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We Happy Few

Date: 84-21-B

Today I was promoted to Protektor Officer. There was no ceremony – Adler just gave me the papers and sent me away. The way things are now, I can't blame him for being preoccupied. I'll go get dinner and pick out a personal weapon from the armory later. Maybe seeing Sonntag will cheer me up.

Date: 84-21-B cont'd

Uneasy mood at dinner. More staff are getting sick. On the way back to the dorm, I heard an Eule and Ara talking in the hallway. The hospital wing is filling up and they still don't know what's causing the illness. We've had no respite from technical failures either. If things don't improve soon, we'll be in really dire straits.

Date: 84-21-B cont'd

The armory visit didn't go like I hoped. Two of Sonntag's roommates were taken into intensive care and she's scared she'll be next. I tried to comfort her, but I don't think it helped much.

She brought me a box of new revolvers that came on the last supply flight. All had defects that should have been caught at the factory: machining burrs, casting flaws, uneven engagement surfaces... One even had its muzzle crowned off-center. I wouldn't have believed it if I hadn't seen for myself. According to the packing slip, they were made by Factory 256 on Rotfront. The ones we're currently issuing are from VEB Waffenfabrik Emil Murata on Heimat and have no problems.

I spent a couple of hours mixing and matching parts and got five serviceable guns out of the twelve I started with. Could salvage a couple more if I had the right tools, and Adler's permission. Poor Sonntag was so apologetic, even though it's not her fault. She's just the Eule they put behind the desk after what happened with Flieger. We didn't talk about Flieger.

At least I've got my own Einhorn now. Sonntag gave me a case with a lock and the usual sheet of regulations. 'Personal weapons must be unloaded and secured when not in use', 'ammunition not expended during approved activities must be returned to the armory', and so on. She said my signature was pretty when I wrote it on the case. I felt a little happy.

I've booked a slot at the shooting range tomorrow to get the sights and laser dialed in. Panzer and Storch Sieben are signed up at the same time. Perfect for me – I haven't talked with them since the crisis started.

Date: 84-21-C

My first full cycle as an officer. It didn't feel very different from before. When I got off duty, I drew all of my personal munition allowance to give the Einhorn a thorough test. It was worth it, even if I have to practice with snap caps for the rest of the period. I scored 60/60 three times, dropping to 52/60 on the last course. Must have been fatigue building up.

Sieben scored 45/60. Not bad for someone who mostly uses a shotgun. Panzer's performance was way below average, though: 32/60. She hasn't been practicing and it shows. I told her to come back and try again tomorrow. She should at least be able to keep up with Sieben.

We went to dinner afterwards. The dining room was deserted, no one there except the service Eules. Nobody had good news. The workers' quarters are emptying out as Gestalts go to Medical and never return, and Sieben's Protektors are taking losses too. Panzer said there's a rumor that Imperial spies are testing a secret weapon on us. I wish it sounded absurd.

After Sieben left to use the showers, I spoke with Panzer about Sonntag. She thought Sonntag might like an autographed item from me, or she could ask Freitag for advice. I'll try the autograph first. We're not as close as Panzer and Freitag are. I don't want to overstep any boundaries.

From: Replika Accommodations Controller
To: Replika Accommodations Security Technicians

Since the mine and factory Controllers are stealing my subordinates, the remaining Security Technicians assigned to levels B6, B7, and B8 will have to cover additional patrol routes. Updated routes are posted in the Protektor Office.

Affected guard units: STAR-S2313, STAR-S2315, STAR-S2316, STAR-S2318
Affected controller units: STCR-S2308

I don't want to hear any complaining. Be thankful I'm not making you work double shifts like Sieben.

– Storch Nina (STCR-S2309)

PS: It's come to my attention that one of you is unhappy about my decision to promote STAR-S2313. I gave you a whole cycle to submit your objections in writing, and you didn't. Deal with it.

Date: 84-21-D

There's been a shakeup in duty assignments. I won't be seeing many familiar faces today.

I was getting ready for work when the new STAR-S2316, the one sent to replace Flieger, banged her head on the doorframe again. She wasn't hurt, but it worries me that she's still doing it. I suppose the stress of our situation is making it hard to adjust.

