Pezarba constellation

I've been concatenating project Theseus' description of their Takmahl artefacts with my own growing collection. The cross-referencing allows me to catalogue and identify most items. I keep track of the location of the findings, too - even though my pentagram constellation theory seemed to fail.

So now, in my database, I can plot the density of finds by system and by type of artefact. Playing around with that, something interesting came up. 

Most relics have the highest density of findings in the Araz constellation. However, cyber implants derived from Takmahl technology like biodroid enhancements and biodroid controllers, are unusually prominent in the nearby Pezarba constellation, also in Kador, and in particular in the off-the-main-pipeline Bersyrim system. 

Maybe someone in system is a fervent but anonymous collector of Takmahlia, or there is an ancient connection with the Takmahl empire. Either way, it's worth exploring.

Remodeling

What is this? I go into our chapel, and I see workmen, taking measurements and climbing up some ladders to scan stuff? And no-one can tell me exactly what is going on, the workers tell me I should contact the contractor? Why, don't worry about me, I'm only the chaplain, no need to tell me if our chapel is going to be remodeled. I can hold mass in the gym, if needed.

On top of that, in Gottin's Lamp bar I saw a scrap of paper at the bottom of the vending machine. I bent down to look at it. I could only take in a glance before a draft swept it deeper under the vending machine, out of reach, but I am certain of what I saw: some pagan witchcraft symbols. I am being tested.

Standings

Not only the Cardari archeological dig sites require standings. Also here in the Empire, you need to have high standings with Amarr. To my dismay, these are capsuleer standings: no matter whether you spent a lifetime as baseliner in service of God and Empire, you start out with zero standings. That is horrible! My standings are too low... What a drudgery now to get them higher through capsuleer services, this will set me back months.

I will write a letter of complaint about this state of affairs to the Theology Council. At least they can take one's pre-capsuleer life somewhat into account! 

While I'm gaining "standing", I can try to calm my mind by focusing on a local project, long in the making: the museum of Takmahl history where I plan to show my collections and educate the masses about our past.

More Site One records

The other projects in Arek'Jalaan seem to focus strongly on either understanding Anoikis or understanding rogue drones and trying to communicate with them. Wormhole space is since then much better explored, even though there is as yet no regularity found in how the wormhole links appear. The discovery of such a regularity would make the wormhole routes predictable and be a true breakthrough. However, most scientists agree that the routes appear randomly, at least to a certain extent.

It would seem the Talocan were early masters of wormhole physics and established travel hubs. They interacted with the Jove - for the best or for the worst. I wanted to travel to the Okkelen constellation to look at the Talocan relics for myself, but I was told that this requires very good standings with the Caldari. I would have to do missions for them! Carry who knows what industrial things around. I'd better find myself some high echelon Caldari friend in the Society if I ever want to visit the Devil's Dig site.

Schism

I haven't slept well. Yesterday Luna told me about the Lux Invicta defeat in Pochven. The multi-national alliance, in which LUMEN participates to fight against the Triglavians, lost its staging Astrahus in Angymonne. 

Smokey was the battled and battered fortress from where the allied fleets won the first Pochven war half a year ago, and stood as a symbol of collaboration between the four core Empires in the fight against the invader. The Kybernauts could not bring it down, and try hard they did. 

Something far more insidious needed to happen to bring down Smokey. 

The Amarr militia and crusade -as far as it falls under the Sarum military circuit- are effectively under the command of Lord-consort Aldrith Shutaq Newelle, as was recently made very clear by his excellence Lord Qatib Olacar xer Sarum. In particular, the militia group "Local is Primary" of sub-commander Mikal Vektor falls under the command of Newelle. 

