Blood Impulse

Part 32.2 - INFORMATION TRADE

Mississippi Sector, Rhino 583

There's an AI on the Singularity. The realization churned Montgomery Gaffigan's stomach in ways that even the anti-nausea medication couldn't numb. Beside him, Jazmine wasn't entirely convinced, but he followed Monty's logic enough to be concerned, deeply concerned. However, as it stood, they couldn't turn back and share their concerns with their comrades on the ship. They had to carry out their mission, because regardless of anything going on aboard the Singularity, the fleet needed supplies and stood no chance of getting them if Monty and Jazmine failed their objective.

Monty's only solace was in the fact that they hadn't been infiltrated by the Eran AI. Had that been the case, their struggle would have been long over. No, whatever entity had infiltrated their ranks currently had a vested interest in keeping them alive, even if only as pawns in its game. However, while their survival aligned with its intentions now, there was no guarantee that would continue to be the case.

"We're almost there." Jazmine guided the Rhino out of a turn that had kept them free of a dark planet's gravity well. If one squinted, the planet was vaguely visible, but like the rest, it was barely a shape in the darkness without a solar star to illuminate its surface. Without the passive radiation of a sun, these planets could be hard to detect, harder still to navigate around. Infrared was useless on the dark planets' cold surfaces. Old-fashioned eyesight, even with the planets' vague shapes, played a key role in navigating this region. That made it an ideal hiding spot for Midwest Station, the heart of all illicit trade.

"I'm good to go," Monty said. Truly, now that he'd worked the truth out of his haze of memories, he felt better. He knew what he had to do. While they ran this mission, he had to determine where on the Singularity an AI could hide. And then, once they returned with the coordinates for Crimson Heart's base, he needed to confront it. No matter what, that AI could not be allowed to remain, especially if it was being hunted by the Eran AI. It was too dangerous, given an AI's ability to manipulate and control everything around it. Any member of the crew could become compromised at any time without ever realizing it.

But those were background concerns now. Gaffigan's main focus was on the mission ahead of him. A mistake here, and he'd never make it back to warn anyone on the Singularity.

Midwest Station was the ultimate hideout of thieves, smugglers and pirates alike. It was the only place their ships could stop, repair and refuel without fear of law enforcement finding them. The station had carved a niche in the underworld for being neutral to all parties – a place for trade and negotiations to occur. Violating the station's neutrality was unthinkable. Crime syndicates of all types defended Midwest Station for its value as neutral ground to conduct business, and they dealt quickly with anyone who threatened the station.

Centered in a cluster of dark planets slowly being drawn together by gravity over billions of years, Midwest Station could not be found except by those like Jazmine who already knew where it was. The station had begun as an artificial port placed at the intersection of two major trade routes. In the years before the Hydrian War, artificial satellites like it had been common, giving merchant ships a place to stopover and sell off merchandise before they sailed to their final destination. With hyperspace travel, modern merchant ships did not need to stop as often, but many of these stations still roamed in one capacity or another.

Artificial trade ports like Midwest Station functioned outside a gravity well. They possessed no propulsion systems of their own. They were built with an FTL drive to jump them roughly into position, but a constellation of tug ships pulled the stations into their final alignment. They were free-roaming satellites, and these artificial ports could be moved between trade routes depending on demand.