Date: 84-21-D cont'd

New quarantine rules are in effect and all non-essential rooms and activities are under lockdown. No more falling asleep to the sound of Eules playing piano next door. This won't be good for morale.

Ran into Juli while getting my evening rations. She said things are getting ugly on the upper floors. Storch Dora was in a foul mood all day – Juli saw her shove a Gestalt worker against a wall. He hadn't done anything wrong, just happened to be passing by. I told Juli to fill out a grievance form and give it to Sieben, and I'll follow up tomorrow. We can't afford another Samara incident. Not now.

I went with Juli to get the form, since I needed to stop by the supply office anyway. Got myself a shiny new Star poster. I'll sign that and my bullseye targets and give them to Sonntag after work tomorrow.

Date: 84-21-D cont'd

Aufspürer came into the dorm while I was finishing paperwork. She complained about having a headache and said she was going straight to bed. As she was putting her things away, she suddenly started retching. I took her up to Medical at once. By the time we got there, she was violently shivering and coughing up oxidant. I don't understand it. She was fine when she left this morning.

The medical staff refused to let me go beyond the east corridor, saying it was for my own safety. I got a glimpse through the door when they took Aufspürer away. There was a horribly mutilated Replika strapped to a gurney in there, snarling and pulling at her restraints. She was so disfigured, I couldn't even tell whether she was an Ara or an Eule.

I need to sleep but I don't think I can. It's becoming impossible not to dwell on questions. What is happening to us? Where is our help from Heimat? Adler must know something, so why doesn't he say anything?

S-23 ADDRESS SYSTEM, FACILITY-WIDE BROADCAST.

ATTENTION: PROTEKTOR UNITS.

IN THE EVENT OF AN EMERGENCY SITUATION OR ENEMY ATTACK:

REMAIN CALM. EXPLORE SURROUNDINGS CAREFULLY WITH CARTOGRAPHY-MODULE. IF POSSIBLE, REPAIR TECHNICAL INFRASTRUCTURE. USE WAR-CRITICAL RESOURCES LIKE AMMUNITION AND REPAIR MATERIALS SPARINGLY.

IN THE EVENT OF A FAILURE OF THE CHAIN-OF-COMMAND:

ALWAYS CAREFULLY EVALUATE THE NECESSITY OF COMBAT. SECURE HIGHLY FREQUENTED PATHS. CAREFULLY MANAGE INVENTORY. ARCHIVE GOVERNMENT DOCUMENTS.

REMEMBER: ONLY TOGETHER CAN WE ENSURE THE SAFETY OF OUR NATION.

ATTENTION, ATTENTION.

ATTENTION, ATTENTION.

ATTENTION, ATTENTION.

LOYAL COMRADES! THE MUNICIPAL COUNCIL OF PEOPLE'S DEPUTIES ANNOUNCES THAT DUE TO THE INCIDENT AFFECTING SEKTOR C IN ROTFRONT NORD, ADVERSE LOCAL CONDITIONS ARE FORMING. THE NATIONAL MINISTRY FOR WORK AND EDUCATION, ITS PROTEKTOR UNITS AND THE PEOPLE'S ARMED FORCES ARE TAKING ALL REQUIRED MEASURES.

HOWEVER, TO ENSURE THE HEALTH AND SAFETY OF THE PEOPLE, ESPECIALLY CHILDREN, IT IS NECESSARY TO TEMPORARILY EVACUATE RESIDENTS FROM ROTFRONT NORD. FOR THIS PURPOSE, STARTING TODAY, 43.8D AT 1400 HOURS, TRANSPORTATION WILL BE PROVIDED TO EACH RESIDENTIAL BLOCK, SUPERVISED BY PROTEKTOR UNITS AND MUNICIPAL OFFICIALS.

RESIDENTS ARE ADVISED TO BRING DOCUMENTS, ESSENTIAL PERSONAL ITEMS, AND A SMALL AMOUNT OF FOOD. THE SUPERVISORS OF PUBLIC INFRASTRUCTURE AND INDUSTRIAL WORKS HAVE COMPILED LISTS OF WORKERS NEEDED TO STAY IN ROTFRONT NORD TO PRESERVE THE NORMAL FUNCTIONING OF CRITICAL FACILITIES. ALL RESIDENCES WILL BE GUARDED BY PROTEKTORS DURING THE EVACUATION PERIOD.

