//OORP first: This posting is set before Jack Henderson appeared again and flew for IMG. I just didn't want to miss all the convoy fun and had no character there (which I fixed now). =) But I want to end the fine story, so I turn the clock back a bit. =)
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Greetings, Sirs and Ma'ams,
this is Dr. Jason Clark, speaking to you from Lancaster Trade Center, Newcastle system. Thirteen hours ago a life pod was dropped at the Trade Center. He is in a stable condition now and is recovering from dehydration, medium dosed ray exposure and blunt trauma. Judging from the damaged blackbox of the pod, it must have been in open space for about 4 to 5 days.
His ID and registration enables us to identify the person als Jack Henderson, a pilot flying for your Guild. This is why we inform you about the situation.
We traced the pod back to a Junker who picked it up in the system Chester, pretty close to the Rhyl Nebula, a highly unfriendly region of Sirius. The Junker claimed he had not seen a wreck of a ship and that the pod was flying at high speed, pretty far off the normal trade routes. A police investigation focussing on the Junker's blackbox confirmed the story.
I'm calling you because we found an audio only message that had been taped during the time in the rescue pod. It is highly encrpted and is adressed to be sent to you, which is what I've done hereby.
From a medical point of view we'd like to keep the patient for some more tests before he can be transported to a base of his (if conscious) or your choice. Our medical facilities are appropriate for a treatment, but there might be others you prefer.
Good day, Sirs, Ma'ams.
Dr. Jason Clark
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Attached message:
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[font=Fixedsys]This is Jack Henderson, if you get this, the Kusari spy Melfina Korzik ist dead. She was trying to attack Bretonia again and I chased her to stop that from happening. She was erratic, I think she was insane or mind-controlled or at least brain-washed somehow. Her actions didn't make sense to me.
She led me and Ian Desari close to the Rhyl Nebula in an attempt to use the poor sensory range and the strong ray emission - I assume in an attempt to shake us. I know that there is a strong Nomad presence in the sector and that their mental powers are strongly developed there.
I tried to stop the already badly beaten up Ian from getting close to the Nomad influence (you know about his being sometimes controlled by these Nomads?), but he had already succumbed to their influence again. He was not himself and was again more of a burden than help. His actions became highly erratic and overly emotional.
I saw no option to save Ian (who had a relationship of some romantic value with Melfina, if I can believe her words) from becoming a mindless instrument of the Kusari spy or the Nomads, and I saw no other way to protect Bretonia from another IMG-staged sobatage attack, so I attacked Melfina with the intention to stop her plans.
She proved to be excellently trained and finished me in a matter of minutes while Ian had disappeared into the Nebulae. He reappeared on the scene with his senses recovered partially and he was outraged at the IMG-IMG fight going on. Consequently he tried to stop it, but could not decide who to believe. When Melfina shot my ship during the heated argument, he attacked her and her vessel exploded.
At that time my Nxy was dying, yet sensors were still up so I could scan for pod ejection signals and life beacons. Nothing. I could confirm the complete destruction of Melfina K.'s Nyx in a secondary explosion of nuclear mines and her decease in the massive detonation before the starboard hull of my Nyx snapped and the ejection mechanism kicked in, saving my life. I don't know what happened to Ian. I just know that my pod has not been found by IMG assets in the area up to now.
More important: With her decease, there is no incriminating experience against IMG. I got rid of mine a second ago. Her ship will have been wiped clean by her Kusari friends to cover things up. Her ship was destroyed in one of the most hostile places of Bretonia. If you kill this message, the attack will never have happened or at least nobody will ever be able to prove our involvement.
**** Incoming Transmission ****
From: Johnathan Sanders, Independant Miners Guild
To: Dr. Jason Clark, Lancaster center.
Subject: Recovered IMG Pilot
Mr. Clark,
It is fortunate that Gateway was able to find the pilot before it was too late. Unfortunately, the encrypted audio message was scrambled - perhaps as a result of high-yield EMP charges in the vicinity of the recording. We're working on patching it up but prospects are bad... maybe once the pilot has recovered we'll find out what he intended to transmit.
Chester is a hostile and desolate system - I must presume the pilot was on some sort of prospecting venture on his own initiative, which went badly. You have our thanks for saving his life - please let us know what costs were incurred in the process, naturally the Guild will reimburse you. Once he has recovered sufficiently, we'll dispatch a medical transport from South Shields to take him there. Please inform us when in your opinion this could be done.
Regards,
- Johnathan Sanders, on behalf of the Independent Miners Guild
**** Transmission Closed ****
Wide awake in a world that sleeps, enduring thoughts, enduring scenes. The knowledge of what is yet to come.
From a time when all seems lost, from a dead man to a world, without restraint, unafraid and free.
Mostly retired Discovery member. May still visit from time to time.
Four days later a medical vessel docks at Hood and delivers the patient Jack Henderson in stable condition to the Dublin medical facilities.
It would take another 6 days to get him back to normal physical strength and another 4 days before he is allowed to get into the pilot's seat of his Nyx again.
The following report is filed to the IMG Headquarters by the medical staff on Hood the day he is listed as "active - on duty":
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Medical Screening Report
Patient: Jack Henderson
Treating Doctor: Jamely G. Fuller
I cleared Jack Henderson for his return to active duty.
He has recovered 87 % of the injuries to arms and legs in the blunt trauma ejection incident.
The damages caused by dehydration could be cured 100 %.
Psychical recovery has been achieved to an extent of 74 %. The missing percentage can be explained by amnesia due to red- or blackout. The loss of memory encompasses a time span of about 10 to 90 minutes after the explosion and ended when the spinning motion of the pod was reduced by the gravity of some bigger asteroids, perhaps also by bumping into obstacles - which would explain the blunt trauma injuries pretty well.
We see a danger of 22 % that he will suffer from Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. His impulsive character suggests that this could result (33 %) in agressive behaviour, if not treated.
We recommend monthly physical and mental checks to make sure we don't miss any negative developments.
My gut feeling says that he will make an almost full recovery, but let's better play this safe.
