Agrias has acquired important information suggesting a possible Denouement stronghold on a small farm in the badlands. Coordinates have been sent to the navigators. Chart us a course so we can approach them and set down as close as possible while remaining out of site. I don't want to spook them.

I will also need a team of volunteers to infiltrate the farm on foot and secure the area so we can move in and begin searching for evidence.

That was needlessly annoying. At least we succeeded in exorcising it in the end, but if I never see another poltergeist, it will be too soon.

I expect that the debris will be cleaned and repairs completed before sunrise tomorrow, so we can resume our course.

[OOC: IT'S OVER or more or less so, anyways. The thread's still not quite finished but it's like 99% there so I'm fudging it]

I expect the engine problems to be resolved as soon as possible. Not being an engineer, I do not have a professional opinion to give, but I will be extremely disappointed if we cannot get back in the air very shortly.

Also, am I alone in hearing a rattling in the pipes? It sounds unhealthy.

Everybody get aboard, we are disembarking. Navigators, plot a course along the Badlands/Ivona border that takes us over as many settlements as possible. Pilots, watchmen, radio operators, I want all eyes and ears open. Patrol flights constantly. Pay special attention to any Ivonian military vessels we encounter. I do not intend to engage them, but the purpose of this patrol is to try and keep them honest. We will intervene as needed if we discover them taking illegal actions against the Badlands citizens.

Keep patrols going around the parked ships. There may be sabotage attempts. I intend to win the race, but not through subterfuge.

[Filtered to the Silvana's mechanics]

I'll handle my own plane's tune-up.

[Private]

Why am I even rising to that brat's bait? Oh well, too late to back out now.

'Never heard of a decent pilot in Ivona who didn't get drafted'?

Perhaps I should do more than simply spectate, this time.

[Filtered to the Silvana]

I still have not determined what our next move is. However, we do still need to pay the bills.

We've been contracted to provide security at the racing event everybody is talking about. From the sounds of things, both Vohemaro and Ivonian military vessels will be there, so we can expect some form of conflict.

Pilots are welcome to enter the race.

From the time I took command of this ship, up until now, I have been quiet about my purpose. Kept secrets from you, to prevent you from divining my purpose, perhaps because I feared that if you knew, you would think me a lunatic and leave.

I think that this was, perhaps, an error. Had I been more open from the beginning, perhaps one of you would have said something, challenged me in some way instead of blindly following me, trusting that I knew what I was doing.

In any case, I no longer have any choice; through my failure, I have made us all partially responsible for one of the greatest tragedies of our time. You need to know how this happened. You have a right to know.

There are some aspects of the story that I am not ready to share; they are deeply personal, or are not my secrets to share, and do not concern you. Everything important, I will disclose.

There is a demon in Reial. A secret organization, dedicated to fomenting chaos and war. I do not know why it exists, or for what purpose, but I know that they do. They were the assassins at the Kropmork peace talks. They were the poisoners of Doma. And here they manipulated me into doing their work for them.

They call themselves Denouement, and their leader is the mysterious Maestro Delphine. It is them, and her specifically, that I have been waging my private war against. If left unchecked, they would destroy the fragile peace between Ivona and Vohemar, and start a whole new war. And without me, they would be completely unchecked, because the rulers of the nations cannot be made to believe that such a conspiracy exists. Believe me, I have tried.

There is one man in the Ivonian government who believed me; a high-ranking official who was nonetheless powerless to convince his colleagues of the very real threat we are facing. It was he who gave me this ship, to better fight the war against Denouement. He passes information on to me, and gives me missions to complete in order to combat them. It was one such set of orders that led us to where we are today. Denouement must have intercepted the communications, and used it to manipulate me into doing their dirty work for them.

I could apologize, but I know no apology would be sufficient. All I can say is that I did not deliberately make us complicit to terrorism. Quite the opposite.

The other reason for this post is to decide where we should go from here. President Wilsborough is not interested in hearing about Denouement; he made that much clear when he sent me packing and chose to blame Joseph Falls instead. He's only interested in his own political agenda.

My instinct is to go shout the truth on the mountaintop, but the reality is that this would do no good. Wilsborough has control of every major news outlet in Ivona. Nobody would believe us. All it would do is ruin our credibility and our ability to combat Denouement. As much as it pains me to do so, we must for the time being remain silent about our role in the bombings.

But I do not intend to stand by as Wilsborough begins his inevitable occupation of the Badlands. That would destabilize the entire continent's balance of power,and play directly into Delphine's hands. I intend to fight back. I do not yet know what form this fight will take, but one thing I do know: from here on out, things will only get more dangerous. We may be branded enemies of Ivona. We could find ourselves fighting against impossible odds. We could all be killed.

If you do not think you are capable of handling this responsibility and danger, or if you cannot bear the thought of fighting against Ivona, even for its own good, or if you can no longer trust me after all that has happened...then, I understand. If you wish to leave, for whatever reason, I will not judge you or think less of you. All I ask is that you maintain silence about our involvement in the bombings; this is as much for your safety as ours.

Those of you who decide to stay, I thank you. I hope that I will prove worthy of the trust you have placed in me.

[ooc: Just so you guys aren't concerned, we realize that the Silvana being barred from Ivonian territory would leave the Vicky horribly isolated. We aren't planning on doing that to the Vicky.]

The reports of my detainment have been greatly exaggerated.

I'm not certain whether to be proud or furious that you all would jeopardize your own safety in order to save me, in violation of the spirit if not the letter of my final orders. I think I will be a bit of both.

I will explain everything that's happened once I have some time to properly gather my thoughts. Now, if you'll excuse me, being interrogated is extremely tiring.

