First Mate's Log

First Mate's Log, Day 384, ship time 23:14

"Nobody can hear you scream in the vacuum of space, or so they say. That was the tag line to a movie, I think… Alien maybe? Some poor people become sacrificial pawns in some corporate attempt to gain a killing machine. I'm pretty sure it's Alien, or Aliens. Something like that. It’s strange what you think of when your life is ending, or at least that's what I think is happening. Who knows at this point? But I’m getting ahead of myself; you have no idea what the hell I’m talking about or even who the hell I am. How rude. I'm the first mate of The Odyssey, the shiny new research vessel in whose sick bay I currently lie. I'm in a very uncomfortable white bed, and the sick bay is an uncomfortable metallic color with the most uncomfortable fluorescent light…ech. Great, my head is starting to hurt from the light, or maybe I’m concussed. Or maybe one of my crewmates gave me some medicine. Is that smoke? No, it's the medicinal alcohol, so overwhelming. FOCUS!"

"I’m going to try to tell you everything that happened up to this point for two reasons: one, so you can understand and know everything and two, record keeping for the potential legal battle (cha-ching!) so storytime. Let me start at the beginning by introducing myself. Hello, my name is Fred Thomas. Yeah, yeah two last names yuck it up Ricky Bobby. My grandpa told me that one to tell people off, said it was from an old movie. Never saw it, whatever it was. Anyway, like I said, I'm the first mate of the Misk Corp's newest deep space research vessel, dispatched to search for life-sustaining planets, because we fucked up ours to the point that we have to find a new one before we all die out. Ironically, the ship is called The Odyssey, you know, like that Ancient Greek poem about the guy trying to get home. The corporate clowns in charge of naming the ship wanted to name it after the guy’s boat, but joke's on them, it didn't even have a name. Not one that anyone remembers anyway. So The Odyssey it is."

"There were five ships originally, and ours was the last one sent out. We've got all the bells and whistles, every high tech gadget and scanner they could think of crammed into one shiny, white and chrome package. Hoping ours would make the cut. You see, all the other ships, the ones sent out before? They all stopped reporting after about 12 Earth months. So, you see, The Odyssey really has two missions; find a life-supporting planet and figure out what the hell happened to the other ships. I was supposed to be the captain, but I screwed up the interview. Just as well. Sure am glad I'm not the one in charge now. Don't believe me? See for yourself."

Video file, 20XX.05.23 - interview - Thomas, Frederick James. *transcriber's note: transcribed audio from video file in brackets*

[Please state your name for the record.] *snort* " Do you see how uptight this guy is? Typical suit. All black and white. Even his hair is black! He looks straight out of an old newspaper strip.

[Fredrick James Thomas, former supervisor of the Nova Scotia Energy Creation Plant.] "That office was uncomfortable as all hell. Too clean. Like an Apple Store, and not in a good way."

[Why "former" supervisor?] " See the way he was staring at me? WIth those beady black eyes? Seriously, where the fuck did they get this guy?"

[Management and I had a … disagreement about the trajectory of the project] *snort* "You could say that again. I'd been out of work for weeks at that point, and boy did it show. I wasn't nearly as well-dressed as him. That's a second hand, Franken- suit right there. Cobbled together from scraps. The jacket's way too big, and the tie is a novelty Star Trek tie. For some reason I thought it would be funny. And you can't see the pants, but they're grey, and about two inches too short. And my shoes are actually brown loafers with about 3 millimeters of tread left. Goodwill, am I right?"

[What was the nature of the disagreement?] "Listen to that tone. Colder than ice"

[They instructed me to drill for oil off the coast of Nova Scotia and I refused.]

[Why?]

[I felt it was unnecessary, as previous projects had already done that to the detriment of the island’s ecosystem and I didn’t want to contribute to that kind of ecological destruction on our already fragile planet.]

[But you were given orders.]

[Yes, but I felt that since we were already getting more than enough energy from our solar, hydro and wind applications, going after an antiquated energy source like oil when we were already exceeding quotas would’ve been nothing more than a cash grab from the oil descendents.]

[Oil descendents?]

[You know, slang for the children and grandchildren of the board members or executives of the old oil tycoons. They've always been threatened by anything that might lighten their wallets.]

[I see.] "Yeah, that was a pointed silence if I've ever heard one."

[Look, I know it doesn’t look good that I deliberately disobeyed a direct order, but I think it shows that I’m not going to stand down from a fight if I believe that I am doing the right thing.]

[I see.] "See him writing? It was at this moment that I knew I fucked up." *mirthless laugh* "I didn’t get the job, obviously, but I think they were too hard up for qualified candidates to not use me somewhere. So First Mate it was. I needed the money. My life savings got drained when I lost my job and unemployment will only get you so far. I was desperate, so I took it. Which I'm sure was their plan. Desperate people will do just about anything. Hindsight and all that."

End video recording.

"So that's me. As for my witnesses, I mean, fellow crew members, I'll let them speak for themselves."