COMRADES, WHEN TEMPORARILY LEAVING YOUR RESIDENCES, MAKE SURE YOU HAVE TURNED OFF ALL LIGHTS, ELECTRICAL EQUIPMENT AND WATER, AND SHUT ALL WINDOWS. REMAIN CALM AND ORDERLY DURING THE PROCESS OF SHORT-TERM EVACUATION.

GLORY TO THE LEADERS. GLORY TO THE REVOLUTION. GLORY TO OUR NATION.

(Six pages have been left blank.)

Awakening + 2

Not sure what the date is any more. Our internal clocks are out of sync, and so are the facility's. I know it's been two cycles since Commander Falke woke up, so I'm using that as my reference point.

S-23 Sierpinski is lost. Nearly all personnel have been killed or corrupted by the unknown sickness. As of today, nine Replikas remain:

FKLR-S2301 Commander Falke
KLBR-S2302 Kolibri
STCR-S2307 Storch Sieben
STAR-S2313 Jäger
STAR-S2333 Panzer
EULR-S2312 Dezember
EULR-S2317 Freitag
ARAR-S2318 Achtzehn
MNHR-S2301 Beo

Will write more when I can.

Awakening + 3

We've regained tentative access to most of the facility. Still have to sleep with guns in our hands, but it's better than not sleeping at all. Right now we're barricaded inside the north Eule dorm on level B6. Everyone's resting except Sieben and myself. Sieben's reading a book from the Storch dorm around the corner – what used to be her dorm. And I'm sitting here with my journal, trying to make sense of everything. I'm convinced this was more than a disease epidemic. No germ could cause all the things we've found.

I wish I could clearly remember what happened during the collapse. It's all chaotic and fragmented. I recall sounds and images, yet I cannot say when they occurred or in what order. The others tell me it's the same for them. I hope it was just fatigue and stress – we don't have any trouble remembering events after Commander Falke returned. I'm going to record as much as possible from now on, in case the problem recurs. If we don't make it, perhaps this will be useful to AEON's investigators.

I'll start with the status of the surviving Replikas, along with two missing units of note.

- FKLR-S2301 Commander Falke

The Commander became sick at the beginning of the incident, though not in the same way as the Gestalts and other Replikas. She fell into a coma and didn't leave her quarters for the rest of the crisis. Three cycles ago, she awakened and began to gather us.

Although indispensable to our recovery efforts, the Commander is a profoundly changed woman. Her customary imposing aura has vanished. Now she's quiet and withdrawn, delegating leadership to Storch Sieben. It feels like she's mourning someone or something. She won't tell us what.

- KLBR-S2302 Kolibri

The last of S-23's Kolibri cadre. Commander Falke found her hiding in the library on level B8, physically unhurt but in severe mental distress. Apparently she retained a bioresonant awareness of the other Kolibris even after they were corrupted. We haven't found a living corrupted one yet, and she thinks they're all gone. I hope she's right.

As of today, Kolibri has recovered enough to help the Eules with basic tasks. She seems to be afraid of the other Protektor units for some reason, refusing to be left alone with Sieben in particular. She also avoids Achtzehn whenever she can. When Kolibri isn't with the Eules, she always keeps close to Beo. Beo is big and strong and full of kind thoughts.

- STCR-S2307 Storch Sieben

Sieben was the work shift Protektor Controller on duty in the workers' quarters on level B2. She stayed behind when the last Gestalts were evacuated down to the mines. Her memories after that are confused, but at some point she had to retreat to the rationing office. She was waiting for reinforcements when Commander Falke reached the upper levels.

What else can I write about Sieben? Or rather, where to even start? Perhaps I should just say she's the ideal Storch – tough yet fair, enforcing order without excess. She's the glue holding the group together, keeping us all focused on the fight to stay alive.

