S.P.E.C.T.O.R

Spector dropped out of FTL in its cloaked state near a small moon that orbited a large gas giant.

“So that’s Flamyre,” Adam remarked as he looked down at the moon while frowning.

If we go back a few hours to just after Spector’s announcement.

“Report,” Adam ordered.

“My analysis indicates that the responsible party is a female Pyroth named Fiere Lucent, displaying data now,” Spector replied before a holographic screen appeared showing Fiere Lucent’s information

[[Name: Fiere Lucent]]

[[Age: 48 (Universal Calendar)]]

[[YOB: 3198 (Universal Calendar)]]

[[Race: Pyroth (100%)]]

[[Species: Serpant]]

[[Home Planet: Flamyre (Ashes Galaxy)]]

[[Birth Planet: Magmatus (Ashes Galaxy)]]

[[Registered Ship: PCE-766-Blaze (Owner)]]

[[Convictions: N/A.]]

[[Mercenary Hall Rank: None]]

[[Bounty Hunter Guild Rank: None]]

[[Additional Information: An investor who owns the small moon Flamyre, which orbits the gas giant Sanguin. Suspected of having ties to the secret organisation behind multiple recent incidents.]]

“Lucent Fiere, never heard of them, which is strange considering they're wealthy enough to own their own moon,” Rowena said with a frown.

“It’s interesting that she’s a Pyroth and not a Dragon or Phoenix, as I was expecting,” Adam remarked.

“It’s not all that surprising with the Phoenixes' policy of isolation and how greedy Dragons can be,” Rowena replied.

“Hey!” Tephe complained.

“Present company excluded, of course,” Rowena said apologetically, making Tephe smile.

“Spector, how are you so sure this is the one who orchestrated Lorelie’s assassination attempt?” Adam asked.

“Analysis of Beams consoles and uniband indicates that he is a member of several Diva Lorelie fan sites. One of those fan sites in particular is rather questionable in nature since it features many of the naked and semi-naked photos of Lorelie and is presumably where he got them from.”

“Wait, naked photos of me, what naked photos of me?” Lorelie asked in alarm.

As if to answer her questions, multiple holographic screens appeared, showing the same photos that Spector had displayed just prior to Adam and Tephe hunting down Beam.

”What, but how?” Lorelie asked in shock as she scanned the photos.

“We suspect it was Drotas' doing; she must have had hidden cameras installed in all your dressing rooms,” Rowena replied.

“That damn bitch,” Lorelie cursed as she gripped her bed sheets angrily before asking, “Spector, can you remove these photos from the site in question?”

“Affirmative, however, doing so will not delete those that have already been downloaded,” Spector replied.

“Do it,” Lorelie said angrily, only for Adam to surprise them all as he said.

“Wait.”

“Wait, for what?” Stacey asked in annoyance before adding, “You want people to be able to get naked photos of Lorelie?”

“Of course not, but we have to be smart about this,” Adam replied before explaining. “If Spector deletes the photos right now, the person behind all of this is going to get suspicious and we don’t want to tip them off since they are obviously very skilled at hiding themselves.”

The tale has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation.

“So you're saying we leave them up until we have dealt with this Fiere woman?” Lorelie asked.

“Yes,” Adam nodded before giving Lorelie an apologetic look as he said, “I’m sorry, babe, but it’s our best course of action.”

Lorelie sighed before nodding as she said, “I guess a few hours wont make much of a difference, but Drotas has to pay for this.”

“And she will, don’t worry about that, but let's deal with the enemy in front of us first,” Adam replied before saying, “Spector, continue.”

“Affirmative,” Spector replied before it continued to explain. “There are logs of Beam and several other citizens of the Ashes Galaxy talking about how excited they are for Lorelie’s arrival, along with what many of them would like to do to her if given the chance.”

“Fucking bastards,” Stacey cursed.

Rowena sighed before saying, “Calm down; this is normal.”

“Normal?” Stacey asked with a frown.

“Popular and famous individuals like us are always desired and even more so by those who will never have us,” Aphrodite explained.

“At one point, the topic of her relationship with you is brought up,” Spector continued, “and approximately ninety-eight percent of those who took part in the discussion raged about how jealous they were and how you're not worthy of Lorelie.

One of those to comment was Beam, who said that he would rather see Lorelie dead than dating some nobody.”

