powersafdarkness

[powersafdarkness]

The Limerick Soviet

On Apr. 13, 1919, the city of Limerick's United Trades and Labour Council called a general strike against the imposition of martial law by the British Army. The strike lasted two weeks.

A rare photo of a mass demonstration on the streets of Limerick during the Soviet.

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> ascend

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(Statement)

First off, a young fellow I work with insisted I come here, while what I experienced is definitely in the purview of your institute, I don't believe what I experienced is of concern in that sense, nothing… happened, it's of no harm to anyone, just, I changed, I learned something.

I used to be a fisherman, I used to spend all my time at sea, see, where I am from, Paamiut, that's nothing out of the ordinary, it was inevitable that I would end up working at sea, everyone eventually did at some point. But I still had my own motivations. When I was just a kid, I followed my father out, joining him on a seal hunt. I remember a couple of things from that day—the blisters I came home with, the brightness of the sun which refused to set—but there is only one thing that truly stuck with me. We ended up in some fjord I had not been in before, as we rounded the bend of a mountain, and through the mouth of the fjord, I saw it—a shape that stuck out among the icebergs. My first whale.

To my young eyes, it was otherworldly. Even at a distance, I could make out the black of its eye. Not just that it was so big that I could see its pupil from where I stood, but that looking into it, I could feel it—something soulful. An eye that had gazed into the depths for lifetimes. In the darkness of its eye, I thought I was looking into the sea itself.

The moment never left me, my primary motivation going to sea when I came of age was seeking whales, I was obsessed with that gaze.

It wasn't long before I was the captain of my own ship, I would take us out fishing in areas known for whales just for a chance to see them, this was however not very profitable, there were times when I knew we weren’t in the best waters for catching fish, but I didn’t care. My crew was naturally frustrated, and eventually confronted me, of course, it was Krogh that finally talked sense into me. They depend on the income, and I had to give in. But the timing could not have been worse, the following week was entirely bad weather and storms. So we waited, and waited for the weather to clear. And when it did, we left that early morning, too soon, i think now, but we couldn't know for certain at that time that the storm would be waiting for us out at sea. 

It was the night of our second day out, as we were sailing back in, we had managed to fill our haul, we had worked tirelessly and at pace because we knew we were risking it and might be at a race with the weather, usually no one is on duty to watch the boat alone, but we had decided to cut corners out of necessity, I came up to take over from young Marius, I believe he is the captain of the ship now, but I haven't kept in touch.

The waters got increasingly choppy and rough, and although it felt like the ship was enveloped in an unnatural chill, I kept an eye on all the measures, barometrics, humidity, temperature, the ships instruments were not giving any indication that the storm was coming, I didn't feel justified in raising any alarm over the waters being rough, instead I found myself engaged in my habit of using the searchlight, and pan around the dark water, its not without fruit—some whales are more active at the surface at night than at day. 

Less than an hour into my shift. I saw Krogh emerge in the kitchen down the steps from the command bridge, probably grabbing a bit of coffee. He wasn’t on sailing duty, being in charge of the engine, and I assumed he had just been checking on it.

We exchanged some words and he came up the steps, he observed my goings on, I just told him its habit, and he said “You and your damned whales.” I had smiled and was about to reply when he said, with his eyes glued to the far point I had just been looking out at “A gaze that deep does not stop at you. It keeps going. Down,” the phrase was meaningless at the time, but it was strange enough that I remember it, and how his hand pointed downwards, but not just straight down, but at such an angle that you would almost swear he was pointing at something specific.

I don't recall the rest of the conversation, I just remember him leaving and me returning to my spotlight pattern, the ship rocking over the choppy waves, and for a moment the barometer spiked nearly its whole length and then came back down, it was enough to catch my eye but I assumed it a technical issue after it came to rest again where it had been, my eyes darted back outside, and the sky outside was black, not like, entirely blotted out, but… darkened, I shone my light around, and at first I could not see what had changed, there was still the few icebergs scattered about a little ways away, and the angry waves, although they were beginning to calm, and appeared to be rolling from a very singular direction, my light followed the waves, terminating where they appeared to flow from, they seemingly terminated at nothing, a very large nothing, a… slick, nothing.

