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**Sombs** · (This post was last modified: 04-02-2016, 02:05 AM by Sombs.)

These log entries are created in secret and aren't available neither to the Core nor any other entity.

Captain's log - Ezrael Vertiga

[Image: defending03_by_rhulaner-d9xbxf9.png]

Omicron Delta. What a fitting name, if you ask me. The nomad river has it's delta in this system. Today, I was reminded of that fact, when the giant nomad battleship suddenly appeared very next to the Zoner Freeport 11.

About two weeks ago I gained the command of the Apahanta. Mako-class battleship. One of those ships all those core captains like to take to feel good. To feel strong. To feel like they can command around anyone, be it within the core or other pilots and captains. It's true, I joined the Core to get my hands on one of those ships too, but I'm not one of those eager-to-shoot guys who fly around, jumping from system to system and tell people what to do. "Drop your nomad stuff!" "This is Core-space now." "Hey scumbag! Out of my way or you're blown to smithereens." Or, just like the captain of the Core Mako "Beast" said while entering the no-fire-zone of FP11: "This is Coreport 11!"
People tend to go crazy out here in the Omicrons. Everyone knows. Maybe it's the desolate area, or all those green clouds, or the high frequency of battles all around here and there. Or the omnipresent nomads, hiding, cloaked, waiting for the first best moment to attack.

I don't know what causes the guys here to become weirdos. And I don't know how long it will take the Omicrons to consume my sanity. Nom nom nom, maybe it's already happened. Whatever.

It took nealy all of my money to get what I wanted. I became captain of the Apahanta. And now, this ship is in Alabama's Repair Bay, and I walk around here in my room, knowing that was only the first time I will have to come back here to get this ship repaired. The lower section of the ship is totally gone. Not so fishy. I need new robots. About 15 of them got lost when the marduk shot us into two big pieces. Two of my human crew members are dead, four people still with unknown status. Maybe they got into the escape pods. Maybe not. They are searching the area for remaining escape pods, or any other surviving ships. I hope the Eidolon did make it.

[Image: defending02_by_rhulaner-d9xbxge.png]

My duty was to defend Freeport 11 in case of an attack by nomads. I failed. The Beast - to be honest, I can't say I care very much - was destroyed, as well as the suddenly showing up Outcast Battleship that assisted in the defense of Freeport 11. I don't know why, but I think the Captain knew the nomad was about to attack the freeport. Boy, really, I need to get us a better sensor array. And Cloaking Disruptors. And everything else.

There is something I wonder about. Only a couple of hours before the attack, we found something in the fragment belt around the sun in the center of Omicron Delta. I'm not a scientist, but those things looked like alien artefacts. Nothing unusual? Maybe. We're patroling the system for one whole week, scanning everything again and again, just to be sure. Right, every day we found new escape pods filled with Order pilots, Core pilots, even Zoner pilots. Nothing unusual. There are some ship wreckages in the belt, three to be precise, known and scanned several weeks and months ago. Remnants of the battles between Core, Order, Corsair and other weirdos. But this time, we found a new wreckage. A fresh wreckage. Scanned it, was clearly an Order design. No survivors, just burnt meat. That fighter was very close to the sun corona. Anyway, there were those artifacts, two of them in the cargo bay, three of them around the ship. Did I mention this ship wasn't, apart from some sun-molten parts, not even damaged? Not even the heat shield. It wasn't damaged, it was manually removed. Unusual, if you ask me.

Eh, computer, pause it.

// I find it really challenging to write a whole story in english. Please be patient with me, I understand english nearly perfectly well, and I'm a skilled story writer in german, but this is the first time I wrote something like that. Chat is far more easier. If you want to help me inproving, tell me what I wrote wrong and tell me how it would be correct. :)

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**Sombs** · (This post was last modified: 12-01-2017, 04:34 PM by Sombs.)

These log entries are created in secret and aren't available neither to the Core nor any other entity.

Captain's log - Ezrael Vertiga

[Image: alabama_by_rhulaner-d9xfx8b.png]

The Apahanta is repaired. Some new crewmen, lots of new robots. I think it's always a good thing not to have too many robots on the ship, as long as encounters with AI ships have a slight tendency to be unpredictable. Fortunately, I made only good experiences with those, but others in the Core didn't. But, seriously, it doesn't make me wonder.

We left the Alabama Repair Bay as fast as possible to return to Freeport 11. I had to find out what happened after my ship was shot down. When we arrived, Freeport 11 was alright. Minor damages to the hull, and most of the debris from the battle were removed. Also, the Eidolon and Joshua Hunt in his little snub were still there. The Eidolon told us what happened: the nomad warship was destroyed, the Wilde bomber was able to escape. Eh, note to myself: I better recap what happened since we're on our FP11-Patrol mission. That Sapphire Raven on the Eidolon is a big topic. And it's better if my Core comrades don't know that she's more often in Delta than they know.

My participation in this whole crazy thing began just some days after we began the Delta patrol mission. Eh, some of inferiors are not happy with my interpretation of my orders, but I joined the Core to protect humanity from the nomads. And to get this awesome Mako. I made a clear announcement why I don't feel like shooting Order and AI ships whenever we encounter them. There are much more important things to do in these systems. So, I established some contacts. Most of them started with a conversation about how rare and unbelievable it is there is a Core guy sitting in a big ship, respecting the No-Fire-Zone of Freeport 11, talking to Order pilots, Zoners and even Bundschuhs in a polite and peaceful way and not looking for the first best reason to engage anyone. Well, that's not the last time I'll hear those things. But that's something I can deal with.

However, three days before the Apahanta got shot down by the nomads, there was the first sudden strike of a nomad marduk ship we witnessed. Like the incident three days later, the nomad warship decloaked right above Freeport 11. At that time, the freeport was well visited. Freelancers, some kusarian, rheinlandian and borderworld snubs were lurking around, chatting. I think there were one or two bigger ships on the radar, but we never got the opportunity to scan them. The marduk appeared, speaking to us in it's telepathic weirdo-speech, and instantly opened fire. Some of the snubs near the freeport began to fire at each other. I was a big mess, and I gave the order to fall back to Yaren, calling for assistance. About five minutes later we returned to the freeport, a bomber and a destroyer joined us, and we managed to destroy the marduk. But in the meantime, Wilde also joined the battle to support the nomad warship. A kusari capital ship and a rheinland corvette, the RNC Nestor. I'll never forget this name. The RNC Nestor was a Rheinland Militär Cruiser in the nomad war and was said to be destroyed by Edison Trent when he and his supporters managed to eliminate the entire RM battlegroup. Everyone and their mother know that story.

Two days later this corvette named after the cruiser showed up again in Delta, very next to Yaren and the Bellona. The Apahanta was about to undock when the captain hailed us. He asked me about the name of the current Core Guildmaster. I didn't respond to that, because that was too suspicious. Everyone in the omicrons knows Nodtviet. Later he asked me if I have seen a girl named Saphire Raven - the prior guildmaster of the Core - but I didn't play his game. I already knew that she is frequently visiting Delta, and even Rho. We had a funny first meeting near Freeport 11, when an other Core captain told me to kill her and Joshua Hunt. But that whole situation with Raven and the Core is not my business, so I told the captain of the Beast to do it himself if he is so eager to see her dead. That's why I don't like this captain. He's not my superior.

