Seeing me dead

When I arrived back at Odra, my body had already been found. The dead body, I mean. I went to the police station to identify myself in the morgue. It is a very unsettling experience. 

They put the argicultural brochures and my "Udder Chaos" mug in a plastic bag next to me, but I wasn't allowed to take it back with me. It's evidence now for a murder case.

I've been shot!!

Unimaginable! Me, a cleric from the Empire, chaplain and librarian, the victim of cold-blooded murder? What manner of evil creature would do this and condemn their soul to the fiery pits of hell?

The police investigator told me it was Harry the Hulk.

He's a henchman working for a local gangster kingpin called Boulette. He shot me at point blank range in a dead-end alley close to the restaurant I was going to. He panicked when he realized that the man he shot was actually a capsuleer. He ran as fast as he could to collect his bug-out bag and get off planet. He was arrested using false papers at the spaceport, and after enhanced interrogation admitted the murder in exchange for protection.

He'd been ordered to take me out because had been showing too much interest in the source of the biodrone material at the Tacky Parts store. Apparently, it is common knowledge that the shop sells not only biodrone parts but also rare drugs based on Takmahl phrenic appendix fluids. There is too little hard evidence to prove the drug sales at the moment. Boulette feared I might be a scout for a competing gang trying to take over his market by going for his supply chain, and wanted to make a statement.

Rude awakening

This evening, I woke up in my backup clone, with no recollection of the past two days. At first it didn't dawn on me that I had lost two days, I thought something had gone wrong while making a backup clone in preparation for my trip to Bersyrim.

The technicians and medic explained to me that nothing had gone wrong, on the contrary, everything had worked perfectly, and I had been gone for two, almost three days. 

There can be only one conclusion: I have died.

I am glad I keep a logbook, it is proving its usefulness now to reconstruct the previous days. This led me to believe it must have been something I ate at this restaurant or pub I was going to, The Four Stomachs. I do react very badly to spicy food, but I've never died from it before.

I contacted the authorities on Odra and notified them of my death. 

I contacted the authorities on Odra a second time after they hung up on me the first time, thinking it was a prank. They don't deal with capsuleers often.

They had not received any reports of a dead capsuleer, but would look into it and send someone to my hotel. To be honest, I think I've only been dead for an hour or so. The officer got a bit nervous when I mentioned I was going to The Four Stomachs to dine with the store manager of Tacky Parts. Perhaps this restaurant has a reputation of kitchen hygiene problems that the police officer is not allowed to tell about due to privacy regulations. But they were going to look into that as well.

Meanwhile I think I'll take the interbus to go back there, the Indigatrix II is still docked in Bersyrim.

Sights of Odra Capital

Odra Capital is a city that grew slowly and sequentially and with very little planning. And so, it is a bit of a maze. I like to wander about in such cities, to get a sense of the place, and I don't mind getting pleasantly lost. 

I did get lost. 

I was searching for the implants market, instead I ended up at a trade fair for agricultural machinery and ditto vehicles. The connectors on my neck revealed to any onlooker that I was a capsuleer, and since we are known as rich folk, I attracted a crowd of salespeople. I should not have mentioned our yaks in Mehatoor station. They did not let me go after that. I've been shown the newest models of agribots for milking and dung cleanup. I witnessed a demonstration of how cheap cattle TCMCs can help with herding and also read out the status of the cattle. I was explained that herding drones can also do that, and are equipped with scanners to detect sick cattle. I've received more brochures than I could carry, as well as a coffee mug that says "Udder Chaos Milking Corp", two pens (one has a small flashlight) and a miniature 3D puzzle of a argibot.

I'll give this to Aria on my return.

After a morning spent learning about the latest in cattle tech, I was finally able to find the cyber implants market in the afternoon. I put the hood of my robe over my head so that I would not be immediately spotted as a capsuleer this time around. 

The implants market is situated in and around a large square hall with a high glass-paneled ceiling decorated with wrought iron flowers and foliage. There's a central plaza bordered by colonnades, like a cloister, but three levels tall. The walkways under the colonnades give access to the shops, while the central plaza is for the market, with stalls and merchants arguing loudly about the offer of the day. I was surprised to see that most traders and visitors were armed.

It did not take much time to locate the source of Takmahl biodrone salvage. There's an outlet store for them! It's called "Tacky Parts" and private clients can't buy there, it is where manufacturers of implants would get rare parts. After I made a generous donation to the store manager's pension fund, he took me aside and promised me he'd reveal the source of his valuable stock. He couldn't do it in the store, but he agreed to meet me tonight, alone, in a pub called "The Four Stomachs".

