9-077: Maldemar 732
Dicard asks everyone to meet in the Common Area once everyone’s post-docking tasks are completed and they have cleared the customs check.
As usually happens (there’s really only been a single exception) a couple of Legionnaires come aboard, are met by a Minor Vizier and a Legion Operations Under Commander at the airlock, quickly check the ship’s documents and everyone’s ID Tags and depart.
Everyone files into the Common Area and sits at the main table. Dicard glances at Downer, seems about to say something and changes his mind.
He clears his throat and begins.
“A recap of our project objectives. We know that Willard Argyle, also known as Abbas Lozenge-Sok, has become a threat to the Security of the Dominion. We know Argyle is a Cyber Security expert who has worked for the Planning Bureau on Zargonia, the Vizierate at MaPaCoA and the Overlord’s Household inside the Black Palace.
“Our primary objectives are as follows:
“One: The objective of the previous project remains, The Argyle Notebook is itself a threat to the Security of the Dominion and still needs to be recovered. We do not know if any copies exist, so we must obtain the original, or a copy, so it can be analysed to see what countermeasures to the information it contains may need to be put in place.
“Two: Willard Argyle is to be located and ideally, returned to Vizierate custody.
“Three: Any materials he is working on or that he possesses are to be returned with him.
“Four: Any available additional information relating to his work on current, past or intended projects is to be collected and reported, whether sourced from him, any associates he may have, or other sources.
“The project also has four secondary objectives, as follows:
“Five: Continue to research Argyle’s existing, and any newly obtained, archival works.
“Six: Recover Argyle’s chip emulator from the Pristine Hunting Lodge, or ensure it is destroyed.
“Seven: Report on any of Argyle’s past or present associates.
“Eight: Determine Argyle’s intentions for use of his knowledge.
“Since our discussions with the MaPaCoA Advisory Board members, we have also been asked to share our information with its constituent entities.
“As far as we know, Willard Argyle has not left Pristine. However, he had one false identity so he may have others. As far as we know, the last time anyone saw Argyle was on 211.297 at his Hunting Lodge.
“Oliver, has your study of Argyle’s writings given any further clues?”
“Up until four kiloCycles ago, Argyle had a housemate named Billy Bobb-Jobethunt. I haven’t found the name again up to where I am currently reading. Argyle has been a previous employee of the local mining operation on Pristine, where he met someone only referred to as “Contact” that hired him to do some illegitimate hacking work.
Other than that, most of his diaries are technical information about the projects he has been working on.”
Oliver ponders a moment. “There might be hints to who the contact is, but considering Argyle’s line of work he’s used to being vague and non-descriptive with his notes.”