Post by Sheng on Sept 21, 2023 0:05:48 GMT
"Blackout"
Vanguard | Potius Cras Research Facility | Restricted Province #G-12
38:12 AST
The facility was on its last legs. The primary generator had unexpectedly malfunctioned and the parts for it were out of stock in Arkehold, the backup generators had kicked on quickly but the damage to the central systems had been severe. There were concerns of contamination and they had not the tools to check. They were supposed to be evacuations towards the final hours but a call had come in from the Citadel saying they could no longer spare the resources: Nightingale Station had fallen and Conqueror's Idol was destroyed, this was cited as the reason for their sudden lack of relief but Cross knew that was simply not the case. Archon-1 was simply in too precarious a situation to risk being seen aiding them, no matter how small it may seem, any risk to him was too much risk now. The news had come as a punch to the stomach for them all, they had been working to the last man to see his project come to fruition only to be abandoned by the very one they were working for. Colleagues had died for nothing, millions of SIGEC spent pointlessly, hours of borderline lethal labour rendered useless.
It had come as such a shock that one scientist had gone into a frenzy and attempted to destroy the probe, only to be shot to death by on-site security. They had sent one last report to the Citadel, a culmination of all the data they had accumulated in their time in the facility. Afterwards Cross had rounded up all the personnel and had a heart-to-heart with them, giving them his honest opinions and... well there had been some emotional words during it. Gods... he wished he could do anything, anything at all to save them. They were his men, his women, his staff and they were going to be left to die. To be consumed by the self-replicating probe they themselves had brought here. Ironic, wasn't it? The thing he'd been warned about time and time again, the thing he'd been so confident would be kept safe and secure, was to be the thing that killed him and it wasn't even because of his own error. He hadn't done what was expected and fucked up the process, he had been betrayed. It put such a bitter taste in his mouth he almost wanted to gag, even if he didn't have the reflex anymore.
He stared at the screen of his holo-tablet, his face contorted in an emotionless husk. Was this really how he was going to end? How pathetic, how unbecoming of his station. He was the Corporate Operational Supervisor, it was his duty to see the mission through till its end or his own for the good of the Corporation. Yet here he was, an unwilling Captain going down with his ship kicking and screaming all the way. He reached out to his end table and picked up the handgun resting on it. No, he would not become another fleeting soul crying out as they slowly ebbed away into the void. It was sentient nature to seek culpability in times such as these, but he had rebelled enough. He had his moment, his brief sprint of defiance. Now? It was time to see the mission through. He reached down and pressed record on the Holo-Tablet before he began to speak.
"This is Corporate Operational Supervisor Cross of the Blackout Facility Detachment. This is my final entry into the records log, I eagerly report a total mission success. The research team has extracted all possible intelligence from the subject and transmitted it to the client, I could not be more proud of their accomplishments. Unfortunately, due to conditions within the area of operations, extraction had been rendered impossible and all personnel will unfortunately be liquidated. I apologize for this unsatisfactory outcome and take full responsibility for this result, if I had the chance I would freely give myself to the Board and comply with any disciplinary actions as a result of this outcome. In lieu, I have decided to not grant myself a summary punishment due to the current situation. I have examined every possibility and once again re-iterate there is no avenue in which any of this leave this facility alive. I have made the staff aware and am now recording this final entry log, upon it's completion it will automatically send itself to the C-S-O along with all accumulated data. That will be all. I once again apologize for the outcome, this is Corporate Operational Supervisor Cross, signing out."
He didn't even hear the gun go off as he pressed it against the side of his head and pulled the trigger.
FNCV "Preeminence"
Cessation Class Vessel | Nightingale Dead Zone
09:39 NDZT
Archon-1 clenched his right hand into a fist as he stepped into his quarters, that meeting had been an abysmal fucking failure. Conqueror's Idol was in ruin and the Home Guard had been completely disconnected from the Deadlock Satellite System, meaning they were blind across the entire fucking sector and couldn't confirm if a counter-invasion was actually ongoing or not. Not to mention the Civil Fucking War that was going on in the ACF, which was making the whole situation almost a thousand times worse. When he started this war, he had everything lined up perfectly, plans a thousand pages long and systems created to practically ensure victory. Yet everything he'd predicted, everything he thought the enemy would do, had been completely wrong. They surprised him again and again and again- It was no wonder he was suddenly losing the war, all of his plans had turned to shit in not even a month and now he was down a tenth of his entire fucking navy!
He flopped down onto his bed with a groan. What the fuck had he done to des- ok he knew exactly what he'd done to deserve this. He was merciless, not delusional. Still, this was a ballpark he did not expect to find himself in. He reached out to the desk next to his bed and grabbed his holo-tablet as it vibrated and beeped incessantly, looking down to see what the notification was before he froze. It was a message from one of his... "Associates" would probably be the best word. He quickly unlocked the tablet by connecting to it before examining the text in full. It read: "Data received at A-Point, minor setbacks experienced but rectified. Second Phase underway." Ok that- that was actually good news for once. He flung a quick acknowledgement back before closing his holo-tablet and moving to lay it back on the desk before it shook and beeped again, pulling it back to see what the new message was. When he finished reading it he dropped the tablet from his hands and grabbed his pillow before screaming into it.
The text read: "Additional Note: Queen has Pawns."