Halloween again!

It’s me, your blood soaked host, Will Jessup, about to dig into yet another true tale from the darkest reaches of space.

I’m going searching for one of the most depraved set of spacers to have ever inhabited the edges of the bubble – The Colgraves!

Follow me as I uncover the crimes of this crazy family and maybe we’ll even get lucky and locate them. Now wouldn’t that be something?!

Come find me at Hertzsprung Terminal in Saragir and join the hunt.

And remember to subscribe to get the unscrambled location of each episode!

– Will Jessup

Log Image: MACABRE AND MONSTERS SPECIAL

Welcome back to another grim episode of Macabre and Monsters!

Will Jessup here, bringing you another wretched tale from the black heart of the void. Today, we’re cracking open a case from one of the nastiest legends to emerge from the frontier: the Colgrave family. For decades, this bunch of deviants have been described as so depraved they made the Phagos Clan look tame. I can’t even imagine how sick you need to be to qualify but this family did it!

I know, I know – it sounds like a tall tale told over bootleg Centauri Mega Gin in a backwater outpost. But this story refuses to die, unlike the poor colonists who ran into them over the years. Sorry, was that joke too dark? Don’t forget to subscribe to my channel, you ghouls and goblins out there!

But where is the Colgrave family today? What happened to them? Well strap yourselves in – I’ve got a hot and fresh lead on their last known location. We’re going cannibal hunting, and because I’m such a generous host we’ll be taking a tour of the systems the Colgraves built their notoriety in. I’m locked on a grisly trail and you can come along for the ride. My next stop is 67 104 117 107 117 110 where the story began.

Fiendship drive charging!

– Will Jessup

Log Image: MACABRE AND MONSTERS SPECIAL 1

We made it!

So… The legend goes that the Colgraves were just another large family here in Benford’s Inheritance. Ma and Pa Colgrave, three kids, five cousins and two grandparents. That‘s some brood, enough to eat a colony out of house and home… Or just the colony.

Tales about the Phagos dredger are bad enough, just tens of thousands of isolated spacers who liked nothing better than terrorising the fringes of the bubble. Out here, you can only imagine what the deepest, darkest, loneliest reaches of inhabited space do to a person. I mean, some poor sap called Hal Coultard famously cashed in his ticket running into the Phagos and was never heard from again. People whisper that he ended up being the entrée for that evening’s dinner but what really happened is anyone‘s guess.

But the Colgraves….Man, they were something else. Every one of them was well fed… on… Well, you get the picture. Pa used to work in a meat processing factory. His supervisor once made an entry that they’d ‘never seen anybody take as much delight in their work’. Sounds like the ideal employee, right? Well, he was fired for repeat violations of safety codes. Don’t even wanna think what that involved.

Meanwhile Ma looked after the brood. Records show she kept to herself but used to play loud classical music during the day, with neighbours making complaints all the time. The kids were home schooled and were constantly getting into fights in their apartment block. Happy home, happy life, right?

I intend to find them. This is going to be my magnus opus if l do. Myth chasers will remember the name Will Jessup…not DISmember I hope! Hahaha… ahem… Anyway! Onwards to 90 105 32 89 105 110 101 115 for the next grisly instalment.

– Will Jessup

Log Image: MACABRE AND MONSTERS SPECIAL 2

I‘m here in Zi Yines. Ugly place, stupid name too.

They say this is where the Colgraves got their first taste for murder…And human flesh, too. No one knows why they turned to this particular cravings but, in time honoured tradition, many other monsters of the past started out practicing their art on lesser things. Pa Colgrave went from dicing up meat in a factory to serving up pilots.

The story goes that he came home with fresh meat for Ma to cook without saying anything about what it really was. Every one of the family chowed down that night on Cargo Pilot Stew.

And this is where the first of the Colgraves’ alleged victims were found, floating in space in their escape pod. Tomb more like. They said the body looked… altered. Cut open, parts missing, different parts stuffed where they ain‘t supposed to be. System authorities stamped it as ‘piracy.‘ PIRACY! But locals swore otherwise and I believe them.

This is what drives me to do what I do. I must know the truths behind the legends; they can’t all be born as monsters…Can they?

As I sit here staring at the dead space in front of me, I can’t shake the feeling that the Colgraves wanted us to find that corpse. Like it was a message or a calling card. I forget the victim’s name, but ain’t nobody going to forget mine when this is over!

I’m hot on the trail of another clue and bunch of victims, follow me if you dare to 68 117 109 110 105 where we’ll scare ourselves some more learning about another victim chased by some crazy cannibal family!

– Will Jessup

Log Image: MACABRE AND MONSTERS SPECIAL 3

lmagine just being out here all alone: minding your own business, mining for ore, then…POW! Out of the black comes a flotilla of messed up ships who surround you, board you, then have you for lunch. Yep, that‘s I reckoned happened to Fred Pholl. Unfortunately all we have to go on here is a garbled log that cut off halfway through but my peers think the Colgraves got him.

People keep asking why I do this. “Will, why do you do this? Why chase after nightmares, instead of just reporting traffic violations in some backwater system nobody visits?” Easy. History doesn’t remember the victims. History remembers the monsters.

And the people that catch them! I mean, who remembers anything about poor Fred? Nobody, that‘s who. But they all remember when the Colgraves paid a visit and left behind nothing but the remnants of their victim stuffed in the Vintage Intrepid helmet. Probably used it as a human soup bowl.

