by Petra Landon
“How goes the pilgrimage?” Vizir inquired, as the crew strolled in.
“Rewarding” the Captain answered.
“You should visit the shrine on our next trip, Vizir” Zinera Jeryn chimed in unexpectedly.
The RimWorlder’s dark eyes flashed to her, as if her comment had caught him unawares. “If you say so, Commander” he said equably.
He turned to the Captain. “Spent some time talking to the guy at the Vestibule counter. Once he knew I was Ryfkin Soren’s crew, his tongue loosened.”
“Always good to be appreciated” Soren remarked.
“Venn Corp employees have all heard the rumors, Cap’n” Vizir responded. “Zufon Ventini speaks very highly of you to his employees. The Vestibule guard was more than willing to answer my questions.”
“Is there another shuttle pad on this planet?” Ryf prompted.
“There was a pad from the early days when Ventini’s expedition first came here” Vizir confirmed. “It was in use for a while. But a new Vestibule was built when the shrine was opened to the public — a bigger one with more facilities. The older site was merely a landing pad with easy access to the shrine.”
“What happened to it?” Kali asked.
“There was a makeshift structure beside it to store supplies for the expedition. That’s gone. But the landing pad still exists, though the Vestibule guy believes that it might be overgrown with weeds now. The forest encroaches easily on this world and he doubts the old shuttle pad was maintained after the new Vestibule was up and running.”
Soren arched an eyebrow. “You know where it is?”
“He marked it on the map for me, Cap’n. There’s no route to get to it from here, but it’s not far.”
“The Wheeler will get us through the forest” Kali remarked.
“You have only a few hours if we’re to make the Badlands, Ryf” his deputy reminded the Captain.
“Let’s put those hours to good use” Soren said.
“I’ll drive, Cap’n” Vizir offered promptly. He’d been cooped at the Vestibule long enough. And where an InnerWorlder shrine did not peak his interest, the riddle about the only Synth to escape Guild custody did.
“I’ll come with” Kali chimed in.
Leaving the three RimWorlders to discuss the matter, Novi scattered with the others. She spent a few hours working on repairs for Burok, making sure to be in her chamber well before their portal jump. In the end, it was almost midnight when the Cruiser approached the Star Portal. Unable to fall sleep with the impending jump hanging over her head, Novi lay in her bed, girding herself for the agony of the SPL. At the portal, it was a quick affair. With no other vessels in the queue this late in the night, the Cruiser slid into the jump area and came to a stop. But as she felt the nascent throbbing in her head exacerbate, Novi’s attention was caught by something else. The clothes she’d discarded in an untidy heap on the floor seemed to glow incandescently.
What the Zeuf!
Leaping off the bed, she scrambled for her clothes, only to realize that the glow came from the black stone-like substance brought back from the shrine — what the hologram had called makh’rel. Plucking it from the discarded bundle on the floor, she stared bemusedly at the object. The black chunk was warm to the touch, emanating heat and an iridescent radiance that seemed to light up her chamber. A piercing pain stabbed at Novi, but she ignored it, drawn to the brilliant iridescence of the object. Like before, the throbbing intensified but the makh’rel seemed to focus and steady her — helping her to keep the violent energy at bay. But though Novi could ensure the agony not overpower her, it soon had her seeing stars. As the stars seemed to whirl around her madly, moving away and towards each other in a dizzying kaleidoscope, Novi frowned. There was something familiar to the blinding flashes of swirling light against the background of inky darkness. Novi shoved the thought away, resuming her efforts to stave off the oblivion that usually followed such undulating waves of intense energy. Dimly, she sensed the Cruiser be pulled into the yawning void of the Star Portal — a far different vibration from the craft’s usual ones. The glitter of the black chunk in her hand seemed to brighten subtly and Novi concentrated on the incandescent brilliance. For the first time since coming board, Novi did not black out from a portal jump.
