Explanations

While the Ministry of Internal Order seemed pleased with their sample of electronics-disabling amoeba, and the Theology Council was very pleased with the retrieved relics of the legion of Ves-Udor, one government institution was not pleased at all.

The Directorate-General of Cultural-Historic Patrimonium.

They are in charge of providing licenses for archaeological expeditions to historical sites that fall under the supervision of the Empire. 

Mezagorm is one of those sites, although officially it does not exist, since the Mad Emperor and all his actions have been removed from the Book of Records. So you can imagine that licenses to explore Mezagorm are very rare indeed: logic dictates that licenses for non-existing places also do not exist. One needs help from the Ministry, because they hold authority over things that do not exist or do not happen.

After each expedition, the Directorate-General of Cultural-Historic Patrimonium wants a full report. The office that deals with Mezagorm is located in the Amarr Civil Service information center orbiting Riavayed XI, not too far from Shastal. I went there a couple of days ago. 

I explained the mishap that we had, contaminating the biosphere with a pack of fast-breeding gun-furriers that will probably forever alter its fragile ecological equilibrium. I tried to have them see the gravity of the situation - they have to warn other explorers, and even casual visitors. The clerk's face was already turning red before that. 

Long story short - my exploration license for Mezagorm has been permanently revoked. 

State visit

There has been a very unusual high-level visit to Gottin's Lamp. It must have needed approval from the highest authorities, including our local branch of the Ministry of Internal Order.

Normally, a Sani Sabik queen and her daughter would be shot on sight. But yesterday, queen Synthia, the ruler of the system of Kaztropolis in Delve, and her daughter were under diplomatic immunity while visiting LUMEN's headquarters in Mehatoor. 

Kaztropolis follows Sabik customs, but they are far less blood-thirsty than the usual blood raider pirates that you would encounter in your average asteroid belt. I believe Aria once characterized them by stating that "as Sabik go they’re pretty benign". Their economy has a strong focus on the dairy industry, rather than blood. They are also famous for their non-toxic safety sports mud (an unusual export item indeed). 

And they also value academia! In fact, Kaztropolis University is well known internationally. Professor Valate works and teaches Takmahl history there. I met her a while ago, during the initial stages of my own studies of that lost civilization. It has been very difficult to organize any scientific collaboration, given the animosity between the Empire and Kaztropolis. Now that there are some diplomatic openings -for reasons that are beyond me- I am becoming hopeful that we may obtain better access to the vast amount of knowledge that they have gathered about the Takmahl. 

The reason for the visit to Gottin's Lamp specifically was a bit different though. Queen Synthia escorted her daughter Zara to us as an exchange student, or at least that is how I understood it. Young Zara appears less of a "synthetic human being" than Queen Synthia, and much more like a regular teenager. She is here to learn more about the Empire and its inhabitants. 

The choice is quite understandable from their side: no matter how good Kaztropolis University is, it is still located in some provincial backwater far away from the galactic hub of knowledge that is the Empire proper. Amarr and Hedion's vibrant scientific communities and their potential to stimulate the mind have no equal in the outer worlds. From our side, this presents a unique opportunity to introduce this young lady to orthodox scripture and to the true faith. Perhaps we can expose some of the Sani Sabik lies that cloud her young mind? We will see. 

Epikouria Chronicles IV

During my absence, another letter from brother Hugo arrived. It is a few weeks old by now. Anyway, in it he seems to be in a bad mood again, this time because he and his companions had to move to new quarters.

With the influx of refugees from New Huola the old station orbiting Epikouria IX had become too cramped. In truth, it had never been meant as more than temporary quarters. A beachhead to secure initial control over space after the deep-space colony transports arrived. From brother Hugo's description it appears to have been not much more than a bunch of colony ships welded together in what sounds like a very Thukker-like approach. 

A proper station, a more permanent home, had been in the making above planet IX almost from the get-go. It was inaugurated a week before brother Hugo wrote his latest letter. He describes how an impressive capsuleer fleet stood guard during its final anchoring. 

It is of course a hassle to have to pack up everything, and move. Especially when everyone else is doing it at the same time. So I understand his grumpiness.

The new station is laid out in the same way as the temporary habitat was. Orthodox Amarrians including missionaries such as brother Hugo and his companions are to be housed in a new Ardishapur quarter, still lower-deck. 

