Tag: journal

#Lore 24 – Entry #112 – Sci-Fi Month II #21 – The Most Depressing Place in the Demon Sector (So Far)

From the Personal Journal of Seiko Kajira, Galactic News Gazette reporter, assigned UEF-04 Maharani Morgiana

No, it’s not my cabin on the Morgiana, surprisingly enough.  After two weeks in hyperspace, I was more than ready to do something besides talk to other unfortunates aboard the ship and come up with ideas on exactly which rumors to spread to who, so of course I hopped aboard a transport to the first of the “colony” worlds we’ve encountered to see what life on the frontier was like.  You know, my actual job out here.  Planet looked nice enough from orbit, Charvis VII they called it, outside a big asteroid belt, far away from a very hot sun.  Or at least I think that’s what the nerd I spoke to meant.  I don’t know astrophysics, so whatever, I’ll take the scientist’s word on this or that; it’s in the official report I filed, part of the official interview.

It’s a gods-forsaken shithole is what it is.  They called it a colony, but it’s like a collection of mud huts on some primitive backwater.  Okay, maybe it’s not that bad, just a lot of haphazardly thrown together prefab shelters that are starting to show their age.  Must’ve been maybe two-hundred people there, if that, mostly humans.  I mean, who else would be that stupid, amiright?  No diseases running rampant, thankfully.  They were friendly enough, though, seemed happy working their farms and being away from the rest of the civilized galaxy.  Got a few people to tell me all about it while we were there; it’s in the report.  Reckon the techies from the Morgiana installed some kind of communications equipment on the surface and on one of the moons, some kind of hyperspace relays I think, to help boost transmission quality and relay time back to Aphelion Station.  For the really important communications, the Morgiana uses some kind of “courier missiles” as they called them.  Basically, just hyperspace-capable pods that get shot back to Aphelion ever so often, packed with sensor data and reports and the like.  Much more reliable, apparently.

Anyway, first stop in the depths of the Demon Sector was terrible.  Was I really expecting anything more, though?  I don’t know, I just figured it would be more exciting, I guess.  Like gunfights on the street like in Paradise City on Valefar V or rampaging monsters against the plucky colonists, that kind of thing.  Spent a few days there while some teams from the Morgiana did some proper scans of the system and set up for some resource collection operations in the near future.  Really boring stuff, unless you’re that druid who was really excited about the local wildlife; never seen someone get so excited over what looked like a mutated cow.  Didn’t even seem to be anything too exciting happening within the colony, just “living the good life”, away from the hustle and bustle of the big cities and the megacorps.  Good for them, I guess?  Not the kind of life for me.

FUCK!  I hate this fucking place!  I honestly thought about jumping ship, staying at the colony until the next corpo team comes along and hitching a ride back to Aphelion.  That lasted about two seconds, though.  Who knows how long that’d take?  Just have to stay focused on what I can do here, I guess.  Maybe it’s just going to take me a while to find my grove here.  I mean, I’ve got my burgeoning career as a fiction writer, after all.  Already starting to see a little excitement starting up though; saw a fight break out at VV’s place the other night after one of the rumors I’d started got some tempers fired up.  Maybe I should pace myself a bit, not get things too hot too soon?  It’s a long damn trip after all.

Think I’ve sniffed out a few prospective interesting subjects aboard to focus on next.  Mizutani’s still fun to mess with; he really does get off on being spoken down to.  Makes him squirmy; I can tell he’s getting a hard-on and trying to hide it.  That feradogian he’s taken up with seems a bit intimidating, though; he’s friendly enough, but always has this hungry look on his face when he looks at me.  Positively predatory.  Might try to get to know that female ferakatian scout who was part of the crew who visited the colony, just to see if I can get something stirred up.  Heard fights between ferians are intense; might be fun to watch.  Don’t think security would take too well to it; that security chief doesn’t like me already.  Not that I care, though; can’t stop the free press!

#Lore 24 – Entry #111 – Sci-Fi Month II #20 – Repeated Security Issues at VV’s Pink Pussy Lounge

From Personal Logs of Gravius Scharaiden, Chief Security Officer, assigned UEF-04 Maharani Morgiana, decryption algorithm successful, translated from original Aerian script.

Allowing this place aboard the ship was a damn mistake.  Security threat from Hell, and a public nuisance. Barely even two weeks into this trip and I’ve had to send security three times.  Going to talk to the captain about this; should be closed down immediately.  Operator was already on my watch list, didn’t take her long to prove us right.  If I have my way, we’ll drop her off at the first mud-hut colony we come across and be done with it.

UPDATE:

Captain Silvercask didn’t share my appraisal of the situation.  Civilians should be held to higher standards onboard this ship, should be made to follow the same regulations and face the discipline as the military crew.  Would make things a lot more tolerable.

