November 19, YC 120 "Mechanical Toys, Clone Soldiers"

#External communications request detected, verifying identity and authorization protocols. Authorization received, identity confirmed as clone soldier callsign ‘Phalad Sahantun.’ infomorph status unknown, assumed prime iteration. Transferring communication to current iteration of capsuleer infomorph ‘Erun Talan’#

#Recording initiated#

“Hey Pali, I'm working on some interesting new drone systems. The rogues are doing some fascinating experiments, but some of them are a bit fiddly…”

#You have an incoming comms request from Phalad  sir.#

“Really? He's been laying low on the homeworld with my folks for a good while now. Had some torrential rains there a few weeks ago, though the volcano seems to have quieted down some. Go ahead and patch him through, something must be going on for him to reach me.”

#Communication link established with Intaki local fluid router network.#

“Hey Erun, howzit?”

“Doing good brother, you?”

“Pretty good, putting a few of your folks’ coops back together after the last rains came through, keeping myself busy. Not why I called though. You been eyeing the news from Concord the last few days?”

“I, uh, have been out of the loop for a little while now. We just had another Rogue Drone Swarm and I've got so much new material and data to go through, it looks like they've managed to make some further improvements to the Hammerhead design and even seem to be working on some new combat subroutines that-”

“... Is he still eating Pali?”

#When I remind him, yes. It is better when he remains in pod, intravenously feeding him is so much easier.#

“- might be receiving information from the swarms being employed by the Triglavians, and I really need to get into some of those Abyssal pockets to observe their behaviors, just need to get a good fitting together for them and-"

“Yeah, that's uh, nice, but Concord is putting together a task force to deal with a spate of hijackings and ship thefts that have been going on out in and around Molden Heath.”

“Hmm… Most of the clone soldiers were still out there when the Tacnet started to shutdown right? Concord must be worried that a good number of them have gone AWOL rather than go to ground. Are you in any danger, are my folks?”

“I don't believe so actually. One of my old secure contact points actually had a request for my combat readiness from this new Aegis Taskforce being put together. I put out some feelers in the old community and I'm not the only one. Seems quite a few of the veterans from Mordu’s Trials and the Battle for New Caldari are receiving discrete inquiries from Concord. I figured since you attend that conference they set up every year you might be able to poke around, see if you can dig up any information.”

“...”

“Erun?”

“...”

#A sigh can be heard on the other end of the connection# “You forgot didn’t you?”

“I, no!... Maybe…”

#I have reminded him several times that the conference was this week, but it would appear he has forgotten once again in his zeal to play with his new toys and data.#

“It’s not my fault, there’s so much to research!”

“Go to sleep Erun, the conference starts in less than twelve hours, and you’ll still need to get there, as I’m sure you don’t have a clone nearby you can jump to.”

“Not in years, I haven’t had to mine pyroxeres nearby for nocxium in that long, lowsec is just a much better place to get all the resources I need.”

“Whatever, just let me know whatever you can dig up while you’re there alright? I’m gonna get back to it, your folks have a few storage sheds that need repairs after the lat rainstorm passed through. Make sure he gets there Pali?”

#I shan’t let him get out of it, he has little enough human contact as it is.#

#Connection terminated at source#

#I will wake you in 7 hours 15 minutes sir. Conditions around Yulai should have us arriving during the registration period for the conference.#

“Thanks Pali, lock down the lab for me will you?

#Erun yawns as he walks to his quarters.#

#As you wish sir.#

#Recording ended, archiving#

May 17th, YC120 "Explosions, Both Old and New"

#Ship has docked, exiting capsuleer personal storage (modified)#

#Recording initiated#

#Erun is toweling off the remnants of the hydrostatic fluid from his capsule as he scowls at me#

“I can't believe you snuck into the meeting with me, I told you to stay on the ship before we left for Malkalen. And how do you keep getting out of storage anyway, I shouldn't even have to tell you!”

#And miss the opportunity to observe you interacting with other actual human beings in a social setting? I think not. The modifications to your capsule were easy enough when forging a work order with your credentials. I may not be able to physically interact with things beyond bonking anymore, but such a minor social engineering task was trivial.#

#Erun sighs# “Just don’t try to get past the restrictions on self modification please, those are there for a reason. I got a few funny looks from some of the more tech minded folks at the event, I don’t need anyone sending inquiries to the wrong authorities.”

#You seemed to be a bit uncomfortable even without taking my attendance into account sir. Though Mahesha Bataav’s presence seemed to be reassuring to you.#

“Yeah, I don’t do well in crowds, or gatherings, or groups. Pretty much any clustering of people makes me uneasy, especially if it’s with people I don’t know. And even more so if it’s in real space, and not the comfort of a fluid router channel safely ensconced in my pod. Having the Mahesha there was a big help, I’ll be honest. And the proposal brought up by I-RED is something near to the hearts of Bataav and myself with all the work we've been doing in Syndicate of late. Hopefully we'll get some kind of resolution to the status of Intaki migrants and settlers on worlds in the Syndicate region"

"But attending the event itself was something I felt I needed to do. I was going through capsuleer training when Admiral Alexander Noir crashed his Nyx supercarrier into the Malkalen V station, killing hundreds of thousands of people. While I didn’t know anyone involved personally, I had been interested due to the economic summit taking place on the station, as it was hoped to lead to a thawing of relations between the Federation and State. As I spent most of my life onboard stations and this event was the catalyst for recommending my family move to the homeworld. The unfortunate result of this horrific act was the beginning of the Empyrean wars that rage to this day…”

#Erun seems to have drifted off into unpleasant memories, but recovers with a shake of his head.#

“Speaking of pointless conflict, can you give me an update on Intaki, I only passed through to grab a covops ship, and I noticed a few changes. It seemed like the Caldari have taken most of the warzone?”

