The Founding of the Peregrina Research & Intelligence Agency

3275. For Dr Helen Mastersson, the events of the past few months seemed like another lifetime, an alternate universe even.

After her return from Peregrina, she tried to resume her research. But rumours circulated by parties’ unknown, seeking to discredit her and her work, meant that her previous employ became untenable. Some spoke of attempts on her life to erase what she may, or may not, have seen and discovered. Each time she tried to make progress, whispers in the corridors about her supposed involvement in ‘the incident’ pushed her back.

Attempts to trace Moira Dolan and Gustav Mastersson were equally fruitless. Now excluded from the mainstream scientific establishment, former friends and colleagues refused to help, even if they could. But how could she continue otherwise? After what she had witnessed, and come into contact with, it would be impossible to go back to any normal life.

The only friend she had left was Kishino. Despite being busy with his now-legal herbal tea farming business, Kishino kept a watchful eye, albeit from a distance. Protective of his family from the illicit organisations he had previous dealings with, Kishino prefers to keep a low profile. But seeing Helen becoming more despondent, he finally decided to do something about it.

Kishino made contact with a trusted third party, Augustus Caelinus, an Imperial intelligence officer. Caelinus had been helpfully supplying Kishino with information he needed to conduct his various businesses, for a price of course. He had previously discussed his ideas about forming an independent research and intelligence agency. Its focus would be to study and advance the understanding of all forms of life, with the aim of furthering human and alien knowledge of each other. But unlike some of the other research groups out there, the agency would be completely independent, disseminating all received intelligence on face value without the sway of political point scoring.

Although he was a loyal Imperial citizen, Caelinus had become increasingly distrustful of the status quo. All the endless fighting, with little or no apparent progress for the human race. Sitting through Imperial intelligence meetings that discussed how they should handle the Thargoids, he became sure that they would end up leading humankind into another interspecies war which we would very likely lose.

Like most Imperials, Caelinus had been indoctrinated to fear the Thargoids. Seeds of fear and doubt leading to mistrust and misunderstandings. But after his own encounter with the unknown ships, although initially frightened for his life, he had an overwhelming sense that they really were peaceful. He concluded there was more to them and should be given an opportunity to be understood.

He sought out the tapes from the Imperial team that listened in on the Thargoid, “Alliance” meeting in 3253, and discovered that there was a group trying to make peace with them. But other groups had wanted the war to continue. A war started by a trigger-happy commander who fired upon an unknown ship that returned fire and killed him. It was on the strength of that the Thargoids were deemed to be hostile.

During his travels, Caelinus had seen countless examples of the power of technology to benefit anyone, alien or human. Wanting to prevent another war, and advance both human and extraterrestrial life, he saw the agency as a way to help us be less afraid of one another, and develop technology that could better the standards of living for all.

Knowing Dr Mastersson: Kishino thought she and Caelinus would be a great fit, so suggested he reach out to her directly. After a few stilted communications, Dr Mastersson’s belief in Kishino and the reality of her limited options changed her mind.

The Peregrina system seemed like the ideal location to set up. Isolated on the edge of human space and the last place Dr Mastersson saw Moira and Gustav. A few remaining favours were called in. Strings were pulled, and the funding was made available. True to their shared values, the ‘Peregrina Research & Intelligence Agency’ was founded, on the principles of cooperative governance:

An autonomous association of persons, united voluntarily to meet everyday economic, social, and cultural needs and aspirations, through a jointly owned and democratically controlled enterprise.

Now outside mainstream science and with her life still in danger, Dr Mastersson continues her research there, only venturing out to trade knowledge with external agencies, if it is deemed it will keep ‘the galactic power-balance’. So far, Caelinus and the deputy director ‘Lucky’ Luke, have kept her one step ahead, and these deals generate substantial income for the agency, despite at times, them being on the shadier side of morality. Stopping short of murder, a little smuggling, bounty hunting and occasional piracy (from the right people of course) are considered necessary if they help in achieving the agency’s aims.

Personally, Dr Masterssons' moral compass remains unchanged as does her distaste for the necessity of others’ actions. Therefore, all commanders, whether legally or illegally engaged, report to the directors. It's the way she likes it and the only way she can assuage her doubts. It also leaves her free to pursue her interests, and glean any information about Moira and Gustav. That said, Dr Mastersson will overrule any decision that she feels is taking the agency in the wrong direction. Stronger now after all she has been through, she continues to remain close to Kishino, who visits on occasion.

I have been sitting on the sidelines for some time now, but after hearing that Aegis has shifted to a military focus, and the Federation essentially declare war on the Thargoids - I feel compelled to make a public statement.

Humanity has always feared what it does not understand and hated what it cannot conquer. This pettiness has been the cause of war, over and over again through the millennia. Unfortunately, it seems humanity has yet to learn its lesson and is still ever too eager to start another war: a war that could well bring the end of humanity!

Fortunately, the future is never fixed. Humanity can still rise above this pettiness. We can still learn to understand the Thargoids: Let's usher in a new era of galactic peace and prosperity through negotiation and cooperation with the Thargoids.

Let both sides seek to invoke the wonders of science instead of its terrors. Together let us explore the stars, and eradicate the disease.