A Chronicle of Horizon History

[Evandorf]

Greetings, friends and allies.

I have been speaking at length with Rsair Aksssohi, Warpriest of Mukari, who you may know from their competitions, both physical and mental, as well as other recent activities they have hosted. In discussing the crew and its past it has become apparent that much is not recorded and at risk of being lost. Of course, the broad strokes have been recorded by the Conglomerate and its member corporations but the soul of a ship is not fed by clean and clinical accounts. Years from now, when the archives speak of Operation Dizang, you will read of how an elite SCC Strike Force was dispatched to siege the area and destroy a transmitter, yet who will describe the unending darkness of that night and the distress of the injured and lost? You may read of the ill-fated mission to Izilukh and the death of the Federation scientists, yet likely no one will be present to describe the adrenaline in your veins and blood in your ears as the shouts to retreat to the shuttle echo from every radio. These and yet older stories will be lost if not recorded as those with the knowledge leave, retire, or die.

To this end, we will begin to record and transcribe the accounts and memories of crew members who wish to volunteer their time and personal perspectives. We will seek out those we know to have stories to share but any are welcome and encouraged to volunteer their experiences, great or small. The task will likely take a great deal of time and may never be truly finished but I believe it is a worthwhile endeavor; should you wish to assist and join Aksssohi and myself in keeping these histories do not hesitate to contact us.

- Suvek Tokash, Hegemony Consular

(( An OOC note: we're going to be starting with personal accounts from people during the main lore arcs, but other, canon information is welcome as well. Ideally an IC interview would be nice but I know scheduling can be a pain with that sort of thing so if you'd rather just write up a draft in first person of what you want to discuss and shoot it to us then that's cool too. It will all be posted into this thread but if I find a different system that works better we might jump to that. I just got into a melancholy mood about people leaving the server for good and wanted to save what we can, even though life will always go on and things will always change it's good to remember what's passed. ))

[Evandorf]

  

Part One of Interview with Mae Lin, Pharmacist, speaking of events during the humanitarian mission to Izilukh

Approximate Date of Events - 29062466

 

Quote

 

RECORDING STARTED

Suvek Tokash asks, "What wass it you were going to ssspeak about?"

 

Mae Lin says, "Uh- the little town on the outskirts of Mudki, I believe it was. So... I guess it's best to start at the beginning. On the shuttle."

"Flying from the Horizon to Moghes."

"We landed, and I knew what my job was. Yekta was there too, so we worked together."

 

"Who iss Yekta?"

 

"Oh, Yekta Nazeri. She's also a pharmacist. We filled the fridge, but they wanted us to move the entire shuttle's medbay to the town."

"And we had those intermittent sandstorms, which made it really hard."

"And I definitely was not dressed for the weather."

"We worked together to get a lot of medicines done. We wanted to have some for the village, and for the large amount of medical crew we had."

"There were like... ten to fifteen people on the medical crew. That's a lot of bottles of dexalin plus."

"That's a lot of acetone."

"I remember it was hard, because we needed more chemicals, which means we needed those helping in Operations to order it."

"But they were also super busy. Every other department also needed something from them, I think."

"But we trucked through. Sadly, moving the entire medbay meant moving the entire fridge full of medicines."

 

"What wassss the job?"

"Oh, well, to make medicines for all of medical, and then some."

"Dexalin plus, definitely."

"Dexalin plus, mortaphenyl, inaprovaline. Top three, I think."

"That's like... fifteen dexalin plus bottles, fifteen times sixty units, so like, nine-hundred units."

"Nine-hundred units of inaprovaline, and mortaphenyl."

"Just to make sure everyone who would need one got a bottle."

"Uh- so- then we heard we needed to move all of the medical equipment on the shuttle to the village."

"So we needed crates from operations. We needed to move all the IVs, blood bags, medkits, roller beds, bandages, uhm..."

"More, I'm sure. It was a lot to move, and then we had to pull the entire fridge."

"And by that I mean wrench it out of the floor and drag it. Through sand."

"Luckily for me, Yekta I think dragged it there."

 

"Sstronger than you, eh?"

 

"Definitely, I don't know if she knows fatigue, being an IPC and all but she dragged it."

"And we were kind of lost."

"We didn't really know where to go, we were just following others, hoping they knew where to go."

"We made it to the walls of the town just fine. The sandstorm hadn't really hit us and those sandstorms hurt."

"They tear your eyes up, they cut your skin."

"It's like a million tiny paper cuts, or tiny bullets, or something."

"But we made it to the gates fine and then we waited outside them for a while. I don't know why there was an issue but for a bit they didn't want to let us in."

"So we just waited."

"Once we got in though, we found the medical building, and it was..."

"It stank. Of death."

"And I can tell you why."

"The back room was filled to the brim with dead bodies. Fifty or so bodies, some in bags, some not."

"Just... terrible."

 

"What of the resst of the sssity?"

 

"I didn't really get to see much of it. Down the road from the medical center was where service set up."

"They made food. Jamari Sauter, a chef, yelled at the crew for eating food meant to be for the city's occupants. That was a commonality."

