Witch

The Witch is one of two known aliases used by Caleb Wycherley, the other being Salvation. He was originally the vice-president of research at Azimuth Biochemicals, and a sub-contractor for the INRA. He has been mentioned in logs recovered from the Project Seraph sites Oaken Point and Fort Asch, the logs from the recently discovered INRA base 'Iraxon Lane', (which details how the nickname originated), and the wreckage of the Aegis megaship Alexandria.

Timeline

03 JUN 3308

• Claims that Salvation was once a senior member of Azimuth Biochemicals who worked for INRA have led to a public outcry. Political journalist Conrad Sterling reported on these developments for Vox Galactica: “Information recently uncovered in the DG Canum Venaticorum system has been presented by Professor Alba Tesreau. It suggests that Salvation’s real name is Dr Caleb Wycherley, former vice-president of research at Azimuth Biochemicals. According to Wycherley’s personal logs, his team contributed to the development of the controversial mycoid bioweapon deployed by INRA during the First Thargoid War.” “Wycherley’s logs also provide evidence that he gained the nickname of ‘The Witch’. This figure has been implicated in the murderous attack on the Alexandria megaship in June 3307 and in Project Seraph recordings found in the HIP 26176 and HIP 22460 systems.” “Former Aegis leadership has demanded that Salvation be arrested and questioned over his involvement in these events, and that superpower fleet support for Salvation’s work be suspended until such questions have been answered.” Supporters of Salvation have dismissed the latest logs as fake, pointing out that Dr Wycherley would now be over 200 years old and that the mention of ‘salvation’ is coincidental. But outrage remains high over the unethical activities of both Azimuth and INRA, and Salvation’s growing influence over anti-Thargoid operations has been cast in a new light. “The Alliance, Empire and Federation have all responded with noncommittal statements that the accusation will be investigated,” said Sterling. “However, since Salvation’s unique superweapons now form the cornerstone of their anti-xeno strategy, his arrest would be a major political and military inconvenience.”

31 JAN 3308

• Information recovered from the Alexandria has prompted Aegis to insist that it was not responsible for the loss of the megaship's crew and cargo. The wreckage of the Alexandria was recently located in the Wregoe TC-X B29-0 system. There were no survivors, but fragments of the commanding officer's log were found. Chief Administrator Carter Armstrong published this statement on behalf of Aegis: "The logs made by Captain Jacob Morales tell a bleak tale. The Alexandria was deliberately sabotaged to leave it stranded and powerless. They were met by an unidentified group posing as a rescue team, who slaughtered most of the crew and hijacked the Guardian artefacts. The survivors later made a desperate attempt to initiate the hyperdrive, which sadly led to their destruction. We can now prove that the Alexandria's loss was not caused by negligence, as claimed by the Baumann Report. In reality, the megaship was snared in a trap laid by an organised quasi-military force. Furthermore, Captain Morales discovered that the raiders worked for someone they referred to as 'the Witch'. That name was mentioned in logs discovered at HIP 22460 regarding Project Seraph – vile experiments perpetrated by Azimuth researchers to install human test pilots into Thargoid vessels. This evidence suggests that Azimuth Biochemicals has survived in some form over the last two hundred years, and remains focused on aggressive xenological research. Aegis must be reinstated immediately to counter this dangerous organisation before more lives are lost."