(( Crosswell's notebook is located someplace on his ship. Finding it will grant your IC knowledge if these entries. He doesn't like people snooping, though, so if you somehow manage to find it without him noticing, congratulations! OOC comments welcome as well but try not to do it to excess. <3 )) decided to actually write down my thoughts for once because yeah ya know whatever I've come to the conclusion that joining the RA was literally the best decision of my entire life. Folks are nice, the people at the top are actually competent <---- holy shit holy shit and the pay is good. we seem to have a tendency for getting blown the fuck up though poor avis Anyway, I got around to showing LT that APHC and suddenly I'm the Director of Armaments AND a specialist! Fuck yeah frontier you rock thanks for the skills. Kinda weird how fast that went though. w/e I'm not complaining I get to build experimental railguns and blow shit up in testing. Oh and the VSP. the VSP hoooooly shit I'm gonna do it. And maybe the next time we see that pirate bitch I can light her on fire! That'd be kinda cool, payback for ya know detonating her fucking tank right on top of us so in order let's see 1. Finish the stuff for the VSP - APHC done - IMG done - jump jets HOW THE FUCK AM I GONNA w/e I'll figure something out. maybe rocket launcher? Nah too dangerous to store them on the frame, uhh something kinetic, needs high explosives to deal with pirate tanks, power to get there maybe modified sniper? I can do that 2. learn avian anatomy or find someone who does know, because Avis apparently got shot by a floran at liberty mills and is now in a pod floran had a shotgun, robo-doc said he had buckshot lodged in him what like how does that even happen don't be a retard Marcus they're all armed to the teeth, of course a floran had a shotgun Poor Avis though, by the end of this he's gonna be like half metal no doubt. maybe I can call him robo-bird? that'd be kinda funny assholeish 3. Build him his DMR because it'd make a nice get well present, then after that we can find that floran and light him on fire with the VSP's future jump jets Something tells me the LT is gonna ask for another weapon soon is it wrong that I don't even consider it work? Is it wrong that I'm makin weapons that are gonna be used to kill people in all sorts of bloody and gruesome manners? Is it wrong that I somehow managed to not only abandon the USCM (somehow) after Operation Geronimo but go to arguably their biggest threat and use my frontier skills to climb the ladder from private to specialist, boot to head of R+D, scraggly survivor to paid weapons developer? fuck no it ain't I love this place the war machine never stops -Marcus
I'm nerding out hardcore right now. we're in the middle of weapons training, right? Firing the new machine gun (the MMG - I made that) and HL Hollow walks up behind us holding some weird-ass cannon Oh yeah Avis showed up too reeking of that shitty life support fluid, the kind in the pods. so uh, don't have to learn avian anatomy anymore fuck yeah, guess his friend helped him out anyway so Hollow walks up holding the cannon and he's like "Crosswell you're firing this thing let's go" and I'm all "fuck yeah" Goddamn what I have never EVER seen anything like that weapon. I fired that thing and it nearly dislocated my shoulder and the projectile was I don't even know, Hollow wants me to reverse engineer it and see how the tech works. It reminds me of those funky "matter" pods I saw in some of those pyramids way back when, except ya know weaponized. not plasma def. not kinetic what is that stuff? and it was all explodey. okay I need to think on this, maybe contact those Carroli Corp guys the HL mentioned. This has to go into a new file Things I do know: definitely a cannon. No characteristics of an assault rifle/pistol/shotgun etc. etc. not a rocket launcher, doesn't feel or fire like one Projectile is not plasma and not kinetic. no known species use that kinda stuff, possibly alien tech. Alien in this case = cliche "highly advanced but vanished mysteriously" straight out of sci-fi stuff Projectile hits the ground and explodes violently. Possibly AT? projectile expands the further it travels, seems to do more damage over distance than up close I asked Hollow where he found it, said that "couldn't be revealed to me at this time" so this is above even my jurisdiction <--- holy shit don't fuck this up Marcus did not have a reload mechanism Things to find out: how the projectile is formed > battery? energy? hell is it solar/nuclear powered? no clue properties of the projectile aka WHAT THE FUCK IS IT SHOOTING who made it and if they're still around (please god no this tech is crazy) what happens when you fire it at something manmade i.e. tank/building how to make it our own seriously think I need to contact the Carroli Corp guys, thank god the RA acquired them. Maybe I'll bring Avis along? I heard he built a new dropship for the Armada so he may be able to help out some Goddamn I'm still nerding out. -Marcus
preliminary scans are indicating that whatever is coming out of that object is highly radioactive fuck It should have never been found. It should have never been pulled from the dirt. We should have all just continued on our way like a bunch of power-hungry dumbasses and come up with our own ways of killing our enemies. I shouldn't even mention this in this notebook, it's by far too risky. This entire thing is too risky if anyone else besides the three people that now know (actually it's still two, but the third person will soon find out... and maybe a fourth after that, goddamn why am I getting others involved) finds out about this thing my god The cards are on the table, it's too late for us. Our only hope now is to find a way to make it our own, and become so immensely powerful that others won't even think about challenging us. It's the only way. This object, this artifact, completely changes the power structure. if it's discovered by someone not in our immediate sphere of influence before that happens? the galaxy burns all of it burns
(( For the full effect, listen to this: )) SYSTEM LOG: / / / STARTUP SEQUENCE INITIATED. / / / LOADING OPERATING SYSTEM: ORION. / / / ENTER ADMIN I.D.: >CROSSWELL MARCUS JAMES ENTER ADMIN PASSWORD: >************ LOGIN INFO ACCEPTED....................AUTHENTICATING / / / PRIMARY SCAN: GENETIC; LIVING..........MATCH I.D. SECONDARY SCAN: RETINAL................MATCH I.D. TERTIARY SCAN: FINGERPRINT.............MATCH I.D. QUATERNARY SCAN: VOICE.................MATCH I.D. / ADMIN I.D. CONFIRMED...................SYSTEM ACCESS GRANTED / ORION OPERATING SYSTEM: ONLINE. / / / LOADING SYSTEM PARAMETERS..............LOADED / LIFE-SUPPORT SYSTEMS...................ONLINE / SERVO MOTORS...........................ACTIVATED / STABILIZERS............................ACTIVATED / ENERGIZING ARMOR.......................ACTIVATED / COMMUNICATION DEVICES..................ACTIVATED / HEADS-UP DISPLAY.......................ACTIVATED / / / MODULAR WEAPONRY: / ANTI-PERSONNEL HAND CANNON.............CONFIRMED / INTEGRATED MACHINE GUN.................CONFIRMED / INTEGRATED ANTI-VEHICLE SNIPER.........CONFIRMED / JUMP JETS..............................CONFIRMED / SERVO-ASSISTED CLAWS...................CONFIRMED / / / SEALING................................PLATFORM SEALED / / / OPERATOR CONFIRMED. / / / ALL SYSTEMS NOMINAL. / / / VARIABLE STRIKE PLATFORM: ONLINE.
