Section contains updates to internal chapters and links to external story-arcs done.

Internal

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Enigma
Origins I

External

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Falling Towards the Sky
Paradox

Malta always is a busy place. Hangars even more. Dock workers unloading the incoming transports of fuel, equipment, every imaginable sort of consumer goods. Loading them with Cardamine.
The Orange Dream as called by the pilots, as called by most individuals in Maltese territory.
The Orange Plague called down the Tau zones.
Hundreds of thousands are transshipped every day, handled by hired intermedians, freelancing contractors, shady business partners.

This is different.
Over past weeks, decks Four through Seventeen had been closed for outer entry, guards wearing the Razgriz emblem had been placed to seal a major part of the hangers, ruthlessly enforcing the shutdown as ordered.
No one is to enter.
Containers are moved in, equipment to fill multiple dozen shipments, military grade gear - tanks, artillery, sentry guns - loaded on gun carriages, low platforms, prepared to be dropped low orbit by gunships.
Rumors spread, about the Military preparing liftoff against the Lanciers - that there are diplomats invited - that this is the beginning of the end.
Between all the noise, the rush and activity, the hectic running, there are command shouts heard.
Estefania, viciously enforcing Gabriella's will, is ordering the staff.


Over days now shipments left Malta orbit under heavy Military escort. Headed towards Omicron-Eighty. Past Genoa.
No records - neither on Malta, nor on any station the transports passed.
Convoys never existed, coming from nowhere, never been anywhere - ghosts.

Omicron-Eighty-One
Cartagena

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All Fleet is halted at this position, transports moor with the shipyard, waiting for further orders.
The shipyard, used as temporary storage facility, had been set under military law jurisdication, escort ships patrol the area, Maltese Fleet is set on alert status, given the chance of potentional intruders. Order was around recently suspicious regular.
Beginning with Huescar Nebula, system is under complete military lockdown.
Everything not of Ghost colours or otherwise involved into the project is shot on sight.
There will be no survivors.
There are no survivors. Gabriellas orders had been unambiguous.

Galicia Research Complex.
Log entry Four-Seven-One Epsilon-Epsilon Zero-Six.

Gabriellas voice is without emotion. Cold, impersonal.

Shades of black fill the room, the translucent particles that fill Omicron-EightyOne are the only source of light that illuminates the room. Right next to the stasis field working as screen to the outside, perhaps in the most dark corner, Estefania is sitting, her thoughts distant, her appearance a shadow of herself.


Estefania lights up a cigarette and inhales the smoke by a deep, long breath. Her view shortly touched Gabriella before it focused on space again.


Walking upfront the screen, her hands folded behind her back, Gabriella takes a look at the massive warship closely stationed over Galicias docking hangars.
Her manner is militaristic, her behaviour estimating situations.
They both have changed. Estefania, once known for her temper, became a ruthless coldblooded machine in mind, Gabriellas fist, willing to strike upon any target called.
And Gabriella herself is with every day more intented on the idea to perish in the ashes Jameson left behind.
Her looks never regarded Estefania the time they have talked.

Her hand hovers the surface of the corridors wall as she is walking down to the assembling chamber, it is a cold, heartless, restless sensation.
Dark, mirroring her feelings.
Steps even as hovering the ground, a silent movement steadily pushes her forward, as it is against her will, but is her desire.
The clinical bright light, the aseptic environment that builds up infront quietly calls.
A part of her is missing, a fact just recently brought back to realization. A feeling she had suppressed, she wanted to forget. But now, Gabriella cannot forget anymore.
Closing her eyes, it is ripping throughout her soul, her mind floats abroad to a place she cannot reach once awake again.


