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+--- Thread: Another Miracle of Sirius (/showthread.php?tid=183647)
Another Miracle of Sirius - AngelofMercy - 09-28-2020
Crete News Service: Today our beloved Crete became a witness of yet another miracle the Sirius Star Cluster has to offer.
An unidentified ship of gallic origin approached Crete and was intercepted by a fighter squadron out of Tripoli Shipyard. The pilot identified himself as Benito Huarez using an old and obsolete clearance code. A scan of the ship revealed nothing out of the ordinary concerning unknown and probably dangerous technologies, but it's cargo hold was filled with commodities always dearly needed on Crete. Some of them nigh to impossible to come by for any Corsair. Food Rations, Pharmaceuticals, Rice, but also Rum, Tobacco and Furs, as well as some rare minerals and alloys for our shipyards.
Yet the miracle was the pilot. Benito Huarez left Crete about 10 years ago and since then he was counted for lost without a trace or MIA as the military calls such cases. A year after his disappearance he was declared KIA, Killed In Action, because no source Corsair have within the houses was able to follow any leads concerning him.
After his arrival at the main military spaceport, following Crete's security protocol, he was taken into protective custody for interrogation, inquiry and a medical check. It does not happen all day, that a long believed dead is back among the living.
Many of our brave fight and die and many are recorded as MIA. What is so special about him?
Since the capture of the Schiller, his family was involved in the development of our mighty fleet, our enemies have come to fear and Benito Huarez, DNA analysis has confirmed it is him, was seen as the next leader of the design team at Rhodes Shipyard. That all has changed due to his disappearance.
So what did happen to him?
The following excerpt is from the interrogation protocol:
About ten years and four months ago I departed in a freighter, with a shipment of Artifacts for the Xeno Base Milford in the Pennsylvania system. Although Zoner Space, Liberty authorities consider it to be their sovereign territory.
The route to Pennsylvania is not an easy one.
Omega 41 and 47 are contested by the Red Hessians.
Omega 49 had a strong Coalition presence.
In Dublin the Molly's and the Bretonian government are neither happy to see one of ours.
Leeds was simple. Except for a small trade lane gap the route between the jump holes is always covered by smog clouds.
In Magellan and Cortez I had to avoid the Lane Hackers and Liberty Rogues, allies of our Hispanic "brethren".
From there I went to California, Liberty Space, on my way to the Pennsylvania jump hole.
Within the Tahoe Ice Cloud I deviated from the usual route, because my advanced sensors picked up a huge facility, the Corsair Intelligence was not aware of. Then my ship was struck by an EMP mine. All systems went dark and I lost my conscience.
The next thing I remember hardly was some kind of interrogation room. They must have put me on some drugs to extract informations. My full awareness I regained on the transport to the LPI installation Sugarland. I was told, I had been trialed and convicted in "absence" for a variety of crimes, most notably the illegal import of extremely hazardous materials. The sentence: Ten years of prison labor.
The first two years I tried to find a way to escape and to return, but the LPI had moved the only assets for Corsairs in Liberty to another prison. So there wasn't even the slightest chance to escape. The next four years I just did my time, indulging in resignation. The remaining time I began to listen, to study the houses more thoroughly. I picked up every information and detail, that leaked into the prison, of what was going on out there. I heard of the different wars and the existence of Gallia. I was woven into an unquenchable curiosity. The Corsair view of Sirius suddenly seemed so narrow and small.
When I was released I did not feel the urge to return home immediately any longer. I wanted to see all the wonders and strange places I have read and heard about. After all, my record was wiped clean and I had the opportunity to go almost everywhere I wanted. Fortunately I gained access to an old secret bank account of my family. It was enough to purchase a small freighter. So I wandered around for the last months, exploring, freelancing and trading, which turned out to be profitable enough so that, when I entered Gallia, I could move up to a transport vessel.
