Alright, I've done a bit of revising on this, and I've added a new character, Chris Ridley, who analyzes and comments on the recordings. Whenever the text changes changes to italics, like this, for a paragraph, that's him.
THE PERSONAL AUDIO LOG OF DR. ANDREW DONOVAN, RECOVERED ON THE ABANDONED RESEARCH VESSEL "LIGHTSPEED" MARCH 13, 3090.
ANALYSIS BY: CHRISTOPHER M. RIDLEY, NETSYNC DAMAGE CONTROL TEAM
SEPTEMBER / 26 / 3089 / 20:53 PM
This date is suspect since UTTC (United Terran Technology Corporation) has no record of this mission listed under this date.
Well, it seems that we've finally gotten the major systems online after a rather harrowing experience with the main power generator shutting down without any warning whatsoever, and I've never felt more relieved, I think. The big scare wasn't the shutting down, but rather that the life support systems decided to flash their warning lights about their own impending failure. Kris managed to keep them running until we could get the generator spinning again though. How that man managed to hold the systems together long enough is beyond me, or anyone else for that matter.
Commander Bolton seems worried. He says he's never seen a generator shutting down like that before, and it is in fact an ill omen. Whatever, I think he's just seen too many things on the edge of space to actually ever feel comfortable on a space station ever again. I heard he was in the BioS-Kultmar-Corp accident several years back, the worst accident that has ever occurred in mankind's history in space.
The BioS-Kultmar-Corp accident occurred in 3079 when one of B-S-C's stations experienced a spontaneous cooling leak which in turn overheated the nuclear reactors that ran it, with devastating results. Most of the crew of 15.000 people perished, only 200 or 300 made it back alive. Death tolls are inconsistent
Anyway, now that we have settled in our new home, I suppose I should introduce the crew for future purposes since I have rather annoying tendency to assign nicknames to people. There's Commander James Bolton in charge of security, just Bolton to his friends, which there aren't very many of, I'm one of the few, and Kristian Mackellan, our computer specialist and pilot.
We also have with us Jane Phython, senior biologist (I still haven't figured out what on earth we need a biologist for in space). Our mechanical "genius" as he likes to call himself, Mr. Thomas Hayes, a rather perky chap from somewhere I can't really pronounce the name of, and Sarah McAlister, medical specialist and the closest thing we have to a chef around here, and finally myself, Andrew "Hunk" Donovan.
I admit, the "Hunk" part of my name is a figment of my imagination, but hey, let's try it out, eh? What I do? Well, apart from keeping everything on this station in a somewhat orderly fashion, I also manage and analyze any strange or out-of-place space phenomena we may encounter…basically; I'm the one who has to identify everything around us before we screw something so royally up that we negate the totality of existence…which never really happens, so I'm pretty much bored 24 hours a day.
He keeps switching from speaking quickly to slowly and his voice from deep to light. I have read his psychological report, and he seems to have had slight a "problem" in the past, although no indication of what it may have been is given as I do not have the proper clearance for that.
I am currently sitting on a couch in the common area, watching some old 22nd century horror movie together with Jane and Kris. Bolton managed to cut one of his hands on a generator part and needs some stitches done by Sarah. Tom (Hayes) is in the storage area looking for what is going to be our meal tomorrow night. We arrived just a few hours ago, and this "shift", or period as it really is, will last approximately 5 months. What the point is, I have no idea, but we are supposedly going to watch for anything out of the ordinary. I can see the outline of Pluto on one of the screens that are supposed to replace real windows. I don't know, but it just isn't the same… What could possibly be out of the ordinary out here?
Sounds of firearms can be heard in the background. Will assume this is from the mentioned film.
I'm feeling tired now, and Jane is telling me to shut the PDA off.
SEPTEMBER 27 / 3089 / 21:00 PM
I couldn't imagine a more boring day. I received some images from the satellite array on Pluto to analyze and see what the anomaly was. There wasn't one, just a smudge on the lens of one of the cameras, I suppose.
The generator started acting up again, but Tom was there to fix it immediately. The man has rigged up a hammock for himself down there, saying he likes the hum of the engine much more then the "endless drone" of human conversation. I don't know, but there's just something unsettling about that man, no matter how pleasant and perky he is whenever he comes for meals or answers on the intercom.
