Undercurrents on the outer defense line, Gwen Stacy encounters an orbit
Monk sat in his district commander's office for nearly half an hour, staring at the copy from the Containment Room displayed on the screen.
Horn handed over a brief list: two points. First, the requisitioned space pirates from Gwen Stacy's flagship, the "Bloodfang," were accounted for under a special supply program under Hela's name in the Stability Maintenance Office, settled monthly, and handled by the accounting adjutant of the Stability Maintenance Office Logistics Division. Second, on the 17th of last month, S-004 led the Black Crow Guard into the Department of Technology, ostensibly to deliver three returned documents, but actually entered the waste material storage area of Seventh Laboratory, where they stayed for sixteen minutes before emerging.
Monk read those two lines over and over again three times. That old Horn was very shrewd; he copied them into the margins of the defense briefing and deliberately used ambiguous phrases like "Fleet communications fragments intercepted from the periphery." If something went wrong, Horn could simply claim that it was scraps picked up during routine intelligence screening and that no subjective judgment was made.
That old man.
Monk picked up his cup, took a sip of his cold tea, and then put it down. Of course, he could use these two points to pressure Hela — the Stability Maintenance Office was overstepping its bounds, even daring to tamper with the outsourced supplies for the defense zone; if this matter reached the Joint Conference, it would be enough to give the Black Crow Guard a run for their money. But Hela the kind of person who wouldn't back down if you pushed her; she would retaliate and tear down your entire Defense Line.
no.
He then reviewed Gwen Stacy's recent activity records within the defense zone. The Liaison Office's asset inventory list had already been submitted for the third time. Each time, it was that Xiao Zhang, Xiao Zhang, who would bring over a stack of folders sealed with the Liaison Office's seal, go through the procedures at the Supervision Division to get them stamped, and then take them back untouched. It seemed very orderly, but Monk knew this kind of "order" all too well. The Liaison Office's inventory list was used to monitor the entry and exit of supplies for various units within the defense zone. In other words, Gwen Stacy was using the guise of asset inventory to check the logistics within his defense zone.
Once the logistics were investigated, the Bloodfang Fleet's secret supply records could no longer be concealed.
Monk tapped his fingers twice on the table, picked up the Internal Communicator, and dialed the Technical Support Division.
"This is Monk. Control Center. Lower the orbit of Reconnaissance Satellite No. 7 by 0.3 degrees, and adjust its overpass time to once every four hours, focusing on covering berths C-7 to C-12."
There was a moment's hesitation on the other end. "Commander, the orbit of Satellite No. 7 is shared with the Asset Registration Agency of the Management Committee; any orbital deviations require reporting."
"What do you need to report? Defense requirements." Monk said calmly. "According to Article 14 of the Defense Zone Safety Regulations, the Commander has the authority to adjust the deployment of reconnaissance assets when necessary. Just send a notification through the internal service channel, copy it to the Asset Registration Agency for filing, and don't go through the formal approval process of the Joint Conference."
"Clear."
After hanging up the Communicator, Monk pulled out the note that Gwen Stacy had handed him that morning, which read, "The Liaison Office will soon conduct a second round of inventory of temporarily stored materials at all berths and storage yards in the defense zone. All units in the defense zone are requested to cooperate by providing copies of the entry and exit documents."
Monk slammed the note down on the table.
If you want to track my logistics, I'll keep an eye on your ship.
That afternoon, just as Gwen Stacy's flagship completed its routine patrol of the second berth outside the T-03 Defense Zone, the Bridge communications officer received a "routine safety alert" forwarded by the Defense Zone Dispatch Center: Due to defense reconnaissance needs, Satellite 7 will conduct intensive observations of the Berth C-9 area. Relevant units are requested to take precautions to avoid sensitive operations.
After Xiao Zhang finished reading the message, Gwen Stacy continued writing verification notes on the cover of the K-7 ledger without stopping her pen.
"Encrypted observation?" She put down her pen. "C-9 is our flagship's berth."
"Yes, Chief." Xiao Zhang's voice was very low. "They said it was for defense reconnaissance, but the frequency of overhead passes has been increased from once every six hours to once every four hours. It's obvious they're targeting us."
Gwen Stacy picked up her glass and took a sip of water. Monk's tactic wasn't new; he was monitoring her ship via satellite orbit, tracking what she was putting on and unloading each day. The Liaison Office's accounts couldn't withstand this kind of scrutiny. Several records in the K-7 ledger matched the Bloodfang Fleet's supply records. If Monk cross-referenced the satellite imagery with the zone's logistics records, he'd find that it wasn't just the Stability Maintenance Office office that was involved.
But Monk didn't directly seize the ship or invoke regulations to forcibly board and search it, indicating that he didn't want to escalate the matter publicly. Having satellite surveillance was a way of leaving himself an out; in case things escalate at a future Joint Conference, he'd have something to hold.
Gwen Stacy understood this and put the cup down securely.
"Xiao Zhang, go to the Liaison Office Supervision Section and retrieve something."