If I can prove the Colgraves are real, then I‘m not just telling the story, I am the story. That’s what drives me. I’ll be a household name. The galaxy loves a ghost story, but they love the people that bust them even more. Onwards, my bloodthirsty viewers, onwards to 66 114 105 103 117 97 108.

– Will Jessup

Log Image: MACABRE AND MONSTERS SPECIAL 4

Hello? Is this thing on?

This is – hah! – okay, bit weird. My sensors are picking up… Echoes? As if I’m being pinged by another ship, but there’s nothing out there. Lights flickered a moment ago. too, like my systems are being messed with. And my comms just played static that sounded… well, a weird slurping sound. Very funny whoever you are. If the Colgraves are watching, enjoy the show weirdos. Just remember, I’m watching you right back and I’m getting closer to the truth. Subscribe to my channel too!

…Right. Moving on

From what I can gather from sources, there’s been sightings of multiple ships in this area, all decked out like raiders. One pilot claimed that they saw skulls impaled on those spikes! Not sure I like the sound of ending up as a Colgrave trophy. I hope this won’t be my last investigation…

Ok, time to close in on the Colgraves. Meet me at 74 97 98 97 106 97. I hope!

– Will Jessup

Log Image: MACABRE AND MONSTERS SPECIAL 5

This is Will Jessup, and this is Macabre and Monsters and I think… I think I found them. Or they found me!

Multiple ships, no ship IDs, all with Raider kits. Some of them…They look stained with something…Maybe a trick of the light. They’re closing fast. My systems, damn it, everything’s redlining and going haywire. Engines are dead. They’re on me.

*panicked breathing*: Still broadcasting, though. That’s what matters, right? If this is the end, at least you’ll all hear it and I’ll be remembered, not like those other chumps. My name’s Will Jessup, this is Macabre and Monsters. And this… this is the Colgrave family, coming to say hello…

*grinding metallic noises*

Oh frag, they’re boarding…

*muffled grunting*

St—stay back!!

*shots fired*

*screaming and laughter*

We’ll be well fed tonight Pa…

Log Image: MACABRE AND MONSTERS SPECIAL 6

12 APR 3307

Erik Gunnarson of the Wallglass Investigations Agency discusses the nomadic tribes that wander the galaxy in converted dredger megaships.

“It’s well known that there are many travelling communities – groups of people who prefer to live on the move rather than settle anywhere. Proudly independent, they survive on the fringes of civilisation and tend to avoid interacting with the authorities. Those commonly known as the Dredger Clans are among the most successful.”

“Dredger-class bulk cruisers convert both natural and man-made minerals into raw resources, to sustain themselves on deep-space voyages. Improved hyperdrives and fuel-scooping systems made this design redundant long ago, but some were taken over by nomads and kept operational.”

“These dredgers are now a type of generation ship. Each hosts tens of thousands of people, whose cultures have evolved – or devolved – over decades or centuries. Some are true loners while others have formed alliances, or occasionally gather to increase their gene pools.”

“Typically these clans act as scavengers, quickly passing through systems to steal anything not locked down. Several take what they need in more aggressive ways, such as raiding unprotected outposts.”

“A few have even darker reputations. I remember being told as a boy: ‘If you don’t behave, the Phagos take you away in your sleep and eat you up.’ All my childhood nightmares came surging back when I discovered there may be some truth to that story.”

“More recently, I’ve heard rumours that a rarely seen Dredger Clan has resurfaced. Naturally, Wolfe has rushed off to find out more. Hopefully she’ll be able to increase our limited knowledge of these mysterious tribes.”

Galnet: Galactic Mysteries: Dredger Clans

Mission log ident: EX37-004
Timestamp: 31/10/3355
Comms interlock: Active
Auto-transcript: Enabled

Cpt Sara Stirling 04:36
“It worked. It took a couple of hours, but the creatures are gone. McKellar confirmed that the geothermal pipes have re-frozen. which should stop them climbing back up again. On my orders he blasted the power centre’s controls, so they’re stuck underground forever. Now all we have to worry about is asphyxiation. With no juice for the environmental systems, the air won’t last long. Our suits will give us a few more hours, but since our ship has vanished, we’re trapped down here. I’ve sent out a message on the emergency beacon, but we’re hundreds of light years from any – “

Pvt Luis Hernandez 04:38
“Sir, Corporal Thulani definitely isn’t within the perimeter. He must have sealed the hatch from the other side. I think he might have gone looking for Jules… uh, Private Roth. They were kind of close…”

Cpt Sara Stirling 04:38
“Acknowledged. Add his name to the list of the dead, please. Stirling out. That’s… I didn’t know about Thulani and Roth. Should I have known? Suppose it doesn’t matter now.”

Lt Angus McKellar 04:39
“Captain! There’s a ship right above us, in low orbit. A megaship!”

Cpt Sara Stirling 04:39
“What? Thank God! It must have picked up our beacon. Can you identify it?”

Lt Angus McKellar 04:40
“Scanning now. It’s a strange one. Looks like it might be a dredger clan, there are tribal markings all over it. I can just about make out a name on its hull… Phagos, I think it says. A couple of landing craft are heading down.”

Cpt Sara Stirling 04:40
“Let’s have a welcome party ready at the main airlock, Lieutenant Stirling out. Well, some good luck at last. I’m sure these scavengers will want payment for rescuing us, but it’ll be worth every credit. Travelling with a dredger clan is hardly going to be a luxury cruise… still, anything’s better than being eaten alive.”