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King Auban, Rhesus
‘We’ve recently uncovered and eliminated a series of industrial espionage attacks on Eden II—all seemingly designed to try and steal our technology and research. We’ve also ID’d the Rinnax family as the visible threat actors. They own a components factory in your capital city. The company also dabbles in orhial deposits, media outlets, computer companies, and arms supplies.’
Kainan Sable spoke slowly, clearly keen to ensure none of what he was sharing was lost in translation. His solemn face and that of his fellow Rider, Kage Sable, loomed clearly on a large holo screen within the quiet, tranquil luxury of King Auban’s private office.
The royal stood staring keenly at the live feed. Behind the King, leaning on an ornate desk, was the Rhesian Prime Minister, Feldman Terion, looking on with concern.
‘I see,’ said the King. ‘So you’re claiming one of our local businesses tried to steal trade secrets from you?’
‘I’m not claiming, Your Highness. I’m stating it. They attempted multiple times to get insider information but could not - given our defence-in-depth architecture and ability to secure ourselves. As you know, The Sable Group takes the protection of our IP seriously. However, any further attempts will mean we will take even more hardline measures that could play out System-wide. Which is why we’re bringing this matter to your attention.’
The King sighed. ‘How did you find all this out?’
‘They stole one of our corvettes during the Dunian civil war and tried to take it apart. We were forced to retrieve it on Enia, given its military sensitivity which was entirely legal under the Pegasi sovereign salvage act. We discovered more proof of their subterfuge during that recovery. We found out that, as well as stealing our data and tech, Rinnax Holdings was doing the same to other companies across the System. n addition, they attacked one of our secure facilities and tried to get one of our staff members to ex-filtrate data, documents, and information. More concerning is that we discovered a large weapons cache also belonging to Rinnax Holdings hidden here on Eden II. We did a detailed manifest of the weapons cache and traced it to pirate weapon suppliers. Who revealed the Rinnax Holdings is certainly arming itself. Bigtime. After this meeting, I’ll send over a link to what we found, plus evidence of their corruption and cutting of corners.’
‘To what end? What are they hoping to achieve?’ the King asked.
Kage leaned in onscreen. ‘We believe they’re doing it all at the behest of someone within your royal house, Your Highness. It seems to be a concerted effort to tip the balance of power in favour of those who’ve paid them very well to commit all these infractions.’
Kainan nodded. ‘To be clear, it’s not the Rhesian government but someone within your royal circle behind this. However, some actors in the administration end must also be involved to cut through any red tape and bureaucracy.’
The King arched an eyebrow and huffed. ‘Not a surprise. For some time now, I’ve been aware that someone in my backyard is working against me.’
Rhesia’s Prime Minister, however, seemed shocked. ‘To what end, Your Highness?’
The King spun around and nailed the planet’s most senior minister with a stern look. ‘What does anyone without power, yet close enough to taste it, want?’
‘I see,’ Mr Feldman murmured, not quite seeing it, as he was that rare man dedicated to public service who cared nothing for power grabbing or useless postulation.
‘It would seem these Royals, whoever they are, want to take back governing power of Rhesia and, wider still, the System,’ Kainan added. ‘We stumbled on a link to a dark web forum in the database we hacked. It shows that while directed by the Royal house, Rinnax Holdings signed deals to act as mercenaries for a shady outfit - The Klastsch, who has financially backed them. They’re an obscure group focused on taking power from leaders like yourselves - and The Sable Group - because they see that we’re becoming too influential in the System. We’ve also found links between the royal house on Rhesia and The Klastsch. We believe their goal is to create one unified totalitarian government across Pegasi.’
‘This is deeply concerning.’
‘It should be. These combined efforts are trying to exploit Rhesia’s weaknesses. It’s no secret that your planet is undergoing tremendous global tension and economic uncertainty. Your planet is entering an era in which an increasing number of threats will come from state-sponsored actors seeking to control your economy and that of the entire System if they can. This directly threatens specific sectors, including energy, shipping, financial services and chip manufacturing. These attacks won’t stop at stealing IP or subverting our data. Instead, they’ll focus on proper disruption — compromising or shutting down critical operations on a System-wide scale.’
‘So what should we do?’ King Auban said.
Kainan leaned into the camera, his expression earnest and urgent. ‘Work with us. To hunt down those within and without your royal house who seek our joint demise. Implement processes to protect against these growing threats by securing, segmenting and hardening defences. We must also find and disband Rinnax Holdings - and that can be done legally as they’ve also violated and contravened hundreds of your labour laws at their factory on Enia. We then need to go after The Klastsch, System-wide and need your royal and prime ministerial sign-off on our actions to protect and safeguard our interests.’
‘You want carte blanche to go after these actors?’ The Prime Minister asked.
‘We do - within reason and within what’s permissible by the law, of course. The Sable Group does not take a hardline approach unless we’re struck first. But we have been attacked and need to retaliate to protect our interests. Our adversaries are pouring money and ambition into mastering artificial intelligence, quantum computing and synth biotech because they know this will give them leverage. So let’s take that leverage away by working closely with trusted members of your government to share our leading-edge tech with you. But we cannot do that until all threats are eliminated from your end.’
‘Sounds reasonable,’ the King finally said. ‘Terion?’
The Prime Minster raised both hands in a gesture of surrender and acceptance. ‘Agreed. Please send any evidence and your suggested template for the required ministerial sign-off. We’ll review and revert as soon as possible.’
‘And please keep what we’ve discussed today all to yourselves, just between the two of you,’ Kainan warned.
The Prime Minister’s eyes widened in surprise. ‘You think our assistants and direct reports may also be involved?’
‘I’m afraid so, Mr Feldman,’ Kainan said. ‘These actors seem to have infiltrated you at the highest level.’
‘This is outrageous,’ the Prime Minister huffed. ‘How did we let this happen? And how are we supposed to find out who they are?’
‘By letting us into your systems,’ Kage said. ‘We understand it’s risky on your end, but we can promise that our tech can leverage complex tactics to listen in on them while remaining undetected in networks, ensuring there is no compromise to your internal security, critical infrastructure or public sector verticals.’
‘How will it work?’
