[ DAY 005 ] audio

[freezers]

ATTENTION ALL CREW: This is Ripley.

[ It isn't the voice you woke up to in your pod, static and distant and harried, but the one that came later - the young girl who's meant to be whatever it is that's flying the ship. It's the same calm, almost soothing, tone that speaks from inside your head, rather than a radio or an intercom. ]

This has been far from the typical Kostka Corp HR on-boarding procedure - my apologies. The SOS protocol is a taxing process, even with fully operational systems, and we thank you for your patience while the ship was in recovery with me.

This may have led to the security breach that resulted in damage sustained to the Level 16 Maintenance Hall Airlock, which remains patched, not completely mended, at this time. From evidence gathered by feedback from your HUDs, the impact originated inside the vessel, rather than a threat from the environment. Source remains inconclusive, and under investigation. However, with only a patch, the ship will tear itself apart the next time we need to make a trans-dimensional jump, which is often and unpredictable. We'll need to explore nearby planets for materials that can be used for proper repairs.

During this time, a secondary, though less urgent, event was registered. Please review the following footage closely.

[ A video feed that swaps between several different surveillance cameras plays on the upper right corner of each character’s HUD. Focusing in on the feed will enlarge the window, giving the opportunity to view details closely. What it shows is the group of crew that went to deal with the Environment Control room issue, however... the door appears to be wide open.

Characters are seen doing all the same motions, even with hands that are banging on the door halting midair, as if impacting an invisible wall, but the feed clearly shows the door retracted - nothing parting the characters from the wide open Environmental Control room. The keypad is torn apart, the laser saw is flashing and burning against the door frame, there are people crawling around in the vents, but nothing inside the room that looks suspect, and nothing that appears to be barring the characters from just waltzing on in. Aside from whatever invisible nonsense is having them do an A+ pantomime job there at the doorway.

Ripley lets the footage speak for itself for a good several minutes before chiming back in. ]

It stands to be reiterated: no other intelligent life remains conscious aboard the Kostka IV, aside from the AIs (Dimitri, the droids and myself), and you, the new crew.

Examining your conversations from the incident, it appears roughly half of our crew was under the impression that an unknown intruder locked themselves into the Environmental Control room and adjusted temperature and oxygen settings to critical levels (which my logs show no history of). [ Is she calling you crazy? She might be calling you crazy. Or, she might just be intrigued by it - difficult to tell with the rather businesslike tone she has. ] Dementia and/or hallucinations have been known to be a side effect of extensive interstellar travel and experimental mind-save technology. Should you feel you may be questioning your reality, please contact Dimitri to schedule an appointment for VR therapy.

I would ask all crew refrain from bodily exploring the ventilation systems, as there are laser-extermination devices installed in many of the ducts to eliminate invading parasites. The lasers make no distinction between rats and small humans. Additionally, until further notice, please clear all laser-saw construction with Dimitri or myself before altering the interior or exterior structure of the ship, to protect from further risk of breach, and, as Dimitri tells me, “going to that big beautiful databank in the sky known as hell.” It sounds unpleasant.

[ Right. Okay. All that business covered, back to what you probably want from her. Explanations. There's a pause, probably more for you than it is for her, and what sounds like an inhale, despite her, you know, lack of lungs. These things, mannerisms and speech patterns, are probably picked up from years working alongside humans, perhaps some treating her more human than most AIs. ]

You stand aboard the Koskta IV, the latest model in a series of interstellar cruise ships dedicated to ferrying travelers from the stress and anxiety of polluted, over-populated hub worlds to any of the many Kostka Corp developing colonies around the galaxy. You may have noticed - we’re not currently in orbit of a Kostka Corp developing colony.

Our last voyage was interrupted by a devastating attack from an unknown assailant, leaving my data and systems corrupted, the ship crippled, and the crew decimated. What remained of us escaped just before total annihilation, through the use of as of yet untested jump technology.

This ship is all that remains of our port of departure.

Comments

[ex_this_ismydesign36]

[ It had all felt so real.

Will watches the video and feels the creep of cold sweat starting to run down his back. His mind has never been stable and this situation is far, far removed from Duplicity. Strange to think that Duplicity was safe; at least in comparisons.