Episode 7 : Enemy of the State
Epiphany
The Captain gets entangled with InnerWorlder causes, but a devastating revelation brings Novi’s world tumbling down around her …
Synth hideout
“Does a secure communication channel through the Ring interest you, Captain?” Serak Vedino asked Ryfkin Soren.
The Synth’s face appeared larger than life on the Vista Screen in Cruiser Control. Ilar’s Justice had sailed into the Badlands ten minutes ago. In the vicinity of the same oasis as their last trip, Vedino’s ship had been waiting for them.
Intrigued, Soren leaned forward in the Command Seat. “Over StarCom, Mr. Vedino?”
StarCom was the Guild’s communication network for the Inner Worlds — a series of routers in space administered by the Coalition.
The Synth on the screen shook his head. “Bypassing StarCom.”
As the Captain’s eyebrows arched up, Vedino inquired delicately. “You must use alternative means to send messages to the Rim Worlds, Captain?”
“Yes” Ryf acknowledged. It took them weeks to get word to the Ren Welds through a complicated system of people and ships ferrying messages through the Ring. But the RenWelders were paranoid enough to play it safe. In the Inner Worlds, a majority of the communication network, like all space infrastructure, was administered and owned by the Guild Coalition. And Ilar’s Justice was careful to keep all but routine communication through the Guild’s network to a minimum. They were never sure when and what the Coalition was eavesdropping on.
“Two COM nodes have been deployed in the Azunti sector near the Ring, to facilitate communication within this section of the Badlands” Vedino explained. “The deployments were tricky for our untrained pilots but your friends were kind enough to assist us, Captain. With their help, our nodes are now connected to the Rim Worlds’ communication infrastructure. Any communiques across the Ring from the Inner Worlds may now piggyback on our nodes, instead of using the standard StarCom routers.”
There was a gasp from Cruiser Control at the statement. The crew, flabbergasted by the announcement, turned their attention to the Vista Screen. This was a very ambitious project from the Synths — even corporations had not attempted to bypass Guild infrastructure on the Inner Worlds before.
In the ensuing silence, the Synth declared solemnly. “No one will eavesdrop on any communication through our nodes, Captain. I give you my word. All messages are encrypted.”
“How does it work?” Ryf asked. To say that he was surprised was to put it mildly.
“There are two parts to accessing the independent COM nodes” the Synth spoke confidently, clearly well versed with the technical details of the enterprise. “A Star Hailer requires a piece of customized encryption software. When this software is enabled, the Hailer will automatically scan for and prioritize our nodes over the Guild network. And the independent nodes have a greenlist of Hailer IDs. Messages originating from Hailers not on the list are discarded by the nodes, though messages for non-listed IDs are forwarded. This is to ensure that the independent nodes, registered as Star Hailers with StarCom, can seamlessly inter-operate with the Guild network.”
Ryf said nothing, even as his crew gaped at the Synth on the screen.
“Our goal is to eventually bypass StarCom altogether by strategically deploying independent COM nodes all over the Inner Worlds” Vedino offered as the Captain contemplated him. “We estimate a network of sixteen nodes will cover all inhabited planets on the Inner Worlds and allow access through the Ring to the Rim Worlds and beyond.”
Ryfkin Soren, habitually poker-faced, found himself striving actively to hide his shock at the lofty ambition. Not content with enabling communication f
or the Synths hiding in the Badlands, their leader talked of an alternative to the StarCom network that covered all of the Invun Welds.
“We chose the Azunti Badlands for the first deployment to aid the hunted hiding in here” Vedino remarked, with a distinct lack of bitterness in his voice. “And because independent nodes in the Ring will not draw the Coalition’s attention. As you know, StarCom has only one router deployed in the Asteroid Ring. The unique and challenging nature of communication in the Badlands makes it an expensive proposition, especially since the Guild rarely ventures into the Ring.”
