Stellaris

Crew Log Eleven: Apollo

  I wake up to the sound of something hitting the wall outside of our small room. I'm so tired of fighting, but that's what we have to do, that's what we need to do. In order to get off this ship, we gotta fight our way out. Abigail and Parker are sound asleep, I don't know how they can be out in a time like this, but hey, I was just snoozing. There's another slam, but this time it's harder and much louder. I'm afraid to look up, I just know something terrible is going to be waiting for me. My stomach turns, but I look up anyway. It's an android, it's eyes dark red, it's fist slams into the door over and over. It's eventually going to get in, and we're the next door.

"Parker, Abigail...Wake up." I shake them until they're finally awake. Signaling them to be quiet, I point at the robot smashing the door.

"What the hell?" Parker says. "The androids are fucked up."

"What are we gonna do?" I gulp hard, I've never had to fight a robot.

Parker looks around for something, a weapon maybe. "Abi, hand me that." He points to a portable Ion Torch. It's used for cutting through things, it has a shield attached so the light doesn't blind the fuck out of you.

"What are you gonna do with an Ion Torch?" I ask. He looks at me like it's obvious.

"I'm gonna cut through the bastard." He smirks.

"And that'll work?" Abigail is tense, she's worried for him and honestly, I am too.

"I mean, this thing cuts through metal, it's used to cut through things on the ship. I don't see why it wouldn't work."

We stand at the door, listening to the android punch it's way through. Parker twists the valve and presses the handle a few times, it lets an elegant but deadly blue flame. He nods and I quickly press the release button, sending the door flying upward. The robot is taken by surprise and so are we. For a few seconds, no one makes a move. Parker lifts the torch but the robot grabs his arm and launches his fist into the boy's chest. The weapon slips out of his hand and onto the floor. The android and I both eyeball it, but it's me that gets to it first. Diving into the floor, the torch sweeps up into my hand and I'm able to quickly get back up to my feet. Abigail is helping Parker, in a split second, the robot is in the room and he's pissed. Lifting the shield, I give it a few pumps to get it working again. Sweat beads down my face, I'm in full kill mode. I press the handle down and send the flames cutting through his face. He latches onto my wrist and begins to pull it away. His strength is something I've never faced before and I feel like my arm is about to be ripped off. He's no match for the torch though, it slices through the rest of his face like butter. Black liquid sprays out of his head and he falls to the floor, dead. Turning the valve, the weapon loses it's blue flame.

"You okay, Parker?" I ask while putting the torch in a small backpack that also carries the hacker.

"Yeah. I'll be okay. What the hell is up with them?" He gets to his feet and rubs the pain in his chest.

"I don't know. The ship is falling apart, there's aliens on board, and the androids are nuts." I think for a minute. "We need to find mother."

"What's mother?" Abigail asks.

"The main computer system that's running the ship. It could give us answers."

"Where is that located exactly?" Parker pushes the android's body out of the room and closes the door.

Normally in lower decks. Like, deep in the lower decks." I sigh. "You guys don't have to come, but I want answers.

"You're crazy." Parker laughs. "You still have a hole in your side. We're coming with you."

"I don't wanna put you guy's in danger."

They both laugh at that. "Hannah, we've been in danger since Normandy. I think we'll be fine." He's starting to get a little cocky.

"Okay. Well then, Let's get to it."

We tip-toe to an elevator that takes us down into the heart of the ship. If mother doesn't give us answers, then I don't know what to do. I use the hacker to get into the main computer room. There's no aliens or androids here, which is weird. It doesn't take too long for the tool to do it's job, I thought there would be more security than this, guess not. The door parts down the middle and both sides slide into the wall. The room lights up and a single seat rises from the floor then connects to a computer monitor that looks ancient. Green letters start writing out across the screen.

Welcome to APOLLO.

I take a seat and start typing. What is APOLLO?

APOLLO is the new system from Systech Industries.

What happened to MOTHER?

MOTHER is currently decommissioned. Alpha is the only station to have the APOLLO system.

What is happening with the androids?

Code 9357 is in effect.

What is code 9357?

Code 9357 states that the alien organism shall not be harmed. They shall be captured.

Captured?

To be taken to earth.

For what?

To be used as weapons. Androids are switched to hostile mode to keep humans from harming the organisms.

What is the APOLLO system for?

APOLLO system is used for the capturing of alien lifeforms. It is a secure system that is unable to be monitored and also sends signals to override ships computers.

Disable APOLLO.

Unable to compute.

Disable code 9357

Unable to compute

How do we stop the alien?

Unable to compute

APOLLO. Is there a sleeper agent on board?

Sleeper agent killed by alien organism. Aliens escaped from hibernation.

Goodbye.

Systech thanks you. Have a nice day.

I slam my hands on the keyboard over and over, it's not getting me anywhere but it's letting off steam. "I was wrong. It wasn't a test like I thought. Systech is implanting sleeper agents onto ships to keep aliens in hibernation until it reaches earth."

"What about Stellaris? Same thing?" Parker asks.

"Yeah. Systech fucking lied. They already knew what was out there. There was a sleeper agent on my ship too. He got the alien and brought it back. I keep blowing up ships and ruining their plans. So now they've gone to Alpha Station. They're also using a new computer called APOLLO, that's untraceable, no one will find out about the alien. It can also take complete control of the ship."

"That's bullshit!" Abigail screams. "Who was the sleeper agent on Normandy 1?"

I sit back down and ask the question. Who was the sleeper on Normandy 1

Captain Fynn of Normandy 1 was the agent on board. He captured an alien organism floating in space right after the termination of Stellaris.

"That can't be." I say to myself as I step back from the computer, tears swelling in my eyes.

"Who was it?" Parker asks.

"It...It was Fynn."

"No..." Abigail drops to the floor and cries. "He doomed his own ship and he knew it!"

"That's fucking Systech for you!" Parker yells, trying to calm her down.

"We have to shut down APOLLO." I say sternly.

"And then what?" The look in Parker's eyes suggests he's ready to give up.

"I'll think of something. If we do it, it won't be able to contact Systech to send more ships to pick up fucking aliens. Then we blow the ship to hell."

"Why don't we do that now?" He asks.

"I wanna make sure the bitch is offline."