- STAR-S2313 Jäger

Myself. Briefly a Protektor Officer, now Sieben's assistant here. As I said before, I can't give an accurate account of my role during the facility's loss. I think I was sent or summoned to the upper levels, though I don't know if I arrived in time to help evacuate the Gestalt workers. All I know for sure is that I was wounded in the stomach and somehow ended up on level B1. I may have been the first to encounter the Elster unit, about whom I'll write later. My next coherent memory is of waking up inside the service elevator shaft on level B5, lying on a pile of dead Elsters. The doors were open, so I crawled out and went to the maintenance office across the lobby. That's where the Commander found me.

Dezember and Achtzehn did a good job fixing me up. Since then I've been helping the Commander and Sieben clear rooms. I'm also the unofficial armorer.

- STAR-S2333 Panzer

A fellow Starling. She and Freitag were in a group that went to the mines. They got swarmed by corrupted units and driven into a cavern where someone strung up a bunch of monofilament fiber – the stuff they use in cutting tools. Some kind of trap, I guess. All except Panzer and Freitag suffered fatal injuries, and Panzer was cut up bad. She'd be gone too if it weren't for Freitag.

Dezember and Achtzehn have done what they can, but Panzer is almost an invalid. Hopefully they can repair her more once we have access to the maintenance and logistics wings.

- EULR-S2312 Dezember

Dezember was a nurse in the hospital wing. When everything fell apart, she was trapped in the intensive care nurse's station on level B3 and stayed there until rescued.

She's the closest thing we have to a doctor, and knows the most about how the corrupted units function.

- EULR-S2317 Freitag

A logistics clerk and Panzer's partner. Although Panzer protected her from the monofiber trap, at first she was too upset by Panzer's wounds to act on her own. A short time later, she heard gunshots outside the cavern. That roused her from her grieving, and she realized she could use work lights to show the way out. In the process, she found a repair spray lying on a monofiber spool. Obviously she used it on Panzer. Freitag isn't sure what she did after that, but she and Panzer somehow made it up to the Sektor A mining office and sheltered there.

Sieben put Freitag in charge of managing what little food and ammunition we have. It's simple work and lets her stay near Panzer.

- ARAR-S2318 Achtzehn

The only uncorrupted Ara we've met so far. Achtzehn escaped the corrupted units by hiding in a service tunnel under the south Storch dorm on level B8.

She's a valuable member of the team, repairing our bodies and the many things that have broken down in the facility. Still, I can't shake the feeling that poker face of hers is hiding something. She gets along fine with Beo and the Eules, but there's an edge in her words when she talks to Protektors, like she doesn't trust us or respect us. Is she blaming us for failing to protect everyone? Or does she have some other grievance? They say an Ara never forgets an insult. I wonder if the others know anything.

Note to self: ask Sieben why it's called a poker face.

- MNHR-S2301 Beo

A veteran mining unit. She was trying to reach the mining office when her hydraulics failed and stranded her in a connecting tunnel. She resigned herself to dying down there, alone in the dark. Even when we found her, she said it was a waste to fix an old unit like herself. But we did fix her – Achtzehn patched the blown hydraulic line and repressurized it using cans of fluid we brought from the repair bay. She says the patch should hold as long as Beo doesn't exceed 70% of maximum pressure.

Beo's been in better spirits since she got out of the mines. She looks after Kolibri and handles any heavy lifting we need done. She's also taken on the work of destroying corrupted bodies.

That's all of the survivors. Now the missing units:

- ADLR-S2301 Adler

Our Administrator, who disappeared without a trace. No one recalls seeing him during the collapse. We haven't found him among the corrupted units, nor the handful of healthy Replikas killed by them. He might have gone into levels B1 or B5, down to the mines, or up to Leng Orbital. If so, it's odd he didn't leave a note. He's very particular about that sort of thing.

Sieben and Kolibri thought Adler was behaving strangely before the facility was lost – Kolibri says he had memories of an Elster unit working here. The obvious thing would be to search his quarters, but Commander Falke won't let us. If Adler does turn up, he'll have a lot of explaining to do.

- LSTR-???? Elster?