This is why you shouldn’t mix the two.  All military or none I say.  This is going to end badly.

Captain’s letting the lounge stay open for now.  Called it an “adjustment period”, as everyone gets used to everyone else, as territory is established, things will calm down, supposedly.  I don’t think so.  This place will be a problem unless the issue is dealt with directly.  All alcohol should be banned anyway, on the entire ship. 

I’ve placed a security team in the corridor outside the lounge indefinitely during business hours.  May extend that to full-day surveillance if I don’t change my mind.  Spoke to Verlucia myself after the last incident; she’s all charm and innocence, said passions just got stirred up when she sang, that people were just not used to long hyperspace trips like this.  She’s persuasive, likely could make most people do about anything for a chance to please her.  Didn’t work on me, though.  Saw right through it.  Told her to straighten up or I’d see her arrested and booted off the ship.  She didn’t seem too pleased, but that’s not my concern. 

Will look into monitoring activities in the vicinity of the lounge as well.  Sure it’s more than drinks and entertainment that goes on there.  Could smell the sex in the air from outside the place.  Probably some drugs being pushed through there too.  Going to cause issues all over the damn ship.  May make a point to show up there myself as soon as possible, see what’s going down for myself.  Let Verlucia know that I’m not going to let her escape my attention for long.  She’ll correct herself or I’ll correct her, with security pressure or by kicking her off the ship.  Simple as that.

UPDATE 2:

That kerryn reporter, Kajira, is starting to nose around VV’s more often now.  Can’t trust her, didn’t agree with her getting added to the crew last minute.  Seems the type to cause trouble, probably already has.  Wouldn’t be surprised if she’s responsible for that last fight; my team said they saw her talking to both parties previously.  Going to have to watch her more closely.  May be another one we’ll have to offload somewhere.  Will have to monitor her communications, see what she’s telling and to who.  Will get Burnout to set it up in the morning.

#Lore 24 – Entry #110 – Sci-Fi Month II #19 – Fashion Victims of the Azalina Fang Academy

From the Personal Journal of Seiko Kajira, Galactic News Gazette reporter, assigned UEF-04 Maharani Morgiana

I’ve always wondered what that all-girls’ arcane academy on Andyllion was like, and I just found my ticket to some inside information from a someone who graduated from there.  This Kirara Mizutani had an especially non-standard experience while he was there, and once I’d gotten a few drinks into him, he wasn’t shy about telling me all the juicy bits.  And how juicy they are!  I’d expect this kind of thing from a school ran by followers of the Lovely sisters, but not from a school for wizardly types.

So, this place is already famous for being an all women school…mostly.  Hell, I didn’t know men could go there and NOT get turned into animals; I was always under the impression that part was just a quirk of the nature of the island the school is on, but apparently that’s not the case.  Men can go there, if they’re willing to either use magic to change their gender or, if they don’t go that far, they can go most of the way by hyper-feminizing themselves through similar magics.  However, that comes with a kinky little caveat:  they must wear chastity cages on their cocks for the duration of their education there, whether they’re on the island or not, and even during breaks.  So, either no dicky or caged dicky; either way, they weren’t going to use it, so the cherries were safe (or not; apparently there’s no shortage of sex off the island, and even on it…). 

But that’s not all; apparently the men, even those that go full sex change, have to undergo a full year of remedial studies on top of the normal term, which has little to do with magic, rather, they have to become part of one of the sorority houses and learn how to be proper ladies, always wearing dresses and heels and makeup, most of it bright pink, learning how to fix their hair, that sort of stuff.  And that year also apparently involves being a maid for the whole house, and that comes with all kinds of kinky sexcapades apparently…not that the guys were really getting off that much, or at all, but apparently the female students had no such restrictions.  I have a feeling I could pump Mizutani for more details about the lusty hijinks and have enough material to write erotica for centuries.  Not that I’d really need a lot of help; I could just make up all kinds of shit involving magical schoolgirls and forced-feminization and make an okay bonus check every now and then.

So, Mizutani went into some detail about the sorority houses at the Academy.  It’s always been a bit of a mystery, something the students tend to lord over the outsiders as some big secret, those colorful socks and leggings of theirs. Turns out it’s not really that big of a secret.  I’m actually kind of pissed at myself for even asking about them after I found out the truth.  So, those multi-color leggings aren’t just tied to what course of study they are pursuing but also represent their House.  There are twelve major Houses on the Isle, and each one has their own colors; that’s represented by the inner-most layer of their legwear, usually by stockings or tights.  The next layer is an inner sock that represents what year of study they are on, and the outer layer represents the particular type of magic they’re studying; it’s possible to have multiple fields of study, so it’s not uncommon for students to have four or five layers on their legs, in various states of garishness depending on the particular combination.