The Guild Coalition had only one communication node in the Asteroid Ring, bordering the Taribi sector. This was because the section of the Ring by Taribi was unique — a narrow passage clear of large asteroids helped to facilitate communication as well as transportation through the Badlands. The Corps ships, manned by pilots not as skilled at navigating the asteroids as the RimWorlders, had used this tiny passage to cross over into the Rim Worlds during the war. And the Renegades had exploited this knowledge to cut off the Guild Corps vessels in the Rim Worlds from their only escape through the Taribi Badlands. Towards the end of the war, the Renegade vessels had also mounted a blockade of the passage to prevent Guild reinforcements from joining the Corps ships in the Rim Worlds.
Ryf, very familiar with StarCom deployments in the Asteroid Ring, checked his astonishment again. “You have a COM node in the Ring, Mr. Vedino?”
“One in the Ring and the other right outside it, Captain” the Synth leader confirmed. “We wanted to cover Azunti as well as communication inside this part of the Badlands.”
An equally flabbergasted Burok roused himself to discreetly signal the Captain. Obedient to it, Ryf drew the Synth’s attention to the mechanic. “This is Burokin Xyn, the senior mechanic on the Cruiser” he introduced the RimWorlder.
Burok did not waste any time in small talk. The asteroids interfered with all tech. This is why a craft in the Badlands required precision sailing by an experienced pilot; and why Ilar’s Justice had only been able to communicate in the Ring with other vessels in close proximity to it.
“How do you handle the electromagnetic interference inside the Ring, Mr. Vedino?” the RimWorlder mechanic inquired curiously.
“The Ring interferes with all signals, Mr. Xyn” the Synth acknowledged. “But the asteroids are in constant motion. Our experiments in the Badlands have demonstrated that, on average, five separate attempts are sufficient to allow communication signals to get through unscrambled. Thus, we built our system to retry multiple times with an exponential back-off mechanism, until the destination acknowledges receipt of the message. It takes a hit on time to deliver, but our software ensures that all messages get through the Badlands intact.”
“Simple but ingenious, Mr. Vedino.” Burok did not hide his admiration from the man on the screen.
“We do what we must, Mr. Xyn” Vedino acknowledged modestly. “Now that we are relegated to the Badlands, we need a way to communicate securely. Navigating the asteroids to co-ordinate with each other is a dangerous proposition for us, but we’re equally vulnerable every time we use the Guild’s network to communicate.”
Ryf frowned. Though paranoid about all things Guild, he’d seen nothing yet to suggest that the Coalition was spying on messages passing through their communication network.
“Have you experienced any downside to StarCom, Mr. Vedino?” he asked bluntly.
The Synth leader looked grave. “We’ve had our suspicions for a while, Captain. Guild vessels would show up every time we ventured out of the Badlands. But we weren’t sure whether they’d increased patrols by Azunti or had advance knowledge of our movements.”
The Captain studied the InnerWorlder on the Vista Screen. “You found evidence they were eavesdropping” he murmured perceptively, confident that the Synths had not taken drastic measures without proof of Guild perfidy. Space communication nodes were expensive propositions.
Vedino did not disagree with the Captain’s statement. “Four months ago, we planted a red herring in one of our communiques” he admitted. “A simple message that hinted at my presence in the Panthera sector to buy supplies from a tech depot. It was intended to draw the Guild out. Our observers posted by the depot confirmed multiple sightings of Corps’ vessels racing to the location.”
Ryf did a silent double take. He was impressed — by the Synth’s ingenuity in confirming his suspicions, as well as their solution to the problem. Deploying a working and reliable communication network was no mean feat.
“You planned this in four months?” he asked, unable to hide his incredulity this time.
The Synth smiled, a slow beam that lit up his face. “We’ve no means to buy expensive assets like StarCom routers. The Guild has seized everything and forced us on the run. So, we had to improvise. We designed the network, assembled the nodes and customized the software for our needs in four months, Captain.
Soren’s eyes widened. “That is very impressive, Mr. Vedino.”
The InnerWorlder shrugged. “We caught a break, Captain. Finally! It’s that simple.”
