The next day...

The Surface of Steinhull, RSC-2W-0063 “Dara Tonn”

Sinn'Are'Sen watches the assault shuttles touch down in a neat formation with the nearest five hundred meters from where he stood at the entrance to Dara Tonn's hull. All of the shuttles as well as the armed and armored figures marching off of them are a colored a slate gray with minimal RPC markings in white. Sin can just make out the new arrivals setting up a base camp complete with a flag and a front end loader filling up barrier units.

“I guess the Gatekeepers are closer to a full up military formation then anything else. Makes sense if they are expected to get dropped into the shit more often then not. Keep that recognition signal active and let me know when they come knocking Dara Tonn. I'm going to eat breakfast and get freshened up some.”

“Better work fast Sinn. I see a four person fire team headed this way.”

“Damn. How long?”

“Three minutes now.”

“Did I leave the kettle filled or do I need to fill it?”

“It's empty.”

“Double damn. Alright, get what you can set up in the archaeology lab. I'll see what these fine RPC agents want.”

“Hello the ship!”

“Hello yourself. TF Uniform Zero I presume?”

“Gatekeeper Prime in the flesh. And you are our local contact?”

“That'd be me. Sinn'Are'Sen, TF Golf Seven. No fancy name yet. We're only a day old officially but have been on location for a bit over two weeks. What can I do four you?”

“Coordinator said that you would have an update on local conditions for us? We've been on ice for about a week now.”

“You got here inside of a week? Damn, that's fast. Took me a month to get here from Krigertenkere. Yeah, I can get you brought up to speed. I don't have a lot of extra space inside of Dara Tonn, so how do you want to handle it?”

“You and I can stay out here while the command team gives it a once-over to check for the usual. After that they'll be content to guard the hatch instead of crowding things.”

“Got it. Dara Tonn?”

“All non-personal hatches are already open and awaiting inspection, including maintenance spaces. Primary briefing location is planned to be the archaeology lab, just behind the bridge.”

“Thanks Dara Tonn.”

Two of the members of the fire team filed past Sinn and into the insides of Dara Tonn. They turned left to start at the bridge and work their way aft.

“Dara Tonn is your ship?”

“Dara Tonn is my ship's AI. RSC-2W-0063, the hull, is still just a lump of metal with a bit under three years of service left in her. With a bit of luck I'm hoping Dara Tonn will be moved to a humanoid frame, or at least to be the AI of my next ship. It's also the second member of TF Golf Seven.”

“Interesting mix of metal and flesh you have on your TF. How many others?”

“Just the two of us plus our coordinator. We found a fraction of the Astral Veil touched crap in the ruins and got conscripted into the RPC. Re-conscripted in my case.”

“I know that feeling. Planning on trying to slip the leash?”

“No point. Nowhere else to go except the depths of warpspace and the things that lived there have already tried to kill me twice. Damn near got me too.”

“Oh?”

“What you see is what I have for combat equipment. One 'false man', an Astral Veil touched or possessed automaton, I'm not sure which, with a laser pistol damn near put me down.”

“All clear Sir.”

“This way to the lab and I can give you the short version along with a copy of my exploration log and notes.”

“You have a map?”

“Better and worse. Dara Tonn?”

“We recovered a copy of a station damage control guide... from before it hit the planetary surface. Expect it to be structurally correct, but to not show blockages or damages outside of the zero point zero zero five percent that has actually been explored.”

“Only a fraction of this place has been explored and they called us in? What gives?”

“In that fraction I've found six static psionic phenomena ranging from audio distortion to a full up reality erosion and a new phenomena I call 'Aura of Madness'. It's roughly akin to looking into warpspace with psyniscience active... except neither is true. I've also encountered four psionic entities.

“Carry those ratios out to the rest of the station and you would have twelve hundred static psionic phenomena and eight hundred Astral Veil predators luring in the ruins. I think that number is actually low, given that I was actively avoiding areas that were likely to contain denser concentrations of both psionic phenomena and predators. Compound that with the fact that we have no idea how long this place has been occupied by Astral Veil predators...”

“I believe that I begin to understand. Fortunately for you it's my problem now.”

“Let's get you all the data I have and then it's your problem. Once Dara Tonn finished refueling I get to look forward to two debriefings, at least, and my next busywork assignment form the RSC.

End of Book 1