I frowned at the notification on the comm device. The message was a strange one, made stranger by the name of the person who sent it. Gerald Carry. One of the first members of the Forlorn, Gerald was supposed to be on the Haven almost permanently. The fact that he was in Pennsylvania, and out flying his Arrow meant something was up. Apparently Gerald had been taking a break, or doing whatever Gerald does in his free time, when he over heard some Lane Hackers mention a wreck of some kind. Gerald, doing the most typical thing he's ever done, hopped into his Arrow, nearly blackout drunk, and tore off to go see what they had found.
That was three days ago.
Then this morning, I had received a message from Gerald. Short, sweet, and to the point. "Found something you're going to want to see. Meet me at Bethlehem." Well, what ever it is, it's clearly important. So I did what anyone else would do when receiving an urgent message from someone who isn't where you think they are. I got into my fighter, and I went to meet him.
Until today, I'd never seen Gerald sober. I don't think I ever will again either. But as much of a shock as it was, I knew this was the real deal. Anything that could get him sober for a meeting was big. I wasn't wrong either. He led me out into the asteroid fields of Pennsylvania, using the alignment of the planets of all things to steer by. Said he was extremely drunk the last time he came through, and didn't trust his memory when it came to setting in co-ordinates. So we used the planets to steer by. We were almost on top of it before we saw it. An abandoned station. Built into the side of one of the larger asteroids in the field, it's impossible to tell how old the base is, and we didn't even bother trying to guess. Despite its outward appearance being entirely intact, our readings of the base indicated that it was both offline and unfinished.
Gerald was talking too fast for me to catch anything he was saying at this point, but I got the idea. The base is unclaimed, hidden, and complete enough that we could bring it online with some effort. I could feel my own excitement rising as I began plotting out moves. I'd need to arrange for crew, supplies, and equipment to be delivered to the location if I wanted to get it working. There is much to be done, and a limited window of opportunity here.
Well, its been a hell of a few days. I've been working overtime to get things on track to bring this base online. However, before we do so, we need to secure it. I've spent a few days getting things in motion to get it up and running, but securing it is a different task entirely. Which is why I've redeployed the Haven from its station in Kyushu to safeguard the station while we get it running again. The marines aboard the Haven are a mixture of bored and rowdy, but its generally agreed that this diversion is for the better. It gives them more time to train, and a safe place to rest. Some of the more mercenary ones are growing restless, claiming that they could be making more credits elsewhere, and I've already resolved to up their pay for the duration of this exercise.
As I record this, I've taken note of the Haven's extended systems from her time in drydock and amongst the Order in Mu. A fully operational battleship scanner and a working cloak gives the ship the edge it will need while safeguarding the station from intrusion. On that note, I'll be shifting roughly half the marines and combat droids we have to be stationed on the station itself. We've made several trips to the location already, and our first work crews arrived this morning. As such, it'll still be a day or two before we get the docking modules working correctly, and can properly restrict access to the Outpost.
There is so much to be done still, but I have to make sure we do not move too quickly. I've already taken a risk in beginning to bring this back online without the support of our allies in Liberty, and while I wait for the pending paperwork to be approved by both the Liberty Government and Kishiro, I must ensure not to jeopardize our operations in the area. For now however, the Haven will remain on site and in high alert to protect the outpost.
It'll need a name of course, and I've already decided on one. Hope's Watch.
My attention has been diverted to a secondary Derelict that was found in the Magellan system for the past few days. Normally I would be upset at the delay, but we have gained valuable insight into how these old stations functioned, and using the specifications of the derelict factory as a basis, I've put in an order for the parts I believe will be essential into bringing this old outpost back online.
Junior Captain Garrus has spent sometime patrolling the area around the base, and aside from our friends in Agency 404 seeming to have set up shop nearby temporarily, there have been no intrusions of any sort. Haven remains on sight, functioning as both a guardian and home for those who are working on the station. Ultimately, without the materials listed, progress remains slow, and will hopefully pick up in pace as we bring more of the outpost online.
The appearance of more of these Derelicts has everyone scrambling, and I wonder how it is possible that they remained hidden for so long. Regardless of private misgivings, work on Hope's Watch will proceed as planned. We may have need of a new hideout sooner than we had wished.
The above should more than cover whats required, but I've included an excess number to be used as a safety margin. We can expect some level of malfunctions, delays and mishaps, so the full amount will be needed to ensure progress continues as planned.
The work on the station progresses smoothly. We've cleared the hangers of all rubble and debris, and moved over enough supplies and crew to maintain ships stationed there. On that note, we've moved all of the Seraphim onto the Haven while its holding at the outpost, and will move the ships over once we have finished setting up the hanger areas to our standards.
Garrus has already moved into the station, claiming one of the larger rooms for himself. He's claimed one of the remaining rooms for me, and has provided input on where the command center of the station should be set up. I believe he wishes to base his division out of this base once its back online, and while I will still have to decide, I think its a good plan. We've opened discussions with Kishiro concerning hydroponics for the base, and I've made use of Jimmy to move enough nuclear devices to get this old things reactor back to optimal. Really, all we still need to do before we can look at a more long-term future for the base is sealing it from outsiders, and I believe the techs down in the hangers have finally figured out what was needed to do so.
We've been slowly bringing in small amounts of the materials, so as to prevent drawing attention to our actions. Despite the Liberty Government approving the base in their territory, its still vulnerable at this point in time, so we'll have to be careful that the wrong eyes don't see it.
Just leaving a quick note here that I transfered some Bio-Neural-Processors to Hope's Watch. I attached the cargo manifests and updated the materials list.