The only thing telling that there really was something was that I could not see the water in that area, the change to pure darkness, other than the small faint sliver, transparently given off, a reflection of the light I was shining out,

It did not make sense, it still doesn’t, the words I have to say, they do not give the right picture, whatever you imagine, that's not what I saw. It was an eye, I could tell it was because, just like staring into the whale’s dark pupils, as I was obsessed with, and this eye was staring back, that I could tell.

I can't describe the creature it belonged to, it was not there, or too big to be seen, or something like that, the words are not quite there.

The ship was not moving.

The light from my spotlight had gone weak, but it was enough to show me that the waves outside had gone completely still, but it even more still than that, the ship itself was silent, like it was holding its breath, the engine had stopped and the ship was on reserve power, it felt like the dark was trying to swallow up the ship, only my steps filled the silence as I left the command room.

I called out for Krogh. No answer. I called out for Marius, for anyone. Silence. AS I descended to crew quarters the railing to crew quarters I passed through a long corridor lit by weak beige light, I knew the corridor did not belong there, the crew quarters were not this far away, but at the end of this halfway it presented itself anyways, the bulbs flickered weakly, no sign of life in the room but the cup I had seen Krogh holding earlier, it still held steaming coffee but it smelled burnt and acrid.

I left the galley to make my way to the engine room, thinking they crew must have gone there to check on it, it felt like such solid reasoning to me at the time, the engine had stopped, Krogh fetched the crew to help him with something, I hoped, I prayed that Krogh had control of the situation.

The passages were familiar but I knew they didn't belong, my boots were sticking to the floor with every step, I knew what that meant, and I was right, beyond the next door was the fish processing room, where the line was drawn in. Despite the engine being off the machinery was still in motion, dead fish hanging on the hooks being fed into the machine that separated them to slide into the hold. As soon as I entered the stench was overwhelming, a fisherman becomes familiar with the scent of fish over time but this was another smell than that, it was like rot, a miasma of decay and salt, and something metallic, the faint light revealed the floor to be coated in dark red and sticky blood, with a thin iridescent film, like the sheen of oil on water.

I turned around to go back through the door, as the engine would be the other way, but the handle wouldn’t budge. I struggled with it for a moment before I heard the ship echo, groaning like a whale, it went all the way to my teeth and the pressure of the room changed, an oily liquid began seeping through the door and down the walls, dripping from the ceiling. I stumbled backwards, my boots slipping, and I fell backwards, where a hook that had just had a fish separated from it caught me, it dug deep into my shoulder, I tried to get my balance and remove it but before I could get it out I fell backwards over and into the hatch down into the hull, the hook ripped its way out of my shoulder. (Malik lifts up his sleeve showing the archivist a now healed gnarled old scar that by is circa 8 centimeters across)

I fell into a fish tub, and could feel myself sinking down into the fish that filled it, and I tried to crawl my way out, the ceiling was far higher than it should have been for the hold, it was dark as well, the mess of scales and slime, my hands could not find purchase in anything, I sank and I sank, down into the slick filth, my feet reached for anything to push against, a fish tub is not very large, but it felt bottomless, is was surrounded by dead fish, burying alive, their small black pearl eyes all glared at me, gazing at me, the and I could feel what their dead eyes were seeing, they were seeing a whale.

As all light began being blotted out, and my breathing was straining under the weight upon me, I knew I was somehow still sinking, and that I was going somewhere. As I was drowning in that black ichor, I felt my feet become free, I spent all the last remaining energy I could, to bury myself even deeper, it was into water, it was freezing cold, I didn't know where I was going, but I slowly broke free into the water, I don’t know how long it was until I could breathe again but I kept feeling like I was about to pass out but kept going on, it was very disorienting when I broke free from the fish, the pressure in my ears screamed at me that was upside down, and I began swimming down, floating down, and then when I was almost about to let the seawater enter my lungs as I could feel my body beginning to give up and spasm I broke a water surface, I was able to breathe, I began a coughing fit, and couldn't orient myself.

