A Scream, Strife, Then Silence

Strife

Ah, yes. I believe I told you about how a stack of papers was the catalyst to my becoming a scribe. I fear I may have served you a lie. The story of the Great Reset certainly peaked my interest, and I had dreamed of roaming the cosmos as a free agent the way a child may dream of waking up with arcane prowess. No, the true reason I am who I am, the day I made the choice to chase my dreams, was the day my nephew left Limeda. Like me, he never spoke of his fantasies. Limedans are a sober people, to the point of phlegmaticism, after all. Being ridiculed, or even shunned, simply for wanting more... I have always detested that aspect of my home planet, my, er, people.
But he, he just left. Didn't say a word. He didn't have to, I knew. I knew because I felt the same way.

Once I had mustered up the courage to demonstrate my Irish farewell, I plotted a course for Cas. It seemed an eternity away- a new world, a whole new galaxy even... In the grand scheme of things, Cas is but a stone's throw from Katsigian. Heavens, it was among the first federation-monitored trade routes in free space! Looking back now, I wince at my naïveté.
Enough about me, however, you are not here for a middle-aged fool's memoires*. 

My findings on Prochoo are amongst the most fascinating and treasured in my now vast collection. Interestingly, most of these findings contradict what Federation-approved literature would have you believe. Let us start off with what we are told is true. One: Prochoo served as a forward base for the Galactic Union's military efforts. It is, then, no coincidence that Cas serves as a border galaxy between Federal and free space, two: whilst officially under proclaimed authority of the Union during the war, Prochoo's inhabitants aligned itself mostly with insurrectionary values, and three: Prochoo set the stage for the rebels' final stand. 

The romanticization of the above factoids by the Bureau of Books, the Federation's Ministry of Literature and Education, led to a wide misunderstanding and misinterpretation of Prochoo's role in the war. While yes, it was annexed in the first decade of the war and yes, the Cas Campaign was the last official military operation before peace accords were reached, Prochoo never aligned themselves with the rebellion. This is just clever propagandization by the Federation to make it seem like they have not murdered half of the planet's population for a slight positional advantage. Hell, from the transcripts I have found, Union generals didn't even know about the pretech artifacts until they happened upon them by sheer luck. 

I notice that, in my enmity, I am getting ahead of myself. 

Prochoo, up until its annexation, rarely got involved with planets outside of the Cas system. During the war, mostly unmotivated or outright anti-establishmentarian conscripts were sent to Prochoo. When the rebels noticed these soldiers rather not fight, they upheld an unofficial armistice between the two parties. Life on Prochoo continued, albeit under some tension, as before. At least, for most of the war. When it became obvious the Union was on its back foot, they pushed, desperately, savagely, and recklessly. Evaporation beams destroyed swathes of Prochoo's ecosystem, Bada-6's experiments** were accelerated, with disastrous effect, and then there's the bullet-riddled cherry on top: Blood Heeled Boots. For the purpose of this article, the details of this operation are not relevant, but it is important to know the extents of the Federations atrocities on Prochoo. I have included a copy of the military report with this writing. Unfortunately, a lot of key information has been redacted.

The artifact itself, as I've mentioned before, has eluded me up until now. I know of the threesome of adventurers who reportedly have handled this artifact, perhaps even wielded its power. I wonder what became of them, are they even still alive? 

In truth may we find prospect,

Jediah Murdock

*If you are interested, you could petition my publisher. I am collecting digi-sigs here, be sure to allow data tracking when prompted.

**Bada-6 requires separate discussion, my exposé is currently under my publisher's advisement.