>CREW AUDIO LOG
>CORONA, FLT. INTL./RD
>AURORA, MOTHERSHIP
>9632.30805462101 GSY
Aurora research division report two-one-one-eight, mark one.
With the unknown device successfully transferred from Achelois, my team has completed their initial analysis and submitted their findings. At present, we have been unable to ascertain the purpose or origins of this device, and while some suggest the device is Raider technology, it is merely speculation at this stage. Samples obtained from the surface of the device indicate it is newly constructed, ruling out Progenitor origins. Therefore, whatever its purpose may be, my hypothesis is that considering the device was found in the presence of Raiders, it is clearly relevant to their needs.
Our metallurgy sub-division reports high concentrations of heavy metals across the device’s entire exterior. Primarily stable elements, though our sensors picked up on negative beta decay at one end, which we believe to be some sort of emitter dome, just behind the first dish. Though emissions were low, all necessary precautions against potential high radiation exposure were taken. Despite the presence of decay, it did not match the original radiation detected from the planet earlier on. However, considering no additional readings have been detected since the retrieval of the device, we still believe it to be the source. We still haven’t properly operated the device though.
Several other members of my team have been pouring through the research notes found with the device. A significant amount of data was purged, no doubt around the time the Raiders became aware of the Infiltrators’ presence. Understanding the remaining content while simultaneously translating the Turanic language has taken considerable time, but so far we have learned enough from schematics to confidently power the device without fear of harming the components, our operators, or Aurora. Upon activating the power supply, the device emitted a constant swishing sound, and the dome glowed with a faint purple colour. Despite all sensors showing safe levels of radiation, and surface readings indicating temperatures weren’t at any extremes, we decided to cut the power approximately half a minute later.
Among the intact files, my team came across data containing partial schematics of an ancient ship discovered by the Hiigarans during their exile era, designated the Ghost Ship. The vessel too, had an unknown purpose, with the ability to override ship controls and bring it under the influence of the command ship. Why these schematics were found in the logs is a mystery. I had my team double-check with the Hiigarans to confirm the device we’ve obtained was not removed from the ghost ship. However, I still feel there is a missing piece of this puzzle that could only be found from that vessel.
The Hiigarans found this vessel in an area of the galaxy just outside the Great Nebula. With the fall of the Kadeshi, and the surrounding areas now Turanic territory, there will be some obvious dangers in that region. Amarok will head to the vessel, with a small fleet remaining on call in a nearby solar system. With the recent completion of our second stealth destroyer, Basilisk, I may send the vessel to the second Ghost Ship discovered during the Harmony campaign to obtain additional data, if operational requirements permit. Would be a fitting first mission for their crew. I knew a few of their Infiltrators, so I’m confident in their abilities to complete any assigned task.
I’m hoping the expeditions will provide some insight as to why Raiders were in possession of these schematics. In the meantime, more testing will be planned, to determine—uhh, yes? Come in.
>LOG PAUSED
>LOG RESUMED
I have just received an update from my team. Among the items retrieved from the planet, a small watch was one of them. It had been found specifically in front of the unknown device upon retrieval. After a brief observation of its unusual operation, my team set it aside, so our full attention could be directed at the device instead.
A member of my team recently observed an unusual phenomenon during a clean-up of the lab in which the watch had been placed in. As she was organising some equipment, she noted a purple cloud of energy that was briefly emitted from the watch. This energy dissipated far too quickly to observe properly, until some cameras were set up to better identify this anomaly.
Upon reviewing the video, a comparison was made to one of the first missions undertaken by Amarok. During the mission to destroy an out-of-control vessel, an Infiltrator came across the purple anomaly on the ship’s bridge. The similarities are uncanny, and raise several interesting questions. What does an excessively fast watch have to do with an out-of-control vessel? If Turanic Raiders were found at the site of the unknown device, could they have been responsible for that vessel’s behaviour? How is the ghost ship relevant to all of this? I have a couple of ideas, though both are premature. More evidence is required.
Due to the similarities, I have taken a few precautions with the research division. In the event this watch may somehow exert some manner of influence over any systems, I have ordered a full system disconnection from Aurora, as per the standard operating procedures of a category three containment. The lab will remain attached to Aurora, and crew will be free to enter and leave, but until this device is verified safe, or removed from Aurora, we’ll be running only on self-contained systems. Should Aurora's bridge be compromised, crew will be standing by to deploy demolitions across the bridge in the same manner as the Infiltrators did on that vessel, with other crew reverting to auxiliary station controls.
Analysis of the device continues. I will forward this data and my concerns to the other members of Fleet Intelligence.
>LOG TERMINATED
>CREW AUDIO LOG
>CORONA, FLT. INTL./RD
>AURORA, MOTHERSHIP
>9632.31078914604 GSY
Aurora research division report two-one-two-zero mark one.
During the events that took place on the planet designated Enigma Tango, as referenced in lab report two-one-one-eight, one of the Infiltrators discovered a device that has been identified as a voice recorder.
Neither the Infiltrators, nor my team were familiar with the language used in the recording. After comparing audio samples from several other common galactic languages, the most similar seemed to be that used by the Taiidan. Even then, the language sounded rather different. A quick communication with some members of the Taiidan Republic yielded interesting results.
The language spoken on the voice recorder was in an old Taiidan dialect no longer used; an interesting development implying Enigma Tango was once a Taiidan-claimed world. Now that I think about it, this can be implied by the automated Taiidan proximity sensors crawling through the larger debris fields of the Karos Graveyard. Still, the Republicans insisted they had no knowledge of this world. What they told us next took a dark turn, as they translated the audio.
“I don’t have much time. Malfunction in the northern chemical plants. Reactants ignited. None will escape the forbidden weapons.”
There is only one known weapon referred to as ‘forbidden’: ADWs. Atmospheric deprivation weapons. Banned for their sheer cruelty millennia ago, it almost exterminated the Hiigarans on two occasions. Running the numbers in a typical habitable planet model, the results paint a horrifying picture of what they’re capable of.
Just one ADW can raise average atmospheric temperature by fifteen degrees. Oxygen at sea level plummets, giving a density altitude of six thousand metres a quarter arc away from the impact area. Survivors near the initial blast wave are burned alive. Outside the blast radius, victims suffocate and slow-roast over a longer period, if immediate protective equipment is unavailable. If they’re lucky, additional ADWs will end their suffering sooner.
My team and I now suspect Enigma Tango was once a secret Taiidan military planet used in part, or wholly for the production of ADWs. The recording supports this theory, as do reports from my team on Enigma, who have stated the structures they’ve passed by were several millennia old. This suggests the planet was populated around the pre-exile era of the Hiigarans. It would also explain the autonomous defences.
Given the seriousness of the situation, the Galactic Council has been informed. An investigation will be carried out, and if our suspicions are correct, a joint task force will be assembled, with fleets from multiple factions to witness and perform a full surface bombardment from orbit. The First Solar Fleet will then remain until all other fleets have jumped away, allowing Aurora to use the Elements of Harmony for good measure. Perhaps an excessive treatment of the planet, but ADWs cannot be allowed to exist.
This still leaves one disturbing thought. The Turanic Raiders were on that planet. While we still haven’t made much progress on the unknown device secured by the Infiltrators, we must now consider the possibility that the Raiders may have obtained ADWs, or the means to manufacture them.
I fear for the future.
>LOG TERMINATED