I came too in the kitchen wrapped in a blanket, Marius had apparently pulled me out of the water, he said that when his shift began I was missing, and he looked for me for at least an hour before he heard my coughing and he dove in to save me.

Marius wasn't supposed to begin his shift for at least another 2 hours.

I don't understand what I experienced, but I can’t look at the eyes of fish anymore, whales, and whatever that—thing—was, it all changed my understanding, what I saw during that time, that pupil, what I had seen before, the centuries I had seen in the eyes of whales, the soft sorrow of the sea, they were just a fraction of what had been reflected onto them, from something else, not just centuries, or milenia, but true age, like the mountains or ocean, and not sorrow, but something I don't even have the words for. I know now that the eyes of whales do not contain the depths of the ocean, but that the depths of the ocean contain something else, and that is what I saw.

That was my last time on the Lomur. It was my last time at sea. I flew to England after we reached shore. I haven't eaten a fish since, their pearly black eyes freak me out—I see that depth again each time I see a fish. I live in Chesterfield now, as far from the ocean as I can get in this country. But still, every time I pass a body of water and I look down at it, it gives me vertigo, and the hair on my arms sticks up with this unease of what lies beneath.

I did try to talk to the others about what happened, but every time I asked them anything about it they seemed confused, they think I just injured myself falling into the water while out for a smoke, probably thinking I also hit my head, but I didn’t speak to Krogh, I was hesitant to, but I put it off until we reached land, but then he was just gone, I didn’t see him leave when we hit land, I may have just missed him as he left, but I have an unease about him now that I look back, I am not sure he was on the ship for the last few hours towards land.

Statement of Malik Nuka, on his experiences at sea while working onboard the Lomur trawler. Original statement given 2004.Audio recording by Magnús Örn, Continental Investigation Agent Coordinator, currently in Stanger, Norway.

Statement begins

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Statement of Malik Nuka, on his experiences at sea while working onboard the Lomur trawler. Original statement given 2004.Audio recording by Magnús Örn, Continental Investigation Agent Coordinator, currently in Stanger, Norway.

Statement begins

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Starfleet Intelligence Report Case File: 2371-92B Subject: Ensign Victor Hayashi Stardate: 51234.7

This report concerns Ensign Victor Hayashi, an engineering officer assigned to the U.S.S. Tempest, who was declared missing in action following an anomaly event near the Rho Indri system. Hayashi was equipped with a Standard Starfleet EVA Suit, which recorded telemetry data during the incident—this data serves as our primary evidence in reconstructing his final moments.

On Stardate 51231.5, Ensign Hayashi was deployed on an exterior maintenance operation when the Tempest encountered an unexpected subspace rift. Communications were severed, and Hayashi’s EVA telemetry ceased transmission approximately 46 minutes after the anomaly appeared. Subsequent scans revealed no trace of his suit or body.

The purpose of this report is to analyze the recovered telemetry logs and any corroborating evidence to determine the cause of Ensign Hayashi’s disappearance and assess potential risks related to subspace anomalies of this type.

The report is structured as follows:

Reconstruction of Hayashi’s final transmission and EVA suit logs

Analysis of the subspace rift and related spatial anomalies

Assessment of possible external influences or unknown entities

This case remains classified under Starfleet Intelligence Level 3, with findings to be shared with relevant Starfleet Science and Engineering divisions.