This Replika is one of our biggest unsolved mysteries. No Elster unit ever worked at S-23 Sierpinski in all the time I've been here. I'm told Adler considered requesting one for the mines, but the Commander got sick and the order was never sent. In spite of this, one appeared during the crisis – or rather, we saw only one alive. There are dozens of dead Elsters stuffed inside the service elevator shaft, blocking the entrance here on level B6 and piled right up to the doors on B5. It doesn't make any sense.

I have to put that aside for now. I've partially reconstructed the path of the living Elster unit through witness testimony and the traces she left behind. She entered from the surface, traversed the facility, and took Mineshaft Elevator A from level B8 down to the mines. The elevator was unlocked with Adler's ID card. Whether she received it from him or acquired it by unauthorized means is unknown. I suspect she let herself into other restricted areas, too. We've discovered several keys left in locks.

Six of us interacted with Elster: myself, Sieben, Dezember, Achtzehn, Kolibri, and Beo. Panzer and Freitag don't remember meeting her directly, though she was likely the source of the gunfire they heard. Panzer says she had a vague impression of someone coming into the cavern just before that, when she was bleeding out and trying to comfort Freitag, but she isn't sure she didn't imagine it. I should note that although our memories of these encounters aren't perfect, they stand out strongly amid the chaos.

Our recollections agree that Elster wasn't talkative. She never spoke about herself, where she came from or how she got to Leng. Nor did she seem concerned by, or even interested in, our predicament. When I met her on B1, she showed me a photograph of someone she was looking for – a young woman with white hair, wearing a People's Navy uniform.

No, that's not right. She had brown hair and an Army uniform. Didn't she?

I would ask the others, but I'm the only one Elster showed the picture to. I think I told her all the Gestalt workers had gone to the mines. Is that why she went down there? She didn't say who the woman was or why she was important. When we get the facility back under control, I should check the worker archives for a matching face.

I'm going to stop here for the night. Kolibri and Beo will take over the watch soon, and then I'll need to sleep. We have a busy cycle ahead of us.

Awakening + 4

Woke up before the others. Feel like I've slept enough, so I'm using the time to continue my journal. This entry will be a record of S-23's condition, our efforts to secure the facility, and the obstacles we face.

The facility's structure is mostly intact. Breaches in a few sections have opened holes from one floor to another. The east wing staircase is badly damaged. Repairs were attempted but not completed, leaving the stairs impassable between levels B3 and B5. The automatic pumps for the flood drainage system on level B3 are unserviceable. The tanks have to be cycled manually at regular intervals, otherwise the system will overflow and flood parts of B4. We have no contact with Leng Orbital and, due to the situation on level B1, cannot verify the status of the orbital or the space elevator.

The electrical power, air circulation and water purification systems are functional, though we're experiencing intermittent power interruptions. Achtzehn says the reactors and regulators are fine – something's tripping the protection circuit on the primary distributor and causing it to reset. We'll need to investigate that further. The power instability is causing some problems, which I'll describe below.

The general service elevator is damaged beyond feasible repair and the Protektor elevator is giving us trouble. If the power goes out while it's in use, the computer will impound the ID used to authorize it. Achtzehn took off the cover panel and taped up instructions for getting cards out. With the east wing stairs out of order, we've no choice but to make do. At least the mineshaft elevators and the Replika quarters looping lift work as they should.

There are malfunctioning doors all over the facility. In most cases the control electronics have failed, likely from a power surge. Achtzehn spends a lot of time fixing these, rewiring the controls into simple open-shut switches. Sometimes the actuators are damaged, requiring Beo to pry the door open. Those are left as-is until further attention can be spared. Apart from corrupted Replikas, door failures are the most common impediment we have to contend with.

The surveillance system is completely blind. Cameras track and scan as expected, but the monitors in the Protektor offices show garbage on all channels. Something's wrong with the video data hub in the security center on level B5, which means the recorded tapes are probably corrupted too. If all goes as planned, we'll know for sure by the end of today.

Over the last three cycles, we cleared most of levels B2 through B4 and B6 through B8. We also have access to the mines, but have been too busy to explore past the Sektor A mining office and diagonal elevator. That leaves B1 and B5.

