Hm... is this thing really working? Damned hightech stuff. I said work, you sorry excuse for a computer!
*bzrrrzzrt* Official log book of Order Recon Vessel "Livingstone"
Location: Freeport 11, Omicron Delta
State: Fully armed and fueled
Crew: 3/5: Samuel Herwon, Dallandra Harakamian, Dr. Hermann Fran Muuuch better.
Alright, let's begin.
The ORV Livingstone is a small Spatial-class recon vessel commissioned privately by me to extend the our recon capacity beyond the large and easy to spot Resheph. Sometimes, you just need something small to sneak past those damned nomads. Although the ship's equipped with the standard anti-fighter and anti-capital armament, I'd rather avoid fighting if possible. It just wears you out after some years...
Crew complement is 3, apart from me - captain and stuff - we've got electronic warfare and reconnaissance specialist Dallandra and xenobiologist Dr. Fran responsible for artifact analysis <strike>and torture of captured nomads</strike> and nomad studies.
Me, I'm an old veteran, fought in the Nomad War -You mean, you ran screaming like a girl and let the BAF fight?- Quiet, you! Alright, I didn't fight much during that time, but you have to admit that the Clydesdale wasn't that well-fitted for combat. But I joined the Zoners sometime in 806 and had numerous contacts with Nomads since then, more than I like. Joined the Order some months ago because I've had it with these beasts, and well, here I am, ready to kick some nomad a*bzrzrrr* ...yes, we know. I'm Dallandra Harakamian, born 798 on Honshu. I've been a Samura freighter pilot for 2 years - after joining the Kusari Naval Forces briefly -, when I had first contact with the Order. The pay's way better here, so I joined the Order. And it's a bit more entertaining than flying the Tokyo-Dresden-route for months. Just "a bit"? You're disappointing me. Your comments are the main reason why it's just "a bit". Aww... c'mon Fran, your turn, before I forget myself. The bier is completely out, so you would be having problems with that anyway.WHAT? Oh by the heavens, be quiet!
Well, I'm Hermann Fran, Doctor of Xenobiology of the Universität Hamburg. My Story is quite short, the Order offered my a Possibility to study Nomads as close as possible, and I couldn't resist. It's... fascinating to study them in the wild. Their behaviour is way different than described by the few official publications made during and shortly after the Nomad War... Yeah, yeah... we got it. Well, so much about my crew. Guess we'll have to spend some more time together until we stop trying to murder each other in the sleep... what? Don't look at me like this! I was trying to make a joke!
Location: Planet Toledo, Omicron Minor - shipyard
State: Rebuilding complete ship after loss in combat
Crew: 0 on duty, 3 in hospital Yeouch. All right, these cowards were right. It was a suicide mission. Nigh-catastrophic decompression and spending two hours in an escape pod with these two nut cases is nothing I want to experience again any time soon. Good thing they're on different stations and can't hear this...
Anyway, back to topic: We were trying to do a recon sweep in Omicron Iota, to finally gather intel on what these Nomads are up to.
Getting in was easy, partially due to some unlucky freelancer who was trying to do the same...
As ye might have noticed, this was not my first attempt to enter Iota. But before I wasn't able to return with anything 'cept this map, and even that was only reconstructed from memory. Plan was straight-forward: Scan anything worth it and then run screaming like a girl.
Not much on the first waypoint. Weapons platforms, trade lanes... boring.
Now that's a tad bit more interesting. I'd recommend dropping some heavy antimatter bombs on that thing, not sure what it's used for, though. Didn't have the time for an in-depth scan.
No idea either. If ye ask me, we should deploy some carriers into that system...
A new nomad city? I had no time for more than shooting this picture, the patrols were getting annoying, and the mine field had already eaten up all my batteries. Although, on the other hand, that mine field was our rescue, I was able to get these fighters and bomber off my back in there. 'specially the bombers clearly weren't made for fighting in there and collided with more mines than it is healthy...
But well, they weren't the only ones. The ship was clearly ready for scrapping at that point, and we had to skip almost half the scheduled targets (not to mention in-depth scans of all targets). I really would like to know where that Daam K'Vosh-gate leads to...
It had to happen. We barely managed to get back to Delta when these damned keepers started attacking. The nearby freelancers weren't that much help either, but at least managed to get our pod and the ship's black box back into friendly territory, where an Order patrol took over.
Result: Some shaky pictures, one Spatial lost, three Order personnel wounded and incapable of frontline duty for at least another day. Yeeeha.
I need a beer.
Location: Planet Toledo, Omicron Minor
State: Fully armed and fueled
Crew: 1 on duty, 2 on shore leave Typical for Herwon-san, leaving me alone to hit the bar together with Fran-sama... well, at least I now have the time for a new log entry.
