THE FORMIDINE RIFT MYSTERY (Part 4)

[Jaiotu]

"We managed to overpower the invaders. but not before
they took out the main reactor." "Battery power is about to die." "We're dead in space. with
twenty minutes of life support left."

This doesn't sound like they where able to restore battery power, for me it sounds more like the batter where ok but running out of juice.

I'd assume that they were able to restore battery power, but not life support, after their final log entry and before meeting their demise.

It's also apparent that Rebecca boarded the derelict at some point in 3273. Maybe she managed to power up the reactors using spare parts stored aboard her Cobra.

 

[BluWolve]

Zurara.

I'll find a blackboard and write that down 100 times

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Unless Drew indicates otherwise I'm going to assume the following:

The first log was recorded in the immediate aftermath of the attack and there was still a lot of confusion. Since everything was "hush hush" the Cargo Handlers kept themselves segregated from the rest of the crew. The person recording the log couldn't wrap his mind around the idea that someone aboard his own ship would take steps to strand them all in space. He therefore assumed that they had been attacked by an outside force. Invaders from some unseen ship that had somehow evaded their sensors. It wasn't until things calmed down that he realized the extent of the madness.

Were the Cargo Handlers complicit in their own demise? Did they willingly take the Hexedit and wreak havoc on the Zurara (zu-ra-ra)? Or were they preconditioned ... programmed to respond to some external stimuli that forced them to act against their own innate instinct of self-preservation? Were they victims as well?

That's one explanation. Maybe it was just the man worked in the engine room and the cargo handlers "invaded" the room and sabotaged the ship?

Spoiler

Personally I do reckon the cargo handlers were brainwashed before setting out. By reading some of the other dynasty expedition logs it is evident the cargo handlers had their own mission.

So say they were submitted to mental-conditioning, like sleeper agents. The trigger went off once they had completed the cargo deployment, then they sabotage the ship. Once the ship is crippled, they take the hexedit drug, to wipe their memories and kill themselves.

Why wipe their memories? Why wouldn't death be enough, like it was the rest of the crew aboard the Zurara? Or why not have all of them take a hexedit drug if the mission was that secret?

The cargo handlers obviously had more information than the rest of the crew, who just signed on for "a year of your life in exchange for enough to retire on". Perhaps they knew who was behind the whole operation?

Edit: Or were part of it themselves. Sacrificing themselves for what to them was the greater good?

 

[BluWolve]

Zu-ra-ra...

Noticed a few people messing it up. I know I'm being picky, but think of the search engines...

Z...

I'm guilty of misspelling Zurara [noob] I actually appreciate pointing it out because I wasnt aware before [up]

 

[Jorki Rasalas]

Zu-ra-ra...

Noticed a few people messing it up. I know I'm being picky, but think of the search engines...

Z...

I like to make Google work for their money!

I'm useless at names!
Did the lore ever say when jumponium fsd injects were brought in?
And has Drew said if there's anything left to find out in FRift/Conflux/Gap? Now I'm out here I may not rush back to join in the Salome event, not into pewpew.

 

[Jaiotu]

Why wipe their memories? Why wouldn't death be enough, like it was the rest of the crew aboard the Zurara? Or why not have all of them take a hexedit drug if the mission was that secret?

The cargo handlers obviously had more information than the rest of the crew, who just signed on for "a year of your life in exchange for enough to retire on". Perhaps they knew who was behind the whole operation?

The only explanation that makes sense to me is that 34th century technology can retrieve memories from a dead brain. This isn't too far-fetched a possibility and has been used as a plot device in other Sci-Fi franchises.

Since the Cargo Handlers knew details of the mission that would compromise whoever is behind the Conspiracy it wasn't enough to just kill them. They had to have the memories physically deleted from their synapses to prevent someone from scanning their brains a piecing together enough information to hang the people behind all of this.

 

[Jorki Rasalas]

Zurara.

I'll find a blackboard and write that down 100 times

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Unless Drew indicates otherwise I'm going to assume the following:

The first log was recorded in the immediate aftermath of the attack and there was still a lot of confusion. Since everything was "hush hush" the Cargo Handlers kept themselves segregated from the rest of the crew. The person recording the log couldn't wrap his mind around the idea that someone aboard his own ship would take steps to strand them all in space. He therefore assumed that they had been attacked by an outside force. Invaders from some unseen ship that had somehow evaded their sensors. It wasn't until things calmed down that he realized the extent of the madness.

Were the Cargo Handlers complicit in their own demise? Did they willingly take the Hexedit and wreak havoc on the Zurara (zu-ra-ra)? Or were they preconditioned ... programmed to respond to some external stimuli that forced them to act against their own innate instinct of self-preservation? Were they victims as well?

