Thargoid War Journal: First Half-Year
08 Aug 2023Streya Jormagdnir
The past few months have been a blur. I'm only taking the time to record this because I have a chilled can sweating in my hand and my inhibitions are lowered. What more does a warrior in any age need than a fine drink after a fight?What was I saying? Right, the war. After returning from the California Nebula I mostly focused on more peaceful endeavors like evacuating escape pods and infirmary patients or repowering broken-down settlements in recovering systems. My trusty Imperial Clipper was more than up to the task of evacuating mass numbers of casualties and patients while speeding safely away from all known Thargoid Interceptor and Scout variants at the time. Sure, I would skirmish Scouts in self-defense, but gone was my desire to mill Interceptors for yet more endless profit.
Though I have sworn loyalty to the Pirate King, I am myself not the most proficient pirate in my squadron when it comes to nabbing other people's property in my ship. Rather I am more a ground operator and recon pilot, and so I put my skillset to use in bringing honor and legitimacy to the Kumo Nation. Even so I contemplated the nature of our war with the Thargoids as Commander Dylan D had encouraged me to do.
At surface glance Azimuth and other AX weapons manufacturers would seem to benefit from the war, but on further time and reflection it's clear Azimuth's stock prices and public support have only plummeted, while Aegis still never fully recovered from disbanding. During a visit to Kit Fowler I was tuned on to a stream calling itself the Anti-Club Accord that said the conspiracy surrounding CMDR Salomé was true, and the shadowy Club were advancing some vast plan. All too much for my duster brain to grok, but the arrival of the Thargoids has brought....
I have no words, not after what I've seen. "Devastation", "ruin", or "torment" are cheap approximations. Planetary ports set ablaze and melted through with the most polluting and caustic fluids. Civilian rescue ships riddled with new holes by the cannons and Thargon attack drones of a Hydra. Escape pods in combat aftermath twirling about after being ambushed by Berserker-variant Scouts, only a fraction of which maintained integrity long enough to protect their occupants from swift death by vacuum exposure. Some of the pods were just...taken? The Thargoids would just draw them into their ships? I saved as many as I could. I tell myself that, at least.
After awhile the Thargoids became aware of humanity's robust search and rescue systems of safety. Even as they destroyed property, brave volunteers made sure as many people made it out alive as possible. It's better to walk away with empty pockets than die buried in your treasure, and if even dirty outlaws like me at the edges of society are pitching in you have to imagine humanity's coming together in some way. That is also something I tell myself. And it's clearly something the Thargoids saw, because then the Glaives appeared one day.
At first the new Glaives appeared in the Maelstroms only, but then slowly there were reports of rescue Orcas being snatched out of hyperspace by new ships they couldn't outrun. Bulk passenger Anacondas reported their FSDs being shut down before they could high-wake out, making their heavy defenses little more than extra time to contemplate death. Pilots began recording speeds before being forced to eject and run dark, praying for their own rescue. At least 750 meters per second relative speed in a given frame, and they had weapons capable of shutting down FSDs and corroding Guardian tech.
I have been a warrior for most of my adult life and recognize tactical roles versus strategic roles. The Glaive is a strategic vessel, targeting rescue and transport ships such as the Orca or Clipper that would rely on speed to make their way to safety. It also uses missiles and shutdown lightning for those slower, more heavily defended vessels hoping to out-endure their assailant. This vessel is a predator. Hunter-type indeed! The Thargoids have cast a tighter net over humanity's cradling Bubble of birth. I immediately tuned my Courier to move faster still than these new Hunters.
At the same time, new opportunities for ground specialists like myself appeared. The previous contracts in recovering systems invariably dried up quickly, no doubt more greenhorn mercenaries looking to start their careers. But these new contracts called for more skilled operators infiltrating Thargoid territory itself and repowering military settlements while recovering strategic packages or data. Mercenaries soon found themselves faced with a new Thargoid automata similar to a skimmer, dubbed a Revenant by Aegis. These combat drones have become my latest hunts as I worked to repower settlements in the territory the Thargoids took from us.
After some weeks the number of systems the Thargoids controlled began to equal out and, gradually, decline. The number of work orders for ground operators dwindled to just a few systems. Humanity has done a fine job of beginning to push back, but the Thargoids have no intention of leaving. Not after hearing the logs from the Dedicant myself, being stalked by an even newer Scythe-class Hunter, and seeing evidence of Thargoid planetary colonization in the Bubble myself.
The fight will continue, and it's clearer now than ever it is irrelevant who started the war. It has become a total war, and now the Thargoids are abducting people en masse. Even regular civilian transports dozens of lightyears from the frontline have been torn open with all souls aboard taken. As a fighter who has proven herself stronger against many human opponents, I have a duty to prove myself stronger than the Thargoids. I've been readying myself for future soldiering opportunities at these new Barnacle Matrices. Scouting the terrain, sampling the resources. If the Thargoids want to plant roots I will gnaw at those roots with my teeth until they stop harvesting people like crops.
Being close to Guardian space the Church of the Eternal Void was relatively popular in my home system of Grebegus. I'm beginning to think they were right, and the Thargoids really are coming for our souls. I've begun exalting the Guardian ruins every now and then as a result, praying for a true Salvation that may never come. Humanity could really use some Guardian secrets on avoiding death in these times.
I'm not sure if my parents know about the life I lead now, after I ran from home when getting tangled up with the NMLA. I've been an outcast for as long as I remember, one of the few humans crazy and reckless enough to frolic around a xeno battlefield alone. If they do keep tabs on me...I hope they're proud of me at least for this. Even after the horrible things I did, the people I lash out at and hurt when I'm hurting...I hope they are proud that I ultimately use my strength to fight a threat as demonic as myself.