The vessel I came here with. They call it the l'Ane, Ant. The Gallic authorities were always wary, when they checked me. Turns out the class is almost exclusively used by their criminal gangs. However, since they had no file about me and I was able to provide the logs, perfectly forged, of how and where the ship was acquired, they always did let me go, with a grim look on their face. Not without a fee though for the use of grey market equipment.
When I started feeling guilty for neglecting my duty to the Corsair family I knew it was time to go home. I purchased the goods I brought with me and set course to Omicron Gamma.
Everything else within the interrogation protocol is classified.
From the military we have been informed, that Benito Huarez is not deemed fit for military duty yet and thus he may not even wear the Corsair badge. More exams have to be conducted in the near future. Nevertheless he and his ship were put into service to supply and support our brave men and women in Sigma 17 for the time being.
Even though some of the quoted protocol might incense a good portion of our glorious family, we from the News Service think, he deserves a chance to prove, that his commitment to the Corsair cause is as deep as it was before. We hope to get a statement from him personally after his current task.
More Crete News after the military award ceremony.
RE: Another Miracle of Sirius - AngelofMercy - 10-01-2020
Benito lay in his bunk.
He tried to get some sleep, but couldn't. His men were exhausted as was he, to the point where body and mind are in such a disarray, one cannot find a good nights rest.
The ongoing campaign in Sigma 17 was in high demand of everything a person has to offer.
Benito had lost his Gallic transport due to the wear and tear of hauling supplies back and forth from Crete to the Barcelona's battlegroup. Coming under heavy fire so many times he lost count, the ship ended up at Tripoli beyond repair. The engineers there dismantled it to look for some new tricks to learn from their Gallic colleagues.
From his original crew no one was left. Badly wounded or killed one after another had gone, being replaced by men with less and less experience in combat situations. They were good men, dedicated, but no fighting material. Dock workers, Farmers, all sorts of civilian trades, who had some experience with spacecraft or cargo loading procedures. Some were just muscles.
None of them stayed long enough for Benito to become acquainted to. Many simply could not stand the stress. So a rotation system was established and the crew exchanged after twenty runs or sooner if need be. Despite Corsair bravado and boasting, although proven to be justified in many cases, many Corsair don't venture into space commonly. They take care about the daily business on Crete like on any other world.
Benito himself lost much weight. His face was pale. Fatigue and stress had left their marks and he had to admit, that the years in prison had their toll on his constitution and endurance. He had become soft. Sugarland was meant to be a euphemism, but the prisoners had a much more easier life there, than the commoner on Crete. So yes, for Benito it was a Sugarland and the labor not harder, than he was accustomed to. The food supplies and medical treatments were much better and inmates showing a good and peaceful behavior even could have visits under guard on nearby planet Houston. However, the ten years naturally made him older and even if he could get back into shape, he was past his prime now and in question for how long he could take this wear.
He rolled to the side.
The Crete media named his return a miracle and for them it might have been one. For him, he just survived an artifact smuggling run, that went south and eventually found his way back home. No the true miracles lie somewhere else. Often they are around us and we just don't take notice.
He took the trinket, which he wore on a leather band around his neck and examined it once more.
There is a miracle. Hidden in the microcosm, invisible for the human eye. For the most people just a piece of metal of some sort, but for him not being a stranger to material science an alloy, which most likely should not be possible to exist. It had a a slight glimmer he had not seen before on any other alloy and it felt warm as if it would be radioactive, but no radiation was emitted. It also did vibrate on such a small amplitude, he did not notice at first.
If he just could get the transport runs done and gain access to a far more sophisticated laboratory or test facility.
RE: Another Miracle of Sirius - AngelofMercy - 10-05-2020
Eventually falling into sleep, he dreamed about strange places. Foreign places he never visited, yet seemingly familiar to him. Beautiful but frightening. Some full of light, some soaked in darkness. Some full of Colors as if the stars were made out of rainbows. Some dull and monochrome. Creatures screaming in pain and anger. Aggression, rage. Others very calm and peaceful. Alien consciences reaching out to him.
