Interlude-Brinksmanship
Working with Tox had been a shaky affair for the last few months. Halax still felt his association with Tox was out of necessity. The Adjutant had been quite close to Marshal Tispas for years up to this point, and there were clearly some lingering conflicts in the rak about opposing his old leader. So Halax had hesitated to take Tox’s promises at face value.
But seeing the abductees’ new lodgings, Halax had to admit, the Adjutant had delivered.
The four Asrin colonies were the oldest on Archo and even predated the first colonies on Yawhere below too. Their structures and civil architecture came from that early era of interstellar colonization where everyone wanted to be involved in everyone else’s projects.
Vorak, Casti, even old Kiraeni influences could be found lingering in the colonies today. Despite the rest of the moon being predominantly Casti, the population of the Asrin colonies came the closest to an even three-way split between the three alien species. It left every resident rubbing elbows with other species, forcibly exposed to all sorts of cultural quirks and alien idiosyncrasies. In colonized space, nowhere was more eclectic. In short? No one ever quite felt like they fit in perfectly.
So it was a perfect place for a group of abductees that didn’t fit anywhere.
The facility Tox had arranged wasn’t attached to a Red Sails garrison, or even any military facility. The Adjutant had arranged a deal with the governor of Asrin-Dane colony and a local entrepreneur who’d acquired a defunct church.
That was what the building would have been called in English, at least. It had been dedicated to one of the Casti faiths, and Halax didn’t know what the proper word was.
But despite being more than a hundred-fifty years old, it was in stellar condition. New wiring and water processing, plenty of empty space for Nora’s campers to move into, and it was even near colony transit facilities—a tram and launch pad, both.
The accommodations alone were impressive, but when Halax saw Organic Authority personnel awaiting their transports, he decided he might need to reevaluate Adjutant Tox a bit more generously.
“[This Tox guy isn’t greeting us?]” Jacob asked Nora.
“[Nope,]” she said. “[They’re busy making sure our endgame is all set.]”
“[And we actually have one? An endgame?]” Jacob asked.
“[Yup,]” Nora said. “[Only question is if it works as hoped.]”
“[Well that makes me feel better,]” he snorted, unconvinced. “[Here I thought we were just defying a space-military, flying by the seat of our pants.]”
“[Step one, get public,]” Nora said. “[We can amplify the consequences for the Marshal if he chooses to fuck with us. Step two, eliminate the reasons he has for fucking with us.]”
“It’s a simple plan,” Halax nodded approvingly. “What immediate schedule do you have in mind?”
“Well as soon as we get settled in, I want to have a discussion with all the campers about psionics,” Nora said. “You’re invited, obviously.”
Nora had shared psionics with him after leaving Sorc.
When she’d first revealed to him that Marshal Tispas’s fears weren’t wholly unfounded, Halax had become nervous. But Nora had earned the trust he placed in her, and so he’d accepted her offer to learn more about them.
He’d been experimenting with the ‘intro-module’ for the better part of two days now, turning it over in his mind, and coming to grasp a dimension of interaction he’d been previously blind to.
Caleb Hane truly had stumbled across something special.
Knowing what kind of impossibly abstract creations the other human must have wielded, soothed Halax’s ego, bruised after the defeat against him at Cirinsko.
The possibilities were limitless.
Nora was right to prioritize psionics so highly. A dictionary in everyone’s head would accelerate the language barrier’s decay.
“[I caught like every third word of that,]” Jacob said.
“[I need to make some announcements to everyone,]” Nora explained. “[I was thinking I could sneak it in during dinner.]”
“[The psionic stuff?]” Jacob asked.
“[Yeah. You grab some help and get kids moving in, sort out the sleeping arrangements and make sure everyone knows where the new clothes shelves are. Absolutely no one is leaving the premises or doing anything reckless before I have a chance to lay out some new ground rules,]” Nora said. “[Absolutely no field trips, got it?]”
