It’s Not Over Yet
Essense region – Peccanouette constellation
Arnon System – Planet IX – Moon 3
Sisters of EVE Bureau station
25 August YC 127
“Dagan was a commander of the fleet that the drones first destroyed. He was also a terrorist. After that drone attack, I really hoped that he was dead. Now that we know he is not, it is of utmost importance to ensure that he is made dead,” said the agent.
“But how is that Dagan related to our current investigation? And why do you believe he is alive?” I asked, still bewildered.
“Why, Dagan was the pilot who destroyed the Mysterious Drone.”
“How do you know it was Dagan? All Neocom could say about the vessel was ‘Mysterious Ship’.”
“Huh! Look here,” the agent moved her datapad across the table so that I could see the screen — there was that strange message I received during the mission.
“You’ll never get the secrets of the rogue drone!”
Alitura tapped ‘Metadata’ button and the screen showed a long list of technical fields which were typically hidden from users.
She pointed at one of the fields and said, “This is the certificate with which the message was signed. Such certs are used to ensure message integrity and authenticity. They are hard-coded into the communications equipment during production and cannot be changed. This particular cert matches the one used in previous comms received from Dagan’s ship. He obviously changed the ship’s call sign to an unregistered code — that is why Neocom could not identify the vessel — but he forgot to replace the comms equipment, or simply didn’t know about the certs used in them.”
“And you analysed all that metadata and compared it to the historical records in the time it took me to return to the base?” I asked, impressed.
“That’s my job,” the agent replied smugly.
“Alright, so what have we got here? There was a pilot who, allegedly, was destroyed by a drone swarm. Then he came back from the dead and destroyed the Mysterious Drone. From his message, it didn’t look like an act of vengeance. Moreover, the message implied that he was at least aware of some secrets concerning that drone. Am I on the right track?”
Alitura nodded, “More or less.”
“On top of that,” I continued, “the pilot turned out to be a known terrorist, and Sisters of Eve want him very dead. I don’t mind helping you in that endeavour, but I have to ask: would it not be more prudent to interrogate him about the Mysterious Drone before resorting to terminal measures? Because the dead do not speak. I know that the guy has form in coming back from the dead, but I promise you it won’t be the case after I find him. I make sure that the dead stay dead — that’s my job.”
The agent shrugged, “And how do you propose to conduct such an interrogation after you find him? Ask him nicely in the local channel?”
“Well,” I said uncertainly, “I could disrupt his warp drive so that he could not escape. Then a squad of marines in a breacher pod could board the vessel and capture the bastard.”
“That breacher pod will never reach Dagan’s ship. Dagan flies a cruiser, not a hauler, remember? He will shoot the pod out of the sky before the marine sergeant finishes his pep talk. And by the way, I do not have a squad of marines — you are my only resource on this mission.”
I sighed, “I have to say that this assignment is a bit left of centre — I came here to gather evidence about The Damsel incident, not to destroy it. But I admit that I don’t have any better ideas. So, tell me where I can find this immortal terrorist.”
“In Minmatar space — that’s where he was heading after killing the drone — but I don’t know his exact destination. To find Dagan, you will have to cooperate with a local agent, Keita Eslin. Keita is a security advisor and an agent for the Krusual Tribe. Have you dealt with Minmatar before?”
“Erm…” I mumbled, remembering my Intercept the Saboteurs mission, “in a sense.”
“Then you know that they are a little rough around the edges. And you may be pleasantly surprised when you talk to Keita. She is a really smooth operator. An unkind person may even employ the word ‘slippery’. Look, don’t get me wrong — I love Minmatar dearly — but when you deal with Krusual Tribe, make sure you don’t get short-changed.”
I snorted, “More short-changed than when I deal with any other security agent?”
Alitura chuckled, “Without prejudice, yes.”
As I was walking towards the docks, I called Aura, “Hey, sunshine, what’s my standing with Minmatar?”
“Mmm… it’s negative but you are still on speaking terms with them. Why?” she replied.
“We are going to Hek. Please calculate the route through hi-sec.”
“It’s 13 jumps, but what do you want in Minmatar space?”
“Dagan,” I sighed and explained the mission.
Aura made a grimace, “I wish he tried to escape to a more, ahem, civilised place.”
“Civilised places are probably too hot for the likes of him. Anyway, I don’t expect to spend much time hunting that Dagan fellow.”
Metropolis region — Barvigrard constellation
Hek system — Planet IV
Krusual Tribe Bureau
After an uneventful journey through 13 star gates I finally arrived at Krusual Tribe Bureau in Hek. As I looked at the station, I noticed that it was encased in some kind of metal lattice.
“Is it still being built?” Aura asked suspiciously.
I guffawed, “More like it’s being held together by the scaffolding. I won’t be surprised if Minmatars are afraid to remove it because the station may fall apart without it.”
“And you are going to dock in that thing?”
“‘Tether’ would probably be a more accurate term.”
Despite my misgivings, the dock was solid and the gantry steady, if a bit rusty. Having checked the station map, I walked to the security department and found a door labelled ‘Keita Eslin’. I knocked on the door and heard a female voice say “Come in.”
I entered and saw a young Vherokior woman with sharp features who was typing something on her datapad. I stood at the entrance and waited for her to finish whatever she was doing.
After a minute or so, the agent lifted her eyes to me and started saying with an apologetic smile, “I am sorry to keep you waiting…” when she suddenly stopped and stared at me, startled. Then she sighed, rolled her eyes and buried her face in hands, saying, “Oh shit! Of all the people, she sent me a Caldari.”
Taken aback by such a greeting, I muttered, “So much for smoothness.”
“What?” the agent raised her head and looked at me.
“Nothing. Nice to meet you too, Agent Eslin,” I said drily.