Anyway, hours after the RNC Nestor disappeared again, leaving Yaren in direction to the Rho Jump Hole, Raven and Hunt entered Delta using the Jump Hole behind Tuvalu. I'm convinced the Nestor is under nomad influence, so I contacted the Eidolon Wraith, Raven's ship, and told her the story. She then told me her story, why she left the Core and what she's still doing here in the Omicrons. A sick ship she has. Our scanners didn't work on it. Weird technology on a ship with a weird crew. But I'm sure we share the same motives: Protecting mankind from the nomads. I trust her.

Whatever. Duty calls...

**Sombs** · 04-09-2016, 04:43 PM,

These log entries are created in secret and aren't available neither to the Core nor any other entity.

Captain's log - Ezrael Vertiga

Eh, some time passed since my last log. Nothing interesting happened at all, some small incidents around Freeport 11, some nomad gunboats and cruisers around Kiribati, some Order captains thinking they must insult any Core in sight. No biggy. The Apahanta got a scanner upgrade, so we will be the first to know when something is around. As long as it's not cloaked.

However, there was one thing yesterday that was... well, I don't really know how to sum up what happened without telling some things that better don't get digitalized as a log. It was one of those weird things that aren't common even in the omicrons, to be honest. Or... I don't know. I guess I need to encrypt these logs anyway as best as possible. Some Core guys already can't wait to see me get shot or thrown out of the Core in a violent way. I can deal with that, and it makes it easier for me to not get too much into their policy.

Just because I don't see a reason to shoot everything on sight and claim any freight that might be "wanted" by the Core. I agree, slavery is the worst, and I will keep up trying to stop it in the Omicrons, but there has to be space to make the right decisions, not just dumb indoctrinated ones. Eh, whatever. There are extreme discussions about ideologies at the Freeport every day, when Core, Order and Outcasts come together and try to convince the others why their group or faction is the best. Already tired of that.

Yesterday, the usual patrol around Freeport 11. Captain Jess was there, an Order pilot and an Outcast, also our new Guardian, Ramesses al-Rashid, in a Manta. He just got his promotion. As I said, it was one of those discussion situations, and this guy even tried to involve me. Later, a weird AI cruiser joined the party, telling us it is a battlefield bartender? As I always say, most people in the omicrons are weirdos. Even the AIs.

Anyway, al-Rashid asked me to join his patrol in Minor. There was nothing going on in Delta, and we had some spare time. So I took the opportunity. We've been in Minor some times ago, updating the map, adding all the wreckages around Toledo to our database and checking the positions of the jump holes. Two of them moved up to two meters away from their latest tagged coordinates. No biggy at all. Al-Rashid then asked about that nomad jump gate and if it still works. He was eager to try it. So we tried it. Once again, my ship was in Major. I remember the incidents happening last time we we're here. Like in that system beyond Iota or the system we call Omicron "Lost", some crew members got crazy within hours and minutes.

Surprisingly, we were not alone in Major. Not encountering nomads, but some freelancers we already knew from the freeport and one very special young lady from the blood dragons. There was Sian Breacon, the dublin girl that wants to establish her own club on Freeport 11. Also that cardamine addicted lady, I think she was called Maren once? Anyway, the pilot of the Wiegenlied. And the blood dragon girl, Yuki Hideyoshi, stepping around the dyson sphere. She pinned her Blossom on the dyson sphere's surface, left the cockpit of her ship in a heavy rheinland metal suit, crawling around on that ginormous shell of metal. While we were in Major, watching what she was doing, al-Rashid got nervous, telling me he wants to leave. I asked him about headaches, but he said he's okay. On the other hand, one of our new crew members had headaches, starting about five minutes after entering Major. I once lost some crewmen to those headaches over a week ago, going nutz and dying for appearantly no reason. The guys on Alabama said that can happen in the omicrons, especially in those systems. So, as the medical bay contacted the bridge, reporting ensign Carmichael has a weird headache and behavior, we left the system, bringing him back to Alabama.

Some hours later, the ensign was healthy again. Just taking a minimum crew with me, we returned to Major. Hideyoshi was still there, in company of the Core's beloved good friend, Sapphire Raven in the Eidolon Wraith and an escort, designation Lelantos. Usually, she was escorted by Joshua Hunt. Maybe he sat in this ship. Don't know at all. They were in range of those nomad turrets around the sealed dyson sphere entry, taking a few hits. Luckily, those turrets more annoying than harmful, at least to heavier ships. Hideyoshi's blossom was damaged, out of shield batteries, but still pinned on the surface, however it was another location. Very close to the defense grid around the entry point. I decided to put the Apahanta in the line of fire, protecting the blossom, while the Eidolon Wraith mortared the turrets, taking them down for some seconds till the nanite repair systems of the dyson sphere brought 'em back online, returning the favor.

And then, the Order appeared, decloaking very next to the Apahanta and the blossom. With al the sudden the Andromeda showed up, Hideyoshi got silent. She stared at the cruiser, I heard her breath. They knew each other. The order cruiser, under the command of captain Tantalus from Horus, just stood there, it's captain not even thinking of insulting me or showing any kind of hostility. He said he just wanted an explanation from Hideyoshi.

I have the audio logs of this conversation. I guess it's the best if I insert them here, trying to get a picture of this whole thing...

Spoiler

So, first time in my life I was on a Order Cruiser. Most Core guys only see the interoir when getting captured by the Order. But I was there, welcomed, in peace. As one can hear in the audio logs, al-Rashid already left Major, returning to Yaren. So it was just the three of us: The Apahanta, the Andromeda and the Blossom. They brought Hideyoshi's ship to the cruisers hangar. Just big enough for one little fighter.

Captain Tantalus welcomed me, lead me to the Andromeda's medical bay, where we saw her, a young beautiful kusarian girl, about 18 years old, very weak, lying on the med-bedding and gave us a fearful look, seaching us for side arms with her eyes. She was tense as frack. We assured her she is in safety, she shall rest and take a little nap. Her body seemed normal, but the medical scanners showed a freaking opposite. "Shes been nearly damn turned into a nomad, almost like with an incubus... but its not present", Tantalus said. I'm not an expert about nomads and such, but I heared those terms already. So, this girl was altered by nomads, but she is a human in appearance and behavior. And what a beauty.

All she wanted is to get away from the blood dragons and the order. She wanted to go back to Cambridge, to her boyfriend. Having a normal life. So, Tantalus asked me if I can do something for her. Not only bringing her to Cambridge, but also find her a shelter for the meanwhile. The only places I had in mind where Gran Canaria and Curacao, since I don't trust Freeports to be a good hideout. Everyone visits them. Every faction has it's eyes and ears there. Best example is Freeport 11. Sometimes I wonder why the Core protects it, while it gives shelter to most of it's enemies. But Gran Canaria is a good short time hideout. People are about to leave this world since the temperatures will be frosty in the coming years. And Curacao, my old home. Well, will be hard to get there unseen. But once she's there, nobody will find her. I know it. It's not like I didn't hide some old friends there.

