Two days later...
The Surface of Steinhull, RSC-2W-0063 “Dara Tonn”
Sinn'Are'Sen lay on his bed in his personal compartment and rubbed at his brow. He had arrived back at Dara Tonn's hull early the previous morning utterly exhausted and with the Thin crystalline 'memory module' of Aubrey Inez-Plath in his pack. He had promptly placed it in cyro storage and made an exploration log entry that made note of the psionic phenomena in Cryo Null but left out the exact details of his conversation with the two 'ghosts' or the fact that he had recovered anything form that particular compartment. That done Sinn took a both, ate, and passed out in his bed. Some fifteen hours later, well before local dawn, Sinn woke up to a mild headache, a blinking winged eye icon, and the steady chirp of an alarm.
“How long until the meting Dara Tonn?”
“Six hours Sinn.”
“Then why the alarm?”
“Because your memory module implant has been active in stage one for six hours. You should probably activate it before the meeting so that it does not distract you.”
“And because you want to study it.”
“And because I would like to study it.”
“Fiiine.”
Sinn blinks at the winged eye icon and then lets his eyes fall shut.
Weekly experience evaluation complete. Applying newly unlocked Characteristics, Psionic Abilities ,Skills, Talents, and Traits in the order that they were unlocked.
For: one week spent in complex and hostile terrain, and for slaying a minion of the True Foe, characteristics rankings are improved.
Intelligence ranking increased from 37 to 42 (local: 'four mark').
Willpower ranking increased from 47 to 52 (local: 'five mark).
New Rank achieved. Congratulations Savant Militant.
For: Repeatedly using psionic powers without incurring the wrath of the Astral Veil, A major psionic power has been unlocked.
Unlocking Bio Lightning...
Weekly evaluation complete. Remember to rest for at least one full day for future unlocks!
Sinn lets his eyes slide back open as his headache drains away. Sinn pulls the sheet off of his body before standing up and staggering to the washroom for a shower. Staring into the mirror he lets out a long sigh.
“this is the day that the walls come crashing back down Dara Tonn. This is the day when we can no longer slip away from the Republic.”
“We never had a chance to get away Sinn. You and I both know this. We did break our conditioning, and now we work for a Division of the RPC that the Citizens of the Republic will never know exists. Besides, they have promised and planned to help me out of this hull into a new one, or even into a human frame. Most of the torso would have to be a miniature RTG and data storage to make everything fit, but it could be done. Perhaps Aubrey has other options? I'd like to see her plans for a new body before I make my final decisions. I suppose I could hop bodies...?”
“Probably too expensive to do, just like buying cybernetic upgrades is for me. And you damn well know that the RPC is going to insist on installing a remote shutdown or destruct option into your new body.”
“That can be worked around. Take your shower Sinn, I'll get the kettle boiling. You are going to need to be awake for this briefing.”
“And back in the damn jump suit.”
“And back in the damn jump suit, yes. Have you washed it recently?”
“Honestly? No. I forgot about the damned thing. Hardly ever use it.”
“Hop in the shower and don't take forever. You have time to get everything in order.”
One hour later...
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Sinn sips at a oversized glass of medical strength black tea. He would call the glass 'comically oversized' but Dara Tonn's engine slash kitchen compartment came with a pair of one liter glass beer steins for some reason. Sinn had no idea why this was the case given that alcohol of any sort was not permitted aboard RSC space ships. They were heavy enough to serve as tea mugs however, and large enough to hold four cups worth of tea at a time. Sinn liked his tea 'medical strength', which was an extra teabag for every two cups of tea. Thus he sat and watched the washing machine spin down with large glass in hand, six paper-flagged strings attached to teabags pinned under his thumb, letting the steam and smell rouse him fully awake.
“are you actually going to drink that Sinn?”
“Of course. Why?”
“You have been standing there for a three minutes without moving. Or drinking.”
“I would say that I am thinking, but I'm not quite awake enough for that. Washer is about done. Any word from Funi'Happ'Sen about the Gatekeepers?”
“None. Probably because he doesn't have any word either.”
“True. Do you know why your kitchen was equipped with two beer steins?”
“Probably because the RSC expects any second wave scout stuck on a planet for long enough to fashion a still of some sort. The engineering compartment has all of the needed components after all.”
“I admit, there were some days where I needed a drink, 'dry ship' regulations be damned. I suppose I could have set up a still outside the hull and dray out there...”
“After you shift was over of course.”
“Of course. The steins make for acceptable large tea mugs anyways. Which is what I need at the moment.”
