The following briefing is highly classified and no information within is to be shared with other parties, including other cells of the Order.
Kepler:
The Kepler system has been consumed by a massive dark matter storm. Initial estimates that the system would be effectively wiped out by the storm have proven to be inaccurate. Instead, the storm has mostly calmed - as far as dark matter storms are capable of doing so. Travel through the system is possible but dangerous. Interference from the lane and gate network has created tunnels of mostly unaffected space and the area around Ames Research Station is shielded from otherwise dangerous radiation. Operations outside of these safe areas are not advised.
Unusual interactions between matter and dark matter have also created several gravitational anomalies throughout the system. Three of these are within close proximity of the trade lanes and Ames Research Station. They appear similar in nature to the anomaly present in New York's Badlands. A fourth anomaly, however, is of far greater interest. It is a trinary gravitational anomaly centered around the wreckage of a passenger liner. Colloquially referred to as the Prophet, it is internally designated K1*.
K1* appears to not be of strictly natural origin. Investigation and analysis have revealed that it is, instead, a form of gateway, similar to the jump hole anomalies found throughout the Sirius sector. Theory is that it is of Daam K'vosh design or derivative thereof. Where this gateway leads to is as of yet unknown. Section 8 assets have not been able to enter it. It should be approached only with extreme caution. Increased Nomad and other alien activity has been observed in its vicinity.
Sentinels:
A new form of dangerous alien "life" has been observed around K1*. Outwardly, they appear almost identical to known forms of the Slomon K'hara. These new aliens are, however, far more advanced in terms of offensive and defensive capabilities. Designated Sentinels, these new forms are most likely also of Daam K'vosh design, much like their Nomad cousins, and likely also serve as a biological weapon. Intelligence suggests that they serve to guard K1* and whatever lies beyond. Sentinels are extremely dangerous. Do not approach without a significant advantage in numbers and firepower.
Entity:
Another previously unknown alien form has been designated Entity. It, unlike the Sentinels, appears to be of the Slomon K'hara. A form of its kind has, however, not been previously encountered. We possess worryingly little information on it. Its capabilities are as of yet unknown. Approach only with extreme caution.
Vincent Abrams:
Vincent Abrams, commonly going by the callsign Ridge, is an independent researcher currently engaged with the study of K1*, what lies beyond, and the Sentinels. He is not aligned with the Order but has proven somewhat cooperative with Section 8. His behavior is asocial, paranoid, and obsessive. Do not pry into his research, as doing so makes him go on the defensive. He is, for some reason, the only person who seems to have made any true headway into the Kepler matter and is therefore of immense value to Section 8. Do not hinder his research. You may find him employing adapted alien technology. Let him do so. He undergoes semi-regular scans for Nomad infestation aboard the Unto Nightfall and is therefore most likely not a threat.
I will reiterate that the above information is highly classified. It is, of course, also heavily redacted. Cautions should therefore be closely heeded. I would hate to lose an operative due to ignorance.
Section 8 is continuously observing and analyzing the Kepler situation. You are advised to avoid the system unless absolutely necessary or in company of Section 8 assets. It is a delicate situation that - for reasons I am not at liberty to share - does not require any more attention than it is currently being given.
As for operations in Liberty proper and surrounding systems, I would suggest Section 8 and your recon unit cooperate. Our ongoing objective is to observe alien and Auxesian activity within Liberty space. I will leave this channel open for future communications and reports.
Sender: Cassandra Hayes Recipient: Hawkins, Unto Nightfall Location: Fort Ramsey, Ontario Subject: K1Z001 - BRIEFING
Hawkins,
Briefing received and understood. Kepler marked as, by default, off-limits. Does leave our options limited for further investigation - some guidance on where to focus my attention instead would be appreciated.
Almost immediately following our meeting, I encountered two Xeno Alliance ships: a fighter - COBRA - followed by a Gull: GULLIBLE. Convenient. Ended up able to directly communicate, in space, with Cobra, explaining my situation. I was granted access to Xeno Alliance facilities throughout Liberty. I was then guided to Milford, Pennsylvania, and Fort Ramsey in Ontario. I am currently at the latter.