Now, in this moment, Yuki is still on the Andromeda, on the way to Dabadoru. Just to get some medical support. Captain Tantalus awaits me at Freeport 11, where the Apahanta will take care of her. I guess, Gran Canaria will be the destination, and later, Cambridge. Still, we're running just a minimal crew, so we should avoid getting into trouble at any cost.

**Sombs** · 04-22-2016, 08:11 PM,

These log entries are created in secret and aren't available neither to the Core nor any other entity.

Captain's log - Ezrael Vertiga

I'm a bit concerned about all the things that happened in the meanwhile. But first of all, I'm concerned about what did not happen. In my last log I talked about the story about Yuki Hideyoshi and Order Captain Tantalus. Well, I'm waiting now for a little while. I don't know what I should think about this. Captain Tantalus said he would meet me at the Freeport for our little tour. But I'm on a daily basis at the freeport and nor saw him neither her. I can't even contact him without the risk of the transmission getting intercepted by Core or Order. I can't even risk getting my ship too close to the Dabadoru Station, since the Battleship Apothis would interfere.

As long as I don't have an upgraded communications system for invincible encrypted messages, I can't do much. Whenever there's a window of opportunity, I should try to get one. Maybe from the Invicta Research Center?

Talking of this station. I had a meeting with David Shepard from the Invicta Research Complex in Omicron Rho because I desperately wanted one of those cloaking devices. The deal is, for some nomad remains and the schematics of the Apahanta, he would give me the Cloaking System with a little discount. A few hours later, everything was fine and now my ship has a cloaking device. Best investment ever. Well, it's not perfect. Like the most cloaking devices, they emit some weird background signals. Our Battleship Scanner can detect those signals, so we now if someone around us is cloaked. Unluckily, we can't use this kind of cloaking radar while we're cloak ourselves.

There were some incidents in last days and I still think it's better to not report all of them to the Core. I try to put my memories together as best as I cam, but I fear I already forgot about some relevant events. Maybe it's the strong radiation in these systems. I should get a health check. But maybe it's just a bit to much stress. Omicrons are going hard on me, to be honest.

There is a girl called Maren. I still don't know her last name, but I'm sure she's from Rheinland. Her ship is called "Wiegenlied", what is the rheinlandian term for lullaby. While this girl is, I don't know if I remember it correctly, an ex-rheinland military officer, she's was a common sight at the freeport, listening to the travellers stories while not really talking about herself. All I know is she's one of the poor souls who seem to live exiled and she's addicted to cardamine. And she's about 27 or 28? And she never had sex. I asked her, because they say cardamine-addicted people can't have sex anymore. Anyway, didn't see her in the last few days. I got used to call her "sweetheart" or "sugartits", while she called me often "Captain Handsome". According to her, she already has a boyfriend.

Hm, looks like I drifted a bit off. There was a situation when Maren talked to a stray Crayterian pilot, Emily Sawyer, who was looking for an old, weak signal. After a long chat and some nomad action in Delta, I remembered the abandoned installation in Omicron Lost in the orbit of planet Moros. Welp, exactly what she was looking for. While we were in Omicron Lost, she shared some information with me. According to her, there are alien ruins on Moros, causing the weird "ghost" signals in the system, similar to those in Major. At least, that would explain why the nomad activity around the jump hole to Lost is significantly higher than in the rest of Delta, aside from the nebula.

Knowing there's a bit more about Omicron Lost, I decided to patrol it more often.

Some days later, we made another found in this system: A Gaian panther and a nomad. Well, the nomad part is nothing new here, right? Wrong. This was a very unusual situation.

There was some kind of nomad mind-sharing on going when we arrived. The nomad, poining exactly at the cockpit of the gaian fighter, didn't react the whole time. It was just there, literally staring at the pilot. Again, a girl. Boy, the omicrons are dominated by girls. Anyway, the gaian girl was babbling some shenanigans, saying she didn't want to hurt humans but weirdly enjoys it. Even I was able to see there was something fucked up happening, and the nomad was causing it. But, whatever there was happening, I didn't want it to end by shooting the nomad. No one would have known the results. Maybe it would have killed the gaian girl too. Those mind links are something we know very little about. So I gave order to gently ram the nomad, and accidentaly we also ram the gaian ship. The result was a short moment of consciousness for the gaian girl, still very confused, and then it seemed the nomad was invading her mind again. We positioned the Apahanta between the two ships, but that alone didn't help. I warned the nomad, gave it some mortars slightly passing it, but I didn't stop. So we tried the ramming method again, and it worked. The girl just needed a little bitch slap and then she was fine. According to the IFF, the girl's or the ship's name was Forest Nymph - a stereotypical gaian name, if you ask me. When I was about to kill the nomad, she told me to stop, since she wanted the nomad to do what it did. She said she wanted to know about the intentions of the nomads, their goals, their motives... and the nomad has shown it to her doing this mindfuck thing.

But my inferiors put me in a difficult situation here. The Core would have wanted me to bring that girl to a lab to find out what the nomad did to her. I wasn't even sure if she now was sort-of infected or not. The nomad could have done everything to her. Our scanners showed no weird life signs from her ship. And when the mindshare was over, she seemed to be very clear in mind. Not like those very suspicious acting wild guys. More about that later.

So I had to decide what to do now. I didn't trust her, and she knew it. The nomad was still around, passive, doing nothing, and the gaian girl thought she would gain my trust by killing the nomad. But, even though she killed it, I wasn't sure. In the end, and making my inferiors questioning me, I decided to let her go, giving her 30 seconds to leave Omicron Lost and telling her she better don't make me regret it.

Speaking of nomads and infected, the wild...

I joined a battlegroup of the Core to patrol Omicron Delta one day. According to Core Command, there were some mysterious signals detected near the Lichtefelde Complex. We're watching the nomad installations in the nebula for a while now, and we know when there's something going on. The new cloaking device has proven to be very, very useful on spying the nomad activities without getting shot by the whole invading fleet. We collected data about the nomad battlegroup and shared it with our allies. Seeing some human built and captained ships among the nomad fleet remembered me to record every suspicious, potencially nomad allied ship. At least I was sure now the RNC Nestor was full of nomad infected humans. Raven was absolutely right.

Our ships engaged the nomad battle group, and the Apahanta was in the support role. Most of the enemy's ships were snubs, and with our snubs entering the dogfight, our weapons weren't able to get a clear target. So we took the opportunity and collected as much data about the nomad and infected ships as possible.

In the end, we won this skirmish, but the Nestor escaped. That was until yesterday, when the Nestor reappeared in Delta while I was talking with my new Sirius Coalition Revolutionary Army-friend, Miss Pimakhova from the Pyl'nist'.

