Interviewer: Mr Manning can you look at the camera please.
(Subject turns, faces camera)
Interviewer: Thankyou - ah... we have the scans we need. As stated earlier you came to us with extensive ....
files which we will be reviewing later, but for now this is an interview we often do with recruits such as yourself who come from the kind of background you have, there will be simple questions, answer them truthfully please - we are able to know if you are not telling the truth. Nothing we discuss here today can go further than [CLASSIFIED] which you have already established with your previous communications. Do you understand what has been put to you so far?
Manning: I do.
Interviewer: Very well Mr Manning, please state your name.
Manning: Simon Manning.
Interviewer:Is this the name given to you by your parents, your birth name?
Interviewer:Good - You previously served in the Military in Brettonia but during leave undertook studies at the university of Manhattan in Liberty is that correct?
Manning:Yes it is.
Interviewer:What was your rank in the Brettonian military?
Manning: [CLASSIFIED]
Interviewer: Good, and as part of your capacity here you spent time in the Newcastle system and were asked to apply both your field and academic studies to the areas of xenoform research is that correct?
Manning: Yes it is.
Interviewer:In what capacity?
Manning:Initially this was archeological work, field work... there was an element of biology involved in the instances i have previously outlined to you in the case of [CLASSIFIED] and [CLASSIFIED], i had some knowledge of this area from work i had previously undertaken on Cambridge with Dr [CLASSIFIED] and their research of certain artifacts.
Interviewer: Good, and you were in Liberty on extended leave from the military when you were contacted by a member of the LSF... a..... Captain [CLASSIFIED] is that correct?
Manning:Yes it is - we had worked together previously on a Murder case that involved the JAG on New London. We had established a good rapport over that time with my investigative and archeological background he thought i could help him with a case he had come across - strictly non classified of course, he'd heard i was in town and called me up.
Interviewer:I see - and it was the successful conclusion of this case.... let me see... Liberty Judicial file number..... [CLASSIFIED] that he asked you to work with the team at the university of Manhattan, is that correct?
Manning:Yes it is - whilst assisting him with that assignment we had discovered one of the subjects had been in contacted with the xenoforms, thus my status as a civilian in his eyes was seen as a moot point.
Interviewer: And what was the nature of this individuals contact with the species?
Manning:He was infected.
Interviewer:Infected?
Manning:Infected yes.
Interviewer:Ok, at this point, were you briefed on the nature of the work at the university?
Manning:Not thoroughly, [CLASSIFIED] had told me this was LSF work that involved an actual subject and various forms of artifacts and technology.
Interviewer: i see... you were not aware at this time that this project was funded by the military and was exploring the possible military applications of whatever knowledge was gained?
Manning:At that point no. I did suspect this quite early on in my tenure there however, i had suspected i would see LSF people involved as it was they who recruited me, but signs led me to believe this was not entirely an academic project.
Interviewer: Signs... apart from the fact that this material is classified and almost unknown in academic circles in liberty?
Manning:Yes - Its a commonly known fact that that university undertakes work of a secret nature all the time, its part of their allure and as you know they are famous for it, this however had the markings of something more than academic endeavor.
Interviewer:You resigned your commission in the Navy at this time... What made you stay in Liberty?
Manning: I had a falling out with my family, as you are aware, and the work itself was fascinating. The money was good, all the incentives were there.
Interviewer: You were under the terms of a non-disclosure agreement with the Brettonian Miltary after your term of service expired, did you honour this agreement?
Manning:I did.
Interviewer:You disclosed none of your work from Brettonia to the Libertonians?
Manning: I didnt.
Interviewer:Good. The test subject you first encountered in the university was tagged as subject [CLASSIFIED], considered to be a younger specimen that was taken in Alaska.
Manning:Thats correct.
Interviewer: (Holds up a photograph off camera) Do you know this person Mr Manning?
Manning: Yes i do, that's Dr James... Grace James from the university.
Interviewer:She worked on the project with you?
Manning:Yes she did, she was a xenobiologist who had clearance to work directly with the test subject, she had been with the university for a long time, however was relatively new to the project when i joined...
Interviewer:Thankyou Mr. Manning (turns to door) [CLASSIFIED] will see you now and we'll continue this in a few hours time.
'The newest subject was brought in this morning. It was taken somewhere in the Alaska system and brought here under heavy guard immediately. It made several panicked attempts to communicate with the LSF people however were unable to override their [CLASSIFIED]. We recorded each attempt and are applying previously successful techniques which allow us to do so... more or less with 75 to 80% efficiency. So far i have recieved a mess of jumbled images and concepts, this one appears to be using images unfamiliar to the general human mindset and so at this early stage intelligence gathering based on communication is not possible.
So far we have gleaned very little from it. The biology team surmise it to be relatively young, a conclusion which would appear to be supported by its attempts at communication. (log note# 110292) Dr's James and Taylor (log note# Dr Eric Taylor 284926A log file 244) have studied it briefly this afternoon while it was under sedation and it appears to be fully intact with little to no physical damage.
I have briefly looked over the technology brought it with it - very little of value however, the entity appears to have severed itself completely from its vessel prior to its destruction and thus has left us little to work with in the way of interfacing and control. The vessel itself yielded little outside their shield energy supplies and superfluous biological material which will be examined at a later date.
We have dubbed this one specimen [CLASSIFIED] and moved it into one of the shielded labs on [CLASSIFIED] deck. Dr Taylor will be heading Alpha team from tomorrow and Dr James has been appointed head of Beta team, shifts will be rotated regularly.