Fuck me, that took way too long to explain…

The sororities themselves are just as I’ve heard, though.  The largest houses are dominated by one particular megacorp or another, the big names, anyway, like DSM or VTC, and are usually filled with students who come from families tied to whatever corp is in control.  There are a few smaller houses that barely qualify to be called such in comparison to those linked to the megacorps, and these are usually there for anyone who may not want to get entangled with the big guys or just the outcasts.

In Mizutani’s case, it was only his first year that wasn’t standard.  And it was an interesting time on the Isle of Fang, apparently.  There were an unprecedented number of men who signed on that year, a dozen, which meant that each of the Great Sororities got their own special maid for at least a year.  The administration even felt like having a little fun and randomized the house the students were sent to, just to make sure there wasn’t any favoritism going on.  Mizutani didn’t say which house he joined, but from what I gather they didn’t take it easy on him, always teasing, tempting, and tormenting, as he put it.  I would say I feel sorry for him, but the way he looked after he started telling me some of the kinkier details, I think he enjoyed himself quite a bit.  Which would explain why he kept the feminization thing going, and still wears his school colors most days.  I suppose it is something to be proud of, making it through a school like that and graduating with honors.

I’m going to be meeting him a few more times, I think.  Maybe dig for some juicier details on some of the corpo kids he was there with, something I could use later on, maybe.  Or hell, maybe I’m just curious to hear more about his sex life.  He’s cute enough; maybe I can try that bullying angle, see if he responds to that in some way.  Or maybe play a little footsie under the table, see how big he is now that he’s out of that school-enforced cock cage and looking like he does.

I’ve got multiple years to stay busy here, okay?  I might as well find something to entertain myself while waiting for news to happen.  We won’t even drop out of hyperspace for another week and a half, and I’m BORED.  Fuck me, I need to go for a walk or something, I’m starting to get angry again just thinking about being ANYWHERE else.

#Lore 24 – Entry #109 – Sci-Fi Month II #18 – The Obstinate Phoenix

From the Personal Logs of Captain Durgen Silvercask, decryption algorithm successful, translated from original Dwarven Script:

She is certainly a decorated vessel, that I cannot deny, but were I to say that I had no reservations about her being attached to this expedition, I would be lying to myself.  She has nearly reached three consecutive centuries of service, so I suppose the brass wanted to give her an easy assignment before they may finally decommission her.  I’m honestly surprised she hasn’t met that fate sooner, given her rather…unique record.

Let’s see…in the dozen battles she’s been part of during that time, she has been severely damaged in all of them, even crash-landed on a planet’s surface twice.  And yet, somehow, each time, she’s been able to recover herself enough to get back home, even turning the tide of two battles that she returned to after getting knocked out of the fight, one of those having been after she crashed. 

I’m not sure if the gods of fortune are blessing her or cursing her, but her name is certainly appropriate regardless. 

She’s a rather unique vessel even without that remarkable record; I’ve spoken to her current captain, Raryliss Steelforger (with a family name like that, I’d almost have thought she was a dwarf, given her build, but she’s undeniably a kobold, of the silver-scaled variety), at some length about her history.  Somewhat experimental when she was constructed, the Phoenix is a rare joint construction effort between the dwarves and kobolds.  Though we’re certainly not as hostile to one another as we used to be, we still don’t mingle too often.  Still, that’s a dwarf-designed skeleton inside the Phoenix, the bulk of construction made using that unique kobold dragon’s breath forging process combined with tried-and-true dwarven construction methods.  Was and still is the largest such construction made with the kobolds’ breath, and what an endeavor that must have been.

She’s been refitted multiple times, but the Phoenix remains a battlecruiser at her heart.  She’s something of a hybrid with her current configuration, what her captain has dubbed an “assault carrier”.  She’s packing the biggest guns of any of the battlecruisers in the fleet and has a pair of (admittedly small) hangar bays for launching escort fighters; she’s got her own fighter group stationed aboard, the Summer-Flame Dragons, I believe is the correct translation, all kobolds.  Most of her crew are kobolds, with the bulk of the others consisting of rattenvolk and gnomes, and after her first refit, that’s historically been the case.  Suppose that would make sense as to why she’s been able to overcome such terrible damage time and again; credit where it’s due, those folk can certain repair anything if it’s at all possible.

