ANALYZING… 

FILE TYPE: UESC Internal Report 

PERIOD: Present Day 

TOPIC: Tau Ceti IV Mission Status 

SUMMARY: Classified mission report recorded by UESC Captain Orion. Summarizes the status of Tau Ceti IV as it relates to ongoing UESC investigations into the abandoned New Cascadia colony. 

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TAU CETI IV UESC OPERATIONS STATUS REPORT 

REPORTER: ORION 

1. COLONIST STATUS: No survivors found. Quantity of human remains recovered does not match population records, even when accounting for natural decay and exposure.  

2. COLONY AI STATUS: Excluding automatic subroutines, colony AI is nonfunctional, dormant, or otherwise inaccessible. Colony records indicate severe malfunction across the entire suite.  

3. RESOURCE INVENTORY: Identified functional lab equipment, vehicles, agricultural setups, etc. (see Inventory of Salvageable Resources). Salvage potential is reduced by damage and decay, but recovery efforts are likely worth the expense, even considering potential legal battles with corporate groups.  

4. MARATHON STATUS: UESC Marathon ship remains in orbit. Investigations are stalled due to repeated incidents (see Report: Casualty Roster; Incident Report: Code Name Visitor; Incident Report: Code Name Tantalus Event). Standard robotic units can be deployed to the ship but are difficult to recall or retrieve.  

5. CORPORATE INTERFERENCE: Several corporations have remote presence in the system and intentions to act on their legal salvage rights for the colony. We are blocking their operations where possible.  

6. RUNNER INTERFERENCE: Unaffiliated Runners have been arriving in the system via sponsored transport to engage in unauthorized salvage operations. Deterrence tactics have failed to prevent newcomers. Runners represent a significant impediment to on-the-ground operations.  

>>>ORION'S NOTE: We are encountering multiple obstacles to our investigation. Corporations are technically within bounds if you look at the salvage rights contracts they signed centuries ago, but there's gray area. UESC investigatory operations should take precedence, especially considering what we've found so far. My unit will continue enforcing New Cascadia as a restricted location. All UESC operations here remain confidential. Requesting backup from HQ to run interference with corporate leadership.>>>  

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FILE TYPE: Drone Manifest 

PERIOD: Present Day 

TOPIC: Anomalous Cargo 

SUMMARY: UESC Transport Drone manifest annotated by two UESC officials. Document indicates that materials being transported are dangerously contaminated and unstable after significant exposure to the phenomenon known as "the Anomaly." 

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SHIPMENT NUMBER 48729 // MANIFEST // VESSEL UESC-T22 // 2894 

CARGO: [REDACTED] [REDACTED] [REDACTED]  

[023_SYAR] Shipment contains all remnants collected from the site of Incident 253 (see Incident Report: Contagious Mimesis). All debris was collected within the vicinity of the Anomaly and should be considered severely contaminated. At the site, crew has followed all standard and nonstandard cleanup procedures to the best of ability: Standard Toxic Substance Disposal Protocol, Unknown Substance Containment Procedure, Biological Hazard Removal and Retainment ("Dyer Method"), Radioactivity Risk Mitigation, Contagion and Contamination Risk Assessment and Isolation. Materials collected appear to be inactive. Per Orion, all analysis is paused. Moving forward with containment procedures with plans for incineration.  

[015_ITRE] Please revise this plan. Orders from HQ are for analysis on 253 materials to begin immediately.  

[023_SYAR] Did Orion back this? His initial instruction was risk mitigation. I noted above that all materials appear to be inactive, but this isn't a reliable indicator of stability. Immediate analysis of materials runs a high risk of another destructive incident.  

[015_ITRE] Confirmed by Orion. UESC personnel with adequate hazardous materials training should start assessment in orbital lab units.  

[023_SYAR] Need to push back here. "Hazardous materials training" doesn't cover materials that defy physics. Strongly suggest defaulting to containment.  

[015_ITRE] Denied. No further risk assessment is required or requested. Assessment should begin immediately in orbital lab units.  

