Entry #013 - Eulogy
23 Apr 2017Zinnsei
Commander's Log, 23 APR. 3303System: Sagittarius A*
1100 hours, ship's time.
The following is a transcript from the memorial services held on Deck 5 of the Zemt Quinta Essentia, 23. APR. 3303
"Napoleon Ferguson was my friend. We first met each other on PEW-1901 in the Aditi system. I was running data for the Empire, as a young Viscount, trying to prove myself to the powers that be, and he and I bumped into each other on the flight deck, one day. He had just come back from a tour of duty in the Navy, and was looking for some time off to pursue his interest of exploration. At the time we were well met, but nothing more. I didn't have time for exploring, even though the fire did burn within me, and I didn't have room or the finances to support any more people aboard my ship. Times were tougher than they are now.
We met again at a later date, this time in a bar, still on PEW-1901. He had been to the Maia system to check out the fuzz about the, at the time, newly discovered barnacles. He had a lot of stories to tell and could even boast of having a shear of meta alloy in his personal belongings. Said he had taken it as a souvenir while on Obsidian Orbital. I, on the other hand, had arisen to the rank of Marquis and had my own share of stories to tell. Most of them not nearly as interesting as his, since everyday life in the Imperial Navy tends to not measure up to the awe of a Black Hole, but he listened and we talked for many hours. At the end of the night he gave me a firm handshake and told me to look him up, if I ever needed a crewman or just a co-pilot to pass the time with, while out in the black. He mostly wanted to explore, but combat and trading was not a problem for him, he said. We parted ways for the time being, he going to Bernard's Loop, to "see it from another angle" he said. I must admit that I was a little envious, but I had my duties to tend to.
A few months later, I was tasked with taking an Imperial VIP out to see the so called "Patchwork Planes". I ran into Napoleon again, while making preparations to install the luxury commodities, the VIP required. He was just passing through, on his way to visit family in Achenar. I couldn't believe the odds of meeting him a third time, this time in a completely random system, I had chosen for its High Tech economy. He later admitted to having kept taps on me and so the encounter wasn't exactly chance at all. He have me some good pointers on long range travel, before he had to depart for the terminal. I saw him off, as his shuttle left the station, and soon after made my way into the black with a prominent VIP and 6000 ly of space between me and the Planes. We returned unscathed about a week later, the VIP's desires for travel satisfied, mine flaring. I went back to Aditi and resumed my work for the Imperial Parties there, scanning outposts in a civil revolt, running classified data between systems, and soon thereafter I received my promotion to the status of Duke. At this time I had the rank and the finances to apply for stewardship of an Imperial Cutter. I set out to Achenar to get the paperwork done and once everything was cleared and nothing was left except bureaucracy, I got on the channels with Napoleon and asked him to join the crew as my XO. He immediately said yes.
Two days later he arrived and we greeted each other as old friends. We spent a few weeks going over exactly what we wanted to do with our new ship and decided that now was the time to go exploring. He was tired of The Bubble and I hadn't been able to shake that feeling of wonder, since my trip to the Patchwork Planes . I shall never forget the shine in his eyes, as he sat down in the co-pilot's chair for the first time. It is a marvel, the Imperial Cutter. That is a universal truth. We left for the Bava system to pick up a crew and outfit the ship, which I aptly and imperially had named "The Zenith of Quintessence". The rest, as they say, is history.
Napoleon Ferguson was my friend. He was a kind and brave soul with nothing but wonder in his eyes, as he searched across the stars. He loved his family, his crew, even me... and I must admit, I loved him too. He had a spark, an ember of what I can only characterise as a piece of the cosmos inside him. He was truly at one with the universe, when he was pacing the floors of the observation deck or sitting at the controls of the Zenith. I believe in my heart that he was truly happy, at the time of his passing. Sag. A was his grand dream; to visit the centre of the galaxy and marvel with his own eyes at the great, big well of gravity that is the Supermassive Black Hole. He often showed me holo's of other commanders' travels to the core and wished so dearly that he too could see this wonder of the galaxy with his own eyes. I have never seen him happier than when we first laid our eyes on Sag. A. We were both standing on the bridge, as the Zenith came out of Witch Space, and while the bridge crew along with myself exclaimed loudly and congratulated each other, Napoleon was just... standing there. He was starring into the void of the Hole and he was smiling, as a single tear trailed down his cheek.
Napoleon was happy; Napoleon was my friend.
That horrible day, when the Zenith was swallowed by Sag. A I was on the observation deck. I wanted some time to myself, and needed to think about the further legs of our trek. Napoleon had been adamant that he would take care of the ship and that I should not focus on anything else but my plans, for now. Nothing was going to happen and we would have plenty of time to discuss my plans later that evening. He wanted to take us closer to the Body Exclusion Zone and send out the drone, to catch a holovid or two of our encounter in The Core.
I still don't know what happened. Investigators from Colonia believe that he either lost control of the ship or that he was simply not paying attention. I reject these accusations. I knew Napoleon! There is no way in Hell, he would let his shipmates down or put himself before them. I assume we'll never know exactly what went wrong, as none of the bridge crew made it off the ship alive. I tell myself that he ordered them to abandon ship at once and tried to hold the Zenith himself while they made it to the escape pods. Unfortunately none of them made it back to Colonia. I understand that some pods were swallowed by the black hole while others disintegrated in the high wakes of the event horizon. I tell myself that when Napoleon could hold the ship no longer, he rushed towards the pods and made it there only to see the last one, with myself in it, seal off and depart. The thought of what he must have felt as his last hope of escape was snuffed out in front of his eyes drives me to wake up screaming in the night. It was supposed to have been me that went down with the ship, not him. Not him!
The only thing keeping me sane is believing, desperately believing that he knew he wouldn't get off the ship. That he only came to the pods to say goodbye. I have to believe this or I will lose my mind with grief.
As we all are gathered here today, at the Navigation Beacon, known as "the centre", we give thanks to our friend, Napoleon Ferguson. We thank him for the times we shared. For the laughs and good times we had. For the discoveries and the new horizons we made, but we explicitly thank him for all the lives he saved. He was a loyal subject to the Empire and a loyal crewman to the last. He was a great explorer and a great friend, and he will be sorely missed in the decades and centuries to come, by us, his friends and by his loving family, he left behind.
Let us all bow our heads in respect to this magnificent man as we commit this effigy to the void. Let the notes of the Imperial Lament carry with him our love, our tears and our smiles. Let our song travel with him forever and may his soul, where ever it is now, be at peace. I hope he found his true home in the arms of Sagittarius A* and may he sleep there forever with a smile on his face and our love in his heart.
Napoleon - you were my friend and I shall forever miss you."
Goodnight and goodbye.
End transcript