Changing Situations

I cried today.

Situations change, not always for the better, but sometimes not for the worse.  They just change, and emotions are released.  Cold as it sounds, I cried, and felt nothing.  I smiled at that.  Not out of joy, but out of acceptance.  Understanding my situation is terrifying, liberating, and freeing.

I said I'd go there today.  I didn't.  Other things came up, and I hope I am forgiven.  I may not make it there for a few days.  Situations beyond my control keep occurring.  They'll understand or they won't.

It's how things go I guess.  One day they go well, others...

...they just are.

New Image //Deceiver's Voice//

My new Capsuleer License image.

I smiled.  It didn't last long.

The future.  I hardly think about it, but I did yesterday.  Unexpectedly.  I spoke with her.  Nervous at first, truly nervous, but it got better.  Far better.  Not sure if it's real or not.  Situation is changing too rapidly.  Too many variables.

I guess I will simply have to go where the path takes me.  That's all I can ever do.  Situations...

...changing...
.
.
.
It's too quiet.

Recollections 002: The Path

You've seen part of the truth, this... is an attempt to get everything out in the open, here and now, before everything falls apart.  Please forgive the prose, it's the best way for me to remember.


***


Because I need to tell someone.  The only way I can, is this way.  I hope you understand.  I am sorry.


I tried, Rallence, I really did.  I simply wanted you to be at peace.


-Nikiruu


Amarr VIII (Oris) - Emperor Family Academy
111.01.05


Lord Amann Karris leaned against the railing. Below he could see the various denizens of the station going about their business. He felt closer to what he used to be when he stood there, staring down at the masses. Often he had gone to that spot, contemplating his past, his future, and his purpose.

Today was the first time he had gone there and known who he truly was. He smiled to himself, as the path before him had finally become clear.

"Amann," said the woman to his side, "I know you have made up your mind. That is not what I am arguing with you about."

"Niki, I know my path. I know where I belong. To be honest, I can continue without you, and perhaps I will achieve just as much." Amann turned to the woman, still smiling. "Your skills are replaceable, but you are not."

"You're the second person to tell me that in the past week." Niki sighed and turned, looking out over the promenade. "Alright... I will do this. For you, and only you, Amann."

He smiled to himself, even wider now. "Thank you." Amann placed his hand on Nikilaiki's, and squeezed it gently. "You know the path, it is time we walked it together."

Niki turned and smiled weakly at Amann. "It's too quiet."

"I know. We will find it again, don't worry." Amann pulled Niki closer to him, and held her. "We will find it again."

Recollections 001: The Old Fool

Shanto was known as the village drunk. Every day he sat on the same barstool. For as long as anyone could remember he had been there, a drunk who never seemed to run out of ISK. No one ever really paid attention to him, no one ever asked questions.

One day when he was sitting in the bar, the bartender asked him about his story, why he was there and never seemed to run out of ISK to pay for drinks.

"It's a joke, you see," Shanto said, "probably the best one you'll ever hear."

"Really?" The bartender looked at Shanto and squinted, as if trying to discern if he was telling the truth or not.

"Yes... and it will cost you. I never want to pay for a drink again."

Smiling, the bartender agreed. Shanto drank the cheapest liquor in the bar anyway, so it was not like the old man would put him out of business if he did indeed have an interesting story. "Tell you what, good or bad, you have my word you won't have to pay for another drink here, the rest of your life."

"Good." He chugged down his drink, and slammed it down. "Fill me up, and I'll tell you the story of how I came to be a drunk."

***

Old Konso hated new deliveries. Sitting and standing through hours upon hours of cataloging and inspecting wore on him. The livestock were almost always unruly at first, some downright homicidal. The medical exams were cursory at best, nonexistent at worst. Cataloging had been streamlined, of course. Implanting numbered chips and scanning said chips into the database along with blood sample and skeletal scan.

At first he didn't hear the commotion coming from the docking ring. He had learned to tune out a good measure of the fighting and yelling that inevitably occurred on delivery days. This noise, this struggle happening outside the reception center, was something new though. He raised his head. When he saw the source of the commotion he stood and approached it, guards close behind him.

“You there, what do you think you're doing?” The... well, Konso never called the livestock “people”, but this person was apparently something of a celebrity to the new livestock delivery. In fact, a good number of the livestock seemed to be cheered on by many in the crowd. Old Konso, who prided himself on knowing the lineage of any livestock based solely on their build, was baffled.

