{"id":2069,"date":"2026-08-27T20:09:05","date_gmt":"2026-08-28T01:09:05","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/libellus.de-fenestra.com\/?p=2069"},"modified":"2026-08-27T20:13:49","modified_gmt":"2026-08-28T01:13:49","slug":"convergence-01-01-gold-miner","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/libellus.de-fenestra.com\/?p=2069","title":{"rendered":"[Convergence 01.01] Gold, Miner"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

I’ve been failing to post session notes because of a lack of executive function and energy to clean them up. Paladin and NLP recently reminded me that not everything I put on the blog needs to be up to my professional standards. I’m not entirely in agreement, but this has been hanging over me, so here you are.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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UIB mission tasking – inactive mining complex on Kharvek, tied to former system-wide empire. May contain data archive\/information cache.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Threat advisory: other imperial facility recoveries have involved automated defenses and paracausal technologies.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Discussion of mission priority. We’re taking the UIB op. Ambassador Storch also wants to run the investigation at Stockland Station. He’s willing to backburner it until we’re available. We decide to put watchers on Stockland to passively gather intel until we can get there. Task Force Brigand is assigned to watch their backs and, if needed, kinetically extract them.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n

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Reserves:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

1 for free. Local allied dropship from Arnoldo’s cooperative. Not a combat vessel, but it’s fast and the crew is reliable and discreet.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Additional reserves – 1 each, +1 for me for session writeups. Storch, Ikke, and Weiser are all supporting us.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I do some asking around and research about imperial black projects, covering my tracks. What sort of program would have been hidden at a site like that, in a place like this? What program’s residue are we walking into?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

There’s a very strong cultural impetus toward “empire bad,” Tu’rosa was used for mineral wealth and treated as a backwater; little investment in return for all the raw materials.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The empire used Tu’rosa as a black site rendition system. “So many places you’ll never be found.” Tu’rosa was the empire’s Siberia. This was where the empire could do things unobserved. The belt and Kharvek also were host to a number of other installations that were known to exist, but not officially acknowledged. Area 51-type places. Nothing specific to this particular mining site, but an old nickname does come up – “Misery.” It’s supposed to have been a surface mine, but there is at least one image of a subterranean complex entrance. People have looked for that, but no one has reported finding it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I also hit up the 501st for a squad who can handle prisoner management for us. They’ll stay on the dropship until called in… with a secondary off-books mission of ensuring the dropship’s security.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Ilias requisitions a core battery.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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We link up with Envoy Philip Wesser, who has requested a meet. We know he’s the UIB station chief for Tu’rosa.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

We meet in his office. It’s cluttered – very lived-in, but controlled. It’s also staged for presentation. Location is in an out-of-the-way area of the Union compound, not easy to find but a lot of accessible exit routes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He dismisses his staff – and tells Rael to stop observation\/interface of the area.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Offers us drinks. I accept; Echo reverses his earlier negation. Wesser pulls out something from home, something he brings with him on space-limited missions for a reminder of something familiar.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Wesser sets his ground rules. Information transfer is to be one-way, from him to us. And there are things he can’t or won’t say.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

