Report to the Stellar Gate Administration from the Bharat Republic

The Engineer – Covert Operative Alert

Name: Unknown

Known Aliases: Lucia Pérez, Carmen Blanco, The Engineer, Jump Ship Saboteur, The Mechanic of Death

Confirmed Missions: The sabotage of the Esperanza, causing catastrophic mechanical failure, resulting in the deaths of fifteen crew members, and the irreparable decommissioning of the ship. The chief engineer and the entire section’s crew were all killed in the same mid-flight explosion, apart from a young ensign named Lucia Pérez, who had only come on board at the beginning of that mission. At the time, Captain Gonzalez had no suspicions of Pérez being a saboteur, and the young woman was treated with compassion as the sole survivor of the devastating malfunction. It was only later, when sabotage was found to be the cause of the mechanical failure, that Pérez was suspected. The engineer, however, had already resigned from her possession, due to the trauma of her near-death experience, and has since disappeared. An image of the woman can be found within this dossier, although it is assumed that reconstructive facial surgery has since taken place.

Suspected Missions: The disappearance of the Naypyitaw, lost en route to Procyon, wreckage never found. Although no official evidence is available, once the confirmed sabotage of the Esperanza was established, investigations into all other missing or damaged ships was extensively carried out, focusing in particular on all female engineers, ones newly acquired during recent missions. The crew manifold for the Naypyitaw revealed one such candidate, albeit under a different alias and altered appearance. Carmen Blanco had only served for three months on the Naypyitaw before its suspicious disappearance, and although the image bears little or no resemblance to Lucia Pérez, it is strongly believed that they are one and the same person.

Possible Financiers: While it is possible that the Engineer works as an independent covert operative, outside of faction politics, it has been suggested that the Bharat Republic is the faction responsible for financing her acts. This is due to the correlating facts of both ships, the Naypyitaw and the Esperanza, being en route to Procyon at the time of their respective disasters. It is far more likely, however, that this coincidence is intentional misdirection from any of the other factions – although most likely, by the CSN.

Rumoured Next Mission: The purpose of this dossier is to serve as warning to the SGA, as it is now believed that the Engineer’s next target will be the Stellar Gate Administration. Although the SGA has always been consistently thorough in its vetting policies, rumours are currently being spread around the factions about a planned Jump Gate malfunction. Such a malfunction would obviously be ruinous for the star system for which the corridor provides travel, so for now we are staying vigilant for threats from any faction to another regarding possible “accidents” on their primary Gates. Again, we have heard whispers of the Consortium of Interstellar Nations making such claims, although for now we lack hard proof. Regardless, we would urge that the SGA run an immediate surprise inspection on all their mechanics and engineers, in particular any female members who have recently joined their operation within the past few months or years.

Respected BR Auditor: One of our own such respected auditors, Valentina Sosa, has been sent to you along with this report. We gladly offer you her services to help conduct this vital search. We feel that an external official, such as Valentina, will aid with transparency and objectivity in your investigation. Clearly, there would be no need for payment for her services. We simply hope that this friendly warning from the Bharat Republic will be taken in good faith towards all our future dealings with the SGA.

Report from the Covert Intelligence Department of the Bharat Republic