Entry 2
[Excerpt From a Coded Transmission Between the MagNIC Ink Pen and MagNIC Headquarters]
IP: Everything appears to be safe along the border. We’ve finished our search of the area and couldn’t find anything. We request permission to return to port.
HQ: Denied. Our long-range radar definitely picked up a reading from that area. Go over the area again.
IP: Remind me again why we can’t just send a scout balloon over here?
HQ: You don’t need reminding. Get back to work.
IP: Fine.
Silence for 778 seconds
IP: HQ? We have a reading on our short-range radar. Moving to come within visual range.
HQ: Don’t lose it.
Silence for 131 seconds
IP: We have visual confirmation. It’s... a Union fishing vessel.
HQ: Photograph it and then return. If they hail you, initiate Command S28.
IP: Roger.
Silence for 415 seconds
IP: HQ, we have a problem.
HQ: What’s happened?
IP: A Union warship has appeared.
HQ: Please repeat. A Union warship has appeared?
IP: One has. We’ve only just noticed its shape. We’d deactivated our radar.
HQ: How close are you to the Union’s border?
IP: We’re... oh blast. We’re over it by about twenty kilometres.
HQ: Imbecile! How did you manage that?! Initiate Command C17 and immediately head back to our border. We’re relocating the nearest MagNIC warship now. If it begins catching up to you, identify it and capture a few photos.
Silence for 68 seconds
HQ: The nearest warship, the MagNIC Rolled Dice, is on its way. It will take around an hour to reach you.
Silence for 1435 seconds
IP: They’re gaining on us.
Silence for 619 seconds
IP: We’ve been sent a message from it. It’s the U.N.T.S. Gabriel. They’ve ordered us to halt and prepare for boarding.
HQ: Is Command C17 complete?
IP: Almost. We just have to stash the recordings away.
HQ: Be hasty. They can’t know what the ship is meant for. ETA for the Rolled Dice is twenty minutes. How far are you from the border?
IP: Just over a kilometre.
Silence for 297 seconds
IP: They’re getting close now. I’ll have to stop broadcasting. Are you sure they can’t detect this?
HQ: They would have done more by now if they could. The Rolled Dice should be arriving soon. Do what you can to get closer to the border. We don’t want this to become anything big.
Silence for 88 seconds
IP: They’ve pulled up alongside us. We’ve had to completely cut our engines. I’m going to turn this off now. Long live the State.
[End of Audio Transcript]
A Ferro-class scout ship, this one the MagNIC Cold Plate. The MagNIC Rolled Dice was the same class, made to be fast, agile and easy to miss. They were usually used to patrol the border in an open manner as well as fend off pirates.