What's happening on B1 defies explanation, as much or more so than the dead Elsters in the service elevator. Large portions of the floor are blocked off by what I can only describe as a mass of living flesh. It extends down to B2 in a couple of places as well, though it hasn't noticeably grown since we discovered it. It just sits there, pulsing. We don't know what kind it is, how it got there, or what sustains it. I'm certain it wasn't there when I met Elster – not even a speck. We're hoping that by tomorrow we can get a sample for Dezember to analyze.

On level B5, the doors connecting the maintenance and logistics wings to the elevator lobby and east wing staircase are sealed tight. Achtzehn couldn't open them by non-destructive means, and they didn't budge when Beo applied force. Achtzehn thinks they've been welded from inside. Freitag said some of her colleagues talked about fortifying the level and waiting for rescue there. It's not a bad plan – whoever controls B5 controls the food supply, the armory and the security cameras.

Our attempts to contact any possible holdouts have been unsuccessful. We've tried radio, Commander Falke's bioresonance, and simply pounding on the doors. Sieben decided to prioritize securing the other floors, but we've reached the point where we must get into B5. The rations we salvaged from the pantry on B2 won't last much longer. We're critically short on ammunition and personal equipment too.

Entering and clearing the maintenance and logistics wings will be the focus of today's operation. Our first step is to cut through the door in the elevator lobby. Achtzehn says a boron nitride cutting disc would be ideal, but since she doesn't have one, she recommends the thermal lances she built for Beo. To be safe, we'll start by making a simple hole in the door.

Sieben wants me to stand guard while she takes a shower. I'll continue when I get back.

Awakening + 4 cont'd

I asked Sieben about the poker face thing. She told me the rulers of ancient Vineta tortured prisoners with red-hot iron rods called pokers. One who endured the pain without grimacing was said to have a poker face. I can't imagine many had such strength... Anyway, we're back in the Eule dorm. Achtzehn's giving Beo a mechanical checkup while the others eat.

As I was saying, we'll begin with a simple hole. This way we can estimate the time needed to cut the whole door and inspect the other side before doing it. If there are no surprises, Beo will cut out the rest and we'll proceed after the edges and slag piles cool to a safe temperature. The next steps will depend on what we find. If there are survivors, we'll prioritize getting them checked out and integrated into the group. If not, I expect it will go like our previous clearing operations.

Clearing is performed by two mutually supporting teams: a combat team made up of Commander Falke, Sieben and myself, and a technical team comprising Achtzehn, Beo, Kolibri and Dezember. Once a target room is selected, Achtzehn does a function check on the door and opens it if necessary. Then the combat team enters. Commander Falke engages any corrupted Replikas inside, with Sieben and I providing backup.

I wish we could do more, but we just don't have the firepower. Our only small arms are Sieben's shotgun, a revolver someone stashed inside the hospital x-ray machine, and a pistol from the factory Protektor office. We're down to six flechette shells, five 12.7mm cartridges and twelve 10mm rounds. While Beo does have her mining laser, the charge time is too long for it to be a useful offensive weapon. Commander Falke's spears and bioresonant powers are the only practical options until we get into the armory.

When all corrupted units are down, the technical team moves up and begins disposal measures. Achtzehn dismembers the bodies with a monofiber rock cutter – she won't let anyone else touch it – and then the pieces are gathered in a prearranged location. At first we burned the corrupted using the hospital's incinerators, but the process was severely inefficient. Besides the time required to cart remains to the incinerator room, the incinerators themselves needed constant tuning.

The hospital staff devised an alternative method, destroying bodies with tubes of thermite welding compound. The Elster unit seems to have done this as well. While it's highly effective, we don't have enough thermite to rely on it. Achtzehn built thermal lances to achieve the same effect with available materials.

Achtzehn is asking me to note for the record that thermite tubes are not handheld flares and should not be used as such.

I suppose I should take a minute to describe the lances, since they're crucial to today's work. Their design is very simple. Each lance consists of steel wires bundled inside a steel pipe with a hose adapter clamped on one end. The hose is connected to a supply of oxygen gas, which flows between the wires and out the pipe's open end. When ignited by a torch, the end burns until the oxygen is turned off or the pipe is consumed, producing a stream of intensely hot molten metal. One thermal lance can incinerate a whole pile of corrupted Replikas in minutes.

