//The following is a status report created by Brian when he arrived at Haven for the first time. His superior had mysteriously disappeared upon arrival, forcing him to conduct the status report alone. Because he had neither paper nor his datapad with him, he had to resort to using a handheld recorder to create it. He hid from the prying eyes of the many security cameras, but there may be parties that overheard him during the recording... These are the words he briefly recorded on the device for submission to the Miniknog network.// ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ This is Brian Murdoch of the Anima Research Kollective fleet stationed within the Fringe. As I do not possess my normal data-gathering materials at this moment in time, I will be making a recording of my notes for later documentation. I am working with Dr. Ludwig Rellik to perform research on the diseases that the organisms taken into custody during this expedition may carry within their bodies. He was supposed to be with me right now, but, uh… We are currently operating out of a Corvette within the Haven System, but we have not yet been assigned a Captain to direct our procedures. As such, we will continue with our research until we receive further directives. Now… Let us begin. I am on the planet Haven within the Haven System. The planet orbits a gas giant, aptly named Lapetas. The major moons orbiting Lapetas include Nomeldros, Vedoxis, and Clymene. The reasoning for us performing our research within this system is due to a series of rather worrisome messages across the Nexus, as well as reports from the Intelligence Department. A threat of war was made by that vile and repulsive fish-faced, er… I mean, the Hylotl Prince on something called the "Shiftersâ€. It's been over ten days and nothing of note has happened from the Empire's end, but it would be detrimental to the ARK Project's progress if they changed their minds and possibly interfered with our research groups. There was another strange transmission that was sent in response to the Empire's threat not too long after it was originally sent. It was incredibly cryptic, but Intel has suggested that it may be related to the so-called Shifters. Not only this, but after investigating the issues further, Intel has ascertained the origin of these "Shifters†to be from this planet. Well, at least one of the origins... Speaking of Haven, it also just so happened that the Nexus listed an article by the planet's ruling body stating that an entire district of the planet's capital has been struck with an epidemic. The strangest part is that they've made seemingly no progress on the matter since that article. If that's the case, then it's obviously not an issue that they can easily resolve on their own. It's likely that the Shifters may be related to this issue, and any data we can gather from them could greatly further our understanding of the constantly evolving nature of pathogenic sicknesses and diseases. Dr. Rellik believes that it would be within the ARK's best interests to capture a Shifter specimen to study within a controlled environment. If that proves too dangerous, we can still obtain valuable information from one of the planet's major medical facilities, or even from a preserved DNA sample from one of the creatures. For now, however, he has instructed me to simply gather a summary of the overall state of Haven and possible leads on these mysterious creatures before getting to the heart of our current project. That concludes my first status report. If you've any feedback to give us on this project, please let us know and we will act swiftly and accordingly.
//The following is a secured status report, dated July 5th, 3284. Brian entered this report within his terminal on the Miniknog Corvette.// ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ I completed my second round of investigation at Haven tonight. I would have waited a more reasonable amount of time before sending another report, but this one is of a relative urgency. As I went in the dead of night, almost everyone was asleep or about doing nightly work, it seemed. I decided to take the opportunity to perform a thorough investigation of the city without interference. After a bit of searching, I finally located the Corrav District. Rather, I located it, but made sure to keep from venturing too far inside. Only mere hours ago while I was asleep, a most unsettling video appeared on the Nexus. I couldn't get a good glimpse of the attackers, as most of what I saw were the figures in white armor outside of that building I passed by leading into the district. I want to say that this has something to do with the Shifters, but it seemed that these entities were humanoid. With the Corrav district undergoing a quarantine, I'm starting to feel that my suspicions of the two being linked together were indeed correct... It's possible that the entities themselves may be the actual denizens of the district, but are being influenced in some way by the epidemic the city was trying so hard to suppress. "Shifter". I think I'm finally beginning to see why such a bizarre name was picked. There's no definitive proof of this absolutely being the answer, but all the evidence is pointing towards the Shifters not acting as beings in and of themselves, but as those overtaken by the epidemic housed within the Corrav district. If that's the case, then trying to figure out whether or not a regular citizen could be one of those creatures would be difficult, if not impossible without technological assistance. Dr. Rellik and I may have underestimated the gravity of the situation on this planet. If the city's soldiers were overrun in such a manner, then these Shifters are not to be taken lightly. I'm not entirely sure how that epidemic has been spreading, but it may be unwise for us to apprehend a specimen until we have figured that out and have made adequate preparations. Neither of us are soldiers, and it would be folly for us to engage a large group of those creatures. Even if we were to succeed in capturing one, it would be catastrophic if the epidemic were to spread from the specimen amongst the ARK fleet personnel if a mistake were made in handling it. A fascinating specimen... albeit a dangerous one. I will need to consult Dr. Rellik the next chance I have on how we should approach the situation in light of these new developments. From what I know, our Corvette currently doesn't have any spare manpower with which to assist us. If Haven's own military forces were able to make some headway to weaken the Shifters, that would make extraction tremendously easier. For now, however, it seems that our best course of action would be to gather information from Haven's medical facilities and other third parties as I stated in my previous report. As always, we are on standby, and will follow any directives the Ministry may have regarding this matter. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ //The report ends here.//
