Personal Log 111: Correspondence
14 Oct 2016Jemine Caesar
+++ k-cast recorded burnchip message +++To: Sam Hodkin, c/o The Red Rose, Stevenson Base, Beta Hydri
From: Name Of Sender Withheld
Date: 24th March, 3302
<audio only, female voice>
Hello, Hodkin.
Here's a little vacation message from your girl. As you can see, I'm taking very good care of her. Just like I took care of all the others. Ha ha ha!
<A dark holo-image flickers into focus. It's me, head and bare shoulders only. My left eye is badly bruised. My upper lip is cut and swollen. There is a large graze on my right cheek. My hair has been hacked brutally short. I appear drowsy and my speech is slurred, as if I am drunk or drugged.>
Sam? Umm... It's me. All the other girls... the harem... are here, too. Only... we don't know... where 'here' is. We're on a planet. In a... a storage facility of some kind. There are some cargo canisters. And... some packing crates. There are no windows. And it gets so cold... So cold.
I... I don't know how long I've been here. I haven't eaten... at all. We... we get a little water, but that's it. We're all naked... and chained to the wall. I'm lying next to Suzanne Telford. I met her at... at Chowei, remember? And one of the other girls, Carina... she's pregnant. Four months. She's in a bad way.
Sam, we were wrong... all along. The harem murders. It... wasn't Alec Russell. Or Aoife Hohnlein. The murderer is--
<image cuts to audio only, female voice as before>
Aw! Too bad, Hodkin! Maybe next time! Ha ha ha!
+++ end of message +++
_______________________________________________________________________________________________________
+++ k-cast recorded burnchip message +++
To: Sam Hodkin, c/o The Red Rose, Stevenson Base, Beta Hydri
From: Name Of Sender Withheld
Date: 26th March, 3302
<audio only, female voice>
Hello, Hodkin.
Hey, your girl sure is enjoying her vacation! In fact, she can't wait to tell you all about it.
<The holo-image flickers into focus. It is me, head and bare shoulders as previously; bruised eye, swollen lip, and grazed cheek. I am even drowsier than before.>
Sam... help me... please... I'm... so... hungry... What? Yes... the games... I have to... tell you... She forces us... to play games... We... have races... Half of the girls... have to be... horses... The other girls... are the riders... She always... makes me... be a horse... She makes us race...by crawling from... from one end of the... the warehouse to... to the other... over and over and over again... for hours... We're all... exhausted... I don't know... whether I can... hold out... until you... get here... Please hurry... my love...
<image cuts to audio only, female voice as before>
There, you see? She's having a ball, here with all her friends! Too bad none of them seem to like the food, though. They haven't eaten a thing since they arrived!
Wish you were here, Hodkin? Hey, maybe I'll send you an invite!
Ha ha ha!
+++ end of message +++
_______________________________________________________________________________________________________
+++ k-cast recorded burnchip message +++
To: Sam Hodkin, c/o The Red Rose, Stevenson Base, Beta Hydri
From: Name Of Sender Withheld
Date: 29th March, 3302
<audio only, female voice>
It's nice to see my guests having such a lovely time. I'm so glad they've all agreed to stay a few more days.
<holo-message flickers on as before. There is a new graze on my forehead>
Sam? You... You're not coming... are you... It's all right... I know... that you... would come. .. if you could... but she says it's because... you can't find me... She changed the ident... on my ship... and she reset the onboard... computer AI... back to default setting... and there are so many planets... to search, it's like... looking for a needle... in a haystack... At least she's stopped... making us play games... We're chained to the wall... all the time now... Not that it matters... We're all too exhausted... to move... But we've passed through... the hunger barrier... so that's some... consolation... I don't understand... why she lets us all send these messages... or why she's... starving us to death... Why doesn't she... just kill us... Why don't you just kill us?
<voice of female, unseen>
Because killing you now would make it too goddam easy, you stupid bitch! I want you all to suffer first. Especially you, you fucking slut! And these little messages are meant to give your loved ones hope. The same hope I once had, before you shag-happy whores came and took it all away!
<image cuts to audio only, female voice as before>
Dear me! Such language. I don't know what could have come over me. But you saw how she provoked me, didn't you? That was very naughty of her. Don't worry, I taught her a lesson afterwards.
Ha ha ha!
+++ end of message +++
_______________________________________________________________________________________________________
+++ k-cast recorded burnchip message +++
To: Sam Hodkin, c/o The Red Rose, Stevenson Base, Beta Hydri
From: Name Of Sender Withheld
Date: 31st March, 3302
<audio only, female voice>
My guests are nearing the end of their vacation. As a special treat, I'm going to take them all on a little excursion. Your girl is really looking forward to it, Hodkin!
<holo-message flickers on as before. My head is now resting within a well-padded recess, and there are electrodes on my temples>
Sam... We've all been... strapped inside... the cargo... canisters... They're... slave pods... She says... we're all... going to be... loaded onto... The Last Thing... and taken... to another... system... I'm not... afraid... any more... because... she's right... I deserve... to die... after all... that I've done... She's entitled... to take... her revenge... and I'm nothing... compared... to her... She had... just... justification... for punishing me... for what... I did... Everything... she's done... to me... I had... coming... So don't... judge her... too harshly... Sam... I love you... Goodbye.
<image cuts to audio only, female voice as before>
Touching. And so reasonable, too. It's such a shame you can't send her a reply, what with you not knowing where she is. That's the beauty of burnchips, they're totally untraceable.
My guests are now all safely tucked up in their tombs-- sorry, rooms-- getting ready for their excursion. And I've replaced the sleep inducer with a drip feed of 'Wakey Wakey', so they won't miss a thing. It'll be a trip to die for.
Ha ha ha!
+++ end of message +++
_______________________________________________________________________________________________________
+++ k-cast recorded message +++Category AAA Encryption +++
To: Commander Sam Hodkin
From: Name Withheld By Sender
Date: 1st April, 3302
<audio only, male voice>
Mr Hodkin,
My name is not important. I have information which may be useful to you.
During the past three months, a certain individual has been responsible for causing the deaths of eleven women. A further twenty two women are now in grave danger.
On March 21st, the individual took control of a Cobra IV, abducting its pilot, commander Jemine Caesar. The individual altered the ship's ident frequency, thereby concealing its location from anyone on commander Caesar's contact list.
It would appear that commander Caesar is a close personal friend of yours. I know that she is the focus of the individual's recent actions.
I have reason to believe that the individual intends to use the ship in carrying out the final part of her plan. Precisely how, I do not know. Nor do I know the present location of the individual, her hostages or the ship itself. However, the ship's new frequency is 536.463.232.727. It will still be linked to commander Caesar's pilot ID. As soon as the ship is powered up, it will appear on your own long range contact scanner.
Be advised, the individual is resourceful, unpredictable and highly dangerous.
Mr Hodkin, everything I've just told you I only found out myself in the past two days. You are the only contact I have for any of the women. The rest are simply names on a list. I cannot go to the authorities with this, for reasons I would prefer not to divulge.
+++ message ends +++