Now that my spacevision was enabled, I started sneaking toward what looked like a common mining outpost. Since the Introvert ship had come from here, I suspected this was a ruse. If someone came by and happened to find them, they would pose as a temporary mining outpost for some neutral corporation, like Xigoot (they make children's toys, radioactive bombs, and some pretty cool hoodies).

As I got closer, I could confirm that the surface was a mining post. I located the door, but the rest of the building was built into the asteroid itself. I could guess at the type of structure. We index all the different common structural types and points of interest. But given how small this asteroid was, it was probably a cut out of a large archetype.

Around me was the comfortable vastness of space. The Introvert ships had circled back around. The remains of my ship were being scanned and collected. They knew it was an i35, so there were specific items they would look for, mainly to repurpose and reuse. It was rare to find anything interesting in the debris or any new data with a ship like mine and a pilot like me.

The four fighter ships took formation together and stopped there, while the short-range ship did its collection work.

I don't know how long I crouched there watching. I deleted that part. Hey, don't give me grief about that. But eventually a large ship flew in, appearing out of a warp bubble behind where the fighters had taken position.

"Fuuuuck," I whispered.

This wasn't an ordinary ship.

It was a #valkyrie, a gorgeous ship, the envy of the #extrovert_starmada, praised for its speed, style, and weaponry. We suspected that no more than a dozen of these had been built. Our scans showed undefined materials, which was the primary reason we couldn't recreate them. I have no doubt that many of our secret and not-so-secret operations were to get intel on that specific class of ship.

I salivated at the thought of piloting one of those. It had solar sails like most Introvert ships, but it sported the best DEAD drives created, or so the Introverts

As I gawked at it, the ships started flying again, escorting the valkyrie practically right into my lap. Two of the fighter ships landed on the nearest landing pad, a very small pad suited for a very small asteroid, along with the valkyrie.

This was a dream come true for many pilots. I had seen the pictures of ships like this, but nothing compares to being up close. I desperately wanted to be on that ship to hear its engines hum. The ship had sharp lines, the front was like a dagger, with two arrowheads on either side. It was the same color as the black of space, but reflective to the point that to the visual eye alone, it would be hard to detect. Supposedly, these could go into a stealth mode that made them virtually undetectable.

And here was one. Here in the middle of nowhere. But apparently nowhere was actually somewhere.

Somewhere important.

I approached from a crouch. I consider myself great at sneaking around. In fact, I was surprised they had made me a Wavepilot instead of an #infiltrator. Maybe that was repercussions for the time I filled some of the air ducts on Sovereign Starbase with balloons. I swear it was for a training mission. When they popped, everyone thought they were under attack. They ran, and they ran, and they ran.

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I chuckled. Then focused on the valkyrie.

My chances of sneaking into their base directly were slim. I saw one entrance. Yes, there would probably be an escape route somewhere, but that would mean two entrances at most, especially for a compound so small. I would be better able to sneak into the ship. People in the compound would know each other. There would be protocols, security.

But I was guessing the valkyrie was a special guest. That meant newer people meeting newer people. I could blend in more easily.

I got closer to the landing pad and hid behind one of the refueling tanks, closest to the valkyrie ship, but positioned between the ship and the compound.

Pilot uniforms are pretty universal, and mine was of the simple and generic sort, so I could probably safely pass for an Introvert unless they got super curious. I really wished I had an #infiltrator uniform. Those have a higher percentage of nanobots and can shift to emulate other uniforms. It's pretty cool.

I waited until the landing bay doors of the valkyrie opened, then strode out onto the platform. It would look like I had come from inside the compound. My goal was for the valkyrie crew to think I was there because I was stationed at the base, and for the fighter pilots to think I was part of the valkyrie crew.

But honestly, I didn't care what they thought. We were on this remote asteroid in the #hildas_triangle. If I just stood around and acted like I belonged there, no one would question me. So I did just that. I walked out casually and nodded when someone looked at me.

This became easier when the doors to the compound opened. Two ship technicians appeared, walking toward the fighters. The fighter pilots approached them, and then the four of them gestured at their ships and talked briefly before the technicians went about their work, and the two pilots approached us. A pair of soldiers also exited the compound and now stood at the entrance.

I walked up behind and to the side of three members of the valkyrie crew. A ship that size likely had a crew of 10 to 20 people. I made sure to acknowledge them as I approached, in that "hey there" everything is normal kind of way.

My heart monitor showed a spike, with a heart icon and up arrow appearing in the upper left of my hud. I dismissed it. You try not being nervous in this type of situation.

pilot1: "@moonqueen sends her greetings. We're here to escort Chief Master Bigwig Sergeant @bronzelion to see her."

valkyrieperson1: "Yes, of course."

He gestured to the ship and Chief Master Bigwig Sergeant @bronzelion appeared.

This was huge.

Not only was I standing in the shadows of a valkyrie, but the Chief Master Bigwig Sergeant was here. This dude is essentially in charge of their starmada personnel. He advises, arguably, the most important military person they have, the chief of starmada operations.

@bronzelion was dressed in an advanced techsuit suitable for leadership rank. As much as I laugh at the thought that someone who probably doesn't directly participate in battles much gets the most awesome gear, they are the leaders after all. And you don't get there by sitting in front of screens. @bronzelion was a warrior. I wondered if the valkyrie was his escort ship, or just his ship that he still took into battle.

His suit was deep blue (not bronze), and I spotted arm and leg implants, a slim booster pack that would allow him to fly around. If you told me he was a robot, I would have said, "Sure, looks like a robot. Smells like a robot. Probably a robot."

He didn't say anything. He didn't have to. When he appeared, everyone scattered into movement.

Chief Master Bigwig Sergeant @bronzelion strode toward the compound, the pilots rushing to keep up. Two of his crew followed him. I got the sense that no one really escorted @bronzelion anywhere.

And he was probably a dick to people.

I jumped into action as well. As soon as the Chief Master Bigwig Sergeant was on his way, the remaining valkyrie crew member turned to go back to the ship. I had to follow someone. Security at the compound would be tight, so I knew my best shot was to tag along with the valkyrie person.

I kicked off a subroutine to consider possible places to stash a #memoryshard. These memories needed to be preserved at all costs.

And I needed a plausible story if I was going to get on that ship.