//The following is Ludwig's first secured status report, dated July 7th, 3284. This report seems to bear a more upbeat vibe behind it than Brian's.// ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Ludwig Rellik here within the ARK III Corvette at the Haven System, I must sincerely apologize for my lack of punctuality in submitting this report! I can assure you that I am most certainly alive and well. I was tied up with some urgent items that needed to be looked into for the past few days. I plan on having mostly Brian submit our reports for his training, but I will occasionally submit our findings, as well. The boy doesn't get enough sleep as is! Today, Brian told me about some things he learned while questioning one of the people within Haven. He spoke with a woman about the Shifter troubles, and was told that the Shifters were actually formerly normal people turned zombified by being controlled by some sort of microscopic body. Looks like we were right on the nose with that one! However, there were some irregularities and contradictions between what she told us and what we've learned with our own research. If you recall several days ago from this report date, an Atlas checkpoint stationed within Haven's Corrav district was quickly overtaken. Quickly overtaken. Most organisms that fall victim to a parasitic life form will move quite slowly and with little coordination remaining from when they were of a proper state of mind. Whoever or whatever those things were in the video were most certainly quick on their feet and seemed to be working in tandem. It completely goes against what the woman said in her statement. Another interesting thing about his trip down there today was that the woman Brian was talking to looked like a human at first, but later claimed that she was an android and that she was three years old! Even though he said that he had been speaking with her for a good few minutes, he noticed no signs of mechanical parts on her body. It may be possible that the Shifters become slow moving at the start of their infestation, but gain more control over the victim's body over time. We also don't know what kind of mental state people enter if they start getting infected. It's perfectly possible that the "android" woman could have become infected at some point recently, and is starting to lose her grip on reality. I'm going to have Brian avoid approaching her for now. It's the only choice we have, but it's better to be safe than sorry. If she does end up becoming a Shifter, then she may be the living specimen we're looking for! Of course, this must all be taken with a grain of salt. For all we know, the woman could actually be an android! ... Or maybe just have been batty from the moment she came out of the box. I'll keep an eye on Brian as I've been told. He's a very dependable sort for his age, always doing the necessary this and thats to speed along our projects without objection. He's a role model for any Miniknog member his age! I just hope things stay that way and that he continues to prove his mettle. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ //The report ends here.//
//The following is a secured status report submitted to the Miniknog network, dated July 17th, 3284.// ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Our investigations have come to a screeching halt. The Intel team has shown us several articles on the Nexus stating the current status of the planet, and things are not looking up. Honestly, this should have been a relatively simple task, but things just happened all too quickly for us to make the appropriate judgments. Not only that, but it seems that a new threat is rearing its ugly head. I'll get to the Shifter information later in this report, but I need to state the fact that Dr. Rellik and I may have been followed yesterday by an unknown party. All I can say is that it was a woman with long, blonde hair wearing a costume resembling the Angels of Earthly Christian origins. She was apparently on the rooftop doing who-knows-what in a picture that was uploaded only mere minutes after me and Dr. Rellik's departure of the area. While only our discussion of utilizing a bounty hunter for a biosample collection may have been unpleasant information to have leaked out, we feel that it is not of a dire enough circumstance to warrant silencing her. The possible act of espionage is merely speculated, and we have no definitive evidence of it having any impact on us. Another suspicious individual decided to hound me while I was trying to find the nosy woman before the aforementioned judgment. It was one of those Novakid fellows. This one was named Estevan. As soon as I entered the city, he insisted that he followed me while I was on my search, no matter how much I tried to decline. He also tried well over five different times to get me to drink some strange liquid, claiming that it was alcohol. Joke's on him, I'm not old enough to legally drink. I was finally able to get away from him, but the whole situation still didn't sit right with me. Earlier today while Dr. Rellik and I were conducting research on the Corvette, it has been reported that the Shifter-infected individuals have invaded a good portion of the city. Why today? One day after we mentioned gathering a blood sample from the Shifters? One day after we spoke about asking Iverso to share information with us? One day after several individuals may have been following us? I really hope that it's all just mere coincidence. Another thing that must be noted is that while Dr. Rellik was speaking with one of the engineers, I was instructed to take the day off. During that time, I returned to the Amethyst Theatre, since going to Haven was not an option at that time. While some... unpleasant events took place, what worried me the most was the explosions that took place just before I had departed. While I highly doubt that the earlier events were involved with me in any way, it was strange that the explosions and strange voices I heard happened so soon after yesterday's events. It can't be those Shifters again, can it? There's no way. Shifters or not, it would be absolutely foolish of them to dare challenge the Ministry and target us. The problem is that we've told no one that we're a part of the regime since we started our research here. Wait... The Haven hospital owner, Kannon Iverso! She's the only one who knows because of that message we sent to her! She must have sold us out and those things may be coming after us! ... No, that can't be it. That's preposterous! Our research will continue as intended, even if we cannot physically enter Haven. We have an outside source that we can use as a blood sample gatherer, seeing as how going there alone would be much too dangerous for me right now. His asking price is a mere pittance and won't cut into our resources, so says the Finance and Trade Department. Once we have that, we'll hopefully be able to learn enough about the Shifters in order to plan our next action accordingly. P.S. Should any members of the Ministry enter the Amethyst Theatre in their free time, please do not attempt to eat the plates. They are most certainly NOT edible. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ //The report ends here. Brian's name and signature are listed directly above the Miniknog insignia.//