Whatever the makeup of her crew, the Phoenix is a fine vessel, and though I’m still not sure what to make the exact nature of her record, I’m certain she will prove to be a valuable addition to the expedition.  I was a bit concerned when I was made aware of a certain technician who has a reputation as something of a jinx being aboard her, but Captain Steelforger assures me that, now that Engineer Longtail is aboard a kobold ship, they’ll have nothing to worry about.  Doesn’t exactly deny what the security department had uncovered about the tech, really makes her record seem a bit more like intentional sabotage, but perhaps there’s more to it than that.  I’m hardly an expert on kobold culture, after all, so I’m not aware of what other connotations the captain’s statement may have.

 

#Lore 24 – Entry #108 – Sci-Fi Month II #17 – Seiko Kajira, GNG Star Reporter

From the Personal Journal of Seiko Kajira, Galactic News Gazette reporter, assigned UEF-04 Maharani Morgiana

Well, if there was one fine way to torpedo a career, I guess this is as good as any. 

What the hell am I going to report on out here in the middle of bumfuck nowhere that’ll be halfway interesting to anyone?  Maybe if I were on the first expedition, but on the fourth?  Nobody gives a damn anymore, hell, I’m not convinced anyone gave a damn to begin with.  Your average person is going to see this as a publicity stunt from the megacorps and not give two shits.  Those who had any kind of interest were either already on board this bucket or long since disappeared into the Demon Sector already.

FUCK!

FUCK FUCK FUCK!

Can’t believe the higher ups pussed out and sent me out here, just when I was this close to getting some major dirt on that criminal syndicate.  Probably that connection to DSM I uncovered and the fear they’ve got of that witch in charge if I had to guess.  It’s not like Volcari hasn’t weathered much worse, fucking company stock is rebounding after that fiasco with Darius that led to the rush to explore the DS anyway, and that’s just the most recent scandal.  Bitch is untouchable!

But no, instead of getting some juicy fucking facts out there that might actually make some difference somewhere, I’m tossed into the deep dark and tasked with getting “interesting personal stories and news from the edge of the frontier”.  BULL.  SHIT.  Won’t be anything of gods damned interest out here unless a war kicks off, and even then it’s so far away nobody who actually reads the news will give two shits.  Who is going to care about a new planet to mine or some old decrepit ruins with a dragon’s head statue or some colonists who are nearly dead because they were too stupid to wait for a proper expedition to go exploring?  “Oh, look, a new gaseous anomaly!”  How freaking exciting!  Oh, look, it’s another animal with nasty big pointy teeth and it’s hostile to us!  No shit!

Well, Seiko, you might as well fucking start looking for a new career right fucking now.  This one might as well be over.  By the time you have a chance to leave the DS, your name will have been forgotten.  Hell, GNG might as well consider your paycheck a mistake to be corrected by then, if they haven’t already.  FUCK! 

You know what?  Fuck it.  I’m going to have a little fun while I’m out here.  Fuck the truth!  I’m going to get to know every damn person I can on every one of these fucking ships, and I’m going to stir up the fucking pot!  Total drama, baby!  Maybe I’ll discover I’ve got a talent for sleezy fiction after all.  Might as well, right?  I mean, shit, how are the bosses going to know it’s all bullshit anyway?  They’re way the fuck back home after all, and I’m only going to be able to send data back periodically anyway.  Yeah, let’s do this!  Time to fucking go!

 

#Lore 24 – Entry #106 – Sci-Fi Month II #15 – Devil Dog

From the Personal Journal of Kiara Mizutani, Arcane Support Division, assigned UEF-04 Maharani Morgiana

I have had such a confusing day!  As we finalize our preparations to launch into the Demon Sector, Director Tallfoot has been relentlessly drilling us in the ASD on our skills and magical talents, and I’m exhausted from it all!  To make matters worse, she’s continued to give me hell over being late all the time.  It’s not my fault!  I just can’t understand the layout of this ship!  It’s still so confusing!  But she’s demanded I improve, and has taken steps to see it happen.  I can’t believe I let her browbeat me into going along with this, but…she put a chastity cage on me!  Said it was to help to improve my focus!  And it’s got some enchantments on it for punishments that she’s in charge of!  I guess she got it from the Yurisayan delegation? 

Oh, why did I let her do that?!  What was I thinking?!  I had to wear one for five years at the Academy and it was maddening, and barely a year out, and I’m stuck in one again!  I’m such a pushover!  It’s so tight already, and I can’t stop getting hard and making it pinch more, and it’s really annoying!  But she promised it would stay right where it is until my performance improved.  She even put an arcane lock on it to make it as hard as possible to remove!  I have to try to start waking up early tomorrow or something, try to get there on time.  Maybe if I at least make the effort, she’ll take it off? 

