Pripyat - Ship Log

[Chronicron]

>log_begin
>time=0900.11.02.835.
>logtype=audio
>source=co_quarters
>source=CO_Korbut
>source=nemezida

sndlog: [CO Quarters Door Open]

sndlog: [Steps, High Heels]

N: Comrade Korbut. Glad to see you in person.

sndlog: [Chair Move]

sndlog: [Chair Soft impact]

CO: Comrade Overseer... You look a bit different than I imagined.

N: Do I make an impression of someone much taller?

CO: Certainly.

N; [chuckle] Pay no mind to my manner of speech, now. In the end, physical might is not everything.

CO: How do you like the Pripyat?

N: Better than her original form... Much more renewed, even though it mirrors the fact that it's an asset of the reserve rather than a well-funded exploration corps... You are familiar with the original Pripyat, aren't you?

CO: Hm. Now that you mention it, no. I was first assigned to it three years ago. There wasn't much documentation for it, other than that it was a clean new "Tempest"-class Carrier. But, to answer your question - no. No links to exploration corps or her "original form". Guess it's something you want to talk about?

N: Hm. Well, it's not entirely related to our primary subject, but I could share the story. It is, after all, a ship that you are in charge of.

CO: Yes, and for that very reason, I would like to know.

N: Very well. Do you remember the Sirius Coalition Expeditionary Corps? It was a small gathering of scientists particularly interested in happenings of the Omicrons and how the Coalition could, potentially, utilize those.

CO: Hm... I heard of the name, but never was familiar with what they were doing, no.

N: Ah, well. It's all water under the bridge, anyhow. Though they were a group of brilliant scientists, some ambitions got the better of them. Point ZI-35 is exactly where the fire of their candle has begun to fade.

CO: Namely... A spot where there used to be a connection to now lost Omicron Chi?

N: Indeed. One of their expeditions has yielded a fascinating result - an uncharted world with potentially staggering amounts of Dom K'Vosh cites, deep within the Edge Nebula, right where what was considered as the Omicron Chi system. And so they elevated a skyhook installation, right in orbit - the Rostock Research Outpost. Our dear premier, comrade Tykovkin, was once the headmaster of that station, believe it or not.

CO: Huh. That's a career leap if I've ever heard of one - from headmaster to premier.

N: Yes, indeed. However, the station itself got compromised. The details are hazy, but that was the starting point of Expeditionary Corps' downfall. The entire corps was suspected to have been infiltrated by the infectees, and this very ship around us... is the living proof of it. The entire story was slid under a carpet and forgotten. By many.

CO: [sigh] Let's assume, for a second, that I believe you. What does that have to do with the Pripyat?

N: Ah, dear Pripyat. The ship you are commanding nowadays is a retrofit, and a very large one at that. The moment Aralsk could afford to mass-produce the "Tempest"-class carriers - albeit at the cost of quality - the Pripyat was one of the many candidates. But, in her original iteration, she was a mere "Typhoon"-class, assigned to Expeditionary Corps as a security vessel under command of one Anatoliy Grachov. Are you familiar with the name?

CO: Negative.

N: Thought you wouldn't be. Grachov was a Major of Task Force "Sipukha" - a name only I and very few others have ever heard in their lives. You are now among those others. Officially, the Sipukha was nothing more than a Security Cell of the Expeditionary Corps, yet their agenda went far beyond mere surveys and applied science. Namely, their real goal was to infiltrate the commissariat itself and replace the acting head of government with their own person who would divert the budget to Expeditionary Corps' needs, establishing more technocratic views and making the Coalition technologically superior to the rest of the houses. A goal they have, in one way or the other, achieved... Though, not according to their plan. The Pripyat itself was the command centre of the entire task force - every bit of information that circulated through the Sipukha was filtered and stored in her databanks.

CO: Hah. Now that's hard to believe. When I came aboard, I checked everything. There were no traces of data tampering or purge - the databanks were pure as a newborn.

N: Because the old databanks have been extracted during the retrofit. When I came to examine them. surprisingly, none of the entries have been erased. It's almost as if Grachov wanted to leave the information that he had accumulated over the years to the first person to find the Pripyat.

CO: What do you mean "find"?

N: Right... I haven't gotten to that part yet. [shuffle, holographic tablet flare up] Here. Something for your ears.

sndlog: [Playback - Pripyat Black Box log #4351]

CO: Huh. Dammit.

N: Verdict?

CO: Clear as day, he poisoned his XO and used some means to fake his identity as him. And the bastard also sabotaged the ship's life support, killing everyone aboard.

N: Smart conclusion, Comrade Commodore. The Pripyat was left adrift in New Moscow, A patrol stumbled upon it, and when they attempted to hail the Pripyat, there was no response. No movement, either, and no signs of activity. She was towed back to Aralsk, and... the rest is history.

CO: Has Grachov ever been found?

N: No. he might have been a turncoat, but he was smart. He likely changed names and appearances multiple times, while also faking many deaths on his way from one identity to another. Either way, he no longer is a concern of ours - we know everything there was to know about the Sipukha thanks to his little gesture.

CO: And? What of them?

N: That is the problem. We know their approximate numbers, but they don't show up anywhere. Regardless, it's like chasing a ghost in a lightless alley. But it doesn't matter anyway. If they haven't come out to greet you while you were in the Omicrons, I suppose they've either dispersed or met some other end.

CO: Huh. So that's why we were sent all the way over there? To work as bait for rogue conspirators?

N: Not entirely. [clears throat] Your primary directive has always been observation and monitoring. Trying to lure out the Sipukha was just a little bonus. After all, they would definitely recognize the transponder of their former headquarters.

CO: Or it would make them stay far away from it, knowing that somebody is looking for them.

N: Then they best cover their tracks. Regardless... All this talk about Expeditionary Corps, the Sipukha, the Pripyat herself... It's not why I'm here today. Let us get to the real topic.

>log_end