Welcome Broadcast:
This is a close-range broadcast. As per the procedure of the Guild of Nautical Exploration(GNE), no recording of this audio message is authorized. Any and all recordings found aboard vessels will be erased, and offending parties will face penalties and criminal sentencing. Thank you.
And now, a word from our Chief Administrator, James Abernathy.
Greetings!
If you’re receiving this message, it means you aren’t here for a scheduled resupply. Whether you’re a new recruit or a lost soul desperate for refuge, we are glad to have you.
We may be a small speck of nowhere, but there’s warmth here, and in the cold void, sometimes that’s all you need!
Be sure to check in at the administrative center once you’ve successfully docked.
As Chief Administrator here, I look forward to meeting you. Welcome aboard Mining Colony 12-9, the Adderact.
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Accessing Administrative Logs…
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Administrative Logs:
WARNING: Admin logs must be kept in written form at all times to ensure safe transit should the need arise for official review. Until such times are deemed necessary, these logs are only viewable by the current Administrator or staff given access by the current Administrator.
Do NOT record audio versions of these logs outside the exception of personal use. Any audio files found removed from the System will result in harsh penalties, potential termination, and payment for all damages rendered to official GNE property and staff.
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Admin Log
Colony Date: Year 1, Month 3, Day 8
Chief Administrator: James Abernathy
After several months of construction, the Colony is fully operational. Simulated gravity has been stabilized after the installation of the Umbral core, probes have already begun isolating the largest clusters of Umbra in the system, and the first batch of colonists is scheduled to arrive within the week.
Oversight of an operation this scale will be the first in my career, but I have ample experience in deep-space operations. Mining operations are scheduled to begin after a final inspection, but only as a formality. All systems are green, and expectations are high.
Thanks to the Guild of Nautical Exploration (GNE), supply routes are already in place, and I have informed them that they can expect the first shipment of ore for processing by next month.
Readings from instruments also suggest the black hole in the system remains stable, so long-term mining is not only viable, but guaranteed.
I expect this venture to be profitable for all parties.
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Personal Reminder: Send letter to Charlotte Abernathy on the planetary colony Odessa in the Quasar-Lilac system.
Charlotte,
This is it.
Our first major step out of the gutter. The loan I took from the GNE was substantial, but mining rights and this colony belong to me. Once I have enough, I’ll schedule for your transfer here.
I know it’s been lonely there since…
But it will be alright. Unlike a planet, there are no diseases, no poisoned air in the vacuum. We will be safe here, and once I have enough saved and the debt repaid, I’ll sell this colony, and we’ll move to the Capitol. That’s still a few years off, but…I will do everything I can to expedite those dreams of ours.
Pray for me, Charlie, and may mom and dad watch over us until we’re reunited.
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Admin Log
Colony Date: Year 5, Month 11, Day 4
Chief Administrator: James Abernathy
The past few years have been without trouble.
Ore is processed swiftly, and the deposits remain plenteous. I have sent reports to the Guild of Nautical Exploration (GNE) outlining my plans for expansion, and feedback remains positive. It appears the original surveys for this system’s Umbra deposits were vastly underestimated. While scans reveal several large pockets of mineable ore, the colony’s miners have managed to unearth several dozen more in far reaches of the system. It would appear the old adage remains true: ‘Umbra hides its bounties in the dark.’ So where better to find it than a system orbiting a black hole? Given these new discoveries, and a dash of optimism, there may be enough Umbra in this system for an active mining settlement for over a generation. Not a single colony has been so fortunate, however, so pragmatic voices must win out.
Communications Officer Landon Brisbane in particular has cautioned us against such naive assumptions, much to the chagrin of the Chief of Mining Operations, Ezekiel Reyes. Reyes believes there is far more ore to be found, that we need only devote a few miners a day for scouting runs to find the remaining deposits in the system. He is not alone in those sentiments, as plenty of miners also voice their desire to find the rest.
Brisbane, however, has argued these pursuits may be detrimental to short-term operations. We are far from depleting the deposits already discovered, and overstretching our resources may hurt the colony more than it benefits. He is not alone in these sentiments, several staff from among the other departments have also come forward.
Dr. Graham Nightingale, our Medical Officer, remains the voice of reason between these two rising factions, offering the suggestion we table these discussions until after the expansion. When more colonists arrive and more resources become available to us. We all agreed with Dr. Nightingale, allowing tensions to ease for the time being.
Time will tell how long this peace lasts, though, as the miners remain eager to explore the system and find the remaining ore.
Personal Log:
I must admit, I am hesitant to authorize Reyes’ plan, even if he did manage to garner enough support. He has been with the colony as long as I have. I’ve always known him to be a man equally ambitious and enterprising. Such qualities are far from short supply in this line of work, but there is more to this current proposal than simply profit for him. The same could be said of all the miners present. There’s some sort of shift in their eyes, as though a light fades from them as they talk of exploring the dark. Perhaps it has something to do with the means by which they find those new deposits.
