Nicole sat in her room aboard her family yacht, orbiting Manhattan at the time, letting the sun light her room. She flicked the switch of an audio recorder, sighed, and began, "Entry one, personal log of Lieutenant Nicole Prower. My brother suggested I start keeping a personal log to help keep my mind clear. He said I've been looking stressed lately, and he's not wrong. The fighting, everything really. Talia got me these hypnotainment bands to use, but I haven't even tried to use them yet.
I suppose I could use this to vent. The whole reason I joined the Navy was because my father had been killed during a pirate encounter with a Rogue destroyer. My brother, Miles and I joined the secondary fleet as a result. We send what money we can to support our mother on New Tokyo, and most of the rest goes into preserving my fathers legacy, the yacht he left for myself and my siblings.
As for now, well it's getting more stressful by the day but I took a short vacation, it helped a lot. Being back to service, I remember what it's like over here.. well, it's a shit show. Gallics pushed into Magellan, my brother may be redeployed to Cortez with his battlecruiser, and seemingly everyone wants to take a shot at anyone. I don't know if this will be any helpful, but I'll enter another log after today's patrol." Nicole turned off the device, pulling her uniform from the closet, and departed.
The Lieutenant sits in her seat before the recorder, activating it. " Entry two, log of Nicole Prower. Today was quite busy, some combat, as per usual. Now I have word that a base in the Kansas system will need defense. My brothers transfer has been halted for him to be deployed there. It was nice to be out with the fleet again, thankfully the action I was involved in ended swiftly with us taking down the criminals. Civilians seem more to be interested in watching the fights than anything else anymore. It's nice to be docked for a quick rest before returning to the chaotic skies. Maybe I'll find something more peaceful, like some ignorant smuggler who crosses my path. Perhaps I should give those hypnotainment bands Talia got me a try... Anyway, can't waste my entire rest time speaking to my ships log. Until next time."
Nicole ends the recording, and departs.
Exhausted, Nicole hangs up her uniform, sitting infront of her recorder.
"Well, quite the finisher for the day. A bomber attacked the Odyssey, I came and destroyed the bomber. What was interesting is that it ceased engagement near it's end and requested to be let go, going so far as to attempt to bribe myself, Admiral Sader, and pilot Jason Kazuo. Obviously, that failed and I destroyed the burning remains of his ship, and he was incarcerated. Switching my armament from vengence to lavablades was a good idea, it's working much better for me. Until next time."
Nicole ends the recording, retiring to her bed.
Nicole sat in front of her recorder, once more flipping it on.
"Well today has been.. well I don't know how to say it. It started normal, a smuggler, ended without a fight, and that was that. After I got off duty and returned to the yacht, there was a message. It was from my sister, Amy. I still don't know if it's really her, I swear her Rogue boyfriend, who's now locked up for life, had killed her. If it's true, who's body did we find? Who was that young girl?? Is this even my sister contacting me? She asked me if there was a bounty on her, but I can't find any, I'm guessing she wants to return." Nicole sits back, sighing. "Five years I thought she was dead.. was that, Amy we had chased to Hudson? It was a light fighter and I never got to see the pilot, I figured it was another Rogue trying to escape. She's been out in the Omicrons, and wants to be home, it's all so sudden, but if Amy is still alive, I know she'll be safe on the yacht again, not out in the Nomad littered Omicrons. Well, that'll do for now, 'till next time."
Nicole stopped the recording, sitting in her chair for hours, rethinking the events that took place five years earlier.
Nicole sat within her room, awaiting her call to action, despite having the "day off". She flipped on the recorder.
"Amy said she's entered Liberty today, and old contact from a Freeport got her a used raven's talon for cheap, though I'd rather inspect it once I meet her. I'm so glad she's back, I moved the yacht to Trenton to wait for her, but, there's something looming. That Rogue I locked up five years ago, he got a life sentence. Is it for a crime he didn't do? Why do I feel this kind of remorse for a scumbag pirate? If he had his way, then or now, he'd space me in a second and destroy the pod.. Why does it bother me like this?" Nicole sighed, "Maybe I should try those hypnotainment bands before I meet with Amy, maybe it will help calm my nerves after all."
Nicole switched off the recorder, pacing her room before taking her first go at using the hypnotainment bands.
Nicole sat infront of the recorder, stretching.