Bolton's stitches somehow came undone when he was asleep and Sarah had to redo them, scolding him for not being careful with his hand. Bolton was mute during the entire lecture, his face red. I don't know whether it was from anger or embarrassment. The man's over fifty years old and still doesn't know how to treat a wounded limb…he was in the military for goodness' sake.
I spent most of the day cooped up in my shared laboratory with Jane, basically just joking around and slacking off. She broke out a bottle of champagne and we made a toast to having the most boring, eventless and relaxing post in the galaxy.
Very unprofessional.
Kris took us a bit farther out on the order from home. They said that there were some kind of interference on the edge of the planetary orbits and want us to take a look at it…meaning that I have to take a look at it. Not that I mind though, it means that I'll actually have something to do…although I do like spending time with Jane. She's funny, for a biologist.
No interference of any kind has been reported by other companies, observatories or the military. UTTC had a responsibility to report this to the public if they had seen it. Will take this up with management.
SEPTEMBER 28 / 3089 / 23:53 PM
I really don't understand what the people back home wants with this post. It's just a big money-waster, really. The costs of keeping this station/ship going for a week are more than I make in five years. Speaking of money, I've just calculated my spending rates on the tracks during the last five years. The result: Horrendous. I hereby pledge to never gamble again.
Gambling…also very unprofessional, not to mention illegal. Will warn authorities of illegal activities. No mention of which planet is mentioned, but judging from comment below, we will assume it is on Mars.
SEPTEMBER 29 / 3089 / 11:20 AM
I hate that bastard Smithe for conning me into taking his place on this vessel. He's probably back on Mars, having a grand time while I'm stuck out here, bored out of my mind. I wish something would happen…
Will investigate this "Smithe" individual further. He may have information of this incident.
SEPTEMBER 30 / 3089 / 00:01 AM
Everyone's asleep and I'm sitting in the common room once more, watching a movie I've already seen for what feels like the fiftieth time. Who was in charge of stocking this place with entertainment? He or she could've been a bit more generous with the electronic stuff. The most exciting thing I've done today is to take a shower. These five months will be long; I thought that having nothing to do for that time would be relaxing. Instead, I'm stressed of being so bored out of my mind. I wish I was home…
For some reason, his dialect changes from time to time.
OCTOBER 9 / 3089 / 05:13 AM
We were all rudely woken this morning by an alarm going off in the cockpit. Kris told us it was the proximity alert, the scanners were warning us of something out there. Whatever it is, it doesn't show up on the radars, and Kris is currently trying to find out what the hell it is. I've taken a look at some of the readings the sensors have put out, and quite frankly, it just seems like a bit of radiation. I heard the military was doing some nuclear tests out here a couple of months ago, but the strength of these was even weaker than the first nuclear bomb ever built, less than 20 kilotons. The radiation should have disappeared by now. It's strange, really.
For the record, no military testing has been done in this sector for over 50 years.
OCTOBER 9 / 3089 / 10:15 AM
Bolton heard my report and sent a message home. It will take several days for the message to get there, but I think we've found the interference…
Once again, no interference of any kind was reported, or probably even detected.
OCTOBER 20 / 3089 / 13:56 PM
We received a reply from home today. Apparently, the interference is even farther out than we are right now. We are on the edge of known space, and they want us to go even farther?! This is outrageous, I never signed up for this! As we travel farther and farther out, the radiation signs are getting stronger and stronger. If it increases any more now, we will soon be at the lethal level, and the radiation shielding on this vessel won't hold out much longer after that. The rest are pretty angry, and Bolton has sent a request to go home and have them send out a better equipped research team along with military support. Apparently, we've passed the point of the military test site, and no one's really sure what's beyond it. Whatever's out there, I doubt we've ever seen it before in our little part of the universe. And here I thought things were going to be boring!
UTTC must be reported for this. Travelling into unexplored territory without proper clearance or permission from the government is illegal. The mentioned radiation is presumed to be made up, unless he is talking about the persistent miniscule amount that is always there. Dr. Donovan, being a (hopefully) professional, should have known not to think of this as strange.