I will dedicate some time to familiarizing myself with Liberty and the surrounding systems. While my nav-maps are up to date - even moreso after receiving an astrographics file from the Alliance, for the purposes of locating their facilities - I would benefit from a more intimate understanding of the region. May not have the time to refer to maps in high-risk situations.
There are currently four areas of special interest to Section 8 in and around Liberty.
New York:
As Liberty's capital, it is one of the most heavily trafficked areas in Sirius. Therefore, you are more than likely to have your fair share of "interesting" encounters there. Nomad sightings are not uncommon in New York, and while this is concerning enough on its own, even more interesting is the number of persons seemingly intimately familiar with the alien.
Colorado:
Bordering on Kepler, it is only natural that the latter's current situation has lead to an increase in unusual activity in the former. We have received a report of Sentinels pursuing Vincent Abrams into the system on at least one occasion.
Hudson:
Vincent Abrams has constructed a small research station within the system's eastern asteroid fields, not far from a jump hole anomaly to the Bering system. As such, the area and activity found within is of considerable interest to Section 8. You are likely to encounter A/)-Revenant, a high-ranking Technocrat, in the vicinity. Do not engage in combat with them.
Coronado & Inverness:
The Auxesians' home is not far from Liberty space. As always, anything Nomad related lures them out of the shadows and into the light. It is therefore prudent to maintain close observation of their movements. Officially, they are currently in a state of war with Liberty, combat encounters, however, appear to be quite rare.
Once you have familiarized yourself with Liberty space, I advise you concentrate on the above areas. Section 8 operatives are deployed within or near each of these AOs. Feel free to contact them directly in space or over this channel if you require assistance.
Hayes reporting. Bumped into one of your pilots: Vigil-1, as well as Abrams and Revenant, in Kepler. Major incident involving K1* follows. Details attached.
Report: 15 November 828
This report describes my experiences piloting the Empress on November 15th, 828 A.S.
Flight 01:
Departed from Fort Ramsey, Ontario. Having already familiarized myself with most of Liberty's other core systems in the past days, I head for Colorado. I'm keeping an eye out for Ridgenose, a Xeno Alliance pilot who was supposedly present during an incident involving K1*. For now, I am still pursuing this lead. Should it turn out not to be a dud, you'll receive a detailed report.
I manage to track down the Xeno near Ouray Base, but the situation doesn't allow for conversation: a small Nomad warform is present. I destroy it - with the help of Dark Warrior, an Order primary fleet pilot piloting a Dagger - , but my Bastet's hull integrity is critical. I return to Ramsey.
Flight 02:
Several hours later, the Empress' much-needed repairs are complete. A few minutes prior, a civilian contact aboard Ames Research Station notified me that Revenant is present in the area, along with one of your pilots: Vigil-1. Despite being urged not to, I disembark and head to Kepler.
Arriving at Ames, I meet up with Vigil-1. He's observing K1* and engaging in conversation with Revenant, who appears to be doing the same. Revenant's behavior is erratic. Claiming to have turned off her inhibitors, she rambles incoherently about emotions.
My sensors then picked up a slight deviation in the vibration of one of K1*'s three anomalies. Vigil-1 picked up the same deviation, and chose to approach. I was instructed to hold at our original position - some eight clicks from the anomaly - and observed from there. Vigil-1 begins performing an EMR analysis. Revenant urges him not to, claiming it angers the anomaly. Despite this, Vigil-1 choses to complete the analysis. Readouts are high but stable.
Vigil-1 now attempts a gravimetric analysis. At this point, he's in very close proximity to the anomaly: 800 meters. He chooses to close in further. For reasons unknown, gravitational fluctuations are severe, and Vigil-1's maneuvering thrusters shut down, stranding him inside the anomaly. After a few seconds, his ship signature drops off of my scanners.
