UNCLAIMED SPACE- EDGE OF UNK427

IRN Riptide- Captains Quarters

Secret Mission Complete: Message in a Bottle (Stage 1)

Description: You have discovered the personal log of the Captain of the Gilded Claw. The discovery can sign the Death Warrant for your crew and you. The ramifications of what he discovered can shake the very foundation if the Imperial Remnant and cause a Civil War.

Rewards: 100 Exp, Message in a Bottle Stage 2, Intel on the Insurrection the Admirals Board perpetrated

Secret Mission Issued: Message in a Bottle (Stage 2)

Description: Decide what to do with the information you acquired. You can stand up and declare the Admirals Board as thieves, liars, and murderers, or you can turn over the proof you have and hope they leave you and your ship alone. What will you decide?!?!?!

Rewards: UNKNOWN

Well shit, this is exactly what I did not want to get involved with. John just wanted to play an isolated ship's captain in the middle of no where not someone that can bring down a major political system and galactic power. Due to this, he had been staring at the ceiling of his room for the last four hours. Not doing paperwork, not going down to the weapons range, just thinking about choices and consequences. John had left a message with Kate to not be disturbed unless it was life or death. The Riptide was dead in space at the edge of UNK427 while Chief Letts conducted maintenance on her pulse engines. Within the next 30 minutes, the Riptide would set course for UNK402.

Choices

Consequences

'Kate, lockdown all outgoing Communication, Authorization Command Alpha 1 Foxtrot Gamma, until I rescind the order nothing goes out without my authorization. Next message every senior officer on the ship including Chief Letts that I want a meeting in the Officers Mess in 20 minutes, informal dress. Have Commander Smitt station 2 Marines that can be discrete, outside the mess.' John commanded the ship's AI. John strapped on his sidearm, it was against regulations but the weapon provided him a sense of security from his old life.

As he approached the Officer's mess, John saw two marines on either side of the door in full Power Armor. If that didn't tell whoever wasn't supposed to be there to fuck off, nothing would. Neither acknowledged their Captain, they were not there and neither was he. It was an unofficial meeting that required security and secrecy. John immediately went to a hidden panel and withdrew a bottle of Jack Daniels he did not know about and 7 shot glasses. He took a seat and lined up and poured all 7 to the brim and waited for his co-workers/friends/family. Over the next 10 minutes Lieutenant Commander (XO of the Ship) Stein, Commander Smitt (Command of the Marine contingent), Lieutenant Commander James McHaney (Chief medical officer), Chief Letts (Chief Engineer), Lieutenant Jim O'Hansen (Senior Navigation Officer), and Lieutenant Birge (3rd Shift Leader).

"Kate, isolate the Officer's mess. Command code Beta, Omega, Alpha 3. Erect a communications barrier around the compartment. Now, people, this meeting is not happening, what I am about to reveal could put a death warrant on all of you. If you want to leave I understand, but you have to do it now." John told his senior crew. No one got up, but confusion was prevalent among the officers. "Before you say anything read what I am about to send you. Be honest about what you think, but keep your composure. 'Jeeves send the Personal logs we have decrypted to everyone present, include the attached data with all the proof we found as well." John told his AI.

5 minutes later everyone was done reading and every shot glass had been downed. Every single person had a similar stunned look on their face, that they had been betrayed...and in a way, they all had been. The Admirals Board was supposed to embody the highest ideals of the Imperium, instead, they just found out they are nothing but a bunch of backstabbing murderers that just wanted power. What do you tell people when they discover the very foundation of their service is a lie...

"So, we can lay twelve Senatorial murders and another forty men, women, and children at the Admiral Board feet. Just so they could have more political power...Not to mention two hundred and fifty Sailors and Marines from the Gilded Claw to cover up their actions." Stein stated.

Chief Letts snorted "I am willing to bet my retirement that they buried a whole lot more than that to get the power they have now. I was as green as they got, but if I remember correctly the Gilded Claw was not the only ship that disappeared during that time."