OCTOBER 25 / 3089 / 14:20 PM
We've found something. We're not sure exactly what it is, but Kris says the ID signature is from a ship, but he says it's a weird one. According to him, the signature series aren't going to be used for another few decades, and that something so far out has been assigned one is mysterious.
The ID signature in question does not exist, nor will it for the next century. Mr. Mackellan was either lying or grossly misinformed.
OCTOBER 25 / 3089 / 20:36 PM
We can see it now. It looks like a civilian ship, but it has military and corporate markings, looking very similar to those of our rival company, Netsync. If what I think is correct, we've stumbled upon a stranded ship that went too far.
Netsync has never sent a vessel as far as this; neither will it ever mark its ships with military insignia.
OCTOBER 26 / 3089 / 10:17 AM
It's empty. The entire, one kilometre-long, three decks-high ship is empty. Not a single sign of anyone ever being there is present. Not as much as a shoe or toothpick. The ship is of very advanced design; no doubt the paradigm of Netsync technology…and it's ours. Just imagining what kind of advantage we would have over Netsync if we manage to get this thing home makes me shiver.
There is an extensive system of laboratories here; fitted with the most advanced equipment and technology I have ever seen. Obviously, this is a research vessel, but for some reason, there is a large room filled with weapons and explosives down in the hold. This is very unsettling.
We've all been inside it now, apart from Tom. He says it's not right that a ship like this is just left out here. Bolton had other thoughts, though. The engine's busted, apparently, and the escape pods are missing. Most likely the crew ejected and was picked up after some time, but why haven't Netsync come back for it yet? And it doesn't explain why it doesn't seem like anyone has ever been aboard it. Tom says it's bad luck to enter an unmanned ship, but I just think he's getting cabin fever or something. Bolton's alright though, and so are Jane, Sarah and Kris.
There is one part of the ship we can't access though…
A ship of the size described has never been constructed by Netsync or any of its contractors. The size would not be practical for research purposes, if the unknown ship was indeed built for research.
OCTOBER 26 / 3089 / 20:57 PM
We managed to convince Tom to weld through the door to the bridge, and what we found was not what we expected. Just like the rest of the ship, it was empty and devoid of human life, but it was strewn with personal objects. Teddy bears, clothes, toothbrushes, everything. We also found a disc containing a video. At this point, Tom let out a yelp and took off running down the corridor, down the stairs to the middle deck and onto our own vessel. We found him cooped up in his hammock, refusing to come back up from the generator/engine room. Bolton finally gave up and told us to ignore him. Poor Tom, barely a month and he's gone crazy…
There have been documented cases of people getting stir-crazy when in space for long amounts of time, but never as severely or soon as Mr. Hayes experienced it.
OCTOBER 26 / 3089 / 21:18 PM
I am honestly confused. The disc contained security footage, not a big surprise really, but what is a surprise though is the date. They're dated three weeks ago.
OCTOBER 26 / 3089 / 22:00 PM
The footage revealed a little of what happened. It showed the crew milling about, an accident involving a fire and the death of a crewman, some general panic about something being loose in the labs, most likely a lab rat, and then a whole bunch of nothing.
Another few hours of nothing (we fast-forwarded), and then suddenly the ship was empty. We went back and forth. At exactly 11:38 PM on October 5, the crew disappears, only the captain remaining. He looks at the camera recording and assumes an expression of panic. He shouts and curses, everything coming out like gibberish and finally collapses on the floor, bleeding from cuts that appear from nowhere. The cameras track him as he runs through the ship and down to the airlocks where he hurls himself out. After half an hour, the camera shuts off, having run out of storage space.
The sudden appearing cuts sounds distressingly like a flesh-eating virus, particularly the Alpha-strain of Keldok's disease. Will investigate symptoms further. There is no background noise for this entry, most likely because Dr. Donovan is standing inside the mysterious ship.
This footage has made us distressed. We now know what happened to the captain, but what about the rest of the crew? Bolton has recruited me, Jane and Kris to go along with him on the vessel and search it from top to bottom while Sarah stays behind with Tom to try and calm him down. Tom's mental state can now best be described as a breakdown. It's the fastest breakdown I've ever seen, deteriorating at a pace never before seen.
