Laconia Station
A distant Ring-gate system where Duarte's rogue Martian fleet intends to exploit alien artifacts, but whose gate destroys the approaching Barkeith.
Story so far
Laconia is a newly reachable system beyond the Ring network, known to Duarte's breakaway Martian command for alien technology and an artifact that Paolo Cortázar believes humanity can tame. The fleet's destination is kept separate from Marco's Free Navy project, which is useful chiefly because it distracts Earth and Mars long enough for Duarte's people to move.
The Barkeith approaches the Laconia gate after receiving clearance from Medina, carrying plans for organic modifications that would allow it to dock with the artifact. Instead of emerging into Laconia's new constellations, its crew encounters an impossible perceptual event and an unknown presence at the threshold. The system is therefore both the promised site of alien power and the location of a catastrophe no one aboard survives to explain.
Appearance
A distant colony system glimpsed only through a Ring gate as a handful of clear unfamiliar stars, associated with an alien station or artifact and a silent, ominous gate approach.
Role
Laconia is the concealed objective of Duarte's Martian faction, where its ambition to use alien technology collides with a greater unknown.
Relationships
Sources — 1 recorded facts, by chapter
- A distant Ring-gate system where Duarte's rogue Martian fleet intends to exploit alien artifacts, but whose gate destroys the approaching Barkeith.