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FILE TYPE: UESC Comms  

PERIOD: Present Day 

SPEAKERS: UESC Admiral Sulera [ID: CSUL], UESC Captain Orion [ID: ORION] 

TOPIC: UESC Mission Priorities  

SUMMARY: An intersystem call between UESC Admiral Sulera and UESC Captain Orion regarding the Anomaly on Tau Ceti IV.   

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[CSUL]: You've got your handpicked team, unlimited re-ups, root command over Cerberus. I've given you everything you asked for to outfit this mission. What do you need now? 

[ORION]: Time. We're pushing forward when we should be pulling back, just to meet these quotas. We need to slow down, get our house in order, and approach with caution. 

[CSUL]: You are the head of an elite military unit, Captain. Your house should always be in order. 

[ORION]: This is unknown territory. The colonists studied the Anomaly for years and even they didn't understand it. 

[CSUL]: That means you have years and years of data. Find that data and use it. 

[ORION]: We are. But it takes time. Moving this fast… We've lost equipment. We've lost people. 

[CSUL]: Loss is accounted for in your astronomical budget. Let me make myself perfectly clear. The Anomaly is a mission priority. I want daily reports. I want each daily report to contain a new piece of information that will be worth something to the council. If that means you need to feed your officers into the Anomaly until something worthwhile comes out, I would consider that acceptable attrition. Do you understand? 

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FILE TYPE: Council Meeting Recording 

PERIOD: Colony Era  

SPEAKERS: Caruso, L. [ID: LCAR], Cole, V. [ID: VCOL], Reed, D. [ID: DREE] 

TOPIC: Anomaly 

SUMMARY: A recording of a New Cascadia council discussion between President Luca Caruso, Dr. Valentin Cole, and General Davic Reed about the emergence of the Anomaly.   

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[LCAR]: We can't risk it. I understand the threat, but there are bigger problems we need to address first. 

[VCOL]: I don't think you understand the threat. We're talking about a ground fissure that's getting bigger every day, leaking some kind of unknown radiation. On file, I've got reports of extensive equipment degradation, wildlife disruption, hallucinations…  

[LCAR]: I've got people dying from a contagion we can't identify. 

[VCOL]: I have a theory that this is linked to the contagion. Along with several other abnormal phenomena, some of which might even be beneficial if we can understand and harness the source. There are too many angles here to just ignore it. 

[LCAR]: I'm tired of chasing theories. I've heard a lot of them, and they're all pretty goddamn thin. We need to prioritize here. General Reed and I agree, our focus is containing the contagion. 

[DREE]: How many people do you need, Dr. Cole? 

[VCOL]: A handful. Twenty. 

[DREE]: You get ten. 

[LCAR]: General, I thought we were aligned. 

[DREE]: We are. The majority of our resources will still go to Biomedical, but we need to be flexible. Any lead we have on the contagion, we have to follow. 

[LCAR]: We cannot justify this kind of risk right now. 

[DREE]: The second the risks outweigh the benefits, I'll pull the task force. You have my word, Caruso. 

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FILE TYPE: Incident Report 

PERIOD: Colony Era 

TOPIC: Anomaly 

SUMMARY: Incident reports indicating the effects of Anomaly exposure during the operational years of the colony: time dilation, hallucinatory states, etc. The final report documents the disappearance of colony scientist Dr. Arjun Dasari. Files are corrupted with significant data loss. Anomalous messaging in Report 55 is not part of the original file; source is unknown. 

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Anomaly Investigative Team Memo 

Reporter: Cole, V. 

