Xeno Alliance communications (iRP) (FO)

[Levenna]

☠ Incoming transmission.
☠ Signal source: Free Republic relay, Liberty
☠ Opening video feed...

---

---

---

Sender: Christopher Beltran
Recipient: Alliance Commander "Cobra"
Subject: Morganton

---

Commander.

That Morganton guy that showed up just before you headed back to Ramsey? Kid's not a Xeno at all. He got the Rebel after it crashed on Pittsburgh, and apparently managed to get to Ontario by 'trial and error'. I can't say I bought it at first but, it seems a straight enough story.

I got him a room on Ramsey, he's resting up now. As for what to do with him, that I'll leave up to you. He's been searched for any communication devices, had none, and he's got no neural net access for the time being. Just in case my instincts are proven wrong.

Last thing. Apparently the kid's got some friends he had to leave behind that helped him get the ship working. I base off Pittsburgh anyway and so, I don't think a small-scale raid on a mining facility would be an unreasonable ask. He brought us back a repairable Rebel, figure it's the least we can do. I'll wait on your sign-off.

Comms log attached.

PLAYBACK

[29.04.2024 22:27:03] Morganton: Look, I'm-- I'm not a Xeno at all. I was hoping to bring this thing back to you. I didn't think I would make it this far.
[29.04.2024 22:27:24] XA-Christopher.Beltran: You're incredibly brave or incredibly stupid. Which one.
[29.04.2024 22:27:39] Morganton: Your guy, some... Ethan Bryant guy. He was in low orbit on Pittsburgh.
[29.04.2024 22:27:54] Morganton: I saw a blast coming from somewhere, and this thing landed in the dirt.
[29.04.2024 22:28:19] Morganton: Look, this fell into my lap. It was my only chance to get the fuck out of that pit.
[29.04.2024 22:28:32] XA-Christopher.Beltran: What's your job, kid
[29.04.2024 22:28:58] Morganton: Job...? I guess I used to be a mine worker. Please don't shoot me.
[29.04.2024 22:29:11] XA-Christopher.Beltran: Why'd you think I would?
[29.04.2024 22:29:41] Morganton: My foreman always says that there's a consequence for every action. And fuck, did I go off my hinges here.
[29.04.2024 22:30:08] XA-Christopher.Beltran: I base off Pittsburgh. It's not a pretty sight. And I don't mean the view.
[29.04.2024 22:30:32] XA-Christopher.Beltran: I'm going to assume you're not looking to go back?
[29.04.2024 22:30:59] Rules Tip: Do not disconnect from the server to escape player versus player interaction. Your ship will remain helpless in space for 2 minutes and you will not be able to reconnect during this time.
[29.04.2024 22:31:05] Morganton: I have no reason to anymore.
[29.04.2024 22:31:14] XA-Christopher.Beltran: We'll see.
[29.04.2024 22:31:16] Morganton: I should have done this sooner.
[29.04.2024 22:31:30] XA-Christopher.Beltran: What happened to Bryant? The fella whose ship you're flying.
[29.04.2024 22:32:17] Morganton: One day, I was taking my break at a refinery, when suddenly I saw a space craft flying very close to us.
[29.04.2024 22:33:09] Morganton: I went after it, and the next thing I know, some... kind of huge laser shot your guy's ship right through the stabi-- sta--
[29.04.2024 22:33:14] Morganton: The... stabil... the thing.
[29.04.2024 22:33:16] XA-Christopher.Beltran: Stabiliser.
[29.04.2024 22:33:28] Morganton: Yeah.
