hell, and one of the mercs made a mocking comment in response, something like "how did that rifle stock feel?" or whatever... I just ignored him, and the rest of the journey was just silence, only hearing the ship manoeuvring and the noises of the FSD. I don't know how many times we jumped, maybe two or three times... but it's all a blur, I guess. Eventually the ship came to a sudden halt, and landed... and as suspected, we were told to stand up and we got escorted down the ramp again.
I should've probably paid more attention, but I think all we really did was walk for quite some time... Then, I heard a door open, and they yanked my suit's backpack off me... so no tools or power. Someone told me to "stand still", and then I could feel him patting me down... could hear someone running a scanner as well. I guess they were searching for trackers or... weapons, or something. But, I had nothing, so eventually they shoved me forward, and yanked the bag off my head.
I turned back, and could see Alexis, and four heavily-armed mercs... two of them busy searching her like they did with me. She was putting up a little bit of a fight, telling them they shouldn't dare touch her... that kind of stuff, but they just laughed and shoved her into the room eventually, removing the bag over her head as well. She was about to say something to me when she saw me, but one of the mercs cut her off and said they would remove the cuffs now - but any resistance and they would... well, shoot us.
So... we complied... they took the cuffs off the both of us, and laid out the ground rules I guess... that this would be our room for the time being, that there was a food fabricator and water dispenser in the room... that later we'd have a meeting with someone, and any attempt to escape would be met with "lethal force"... Fun. Oh... and apparently the room is monitored constantly, so... even more fun.
Then, they just left, and locked the door behind them. We both took our helmets off, and Alexis looked at me, a bit worried, I guess... Probably because I... y'know, got hit in the face and now have a black-eye. So, I just said I was okay and... gave her a hug. I kinda needed one after all that... it was a bit stressful, but hey... in the end, I guess that's the hardest part done with.
It's... not that bad, in hindsight, if I'm completely honest... The room is actually quite nice... we both have a seperate bed, there's a pretty sleek bathroom... very luxurious... Doesn't beat my quarters aboard the Solaris, but still. That's just my opinion though... So, I'm... not sure what we do now.
I guess we just wait for the meeting... See if I can find anything to help with my eye... ugh... and then... uhm... I dunno. Hang out with Alexis until something happens, I suppose. Can't do anything else here. It is probably worth mentioning that we're on a planet... maybe at another settlement. There's no windows, but... I can obviously feel it when I walk. So, even if we did escape, where would we go? Ugh... probably shouldn't talk about this, we're monitored anyway.
Anyway, uhm... I'm going to go check what Alexis is up to... I think she's still waiting in the quarters for me, since I said I'd sit in the bathroom to record this, and hopefully I'll be able to record another log later if we have that meeting. So... here goes our plan. Fingers crossed this works out... again.
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Credit:
This story is only possible thanks to our squadron and community. Join TITAN Contractors, a diverse and talented squadron, and experience our custom lore and events. This logbook as well as associated images and story is property of TITAN Contractors, CMDR Radiumio. A special thank you to CMDR Alexis Bright for allowing me to use their character in the story!
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