Incident Report #38: DNA sequencing results of local species captured in vicinity of the Anomaly show significant DNA change in matter of days… [DATA NOT FOUND] …exerting exaggerated selection pressure… [DATA NOT FOUND]  

Incident Report #45: As part of routine biosample collection, Dasari entered the vicinity of the Anomaly. Cole, on-duty supervisor, observed Dasari to be absent for 10 minutes. Dasari claims to have been gone at least 3 hours… [DATA NOT FOUND] …hallucinations and "lost time"… [DATA NOT FOUND] …inexplicably drawn… [DATA NOT FOUND]  

Incident Report #49: During sample analysis in lab, Stafford was assisted by AI Bastion. Upon… [DATA NOT FOUND] …refused to provide sequencing support… [DATA NOT FOUND] …began to speak in a language yet to be identified… [DATA NOT FOUND] …demeanor inconsistent with his programming… [DATA NOT FOUND] …no apparent memory of malfunction.  

Incident Report #51: On a perimeter walk of the Anomaly site, Dasari encountered… [DATA NOT FOUND] …confusion and misunderstanding, resulting in an argument… [DATA NOT FOUND] …Dasari claimed to hear "singing inaudible to the human ear"… [DATA NOT FOUND] …saw "aggressive creatures of memory"… [DATA NOT FOUND] …Dasari was admitted to Medical for assessment and ultimately cleared.  

Incident Report #55: [DATA NOT FOUND] …severe psychological disturbances, resulting in mandatory medical leave… [DATA NOT FOUND] …BEGIN THE HARVEST… [DATA NOT FOUND] …continues to return to the site despite restriction and supervision… [DATA NOT FOUND] …PERMIT NO TRESPASS… [DATA NOT FOUND] …DENY LIGHT DENY LIGHT DENY LIGHT… [DATA NOT FOUND]  

Incident Report #56: [DATA NOT FOUND] …disappeared from medical holding… [DATA NOT FOUND] …Dasari did not return… [DATA NOT FOUND] …without a trace… [ERROR! FILE CORRUPTED]  

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FILE TYPE: PSA Transcript 

PERIOD: Colony Era 

TOPIC: Anomaly Safety Measures 

SUMMARY: Transcript of a colony-wide announcement made by New Cascadia President Luca Caruso. The announcement communicates official restrictions on the Anomaly site as well as the disbanding of all related taskforces. Heavily corrupted with significant data loss. 

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Residents of New Cascadia: Due to repeated incidents [CORRUPTED AUDIO] the Anomaly, I am declaring a state of emergency. [CORRUPTED AUDIO] this point onward, all access to the site is restricted. Anomaly taskforces are disbanded, and teams will be reassigned to critical initiatives in [CORRUPTED AUDIO] of the colony. A strict curfew will be put in place, and anyone previously assigned to the Anomaly is required [CORRUPTED AUDIO] psychological evaluations and mandatory self-reports.  

I understand the frustration research teams might be feeling as [CORRUPTED AUDIO] and I commend all the teams who have put their lives on the line [CORRUPTED AUDIO] a seemingly unsolvable puzzle. This determination is central to the spirit of New [CORRUPTED AUDIO] risks to people are too high.  

We will be releasing clear safety guidelines and best practices [CORRUPTED AUDIO] Joy is accessible to you all hours of the day. Many residents have described [CORRUPTED AUDIO] drawn to the Anomaly [CORRUPTED AUDIO] no memory of how they got there. Hallucinations of family members or friends [CORRUPTED AUDIO] promises or threats. [CORRUPTED AUDIO] in the fog. It is not real. Do not [CORRUPTED AUDIO] lights guiding them away from [CORRUPTED AUDIO] and a feeling of familiarity or safety. This is a delusion [CORRUPTED AUDIO] If you hear [CORRUPTED AUDIO] please, please do not answer. Please do not follow [CORRUPTED AUDIO] There isn't anything for you there.  

[CORRUPTED AUDIO] have survived what seemed unsurvivable. [CORRUPTED AUDIO] have come too far, and lost too much, to risk what little we have left.    

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FILE TYPE: Letter Dictation  

PERIOD: Colony Era 

SPEAKERS: Reed, D. [ID: DREE], AI subroutine [ID: AI34], Unidentified Speaker [ID: NULL] 

TOPIC: Anomaly 

SUMMARY: Dictation of an unsent message from General Davic Reed to deceased Mars resident Orla Reed.   

