The puzzle that is the true identity of Shannon Day is starting to fall into place as I delve deeper into her personal records. I have now gained access to her quarters on Thompson dock and am trying to gain access to a personal terminal that I found there. So far, all I have is background information from her personnel records, anecdotes from her teammates at Thompson Dock and other information that is known publicly, but once I have access to the terminal, I’m hoping to get an awful lot more.
So, instead of a portrait, what I have now is a draft, sketched from the tracks she’s left behind in the universe as she’s made her way through life. I have her outline, her key features and have identified the light and dark – what I need now is the colour. This article sums up the pertinent points of where I’ve got so far.
For anyone asking about the legality – or, even, the morality – of this work, let me say two words: Socha Korbemile. He was asked to target her, we don’t know why, and now it’s looking likely that she’ll be on her way back soon. If we are to have any chance of keeping her, and potentially anybody she works with, safe, then we need to know why she became a target.
We’ll start with Shannon’s parents – Carolyn and Philip Day.
CAROLYN DAY (3210 – PRESENT)
Carolyn Day is professor emeritus in Xenopaleontology at the Borgen Institute on 89 Leonis 5 A, where Shannon was also born and raised, and her working life has been spent almost entirely in academia. She is highly regarded in her field, with several published and well-referenced papers on subjects including the extinct indigenous life of Achenar prior to the human-led extermination, studies into traces of life on Soontill, and other locations known to be sources of Alien Artefacts. She’s in her 90s now, meaning that Shannon was born slightly earlier in Carolyn’s life than is normal for successful women in academia.
Carolyn was the subject of a documentary about motherhood among female academics because she specifically chose not to have Shannon developed through EUFI, but instead chose to carry her inside her womb – a practise considered unconventional for women in science. In the documentary, Carolyn describes Shannon as ‘an unexpected surprise for Philip and me, at the right time in our lives.’
Carolyn continues her work as a researcher, funded by the Borgen Institute, despite having officially retired 3 years ago. The subject of her current research is, unusually for the institute, not published publicly. I attempted to make contact with the Borgen institute to find out more, but as soon as I mentioned her name, I was shut off. Attempts to reach Carolyn directly have also failed.
PHILIP DAY (3192 – 3300)
Philip was not a man of science, at least not directly, but he was definitely more financially successful in his career than Carolyn has been – however that’s to be expected, given how he earned his money. He started life as a rep for the well-known drugs company Happy Pharma Inc, rising to account manager, and then sales director.
Then, in 3257, in a complete change of direction, he co-founded the arms design and development firm Day-Francis Research, where he remained until his death 2 years ago. Day-Francis is a highly profitable company who are known to sub-contract for Core Dynamics, in addition to being contracted directly by many local governments of all allegiances and political persuasions throughout the bubble and out to the frontier.
Philip died 2 years ago, along with three employees of the company, during a demonstration of a new type of semi-autonomous small calibre munitions that they had developed. A closed-doors investigation into this by local and Federal enforcement agencies is still ongoing, and is not expected to reach a conclusion for ‘another year at least’ according to a company spokesperson.
Needless to say – the case is not without its conspiracy theorists.
SHANNON DAY (3277 – PRESENT)
Shannon is young, only 25 years old, and she’s bright – very bright, by all accounts. As mentioned at the beginning of Carolyn’s bio, she was born and raised planetside on the Federation planet 89 Leonis 5 A, where she remained in her late teens and early twenties in order to follow her mother into a career in science, at the Borgen Institute.
She majored in Exobiology, in which she earned her Masters degree, but has the distinction of also having completed enough additional credit to have had the option of taking a masters in astrochemistry. This means she has two Batchelor degrees in different fields, earned simultaneously. I told you she was smart!
After completing her degree she started work on a doctorate and took up a part-time teaching post at the Borgen Institute. So far, so predictable.
It all looked as if she was going to go down the same path as her mother until, in May 3301, she resigned from her role at the institute and suspended her doctorate. 5 months later, in October, she purchased an A-rated Hauler and registered with the Pilots Federation as Commander Shannon Day. She then left 89 Leonis, arriving in Varati a few days later to join one of the UA-focussed teams at Thompson Dock.
Colleagues describe her as outgoing and very driven, with a sharp mind and an ability switch disciplines from theory to practical with ease.
Having been in the team for a couple of months, it was a surprise to all, then, when she was allocated a long range Diamondback Explorer for a solo exploration mission, with the precise mission plan or purpose not being made public within the Canonn itself. Seemingly, nobody knew where she was actually going, or why, but there were rumours that the mission had been authorised by the very top-brass of the Canonn, possibly even by Dr Arcanonn himself.
Verity Gavroche