I am, at this moment, still at a relatively safe distance - approximately one click. Vincent Abrams has also shown up - he arrived barely in time to see Vigil-1 get pulled into K1*. Uncertain of what to do in this situation, I ask Abrams and Revenant if they know what became of Vigil-1. Neither provides a fulfilling answer. Abrams, instead, chooses to plunge head-first into the anomaly himself. Strangely enough, once his ship is wedged inbetween the three anomalies, Abrams demands I deploy a mine. I do so, and as soon as it hits, his Odin is pulled in as well.
At this point, I believe my options are limited. I, too, set a direct course into the center of the anomaly. It's unclear to me what exactly happened now: as the anomaly transported me, it put me and my ship under considerably more strain than any conventional jumphole. I believe I remained conscious - if barely - during transit, but can't say so with certainty. I arrive in an unknown system that is - seemingly - covered in a dark matter storm.
Things here get a little fuzzy. The Empress already wasn't in the best of shapes, having had to endure Kepler's intense radiation, and the anomaly itself caused even more extensive damage. As a result, audio and video logs are mostly unintelligible. My own recollection isn't as good as I'd like it to be, either, but it'll have to suffice.
Abrams, Vigil-1 and myself were all present. Abrams seemed oddly familiar with the system, but was still - or maybe even more so - extremely uneasy. Suggesting we had to find a way out as soon as possible, he took the lead. His chosen route took us to the wreck of an Osiris-class battleship. Scanners quickly identified it as the Canaan, though I suspect this to be a misidentification, potentially caused by the highly unstable dark matter surrounding it. As we left the ship's immediate vicinity, I picked up several faint comms signals. I would theorize that these came from a still-active distress beacon aboard the vessel, with the signal being heavily distorted by the storm encasing it.
We are given no time to investigate, however, as our sensors pick up unknown activity all around us. Abrams, once again, takes point. Several alien contacts appear - I can only imagine these are Sentinels. They are slowly gaining on us. Luckily, we arrive at a stable-enough jumphole before they reach us, and make it through. Navigation systems place us in familiar territory: Sigma-17. Abrams urges us to keep moving. Not long thereafter, another group of small Sentinel warforms appears. We manage to stay ahead of them all the way to a jumphole leading to Sigma-21.
Here, we take a moment to collect ourselves and come up with a more cohesive plan. Vigil-1 suggests we repair and rearm at Port Said, and after a few minutes of hesitation, we set a course to the outpost. As we approach it, however, we find that the base has come under attack from a large group of Sentinels. We are greatly outnumbered and outgunned. As the outpost's defense squadron arrives, Vigil-1 makes the irrational decision to head into combat. Unwilling to stand by and watch him die, I too close in to engage the Sentinels. We manage to assist Port Said's defense unit, but to no avail: a huge, battleship-sized Sentinel arrives. In an instant, it reduces to dust the two Resheph-class cruisers still present. Foolishly, Vigil-1 attempts to approach and take scans. I urge him and Abrams to leave while we still can.
We make it to Freeport 8 in Sigma-15, where we can finally make some emergency repairs. Vigil-1 shows some signs of combat fatigue. I strongly recommend ensuring he's not been compromised, however.
Fortunately, the remainder of our trip back to Hudson - the destination Abrams suggested - was relatively uneventful. We encountered no further Sentinel activity. We arrived safely at Abrams' research station and parted ways. Vigil-1 and I chose to head to, and dock at, the nearby Barrow Base.
Hayes, out.
Your report has been received and read. Thank you for providing it so quickly. It confirms most of what Vigil-1 reported himself.
I am glad you made it through this event alive, and I would like to furthermore express my personal gratitude for having Vigil-1's back. It is quite likely that any lone operative would not have survived such an ordeal. I would request that you nevertheless submit yourself to a full medical examination aboard either the Unto Nightfall or the Atum, currently stationed in the Galileo system.
You have certainly proven your commitment to your duties in and around Liberty, and I hope that Section 8 will be able to rely on you again in the future. Until then, rest and recover and ensure that your ship is fully operational before venturing out into Kepler again. Section 8 has lifted your (voluntary) restrictions in that area of operations. You may operate freely, but we request that you forward any intelligence you gather to us - and only us.
