Internal Aegis Recording [October 17, 3310]
04 Nov 2024Kasumi Goto
Author preface - I apologize for the narrative break that this might (also) create between the Abduction logs that I began writing... when was it now? August, I think. But yeah, in typical fashion, me and Meowers are just going completely overboard - which I believe I also already mentioned once before - and I received permission when I asked if I could post some of these things (more) relevant to current/recent narrative events in the meantime. I will reorder things to make sense in the order of timeline rather than when it was posted later.
So... yeah. Here you go.
"Connection error. No response from recipient.", a synthetic voice announced, marking the latest failure in a series of communication attempts.
"Damn it!" Alba was tempted to hit the top of her desk, but refrained from doing so. "Have you had any luck reaching Kira, Aden?"
"No. She appears to be unreachable.", he responded.
A frustrated sound escaped her. "This is just - do we have anyone free who can attempt to contact her carrier crew? Or even just one of her friends. They must know something about where she is, and I need to make sure she's okay. If what happened to Seo also happened to her, and she was flying a ship at the time... god knows what could happen to her! But I don't have time to keep trying right now."
"I'll get someone on it immediately. But if she was onboard a ship at the time, it will have safety features which should automatically engage if they detect the pilot is no longer conscious. I am more concerned about the possibilities if she was anywhere other than one of her ships or the carrier."
"Just - get me a report on her status as soon as is possible."
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*Some time later*
"Yes, Professor. I was able to establish contact. She is currently under medical supervision."
"Give me a summary, please. And send me the full report to go over later. What did they tell you?", Alba asked.
"It appears she was on the outermost section of a station in the Coalsack nebula at the time, when observers saw her collapse and suffer from convulsions, around the same time as Seo. They also stopped after a few minutes, at which point emergency responders took her to the medical bay. Then, upon verification of her identity, the local staff entered communications with her private capital ship, to which she was transferred when it was ensured her condition was stable, as its team has more experience with her. Currently, Kira appears to remain unconscious, with unusually elevated levels of brain activity."
"Thank you. I will discuss the rest with Aden privately."
The channel closed. Alba sighed after a brief pause.
"The same symptoms as Seo, at the same time... that can't be a good sign."
"It isn't.", Tanner agreed. "It seems to be connected to the ongoing assault on the Titan in some way."
"But how? Large amounts of activity in the Thargoid hive mind have always preceded certain major events, or been in response to our actions in this war. Yet it has never been so bad to render both of them unconscious, especially not in such an unpleasant way, and it seems rather likely that it is the cause." She leaned on the desk thoughtfully, supporting the head on both hands.
"You know the best we can do to respond to any attacks behind the front is to ensure our military forces remain ready, and send reinforcements to any invaded system as required."
"Yes, I know, Aden." Alba sighed again, in a tired way. "It doesn't mean that I'm happy with the thought. I wanted to end this conflict quickly to avoid further human casualties, not make the reports worse. And I'm not sure we were fast enough."
"It would be even worse if more active Titans remained to divide our forces. How do you intend to proceed with her situation?"
She straightened back out in the chair. "Well, there's only one obvious solution. Just get her back here, right now, if that is by sending a transport out there or getting her capital ship to move. As much as I respect her freedom and that she might not be happy about it when she wakes up, I can't in good conscience allow her to be out there when this is happening. It's simply too risky, and I also want our medical teams to evaluate her, as well."