But there might be a bit of a bright spot even with all the hell that Miss Tallfoot is giving me.  I met someone new…after the stupid cage was locked on, unfortunately…but he seems…well, I’m not sure.  I’m a little intimidated by him, but he’s got this bad-boy thing going that really has me intrigued.  I mean, with a nickname like ‘Devil Dog’, that just screams cool, right?  He’s a feradogian, can’t say I’ve really dealt with them much, but we wound up on an elevator together after work today.  He was staring at me the whole ride, and we had more than enough time to get each other’s scents.  He’s huge, too!  Like almost nine feet tall, and all of it wolfy muscle!  The more I think about those scars, the more excited I get (and the tighter this stupid cage gets!  URGH!!)! 

He followed me off the elevator toward the cantina and offered to buy me a drink, so how could I say no?  We chatted some, learned a bit about each other.  He’s working on one of the scouting teams, says he’s a really good tracker and hunter.  He seemed really into me, too, said I was a bundle of interesting scents that had him more than a little worked up.  I could tell.  Really wonder if I could handle that gigantic thing he’s carrying around in those leather pants?  Did I mention he goes around shirtless?  Mmmm…

I might’ve had a little too much to drink, gotten a little…touchy-feely with him under the table.  I might’ve been a little cocktease tonight, lol.  He was positively panting for more, and I thought his pants were going to pop open right there.  Guess feradogian tails act like regular dogs when they’re excited, too.  That’s when this stupid little cage decided to pinch me again.  Total mood killer.  I had to try to break things off at that point, but DD was pretty insistent, so I wound up sticking around a while longer.  We started making out in the corner, and I’m sure he felt the cage when he was feeling me up; the look he gave me when he was squeezing me in my sexy little shorts was…oh, gods, I think I’m in trouble!  I think he’s excited by the idea!  I bet he’s into all kinds of kinky stuff!

We’re going to hook up tomorrow after work; I’ve got a day off before we launch, so I’m curious what might happen…I’m a sucker for the bad boys…

#Lore 24 – Entry #104 – Sci-Fi Month II #13 – h@cKiNg == M@g1k

From the Personal Journal of Chiasa Charity Chiasakaniki, Systems Analyst and Programmer, IT Division, assigned UEF-04, Maharani Morgiana.

It’s a question I’ve been asked before, but not one I’ve ever really took time to think about.  I mean, how does one breathe?  You just do, right?  It’s basically the same with my magic.  Basically.  More or less. Kind of?

I know that’s not really a good answer, but my boss keeps hounding me about it, so I guess I should come up with some kind of answer that he’ll accept.  When that ticket came in for a printer issue today when he showed up asking, I was super stoked to go and deal with it, even if it was just a cable that came unplugged; shame it took me like two hours to make sure the department was in no danger of a similar issue happening again!  Safe now, not sorry later!

Still, my magic…I’m not the only kitsune I know who does this kind of thing, I guess it’s become something of a thing with those of us who prefer to live amongst the big cities these days.  It’s not really techomancy as the term is usually used, cause I’m not really repairing or enhancing or controlling machinery with it.  I guess…it’s like…more like, anyway…the enchantments and illusions we kitsune are known for, just in digital form? 

Ugh, this is hard to put into words.

It’s second nature to me, so it’s more instinctive, I think is the way to put it.  When I concentrate on a given task inside a computer system or network and then reach out with my magic as I work, I can somehow make it work on the code.  Like…let’s see…take a simple function to have the coffee machine brew up a cup of coffee every five minutes for an hour.  If I wanted to hack the coffee pot to say, double that rate for two hours, I just find my way inside and will it to happen.  If you were to ask an arcanist, I guess they’d say I “charmed” it into doing something it wouldn’t normally do.

Same way with ICE and security daemons.  If I encounter that kind of thing, I just “throw up an illusion” and hopefully it’ll believe it and go running off after it instead of coming at me, leaving me to slip in behind it and access the juicy bits and bytes.  Doesn’t always work, but most of the time it does; just depends on the system I’m trying to get into or the program I’m trying to modify.  And yeah…I have taken over a system or two before, just to see if I could, not that I was doing anything that illegal or anything.  “Domination” I guess is what an arcanist would call it.  Well, not the same kind of “domination” you’d find the clergy of Erisaya or Yurisaya practicing, but you know, the “mental” kind. 

How do I know which code to target, how do I see these “daemons” inside a system?  Well…I just do?  Guess that wouldn’t be good enough.  Okay, so…it’s like this, once I get into the zone after initially hacking in the traditional way, I just sort of…see it?  It’s like a VR interface I guess, but on a much smoother and less disorienting level, like pure mental imagery that overlays with the code and meshes with it.  I guess it IS kind of like my own personal VR system, just powered by kitsune illusion magic.  And when I look through these “goggles”, I see safe areas, danger zones, and active threats, like a targeting HUD in a starfighter, kind of, so I just know what to do and where to go.  It’s like jacking in directly for a cyborg with the right implants, just without any of the nasty hardware requirements. 