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[DREE]: Begin mail dictation. Letter to Orla. 

[AI34]: Starting recording. Encryption enabled. Recipient: Orla Reed. This recipient is invalid. Mail will remain unsent. 

[DREE]: Acknowledged. Proceed. 

[AI34]: Please begin dictation. 

[DREE]: All right. You were right about a lot of things, Orla. This expedition is doomed. Maybe it has been from the start. Now I've got Caruso trying to call off the Anomaly task force, right as we're about to make progress. He's declaring a state of emergency to override me.  

[DREE]: It was a mistake, giving civilian leadership here so much power. If the UESC had exclusive authority from the start, we wouldn't have lost so many people aboard the Marathon. And we could've locked down the contagion sooner.  

[DREE]: I wish I could talk to you. Really talk to you. Not like this… The real you. I'm going to overrule Caruso, send Cole back in. He wants to go anyway, and— 

[NULL]: [unintelligible] 

[DREE]: Orla? 

[NULL]: [unintelligible] 

[DREE]: That's not really you.  

[footsteps] 

[DREE]: Orla… 

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ANALYZING…    

FILE TYPE: UESC Comms  

PERIOD: Present Day 

SPEAKERS: UESC Admiral Sulera [ID: CSUL], UESC Captain Orion [ID: ORION] 

TOPIC: Runner Interference 

SUMMARY: An intersystem call between UESC Admiral Sulera and UESC Captain Orion regarding Runner interference on Tau Ceti IV.   

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[CSUL]: Explain to me how a handful of Runners has managed to humiliate a team of military professionals. 

[ORION]: It's more than a handful. 

[CSUL]: Of untrained petty criminals. 

[ORION]: The Runners are a problem, a huge problem. But they're not the source. They're working for Traxus OffWorld. Traxus is paying them to interfere. I've got concerns they might be hacking into our comms. 

[CSUL]: Have you considered the possibility of a mole in your unit? 

[ORION]: My people are solid. I chose each and every one of them. This isn't about my unit. This is about a regulated corporation deliberately compromising our mission objectives. If I could have permission to engage Traxus directly, put some fear into their corporate leadership so that I might— 

[CSUL]: Hear me, Captain. You will have no antagonistic contact with Traxus leadership, unless you want to be summarily dismissed. Deal with the Runners, or I will find someone else who can. 

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ANALYZING… 

FILE TYPE: Text Communications 

PERIOD: Colony Era 

TOPIC: Anomaly 

SUMMARY: Text communication from Dr. Valentin Cole to General Davic Reed, requesting an extension of the Anomaly research taskforce, sent after President Luca Caruso's order to disband all Anomaly taskforces. File is corrupted with significant data loss. 

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SUBJECT: Status update and extension request 

SENDER: Cole, V. 

RECIPIENT: Reed, D. 

All samples show significant DNA change across time, much larger than standard population variation, and… [DATA NOT FOUND] …We don't want to jump the gun here, but this is unprecedented. We've never observed an effect quite like this… [DATA NOT FOUND] …closest being gravitational time dilation, but without the difference in gravitational potential. Put simply: Time seems to move differently within the vicinity of the Anomaly versus outside of it. All of our excursions confirmed… [DATA NOT FOUND] …still taking into consideration human error or even a shared delusion. Daily psych evals with Joy were mandatory for the entire team, but I feel confident in our findings, even if we can't explain them… [DATA NOT FOUND] …equipment loss drove up our costs, plus dealing with unexplainable side effects of exposure, like lost time and AI malfunction. The dangers here are clear, and I don't mean to diminish them… [DATA NOT FOUND] …would be foolish to ignore the possibility space. Consider for example food production. An agricultural set-up built within the affected vicinity would produce food at an accelerated rate with a fraction of the man-hours, assuming our automated systems can… [DATA NOT FOUND] …if we learn to predict the extent of the time dilation, any time-based task that does not require full monitoring would become essentially automatic and, in some cases, almost instantaneous… [DATA NOT FOUND] …basically, a laboratory operating on an accelerated timeline. It would be groundbreaking. With more resources, a larger team, and more time, this could be a reality… [DATA NOT FOUND] …need Caruso's approval. You need to convince him to lift the restriction. Or we go around him… [DATA NOT FOUND] …I acknowledge there are risks. But this is why we came here. This is what we were meant to find… [ERROR ! FILE CORRUPTED]  