Video file - 20XX.06.29 - interview - Winston, Mary Beth

* A woman is seated at a table, dressed in a white uniform with gold trim, medals indicate her rank is Captain.*

[My name is Mary Winston, I am the captain of the Odyssey.]

*second speaker, offscreen*

[What is the reason for your taking the job?]

[I was looking for a new opportunity to expand my horizons and to further the cause of humanity.]

[Where are you from, originally?]

[Detroit, Michigan USA.]

[Are you an only child?]

[I am an orphan; I never knew my parents so I wouldn't know.]

[Did that affect you at all?]

[I thought we were talking about the mission.]

[This is a video for our personnel files. So how did your upbringing affect you?]

Winston hesitates, clearly uncomfortable with this line of questioning

[Look, if I wanted a puff piece I would have done an interview with Parade Magazine. I don't like talking about that, so if that's where we're going we're done.] Winston gets up, clearly upset.

Video File 20XX.07.04. interview Grant, George Godfrey

[State your name for the record.]

[George Godfrey Grant. Head scientist for the mission.] "There he is, the smug, hoity-toity bastard, in his fucking union jack themed outfit. Unbelievable"

[What is your role on this mission?]

[It's to check the viability of the life sustaining possibility of any and all planets that we might encounter.]

[Is that a difficult job?]

[For someone like you? Yes. For me, not at all. No offense.]

[How else am I supposed to take that?]

[Well, it's not your fault that you weren't born with the same innate gifts I possess. Nor did you have the good fortune to be born English, poor sap]

[You do know that being English doesn't automatically make you better than everyone else right?]

[Of course not; being English, possessing a doctorate from Oxford, an IQ of 184, and a title of nobility on the other hand…] "His arrogance is on a whole different level, what a jackass."

Video file 20XX.07.06 - interview - Dawson, Willa Fitzgerald

[State your name.]

[Willa Fitzgerald Dawson] "She always struck me as very plain. Kind of small and mousey. Until she opened her mouth that is, haha! She wears glasses, but just between us I think they're just for show. Makes her look harmless and approachable. Yeah, right"

[What is your role on this mission?]

[Head scientist for The Odyssey.]

[Hang on, I thought that was Grant's position.]

[Ugh, is that smarmy Pom asshole still spouting off that bullshit? Useless English cunt.]

[But… aren't you English too?"

[Not on your life, I'm Australian! Dickhead. Yeah, that's right! I'm an Australian scientist. I didn't go to "Oxford" and I don't have bloody title of nobility, but I worked my arse off to get here and I am and not about to let that pretentious fuckwit ruin that for me! I'm here to oversee his work, and make sure he doesn't fuck up like he did on his last mission. Didn't tell you that, did he? That brainless knob, he's such a -]

[Okay, I think we're done here.]

video file 20XX.07.09 - interview - Nolan, Drake Edward

[State your name for the record.]

[Drake Nolan.] "He doesn't talk much, but the man knows his shit. Look at his uniform? Covered in grease and dust. Even those legos he's always fiddling with are filthy. That's a man who works for a living. He might be a weirdo, but if he keeps us all alive and our ship operational? He can have all the fucking legos he wants."

[What is your role on this mission?]

[Chief Engineer. I am in charge of all the mechanical and electrical systems of the ship.]

[Could you expand on that?]

[I could, but I don't want to.] "I almost feel bad for that interviewer, haha. That is one uncomfortable silence. For him, anyway. I get the feeling Nolan's never really uncomfortable with silence."

video file 20XX.07.12 - interview - Cameron, Ellen Rose

[State your name for the record.]

[First Lieutenant Ellen Rose Cameron, Formerly of the US Army Special Forces.] *low whistle* "Damn, I love me a woman in uniform."

[Did you ever see combat?]

[I completed three tours. Honorably discharged. Locations and details of classified.]

[What brought you to this mission?]

[After discharge I struggled to find meaningful work that also challenged me. I drifted for a while. But this seemed like an opportunity I couldn't pass up.]

[It's quite a shift from your last position.]

[*quiet chuckle* Yes, quite a change from being a baker.]

[Why Baking?]

[Baking is what I did for fun for most of my life. After I left the service, I went to school for it. It seemed like the next logical step. Come to find out, I had a talent for it. I worked at a few bakeries out of school, but weirdlhy enough, I … didn't want to do that.]

[Do what?]

[Turn something I do for fun into a profession. I'm a soldier because that's what I'm good at. I never enjoyed it. But baking? Llet me be a baker on my own time.]

[You're the Chief Security Officer; are you nervous?]

*laughs* [No sir. I've faced down multiple combat situations and numerous unruly customers, I think I can handle anything space throws my way.]

End video playback

"So there you have it. We signed our souls and five years of our lives away, all for a job that promised to pay us fuck-ton of money. We all knew what was at stake, the future of the human race and all that, but I don't think any of us could say we weren't curious about what awaited us out there in the vastness of space. Or what happened to our sister ships and their illustrious crews. And honestly, we were ready to kick ass! Like in the movies! How did we get ready for this mission? And how did I end up talking to you in what may or may not be my final moments? Well, strap in folks, it's gonna be a bumpy ride."