From: -:icT:-
Phillip DeLaFontain
General Director
To : Miranda Gains
Exploration and Research corporation.
Re:Navigation Charts
Dear Ms. Gains:
I take this opportunity to introduce my self and my company -:icT:- . We are an Interspace Commerce affiliated but independent division based out of Toronto Station in Ontario. We have recently been granted access to open up a trade route to Gallia, and I am hoping this is something that you and your company can assist us with.
While our vessels have charts all the way up to the Leeds system, we as a company know little if anything else about what lies beyond.
We would require the following services.
1. Navigation Charts indicating the access points to
the Gallia systems, and as much information on the
Gallia systems as possible to insure a safe trade
route. (//screenshots with date stamp to indicate
they are current)
2. A list of businesses that would require our services.
We have a contract to deliver Neon to Gallia, and
bring back Tobacco and Wine, but no clue
as to the names and locations of companies where
we can trade and buy our return commodities.
3. The expected time of travel and fuel expense for one
"Stork" civilian transport from Leeds to the point of
sale and back to Leeds.
If this is a task your company can handle we look forward to doing business with you. Please indicate in a secure transmission the cost and completion/delivery time for this project.
Regards,
Phillip DeLaFontain
-:icT:- icTransports
Toronto Station
Ontario.
This is E&R rescue ship D-310 we are heading to that ship's last known location. Since their last transmission we have not been able to reach them on comms. We hope to get closer to either re establish communications or locate the ship. We will report our search results here.
To Captain Searles we read you loud and clear, both here and through our ship comms. You will be notified on what the ship needs.. so please standby for those coordinates and the supply list .
Also thank you very much for responding Michael Diano we will transmit that information to you as well.
We are not sure as to how extensive the damage is but we will notify you as soon as we know...
Regretfully we are unable to meet any other requests and future contracts are placed on hold.
We hope to resume business once this crisis has ended..
this is search and rescue pilot William T. Fitzgerald.. callsign "Willy" signing off..
We have located the missing liner! I repeat we have found the liner!!
Were pulling along side of the ship now and it appears to be functional. Visually checking for external damage..
As you can see there is hull damage and the ship has still not answered any of our hails. Initial scans shows the liner has life forms on board and that the ship's life support systems are still operational.
We see the object is still in tact and on the ship...
We are going to need a full research team of scientists and spaceship crew to help restore full functionality to the liner. Once we have the new team here we will commence with docking procedures.
After we finish with docking we will send in a squad to board the liner..
First we will be sending in our armored combat guards to find any possible survivors. Since the ship hasn't responded to our hails the guards are going in armed.
Switching comms over to Guard Grimes.. go ahead sir.
GSO Grimes here.. my team and I will enter the liner after we dock. Our main objective will be to find the survivors and to secure the liner.
Once we have done that our pilots will restore communications from the liner.
Then when we have the vessel secured we will bring the research team and crew on board to restore the ships systems.
This is Guard Squad Officer Grimes... out
*Guard Officer Grimes sits and reflects on the horrible circumstances that forced them to leave so many behind.. a communication panel opens..*
Officer Grimes this is Guard Commander Davis do you read me?
Grimes here yes sir I read you.. go ahead..
What happened out there soldier?
Once we found the liner we initiated docking procedures and boarded the liner.
We proceeded into the vessel up to the medical research level.
It was here that we met our first group of contacts. These things.. they were... well no longer human. They were grotesque and crazy.... charging head first into us. We were forced to open fire.
We killed all of them in the area and proceeded up to the bridge door. At the door we encountered the rest of the infected. Again completely insane and charging into us forcing us to bring them all down.
Once we secured the area we cut into the bridge as it was blocked from the inside.
We took control of the bridge and re established communications from the liner.
At that time we docked with the trader vessel Mary Celeste piloted by Captain Searles.
Searles sent over the science team and some of his personal crew to help.
Things were going according to plan until...
One of the liner's escorts appeared on scanners and was moving to our location.
At first we did not know anything was wrong.. but then the gunboat opened fire on the Mary Celeste.
Willy announced over the comms that the ship was no longer human and for Searles to run.
Searles began running while we tried to fire on the escort vessel from the liner.
