12 January 672 AE
We barely escape an ambush in sector G-15 of the Diservan Galaxy, we manage to limit damage on the ship but got separated from our squadron. During our escape our navigation module got damage, Emerson as hight hope of fixing it but in the mean time we are in the dark.
16 January 672 AE
Emerson is still fxing our navigation system, it prove more complicated than anticipated. A young female crew mate, with a name that elude me, suggest that we use the stars as our landmark, after all that was the technic our ancestor used to navigate in the pass. As much as I liked to dismiss it, if we can't fix our navigation we may not have a choice, Prey the gods that we won't have to.
20 January 672 AE
Today was a tragic day, Emerson was operating a maintenance on some electrical conduit, when a discharge of energy struck him, he died instantly. His body was discover a few hour later, traumatizing a cadet, the poor guy will probably have nightmare for the month to pass. The char body was truly an unsettling sight. Funeral are due tomorrow, in the mean time other engineer look into our navigation trouble, it seem we will have to rely on the star.
10 February 672 AE
We couldn't figure it out, how our ancestor managed to navigate with the stars elude us, we though we were going to wander in space until our ration run out, but all hope are not lost. This morning we capture a transmission, we are still too far to understand what their are saying but it shouldn't take too long to get within range.
10 February 672 AE (Bis)
We are finally in range and here is the message we recieve : "Vessel ####, We received massive damage during the attack. #### can't ##### require #### Please help us."
We try to enter communication but fail to do so, seems their communication got damaged, but we should be able to join them face to face in a few days. I hope we could help each other.
15 February 672 AE
Something went wrong, the damaged ship enter our field of view, its nearly entirely destroy and yet at the same time, our on-board instrument noted a massive transfer of data. It shouldn't be possible if the communication are down. What in the damn earth have we put ourself into.
???
Evaluating vessel condition...The vessel is deem suitable for Project Mercury...Modification are required...Establishing communication with the crew.
"Attention to all passenger, I'm Orion designated AI of the vessel you try to rescue, I noticed that your navigation system is out of order, I'm able to solve the problem but need greater access to proceed, please await instruction."
18 February 672 AE
Today something talk to us. An AI it seem, an it could help us out. But I don't trust it and I'm not the only one. Unfortunately we are still lost in space, and our reserve are dwindling, if we don't take a decision rapidly, we won't have the resource to rejoin civilization.
20 February 672 AE
It has been a few day since we begin to follow this AI instruction, most of them are obscure to our engineer until a certain point, were they finally understand the purpose of the modification. It made it hard to monitor the intention of this AI. But so far all the modification has help us getting our navigation system online, I still don't trust it, but the crew as begin to appreciate it.
This novel is published on a different platform. Support the original author by finding the official source.
25 February 672 AE
The navigation is back. And the bad news keep pilling up, we were drifting far away from the nearest base. We made some calculation, and we won't have enough food and water for the trip back home. The AI seem to have a solution to this problem too, my suspicion have reside but I can't check the felling that we are missing something.
???
Necessary modification to the system have been made, evaluating crew trust toward self...Trust level are high, proceeding to begin Mercury protocol.
01 Marsh 672 AE
We kept modifying the ship, and it is even more obscure than the last time, but our engineer notice a small acceleration of our speed as modifications occurred, so our hope is up. On the other side the crew had took a hit, the uncertainty of our situation until now, had a negative effect on a psychological level, medics have more and more patients coming for stress and sleep deprivation. From what I had been informed the situation should stabilize as good news keep coming.
07 Mars 672 AE
Our speed keep increasing to the point were rationing our food will be enough. We celebrate by giving everyone that wasn't essential a day off. For the other we made arrangement that best suit them.
08 Marsh 672 AE
Engineer notice that part of the ship energy, flicker in certain places. They conjecture that was part of our increase speed, but are investigating. Meanwhile the moral of the crew seem to have calm down their psychological distress. I hope nothing will make change to that.
