Ident. Jadyn "G̴r̵i̶m̸w̸o̵l̶f̸e̴" Giles Loc. & Date Manchester, 21JUN830 Station Sheffield Station Subject <No Subject>
The feed begins shaky, it appears Jadyn is holding a handheld recorder. He's sitting down somewhere unfamiliar. The emotion on his face is blank...indifferent...unnerving. There is a strange glint to his pupils as if a red light is shining behind them. He stares into the camera for a few moments before beginning his log. His mannerisms are halting, as if robotic.
Lost the Skalli. Got hit by something near the Magellan gate. Hard and fast. Didn't even have time to react.
He looks to his surroundings and then back to the recorder.
Whatever hit me wasn't human. Nothing rips hull apart like that. I took the payout for the ship instead of a replacement and cancelled the insurance. I don't expect they were too pleased at that.
He pauses again, looking to his surroundings. He continues his recording whilst doing so.
I'm removing myself from the Guild. Listening to these recordings I've been doing has made me realize that I've sat in one place for too long at the behest of an organization that doesn't really give a shit about me so long as I'm fulfilling bounties on criminals that just get back out from bribes or other means. The money is good but it's a waste of time. As such, it's time to go freelance for more opportunities. I figure I'll keep the Wolf of Manchester moniker though. It's suitable considering the amount of time I spent there.
He pauses as another individual enters the establishment he is currently in. He stares the patron down until they move further away from him.
I'm waiting on removing my registration from the BHG now. After that, I'll need to find someone to strip the IFF's on my two remaining ships and bug out of here. Where I'll go next, who knows. Heard of interesting shit going on in the Taus. Maybe I'll start there and see what shakes loose.
Jadyn's emotionless gaze stares into the camera for a moment longer, the unusual red shine in his pupils more pronounced than when the recording started. The feed abruptly cuts without any more explanation.
Ident. Jadyn "G̴r̵i̶m̸w̸o̵l̶f̸e̴" Giles Loc. & Date Inverness, 26JUN830 Station N/A Subject <No Subject>
The feed begins with Jadyn behind the controls of his ship. It appears from the background that he is in motion.
The Technocracy replied to me as I was planning to leave. Seems they're willing to work with me on getting my IFF reset. The Neural Net hack will need to be completed by someone with more familiarity with the networks it seems. Lane Hackers after all. Not a problem, as long as my ship reads Freelancer and they don't look too deeply into my files, they won't know any better.
Jadyn turns his head, as if thinking.
If they do, violence might be necessary. Perhaps an intermediary would be more prudent. I'll need to figure out who I can work with on that.
The communication ends without any further dialogue.
Ident. Jadyn "Grimwolfe" Giles Loc. & Date Coronado, 26JUN830 Station Barrier Gate Station C Subject Pain
Jadyn is hunched over at the video screen, he looks almost hungover.
The IFF is recoded now. I'm officially loose from the Hunters Guild.
He groans, as if simply saying that was a herculean effort.
Before the Auxo showed up, a Nomad appeared nearby. I think it was trying to communicate with me but the Fahrenheit implants were blocking it's attempts. I wasn't aware they could do that...but I guess it's as good of a time as any to find out. It did a good job but was killing me in the process. I'm fairly sure it didn't cause any long term damage. The Sadukar variants are indicating my vitals are fine though and they've never failed me yet so I think I'm okay. They're definitely having a more difficult time keeping my higher level emotional functions under control right now though. Hopefully the self-repair functionality of the implants hasn't degraded after so long.
Jadyn winces in pain.
I don't think I have much of a choice. I need to find either Merlow or Scarman. I'm not sure what they'd be able to do but if this implant doesn't repair itself adequately then I need to have someone do it for me and they're probably the only two that know what it is. I can't let technology from another universe out into this one. I don't want to know what the end result of that would be. I think I'm going to get some rest and try to avoid any more anomalous ships or creatures. Right now I don't think I'd survive it.
Ident. Jadyn "Grimwolfe" Giles Loc. & Date Leeds, 27JUN830 Station Halifax Freeport Subject Idle Hands
The video feed opens up in a bar. Jadyn is only half in the frame, drinking more of the amber liquid he is often seen with. The color in his face has returned somewhat and he doesn't appear to be in any more pain.
It's weird seeing the shady side of Sirius again after being on the other side for so many years. It's hard to break old habits. My instinct is to arrest the lot of them and throw them in my hold as bounties.
He looks to the camera.
I need to break that habit, though. I might need them in the future. I'll save my ire for the worst of them.