I was just talking about infected, specifically about the RNC Nestor, when it decided to decloak within sensor range. That was a weird coincidence. The radar didn't even notice any background signatures. Nothing. It was just there, trying to play us a fool. But not this time. And the infected captain knew he would trick me anymore, bringing a nomad cruiser with him, which just decloaked right behind him. Designation Lahar. When the Apahanta was shot down under the command of Captain Farnham, it was the Lahar and the Nergal who killed him. Thanks god I wasn't on duty <when Core and Order decided to jump into Omicron Iota> and get the shit beaten out of them. We lost some good men over there, and I fear, I will see some of them in the future, on the wrong side, fighting for the nomads...

Thankfully, the guys at Alabama Shipyard know their work. Repairing a very heavy damaged Mako just needs some days. Wonder oh wonder.

The Nestor and the Lahar were in Delta, and I was with Pimakhova and two Core pilots about ten kilometers away from the freeport, sitting next to the Kiribati Asteroid Field. Captain Jess was at the freeport, woken up by the alarm sirens, launching the WV-Danger Zone to engage the enemy in terrible mood. I warned the Nestor multiple times to leave Delta, but they decided to stay. Captain Jess took the lead, we engaged the nomad cruiser and the battle began. The Lahar was shot down very quick, so our battlegroup, including Pimakhova, focused on the Nestor, giving it a hard time and finally destoying it. However, some of their rescue pods escaped.

Erh, I should get some sleep and continue this later.

**Sombs** · 05-02-2016, 12:31 PM,

These log entries are created in secret and aren't available neither to the Core nor any other entity.

Captain's log - Ezrael Vertiga

Madness.

Some time has passed since my last log here, and things have changed a lot in the meanwhile. Maren and I are a bit closer to each other now. She's a fine girl, although I never saw her outside her ship. Well, I hope this will change soon. Anyway. I was thinking about leaving the Core a long time. I mean, I had good intentions when I signed the mercenary contract with Nodtviet. I spent nearly all of my life's savings for the restauration of the Apahanta, to captain this beauty of a ship and further upgrade her with a latest technologies. I even managed to get a sort-of loyal bridge crew now that shares my opinion about Core policies, while a lot of my inferiors seem to be about to report some of the decisions I made, mostly about showing mercy or talking to pilots or captains of vessels of Core-opposing forces. Showing respect to the zoner CoF laws. Not engaging Auxesians. Things will add up to some point. I'm afraid Core will not be willing to tolerate my behavior for much longer. They already tried to make me do things that are not part of the contract. I signed up for the Core to defend mankind, but Core seems to have more interest in oppressing mankind than defending it. I wonder if Core even has the intention to find a solution to the nomad danger. As far as I can see, they are just ressources.

I mean, I joined the Core because it is the only, more or less, lawful force in the Omicrons. While I already knew the Order is not just a simple group of terrorists like the Xenos, contacting the Core was far more easier than get a connection to the order. Erh, enough of those reasonings. It's simply the wrong decision. I have to deal with this now, and I'm about to do it. But since I invested all the ressources I ever had, including all the heritage my parents left me when they died, I can't just leave the Core without having a tough vessel that will protect me from them seeking revenge. Everyone knows what happens to Core deserters. (x) Although, since I never joined the Core officially, I never did this oath. However, I don't think Core will allow me to take the Apahanta and leave. They seek power and money, and even though I technically buyend and own this ship, it would only need Core to kill me and take it back, with all the efforts I put into it.

My Corvo won't be enough to keep me safe, especially not in the Edge Worlds. While at least the unlawfuls show their respect to the Zoners and Zoner ID'd vessels, I can't rely on this only. So, I decided to take the Apahanta with me. This is an insane plan, and probably the chance to pull the thing off is slim, while the chance of having a long, healthy and happy life after this will be even more slim, if not zero. Crazy times force me to do crazy things. So I started to make a plan. And I decided to share it with Maren. Or at least parts of it. To be honest, I expected her to laugh at me when I told her about it, but she instantly seemed to be convinced about me not just making jokes...

The same day I told her about Curacao, my home planet. The beaches, the tea, the places that Orbital Spa and Cruise didn't ruin yet... and I asked her out for a dinner, somewhen, when all this is over. She agreed, and now both of us have a very good reason to stay alive and survive this entire madness in the Omicrons. I really, really hope we will have this dinner.

Eh, Ezrael, don't get too emotional on this. This is not how you did things in the past, surferboy.

Anyway.

While I expect the message to give up my ship to be thrown out of the airlocks any day, I try to do some preparations for my plan. Stealing a whole battleship... well, it's mine already, technically, but Core sure has done some security measures to prevent a happening like Sapphire Raven did with the Eidolon Wraith. I need to be very, very careful about this, and it will definitely not be easy. I know only so much about my ship. Core sure didn't tell me everything.

I will not give any details on the plan here in this log. I fear the possibility that one of my inferiors may try to steal this recording stick. Well, I hide it very good, in my opinion. But it's better to not push the luck too much. All I can say now is

- when I steal this ship, I must get rid of the crew. They sure will kill me for deserting. I'm a fan of not getting killed. Auxesia agreed to help me (x) with this. Well, I surely need to pay them a lot money for it, but right now money doesn't matter. Still have enough. Core paid well, to be honest.

- I will need a crew to maintain a battleship. Repairing it, watch all the subsystems, handle the gunnery, even a medical team. Well, a Mako usually runs with a crew of about 470 people, and with all the funny APM installments, we already managed to run the Apahanta with a skeletal crew of only 200 people. So I asked Kishiro Technologies to sell me a robotic service crew (x), programmable and able to maintain a ship like a Bustard. I still wait for Kishiro to give me the details for the meeting, but those guys assured me that the robotic crew would be enough to at least "run" a ship of this size. However, whenever I'll encounter some guys that are willing to work for me and seem to be serious, I will let them join me. I guess, now that the Core and the Zoners are in conflict, they sure will look forward to work with someone who shares their doubts about the Core. I will try to get as many Zoners to support me as possible. They surely know I always respected them and their laws.

- Maren is trying to get me a professional encryption software. (x) In order to communicate with some friends, I need to make sure neither me nor they get into trouble for sending and receiving transmission from me. I don't like the fact that Core already intercepted some of my earlier transmissions. Also, I want other factions to not have their eyes on my messages.

- I tried to contact David Sheppard (x) from the Invicta Research Complex in Omicron Rho. The last time I met him, he seemed to be indipendent from the Core, although they seem to share some assets. Anyway, I wanted him to help me, craft me some long-range-transmitters for a communications network. I don't want to rely on other faction's networks. Just in case. However, I'm afraid Sheppard won't help me with this, since he didn't respond to me yet. I guess I'll have to contact some other persons as fast as possible. Maybe Raven can help me with this too, but I try to avoid getting one party too much involved in this. I guess asking some Zoners would be the best solution. Well, undercover, without saying "Eh, hey, it's a Core captain here".

- I'm pretty sure Core has some deeply hidden master controll programs somewhere in the ship's computer. Something that will hinder other factions to just board a ship and take it. While the plan includes Core not even letting know that the Apahanta will be stolen, but destroyed, I guess I'll just do some transmissions just to be sure. Raven can be helpful here again, but I think the Junkers are possibly the most experienced group of individuals in this matter. I mean, when they salvage junk fields and entire ships, they sure need to hack into the ship's computer to override it. When I finished the deal in Kusari, I guess I will pay Texas a little visit and ask a Junker to tell me a bit more about it.

