Colonel Sigma's Journal, 2337 hours, en route to Salazar
We are on board the Endeavour I Mini right now, travelling as fast as this thing allows us to, to the next planet with suspicious readings. It's a long way there, perhaps possibly passing through a meteor belt soon or later.
Ever since that strange... thing communicated with us, my crew and I have been scrambling for answers, and the readings only make this journey all the more alluring. The nearby planet of Carene, while inhabited, gave off some weird undergound signals, and all that we found eventually was a radio that has produced nothing but static. The chase led us to Santella, another inhabited planet. This time, though, the threat was from within the city itself: a group of no gooders got ahold of the next artifact we were apparently after, a mechanical watch that had a map of the entire galaxy and a cryptic message hidden within. It's been taken to our main base for further inspection.
Our next destination, Salazar, is millions of kilometers away, so right now boredom has been settling in with me and my cohort, Sergeant Jaqour. I left the ship on cruise control for the time being since it didn't look like we'd be hitting anything major. In the meantime, the both of us talked to each other about the situation at hand, and our predictions.
To summarize this lightly, a rogue AI somehow managed to send out a distress signal accompanied by a voice message with some disturbing noise and static to boot. We then started receiving frequencies in nearby planets that matched the voice message. I had assumed this was just a giant hoax of sorts, but after our excursion to Santella, I was starting to change my opinion. The map from the watch was still being deciphered, but some of the pieces we have managed to get out of it so far speak of an experiment gone horribly wrong, and the AI was killing all of the crew in that ship it resided in, one by one. It was jarring, but alas, we had to keep our head high.
Jaqour had been analyzing the data for a bit himself, managing to pinpoint the exact coordinates we needed to go to next and communicating with the main ship on progress. Recently he started theorizing on what this whole puzzle could turn out to be in the end. I mostly pilot the ship and lead the missions as they went along, so I barely think about that sometimes. Still, it was curious, but not enough for me. The danger was present, yes, but... I don't know. I could have tackled this mission on my own, anyway, without putting much thought on such acute intricacies. AI may have certainly evolved over the years, but they still aren't THAT smart.
Perhaps Jaqour thinks I'll kill myself if I led the mission alone. I call lies. I bet he doesn't even know how to pilot this thing. The fool.
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Sergeant Jaqour's Journal, 2339 hours, en route to Salazar
With each passing minute I worry about our mission going awry in an instant. Most of these sorts of missions have not lasted this long, perhaps maximum a week. This has been going on for what feels like centuries already. Danger looms in almost every corner, most of which we were never made aware of...
...and yet Colonel Sigma, mister Big Shot over here, seems to not care. Who does he think he is? I've been a friend of his for as long as I can remember, sure, but sometimes his toxic-like pride stands out so much it even makes me want to punch his stupid face out. Hmph.
Well, I hope he's just as good of a listener as he says he is, because most of the things I tell him are actually quite important. He seems to underestimate the complexities of Artificial Intelligence nowadays, especially of those who have achieved sentience. They have questionable motives, always know what you're up to somehow, and worst of all, they WILL exploit you if they see the chance. Such was the unfortunate fate of this crew that tried to get him under control. And to think we were almost replaced by AI...
I don't plan on running this mission by myself, mind you. I recognize that not everything relies on wits. Besides, the colonel and I have always worked as a team, I was the brains and he was the brawn. I think I'd even go as far as to say I probably do need to rely on him often. What bothers me here, though, is that he seriously thinks this will be HIS mission. Oh, he talks about it to me like I was striving for it too... See, he just wants to get up to the highest ranks there are in this space brigade; Colonel won't cut it. And I don't blame him, any other commander willing to get up to the top would jump at the chance of participating in something like this. The fame, the legacy, and not to mention getting to possibly explore worlds beyond ours... So Sigma here thinks that by only going at it by himself and taking credit for what would have been honest teamwork in any other mission, he can just leave me in the dust and shoot himself up to millionare.
Well, one way or another, that isn't gonna happen. Security cameras are practically everywhere in this little ship so if he even dares to try something funny the real culprit will show himself. Logs like these are taken directly to the main ship in case of a dire emergency, and I don't plan on leaving any secret to my grave. And, of course, on the off chance we do survive somehow, I still have one more trick up my sleeve... but that's only just in case.