“Damn obsessive stalker fans,” Emma cursed while frowning.

“It seems Fiere Lucent saw this comment, as not long after she sent Beam a private message saying that she was of the same mind and only wished that she were on Fenix Nest so that she could perform the deed herself.

It seems that Fiere Lucent’s support and subtle pushing subconsciously influenced Beam enough that he went ahead with his assassination attempt.”

“Oh, this bitch needs to die,” Stacey said in rage.

“I agree, but we all know that it is Drotas who is behind all of this since she put the hit out on Lorelie,” Rowena replied before adding, “also we should try to find out more about this secret organisation if we can; Fiere Lucent is the first individual we’ve come across that we know is connected to them after all.”

Stacey nodded before turning to Adam and asking, “So what’s the plan?”

Adam thought for a moment before saying, “Spector, try to ascertain how many more citizens of the Ashes Galaxy use this particular fan site and then send their information to Revi.”

“Affirmative,” Spector replied.

“What's the status on you infecting that capital-class ship?” Adam inquired.

“It is presently working on accessing the capital ships' sensors. I estimate it should be complete within a few hours,” Spector replied.

“Good, now prep for departure; I think I should go pay this Fiere Lucent a visit,” Adam instructed while he used his uniband to contact Revi.

Back to the present.

“I can’t believe there are actually people rich enough to own their own planets,” Emma remarked.

“It’s not all that uncommon to be fair,” Aphrodite remarked before adding, “though in this case it’s only a small moon.”

“Is owning a planet or moon common enough that it doesn’t surprise you?” Emma asked.

Aphrodite smiled before saying, “You have to consider how many planets and moons there are in the universe; as long as you're rich enough, it’s quite easy to own one.”

“The issue lies in making it hospitable,” Rowena stated before continuing. “The rulers of a galaxy aren't too fond of selling planets or moons that have their own atmospheres; however, they have no problem with selling those that are essentially barren pieces of rock.”

“Spector, can I get a command console, please?” Rowena asked before a holographic command console appeared before her and she pressed a few holographic keys, causing the sensor data of Flamyre to be displayed on a holographic screen before them all, and then she continued.

“As you can see, Flamyre is equipped with an atmospheric generator, which is located in one of the smaller domes that connect with a main central dome.

This indicates that the moon was probably nothing special in the past.”

“Atmospheric generators are a thing?” Emma asked in surprise.

“Indeed,” Rowena replied before explaining, “they are used for terraforming barren worlds and sustaining life in hostile environments. They come in multiple sizes depending on exactly what requires transforming.

These include smaller localised devices, which are used for city-scale domes, all the way up to planetary engines for when you want to terraform an entire planet. These devices regulate the air pressure, temperature, and gas composition, such as oxygen, argon, or nitrogen, to render a toxic or airless environment habitable."

“Wow,” Emma said in amazement.

“Haha,” Rowena chuckled before saying, “They are indeed amazing, but they come with some major drawbacks. First, there is the sheer cost of constructing and maintaining one; next, there is the fact that they constantly need to be guarded, in case saboteurs gain access to them.”

“In case they turn them off, you mean?” Emma asked.

“Yes, however, that’s not an immediate concern,” Rowena began to explain. “After the atmospheric generator has completed the initial terraforming and made it hospitable, its primary function turns to sustaining said hospitable atmosphere.

However, the atmospheric generator can be taken offline for a while without the hospitable atmosphere completely collapsing, which is good since they need regular maintenance.

What I’m talking about is saboteurs turning the atmospheric generator into a weapon.”

“A weapon?” Emma asked while Adam listened in with interest.

“It is possible that an atmospheric generator, if tampered with, can be overloaded or weaponised to alter weather patterns, create intense storms, or boil away a planet's air supply,” Rowena explained.

“Oh wow,” Emma said in amazement.

“So when do we depart?” Stacey asked.

“We don’t,” Adam replied before adding, “I’m doing this one alone.”

“Huh, why?” Stacey asked in confusion, while Tephe pouted and said.

“Aww, I wanted to come along.

“This is a stealth operation and no offence, but neither of you two is all that good when it comes to stealth,” Adam replied.

“What!” Stacey complained before asking, “I used to be a smuggler, remember?”

“I’m aware, but you were hoping to use the big toy I gave you against this Fiere Lucent, weren’t you?” Adam asked with a smirk.