- While Auxesia assured me they could repair the Apahanta if it's damaged, I will need to make sure I have some more friends, in the Edge Worlds as well as in house space. I guess house space will be difficult, but I can at least try to talk with the governments. I guess Bretonia is the only promissing one. The BAF captains are very reasonable men. Also, I guess some of Core's enemies are glad to see that another guy managed to steal an entire warship from them. While I have at least two, more or less, friends within the order, I will need to extend my connections in Kusari. While I doubt the Sirius Coalition will be helpful, at least Captain Pimakhova could be. She's okay, and I guess there must be a good reason for the Order and the Blood Dragons to deal with some of those Coalas. (x) The Zoners of Omicron 74 may be helpful as well. I know the Livadia Shipyard and give it a try.

I'm not sure how this will end, and I guess the chances are slim that I will die a non-natural death. But, well, I guess everyone who dares to enter the space knows how things can be.

Now that the Core even attacked the Zoners, I will have to speed things up as much as possible. Core will sure force me to attack them. I can't allow that to happen. I will not allow.

**Sombs** · (This post was last modified: 06-06-2016, 07:13 PM by Sombs.)

These log entries are created in secret and aren't available neither to the Core nor any other entity.

Captain's log - Ezrael Vertiga

I'm surprised, to be honest. As far as I can see, things are about to work.

I mean, there are still things to do. Lots of 'em. But we're making progress. I was in Honshu and got the robotic crew with all the things I wanted. Lots of spare parts, and I spent all my free time on setting those guy up for later. It will still take a lot of time, since it's 400 of them. But the Kishiro software makes it, well, easy, but still time consuming. The problem is, I have to do this in my Corvo and not in the Apahanta. While I know my ship very well, I don't know everything and have to check my data sheets about the ship, it's consoles and hardware. I guess being an engineer would have been helpful, but one can't have it all.

The guys at Atka told me to go to Cambridge to get what I want. Meh, I was hoping they would have a delivery service or something. Money is no problem, yet, but my ressources are limited. Can't be everywhere at the same time.

Yesterday I took the Corvo and visited the Texas system. Tristana, that APM girl I slept with once, told me the chances are high to meet Junkers there, since the whole system is a junk yard. So I scouted a bit, flew from field A to field B and found some interesting locations, as well as two Junker installations. Beaumont is actually a nice place, and since my Corvo still uses a Zoner transponder, they welcomed me, making me feel a bit uncormfortable since I'm, sort of, a Core captain, yet. I restocked there, asked for a system override software, but the guys at Beaumont are more specialised in salvaging debris than recapture still functional ships.

So, I explored Texas further and took a break between the West Dallas Debris Field and the Grande Negra dark matter cloud, slicing a melon, and when I was about to eat it, that Junker appeared on the radar, leaving the Grande Negra in a Bison transport called Demeter. (x) Well, he didn't introduce himself to me, but after I asked a guy at Beaumont, they told me it was not just a Junker, but THE Junker, Bill Hickok. One of those guys who talk in a very funny manner, but during our conversation, he was very patient and very welcoming. While he doesn't have access to a system override software himself, he told he is a friend with Mr. Yoshida from the Lane Hackers and said he would ask him to help me, not even want to get a payment for that. The Core-Zoner-conflict, he not only heard about that, but also was there and shot by the Core, not allowing him to support the freeport 11 with the D.R.O.P. they needed.

Not only he offered me to help after I told him the story and who I actually am, but also he invited me to Puerto Rico in case I need a place to hide from Core. To be honest, I was very surprised. What a friendly man of heart. I wish there were more of his kind in Sirius...

Well, there is one little lady.

When the Apahanta was patroling Omicron Lost some days ago, during the peak of the Core-Zoner-conflict, the "Wiegenlied" entered Lost, heavily damaged, and Maren was calling for me. That girl. A head-turner.

Her ship was about to break apart, so I allowed her to enter our small hangar, and it was just enough space for her little ship. The repair teams did their best, and our medical staff made sure Maren wasn't in a critical condition. So, we talked a bit. It was the first time I saw her in person in front of me, but it felt like we knew each other for a long time. I brought her to my quarters, just to make sure not everyone is listening. Well. We were talking for about two hours. She told me about her past. How she became addicted to Cardamine. Why she left Rheinland, stealing a ship. How she met a guy she earlier said he was her boyfriend and such. Well, she told me everything, and I guess she was afraid I wouldn't like her anymore. She even told me about that Noah Xonnel, telling her to kill herself because of her addiction. What an idiot. She was really thinking about it... that's something I can't allow. No. There's still so much to live for...

... and, well, I showed her that night. I convinced her to stay with me for that night. I mean, my quarters aren't very comfortable and I don't spend much time there. Usually, in my free time, I get back to the Hoffnungsschimmer. But, I mean, we had a good time, tho. I mean, we didn't, you know, because she was overwhelmed by everything and such. But I guess, the next time I'm with her, that's a possible outcome. The night was great, tho, just lieing in bed with her, kissing, feeling her warmth and show her that she's not alone in this cruel world. I mean, it was a bit weird, because, when she talked about Cardamine, she was so sad when they told her she wouldn't be able to have children anymore, most likely, and I told her that we will try. That maybe was a bit overkilled, but in the context, I guess she was okay with it. Well, I really said some strange things, now that I think about it, but it was a strange situation and I really wanted to make her feel better. And I guess I did it.

Erh, I have to admit, thinking of that night makes me, well, feel funny and such. Never thought that I would find a girl I want to stay longer than a month with, but Maren is, I don't know, special. I mean... argh, that's urgh. Talking about this is just... I really don't believe in love and marriage, and I don't even want to have kids growing up in a world like this, where you can't trust anyone, but, I guess, Maren is not like all the girls I had ealier. Bah, I don't know. Erh, just erase the, or, no, don't erase this log. Leave it as it is.

I really like her, and she cheers me up every time I hear her voice, calling me Captain Handsome, laughing or anything. I won't allow anyone to harm her, although she's a mature girl and can defend herself. Well, I just hope this Leere guy isn't harming her. An infected, according to her... I mean... I guess he just uses her as a tool.

Damn it... I hope she's well, and I hope we will have our dinner on Curacao...

**Sombs** · (This post was last modified: 05-20-2016, 10:51 AM by Sombs.)

These log entries are created in secret and aren't available neither to the Core nor any other entity.

Log - Ezrael Vertiga

Remember the last time I said "I should definitely do this more often"?

I really don't know where to begin with, and my memories about all the things happening are terribly blurred. It's just too much. But I'll try to sum things up. Maybe it all will get more clear to me.

First of all, the Core-Zoner-conflict has calmed down a bit. That's good on the one hand, but I was hoping it would give us a bit more cover to do our stuff in the meanwhile. The attention of sirius is spread between two major things now: The weird frenchmen attacking the California system in Liberty, and the giant ion storm that hit Sirius one week ago.

