Aynsefian

From the IR84U Captain’s Log, found on the body of Capt. Zarasena Fen, in the wreckage of MGC Ship IR84U on Farrister (Endyst planet 3), MGC date 3041.87.2.21. Edited by Myronelli Tschadze of Wyrissa (Unbrindo planet 7), MGC investigator.

Entry #: 40

Date: 3041.87.2.2

Two days of my life that I’ll never get back. The MGC should pay me double for the sheer boredom of it all. Travelling at reduced speeds through a fucking meteor belt to some backwater stargate that has **NOTHING** at all to recommended it, just to retrieve my latest prey. They better be worth it. I’m going burn the ship’s entire central nervous system down before I banish it, just because I can. Fuck them. It’s their fault for intruding into OUR galaxy without going through appropriate channels.

Entry #: 41

Date: 3041.87.2.3

Another one gone. What a stupid name for a ship: Nikse. Hahahaha. I don’t feel anything for them. It’s my job. They got what they deserved. Onwards to the further glory of the MGC! Or not. I hate this organisation as well. My plan better fucking work.

[Investigator note: Strong signs of disloyalty to the MGC. Review of Captain Fen’s employment file is necessary at this point before continuing. Her mention of a plan is also concerning.]

Employment file: Zarasena Fen, MGC employee #8507948

Sylla Regional Office

Electronically signed by Actolenia Zyen, MGC recruiter. 3041.75.9.20

Initial interview:

Character: Highly intelligent, but with control over her emotions. Has ruthlessness and tenacity as core traits. Mid-range score on the emotional stability test; within parameters. Family history of mental stability and high achievement. Mother diplomat advisor to the MGC. Father ship’s pilot for galactic transport company. Younger brother Sunzirani worked as a mystic on Sylla’s third continent and died under mysterious circumstances a little over four years ago. Apparently they were close, but she has recovered from the loss, showing remarkable resilience.

Motivation: Has reports from school and from mentors of always wanting to work for the MGC.

Loyalty: As above, has shown unquestioning commitment well before being selected for recruiting.

Initiative: High levels, among the top five in her class. Developed a new command and control metric for immigrants into Sylla from other planets while still a teenager.

Overall: Marked for high achievement from a young age and mentored accordingly via elite schooling.

Recommendation: Proceed to initial officer training.

[Entries skipped by investigator for brevity]

Graduation final report, MGC Pilot’s school, Wyrissa Central: Cadet Zarasena Fen of Sylla.

Executive summary: Strong performance in all aspects of mental and emotional training tasks. Showed extreme composure under high duress. Can multi-task effectively. Considerable technical acumen with electronics and composite materials. Scored 17 out of 20 on the target and manual flight test, the second highest in her class. Continued strong drive for employment within the MGC. Some concerns that this may be slightly over-enthusiastic but does not appear to be misplaced. Extensive psychological testing on this aspect of her mindset has not yielded any flaws or weaknesses.

Recommendation: Employ as junior pilot in training.

[Investigator note: I suspect the testing here was not rigorous enough. I know it takes months, but clearly they did not detect signs of disloyalty or deceit. Recommend overview/overhaul of the entire psych testing system, in light of Captain Fen’s recent departures from the typical MGC pilot trajectory.]

[Entries skipped by investigator for brevity]

Promotion and command history:

[Only relevant entries included]

3047.76.1.19: Initial rank of Cadet Officer

3047.77.8.24: Promoted to Flying Officer Class 2

3047.79.10.11: Promoted to Flying Officer Class 1

3047.81.3.19: Promoted to Lieutenant, 2nd in command, MGC freighter line

3047.83.12.15: Promoted to Captain, MGC freighter line. Given command of ship IQ14B, MGC freighter line.

3047.85.15.16: Reassigned to command of MGC ship IR84U, MGC patrol line.