[29.04.2024 22:34:16] Morganton: I thought I could've made an easy credit by selling it for scrap to the Junkers, thinking it was just a shittle. Erm...
[29.04.2024 22:34:18] Morganton: Shuttle?
[29.04.2024 22:34:20] Morganton: Is that a word?
[29.04.2024 22:34:28] XA-Christopher.Beltran: Cut to the chase, kid.
[29.04.2024 22:34:35] XA-Christopher.Beltran: What happened to the guy.
[29.04.2024 22:34:45] Morganton: Fuck, I don't know what any of this means. Okay, so it was shot down. Guy inside, dead as a doornail.
[29.04.2024 22:35:06] Morganton: I don't know why, he was bleeding a lot.
[29.04.2024 22:35:29] XA-Christopher.Beltran: The man suffered a pretty big impact. Might be why, don't you think?
[29.04.2024 22:36:08] Morganton: Uh, look man. I'm not the smartest guy here. I wasn't on Pittsburgh out of my own free will.
[29.04.2024 22:36:18] XA-Christopher.Beltran: So? Why *were* you there?
[29.04.2024 22:37:05] Morganton: Well, I was just doing my job. It's the only way I can pay off my old man's debt.
[29.04.2024 22:37:15] XA-Christopher.Beltran: Figures.
[29.04.2024 22:37:37] XA-Christopher.Beltran: I'm guessing you've at least touched a ship's controls before, seeing as you made it here
[29.04.2024 22:37:48] Morganton: ...Trial and error...
[29.04.2024 22:38:05] XA-Christopher.Beltran: Pretty far to get based on just trial and error. These're pretty old boats.
[29.04.2024 22:38:31] Morganton: Well, your guy, he... he had instructions in some cabinet here. I'm sorry I had to break that open, too.
[29.04.2024 22:38:47] XA-Christopher.Beltran: Clearly wasn't the brightest if that's the case.
[29.04.2024 22:39:15] XA-Christopher.Beltran: Mm. That neural net transmission earlier. What was it.
[29.04.2024 22:39:17] Morganton: You said yourself, it's complicated to keep this bat up in the air. Erm, space.
[29.04.2024 22:39:32] Morganton: Which one?
[29.04.2024 22:39:41] XA-Christopher.Beltran: The one you tried pretty hard to quiet.
[29.04.2024 22:40:23] Morganton: Well, I kind of broke in this thing, a few friends helped me get this up in the air and it was the only way to... what's the -
[29.04.2024 22:40:29] Morganton: word... "bye past"?
[29.04.2024 22:40:41] Morganton: "Bye... bine past..."
[29.04.2024 22:40:42] Morganton: Bypass!
[29.04.2024 22:40:57] XA-Christopher.Beltran: Kid, just tell me what the damn transmission was.
[29.04.2024 22:41:27] Morganton: Yeah, that. Your... um, late Ethan friend. He had his own naural net ID connected to the mainframe.
[29.04.2024 22:41:38] Morganton: I had to shut it up, because it didn't recognise me.
[29.04.2024 22:41:45] XA-Christopher.Beltran: Mm.
[29.04.2024 22:41:49] XA-Christopher.Beltran: Your friends. Where are they.
[29.04.2024 22:42:17] Morganton: Still on Pittsburgh. Probably about to get the thrashings of their lives by my foreman for not knowing where I am.
[29.04.2024 22:42:28] Morganton: I said I'd help them, but fuck. I can't go back there!
[29.04.2024 22:42:41] XA-Christopher.Beltran: Don't make promises you can't keep.
[29.04.2024 22:42:41] Morganton: I'm not going to work myself to death for a stupid debt.
[29.04.2024 22:42:53] XA-Christopher.Beltran: You're leavin' them behind, then?
[29.04.2024 22:43:07] Morganton: What the fuck am I supposed to do?
[29.04.2024 22:43:18] XA-Christopher.Beltran: Mm. Name.
[29.04.2024 22:43:20] XA-Christopher.Beltran: Yours.
[29.04.2024 22:43:21] Morganton: I'm just going to end like your friend if--
