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Personal Logs
Looks like Juni finally found something. She sent me a message to meet her on Cambridge. Never liked going there -- just a bunch of stuffy bookworms. She says she had a lead on Professor Quintaine. I better get going. The less time I spend in Bretonia the better.
Well I flew all the way to Cambridge to hook up with Juni. I know she's trying to keep a low profile, and that sometimes means blending into public places, but jeez. I mean we always seem to meet in bars. And, no surprise -- the Professor has disappeared. It feels like a curse -- anyone we're trying to find either dies, is on the run, or magically disappears. In this case, however, Juni found a trail that might give us a chance to find Quintaine: a guy named Vance -- he's a pilot that used to help Quintaine get to the various archaeological dig sites throughout the Border Worlds. He's not too smart and way too much in love with the bottle to be totally reliable, but he seemed trustworthy. Juni had told him that we were working for the Hammer Research Institute in Liberty and that we were interested in funding some of the Professor's research. That certainly opened some doors. Vance told us that the Professor sometimes disappears for weeks without telling anyone. That's good news -- he might still be alive. Vance pointed us to a Dr. Sinclair, who has been working closely with Quintaine for years. She's working on a dig site on Planet Sprague not too far from here in the Omega 3 system. Then, at the very end of the conversation, Vance told us that a group of Rheinlanders also came by today looking for the Professor. They claimed to be from the New Berlin Museum -- fat chance. We have to hurry. If they get to Sinclair before we do, it's over. Juni is waiting in space above Cambridge.
I rendezvoused with Juni above Cambridge. She has already plotted the course to Sprague. It's not very far. We'll have to take the Trade Lane from here to the Norfolk and from there to the Omega 3 system. Once there, the quickest way is to fly to Freeport 1 and cut over to Sprague from there. The planet lies beyond the trade routes and is a bit remote, but overall the trip doesn't seem too bad. The only issues are these damn Rheinlanders. Hopefully, we'll find the Professor first.
We just passed the Norfolk. Sounds like the conflict between Bretonia and Rheinland is escalating. We have to be careful. The Norfolk says that no Rheinland ships have been seen in Omega-3 yet. Maybe we're lucky.
What the HELL?! These Rheinland ships came out of nowhere! Just as we were approaching Sprague a number of them just uncloaked directly in front of us. We managed to destroy them, but it was close. I hope they didn't get to Sinclair before we did. We have to land as quickly as possible.
We found Sinclair, but just as we talked to her, the Rheinlanders attacked the dig site. How do they know where we are all the time? A good part of that blockade must've been waiting for us. They blew up the docking ring on the way out. Sinclair says she knows of a place nearby. This is gonna be close.
Don't know how we got out of there alive. I'll give the Rheinlanders one thing -- they're persistent -- annoying, but persistent. As always, another station I set foot on blows up. I'm really beginning to hate space, but I'm not about to die out here in the middle of nowhere. If I'm going down, I'm taking a few of those guys with me.
For a scientist, Sinclair is a damn good pilot, but she's a sad judge of character. So two Rheinland "defectors" just happen to cross our path and are kind enough to just show us the way out. Riiight. Why am I always the only one who picks up on this stuff? We just about got killed a few minutes ago by these same guys, and we're all of a sudden following them around?
The Battleship Wotan. I've heard stories about it, but I've never seen it in person. Rheinland is being more than bold, bringing heavy capital ships this close to Bretonia and awfully close to home. I didn't believe those two defectors at first, but after watching them take out that battleship, I'm guessing things aren't exactly picture perfect in the Fatherland. Well, tie to get back to Leeds. Bet Tobias can't wait to see what followed me home this time.
Leeds -- home sweet home. At least I know that no matter how bad things get, I can always come back to this bustling brown haven. At least we have a solid lead now, which I'm sure will send us right back into the fire. Well, at least I can breathe for a little and run around the old stomping grounds a bit. Tobias seemed enthralled with my new "friends." He really hasn't changed one bit.
News Stories
SHOOTING AT CURACAO, QUEEN SAFE
In breaking news, shots rang out at the summit meeting on Curacao, leaving one security officer dead. Fortunately, the delegates were safely evacuated, and the lone gunman was taken alive before further lives were lost. Authorities believe that his intended target was Gunther Obst, the Rheinland representative. Though the assassin's identity has not been released, authorities have confirmed his ties to The Order. The Queen was unharmed in this altercation and remains under tight security.