For now, it's getting late. Sigma is headed to sleep, and since there's nothing for lightyears from here, I will too.
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0257 hours, en route to Salazar
Jaqour's bunker was flashing red all around as an audible alarm blared out an incoming emergency. The sergeant groggily woke up, shaking his head and trying to make sense of the warning signs around him. Once he got out and turned off the alarms he immediately dashed to the helm of the small spaceship, still travelling at an extraordinarily high speed. As he looked up, he scoffed: it appeared to be a false alarm, as nothing was appearing on sight, and Colonel Sigma somehow wasn't notified of this. Still, he stayed nearby, ready to navigate the ship to the best of his ability at a moment's notice. In the meantime, he took out his digital journal and started typing away at it...
Sergeant Jaqour's Journal, 0259 hours, en route to Salazar
The ship thinks something is gravely wrong. Following standard emergency protocol, I was notified first of this danger, but somehow Sigma has not risen yet. If it really were an emergency, we would have both been notified at the same time. Strange.
Anyway, I shall stay at the front, ready to pilot this thing if I need to. Maybe this is some sort of opportunity to prove to that stupid grunt that I'm just as capable of doing anything as he can. But for now, I shall log some findings:
1) The clock we found at Santella is still being deciphered, though the last that we heard was that the entire map had finally been calibrated properly to our database. This map is actually a bit older than the one we currently have, but only by a few years or so, so not much change between, say, planets or stars has occured. I asked the crew to send me a copy in case it comes in handy.
2) The radio, similarly, wasn't entirely useless. The static produced a strange frequency that, much to my surprise, only dogs could pick up, albeit very feintly. The K9 Squadron dogs must have been barking like crazy during this... Their handlers have since reported of hearing a voice beckoning them to a faraway planet. They say coordinates are still being pinpointed, though they are likely to be far beyond our current scope.
3) One of the things I remember from that map was something about an asteroid belt circulating certain areas. I didn't have time to look at it properly, and the message accompanying these annotations is written in a language that is nothing we were familiar with, so it was just safe to assume not to pay attention to this since those fields don't match up with our current map.
Actually, let me go back to that last point. The message may have been illegible, but I do remember some circular symbol right next to it. I believe the inside of this circle had an L shape, with the short end of this line pointing right and the long one pointing upwards. There was also a thinner line facing west. I don't have a clue what this could mean, but I have my guesses...
Anyway, onto some speculation. Perhaps I'll start with the biggest doubt I have: Who even is this mysterious "console"? Why is it attacking all of a sudden? Has it killed other people apart from the crew? And if so, is it slowly eradicating all life in the universe? What purpose does it need to justify all these deaths? And perhaps my biggest concern right now... since we're going after it...
Are we next?
THUD.
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0300 hours, en route to [unknown meteor field]
Jaqcour immediately stood up, turning his head to the front view. He couldn't believe it. Somehow, an asteroid field appeared out of thin space, and was fast approaching the weaker little ship still stuck in cruise control. Usually the ship had to warn everyone inside about incoming events like this, and yet... the craft was deadly quiet as if nothing was happening. No alarms or anything.
The sergeant gulped. Guess it really was time to pilot. He hopped on the front seat, gripping the steering handle with one hand and flicking off the cruise control mechanism with the other. As the asteroid quickly approached he simply muttered something under his breath, and as the field approached ever faster, Jaqour did nothing but await certain death, planning his escape route.
They were in the field now. Jaqour closed his eyes and let his instinct take over as he nervously guided the ship over the mysterious flood.
-----
2137 hours, Enigma Spaceway Docking Station and Inn, Salazar
"Yeah, we're fine, thanks." Sigma simply nodded off the attendees as he was led to his room. He, along with his sergeant tagging behind with a rather stern face, eventually strolled in the bedroom, a crude, fake smile on his face as he sat on the plush bed. Jaqour kept standing, still facing Sigma with that same stern stare as the colonel turned to him, scoffing, while the door closed behind them.
"So," Sigma started, chuckling very sarcastically. "You did it. I couldn't be more stupendously proud of you."
"At least I didn't hit anything until YOU decided to wake up," the sergeant sneered, gritting his teeth. "Any more of YOUR expertise in navigating a spaceship and we could have never made it here."