"Those hypnotainment bands really did help, a lot actually. I even got my head cleared enough to find time to actually go shopping on Planet Manhattan for myself for the first time in two years. I guess focusing everything I have into my work does have it's toll, but that doesn't mean I can let myself become distracted while I'm out there. Amy said she'll come to Trenton after she picks up something. Maybe its cake. I love cake. And vodka." Nicole softly laughs, "Ooh, what's wrong with me? Imagine a cake and vodka breakfast. Doesn't sound too bad though. Till next time."
A refreshed Nicole switched off the recorder, going to make cake and drink vodka for breakfast.
An overly joyed, partially drunk Nicole sits in front of her recorder, managing to turn it on.
"Ooohhh this is great! My sister really is alive and she's saaaaafe aboard my ship! My wonderful, wonderful vodka filled yacht." Nicole said, embracing a bottle of the cherry-flavored alluring drink. "I can't believe I'm drinking so much.. but I love my cherry vodka, it's so good, and and delicious, and strooooong, it's a strong drink, but I can handle my beer!"
Nicole accidentally turned off the recorder in her drunken slur. Anyone listening to the audio, or has drank with her, knew she couldn't handle much. Miles found this amusing as he helped his sister back to the bar, knowing it's safer to just give her the vodka on the ship than have her run off to a bar.
Hung over, Nicole listens to the entry made the night before. Holding her head, she begins a new entry,
"Wow.. was I really THAT drunk last night? God my head hurts.. atleast patrol isn't for another 5 or so hours. I'm so glad Amy is safe now, though she's learned quite alot from her time out in the Omicrons, tinkering with her ship. While I was slightly annoyed, she did use part of my credits to buy some parts to improve her fighter with. I won't stop her, but she does need a job so she's not fully dependent on me and Miles. I can think of that later, for now, I'm just glad she back where she belongs, with family." Nicole sits back.
"She always was kind of my anchor to reality, making sure I didn't get too stressed or sucked into my work while I was in the secondary fleet. She says I've been doing it again, need to relax. Admiral Sader told me to relax too, am I really this stressed out? Wouldn't it be normal for a pilot to be worried about the next move we make in a war? I mean, I have full confidence in command, but we can't always predict the enemies movements. I'm doing it again. Maybe some time in the hottub will cure this damned hangover. Till next time."
Nicole ends the entry, Taking a towel with her to the yachts hot tub to relax.
Nicole sits in front of her data log, activating the recording.
"Oh how I just dodged the biggest bullet ever. I got out of line, WAY out of line. I got too relaxed today and almost got slammed with so much work. What made Admiral Sader change his mind? He was perfectly justified, I got out of line. It's the fact he didn't make me go through with it that worries me. Very uncharacteristic, or I'm over thinking. Again. Overall, it was a pleasant day but.. I can't help but feel guilty over what transpired at the end of the patrol." Nicole sits back, concerned over her behavior. She shakes her head.
"I can't let this get to me. Besides, I should be happy, LNS-Madison was just commissioned under my command. I'm in a gunboat once again. She'll be out for trials and live fire weapons testing tomorrow under my command outside Juneau, though with the recent breaches I hope nothing goes wrong. I suppose I'll just drink my regrets of today away.. as if it'll help. I wish the Admiral knew how sorry I was for getting out of line. It wasn't right. I'm a Navy officer. I'm supposed to obey Command without question, and most definitely not step out of line like I did." Nicole sighs. "Until next time."
Nicole turns off the recording, laying on her bed, reflecting on what made her get so far out of line.
Nicole transmits her recording to her private databank on her yacht, shuffling through the month old papers on her desk at HQ.
"Oh thank god nobody came in here, Sader would kill me if he saw my desk like this. Atleast I got here first." Nicole bins a few, now irrelevant papers to be shredded. "Well, I'm a bit tied up here so I'm doing the recording from my office to my databank with a secure channel. Been a couple days since I did an entry. I managed to help this Lane Hacker from before, she seems like a nice person in a bad situation. After that, my god was that day full. A smuggler with blackmarket arms, a large warship, then a massive dogfight in Bering. Then these two... shouldn't mention that."
Nicole continue organizing her office before anybody had the chance to approach. "Atleast it seems to be the Admiral's day off, I didn't see him anywhere. I might actually get away with not touching my desk for a month. How nobody smelled that disgusting donut I left I have no clue. I really need to get this crap together if I'm going to get a promotion in my lifetime. Good thing this isn't being listened to, I'd be condemned to being Sader's errand girl for a year. Till next time."
Nicole ends the recording, quickly tiding up her office.