LOG #084 - Commander A. Adair - TITAN Contractors
25 Nov 2021Aurora Adair (Radiumio)
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LOG: #084
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: T.O.C. Solaris (Drake-class Carrier, Q4V-40N)
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Heya...
... I guess I might as well get right into it. It's been an... 'okay'... few days... mostly keeping to myself and having a few visitors at my quarters and all that. Though, there's always something going on... because - despite me being suspended from squadron operations - they told me a few days ago that the carrier was infiltrated on the 15th... and our security teams only realized it on the 21st. Yeah... whoever it was was good... very good - good enough that we didn't realize it until it was too late. And the real kicker? They stole the datapad that had Quinton's will on it. The same will that promoted me to SC - for a reason I still don't know. Honestly... I kind of forgot about it.
So, I'm not sure how to feel about that... especially now that they suspect there was other data on it that we never found, and whoever stole it probably knows that... and... well... yeah, I dunno. They also think it's tied to the Crimson Venators - I... uh, actually, I don't know if I mentioned that. The Crimson Venators were basically a... a subgroup of Paladin. I didn't get too much of a chance to catch up on Interpol's investigation, but apparently they're a group of around 17 ex-Federal black ops soldiers and pilots - we destroyed one of their ships when they attacked the Solaris.
So... while they don't think they infiltrated the carrier themselves, they hired someone to do it. An individual good enough to pull the job off... and there's no telling where that datapad is now, nor what it had on it. No backups were made. So yeah, I guess that's a [#$@!]-up. Anyway... after the article went out saying the carrier was infiltrated, Thallia came and visited. She's real sweet... we had a nice, thought-provoking conversation. Originally she just wanted to talk about how she could help the investigation and maybe bring whoever did this to justice, but because of how the Peacekeepers operate, I unfortunately couldn't give her permission or anything... especially not while I'm suspended.
But then the conversation just quickly trailed off into other topics... how I was holding up and... oh, right. She wants to host a movie night for the six or seven of us, just a get-together on a ship she's preparing. I'm honestly... so excited for this. It's one of the things that's constantly on my mind since she mentioned it - I've never been much of a movie person... and I've never been to, like... a theatre or anything. But, I'm more excited just to... get together with everyone and relax, for once. Hopefully.
Anyway... then we spoke a little bit about how it was like being in a coma... and... yeah. Then that kind of led into her mentioning how Connor... seems to like me. You know... that guy who saved me at HIP 18117, in that Thargoid site? Who used to be a Hivemind associate - then abandoned that life and joined up with Centurion... same guy who asked me out before I got... injured.
She asked if I was still going to take him up on his offer... and to be honest, I dunno. He seems like a nice guy with one hell of a story to tell... one I'd kind of like to hear. Maybe I'll leave that up to the movie night, if he wants to come along. I think Thal's sending out invites too, so we'll see if she invites him. Anyway, after that... then we had a bit of personal discussion, which was nice, but I'll leave it out since... yeah. Novus popped around too and... uhm... that was... certainly an interesting... interaction... to say the least.
... Then for the next two days, I just spent time... doing my own thing, I guess. Tweaking my suits, resting... watching the news or whatever. I'll admit, it was extremely boring, I like... doing stuff y'know? Should've gone out exploring, but... okay... I'll admit, I was also just enjoying the peace, I guess. And... part of me is glad I did, because, as fate would have it... Alexis sent me a message on the 24th, just yesterday. After being gone for a month... here she was, sending a message. I was angry, yeah... but after I realized it was a distress call, I rushed to my ship. Genuinely... that might've been the fastest I've gotten suited up and departed the carrier.
The message said something about her crash-landing in an unpopulated system above the galactic plane... some 200ly from the bubble. So, I took the Andromeda... it's the best for long-range travel, after all. Made it there in a few jumps... and before I knew it, I was instinctually approaching a crash site on planet 2 C. I'll be honest, so many thoughts were racing through my head... like what if I was too late... or if it was a trap... the usual. But, I shut it out and just... did what I had to do.
So... to cut a long story short... I found her in a crashed Keelback. She was awake... opened the airlock for me, though she was injured from the crash landing. I'm... a little surprised she survived for so long out here. The temperatures were very high... and the Keelback was on its last leg. I'm just glad she did... but... after I realized she was fairly okay, I... I got mad. Mad that she got herself in this situation... and almost got herself killed. So... I might've been a bit harsh to her... told her she had some serious explaining to do and... she quipped back a little... which just made me more mad.
Though... when we got back to the ship... I started to maybe realize I was standing my ground a bit too firmly... but I had to know why she left suddenly. Without keeping me updated or... anything. Turns out her contact dragged her into something, claiming they urgently needed her help and... she didn't say much but... got upset. Just said she wanted to be useful... that it felt like people were avoiding her on the Solaris. Then she apologized. Thought that I didn't like who she was... her behaviour and... she was going to try update me but then things went bad... and she basically got kidnapped.
I just wish she didn't leave... I thought we were making progress, trying to get her out of that line of work... but it just turns out it was my fault in the end. Maybe if I just... tried harder, to make her feel like she belonged... or if I actually made an effort to get a contract with CSF for her... this wouldn't have happened. That I wouldn't have almost lost her again. I feel awful... for being so harsh to her... after everything that happened, all she needed was me... and I couldn't even put my anger aside for that. Let her explain herself... I could've at least started by saying I was [#$@!]ing glad to see her alive...
What the [#$@!] is wrong with me? Ugh... It's... we've yet to go over everything, so... I'll talk to her... soon. She's in BLUSTAR custody right now, in the medical wing... getting treated for her crash injuries. I hope we can have a proper conversation about this... It's just... I... ah, nevermind.
... Other than that... today... I decided I'd go back to the crash site - her crash site - just for a little bit. See if I could maybe find anything in the system. The Keelback she took is still there... though its signal got pretty weak, so I had to manually track it on-foot in the blistering heat - would not recommend again. But... I was able to get the blackbox out of the ship. It's a little damaged and I've had no luck in powering it up... but yeah. My quarters is a mess right now, just covered in wires and... hacky solutions all linked up to the blackbox, just to see if I can get something out of it. Heh, uh... hopefully no one pops by.
Though, in that same system... I did find something else. Wasn't able to really do anything due to the automated security but... on another planet there was this structure. Not sure what its purpose was but it had an uplink and everything. Sentry skimmers were enforcing a trespass area... and while I could've taken them down, I didn't bother. I'll see what I get from the blackbox, and then maybe I'll consider going back... Could be related.
But my priority... is to just make sure Alexis is okay. She's got a lot to catch up on and I... should be a bit more gentle. I really should just be more happy to see her... but... yet another thing I [#$@!]ed up...
Mhhh... This is bothering me. I need to go talk to her... I'll do this blackbox thing later. Oh, and maybe I'll tell her about the movie night. She might like to come along... well... I hope she'll want to come with. And... this time, maybe I'll make an actual effort to get her a contract with CSF... or just... something. Hell... at this point I'll pay her to stick around.
Anyway... yeah... Fingers crossed I don't mess things up again... for the hundredth time.
See ya around.
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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 CMDRs Alexis Bright, Thallia Thorn, Solix and Novus for allowing me to use their characters in the story!
INARA page here.