[29.04.2024 22:44:04] Morganton: Oh, we aren't allowed to... well, if it helps, I'm their refinery employee 3B941. Um, Aslan Herrera.
[29.04.2024 22:44:16] XA-Christopher.Beltran: You're a name. Not a number.
[29.04.2024 22:44:34] XA-Christopher.Beltran: We're going to do the following.
[29.04.2024 22:44:56] XA-Christopher.Beltran: You're going to follow me to Ramsey, and I'm going to shoot you if you deviate from that course.
[29.04.2024 22:45:01] Death: GMS|Gallia.Light was put out of action by a hostile vessel.
[29.04.2024 22:45:07] XA-Christopher.Beltran: Once we're there, we'll get you set up with somewhere to sleep.
[29.04.2024 22:45:14] Morganton: F-fuck. Okay. Got it.
[29.04.2024 22:45:35] XA-Christopher.Beltran: Good. You figured out how to fly close to someone else yet?
[29.04.2024 22:46:04] Morganton: Um. I just need to send the big lever on the right forward while pressing the button, and--
[29.04.2024 22:46:10] Morganton: No, wait. Back.
[29.04.2024 22:46:13] Morganton: Back. Damn it.
[29.04.2024 22:46:30] Morganton: [As the ship stopped, the boy inside grunted.]
[29.04.2024 22:46:36] XA-Christopher.Beltran: Left.
[29.04.2024 22:46:38] XA-Christopher.Beltran: Turn left.
[29.04.2024 22:46:53] Morganton: Ah, yeah. Okay, yeah that's the... meanuver-- maneuv--
[29.04.2024 22:47:02] XA-Christopher.Beltran: How old are you, kid
[29.04.2024 22:47:02] Morganton: Yeah, the thing that makes the thing go.
[29.04.2024 22:47:41] Morganton: Uh, hang on. Um...
[29.04.2024 22:47:47] XA-Christopher.Beltran: Use your fingers.
[29.04.2024 22:47:49] XA-Christopher.Beltran: To count.
[29.04.2024 22:48:11] Morganton: Yeah, we're not allowed to remember that either. Like, birthdays are useless man. We're never going to leave.
[29.04.2024 22:48:15] Morganton: Um, but.
[29.04.2024 22:48:29] Morganton: I know the digits in the serious code of my ID.
[29.04.2024 22:48:32] XA-Christopher.Beltran: Your birthday's the 29th of April 833 A.S.
[29.04.2024 22:48:36] XA-Christopher.Beltran: Congratulations.
[29.04.2024 22:48:54] Morganton: Um, cool! Uh, wait a sec.
[29.04.2024 22:49:00] XA-Christopher.Beltran: That's today.
[29.04.2024 22:49:32] XA-Christopher.Beltran: I don't pay it much mind but, there's a free republic. You might yet find a home there.
[29.04.2024 22:49:45] Morganton: 825... BX7... IO9... Yeah, last digits are 809. Uh, how old does that make me again?
[29.04.2024 22:49:54] XA-Christopher.Beltran: Twenty-four.
[29.04.2024 22:49:57] Morganton: I think it current spunds to-
[29.04.2024 22:50:22] Morganton: Oh. Uh, wow. Does that make me old?
[29.04.2024 22:50:35] XA-Christopher.Beltran: Not quite.
[29.04.2024 22:50:59] XA-Christopher.Beltran: You'll get a ping on Ethan's neural net. Accept it.
[29.04.2024 22:51:14] Notice: Armor Upgrades have been removed from the server. You will have received a full refund at purchase price.
[29.04.2024 22:51:19] XA-Christopher.Beltran: You see an option for formation autopilot??
[29.04.2024 22:51:31] Morganton: Uh, wow, thank goodness. I'm just asking, because if we can't pay our debts before turning 30 or 35 our contracts are -
[29.04.2024 22:51:35] Morganton: terminated.
[29.04.2024 22:51:40] Morganton: Yeah, I see it.
[29.04.2024 22:51:48] XA-Christopher.Beltran: I hate to break it to you, it already is.
[29.04.2024 22:52:00] XA-Christopher.Beltran: Hit that formation option.