Jacob nodded, waving down abductees as they disembarked from the other transports landing outside the church.
Halax had been worried how the abductees might react to her return, especially with how shaken she was. But she seemed in control and in charge.
It was, Halax decided, one of her great strengths: work invigorated her. Most Vorak he knew would find their work suffer if they suffered great distress. But working toward a goal seemed to give critical resources to Nora rather than take them. When she was forced to sit still, like on space flights, she withered.
Now she was back in her element though. Going down a checklist and getting shit done.
As soon as Jacob was leading a crowd of humans to explore the new building, Nora was moving to grab two counselors and their campers.
“[Michelle and Eli’s cabins, come with us,]” Nora said.
The two of them broke off from Jacob’s procession and filtered there way over to Nora and Halax.
Nora talked while they moved.
“[Alright, we’re moving a bit fast, but is anyone here afraid of needles?]” Nora asked.
A few hands went up, Michelle’s included.
“[Okay, you five, six…seven of you go with Jacob’s group, and send seven campers back who aren’t afraid of needles,]” she said. “[Except Michelle. Sorry girl, but I need you to tough it out.]”
Michelle nodded reluctantly, and a few other nervous glances went around. But Nora was ready to quash them. “[You’re not in trouble, I just want to make things easy on these guys. If you’re scared of needles and still want to stay that’s fine, I want everyone to do this sooner or later. You guys are just the first heat.]”
They were walking toward a dozen Casti wearing Organic Authority patches on their sleeves. Halax didn’t miss how apprehensive most of them were. This was their first time meeting Casti.
“[Are we giving aliens our blood?]” one camper asked.
“[Yup,]” Nora said.
“[…Do we have a choice?]”
“[Yeah, but trust me, you don’t want to miss this,]” Nora said. “[These guys work for this…organization…it’s a bit complicated, but they’re called the Organic Authority. They basically stop plagues, and on the side they do a bunch of other medical research. Including, but not limited to, nutritional compatibility.]”
“[FOOD?]” Michelle shrieked, the first one to connect Nora’s breadcrumbs.
“[Yup.]”
That dispelled every last bit of apprehension. Those who had been nervous at the prospect of needles moments earlier all stuck around. It made sense. One of the first things Halax and Shakri had managed to connect with the abductees over were crummy rations.
“[Alright, everyone sit tight for a second. Let me and Halax talk to these guys and figure out how exactly they want to do this…]”
Trakin’s new Starspeak lessons had made more progress than Halax would have expected, Michelle and Eli claimed the most success under Trakin’s new lessons, and they proved it here. The two of them listened closely while the Organic Authority personnel arranged their testing equipment into two stations.
Thankfully, it wasn’t too complicated.
One station was for disease, the other for nutrition checks. These Casti must have come armed with the rough human baseline data from Caleb Hane. After today, they’d have data from a broader sampling of the species rather than one individual.
“[Okay, campers make two lines. As soon as you’re done with one, you’ll get one of these little bracelets with the plastic chit and you’ll go to the other line. Once you’re through both lines, your bracelet should have two little chits: then you’re done. Go find someone in Jacob’s group who hasn’t gone yet and send them our way,]” Nora explained.
Her own data had already been processed during her time with the Coalition, Halax knew. But Nora still subjected herself to the same blood draw and cheek swab.
The Org scientists and Nora agreed that stool samples could wait for a less busy day.
At a glance, it might seem like she was improvising the whole day’s events—and she certainly was bending her plans, hour by hour. But Halax had grasped just enough psionics during their spaceflight to know that Nora was keeping extensive notes and records in her mind.
Nora was clasping the hand of one of the youngest abductees, scared silent by new aliens and big needles. She didn’t even have to turn to respond to Halax.
“It should be fine,” Halax said aloud, seemingly to no one. “Probably.”
A handful of abductees and Org scientists gave him some odd looks.
<…Is destroying them even possible?>
Nora said.
