Hellfire Legion Message Dump (AO)

[frozen]

Incoming video transmission...
Verifying encryption status...
Status verified.
Uplink synchronised.

*The Hellfire Legion logo appears on the screen once more. Lord Commander Aethelu is standing before it, his face being lit by the lamps overhead.
He seems to look older than in the last transmission in some way, and quickly begins to speak.*

"Men and women of the Hellfire Legion... my friends.
Some of you may have heard of the recent events already, but I feel the need to make an official announcement so everyone gets to hear of what happened."

*Aethelu cleared his throat before continuing, this time louder and clearer, in a storyteller's voice.*

"Earlier this night a strikegroup operating off the Incursus under my direct command accomplished the Search and Rescue operation I mentioned earlier.

We assembled in the New York system at 2100 SMT under the cover of the Badlands and proceeded towards the last known location of Callahan's escape pod, Sector G 5.
We couldn't have known what awaited us there... but we moved on, only to be greeted by a minefield. - More on that later though.
We managed to contact the Escape Pod, however we only got the automated response of the onboard systems.
Luckily for us the pod was in a good enough shape to transmit us telemetry data which showed us a passage inside the minefield,
however I deemed it too risky to enter with the Incursus myself, so our Fighter pilots, Jim McKinsey, Mark Grant and Joshua Mahnke, led by Executive Commander Atheus now, took over.
They were greeted by a Liberty Navy patrol, led by Vice Admiral David Hale and furthermore consisting of Antonio Backus, Galen Anderson, Ryan MacTavish and Todd Blackburn.
And then..."

*He paused to take a deep breath.*

"...all hell broke loose.
The area was lit with fire, our men against the Navy in that cramped passage. It didn't look like we would go forward until Joshua Mahnke managed to pinpoint the exact location of the pod and tractor it in.
The automated data transmission from it showed that it was in a very bad condition.
We were running out of time, and our men put all their effort into bringing the pod back to the Incursus.
Mahnke's ship got hit heavily, and the automated safety systems in his cargo hold ejected the pod back into open space. Atheus was to tractor it, but luck wasn't on his side.
Some malfunction must have caused the pod to break the tractor beam and Vice Admiral Hale tractored it."

*A faint smile came across Aethelu's face.*

"Luck wasn't on his side either, because now our men were furious.
Their hearts were filled with an undying rage, pumping the fires of hell through their veins, and they focused all their attention on Hale.
His ship got torn apart in a storm of Tachyon Cannon fire and Particle blasts, and the pod was ours again.
Afterwards we got the pod back to the Incursus and the Navy forces vacated the area once our wailing cannons filled up the space with a hailstorm of antimatter.
And there is something else.
Grace Callahan is still alive."

*The smile faded, and what remained was but a sad expression on his face.*

"But not in the way some of you may think.
During the pod's recovery, it transmitted her vital data.
She was automatically put in cryostasis by the Life-Support System due to her severe wounds.
Cranial Trauma, Perforated Lungs, Severe Burns all over her body..."

*He looked up for a couple seconds, as if he hoped for some primordial deity to answer the questions in his mind, then he turned towards the camera again.*

"To be honest, I don't know if she will survive. The doctors had to put her in a coma to treat her wounds because she would die of shock were she to wake up. They say her chances to make it are below ten percent. On one hand I pray she makes it, she's been hurt bad before and came back on every occassion, but on the other... I know that I shouldn't bet on it."

*A single tear began to run down his cheek and with a swift motion of his hand it was gone as fast as it had appeared.
He doesn't have the priviledge to cry, he thought to himself.*

"Another frustrating thing is that we don't know how it came for her to end up like this.
Most of the data we got out of the pod is indecipherable due to the pod's status.
Whatever is intact is currently being restored onboard the Incursus."

*He looked normal again now. Not like the man, Aethelu, but like the Lord Commander, the leader he is.*

We already got some useful information out of it. That minefield and the clear space inside of it are apparently called "Zone-21", a top-secret area guarded by the Liberty Navy and Liberty Security Force.
According to the data, "Zone-21" is the pathway to a Jumpgate.
A Jumpgate that leads to a system going by the name of "Alaska".

We don't have any information in our database about it since we're still restoring the pod data as I mentioned earlier, so you'll get further updates in due time."

*Aethelu began to turn around now and the light slowly faded. In the last moment, he spoke again.*

"One more thing. Due to the recent events, Star Captain Joshua Mahnke is hereby promoted to the rank of Star Colonel of the Special Operations and Armed Reconnaisance Division.
Joshua, I know this places a great burden on your shoulders, but there's nobody as fit as you for the job.
Do not worry about having to replace Callahan, as I know she would never have asked you to do so. Instead she would have just told you to do your duty as good as you can. So, that is my order for you.
I only regret that I couldn't have done this in brighter times when she would have been here to see it.
That is all."

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