The Missing Piece
Essense region – Peccanouette constellation
Arnon System – Planet IX – Moon 3
Sisters of EVE Bureau station — Sister Alitura’s Office
22 October YC 127
It took Sisters of Eve three days to crack Kritsan Parthus. Admittedly, their methods were not as efficient as Minmatar’s but in the end they got what they wanted, and more. It turned out that Kritsan Parthus was a very close Dagan’s associate and knew a lot about his operations. Sisters learned that Dagan had been experimenting with drone AI for a long time. Sometimes those experiments delivered successful outcomes, like the attack on The Damsel, but sometimes they spiralled out of control with drones becoming rogue.
All that I learned when Sister Alitura invited me to her office for a mission briefing. The agent was visibly excited, and her fast talk was accompanied by uncharacteristic nervous gesticulation.
“Parthus told us exactly where we can find Dagan. And do you know what that place is?” she asked and continued without waiting for an answer. “It is Dagan’s laboratory where he designs his drones! In one fell swoop, we can capture both the facility and the mastermind!”
“I guess, the lab is well-protected. Do you have enough firepower to capture it?” I asked. “You keep telling me that your pursuit of Dagan is limited by the Level 1 budget which is hardly sufficient to organise a siege.”
Alitura’s enthusiasm subsided.
“You are right,” she said. “I don’t have enough funds and I don’t expect your destroyer to be able to demolish the place. But it must be done. Luckily, Dagan managed to commit KOS-worthy offences against every empire. That’s why their agents approached you and me with the offers of assistance recently.”
“What do they want in return?”
“I am quite sure that every single one of them wants to stop Dagan. But…”
“But?” I prompted.
“But some of them might be tempted to pick Dagan’s brain and acquire the dangerous technologies he developed for themselves. I am happy to accept their help on the condition that Dagan will be delivered to our custody but I don’t know whom I can trust. Do you have any thoughts?”
In the last 18 months, The Damsel investigation took me to every empire and brought me in contact with their agents. I admit that my acquaintance with mores outside Caldari State was superficial and was not enough to draw general conclusions, but I had a kind of a gut feeling which I was prepared to trust.
“Hmm, let me see,” I started. “Amarrians are sanctimonious snobs who can justify any betrayal by their holy scriptures. The Minmatar’s heart is in the right place but they desperately seek an edge in their ongoing war with Amarr. Unfortunately, I think they may be desperate enough to break the deal with you. Gallente…” I sighed, “Call me biased but after the Malkalen Disaster, I believe they are capable of any treachery. I wish I could tell you that it leaves Caldari as the only viable option but, alas, I cannot say that hand on heart. If Adani Yusev was Caldari Navy agent, I’d have no qualms recommending him. I worked a lot for the Navy and they earned my trust. Agent Yusev, however, works for Ishukone Watch which makes his loyalties divided between the corporation and the State. Ostensibly, every Caldari mega-corp has the State’s glory and security as their highest priority. In reality, there is a fierce competition between the corporations, and they are ready to do almost anything to one-up one another.”
“So what you are saying is that none of them is trustworthy? But we need help. We have no choice but to accept one of the offers since we can’t capture the lab on our own. Besides, if we refuse to involve any of the factions, all of them will probably show up in force and fight each other for the privilege of capturing Dagan. Such a loss of life will be unacceptable.”
“I am just trying to be objective, Sister,” I said. “But if you insist on my choosing a faction, then I have one unbeatable argument, at least, from my perspective. Cooperation with any of the empires will put me in their good books and increase my standing. The only empire that I care about is Caldari. The choice is totally subjective and self-serving, but I don’t have a more rational advice for you.”
Sister Alitura stared at me for a long moment and then smiled, “Who would have thought that the fortunes of New Eden would depend on the nationality of my contractor? Alright, Captain, I accept your advice. Please fly to Sosh and meet Agent Yusev there. I will inform him and other agents that we have chosen to collaborate with Caldari on this mission.”
A strange feeling came over me, like I was dreaming. For more than a year, I had been chasing the man who was responsible for the destruction of three spaceships, and finally the time had come to face him. Almost unconsciously, I pressed my thumb on the agent’s datapad, accepting the mission, stood up and headed for the exit. Then I heard Alitura’s voice which brought me back to reality.
“Captain,” she said, and I turned to her. “I forgot to tell you what we learned about Dagan’s ship. He flies a Gnosis. I know that you have successfully fought a Prophecy battlecruiser, but Dagan’s combat skills are far superior to Parthus’s. This fight will not be a walk in the park. Be prepared. And… good luck, Vlad.”
Gnosis was a versatile battlecruiser developed by SoCT. It had an impressive tank and offensive capabilities and was deadly in capable hands. There was every possibility that I would lose the fight. I swallowed hard, mumbled “thank you, Sister” and went to the docks.