In seconds the ships were out of our range and the Celeste was dying fast.
We managed to remotely access the escort gunboat guncams momentarily and recorded this image..
We were attempting to reroute power to the engines to vacate the area when another of the liner's escort arrived. While they seemed to be focused on taking down Searles we continued working to power up the engines.
For some strange reason the escorts must have realized that the liner was no longer in their control.
They stopped firing on Celeste and came back to attack us.
They began firing relentlessly and with us being immobile we were sitting ducks.
They brought down the shields and were punching holes into the hull.
We were doomed.. the ship was going to be destroyed and all on board would have been lost.
At this time we made the grim decision to take what people we could and board the D310 ship.
The rescue ship was still docked in the liner's hangar bay and we boarded the few we could take.
We began running while both escort ships rained fire down on us!
We were just about clear when a lucky shot from one escort took us down.
Our ejection pods activated and we were all jettisoned from the ship's wreckage.
We just knew with those escorts closing in that we were all dead.
Suddenly the Mary Celeste pops in front us cruise engines blazing.. Searles beamed us aboard and headed for the Omega 41 jumphole.
The escorts closing in and firing wildly the Celeste jumps into omega 41.
The escorts did not follow and we were able to escape.
Searles took us to the Freeport where we all received medical aid.
Alright Grimes.. do you know if the object was still onboard?
Yessir the object was still there and secured in the damaged research lab.
We did not have time to remove it or jettison it before the escorts returned.
My guess is they left Searles's ship to get back to the liner and to keep from losing the object.
Sir it is my suggestion that we find this ship and destroy it along with the object!
Understood Grimes but your in no position to make that decision.. Where is Willy?
He requestioned a new ship and is now out searching for the liner and the escorts again. Here I'll patch you through to him now..
Willy do you read??
Willy here... yes I read you..
Willy Guard Commander Davis here.. have you found them?
No sir.. still haven't found them.. they are no longer at the last location.
We will continue our search and report our findings back to you immediately.
To anyone that may be receiving this I am Samantha Miller. I am one of the crew now on board the E&R Corp T1130 Liner.
So many died when the T1130 liner was attacked by the two escort ships.
Five hundred of us boarded the liner.. now only a few of us are still alive.
Both escort ships pummeled the T1130 until the hull started to breach and suddenly they stopped firing..
Those of us that were on the bridge survived the attack. Thankfully the blast doors on the bridge slammed shut when our hull started to fail.
The ship was disabled and floating on minimal life support. Thats when the escort ships fired large harpoons attached to cables.
We watched from the bridge helplessly as the escort ship's tow cables began dragging us off.
Several of us were carrying battery operated equipment and so we spliced into the ship's cameras and this holocommunicator.
From what we saw.. well there were a few scientists on the other decks that survived.
It was around this time that the escort ships stopped and offloaded some more of those.... those things onto the liner.
Once several of those things were on board the escort ships started towing us again.
These diseased humans are not human anymore. Most noticeably is their ability to communicate has greatly diminished.
Now they snarl, growl, laugh, scream mostly.. and some will speak short garbled statements..
the pilots that were infected continue to fly and a few seem to have retained their trade skill knowledge.
Even still they exhibit much worse behavior.. What we have seen is they have all gone wild, killing, raping and eating the non infected..
We had been able to keep them out but the blast door is starting to fail...
This is not a call for help but a warning. Very soon they will break through the door and take over the ship.
Please if anyone is reading this.. please... just stay away! I say again.. STAY AWAY FROM THIS!.. IT IS PURE EVIL!!
Hello.. we uhhh.. well we are no longer in any danger.
It seems for umm..well for *sighs* For some reason they just let us go. Uhhh and now we need help.. UMM sooo please.. *holding back tears*
Please send us more people to help us with...*whimpers*
...repairs.
*She hangs her head down and begins sobbing..
Suddenly she looks up with tears streaming down her face and begins crying out*
WE ARE LOST! DO NOT ATTEMPT TO SAVE US.. THEY CONTROL THE SHIP.. THEY"RE FORCING ME TO SEND THIS! THEY'RE CRAZY.. THEY'VE GONE COMPLETELY WILD AND INSANE!