[Private]

That stupid bastard. He's playing right into Delphine's hands and he doesn't even care.

Now what do I do? I'll have to think about it.

I have no choice. I'm damned if I do, damned if I don't...either way, Delphine wins. I have to take the option that will benefit her less.

Damn her eyes.

[Filtered to the Silvana | Unhackable]

I have made a grievous error. In my zeal, I did not examine the facts that were placed before me carefully enough, and wound up playing directly into my enemy's hands.

There has been some speculation circling the ship that we were involved in the bombing of the Parliament Buildings in some way, and I will resolve it now: We were. Unwittingly, but that is only a question of intent, not culpability.

We could keep quiet and likely get away with it, but the bombings have increased tensions between the nations to what I fear is the breaking point. A war between Ivona and Vohemar is exactly what she wants, and I am determined not to give it to her.

By the time you read this, I will have already taken one of the planes, and left the ship. I will give myself up and take full responsibility myself. I apologize to everyone I have drawn into this.

Agrias, I leave the ship in your hands. I would like you to carry on my mission, but if you choose not to...I understand.

Goodbye.

I can't believe it. I CAN'T BELIEVE IT. How could this have happened? Graaaaah!

*sound of him kicking his table over*

How long was she intercepting Marius' orders? HOW LONG HAVE I BEEN WORKING FOR DELPHINE!?

*glass shattering*

She used me. She used me! What am I supposed to do now? Who am I supposed to trust? How could I have been so god damned stupid!?

*sound of him trashing his room further*

Good work, everybody. We won't be staying in Bellcius any longer than necessary to resupply and chart a new course, so don't get too comfortable.

Navigators, chart a course to Claiborne.

[PRIVATE | UNHACKABLE]

I wish I knew why I was called on for this job. Surely Marius has local resources better suited to it.

I'm sure he has his reasons. And if all goes well here, it could seriously impair Denouement activities throughout central Ivona, and beyond. Still, bothersome.

[FILTERED TO THE SILVANA | UNHACKABLE]

I'm sure there is a fascinating explanation for the many colors currently adorning my ship's corridors.

All crew kindly return to the vessel. We have been contracted to deliver humanitarian aid to the Solare region. We are currently in the process of loading the supplies for this.

[FILTERED SEPARATELY TO NIKOLAS, HOLMES, GIN, IKKAKU, TOPH, BANGLADESH, AND HIBARI | UNHACKABLE]

Disregard my general announcement. You will not be returning to the ship. I have a special assignment for you.

[FILTERED TO AGRIAS AND AIZEN | UNHACKABLE]

We need to talk.

In the future, remember to ask about breeding rates before bringing small furry creatures aboard.

Now that we don't have to worry about infesting the entire city, though, welcome to Bellcius. As always, you have leave...don't go too far, though. I may need to contact some of you about a mission. Keep your journal with you if possible.

On another issue: As expressed before, since Susan left us there has been a hole in the command structure, which has needed filling. After considerable deliberation, Agrias Oak is your new first mate. Congratulations.

That is all. For now.

[ooc: Ok, the Silvana's now in Bellcius. As Ran said earlier, there's a 3-day overlap with the VicII's presence, so feel free to log or whatever.

As for the mission he may be contacting you about later...well, there'll be an OOC post about that shortly. Stay tuned!]

Apparently Mister Ichimaru has come up with a plan to transport the creatures off my ship and to some deserted island. This plan has my full support. Get them through his 'portal' and fast.

Get rid of them. By any means necessary. Since they seem to breed faster than rabbits, I don't want to leave even a single one alive, because if we do we'll probably have to deal with this all over again.

It never ends, does it. I am not in the least bit surprised to learn of Denouement's involvement in the Doma poisonings. I wouldn't be surprised if Delphine herself was behind it. It has her sickening stench about it.

Five hundred and thirty seven more things that she needs to die for. As if the tally was not already large enough.

Four simple rules.

I left you with four simple rules.

One of which was not to get flowers all over the deck.

So why were there flowers all over my deck!?

And furthermore, why do I not see this reported to me in any capacity? I have checked my paperwork. It is not there.

Perhaps I have been somewhat lax with all of you. Perhaps you mistakenly assumed that this meant that I would let you get away with whatever you want, because I did not care. This is not correct! If I was lax with you, it is because I trusted my crew to be able to do their jobs without micromanagement on my part.

I am sorry to see that my trust has been badly misplaced.

I will consider what steps need to be taken to get this ship running properly again. I realize that there has been a void in the command structure since Susan left us (which I also intend to correct), but I refuse to believe that my crew cannot behave like responsible adults without someone cracking the whip constantly.

In the meantime, your leave time is over. All crew members are to report back to the ship within the next few hours. Navigators, chart us the most efficient course to Bellcius.

Clean up any messes you make.

Do not get flowers all over the deck.

Think long and hard before wasting your paycheck at the Seamstresses Guild. This is prime season for them, their rates are through the roof.

Do not under any circumstances let anybody even vaguely affiliated with the Thieves Guild on board. This is prime season for them, as well.

You all have shore leave for the holiday. No, I do not want company.

That is all.

I want repairs and looting operations completed by tomorrow morning. Navigators, chart the best course to Kropmork. That will be an ideal place to sell what we have salvaged. Profits will, naturally, be shared evenly throughout the crew, with officers taking a double share.

[Filtered to Cid]

How is the engine holding up?

All crew, please brace yourself for several seconds of freefall. Gunners, following the freefall, the two pirate vessels should be in your ideal kill zones. Take them down with extreme prejudice.

[Filtered to Cid]

Perform the drop.