Miskatonic University Galactic Expedition 3303 - Day One
21 Aug 2017LCU No Fool Like One
It is the first day of our expedition and I had hoped that we would get off to a more auspicious start, but already we have been dogged by ill omens and poor luck. On my way from Maia where I had been liasing with Professor Palin I was waylaid by a ship from the Nebula Goat Appreciation Society. The commander's name Alhazred Sothoth has a peculiar resonance considering that it was the Yog-Sothoth worshiping mad poet Abul Alhazred who first introduced civilisation to the elder gods from beyond the stars
The fiend was yelling unintelligably into the comms channel and made an unprovoked attack. It was only judicious use of my pulse laser that saved me from the void.
The nescessary repairs meant that I was delayed and did not arrive at our start point in Sothis until 11pm. So you can imagine my annoyance when I recieved a compaint about the students from the station master at Newholm. Some of the students had collected alien artefacts of unknown origin and had been selling them on the black market. As a consequence some of the space station's functions were inoperable.
I learnt that only 6 of our party had managed to arrive on time and of these 3 had moved on beyond Rigel against my express wishes that they should remain to investigate the local system.
But who could blame them for wanting to leave this place. There is a malaise hanging over it. The ill bred inhabitants with their shambling walk and bulbous eyes are very unpleasant and the food is terrible, My room is shocking, the bed so filthy that I shall probably sleep on the chair tonight.
I had some other disturbing news. I learnt that our benefactor Shrub Rocketeer senior has been afflicted by a strange malady which has even the finest physicians baffled. His son is concerned that his father may pass while he is on the expedition. I am most concerned for his father. I was thinking of him only the other day while I was watching the freshmen cavort in the Rocketeer Zero G Gymnasium. I can only hope that he makes a speedy recovery or at least holds out long enough to sign the deeds on the new Python that he promised the faculty. It would certainly make the journey more comfortable than the shabby and cramped Diamondback explorer that will be my transport for the near future.
There is still no news of the advance party and professor Lake. I hope the against all the odds that he hasn't suffered the same fate as his ill omened ancestor on the disastrous Antarctic Expedition of the 1930s. I hope against hope we will find him safe and sound.
In the morning I shall start my tour of the system and then the research can begin in earnest lets hope that he remaining students turn up in one piece.