Missing Colony Ships
Naomi's comparison of transit data with Free Navy assets shows that the vanished colony vessels are not Marco's piracy, pointing to a danger within the Ring gates.
Story so far
Monica Stuart first identifies thirteen ships that entered the Ring network and failed to arrive, while the captured transit records show suspicious discontinuities around heavy traffic. At first, James Holden considers whether human extremists might be hiding seizures or altered identities through Medina Station, and Marco's expanding piracy makes that possibility seem plausible.
After surviving the Pella and comparing the public transit data with Bobbie Draper's Martian inventory investigation, Naomi Nagata finds that the evidence divides cleanly. Free Navy vessels can be matched, imperfectly but persuasively, to old Martian Navy records; the vanished colony ships cannot be matched to Marco's ships, their destinations, or a useful pirate pattern. Naomi's conclusion is provisional but stark: something associated with the Ring gates is taking ships, creating a threat beyond the human war.
Appearance
The disappearances are visible through ordinary footage of ships entering Ring gates, broken arrival records, and the disturbing absence that follows; no direct cause has yet been seen.
Role
The vanished colony ships are now a distinct mystery whose pattern points away from Marco's thefts and toward an unknown danger in gate transit itself.
Relationships
Sources — 2 recorded facts, by chapter
- A disturbing pattern in which thirteen ships entering the Ring network fail to reach known destinations.
- Naomi's comparison of transit data with Free Navy assets shows that the vanished colony vessels are not Marco's piracy, pointing to a danger within the Ring gates.