There is mythology circling that topic, some call it poetry.
Diving the Lethe ever has been the one aspiration Gabriellas spirit wished to achieve.
Few days ago hard lesson teached her that a humans mind must not necessarily have left its biological shell to acquire that.
Standing aside so close, her view targeted, she can show the path to others, can hover the waters with her hand, but never she will get across on her own.
Convicted in knowing to have become a nonentity already herself, all to strive for is what she will never enjoy first hand.
The refusal to forget is what is giving end a meaning beyond devotion, not leaving more as a cloudy compound of thoughts.

Lost in thoughts Gabriella gone past assembling chambers, even further down the decks elevator brought her to Code-Seven Research, the department locked for Echelon's intended development... Human Evolution Project.
She is not opening the seals hiding away the most mysterious secret Nacion Maltese ever had,... ever will have.
Laying her hand on the airlock-door, her mind straying afar, she opens a communication to Estefania,...


The transmission interrupts at this point, incoming signals are blocked.

Few minutes later Gabriellas Sabre departs from Galicia, disappearing into Huescar Nebula.

Weeks passed since Nacion lost track on Gabriellas record. Her sister was officially called substitution until she would return, shortly before previous Administrator Perez left the scenery passing duty to Gabriella. For her not been available to take the position, Estefania as her proxy came to power over the Razgriz soldiers.
Estefania, that young woman unable to control her outbursts, with the temper of hell itself exploding, an individual more concerned following her own mind, with pride to be of trueborn maltese blood close to narcism, is now in command of the most fierce squadron ranked in Nacions military.
An unexpected turn of events.

Recent events pressed the transition of Ghosts position on Malta shifting back to what their initial executive field had been, restructure of the squadron becoming again more as the shadow of its former self they posed as for the past 'hundred years.
Estefania called all veteran pilots, all dismissed and lost souls, all astray minds that had broken with former Ghost Administration to once again find the place they all still desired during this time of critical change and structural refinement. Ghosts call, their final attempt to evolve past the restrictions environment set upon the Maltese.

Omicron-Eighty-One
Galicia Research Complex

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Administrator Casta, being addressed like that rises an unknown emotion in Estefania, comparable to how a person must feel that is about to cross line to insanity, is heading for the Echelons department buried deep within the lowest of Galicias decks, the place last known frequencies used by her sister were recorded. The antagonistic surrounding this place provides, the cold clinical light, surfaces dead metallic coloured anthracite to grey, takes Estefanias mental state down to the untouched levels she just gave out when Gabriella was around. This environment was a close replacement. Too close.


Personnel immediatly starts to disconnect internal links, deactivates running devices, interrupts uncompleted actions, experiments and test-studies. No time for the technicians to breathe, everything is shut down, cut off. Equipment, hardware, units, devices... packed and moved up to hangar decks. Ghost staff is a monotone hitting machinery in executing orders.
Soldiers break the seals hiding away what is Nacions most guarded secret, forcing the doors leading to Code-Seven Research to open, giving way to what is called the Human Evolution Project, core of Echelon research.
Darkness. Lights flicker for a short moment when turned on, then emitting sources discontinue performance. An oppressive silence presses on the soldiers moving in, perceiving the situation as hostile, just as the environment of this chamber seems trying to soak in every thought into the voiceless emptyness it resembles. A blurred ray, it flares on and off, can be seen at what must be the end of this walk. A cryostatis-pod.
The soldiers return reporting Estefania what they had found beyond the once forbidden lock and with no sign of hesitation Administrator walks upfront the pod searching the console to have the soldier within it awakened. A hashed sound, filthy noise associated with the board opening reveals a fully armoured female soldier opening her eyes in this lining. Eyes green and unsaying blank.


Estefania severely speaks towards the re-awakened soldier, proving her position as Ghost Administrator and making an appearance of command.


Ghost fleet initiates the hyperjump to Corsica, this time not passing maltese territory the regular way, bypassing every non-alligned crafts that eventually endanger security of this movement.
Nothing is left on Galicia, laboratories are empty, completely.