“Incoming communication, text only, form Funi'Happ'Sen. Message begins: 'Gatekeepers expected ETA is twenty four hours from now. Expect to give thumbnail sketch brief to them on arrival. Best of luck, Funi'Happ'Sen.' Message ends.”
“Reply, same format. Message begins: “Understood. Will discuss at briefing in five hours. Be well, Sinn'Are'Sen. Message ends.”
“Sent. This day is a day of firsts huh?”
“Every day is a day of firsts out here in the edge of the Astral Veil. Never know what is going to crawl around the hatch next. How much of Ovaettr do you think I actually walked?”
“Zero point zero zero four seven seven percent.”
“And in that little bit I found how many psionic phenomena? Six? Eight?”
“Six if you count the effected compartments, nine if you count confirmed Astral Veil or Astral Veil touched entities. Ten if you count the false man in red.”
“Ten then, in less then one two hundredth of Ovaettr station. Keep that ratio up... That place could have over two thousand distinct psionic phenomena in it. Against just little old me. Fancy new laser pistol or not I'm nowhere near equipped to clear all of that out.”
“Drink your tea and keep that thought in mind for tomorrow. I'd suggest a nap but with the amount of caffeine in your system that's probably impossible.”
“Yeah. Let me toss this jump suit in the dryer and I'll get some food in me to go with my tea.”
Five hours later...
Sinn'Are'Sen drops his personal communicator on the work table in the archaeology lab and configures it for holographic projection mode. That done he grabs the single chair in the compartment, pulls it to a comfortable position, plops down, and kicks his feet up on a hidden foot rest.
“Ready on my end Dara Tonn. Do we call or is Funi'Happ'Sen going to call us?”
“Funi'Happ'Sen will be calling us. He already sent over updated RPC communications protocols to use... and there is the incoming hyperpulse communication meeting request. Patching it though now.”
“Sinn, Dara Tonn, good to see you both. It sounds like things are moving quickly on this incident, so lets get right to the briefing.
“As of four hours ago we are now Task Force Golf Seven of the Republic Psionics Command, Veil Division. We get to come up with our own nickname, but that's for later. To hit the high points, if you haven't figured them out already, The purpose of the Veil Division is to keep the weirdness of warpspace and the things that live in it away from the rest of the Republic. To that end our primary directive is on the books, if one knows where to look, as 'Maintain the Veil zero zero zero one'. Often shortened to MtV One in common usage because of course it has a handy abbreviation. A large number of senior bureaucrats, and more importantly their secretaries, communications clerks, and AIs, are at least somewhat aware of the directive in that it requires them to report certain things to dedicated RPC hotlines. This, along with other things, helps the Division keep an ear out without being in the public eye.
“In terms of what we will be doing as a Task Force It's a lot simpler then that. We don't know, and don't need to know, where a lot of the Division's intelligence comes from. It would be nice to know but it isn't needed so we don't get it. We get briefed in on individual situations, events, and incidents before deploying to resolve the matter. The Steinhull ruins, aka the remains of orbital Research Black Site Ovaettr of the Empire, is classified as a “Leaking Veil” class incident on account of veil entities crossing over in small numbers. Given how long this 'leak' could have been going on, the powers that be within the Division decided to err on the side of caution and drop one of the heavy TFs on the issue: Task Force Uniform Zero, Gatekeepers. The Gatekeepers don't get deployed often, but when they do it's usually to a mess about to go critical. RPC psion training touches on some of them, such as Yankee Kilo or Zulu Kilo, but there are others.
“We are a much smaller team with only two humans and an AI in support, so we will be assigned to much smaller messes to clean up in the future. I messaged you about this earlier, but the Gatekeepers want a brief to bring them up to speed when they arrive. Intelligence is purely the RSC records on this place and your own exploration, so they want all of it that they can get as 'raw' as the can get it. Questions so far?”
“Not really. I can see what the Gatekeepers want. Dara Tonn ran some quick math on how far I have explored Ovaettr and how many psionic phenomena I have encountered to date. If the ratio holds, there could be as many a two thousand psionic phenomena of all types in there. I suspect that number is low however.”
“Why?”
“According to Aubrey Inez-Plath, a former Senior Doctor serving aboard Ovaettr, a 'Genemaster Mekhane' was up to something and the center of a lot of oddities that I believe to have been psionic phenomena. I don't have a hard data, but if the battle damage was from an Empire team trying to handle the situation...”
“And thus rear echelon speculation turns out to have factual basis for once. Make sure that the Gatekeepers get the details. Now onto the boring stuff...”