Sender: Cassandra Hayes Recipient: Hawkins, Unto Nightfall Location: Fort Ramsey, Ontario Subject: K1Z003 - REPORT
Hawkins,
Calling in with the detailed report I'd hoped to provide. For context: in my first conversation with Abrams, he mentioned that a Liberty Navy pilot was present in a K1* incident similar to our own, yesterday. A Dayvon Bennet. As Abrams himself was incapable of providing any more details about that event, I decided to seek out Bennet himself.
He turned out to be a handful. While not overtly aggressive towards me, he was unwilling to share any meaningful information about the incident. Suppose the Order's reputation in Liberty isn't working to my advantage. In addition, he was convinced that telling me anything would get him killed. By who? Nomads. I couldn't convince him otherwise. All he was willing to share was that there was a Xeno present as well - Ridgenose, the pilot I mentioned in yesterday's report.
I reached out to Ridgenose, and managed to arrange a meeting. He was willing to give me a chronology of the events. Unfortunately don't have an exact date. Might be able to find that out otherwise - maybe from Abrams himself?
I'm attaching a transcript of the conversation. Hope you're able to glean some value from it.
[16.11.2021 22:14:21] Empress: Ridgenose.
[16.11.2021 22:14:23] Empress: Been waiting long?
[16.11.2021 22:14:39] XA-Ridgenose: Not as long as usual.
[16.11.2021 22:14:55] XA-Ridgenose: Scenic spot you picked.
[16.11.2021 22:14:57] Empress: Would've been here sooner. Got held up by a Rogue.
[16.11.2021 22:15:23] Empress: There're worse views, aren't there?
[16.11.2021 22:15:43] XA-Ridgenose: True, at least there isn't any dark matter here.
[16.11.2021 22:15:54] Empress: No Navy patrols either.
[16.11.2021 22:16:23] XA-Ridgenose: With my luck that doesn't tend to hold.
[16.11.2021 22:16:37] Empress: If it comes down to it, we'll deal with it.
[16.11.2021 22:16:44] Empress: Rather not, though.
[16.11.2021 22:17:01] XA-Ridgenose: Well, I still owe the orphan a smack if it comes to it.
[16.11.2021 22:17:12] Empress: Starting to understand why you feel that way.
[16.11.2021 22:17:22] Empress: He's.. Frustrating to deal with.
[16.11.2021 22:17:25] Empress: Impossible, even.
[16.11.2021 22:17:36] Empress: Wasted my time.
[16.11.2021 22:17:43] XA-Ridgenose: If that wasn't bad enough, his own brother ended up in the Alliance.
[16.11.2021 22:17:55] XA-Ridgenose: Now, I get to deal with two of them.
[16.11.2021 22:18:04] Empress: Maybe he got the better half of the genes.
[16.11.2021 22:18:36] XA-Ridgenose: Maybe, but I'm reserving judgement for now.
[16.11.2021 22:19:19] XA-Ridgenose: Anyway, ask whatever you want to ask.
[16.11.2021 22:19:31] Empress: You know what I want to know.
[16.11.2021 22:19:40] Empress: Your blackbox was fried, but I don't think your brain was.
[16.11.2021 22:20:09] XA-Ridgenose: Close enough to it, I don't suppose you were told about what happened before hand?
[16.11.2021 22:20:16] Empress: I wasn't.
[16.11.2021 22:20:39] XA-Ridgenose: I'll sum it up quickly then.
[16.11.2021 22:21:01] XA-Ridgenose: Was asked by a friend to swing by Ames.
[16.11.2021 22:21:35] XA-Ridgenose: A pilot from the Fourty-Sixth was asking around for someone from the Alliance to explain our side of things.
[16.11.2021 22:22:59] XA-Ridgenose: Right, well the pilot in question was none other than the orphan himself.