RUN.. RUN! PLEASE RUN IF YOU SEE THEM!
TO: Sector-wide address. FROM: ITV Mary Celeste RE: Clarification.
Zis is Helena Weisshaupt, pilot of ze Independent Tradesman's Vessel Mary Celeste, speaking on behalf of ze captain. He vas quite traumatized by ze events ve vere involved in regarding ze retrieval effort of ze liner und has retired to his manor on Cambridge to recover. Ze crew und myself vish him a speedy recovery, although he looked to be in fairly bad shape.
Anyhow. On to business.
Ze haufmann took us into Omega-47 on ze ving of a fighter commanded by a Corporation pilot - Villy, his name was. Ve encountered ze transport - E&R-Corps-T-1130 - vell outside ze boundaries of ze system und set about boarding procedures. Ven ze pilot's crew had disembarked onto ze ship und secured ze helm, ve sent over our cargo of pilots und scientists und vaited for ze procedure to be completed.
Zat point vould not arrive.
Two of our crewmen, Marco del Rojo - our chief of medical - und Egon Metzger, our weapons expert, vere guarding ze umbilical between ze Mary Celeste und ze transport vessel vhen ze attacks began. Zey fought bravely, but in ze open hangar vere forced back onto ze ship. Zis vould prove to vork in our favor, as two vessels - one Ahoudori exploration vessel und one Corsair gunboat - arrived on scanners soon after zey vere forced back. Zey closed quickly, but once zey arrived, instead of providing assistance - vhich ze haufmann und most of ze crew had hoped would happen - zey opened fire. Ve broke from our umbilical und fled for ze asteroid field, Searles - bless his old soul - calling for us to lay down a screen of countermeasure flares ze whole time he attempted to raise ze crew on comms und parlay. Zere vas no response, except for screaming und ze sound of chains und blades, und voices - still somevhat human, but only just - calling for us to bleed und die.
I have heard many threats levelled against me und mein crew, both vhen I flew in ze military und here, on ze bridge of mein haufmann's ship. But never has a message chilled me to mein bones ze vay zis transmission did.
Searles made it to ze asteroid field under standard drive, our cruise engines being hammered vith disruptors that I could not dodge. About midway through ze field our vessel ran out of shield batteries und nanobots, und ze hull vas breached in several non-essential places. Our left drive engine vas failing und ve vere relying on thrusters to nudge ourselves onward. Eventually, Searles seemed to give up. He ordered us to stop dodging und fly straight, muttering something along the lines of "vanting to face ze sun vhen he died".
Zen ze transport began moving, und our pursuers turned back. Ze haufmann got a second wind, und ve entered cruise und made for ze only non-hostile base in ze system, ze Battleship Fes. Searles negotiated ze pirates into fitting our ship vith makeshift replacement hull panels, sealed our damaged compartments, replenished our stores of nanobots und batteries und took us into ze field again.
Ze fighter ve had flown in with vas escaping ze system vith vhatever units zey could carry, und ze transport vas flying under her own power. Ve moved to help zem out of ze system, but zey vere shot down by ze escort craft before ve could escape. Ve managed to turn back, under orders from ze haufmann, und retrieved ze few pilots ve could before running to ze Freeport in Omega-41.
Since zen, ve have not seen ze vessels zat attacked us. But please, for ze love of God Almighty, if you see them, stand vell clear. Zey are no longer human - zey have no desires but ze carnal, und zey prey on ze flesh of living men. If you sight almost anything on ze scanners flying under ze banner of ze Exploration und Research Corporation, either turn ze other vay or make peace vith your God.
I vill attatch a list of ze ships zat attacked us, along with ship types. May vhatever is out zere watch over us.
~ Helena O. Weisshaupt, Pilot
ITV Mary Celeste
Code:
ATT: Ship_List.doc
- E&R-Corps-T-1130: "Pilgrim"-class Slave Liner - The original vessel that carried the infection.
- [Name Forgotten]: Ahoudori-class Kusari Explorer - Carries gunboat-class weapons.
- Corps-M226: Corsair Gunboat - Also a threat.
Please avoid, or only engage if adecquately armed.