[29.04.2024 22:52:06] Morganton: Got it.
[29.04.2024 22:52:10] XA-Christopher.Beltran: It'll save you from having to fly it yourself
[29.04.2024 22:52:12] Morganton: Ow. Ow! Sorry!
[29.04.2024 22:52:41] XA-Christopher.Beltran: Once we're docked, we'll try get you a place to rest. I'll speak to the Commander about what to do from there.
[29.04.2024 22:53:00] Morganton: Thanks a lot, sir.
[29.04.2024 22:53:07] XA-Christopher.Beltran: You will not be trusted. You will need to find something worthwhile to do.
[29.04.2024 22:53:11] XA-Christopher.Beltran: But, it'll be a home.
[29.04.2024 22:53:46] XA-Christopher.Beltran: So I'm told, at least.
[29.04.2024 22:54:10] Morganton: [He would quietly gulp.] Yeah. I can handle it.
[29.04.2024 22:54:25] XA-Christopher.Beltran: See that big asteroid in the distance?
[29.04.2024 22:54:25] Morganton: Can't be worse than Pittsburgh or Houston.
[29.04.2024 22:54:38] Morganton: Holy smokes, it's huge.
[29.04.2024 22:54:42] XA-Christopher.Beltran: Get used to it.
[29.04.2024 22:55:04] XA-Christopher.Beltran: One more thing, don't expect to have any neural net connections for a while. 'Till we know you aren't here to rat us out.
[29.04.2024 22:55:29] Morganton: No. No! I swear, I just came here to bring this back and maybe make a buck.
[29.04.2024 22:55:48] Morganton: And, like, this belonged to your Ethan guy, right? I can, like, cover for him or something.
[29.04.2024 22:55:55] Morganton: I'll learn!
[29.04.2024 22:56:03] XA-Christopher.Beltran: Commander's call. Not mine.
[29.04.2024 22:56:40] XA-Christopher.Beltran: Wouldn't count on becoming a combat pilot, though.
[29.04.2024 22:56:54] XA-Christopher.Beltran: It ain't all it's piped up to be, either way.
[29.04.2024 22:57:13] Morganton: Oh. Uh, no. No thanks. I'm not sure I can be a pilot. Do you have any idea how much I hurled because of those jump holes?
[29.04.2024 22:57:47] XA-Christopher.Beltran: Pretty sure I do now.
[29.04.2024 22:58:01] Morganton: Ohmigosh, is that a Battleship?
[29.04.2024 22:58:06] XA-Christopher.Beltran: It is.
[29.04.2024 22:58:41] Morganton: I hope you're not the Police or anything. That would suck.
[29.04.2024 22:58:57] XA-Christopher.Beltran: *he snorts in amusement*
[29.04.2024 22:59:01] XA-Christopher.Beltran: Dock.
[29.04.2024 22:59:13] Morganton: Uh, um. Okay. How do I-
[29.04.2024 22:59:23] XA-Christopher.Beltran: You press the button and let the autopilot take care of it.
[29.04.2024 22:59:35] Morganton: Wow, it can do that?
[29.04.2024 22:59:44] XA-Christopher.Beltran: Yup. I've cleared you with ATC already.
[29.04.2024 23:00:09] Morganton: Um, hey, whatever happens I am very sorry for pulling this stunt. I just wanted to get away from there, y'know.
[29.04.2024 23:00:25] XA-Christopher.Beltran: Sure.
[29.04.2024 23:00:37] Morganton: Oh. Uh. No. Stop the thrusters. Wrong button.
[29.04.2024 23:00:45] Morganton: Eep!
[29.04.2024 23:00:54] Morganton: Okay, that did a thing!
[29.04.2024 23:01:09] Morganton: That was so cool.
[29.04.2024 23:01:16] XA-Christopher.Beltran: Don't waste our ammunition stocks.
[29.04.2024 23:01:22] Morganton: Oh. Sorry, I forgot.
[29.04.2024 23:01:48] Morganton: I... hit the button. Do I just wait for it to happen, or what?
[29.04.2024 23:02:06] XA-Christopher.Beltran: More or less. See you aboard.

"Bad timing. My specialty."
- Christopher Beltran

---

---

☠ Transmission signal lost.