When the livestock turned, the old man narrowed his eyes. Indeed, there was something familiar about this one. “You... I've seen you somewhere before.” Indeed, as Konso looked closer he realized his error. “Oh... oh excuse me your Lordship... I-I...” Konso stumbled to find the words, but in the end he just stopped talking.

“You are supervisor here, correct?” The Lord's voice was steady and confident, with no hint of anger or malice. “Speak, quickly.”

“Yes sir, I am the supervisor here.” Konso bowed his head and cowered. “I beg your forgiveness.”

“Do not worry, you are not in trouble.” The Lord smiled, amused. “In fact, I shall grant you your freedom should you assist me in a simple matter.”

Old Konso's eyes lit up, and he listened.

“Konso, if you can find me a perfect woman, one without flaw among these wretched livestock I shall grant you your freedom.”

“But Lord, that is impossible!”

The men surrounding the Lord began to laugh. “Is that so?” said the Lord. “Then I guess you shall stay a slave.. in fact, who is your immediate inferior?”

As Konso's eyes lowered, a young guard raised his hand. “Good, Konso, this young man is now your master.  Treat him as you would me.” The Lord looked at the young man and smiled lovingly. “A woman whom I know has been wrongfully captured in a raid. I want her found. She is a woman without flaw... if you can find her with only that as your guide, I shall grant your freedom, as well as the entire allotment of slaves delivered today.”

The young man, stunned, nodded his head.

***

The bartender shook his head. “I don't get it, Shanto. What's the punchline?”

The drunk old man laughed, followed by a loud cough. “I was the young man,” Shanto said, nearly falling off his barstool. “Found the woman in two hours, then lost the slaves I won four hours later in a card game. I've been drinking ever since.”

"But how come you never run out of ISK?"

"You don't have enough Ship's Whiskey to pay for that story, young man. I don't think my body could collect on it either." He winked and stood up. "I'll be back tomorrow. Keep my barstool open."

The bartender shook his head and laughed. "You got it, friend."

Sleeper Research Log 003: Audio Transcript, Undated

"So she was a neural interface specialist before the accident?"

"No. She was a pod interface specialist."

"Ah, I see."

"No you don't."

"Don't worry, I'll figure it out. I always do."

"No you won't."

"Just full of optimism today aren't we?"

"No we're not."

***

"Miss Ruutarhara, how are we today?"

"We are fine; you seem flustered."

"Pardon?"

"Frustration. Voice fluctuations and pulse rate, erratic breathing. Lack of eye contact and..."

"Enough."

"Yes, enough."

"You told the guards you had something new."

"Yes, we require access to all information in regards to the Jovians."

"Oh. Nothing new, just a new theory."

"No, this is something new. We need corroborating evidence before we can finish our hypothesis."

"Perhaps you'd like to share?"

"Of course, professor."

"Well then, at your leisure."

"Certainly. Our current analysis of the information points to the Jovians not being what they appear to be."

"That certainly goes without saying, doesn't it?"

"No, it doesn't."

"Alright then, explain."

"That is what we were doing, was it not? I believe they do not develop their own technology but that they leach off of other cultures."

"That's hard to believe, Miss Ruutarhara. They're more advanced than anything..."

"...yes, and if you will allow me to continue I can properly phrase my theory."

"Of course, continue."

"If you had seen the technology the Sleepers possess first hand, and had the mind to see, you would be able to understand it."

"Assume for a moment I did not understand what you just meant. Explain."

"The technology the sleepers possess is nothing the Jovians don't have."

"A simple explanation."

"Yes. The Jovians had access to Sleeper, Talocan, Takmahl... all the technology they would need, long before we could."

"Debatable, but go on."

"Not debatable. They had access to technology we never did."

"Where is this going Miss Ruutarhara?"

"The Jovians are scavengers."

"I see."

"No, you don't. Scavengers. Their culture has 'fallen' a few times as well."

"How does that..."

"I am getting to it. They had their own technology to build upon, but also access to the advanced technology of other cultures."

"I..."

"...if you say 'I see' one more time I will rip your eyes out. Good. Now listen. They gave us capsule technology. They deal with us for other technology. They want us to share technology freely."

"That's..."

"Do shut up. I am trying to show you what I mean. They wish for us to develop that which they can't. You see, they do not think like we do. Or at least a majority do not."

"Interesting."