The recently reinstituted soldier, going by the name of Kelly-Zero-Eighty-Seven, proves with every passing day to be one of the most indispensable individuals Razgriz Ghosts honour within their ranks in this darkening times.
Initial evaluation of her combat skill surpassed all known records of current and previous maltese soldiers, measured data within the training area holographics indicate twenty-seven point four increase in reaction time without utilizing the device the Eighty-Seven is equipped with.
Her body is riddled with biogenetical enhancements, the device containing data of the period between first implementation over the course of execution of the bio-engineering protocols to the days right before cryostasis, and even during that. Unquestionable of maltese design, the device is unlike anything that can be found within maltese borders and beyond at current day. It appears to be an unique creation, eventually giving Kelly the privilege to be the first functional augmented human still alive.
Studies on physical and mental stress, the extent of required maintenance and the possibility of recreation got integral element of coming development agenda.

By Administrators order, Kelly is tasked as administrative proxy to conduct communications in Estefanias assignment, essentially being given complete liberty in her actions, both dealing with interal matters and external affairs.

Omicron-Eighty-Five
Corsica Outer Sanctum

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Estefania, given her common mindset, never was a person with a temper known to handle situations unlooked for in a civilized manner. Scheduled list kept her occupied despite the uprising emotions within her that will likely cost lifes given enough time, as everyone at maltese borders and even past the other edge of Sirius was in request of her attending one or another convention. Yet today is different. Today she is, unusual to the environment around her, not rushing through Corsicas corridors pushing personnel aside, not shouting at unaware soldiers, not having her temperament set the surroundings on fire.
Perfectly isolated from the events taking place right next to her, all her thoughts are focussed on the inner tensions that cover her appearance in its mysterious equilibrium.

Seventy-Fifths Mosquito squadron ultimately retrieved the subject they had been commanded to locate within libertonian core territory, and had the parcel delivered back into secured deposit of Razgriz soldiers. Content of this package eventually will change the way Corsica Sanctum and whole Ghost Administration is run in future times, as what is stored within the blackbox' storage file is the for decades seeked source-code of the Sarah-AI unit a closely to Estefania associated Hacker once created.
Current version of that AI was already invested into the Sanctums main server unit and is awaiting reactivation by Administrators dictate.
Estefania, down on level thirteen and entering the atrium that leads to the main processing unit, still connected to her thoughts, steps towards the board initiating the holo-sequence that allows entering the security-code reconstituting gravity from a negative eleven back to normal and opening the airlocks.

Reaching the console after passing the hallway leading to the server, she is taking out the copy GID customized for implementation. Blending out the ambience, covered in a sphere of touching the periphery a sane mind can endure, Estefania inserts the chipcard. Before rallying herself to contact Kelly up at the Sanctums centreal overwatch section, she is already receiving transmission from her.


Discounting the pressure with which Kelly presented the inevitable disaster to come would she not enter the command activating the already stored version of Sarah, Estefania seems to have fallen into shocklike state realizing the dimension of what she is about to commence.


Estefania, slightly hovering through the holo-projection of the keyboard, still has not found her conciousness yet again. Her look empty, apathy strikes her motion and for an instant world outside her thoughts became the nonentity she always was afraid of encountering once more in her life.
Out of a sudden, she enters the password and unlocks Sarah from the restrictions set upon her ability to access Corsica unhindered.

For a moments fragment of a second, and yet interrupted by Kellys aborted attempt to contact her once more, she is drifting into the unforgetting Abyss, the neverending chasm that leads to destruction on eternal state, before a synthesized female voice is intruding the instants silence.


Next to her position consolidates a holographic depiction representing a young woman, accompanied by a blistering sound as the projection of Sarahs illusionary avatar recalibrates the contortions of her appearance.


With the avatar vanishing, Estefania turns back to the console she just inserted the chipcard into giving complete access to an AI by trusting the word of her private associate. She falls on her knees and prays for the outcome of Echelon will be worth the sacrifices she brought and will bring upon the Ghosts.