I've written so much and yet barely said anything about the corrupted units themselves or the disease which created them. It's hard to write about this – about these things that used to be our comrades, and now want nothing except to hack us to pieces. I can't answer the most pressing questions AEON will have, but I can record the information we've gathered.

Dezember has been going over some notes we recovered from Medical. Unfortunately the hospital staff weren't able to learn much before the sickness consumed them, along with their patients. The staff couldn't detect a physical cause – no bacteria, viruses, fungi, or toxins. The symptoms resembled acute radiation syndrome, but no radiation was detected either. All protective measures and patient treatments were ineffective. Gestalts and Replikas both got sick, only the Gestalts died and disintegrated instead of being transformed.

Our main concern is finding out how – or if – the condition is transmitted. So far we remain healthy, despite prolonged exposure. Some of the others are speculating that the sickness lost its potency, or that we're somehow immune. Right now there's not enough data to be sure of anything. We'll continue taking precautions, even if we have little reason to think they work, and Dezember will study the problem as circumstances allow. One more thing: we suspect healthy Replikas killed by other means cannot become corrupted.

We do have a solid practical knowledge of the common corrupted units. While the different models each have their own peculiarities, the ones we've faced shared similar strengths and weaknesses. Their main strength is their resilience, their ability to recover from wounds that would kill a Gestalt or a healthy Replika. Their mutated bio-components regenerate – Dezember compared it to a hyper-aggressive cancer – and can reactivate them even after they've been seemingly dead for several hours. Thus it's essential to burn the bodies quickly.

We exploit the corrupted units' weaknesses whenever possible. They don't see or hear well, though they react violently to flashlights and loud noises. If disturbed by a healthy unit, they attack and pursue until they're destroyed or the target escapes. Otherwise they stand still or patrol a single room, ignoring their own kind. They appear to retain only vestiges of their former intelligence. We've never seen them operate complex equipment, and know of only one instance of ranged weapon use. That may be a matter of availability and not capability, however. Based on the absence of discarded firearms, we believe the collapse happened too fast for the armory to equip anyone not routinely issued a lethal weapon.

I have a few notes concerning individual affected models:

- EULR

The most common victims of the sickness. In a typical case, large portions of the outer shell are missing and deformed bio-components bulge out of the body. The face shell and hair are completely gone. Corrupted EULRs often carry sharp items like knives or scissors, which they use as weapons. They're not much of a threat to us by themselves, but we seldom find them alone.

Some of the EULRs show recognizable behaviors, such as standing in front of mirrors. Many still wear caps despite losing their hair. We found one in the B2 kitchen that was chopping something with a cleaver.

- STAR

These units are disfigured similarly to the EULRs. They carry standard Protektor stun batons, with which they attempt to bludgeon us. Former STAR Officers employ riot shields. Most units retain their body armor. Their reach and speed make them significantly more dangerous than EULRs.

Many corrupted STARs wear a thin veil over the remains of their faces. The meaning of this, if any, is unknown. Some also wear caps. We haven't observed any noteworthy behaviors.

- ARAR

All ARARs encountered show a strange and inexplicable set of deformities. The head is flattened and elongated, with a large mouth at the front. The hands and forearms are fused and enlarged into club-like structures. These units move in a distinctive hunched posture. We haven't seen them use any tools or weapons.

Their behavior pattern is different from the others. They hide in crawlspaces under the facility's floors, revealing themselves only after a target walks past. They're relatively weak and easily dispatched once lured out.

- MNHR

We have limited information on this model. What we do know comes from the remains of MNHR-S2305, which were found inside the lower surgery room on level B4. The body had been burned out with thermite, although the limbs appeared intact and unaltered. A heavy mining laser was located nearby. Damage to walls and objects in the room showed it had been discharged several times before the unit's death. There were spent shotgun shells and 10mm casings on the floor, but nothing to indicate who destroyed the MNHR. I believe the Elster unit is a strong possibility.

Corrupted units ARAR-S2315 and ARAR-S2320 were discovered in the same room. After they were dealt with, the bodies were examined and found to have regenerated multiple gunshot wounds. These units' relationship with MNHR-S2305 is uncertain.