And then he asks us if this is our first time having this conversation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Me: “The question you’re asking implies that you are aware of certain subjectivities.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“From my perspective, this is happening earlier than I anticipated, which is fine. Information always has the potential for danger. Here, the situation is even moreso. Be very careful you don’t put yourself in a situation where outcomes have already been determined. As you’ve already accepted a sensitive mission, you’ve noticed you sometimes receive information where certain things have been redacted. Information that has been deemed to be potentially dangerous for your ultimate success, Rael will redact. However, because the situation is so fluid, there is the potential to recover that. Be very careful. There are aspects of this conversation I may no longer have access to once we’ve concluded this meeting.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“You may be able to perceive things that no one else in this mission is able to do so.” There was an incident\/engagement that occurred prior to our Wake mission that placed us in this situation. “Do not look back, look forward. Looking back may close doors that are still available to myself and others.” He claims to only know of our predecessors through the mission brief. It’s not information he’s able to continuously retain. He hopes we can secure information about the mission’s predecessors and aid them. However, that’s not our primary mission. He’s concerned that whatever phenomenon “has enveloped the Tu’rosan system” may not be contained here. This is why the information quarantine is in place. UIB wants to ensure the effect doesn’t spread. He believes the empire was running a project that led to the current weirdness.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Complication: we may be the only people who can interact safely with this information. When we contain information, we appear to be able to contain multiple possibilities. Others may become contaminated by it and may unexist – or may spread unreality. NHPs seem to be either more susceptible, or less, depending on their makeup. Rael was engineered specifically for what was known of the situation from the 501st’s initial contact. It replaced Atlas, the NHP that was previously in system. Wesser doesn’t know what happened to Atlas, and Rael has found no evidence of their existence.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Some NHPs, when encountering the phenomenon, go into something not quite cascade. Most become paralyzed and their performance degrades. The human equivalent would be dementia – incapable of performing, ultimately fatal. Some, like Rael, who are designed to be “flexible,” are able to perceive a multitude of events occurring simultaneously.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Echo asks if we can consult with Rael about the phenomenon or if they’re incapable of discussing it. Rael will self-censor and may treat us as if we aren’t read in.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I ask if Rael is filtering information it provides to Wesser. Yes, but he can override, and he has reasons to trust Rael’s discretion. Implication is that he looked into something that almost killed him.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I ask about hardening NHPs against this. Wesser says Janus\/Echo were selected because of their projected resistance. Rael may be able to provide some further hardening if Ilias and Janus are willing to open up to that.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He pours a second finger of his homeworld whiskey before putting the mask back on.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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We were selected because of our likely resistance. We can perceive multiple conflicting subjectivities simultaneously. Does that make as asymptomatic carriers of the paracausal meme?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n\n\n\n

And on that promising note, we board a local Kharvek-bound dropship.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Local contact is named Rock Pei. Wiry spacer build, lots of low-G time apparent but he’s not suffering in standard grav. He’s affable, appreciates how we handled the incident in Wake.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Covert ingress, drop us over the sensor horizon, then he displaces to another extract site so anyone backtracing our ground ingress route doesn’t lead to his ship.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I spend the shipboard time staying out the crew’s way while they’re working, helping with galley food prep and cleanup, and generally being sociable. Getting to know them – but also keeping an ear out for any cracks that might lead to compromise. I contribute some of my high-quality extra rations to communal meals, too.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The crew is generally friendly, a little awed. Our reputation precedes us.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Kharvek is a rocky, pock-marked landscape with a long history of asteroid bombardment. Its atmo requires some oxygen assistance, but is an oxy-nitro mix. Long-term breathing it will lead to impairment but it doesn’t require a pressure suit. Some water, some clouds, rain is very rare. Averages around 100\u00baF in our area, which gets a lot of sun. Rocky ground; the windstorms fueled by the high temps tend to scour the rock bare.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

We mount up and move in. We pick up activity at the mine site on comms before we have visual. Some sort of salvage or recovery operation, maybe trying to reactivate the mine, prospecting. Lots of unencrypted traffic. No indication of Ashfall affiliation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Sensor masts up. We see several open pit mines. An encampment has been set up more or less in the center of them. There’s a grounded ship, not immediately flightworthy – power cables are leading into the camp, running off its reactor. Several days probably necessary to get it up and running again. Signs of another ship landing\/launching. Several industrial mechs are working (not patrolling). Each one does have a rifle with a flared muzzle clamped to its back. They’ve also modified their reactors to vent plasma.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Northern pit (off map) contains the door to the underground area we saw on research imagery. Doors are open, several power cables are running in there. Lights are on inside. What else are they powering?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I open negotiations. They’re edgy, don’t want me coming closer. Imply prior contact with claim jumpers or pirates. Spokesperson, “Goldie,” is broadcasting from the ship.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I offer security assistance and potential support for claim enforcement.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Echo pulls together our data on imperial automated weapons. We agree to compensate them fairly for anything we want to take, provide tactical support, and exact compensation from the crew that raided them previously (Theo, no last name).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

We come in to parley. What have they removed so far? The place has a legend attached. They had a lead from the team before them (Iron Cassall’s crew, who they paid for access). There’s a room deep in the interior that they aren’t able to access; Goldie’s crew is working that angle. They’re also carving out an advance base inside the complex.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

These guys are chasing fortunes. What they’re salvaging is mainly equipment to refit for their own use.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The LZ evidence outside is from where Theo’s crew landed. (But this crew has a second ship, too.)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