"Because of YOUR incompitence!" Sigma roared back, his smile quickly fading away and pointing one finger at his partner. "You know damn well that I'm the only one allowed to pilot that thing. You should have backed off when I found you on that chair... What were you even doing navigating at a time like that anyway?? Are you out of your mind???"
"I ask the same to you," Jaqour quickly snapped. "Or did you not very clearly see meteors hurling our way? The ship only informed me of any impending doom, what if that never happened??"
"I find that very hard to believe, Sergeant." Sigma emphasised that last word clearly for him to hear. "Are you suggesting that an emergency as grave as an asteroid belt, something that should be notified by ALL members of ANY designated spaceship, was only notified to just ONE of its crew members? Or did you have something else in mind when you decided to try your hand at flying???"
"I'm only stating the facts, Sigma!!" The sergeant was growing ever furious. "Besides, SURELY you heard the asteroids hit the ship, right?? That definitely wasn't a result of any lucid dream! Even if you couldn't see them, they hit our ship and VISIBLY DAMAGED it!!!"
Sigma now stood up, towering over the sergeant and trapping him to a wall as he bellowed his anger at him. "Listen here, you DEVIL. The next time you decide to pull one of these sick jokes again, I will make sure that when we get back, your title will be stripped from you. This mission is too important to put aside. If you want to value our trust, I suggest you stay out of my way and let me handle it. BY MYSELF."
"You only care about getting to the top and we BOTH know that!!" The sergeant had enough. "If you seriously value our friendship, then the very LEAST you could do is ACTUALLY LISTEN TO ME!!!"
"I HAVE NOTHING TO HEAR FROM YOU, WORTHLESS TRASH!!"
BANG.
A loud, piercing gunshot was heard from just beside them, followed by distant screaming. None of them had fired or even unholstered their arms, forcing the both of them to look at the door as a strange, cloaked figure swung the door open, pointing his firearm directly at Colonel Sigma.
Despite having been tossed around by his own friend, Jaqour wasted no time in drawing his own blaster towards the figure, about to pull the trigger. However, the person made a quick switch over to the Sergeant, and before he could register it, the hooded figure shot him down, prompting Sigma to immediately panic, trying to revive his fallen friend.
"No... no no..." Sigma was at a loss for words, but found a brewing anger in him to immediately attack the figure as he stood still. "You... YOU'LL PAY THIS WITH YOUR LIFE!" He quickly readied for a pounce towards the cold blooded killer, but as soon as he was ready to jump--
BANG.
Another loud gunshot. And this time it hit him.
Sigma immediately collapsed to the ground, still being able to see for a little while longer but not being able to move as everything in his body started shutting down. He saw the figure walk up to Jaqour's body, then saw both walk towards him. They propped him up to carry him out, and that's when he saw something offputting: Jaqour was alive, but his eyes were clouded in a dark mist. The mysterious figure was controlling him to do his bidding, and it wouldn't be long until he was next to be transformed.
Sigma closed his eyes slowly. He knew this wasn't death. He had just been knocked out... right?? He'll wake up again... perhaps soon...
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2140 hours, Endeavour I Information Centre, orbiting Anubis
"Sir, I have a distress signal!"
"Ugh, great. Who is it from this time?"
"It's from... Sergean Jaqour?"
"What? Gimme that! Where was he last seen?"
"With Colonel Sigma, at Salazar, not too long ago! It seems that he may be in very grave danger, but he isn't dying just yet..."
"Another distress signal, Sir! This one's from the Colonel!"
"...Sigma? Oh no..."
"Same status as before. The both of them seem to be in critical condition. Should we send troops to their location?"
"Hang on... let me look at Jaqour's report again..."
"What is it?"
"...this is bad..."
"Huh??"
"It seems like he's gotten stronger after all... controlling someone's will. That's a new one, old pal..."
"...Sir?"
"Well, I can't believe I'm gonna say this but... Send me there."
"Wha--?? But Sir! This may be a very dangerous foe! Wouldn't it be better to send--"
"Take ONLY me there. No one else."
"B-but... Sir..."
"That's an immediate order."
"...I'll go get the launch pod ready, then..."
"Who were you even talking about, Sir...?"
"...that's classified. Now out. I have to get ready."