“How so?” the Captain asked.
“The InnerWorlders the Guild brands as Synthetic seem to match a criterion. We are technicians, scientists and engineers in overwhelming numbers, Captain. We must beg for the kindness of strangers when it comes to piloting ships in the Badlands and fighting back against the Guild soldiers. But when it comes to tech, we can run circles around the Coalition.”
This time it was Zinera Jeryn who signaled the Captain. Their search for a programmer to customize the Cruiser System had come to a conclusion.
Vedino picked up on the undercurrents in Cruiser Control. “What is it, Captain?”
“We’d like to restrict the facilities our Cruiser uses at Porticos and Vestibules” Ryf explained. “Sounds like you might know someone for the job.”
It was Vedino’s turn to frown. “A customized dock mode for your Cruiser System” he murmured, grasping the point immediately. “Has something happened, Captain?”
Soren said nothing. In the face of the Synths’ losses and dire predicament, it seemed unfair to talk about the Coalition’s perfidy towards the RimWorlders.
“I can help you” the Synth insisted as the Captain remained silent. “Like I said, when it comes to tech, the Guild is no match for us.”
Before Ryf could share with him the treachery on Zubiko Ethera, the InnerWorlder surprised the Renegade.
“Please correct me, Captain Soren. Your Cruiser is of DragonFly design?”
“Yes” Ryf confirmed.
“Would it surprise you to know that I led the team that designed the first DragonFly starship for Sindar Corporation. I’m familiar with every detail of the original design. And it hasn’t changed much over the years.”
In Cruiser Control, the crew perked up at this unexpected revelation, both surprised by the coincidence and shocked at this new evidence of the Synth’s misfortune.
“We were boarded while docked at a Vestibule, Mr. Vedino” Ryf admitted to the Synth. “An inside job.”
Serak Vedino’s face seemed to freeze on the screen. “The Guild Coalition?”
“They pulled the strings.”
For a moment, the Synth said nothing, seemingly lost in thought. “I have the perfect person for the job. A young programmer who’s familiar with sophisticated Cruiser Systems.”
“We’ll pay top sikaris for the work” the Captain assured him.
Vedino shook his head, emphatic in his refusal. “We will not take your money. Your friends train our pilots — it is our turn to return the favor.”
“Your StarCom alternative in the Badlands will take weeks off to communicate with the Ren Welds, Mr. Vedino” Ryf protested. “That is fair return for any assistance we give you.”
“What my people need right now are friends” the Synth pronounced determinedly. “And you have been a good one, Captain. We do not accept money from our friends.”
Ryf pu
rsed his lips, his eyes on the stoic man on the screen. Vedino was a man of honor and would not accept payment from them. But he did not feel it right to accept such expensive services without proper reimbursement. Especially, from a people who’d already lost everything to the Guild.
“Then, allow us to pay you back in kind, Mr. Vedino” he suggested. “I’m sure there are services we can provide.”
“Friends are allowed to assist, are they not?” he prodded gently as the InnerWorlder remained silent.
The Synth acknowledged the words with a gracious nod. “Our next phase of node deployment will be outside the Badlands. The Guild hunts us in the Inner Worlds, but your ship seems to pass unchallenged, Captain.”
For now, Ryf amended silently. He knew a time was coming when the Guild would be more openly antagonistic to Ilar’s Justice and her crew.
“We’re happy to assist with the deployments or anything else you need” he responded.
“Thank you, Captain. I will talk to the programmer and arrange a rendezvous with you. He might need to spend a few days aboard your ship to work on the Cruiser System.”
Zinera Jeryn chimed in for the first time. “It would be our pleasure to host him on Ilar’s Justice, Mr. Vedino.”
The Synth’s eyes skewed to meet her gaze and his voice gentled. “Thank you, Commander. I’ll send the software with him to enable your Star Hailer. Then, you may use the COM nodes to contact me instead of making the journey to the Badlands.”