A gruff male voice is heard calling Donovan's name in the background.
Bolton is calling for me; I've got to go…
A background check on this James Bolton has revealed nothing that could be enlightening in this case. He retired prematurely, citing "sick of military life" as the reason. Being a highly decorated individual, this was most likely enough. There is, however, no record of him being involved in the B-S-C accident, neither as an occupant in the station nor as a part of the relief-force. Will assume Mr. Bolton was lying.
OCTOBER 27 / 3089 / 01:34 AM
We found another disc, this one containing the same footage of very different angles, among them from the spacious hangar close to the storage hold. We discovered a freezer room down there, but that too is welded shut, and the only one who really knows how to weld is Tom…and giving him a blowtorch or anything remotely capable of burning larger than a match is a frightening thought. Jane says that being on the ship makes her nauseous, so Bolton sent her back. Kris, Bolton and I are staying on the ship to look through the footage.
Sending a team member alone back to a ship with another disturbed, possibly deranged member is not an advisable action. This can possibly conflict with the conclusion of who was responsible for the incident. No mention of what Dr. McAlister was doing all this time back on Lightspeed was mentioned.
OCTOBER 27 / 3089 / 02:42 AM
We've looked through the footage, and we have found out what happened to the crew…it's so sick it makes me want to throw up, but I can't…I just can't…The captain sounded a general alarm and summoned the crew to the hangar. While they assembled there, he killed the hangar operators and then he…and then…he opened the hangar doors. They were all sucked out, just like that with a "plop", and he laughed…the captain laughed. He then got rid of the bodies of the operators by throwing them into the incinerator. Bolton went to look inside and found human remains charred beyond all recognition.
But there is still one thing that is not explained…why the ship is so clean, and what made the captain go mad like that? To kill his own crew? Civilians, doctors, medics…
Having been given proper clearance, I have taken a closer look at Dr. Donovan's psychological profile. He was schizophrenic, although with an extremely mild case for which he had been given pills. He also exhibited signs of bi-polarism, although this was never elaborated upon.
OCTOBER 27 / 3089 / 04:31 AM
I foolishly decided to go back to the bridge to see if there was anything still left as clues. Bloodstains covered the floor, just like the ones the captain made just before he threw himself out of the airlocks. What the hell is going on here? I'm feeling sick, and there's this huge weight crushing down on me. Bolton and Kris are busy trying to figure out how to best unseal the freezer without the help from Tom, who blatantly refused when they asked.
The blood appearing on the floor of the bridge may be signs of his condition worsening, most likely caused by not taking his pills as a result of the stress put on him by watching the video footage.
I think I'll go ask Bolton if I can go back to our ship, I'm feeling so unwell. I'll tell him about the bloodstains too. They didn't seem like they were old either…
OCTOBER 27 / 3089 / 08:58 AM
Tom's missing. Bolton gave me permission to go back, although I would have regardless. A feeling of dread and distress started to grow inside me when I left the bridge, and by the time I reached Bolton and Kris, I was all but ready to piss myself. I went back over the link, and what greeted me was two very stressed females who were looking for our mechanic.
Over 4 hours went by before Dr. Donovan made another entry, but he only mentions 2 hours have been spent on looking for Mr. Hayes.
We have spent two hours looking for him in very nook and cranny on our ship and found nothing. We warned Bolton and Kris about him and they are currently looking for Tom on the other ship. My feeling of unease has lessened somewhat, but it's still there, lying and waiting. Something is wrong, terribly wrong, and I don't know what to do…
His voice and dialect has changed again, this time being melodious and light. He keeps pausing for a long time at the end of sentences.
OCTOBER 27 / 3089 / 11:34 AM
Tom isn't on the other ship either, and Bolton is speculating whether he has crawled into the air ducts on either ship. I'm not going in there. I'm claustrophobic, and these ships are bad enough as it is, let alone the air ducts. Not going in there, hell no! Sarah volunteered to go inside, and both Jane and I agreed to let her. Sarah's a doctor. If Tom has crawled in and injured himself then Sarah can help him.