"What?"
"The second version of the 'Trial Notice on the Operational Rules for Cross-Departmental Asset Information Sharing' issued by the defense zone last month."
Xiao Zhang spent three minutes browsing the terminal and finally got it working.
Gwen Stacy glanced through the list and pointed to the third, fourth clause. "For any data transmission involving cross-departmentally managed assets, the receiving party must confirm receipt and provide a reply within forty-eight hours. Failure to do so within the time limit will be considered as data not being delivered, and the original sender may directly report to the Director's Office for supervision."
What's wrong with this one?
"Send a note to the Defense Zone Dispatch Center." Gwen Stacy pushed the terminal back, speaking slowly. "Say that the Liaison Office is currently conducting an asset inventory and needs to simultaneously compare the image data of stored materials at each berth in the defense zone. Please request the dispatch center to provide all the original image frames of satellite 7 passing over Berth C-9 today within 48 hours for the Liaison Office to verify."
Xiao Zhang was taken aback. "Would Monk be willing to give it to me?"
"He's refusing, and it's all stuck on the data acknowledgment." Gwen Stacy leaned back in her chair. "According to this rule, Liaison Office requests data transmission, the Defense Zone Dispatch Center, as the co-managed data recipient, is obligated to provide an acknowledgment within 48 hours. The acknowledgment must either state 'provided' or 'refused to provide with reasons.' Either way is difficult for him—if he writes 'provided,' he has to hand over the satellite imagery; if he writes 'refused,' the reasons for the refusal will be recorded in the Director's Office's oversight log. What's Monk most afraid of? Leaving a record."
Xiao Zhang's eyes lit up, and he immediately went to draft the note.
Gwen Stacy added before he even reached the door.
"Send a copy to the Stability Maintenance Office. Publicly, state that it's a normal asset data exchange between the Liaison Office and the defense zone, following the established procedures."
"Copy to the Stability Maintenance Office?" Xiao Zhang paused. "Then Hela will know we're checking satellite imagery too?"
"I want her to know." Gwen Stacy flipped open another folder. "Hela is pressing down on Bloodfang's supply ledger, Monk is staring at my ship. Both of them want to use the other as a pawn. I'm laying it out in the open. Whoever makes the first move will be put on the Director's Office's list first."
Xiao Zhang went out.
Gwen Stacy waited until the door closed before turning to the handwritten inventory list in the interlayer of the K-7 ledger. Monk was watching her ship with satellites, Hela was approving her inventory list; both sides were tightening the ropes simultaneously. But the tighter the ropes were tightened, the narrower the gap became—so narrow that only one person could squeeze through.
She picked up her pen and added a line at the end of the list: Satellite No. 7 image frame, forty-eight hours.
"Xiao Li."
A head popped in from outside the door. "Section Chief?"
"Go to the Asset Registration Agency's resident office in the defense zone and tell them that the Liaison Office recently inventoried supplies and needs to access the orbital adjustment records of Satellite No. 7 from the past two weeks. No formal document needed, just ask verbally and see if they'll let you see them."
Xiao Li hesitated a bit, "If I ask verbally, will they even respond to me?"
"Whether you respond or not is unimportant." Gwen Stacy pushed a blank notepad to the corner of the table. "You just stand in front of their counter, in front of the clerk, write this on the notepad, and ask, 'What is the registration number for the orbital insertion of Satellite No. 7?'"
"Then what?"
"Then you come back. It doesn't matter whether the clerk gives you a number or not, as long as someone hears you ask. Monk uses the internal service channel, and the records at the Asset Registration Agency are probably not updated yet. If you ask number one, the people at the Registry will have to verify it themselves—once the news of the verification spreads, Monk will have to spend time completing the paperwork. While he's completing the paperwork, he won't have time to keep an eye on my ship."
Xiao Li is gone.
Gwen Stacy stood up, walked to the porthole, and looked towards berth Berth C-9. Satellite No. 7 should be passing overhead by now. She closed the blinds, returned to the table, stuffed the K-7 ledger into the safe, and locked it.
As she closed the cabinet door, she remembered something.
Before Lynn left, he instructed that checking the accounts was fine, but Xiao Li shouldn't be led astray.
Gwen Stacy stood in front of the safe for a few seconds.
She picked up her Internal Communicator and dialed the supervisory department. "This is Gwen Stacy. Send a note to the Defense Zone Dispatch Center today, and send a copy to the Department of Technology's mailroom. Yes, Seventh Laboratory. Follow standard procedures, no encryption."
After hanging up the phone, she glanced down at the combination lock on the safe door.
Monk is held up by the Asset Registration Agency, which will at least delay him for half a day. Half a day is enough time for Xiao Li to complete the first half of the application process for that satellite imagery. As for how to use the image frames after they are obtained, which page of the K-7 ledger to compare them with, and which direction to investigate after the comparison, that will have to wait for Lynn to return to decide.
The premise is that Lynn can get out of that ruin, which nobody knows where, unscathed, before Monk throws the trouble back at him.