[The writing here is definitely Crosswell's, but seems to be blockier and choppy.] ow owowow So on the recent op my arm got blown off. Some asshole decided to go all suicide bomber on us, but I was like "no fuck you" and grabbed him with the VSP's claws. there goes my arm ow But holy shit if I was in anything else I would've died instantly from that blast. Not even the ASO armor could've taken that. Lost the arm that was pinning the guy, blast took it clean off, but other than that? The VSP held... and the thing detonated at point blank range. From what the others told me the suit had basically folded in on me and was deactivated and riddled with shrapnel, but it held. I have a killer headache and minor concussion but aside from the arm thing i'm fine But tbh I decided to fix up my own suit, my power armor. idk humans are weird like that, we connect with inanimate objects so quickly, but I feel like it would've been wrong of me to not fix it up after it goes and saves my life, you know? it deserved better than to be reduced to scrap metal after that I'm gonna try and buff up its shoulder armor, maybe stabilize it more so it can't be ripped off so easily oh yeah obviously i'm out of the pod, apparently the doctors added some additional benefits. They're calling me an "augment" now, whatever that means. they said due to the nature of my work and my current position in the armada, they buffed up my new arm, made it stronger/sturdier or something. Gave it internal improvements, you know? its weird, i can lift like heavier stuff now, don't need any help funky that dude really thought he could kill me. He glared at me and was like "That suit won't save you from my gods" Guess what, you stupid cultist: more suits are being produced as I write this. The assembly line isn't stopping... and i'm still alive to make sure they're up to snuff last laugh = mine
got the memo today I don't know how I feel about this really... i mean I like to think tetanus would've come around eventually, that they would've payed up but at the same time? I understand hollow's position. it's the logical one, the smart one. There ain't no foolin nobody with how this thing is gonna go down, we all know it. Both sides know it. Hell, we all probably knew it the day of the meeting, that it was only formalities to see if we could make the other guy back off. Win it before it started, you know? but at the same time I feel sorry for Tetanus Fields, and Opportunity, and Alioth, because I know this isn't what they would want. I know they would want to stay out of it for as long as possible, but unfortunately the Fleet doesn't work that way. We all saw how quickly they descended on LM, and with the USDF pretty much gone there's a vaccuum, and those power hungry squawkers will be looking to fill the void we need to stop this before it gets even uglier. this is damage control. I really do sympathize with them, really I do. I've been in the same position. But sometimes you just gotta bite the bullet and get it over with, because would you rather have us defending you or watch as they come rolling into your colonies unprovoked? either way, there ain't no denying it now. That smell is in the air, y'know? War.
(( as a note he says the actual fucking word because pluck is a fucking avian swear and there's NO WAY FUCKING MARCUS CROSSWELL SWEARS LIKE A MOTHERFUCKING MANBIRD FUCK )) >>Video Log 1 >>Recording The camera clicks on with a burst of static, and a distinctively human body leans back in the seat behind the desk. The only thing on it is a coffee cup. Crosswell's tan face comes into view, bandana and all. The background is obviously that of his ship; it's essentially controlled chaos. There are sheets of metal and what appear to be parts strewn all over the floor. A trained eye would realize that they were parts of guns - barrels, pistol grips, etc. A massive blue machine, standing eight feet tall, is hunched over, deactivated. The VSP. Crosswell sniffs, scratching his cheek, before looking at the camera. "Got a thingy." He blinks. "A, uh, video recorder. Because writing sucks." He leans back in the seat, pausing and frowning. "God fucking damn this is awkward. Who even does this? Who's even gonna see this? Whatever - anyway!" He reaches off-screen for a moment, and then holds up a tan file to the screen. [PROJECT HADES] He puts the file on the table and takes a drink from the coffee cup. "Scientists over at the facility figured some shit out. They contacted me so I ran over; I get in there and they're flipping shit, right? Didn't understand half of whatever the fuck they were saying - something about the way it defies gravity and the way it transforms." He pauses, taking another sip. "So their mouths are running like five billion AUs a second spewing all this scientific bullshit and I'm like - "Shut the fuck up. Just tell me: can I build a gun with this nonsense?"." He leans back again and disappears underneath the desk. There's the sound of something moving, a small clang, and Crosswell appears in front of the camera again. Carefully, he places what could only be a rifle on the desk. He reaches towards the grip and touches something, near where the safety would usually be. There's a hissing noise, the scraping of metal on metal, and the gun begins to grow larger, parts shifting right in front of the camera. He watches the process apathetically, before looking back up at the camera. "Answer was yes." >>Recording stopped.