Kind of. I think. 

Is this making any sense at all?  Maybe not.  I dunno, I’ve never had to describe how my magic works before.  It just works.  Why is that so hard to comprehend?

Guess I need to explain my tails too…he’s asked about them about as much as the rest of it.  It’s a thing with kitsune; we don’t all have multiple tails, a tiny fraction of us have all nine, but everyone I know who can do what I do has at least three, like me.  Maybe I should refer him to the mythology on some world or another instead of trying to explain it myself?  I mean, it’s just how this is for me, like, completely a natural thing, so I just don’t know what to say.  My tails are part of me, they indicate a certain magical potency, and they get animated when I’m in the zone.  I just don’t really think about them that much when it comes to what I do.

#Lore 24 – Entry #103 – Sci-Fi Month II #12 – Known Commonalities Amongst Demon Sector Creatures

 

From the Official Report by Bovinius Greenwhisker, Herdminder, assigned to UEF-04, Maharani Morgiana.

Though our study of the creatures native to the Demon Sector has only just begun, there are several notable commonalities shared amongst a significant number of creatures which should be noted and observed in the field.  Much of our information comes from the local wildlife captured and studied in the Valefar system, but long-range messages received from other exploratory teams deeper within the Demon Sector have revealed these traits to be common there as well.  It should be noted that these traits are NOT found in ALL lifeforms we have thus far encountered; aside from coloration and size differences, many of the species we have encountered thus far are almost identical to what we are familiar with.  These traits, while most common in predators, are sometimes present in the prey animals as well, making for some interesting and potentially dangerous combinations.

  • Aggression – The most common trait attributed to this particular type of Demon Sector wildlife is their aggression. Even the herbivores are more aggressive than one might expect, often choosing to fight when threatened instead of running.  The colonists of Valefar V have dealt with the particular type of “raptors” common in the temperate regions of the main continent for some time (though these creatures are most certainly to be classified as dinosaur-type creatures, not avians), and they are known for highly aggressive pack behavior and their fearlessness; they are known to attack even low-flying grav-craft used in driving them from claimed territory.  Some subspecies of Valefari deer are likewise aggressive, charging to attack hunters instead of fleeing, the males possessing particularly vicious antlers that are easily able to tear through unprotected flesh.
  • Intelligence – Animals of the “Demon Sector type” (we really should settle on an official name for these…) are also possessed of uncommon intelligence and cunning, capable of tactical thinking and problem solving. The Valefari raptors are known for their pack tactics, luring hunters into tracking one of them while others attack from the flanks, or even luring the unwary into rudimentary traps, such as creating rockslides or making use of quicksand.  A breed of rodent first encountered by explorers and later studied by UEF-01 in the Dantalion subsector is particular adept at navigation, possessing almost a minotaur-like quality to traverse mazes, and subsequently, structures, and are rather fond of the outer coating used on wiring, so they make for excellent saboteurs. 
  • Increased Size – Compared to other known species of similar types outside the Demon Barrier, the Demon Sector variants are thus far universally larger, on average at least fifteen percent larger (mostly due to increased muscle mass), though some are much larger. Again, the Valefari raptors are five to six feet high on average, with the alphas being as tall as eight feet, their long balancing tales making their length between eight and twelve feet.  The deer share similar increased size and mass, and the saboteur rodents average out to be about two feet from nose to tail.
  • “Spicy” Flavor – The natural flavor of meat collected from the various “Demon Sector creatures” has been described as “spicy” or hot naturally, whether in its raw state or cooked, though cooking tends to make the meat even hotter, depending on the method used (it should be noted that certain variations of these species, depending on their nature, are harder to cook than others, see Elemental Resistances below). This can be mitigated with certain herbs and spices, and there seems to be a growing movement to perfect “Demon Cuisine”.
  • Brilliant Coloration – These types of creatures are usually noted for their brilliant colorations that don’t always blend in with their surroundings. They, like the succubi, are usually possessed of brilliantly colored skin and fur, of various hues of red, orange, green, and blue, though many other colors have thus far been encountered.  These colors are often matched with stripes or spots not unlike those of predatory felines. 
  • Elemental Resistances – Of the known thirty types of “Demon Sector” animal variations encountered thus far, twenty-six of them possess some form of elemental resistance, usually related to the environment in which they have been encountered. Fire and cold resistances seem to be the most common thus far (and these are also the ones hardest to cook properly due to the higher heat required for cooking in both cases, either to overcome the natural resistance to flame and heat or to avoid burning the cold-resistant meat with too high a flame).  Similar resistances have been noted to acids and toxins, electricity, natural and otherwise, and even one species has proven resistant to divine magic.  It would be safe to assume that a newly encountered creature will possess a type of resistance, and thus should be carefully observed before engaging if at all possible.