We negotiate access rights. Gold and one of his crew will go in with us; we’ll stream sensor data (redacted for any classified material) to his ship so the rest of his team can watch and record. We’ll take a look at the secured space and see if we can crack it; if any automated defenses trip, we’ll deal with them.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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We make entry. There’s a loading bay where they’ve been staging their frames. Past that, the corridors neck down in a way that makes it obvious this is not a mine. This was an underground facility using the surrounding rock for protection and sensor masking. Interior doors were breached and reclaimed for metal value a long time ago. Gold’s crew has set up an airlock and environmental systems for shirtsleeve work inside the facility.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Some kids are present. I give them 501st zaps (unit insignia stickers). Gold is nervous having them around, shoos them off to their racks.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Gold has a spacer build similar to Rock’s, but not as extreme. Light spacesuit with power assist.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The place is logically arranged, but, as Gold described, a warren. It’s designed for compartmentalization. Concentric circles with only one way of getting to the next ring; lots of indirection, going around a lot. Outermost level has maintenance areas, machine shops, labs, etc – long since stripped. Inner rungs were office spaces. Stark aesthetic, carved stone. Gut check is that this was designed for containment, not defense. Each entranceway to the next rung is set up as a killbox, oriented inward.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Gold says there are legends about buried treasure or the Emperor’s Greenbrier. I talk him around to realizing the defenses point inward.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

On the fourth rung in, both of us can feel a little something. We have the option to shift subjectivity. Ilias shifts. He can hear whispering thoughts in Tu’rosan, but his autotranslate isn’t running yet. The lights Gold’s crew has hung switches to the facility lighting. Ilias sees the place as it was in operation. As we cross into the next rung, turrets behind us are tracking us. The facility is automated and active.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Sensors are tracking and observing us. Ilias still sees no other people. The voices stabilize. It’s more of an auditory hallucination than an auditory input. Seems to be a group of people praying or meditating, petitioning for peace.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For Ilias, the doors are still present – and are opening for us.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Conversation has died off. We reach the entry to the innermost circle. What they’re calling the door is here. Both of us see a casket very similar to what we previously recovered. For me, it’s inert, and they’re trying to cut into it – plasma torches, chisels. From Ilias’ perspective, it’s glowing with inner purple light and distortion is rippling around it, similar to what we saw at the spaceport portal – a hall of mirrors, stacks and stacks of the same scene with minor variations. As Ilias is perceiving it, it is perceiving him as well.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Gold pats the casket. “Yeah, we can’t get into this.” He clearly thinks it’s a door.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The casket looks old. The modifications in Ilias’ subjectivity that tie it into the rest of the facility look newer. As originally built, it did not interface with anything – it was contained.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Gold and his muscle are both getting evasive when we ask about physiological or cognitive effects.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Ilias is getting pings from the casket. He returns the ping with a query for identification.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“You. Contact. Share.” The pressure from the casket intensifies. The protocols are a distorted form of Union protocols, but it’s running on a platform incompatible with its code. It seems to recognize we’re Union but is using 501st authentication keys that have been revoked – Umbra’s keys.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In Anwyn Welsh: “Saif? It’s Glen. We’re here to help.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The casket forwards that message to another location. After a delay, halting, in pain:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“Trying to hold together. They’re… it… won’t stop. I don’t understand what they’re doing. It’s everywhere. It’s consuming –“<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Connection is closed on the other end. Ilias determines it’s connected via system-equivalent omninet, which exists in the substrate reality. The transmission was across that network, to a node that’s on Tu’rosa, on the abandoned continent (one of the locations that matched our wasteland fight, an imperial city destroyed by WMDs when the empire collapsed).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Gold has been here a month. Theo’s crew hit them nine days ago.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Casket: “You need to leave. They know you’re here. They’re coming for you.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The comm channels light up with a frantic freakout about an incoming attack. Janus’ sensor feed back to us shows at least three mechs materializing out of nothing and opening fire.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

I’ve been failing to post session notes because of a lack of executive function and energy to clean them up. Paladin and NLP recently reminded me that not everything I put on the blog needs to be up to my professional standards. I’m not entirely in agreement, but this has been hanging over me, so […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[140],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2069","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-convergence"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/libellus.de-fenestra.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2069","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/libellus.de-fenestra.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/libellus.de-fenestra.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/libellus.de-fenestra.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/libellus.de-fenestra.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=2069"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/libellus.de-fenestra.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2069\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2074,"href":"https:\/\/libellus.de-fenestra.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2069\/revisions\/2074"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/libellus.de-fenestra.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=2069"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/libellus.de-fenestra.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=2069"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/libellus.de-fenestra.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=2069"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}