My status on the project was finally confirmed this afternoon when [CLASSIFIED] sent down the pad with the relevant information, for now i will be confined to the campus over the mandatory probationary period - but the transfer of my paperwork and Credit information is through... I anticipate no problems here."
Interviewer: Thankyou Mr Manning, please take your seat and we'll continue.
Manning: Thankyou.
Interviewer:Lets get started then. We were discussing in our last interview Dr. James who you identified from an image i showed you.
Manning:That's correct.
Interviewer:Tell me what you know of Dr. James Mr Manning?
Manning:I know very little, personally. I met her early on in my time on the project, she had been with the university some time i had discovered, and had only relatively recently been transferred to the classified research section. She seemed personable enough, quite attractive obviously - she showed a great meticulousness in her work, everything she ever presented before the panel was always thoroughly professional and of the highest standard.
Interviewer:Do you know what happened to her?
Manning:No.. not exactly, though there are... theories. Both her and the subject vanished. It was believed that she had somehow fallen under the influence of the specimen and had under that influence released it.
Interviewer:Do you have any evidence to support that?
Manning:Some. The surveillance footage from the lab was incomplete. It wasn't found out until later however, but a few weeks after the specimen was brought in the nightly logs, as in the logs that would have been watching when Dr James was in the lab were not there.
Interviewer: They were missing?
Manning:No, they had never been made. The system that logs activity in the labs was being switched off at the beginning of her shift and on again as she left. As these logs are only viewed when an incident occurs this was not noticed until after she had vanished.
Interviewer:Why would she do this?
Manning: We didn't know, we believed somehow she had done it under guidance from the specimen.
Interviewer:There is a log file tape from Manhattan City spaceport which shows Dr James entering the premises that night. Its last footage has her in a hangar on the freight deck. Are you aware of this footage?
Manning: Yes i am. The LSF picked that up the day after this happened. A small freighter had been reported stolen that morning and the LSF's system core matched a facial recognition image to the feed from the port. The stolen ship was logged as an unregistered flight the night before. We believe Dr.James and the specimen were on it.
Interviewer: Was that also the working theory of the LSF?
Manning: I believe so, but i wasn't privy to the investigation after that, it was at that point that they started to go into lock down.
Interviewer: They initiated emergency security protocols?
Manning:They did. I was not sure of their reasoning, but my guess was that at that point LSF data on the specimen was not complete and they didn't know how much it knew or gleaned from anyone that had been around it. I was aware that some fairly senior military officials had been in proximity to it and they were concerned about possible security risks.
Interviewer:Did the LSF know what class of creature the specimen was that they had?
Manning:No, i don't believe they did - though none of us did at the time.
Interviewer:You were then ordered to remain confined to your apartment until further notice is that correct?
Manning:Yes. I attempted to contact [CLASSIFIED] but was sidelined and unable to get a response. I was told that security procedures had been enacted and that as i was not a Liberty Citizen i had no rights under the law in situations where House Security was involved.
Interviewer:You were to be transferred to Prison Station Mitchell for .... debriefing and you were informed of this on the 16th of that month, tell me what transpired then?
Manning: I never got there. The transport i was on was hijacked by an agent of the Order. I was sedated and moved to Toledo.
Interviewer:Good..... That will be all for today, i believe you have another briefing with [CLASSIFIED] now. So we shall reconvene here tomorrow at 0900.
Owing to my prior knowledge of the subject in question I have been assigned case file number [CLASSIFIED] and have been engaged in surveilance of the entity code-named "Seshat" which I believe to be the same entity that manipluated Dr Grace James from the University of Manhattan.
Order Sensor sweeps of [CLASSIFIED] have been inconclusive at best, the subject has been reported in [CLASSIFIED] although no contact was believed to have occured between the miners and the being itself. (Full lockdown procedures were initiated, suspect targets were processed). On [CLASSIFIED] I entered the New York system and began surveillance of the university complex and the former residence of Dr James, now still inhabited by her husband, one Michael Sampson (log# [CLASSIFIED]). Initial data gathered from within the university points to a discontinuing of the previously known research although there is still a clear LSF presence within the campus.
Data on Dr James herself still remains under LSF lockdown. Surveillance of the husband has yielded no finds, it is my conclusion that he has not been contacted by Dr James nor has any ransom demand been presented (re casefile [CLASSIFIED] ruling out the cover story presented by the LSF. Operation continues.
As part of my surveillance of the household of Dr.James and her husband I have noticed some unusual behavior on the part of the husband [See log file# CLASSIFIED]. He has applied for and been granted a change of position within the IMG from that of his current occupation (Manhattan sales coordinator and business management) to the position of Deep Space Survey - A considerable drop in income. He is displaying signs of expected outward grief but further observation has noted that he has begun to purchase large numbers of automated sensor beacons of the highest grade available on the civilian market. [See Agiera-Corp product #141]. His personal account information reveals that these have been purchased from his own finances and not charged to the IMG.
Preliminary opinion is that Mr Sampson is intending to look for something - namely his wife. The purchase of deep-space beacons however seems to indicate that he will not be confining himself to planet-side inquiries. It would be highly unusual given what is known at this point, it is unlikely he knows what he may be potentially dealing with, but it could be theoretically possible that the subject has been in some form of communication with him. I have decided that this bears watching and have asked [CLASSIFIED] to make a note of his vessels comms identification.
Subject itself has not been located again after the last known sensor contact at [CLASSIFIED].