Maren and I can speak of luck. We were in Liberty right before the Gallics started the invasion. We had the meeting with the Lane Hackers. It was, well, I was hoping to be a bit less complicated. To be honest, I feel like I'm part of this stone old movie called "The Godfather". I was hoping we could just pay the Lane Hacker with money, intel or nomadic remains, but they want us to do something else as a favor. They want us to bring a message to the VWA. A message that will hurt. I'm not happy with that outcome, and I can't believe Maren is willing to do it. She literally... would kill for me...

While the Lane Hacker gave me both the system override software for the Apahanta as well as the transmission encryption matrix to make sure people aren't able anymore to hack my messages, he told us the software would expire if we don't do our part of the bargain. I just hope we get enough time to prepare. Hiring some mercenaries that aid Maren delivering the message, or, preferably, being able to use the Apahanta therefore. As far as I know, those VWA guys are active in Luneburg, or Sigma-15, as they call it since the ion storm. The Apahanta can't go there right now, it would just draw too much attention to it. But maybe our new friend Nancy can help us.

Now that Maren and I are a couple for, well, a bit more than a week, it definitely feels like we know each other for months. And the fact that she would kill for me is just impressive. I don't know if I could do that, at least not the way she would. She's such a gentle lamb and her mentally state isn't very stable, even though she tries to hide it. Her cardamine addiction makes her suffor more than she would admit, and I don't think it was very helpful of Noah Xonnel to convince her to commit suicide. That guy... if I ever see him in person, I'll punch his nose. How can one dare to push someone into suicide!? I won't forgive this...

However. I think Maren is enjoying the time we spend together. I'm very happy about that, because all the circumstances are totally fucked up and weird. I mean, she's staying with me on the Hoffnungsschimmer, and she behaves like it's already her new home. I like it. I really, really hope she's happy with how the things went.

And now, we even have another guest on the Hoffnungsschimmer. Nancy Sweetwater. A very cute girl, to be honest, and she can speak of luck that I'm with Maren now. I met her in Omicron Delta doing the usual patrol routes, kicking squidbutts. She was curious about a Core Mako that doesn't attempt to destroy everything in sight. So we talked for a while. That girl has a serious memory issue, according to her, and I'm convinced that she's talking the truth. She can'T remember what happened in the last years, and it also seems like she doesn't have any friends around here in the Omicrons. That's bad, because she seems to be a nice person. And she's an excellent pilot. I saw her taking down a bloodthirsty Horus|Order-pilot. So, Maren and I invited her for dinner on the Hoffnungsschimmer. It was awkward, since we tried to cheer her up but failed in doing so. She stayed for the night, sleeping 16 hours until Maren decided to wake her up. Her mental state is probably even worse than Maren's, and that's why we will have to take care of her. I really hope she will be better soon, and she's welcome to stay as long and often as she wants.

And that ion storm...

It seems it originated in Omicron Major. It was strong enough to affect multiple jump holes, nebulae, asteroid fields and even forced some stations to relocate via jump drive. So, the Apahanta tried to track back the storm's route. In the omicrons and the omegas, the influence was the strongest. And it's obvious now it has something to do with the reactivated dyson sphere. Yes, it is active now. A week ago, there was nearly no activity in Omicron Major. And now... now the dyson sphere has even an own atmosphere. It's weird, and we will probably need years to find out what the hell happened there.

A friend I made earlier, the Coalition Captain Pimakhova, asked me for a meeting. So we met in Omicron Minor, and I told her about the recent events. She seems to be suspicious about the way I handle things when it comes to Core-loyalty. I guess she's way more clever than I thought. Anyway, she asked me about the ion storm, and I shared my knowledge with her about the changed nomad systems. The infrastructure, the way they defend it more desperately, and the dyson sphere. I thought she would simply send the information to the SCRA command, but instead, she decided to do what I suggested her not to do: Entering the nomad space and see the dyson sphere herself.

I warned her multiple times, and I told her we would target the Pyl'nist's engines to prevent her from doing the trip. But her ship was faster than the Apahanta. I couldn't allow her to go alone there. So we followed her, acting as a guide since the Apahanta was there already two times. Things worked out quite well. Noone saw us. But, my god, the fear! Pimakhova is a weird girl, and I have to admit I'm a bit attracted to her for some reason. Maybe it's the poetic way of her talking, or her smoky voice. Well, I don't think she will get old with black lungs like hers. Never saw her without a cigar. Never.

Anyway, I don't want it to sound wrong. Maren is still my number one and that won't change. It's just funny that Omicron Delta is a system full of interesting ladies. I guess I have to fight my old behavior from Curacao. Should be doable.

Well, I mean, if I even live that long. The preparation to steal my own ship are nearly finished. Today I'll get us the interior defense turrets for the Apahanta. When those guys are installed and tested, we're ready. Livadia gave us a chance to prove ourselves peaceful. We will take the Apahanta there for repairs. I also contacted Auxesia again and briefed them about the plan. When everything is done and the Apahanta is repaired, we will probably leave the Omicrons for a little while. Bill Hickok from the Junker Congress invited us to hide in Puerto Rico, where we also would be able to resupply and repair at their shipyard. I have to repeat myself: those guys are incredible trustfully, and I hope I won't disappoint them.

I think I need to take a break here. It's just too much in my mind, and I'm sleepy as hell. And I won't risk Maren to wake up and being confused about being alone in bed. I just couldn't sleep without talking about all this...

**Sombs** · 05-27-2016, 11:08 AM,

These log entries are created in secret and aren't available to any other entity.

Log - Ezrael Vertiga

It's done.

I still can't believe it. I really can't, but the fact that I'm still alive must be the evidence. Last night, I left the Core, stealing my own battleship. It is unbelievable, but it happened, and I didn't die! I got injured, though, but that's an okay price to pay. Could have been worse, and with an APM medical bay on the Apahanta and enough supplies brought with us, my shoulder should be okay in a week or something.

Well, most things went like it was planned. Uhm, I was surprised Auxesia wanted to do it that fast, but I expected it, since Raven surery didn't want to rely on the trust of a weird Core defector captain. Instead of sunday, it happened in the night from thursday to friday. Standard patrol aroun the Omicrons. We were done with Delta and Rho, so the next system was Minor. At first, we found a ship, ID Crimson.Tide, a Bowex-IFFed Liberty Rhino, impulsing around in the Minor cloud. The captain was talking about a... project, including high amounts of Rel, drawing the attention of the entire system to him, and wonder oh wonder, the nomads showed up. At least one. The playful one, as I called it, since it didn't talk around the first days we saw it, but flew around like a little weirdo, testing our shields with it's little nomad beams.

... that wound is really nasty. It burns, it hurts... but it's just a plasma burn. Nothing one can't handle. Will be a pain, but it's not deadly. I have to man up and bear it, but god, it hurts...

