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"Are you sure it is wise to tamper with the device?" Benelex cautioned. "Our Mirai cohort insists that we can now take the scene apart virtually."

The van has arrived to take the investigators to question the Konigserker. A half dozen Officers of the Peace have arrived to commence their watch. Miro thanks the driver, asking that he wait a moment, and begins walking back to the warehouse to collect the investigators.

Conall is searching the perimeter beyond what the drones captured on the off chance of stumbling upon evidence.
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The cannon is still armed. It's tamper circuit is complete. The design is perhaps simpler than Sagen surmises, any fluctuation in the energy level of the control circuit that passes a certain threshold will trigger the cannon. Remote activation is also possible, by the circuits design, but the Djin are currently preventing that.

Sagen let out an almost-disappointed sigh. "Well, I suppose we should check with the other investigators. Not my planet, after all." He got up to his feet, put his hat on snugly, and walked out towards Benelex. "At the very least," He added, "No one can remote-detonate the cannon, now." With a slight bow, he gestured for the Prior to lead the way out.



With the smalled curl of the corners of his lips, Xemnas tilted his head to the side, ever so slightly. He outstretched his hand, and closed the portal the Duke and he had just used. With a tilt of his hand upwards, several black pools were conjured in an open space on the bridge. Moments lated, the Duke's men were transported onto the bridge. "That should be all of them."

The IPU has recently begun to collect astronomical data by orbital radio telescope. Efforts to image the entire celestial sphere are still in progress, but already several dozen unknown radio sources have been identified within 300 lightyears of Panacea Nostrum. The coordinates of these radio sources are being passed on to various members of the Hall in the hopes that the civilizations producing these radio emissions may be contacted and incorporated into the Hall. In particular, the Nairan and Djin governments have each been given coordinates to nearby radio sources.

The Nairan's have been given the coordinates to a main sequence star approximately 100 lightyears away that, one hundred years ago, possesses satellite communications and possibly interplanetary (but not interstellar) transport abilities.

The Djin have been given coordinates to a fading automated radio source coming from a red giant about 50 lightyears away. Based on the telemetry, it is unlikely that this source will lead to a civilization, but the language of the emission is unknown and highly sophisticated, utilizing multi-pass quantum encryption.
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The coordinates given to the Nairan's point to a highly advanced civilization that is very young. They evolved naturally, under the protection of a non-interfering Energy Being, and followed a typical course for natural, cultural, and technological development until just under a century ago when they entered a technological renaissance centered on a technology they call a Gravity Lens. A Gravity Lens is a device which allows the regulated transfer of a gravitational field between distant points in space. The true means of the transfer, a Quantum Duality field, is not understood by the civilization but the technology has ushered in new prosperity (for some) by linking Lens to a nearby micro-black hole.

The coordinates given to the Djin point to a system of extra-galactic origin that was captured by this galaxy. The civilization there is now extinct, but has left behind considerable remains in the form of a massive (planetary-scale) structure in counter-rotating orbit very near to the corona of the red dwarf at the system's center. Through advanced field technologies, the structure is unaffected by the star's gravity and, except for orbital motions, remains in a fixed position. While the civilization is dead, the structure is intact and fully powered, continuing to be maintained and house several artificial species created to serve the original civilization. Different species while have different reactions to aliens depending on their function, but the structure itself will remain largely passive to alien intrusion. Some security systems may engage aliens, but not as a result of alien presence, per se, merely because these systems are set to engage all unidentified intruders.