The Horizons Project is spearheaded by Jax Burton, an ex-agent with the Liberty Security Force. His company, Horizons LTD., is a small organization of personnel consisting of ten like-minded individuals who are seeking to survey and record various ventures throughout Sirius space. Their mission is the survey the entirety of Sirius and, if interest, sell these surveys to various parties.
The sole property of Horizons LTD. is a heavily used Regent Luxury Yacht purchased from a scrap seller aboard Baltimore Shipyard. The ship was nominally restored using grant money obtained from various Liberty organizations and groups. The Regent, named the Horizon Seeker, has been minimally redesigned to suit a crew of ten passengers comfortably along with deep scanning sensor arrays and room for a few more upgrades should the needs dictate such a thing. Additionally, the ship possesses a large cargo hold capable of storing large amount of materials discovered on their survey missions.
About the Crew
ID: Jax Burton AGE: 36 POSITION: Project Lead
Jax Burton comes from a low income household from one of the many farms on Planet Denver. Even from a young age, he had ambitions that he would always be told out-stripped his place in society. Determined to prove them wrong, he pulled himself up by the bootstraps and managed to secure himself a foothold within the LSF at the age of 24 after serving under the LPI, then the Navy afterwards. However, following the events surrounding Erie, he tendered his resignation due to disagreements with leadership on how the situation was handled.
When he separated from the LSF, he retreated to home base on Planet Denver where, for a few months, he helped his family run the farm. However, his ambitions would once again come to the forefront and he founded Horizons LTD. with himself as the sole employee. The companies purpose was to explore and survey every known region of space. Using his connections from his time in the LSF, he sourced just over one million credits, plus his life-savings. With these credits, he purchased and retrofitted an aging Regent Luxury Liner heading for the scrapyards.
ID: Mike Hawthorne AGE: 29 POSITION: Executive Officer
Captain Mike Hawthorne is a close friend of Jax which is ironic considering their backgrounds couldn't be any different. The two went through training together aboard West Point during their days serving in the Navy. However, where Jax came from humble beginnings, Mike came from an affluent family living on Manhattan. Hating the decadence that his family members threw around, he elected to join the Liberty Navy, effectively throwing away any future fortune after he was disowned by his influential father following his graduation from West Point.
Recently separated from the Navy, he has joined Jax's company with the position being Executive Officer, or XO. A military man through and through, he runs a tight ship and ensures that crew discipline is top notch. He works hand in hand with Charles Bentley, the Security Chief aboard the Horizon Seeker, to ensure that everyone is prepared for any event in which violence is necessary such as any attempted boarding of third parties, pirating attempts, and otherwise.
Tiffany Kubota is often jokingly referred to as the brains of the entire Horizons Project. Being the science officer, and the only non Liberty personnel on the project, she is often overlooked concerning any task other than scientific problems. Though, despite her small stature and upbringing, her personality is often larger than life and boisterous to boot. She was born to two Samura scientists on Planet Junyo. However, there were complications with her birth as her right arm was malformed due to a birth defect and needed to be removed. Despite this, her parents connections within the greater scientific communities in Kusari enabled her to get various cybernetic prostetics which were all cutting edge throughout her childhood. Following the collapse of the scientific community in 824 due to the seizure of Kurile by the GMG, her parents elected to retire early instead of journeying out to join another scientific study.
She was intending to join Samura as her parents did when she was contacted by an LSF agent she had met when she first began her internship with a subsidiary of Samura. Jax Burton had stayed on Junyo following a classified mission some years prior and had left an impression on the young woman. He got to know her during his stay and after his departure the two had kept in touch through the years. Jax was preparing a journey to the possible edge of known space and despite her specializations in Marine Biology much like her parents before her, she yearned for discovering mysteries in the great beyond. She quickly agreed to join the crew in their wanderlust to the great beyond.
ID: Charles Bentley AGE: 34 POSITION: Security Officer
While much of the crews histories are known, Charles Bentley is an enigma wrapped in a mystery. Refusing to elaborate how he knows Jax, and Jax doing the same, the past of Bentley is unknown. The truth of the matter is he was once an underworld smuggler with connections to various shady organizations throughout Sirius. However, during a particularly violent operation gone wrong, many of those connections now want him dead. Seeing an opportunity to reinvent himself, Charles Bentley was born with Jax utilizing his former contacts and favors to ensure that the man had a squeaky clean record.