Soon, Auxesia appeared in the Minor cloud, with six of it's vessels, including the Eidolon.Wraith and the Cincinnati. Raven acted strange - well, that's nothing special, but in this case, she acted obviously overkilling strange, at least to me - and I saw it was the sign. So, instead of returning to the next waypoint, I ordered Berman to make a new waypoint at the debris field in E-5 of Minor. That's exactly where Auxesia awaited us, and their assets encircled the Apahanta in silence. The only one who were talking were Raven and me, turning the small talk into a good acting. She did a good job on quoting Nodtviet, telling the "the strong make the rules"-thing and such, and then she gave order to destroy the Apahanta.

I had to admit... I was scared. Her weird behavior, I mean, chances were good that she would just kill us. Doing evasive manouvers and trying to return the fire on the Eidolon Wraith and the Cincinnati, it just needed three minutes before I had to gave the order to abandon the ship, and the Core-loyals did so. Most of them. The bridge crew knew what to do, and they carried out the orders, following Raven's lead. The Apahanta's cruise engines are scrap now, so Auxesia had to escort the Apahanta. Luckily, the cloaking device was still working, so nobody saw the Apahanta leaving the Minor cloud, but the Order saw the battle between the Apahanta and Auxesia. So, we have witnesses of a situation where it was most likely the Apahanta got destroyed, while only the few defectors, Battlegroup Auxesia and the Livadia-Zoners know we're alive. Well, and Maren, I hope, since I contacted her right after we made it to Livadia, telling her I'm okay.

We had a battle situation on board of the Apahanta, since some Core-loyals stayed, preparing for a boarding scenario... while the turrets I bought from Detroit did a good job, I had to... well...

I had to kill some Core-loyals. It was a kill-or-be-killed situation, and I was faster. However, it's something I won't get used to. It's still a difference to give the order to fire but than killing a person you see some meters in front of you, aiming at you. There was that Core-loyal, Harris Goldsmith, a psycho. He joined the Core for, well, simply to express his hatred and disrespect on other people. He was one of those guys who visited the H+-Clinic on Durban Station, asking them to artificially enhance his body, to be a killing machine...

He missed my head when he shot burning plasma at me, however, he hit my shoulder, graze wound. We, on the other hand, didn't miss him. Just to be sure, I gave him another shot to the head. It felt weird, but there was no room for mistakes. Somehow, the Core-loyals found out there was something wrong, and two of them headed to the bridge, killing Horn and Pastak... We knew we would have losses on our side, but it's still a shame and I feel bad for it. In the end, I had to kill some of my crew members, just to make sure I didn't waste 2,5 billions on this ship. Damn it...

Anyway. Now it's done. We reached Livadia, getting some rest for now. The Lane Hacker system override software worked, so far. We're disconnected from the Core network relay, the ship system controls are still accessable, and even some of them we didn't knew about inbefore. Just as I expected, Core had some security measures for a case like this, and the Lane Hackers knew how they worked. Those guys know too much, if you ask me, but since they did their part of the bargain, I hope we can fulfill our part soon. However, I'm a bit scared about it.

Video recording: Stealing the Apahanta

**Sombs** · (This post was last modified: 06-07-2016, 08:54 PM by Sombs.)

These log entries are created in secret and aren't available to any other entity.

Log - Ezrael Vertiga

My shoulder is way better now. Before he left, Oke Westphalen treated it with a dermal regenerator and synthetic skin transplants. It looks a bit weird for now, since the fake skin doesn't match exactly my skin colour, but that will change in a while. Although, it still hurts. Maren has a talent for touching that shoulder accidentally very often. I hope that didn't affect my mood too much.

The repairs are about to be finished, and the Apahanta already left the Livadia shipyards. We followed McCool's invitation to Omega-49, to hide there, away from the Core. For now, it worked so far. Only "a few" ships saw us on the radar. Like the Kongou...

I still have trouble understanding it. There's a nomad onboard on it, called Reena. It contacted me using a more vision-like way of telepathy while we were on the opposite side of the Omega-47 system. Isn't that a scaring thought? It's only one nomad, very different from most of the others, and still it was able to detect me over a distance of more than 55 kilometers. It called me, asked me to join the fun. Literally. It asked me about my intentions and what I think about the nomads. Again, those dialogues feel... one-sided. They ask, I answer. Like the mind melding with the nomad called Sovereign. Whenever I do the questions, their answers, in all of a sudden, are way more metaphorical than the questions they ask. A typical nomad behavior. I don't like it.

I had to interrupt the meeting when a PRIME unit, Progenitor, arrived in 47. The less information it could collect about us, the better it is.

And then there was the Red Witch.

I don't know what to think about her. The first time she saw the Apahanta, she threatened us in Omicron Delta. The second time, she watched the Apahanta and some other Core ships defending Yaren right before a corsair fleet attacked us. The third time was during the mind melding with Sovereign, when she mostly talked to Ivan Brannigan, when he was Apahanta's Second in Command. I hope he will return to a normal life in Liberty, now that he left the Apahanta with the others.
And now, Red Witch appeared in Omega-49, right as Nancy launched from Gran Canaria. The Apahanta left the nebula it was hiding itself in to make the docking easier for her, as Maren wasn't there that time. As I saw the Witch on the radar, a horrible chill went down my spine. As far as I knew, that girl was a bloodthirsty maniac, and she was working for the Sirius Coalition Revolutionary Army. Bad combination. So I was about to activate the cruise engines, heading for Nancy's Serval, as Red's ship disappeared, engaging cloak. The Apahanta stopped, Nancy came closer as I warned her about her. Red reappeared right above the Apahanta, just commenting it with a quiet "Boo." and flying around to not get targeted by our turrets. She didn't open fire, but intercepted Nancy as she came closer to us, then Red warned her about me. Funny.

The situation calmed down a bit, and I found out that Nancy and Red - or Silver Reaver, or Kall, as Nancy told me - knew each other from the past. Red knew about that Steve-guy, that caused the damage Nancy is suffering from. After threatening the Apahanta a few more times, Nancy seemed to manage to convince the Witch I'm not her enemy, telling her about the defection and our current motives. At least, about what she knew and her opinion on it. In the end, Red seemed to actually have a heart, somewhere beyond her thick rough killer shell. She told us that we can call her if we need some guns on our side. While I don't think I want to meet her in person yet, I think she was serious about it, obviously caring about Nancy in her rudimentary way. When Nancy told me more about her, I was surprised to hear that Red already a mother. I mean... the rare moments when she didn't smoke a cigar, threatening me with an angry expression, she actually looked somewhat... I don't know, cute? Although she has a funny way of talking, calling me and my ship Coffin, Cupcake and Nancy kiddo. I hope Maren doesn't start to call me Cupcake as well.