This militia group attacked Smokey, the EDENCOM staging station used by Amarrian loyalists to wage war in Pochven. Their force, combined with the Kybernauts, managed to overcome the station's defenders. The motivation for this attack is that Smokey's day-to-day operation is handled by the Republic, in particular Electus Matari. Indeed, Electus Matari are known terrorists, but facing a common enemy, lord Ardishapur speaking for the Throne has urged temporary collaboration. This has never been accepted by the militia, nor by the crusade. Rather than focusing on their mission in the war zone, they ventured into Pochven to sabotage the alliance of convenience between the Empire and the Republic. Their heinous act of agression has caused a major EDENCOM defeat in Angymonne.

I do not know how this will evolve, but I am very worried for a schism between Amarrian loyalist capsuleers. I also worry for the fallout on Lord-consort Newelle, whom I appreciate on a personal level. He is blinded by his hatred for the Minmatar, his soul still bleeding from Floseswin, and his heart condemning all of LUMEN for not following him in his bloodthirsty folly. Even if he did not order the attack, he condoned it and was complicit.

The only ones who gain from this schism are our enemies: the Triglavian sympathizers who feel victorious, and our enemies in the Republic who rejoice in seeing us divided and weakened.

Project Theseus

The Theseus project had as one of the goals something I planned to do myself, but have been unable to. There is a famous Takmahl ruin in the Aphi system, a labyrinth made with ancient jump portals. 

One of the more interesting parts of the Theseus project is that they planned to investigate the spatial layout of the labyrinth to see if that holds some clues, maybe to other hidden pockets or to the Talocan-Takmahl link in general. I am very hopeful that this may give useful clues.

The labyrinth is however heavily camped by rival collectors and pirates, and for a pacifist explorer as myself there is no getting through. At some point I'll need to ask the help of others in LUMEN to mount an expedition over there...

Project Infernal Spade

Here's an interesting passage in the files of Project Infernal Spade:

The appearance of Talocan ruins in w-space has put a renewed focus on this civilization. Very little was known about the Talocan before their ruins appeared in w-space besides that they once had a presence in the Okkelen constellation, an area now claimed by the Caldari State. Despite being overrun by rogue drones, the Devil's Dig Site deadspace complex in the Otitoh system held archaeologists' interest for some time, mostly due to its housing some of the only Talocan relic remnants still available.

As I mentioned before, Talocan ruins are also present in Aphi, in the Araz constellation, in the heartlands of the Takmahl empire. Their empire prospered many centuries in part because of the Talocan technology. 

The Talocan were using wormhole space to travel through the cluster and maybe beyond, but it is not clear whether the Takmahl deciphered or mastered that part of their technology. If they did, then they may have spread and created colonies in Anoikis, much as we do today.

Antiquus

I am visiting the Arek'Jalaan archives at the "Site One: Antiquus" facility in Eram. There are few (or no) capsuleers around, so there is no influx of new research from field work. The field work that has been done during dr. Tukoss' time is very well preserved and archived, and a lot of academic work on the materials collected from that time is still being done. There is probably enough material to analyse for scientists for decades to come.

The Antiquus research complex is impressive to behold. There are nice quarters for visiting scholars, close to the main spire but set apart from the main stations that are not accessible for visitors. Although there weren't any capsuleers visiting, there are many baseliner ships in and around the complex - it is bustling with activity.

The archives are accessed via the different storage platforms, one for each research division of Arek'Jalaan. Book copies of abstracts are automatically uploaded to the cargohold upon approaching the platform. 

Two projects in particular draw my attention. Project Infernal Spade, formerly led by a capsuleer named Myyona, investigates the Talocan. This ancient race is linked to the Takmahl - many believe that the meteoric rise of the Takmahl is due to the fact that they stumbled on Talocan artefacts and gate technology, and were able to reverse-engineer them to some extent.

Even more to the point is Project Theseus. It specifically investigates the Takmahl and their relics. Its lead researcher is a familiar person to all those interested in the Takmahl: prof. Valerie Valate. I talked to this Sani Sabik before, as she is maybe the cluster's leading expert on the Takmahl. Here I can dig deeper into these archives, and I am excited to compare my own limited findings to that of other field researchers.