I dread there will be more cattle stories.

Bersyrim

Preparations for the move are now at full speed in Mehatoor. Many of the most precious items have been packed, and my instructions are being followed very professionally by the moving team. I even feel I'm standing a bit in the way.

There's not much to do in Nasreri yet, luckily the volatile ice storm there is subsiding somewhat. I'm not sure what this kind of space weather does to books, and must talk to the haulers to install additional armor plate on their ships.

Feeling a bit restless, I decided to leave for a trip to Bersyrim, the Kadorian system where the reports from Arek'Jalaan indicate a high density of Takmahl biodrone salvage, that is used to build rather rare cyber implants sold on the local technology markets. 

I reviewed the general information on the system. It is neither new nor really old: the system has been colonized over five centuries ago (note that by then the Takmahl empire had already collapsed). The largest ethnic group is Ni-Kunni. Bersyrim is now a rather backwater system, but it used to be an important Kador fiefdom due to its large agricultural exports. The exports suffered from the trade agreements between the Empire and the State, and from the resulting competition by Caldari traders. 

The second and third planets have a sizeable population. They are temperate worlds with large land masses consisting of alluvial plains and grassland. The center of imperial administration is on the second planet, Odra. Outside from the capital city, the land is divided up between large landowner Holder families. Towns are built close to the Holder citadels, and are rather far apart if one travels by land. However, I think the local peasant population doesn't travel much. There are nomadic brigands called the Chikra that sometimes make a nuisance, but apart from them these worlds are by and large peaceful.

I've booked lodgings in Odra Capital, in the district where the main technology markets are. The hotel room can be described as quaint.

Museum plans

I am positively impressed with the professionality of the movers who take care of the chapel. There's scaffolding now and slowly each piece is delicately removed and tagged and wrapped.

There was an opportunity to start discussing my museum plans with Lunarisse, and she pointed me to the architect for plans. Apparently, the LUMEN offices are much larger than I imagined. maybe the humble amount of space that I need can simply be incorporated in the offices. 

I knew the housing part was large, but there is also an immense cargo space down. And I don't mean the cargo containers in the hangars for the ship. No it is storage for more... sensitive cargo, old collections from previous wars and missions. Most of it off-limits.

I've also told Luna I would like to collaborate with prof. Valate on this, and investigate if we could give her free passage based on the scholarly nature of the visit. She didn't refuse flat out, but it is not going to be easy. There are a lot of tensions in the Amarr capsuleer community, and appearances and diplomacy matter. Well, that's okay. It will probably not be before late spring that I can really work to the fullest on that project.

Checking out the new home

I went to check out the new home station. It's in a volatile ice storm now, which makes it look quite nice and... luminous. 

This is our own structure, one jump away from where the trade bureau office station is that will house Gottin's Lamp library and chapel. I've also visited that station, and the office rental overseer tells me there is space for rent adjacent to where the library should come. I've taken an option to a 10000 square meter hall for my museum plans. There's possibilities to expand it, but for now it should be more than enough. The hall is completely empty now, but can be fitted walls to section it in exhibition rooms. It's got a high ceiling, so it will be able to display the three meter high gilded statue of Emperor Queron that I recently purchased.

Logistics and standings

Two weeks ago, I was bemoaning the dismal status of my capsuleer standings with the Empire, notwithstanding my lifelong devotion as a baseliner. God answered my prayers - yesterday our alliance has organised a day of missions for the Emperor Family, to boost standings! Well, they are not quite Amarr Imperial standings, rather they are those of the Empress, but still. 

I had to participate, even though I am not well versed in combat. I bought and fitted an Augoror class frigate for logistics service, and I managed not to have it blown up. And, on several occasions, I found myself giving armor reps to fleet members who would not have sustained the onslaught without me - that much was clear from the rate they were taking damage. The role of repairer feels good and right for me - it confirms the goal I set myself in fleet operations for our corporation.

Tomorrow, I will head to what is to become our new home system, to have a look at the space that was hired. I'll see if there is extra space that I can hire for my museum plans.

About our new home

It's official now, all LUMEN members got a notification by the directors, so everybody knows that the Chapel and the library are going to find a new home. And it has also been revealed where we are moving to!

I'm not too unhappy about our new destination. A Theology Council station would have been even better, but at least we're going to be near the record keepers of Amarr trade. This will facilitate research into old merchant ships and wrecks: whenever an identification number can be pulled off the wreck it can be traced. The trade records have been rather meticulously kept for at least two millennia, and there is also information that is older, although it is more patchy. It is conventient to request copies of these old records and have them scanned from central archives and forwarded to local offices.