Well, I keep trying to draw people's attention back to the military convoys that we spotted (while UA hunting) on the Canonn thread almost two years ago, they were carrying "subjects" that apparently broke free and ran amok according to the pilot chatter. Also the research station where the subjects got out of control and a "cleanup team" was despatched on corporate directive. All sounds linked to me, and corporate implies......Sirius/Feds

My hypothesis is that Sirius/Feds have engineered an army of biddable mind-wiped soldiers with no fear of death and their suicide was just part of their orders for the mission. It could be they are from some of the Missing. The alternative of some form of religious zealotry (Dark Wheel?) is also possible but less likely I think. The question is why send Zurara there in the first place? Why was her involvement so secret that it was kept from the rest of the Dynasty/Exodus mission? And is this army formation happening in Col70 in secret and they are going to form the threat to humanity?
Ok, that's 3 questions, my math is bad as my memory for names!

 

[eadghe]

I'd assume that they were able to restore battery power, but not life support, after their final log entry and before meeting their demise.

It's also apparent that Rebecca boarded the derelict at some point in 3273. Maybe she managed to power up the reactors using spare parts stored aboard her Cobra.

With 20 min left and half the crew committing suicide and the other half drinking I doubt that they where able to restore batter power. Also if the batter is running out, how to restore it without a power source? And assuming there was a chance to restore power, why commit suicide?

 

[Jaiotu]

With 20 min left and half the crew committing suicide and the other half drinking I doubt that they where able to restore batter power. Also if the batter is running out, how to restore it without a power source? And assuming there was a chance to restore power, why commit suicide?

20 minutes. That's plenty of time to get something done. All it takes is some poor soul who doesn't know when to give up. The reactor is down, life support is failing and the batteries are draining. What alternative sources of power do you have at your disposal? I haven't visited the ship myself but from the video and pictures I've seen there do appear to be some solar panels on the Zurara. Perhaps someone diverted power from the panels to light up the batteries in hopes that they'd have enough time to restore life support but, alas, it was too late.

Sorry ... my first reaction when faced with these kind of plot holes is to use my imagination to fill them in. I'm definitely not saying that your observations are without merit.

 

[eadghe]

20 minutes. That's plenty of time to get something done. All it takes is some poor soul who doesn't know when to give up. The reactor is down, life support is failing and the batteries are draining. What alternative sources of power do you have at your disposal? I haven't visited the ship myself but from the video and pictures I've seen there do appear to be some solar panels on the Zurara. Perhaps someone diverted power from the panels to light up the batteries in hopes that they'd have enough time to restore life support but, alas, it was too late.

Sorry ... my first reaction when faced with these kind of plot holes is to use my imagination to fill them in. I'm definitely not saying that your observations are without merit.

I guess Drew could easily stop all this speculations by just saying "yes, it would have been cooler if the lights where out".

 

[Jaiotu]

I guess Drew could easily stop all this speculations by just saying "yes, it would have been cooler if the lights where out".

Nah ... he's a writer! He'll find a narrative path out of this one

 

[Harley Quinn]

Nah ... he's a writer! He'll find a narrative path out of this one

I guess Drew could easily stop all this speculations by just saying "yes, it would have been cooler if the lights where out".

He already did on the previous page didn't he?

Well 2 before this now

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Here you go.

On why the Zurara was still powered.

The Zurara's main reactor was damaged beyond repair preventing the ship from hyperspacing. Life support was sabotaged and the crew were only able to restore battery backup. The conspirators aimed to destroy the ship, but were stopped by the crew. In the first log you'll note the hexedited cargo handlers were overpowered before carrying out all of their intentions. The Zurara was crippled, but not powerless and it's been there ever since.

Cheers,

Drew.

 

[Jaiotu]

He already did on the previous page didn't he?

Well 2 before this now

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Here you go.

Yes. Drew said, "The Zurara's main reactor was damaged beyond repair preventing the ship from hyperspacing. Life support was sabotaged and the crew were only able to restore battery backup." The problem is that, according to the logs, they didn't lose the battery backup. They were still on batteries but they were being drained:

"I don't know what will get us first the lack of oxygen or the cold. Battery power is about to die."

So they were already on the battery backup when they recorded the logs but if that battery power was about to die in 3270 ... surely they wouldn't have lasted until now. If I thought my cellphone's battery charge would last for the next 30 years I wouldn't say, "my phone is about to die."

I'm pretty sure that Drew meant that they restored power TO the battery backup but ... I can't speak for him so if he chooses to further clarify the matter I'll leave that to him

 

[Edelgard von Rhein]

I like to make Google work for their money!

I'm useless at names!
Did the lore ever say when jumponium fsd injects were brought in?
And has Drew said if there's anything left to find out in FRift/Conflux/Gap? Now I'm out here I may not rush back to join in the Salome event, not into pewpew.