Arek'Jalaan archives

I have been reviewing my expedition to Deklein and rethinking my theories on the exodus of the Sani Sabik during Queron's reign. I am still convinced that the key to finding ancient artifacts lies in understanding the pattern of their cryoship routes. But I have to admit that I was wrong about the pentagram symbolism driving their choice of destinations.

In the Imperial History Museum there is almost no information on the routes the Sani Sabik took. Talking to other scholars there and following up references in works on this topic, it seems some information can be found in the archives of the Arek'Jalaan in Eram, in the Republic. They investigated many subjects, and ancient cultures was one of their research topics. And, since the organisation was capsuleer driven, they could do field work that no-one else could before.

I've encountered that organisation earlier in my searches, and was told it is more or less defunct since the death of its director dr. Hilen Tukoss. However, the archives are still accessible in the "Site One" institute in Eram.

Logistics experience

I was happy to contribute, a couple of days ago, to LUMEN's efforts against the Blood Raiders. My vow of non-agression restricts me to logistics, but this is a valuable fleet role, and a while ago Lord Garion Avarr suggested I train these skills. Lord Utari Onzo helped me train logistics in practice rather than in theory. Not so long ago, I would never even have dreamt to be mentored by persons of such high station!

The operation against a Blood Raider station went unopposed, so I did not have to send remote repairs to anyone. Nevertheless it was a good exercise for one as inexperienced in fleets as I am.

Back home

I travelled back to Mehatoor, after a stopover in Amarr to sell off stuff that I found while exploring in Deklein. With the loss of the Indagatrix, I had to use my funds to replace the ship. The sell has helped me replenish my ship replacement fund.

Lately, there are too many wars and battles to follow. Having witnesses the eviction of RHP and the destruction of their magnificent Keepstar structure by the Volaens, I stumbled into yet another warzone on my way back from ROIR-Y. Two erstwhile allies, Brave and Test, were bashing eachother to death in the Black Rise region, a sad spectacle. Meanwhile, in the civilized world, LUMEN has been gloriously successful in defeating the Kybernauts in Eruka, and the Blood Raiders in Girani-Fa. 

It was nice to see Mittens again, who practically jumped on to me as she saw me. I think mr. Jensen is glad he could hand his charge back to me, he looked somewhat frayed.

Expedition's end

I have to admit failure. I find more Takmahl relics than here on a bad day in Araz by lifting a random stone and looking under it. I've been out here exploring now for a while, but the expedition has had no success. On top of that, the new local warlords associate me with the Ancien Regime, and I've escaped their attacks narrowly a few times.

Moreover, news has reached me from LUMEN headquarters that war broke out again with the Kybernauts. I'll be needed in the chapel in our Mehatoor, if not for the capsuleers then for their crew or their crew's family. And I plan to continue with the chronicles of our alliance's wars, and want to get first-hand witness reports.

I'll be heading back first the ROIR-Y, to tally up my relic and data site findings, and to pick up my crew. Then, we head back to Mehatoor. The expedition was no success, unfortunately. But I learned from it, and adjust my theories.

Doubt

Still no success. I deployed combat probes this time, hoping to find ancient ships or structures easier. Apart from some hidden modern infrastructure, there was nothing. Or rather, at some point I found a derelict unidentified ship.

Could it be a cryoship? I warped to it, and it looked like some ancient vessel, or at least something made with simpler technology. It had been shot to pieces, and there was nothing useful left to salvage. I analysed the hull remnants, and found that it had been attacked by Guristas. So, the timeframe is wrong. It is probably a recent vessel from some backward planet abandoned colonists that got blown up.

I am starting to think I may have been wrong.

The wheel of fortune

Another day of exploration without success. Perhaps I was wrong about Sabik cryoships heading here...