“You just might get your chance…” Halax said, nodding toward an approaching Trakin.
“Nora Clarke,” Trakin said angrily.
“[Michelle, Eli, can you guys finish up here?]” Nora asked. “[I think there’s a phone call for me.]”
Halax and Nora walked aside to talk with Trakin.
“You lied to me,” Trakin growled. “The Assembly didn’t put Tox in charge of anything.”
“Oops,” Nora shrugged. “I wonder how that happened. Maybe I said that part in English, and you just misunderstood me.”
Halax had never been too fond of Trakin. As far as commanders went, she acted like she had too much to prove. It was hard not to enjoy the torment Nora was putting her through.
Whatever else Caleb Hane and the Coalition had done, they’d given Nora a stellar crash course in alien society.
“You’re not trying to arrest us,” Nora noted. “That means you talked to Tispas—for the first time in, what, eight months? Let me guess, you told him what I told you about psionics?”
Sendin growled—actually growled at Nora.
“Too familiar by half, whelp.”
Nora’s eyebrows climbed. “I know I’m being loose about this, but only because you’ve been negligent—oh wait, are you talking about calling the Marshal ‘him’, not ‘them’?”
Trakin nodded. “Even if you do not respect the person, at least respect the rank.”
“You got it,” Nora agreed, a bit too easily. “It was just force of habit. I’ll be sure to address them properly from now on…woulda been nice to do so from the start. Kinda hard to know any of that without having been taught the language. I wonder why that didn’t happen sooner…”
Halax had to bite his tongue to keep from laughing.
Trakin was not amused, but there was literally nothing she could say to justify the orders Tispas had kept her under. So she changed the subject.
“The Marshal wants to talk with you,” Trakin said. “There’s a radio on the second floor. They’re waiting for you live.”
Nora’s smirk faded.
“Understood,” she said. “Halax, wait here, grab Michelle when she’s done here. I’m going to go grab Jacob and Dustin. I want the backup.”
Halax only had to nod.
·····
The otter led Michelle to a mostly empty room on the second floor of the church’s main building. She wasn’t sure what to feel about the new accommodations yet. Nora and Halax had called it a church, but it didn’t look like one Michelle had ever seen.
Which…made by aliens. So, fair.
Her hallucinations were at least staying obvious. Text only she could see splayed out across the floor as she walked. Half of them questions about what she saw, others probing at possible conclusions.
Maybe hallucinations was the wrong word. She could tell all the thoughts she saw written out around her were her own.
Her mind was trying to explore a hundred different paths all at once. She couldn’t consciously think about them all, so her brain was trying to shove all of them into her awareness through any means necessary.
One note written at eye level reminded her Only theory. Guesswork about suboconscious Enumius shit.
It was only a theory, but it was the best explanation she had for hallucinating like this. So far it was manageable. But only because she could shut her eyes and block the words out.
But the messages still fucked with her voice, whenever she tried to speak. It was a struggle to constantly feel her own vocal chords twitch, trying to switch trains to a different thought mid-sentence.
Talking about what she read made it worse.
Their new location was rife with new information for her brain to throw at her. Messages she saw scribbled on every wall and floor alleged there were basically two kinds of churches. New ones, chic and modernly designed, with light rigging and AV equipment, lots of projectors and maybe a coffee shop built right in. The other ones were old ones. Stone buildings, with stained glass, gargoyles, and pipe organs.
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This one just seemed like…a few ordinary buildings. Alien buildings maybe, but ordinary too. Almost like an office complex, but with a layout more interesting than rectangular. Most of the rooms were barren, but there was some interesting open areas between the two main structures, almost like they were for displaying things…
It gave the impression of a repurposed car dealership. Which was such an odd leap to make, it felt odd even to her new frame of mind. This colony they’d flown to didn’t even seem to have cars.
Michelle shook her head. These were tangents. Not productive ones. She had to focus for the conversation Nora was about to have. Block out the writing and speak carefully.
