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.

Treasure chamber

The "sewers" consist of a mess of water-filled tunnels connecting various cisterns. At first, I feared that we might need a boat or a flotation device to explore these canals. However, there are plenty of walkways over the water, most of which lead us to what I suspect was a control room in the center of the facility.

The room is sealed off, steel panels have been welded in front of the door, some warning scribbled on it. That is a good sign, and it even got better when we found a computer terminal that confirmed our hope: this place has also been used by the Order of Saint Tetrimon. The equipment clearly postdates the era of Mezagorm's building, and shows the hallmark logo of the Tetrimon. 

This must be the place where they hid the relics, perhaps even the Holy Ink of Saint Aloysius! But, try as we might, though, we could not open the door with the tools that we brought along. The crowbar broke. Also, the console did not work any more. Whether this is of old age or due to the biosphere's ability to render electronics useless is not clear. 

We will have to come back with some welding equipment of our own and drills, safely packaged in order to traverse the biosphere undamaged. But now that we have figured out a path through it and found our destination, we should be able to come back faster next time. So, we decided to head back to the Indigatrix, the necessary tools are certainly on board.

Artificial rain

It was raining when the team woke up, an unexpected feature on a space station. I think the engineers working on Mezagorm were given a blank check when designing this biosphere, if the water cycle is still working. 

Warm air, carrying more moisture than cold air, will rise to the top of the dome, and natural ventilation brings it along cold fingers where the water can condense. There must be a mechanism whereby, when enough water has been collected this way, it drips out back to the floor, like water pours of out a tipped water clock. Back down, it can be reabsorbed and evaporated again by the vegetation and the lake.

After the rain, the team noticed that there was a bad smell. Following the source of the stench led us to some sort of collection basin and a structure next to it, perhaps a water purification or reprocessing station? It is not clear what this structure is for or how exactly it is part of the water cycle or mineral cycle in the biosphere. 

However, I am quite certain that this is the last piece of the riddle that points us to "the stench of sin". We have been able to force the entrance door to what, for lack of a better understanding of its purpose, we are calling "the sewers". 

Crossing the biosphere

The trek was not as easy as we thought. The conifer forest gets more dark and dense with branches as we get near the center of the biosphere. We did not spot any animals, although there are insects: forest ants and aphids. But we did not see any rodents or larger animals. Perhaps there are some in the patches of rye, but to keep ms. Ellur satisfied, we avoided those. 

We encountered a few small creeks. But near the center, near grid E4, these creeks merge into a small lake, too deep to wade through. Mr. Firth and some others tried, but their guns started panicking and squeaking as the cold water level rose. Afraid that they may shoot their bullets from stress, the team returned to the shore. 

Rounding the lake took a long time, and we passed through a beech forest on swamp land. The mud slowed us down considerably, and we had the unpleasant impression that the trees were closing in on us. But things went better as we reached good solid ground again, and came upon a field of blueberries. Most people ate a good few handfuls of them, and I was very sorry that my vulnerability would not allow me to  take of my suit and partake. 

We reached F8 much later than foreseen, and the team decided to make camp for the night; the roof of the dome dims the light simulating night, while it continues to harvest solar energy for other purposes. 

It will be a very uncomfortable night for me, as I have to remain in my suit. Also, I avoid eating, but I cannot avoid hydrating. The suit's capacity to store liquids is limited to what is deemed useful for one night of partying. Perhaps I will have to expose myself for a short while to the pathogen at some point, but for the moment I am still keeping the seals intact.

Gun practice

We had a slight delay entering back into Mezagorm, given that there was again a small contingent of Blood Raiders lurking around.

After they  left, we were able to deploy back to our base of operations, the biochemical lab turned Tetrimon garrison at the edge of the biosphere. 

It feels strange that our armory looks like a pet zoo, with furriers in cages and bags of furrier food (with extra calcium so they can produce bone-shard bullets). 

The crew is training with the gun furriers, and has been doing some practice shooting at bulls-eyes painted on tree trunks. Ms. Ellur refuses to stick her finger in a gun-furrier, and will rely on her knife in stead. Also I did not join this training: I will be wearing a hazmat suit (so that I am not suffering from breakdowns in my implants) and handling the furrier might compromise the suit's integrity. 

My suit will do more than keep amoeba out: it is even nanite-proof. It was originally designed during a pandemic on Archavoinet, to allow people to continue partying safely during the lockdown. It has a text "Party is not a crime" on it. I suppose that if you can dance in it, you can hike in it.

With everything ready for the trek through the biosphere, we will leave tomorrow after early breakfast.

