Welcoming. I, of course, am Varc Audial, and I do not claim to be anything more than a young (or perhaps I'm not too terribly young anymore) Glitch with an extensive vocabulary and an even more extensive collection of books (and notes, sketches of fauna, et cetera). Here, I will post journal entries and possibly catalogs of creatures as well. Or perhaps stories I've heard from my fellow crew members, if they wish to share. Anything that involves writing, really. Oh, and there will be pictures. Directory: The Cards Crew (Journal, rather long story) Kade Ingensson, I Hate You (Journal, in progress)
The Cards Crew. Warning. If anyone was wondering what I had been doing for the last fourteen days... well... this is it. Be warned, it's very long. Day 1. I am currently on the ship of the self-styled Cards Crew: Karejo, Newell, and Levine. They approached our sector bearing an SOS signal, and we received them with all the hospitality we could muster. Their ailing ship was nearly out of fuel, and before anything else we sat down to hear their story. They were once four, stated Newell, who was a young Glitch and apparently the speaker of the group. (Karejo was a Human, and Levine a Floran.) But on a visit to a certain planet, the fourth was captured by a hostile group. He won't reveal what group, but I have my suspicions. The name of the captured person, he said, was Lyn, and she was a Human Intelligence Officer. An Intelligence Officer, I think, might be a strategist. They are likely the smartest person of the crew, since their job is to have intelligence. Perhaps they're a librarian, like myself. I discussed the matter with Judie and Gedath, and finally decided to aid them. I would travel on the Card Crew's own ship, and Karejo on ours, to prevent any mischief from either party. So here I am, crawling along on their rundown ship. It may be FTL-capable, but barely, so the trip is taking quite a while... I've been doing various things to pass the time, such as a drawing contest with Newell (he is a horrible artist, verily, yet I was not quite as good as usual either). Mostly, I just gaze out the window at the stars streaking by. I am rather good at passing time this way, if I do say so myself. Day 2. We arrived quite late at the planet which the Cards Crew claims as the one where Lyn was lost. I reminded the others that the chances of Lyn's survival were minimal, and then we rested for the night. In the morning, we awoke to a very wet... well, everything. Having camped on the planet itself, Newell and I were very nearly rusted. How idiotic can I be? Unfortunately, this little surprise has delayed our mission... this is a very, very wet world. Perhaps we Glitches ought to stay behind whilst Judie, Karejo, and Levine undertake the mission themselves. Of course, they must all be equipped with communicators. Now I think I understand how an Intelligence Officer can be so stupid as to be captured. Day 3. Judie called us to report back his findings. Karejo, he recounted, had led them to the very side of a great body of water - saltwater, he said, and I could sense the fear in his voice, though he tried to keep it steady. I think perhaps it is an 'ocean', those great bodies of saltwater I've read about which stretch to the horizon and beyond. I wonder if Levine is as scared as Judie. I tried to call them, but all I got was this awful hissing sound. Possibly they dropped their communicator in the water. Newell and I have been exchanging information about our respective crews. Newell, he said, was actually his last name. His full name is Bonde Newell. He was an outcast too, he said, and actually hid from the Glitch alone for many years, taking what food he needed from them! Then an alien - a Human - found him somehow, and took him away on her ship. He learned many things from this Human, whose went by the name Calamacy Ann. Her crew consisted of many different races, all of whom worked together with a genuineness beyond belief. Florans working with Hylotls, even! Can you imagine? Newell stayed with this Human and her crew for many years, and learned many things. She was the one who taught him about the universe, and about Human things such as Intelligence Officers. He didn't say how he left her crew and found his own, but I suppose that is just another long story to itself. Karejo, whose name was actually Karen Jones, he said, was a Human Soldier who deserted the other Human Soldiers and took a ship of her own, escaping her homeworld. I am not certain what a Soldier is, but I've read that they fight in wars and battles. I suppose I was a Soldier once. Levine, Newell continued, was a very good hunter - or huntress, I'm not sure which to use - and they had always had a penchant for cooking their food in exotic ways. However, they would also take strange meats from other Florans. These