“[You good?]” Halax asked.
“[N-no,]” Michelle stuttered, cursing her voice.
“[You sure?]” Halax said, gesturing to his throat.
“[It’s a stup-pid thing fro-m when my stup-pid powers ca-me out,]” Michelle said. “[I can-n’t hel-p it. Som-mething with my b-brain.]”
“[Sorry for bringing it up,]” the otter said. “[I have a lot to catch up on.]”
“[You aren-n’t our favorite,]” Michelle warned. “[You left.]”
“[I know,]” Halax said. “[There were miscalculations. I don’t think there’s anything else I can do besides keep helping though. I am sorry, though.]”
“[Sorry. I’m-m sen-nsitive ab-bout it,]” Michelle said. “[You warn-ned us b-before you left.]”
“[I’ve earned the resentment,]” Halax shook his head.
“[…Yeah, b-but you help-ped N-nora. Shit’s comp-plicated.]” she replied. “[Shut up-p ab-bout it for n-now.]”
Halax led her into a room with a few long tables lined with archaic looking radio equipment, presumably left for their benefit by this ‘Tox’. Nora was busy poring over the machines, even creating one of her own.
Dustin and Jacob were already present.
“[Hey Michelle,]” Nora said. “[Just in time, so before this goes underway? Sorry in advance. I didn’t think this conversation would happen so quick, or I would have made sure to talk to you on the flight here.]”
“[What is that sup-posed to m-mean?]” Michelle asked.
Jacob caught her attention, shaking his head.
It can wait, his face said.
“[Halax, test for me?]” Nora said, looking at the machine she’d materialized next to the radio. “[Just say something in Starspeak.]”
“Marshal Tispas is going to press you,” the rak warned.
‘Marshal Tispas is going to press you’ the words typed out across the display Nora had created. In English.
“[Perfect…]” she said.
“[I’m sorry, is that a fucking translator?]” Dustin asked, aghast.
“[No, it’s just a display,]” Nora assured him. “[I’m the translator. Just wanted to be sure I could get the translation to readout in visible format.]”
“[The implication being…the display is hooked up to your brain?]” Dustin asked.
“[Actually, yes. Psionics,]” Nora nodded. “[Again, sorry I didn’t get to go into more detail sooner, Michelle. I will explain to everyone in proper detail immediately after this.]”
Michelle’s own mind was chomping at the bit to dig into just what the hell Nora was talking about. But a voice came across the radio, distracting her back to the moment at hand.
“Marshal?” Nora asked.
“This is Nora Clarke?” the voice on the other end asked. Corresponding text appeared on Nora’s monitor.
“Yes.”
“I am Marshal Tispas Ustaramma,” they said. “I’m listening.”
“You called us,” Nora told the Marshal. “…If it’s my turn to talk, I can, but I’m not stopping until I’ve made things clear.”
Michelle frowned at the words her brain threw at her. This Vorak was ostensibly in charge of it all. It was the first time Nora was speaking with them. But Nora said nothing about her time with the other aliens. Explained nothing of the other human.
Her condition had made it difficult to read the packet Nora had created. Michelle’s mind had thrown new text across the pages, obscuring what Nora had actually written. She’d resorted to having other campers read it aloud to her.
Michelle was still missing some key sections, but she’d listened to enough to know there were some significant gaps in the story.
It was, Michelle’s hallucinations implied, because Nora was giving nothing away for free. The look on her face was grim and determined.
That put her anxiety to rest. It would probably wake up again. But seeing Nora resolute in the face of powerful aliens talking down to them, Michelle knew they could be all right.
Boss was back.
“Simply then? Tox has been busy, I have concerns, and lives are at stake,” the Marshal replied coolly. “Which would you like me to start with?”
“Save Tox for last,” Nora said. “You’ll want to hear what I have to say first.”
“Concerns then,” the Marshal growled. “You Terrans created a psychic biohazard. I’m prepared to kill to limit its spread.”
