The Angelica Incident

FILE 17: AKA ‘THE ANGELICA INCIDENT’

''Please note that the following log is strictly prohibited to any worker of ranking 15 or below. Attempting to view said log without required ranking may lead to termination from the Nightfall Lunar Hub and possible physical ejection.''

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FILE 17-A

''The log enclosed within this document is based from the audio recordings of Escape Pod 4 of the SS Angelica approximately two days into the Angelica’s deep-space voyage and six minutes before its destruction. The purpose of the Angelica’s deployment was to search for reported radio frequencies from an uncharted territory of the Carnation District and report any findings back to Base Camp Alpha (the nearest lunar base) before recording said findings for analysis. Such alleged radio signals had the potential to be physically damaging to the human body, and thus the Angelica was protected with several layers of padding along the upper, middle, and lower layers of the ship. The Angelica withheld 6 crew members at its time of deployment, 5 of which are confirmed to be terminated and 1 whose status is unknown.''

LOG START

''A light scratching noise is audible as the Escape Pod 4 broadcasters power on. The audio is noticeably quiet but well within the limits of human hearing. A frantic voice can be heard, slowly increasing in volume as the broadcasters fully activate.''

“This is Captain McKennedy of the SS Angelica speaking; any nearby receivers please respond!”

''No other radio signals can be heard. McKennedy can be heard grunting as he attempts to zone the broken navigational systems of Escape Pod 4 onto Base Camp Alpha unsuccessfully.''

"I repeat, this is Captain McKennedy of the SS Angelica speaking, any nearby receivers please respo-

''McKennedy is interrupted by several sharp thuds on the exterior of Escape Pod 4. After audio analysis, the source of the banging was determined unlikely to be from an asteroid or any form of space debris.''

“Dear God, they’re trying to get in!”

A sharp hissing noise vibrates along the interior of Escape Pod 4.

“Fuck! Not the fuel tank!”

McKennedy can be heard muttering in a distraught tone of voice, before leaning in towards the broadcaster microphone.

“To any active receivers: a hostile alien parasite has assimilated all five of my crewmates aboard the SS Angelica and is currently attempting to gain access to my escape pod. The beings have already taken control of the Angelica. My fuel reserves have been pierced from the outside and are leaking rapidly. I myself have already managed to eliminate one of the hostile life-forms but four still remain.”

Two muffled voices can be heard from outside of Escape Pod 4.

“The…these aliens…they’re attempting to persuade me to leave the escape pod. They’re…floating…floating outside the windows in spacesuits. Crew members Chuck and Edward. They’re dead, but the aliens are mimicking their voices. They want me to believe it’s them...”

''Several more loud thuds can be heard against the exterior of Escape Pod 4. The pod's systems can be heard softly crackling and sparking.''

“I’m calling in a Lunar Strike on the SS Angelica’s position, effective immediately, in order to prevent the infection spreading any further. As for myself, I may have just enough fuel left to steer myself clear of the blast radius so long as the engine still works, but without my navigational systems, I have no means of returning to any nearby Lunar Base. I will beam my co-ordinates out onto this broadcast as soon as I am far enough away from the Angelica so that I can be rescued. Captain McKennedy out.”

The broadcasters of Escape Pod 4 click as they shut off.

LOG END

''The message was relayed to Base Camp Alpha receivers just a few minutes after its initial broadcast, thanks to a lone scouting ship that picked up the signal as it was patrolling the area close to the SS Angelica. Almost immediately after the message was received and relayed to the Nightfall Lunar Hub, a Lunar Strike was fired at the SS Angelica according to Captain McKennedy’s wishes as a precautionary measure against a potential hostile extra-terrestrial invasion. The strike was 100% effective, as the Angelica was destroyed upon impact and 5 of its 6 potentially “infected” crew killed. It is suspected that Captain McKennedy survived the blast and Escape Pod 4 has been reported to be seen now orbiting a nearby uninhabited dwarf planet.''

No effort is currently being made to rescue Captain McKennedy or trace his co-ordinates signal, and the termination of the SS Angelica has been publicly credited as a technical malfunction of the generator room, leading to a chain reaction that destroyed the entire ship.

'''WARNING: THE SUBSEQUENT PART OF THIS ARTICLE IS EXTREMELY CLASSIFIED TO ALMOST ALL WORKERS, COMMANDERS, AND OPERATORS ABOARD THE NIGHTFALL LUNAR HUB. IF YOU DO NOT POSSESS EITHER OF THESE RANKS:'''

•	President

•	Vice-President

'''YOU ARE LEGALLY REQUIRED TO STOP VIEWING THIS ARTICLE HERE. ATTEMPTING TO VIEW INCIDENT 7-B WITHOUT CORRECT AUTHENTICATION WILL LEAD TO GUARANTEED TERMINATION AND PERMANENT EXILE FROM THE NIGHTFALL LUNAR HUB. YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED. PROCEED AT YOUR OWN RISK.'''

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FILE 17-B

''Several months after the initial events of FILE 17-A, a new discovery was made during a small-scale salvage mission directed at the ruins of the SS Angelica. One of the crew members of the SS Intrepid (which was dispatched in order to carry out the mission) discovered a relatively undamaged audio log floating alongside a dishevelled corpse likely belonging to one of the 5 dead crewmates of the Angelica. After multiple Intrepid officers listened to the recording before it could be intercepted by Nightfall commanders, it was swiftly confiscated. A severe reprimanding was given to the offending officers, and the ruins of the SS Angelica were therefore abandoned to prevent another possible data breach.''

The audio log’s transcript is detailed in the following log.

