The comm feed opened before the connection had been properly established, a blur of screeching static distorted the imagery and blotted out the audio feed with a terrible resonance. When the feed finally calmed, it was void of the glaring red optic that was typical of these communications. The background was empty, save for a blank wall in the distance and some sort of pillar currently sideways. Though upon further inspection there was the head of a lounge in the bottom of the feed, that seemed to set the image right, the wall was a ceiling, and the pillar was sideways. Seems he'd walked away while waiting for the connection to establish. Soon enough through, the glaring red would return, and the image would be dragged upward by scarred hand, revealing it was a personal device rather than a dedicated terminal, perhaps why it had taken so long to connect. Presumably sitting down, the glaring optic rested into its usual position of blinding the camera feed.

"Dead."

The word hung in the air for some time, perhaps wrestling with the news, though that might seem unlikely to Harper.

"Yet you didn't find a body."

"I believe ground pounders call that "MIA", for a lack of evidence and want to not jump the gun."

"Though I wouldn't call them "intelligence", due to the sinking pit that is their collective brain function. The Order have seen a rise in activity in and around Liberty as of late, it's just as likely they took Aspen out as anyone else, and taking people in for interrogation isn't unknown to them. Though if Aspen made the foolish decision of engaging with the Sentinels yet again, then her death was perhaps deserved. She more than knew better."

Those last words seemed to give pause yet again, and idle tapping could be heard through the feed.

"Then again she also kept some rather untrustworthy company, from what I and my people saw of her. Not least of which being a dumb luck mercenary that specialized in sociopathic tendencies. Everyone has a price, and mercs come easier than hookers."

"Enough of that, however, a correction is in order. Despite what you, the Outcasts, and perhaps anyone else thinks of my proclivities, I consider artifacts far more dangerous than cardamine could ever hope to be, if even /one/ of those artifacts is by some unholy chance, active, then the consequences could be cataclysmic. I don't engage with that trade myself, and let my alleged "betters" on Buffalo do such instead. Though if you say there's a sentinel artifact floating around, I suppose I can see if it pops up somewhere in my neck of the woods."

"I won't give you a promise that I won't destroy it the moment I see it, that will entirely depend on what it is, and what it does. I'll not have some active beacon sitting on one of my people's homes, nor will I send one of my loyals out into the abyss carrying it on your behalf. protest all you like that's as simple as it's going to get. It's already proven to attract death, of which Aspen may or may not have survived, and you still wish to chase it."

"Seems the Cultists have rubbed off on you."

"Or that tinhead of yours."

~ Hemlocke ~

The comm feed would open in much a similar manner to the first, this uncomfortable lurch of a characteristic seemed indicative that the vessel these communications were being sent from was immersed in a field of heavy interference, a brief glance at the information center would reveal this to be true as it seemingly always was, yet today, it was far worse than normal for whatever reason. it was a miracle they were reaching anyone at all. When the ungodly static finally cleared, the red eye was immediately present, though appeared to be casting a sun-ray like beam upward towards a camera from a standing position in the center of a busy room, it was hard to tell as people moved back and forth, veiled almost completely aside from silhouette by the unrefined and blinding optic. It appears he moved locale in the time between messages.

"You clearly know this already, Rebecca Harper."

"The chances you, or even I manage to locate this seller are slim to none without a transaction trail, and that's not how smugglers do things. The artifact trade is as tall as it is wide, bloated by interpolitical rivalry, and dregs of all banners. Kusari, Rheinland, Bretonia, Liberty. Independents and underworlders alike have stake in the trade, you could search the rest of your life and never find the singular individual responsible for this."

There would now be a lingering silence emerging in the form of a pause, that would be alleviated before too long.

"Far be it from me to stop you from trying. The shackles of loyalty demand as much."

"You may find yourself left wanting with my contribution to this matter, with a pool so deep and so wide, I'd be forced to sink an unreasonable amount of resources into it to find anything of even remote value, instead, I'll send Madcat out to the major gathering points of artifacts to see if he can't stir something up, but if she was killed for this, it is likely that when you or he finds the person that did it, there will be another attempt."

"If this individual was smart though, they would've avoided the major hubs entirely."

"Here's hoping for a marginal lack of foresight on their part."

~ Hemlocke ~

It had been some time since the last communication, Rebecca might've even considered that they'd never find anything to begin with, however, from the silence, a resonation emerged, a recorded message had been sent to her personal device, and with it, an encrypted data cache, set to open on its own with a timer. Though this design may lead one to hope for some grand reveal, the reality would soon be made clear.

"Madcat found something, though it will be less than you had hoped for."

A pause, one would think he may be doing this purposefully to add dramatic flair.

"I allowed Madcat to make his own decisions regarding his search, he elected to start his search on Fontana, then branched out to junker stations "within" the general area a tracker could've fled to. Invergordan second, Beaumont, then, Rochester."

"While I'm not impressed by the performance, he made a stumble that got the attention of the Rochester port authority, and managed to extract relevant information, and a few names, you'll find the relevant information attached below."

A slow draw of breath before a slower exhale, and a few taps upon what could be assumed to be a desk would be heard.

"It's a dead end for your vengeance, as far as we're concerned, Harper. We found a web of shell companies and Madcat wisely cut the potential losses short before he had a bunch of erased corporate killers on top of him. Especially given the Junkers were involved."

"All that's left to say, is good luck."

~ Hemlocke ~