Logbook entry

- Vestige Herald - "Wrath" Part 3: High Lord Murdered; Conspirators Revealed - December 10th 3304

"Citizens of the Vestige. The time has come to restore sanity to these worlds. Xeria showed us the way when she took the old Imperial Vestige from her decrepit husband's fingers. We were her followers, and now we are her legacy.

Your High Lord lies dead, run hundreds of light-years from the systems he claimed to control, amidst chaos sewn by the actions of a small few of our number and two barely concealed lies. His own daughter, your precious Lyria, a symbol you declared to represent your martial prowess, watched helplessly as our disciple butchered your chosen leader. The last time the coward fled us he survived a slit throat. We made sure this time that would not happen. His head hung loose by a thread as his guard slew our man, a worthy sacrifice, all too late to stop him.

You are weak. The Alliance has made you weak. Spearhead Charter has made you weak. Faith to the blood of the old houses has made you weak. You concern yourselves with the welfare of others before yourselves. This cannot stand.

We have shown you Spearhead Charter's flaws. We stole their ships and could not be traced. We turned you against a man you chose to follow with three words. Your democracy allowed us to tear your Royal Guard apart, sending them off pointlessly to Svantiochna while we could infiltrate your home systems. We have walked among you for months; you followed us these past few weeks when we incited you to revolt. You lack powerful leadership. If you continue this folly of democratic vote, you will never rekindle the true military pride that Xeria's Vestige amassed. You will always fall short of your true potential.

Lyria. We speak to you now. We are those who killed your brothers, your sisters, your mother, your uncle, cousins, friends, and now your father. One day you will join them. But first you will suffer. We will not give you a quick death, not after what you did to Xeria. But we need her no longer. She showed us the way. When we are done with you, you will beg you had never escaped slavery. You will know hell before we cast you there.

You will know fear. You will know our vengeance. You will know Xeria's Wrath"

"Please, all be seated. We are equals here. On this day let nobody stand above anyone else. You all know by now that my father, Jakken Eardley, has been... murdered... by conspirators now known as Xeria's Wrath. These criminals have been unknown to us until now. Their revelation began with the assault on Duront's Legacy, sewing discourse among us. Their actions tore us all apart, leading many, rightfully, to be angered by Spearhead Charter. The evidence presented pointed towards us, and though falsified was of course sufficient to cause the madness of the past weeks. I blame no citizen of the Vestige for the nightmare that has happened, save those bastards who revere a dead war criminal. I say this now; supporters of Xeria's Wrath have no place here. Terrorists, murderers the lot of them.

You all know that I fought Xeria's forces in the revolt that brought down her empire. Until now it has been unknown that I was responsible for her later death, as was suggested in the cruel statement earlier today. I will address this now. Xeria and her supporters continued illegal work on the weapon used in their flight from the Vestige, and a task force led by my father required her death to prevent the development. I have worked as a bounty hunter, an assassin, for many years now, and took the opportunity to exact revenge on the monster that decimated my family and so many others. I do not expect to be loved for my actions, nor respected.

Once my father became a target, I took him into hiding. Few knew of our location besides those in the SCRG who helped keep us safe. Initially we found shelter in Manktas, later escaping to San Yulpa; we stayed in one place for no more than a few hours, dozens of assassination attempts thwarted. Eventually no place in the Vestige was safe. Father made contact with a close friend, Admiral Hyde of the Leviathan Scout Regiment, who promised us safe harbour if we could reach their home system of Diabak, undetected. The stealth technology used by Xeria's Wrath in the attack on Duront's Legacy was worked into an Imperial Cutter, in the final stages of its production for what was hoped to be a royal tour of the Vestige. Combat fitted and rigged for stealth, we flew from Fast Ring to Diabak undetected. Father... he knew it would be his last flight. Before we left Manktas, he asked that we visit Dastaena one last time. On arrival in Diabak, we looked down on their beautiful Earth-Like World, terraformed from a planet that was once not unlike our own beauty. He... he told me of how he wished he could have seen the project reach completion, to breathe the air on the planet which would become our homeworld. We docked at Thomson Orbital, solemnly greeted by the hand-picked LSR guard, and proceeded to a safehouse.

After a day it seemed as though we were safe from the hunters. No attacks came, though the guard did not relax. I couldn't sleep, Hyde's men worked tirelessly to ensure our security.

Somehow they took out one of the guards, unknown. They must have predicted our exact move; they had a double ready. An exact replica of the LSR soldier, cosmetic surgery, dental records changed, voice-box modulation.. Intelligence has given up on identifying the original owner of that body. The only reason we know it was a double is that the real guard was later found unconscious, bound and gagged in a dark corridor somewhere far from the safehouse.

Father... asked me to get him a glass of water. "I'm not thirsty" he told me. "I just want to see Dastaena again". As I poured the glass, the assassin drew his knife. We all heard it and turned. My pistol was in hand before the glass hit the floor. The LSR had their rifles trained on the figure they thought had been one of them. But we.. we were too late. His knife was already... no, thank you my friend, I can finish this. Father was dead before the first shot was fired. I don't remember what happened next, bullets flew in a blur and the next thing I remembered was withdrawing my sword from one of many wounds through the lifeless corpse that had murdered my dad. I vaguely recall finding myself back in Manktas. I listened to Xeria's Wrath tell us all how we had been defeated over and over. And now we're here.

We've prepared for this, as much as I didn't want to. The succession will be determined by public vote, as was decided when dad first created Spearhead. I'll stand for High Lord... father always wanted me to follow in his footsteps. But I urge you to vote for whoever you deem most suitable for the position. I just left a meeting with Spearhead Command, discussing our steps moving forwards. It turns out leadership there is a little less democratic, and I technically now hold the rank of Commodore after succeeding dad. However, I think we can all agree that the name of "Commodore" has been sullied by all this. And I am not a military strategist. A stateswoman, a combat pilot yes. But I don't have the ability to lead the SCRG that my father did.

I'll be naming Iapeto as the leader of the SCRG, taking on the newly created rank of Fleet Admiral. Myself, Savoy and Wretched Wolf will support him in his new position, and we have every faith in his leadership. It has already been decided that we need to build up our ranks, strengthen ourselves, and prepare for the coming conflicts. We have a difficult fight ahead.

I know you can't hear me father. But I promise you I will begin what you started, I will bring freedom to the Vestige. I will bring an end to Xeria's Wrath, whether I rule the Vestige or have to act alone. And one day I will walk on Dastaena, for you."

- Lyria Eardley, Blood-Heir to the Vestige, SCRG Specialist and nominee for the positions of Lord Manktas and High Lord of the Vestige

"Myself, as well as the rest of the Leviathan Scout Regiment, wish to offer our deepest sympathies for this tragic event that has transpired. Jakken, pardon me, Lord Eardley, was a dear friend to me...he came to us in his time of need, seeking asylum, and though we did our best to conceal him,  we couldn't see see the deception until it was too late. However, we also understand that his daughter, Lyria, has a blood claim to both position of High-Lord, as well as The Vestige.  I know she must not see us in a pleasant light...we made a promise and we failed to keep it... but Jakken was a damn good man, his people are good people, and should his daughter wish it, we will ensure that she has the support she requires, to both right the wrongs that have been inflicted upon her people by Xeria's Wrath, and to ensure that something like this does not happen again."

- Hyde, Admiral of the Leviathan Scout Regiment