Zax's log

*below is written with graphite upon paper in a small journal in a simple cipher (it uses made up characters but is written in Galanglic), Zax had picked up the habit of keeping a written journal from one of his former navy crew members who originated from a low tech world* Date: 170702 It's been a while since I wrote anything here, everything went by so fast after I had joined the crew of the Artemis, where do I even start? Well..It certainly was an odd bunch of fellows, much different from the regimented life on board Stella. I had followed up on my lead about their company and joined them in Alell, hoping my time in the navy and my shipboard skills would impress them. It seemed at least they were enough to send me along with their ground mission. They seemed to be quite in the middle of some ongoing investigation, I really had a bit of trouble getting a grasp on the situation without having any time for things to be properly explained but I was mainly going along with them on a trial basis I suppose. They aren't so different from the Navy in that regard, sometimes you just have to take things in the dark and hope your can keep your wits long enough to come out the other side in one piece. Boy did things go south fast... we were sent through the jungle to find some fellow's lodge. it certainly reinforced my decision to join the navy rather than the Army... I'll probably be picking burrs and thorns out of my pelt for a week. When we can across it we barely had time to look around before we had Imperial Marines hot dropping on us. Needless to say, the talk of ancients was probably what brought this all about. The majority of us took cover in the place's basement... which just so happened to have the ship we're now flying in. Me and another Vargr named R.V... forget what it stands for... but we went in to see if we could cold start her, and goodness it wouldn't have been much easier unless the engine was idling. This this was meant to go on a moments notice, which given the material we found, certainly makes sense. What makes matters worse is it seems we triggered the place's self defense system and missiles launched, and naught but a few moments later we had our scientist telling us to dust off. I really hate it when diplomacy fails, but we ended up having to blast our way out... I just never though I'd find my turret aimed at an imperial marine... They left me no choice though... or so I keep telling myself. Gods this is fucked up. Now it would seem that perhaps this mercenary group wasn't as solid as I had heard, the one Vargr R.V. has us playing a decoy to try to get heat off the Artemis until it can hopefully get our names cleared and this whole matter resolved, But now it seems very clear that it is his intention to make off with the ship and while the details of on who the ship actually belongs to at this point, it does seem a bit... wrong? of us to take it... I mean it does seem a very Vargr thing to do I suppose...I got to meet a few other Vargr before we parted ways, but there wasnt much able to be said, I think I'd like to  .. R.V is at my door.

Well After a conversation with R.V. I managed to figure out a bit more of what is going on. He's got a certain rugged handsomeness, but I don't think he's really my type.. and I have no intentions of challenging that guy over his claim to the ship, he's picked up a fusion gun off the planet and I don't fancy being a pile of ash. Hell a Vargr his size could probably break my ribs with a flick of his pinky. I hate being weak. It never was much of an issue in the Navy, humans would never throw a punch unless you really got under their skin and we had marines for boarding actions. But now.. If we do go out into the extents like R.V. plans I probably should invest in some thicker armor. Half of me is terrified out of my mind to go there, the last time I was around that many Vargr ... Gods I don't even want to remember. But there is another part of me, a deeper part of me, that feels this is where I'm supposed to be.  That said, if we don't go back, there is still apart of me curious about all that stuff they found, I knew better back in the Navy not to stick my nose where it didn't belong after getting it shut on me enough times. But now, I've got nothing to hold me back from knowing the truth... I may yet have to meet up with them again some day and learn the facts of what happened back there. Anyways, this all has certainly turned my world upside down..Its going to take a while to pick up the pieces.

Wow... Charoux was mistaken for a scientist... that’s hilarious. Drax will have a giggle-fit! XD Also, Charoux has a new hobby... decrypting Zax’s journal via the security cams! Nothing is more tempting to a spy than something he’s not supposed to know! He’ll probably get bored after the first few pages, though, and just have the computer alert him if something blatantly seditious comes up.

(considering I doubt there are actually security cameras inside the stateroom, this is mainly here for my own amusement)  Upon review on any security footage in Zax's stateroom, one would see him pacing about a little initially upon first entering it, occasionally moving to lay down in bed and stare up at the ceiling, and then sitting up, looking at his comms, he would do this for an hour or so and then put his comm's away, get under the covers and pull them up over his head, there really wasn't much visible at that point for a while but a few subtle twitches of his body and occasionally his arms would move a little. Then he would seemingly be startled a bit, and a moment later drew the covers off him and proceeded to open the door, R.V. standing there, they would leave for a time, and then after about another hour Zax would come back and continue whatever it was he was doing before under his covers. After about ten more minutes the Vargr would once again pull the covers off himself and stood up.. dropping his skivvies and oh.. no .. well.. I mean everyone has their needs... wait...oh... oh boy, that is a big piece of silicon and oh.. damn... it actually fit... one would stare in horror or perhaps interest? as one just can't seem to stop watching. After about twenty minutes of this he seemed to have stopped.. and walked into his fresher. Continued watching would yield little more deviance from the events you had already witnessed and the only real conclusion that could be drawn is that he was doing something under his covers every night.. and he must be extremely sexually repressed. (For your meta-knowledge, in the Navy he always had to share a stateroom, so he would write under his covers at night so no one would bother him or see what he was doing, keeping his journal in his jumpsuit any time he wasn't writing in it, it became somewhat of a ritual and a comfort to him, being the only real privacy he could get on his former ship)

Actually, yeah, there are, but not exactly noticeably; Charoux has always been in charge of the technological security of the ship, even before he landed in the interim Captain’s Chair. Charoux generally respects people’s privacy, but you just gave him some potentially new Spycraft to puzzle over. He generally wouldn’t care otherwise, so long as no one was noticeably up to something. “Indecipherable text” is a dead give-away of something being up, so Charoux is going to snoop until he cracks it, and then realize he doesn’t care about any of the contents now that the challenge is over. XD

Tenacious Techhunter said: Actually, yeah, there are, but not exactly noticeably; Charoux has always been in charge of the technological security of the ship, even before he landed in the interim Captain’s Chair. Charoux generally respects people’s privacy, but you just gave him some potentially new Spycraft to puzzle over. He generally wouldn’t care otherwise, so long as no one was noticeably up to something. “Indecipherable text” is a dead give-away of something being up, so Charoux is going to snoop until he cracks it, and then realize he doesn’t care about any of the contents now that the challenge is over. XD Not sure if you read my post, but not sure how you're seeing it through bed sheets :) on the star hunter. (Zax has not yet been on the Athena so far that I know)

Well, you said “your stateroom”, so I assumed you wrote that after you got back to the Athena, which, admittedly, hasn’t happened yet. It’s entirely possible that there’s some spectrum that would see through the sheets, or maybe even a thermal signature from the friction of the carbon transfer. We can have Bob rule on it, if you want, but I don’t think it’s likely to matter, unless you intend to keep your cypher for other purposes, which you might.

Tenacious Techhunter said: Well, you said “your stateroom”, so I assumed you wrote that after you got back to the Athena, which, admittedly, hasn’t happened yet. It’s entirely possible that there’s some spectrum that would see through the sheets, or maybe even a thermal signature from the friction of the carbon transfer. We can have Bob rule on it, if you want, but I don’t think it’s likely to matter, unless you intend to keep your cypher for other purposes, which you might. I suppose that we'll have to see about such a situation should it ever occur :)