0: Spaceport II

__________________________________________ Hello Captain. We have not reached our Iridiuan III yet. I had to bring you out of stasis early because of a serious problem on the "StarBlazer". Approximately seventeen hours ago, intruders attacked and disabled the Ion drive, dropping us back into normal space/time. They have begun boarding the ship and disabling critical systems with the primary goal of gutting your ship and leaving the crew for dead. __________________________________________

__________________________________________ As you can see from the external sensor display, the "StarBlazer" is surrounded by three alien ships. I have yet to determine their strengths, but it is unlikely your ship would survive a direct assault - without altering our odds... __________________________________________

To protect you from the intruders, I set a priority to use all ship resources to revive you first. Your first officer, Commander Hayes, and the rest of your command staff should be out of stasis and functional within the next several hours. In the meantime, you will be on your own. __________________________________________ My optical sensors inform me that there are several different species of aliens in the intruding force and I am having difficulty determining exactly who is in command. Question: Why would several unrelated species band together to invade your ship? __________________________________________

__________________________________________ Answer: Insufficient data at this time. Until the rest of the crew is revived, it will remain up to you to secure this section by eliminating any threat from the invaders. You will find some weapons and ammunition is several of the nearby storerooms. Be careful since I believe the aliens may have already posted sentries. __________________________________________

__________________________________________ The Aliens disabled our Ion Drive with a new type of energy plasma weapon. If you can destroy the firing mechanism on their ship, our probability of escape will increase by a factor of four. From the location pictured, you may be able to attack one of their cruisers. __________________________________________ I will continue to use our ships sensors to gather information. As you pass addition Communication Terminals, check in and I will brief you on any new developments. __________________________________________

__________________________________________ The shield recharger in the Med Lab is still operational, but the door may need to be opened using the manual bypass switch behind a nearby panel. __________________________________________ **** END MESSAGE ****

___________________________________________ I have performed autopsies on some of the dead aliens and I believe I now understand why so many species are involved, and what they really want from your ship. They have perfected a method of rapid DNA replacement that allows them to convert any vanquished foe, into a willing slave. They have already begun conversion of some crew members. ___________________________________________ Am I correct in believing most humans would consider this a fate worse than death? ___________________________________________

___________________________________________ You will need to get to the Security Chamber and assess our chances of sending a distress call. ___________________________________________ If communications are hopelessly disabled, you will have to consider the option of destroying the ship. ___________________________________________ **** END MESSAGE ****

_______________________________________ The Aliens have disabled communications from the bridge, so I need you to deploy the emergency transponder array. This will not be easy. Because of the attack, security bulkheads have engaged throughout the ship. With voice recognition also offline, you will have to manually bypass these systems. _______________________________________ The switches in this room will start that process. _______________________________________

_______________________________________ And you may have to activate this bypass on the upper level in forward observation. _______________________________________ **** END MESSAGE ****

I have begun transmitting a broadband distress signal, but I am not optimistic _________________________________________ The area is not yet secure enough to risk reviving the remaining crew. Make another sweep of the area to find any remaining aliens. _________________________________________ **** END OF MESSAGE ****