An Eye on Everything
Metropolis region — Barvigrard constellation
Hek system — Planet IV
Krusual Tribe Bureau
25 August YC 127
Security Agent Keita Eslin grimaced as if she had toothache and nodded at the guest chair.
After I made myself comfortable, she said wearily, “Captain Korff, I’ll be honest — I am not happy to see you. Our states are not at war but you are a citizen of a nation allied with our arch-enemy, Amarrians. Please don’t get me wrong — I do not hate you personally, I am not a racist — but you can appreciate how difficult it will be for me to engage you, a Caldari, for a security mission.”
I shrugged, “Gallenteans didn’t seem to have a problem working with me, and they are at war with my State.”
“This hardly inspires confidence in their security protocols,” the agent said wryly.
“But why does it matter? I am here to track and put down a terrorist. It’s not a political matter. You can call it a cross-border police operation.”
Keita drummed her fingers on the desk while she was considering an answer.
“Okay, I think I can tell you that much — Dagan may be a terrorist elsewhere but we know him as a smuggler. A couple of days ago he was caught ferrying undeclared cargo out of Minmatar space to Amarr Empire. Maybe he is just a dodgy trader who wants to avoid paying customs duty — then we are good, it’s just policing. On the other hand, he may be spying and selling Minmatar state secrets to Amarrians, or worse — trafficking Minmatar people to sell them as slaves. In that case we don’t want a Caldari pilot anywhere near this operation. You see my problem?”
I nodded, “I appreciate the difficulties but please consider this fact — for the last five months I’ve been relentlessly pursuing leads related to a mysterious incident in which two Minmatar vessels — a dreadnought and a battleship called The Damsel — were destroyed. I’ve been doing it at a significant personal cost for no other reason than to bring the perpetrators to justice. And I came here not to spy on you but to catch a man who, for all I know, is responsible for that tragedy. Unfortunately, I can’t show you my mission logs due to non-disclosure agreements, but I am sure you have your own sources which can confirm what I have just said.”
A glint of interest appeared in Keita’s eyes, “The Damsel? It made headlines back in March, but I thought that the investigation was closed due to the lack of evidence.”
“Maybe closed by Minmatar Republic but not by Sister Alitura and not by me.”
“Hmm, interesting. Let me check your file,” said the agent, and started tapping her datapad. “Mhm… mhm… I see you’ve been busy — Sisters of Eve, CONCORD, Gallente…” she muttered nodding her head approvingly.
Then her facial expression changed to disappointment. She sighed and looked at me reproachfully.
“It was all well and good until I got to your February exploits. According to our intelligence, you were responsible for the destruction of several Minmatar spacecraft.”
I knew that that Intercept the Saboteurs mission would surface.
“Those were terrorists who planned a biological attack on Caldari civilians,” I said defensively and then counterattacked, “Are you saying that Minmatar government was responsible for organising that atrocity?”
Keita’s reaction was exactly the same as Ozanero’s when I questioned her on that topic — she froze and said, “No comments.”
I raised an eyebrow, “Because if your government was not responsible,” — I saw the agent relax a bit — “then why did they reduce my standing after that mission?”
“Oh, the standing,” Keita clutched at that comment and smoothly steered the conversation away from the dangerous topic. “Actually it is not that bad. Our rules allow me to work with capsuleers even if their standings are a bit negative.”
“I am so relieved to hear that,” I said sarcastically, as all that beating around the bush started getting on my nerves. “Now, can we talk about the business at hand?”
Keita Eslin smiled charmingly at me, “Of course, Captain Korff. I believe that combining your combat experience with our intelligence will benefit both our causes. The first mission, however, will be of non-combat variety. I need you to reconnoitre a smuggling hub where our friend Dagan was spotted. The objective is simple — go to the hub, observe, return. Don’t engage in a fight and don’t attract attention to yourself. Is it clear?”
“Crystal,” I said and stood up. “Please send the coords to my ship.”
Metropolis region — Barvigrard constellation
Hek system — Mission location
The smuggling hub was in Hek system, so it took me just one warp to get to it. I landed on the grid 65 klicks away from the nearest hostile ship. The smuggler fleet was formidable — there were 20 vessels most of which were cruisers, battlecruisers and battleships.
I snorted, “Keita should not have wasted breath with her warnings — there is no way I am getting any closer to those guys. Not because I don’t want to but because I simply can’t — they will shred me to pieces.”
“Look at those names,” said Aura. “‘Core Grand Admiral’! I didn’t know that smugglers had such a sophisticated military hierarchy.”
I looked at the detailed information and replied, “They are not just any smugglers — they are pirates. This so-called Admiral is actually a Serpentis battleship.”
“They are indeed. And not just Serpentis! Look at that Gist Seraphim — it’s Angel Cartel.”
“What’s that?” I pointed at a square icon in the Overview window. “I’ve never seen such a symbol before.”
“It’s a carrier,” Aura whispered in awe. “I thought pirate factions did not have carriers.”
“And I thought that Level 1 agents could not deal with capital ships,” I added.
Keita Eslin’s holographic projection suddenly appeared on the comms screen and said, “No, I cannot, and neither can you. Remember, it is a recon mission. As to the carriers, your navigational AI is right — pirates do not build them. This one was stolen from us.”
“Stolen?” I gasped in disbelief. “How can one steal a carrier? It’s not something that you can stuff into a cargo hold and smuggle out.”
“There was a security breach and it was hijacked,” the agent replied tersely.
I rolled my eyes — Minmatar managed to lose a carrier but had the gall to criticise Gallentean security protocols! Not that Gallenteans had never lost a carrier, but still.
“Anyway,” Keita said changing the topic, “I’ve seen enough. Please return to the base and report to my office.”
“Roger that,” I muttered, and warped back to the station.