The ship's rebuild was completed without complications, and all of us were only lightly injured during the fight against the keepers, so the High Command decided to put us on light duty again.
First task was a patrol sortie through Omicron Lost. If you ask me, the name fits perfect.
There's absolutely nothing in this system, except three suns, a gas giant and the jump hole. Not even the nomads have infested this system.
On our way back, we found an unknown ship, sporting Zoner IFF but certainly not human...
Although it was either unwilling or unable to communicate, I don't think it was hostile to humans. Call it female intuition, if you have to. It did, however fight Nomads. Seems like mankind has found (or created?) an ally.
And, as Sam wants me to put to protocol, it was "fighting like a five-year old, I tell ya". While it's true that it wasn't as effective as us in combating Nomad fighters, I don't think it's as bad as Sam puts it.
Anyway, the rest of our flight time was scheduled to be spent with training together with the reserve carrier "Sun Core", bomber pilot Svicher-san of the 30th squad and some reserve fighters. It did, however, quickly turn into a wild brawl when some Nomad fighters joined the scene...
The 30th squad is well-trained, Svicher-san turned our ship into space junk quite fast, although we were inflicting heavy damage on him as well. I guess this could turn in a real battle, when both sides use batteries and nano bots, since the Spatial has a extremely long breath with them... but this is up to speculation.
Location: Omicron Delta, Freeport 11
State: Fully armed and operational
Crew: 1 on duty, 1 drunk, 1 on shore leave Well, not much happened in the last few Days. Yesterday, we encountered a Nomad Battleship trying to sneak through Minor, probably heading to Alaska. Definitely not a good idea, since we had three Capital Ships in the area.
It was not able to put up much of a fight, after its engines were disabled by Asteroid collisions. Sam was happy to be finally able to test his SNAC on a live target, and the Battleship exploded after some bombardment by the Order forces.
Today, we commenced a scan of the Tokelau Cloud in Omicron Delta. Not much in there, apart from the usual Nomad infestation. Even the resources which claimed to exist there couldn't be found. I suggest removing them from the official maps.
After our return, I had the first contact with someone infected by Lawl's syndrome - coincidentally the unlucky freelancer we met (or rather, whose remains we saw on our scanners) when exploring Iota. Somehow, he'd managed to steal together Rheinland and Hogosha weaponry and was so confused he set his IFF transmitter to sending Liberty Navy identification - in Omicron Minor! Turns out he was originally Corsair, so we stabilized him (well, Sam SNACked him until an Order Carrier could beam him into custody) and sent him back to Crete, so the Corsairs could care about him. Poor guy, I hope he will recover from it.
Apart from that, all quiet on the <strike>Western</strike>Nomad Front. Sam is drunk as usual when off duty, and Dal is somewhere in the Freeport, getting some fresh air. I can't say I resent her that...
Location: Omicron Delta, Freeport 11
State: Refueling
Crew: 1 on duty, two on shore leave. While on a normal patrol sweep, we again encountered Nitshian Amit. He brabbled his usual "Nomads are the superior race, humans are low" gibberish and destroyed an Zoner Satellite. We were initially trying to chase him, however... he called again. I still don't know his name, but I immediately recognized the ship's ID: Umbra Venator. Sam was distracted, lost the track and we had the time to talk.
The rest of the file is encrypted. Decode y/n? y Turns out he was from the old Order High Command, or rather, the Black Squadron. I never heard about that, but it seemed to ring a bell with Sam. He was torn between his usual distrust for everyone a) younger and b) higher ranked as him and his sympathy for someone who disliked the Order as much as himself. Apparently, the captain (or, rather, old commodore) left the Order with a fully-equipped Osiris, and now plans to leave the Sirius sector in it, to get away from both the Nomads and the inner conflicts of the different human factions. Sam has strong doubts whether he would, in the end, be able to achieve this, but, after some time, gave in to supporting him. After all, the Livingstone was itself built to find ways to solve the current problems the Order is facing. He convinced me to support him with inside information about the Order, so he could get "a little payback". I have no idea what he is planning, but I guess he knows what he's doing. Maybe, realizing the inner problems of the Order finally motivates the High Command to take steps against it...
Appendix A: Personal diary of Dallandra Harakamian
Note to Sam: Should you ever try to open this, I rip you in halves. You have been warned.
June 27th
Well, this was... odd. I'm used to getting private chat requests from males, probably all just wanting to get laid, but the captain of the Umbra Venator was... different. Asking me whether I enjoyed my job and what I wanted to achieve. Nothing I usually think about. Still, I didn't trust him after all I experienced, so I ended the conversation as soon as possible. But I have to admit, he knows how to influence people. To be honest, I'm rather fed up with commuting between Dresden and Tokyo all day long. He mentioned the Order, maybe...
