The Infiltrator's contact within The Infuser's Alliance tells him that his father was taken to be recruited for a scientific project. They can't discuss what he worked on, but during a routine transfer of material and personnel for security reasons, his ship was attacked by the KAMATA-Sci, an organization within the KAMTAS which focuses on advanced scientific research. As the two dominant scientific powers in the galaxy, The Infusers' Alliance and the KAMATAS have a long-running shadow war to stay on the forefront of technological progress. The contact can't tell Al much more because the Infusers believe that KAMATA-Sci is on the verge of a major discovery. One that could shift the balance of power in the galaxy. He says they're preparing an op on the base within a few weeks and information is at a premium. After a suspiciously small amount of prodding, he mentions they'd rather send a small, specialized force instead of the Aarenst Wing, but there isn't a unit familiar enough with the technology or the area.
That night, in your suite, the five of you talk it over. It doesn't take the political acumen of Pron Gartor to figure out that The Infusers Alliance set up Al's dad for kidnapping because they want you, the Disciples of the Voice of the Deep, to infiltrate the station and find out what they're working on. If it can stop The Spikes, or reveal The Lonely God of the rogue Monoliths, you'd much rather see it first, rather than simply letting The Infusers have it or misuse it.
The next day, The Infiltrator makes some calls. The five of you are escorted by HiveBots into the government building on Upbow. After pushing through some bureaucratic smokescreens, you make your way into the central briefing room they'd already prepared. After some requisite verbal fencing, you're given the full loadout of The Front of the Spine Station, aka Fal D'Bow, and the device.
The Front of the Spine Station is a simple research station disguised as a border patrol and weigh station in an isolated sector. Its status gives a convenient excuse for its remote location and small armament of gunboats. The sector was once patrolled by the Slemmgraise to stop narcotics flow , but the war with the Massert NoSve forced them to call their ships back. The drawdown of nearby Pris fleets because of their own internal conflicts and the disappearance of rogue Monolith fleets destroying planets mean that the KAMATAS have not replaced the withdrawn Slemmgraise ships with a comparable presence. While there are still patrols in the area, they aren't many. It will be easy enough to sneak in because of the unfolding galactic political situation, but if the alarm is raised, the KAMATAS can respond in force.
The station itself is of typical KAMATAS design; created by long, hexagonal modular pods.
Vertical Pods: Vertical Pods have horizontal flooring which creates dozens of decks, with ladders and miniature lifts between them. When undivided, these decks are about the size of two warehouses. There is a central gravity "floor" at the center, with omnidirectional power couplings to receive and pass along power. Most basic pods are this type.
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Horizontal Pods: These pods are configured more like submarines, with a few long decks that have a number of subdivided rooms. Hangars, control centers, and trams are located in horizontal pods. Horizontal pods have their lower decks taken up with gravity gear, or they can have their top decks attached to a spinning control section to create rotational gravity. The FotS base has the first one. Horizontal pods have long corridors, usually located close to the center or edges of the pod.
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|============| Horizontal Pod with multiple decks
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The Front of the Spine Station has a central column of these staggered, white pods that create a central structure believed to house the research, power, and command functions. This column is encircled by a series of other pods which house four gunboat launch bays and a series of living quarters for the inhabitants.
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Simplified Layout
When you ask about the device itself, they bring up a hologram. It looks like a hut made of square obsidian blocks. On the front, it looks like there is a door of solid back that occasionally ripples. The briefing team says it's an access point to a vast armory. Whether that armory is an ancient one hidden away in the fold of another universe, another galaxy, or different dimension, they don't know. They do know that Al's father was working on higher-level space curvatures, so they expect it has something to do with that, but they're just not sure. They doubt you'll be able to move it, (though they'd love it if you could) and request that you destroy it, save the data so they can make another one, and take the science team back to them ("Of course except for Doctor Orryx," they add, after you remind them).
Later that evening, you recollect at base. The probe telemetry you've gotten from Deforest Station gives you a complete view of the KAMATAS patrols in the area. The Massert NoSve 6th Fleet and the Infuser Aarenst Wing are available to act as backup for your plan, should something go awry. Their intervention might cause a diplomatic upset, but it could also be the difference between gaining a vault of revolutionary weapons and technology, or losing it to a myopic superpower.
In addition, The Infusers can provide you with a bevy of small arms and even some ship upgrades for the Celestial Wind.
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