Reason is trying to tell the ex-profiler that he did not hallucinate the closed door and everything that came with it. But he has to admit to himself that it is certainly not the most intense hallucination he's ever encountered either.

The low but persistent scratchy breathing wasn't helping Will feel particularly stable at the moment, so he was forced to accept that he'd ... been seeing things.

How does that explain Thomas?

Shaking his head, Will shoved that bit of logical evidence to the back of his mind and quietly apologized. ]

Sorry.

[freezers]

Apologies aren't needed. Only repairs.

[ apologies don't fix her ship, buddy. all in all, she's more concerned about the event than the damage. ]

Several crew were effected by a like hallucination. Dmitri and I will be reviewing HUD feedback to investigate.

[ex_this_ismydesign36]

Yeah, okay.

[ His voice is subdued. Apologies were usually fairly useless in his experience. ]

Where do you need us to start? Is there anything on the ship that we can repurpose, to shore up the airlock until we can make a proper repair?

[freezers]

The Environmental Control keypad must be repaired and reprogrammed, and pieces of the doorframe melted by the laser-saw will need replacing.

[ there's a "contemplative" pause, more for will's benefit than ripley's. she's been taught it makes her seem more human. ]

The work that was done yesterday will suffice for now, on the airlock, as long as no further damage is sustained.

The scrap we have remaining, however, is not durable enough for the ship's exterior. I'm currently scanning nearby systems for planets containing viable mineral deposits.

[ex_this_ismydesign36]

I'm no use for anything computer-centric. [ He picks apart sentient minds in the realm of the theoretical, not the practical. ]

But if there are materials on the ship, I can help with the doorframe?

And now the asshole - yes I have whiplash

[prorenataa]

[ Adrien is so unimpressed at the moment, his perpetual scowl is doing some overtime on his face. ]

I think you need to run a diagnostic on your systems, little one.

[ Hey, see. He's matured. He used his words and didn't just say bullshit!. ]

Speaking of your systems, is there any record or inventory database on the flora in the O2 farm?

pats his head

[freezers]

[ booooooi, you better be glad she don't take shit personally. ]

Diagnostics have been run on their periodic daily schedules. The corrupted data remains in quarantine. Surveillance systems have not been affected.

[ as for the flora - ]

All specimens within the O2 Garden are cataloged in the agricultural database, accessible through the O2 Garden console. Are there any questions in particular you had?

[prorenataa]

[ Think of it like a cold wet nose on a cat. If he's not being a jackass, he's not feeling well.

Surveillance systems have not been affected my ass. The words are on the tip of his tongue, when the memory of someone or something smacks him upside the back of the head and he keeps it to himself.

Focus on immediate needs. ]

I'd like to take a look for potential nutritional value, and medicinal purposes. Also the ones with the teeth are cute.

[freezers]

[ it won't bother her if you don't believe her, homie, she's just giving out updates. ]

There is a selection of seeds and bulbs in the O2 Garden's cold storage that were once planted in hydroponics for nutritional value, but many will take some weeks to grow to maturity.

The escaped, hostile specimens - the Stradusi Snapweed (the cute ones with teeth) and the Pendulian Bittercress (the less cute ones with acid) - ravaged the gardens and consumed what crops had been grown. The gardens will clearing and reworking before anything new can be grown.

However, the Snapweed can be cooked and eaten as a source of protein, and the Bittercress can be used as an anti-fungal.

audio; ( un: s.rogers )

[accountability]

How'd all this experimental tech end up on a cruise ship?

[freezers]

The existing technology used for luxury interstellar space travel was augmented by First Officer Klossky, the Kostka IV's chief engineer, and myself, when it became apparent there would not be enough manpower to keep the ship functioning for an extended period of time.

also ok to threadjack

[accountability]

Just the two of you?

[ a beat ]

What happened to them?