They do get more space, and it is supposed to be more luxurious and have all modern amenities a commoner can want. However, at this point it is still suffering from teething problems. In brother Hugo's apartment, the climate controls have not been working properly making the rooms too hot. Cold water comes out of the hot water taps and vice versa. And one light fixture dropped and nearly fell on brother Hugo. The Starborn on the higher decks assure everyone that these problems will soon be resolved and some difficulties of this kind are always to be expected when deploying new structures.

PPS. Links to keep track of the letters of Brother Hugo:
I. First Contact
II. Diplomatic Talks 
III. Refugee crisis

Leaving Mezagorm

Getting back to our "base camp" at square E1 of the biosphere took somewhat longer than the outward journey. We were carrying boxes with the twenty-two legionnaires. We chose the ones with least additional bones, just the skull. Still, attention was needed and the terrain is far from easy. 

We did not encounter further trouble from the gun-furriers, and only heard occasional shots fired at a greater distance. Unfortunately, the traps with the lure have not worked - only one of the many escaped gun-furriers was caught. The rest of them is still out their, shooting and multiplying.

This worries me deeply, especially since I know that from time to time a luxury cruiser from Galactic Tours dock in Mezagorm. Lady Agatha and her pet furrier mr. Maulus may be on that cruise again. I shudder at the thought of mr. Maulus meeting one of the gun-furriers. What if they mate? I am not even sure if mr. Maulus is biologically a mister or a miss. What if mr. Maulus gets pregnant, and the baby furriers carry the gun gene? Lady Agatha's tea parties may never be the same again.

So I insisted we board up the entrance to the biosphere, and put up a large bio-hazard sign, along with a printed request in all main Empire languages explaining the nature of the hazard and asking to keep the biosphere sealed. I am convinced the Theology Council will be coming for the rest of the relics, and hope they will re-seal the place after they finish their business here. I pray that the seals will also hold against any gun-furrier onslaught from within...

Everything is packed. We have samples that hopefully contain the electronics-disabling amoeba, and we have the holy relics of the legion of Ves-Udor. God seems to be smiling on our expedition now, since there is at this moment also a (no doubt temporary) lull in the war declarations by brigands against LUMEN, so common in this season. 

That means we can travel (relatively) safely through Empire space. First, to Mehatoor. Probably we will need some checkup and decontamination procedure from the Medlab. We can deliver the amoeba samples directly to the Ministry of Internal Order there, on in their station in Mehatoor. Then I will travel onward to the Theology Council Tribunal station orbiting Zorast in Amarr, to deliver our precious relic finds and have them authenticated.

The legion of Ves-Udor

Long ago, before space flight, the Udorians lived on Athra along with the Amarr. They were a proud and mostly nonreligious people inhabiting two continents south of Amarr island. They were traders and masters of the sea. They were eventually reclaimed, although that took time.

During that time, the faithful were persecuted all over the Udorian realms. Still, despite the danger, faith took root and some of their people converted in secret. One of them was Saint Maras. He was the commander of one of the legions of Ves-Udor. After receiving a vision of a Sefrim guiding him to victory during a battle against other heathens, he pledged his heart and soul to the one true God. He rallied his troops and won the battle. As he was a very popular and revered leader, known for his wisdom and justice, soon all six thousand soldiers under his command also converted to our faith. 

Things went well for them until one day when they were ordered to attack a village of fellow faithful. The legion refused. They knew very well what this meant: they had openly exposed themselves as practicing the Amarr religion! Because of that, they were ordered to death. They had no hope of escape: the route to the coast, to get to Amarr island, was cut off. They fought bravely, and all died a martyr's death. 

The stuff of epic movies, and there have been many about them!

They were buried where they made their last stand. Much later, after all of Athra was reclaimed, their remains were dug up, and became popular and revered relics. At first they were kept in a large monastery on the fields where they were slain, but soon the relics were being lent out, and then bought, or even stolen. 

Important Houses started to collect skulls of soldiers from the saintly legion of Ves-Udor, like children collect playing cards. They made special display cabinets, tried to group them by squad. Feuds were fought to obtain prized centurions or officers. The revered skulls were adorned with specially designed relic cloths, each one unique and linked to an individual legionnaire. Their shape imitates the typical crested helmets of the Udorians at the time: 

Today, only two hundred eighty-three out of more than six thousand skulls are accounted for in churches and cathedrals, although many more are believed to be in private chapels all over the Empire.