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ANALYZING… 

FILE TYPE: UESC Internal Report 

PERIOD: Present Day 

TOPIC: Anomaly 

SUMMARY: Classified report detailing UESC investigations into the Anomaly on Tau Ceti IV. The report outlines similar findings to colony-era experiments, as well as a notable incident regarding a UESC officer disappearing and experiencing accelerated aging. Two key details have been redacted by a UESC official. 

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ANOMALY REPORT 423 

REPORTER: Lawson, H. 

Records confirm "the Anomaly" appeared in New Cascadia some time after the attack on the colony [see prior documents: Chan, Audit of Colony Damage; Harris, Unpredictable Behavior and Equipment Failures in Anomaly Zone]. Comparison with historical record indicates that the disturbance has increased exponentially in size but appears to have entered a period of stability. Theory regarding the Anomaly's connection to [REDACTED] remains unconfirmed.  

Several instances of experimental exposure align with recovered colonist findings: The vicinity of the Anomaly appears to create a time dilation effect. Artificial intelligence architectures are deeply impacted by exposure in unpredictable ways, leading to anything from extreme malfunction to dramatic system improvements. Timed exposure is primarily being conducted on combat units, but we have also begun infrequent exposure on living subjects (voluntary). Results are varied and costly, to resources and morale.  

The most recent incident involves one officer, M. Diaz (UESC#542), entering restricted vicinity of the Anomaly. Diaz became obscured from view due to airborne particulate and then could not be found without entering restricted vicinity. When returning later that day with a rescue party, Diaz was found inside a structure near the Anomaly, facing a wall. When addressed, Diaz exhibited severe cognitive confusion and what appeared to be biocybernetics deterioration indicative of many years without maintenance. Claims to have been lost for [REDACTED] years. Diaz is currently in medical isolation until further notice.  

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FILE TYPE: Audio Report 

PERIOD: Colony Era 

SPEAKERS: Cole, V. [VCOL] 

TOPIC: Anomaly 

SUMMARY: A recording of a verbal report given by Dr. Valentin Cole during an investigation of the Anomaly. The file is heavily corrupted, and dating results are incomprehensible. 

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[VCOL]: Begin recording. Time is 0500. I've returned to the Anomaly site. No sign of Dasari… but temporal abnormalities persist.  

[VCOL]: Reed, is that you? Are you with me?  

[VCOL]: Begin recording.  

[VCOL]: Abort mission!  

[VCOL]: Reed, is that you?  

[VCOL]: Can't find my way out. Doesn't make sense. I just keep walking, and walking…  

[VCOL]: Time passes differently here. We were right. You hear that, Caruso? I was right.  

[VCOL]: 0500. Time is 0500.  

[VCOL]: The suit has Dasari's number. This body's been here for years. Well past advanced stages of decay. 

[VCOL]: Can't find my way out.  

[VCOL]: Are you with me?  

[VCOL]: Something's here with me.  

[VCOL]: Abort mission. I repeat, abort! Abort!  

[VCOL]: I can hear it.  

[VCOL]: Begin recording. 

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ANALYZING…  

FILE TYPE: Text Communication  

PERIOD: Present Day  

TOPIC: Anomaly  

SUMMARY: Classified UESC communications detailing the effects of the Anomaly on UESC unit combat protocols and capabilities.  

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ANOMALY REPORT 455 

REPORTER: Lawson, H. 