[16.11.2021 22:23:28] Empress: Uh. "Your side of things"?
[16.11.2021 22:23:36] Empress: This.. Doesn't relate to the anomaly, does it?
[16.11.2021 22:24:01] XA-Ridgenose: No, this was about why the Free Republic exists.
[16.11.2021 22:24:07] Empress: Got it.
[16.11.2021 22:25:04] Empress: ..Explains the diverse group of people present, I suppose.
[16.11.2021 22:25:06] Empress: What happened next?
[16.11.2021 22:25:24] XA-Ridgenose: Well, after I probably wasted my time talking to him.
[16.11.2021 22:25:45] XA-Ridgenose: I guess the aliens decided it was a good day to fuck with everyone.
[16.11.2021 22:26:24] XA-Ridgenose: This is where the anomaly comes into the picture.
[16.11.2021 22:27:20] XA-Ridgenose: It seemed as if they came through it, and then they decided to start lighting up everyone in sight.
[16.11.2021 22:27:35] XA-Ridgenose: Including the Navy ships that wound up in the area.
[16.11.2021 22:28:00] Empress: Ships poured out of it, into Kepler itself?
[16.11.2021 22:28:09] Empress: Well. Ships.
[16.11.2021 22:28:13] Empress: Nomads.
[16.11.2021 22:28:22] XA-Ridgenose: Right, that's the guess anyway.
[16.11.2021 22:28:35] XA-Ridgenose: I wasn't in range to see it all pop off.
[16.11.2021 22:28:46] Empress: Probably for the best.
[16.11.2021 22:29:13] XA-Ridgenose: Just close enough to pick up the comm chatter from someone who saw them.
[16.11.2021 22:30:07] XA-Ridgenose: It was a long enough fight, we had the Nomads were using those beam weapons.
[16.11.2021 22:30:20] XA-Ridgenose: So, a lot of trying to split their focus and pick them off.
[16.11.2021 22:30:51] Empress: Couldn't have ran?
[16.11.2021 22:30:56] Empress: Sounds like the safer choice.
[16.11.2021 22:31:04] XA-Ridgenose: Liberty or Death.
[16.11.2021 22:31:17] XA-Ridgenose: One of the things you should know about the alliance.
[16.11.2021 22:31:42] Empress: Not just propaganda, then.
[16.11.2021 22:32:01] XA-Ridgenose: Taken quite seriously.
[16.11.2021 22:32:05] Empress: So. The invaders were repelled? You're still here, after all.
[16.11.2021 22:32:35] XA-Ridgenose: Yes, they were taken out.
[16.11.2021 22:33:04] Empress: Good. And then?
[16.11.2021 22:33:06] XA-Ridgenose: However one of the civilians seemed to have got sucked into the Anomaly.
[16.11.2021 22:33:31] Empress: Got a name?
[16.11.2021 22:33:47] XA-Ridgenose: Not that I can remember.
[16.11.2021 22:33:56] Empress: Alright.
[16.11.2021 22:34:17] Empress: Nomads come out - Civilian goes in.
[16.11.2021 22:34:26] Empress: Puzzles me why they'd get that close..
[16.11.2021 22:34:43] XA-Ridgenose: The fighting got dragged close to the anomaly.
[16.11.2021 22:34:53] Empress: I see.
[16.11.2021 22:34:59] XA-Ridgenose: Don't think they wanted to go through it.
[16.11.2021 22:35:43] Empress: So. How do you rest of you end up following them?
[16.11.2021 22:35:51] XA-Ridgenose: Anyway, since we didn't see a new ship trapped in there, a search party got the bright idea to follow it through.
[16.11.2021 22:36:35] Empress: A search party? Who were they?
[16.11.2021 22:36:37] Empress: Navy?
[16.11.2021 22:36:37] XA-Ridgenose: After I saw they didn't get trapped, well I figured I'd pay 'em back for not running.
[16.11.2021 22:36:48] XA-Ridgenose: Nah, more civilians.
[16.11.2021 22:36:56] XA-Ridgenose: Maybe a Zoner or two.