Michelle leaned forward at that. Psychic biohazard? A dozen sentences wrote themselves across the walls, trying to demand Michelle’s attention.
N-not n-now! She even stuttered in her own mind. But the messages could be suppressed if she kept her focus. Thankfully, Nora’s translation remained unobstructed.
“Yeah, your quarantine measures made that pretty clear,” Nora said. “Interesting you call us ‘Terrans’ though. I don’t think you picked up that word from us…did you hear that word from Caleb?”
“The other survivor of Caleb Hane’s ship was not in any condition to speak much, but some of his last words put words along with images into my mind,” the Marshal explained. “I know firsthand how dangerous this kind of unknown creation can be. If any human attempts to leave this star system, I’ll be forced to prevent them, with lethal force if need be.”
“Relax, we’re not going anywhere soon,” Nora said. “You saw to that neatly. Besides me and Caleb, the best human Starspeakers are still monosyllabic. Point is, you’ve intentionally sabotaged the progress of First Contact efforts—”
“The scope of the lives at stake more than justifies—”
“Shut up, let me finish,” Nora said. “I’ve got teenagers here with better manners than you…”
Michelle saw Halax’s eyes bug out.
“[Some popcorn? We could sell tickets to this,]” Dustin grinned under his breath.
Nora shot him a glare over her shoulder, gesturing him to shhh!
“I was saying…You’ve intentionally sabotaged First Contact efforts. It’s not a good look for you. Lucky for you, I’m prepared to give you a chance to make things right. But it comes at a price. So, are you interested to learn some useful information about your ‘psychic’ biohazard? Or should I start answering the questions the Org scientists are asking me about our previous accommodations?”
“…I’ll hear your conditions,” Tispas replied.
“No humans die,” she said simply. “Everything else is negotiable.”
“I’m not opposed,” Tispas said. “The only possible exception being—"
“That includes Caleb Hane,” Nora cut off.
“You ask for the one thing I can’t give,” the Marshal said carefully. “From what I’ve gleaned, Caleb Hane is patient zero of this outbreak. If he crosses through a Beacon, and the shutdowns spread, millions will die. If it continues to spread to other Beacons on the other side, it could reach all systems. At that scale, billions of lives would be put at risk by cutting off travel and trade.”
“I appreciate the scale of your concerns,” Nora said. “But you have absolutely no proof of your hypothesis. Maybe psionics are what’s shutting down Beacons, maybe not. But I’ve got psionics of my own in my head, so believe me when I say: you don’t know a thing about what they are. Therefore, you haven’t done any definitive testing. So not only can you not be sure about psionics causing the shutdowns, but there’s also alternate possibilities you haven’t even thought to suspect.”
“Such as?”
Michelle saw Nora grimace, like she was swallowing a bitter pill. She didn’t want to say what came next…
“Such as whoever abducted me and my fellow humans,” Nora said. “And yes, we were abducted. The Coalition has nothing to do with how we got here, and the same evidence I have for that seems to exculpate you as well. That’s the only reason I’m even willing to talk with you.”
“…A third party?” Tispas asked.
“One with technology more than capable of stumping the Coalition and you,” Nora said. “I’ve seen it first—well, secondhand. But I’ve talked with at least one involved entity.”
“Caleb Hane was found with twenty-three other humans, the one other survivor quickly joined the rest,” Tispas said. “Almost a dozen of their bodies were stolen in transit immediately after Korbanok. You’d claim the Coalition wasn’t involved?”
“I can’t say for sure one way or the other,” Nora said. “After talking with Caleb and them for a few months, I don’t think they stole any bodies. But the more important point is there’s still another suspect you haven’t looked at. And they’re not passive. They were spying on the Coalition before humans appeared here, so I’m willing to bet they’re spying on you too.”
“…That’s what Tox is doing right now, isn’t he?” the Marshal asked. “He’s busy following the information you already gave him, instead of participating in this discussion.”