Epikouria Chronicles III

While heading back to Mezagorm, I took a bit of time to go through my mails, and read the latest letter from Brother Hugo, keeping me informed about the Epikouria colony.

Although brother Hugo and his companions are restricted to the Ardishapur sector of the station orbiting Epikouria IX, they seem well aware of what is going on elsewhere. Their congregation consists almost entirely of lower-deck baseliners, doing basic maintenance or janitorial jobs - the underappreciated quiet workers who go unnoticed every day but whose hard work keeps the station running smoothly. They do not seek the spotlight, and yet they go everywhere and see and hear all that is going on. And this they share with their pastors.

In this week's letter, brother Hugo writes about an influx of refugees to the station, mostly baseliners but also some capsuleers. 

They call themselves "Ghosts of Aridia" and have been evicted from their wormhole system of New Huola, after a brutal war. The war started out with a surprise invasion of New Huola, that they struggled to repel. Out of the blue, a new ally in shining armor appeared. With the help of both these newcomers and a LUMEN relief force the siege was broken, and the war turned in the Ghosts' favor. An invader fleet of Loki-class cruisers worth tens of billions of ISK and several operating bases of the invaders were destroyed. 

But then, with the invaders retreating and victory seemingly within the Ghosts' grasp, the new "ally" betrayed them and turned against them. Having gained the trust of the Ghosts and having infiltrated their military channels and their stations, the ally-turned-enemy staged a coup and ousted the Ghosts from power. The Ghosts left New Huola, with many returning to the Empire, but some of them seeking refuge in Epikouria. They bring along many baseliner refugees from the various New Huola stations. Although in the lower decks the commoners grumble that the new immigrants will be taking their jobs, brother Hugo is happy with the influx of more orthodox Amarrians, mainly Aridians of Ni-Kunni descent. 

The refugee crisis delayed the ongoing diplomatic talks between the Starborn and the Originals. Nevertheless some progress was already made regarding the division of powers in the system. Current proposals have the Originals retain full authority on the planets (except for mining concessions) while the Starborn have authority in space. Brother Hugo writes "The more I learn about the Originals, the more I am dismayed about their perversions of the flesh!" He does not go into details, but promises to write more about them in a next letter.

PS. I am renaming the recurring logs on the colony from "Missionary Missive" to "Epikouria Chronicles"

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

Gun-furriers

Coronation day passed without incidents or further provocations from the sedevancantists. Now that this delicate time is over, and given that the fallout over Libby's reappearance in Mehatoor seems mostly contained, Mr. Firth is again free to join us in his capacity of political officer on the Indagatrix. We reported what happened over the last couple of weeks to him, to bring him up to speed.

Mr. Firth is in that stage of youth where one thinks that one already knows all there is to know about a subject after one or two experiences. With a look that impersonates a seasoned veteran, he scolded our amateurism in exploring the Mezagorm biosphere, and proudly revealed an MIO weapon suitable for the task.

Modern guns, even projectile weapons, always have some electronics in them. The hobbyist expects their gun to send them an e-mail when it is time for maintenance or ammunition is low. It might even automatically buy new ammunition, and give feedback on pulse and blood pressure when handled. For those that keep a gun under their pillow - not uncommon in more rural areas of the outer worlds - it even tracks the quality of sleep and has a programmable alarm clock imitating a gunshot. Guarantees you to be awake. Of course, because of its electronic components it is unusable in Mezagorm's biosphere.

The handguns that mr. Firth checked out from the Ministry depot do not have electronics. Also, no metal. The MIO checkout catalog did not have guns merely without electronics available, so he had to go full option. The guns he chose are fully biological, and alive. These things are meant as stealth weapons, to be smuggled into venues without raising alarm. 

Bio-mechanics is not to be underestimated. For example, adetomyrma venatrix, also known as the Dracula ant because it sucks blood from its larvae (a behavior known as 'nondestructive cannibalism') is able to snap its jaw accelerating it from 0 too 300km/h in merely 10 microseconds. So, it should be no surprise that fully bio-based guns have been developed, shooting tiny ultrahard bone fragments like a regular projectile gun.

This works best if the bio-mechanical device is still alive. In order to conceal its deadly nature, the MIO developed bio-mechanical guns that look exactly like furriers. Personally, I find their use to be somewhat disturbing. You prime them by petting, and then one has to stick a finger in an orifice in the back to find and pull the trigger bone. The startled animal shoots in the direction that its beak is pointing. 

Nobody expects an old ladies' furrier to be a lethal weapon (unless they have met mr. Maulus, lady Agatha's pet furrier).

With this special gear, Mr. Firth is confident that we will be able to explore the biosphere, safe from both raiders and dangerous fauna. After we arrive in Mezagorm, the entire crew will receive elementary training in gun-furrier use and petting safety.