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What being into Lovecraft and Magnus Archives feels like istg

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The Ancient Greeks invented bisexuality, and the Romans, slowly, tore it down. Ant it was not until 1967 that Star Trek gave birth to bisexuality anew, even stronger, and even more bi

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Starfleet Intelligence Summary Stardate: 51033.9 The USS Argonaut was discovered adrift near the Typhon Expanse. No life signs were detected aboard. The ship’s internal systems had been rendered inoperative, with extensive data corruption across all logs except for those recovered above. All personnel remain missing. Lieutenant Commander Data was found in the command center, unresponsive. Upon detainment, he offered no explanation for the disappearance of the crew. His behavior was noted as unusual, displaying long periods of silence and a refusal to engage in conversation. Attached to this report are security stills of Commander Data taken upon retrieval. In each frame, he is expressionless. A formal request was made to the Daystrom Institute regarding Data’s current condition. Their response was brief: “Since the event, Lieutenant Commander Data has not spoken a single word.”

Starfleet Intelligence Report Case File: 2373-447B Subject: Ensign Lorian Thalor Stardate: 51033.7

The following document contains a series of log entries recovered from the USS Argonaut before its disappearance. These logs, recorded by Ensign Lorian Thalor, are the only surviving firsthand accounts of the events leading up to the Argonaut’s abandonment. All bridge officers and senior staff remain unaccounted for. The only known survivor is Lieutenant Commander Data, who was discovered alone aboard the derelict vessel. Further investigation pending.

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Final Entry - Ensign Lorian Thalor

Stardate: 50226.6

I went to try and find Ravel, last I knew he had gone to check Data's quarters for Spot the door was simply open, I entered and found the room to be in strange shape, of course, no Spot, but it had seemed like a hurricane had gone though, all the various items Data kept in the room were knocked over and there were scratch marks near the door, low- And then there was the smell as I stepped further into the room, like warm plastic, like when a machine gets too warm and its shell starts giving off that smell, we don't really use plastic like that anymore, but for my engineering class at the academy we took a course on old power tools, the ones with the batteries you slot in and are very tactile, I liked how tactile they were, they were just inefficient, I could get the same done in less than half the time with out modern tools, but I recall the smell that came as my drill overheated, metallic, plastic, but as soon as my mind had stopped reminiscing that sensation I was brought back to the room, the walls, they were black, not fully, just along the bottom half, like scorch marks, like soot, it looked like the room had burned down, except only the walls were effected, nothing else.

It gave me the creeps and I turned to leave, my headache was so bad at this point I couldn't focus, I wish I hadn't turned around, Data stood there, in the hallway, he just looked at me, past me, with his blank yellow eyes, he was carrying Spot, holding him by his scruff, it looked... weak.

I had seen Data carry his cat before, always so lovingly, cradled... this isn't how Data holds his cat, as I looked up again he and, well, he smiled, I would say that it was very human looking, but that's what was so unnatural about it, the way his eyebrows curled so imperfectly human, like real flesh molded by gravity over a lifetime.

I just got back to my quarters, the halls are full of stumbling confused crew, I should have stopped to check vitals on some of them, but, Data, I cant quite state what exactly it was but,  at that moment I could tell, with acute certainty.

This was not Data.

Starfleet Intelligence Report Case File: 2373-447B Subject: Ensign Lorian Thalor Stardate: 51033.7

The following document contains a series of log entries recovered from the USS Argonaut before its disappearance. These logs, recorded by Ensign Lorian Thalor, are the only surviving firsthand accounts of the events leading up to the Argonaut’s abandonment. All bridge officers and senior staff remain unaccounted for. The only known survivor is Lieutenant Commander Data, who was discovered alone aboard the derelict vessel. Further investigation pending.

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Women!

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Personal Log – Ensign Lorian Thalor

Stardate: 50226.1

I haven't seen Ravel today, I had meant to ask him if he found out about the cat, I feel a bit sorry for how I brushed him off yesterday, I was feeling agitated, its so quiet on the ship, I saw the captain almost slump against the wall on his way to the bridge, in fact the bridge officers seem to be the worst off in all of this, and it has gotten to the point where I feel like I only get in the way of T'kay in medical as she is working on the issue.

