Here is an updated timeline of events that I compiled.
August 21st 3270:
Hawkins Gap Alpha Mission 1/4
"Damn we've come a long way. I really should have looked at the galactic map before I signed up for this. Weeks of endless travel and hyperspace jumps just to get into the vicinity of the place, and that's before we get down to the work."
Formidine Rift Alpha Mission 1/6
"Why the hell are we out here? No one seems to know. It's taken months and still we're not there. Wherever 'there' is. We're dropping these beacons. Supposedly nobody knows what they're for. If they do they ain't telling. Makes no sense, there's nothing out there... and who would come all this way anyway?"
August 28th 3270:
Formidine Rift Alpha Mission 2/6
"We're still travelling. Jump drive malfunctioned today, that made an interesting diversion. It's going to take a while to fix. This area of space is g me out. Could have I heard some weird voices in the last jump. We are a long way from home. We're struggling to plot a course now, we're leaving the galactic arm and the jumps are getting longer."
August 30th 3270:
Hawkin's Gap Beta Mission 1/4
"Strange mission this, though the pay is good. Nobody seems to know who's footing the bill, but Sirius Corp is favourite. Whatever this trip is, it's expensive. It's also hush hush. Even the captain doesn't know what we're carrying and he's not happy about it."
Hawkin's Gap Delta Mission 1/4
"This is a bigger operation than I thought it was. A massive fleet of Anacondas all prepped for long endurance travel out to the edge of beyond. No ships have markings, no emblems, no political affiliation. Somebody with deep pockets must be paying for this, but who ?"
Hawkin's Gap Gamma Mission 1/4
"Beautiful part of the galaxy this, really dense clusters of stars, pretty much halfway to the core. Been one long trip though. We're out here dropping off a series of beacons. Randomius knows what for, but they're paying, so no questions asked!"
Conflux Beta Mission 2/4
"Signed on for this one as I had the exploration bug, but we're just jumping and jumping. We're not staying in systems to survey, just refueling as fast as we can and then it's back into witch-space. We're spending more time there than in real space. Someone is in a hurry."
Formidine Rift Beta Mission 1/6
"Been travelling for weeks. Passed this amazing twin nebula just recently, about the only interesting sight on this whole trip. We are a long way out now. I don't think anyone else has been this far. Still, pay is good!"
Formidine Rift Gamma Mission 1/6
Looks like I drew a short straw somewhere along the line. These long range missions pay well, but it's a year out in the void. A year ! We're out far beyond the frontier. The boys call this place the "Formidine Rift". Apparently that means "terror" in some old earth language. Nice. Just looks like more space to me.
Formidine Rift Delta Mission 1/6
"I should have paid a bit more attention to the mission description. I just saw the credit count and signed up there and then. More money than I've ever earned and all in one go, just for taking a year out. What's a poor girl got to do? A bit of jaunt into the void, how bad could it be? Didn't read the bit about several thousand light years. I've been past Leesti before! Get rich scheme - let's go!
September 7th 3270:
Formidine Rift Alpha Mission 3/6
"Finally fixed the drive, more monotony. Can't believe it's nearly six months sice we set out from Riedquat. Did I say Riedquat? I meant Reorte. It's getting to me, this endless emptiness. The guys are showing the strain. Three more months before we can turn and head back. The stars are thinning out, you can the whole galaxy just hanging there..."
September 12th 3270:
Hawkin's Gap Beta Mission 2/4
"Big bust up today. Apparently this ship is flying without shields and without guns! We had an escort for the first few hundred light years, but then they peeled off and we're on our own out here in the void! If we do come across anything nasty we're going to have to hope we can run..."
Hawkin's Gap Gamma Mission 2/4
"Funny Thing is, I've asked a few of the other hands about this mission and no one seems to know who's behind it. We all picked up bulletin board adverts promising big credits for a long haul and kind of just ended up on board. Not sure it it's the Feds, the Imps or the Alliance. Still, credits are credits!"