//The following is a secure status report submitted by Dr. Ludwig Rellik, dated July 22nd, 3284.// ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Success! Brian was finally able to pry some vital information from Kannon Iverso, though it took a small bit of "convincing" to garner a response from her. No matter, the details are not important, it's the results that are! As we speak, the two of us are hard at work looking through the documentation she has sent to us just yesterday. According to the Mini Drone we deployed a few days ago, it seems that the hospital's severely understaffed, as a good number of the medical team has fled to safety. It's quite a surprise to know that Kannon herself still resides there, working to whittle away at this complex illness plaguing Haven. Brian is working in the experimentation area to get our equipment for this operation all set up to standards, so I'm using this time to look into what all was sent to us. The Haven hospital seems to have a rather sporadic list of symptoms for the infected patients, but out of all the patients affected, they all shared a few distinct symptoms. During the virus's natural course without or prior to any medical intervention, the victims all underwent varying degrees of bone structure mutations, necrosis in varying areas of the body, and eventual vital organ failure. Another very important aspect of the infection is that those who were deemed dead at some point all seemed to emerge from the brink once more after around a two to three day period of time. Now, the hospital made a few more points towards the last area mentioned in the previous paragraph. An interesting one is that the victim's organs would function as normal after they recovered from their terminal state, even when they were previously as dead as a doornail just days ago. Not only that, but here it looks as if this patient's organs began moving closer and closer together, until they eventually merged into one single organ. In all my years of research, never before have I seen such an adverse effect from a simple viral infection! All intrigue aside, it seems this is the final primary stage of the virus that a victim undergoes before they finally become a full-fledged Shifter being, as opposed to the Shifter virus itself. The hospital disclosed that all of their patients contracted the virus through fluids of varying origins. While most of these list the patients as having contracted the virus through the bodily fluids of Shifters themselves (i.e. saliva, blood, sweat, oils produced naturally on the body surface, etc.), some of these cases also show strains of the virus entering the patients' bodies from water, soft drinks, and alcoholic beverages. Quite a strange combination, if I do say so myself! It may be that the virus itself proliferates at a high rate within fluids, as opposed to solids and gaseous matter. In fact, if it spread through the air within the atmosphere, I'd wager that nearly every living soul down on Haven would be infected. Since that's not the case, I think we've nothing to worry about there. Here, however, it seems that a supply of drinking water and other such products may have been tampered with at some point. Brian did mention something about several major businesses there closing down after the infection became prevalent, a decent portion of which specialized in the selling of beverages... While it seems few patients at the hospital were allowed to progress too far within the virus's later stages, many of the infected patients within are still alive and undergoing treatment. One such patient (whose name seems to have been blurred out for confidentiality purposes) is a human woman, who was originally undergoing a periodic treatment using a medicine called "Cellbreaker". Iverso was kind enough send us both samples of this treatment and of DNA samples of those infected at the hospital for study. How thoughtful! There are also some experimental treatments documented here, but a lot of them don't seem to really have made any feasible impact on the virus. Long story short, the Cellbreaker doesn't expel the virus from the body, but it does severely hamper the virus's innate habits of manipulating the host's bone structure, as well as its effects on the vital organs. Rather than immediately destroying the Shifters as a whole, Brian and I are going to begin by creating a permanent solution for those who are in the early stages of the virus; the infected whose bodies have undergone only minimal damage. We have to start somewhere, after all! Ridding the body of the virus after severe deformation of both internal bone structure and the organs has already taken place will be a chore in and of itself, if not impossible. I'll be using both pure and infected DNA samples in our experiments, and will be sending in a sample of the finished product to the Haven hospital for further testing. I expect that, with the equipment available to us, the first solution in this process will not take an excessively long time to produce results. One last concern is obtaining an actual living Shifter specimen for the ARK III's research studies. Since we already have the necessary genetic materials from those infected by the Shifter virus itself, we may employ the bounty hunter that Brian mentioned to capture and deliver one to us, instead of merely obtaining a blood sample. Regardless of the methods used, once we have the specimen, those who will be making any further observations of it must take extreme caution, as the virus they no doubt carry has the potential to spread quickly if proper containment procedures are not followed precisely. And with that, I'll be signing off and beginning our experiments right away. I hope that we have nothing but good news for my next report! ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ //The report ends here. Ludwig's name and signature are listed directly above the Miniknog insignia.//