Bentley works closely with Mike Hawthorne to ensure that the crew is prepared for any event in which violence is required. The duo's pasts mesh well together with their considerable histories from both sides of the law. The two are often found "debating" the rights and wrongs of various theoretical situations with neither willing to give ground on their beliefs. While it hasn't come to blows yet, Jax has warned if it does then they will both have to suffer the consequences.
ID: Tori Shumaker AGE: 28 POSITION: Chief Engineer
Tori Shumaker is the last of the senior crew aboard the Horizon Seeker. Her position is that of Chief Engineer and she was the first of the crew to come onboard shortly after the ships purchase. She put her considerable knowledge of her past life as a Junker into retrofitting and converting the aging Regent frame into what it is now. She grew up as a Junker aboard Rochester in New York and had a chance encounter with Jax during a particularly violent encounter with a Xeno raider. Jax managed to save her by neutralizing the errant raider, but scanned her and noticed the illegal contraband in her hold. He'd given her a choice at the time, surrender the cargo and get arrested, or keep the cargo, sell it, and work for him as an operative. Considering her options, she chose the latter choice. When Jax retired, she had been cut loose to continue her career as a Junker. However, during their tenure together, they had formed a close relationship that bordered on romantic.
When Jax reached out to her offering her the position of Chief Engineer on the Horizon Seeker, she jumped at the opportunity to be with Jax again. She claims that the reason she jumped at the opportunity was to be able to work on a Regent, but it's apparent her reasons for joining the crew. She often butts heads with Tiffany Kubota on the finer points of engineering and the two can often be found hurling insults at one another from across the engineering and science bays on any given day.
ID: Jax Burton SUBJECT: Log 1 - Maiden Voyage ENCRYPT: HIGH
We've finally obtained our grant. With this, we'll be able to explore various sectors throughout Sirius as long as we report our findings in this daily log which will be read by our financers. All of the information packed within these logs should help them to better understand Sirius as a whole and the things we find within it. What they do with that information doesn't bother me much, as long as we get to be the one that do the charting.
Much of what I expect to discover will no doubt already have been surveyed. I expect to be shot at in various places due to various groups not wanting us rooting around in their space. We'll do my best to not piss anyone off too much, as I doubt that we'll be able to get a second grant from these individuals--nor do I think the insurance will cover too many mishaps.
We're starting in New York after launching from Baltimore Shipyard. We've picked up the "Horizon Seeker", a dated Luxury Yacht that has no doubt seen many various wealthy patrons around the system. It's now become our home for the foreseeable future as we adventure beyond the horizon, and hope to live up to the ships name.
That's all for now.
-Jax
CONFIDENTALITY NOTICE: The information contained within this document is considered sensitive, controlled, and classified information pursuant to Horizons Code Article 7, §22a: "All information contained within communications, logs, or other visible information to other viewers is considered the sole property of Horizon LTD. and is not to be utilized outside of the addressee (Horizons Personnel) and addressed (receiver). Any other individual utilizing this information for other than it's intended receiver will be considered in violation of this Article and met with legal action."
We completed our survey of New York, as boring as the day I was born. Christ, I told Jax surveying here was a waste of time. Sure we found some...interesting things but nothing that was overly surprising really. I think he was just putting off flying home to Colorado. He was more tenuous than normal about it. I didn't want to press. Something tells me his folks aren't really all that into what he is aiming to do. They weren't all that big on him going into the military from what he's told me either...they probably just want their baby boy home.
Wish my own parent's felt that way about me. Half the time they're piss drunk in some debris field in a barely operational Salvager with the scrubbers one bad day away from letting the magic smoke out...I should really check on them at some point. Off to Colorado in the morning.
I'm hoping that Jax sets us down at Denver overnight...it'd be nice to meet his folks. Plus, I need a break from Tiffany's incessant whining about how to do my job. That damn kid needs a spanking.
-Tori
CONFIDENTALITY NOTICE: The information contained within this document is considered sensitive, controlled, and classified information pursuant to Horizons Code Article 7, §22a: "All information contained within communications, logs, or other visible information to other viewers is considered the sole property of Horizon LTD. and is not to be utilized outside of the addressee (Horizons Personnel) and addressed (receiver). Any other individual utilizing this information for other than it's intended receiver will be considered in violation of this Article and met with legal action."
ID: Charles Bentley SUBJECT: Babysitting ENCRYPT: HIGH
We completed our flyby of Colorado this afternoon without much fanfare. Jax and Tori are acting like none of us know they have the hots for one another, Tiffany has her head stuck in a tablet one moment and bitching about Tori the next, Mike is peacocking at me every 20 minutes it seems like, Tori is either making googly eyes at Jax when he's not looking or bitching back at Tiffany, and Jax is focused on the mission completely oblivious to Tori's signals. This shit is gonna get real boring if we don't have some activity soon. Jax seems to think eventually we're gonna cross paths with some jokers having a pissing match about us being in their space. Yeah, right. A lot I'll be able to do stuck in this Luxury tin can turned Exploration ship.
