Sketch-Up and Away!

History and Suspected fate of The Aztec

Filed by: CODENAME GARDENER

Date: REDACTED

Location: REDACTED

TOP SECRET

EYES ONLY

>BEGIN REPORT

Afternoon sir,

Well, you certainly like to set interesting tasks, don't you?

The Aztec was a luxury cruise liner, more like a flying city than a ship. It was a resort for the ultra rich and about as exclusive as you can get. It's construction wasn't greatly publicised, and the construction details were never officially released, hence no one had ever really heard of it. Being as less than one percent of one percent of the population could even dream of affording a ticket, the existence of the ship was basically passed on by word of mouth among the A-list celebs of the era. Records are sketchy, but from what I can tell, it entered service about 50 years ago. The crew were recruited from all over the place, but a lot seemed to come from New Milan.

Must be something about the food there, I think.

Anyway, they mostly lived aboard the ship, lessening the contact with the outside universe. So, a super luxury retreat for the ultra paranoid. Lovely.

The Aztec tended to avoid populated systems, and cruised through the frontier worlds, visiting as yet unsettled planets, I suppose to give that 'exploration and frontiersman' kind of feeling for the passengers. In reality, The Aztec was actually just the main ship in a small fleet of tender vessels. Scout ships would travel ahead of it and make sure the planets were safe to visit (i.e. no dangerous wildlife, or pathogens as well as suitable environment). Appendix 4a is as complete a map as I can find of where The Aztec went.

As far as construction goes, this thing was like nothing else. The designers seemed to want to guarantee the safety of the passengers without ever including weapons in the design. The central power system was actually 24 smaller generators capable of operating alone or in tandem, and the power output at peak capacity rivalled some of the biggest warships we have ever built. Of course, most of the energy was focused on maintaining the ultra high class lifestyle the passengers wanted, but when trouble loomed, The Aztec boasted triple layered shields and a thruster and linear jump system that could outrun pretty much anything, despite its massive size.

And now we come to the really interesting part of the story, and, I suspect, the real reason you wanted this report; the fate of The Aztec.

After nearly thirty years in service, the war brought galactic tourism crashing to a halt almost overnight. No matter how good the ships were, patrons lost all confidence in their ability to keep them safe, and so most cruise liners were mothballed. Some ended up being requisitioned for the war effort, as troop carriers or hospital ships and the like.

Now, this is where it gets really strange. The records show that a ship matching all characteristics of The Aztec (but also unnamed), was registered as being in orbit around the second moon of Darius for around five years. However, records from that region survived relatively well, and there is absolutely no corroborating evidence that the ship was ever there. No sightings from observatories, no listing on the in system traffic system, nothing. Quite what the ship did during these years is a complete mystery, and one that is well beyond my ability to solve. What we do know is that five years into the war, The Aztec suddenly arrived at Carran, and an enormous refit of the ship began. It was supposedly sponsored by a 'reclusive billionaire' which is media-speak for 'we are being paid a lot of money not to talk about this'. All the workers and equipment for the refit had been arriving in system for weeks prior to the ships arrival, under the pretence of defence planning. Everyone thought they would be building bunkers and the like, but as soon as The Aztec arrived, work began in orbit. The ship was essentially turned into an ark. Survival gear, rations and supplies were fitted in incredible amounts. Now, as you must be suspecting, Carran was right behind the front lines during this period, and soon enough, the war arrived there. The Navy put up a hell of a fight, and held the combat to the outer system for almost a week. During this time, The Aztec began loading passengers. Quite how anyone was chosen isn't known, but it seems from the records I can find (among the debris, Carran was really trashed), that the architects of this plan wanted as much genetic variety as possible. All different races and nationalities were taken aboard, some even against their will, if what I found is true.

With the destruction of Carran only a day away, The Aztec finally broke orbit and fled. Whatever refit they did to her, the engines still worked fine, because she hit the jump point in only a couple of hours. And there ends my report. No known records exist of her intended location, and no sightings have ever been made since. The Aztec simply vanished.

You didn't ask for a conclusion, but I'll give one anyway. The survival equipment, the resources, the weird passenger selection. It seems pretty clear to me The Aztec was intended as an Ark. I have to imagine they are out there someday. Perhaps we'll find them.

Yours,

>END REPORT