In the safes at the Tetrimon vault, we found no less than one hundred fifty-three additional legionnaires! A collection worthy of a Royal House. We cannot take all of them with us, they are too bulky and must be handled with the necessary caution and reverence. Abandoning all unnecessary equipment, we managed to safely pack twenty-two legionnaires (five officers among them), and will begin our walk back through the biosphere. 

May the holy legion protect us!

[[ooc comment: this is based on a true story - during the Roman persecution of the christians, the 'Theban legion' led by saint Maurice refused to attack fellow christians and for that disobedience the whole legion was executed. Their skulls with typical adornment became collector's items in the Middle Ages. The picture shows one of these skulls, and was taken at a temporary exhibition of relics in the archaeology museum of the Basque country, Spain]]

Tetrimon records

The book on the table starts by describing (and tabulating) how the garrison received many relics to keep in hiding. This happened soon after the decades-long civil war ended between on the one hand the Council of Apostles and on the other hand forces loyal to Emperor Heideran V and the lords of the Privy Council. The Tetrimon had chosen the losing side, the side of the Apostles, but not openly. Their grand-master, Tetrimon IV, secured the relics that were held by the Council of Apostles, and hid them in places such as the vault here in Mezagorm. This book is important proof of that crime.

Enter the Theology Council. The Theology Council was installed by Emperor Heideran V to replace the Council of Apostles. Its first task was to remove from scripture all the heresies of the Apostles. But its inquisitors were also hunting for lost relics. 

The book writes that in the summer of 21948, a Theology Council fleet was on its way to Shastal, bound for Mezagorm. 

Now we know that the Theology Council inquistors had no idea about a Tetrimon cache here. They came to Mezagorm to look for old scripture. After the death of Zaragram, the Council of Apostles became very powerful and changed scripture to cement their power. To undo this and show that the Apostles usurped scripture would further justify and glorify the efforts of Emperor Heideran V.

However, the garrison did not know that, and they thought that the inquisitors had found out about the hiding place. They panicked that it was no longer safe. In a hurry, they moved most items, including unfortunately the Ink of Truth (denoted by its code AVSAP in the tables of outgoing relics). It has new codes for other hiding spaces, but that will require more intensive study, and a comparison to the book I found in Baron Redwolfe's library.

However, they did not take everything in their hurried flight - they had to leave behind a particular relic, the legion of Ves-Udor. That is no doubt what lies in the closed lockers.

In the vault

Superstitious people will claim that ending my last log by saying that "nothing can go wrong" is a certain prelude for disaster. Yet this time, things went well!

The gun-furriers out in the wild have not shot at us, and indeed they seem to be very quiet. Perhaps they need a rest after the excitement from bingeing power pellet food. We followed the route that we used before, but avoided the swampy area close to the inner lake. Even with a lot of equipment to carry around in sealed containers, we made good time and arrived at the sewers.

We were able to cut through the plates that sealed the vault, and entered it.  

What this room used to be before is not clear, the Tetrimon clearly repurposed it. It is a large oval room, with lockers and safes all around, and a wide steel table in the middle. The safes seem organized by size and purpose, some are clearly designated for small items or scrolls, while others may even have had climate control to preserve sensitive items. Most of these safes are open, and empty, or just containing an empty tray, but there is a whole side full of equally sized lockers that are still closed.

There is a book on the table. I have had to temper the eagerness of my team - they wanted to immediately pry open the closed lockers. I insisted that we need to consult that book first, perhaps it contains warnings or instructions to open the lockers without damaging any of the relics. 

Emergency meeting

We held an emergency meeting in the Indagatrix to discuss what to do next.

We brainstormed on how to contain the uncontrolled spread of the gun-furriers. A promising idea is to lure them back to their cages with food they find tasty, but if even a few remain in the wild that will not work. We will try anyway.

We also decided to make a last dash attempt to get back to the Tetrimon relic vault. It is quite certain that when we return to Mehatoor the exploration permit for Mezagorm obtained by Mr. Firth will be revoked, given the permanent damage to the historical biosphere that our mistake resulted in. So this may be my last chance in a while to explore this particular site.