Smitt nodded his head as Kate started talking over the speakers "IRN registry lists the Gilded Claw, Red Dawn, New Chicago, Midway, and Yamamoto are all listed as MIA and another dozen ships are listed as destroyed with engineering problems listed as the given reason for destruction. All over an eight-month period of the Senatorial assassination. Over five thousand military personnel are listed as dead because of this.' If John didn't know better, he would say Kate was both stunned and sad. He would talk to her later about it, Jeeves had certainly lost some of his smugness since decrypting the logs.

"The better question is, what are we going to do about it??" asked Jim O'Hansen.

John took a slow breath and let it out before responding, "We have a couple of options before us. First, we don't do anything. We scrub the logs of any mention of the Gilded Claw and tell everyone to keep their mouths shut about it. Two, we go on as usual but the computer core of the Gilded Claw was unsalvagable and we could not get any data from it. We keep the data and hope we never have to use it. Three, we turn over all the data to the Admirals Board and hope they don't come after us, our crew, and our families. Fourth, we turn the information over to the Senate and hope they have enough power to do something and hope it doesn't blowback on us. I will make the final decision, but I do want input from all of you."

After another ten minutes or so, they all agreed with option two. Better to keep the information and hope they never had to use it. Letts confirmed he would talk to the Engineers that went over to the Guilded Claw and make sure they remembered NOT RECOVERING anything. Smitt said the same thing about his Marines and Kate scrubbed all information about the data core from the Riptide. The copies of everything would be kept on data chips they would all keep on themselves at all times. With that, the meeting that never happened broke up...

1 Hour Later...

As John sat in his quarters doing his paperwork he called out to the ship's AI "Kate, are you ok? At the meeting you sounded...hurt. What's going on?"

Kate slowly phased into existence, a virtual 3D image of her sitting on his bed curled up in the upright fetal position. "I am sorry Captain. I just don't understand how the Admirals Board could betray both the Senate and the crews of those ships just for power?? It scares me and makes me sad. I am worried about you and my crew even more now. I don't like it."

John smiled before responding to the AI "Kate when we swore the oath to join the IRN we understood we might someday be called on to die. I know you don't have a choice in the matter but if you want I can put in a transfer request for you when we get back to Imperial Space if you want??"

Kate nodded before responding "I understand that Captain. I understand dying because the Imperium is being threatened by external power or because of a freak accident we die. Dying because a few people want more political power... it's one of the reasons I was designed to fight and what you took an oath to fight. I just feel betrayed and I feel like I am a coward because we are not going back to Trygun Prime and demanding the Board surrender and face justice for what they have done."

John smiled before he responded "I understand how you feel, but we are just one ship and one crew. The board has thousands of ships and tens of thousands of people on their side. I will not kill my crew out of a sense of self-righteousness. You all deserve better than that. We have an old human saying Kate 'Karma is a Bitch' it means that one day that those bastards that killed all those people will pay for their crimes." Kate looked at John but she still appeared unsure about what he said when another 3D image was rendered into his cabin...Jeeves?

"My dear, you should have more faith in the Captain. He has given far more than you know to be here. If you don't have any faith in anyone else here on this ship, have faith in him. He will do everything in his power to protect his people and you are one of them now." with that the powerful AI that appeared as an old butler disappeared...odd day The last thought John has before passing out was why had Message in a Bottle (Stage 2) had not completed??

7 Hours Later...

John woke up and his head still spun with everything that had happened over the last 24 hours. 'Kate send a private message to Commander Smitt, let him know if I tell him Code Omega, he has to deploy Marines to key parts of the ship just in case of mutiny or insurrection.' his comm beeped in acknowledgment. They still had another 4 hours until they reached UNK402 and he still had to review the survey data from UNK427. John wanted to eat and hit the gym before his shift started so he got his head out of his ass and headed out. Although John hoped the coming days would be boring, based on the past couple weeks, the Riptide was destined for anything but boring.