OPERATION INCIDENT: 04/04/2021
RECORDED: 06/04/2021
INTERROGATOR:
Analyst ██████
Site-231 Intelligence Division
INTERROGATION SUBJECT:
MTF Operative Apprentice PILGRIM
Combat Medic, Hoplite 1-1
THE FOLLOWING TRANSCRIPT IS CLASSIFIED LEVEL 3
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(Analyst ██████ enters the room. OA. Pilgrim sits at the table with his eyes closed, head resting on a hand.)
INTERVIEWER: Praying again, Pilgrim?
(Pilgrim’s eyes dart open and he clears his throat.)
PILGRIM: Sorry. Was resting my eyes. You kept me waiting for a while.
INTERVIEWER: I see. Analyst ██████ debriefing Operative Apprentice Pilgrim after the events of Operation Percontor. Please state your name and rank for record, please.
PILGRIM: Operative Apprentice Pilgrim. Combat Medic for Hoplite 1-1 of MTF Tau-44, aka Phalanx. What would you like to know?
INTERVIEWER: I’d like to go over the incident at the church in ██████ at the tail end of Phase 1 of Operation Percontor - what you saw, and your actions during that situation.
(Pilgrim shifts in his seat.)
PILGRIM: I see. That was certainly a time.
INTERVIEWER: Start from when you were observing ███████ from the top of the mountain, ███████ ███████.
PILGRIM: We took the mountain... Encountering what was left of the island's militia, getting into a fire fight, and-
INTERVIEWER: Irrelevant. What happened after that?
(Pilgrim flexes his hands and stares at Analyst ███████.)
PILGRIM: We observed the town. Just like all the others, it was void of life - then we saw them.
INTERVIEWER: Them?
PILGRIM: Black SUV, and a man dressed in combat gear and some of the boys thought it might of been Russian GRU gear. It was enough for both Whitestrake and Stood to agree that we needed to go into the town for force recon. We moved down the mountain and about halfway down we started taking fire. The SUV dropped off the soldier and sped away. Some of the boys started firing at the guy while the rest of us made our way down the mountain. Finally someone shouted out that they got him and then my comms got flood by a collective yell of "what the fuck".
INTERVIEWER: That's when the anomaly happened? What the others have described as a "pillar of light"?
PILGRIM: Correct. It was a hell of a light show, and it made us double our efforts to get into the town.
INTERVIEWER: What did you find there?
PILGRIM: More of the dead militia guys - well, their bones anyway. But the street lights were working, which was odd seeing as power was out everywhere else we’d been. I was with OA. Stood and Lincoln - Stood being squad leader - while OA. Lander took the rest of 1-1 to pick through the buildings.
INTERVIEWER: Where was Stood looking to go?
PILGRIM: The church, it was the closest building to where the light show happened. Stood went in with Lincoln and ordered me to stay outside as security. They opened the big doors and once they stepped in they slammed shut behind them.
INTERVIEWER: What did you do?
PILGRIM: I tried to open the doors from my side but they wouldn’t budge. Stood was on comms, getting the rest of 1-1 to fold down on the church and telling HQ what was happening. Then he yelled “contact rear” inside the building. I double my efforts on the doors while there screaming and yelling inside. 1-1 got to us and then the doors flung themselves open. Lincoln bolted while Stood backed out slowly with his eyes fixed inside the room, then they slammed shut again.
INTERVIEWER: What then?
PILGRIM: Stood got on the horn to HQ and reported "Peanut has been sighted in the church".
INTERVIEWER: Peanut?
(Pilgrim smiles and taps his finger on the table.)
PILGRIM: Slang term for SCP-173.
(Analyst ██████ flicks through some notes he has in a folder.)
INTERVIEWER: Have you ever encountered SCP-173?
PILGRIM: No.
INTERVIEWER: Then how did you know about it?
(Pilgrim smiles and leans back.)
PILGRIM: Soldiers talk.
(Analyst ██████ is about to speak when Pilgrim raises a hand.)
PILGRIM: Soldiers talk about what's gonna be for dinner tonight in the mess hall, what was the footy score, judge each other on what ammo type we like, are we going to get the latest film spoiled by some researcher or analyst that gets to go to movies. We don’t talk about the job. Unless we are out in the field or are planning on going out in the field.
(Analyst ███████ pauses.)
INTERVIEWER: Are you implying a member of Site-231 has been talking about Foundation intelligence openly?
PILGRIM: People talk. And contrary to popular belief, Operatives are trained to listen.
INTERVIEWER: You seem to have hostile feelings about Site staff, Pilgrim.
(Pilgrim leans forward and smiles.)
PILGRIM: Majority of the staff treat us like we’re the hired help, canaries in the coal mine so they can figure out the unknowable. The rest are scared of us, thinking we’re soulless killing machines who might get orders from the higher ups to ice everyone in the Site. Phalanx is here to do its job. The rest of you seem to forget that.
(Analyst ███████ packs away his notes, stands up and leaves.)
</ RECORDING ENDS />
ADDENDUM 1: Audio Recording from Webcam #2 in Intelligence Office A - 06/04/2021
</ AUDIO RECORDING BEGINS />
Analyst ██████: Fucking knuckle-draggers. Every single one of them.
Analyst ███: Even Whitestrake? He seems pretty well educated.
Analyst ██████: Okay so there’s one very well trained knuckle-dragger.
Analyst ███: Pilgrim really got under your skin?
Analyst ██████: That pop culture spewing occultist? Fuck that guy, he’s got movie posters in his room.
Analyst ███: Jesus. Tell me how you really feel.
(A few minutes of silence pass.)
Analyst ██████: Ah shit. I forgot to put my bets in for the pool.
Analyst ███: Best hurry. ████████ is locking the bets at the end of the day. Who you got money on?
Analyst ██████: One of the new OAs they brought in. Think they call him Lanky?
Analyst ███: Betting on the rookie biting it first? That's cold.
Analyst ██████: One less stupid callsign I’ve gotta remember.
</ AUDIO RECORDING ENDS />
ADDENDUM 2: Memo from O4 Council Member O4-2 to Site-231 Director ██████
THE FOLLOWING DOCUMENT IS CLASSIFIED LEVEL 4
Dear Director,
You’ve been made aware that Analysts ██████ and ███ have been removed from Site-231 pending review. Researcher ███████ has also been removed and has been scrubbed from Foundation records following the investigation into information leaks.
Let me be clear, Director.
Discontent within the Intelligence and Research staff under your command needs to be quelled before it gets to this stage ever again.
All members of the Foundation are critical.
MTF Tau-44 is one of our most successful units in this new geopolitical landscape for the Foundation and O4 Council and one of our most valuable shields.
I recommend you keep that in mind.