[16.11.2021 22:37:22] Empress: ..Probably related to the one that went in. People aren't usually that selfless.
[16.11.2021 22:37:35] XA-Ridgenose: Figured as much.
[16.11.2021 22:38:07] Empress: So how'd you intend to "pay them back"?
[16.11.2021 22:38:34] XA-Ridgenose: Well, like I said it was a search party.
[16.11.2021 22:39:02] XA-Ridgenose: Figured I'd lend a hand, after all they could have ran out on me.
[16.11.2021 22:39:24] Empress: Ballsy.
[16.11.2021 22:39:36] Empress: This is when you get pulled in yourself?
[16.11.2021 22:39:42] XA-Ridgenose: Yeah.
[16.11.2021 22:40:12] XA-Ridgenose: At this point I was locked into focus, only cared for getting and getting out.
[16.11.2021 22:40:46] Empress: What was it like on the other side?
[16.11.2021 22:40:59] XA-Ridgenose: I don't know.
[16.11.2021 22:41:04] XA-Ridgenose: Kind of empty?
[16.11.2021 22:41:28] Empress: Resemble anywhere you know?
[16.11.2021 22:41:45] XA-Ridgenose: Nah, not at all.
[16.11.2021 22:41:56] XA-Ridgenose: But that is a rather short list.
[16.11.2021 22:42:04] Empress: Bennet described it as "Bright Ontario", I think.
[16.11.2021 22:42:08] Empress: That far off the mark?
[16.11.2021 22:42:38] XA-Ridgenose: I'd say so.
[16.11.2021 22:43:00] XA-Ridgenose: No sign of the Barrier or anything like that.
[16.11.2021 22:43:06] Empress: Right. Can't say I'm surprised.
[16.11.2021 22:43:52] Empress: Who else was in there? The civilian - their rescue party.
[16.11.2021 22:43:56] Empress: Yourself.
[16.11.2021 22:44:02] XA-Ridgenose: The orphan.
[16.11.2021 22:44:09] XA-Ridgenose: Though he came in after me.
[16.11.2021 22:44:21] XA-Ridgenose: I don't know why.
[16.11.2021 22:44:59] Empress: A feeling of duty, maybe. Don't know.
[16.11.2021 22:45:03] Empress: Anyone else?
[16.11.2021 22:45:17] XA-Ridgenose: One other person I didn't know, they seemed to have a problem with the orphan, but I wasn't really paying attention to that.
[16.11.2021 22:45:43] Empress: Alright.
[16.11.2021 22:46:09] XA-Ridgenose: Other than that nobody else.
[16.11.2021 22:46:38] Empress: So, you're all there. Equally disoriented, I assume.
[16.11.2021 22:46:42] Empress: What do you do?
[16.11.2021 22:46:57] XA-Ridgenose: Start looking for either the civilian or a way out.
[16.11.2021 22:47:23] Empress: The civilian wasn't nearby?
[16.11.2021 22:47:59] XA-Ridgenose: No, I think they wandered off in the time it took for anyone to notice they were gone.
[16.11.2021 22:48:36] Empress: Not what I'd expect anyone to do in an unfamiliar environment.
[16.11.2021 22:48:49] Empress: Do you find them?
[16.11.2021 22:49:19] XA-Ridgenose: Yeah.
[16.11.2021 22:49:53] Empress: Story doesn't end here, though, does it.
[16.11.2021 22:49:59] Empress: How do you get out?
[16.11.2021 22:50:07] Empress: Oh-- and..
[16.11.2021 22:50:16] Empress: Were there any dark matter storms in the system?
[16.11.2021 22:50:24] XA-Ridgenose: Dark matter?
[16.11.2021 22:50:32] Empress: Much like Kepler.
[16.11.2021 22:50:46] Empress: Dark. Radioactive.
[16.11.2021 22:50:52] XA-Ridgenose: I know what you mean just, no there wasn't anything like that I could see.
[16.11.2021 22:51:00] Empress: I see.