See attached several instances of a standard combat unit's self-analysis. The unit in question went off-radar when in vicinity of the Anomaly for approximately four hours. When recovered, it appeared to have undergone a quantity of self-iteration expected over the course of many years, with significant expansion in adaptability, creative innovation, etc. We have seen this in multiple units exposed to the Anomaly. Unfortunately, all units with this quantity of exposure and resultant self-improvement suffer major compliance and equipment failures and need to be taken offline per mission protocol (see final log for example of unknown error). That said, if there is a workaround for these errors, the possibilities for rapid iteration on combat intelligences are astonishing.  

[[ATTACHMENT:]]  

LOG #241  

Generating overview of unit capabilities…  

>>ADAPTABILITY: operational; manufacturing standard  

>>SPONTANEOUS INNOVATION: operational; manufacturing standard  

>>ENVIRONMENTAL MONITORING ACUITY: operational; manufacturing standard  

>>RESPONSE TIME: operational; manufacturing standard  

>>fatality scores equivalent to average unit capability  

>>following all standard CERBERUS procedures; 0% mission priority deviation recorded  

LOG #1065  

Generating overview of unit capabilities…  

>>ADAPTABILITY: operational; +23.56%  

>>SPONTANEOUS INNOVATION: operational; +41.22%  

>>ENVIRONMENTAL MONITORING ACUITY: operational; +25.8%  

>>RESPONSE TIME: operational; +53.33%  

>>fatality scores above average unit capability  

>>following all standard CERBERUS procedures; 0% mission priority deviation recorded  

LOG #9348  

Generating overview of unit capabilities…  

>>ADAPTABILITY: operational; +63.64%  

>>SPONTANEOUS INNOVATION: operational; +87.62%  

>>ENVIRONMENTAL MONITORING ACUITY: operational; +41.25%  

>>RESPONSE TIME: operational; +74.44%  

>>fatality scoresSUPPRESS GROWTH significantly aboveERADICATE PEST average unit capability  

>>engaging in creative elaborationOBSCURE SIGHT on standard CERBERUS procedures; mission prioritiesEXTINGUISH EXTINGUISH EXTINGUISH dynamically revised 2649 times in last evaluation period  

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ANALYZING…     

FILE TYPE: UESC Comms   

PERIOD: Present Day 

SPEAKERS: UESC Admiral Sulera [ID: CSUL], Vulcan [ID: VULC]  

TOPIC: UESC-Traxus Relations 

SUMMARY: An intersystem call between UESC Admiral Sulera and Traxus AI Vulcan regarding salvage rights on Tau Ceti IV. 

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[CSUL]: The UESC was very clear when we laid out our arrangements for the Tau Ceti recovery mission. Locating survivors was our goal, first and foremost. In the unfortunate case that there were no survivors, sole jurisdiction was clearly specified to go to our investigation team. 

[VULC]: With consideration, of course, for Traxus's legal salvage rights. 

[CSUL]: Legally, corporations are prohibited from interfering in an active investigation. 

[VULC]: No Traxus representatives, employees, or artificial intelligences have been physically deployed to Tau Ceti IV. My own involvement has been entirely remote and exploratory in nature. We have no physical presence in the system, Admiral. There's no language, in the law or in any of our contractual agreements, that would support a definition of our actions as "interference." 

[CSUL]: What about recruiting mercenaries to act on your behalf? 

[VULC]: Traxus OffWorld Industries doesn't hire Runners. Feel free to make a legal request for our employment records. 

[CSUL]: Are you actually claiming to have had no contact with Runners on Tau Ceti? 

[VULC]: Our actions are all perfectly legal and in line with our contractual agreements. I advise you to consider the larger context. Traxus and the UESC have several mutually beneficial arrangements. If our partnership were compromised, Traxus would be forced to revoke our funding contributions to your mission. Surely a budgetary interruption would be more detrimental to you than some petty conflict with civilian Runners.  

[VULC]: The board has asked me to offer the following encouragement: Our success is your success. 

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