LOG START

Several comms systems initiate their start-up sequence, eventually forming into one singular communications frequency.

COMMS 1, Crew Member ‘EDWARD’: Hello? Is anyone there?

COMMS 2, Crew Member ‘CHUCK’: Read you loud and clear, Ed. Gus and Frank, do you copy?

COMMS 4, Crew Member ‘GUS’: Positive, Chuck.

COMMS 3, Crew Member ‘FRANK’: Can confirm, Chuck.

CHUCK: Edward and I require a status report. What the hell is going on up there on the Angelica?

GUS: We passed through an errant signal a few minutes back. We were going to record it as per protocol, but it overwhelmed our monitors. We had to restart the whole damn system all over again. McKennedy was fixing something down in engineering and there’s no protective padding down there. Nightfall must’ve skimped out to lower the cost of the ship, those cheap bastards. The signal passed right through McKennedy's brain and messed him up real bad.

FRANK: I found him seized up spitting froth on the floor a little while ago. When he came to in the medical bay, he started yelling about aliens and parasites and all sorts of crazy shit. He took a lunge at me and when Daniel tried to sedate him, he…

Frank seems to trail off, his voice weak.

GUS: Daniel’s dead. McKennedy stabbed him in the neck with a needle and got away before Frank could catch him.

EDWARD: Oh, God…

CHUCK: Are you certain he’s dead?

FRANK: He bled out, Chuck. He’s dead, for Christ’s sake.

The comms go silent for a few moments.

CHUCK: Alright…where is McKennedy now?

GUS: He’s jettisoned in one of the escape pods, but he’s yet to accelerate away from the ship. He smashed up almost all the comms before he left, so me and Frank can only establish a local link here with you and Edward. There’s no chance of linking back to Base Camp Alpha and McKennedy is blocking our broadcasters from contacting his pod.

EDWARD: So, what do we do?

FRANK: You and Chuck are at the right-wing of the ship, correct?

EDWARD: Yes, we are.

FRANK: Suit up and navigate to McKennedy’s escape pod out of the East airlock. Gus and I have managed to disable the pod’s navigational systems from here with an EMP. Find a way to cut the pod’s fuel reserves and see if you can dock it back into the ship. Trap McKennedy in the airlock. Then, we can head to Base Camp Alpha and get McKennedy to a hospital there.



CHUCK: Understood, Frank.

EDWARD: Do me and Chuck have to go together? I could stay onboard and help with-

GUS: That’s a negative, Edward. Get back to us on the comms when you dock the pod.

''Gus and Frank exit the comms, and Chuck and Edward remain in silence as they don their protective suits and exit the Angelica. Within a minute, they arrive at Escape Pod 4.''

EDWARD: Captain? Captain, can you hear us?

McKennedy’s muffled shouts can be heard from within Escape Pod 4 as Edward thumps on the metal exterior of the pod.

CHUCK: Stop that, damn it! You’re just going to freak him out even more!

''McKennedy can be heard speaking into the comms of Escape Pod 4. Audio analysis of the log concludes that what McKennedy can be heard saying matches the audio of the log included in FILE 17-A.''

CHUCK: Take this wrench and unscrew the casing for the pod’s fuel tank. It’s at the back.

Edward unscrews the casing as per Chuck’s instructions.

CHUCK: Fuck, that’s really set him off.

McKennedy once again begins to shout into the comms of Escape Pod 4.

CHUCK: Right, now we open the pod.

EDWARD: But that'll kill-

CHUCK: I couldn’t give less of a shit if it kills him! Frank doesn't give me orders anymore. Daniel is dead. McKennedy is a murderer and Frank couldn’t stop him. That makes him just as bad.

Chuck can be heard audibly seething with each word he speaks.

EDWARD: Chuck, you know that’s not-

CHUCK: Shut the fuck up, Edward! You always were a spineless little shit. Gus and Frank aren’t here to boss us around anymore. I’m taking this into my own hands. We’ll say the pod leaked, McKennedy got sucked out, and we couldn’t do anything about it. Okay? You stay there and don’t even think of trying to stop me.

For the next few minutes, Chuck can be heard trying to force himself into Escape Pod 4, but fails to open the door.

CHUCK: Bastard must’ve put it into lockdown. Edward, get over here and hel-

A distinct whooshing noise drowns out Chuck’s voice as Escape Pod 4 accelerates away from the Angelica at a high velocity.

CHUCK: Son of a bitch!

EDWARD: He hasn’t got much fuel, he won’t get far.

Both Chuck and Edward’s attention seems to suddenly be diverted.

CHUCK: What is that? Another ship?

EDWARD: That’s a Lunar Strike.

CHUCK: You’re fucking kidding me.

Gus and Frank suddenly join the comms.

GUS: Both of you get to the escape pods as soon as possible.

A loud roaring sound can be heard as the crew members talk, rapidly getting louder.

CHUCK: Can’t you move the ship out of the way?!

FRANK: There’s no time!

GUS: Frank, we’re not going to make it. The elevator is too slow...

FRANK: Don’t fucking say that! We’re going to-

All four men can be heard talking over each other as the strike approaches, before the comms go silent on all ends.

LOG END

Disclaimer: the information included in both FILE 17-A and FILE 17-B is highly sensitive and therefore liable to extermination through the mass deletion of all documents contained within the libraries of the Nightfall Lunar Hub, in the event that such files were to come into the hands of a foreign enemy or unauthorized group with intent to release said files to the public.

Thank you, and God bless America.

‘Let our shining beacons cast the path for the goals we seek.’ – Samuel Morgan, the Founder and President of the Nightfall Lunar Hub.