behaviors eventually outcast them from their society, and so they also were found by Calamacy Ann and taught many things. Judie just called - he says Karejo and Levine have disappeared. I hope nothing has happened to them! Day 4. None of the others - Judie, Levine, or Karejo - will answer now. I have to go find them! Newell insisted on bringing Gedath, but I won't allow it. Someone has to protect the ship. The planet isn't very wet now, but the sky is dark with unfallen rain. I know better than to take omens, but this one seems very real. We're heading to the place Judie called me from - the oceanside shelter south of our landing area. I must call Gedath - it's a trap! Day 5. The foul villains! The Cards Crew never lost a member... rather, I think they planned it from the start. Their Intelligence Officer was either a hoax or was lying in wait for us, and the other members were only too glad to help. Now, we're stuck in a small room on their decaying ship. It was likely modified for this very purpose, as it's plain, the only decorations being necessaries. I can hear the crew talking, though, through the door. They're discussing what to do with us and our ship. Finally they've stopped talking. I think they've agreed to wire our ship to explode, and then... sell us as slaves? I... I didn't know this was possible. But my books, my library... they'll all be lost... Gedath is standing now instead of pacing around as he always does. I offer my tied hands (to whom it may concern, my journal logs are copied from a log I keep in my head), and he undoes them. The fact that they didn't consider restraining him angers me, but it is also a lifesaver. Like so many others, they think him a fool, and I can't stand it. Now that my hands are free, I must figure out how to get out. No... I waited for hours, and still nothing has changed. At least we haven't begun moving yet... then, I'd know our ship was doomed. Ah, finally. The door is opening! Day 6. I was the only one who escaped. I don't know what is happening to the others - Gedath and Judie - and that worries me to no end. As of now, I am fleeing on my ship, and I cannot return home because the Cards have been there. But they are slow. Perhaps I can be in and out before they arrive... or it might have been a ruse. I don't know. It was stupid of me to believe them in the first place. In hindsight, the whole thing was obviously set up. But that devious Bonde Newell included just enough actual truth to hide their scheme. I have to find someone else, somehow, out here. Someone who's sympathetic. Someone... anyone. I cannot do this alone. Day 7. A whole day and no helper found. I suppose that is to be expected, since the universe is so great. I am using up a good amount of fuel, such that I will have to stop and replenish it soon. There was one world in particular that I made note of. Its name on the star chart was Alpha Delta Vol 0229 I a, and its inhabitants were quite remarkable to me. There were ram-horned creatures which walked upright - I named those Arammes - and many others. Erachs - blue insectoids, rather harmless; Ardain - red flying creatures that spat fire. And aside from all of those, I think I saw a humanoid creature wearing green. It had a lot of rust-colored hair. At least I think that was hair. It ran away too quickly for me to tell. Day 8. Another day without luck. I managed to find a completely uninhabited (if nonsentient creatures are not counted, that is) world: Alpha Zor Codavi 255 IV. It contained quite a few creatures I will not list here. I am getting very tired. Day 9. The ship is quiet now without Judie and Gedath here. I feel rather lonely. I want to return to Alpha Miaplacidus, but the Cards might be there. I don't know what to do! Day 10. Today was rather strange. On a world whose name I feel it unnecessary to record, I was noting the fauna as is my habit. Then, suddenly, a weapon - I found it was a Rifle later - was pressed against my back, and a voice warned me not to move. I asked who it was, but got no reply. I protested that I meant no harm and was only cataloging the creatures of the world. The reply to that was flinging me to the ground, such that my notepad and pen flew out of my hands. I was too startled to be annoyed, and lay there while my accoster came into view. He was a Human male. I will attach a sketch of him as soon as I can. Day 11. After many things which took much longer than I was comfortable with, the Human has finally agreed to aid me in my mission to rescue my companions. We were unsure where to start until he pointed out that the Cards were most likely to be either at their base or at mine. (This was rather obvious, in hindsight.) With that in mind, we headed for Alpha Miaplacidus - it was my home terrain and not theirs, I reasoned, and if the Cards weren't there we could access our