Although Commander Data seems in good health, I mean of course he is, I don't think he can get tired, only if his batteries start running out I suppose.

Starfleet Intelligence Report Case File: 2373-447B Subject: Ensign Lorian Thalor Stardate: 51033.7

The following document contains a series of log entries recovered from the USS Argonaut before its disappearance. These logs, recorded by Ensign Lorian Thalor, are the only surviving firsthand accounts of the events leading up to the Argonaut’s abandonment. All bridge officers and senior staff remain unaccounted for. The only known survivor is Lieutenant Commander Data, who was discovered alone aboard the derelict vessel. Further investigation pending.

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PERSONAL LOG– Ensign Lorian Thalor Stardate: 50124.3 The lights flickered today. Just for a moment. Just enough to notice. Makes me wonder if this pressure as we have simply started to refer to it by it is getting to engineering finally, I would say that I am up for cracking open various panels and systems to look for and fix the issue myself, but I have to admit that even I am feeling a bit mentally drained. People are quiet now. Conversations feel shorter, strained. As if no one wants to say what they’re thinking. I overheard Ensign Ravel mention finding cat scratches near the aft turbolift—deep ones, deeper than they should be. He asked me for my medical knowledge on cats and their behavior, despite wearing blue I don't think Ravel realizes I am simple an ensign on duty rotation and my real focus is engineering, I did note though that Data has a cat, and his quarters are not far from the turbolift in question, I will allow him to look into the matter himself.

Starfleet Intelligence Report Case File: 2373-447B Subject: Ensign Lorian Thalor Stardate: 51033.7

The following document contains a series of log entries recovered from the USS Argonaut before its disappearance. These logs, recorded by Ensign Lorian Thalor, are the only surviving firsthand accounts of the events leading up to the Argonaut’s abandonment. All bridge officers and senior staff remain unaccounted for. The only known survivor is Lieutenant Commander Data, who was discovered alone aboard the derelict vessel. Further investigation pending.

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PERSONAL LOG – Ensign Lorian Thalor Stardate: 50020.9 There’s something expanding on this ship. I don’t mean physically. It’s in the air, its like this building pressure, we have people reporting into medbay with headaches, T’Kel had me check the environmental controls 3 times today because of my engineering background, but there is nothing wrong. Crew members have started making errors—small miscalculations, forgotten protocols. And then there’s the sleepwalking. Five officers found out of bed, wandering. No memory of how they got there. And I am well aware of the sleepwalking, I had to personally go fetch Greaves out of Cetacean Ops last night, I had to rush before he got himself into the aquarium, so I couldn't stop on the way, but I had seen another crewmember sleepwalking, well that's what I thought at first at least, it wasn't until I was unfortunately drying off ensign Greaves and apologizing to the beta shift Belugas that it dawned on me that the sleepwalking crewmember had been commander Data, I had assumed sleepwalking because of the way he sort of... meandered, as an efficient android he is not one to detour, or, well, aimlessly walk without any sense of direction? I don't believe that he can sleepwalk, this leads me to believe that whatever is happening might be something different than a biological infliction that increases tendency to sleepwalk. I hear murmurs in the mess hall: that it started after we brought the debris onboard.

Starfleet Intelligence Report Case File: 2373-447B Subject: Ensign Lorian Thalor Stardate: 51033.7

The following document contains a series of log entries recovered from the USS Argonaut before its disappearance. These logs, recorded by Ensign Lorian Thalor, are the only surviving firsthand accounts of the events leading up to the Argonaut’s abandonment. All bridge officers and senior staff remain unaccounted for. The only known survivor is Lieutenant Commander Data, who was discovered alone aboard the derelict vessel. Further investigation pending.