On my way back to RIOR-Y I stopped by the place where the RHP keepstar was. It is gone. Nothing left but small rubble, the larger pieces have been removed already, and of course any useful loot is long gone. It is humbling to see how such a large structure, that put me in awe of its large hangars and endless spires just a week ago, has so quickly been evacuated, abandoned, and destroyed. How quickly the new order brings down what the once-mighty built!

Hah, to think that I was offered ownership of the doomed edifice for 235 billion! I felt in my bones that it was a ripoff. It was partly an offer to involve Amarr in their lost war, and partly a way to get cash to help them rebuild in Impass, where they planned to flee too. Of course, I was protected against any foolishness by my vow of poverty, praise be to St. Tal-Romon.

Continued exploration

The nullifier device worked as a charm. The Blobbites has set up a camp in the 8S28-3 system, and plastered the gate grid with interdiction bubbles. I was able to go straight through and land on the gate without harm coming to me. The only drawback of the device is that it has a relatively long cooldown time before it can be reactivated. For that it is still nice to have a safe spot to park and hide while it gets ready to work again.

I have been able to continue my exploration unhindered. However, I still did not find any hoped-for trace of the Takmahl. I did find a Tetrimon base, and relayed my thanks for saving my crew. They answered along the lines of "you're welcome but now shut up and don't use covert frequencies." 

Interdiction nullifiers

Every capsuleer death is a teaching moment. The unfortunate incident getting caught by an interdiction bubble has taught me about a device on the market to counter the effect of bubbles: the interdiction nullifier. 

The Indigatrix II is now equipped with one. The salesperson who traded it to me extolled its virtues and explained its use. Basically, I should activate it before warp, and then the warp interdiction bubble can't stop my ship any more. The only difficulty is that I cannot activate it while cloaked (unless it is a gate cloak). So, the order to activate the modules is: interdiction nullifier, warp, and cloak. Even if the nullifier deactivates before I reach my destination, the salesperson assures me its effect will carry me through. I will continue my exploration, hoping that this device works fine.

I am not taking the crew along for my next round of exploration in the pentagram subconstellation. So, I'll be somewhat more sluggish and will need more time doing some tasks. A couple of the most loyal crewmembers want to go back to their posts and are pushing the others, but I also sense hesitation in some of these others. That is very understandable so short after surviving the attack and waiting for rescue in their escape pods. So I stood firm, I do not want to risk any more lives, I will go alone. 

The crew's tale

I arrived back at the Sisters of Eve bureau in ROIR-Y. I met up with the survivors, and we visited my injured crewmember who is still recovering in the Sister's medical facility on station. There is a "worship room" in the hospital, a neutral quiet space suitable for any religion to pray and meditate. We held a ceremony there for the crew that passed away. 

After that we went to the station's food court, to the noodle place where the RHP diplomat took me. Ah, that seems ages ago now, in stead of days - is that the effect of clone death? Anyhow, they ate and drank and we talked about what happened. They told me a remarkable story. 

Their escape pods were not picked up by a rescue vessel from the Sisters of Eve, as I had imagined. Rather, they were rescued by warships of the Order of Tetrimon, that detected the Amarrian-type distress signal from their escape pods. Warships? I couldn't quite believe it at first. But they were adamant: the Order has bases in this region of space now. God knows why they establish outposts all the way out here! 

Of course, it is not my place to ask or speculate, but the crew offered a possible explanation that they got from their rescuers. It seems the Order knows about the Blooder presence and is hunting them also out here, at least for the time being. The crew received first aid by the Tetrimon, and the rescued survivors were then dropped off at the Sisters' station by a Tetrimon knight posing as a miner.

The crew also told me that the victory of the Voltans and Blobbites over RHP is now complete. A large RHP evacuation fleet has set sail: they are moving far away to the south, to the Impass region, with all their belongings. They will try and resettle there. Probably their spiritual needs came forth from facing adversity. Barbarians only pray to God when they need him to help.