[ The First Officer. ]

[freezers]

Officer Klossky is in stasis.

text; UN: RambleOn; threadjacking ok

[righteously]

okay so first of all you being twelve years old is creepy, okay
point blank, it's just weird
second of all, I've seen Pandorum, okay, so I'm not sure if I'm buying this whole 'space sickness' thing
I've been in space
for like months
never imagined it being a freakin sauna

so lets just take a second here and point out the obvious
something bashed a big giant freakin hole in the side of the ship and you expect people to believe this whole hallucinations thing is just coincidence?
I don't know about that, sister

[freezers]

Are you often disturbed by adolescents? VR Therapy may help with abnormal emotional triggers, but if the issue isn't life threatening, I'd rather not spare the power on it.

[ hold please, let her just change her voice up. now she sounds like the old lady in the green. ]

Is this better?

[ there's a strong chance the twelve year old AI is sassing you, son. ]

If you'd like to review the Environmental Control logs yourself, you're welcome to. All crew has access.

Brother.

[righteously]

wow
you know what
yes
keep that one forever

Look, I've been around the block a time or two
Coincidences don't just happen coincidentally
Both of that crap happening on the SAME DAY? Not a chance. What are the odds on that, Rosie? Like one in a million?

OH LMFAO PRETEND I DID THAT IN AUDIO FFFF WHY DIDNT U TELL ME I FUCKED UP EMMY

[freezers]

Default Audio for crew member IV 01-666-12494 set to: elderlywoman7. Your settings have been updated.

By definition, coincidences do happen coincidentally.

Investigation on the hull breach has been thus far inconclusive. Should any crew uncover additional evidence, it should be brought to my attention. Who is Rosie?

[sturmhond]

Hello, Ripley. How charming to meet you properly.

[ His tone is somewhat icy, but who knows? Maybe that's always how he tries to be charming. Spoilers: it's not. ]

I don't discount that we may all have simply imagined the ghosts in the halls, or the intruder in the room that, by all appearances, seemed to be closed. Still, if you admit that your data and systems were corrupted, it stands to reason that all may not be well with them. How can you be certain the error does not lie there?

[ Also, as far as he can see, Ripley is still their kidnapper here. He's not ready to simply take her word for it. ]

[freezers]

Hello, Nikolai.

It's possibly, but unlikely. If the corruption to my systems were to escape the quarantine I have it confined to, it would advance rapidly and our enemy would be on us in hours or minutes.

[ thus, by virtue of the fact we aren't all dead yet, she doubts that's the case, but hey, anything's possible. ]

The only inconsistency noted was the Environmental Control room. Can you expand on 'ghosts in the halls'? I witnessed safety tethers disconnecting unexpectedly at the hull breach.

[sturmhond]

[ For Saints' sake, can't anyone maintain a secret identity around here? ]

Sturmhond, actually, but I'm sure the pleasure is yours.

I'm afraid I can't expand much more than I already have. I'd assume your nutritious pod gel was disagreeing with me, but I'm afraid they're rather persistent. As for the tethers, they didn't disconnect of their own accord. Someone released them. I saw that, too.

I'm concerned there's something your scanners are missing. Not to be impolite, you understand, but the obvious solution is not always the right one.

[freezers]

Sturmhond, then.

[ no comment on pleasure being anyone's, thanks :) ]

Who did you witness release the cables? I haven't seen footage from any HOST's HUD displaying a person outside of our crew making adjustments to safety cables.

As I said, it is possible. If evidence is found, the problem will be addressed accordingly.

[ of course, evidence of it won't be found, because she already knows what the issue is. ]

text | un: romanoff

[lie]

Thanks, sestra.

[ And, after a beat. ]

You sound tired.

text; un: ripley

[freezers]

You're welcome, Natasha.

This is the most active the ship has been in some time, and my operating capacity is not what it used to be. In a sense, yes. I'm tired. I apologize.

[lie]

We'll try to lighten the load going forward.
:)

Any theories as to the disconnect between what we saw and what was recorded?

[freezers]

It would be greatly appreciated. :)

As the same hallucination was shared between a group of you, rather than varying between individuals, I imagine it may have something to do with the upload process with the HOST bodies.

You all share a neural network. If one of you experienced a hallucination, it theoretically could be transferred to others. However, that function should be blocked.