WHO KILLED LORD QUIGLEY?
As national mourning continues for Lord Quigley, so does the manhunt for those responsible for his murder. Authorities, still tight-lipped about their investigation, have recently ruled out the involvement of many domestic suspects. This only further fuels local speculation that The Order may be directly responsible for Quigley's death. However, we are told that this might not necessarily be the case. Based on new evidence, investigators are examining a host of foreign leads in an effort to find Quigley's killers before they can act again.
DISAPPEARANCES TROUBLE HO
Today in the Home Office, a report stated that missing persons cases are at their highest in years. Compared to other population centers in the galaxy, Bretonia has often been considered one of the more peaceful, and so these numbers are thought to be erroneous. The Home Office has asked for a recount and more information before it officially publishes its statistics.
BALLENSHINE WAS MURDERED
Despite Liberty's official statement that James Ballenshine died of "natural causes," several entries in his sealed autopsy report detail certain anomalies. In information leaked to our press, it was noted that for a man who reportedly died of a heart attack, Mr. Ballenshine was in fact missing his heart altogether, as well as his eyes and his brain. These gruesome details were apparently ommitted from Liberty's records. However, they now indicate that Mr. Ballenshine was just another unfortunate victim in a wave of recent high-profile murders.
CONTACT LOST WITH REMOTE TEAM
Communication was lost today with a Cambridge University-sponsored archaeological dig in the Border Worlds. University officials showed some concern, but in the absence of an emergency broadcast, they believe that the older communication equipment at the site must have failed. A repair crew will be dispatched to repair the problem.
RHEINLAND DEFECTORS?
Reportedly, two individuals claiming to have information about the radical and sudden changes inside the Rheinland political machine have approached Bretonian authorities here at home. Requesting asylum and political protection, these people, whose names have been withheld, claim to have barely escaped a Rheinland death squad. As farfetched as it may sound, it seems our government has taken these individuals very seriously. They are currently being held in a secure location and have been granted an audience with the Home Secretary.
ANOTHER PRISON IN MANCHESTER? MANCHESTER
It looks like there may be need to build another prison facility in addition to the infamous Newgate Prison in Manchester. Planners are just speculating right now, but it is more than likely that if a second penitentiary is added, it will be built next to the first national prison ship. The belief is that it will be more efficient to protect the two facilities if they are within close proximity of each other. Projections show that the Newgate population will be at twice its intended capacity within ten years if current trends hold.
BMM LEAVES A BAD TASTE: LEEDS
BMM came under fire last week when it was discovered that the free food distributed to employees working on the planet is of substandard quality, normally used as livestock feed on Cambridge. Workers were further enraged when they heard this comment from a BMM executive, "We never thought it was an issue since most of our planetside labor lost their ability to taste and smell after the first year or two on Leeds."
MASSIVE MINESHAFT COLLAPSE KILLS 192: SETTLEMENT 483
The honeycombed surface just south of Mining Settlement 483 collapsed yesterday in what is believed to be one of the worst mineshaft cave-ins in Leeds' history. The residents of 483 were awakened near midnight by tremors and rumbling. "Next think you know my entire living complex was falling. Most of my neighbors are dead," a dazed Giles Chamberlain reported from his hospital bed. Investigators have cited over-mining in the area as the cause.
BMM PRESSURED TO CLEAN UP DUMP: SETTLEMENT 9171
The residents of Mining Settlement 9171 are lodging an official complaint with the Bretonian Government today. It was recently discovered that the newly established settlement is situated on a centuries old toxic waste dump. Already there are reports of widespread sickness and some deaths. BMM built 9171 when it was discovered there were previously unexploited copper deposits far below the surface. "The reason nobody did any digging around here was because of the toxic waste dump. BMM just figured they wouldn't let that stop them anymore," stated Brian Roberts, a resident of 9171.
DISSENTION OVER TAU BORDER WORLDS: FREEPORT 6
The Kusari and Bretonian governments have offered sharply different views over the growing problem of Outcast piracy along the Tau system Trade Lanes in recent months. New Tokyo blames Bretonia for provoking the Outcast attacks by pushing too aggressively into the Tau-23 system. New London denies the accusations, attributing the growing losses to increased Samura activity in the northern area of Tau-29. An IC official close to the matter admitted that both arguments have some validity.