From The Histories, Volume Two
as laid down by Argus Hobbes, Chronicler
Previously, on "The Lost and the Damned, Book Two" (Suffer the Children):
Episode 19: Frost (who has adopted the new callsign "Wraith") and Breaker are finally confronted by the mysterious man in the bar from Episode 3. Laying in wait outside Bay Nine, this bounty hunter recognizes Breaker. Unaware of Frosts' true identity, the hunter is caught in a trap of his own. After a brief, but violent gunfight, he is interrogated by Frost and gasps one last mysterious sentence: "Omega said... he was... Paragon" Who is this mysterious "Omega", and how did he know that Kain was a Paragon?
Episode 20: Frost returns to the apartment he now shares with Breaker, only to find an unexpected visitor waiting for him. Whiz has come back into his life. The Institute has returned to Nyx, this time to make war on the Coalition of Dissident Souls. She tells Frost how she and three of her people fled to Redhaven with 8 refugees. Twelve people survived a week-long journey in a ship built for four. The Coalition is no more. She tells Frost that her real name is Juliana Ruiz. "Whiz" no more, she is now the Cypher.
Episode 21: Frost has a nightmare that he discovers is actually a repressed memory. He now remembers that fateful day when his parents were killed and his house burned. He discovers that it was the work of the Institute, who murdered his family in order to abduct him.
Cypher attempts to locate the missing refugees that she has unwittingly turned over to the Institute, and discovers that her younger brother Ria is one of their captives. Frost swears a Vow to help her find him.
Episode 22: Breaker's discovery that victims have been abducted from Redhaven as well leads the crew to the Delphi Abyss sector. On Amity Station, built from the remains of the first Ironhome to reach the sector, they uncover evidence of a human trafficking network being run by the Dockmaster.
Episode 23: Wraith and Cypher stage a daring midnight raid on the Dockmaster's office to steal his sequestered private files containing the details about the human trafficking activity. They race against the clock to avoid setting off any alarms, and to locate and copy the information before time runs out. The files are massive and will require intensive analysis to correlate any useful clues.
Episode 24: As the crew begins to analyze the stolen data, they are summoned by the Station Overseer. They meet Volition, the controlling intellect of Ironhome Astral Explorer, which has become Amity Station. Volition is a truly sentient artificial intelligence. With the introduction of the Dockmaster's sequestered data into Volition's network of awareness, It tells the crew that Its original mandate is to ensure the safety of human life.
In return for Volition's aid in sorting and analyzing the massive amount of stolen data, the crew agree to travel to Altair Station to acquire parts to restore Amity's failing environmental systems.
Episode 25: The crew arrives at Altair Station, and locates a young man who has runaway from Amity to become a spacer. While Frost and Breaker work to release him from his contract so he can be returned home, Cypher discovers that a teenage girl is missing from Altair as well.
Episode 26: Frost has a meaningful dream that he is unable to decipher. Breaker cryptically declines to help him interpret it. The crew loads the supplies for Amity and returns with the runaway boy.
Volition ends the human smuggling operation through Amity, and provides Cypher with the refined database information and full access to Its network. She discovers that the children from Redhaven were smuggled through Amity Station... as well as her missing brother, Ria.
Episode 27: While returning to Altair to follow the trail of the captives, the Acheron is assaulted by a pair of smugglers who are incensed that their operation has been broken. They attack the Acheron, and the crew barely prevails. Their bonds of family are strengthened.
Episode 28: While repairing the damaged Acheron, the crew discovers navigational coordinates left in the system from when the ship was the IISS Venture. They also find that Volition's download has provided the ship with the drive signatures and other information about the kidnappers' ships. Breaker and Cypher build a special sensor to track the ships, while Frost swears a Vow to find the missing girl.
Episode 29: The crew embarks on a dangerous journey into the unknown to track the remaining smuggler ships. They respond to a distress call from an abandoned, disabled repair ship but decline to investigate, as time is of the essence. The trail leads the Acheron through a wormhole to another sector, called Thunor's Anvil.
Episode 30: The crew discovers wonders such as an alien beacon that is transmitting an archive of information. They save the data for Volition to review upon their return. The trail ends at an artificial star known only as the Lodestar. It is here that the Institute has constructed Solitude Station to continue their nefarious research. The crew infiltrates the station, in search of the abducted children. They find relics from an ancient civilization and meet Dr. Florian, a xenobiologist who is appalled by the Institute's barbaric experiments. He agrees to assist them if they will help him to escape. Frost is shot and badly wounded by a sentry gun while trying to protect Cypher.
Episode 31: The final chapter of Book Two. The crew discovers the lab in which a dozen children are being held in medically induced comas. Florian and Breaker are able to revive the children, while Wraith and Cypher initiate a reactor overload, forcing an evacuation of the station.
The crew and children must race against time to escape the doomed station before it self-destructs. Just as they are about to reach the Acheron and escape, Wraith is confronted by the Doctor, the cruel scientist who held him captive on Vesper. With just minutes left before destruction, Wraith tells Breaker and Cypher to get the kids onto the ship and escape. Wraith and the Doctor have a final showdown and once more, Frost unleashes his terrible pyrokinetic powers and kills the Doctor. Frost discovers that his amulet is made from the head of a fire sprinkler from the Ironhome that carried his ancestors to the Forge.
Badly injured, Frost awaits his death, but is dragged to safety by a grateful Dr. Florian. With just a minute to spare, the Acheron races away from the doomed Solitude Station. Frost succumbs to his injuries and for a moment, the system glows with the light of two artificial stars.
The Present Day:
Coming NEXT: The three-chapter Epilogue of Book Two, and a short tale of the crew of the Acheron.
Stay tuned, and THANK YOU for reading!