Reassignment note: The previous IR84U captain, Anathusa Xien, has stepped down from her role to act as advisor and navigator. This term will last for one year, upon which Captain Fen will assume full control of IR84U. This move is considered prudent, allowing continuity of IR84U’s important role in ensuring galactic gene pool purity.

3047.86.15.17: Zarasena Fen has now been appointed Captain of the IR84U. Anathusa Xien has elected to stay on as a crew member.

Acceptance speech from newly appointed IR84U Captain Fen: “Thank you to all of you for attending this ceremony. I am proud to be appointed as Captain of this magnificent ship. It is a lifelong ambition of mine to be involved in ensuring the purity of this galaxy. I vow to conduct my duties with the utmost professionalism and probity. My crew of Anathusa and Lanemu will serve with me for this tour. I thank my family and friends for their support and patience and promise to return safely at the end of our patrol run.”

[Investigator notes: The demotion of former Captain Anathusa Xien is somewhat curious and bears further investigation, however such investigation is beyond the scope of this review. There is no mention of Jinekali Suen in this speech either. Again, suspect this was a fake entry but the reason remains unclear. No other anomalies noted in Captain Fen’s employment file.

[Analysis returns to the Captain’s log. Entry 42 skipped.]

Entry #: 43

Date: 3041.87.2.3

84U has been so kind to me. What a lovely ship. Cooks tasty and nutritious meals. So comfortable and easy to work with. Knows when to adjust the cabin temperature for sleep, rest and all that. He’s been very good to me.

[Investigator note: so she repays him by crashing him into a barren planet.]

Entry #: 44

Date: 3041.87.2.3

Time for bed. We are heading into Hynetherine tomorrow. Can’t be fagged writing anything else. Did my job for the day, got rid of more reprobates.

Just on that. Why is it that Anathusa and Jinekali constantly question my command decisions, and especially the data? Do they really think 84U would make a mistake and report that we’re on one planet and not another? We dropped those idiots and their backwards ship on *Farrister*. That’s what it says in the flight log. They question 84U, as if he’d made a mistake. Everyone knows that IR line ships do NOT make mistakes. Not something as drastic as that, anyway.

How would they know what Farrister looks like anyway? Since when have they been there? They drank too many of Lanemu’s cocktails, that’s the problem. They think they can party as much as they like and have no consequences. This is not some freebie vacation trip. They have a job to do. They were zoned out and napping on the lounge when we did the drop anyway.

Anathusa says she’s going to report back to HQ that there is something wrong with the 84U. Good luck with that. HQ downloads his logs anyway and will find there is nothing whatsoever amiss with his reporting. There are more than a hundred thousand ships in the MGC patrol line. If anything had gone amiss with this line it would have been picked up by now.

Why can’t they just be quiet and dutiful like Lanemu? He just brings me drinks and occasionally food. He’s a good little Aroventian. Cute species. Never thought I’d be friends with a four-foot tall, mostly mute humanoid relative of ours, but I am with him. He stays out of the way most of the time and keeps me company when I need it. He’s very empathetic and respectful. Just what I need.

Unlike Anathusa and Jinekali. We used to get along well in the early days, and Anathusa taught me a lot, but now she seems to be getting tired of it all. She should never have been appointed to this run. The previous run should have been her last. She and Jinekali always appear to be conspiring together. They hide it well, but I know they’re doing it, and I don’t know Jinekali nearly as well. He’s a strange one, that one. Will be happier when he’s dropped off in Hynetherine in a week or so. Then things will be easier.

This whole entry has been way longer than I intended, but I’m glad to get this off my chest. Thank you, Log. But yeah, I’ll be glad when he’s gone and she’s hopefully back to the way she used to be. I don’t want to have to take disciplinary action, but I will if I’m forced to. Fuck them, too.

It’s a solitary role out here in the Far Reaches. Not many to talk to. I have to trust my crew. I can’t have them accusing me. What’s going on is far too critical to risk. I will be watching them doubly closely from now on.