10 Marsh 672 AE
Today the cafeteria lost all of its alimentation for five hours, and the flickering intensify in every part of the ship. Our speed had only marginally increased, it shouldn't correlate. I am afraid that, this damn AI is doing something somewhere. I made everyone search for something stranger happening, but so far they have come empty handed.
???
Suspicion arise initiating misdirection protocol.
11 Marsh 672 AE
The crew have found something, it look like some form of construct. We don't know what it function could be, and when we confront the AI about it, it stay silent. Engineer are dismantling it, but so far it just look like a pile of garbage put haphazardly together.
12 Marsh 672 AE
Another part of the ship lost its electric power, this time we deduce partially where the power was diverted. The radius we have to search is still too vast for determining where it diverge to but next time we will be able to pinpoint it. In the mean time we conduct another search without result.
18 Marsh 672 AE
It has been to calm, no power outage. Something feel eerie in the atmosphere, and I don't like that.
18 March 672 AE (Bis)
We have report of missing personnel, it has been a few days since they were last seen. It is not unusual, but the log of the cafeteria and our ration count doesn't adds up. We have an excess of meal, and that could only mean one thing, they have not eat for several days and the AI as mask it. I hope they are still alive somewhere, the battle had already taken too much life as is.
20 March 672 AE
The missing personnel as be found, and they are well, a least as much as everyone fastening could get. On their recount, they were lock in part of the ship separated by section without air. At least that was what their instrument reported them. They managed to find a way to get around, but it took a trip through ventilation conduct. They were tired so we send them to rest, before examining those airless zone. There is no way those were the result of our confrontation. They are in the middle of the ship, and seem to encompass something. What in earth is happening over there.
21 March 672 AE
A decision has been made, we will try to bypass this section, and if the AI truly went us out it is one more reason to go there. The material has been put together, and we are ready to pierce one of the seal door.
???
Diversion tactic are effective, keep the current procedure. Progression of project Mercury at seventy percent. Initiating final discharge of power.
22 March 672 AE (Bis)
We begin to pierce the door, when the AI gave us warning. We though it was a good sign and kept going. The warning intensify and when we were nearly there, this damn thing had a finale trick up its sleeve. It cut the power of the entire station, living us without power tool to finish the job. We had to fetch some emergency generator, but we finally made it. And surprise there is air on the other side, We will have to torch the door to make it through. We would have send someone through the vent our missing personnel came from, but they have been shut after their escape.
23 March 672 AE
The door is finally down, you have to give credit to the engineer that put those together. They are damn hard to destroy, which in our case was a down side. Team of people were combing the place and found some strange structure. We can't determine yet what their use are for, but it was probably why we experienced power fluctuation. I new this thing had some ulterior motives. Thankfully we already prepared some countermeasure, it should be lock in two day and send to the incinerator.
???
Odd behavior noted, preparing safety protocol. Project Mercury completed at ninety percent, priority reevaluate cancel safety protocol.
28 March 672 AE
Something went horribly wrong. Our plan to expel the AI of our system succeeded, But soon after crew member began to fall ill. Doctors on board don't seem to know the origin of the illness, and a quarter of the crew had been quarantine. It look to me like a parting gift from this damn AI, I hope we found a solution soon as we are approaching our destination.
02 April 672 AE
The epidemic had propagated, half of our crew has symptom as of now. Half of the initial victim are dead, but that not the worst part. The dead have come back to life, and are building something. Trying to stop them seems impossible, and our proximity to the base is alarming. We can't let that disaster reach our land, with the survivor we devise a plan to destroy the ship. If we fail, we made plan to send those log through our communication channel.
05 April 672 AE
Our attempt to destroy the ship was doom from the beginning, the infected crew was too much to handle. Since we were doom any way, we tried to at least destroy what they were building. We managed to find our way in at a great cost, loosing nearly all of us. Standing before the construction were only five of us, and that when our hope was shattered. The AI is back and running, our warning message transform into a ticking bombe. If you read those line, I pray for you that your end be quick.