cache of what little weaponry we had. I can see their ship now. How dare they use our own ground for their purposes! I can hardly wait until tomorrow! Day 12. I don't know why the Cards chose Alpha Miaplacidus, be it simply to rub their victory in our faces or to expand their territory further. But this I do know - a way to get in that they've likely overlooked. Back when I first found the world, I was quite paranoid, and sought out ways to make my home a stronghold. Well, I must say I did a passing job of the secret tunnel. We're right under the entrance. Eugh, I forgot how dirty crawling through tunnels can make one. Oh dear, I think I have to fight them now. Day 13. Kade - my newest ally, that is - is excellent in close combat. My goodness, but he was a fortunate find. Or perhaps most are like this, and the Cards and I are the exception... In any case, Judie and Gedath are not here. I could have figured that out myself. They are obviously on the Cards' ship. The Cards obviously did not trust them in their own base. Wait a minute, they aren't there! Day 14. I am sick, figuratively speaking, of this Kade. Not only will he not stop attempting to take over leadership (I recruited him, not the other way round), but he claims that the Intelligence Officer Lyn is his sister and I just Anyways. Of course, Judie and Gedath were on the Cards Crew's base. They wouldn't risk bringing them along at all. Dirty cowards. (Not that that wasn't a smart strategy, but... they are.) Kade, the rest of my crew, and I discussed what to do with the Cards Crew. Kade wants to take them under his command for some reason I don't know of but he calls it compassion. I will never understand him. I see no reason why we cannot simply get rid of them. They are far too much trouble to keep alive. I don't understand. Why is Judie agreeing with Kade? Why is Gedath giving me that look? They're saying I should probably rest, that I've been under a lot of stress lately. I'm still thinking logically! Their argument is invalid. Isn't it?
Kade Ingensson, I Hate You. I suppose this is an adventure. Day 1. Our ship is getting older. I know this because at least one of the doors does not open easily, and soon, I fear, it will not open at all. For this reason, Gedath and I have decided to seek out a mechanic to repair whatever is breaking down - or possibly replace the ship altogether. I know mechanics aren't wizards or miracle workers. The first problem, however, is locating a mechanic. Kade was the last friendly being we came across. Gedath insists I contact him, despite my dislike of him. He says - and I know - that my dislike is just a feeling, and not grounded in any real evidence. This will not be an easy conversation. Day 2. We... cannot reach Kade. I tried for hours, but the signal just will not reach. Either that, or our radio is dead. How, I wonder, will we repair our ship now? Suppose Kade returned to the Cards Crew's base. I know where that is, and the coordinates are still logged in our navigator. We might return there, but if the Cards are also there, and if they have returned to their slaving ways... The Cards' base is, honestly, the last place I'd want to see: saltwater and traps, Kade and Newell. But what must be done must be done. Day 3. I must have forgotten to mention, before, how sand seeps into my joints. The cleaning station aboard our ship hardly does anything about that. But I suppose, given that the ship was constructed by amateurs and finished in a great hurry, that it has done rather well. Our ship holds many memories, and I would hate to see it scrapped. But the sand is still there. A great patch of it sits beside the saltwater, and through that is the path to the Cards' base. I wonder if this is why Newell seemed so old, why his voice was so rough. I wonder if their base has a cleaning station at all. Day 4. Thank goodness, we have finally arrived at the Cards' base. They are not here, though, which is both fortune and misfortune. Their base is not actually as dilapidated as I thought it was. I investigated all the rooms, and what I found was rather surprising: Lyn Ingensson's quarters were decorated with pictures of her family, or at least of her and Kade. I... I think she missed him. I dare not say what I found in Newell's quarters. Karejo is fascinated with metal men, I think.... Levine is a Floran, and there is really nothing more to be said on that matter. And there is also a radio. Day 5. Suffice it to say we were able to contact Kade. We will have to meet him at a certain set of coordinates I find it best not to disclose. I do not trust this plan, but if it will repair our ship it is likely worth the risk. Still, we must be cautious.
No one replied? I randomly came across this, and I think it's a bit sad that no one replied and you abandoned this. These are some good reads.
