“Your word? Good, the first thing I’ll need is your word. Your word that this meeting remains secret until the final dregs of life force eke from your bodies. There’ll be no recording of what I’m about to say, understand? It incriminates us all, including your friend.” They tilted her head gently towards Ruknar, who held the jug with lightly trembling claws. She approached the nest of fibres and poured the murky liquid into a circular trough which the old Chekeri then slowly lapped up.

Light didn’t know who this was either. But a few fragments of street rumours and half-remembered history swirled around his head. It seemed like Ruk may have been there as insurance against any potential treachery. Both himself and Senjen would obviously agree not to record to protect her. But the fact that this mystery person had access to Ruk at all prompted a link between these fragments in his head.
“Are you someone high up at For Good Cause? Is that what this is about?” He asked.

The Chekeri raised their open beak like a chick being fed by its mother and set forth a dry, rustling laugh.

“So the reef-dweller is the brains of the outfit. Very good. I helped found this organisation back when it was called ‘Four Good Causes’. Vitality, Plenty, Innovation and Peace. The Quadrarch of Peace proposed we change the name nearly two centuries ago; turns out that was just to place a claw on scales of power in his favour. But that matters not now. Ruknar, my voice tires. Show you listen and tell them what I’ve told you.”

Ruk had fled the presence of the Quadrarch now and lingered by the bar. She glanced nervously at them before looking back at the other Chekeri.

“I don’t know if I’m the best person to tell them-“

“OBEY ME!” They cawed. Their Voice nearly sent Ruknar reeling backwards. Every muscle in her sinewy body tensed and untensed as one. It took a moment for her to recover, but eventually she became still, looked at Light and Senjen, and began.

“You’ve probably seen in the news about the planet Veppecantel. A prosperous and respectable world on the Darkling Plain, its been under an inter-system naval blockade for over two hundred cycles. The official reasoning is that separatist elements have threatened to export a deadly poison to other planet in the Plain. That is a load of cack. The real reason is because the planet has fallen victim to a touch-virus residents of Veppecantel are calling the Holophage. The Quadrarch of Vitality wants us to figure out what it is, and how to stop it.”