 

"Ssauter yelling?"

 

"Yeah, he can get quite angry."

"Which, like, makes sense; the food wasn't really for us."

 

"Wasss anything done about the bodiesss you found?"

 

"They weren't ours to touch. So we didn't touch them."

"The inhabitants of the city were pretty peeved we were there, to be honest."

 

"There were ssssick and injured among the populassse?"

 

"Not particularly. No one that really came to us, anyways."

"Maybe they were afraid of us."

 

"Did you sssspeak to many?"

 

"No. A lot spoke uhm... what is it... sintaspeak?"

"Nothing I knew how to decipher, let alone converse in."

"But... yeah... no one really came to us in medical."

"Someone I think yelled at us from outside the medical doors."

"They were riding one of the... I don't remember the name. The animals they commonly ride."

 

"Thressshbeasssstsss?"

 

"Yeah, threshbeasts."

"I don't really know if they were yelling at us but they sounded angry. Then they just... left."

"Then I walked over to the wall where everyone else was. I talked to Anthony Magnus and Leo Barnes, both miners."

"Then, all of a sudden, out of nowhere, a fragmentation grenade was thrown at us."

"It hit me in my ankle, and I had a tiny piece of shrapnel irritating the joints between my tarsal bones."

"I didn't know until a few days later when my ankle wouldn't stop swelling."

 

"Adrenaline will do ssstrange thingss. You said the grenade was unekspected?"

 

"It was unexpected, yes. I didn't hear a single thing about like... any... violence towards us going on."

"Maybe more expected for those in security. Maybe they'd heard things we didn't. Or even command."

"But I heard not a single thing about it from medical comms."

"I got back to medical and... I remember Wojtek Stalker, a hanger tech and my very close friend, was really injured."

"And that was terrifying."

"He stepped on something. I wasn't ever sure what, but Leo like, saved his life."

"Earlier on I'd given Leo autoinjectors of inaprovaline, dexalin, mortaphenyl, and the works."

"And without those things, he might've been dead. So that was a terrifying and... thankful moment to have."

"Then we were just trying to help people who got hurt."

"I think... Todd Digson, a physician, also might've gotten hurt? He was pretty bad."

"It's hard to remember who all came came in. It was difficult with the small area we were given."

"We had so many extra medical personnel, and the area we worked in was like... one tenth the size of medbay here."

 

[ A PAUSE AS MAE LIN QUIETLY ANSWERS A CALL ON HER HEADSET ]

 

"Sorry, I'm starting to get called away."

 

"I underssstand, we can finisssh ssssome other time."

 

RECORDING STOPPED

 

 

[Lilly Evans]

Initial Interview with Ankala Ahzi - Concerning the Assault on the Reactor on Konyang

 

Quote

Rsair Akssohi hisses, "So I will begin my question.. When was it you first became involved in the Kongyang operation? Were you there from step one or part of supplemental planning?"

Ankala Ahzi hisses, "From the start, yes. I was already an executive officer by the time the situation on Konyang had begun..."

Rsair Akssohi hisses, "I see.. What was it like preparing for that initial operation? What stood out to you the most as the hour of your descent to the planet approached?"

Ankala Ahzi hisses, "Hm... Are we talking about the entire operation, or just the battle of the reactor...?"

Rsair Akssohi hisses, "Lets focus on the hours before the battle for the reactor."

Ankala Ahzi hisses, "I felt nothing much, aside from determination. It was the occasion for the Horizon to shine, especially after previous operations of... Middling success, to put it mildly."

Ankala Ahzi hisses, "More importantly, this wasn't a battle against people, there were no politics involved, no business. This time we fought a truly evil force, one that sought to destroy all of the people of the Spur, no matter our species or origins..."

Rsair Akssohi hisses, "What was the morale of the crew like? I assume there was a good deal of nervousness given how dangerous the rampant positronics were?"

Ankala Ahzi hisses, "Some were, inevitably. Some of our own positronic crew were there as well, though we had measures in place."

Ankala Ahzi hisses, "Overall, though spirits were high. As I've said, it was a fight grander than politics, more important too."

Rsair Akssohi hisses, "The crew got to fight for a just caused and rallied under it, it's a delight to know they can come together in such a time of need. I would like you to weave the tale, and I may ask questions, of that initial descent and landfall.. And the events which transpired after."

Ankala Ahzi hisses, "The crew was well organized, and everything was in order, from the preparations to the flight to the site. This wasn't the first time such an operation happened, and though previous experiences were defeats, that was experience nonetheless. We eventually reached the planet and prepared for the joint operation with local forces, had a briefing and so on... Things went well."

Ankala Ahzi hisses, "So... The landing, yes. Everyone was acting like a professional, as is expected."

Ankala Ahzi hisses, "Our soldiers were organized in squads, we in commands prepared plans, and eventually, we gave the go ahead to enter the power plant's grounds."

 Rsair Akssohi hisses, "When you say soldiers, was the entire crew enlisted as a milita or was it a matter of having an officer, medic, and engineer in a squad so there were multiples?"