Now that Nancy and Maren are, well, more or less something I'd call a family, I should be a bit more respectful to both of them. Both girls aren't what I'd call mental stable, and it worries me. I'm afraid I can't make them happy without reaching my own goals. I mean, we grow closer to each other day by day, and I'm happy with Nancy and Maren feeling comfortable on the Hoffnungsschimmer. They enjoy the expensive foods, the clean water and all, and now that I have those Kishiro Service Robots - something I really should have bought way earlier! - living on the Corvo is surprisingly comfortable. I'd never thought I wouldn't miss Curacao that much. But I guess that's just because things keep me occupied. The repair and cleaning of the Apahanta, programming the robotic crew, trying to stay informed about the things happening in Sirius, decyphering intercepted messages... and of course, enjoying my time with Maren. I didn't know how much I really missed her during the week on Livadia. I mean, she sent me some pictures of her, including some dirty messages. She said it was Nancy's idea, but I don't know if I should believe it. She acts like she is prude, but she actually knows how to do things better than I expected.

And she's so funny. I'm really glad to have her. Although, it's about to be a bit... weird. I had a conversation with Nancy yesterday, first about that Red Witch, then about her feeling uncomfortable sleeping alone, and of course, in a joking manner, I offered her once again a threesome. But her reaction was a bit more serious, as she told me she doesn't want to hurt Maren. In the end, it was very obvious that both of us are, well, quite attracted to each other. I guess I have to take even more cold showers in the future. What I have with Maren is serious. Not like what I had with all the girls on Curacao or the bars of the Core bases before. I don't want to ruin it. I won't. It's not like I can't handle this, however, it's very tempting. I wonder if women do have it easier when it comes to such things...

Probably not.

Maren was a bit, well, mad at me when I was with her last time. Yesterday in the morning. Right after I talked to Nancy about cardamine. Maren accidentally told her about all the advantages it brings, but she regreted it instantly, so she asked me to talk to Nancy about that again. I mean, she's an adult girl. She can do whatever she wants. But I was able to convince her to not do cardamine, at least for now. Told her about that true happiness comes from within, and that she try to enforce her exile by taking it. I remember how depressed Maren was in the first days I met her, even though she took cardamine on a regular basis. That wasn't enough. What made her happy was... well, being with me, and winning Nancy as a friend.

Anyway. Maren was mad at me in her typical passive-agressive manner for me being stubborn about the Apahanta. She asked me to sell it, gaining back all the money I invested into the Apahanta and the Core... she doesn't want me to be a captain of a warship, not believing I'd be able to avoid battles. Maybe she's right. Sirius is a small place, sometimes. And a battleship will probably easier to find than a group of smaller ships and the Hoffnungsschimmer. But, it's not that easy. I've gone too far. There is no point of return, at least for me. The Core will hunt me, and I prefer to sit in a battleship when that happens, and not being half-naked riding a surf board on Curacao. It's too late for that, although I think we will still be able to visit some places without being paranoid.

I accidentally intercepted a message from Thallia Thorn. That poor girl. I bet she has quite a history. I don't know who was supposed to get that message, but I was actually able to decypher it to a certain point. Something about a K'vosh artefact and that she's trapped. However, when I asked her to come to Omega-49, since she wanted to talk with me, she agreed on it. So, now we're waiting for her to arrive, while I programm the KSRs. Time consuming, but fairly easy, once you got into it.

Whatever...

I hope Maren is in better mood today. We're having a pyjama party with Nancy later, since she doesn't want to sleep alone. So she will sleep in our room. The bed is big enough, since it reaches from one edge of the room to the other. Well, when I bought it, I was about to have a fun night with some girls...

Damn, I can't say I'm not proud of those times. They were different. Can't say if they were better, though.

**Sombs** · (This post was last modified: 06-12-2016, 11:06 PM by Sombs.)

These log entries are created in secret and aren't available to any other entity.

Log - Ezrael Vertiga

Boy. Sirius and all the girls. I can't say I regret my relationship with Maren, but since it started, it's like all the models from house spaces took the next best ship and went out to find their luck between the stars. It's a bit weird. But whatever, I'm very happy with Maren, and she seems to be happy as well.
I think she is well aware of me being a bit stressed out. I mean, she knows there must be something. So she surprised me with... a very sweet... outfit, handcuffed me on the bed and took the lead. Didn't expect that, but it was awesome. I really wonder if that is just Nancy's influence or if she is just not that innocent. I mean, in that specific topic...

It's quite a thing I don't want to realise at all. She once worked for the Marinenachrichtendienst. Such a gentle soul. She doesn't behave like one that did dirty jobs in her past. It's so weird to think about it. Thinking about it, I sometimes wonder where she was when she left the Hoffnungsschimmer for some hours. On the other hand, I don't want to think about it. I trust her. Everything is okay.

I don't want to loose her.

Hell, what am I talking here. Need to get some clarity in my mind.

Yesterday was quite rough, since we helped some people in Gran Canaria. As I said, there will be a lot people out there that would need the assistance of a battleship. So we did, and by the way tested the capabilities of a robotic gunnery crew. I mean, that program was part of the software package from Kishiro. Didn't edit anything, and yet it worked well. The robots are good when it comes to aiming and using the right battlegroups at the right time. They are comparable to any other human gunner. That's good, so I can at least be sure they can defend the Apahanta.

In the end, the funds of the Apahanta grew by 70.000.000 credits, including bounty for some guys, scrap, fuel and a lot of more or less precious goods. On the other hand, the top Solaris turret is very badly damaged. Will take a while to fix it, or replace it. Some space walks again...

In the evening, I went to Baffin, since Funny Sunny from the AFC invited me to come to the party and the race there. He's a sunnyboy, has a talent to cheer up peeps. While I myself enjoy watching those races, I think being friends with him could get us some good connections, as he told me the AFC can use the Aland Shipyard of the IMG in Omega-3 to maintain their capital ships. Maybe I can contact the owners and ask them whether they are willing to support the Apahanta by allowing us to use the shipyard for maintainance as well.

It was a funny evening, I have to admit. I enjoyed it. The people around were cool, and Miss Thorn showed up as well. Didn't think she's a party girl. But she drank quite a lot. I mean, yes, I drank a bottle of wine in two hours. She exed lots of shots within one hour and was wasted as hell. After the two races, she asked Sunny about the AFC-clubs and bars, and headed to their secret hideout in Kepler. He invited me as well, but I was too tired already, and I guess I wouldn't have been able to control myself... I mean, Miss Thorn looks like a nice girl.

I shouldn't think about that. Felt a bit bad that I didn't escort her to the Black Cherry in Kepler, or back to Omega-49, but, she's an adult girl. She can watch herself. I hope...

Maren is in a strange mood, I feel. She was a bit emotional about the death message of Noah Xonnel, but in the end, he is said to be still alive. Raven helped the crew of the Bleaching Phoenix to, well, get a better diagnosis on him. His second in command told me he was infected with a virus, causing this... hibernation. I told Maren about it, and she felt better, but it's still strange. I don't really know what to think about it. Still want to punch his nose, though. But only once he's cured.

Oh, forgot to mention: Thallia Thorn, or maybe Elizabeth Thorn, as she called herself when that choleric Fallen Angel asked her to identify, is now here on the Hoffnungsschimmer. She's trying to cure Nancy, and I hope she's successful on that. However, there is-

Oh, Maren, what are you doing here? I thought you were still asleep!

Are you talking to someone? In underwear?

I just did a log entry.

Oh, really? Show me!

Eh-

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