Though we have no measurable metrics to validate the idea, it is theorized that creatures possessing some or all of these traits have demonic blood in their heritage.  Many traits of these creatures are shared by the succubi with whom we are familiar (and yes, I mean the race more correctly identified as ‘mazoku’, despite the current day common parlance), though their ratio of male to female members seems to be more in line with normal animals of similar species.   Some of those capable of using divine power in battle have reported that their holy magic affects these creatures as they would a demonic or other extra-planar creature, so this theory holds water.  Further time and study will tell us for certain, though.

#Lore 24 – Entry #102 – Sci-Fi Month II #11 – Security Systems Analysis 02 – The Unpredictable Factors of the Fleshy Sentients Within the Hull of the Great Ship that Explores the Deep Space of the Region of Demonic Beings

 

From Personal Logs of Gadri “Burnout” Quickbyte, Cybersecurity Specialist / Security Systems Analyst, assigned UEF-04 Maharani Morgiana, decryption algorithm successful, translated from original Gnomish script.

Translation Note:  Possible issue with either the translation or decryption algorithm relating to Gnomish script; subtitle of this entry is accurate but manual translation yields something more sensible: “Suspicious Persons Aboard the Maharani Morgiana“.  Further translation of this entry has been reviewed manually and properly translated to Common in proper fashion for readability; original version is attached for further review in case I missed something, though it is at least fifteen times the length.

Continuing the requested analysis of the Morgiana’s security systems, as I continue the deep dive into the system architecture, some further concerns have come to light during the review of personnel aboard the ship.  Below are people of interest who my algorithms have determined to have red flags on their records which could indicate possible security concerns.  Please review and act accordingly.  Not organized in any particular order, judge each risk as you will. 

Sorisana Kelvaris – Female Elf, Starfigher Pilot assigned to 1st Squadron – Signs of tampering with her personnel records, possibly significant alterations or pure fabrication.  Exceptionally well-done manipulation, done by an exceptional talent; doubt many would have caught the discrepancies on this one.  Cannot verify authenticity, however, as communication between here and the other side of the Barrier is currently unavailable due to Barrier radiation fluctuations.  If fabricated, could indicate a sleeper-agent level false identity.

Szoreth Delyl – Male Dark Elf, Under-Warden, prisoner work division – Another long-time prison employee, his records have a sealed section, from the company, following a period of military action approximately two-hundred-fifty years ago, lasting for another eighty years before he began working at the prisons.  May indicate nothing aside from state/corporate secrets that need to be maintained, could mean some clandestine operations that have further reaching consequences, could mean nothing. 

Brawnik’ush’Fangren AKA “Devil Dog” – Male Feradogian, assigned to scouting and recon division, ground operations.  Records are spotty, typical of the Ferians due to constant periods of warfare between their peoples.  Has tattoos and ritual scarring that indicates involvement with guerrilla factions on Feria known to value brutality of the old ways.  Outwardly easy going and personable based on other crew interactions, seems to be developing relationship with kerryn arcanist Kiara Mizutani, but loyalties cannot be easily determined, nature is somewhat chaotic and suited to being a loner. 

Provissh Longtail – Female Kobold, Technician, assigned to Engineering section.  Has served on over two-dozen ships in her time.  No direct evidence of misconduct on her part, but each ship suffered severe mechanical failure during her time aboard.  Could be coincidence, unlikely.  May be blessed with bad luck, possible actual jinx.  Technical abilities are solid, supposedly. 

Chiasa Charity Chiasakaniki – Female Kitsune, IT Specialist, assigned to IT Department.  Excellent coder, has talents that meld her natural magical abilities with her technological talents.  Known hacker, exceptionally curious, very likely she will be attempting to access backdoors and give herself heightened access to the Morgiana’s computer systems.  No indications of intentional harm, but possible she could be manipulated into threatening actions. 

Kourtney Bradigan – Female Human, Priestess of Erisaya.  Native of PLANET, has known ties to political factions there, and has confirmed involvement in violent revolution there.  Has a tendency to manipulate people with her charms and stoke fiery passions.  Unconfirmed ties to both the weapon-smuggling organization known as the Church of Violence and the militant historic society, the Seekers of Hidden Truths; would fit her personality and record. 

Donerail Wintergreen – Male Equinarian, Inmate, Prison Work Division.  Mercenary by trade, wound up on the bad side of an attempted coup on Odrade III.  Took down a lot of combatants but was captured when he decided to save some children caught in the messy evacuation.  Has been bouncing around the prison system since.  Could be useful, could be dangerous; was listed as non-violent, but has been confirmed as a combatant in unsanctioned prison fights.  May have unknown triggers that get him riled up.  Psych profile is outdated, so cannot verify.  Assigned to Under-Warden Delyl’s heavy construction unit.

