1: Upstream

I am now aware of a S'pht presence among the invasion force. I've heard scattered reports of S'pht Defender sightings as well. This confirms speculation from the Epsilon system that the Pfhor are successfully enslaving captured S'pht again. Unsurprisingly, they are being used here to infiltrate our computer systems. The Pfhor already knew a lot about our presence on Istoria. Their initial shock-and-awe attack focused on key tactical locations on the Tripoli and the planet. It was highly successful, leading me to believe they had a decent knowledge of our operations beforehand. I can't figure out where in this star system they hid their approach without us detecting them. I do find it odd they sent only one warship. Perhaps they knew we would detect their approach if they sent a fleet. Or perhaps they believed the opportunity was too good to wait for reinforcements.

Deep below the surface of Istoria exists ancient structures built into vast hollowed-out caverns and magma tunnels. These structures house labs, manufacturing facilities, and a massive fusion reactor core. This reactor generates an immense amount of energy, which is then fed into an ancient computer core and what can best be described as a highly complex gravitational array. This array appears to expel small gravitational waves away from Istoria and into the star system for reasons beyond our current understanding. By all indications, these subterranean structures were built by a species known as the Jjaro, long before the Mrrak established their outpost on the surface. The underground reactor system operates in total autonomy, and appears designed to do so in perpetuity. Core operations are maintained by some sort of artificial intelligence, which we've come to call Sentinel. Our specialists have unsuccessfully sought to gain access to or communicate with Sentinel for years. In doing so, we could possibly gain answers to some of the questions surrounding Istoria, and leverage the full potential of this outpost's technological capabilities against the Pfhor.

Our efforts finally paid off four days ago when our specialists temporarily established communication with Sentinel. After submitting several billion various inquiries to the AI, it responded to a specific query concerning the operational status of the gravity array. However, it appeared when Sentinel realized we weren't its original operators, it stopped responding. Despite this, the Tripoli simultaneously recorded highly unusual subspace emissions emanating from Istoria's surface. It was as if Sentinel was scanning nearby space, perhaps checking for any unusual anomalies, or maybe taking a look at us. Whatever the reason, the scan ceased after several minutes, and further efforts to establish contact with the AI have proven unsuccessful. My point is, this scan must have been detected by the nearby Pfhor warship and alerted them to our presence, perhaps via their newly-enslaved S'pht. They used the star's gravity well to hide their approach and then ambushed us at just the right time.

/-/ SECURITY OVERRIDE APPROVED // FETCHING REQUESTED FILE(S) /-/ /-/ S'PHT TRANSLATOR STATUS: Inactive [auto-detect] /-/ CONTINUE LOG ENTRY [L:401.8.102]: The enduring condition of these old Mrrak structures has allowed the UESC to use them heavily during our ongoing occupation of Istoria. By all indications, they were built millions of years ago and likely maintained as recently as one to two thousand years ago. The water purification center along this river is an excellent example of the sustainability seen in Mrrak infrastructure, having required little restoration to be compatible with our needs over the last five years since our occupation began in 2832. Our relative familiarity with S'pht history and technology has also proved advantageous to understanding the Mrrak's existence here, given the apparent similarities between the two species. . . . /-/ CONNECTION INTERRUPTED /-/