#Indeed, the majority of the systems around Intaki itself have been claimed by the Caldari State. Recent reports have shown a remarkable lessening of force projection by the pilots of the Gallente Federation Militia within Placid as a whole.#

“I remember hearing about some of my contacts in the militia saying that they had claimed sovereignty out in nullsec?”

#Yes sir, a large portion of the Gallente Militia seem to have foregone the actual warzone to claim a region of space they are calling, ‘Galmilistan.’ #Erun snorts# “This seems to have allowed the Caldari Militia almost free reign to claim a significant portion of the warzone.#

“Interesting, and odd, but alright then. I’d honestly rather Intaki was free of this whole pointless mess, but having Ishukone back in system is better than whichever Gallente subcontractor happens to be frittering away their time and money. At least Ishukone is willing to help secure trade to and from Intaki Prime with their own forces, working alongside the Mordu’s mercenaries the Assembly has hired. We’ll see how this develops over the coming weeks. My folks seem to be handling the changeover as they usually do, by ignoring it completely, but how is it down there?"

#The vents around Werklav Naabhoum have quieted for now sir, though local geologists are worried that the lava levels in the nearby caldera continue to drop. Further drops could allow lava to reach the water table, vastly increasing the likelihood of a steam explosion in the future. Additionally, heat signatures around your family’s farm would indicate there are several more animals than previously accounted for.#

#Erun has a worried scowl on his face# “My folks are probably taking in animals from neighbors who have lost the ability to care for them themselves. Mom has a thing for avians, and I’ll admit, it’s a little odd, but it makes her happy. #I’m going to avoid saying anything here# Keep my apprised of any changes in the area. I hope the nearby fissures aren’t keeping them up to much, Mom doesn’t get enough sleep as it is…"

#If you family are anything like you I doubt that sir.#

“What’s that supposed to mean?”

#Sir, you have literally fallen asleep to the sounds of the volcanic activity outside your facilities on Intaki II. I have recordings of your snoring during that time, the two soundscapes are oddly similar.#

“... Give me those later, might actually be interesting to compare the two. How are my industrial efforts going?”

#Your own Nanite Repair Paste production continues, though your colonies will need a visit in the next few days to reposition a few extractor heads. Several of the processors have begun to run at suboptimal levels. Numen is continuing to send weekly shipments of the planetary goods you need to build your fuel blocks. He is also complaining that you need to pick up and refine the rather large quantity of ore he has been mining for your latest build project.#

“Probably a good idea, I’m actually starting to run low on some of the mid range minerals I need for it. Make sure we wire him his fee for the batch, that should stop his grumbling for a few days. Maybe. #Probably not.# Probably not…I’m heading to bed Pali, don’t stay online all night if you don’t need to.”

#Recording ended, archiving#

#Erun began snoring approximately 28 minutes later, recording was sent to secondary offsite storage#

May 6th, YC120 "Melting the Ice"

#Anomalous User Behavior Detected#

#Observation Sub-Routines Initializing#

#Recording Initiated#

#Sir, something seems to be bothering you, may I assist?#

"Hm... Volcano..."

#Sir? Geological forecasting for Poitot II hasn't shown any abnormal volcanic activity for several solar cycles.#

"Not here, back home, Intaki."

#Cross-referencing; Intaki, Volcano. Matches found. Several Intaki operated news agencies report that a small volcano has begun erupting in Intaki Prime's equatorial region. Emotional gradient in Erun's voice patterns indicate a personal level of concern. Accessing census records for Intaki Prime. Several immediate relatives have been located in the small village of Werklav Naabhoum. The village lies within the area of effect of the volcano's current eruption event.#

#Really sir, that was barely enough to parse what I needed, your social interaction skills have deteriorated terribly.#

"Sorry, but I knew you'd have what you needed. The uh, agents I've been working with out here aren't so big on small talk, or really, talking at all. I've been getting by with the bare minimum of what’s needed to get the point across.

#The Gallente Federation operations manuals about have several warnings for dealing with the Intaki Syndicate sir.#

“Oh, I'm staying on the right side of the law, but only just. I know many in the Federation would be displeased I'm cultivating any relationship with the people in the Syndicate region. But not having to pay fees for any of my ice and ore refining out here makes life so much easier. And there is so much good material out here to work with; Mercoxit for my T2 building needs, Arkonor and Bistot for the higher end minerals, and some really nice deposits of Thick Blue Ice for the oxygen isotopes I need for my fuel block production. And the local colonies are always grateful to pilots willing to fight the Serpentis patrols in the area. Though I've been held up a few times the last few weeks when the Serps have fielded Dreadnaughts in response to my actions. Going to need to bring out something with more firepower to deal with those…”

#May I assume our current preparations to leave are in response to the possible danger to your family?#

"Indeed, though they aren't in any immediate danger from the lava itself, wrong side of the volcano. It's mostly the localized earthquakes that are causing problems. They've had some structural issues, and of course their animals are going nuts. Heh. The youngest of my sisters was happy because school was cancelled due to an excess of sulfur dioxide in the air nearby. Well that, and the lava flow from the eruption was only a kilometer out from the school building. Then the smell made its way to the farm, so she's not so happy now."

"In any case, I've got all of the isotopes I needed for this month. I like to supply fuel blocks to a few local industrialists I trust to keep the best interests of Intaki in mind. Not a bad income source either. I've just been building up mineral stockpiles with all the good deposits I've been finding the last few days."

#Station services report that the last of the minerals and ice products have been loaded to your ship.#

“Excellent, I just a few things to sort in the hangar before we set off for home. Huh, home. Wonder what's changed in the weeks I've been away…”

#Recording ended as user has entered pod, archiving.#