Mr. Firth is of the opinion that we better not get back empty-handed. We might already have one prize: the discovery of an electronics-disabling amoeba (if that really is the cause of the electronics failures). But with a second positive outcome the case could be made that the end was worth the means. After all, as far as we know, the Empire does not have any plans with Mezagorm except letting it decay in space anyway.

We now know the way, and know what equipment we need to open the vault. The bone-shard bullets shot by the gun-furriers can be stopped by armor - they are meant to be used as stealth weapons rather than full-on assault weapons - so we can defend ourselves. 

Finally, we know what we get in to and have a plan where nothing can go wrong any more.

Furrier in the rye

As we tried to approach our base camp in E1, we came under attack a couple of other times. It always felt as an ambush, and we proceeded with the same stratagem as before, one group shooting back to keep the attacker or attackers occupied while others tried to make an encircling motion to approach the enemy from behind. 

Soon, it became clear that our attackers had two prevalent traits: firstly, they are invisible, only revealing themselves by the rustling of the rye or cracking of branches, and the occasional gunshot. Second, they have an incredibly bad aim. None of us ever got shot, even though we were almost always caught at unawares by a shot ringing out.

Crouching and crawling and disguised as bushels of rye, we did make it back to our starting place at the edge of the biosphere. 

There, the nature of our attackers was finally revealed.

We have made a most horrible mistake: the pens holding the gun-furriers had electric programmable locks. They failed, as all electric equipment does sooner rather than later in this biosphere. The gun-furriers escaped their cages, and quickly found their food supply.

To save on space, their supply consists of bags of power-food pellets, containing high doses of nutrients and energy. Only a small amount is needed per furrier per day. However, they managed to peck open the bags and gorged themselves on the power-food. We found some that died of it, a heart attack from the overdose, but most of them just got hyper-excited, pumped up, and started running and hopping off crazed in any direction. Some spontaneously started shooting from the sugar rush, others fired off occasional shots while mating. 

There never were Blood Raiders with invisibility cloaks, there were gun-furriers going berserk in the rye.

This is an ecological disaster. 

Gun-furriers, to aid Amarr's industrial-military complex in quickly building up weapon supplies, breed like rabbits. Here, in the biosphere, they do not seem to have any natural predator, so they are bound to spread out and multiply quickly. There is enough food in the form of grains and berries and insects to sustain them after they calm back down after their powerpellet rush. It is going to be impossible in this vast expanse of nature to hunt them down, let alone to find them and get them back into cages.

For a thousand years, this biosphere endured in a delicate equilibrium between the various organisms, persisting unchanged in a deserted station, only relying on passive systems to close the ecological and water cycles, a testimony to the brilliance of Amarr bio-engineering. Now all that is about to change.

Under attack

As we headed back through the biosphere to our own entrance square E1, we came under hostile fire in E3. Have we been followed by Blood Raiders, or Sansha? Or perhaps others, whose ships are not so clearly visible on the Mezagorm space grid?

Mr. Firth has some military training, and he took command of the team. He split us in two groups, and put the main group under delegated command of mr. Fulk, my cargo bay loader, as he has shown the greatest skill at handling gun furriers. We were ordered to keep engaging the enemy, firing in their general direction from behind some fallen trees. 

I, being unarmed, was asked to hurl rocks in that direction, and tried to comply, but might have thrown some pine-cones in stead in the general confusion.

Meanwhile, mr. Firth and ms. Ellur would make a circling movement, crouching along a ditch, to attack the enemy from the side or perhaps the rear, quietly, using knives to slit their throat, perhaps picking them off one by one.

I panicked a little as I realized that is was not clear how exactly we would know when to stop shooting or throwing the locally grown ordnance at the enemy. Would we not end up shooting our friends? Mr. Fulk reassured me he would know and he would give the order to stop firing and I was to stop overthinking everything.

While occasional shots rang out from the enemy position, we fired back (or threw things like a branch since I ran out of stones). After a while the shooting stopped altogether. Soon after, Mr. Firth appeared. The enemy has vanished into thin air. Fearing that they too are making some sort of circling motion, we moved out in an unexpected direction, going towards D3 rather than continuing onwards to E2.