July 12th
Wow. Just... wow. I never experienced the Omicrons to be that fascinating - and dangerous. The Nomads are more fearsome than I could have ever imagined - I mean, I was only two when the Nomad War started... Anyway, the Order seems to be an acceptable place to stay. I hope boot camp won't be as tough as I fear...
July 15th
Urgh... can't... move...muscles...
August 23rd
Finally, out of training. The Anubis was an annoying piece of scrap to fly, I can't be believe they still use this stuff. I'm glad that I finally got a Nephthys and the clearance to mount Nomad Weapons. These things are... awesome.
September 1st
Today, I met an old veteran in the bar, who said that he needed a communications officer for his new ship and offered me a post. A ship with a dedicated communications officer? I bet it's a Resheph, or even a Geb... now that's what I call a fast promotion.
September 3rd
Me and my hopes... It turned out to be a goddamn Spatial. That thing's so cramped we don't even have separated rooms for ourselves, just a sleeping area. Great, me stuffed together with two older men on a tiny ship... I guess I get myself a tazer, just in case. And I guess I have to end writing a diary again, since I don't expect to have enough time in private for it.
Location: Omicron Minor, Planet Toledo
State: Rearming and repairing hull damages on 45% of the total surface area
Crew: 1 on duty, two on shore leave Well, past week's been awfully quiet. Much to Dal's regret, the Umbra Venator hasn't yet called back... I knew there was something fishy 'bout that encounter, and Ah don't mean Fran's aquarium.
Well, anyway, there wasn't much going on. We did some recon sweeps through Delta, Kappa, Lost, the usual stuff, nothing of importance happened. Yesterday we decided to take a peek into Gamma and scan the ship graveyard that's around the Kappa hole. If ye ask me, the whole thing's boobytrapped. Whenever we approached a wreck, suddenly some Nomads appeared. Still managed ta get some interesting artifacts, Fran's still busy with analyzing 'em.
Today, we - again - tried to get into Iota, to finally get some decent scans of those things in 'ere. Well, that was the plan, but we were greeted by at least ten fighters and some bombers directly at the jumphole. After killing three or four of 'em, we ran outta nanobots and had to retreat. Dammit, there has to be a way through... Well, would be easy if just some o' those Primary Fleet cowards were willing to help. But I think I rather be finding flying space pigs than that's going to happen.
Location: Omicron Delta, Freeport 11
State: Rebuilding complete ship after loss in combat. Again.
Crew: All hospitalized
Grrr... Someone will have to die for this. Slow and painfully. And I want his head for dinner! Alert: Detecting critical blood pressure. Applying sedatives... What? Ye can't do this, ye goddamn son...of...*zzZzZZzzz* I like these medobots. Can I keep one?What do you think about continuing the Log?All right, All right... We were on one of our usual patrols through Gamma, as usually not much happening. We helped a Zoner in Kappa to fight off a Nomad attack, but that was about everything happening.
After our patrol through Gamma was completed, Sam decided to take a peek into Theta - and on the way there, we met a Keeper ship. In Theta, we (after the usual attempt to communicate with them) tried to kill it, but, well... the Spatial is not really designed to combat agile fighters. Most of the time, we weren't even able to see him while he was hitting us hard. Some twenty clicks into Theta, he finally managed to land a hit on out power core before the nanobots were able to plug the leak in the armor. Luckily, the automatic eject worked and was able to bring us back into Corsair territory safely...
Guess we will be put on "light duty" again for the next days. Oh, joy.
Location: Hidden
State: Refueling
Crew: Left ship, state unknown Personal Crew Logs Dallandra
The Umbra Venator finally called again, and we agreed to join them. After all that madness going on in the past days, with the Zoners involved in the biggest war in their history, and Cerberus eager to draw the Order into the war as well, we were more than glad to finally have a safe harbor again. We met somewhere in the Omegas - I guess it's best to hide the current position - and I was finally able to meet Chris. Well, he's... not quite what I expected. He's being a gentleman and a born leader at the same time - or, rather, acts like that. I wonder how much of that is really his personality, and how much just studied behavior... I guess it's better to keep some distance to him.
On a totally unrelated note: I love the beds on board the Venator. So. Much. Better. than the bunks of the Livingstone. Sam
Twenty-seven bottles o' beer on the wall... yeah. Y'know, guess the Venator's not that bad after all. At least a welcome change of pace compared with the Order. I'm wondering what Chris is up to, but I guess, we'll see in the near future. Whatever his plans with the Order are, now is probably the best time. Cerberus nearly started a civil war with their attacks on the Corsairs, High Command is quiet and we got tons of new rookies who need to be trained... With a bit of luck, ye could probably sneak right into Evora. Fran
Well, I'm a bit disappointed about the Quality of the Venator's Laboratories, but that's probably all that's worse compared to Toledo. I think I should get back to analyze the Artefacts we found on our way here.