Yes, I am quite sure the new home will be more conducive to an academic atmosphere than the old place, a station that we share with the 24th Imperial Crusade.

Another benefit is that the new place is much closer to historically interesting constellations! That means less travel time to get to places where I can investigate my favorite ancient races.

Opportunities

Maybe this move is also an opportunity. I've been thinking about the design of the Takmahl history museum. There is some office space available in Mehatoor's 24 Imperial Crusade station, space that I could transform into museum rooms, they are not quite connected to our library. Perhaps this could change when we move, as we could find space that allows for my little expansion. I'll have to talk to Lunarisse about it.

I'm seeing it as a complex with four large display halls, through which the visitors could wander, and one entry hall that also has a museum library - collecting the works on the Takmahl and allowing for lectures. The four rooms would center on Takmahl Origins, Talocan Influences, Takmahl Society and Customs, and The Downfall. 

One small problem I see is that it would be nice to involve the cluster's expert on this - actually I already have a Takmahl statue on loan from her. But, prof. Valate is a Sani Sabik. I must still think how to solve that issue...

Moving

So, I finally know why there are workmen taking measures in the chapel. Apparently, we're moving it. And the library too! Within... about three weeks. I fell of my chair when Luna told me. 

I don't know why this is necessary. Perhaps the recent falling out between LUMEN and the Amarr militia makes it hard to stay in a station of the 24th Imperial Crusade. Perhaps there's some other deep strategy being hatched out by the fine admirals and paladins of LUMEN - not my business, and that's all right.

Now, it is important to realize that our library holds some very rare and old books, scrolls and maps. The kind that one can only touch with immaculate gloves and watch under dimmed light in a room with environmental controls. To move them would require special casing and transport experts familiar with treating delicate works of art. I just can't see how it'll be done in three weeks. I was told that at least the library structure is modular, and the shelves and storage cabinets can be sealed off and the whole thing moved as a whole. Last time I heard of something that brutal was people using orbital mining lasers for archeological digs... I must hurry and work with Aria to make sure the most precious items in our collection are secured properly. In just three weeks. Madness.

The Chapel appears to be even more difficult to move. It is an architectural masterpiece made of wooden panels and beams that interlock into a magnificent and light-filled space that directs one's spirit upwards to God. It will have to be carefully dismantled plank by plank and moved. Altar and relics will probably move separately. 

To think all of it will be exposed to danger out there, in space full of gankers and pirates and Triglavians... it makes me shudder.

A deepening divide

Since the incident where the militia attacked a Lux Invicta structure, relations have been deteriorating between the militia on the one hand and LUMEN on the other hand.

Khimi Harar, with SFRIM and PIE at its core, is now by far the largest alliance of Amarrian loyalist capsuleers. The militia, in particular Local is Primary (LiP) under the command of House Newelle, opposes the cooperation between Khimi Harar and Electus Matari and Phoenix Naval Systems. The Throne supports limited collaboration in the context of EDENCOM - but for House Newelle, and house Yassavi, the collaboration is going too far and threatens their operations in the warzone. 

I think that's nonsense. Lord Lok'ri and our young Kor-Azor diplomat, Amicia Cora, have explained LUMEN's motives and refuted the allegations leveled against us thoroughly. To no avail.

The tone of the debate has become ever more harsh, and standings have been reset. It looks like we are heading for an Amarrian capsuleer civil war. Of course, the ones to benefit most from that are the Kybernauts and the radical Matari, and they are egging on the feud.

I pray the Empress or the privy council would intervene...

New cloak technician

In preparation of another expedition, I have advertised a vacancy for cloak technician. My previous cloaker, mr. Gerulf, passed away during the expedition Deklein, and having a technician around just saves a couple of precious seconds so it is well worth it in a dangerous environment.

I don't like taking job interviews. I never know what to ask. Most people that apply will have a decent CV and some solid references from people I don't know. I tell them a bit of how I like to work, and if they're ok with it then that's fine for me. I don't have them take tests, I prefer to trust my instinct, that's been fine thusfar. 

So, now mr. Idesbald Eggeward is my new cloak technician. He's worked with covert ops cloaks before and his previous employer stopped her business and retired, going planetside. He's familiar with the Anathema, the Helios and the Pilgrim, but not that much with Sisters of Eve ships. He enjoys Nakrian brandy. Hopefully not too much.

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.