Hawkin's Gap Delta Mission 2/4
"Judging by the way the fleet deployed I would say there were three main destinations, all a long way outside of the core worlds. We got our orders today, we're making for a zone called "Hawkin's Gap". It's a seriously long way, not even the explorers have been out this way before. Strange mission."
Conflux Beta Mission 3/4
"Reminds me of what my father told me about witch-space. it's haunted. There's weird lights, shifting clouds, who knows what they are. Makes you wonder whether we should be out here at all. So much stuff we just don't understand."
Formidine Rift Beta Mission 2/6
"Stars have thinned out and we've started dropping our cargo. Looks like some kind of long-range beacon to me. It's all hush-hush, no questions asked stuff. Heard some of the senior bods talking about a Dynasty project. Careless talk and all that..."
Formidine Rift Gamma Mission 2/6
Finally arrived in place after five months of hyperspace travel. Now we have two months of laying a bunch of beacons before another five months travel back home. At least I'll have enough credits to retire by then.
Formidine Rift Delta Mission 2/6
"It's pretty out there, we've seen a gorgeous double nebula called Heart and Soul. You should see it, lots of bright blue stars nearby, wish we could divert to have a closer look, but our mission is beyond apparently. Really brings back how big the galaxy is. Make you feel real small and insignificant.
September 15th 3270:
Hawkin's Gap Alpha Mission 3/4
"Bored rigid now, can't wait to turn around and go home. I don't care how good the money is, nothing is worth this tedium. We haven't even started the return journey yet... Randomius Factoria - save me!"
September 18th 3270:
Hawkin's Gap Beta Mission 3/4
"Not a happy ship. Crew is grumbling. Captain hasn't been seen for weeks. Cargo bay is guarded by these very unfriendly types. Don't know what they're protecting, but it's enough to get a man killed over, that's for sure."
Hawkin's Gap Gamma Mission 3/4
"Arrived on site today. Bunch of guys had to go EVA to drop off the beacons. We're jumping around a bunch of systems here in the gap. One of the Beacons activated all on its own, started squawking some weird code before it got switched off. We were told we hadn't heard anything."
Hawkin's Gap Delta Mission 3/4
"Our little armada split up today, so we're on our own now. Just us and the void. Still a lot of speculations as to what we're doing. Cargo hold is full, that I don't know. My guess is some kind of deep space survey, but I can't figure out why we'd need to be so far out ..."
Conflux Beta Mission 4/4
"Witch-space is different out here, there's something odd, those lights we were seeing are less frequent now, but they seem to be hanging around, almost as if they're following us. Maybe I'm going nuts."
Formidine Rift Beta Mission 3/6
"Nothing prepared me for the boredom. It's very dark out here. Really dark... darker than normal space. There's hardly any stars ahead of us, it's just blackness... the void."
Formidine Rift Gamma Mission 3/6
Supposedly there are a bunch of other ships out here doing the same job as us, but no comms allowed. All a bit strange. it's vast and lonely out here, pretty much the whole galaxy is behind us. It's getting to some of the crew.
Formidine Rift Delta Mission 3/6
"My job is the EVA. Taking out one of out two Sidewinders and dropping beacons out in the void and then making sure they are activated. Not sure what these things are for. Who needs a beacon this far out anyway? Weird, they all have this code in their BIOS - 'Exodus'. Still, at least I now have something to do. The journey was so dull! Months of travel to get here.
September 22nd 3270:
Formidine Rift Alpha Mission 4/6
"The darkness grows. The galaxy is faint and dim behind us. I'm told this place has been nicknamed the Formidine Rift. Apparently that means fear in some old Earth language. It's an apt name, some of the guys are going space crazy out here in the void. We had to sedate one guy, he went completely doolally. We've not seen another soul for weeks. Just us and this ship... alone... in the darkness..."