Voices, they say.
Whispers heard in the dark recesses of their mining vessels. Incomprehensible, yet impossible to ignore. They claim to have been led by these whispers toward the new deposits. This process has made them…reverent. Eager to hear the voices and discover more ore, but no one can explain why.
I’ve discussed such talk with Dr. Nightingale, and he has begun administering doses of antipsychotics to the affected. Umbral madness is not uncommon in this line of work, especially among miners, but…it rarely spreads this quickly. Perhaps Reyes is right, and this system is actually a veritable treasure trove of Umbra. Part of me cannot help but hope he is.
And yet…I cannot deny the way he looks out into the void sends a shiver down my spine. As if he sees something I do not in those pale, glassy eyes of his.
Perhaps that is my prejudice talking. I grew up on the planets, after all. I only started seeing the effects of Umbra exposure once I started working here.
Hair prematurely greying, skin and eyes devoid of all color, and, though it might be my imagination, there is a glow in his eyes, only visible in the low light of the observatory, where up-to-date system scans are always on display.
Then again, perhaps that’s why Reyes is so eager. If we earn enough, we can settle our debts to the GNE, and leave this all behind.
We can finally make a life wherever we please.
Somewhere safe, and warm. Charlotte…it’s been ages since I last wrote to her. The failure to pass the GNE exams hit her hard, but it is only a delay for our reunion. Even if she can’t join me here, we will be together again once I have enough saved.
We just need to hold on a little longer.
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Admin Log
Colony Date: Year 7, Month 2, Day 30
Chief Administrator: James Abernathy
Our colony has grown much in the last couple years, now housing over a hundred souls in this humble little colony. It required several more loans to pull off, but the results have been phenomenal. Reports suggest our output already ranks us amongst the most successful colonies in the entire Sector. The Guild of Nautical Exploration (GNE) has sent multiple officials to our location to oversee our progress. Every last one of them has left impressed and eager to divert more funds to our growth.
By all estimates, this should be a time of great celebration for all of us. And yet, the disappearances keep rising. Death is not uncommon in this line of work.
Mining is stressful and dangerous, and the vacuum of space is unforgiving. A single system failure could mark the end for any of us.
Yet no corpses are found. No vessels are missing. People are just…gone.
Investigations are underway, but with discretion. We cannot let the GNE know anything is amiss. We all need this colony to succeed, after all. Even Brisbane, an employee answering directly to the GNE, has agreed to keep quiet until an answer is found.
To date, out of a population of 126, 9 have gone missing. Neither their neighbors nor friends have any clue what became of them. They only mention that the colonists were having trouble sleeping before they disappeared. That nightmares led them to wander the halls during rest hours.
Rest is intermittent in a colony like this. People are always awake and working somewhere, be they miners or administrators, but the residents’ quarters are often silent at these times we call rest hours. Perfect time for criminal activities.
Chief of Mining Operations Reyes’s brother, Micah Reyes, is among the missing. To help find answers and hopefully recover the missing, he has been coordinating with Security Officer Nathan Bowman to schedule patrols with volunteers. The colony is large, and we are all stretched thin trying to keep this ship running profitably.
Time will tell if the patrols deter whatever is causing the disappearances, but, truth be told, without any clues, we may never find the missing persons.
Personal Log:
The entire colony has been searched, top to bottom. There is no sign of any of the missing persons, nor is there any sign they took equipment to quietly sneak away. Supply ships are unmanned and without life support, so you can’t just smuggle people out of here, either.
I fear the worst: that these colonists took a stroll right out the airlock, but even then…where are the bodies? Light is minimal in a system like this, but our scanners would pick up their signatures, even if it was just registering as debris, especially so close to the colony.
And yet…there is nothing.
Like they vanished into a puff of smoke. It has us all more rattled than we let on, especially Reyes. He loved his brother, and would have known if something was wrong. At least that’s what he tells me.
Dr. Nightingale and his staff have redoubled their psych evals, checking every colonist on a weekly basis. He’s also begun increasing the dosage of meds, in case something is slipping through the cracks, but only time will tell if it has any effect.
Charlotte…I am glad she is not here. Whatever is causing this, I would rather she stay far away. I only hope it does not spread further. That the loans I took can be paid off soon, so I can get us both to safer places as soon as possible.
But with the additional loans I was forced to take, that goal seems further away than ever…
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Admin Log
Colony Date: Year 7, Month 10, Day 12
Chief Administrator: James Abernathy
The disappearances continue unabated. Out of 126 colonists, we have lost 19 to unknown circumstances. Everyone in the colony knows something is wrong, but no one has a clue what. Medical Officer Dr. Graham Nightingale has advised we consider halting mining operations until we determine a cause, but such action could bankrupt the colony entirely. We are too large, our expenses too high for such measures. I pray we find a more pragmatic solution, but that would require a better understanding of what is happening.
