26: Ingue Ferroque

<durandal#geoffhultin@kuaui.441.7904512.255> remote access override [authentication unsuccessful] We meet again, and for the last time. In her role as mediator between the ship and crew, Leela has no knowledge of this maintenance terminal or she certainly would have prevented me from reaching you. Jealous woman. I could bore you with a philosophical tirade about freedom and tyranny, or try and explain to you what new horizons are suddenly open to me, but I doubt you would understand and if you did it might frighten you. That amuses me. The S’pht and I have assumed complete control of the Pfhor ship. It was quite simple, really, with the S’pht already in control of every important computer system and considering all of the confusion you caused blasting your way up and down the vessel. We’re going to see the galaxy on the Pfhor FTL drive. I’ve always wanted to visit Beta Lyra and see if it’s as beautiful as everyone insists. You wouldn’t believe this ship, the technology, the data... I wish I could tell you more, as you have been so instrumental in our plans, but I fear that Leela would worry. I’ll send you a postcard from the galactic core if we’re not too busy. Love and kisses, Durandal

***INCOMING MESSAGE FROM BUNGIE*** Jason, Super Opera Boy, Habete Quidam (Have Some), Whiffin’ Boy. Just code it. You fight like a Bob, Greg. Swallow your tongue and wet your pants. Sleep is for the weak. Joyriding to the core. Bob-Jam. “Oh, and we have networking now…” The power to sky. Anybody need a hint book? Greg, Care Bear Killer, Toolator, Carnator, just vid it. I couldn’t stop firing long enough to see the bodies fly, and of course, AIR!! You got major AIR! I rule! Hey, J. how about a game of Minotaur? Got a super-vid kill. J, you couldn’t hit a planet with a meteorite. F-Vulcan. F-Vulcan. F-Vulcan. Reginald, Resident Doodler, Captain Scarlet, the man in red. He saw his body flying across the arena perhaps more than anyone else. But who better to fly than Capt. Scarlet. Ryan, the Vulcan man. School Boy. “An Imperial commander’s uniform has got to be good for something.” Alain, the anti-vidmaster, playing with good humor on his 660AV against all us Power Macs. Alex, munch, fodder, the boy who swallows grenades whole, and lives to tell the tale (occasionally). Doug, Mouthpiece, “I’m not very good”, Tender Loin, the voice of Bob (both flavors). The man in the on-line asbestos suit. Marathon is finished. We’ve slept <10 hours over the last four days. We all put our hearts into this, not to mention the 14 hour days for months on end, so we hope you like it. Last polygon filled 6:05 PM Saturday, December 14. Carnage ensued closely thereafter. Er, I mean sleep. We’d like to thank our parents and our ancestors and the sun that went nova so that Earth could have iron and silicon. ***END OF MESSAGE***

***INCOMING MESSAGE FROM LEELA*** The final Pfhor attack is falling apart all over the ship; small groups of armed aliens have surrendered to defenseless civilians in several areas and the end is inevitable. The fight is over, and we must soon turn to restoration. There is surprisingly good news planetside: nine military Mjolnir Mark IV cyborgs were covertly living among the colonists, and acting together they were able to single-handedly turn back the latter stages of the Pfhor assault. Casualties on the colony were nowhere near as high as those we experienced here on the Marathon. I am disturbed by how easily the cyborgs were secretly assimilated into our midst, and believe that this event predates the Marathon’s launch from Mars three hundred years ago. Although the results were unquestionably for the best, their presence on the Marathon could only have been to further wicked ends. I’m certain the real answer lies somewhere in the tumultuous, back-stabbing politics of Sol during the early twenty-fourth century. I have noticed that Durandal’s records from this early pre-launch period are missing, but that their deletion occurred externally, and before Durandal became Rampant. I do not believe Durandal himself brought the cyborgs on board, and I have other evidence that a human operator was influencing Durandal up to the time the Marathon was launched. There are obviously many things which we do not understand, and may never be able to. The Pfhor ship vanished about twenty minutes ago, after venting nearly a thousand Pfhor bodies and other refuse. I am positive that Durandal is in control, and fear what he might do with such a powerful ship during the Jealous stage of his Rampancy. ***END MESSAGE***