October 1st 3270:
Hawkin's Gap Beta Mission 4/4
"Cargo dropped. Turned about and on our way back to civilisation. What it was, nobody knows and nobody is asking. It's a bit more relaxed now, whatever that cargo was it was something important. Can't see what use it would be this far out, but maybe someone knows something we don't..."
Hawkin's Gap Gamma Mission 4/4
"I'm logging this, but I shouldn't be. Bunch of guys were talking about the beacons yesterday and then there was a mysterious accident in the airlock - they're all dead! Feeling aboard is mutinous. Just want to get back home. I ain't doing no top secret missions again, that's for sure."
Formidine Rift Beta Mission 4/6
"Picked up some kind of signal yesterday and it looks like the crew weren't expecting it. Got them proper rattled. There's definitely something very strange about this area of space. Won't be sad to turn around and head home.
Formidine Rift Delta Mission 4/6
"Something weird happened today. Unloaded another beacon and set it up, then everything went offline - and I mean everything! Life support too! No comms, nothing. Stayed that way for about two minutes. Then everything was back to normal. Affected our support ship too. No idea what caused it. Going to need new underwear when I get back. Rumours are there is something odd about this area of space.
Formidine Rift Gamma Mission 4/6
We picked up some kind of bizarre signal yesterday. Whatever it was wasn't human. At least, that's the scuttlebutt going around the decks. Everyone is looking out of the canopies now. We're seeing some strange lights during hyperspace transits. Terror ? Yeah, we got some of that ...
October 7th 3270:
Formidine Rift Alpha Mission 5/6
"I'm scared... help me someone... I can't bear another jump. The lights in witch-space are coming for me. The lights... always the lights... they're calling to me... a siren song... I must join them..."
October 8th 3270:
Formidine Rift Alpha Mission 6/6
AUTOMATED TELEMETRY REPORT: CANOPY BLAST BOLTS ACTIVATED. LIFE SUPPORT MALFUNCTION. CREW VITAL SIGNS TERMINATED. SHIP SYSTEMS ENGAGING STANDBY MODE. DISTRESS BEACON ACTIVATED.
October 13th 3270:
Hawkins Gap Alpha Mission 4/4
"Still, it could be worse! I could have pulled the Formidine Rift gig. Rumour is they're having to double up on ships for that one as the crews are going void-mad and ejecting themselves into space because they've seen ghosts. Word is there's something out there."
November 11th 3270:
Formidine Rift Beta Mission 5/6
"Last batch of cargo due today, but the hyperdrive has malfunctioned. We tried jumping and got yanked straight back out. So we're stuck here, Randomius know where..."
Formidine Rift Delta Mission 5/6
"Oh my God ... someone help me. Where are they ... please ... this can't be happening.
Formidine Rift Gamma Mission 5/6
More strange lights. We've got equipment malfunctions, scanners dropping in and out, systems restarting. Ship is limping on. Everyone wants to turn about, but if we don't complete the mission we don't get paid. No one wants to give up those credits either. You expect to turn around and see ...
November 29th 3270:
Formidine Rift Beta Mission 6/6
"We can't fix it. Hyperdrive is dead. Lucky we're in a system with a habitable world. We've sent a distress call but who knows if anyone will here it. We're going to abandon ship. If anyone finds this, we're in..." AUTOMATED TELEMETRY REPORT: POWER FAILURE.
Formidine Rift Gamma Mission 6/6
We're done and we're heading home. We picked up some heat signature in the last system. Definitely something there and it wasn't any profile I had seen before. Something was watching us. There's something evil out here, and it doesn't like company!
Formidine Rift Delta Mission 6/6
"I've had time to accept it now. I went out as normal with one of the beacons, set it up. Had that weird power loss again. I waited and it all came back online like before. Signalled my support ship - no response. Flew back and it was gone, just debris. No survivors. Don't know what happened. It's just me and this crappy Sidewinder a zillion miles from home. Should have known it wasn't going to work out. If it's too good to be true.... There's an Earth-like world here, going to try and reach it ... you never know.