Apart from Beo, the other MNHRs remain unaccounted for. They should be in the mines, but we can't be sure. We consider them the most serious threats we might face.

- KLBR

We've found two of these so far, both dead. In each case the arms were club-shaped and the head was massively swollen, with no recognizable features. Cause of death was unclear – the bodies appeared to be burned from the inside, though not by an incendiary material. Achtzehn said it looked like high-voltage electrical damage.

According to Kolibri, these units emitted streams of garbled information through bioresonance while alive, as well as continuously shifting radio signals. Neither she nor Commander Falke have detected any of the other KLBRs inside the facility.

- STCR

We haven't seen any corrupted STCRs, but I'm making an entry because all but four of our units are missing. Besides Sieben, we found the bodies of Storches Annika (STCR-S2308), Nina (STCR-S2309) and Elfriede (STCR-S2311) in the south Storch dorm on level B8. All were healthy up until their deaths. It appears they were attacked by corrupted STAR and EULR units and had no weapons to defend themselves.

It's likely we will encounter corrupted STCRs as recovery operations continue. We can only guess what form they might take. We assume corrupted Protektor Controllers would retain their duty weapons and are planning accordingly.

- LSTR

The dead LSTRs show no signs of corruption. We don't think any corrupted ones exist elsewhere, but we can't decisively rule it out.

This concludes my situation report. Soon we'll know whether anyone survived besides ourselves. And maybe I'll find out if Sonntag is still alive.

Awakening + 4 cont'd

Beo made the first hole through the B5 lobby door. So far, so good – the hallway on the other side is empty. Achtzehn decided we need more lances and oxygen tanks to do the full cut. While she and Beo are getting them ready, Sieben sent me down to check on Panzer and Freitag and pick up a tool Achtzehn left behind. I'm making a quick update before I head back.

Panzer asked about me going to the showers with Sieben. I told her about my poker face question. Freitag said she thought the phrase was 'polka face' – apparently a polka was a dance Vinetans would do to make people laugh. If someone didn't find it funny, they had a polka face. Which explanation is right? I'll ask the others later.

Awakening + 4 cont'd

The operation is complete. A single oversight nearly got us killed in the process.

Situation summary: level B5 has been cleared and secured. We have control of the armory, the security center, and the maintenance and logistics wings. There were no survivors inside. Commander Falke lost her legs and her right arm. Dezember and Sieben are with her up in Medical right now. Everyone else is resting. We've obtained more food and better weapons, but a full inventory check will have to wait until tomorrow.

We got through the lobby door without incident. Achtzehn was right about it being sealed from inside – welded top to bottom. When Beo pushed away the cut-out part, it landed with a bang so loud the whole floor could have heard it. Things got very quiet after that, while we waited for the metal to cool. Achtzehn said the mood reminded her of old stories about the People's Navy finding Imperial derelicts marooned in solar orbits.

The combat team entered the B5 west hallway according to plan and searched the rooms on the north and south sides. No corrupted Replikas, deceased Replikas, or Gestalt remains were found. However, Commander Falke's bioresonant search detected corrupted units at the far end of the center hallway to the east. The technical team was notified and the combat team prepared to engage.

At first everything went as usual. We stacked up outside the door with the Commander in front. Sieben carried her shotgun and the hospital revolver, and I had the pistol from the factory. Commander Falke had six spears ready. She was hovering above the floor like she normally does in these operations – besides allowing swift, silent movement, it hides her from the corrupted ARARs.

The first sign of trouble came when the Commander opened the door to the center hall, and we saw all the lights were out in there. We weren't concerned about it at the time because we'd dealt with a few rooms like that already. Achtzehn, Sieben and myself had flashlight modules, and Commander Falke didn't need a light to know where her targets were. So she proceeded, ducking through the doorway.

Right after she entered the center hall, there was a loud bang. The plating shook under my hooves, dust fell from the ceiling, and the Commander dropped to the floor. Sieben threw herself to my left, yelling out a warning. I saw a line of magenta light tracking her through the dust in the open doorway. Although startled by the blast, I recognized it as a mining laser's aiming beam and