He seems to be trying to assure himself that Dr. McAlister can be of any help should Mr. Hayes have injured himself.
Bolton and Kris still haven't gotten the freezer open, but something's in there, they say. A smell has started to emerge from the door, and the odour is rotten and just outright disgusting. Bolton believes someone is trapped in there, as he swears he heard something tap on the door on the other side. I told them not to open the freezer. They laughed. "Relax," Bolton said, "the one responsible for all the death threw himself out into space and went splat." He suspects it is Tom who has managed to find a way in there from the ducts. I pray it is so.
The comment is strange as Dr. Donovan has never mentioned to be religious.
Sarah found nothing in our ducts, and Kris didn't find anything in the others, but he did find a blocked-off section that he had no way to get past which he thinks lead to the storage hold and the freezer.
Oddly convenient.
OCTOBER 27 / 3089 / 15:00 PM
Our communications array has been destroyed. The consoles, the antennae themselves are completely and utterly broken. We have no idea how it happened. Bolton was going to report when taking a break with the freezer, which has started to reek so horribly we have to wear masks whenever we enter the storage hold. If Tom is in there, he must have passed out by now. Bolton tried to send out a message, but when the console refused to respond, he took a look with the external camera and found the antennae twisted and broken. Nothing short of a meteorite collision could've done that.
We have no idea what to do now. We can't leave Tom in the freezer, but we can't send an SOS either. The only thing we can do now, I guess, is to try the communication equipment on the other ship.
Much can happen during 4 hours.
OCTOBER 27 / 3089 / 15:26
Impossible. The console here is broken as well, smashed to bits. But who did it? No one has been alone. Kris and Bolton have been in the hold all the time, working on the freezer door while I, Sarah and Jane were lounging around in the common room. The only obvious answer would have to be Tom, but why would he do that? How could he do that when he's trapped in the freezer room?
Sabotage is a thing to worry about in space. Mr. Hayes seems to be slightly lower on Dr. Donovan's list of respected individuals now, but by saying "the only obvious answer", he implies that he is not sure himself.
OCTOBER 27 / 3089 / 23:17
I think I'm going insane. I hear a voice whenever I'm alone, and it doesn't belong to anyone I know. At first I thought it was Tom messing around with me, but Kris tells me he can still hear knocking inside the freezer.
Mass hallucinations have been documented in the past. Mr. Mackellan's shouting voice can be heard in the background, his words muffled by a strange and heavy breathing sound.
I took a brief nap from about 18:30 to 20:00, but was woken by clicking from the intercom. I tried to answer, but the clicking ceased when I answered. I then heard a wheezing sound from wherever the intercom was coming from. It stopped as abruptly as it started. I rallied Sarah and Jane and sealed the passage from one ship to the other, declaring loudly that someone was on the ship.
It is at this point I am sure that Dr. Donovan's schizophrenia has taken over. Mentioning that he heard a "wheezing" sound over the intercom, yet having to declare someone was on the other ship implies that only he heard it. Since hearing things that are not there can be a symptom of schizophrenia, I am sure of my point.
We searched through the entire thing, I even braved me phobia and went thought the air ducts. Once again, nothing. I concluded that the culprit either had to be one of the women, or they had gotten through the link before I managed to seal it. I highly doubt it's Jane. She seems even more frightened than I am, and Sarah doesn't strike me as the malicious type, especially when she's hugging me for comfort.
His voice changed during dramatically during this entry, not to mention his dialect. He went from a light and melodious voice to a grating, rough one. His dialect went from Standard English to one more familiar to the old dialects spoken in Britain in the 2000s. His comment on hugging Dr. McAlister is strange since no mention of any previous relationship or even acquaintance has been mentioned.
I reported it to Bolton, who told me to keep the link closed as he and Kris went looking through the ship again. Bolton returned, Kris didn't.
OCTOBER 28 / 3089 / 04:56 AM
I'm scared. I'm really, really scared. I woke up in a haze, and quickly realized that something was wrong. The events of the last few days quickly welled up in my mind, though, and I was feeling panicky. The bloodstain on the bridge has grown larger. I noticed it when Jane and I were looking through it to find any indication on what had happened while Bolton and Sarah searched the laboratories.