He opened his eyes, starring into the darkness of his cabin, only surrounded by the monotone humming of the engines. What should have been some sort of nightmare, he did not feel this way. He felt embraced and cozy, yet suddenly very lonely.
'Nomads?'
More than ten years ago he had a similar experience, when he was part of a Corsair force, which had the task to cleanse Omicron Delta from any Nomad threat. They were met by a superior Nomad force, which decloaked right in front of them. It could have become a very losing battle for the Corsairs and they all knew it. However a Nomad conscience reached out to him, Benito Huarez an ordinary human and he transmitted the messages he received to the Corsair task force. In the end no shot was fired. The Corsairs, glad to see another day, retreated to Omicron Gamma and the Nomads went their way.
In the following weeks he was examined, studied, underwent all kinds of physical and psychological checks, but no marks or signs of an infestation had been discovered. So it must have been just a temporary, telepathic connection and it was a one time event only. At no point in the years in between then and now was he ever contacted again, nor was he dreaming about anything comparable. Since Liberty is far away from Nomad space, at least he thought it was, the years in prison blurred his memory about this occurrence.
He switched on the light and looked at the trinket on the leather band or more exactly the artifact. He had his suspicions, that it might be somehow related to Nomads, but he was never sure about. He had seen different kind of Nomads, even partook in autopsies of Nomad bodies and he had collected enough artifacts in his life to know, this was different.
Now he was even more eager to get to a test facility to help him reveal the secrets of this artifact. Though he would have to leave Corsair space for it, it would be worthwhile.
The campaign in Sigma 17 seemed to come to a conclusion soon and then he finally would have the time for.
RE: Another Miracle of Sirius - AngelofMercy - 10-08-2020
Crete News Service: A day of Glory and Honor
Today all of Crete welcomes our hero's, victors of the Sigma 17 campaign. Although the enemies seemed to have the upper hand at some occaisions, the commitment and determination of Corsair forces and their supporters as a whole made the difference. We shall not forget all the braves, who gave the highest a Corsair can offer, to achieve this victory. Next Sunday will be a day of mourning.
While our corespondents try to get some O-tones from pilots and officers of the warships involved, we finally got some time with Benito Huarez for a short interview.
Senor Huarez, how do you feel, now the campaign is over?
Tired, exhausted, still on the edge.
You don't seem to be happy or joyful over this victory?
Why should I? The campaign is over yes and we put our enemies at their place, but I'm not sure if the gain was worth the effort. All the hate and insults. So many died, so many got badly injured and for what? I was out there and it seems the situation in Sigma17 is still inconclusive.
You made quite an entry on your return by having the most supplies delivered to the Barcelona task force. Your commitment to the Corsair cause should be out of the question by now.
You published parts of my interrogation. I did venture throughout Sirius and have seen the effects of the permanently grown disputes and brutal conflicts, which happened during my prison time. I did not want my Corsair people to suffer the same fate as those of Planet Leeds. I did not want our beautiful Omicron Gamma to turn into highly radioactive waste space like Munich. So yes, helping the efforts to stop the enemy at the entry to our territory, as as best as I could, was my highest priority. Although Sigma17 was not the decisive victory we hoped for, we have stopped any further attempt to invade our territories for months, if not years to come.
What are your plans for now? Any intention to join our designers and engineers at Tripoli and Rhodes to further improve the capabilities of our fleet?
For the moment I can't really say. Many things have changed since I was gone. I still have to regain my combat skills and my network of informants and suppliers all over Sirius needs to be rebuilt first. Some very personal matters remain to be solved. Not to mention the modern technology our designers and engineers use today. I'm not familiar with most of it and have to study and learn once more.
If you would excuse me now. I'm still very exhausted and would like to finally get some rest. Somewhere quiet and calm, far away from the trouble.
Of course. Thank you for your time.
More Crete News after the Victory Parade