As for the remaining missionary that came along with us, he was gone and took the scripture datapads with him. He has checked out of his quarters. He must have left around the time that the news broke of the Indigatrix's destruction. Whether he boarded a ship to go back home, or whether he left with the RHP caravan to Impass to preach the faith to them, I do not know. 

Disaster strikes

I continued my exploration of the pentagram pocket. The Voltans and their "We form Blob" allies are busy destroying the RHP structures, and left me alone. I still did not find any traces of the Takmahl, but to my surprise I found a Blood Raider data network node that is active. This is far away from the Blood Raider bases in Delve, so I see it as an interesting clue. Indeed, their presence can point to a historical connection with this remote area, corroborating my theory that Sabik cryoships arrived here long ago. I dismantled the node and took the evidence with me to bring back to the attention of the MIO.

I could no longer use the RHP Keepstar freeport in E3UY-6, as it is under attack and being evacuated, so I decided to return to my original base of operations, the Sisters of Eve station in ROIR-Y.

The war fleets in their cat-and-mouse games place interdiction bubbles at the warp gates, in the direction from incoming warp gates. So I avoided coming in from a straight line, and took care to warp to a safe or a celestial first. But in E-9ORY, a mere two systems out from my destination, disaster struck. There were interdiction bubbles also at unlikely angles to the gate, and my ship was stopped dead amidst hostile forces. I could not use the cloak, as the electrical storm was still raging. It took them a bit of time to lock me up, time used to try and get the crew to eject in the escape pods. But for me and the ship it was too late.

Moments later, I woke up in a new clone, disoriented and worried for the survival of the crew. My death had set into motion a chain of events designed to get me back in a ship as fast as possible. The insurance money was paid, and a business representative on Amarr received the message to activate buy orders of a list of equipment to be installed in a new Anathema hull. I got on board of a shuttle and flew over to Amarr making best speed.

While in transit to Amarr, I received the news that six of the eight crewmembers survived, and were now in the care of the Sisters of Eve in their station in ROIR-Y. One of the survivors is badly injured, the other five are shaken and somewhat bruised but for the rest OK. The remaining two of my crew are confirmed dead. Gerulf, my cloak technician, stayed too long onboard trying to overcome the interference from the electrical storm, and his brother Arnulf, a hangar worker, would not leave without Gerulf. My prayers are with them and their family.

Having reached Amarr and boarded the Indigatrix II, I am now flying over to ROIR-Y to meet up with the survivors.

It is not clear to what warring faction, if any, our murderer was linked. From his name, I would suspect RHP, but from the region he was in, it could be Volta. Or, maybe it is more likely that he is an assassin working for the Blood Raiders. While I did not have the gifts of technology for the barbarian warlords on board, nor the missionary, I did have the evidence I gathered on Blooder presence in the Deklein region with me. That precious intelligence data has been destroyed.

Change of power

I have started the exploration of the pentagram constellation, from my forward base, the E3UY-6 keepstar. The pentagram pocket is quiet, so I could look around and make some safe spots for hiding. However, I did not find any traces of Takmahl today. None of the five systems showed signs of their presence. 

There are some stations, but they are not accessible to me. However, now that I am in their space, it has become more easy to converse to leading members of RHP. I was able to talk to a warlord called Nelson Higgins, who is part of the leadership cabal of RHP. 

He was open to my requests, but said that RHP is leaving the region. They are losing the war against Volta, and are keeping up resistance for the moment only in order to evacuate their assets. The stations are either under attack or being dismantled. I am free to use the keepstar, but according mr Higgins it would make no sense for me to stay around long in it, nor one of their other stations in Deklein. Moreover he cannot make promises of safe passage while armies of both sides are battling each other and many opportunistic brigand or vulture are waiting to strike anyone left in the power vacuum.

So, it seems I will soon have to negotiate with new warlords, who will no doubt see me as an infiltrator collaborating with their old enemies...