Cryptogram NN00-118495
From: Unknown
To: Unknown
Subject: Crystal Cuckoo

A. Have you gone mad?

M. What's wrong?

A. Why would you send the Crystal Cuckoo to Ellydium under his real name?

M. This channel may be monitored.

A. And this is my problem?

M. ...

M. This was done so that his story could be perfectly believable. Ellydium has a serious network of agents. His name change would have quickly surfaced.

A. And why would you use his real fiancée for messaging?

M. The fact that Miss Smith and Mr. Kindley are engaged, is only a fortunate coincidence. They are both experienced agents.

A. Were engaged. Were experienced agents.

M. Regarding Agnes, everything depends on you.

A. It's not in our contract.

M. Did you not read the sub-section ‘risks’? Paragraph 392.

A. …

A. We will provide transportation and armed escort. What is the threat?

M. We suspect that Revenant agents involved in the sabotage, can reach it.

A. We have already taken action in this regard. Anything else?

M. I have no more reliable information.

A. Stay tuned. Over and out.



Cryptogram NN00-118496
From: Arthur Gage, UMC
To: Zane Maslow
Subject: Crystal Cuckoo

I'll start with the good news. We tracked down Revenant agents and managed to neutralize most of the network. We were able to keep track of the saboteur from the moment he replaced the real Nemezir. It turned out that the real name was indeed a weak point. Thank you for the advice.

Ellydium and its agents have given us full support. I am sure they have already communicated with you. They are offering full cooperation with UMC, and I do not see any reason to refuse. Their weapons and technology are just too useful. In addition, they acted very prudently in this crisis.

Now the bad news.

We sent a small fleet of ships to protect the transport of Agnes Smith. According to the shipping manifest it was carrying seeds and fertilizers. Not the best loot for pirates, but we were prepared for anything. The route passed through patrolled areas of the hub worlds, support was close by in disguise, observing full radio silence.

We have no idea where the crystallid came from.

The alien ship popped out of a space rip and immediately headed for the transport. Our people moved to intercept, but failed. THe crystallid's weapons and his shields and other systems were something entirely new. We'd never seen anything like it. The Alien damaged some of our ships and and went full defensive as soon as it reached the transport. While our people were busy making chinks in his armour with missiles, he managed to cut the hull of the ship in the very spot where Agnes Smith was.

For a moment, the fire stopped. It was enough for crystallid to disappear.

Agnes Smith or her body's location is unknown.

We offer our condolences.

Arthur Gage, UMC



P.S. audio recordings show that during the attack the crystallid was broadcasting the same message to all radio frequencies. Perhaps it is something you could recognize? The message was:

‘Cuckoo’