He raises his empty glass to a passing waitress. She collects the empty glass. A moment later she replaces it with a topped off one. Jadyn nods to her with a smile as she departs.
Fahrenheit seems to have repaired itself. I was finally able to deactivate it after that encounter with the Nomad. Seems whatever it did caused a soft reboot of the software. Still, it shouldn't have happened. I need to get Merlow or one of the Freedom Fighters to take a look at them...if they'll even answer my call.
He looks off into the distance thinking. As he does so, he absent mindedly swirls his drink before looking back to the camera.
That Auxo gent did a good job on my ship. I was impressed with his work. It turns out the intelligence I obtained on them was fairly spot on. Good with technology and they appear to be a society revolved around it. I need more intel before I can work with them in the future, though. The encounter with the Nomad seemed to be a little convenient if you catch my meaning. He showed up shortly after it got there and decided to start shooting at it. The Nomad barely put up a fight and then ran away? Seems awfully suspicious. After their little spat, I pretended not to know much about the Technocracy. I was surprised he didn't question that, a Hunter not knowing much about the Auxo? That should have been surprising for him. I guess he doesn't have much experience with Bounty Hunters. Even with Fahrenheit acting up at the time, it helped keep my emotions flatlined until I left. Pretty sure I spooked him at some point for some reason. No idea why, guess it was the nature of Fahrenheit.
Jadyn sighs and shrugs.
Anyway, I've been idling enough. I figure I can pick up the Bomber and do some runs in Pennsylvania later or find some other work in the edge worlds for now. I'll send an encoded message out to the Freedom Fighters and see if anyone bites. If Merlow or Scarman answers, maybe I'll have a chance to get Fahrenheit looked at to see if any work needs done to it. If not, maybe I'll finally be able to die.
He shrugs and downs the rest of his glass in a single gulp before slamming the glass on the table, causing the camera to bounce.
Or maybe I'll just remind people of days better left forgotten. Whatever the case, maybe someone will finally get closure.
He reaches forward and picks up the camera. Shortly thereafter, the feed cuts out.
Ident. Jadyn "Grimwolfe" Giles Loc. & Date Coronado, 06JUL830 Station Open Space Subject Resolutions
Once again, Jadyn is behind the controls of his ship as he begins his log; the space scape behind him flying by. It appears as if he is in cruise.
I haven't recorded anything here lately. Mostly because Scarman replied with one message and promptly went back to ignoring me again. Merlow never even deigned to respond. I guess I can't fault either of them considering our pasts...my past. The entire point is moot anyway, it would appear that the Fahrenheit implant repaired on it's own somehow; I hadn't expected it to do that. I never really understood how any of the tech worked anyway. It appears the repair fixed the fault I was having for many years and I have some semblance of control back...though it's tempting to slip back into the numbness; where there is no pain.
He shakes himself, as if trying to get a demon off his back.
I deserve to feel the anguish for what I caused. It's my penance for something I can never pay back...and so, I will live with it unless Fahrenheit is needed for combat. I'm passing through Coronado now. Not sure on where I'm headed. I'll know more once I get closer to...where ever it is I'm going.
Jadyn taps the side of his helmet and the feed ends.
Ident. Jadyn "G̴r̵i̶m̸w̸o̵l̶f̸e̴" Giles Loc. & Date Texas, 20JUL830 Station Beaumont Spire Subject <No Subject>
The communication opens with Jadyn staring into the camera. The red hue behind his pupils is back and he appears to be in another state where his emotions are absent. He holds an empty glass in his hand and is leaning forward towards the camera.
I forgot the reason why I ran Fahrenheit for so long.
For a moment, a flicker of emotion. Remorse. Rage. Pain. Anger. Everything flickers across his face for a fraction of a second before the light in his eyes surges and he clinches his fist. His hand holding the glass begins shaking as he grips it tighter.
My life has been one cruel joke from the time my whore mother birthed me into my world. My uncle beat me daily and tortured me for idle satisfaction. Even after the war started and I volunteered, they subjected me to cruel experiments; trying to make some kind of fucking super soldier. They made me into a killing machine: "Fahrenheit-Alpha-Zero". I got to watch a woman I loved killed by a bastard playing soldier. I swore revenge and chased them across the void of space and universes only to behold what I had become.
His eyes no longer have a hint of red any more, they are burning bright orange, the implant struggling to regulate the emotion burning within his soul.
I had become him.
The glass suddenly shatters. Jadyn looks to his ruined hand, now lacerated from the broken glass. Blood begins running down his fingers.
I don't even feel pain anymore...that's the result of my cruel existence.
