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Aries Construction Drone 009413 Class-R Field Report


Kakaru

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[Following: Debrief log dictated by hostage [C33256.002] from 00.19.00 deviation from sector Beta e464.0000- n0213.0010 from orbital base Deimos over 00.14.00 x 04.18.00, Solar universal 0080 CST, marginal deviation Sector Gamma and Maintenance Crew Member [FT2o665.099] of Aries Construction Drone 009413 Class-R, Salvage and Repair Division.]

 

[FT2o665.099]: This is just for the records. Nobody actually listens to these reports, so say whatever you want.

 

[C33256.002]: You always expect things to go right, and when something goes wrong you wish you could take back all those decisions, but you know you just have to deal with it. That's what we're doing here. So when I reboot the power, just tighten the valves under the left console and we'll get the beacon back up. It's that easy. I'll be right back.

 

That's exactly what she said, it's hard to forget. The hatch wound shut behind her before I could respond. That's what really haunts me. She knew she wasn't coming back and didn't make a big deal out of it. Who does that?

 

I didn't think about it at the time, how she acted, but when the beacon came back on and I just sat there by the console waiting for her to come back; I thought about everything she did, the way she refused to look away, the way she didn't hesitate to climb out into the vacuum, and I began to doubt that I'd see her again. So many things can go wrong out there, you know? And now it just makes me sick, I want to cry.

 

So then I kept thinking, because that's all I could do, just floating out there and waiting for someone to answer. She had her visor on, but she was looking me straight in the eye and said she was coming back, didn't even flinch or anything. Maybe she wanted part of me to doubt, maybe she just wanted me to stay together long enough to make sure her work didn't go to waste, I guess? Well it worked.

 

[FT2o665.099]: Did you do anything else? You were passed out by the airlock when we boarded your ship.

 

[C33256.002]: I remember getting up and going back to that door and sort of hoping I would bump into her and everything would be fine. I tried the lock, then I looked through the window and I saw the hose from her welding equipment wrapped around the handle. She welded the stupid door shut after her to make sure I understood that it wasn't an accident.

 

[FT2o665.099]: That's why we had to cut it open?

 

[C33256.002]: Right. And you know how the radio frequencies get all screwed up between the sub-transcopic fields when you're out on the hull like that? Well most people don't realise that you can still hear the end transmission click even over the silence. That little energy flare? That makes it through. So as I see what she did to the door, I hear that click from the radio on my hip. It's the end transmission thing, so I don't know when it started, right? For all I know, she had it taped down, talking to me the entire time, even though she knew I couldn't hear. Like, I think I know what that meant, but there's no way to be sure, is there? That's when I lost it. I just broke down, started crying. I couldn't do anything else, I didn't want to think about it. I still don't.

 

[[C33256.002] pauses]

 

[C33256.002]: This isn't a horror story or anything, it's not like I saw her body floating out there, all blue with the ruptured veins and gore like you hear stories about. I don't really know what happened to her. Look, the ship's down in your cargo bay, go ahead and tear it down if you like. She's not there. She just finished the job and pushed off. She's gone.

 

I guess it's not a bad way to go, it just scares me, thinking about how she just treated it like one more thing on her to-do list to get me back home. Like, she didn't even care about what she was giving up, she didn't give me this big sacrifice speech and a grand goodbye, she just said she'd fix it and be right back and she knew she woudn't. I just can't get over that, I just-- was there something else to it? I'm just sitting here, and I think about what she did and what she said, and I don't know.

 

[[C33256.002] unclips the transmitter from her belt]

 

[C33256.002]: Here, here's my radio. I don't need it.

 

[FT2o665.099]: Thanks for your time.

 

[C33256.002]: Not that it matters.

 

[Mission report from the maintenance crew of Aries Construction Drone 009413 Class-R, Salvage and Repair Division, pending file of anomaly in mission field: sector Beta e464.0000- n0213.0010 from orbital base Deimos.]

[Class of incident: Abandoned ship/homing signal/salvage operation: T45, GT77, R1a.]

[Expected compensation: None.]

[Materials recovered and estimate value: Hostage, n/a.]

[Reason for deviation: Homing beacon Aa885 activated 00.19.00 (estimate) deviation from standard return route.]

[Estimate time: 00.11.00 x 04.10.22, Solar Universal 1900 CST, margin deviation Sector Beta.]

[Time completion: 00.00.12.]

[Materials used: Welding torch, 00.01.45 mmcs oxygen. Two crew members, 00.00.12 mmcs oxygen. 1a rations. 1 c-sep receptor for stasis pod.]

[Estimated time return: 00.14.00 x 04.18.00, Solar universal 0080 CST, marginal deviation Sector Gamma.]

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Don't know what else to say. I love it. It ad enough sci-fi elements to both brace and reinforce the human tragedy. The cold emotionless way the 'machine' analyzes the logs is perfect and really highlights the humanity in this story.

 

Love it.

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