Snippet #2510578

CYS-81/923 was a dead space station that had an infamous name across the Garden and the Colonial Sphere beyond it; and was where the coordinates provided would have brought the CONCORD envoy as it dropped out of FTL, the looming wall of the Charybdis Veil making a dark blanket against distant twinkling stars and worlds. In the Imperial Wars it was a dark “hell site” of the Colonial Administration, an ancient torture facility and prisoner depot: in the Iron Revolt it was a bastion for the released prisoners freed from the Commonwealth realms yet unable to make it through the Veil back into the Inner Empire, in the Terran Conflict and Galactic War after that it was the final jumping off point before reaching the Local Region. Now, it was a silent, hallowed ground of sorts for diplomatic missions from all memberstates and the transnational government itself.

Several lightyears away ships of the Tarokanti Navy were patrolling to make sure the area was free of any marauders and pirates that would look to interfere with an international mission, while a lone Star Fleet prowler was decloaked and in orbit about the lonely station. The intelligence vessel was oriented flat along its 100 meter keel, appearing like a lean manta-ray and covered from end to end in low-intensity deceptive plating that was open and “breathing” the ship’s signals and radiation out into the emptiness of space.

Onboard the prowler, a Star Fleet Captain closed the audio channel to the Tarokanti nationals: peering at a star chart in front of him the Commune ships were preparing to depart to a Ships in Contact distress a few lightyears away in the Sphere proper, leaving the dead space station relatively abandoned and out of the prying eye of memberstates for the proceeding mission. The preliminary team, without surprise members of the Blue Legion, was ready on the prowler to meet the CONCORD vessel and start a quick voyage to the Varden home galaxy: time was not on the side of the Apparatus.

“The CONCORD envoy has arrived, Captain.” The prowler’s AI stood beside the Scatterran on the dark bridge of the intelligence vessel, the Federal adjutants standing behind them in the Officer’s Nest of the bridge.

“Activate the Fast-Light array and prepare the station: the quicker we get the first Legion group on it’s way to their home galaxy the faster the Apparatus can move on the Imperial garrisons here.” As he issued his commands the AI disappeared into the vessel’s mainframe: sub-light relays quickly spinning into action and broadcasting the rendezvous while the Apparatus personnel onboard were awoken to their stations.