A Baltimore identity broker uncovers Clarissa Mao beneath Melba Koh and dies trying to turn blackmail into partnership.
Travin operates from the back office of a threatening Baltimore gambling house, protected by two augmented enforcers. For Clarissa Mao, he fabricates the complete identity of Melba Alzbeta Koh: Luna-born orphan, licensed electrochemical technician, free of tax indenture, with a senior contract on the Cerisier. He successfully inserts the new DNA record and scrubs conflicting records.
The work also reveals Clarissa's true identity. Convinced that a Mao traveling toward The Ring must expect an enormous return, Travin refuses the agreed payment and demands full partnership, threatening to expose her if she refuses. He mistakes her isolation for helplessness. Clarissa activates her combat glands, kills his guards, smashes his skull against his desk, and shoots him twice to ensure he cannot survive her chemical crash.
Travin wears a cheap suit he considers respectable. His hair is cut close with white dusting the temples, his beard is equally short, and his deliberately uncorrected teeth are gray at the gums.
Travin supplies the last administrative tool Clarissa needs to infiltrate the Ring mission, then forces her to demonstrate how ruthlessly she will protect it.