“Um, right…” Senjen said with a bit of hesitation, having not the slightest clue what Dairmuid and Bodach were talking about. He decided instead to focus on what Major was saying, since he was a fair bit more comprehensible. He joined the group, not exactly able to sit, but nevertheless gripping onto the floor with his foot.

“Sure, I’ll let you know if there’s anything to talk about. Everyone’s still settling in for now, though, so I doubt there’s been time for anyone to get into trouble.” He said, shrugging his shoulders. Anyways...I guess I’d say I’m nervous. FGC has been light on the details so far, but I know a good part of this depends on me doing this infiltration and getting what we need. Have you gotten any details on what I’m going to need to do?” Senjen asked.

Major did not look impressed by this revelation. “That does not bode particularly well for your half of the operation. Luckily for you, I have done my research. Myrmidon were part of a consortium that invested in Veppecantel. The rest of them pulled out of the planet when the Holophage first appeared, or abandoned their people completely. But Myrmidon continued with a staff mostly made up of its synthetic range. It seems the only reason the blockade fleet allowed them to continue is because of the mineral they’re extracting. Its crucial for the manufacture of starship reactors or something similar. Anyway…they operate one line onto and off of the surface of Veppecantel, and that is directly below a geosync terminal in orbit above one of their cities. However, only ships with a registered Myrmidon ID transponder can make it through; the rest are destroyed en route. All the ships with an ID are automated and completely decontaminated, which stops the spread of infection. They’re all housed in this geosync terminal, so we need you to sneak aboard one, remove the transponder and bring it back so our illustrious pilot can set us down safely.”

“Or we do it the hard way, and try to bust our way through the blockade!” Bodach boomed.

“That’s suicide – they’ve got c-beams and have made orbiting rocks into homing missiles don’cha know it?” Diarmuid said jovially.

“To clarify, I do know that part.” Senjen replied. He was not sure if Bodach was serious about trying to blocade run by force, but for his own sanity, he was going to assume he wasn’t. In any case, he supposed it was encouraging that Major knew this much. It meant they were trusted enough that FGC kept them appraised before they set out.

“What I don’t have a lot of information on right now is the actual plan for acquiring that transponder.” Senjen clarified. “I know I need to steal it and why, but I’m not sure if FGC has any intel on this terminal so we can make a workable plan for me to sneak in. You know, the layout, where I need to go, that sort of thing. I have experience winging it, but all the same, I’d rather have a plan going in. If FGC doesn’t have anything, then I suppose we’re going to need to do the scouting ourselves.”

Major smirked, then looked at Diarmuid. “Show him.”

Beams of light burst from the forest green synth’s eyes, constructing a 2D holo map in the area in front of them. It showed an intricate plan of one floor of the terminal.



“I had an organic buddy who worked there about twenty years back. His memory implant made this for us. It could be inaccurate or out of date now, but it gives you an idea. The automated freighters dock on the ‘north’ side.”

Major pointed to the segregated section on the ‘west’ side of the diagram. “That part is open to hauliers, but there’s tight security between there and the operations side. Cameras and security droids checking passes and serial numbers. Only Myrmidon staff and contractors allowed, and no organics at the moment.”

Senjen did not say anything for a while, as he was clearly pouring over this map for any important details he could glean. It was a lot to take in at once, but he felt some immediate relief upon seeing it. They had some intel, at least, on his part of the job. It was coming from Major, so he still was not sure if FGC had just sent him off with nothing and hoped for the best, but now there was something he could sink his teeth into to prepare.

“Okay...okay.” Senjen mumbled to himself for a moment while he scanned the map. “Going through security checkpoints doesn’t seem like a great idea, unless we can find some way for me to steal or spoof a legitimate ID and serial number. This frame might be Myrmidon, but I imagine they have a database of machines that are meant to be on board. Do you think we’d have a better chance of finding a way to get through the security checkpoints from the public areas, or sneaking on through a different route? Maybe...I imagine the automated freighters use robot crews. If I could sneak on board one of those before it docks, then I wouldn’t have to deal with those security checkpoints.”

“It seems likely the freighters go straight from the planet’s surface to the terminal. If I were Myrmidon, I’d be closely watching them. They’re easy targets for pirates, and the fact they haven’t all been robbed suggests to me they’re well defended. Maybe your friend has thoughts in this regard?” Major mused.

Bodach pointed back towards the public area of the terminal. “There’s a market here, a boozer, repair shop…I’d be surprised if there wasn’t someone who could spoof a pass for you. Then maybe we make a bit of noise, cause a distraction; you'd slip right through without so much as a second look!”

“Or why don’t you just…you know…take a job there? These corporate frames all get first pick of the work, right?” Diarmuid interjected.

Senjen leaned back a bit, crossing his arms as he kept his eyes on the map. “You know, I actually considered the job angle when I first heard about all this. Problem is, that would put my information in their systems, and it would be harder to get away when I need to. I think that would make it a lot harder to get away clean. I do think that could work if we could spend a few months on this. Be real patient about it, and all that...but I don’t think that will work here.”

“I think…” Senjen interrupted himself briefly, considering the risks of the remaining options. “I think Bodach does have a point here. That plan could work, but we’d have to be real careful how we go about trying find someone to do it for us. That could risk exposing us. I still wish there was a way to get me onto one of the freighters, but if they go straight from the surface to the station, then I’d probably have to be on the surface to sneak onto one. I don’t suppose you can think of a way to get me, individually, down to the surface without a transponder?”