Nora froze. Her silence betrayed the truth.
“Tox wouldn’t be doing it himself unless you gave him firm reason to,” Tispas said. “…I keep having to trust his judgement. Fine, you want to help me solve this Beacon problem? What if it turns out these ‘psionics’ are at fault? And, in the course of studying them and the problem, psionics can’t traverse a Beacon without ruining it?”
“Psionics can be ejected from one’s mind by choice,” Nora said. “You said you had an image in your mind? You can expel it.”
“One cannot simply stop remembering something by choice,” Tispas said.
“The memory of it will remain, but the construct itself isn’t a memory,” Nora said. “Stop treating it like one, and know what it really is: an image, a document. Something intangible, but real, created by Adeptry. All you have to do is recognize that and then dispose of the construct. Put it through a shredder, incinerate it, it doesn’t matter. Use your imagination, literally.”
There were a few silent seconds while Tispas presumably tried what Nora had instructed.
“…I am more reassured by this than anything else in the last nine months,” Tispas breathed.
Nora relaxed a hair, giving her audience a relieved glance.
“Then we can make a deal?” Nora asked.
“It’s certainly not impossible,” the Marshal agreed. “My only stipulation is that these psionics cannot be allowed to leave the star system until they can be shown to innocuous.”
“You’ll have to raise that with the Coalition then,” Nora said. “Second thing? I want guarantees you can help more than just my group of humans.”
“Your group?” the Marshal asked.
Michelle’s breath tightened. She had gotten to this part of the packet.
“I’ve been given reason to believe there might be as many as five thousand human abductees scattered amongst other star systems, and they’re running out of food, water, and power all,” Nora said. “The Coalition might be able to help some, but if I want to get to all of them in time, I need Vorak help too.”
“…Are these Humans equipped with psionics?” Tispas asked.
“Aren’t you operating under the assumption Caleb is patient zero?” Nora asked.
“I have no way of knowing who he’s contacted before Tox found him.”
“I’m certain they don’t have psionics,” Nora said. “Even if you disagree, you can still send messages to other star systems. I’m pretty sure all the abductees are in the same kind of ships. So talk to this Assembly, tell everyone what to look for.”
“You truly mean everyone,” Tispas realized.
“The Coalition, the Organic Authority, the Transport Unions, I want anyone who can help to know that,” Nora confirmed. “Share everything you know about the abduction ships, how you found them, anything that might help. Warn them about psionics and Beacons too. Just…there isn’t time, and every second we wait is going to be another ship full of corpses we find months later.”
“I’d like any confirmation you can give me before I disseminate classified files,” Tispas said. “But I believe we can work with each other, Nora Clarke.”
“Deal then? You’ll let me prove psionics aren’t related to the Beacon shutdowns? You’re not going to try arresting us and throwing us all back into your stupid quarantine?” Nora asked.
“Deal,” the Marshal confirmed. “But Sten Sendin stays with you. Her sister was the foremost expert on abstract Adeptry, so if you’re going to continue utilizing these psionics in the meantime, I want her apprised.”
“Fine,” Nora said. “Then before we talk about the thing Tox is hunting, we need to talk about Caleb.”
“I can’t guarantee his safety,” Tispas said. “I’m willing to give you a chance to prove psionics are safe, but until that happens, I cannot take the risk. The Coalition are going to move him, and if they try sending him to another star system, I’m going to have to stop them.”
Going to, Michelle noticed. N-not ‘might’.
“Your Adjutant tried to kill him to play it safe before,” Nora hissed. “You’re willing to make the same [damn] mistake?”
“…I would rather kill one, than risk millions,” Tispas said soberly.
Nora was fighting off tears, Michelle saw. It didn’t take a genius to figure out why. She looked to Halax for support, but the Vorak was equally unsure.
“I don’t…” Nora started, but she couldn’t get the words out. Michelle reached out and put a hand on her shoulder. Nora was almost shaking again, like she had been on their flight here.