He stares at his hand for a moment longer before his eyes flick to the camera, barely simmering rage echoes behind them. The angry hue of orange is gone, replaced one more by the dulled red. Emotion completely blank from his face.
Marcus sent me another message. This time solidifying his hatred for me. Very well, if this is who I am, it is who I will be. No emotion, no pain, only existence.
Jadyn looks into the camera for a moment longer. Another echo of emotion plays across his face before the log ends: Sorrow.
Ident. Jadyn "Grimwolfe" Giles Loc. & Date Pennsylvania, 08APR834 Station Planet Erie Subject Control
The video opens up on Jadyn, once again sitting in front of the camera. He looks as if he hasn't aged a single day since his last recording.
Every time I manage to turn Fahrenheit off, I'm able to last longer before the cycle repeats and I'm dunked back into the cold emotionless state. I think that whatever the implant is, it's finally matured and settled into a state where it can be subtly manipulated by me. The Sadukar overlay has a new icon on it called Fahrenheit but it's grayed out--possibly indicating a time where I will be able to access it's higher functions.
Jadyn runs his hands over his face.
That'll be a nice day when I can actually control this damn thing. Fucking Merlow, designing an implant that takes multiple decades to mature? What the hell was he thinking? Mine was a prototype though, maybe he had no way of knowing. Still, I see him ever again I might just wind up taking my frustrations out on him.
Ident. Jadyn "Grimwolfe" Giles Loc. & Date Pennsylvania, 08APR834 Station Open Space Subject Field Testing
Jadyn appears to be behind the controls of a Rheinland looking vessel. The cockpit is large and spacious.
The Harvest is ready for it's initial field test out here in Pennsylvania. Engines, scanners, weapons, everything looks to be in the green. Only thing I'm really worried about is cooling. These second-hand Coalition engines are a giant pain in the ass to work with, but so far I'm managing. Should be happy I found engines at all to be honest.
He wrests the controls and opens fire on a ship. The camera flashes with explosions as the ship is destroyed.
I gotta say so far though, things are looking good. Going to get some Salvage together and drop to one of the stations out here. I'm sure they'd pay a lot. More later.
He slaps a control on the console and the log ends.
Ident. Jadyn "Grimwolfe" Giles Loc. & Date Pennsylvania, 09APR834 Station Harrisburg Station Subject Power Issues
Jadyn sits down in front of the camera. As he does so, he has a towel around his shoulders and is using one end of it to dry the back of his damp hair.
Well, the test went okay for the most part. We managed to hunt down two Pirate Trains and disassemble them for parts and hauled their crew to Harrisburg for a decent payday of just over 11,000 credits. I'm running into an issue with the power matrix onboard the ship, however. The primaries are operating within norms but it feels like the Impacts are taking up way more juice than they should be. I'll need to experiment a little more or find another ship to use for my purposes.
A local hunter in the area suggested I check out the Peregrine. I took a look at it and I wasn't impressed. It's a pretty damn ugly ship, but it does have more hold space for cargo...so it might be something to consider. I'll need to do more research and see if I can eek out any more power on the Harvest first. Maybe do some swapping around of guns to try to lighten the load a bit. If all that fails, we may consider another ship.
My other ship is up and running, but lacks the hold for cargo from these wrecked ships. So while it might be able to pop them more easily, I lack the means to carry any prisoners or Salvage to the stations in Pennsylvania. Kind of a moot-point, really unless I have someone with me to pick up the items...and someone I trust not to screw me over.
Ident. Jadyn "Grimwolfe" Giles Loc. & Date Manchester, 15APR834 Station Sheffield Station Subject Like Coming Home
Jadyn sits down and places his helmet on the seat next to him, he pours a small amount of amber liquid into a small glass and leans back into the cushions, his left arm resting on the seat next to him.
Well, I've got the Harvest sitting out at Harrisburg for sorties out there which are far and few in-between oddly enough and Sheffield Station, as usual, has no shortage of scumbags to put in body bags...and so, here I am.
He takes a sip of the amber liquid in front of him and lights a cigarette.
Thinking that I may take the Harvest down to Hudson and run some sorties out of there. Pennsylvania is good and all but...the Pirate Trains are getting smarter with their routes and are avoiding usual shipping lanes, making it harder to track them down and scrag. Seems opportunities there might be drying up. May be time to take this clown show on the road, if you know what I mean.
He takes a drag of the lit cancer stick.
Well, no time like the present, I suppose. Gonna run a few more bounties here then head out there and see how Manitoba has faired since I was last around those stomping grounds. More later, I presume.