At the time of the Dynasty Expedition, ships used type 2b hyperdrives, not Frame Shift Drives (type 3), so there would have been no FSD boosting. Their range would have gradually increased as they dropped off beacons, which presumably allowed them to get as far into the Rift as they did.
.
This raises the question as to why set beacons (around Earth-like and seemingly also terraformable worlds) over such a wide region? If, as many people now seem to think, they were laying the ground for future colonists, then why not distribute them in more confined regions, so that the different colonies can easily trade, communicate and also protect each other? The seeding of terraforming candidates seems to demonstrate quite conclusively to me that they were laying the foundations for someone to go back and live there - but in what numbers and for what reason? What is special about this part of space? Are the future colonists people looking to get away from the bubble, or is there something in/near the Rift that they want to move next to? A lot of these questions will have to wait for Premonition, or at least the 29th, though...
.
I would like to think that there are other mega-ships, or at least wrecked Anacondas, in the Hawking's Gap and the Conflux but that is wishful thinking. If the same thing happened there as on the Zurara, then perhaps they might have been destroyed and the Zurara is the only surviving mega-ship of the expedition. It is certainly worth looking but without clues it would be extremely difficult. I think there might eventually be beacons added around some planets, however, and that these could help lead us to wrecks, or provide information themselves. Perhaps we need Salomé or one of her friends to survive the 29th, so they can tell us what frequency the beacons use, to help us locate them...

 

[Harley Quinn]

Haven't found anything in conflux yet, still looking as my 2nd account is working on exploration anyway

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Yes. Drew said, "The Zurara's main reactor was damaged beyond repair preventing the ship from hyperspacing. Life support was sabotaged and the crew were only able to restore battery backup." The problem is that, according to the logs, they didn't lose the battery backup. They were still on batteries but they were being drained:

"I don't know what will get us first the lack of oxygen or the cold. Battery power is about to die."

So they were already on the battery backup when they recorded the logs but if that battery power was about to die in 3270 ... surely they wouldn't have lasted until now. If I thought my cellphone's battery charge would last for the next 30 years I wouldn't say, "my phone is about to die."

I'm pretty sure that Drew meant that they restored power TO the battery backup but ... I can't speak for him so if he chooses to further clarify the matter I'll leave that to him

See your point, but battery power to life support is how I read it. Admittedly I wondered why you would have backups that wouldn't allow time for main repair but assumed damage done could be the answer.

 

[Jaiotu]

Haven't found anything in conflux yet, still looking as my 2nd account is working on exploration anyway

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See your point, but battery power to life support is how I read it. Admittedly I wondered why you would have backups that wouldn't allow time for main repair but assumed damage done could be the answer.

Well ... suffice to say that the ship has power. Obviously. Just no life support

 

[Athan]

On why the Zurara was still powered.

The Zurara's main reactor was damaged beyond repair preventing the ship from hyperspacing. Life support was sabotaged and the crew were only able to restore battery backup. The conspirators aimed to destroy the ship, but were stopped by the crew. In the first log you'll note the hexedited cargo handlers were overpowered before carrying out all of their intentions. The Zurara was crippled, but not powerless and it's been there ever since.

Cheers,

Drew.

But the end of "The Zurara 1/4" says "Battery power is about to die."

 

[Han_Zen]

But the end of "The Zurara 1/4" says "Battery power is about to die."

I seriously doubt that a ship like that has just one reactor or just one battery power unit.

The different sections may have separate power systems.

 

[G_Bison]

She could have easily been picked up and memory wiped, too. BUT, she talks about visiting the Zurara once before, and I doubt she'd of gotten to it in that little Sidewinder the girl in the logs was left with.

Now the general feeling I get from the logs is that alien ships are the ones that destroyed the anacondas. What if Aliens are the ones who memory wiped Rebecca?

Edit:

Hexedit is a drug that wipes memories and kills the person who takes it. I've never heard of it outside of the incident on the Zurara, so my guess is that the cargo crew had orders from outside to take the drug (Probably not knowing its effects), whilst Rebecca only lost her memory. Could be two different methods of memory wiping going on. Possibly, from two different parties. "Sirius" might of used Hexedit, whilst perhaps there is an alien presence, or rather was an alien presence, at the Zurara that could have caused Rebecca to lose memories of that place. Rather than trying to cover things up, it could be memory wipe to try and hide.

I've heard of this before I knew it had a name. There was an abandoned Medical Research Base that was testing a drug on Human test subjects that had a disastrous effects on the test subjects. Here's a link>>> http://isokix.space/medical-research-base-mir-14/

 

[eadghe]

I seriously doubt that a ship like that has just one reactor or just one battery power unit.

The different sections may have separate power systems.

What I get from the logs is that the general opinion of the crew was that they die in the next 20 min. Hope dies last, so if there where other systems which still have power, everyone would have tried to the last minute to reroute power to the life support. The only reasonable explanation for all the lights being on is that someone restored power at a later point, so its either that and Drew tries to spread some misinformation or it was an mistake made by FD in which case they could just admit it.
It is of course possible that the lights are on for a very good reason...

 

[G_Bison]

What I get from the logs is that the general opinion of the crew was that they die in the next 20 min. Hope dies last, so if there where other systems which still have power, everyone would have tried to the last minute to reroute power to the life support. The only reasonable explanation for all the lights being on is that someone restored power at a later point, so its either that and Drew tries to spread some misinformation or it was an mistake made by FD in which case they could just admit it.
It is of course possible that the lights are on for a very good reason...

I would not be surprised that the Zurara disappears days prior to Saturday's event!!!