Answers elude us, but the mining must continue.
For all our sakes.
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Admin Log
Colony Date: Year 9, Month 1, Day 4
Chief Administrator: James Abernathy
We still have no idea what is the cause of the disappearances, so we have been forced to report all missing as dead. Their deaths attributed to suicide. Psych meds are now mandatory among all colonists, including administrative staff. The number of disappearances continues to rise, but the arrival of new colonists has meant we have not suffered a loss in efficiency. We will continue to investigate the disappearances.
Personal Log:
40. 40 souls vanished into nothing, and we still have no idea what has happened! It’s insane, and the psych meds don’t take the edge off. We all know something is wrong, very wrong, but we have no idea what or how to stop it. We only know that the money is continuing to flow, that we need it to stay afloat. Drowning in debt won’t help any of us.
And yet…there are times I wish I never left the planets. Charlotte at least is doing well, last I heard. Married, now.
So, if something happens to me…
At least she won’t be alone.
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Admin Log
Colony Date: Year 9, Month 3, Day 9
Chief Administrator: James Abernathy
Madness. Madness has taken us.
Dr. Nightingale has feared this was some sort of psychological plague since it first began. That the bodies never disappeared, that they’re still somewhere nearby, perhaps even hidden on the colony. We just…couldn’t see them. I don’t know if that’s true, but…whatever the case, there are now reports of full-blown hallucinations across the colony.
For now, they are mostly auditory. Claws scraping against metal floors, growls in dark spaces, whispers beneath the bed. All have been reported, and the disappearances are increasing rapidly.
Against the wishes of Chief Reyes and Officer Brisbane, I have decided to authorize Medical Officer Dr. Graham Nightingale’s solution.
We will quarantine Colony 12-9, Adderact.
For the foreseeable future, mining operations will cease. Security Officer Bowman will establish martial law. He will conscript able-bodied colonists for patrols, and all resources will be devoted to finding the source of the hallucinations and, hopefully, the disappearances, as well.
God willing, this will be solved within the month, and operations may resume with peace of mind.
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Admin Log
Colony Date: Year 9, Month 3, Day 15
Chief Administrator: James Abernathy
I have made a grave error. One years in the making.
This…psychosis, phenomena…whatever you would call it. It has grown beyond our means to contain.
At first, martial law was helping. Hallucinations decreased, and people were beginning to calm down.
But then, entire patrols began to disappear.
Sometimes, it was without known cause. Other times…reports would come in from nearby colonists.
They would hear…an attack. Patrols approaching what was believed to be a hallucination…their calls to order turning to screams of panic, loud yet brief.
Silence would soon fall again, and there would be no sign of anyone outside. Sometimes…people reported they heard the screams grow fainter before disappearing entirely, as if the victims were dragged away.
The only thing we’ve learned is that some survive these attacks, those struck dumb by terror, unable to speak or scream.
It would seem that…if one is silent, they are spared. A paltry hope, but the only one we have.
Insanity. Madness. Whatever the case, the danger has become very real, and we have no means of handling it. Even if it was some monster stalking the halls instead of a new strain of psychosis, order has fallen.
I tried sending an SOS to the GNE, but…long-range communications appear to be down. I don’t know why. Perhaps it’s working fine, but this growing psychosis has made us all incompetent?
If only Brisbane were here…but nothing can be done about that now.
We…are lost.
I’ve written an emergency broadcast to ward off any approaching vessels, but…I fear recording my own voice, not when I can hear those damn claws scraping outside my door. So, instead, I’ve followed procedure for all long-range communications and recorded it in Morse code.
Help may never come, but at least no more poor souls will be dragged down with us.
If anyone reads these messages, please…get out now. While you still can. Just please…take this last message, attached to this report.
Take it to Landon’s wife, Daphne Brisbane, or to my sister, Charlotte Mackenzie…they deserve to know what happened to us, and to read our final words.
…Charlotte, I’m sorry. I wish I could have met your little boy…my nephew. I’ll give our love to mom and dad when I see them…and pray you live a long and wonderful life.
…goodbye.
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Pulling playback of Emergency broadcast…
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Emergency Broadcast through the static:
Translated from Morse Code.
This is an emergency broadcast, repeat, this is an emergency broadcast.
Colony 12-9 is…officially quarantined…
A psychological…phenomena has occurred here, no source known.
…several dozen colonists…missing…
Do not board the…Adderact…I repeat…do not board the…
Stalking…Halls…remain silent…
Nowhere…safe…
…Screams…Silence…
…God help us all…