Best I can do is shoot some piece of shit in the face soon as they board.
We're going down to the surface of Denver tonight for a nice warm meal at Jax's folks farm. I'm sure there are ulterior motives here to introduce Tori to his folks and get their seal of approval or some shit.
Fuck, I wish I hadn't screwed up that last job, I wouldn't be stuck baby sitting a bunch of idiots.
-Bentley
CONFIDENTALITY NOTICE: The information contained within this document is considered sensitive, controlled, and classified information pursuant to Horizons Code Article 7, §22a: "All information contained within communications, logs, or other visible information to other viewers is considered the sole property of Horizon LTD. and is not to be utilized outside of the addressee (Horizons Personnel) and addressed (receiver). Any other individual utilizing this information for other than it's intended receiver will be considered in violation of this Article and met with legal action."
ID: Tiffany Kubota SUBJECT: Progress! ENCRYPT: HIGH
Wow! We made a ton of progress today. I never imagined that Jax had this kind of stamina to fly for so long. We went from Colorado in the morning all the way to Omicron Delta by the evening charting everything as we went. At one point the entire crew was sweating bullets as we flew past what we suspect was a KOI stronghold in Tohoku, Dragon space, Order space, into the belly of the beast in the Nomad worlds! Hard to believe a month ago I was still at home in Shikoku.
Speaking of, we got to see my parents after visiting Jax's parents. We spent a couple of hours with them on Junyo before leaving for New Tokyo. Jax is always considerate enough to land places where we have relatives to catch up. Bentley was being a whiny complainer the entire time as usual. How a man can have so many muscles and be such a little girl really makes you wonder.
Anyway, I need to go follow up on Tori's engineering changes to make sure we don't blow up. I'm sure I'll have to endure her pissy attitude doing so. Wish me luck!
-Tiffany
CONFIDENTALITY NOTICE: The information contained within this document is considered sensitive, controlled, and classified information pursuant to Horizons Code Article 7, §22a: "All information contained within communications, logs, or other visible information to other viewers is considered the sole property of Horizon LTD. and is not to be utilized outside of the addressee (Horizons Personnel) and addressed (receiver). Any other individual utilizing this information for other than it's intended receiver will be considered in violation of this Article and met with legal action."
ID: Mike Hawthorne SUBJECT: A little too driven ENCRYPT: HIGH
We finally docked at Gran Canaria after everyone requested for Jax to do so since Theta. The Horizon Seeker was having some serious difficulties after back-to-back survey missions through Kappa, Theta, Omega-41, and Omega-52. All but one of which are thick with high radiation. While we're fine thanks to the reinforced hull, the engines and just about every other system onboard took a heavy beating.
Shortly before we docked at Canaria, we ran into a fellow explorer in Omega-52. Someone with a ship named "Cognitive Tradeoff". Hell of a name if you ask me. We ran into one another at Planet Baikonur whilst surveying the surface. They didn't hang around long, citing to getting to leave the system before being caught by patrols. Jax agreed and we parted ways with nary a word. Seems we're not the only one surveying various areas for maps. Possible competition in the future perhaps.
We've docked at the planet for an extended stay while some technicians look over the ship. I only hope that Jax hasn't screwed the pooch taking us on our adventure for so long.
-Mike
CONFIDENTALITY NOTICE: The information contained within this document is considered sensitive, controlled, and classified information pursuant to Horizons Code Article 7, §22a: "All information contained within communications, logs, or other visible information to other viewers is considered the sole property of Horizon LTD. and is not to be utilized outside of the addressee (Horizons Personnel) and addressed (receiver). Any other individual utilizing this information for other than it's intended receiver will be considered in violation of this Article and met with legal action."
ID: Jax Burton SUBJECT: Log 2 - Great Success! ENCRYPT: HIGH
While the operations in our Exploration department continue, our Travel and Transportation departments are beginning to kick off. My original designs for Horizons Limited (LTD.) was to just chart various systems and use those charts as a negotiating tactic for various partners to further enhance our portfolio. Even still, we were starting to run out of capital for those initial designs. In a risky move, I diversified our interests by creating two additional departments, one of which is getting off the ground now--to great success no less.
