It might be slightly ambitious, but I’ve written a story to unfold over a series of Galnet posts. This is my first attempt so if I’ve done anything the wrong way please let me know. Similarly, I am open to any feedback you may have, if you have the time. Cheers!
Date: Any
Location: Alliance systems
Title: Missing ship graveyard found in Ethgreze
Description: System authorities were left baffled yesterday when a large store of derelict ships was discovered floating in a langrage point around Ethgreze IV. The registrations of each matched those of ships which were reported lost with all hands in Ethgreze or surrounding systems, between 25 and 300 years ago. While only a fraction have so far been searched, no trace has yet been found of any crew members. Local miner, Jathro Martens, who was part of the team that made the discovery, had this to say:
“We was just moving out of the planet’s shadow when the glimmer of more’n a hundred ships emerged out of the dark, I done near soiled meself. As we gets closer I notice they’re all dark, floating free, windows frosted. Quieter than the void, it was. Eerie.”
The investigation continues.
CMDR Sansemin
Date: About a week after the previous post
Location: Alliance systems
Title: Derelict ship site yields clues
Description: The first piece of evidence from an investigation into the 178 ships found floating in the Ethgreze system last week has been published. A press release issued this morning stated that in every case the power plant had been disabled with negligible damage to the rest of the ship, despite the derelicts ranging from in size from Sidewinder to Anaconda, and even a handful of older, much larger craft. These unusual findings will likely fuel the growing speculation regarding the identity of the perpetrators and the whereabouts of the crew members, the remains of whom are yet to be found.
CMDR Sansemin
Date: A couple of days or so after the previous post
Location: Alliance systems
Title: Memorial held at Bloch Station
Description: Over seven hundred people attended a memorial service today, held in honour of the missing pilots and crew members of the Ethgreze ghost ships. Given the age of many of the craft, most of those in attendance were descendants and distant relatives of the lost individuals, and hailed from almost every corner of the galaxy. A small number, however, were immediate family members of the more recently vanished. Sadly, any hopes that their loved ones may still be returned to them are quickly fading.
CMDR Sansemin
Date: A couple of days or so after the previous post
Location: Alliance systems
Title: Ghost ship body found
Description: The Ethgreze ghost ships offered up their first solid clue today, when the skeletal remains of a female were discovered in a cargo bay aboard The Alderman, an Asp Explorer class vessel which vanished almost one hundred years ago. Before her demise the individual was able to scratch this message on the wall:
ATTACK CAME FROM NOWHERE - BOARDED BY UNKNOWN ENEMY - OVERHEARD SOMETHING ABOUT ICE MOON - CREW DEAD OR CAPTURED - HID IN CARGO BUT CAN’T GET OUT - NO FOOD - NO WATER - TELL MARCUS I’M SORRY
Efforts are underway to identify the deceased, while an urgent meeting of local government officials has been scheduled for tomorrow.
CMDR Sansemin
Date: The day after the previous post
Location: Alliance systems
Title: A call to arms for The Alderman
Description: The following statement was released by system authorities in Ethgreze today:
“In light of the recent discovery aboard The Alderman, along with the disturbing nature of the way the ghost ships were disabled, we have called upon the Alliance Defence Force to supply a fleet in order to perform a detailed search of Ethgreze and its surrounding systems. The sweep will focus initially on ice moons, increasing in scope as required. We are confident that such a display of force will deter anyone hoping to prevent this investigation, and supply a much needed explanation to the so-called ‘Alderman Mystery’. We will find the criminals responsible and bring them to justice.”
ADF ships are expected to begin arriving in Ethgreze in the next few days. CMDRs are being advised to fly carefully, and submit to any scans or requests to be boarded.
CMDR Sansemin
Date: About a week after the previous post
Location: Alliance systems
Title: Operation Augur begins search for Alderman answers
Description: Ethgreze was on high alert today as Operation Augur began its exhaustive search for clues to the Alderman Mystery. All traffic around ice moons was brought to a standstill as an armada of heavily armed vessels descended upon them, scanning surface and ships alike.
In an unexpected victory in the war on drugs, a Lakon Type 6 observed flying erratically was found to be carrying a large shipment of combat stabilisers. Augur commander, Admiral Vass Tosca, stated, “It’s not what we were hoping for, but a win is a win. Meanwhile, the brave men and women of the ADF will continue the search for the victims of the ghost ships.”
The smuggler himself seemed somewhat relaxed about his predicament, having gone on record as saying, “Hey, even I get boarded sometimes.”
CMDR Sansemin
Date: About a week after the previous post
Location: Alliance systems
Title: Grisly discovery in Kuk
Description: The search for the victims of the Alderman Mystery culminated yesterday in horrifying fashion, when ADF forces participating in Operation Augur located an abandoned base on an icy body in the Kuk system. Inside were the skeletal remains of several hundred individuals, scattered about a vast underground complex built into the ice beneath the base itself. Preliminary checks of dental records indicate that at least some of the deceased were crew members of the Ethgreze ghost ships. Evidence of heavy machinery suggests that the now empty base was industrial in nature.
Though the fate of the missing crew has been a forgone conclusion for some time, the reality of their end has come as a shock to many. Admiral Tosca made the following statement:
“At this time of confusion and sorrow, we must remember that the perpetrators of this vile crime are still out there. We will leave no stone unturned in our quest to bring down the full weight of the law upon them.”
CMDR Sansemin
Date: At least a week after the previous post
Location: Alliance systems
Title: Alderman - an editorial
Description: Operation Augur has shifted from a search-and-rescue to a forensics footing. Much has come to light since the discovery in Kuk, though many questions remain unanswered. Were the victims that were left to starve in the abandoned facility conscripted as forced labour? What was the industrial base manufacturing that required absolute secrecy to be bought with a murderous silence? And most importantly, who or what would have the resources to perform such an undertaking, over so long a period of time? Theories abound, ranging from Thargoids to INRA, but one thing is certain – only an extremely powerful entity could be responsible for what has now become known as the Alderman Atrocity.
CMDR Sansemin