The freezer is now emitting a smell so horrible that it's spreading throughout the hangar, and I imagine that it will soon reach the other decks as well.
I don't know what to think anymore.
His mental illness is gradually getting worse. He went cold-turkey, which has a slight chance of amplifying the effects of the diseases they are supposed to counteract. Dr. Donovan has made no mention of his illness nor his pills so far. When Dr. Donovan fell asleep is not mentioned either.
OCTOBER 29 / 3089 / 08:43 AM
What happened? I fell asleep on the bridge of the other ship and woke up on our own. It's empty. I've looked through the entire ship apart from the engine room. I don't dare to go in there alone. Why? Because there is a trail of blood leading the sleeping area to the door. I can't reach Bolton or the others. Why am I here? Why am I…alone? Why didn't one of them stay with me?
An audio report by Dr. Phython has revealed what most likely happened during this time.
OCTOBER 29 / 3089 / 10:00 AM
I'm tired of this bullshit! I'm going into the engine room!
His voice took on a deeper tone here, and the dialect changed back to Standard.
OCTOBER 29 / 3089 / 10:10 AM
I wish I hadn't. Kris is in there…well, most of him, that is. His upper half. The rest is missing. Oh god…Kris is dead! I could see his fucking spinal chord! It's jamming a gear; the engine is making a racket that feels like it's going through my soul.
The death of Mr. Mackellan is confirmed as his blood was indeed found trailing from the sleeping area to the engine room and covering the engine room and engine.
OCTOBER 29 / 3089 / 10:20 AM
I finally reached Bolton. They're coming over. I can't move, my eyes are frozen on Kris' upper body slowly being ground to mush by the engine. Blood is everywhere. It's splattering on my face.
Why Dr. Donovan made no attempt at stopping Mr. Mackellan's body's mutilation is a mystery.
OCTOBER 29 / 3089 / 23:00 PM
I must've passed out. I'm lying in a bed in one of the laboratories. Bolton and Sarah have now managed to seal off the sections where we are. They're not accusing me of killing Kris since either Jane or Sarah has been with at all times, and they were both with me when Kris disappeared. We're not saying anything, but we're quietly suspecting Bolton. Both for Kris and Tom. Maybe Kris and Bolton worked together on Tom and then Bolton turned on Kris. The possibilities are too many, and I feel sick when I think about them.
I was bound when I woke up, heavily, but I managed to free my arm and then remove the rest. Why was I bound?
Sarah's with me, working on a medical console close to me, ignoring me. I don't know why. Does she think I killed Kris? I know they were in a relationship, but she doesn't seem too affected by his death. Maybe she was the one who killed him. Maybe she killed Kris and threw me close to the scene to shift the blame on me? But how did she cut him in half? And where did she dispose of the rest of him?
I can't take any chances. I need to do something…
I am assuming Dr. Donovan lost all sense of rationalizing at this point. How Dr. McAlister could not have heard him speaking from "close" to her, is another mystery, especially when he mentions how she could haven been the one to kill Mr. Mackellan. At the end of the entry when he mentions he has "to do something", his voice changes immediately to deep and scratchy.
OCTOBER 29 / 3089 / 23:30 PM
I did it. I killed Sarah. I came up behind her, threw my arm around her neck, and broke it. It snapped so easily, the frailty of it surprised me. I shoved the body inside one of the ducts as far as I could.
I'm sure of it now. She was the killer! She's the only who could do it. Bolton is ex-military, not to mention a commando. He'd know how to kill someone without leaving a trail. Jane's…Jane's not capable of it, she's too nice. Tom…well, I assume Tom is dead, or at least injured badly, if the knocking inside the freezer is him. Sarah clubbed him down him, dragged him into the ducts, dumped him inside the freezer and sealed off the section behind her. Kris found out about her and tried to stop her. Sarah would have none of that and killed him and chopped him in half. She fed the upper part into the engine gears and stowed the other part somewhere.
I need to find the others. I'll tell them Sarah's missing and act all distraught. They'll believe me; I've never hurt anyone.
His voice changes from dark to light gradually in this entry. It is likely that Dr. Donovan had several personalities.