"Not really. They are stagnated; they have reached the limit of their existence, the limit of their capabilities."

"What is your theory, Miss Ruutarhara?"

"My theory is that there are potentially three distinct factions of the Jovians. The first, those who simply wish to nurture us and allow us to grow naturally. A second, who wish to use us to develop something they cannot. The third, those who would manipulate us into being their 'salvation', their escape from their imminent fate."

"But that is a theory, isn't it?"

"Of course; it is a theory grounded in reasonable inference. What we seek is a provable hypothesis."

"I... understand. You want to be able to prove something in regards to their intent."

"Smart boy, you learn quickly."

"What exactly do you need?"

"As I said, everything you and your organization has on the Jovians."

"That will take some time."

"We are patient."

***

Tell me, there is a large flaw in this reasoning. What is it? Where is it? If you can tell me that, perhaps I will show you more.

Until next time.

-Nikiruu

Surveillance Log 002: Citizen Astur

http://www.ihavereturned.com/08.html

Captured from datafile:

ZERO CALL SYSTEM LOCKOUT: DISABLED

MANUAL LOCKOUT: DISABLED

PLANET: ORUSE II

STATUS: CRITICAL / CODE 14 / SANSHA ATTACK

POPULATION: 1,483,891

LOCAL ASSETS: FEDNAV SQ. 9080D - DEPLOYED

GROUND DEFENCES: PHOENEM ARRAY CLASS 2

-- EXO SAM

-- S-R FLAK

-- GRAV DE-T

EVAC STATUS: A1,A2,B1,B2,C1,D1 EVACUATE CAPACITY

CAPSULEER PRESENCE:: NEGLIGIBLE / HOSTILE

LOCAL NETWORKS: COMPROMISED // ERROR c-3426#DF.A

LOG:

NOTIFY: ERROR c-3426#DF.A

LOCAL NOTIFY: OVERRIDE

LOCAL COMMS: OVERRIDE

LOCAL MEDIANET: OVERRIDE

LOCAL CNETWORK: OVERRIDE

LOCAL MCOMMS: OVERRIDE

LOCAL SEC-COM: OVERRIDE

LOCAL NEOCOM: OVERRIDE DENIED

LOCAL F-SYS: OVERRIDE DENIED

LOCAL CYNOSURAL: OVERRIDE DENIED

LOCAL DED-CAPTECH BARRIER: OVERRIDE DENIED

Important intel highlighted. Request further analysis.

Forwarded to Capsuleers via non-encrypted fluid routers as per protocol.

Sleeper Research Log 002: Deltole and Tangential Lines

The Deltole Cipher

I know; your first response will be "Deltole? There's nothing there related to the Sleepers."

You would, however, be very wrong.

Deltole is the ancient home of a race known as the Yan Jung. The Yan Jung, as many scholars know, used a "perpetual power source". Though this power source is as yet unknown (at least to most), there may be some hints, in the most unlikely of places.

Threaded Waypoint Map

Ancient Coordinates Database

Sleeper Data Library

Yes, there it is. A piece of the puzzle perhaps? The only real question is, how is this linked to the Sleepers?

Rogue Drones, Pirates and Sleepers: Oh my!

Now, this next part may be hard to swallow.

What do these pieces tell you? Study those terms and phrases carefully. There is something there that might explain the Serpentis and their knowledge of Gas Harvester technology.

What about these pieces? We know that the Jove seem to have the same technology as the Sleepers in many respects. Many suspect that the Angel Cartel stumbled onto some Second Empire Jove ruins...

Finally, these pieces? An old acquaintance has had some interesting theories, possibly pointing to similarities between the Talocan and the Thukker. This is, admittedly, the weakest link; but it does have some potential to explain further revelations.

To me, they speak to a very specific set of attributes, and technological capability.

Now, there is a final piece, and that is where Sansha's Nation comes in.

Read this very, very carefully. Do you see something that might be useful for Nation? Perhaps a vital piece of what they are?

Taken individually, these pieces are rather vague and no real connections can be drawn. Taken as a whole, and put in context of the applications said pieces can be used for, a pattern begins to appear.

This leads to the Rogue Drones, and specifically, their link to the Sleepers.

Code Aria

I leave it to the reader to dig through this, with an eye to what I have mentioned above. There are hints. I will continue to collect my data, and soon, very soon, I may reveal what I know. I don't know if you're ready for what I have to show you.