[16.11.2021 22:51:02] XA-Ridgenose: Like I said it was empty for lack of a better word.
[16.11.2021 22:51:34] Empress: No.. Wrecks? Anything pointing to.. human settlements?
[16.11.2021 22:51:45] XA-Ridgenose: Nah, all quiet.
[16.11.2021 22:51:54] Empress: I see.
[16.11.2021 22:52:04] XA-Ridgenose: The only thing we ran across worth noting was a Nomad seemed to be well.
[16.11.2021 22:52:07] XA-Ridgenose: Asleep?
[16.11.2021 22:52:34] Empress: Can you describe the Nomad?
[16.11.2021 22:52:41] XA-Ridgenose: It was big?
[16.11.2021 22:52:56] Empress: Gunboat-sized, Cruiser-sized?
[16.11.2021 22:53:47] XA-Ridgenose: It was bigger than an Archer class.
[16.11.2021 22:54:05] Empress: How much bigger?
[16.11.2021 22:54:34] Empress: Battleship-sized?
[16.11.2021 22:54:40] XA-Ridgenose: Maybe.
[16.11.2021 22:54:47] Empress: And it was dormant?
[16.11.2021 22:55:01] XA-Ridgenose: Seemed so.
[16.11.2021 22:55:07] Empress: Safe to assume you left it alone.
[16.11.2021 22:55:27] XA-Ridgenose: Yeah.
[16.11.2021 22:55:47] XA-Ridgenose: After all as far as I was concerned no more reason to stick around.
[16.11.2021 22:55:58] Empress: Of course.
[16.11.2021 22:56:17] Empress: How do you find your way out?
[16.11.2021 22:56:27] Empress: Could spread out. Risks losing someone, though.
[16.11.2021 22:57:02] XA-Ridgenose: One of the party already found a jumphole.
[16.11.2021 22:57:23] Empress: Wasn't too far from your point of entry, then?
[16.11.2021 22:57:53] XA-Ridgenose: Not too sure, didn't really have any navigation data to work with.
[16.11.2021 22:58:12] Empress: Right. So you all make your way out?
[16.11.2021 22:58:29] XA-Ridgenose: Yeah.
[16.11.2021 22:58:51] Empress: Not too bad, then.
[16.11.2021 22:59:01] Empress: Where'd the jumphole take you?
[16.11.2021 22:59:09] XA-Ridgenose: Vespucci.
[16.11.2021 22:59:16] XA-Ridgenose: Home of the Insurgency.
[16.11.2021 22:59:49] Empress: Vespucci.. Vespucci. Right. Relatively close to home.
[16.11.2021 23:00:05] Empress: Anything else noteworthy happen?
[16.11.2021 23:00:29] XA-Ridgenose: The orphan and that other one I mentioned got into it.
[16.11.2021 23:00:45] XA-Ridgenose: Didn't care enough to pay attention or intervene.
[16.11.2021 23:01:09] XA-Ridgenose: I was more focused on slipping out before I had to deal with any Insurgents.
[16.11.2021 23:02:11] Empress: Fair enough.
[16.11.2021 23:02:25] XA-Ridgenose: Also when I decided to split away from the rest, figured they'd be better off if they weren't seen with me.
[16.11.2021 23:03:09] Empress: Don't want any over-eager law enforcement to make a link between them and the Alliance, I suppose.
[16.11.2021 23:03:54] XA-Ridgenose: Well, I was actually thinking about them ending up in the Insurgent's gunsights.
[16.11.2021 23:04:05] Empress: Right. There's that.
[16.11.2021 23:04:20] XA-Ridgenose: Besides Bennet was there anyway.
[16.11.2021 23:04:36] XA-Ridgenose: If he bothered to actually try and follow up on any of them I don't know.
[16.11.2021 23:05:07] Empress: Can't imagine he has. Seems far too pre-occupied with his paranoia.
[16.11.2021 23:05:28] Empress: Anyhow, think I've heard enough.
[16.11.2021 23:05:45] XA-Ridgenose: Fine by me.