Gragnesh Cracktusk – Male Orc, Inmate, Prison Work Division.  Also assigned to Under-Warden Delyl’s heavy construction unit.  Another mercenary, involved in space-based operations, trained as a ship’s gunner and for hostile boarding actions, possible links to pirate groups during time as a mercenary.  Has been a model prisoner on paper since incarceration, but also known to take part in the prison fights when he’s not been working the porno shoots.  Will dig into other prisoners assigned to that detail; may have some kind of secret combat unit here, or some very serious muscle loyal to Delyl.  Does Delyl have plans on something?  Recommend observation and a look at the gap in his records that was mentioned previously.

Vyrlesska “V.V.” Verlucia – Female Succubus, Entertainer and Procurement Specialist.  Runs one of the cantinas aboard the Morgiana, sings and dances there as well.  Known to be quite capable of obtaining often-illegal goods for her clients.  Could be useful to have someone like this aboard, certainly, but she’s a free spirt, and may not be too discerning about what items she’s procuring.  Likely has many contacts in many areas, again, useful, but she appears to be out to make a profit for herself first and foremost.

#Lore 24 – Entry #101 – Sci-Fi Month II #10 – Incarcerated Workforce (Aboard Ship)

 

From Personal Logs of Gravius Scharaiden, Chief Security Officer, assigned UEF-04 Maharani Morgiana, decryption algorithm successful, translated from original Aerian script.

 

Whoever approved this idea is an idiot.  Complete moron.  Must have come from that dark elf in charge at RestranTech who stopped by with the Veylani girl the other day. 

Or is this some terrible decision from the ASC?  Some corpo with a bleeding heart?

Doesn’t matter who is responsible in the end.  I’m the one who will have to deal with the problems it’ll cause down the line.  Having prisoners working the loading docks at Aphelion Station is one thing but incorporating them into the Morgiana’s crew long-term is something else entirely.  I don’t care if they’re wearing that SealTech shit 24/7; all it takes is one fuck up and all hell is going to break loose.  If there’s an uprising against the command structure, I’d put money on these lifers being involved with it. 

Oddly, the RestrainTech rep in charge is a female dark elf, Vyrmeth Rashryth.  Thought they only let their men be in charge?  Maybe she’s a problem case and they wanted to get rid of her?  Former security guard at one of their max-sec prisons, now granted the title of “Expeditionary Over-Warden” upon getting the assignment, mostly clean record, no major infractions, just a few write-ups for cruel treatment of prisoners.  Cruel treatment?  The hell does that mean?  Thought those rubber suits were bad enough, not to mention the personal prison cubes they use, or their porno work-release bullshit.  What constitutes cruel treatment in a dark elf prison?  Can respect the need for order and discipline, sure, but she’s an elf, and tied to a very shady corp; will have to dig deeper, find out more about this operation they’re running.  She’s got a dozen Under-Wardens with her, plus a support team for the SealTech systems; whole damn thing is already integrated into the ship’s security systems, so anyone with access can track the prisoners at any time. 

Handy that, screams backdoor access, though; need to look long and hard at that.  Will assign Burnout to it; he’s good at the computer thing, worked with him long enough to trust him as much as I can a non-Aerian.  Will make it sound spicy, get that gnomish mind of his turning; he’ll root out any security issues.  Have a meeting with Rashryth scheduled for tomorrow; going to push for full access to the SealTech control systems and a full demonstration of their security procedures.  Big ask, see what she’s willing to give up.  Going to be friction between us, I’m sure. 

Have some concerns with the prisoners themselves, too.  No psycho killers or rapists or others that should’ve been executed, but some have violent incidents on their records, armed robbery or assault and the like, a minority, but still red flags to me.  Few ex-soldiers turned mercs who took up the wrong job and wound up on the losing side.  Most are white collar types, a lot of those are cybercriminals and technician types, but some records seem off to me.  Assuming these are a lot of political prisoners, or corpo types who got the shitty retirement package.  People who the system wants disappeared.  Supposedly they’re all volunteers, but if your only other choice is a four-by-four cube and being a cog in the porno industry, who wouldn’t take the chance for something else?

Prisoners should be isolated as much as possible and are isolated to “prison” blocks on their downtime, but they aren’t otherwise restricted from interacting with other crewmembers while on duty.  Multiple reports of casual conversations going on already, some getting too close to the prisoners for my liking.  They won’t try anything before we set out, but how long until something sparks up?  Going to have to discuss this with the Captain directly.