Contents
6.5 LIGHT
Overview
Comms degrade across the Garveneer as Remedial Works analyzes Shrouded behavior. FenJuan posits an EM-based hive leveraging human-laid cables and demonstrated light channels for coordination.
Leadership accepts a war footing. Safeguarding introduces armed pods and autonomous hunter-killer drones to eradicate Shrouded concentrations and destroy their connective infrastructure, escalating to extermination.
Summary
Juna and Ste Etienne struggle with throttled data as Remedial Works tries to model Shrouded behavior amid shipwide comms slowdowns. Jerennian reports universal outages that feel like an attack, raising unease about unseen interference.
FenJuan presents drone imagery of Shrouded movements, cable lines, and a vine-choked spire likely housing a nest. Building on field observations, FenJuan argues the Shrouded perceive and communicate via electromagnetic signals, may read our devices’ emissions, and are now exploiting demonstrated infrastructure—potentially including light bands—to coordinate across distances like a hive.
They brief Umbar; lacking hard proof but facing mounting losses, leadership accepts the implications: treat Shroud as an organized adversary. The team remains active, while Juna reflects on a cautious, protective bond with Ste Etienne constrained by likely future separation.
Safeguarding unveils two responses: heavily armed, crewed combat pods (plan B) pairing Acquisitions with Remedial advisers, and primary reliance on autonomous, manta-like hunter-killer drones to saturate operational zones, exterminate threats, and sever suspected connective infrastructure. Advent, visibly relieved, signals a shift from defense to systematic extermination.
Who Appears
- JunaNarrator in Remedial Works; analyzes Shrouded behavior, reports theory, and processes an uneasy shift toward extermination.
- Ste Etienne (Mai)Engineer and field partner; skeptical yet receptive to EM-hive theory; uneasy about renewed pod missions and escalation.
- FenJuanActing Deputy Assistant Director; proposes Shrouded EM hive using human-laid infrastructure and light, prompting a war footing.
- TimoraiDirector of Safeguarding; unveils armed crewed pods and autonomous hunter-killer drones to neutralize Shrouded and sever networks.
- Chief Director AdventGarveneer’s leader; endorses Safeguarding’s plan, relieved by a scalable path to secure Shroud exploitation.
- UmbarTechnical Oversight; hears Remedial Works’ theory and moves operations toward active countermeasures.
- JerennianLiaison to Safeguarding; flags shipwide data outages and assists with system cleansing amid suspected interference.
- The ShroudedAlien networked entities; observed laying cables and using nests, suspected of EM-based, infrastructure-boosted coordination.