Ankala Ahzi hisses, "Most of the "soldiers" were officers, with engineers here and there. We were supposed to have researchers around too, but we had a severe lack of such at the time, and none were present."

Ankala Ahzi hisses, "The composition of each squad dictated what their role would be, and so on. Healers stayed in the back, and so did some service crew."

Ankala Ahzi hisses, "This was also the day we received bluespace flares for the first time, this allowed our men to set up emergency landing zones for the canary, which could then retrieve wounded crew and bring them back to our base outside of the plant."

Ankala Ahzi hisses, "Everything had been planned out quite well... As I said, professionally."

Rsair Akssohi hisses, "Ah, quite an invention those are. I've heard of them but never saw them in action. So squuads were organized and the Canary was used as an emergency response vessel. Please, continue?"

Ankala Ahzi hisses, "Our men were on a tight schedule. They had to reach the main Hivebot beacon before the Konyang troops across the island could be overwhelmed... On our end, as command, we organized in a bunker and oversaw and coordinated assigned squads."

Ankala Ahzi hisses, "The fighting was brutal, if anything. Our men effectively ran across an open field to reach the power plant, some had to delve into dark, collapsing tunnels instead... Their foes were often larger, stronger machines- Ah, IPCs. And some were mechanical horrors made by the Hivebots we had never seen."

Ankala Ahzi hisses, "Some beacons fell behind our lines too, causing havoc amongst our men... But, nevertheless, they pulled through."

Rsair Akssohi hisses, "How did the teams respond to the introduction to beacons behind the lines? Did it cause any lines to break or were they just reorganized to handle them?"

Ankala Ahzi hisses, "It did not. I saw the... I think it was the pink team, with Hiza, the Aut'akh, have a beacon land right on their position as they were already in a fight. Hiza and her team turned around, and shot down the beacon and its minions in seconds before focusing back on the front. They fought with impressive efficiency and resilience."

Ankala Ahzi hisses, "The timing was eventually quite... Tight, but two squads, including one led by Tokash himself, forced their way into the reactor and managed to reach the beacon itself, and dismantle it. This was a gauntlet, but like the rest of the crew, they did their duty, and they did it well... So well in fact that by the time the mission was accomplished, we had no dead men. None."

Rsair Akssohi hisses, "An Aut'kh? Not what I expected, but I assuume any creature with a shred of decency would fight well in such circumstance."

Ankala Ahzi hisses, "Hiza is an Aut'akh, as silly as it is though, she is also a Unathi. Many sinta were on the ground, and all of them fought like a Sinta would."

Ankala Ahzi hisses, "They were strong, effective, and brave, no matter how misguided the faith of some was..."

Ankala Ahzi hisses, "This mission was way, way more than anything we had done until then. This was, from the start, planned to be a proper battle, and it was- and we had no losses. In the meantime, previous operations that were never meant to be of such violence saw many deaths. I believe it speaks to how much our crew improved, and how they learned to prepare for, and deal with such operations."

Rsair Akssohi hisses, "And how well leadership has grown to plan for such things to aid them as well. What was the most tense moment for you during the operation?"

Ankala Ahzi hisses, "I was tense about the crew's well being, and the Unathi in it too... But, when it came to the squads I led, these were those sent in the tunnels, below the reactor. This was an alternative route we explored in case the main path was blocked."

Ankala Ahzi hisses, "It was a maze of pitch-black corridors, half collapsed meaning that progress was slow and dangerous for the men there. Eventually they reach a sort of warehouse, in which a sort of monstrous mechanical beast waited. It was twice as large as the Bulwark my camera followed."

 Ankala Ahzi hisses, "That, I think... Might qualify as the most tense part for me... And the most relieving when I saw them destroy this monster without any serious wounds, thankfully."

Rsair Akssohi hisses, "Great Spirit.. That is massive, the size of a Warform? Was there anyone you would commend for their acts that day? Anyone, though all truly did, went above and beyoond the call of duty?"

Ankala Ahzi hisses, "I think the entire crew did well. Perhaps some were braver or stronger than most, but without the rest, none of these exceptional men would've made it through, at least not as well as they did."

Ankala Ahzi hisses, "The SCC Had... Its own way of thanking those they deemed most deserving of medals and the likes. I won't comment on that part. I am simply proud to have been part of this operation, and witnessed all of the crew acting in such a professional, and disciplined manner."

Rsair Akssohi hisses, "Indeed, this is not about what the SCC Officially commended or reported.. But the first hand accounts of those who were there, so they are not list to the tides of corporate history."

Rsair Akssohi hisses, "Do you have anything else you wish to note about the operation? Emotions, thoughts, misgivings, joys, or sorrows?"

Ankala Ahzi hisses, "I think I said how I felt about this, proud. And as our recent operation on Moghes has shown, this wasn't a fluke, the crew was reliable and effective there too."

Ankala Ahzi hisses, "The Ahzi fleet has sent me here to learn about how things went on, beyond the Badlands, beyond Unathi-on-Unathi business, as we say. This was the kind of thing that would make my fleet proud, make them know that the people of the Spur at large great too."

 

Edited December 4 by Lilly Evans