Stuck in a tree

For our hike through the biosphere, we had hermetically sealed all electronics in a box. 

But we forgot that capsuleers are also full of circuitry.

I do not remember much of this, and I am relaying what the crew told me. I do remember the headache, which became quite unbearable after about an hour walk. Apparently, I started saying things that did not make sense. At first, they thought I was simply making little mistakes from time to time, or showing signs of old age. But then I also started to act strange. Little bouts of running. Anxiously looking into the forest.

When this became more severe - I started relentlessly attacking ferns with a stick I had found, the crew finally realized this was not the eccentricity of an aging capsuleer, but that whatever was afflicting electronics, was doing its work on me too. They tried to convince me to abort the walk, and to go back to the Indagatrix's medbay. It almost worked.

Then Ms. Ellur tried sprinking holy water from Mishi on me (she always carries a small vial of it with her). It actually made things worse, as it startled me and I ran away, yelling "overheat afterburner!". The crew chased me. I climbed in one of the tall conifers. The strongest of the crew, my cargo bay loader, was sent up after me to try and get me to come down. 

Every time he got closer, I climbed higher. In the end, both me and my cargo bay loader were near the top of the tree, swaying dangerously from the weight now destabilizing its upper branches. He managed to attach a rope to me, and secured the rope on the tree, using the trunk and the sturdiest branch as a makeshift pully. Very makeshift - I fell in spurts of three to four meters before the rope caught me back each time. It took a lot of time and a lot of struggling, but in the end, I was brought back to ground, and was too exhausted and bruised to put up any resistance any more. 

They brought me back, and convinced me to put the Indagatrix on autopilot back to Mehatoor - I was unable to fly the ship myself. Back in Mehatoor, decontamination again did not reveal anything, no nanites, no radiation damage, no parasites. The pit corrosion was also present in my malfunctioning clone's circuitry. The lab's working hypothesis is that the damage is caused by some biological entity that does not survive outside the biosphere. From the size of the pit corrosion they think it is most likely a type of amoeba. 

Basically I was told that now I am old and mouldy.

They advised us to bring back a sample of the biosphere in a sealed sample collection box, making sure to include soil and plants and some electronic device in the box, and seal it enclosing some of the biosphere's own air. 

Coronation day

So, a lot has happened - and I have had to reclone. But I will write up the log report for that later. 

For today, remembrance and celebration! 

The Indagatrix, an Anathema-class vessel, was not visible among the formation of battleships that stood proudly in formation at the wreck of Empress Jamyl's titan. Archbishop Merdaneth gave a gripping speech, after which we held a minute of silence. It was impressive to see these mighty ships sit at attention silently.

After that stop in Safizon, the fleet headed out to Amarr, to the Imperial Guard above Amarr, where we launched fireworks in celebration of Empress Catiz. Some traders from abroad dropped by to watch the spectacle. One trader from the Federation, by the name of Hibernate, fulfilled the Gallentean stereotype by exclaiming "empress so cute :3" in local. But apart from that and a few shady offers for gambling on galnet, all was serene and joyful.

The night ended with a reception and formal ball at the Excubitoris Chapterhouse. I had hoped to meet lord-consort Shutaq-Newelle there - I have not seen him for a long time and he was part of the fleet. But he and lady Newelle had other coronation day events to attend. No worry, I did have the pleasure to speak with other friends and meet up with the high society of our alliance.

And now back to Mehatoor, to figure out what is wrong with that clone that was brought back from Mezagorm.

Hiking

Crossing the biosphere from the side of the Tetrimon garrison to the opposite side would have been easy and fast in one of the planetary vehicles. However, with electronics breaking down, and with any roads being long since overgrown, it is impossible. We have decided to do this the "old fashioned" way, simply walking over, using the structure of the dome above us to guide us and keep us on track. In general, we do not want to rely on devices that could break down.

That being said, we are taking some things in a sealed container with us. Comms, navigation tools, hacking/e-lockpicking tools, first-aid devices, and upon the insistence of ms. Ellur also projectile guns. Some blades, to cut our way through thicker parts of the woods, do not rely on electronics at all so should be safe. She also brought along a blade that she marked with three full circles with a notch in the bottom - the Amarrian symbol for God united with humanity. Ms. Ellur claims that this is the only thing that can kill rye wolves. She moreover suggests we stick to the forested areas and avoid the patches of rye altogether.

The walk will take several hours, since we need to cross about twenty kilometers of forest. So, we also took enough food and water with us. We should be able to go and come back in a single day, but have enough provision to stay overnight at the square of the black king's bishop.

I look forward to the hike!