Mech Pilot who screams thusly into the night:
”Hate me! Curse me! Abandon me!”
Warning: media corruption significant. Estimated loss of data 74%.
Loss of data concentrated in the following sectors:
> Temporal metadata
> Pilot bioreadings
> NHP status
> Mechanized frame sensorium data
Additional warnings: Cognitohazard risk present due to recording location. AXIOM group filters applied, but risk persists.
View footage? Y/N
>___
can you bring me back
> Y
sun is setting
better run
Acknowledged. Playback commencing.
"...the rest of the Dark Knights, Catastrophe? WHERE ARE THEY?"1
"We don't have time for a field interrogation I need you to get to the tower. I need you to get to the tower RIGHT NOW, I need you to take Raven2 and Michel3 and GO, you bitch, stop asking and start running!"4
Footage lost. Moving to next geostamp.
night is coming
ain't it fun
Audio logs damaged. Commencing video-only playback.
The camera view pans briefly across a battered ejection unit clutched carefully in one sparking hand, then to the upper torso of a [manufacturer unrecognizable] [pattern unrecognizable]5 in the other hand. Relative motion indicates ground-based movement via leg units, approximately 56 meters/second forward velocity.
The camera pans backwards.
There is another mechanized frame, [manufacturer unrecognizable] [pattern unrecognizable]6 at the top of a rise. The frame skids to a halt. The camera begins to slow forward velocity: viewpoint mech is turning around. The other mech makes a hand gesture. Viewpoint mech continues to turn.
The other mech engages shoulder-mounted rocket pod and opens fire on viewpoint mech.
Viewpoint mech resumes forward velocity.
Audio reconstruction available for next segment. Continue?
wave your banner
get your gun
Commencing playback.
ADAGIO SUMMERSET: Why did you do that? Why? I was trying to help you, ungrateful, insubordinate little
CALYPSO TARANTULA: Please. Please, just go.
ADAGIO SUMMERSET: You can't stop them! Not by yourself!
CALYPSO TARANTULA: I know.
ADAGIO SUMMERSET: You fired on me! You fired on ME!
CALYPSO TARANTULA: You weren't running.
ADAGIO SUMMERSET: This is a breach of
CALYPSO TARANTULA: Raven has 19 minutes of life support.
ADAGIO SUMMERSET: [open channel, no input]
CALYPSO TARANTULA: Michel and Spooky Dave are out of commission.
ADAGIO SUMMERSET: Y-
CALYPSO TARANTULA: I know they got Helen.
ADAGIO SUMMERSET: You should be running! You should be running!
CALYPSO TARANTULA: [open channel, no input]
ADAGIO SUMMERSET: I can see the scan, they're on top of you, you should be
CALYPSO TARANTULA: It's just me, Daji. It's just me, again.
ADAGIO SUMMERSET: Evacuate, Tarantula! That's an order!
CALYPSO TARANTULA: Parallel contracts, Daji. Wish you held my chains. But you don't, and the girl who had my leash is g- [audio squelch; source: cockpit microphone]
ADAGIO SUMMERSET: I hate you, I hate you Tarantula, if you don't evac right now I'm never going to forgive you for this, do you hear me, you'll never work again, you need to get off this rock with me and
CALYPSO TARANTULA: GOOD! Hate me, Daji! Curse me! I need that! I need you to loathe me! I [audio lost; source: weapons impact] to fucking LIVE, do you hear me? So hate me! Curse me! ABANDON me, please, slander my name across the sky and blacklist me to every mercenary board, let them know I'm a coward and a traitor and an insubordinate little whore and call me whatever you want to call me but I need you to do that from orbit, Daji, and I can't hold this position for long so I need you to hate me NOW
Mech recording unrecoverable. Switching to surveillance satellite view.
- [REDACTED] units move from southwest towards Gravity Spire.
- AZIMUTH HANDSHAKE can be identified approaching Gravity Spire.
- Elevator barge crew is seen pausing departure procedure and readying fire suppression and emergency equipment
- Plasma bloom detected from [REDACTED] front line
- Gap in [REDACTED] line appears, surveillance officer requests permission to enhance
- Permission granted by supervising officer
- Source of plasma bloom identified: Black Knight mechanized frame ANGELFIRE IGNITION releasing all reactor safeties and engaging [REDACTED] command units
- [REDACTED] COLOSSUS-class and attendants divert to engage rogue mech
- Elevator barge crew finishes loading AZIMUTH HANDSHAKE and securing wounded cargo
- Signal traffic detected between ANGELFIRE IGNITION and Gravity Spire, encrypted7
- Gravity Spire broadcasts cleartext: GODSPEED, KNIGHT
- Elevator barge engages Gravity Spire climb
- ANGELFIRE IGNITION progresses further into [REDACTED] lines
- ANGELFIRE IGNITION contacts COLOSSUS-class
- Signal Lost (interference: cascading catastrophic reactor breach beginning with COLOSSUS-class unit)
End of data archive. Please enter next query.
>___
Acknowledged. Classifying files under AMMIT OFFENSIVE protocols, APEP clearance. I will begin erasure of information footprint, agent TSUKIYOMI.
Setting alerts on: future movements of CALYPSO TARANTULA.
Preparing for transit hibernation. I look forward to seeing you on the far shore.
-
Speaker provisionally identified as ADAGIO SUMMERSET, bonded pilot, 15'th Skullshroud Legion, callsign DUCHESS, pilot of AZIMUTH HANDSHAKE
-
Likely referencing PRINCESS BISHOP SUPERSPY RAVEN INDOMITUS, bonded pilot, 15'th Skullshroud Legion, callsign FUCKIP, pilot of DON'T WEAR IT OUT
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Likely referencing QIN MICHEL MOG, bonded pilot, 15'th Skullshroud Legion, callsign RETRAUX, pilot of PRIORITY FRAME DATA
-
Speaker provisionally identified as CALYPSO TARANTULA, independent pilot, previously Hammer's Black Knights, callsign CATASTROPHE, pilot of ANGELFIRE IGNITION
-
Tentatively identified as Royal Karrakin Foundries Calendula, exact pattern unidentified. Possible prototype?
-
Tentatively identified as "fuck, I don't know, some unholy combination of an IPS Vlad with, what is that, those are northstar parts but they look really angry somehow?"
-
"I can give you ten minutes, Gravity Spire. She'll try to stop you. Don't let her. There's nothing left for me and everything left for her. Get her home. Please. I'm going in."
-
it's not over, calypso, not here. i promise