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Autism moment

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PERSONAL LOG – Ensign Lorian Thalor Stardate: 51018.4 Routine shift in medical today. Ensign Greaves came in with a dislocated shoulder after an ill-advised bet with Lieutenant Perrault about whether he could do a full lap around Deck 7 using only the ladder rungs. He could not. Doctor Anjar patched him up while Perrault endured the usual barrage of I told you so’s from the rest of Beta shift. Captain Harrow has been in and out of medbay all day—something about a persistent headache, though he brushed off any real concern. He’s been spending more time in his ready room than usual. Lieutenant T’Vess suggested adjusting the environmental settings in case it’s a pressure issue, but I doubt that’s it. Maybe just stress. After shift, I stopped by the rec hall for T’Kel’s birthday. She somehow got her hands on a bottle of Vulcan T’Ancalan. No idea how, but it was potent. We all had a few rounds, though I probably should’ve paced myself better. On my way back to my quarters, I caught my reflection in the turbolift doors. And for a second—I swear—I saw this large sick grinning expression in the reflection. Just slightly. Just enough to make my stomach twist. But when I turned to look at behind me, I saw Data, as impassive as ever, staring ahead like normal, he didn't even look at me as I turned to him. I will make sure to restrain myself when it comes to T’Ancalan. Probably.

Starfleet Intelligence Report Case File: 2373-447B Subject: Ensign Lorian Thalor Stardate: 51033.7

The following document contains a series of log entries recovered from the USS Argonaut before its disappearance. These logs, recorded by Ensign Lorian Thalor, are the only surviving firsthand accounts of the events leading up to the Argonaut’s abandonment. All bridge officers and senior staff remain unaccounted for. The only known survivor is Lieutenant Commander Data, who was discovered alone aboard the derelict vessel. Further investigation pending.

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PERSONAL LOG – Ensign Lorian Thalor Stardate: 51015.2 It’s been a routine patrol near the Typhon Expanse. Long shifts, minor anomalies, nothing to write home about. But today, we picked up some debris—an old Starfleet escape pod, seemingly adrift for decades. No life signs, no distress beacon, no registry we can match. Just floating in the dark. I caught a glimpse of it in the transporter bay before they took it to secure containment. Looked pretty old and damaged, scorch marks, warped metal, like it had been through hell. With Commander Resnik off-ship overseeing industrial replicator repairs on Starbase 324, Captain Harrow assigned Lieutenant Commander Data to analyze the debris. It seemed like standard protocol—an anomaly best suited to an officer with his capabilities. He approached the wreckage with his usual efficiency, running scans, testing for residual radiation. Lieutenant T’Vess, from Engineering, noted no immediate threats, yet Data remained in the transporter bay longer than expected, his fingers trailing over the metal in an oddly deliberate way. When Lieutenant Hale asked if something was wrong, he simply said, "Negative," and continued his assessment. I have gotten used to his rigid mannerisms, but it still always sticks out to me, he lingered there longer after all the other crew was done running all their scans, I didn't think anything of it, I mean, it was the end of my shift, and I assumed he was just being thorough as not having to sleep allows you to be, but he was still there this morning, I cant see what he could possibly have needed that much time to analyze it, either way my routine shift is over to medical again so I wont think much of it.

Starfleet Intelligence Report Case File: 2373-447B Subject: Ensign Lorian Thalor Stardate: 51033.7

The following document contains a series of log entries recovered from the USS Argonaut before its disappearance. These logs, recorded by Ensign Lorian Thalor, are the only surviving firsthand accounts of the events leading up to the Argonaut’s abandonment. All bridge officers and senior staff remain unaccounted for. The only known survivor is Lieutenant Commander Data, who was discovered alone aboard the derelict vessel. Further investigation pending.

[powersafdarkness]

Starfleet Intelligence Report Case File: 2373-447B Subject: Ensign Lorian Thalor Stardate: 51033.7

The following document contains a series of log entries recovered from the USS Argonaut before its disappearance. These logs, recorded by Ensign Lorian Thalor, are the only surviving firsthand accounts of the events leading up to the Argonaut’s abandonment. All bridge officers and senior staff remain unaccounted for. The only known survivor is Lieutenant Commander Data, who was discovered alone aboard the derelict vessel. Further investigation pending.