As Dad might say, I'm still "kicking-the-tires" on the Transportation department. There a lot of things that need to fall in place before I consider purchasing even oneSerenity-class vessel. However, with the purchase of the Solitude passenger liner, we've begun a series of shuttle services between Kusari and the deep Omegas. Furthermore, we've leased out a Renzu liner from Orbital for the Gallia/Liberty pillar of our Travel department. We've already netted approximately 5 million in profits from the Travel department in one week alone.
With the success of our Travel department, there is more than enough money to go around for not only the Exploration department, but for future developments within the Transportation sphere. It might be time to pass the Horizon Seeker to Mike and remain in place at Colorado for various operational necessities. I don't know how Tori would take that so I'll have to seriously consider my options moving forward.
-Jax
CONFIDENTALITY NOTICE: The information contained within this document is considered sensitive, controlled, and classified information pursuant to Horizons Code Article 7, §22a: "All information contained within communications, logs, or other visible information to other viewers is considered the sole property of Horizon LTD. and is not to be utilized outside of the addressee (Horizons Personnel) and addressed (receiver). Any other individual utilizing this information for other than it's intended receiver will be considered in violation of this Article and met with legal action."
Add Omicron Beta, Sigma-19, and Sigma-59 to the list of mapped and surveyed systems. It's been quite slow since Jax caught a shuttle back to Colorado in Sigma-19. I know that he had to go back to manage the business but damn...I miss him already. At some point I'm going to have to confront those feelings and figure out what they mean.
In the meantime, Mike has taken over the captainship of the Horizon Seeker while Jax manages the day to day business stuff in Colorado. From what he tells me, things are really taking off. Contracts here and there in the Travel business as well as some nibbles in the transportation side of things as well. Those contracts are already paying dividends for our stock options and paychecks. The Horizon Seeker sure has funding now!
To the Horizon!...oh god that sounded cheezy.
-Tori
CONFIDENTALITY NOTICE: The information contained within this document is considered sensitive, controlled, and classified information pursuant to Horizons Code Article 7, §22a: "All information contained within communications, logs, or other visible information to other viewers is considered the sole property of Horizon LTD. and is not to be utilized outside of the addressee (Horizons Personnel) and addressed (receiver). Any other individual utilizing this information for other than it's intended receiver will be considered in violation of this Article and met with legal action."
ID: Jax Burton SUBJECT: Log 3 - Growth ENCRYPT: HIGH
Well, I've returned to Denver to oversee the operation of Horizons LTD. which is being restructured as we speak into a proper corporation instead of a limited liability. With this, we will become a publicly traded company. I'll have to hire a Board of Directors to oversee the various departments while I oversee the day to day operations. I'm weighing my options carefully on how I want to structure the business moving forward and who I would like to oversee things.
The Travel Arm of Horizons has just crossed the 10 million mark whilst our Transportation Arm has just picked up our first Serenity-class transport with Tori captaining the ship. She wanted more responsibility, she's got it. I'm sure there will be complaints of nepotism or favoritism, but she's the woman for the job despite our relationship. I made it known to make a profit however she can, even if that means less than...above-board contracts outside of house space. I stressed that latter part, everything in house space must be above board to avoid any scrutiny by individuals seeking to undermine us.
The Solitude is going to be retired from daily service and converted into offices orbiting Planet Denver with the help of OS&C. I have ensured that the aging liner will still be able to make jumps if absolutely necessary but for the most part it will remain orbiting Denver. Replacing the old girl is the Serendipitous Odyssey. Quite the mouthful of a name. It's a brand new Regent Yacht to mirror our more dated explorer the Horizon Seeker.
Speaking of the Horizon Seeker, it appears to have stalled out in one of the Sigmas. Mike reached out to let me know they're immobile for the foreseeable future until the hull is verified safe for atmospheric pressure. Yikes. Everyone is okay, if not a little shaken. We may need to retire that old ship too if things continue the way they're going.
Nothing more to log here. I need to see about getting some advertising up and going for the Transportation Arm of our business, I sure there are some bases out there that need various supplies with this recent shipbuilding craze going on. Just need to wait for someone to reach out after advertising ourselves a bit more.
-Jax
CONFIDENTALITY NOTICE: The information contained within this document is considered sensitive, controlled, and classified information pursuant to Horizons Code Article 7, §22a: "All information contained within communications, logs, or other visible information to other viewers is considered the sole property of Horizon LTD. and is not to be utilized outside of the addressee (Horizons Personnel) and addressed (receiver). Any other individual utilizing this information for other than it's intended receiver will be considered in violation of this Article and met with legal action."
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