“…I understand the mistakes that have given Caleb Hane reason to distrust us,” Tispas said. “So I can promise you this; I will take every last measure to apprehend him alive. And, failing that, responsibility for his death will fall on me personally. If your homeworld can be found, I will submit myself to whatever justice his people care to administer. I can offer nothing more than that.”
Nora flicked off the microphone long enough to let out a sob, before clenching her jaw and returning.
“I will hold you to that,” she promised, trying to keep the pain in voice inaudible.
“Then I will contact Tox and see this third-party you found,” Tispas said. “With any luck, Caleb Hane could be cleared of risk. Can you be contacted again in…thirty hours?”
“Yes,” Nora said, wiping tears out of her eyes.
She ended the transmission without saying more.
“[You alright, boss?]” Dustin asked.
“[No,]” Nora said. “[Because Caleb is going to die because of what I did, and I have a day, maybe two, to fix it.]”
“[The otter said ‘going to’,]” Michelle noted. “[They were sure Cale-b would b-be m-moved. How?]”
“[Caleb escaped the Vorak when these Coalition aliens happened to attack this giant asteroid station they have,]” Nora explained. “[We landed in the middle of a war, and since no one knew what the hell we were doing here, things have been put on pause. But now both sides know the other side has no idea what humans are doing here, so things are being unpaused. The Vorak are going to retaliate against the Coalition and go after Caleb in the process.]”
“[Best guess? Tispas already has plans to blockade Paris’s moons,]” Halax added. “[Nora’s escape might have even accelerated the timetable. It could happen in the next few days.]”
“[…What now then?]” Jacob asked.
“[We do what we can. One thing at a time,]” Nora said. “[Since Tispas agreed not to throw us back in quarantine, we get everyone up to speed properly now. Psionics, Adeptry, all of it. Michelle, I’m sorry I didn’t get to warn you about this psionic stuff, but…it might not be unrelated to what’s going on with your mind.]”
Her heart seized. She didn’t dare to hope.
“[Do we have something like a dining hall?]” Nora asked. “[I can tell the whole story while we eat.]”
·····
A few hundred thousand kilometers away, Tox Frebi was looking at a very heavily modified orbital platform. His own ship was thousands of kilometers away again, but the Human’s data had been fairly precise, so they knew were to look.
She apparently had help in her escape from the Coalition. Help from a mysterious third-party, willing to transmit information to her. Nora Clarke was apparently not wholly trusting, because she’d subsequently asked Tox to go hunting for…them? It?
Tox wasn’t sure.
Nora had used Adept-antennae to triangulate the speaker’s position, based on the lightspeed delay of the signals. It was no mean feat of Adeptry or geometry, especially considering how rough the methods.
She promised Tox there would be something to find somewhere along the trajectory she’d calculated, and sure enough, just twenty thousand kilometers away from her estimate, there had been this totally unmarked station, transiting two orbits. Fully calculating its current trajectory, the station had broken orbit with Mendrohan roughly eighty hours ago—after taking on a new passenger according to the Human—and was currently drifting toward a Harrogate orbit at a snail’s pace.
If not for the detectable heat from an active reactor and the occasional maneuvering thrust, it would have appeared the station was dead.
Then again, maybe it was. Nora Clarke and Halax claimed the platform was fully automated, run by a living computer with no living parts. Odd. Almost unbelievable.
A light blinked on Tox’s console, and he snatched up the radio’s handpiece.
“Marshal,” he said evenly.
“I just finished talking with a Human,” Tispas said. “She had some interesting things to say. Just what are you looking at?”
“…If you’re talking to her, then are you done chewing up First Contact doctrine?” Tox asked.
“Mostly,” Tispas said. “I’m not going to throw Nora Clarke and her Humans back under a blackout, if that’s what you’re worried about.”
Tox rolled his eyes. It would have to do for now.
“Fine, then answer me this, what do you know about computing and robotics?”