"Sir?"
"Yes?"
"We're getting some strange energy signature readings. Something's happening in the Sol sector."
"What kind of signature readings, Private?"
"It's not like anything we've ever seen before, sir. It doesn't match up with any known frequencies or patterns, but we do have some of the techies looking into it. For all we know, it could be anything from an inverted wormhole to a superintelligent shade of blue."
". . . I doubt that, Private."
"So do I, sir, I was just providing an example."
"I see. How many times have these readings shown up?"
"It's happened four times so far. You can see here, that's when the first one occurred, but it went beneath our notice. Not long afterward, there was a major spike with the same signature, then two more readings at the same level as the first, varying amounts of time apart from each other."
"I see. The only inhabited planet in the Sol system is Earth. On standard Earth time, how far apart would those readings be?"
"About three minutes between the first and second, less than an hour between the second and third, and about eight hours between the third and fourth. It appears that a Marie system is in use, sir."
"Interesting. What can you tell about the energy from those readings?"
"Very little, sir. The spike nearly sent our systems here into a crash, we had to turn down the sensitivity just to catalog it. We might have missed another reading during that time, but I doubt it. As I said, the signature doesn't match with anything we've measured before, and our initial search through the database turned up empty."
"Were you able to get any properties on the energy signature?"
"Only that there was more raw power there than anything we've ever seen. Even the lower readings were more than triple the usual power needed for use of a Marie or Miruru system, or any of the lower-grade systems."
"I see. Do we have any agents working in the Sol system, Private?"
"Negative, sir. Last known agent in that system . . . Kazami, Mizuho. Pulled from duty and placed on remedial due to illegal use of equipment and physical contact with one of the subjects of her observation."
"What's her current location?"
"Unknown, sir. She never showed up for remedial, and hasn't been seen since. There was never any investigation into her location that I know of."
"What type of transport system did Kazami use?"
"Her ship was equipped with a Marie system, sir. Do you think there's a connection?"
"Possibly. Keep monitoring the Sol system, and notify me if that energy signature shows up again."
"Yes, sir."