OCTOBER 30 / 3089 / 02:30 AM
I can't find them. I can't find them at all. Where are they?
He is breathing quickly. Rapid footsteps can be heard, and doors opening. Apparently, he is running throughout the ship.
OCTOBER 30 / 3089 / 05:12 AM
I've looked everywhere, even going as far as unsealing the other sections. I felt a silent scream running through the ship when I did so. There is only one more place I haven't looked. The freezer.
At this point, Dr. Donovan was so disturbed he must have imagined things (and sounds).
OCTOBER 30 / 3089 / 05:30 AM
Oh god! Oh god oh god oh god oh god! I found them. I worked the blowtorch and managed to finally penetrate the steel and open the door the others have worked so hard on. They're dead. They were inside the freezer, all hacked up, all dead. Even Tom. The rotting smell…it was them. They had started to rot because the freezer wasn't even on!
Jane…Bolton…Kris' lower half…Tom…all there, along with another man I don't know who is. He is smiling. HE IS SMILING!!! An insane, psychotic, maniacal grin that shakes me to the very core. There's something in Jane's pocket. A disc!
No comment.
OCTOBER 30 / 3089 / 05:45 AM
I…I…words can't describe what I've just seen. I'll just upload the audio.
This is the medical report for Andrew Donovan by Jane Phyton. Fourty-eight ago, one of our crewmembers, Thomas Hayes disappeared, leaving no trace. We suspected he had gone over to the Syncorp vessel, but searches were inconclusive. At this time, I noticed that Mr. Donovan started to act erratically, quite unlike his usually relaxed disposition. Hours went by, and Mr. Donovan's behaviour worsened. As another crewmember, Kristian Mackellan, disappeared, something inside him must have snapped. He started to say he was seeing things that weren't there. He claimed there was a large bloodstain on the floor of the bridge, but there was not. Mr. Donovan also had moments where he would freeze up, talk as if he was not there and then walk off, mumbling and rambling to himself. We lost sight of him a few times, which is when we suspect he did the deeds.
We eventually had enough and Dr. Sarah McAlister drugged him while on the bridge. We put him on our ship and sealed it off so he wouldn't do anything when he woke up. We were wrong, for he did something. Somehow, he has been able to somehow separate Mr. Mackellan's body in two halves and was trying to get rid of the evidence by feeding it into the engine's gears when he called up Bolton on the intercom. We drugged him again and tied him down in the medical labs where Dr. McAlister performed an extensive medical check-up. There is nothing wrong with Mr. Donovan physically, so the damage must be psychological. Dr. McAlister is not a trained psychologist, but her assessment is that Mr. Donovan has seen something that made him "snap", as she says.
Mr. Bolton and I are currently working on opening a freezer door in the cargo hold, where Mr. Donovan has mostly likely stored the others as we have searched the rest of the ship. We left Dr. McAlister with Mr. Donovan, securely tied down. We tried to remove his PDA, but for some reason he has an iron-grip on it and there is no way we can take it from him.
Anyway, will update later as we are now soon able to open the freezer door…Bolton, look out!
It stops after that. There is no more. I can't believe it. I killed them? I killed them…
Note that Dr. Phython never says that he actually killed anyone, only suspected him to have.
OCTOBER 30 / 3089 / 10:00 AM
They were just kidding. It's so funny, I know. I can see them now, Bolton, Sarah, Jane, Kris, Tom; they're all smiling at me. The bloodstain is covering the bridge now, bathing it and all the personal items in the red colour. We're happy now; we don't have a responsibility in the world. We're happy now…
END OF PERSONAL AUDIO LOG OF DR. ANDREW DONOVAN.
It is worth to mention that no bodies were ever found on Lightspeed, only this PDA with the recordings. The mysterious "NetSync" ship was not found either. The authorities have looked into this matter and done everything in their power to solve it, coming up with a case where Dr. Donovan's schizophrenia became so severe that one of his personalities (particularly the one with the deep voice) took over and killed everyone. I, however, disagree. There are enough inconsistencies involving the other crew members, especially Dr. McAlister and Mr. Bolton, to suspect any of them except Mr. Mackellan, being the first to die, though the cause was never mentioned.
Result: Inconclusive.