[16.11.2021 23:05:56] XA-Ridgenose: Not exactly anything left to tell.
[16.11.2021 23:06:05] Empress: Thanks for your cooperation, Xeno. A breath of fresh air.
[16.11.2021 23:06:13] Empress: Everyone here seems convinced I'm out to get them.
[16.11.2021 23:06:30] XA-Ridgenose: I'm still not entirely convinced.
[16.11.2021 23:06:50] XA-Ridgenose: Usually when the Order peaks it's head out it's bad news.
[16.11.2021 23:07:03] Empress: The bad news precedes us. We're responding to it.
[16.11.2021 23:07:22] XA-Ridgenose: Right.
That is excellent work. The Xeno's report matches claims made by Abrams: that K1* events do not always result in transportation to the same space. It is a shame that you were unable to get more names out of the Xeno. The more accounts we can gather, the clearer a picture of the situation we can paint.
We are familiar with the navy officer, Dayvon Bennet. I would like you to keep following up on him; perhaps you will be able to earn enough of his trust for him to open up about his own experiences. Assure him that the Order has no intention of harming him and will do what it can to protect him from any alien influence. I will also leave further observation of Abrams to you, for the time being. Relations between Section 8 and him are strained, to put it mildly - maybe you will have better luck with him. We have some leads we will follow up on in the mean time.
Sender: Cassandra Hayes Recipient: Hawkins, Unto Nightfall Location: Fort Ramsey, Ontario Subject: K1Z004 (Untitled)
Hawkins,
Couple things.
First: had a chat with Abrams. Nothing much to report on. He did, however, tell me to inform you that he's made some progress. Claims he'll soon have a small little gimmick to close up the attacks in Kepler. What exactly that means, I don't know. But if he's right - and whatever he built works - it's definitely good news.
Second: seems Abrams, or some of his friends, have been inviting over a troublesome Freelancer. Probably more accurately, some sort of small-scale pirate. Nenet Mido. In and of itself, not a problem. I'm used to working with people who consider the law more of a suggestion. Unfortunately, she couldn't help herself: ended up attempting to pirate me immediately in front of Ames. Turns out the freighter she was flying was more than a match for my Bastet, so I ran. Made it out -- not the end of the world. What's more problematic, however, is that I later ran into her in Hudson. Seemed to be a known face among Abrams Research Station's locals.
Another fight was inevitable. Didn't take long before I had to make a run for it again. An Auxesian, Guillotine, prevented my escape for a short while - though they didn't personally engage. I eventually made it to Bering, and they decided not to give chase.
I'm hoping all of this remains a one-off incident. However, if this pirate continues to try and form a roadblock, I may need to take a more proactive approach. I've already taken one precaution: I've requested the deployment of another member of my unit, callsign Devaraja. Highly talented combat pilot. Not the chatty type, but he'll get the job done -- and then some. If push comes to shove, the two of us will have no issue taking the Courier - and its pilot - down. Of course, I've instructed him - for the time being - to steer clear of Kepler, unless absolutely necessary. With your approval, I'll forward your initial briefing to him.
However, to prevent alienating Abrams or the people close to him, I would much prefer a subtler approach. Thinking maybe the Xeno Alliance could lend a hand? It's their turf the pirate's operating on, after all.
You've been here a lot longer than I have, so I trust you're better able to decide if there's a point to pursuing that angle - or if you know of a better alternative.
A pirate piloting a freighter attempted to extort an Order operative flying a heavy fighter? I had hoped our reputation placed us above such things.
I agree, we cannot allow our operations to be hindered by common criminals, especially if Abrams has indeed made some kind of breakthrough in his research. Do what you deem necessary if this Nenet Mido continues to interfere with our activities; terminate them if need be. In the mean time, I will contact the Xeno Alliance. I am unsure what their stance on common piracy within their territories is, but hopefully I can impress enough of a sense of urgency on them for them to take action. If not, I will place Vigil-1 and 3 on standby to provide you with assistance if needed.