Echo-Talon Comm System (ET-2/B)

Classification

Integrated personal communications and identity node

Strike-Troop Signaler and Black Ops Comm Unit
Black-ops restricted variant
Status: Illicit, non-export, scrubbed prototype, believed destroyed

Overview

The Echo-Talon Comm System ties into Adi's OmniComm Dynamics Aether Link Model Number: AL-740-V and her Cognitive Conduction Node with her Military-grade neural net.

The Echo-Talon (ET) is a next-generation, black-ops communication and data-interlink device designed to operate across all known and classified communication spectra. It is not merely a phone; it is a Signal-Node Bridging Computer (SNBC), combining the functions of a personal comm unit, a quantum entanglement relay, a deep-space neutrino transceiver, and a classified protocol decryption engine. Adi's version is a highly customized, stolen prototype.

Adi’s new comm unit replaces the civilian-standard communication stack she was born with. It does not replace her comm node identity. It wraps it, hardens it, and adds layers no civilian system may touch.

In practical terms, it is still “her phone.” In reality, it is a battlefield-grade communications nexus tied directly into her CCN and neural net.

The upgrade comes online minutes after the CCN stabilizes. Without the CCN, the unit would be unusable. With it, the system feels instantaneous, silent, and unnervingly intimate.

Adi continues to perceive the interface as a projected HUD element inside her optic zone. No external handset exists.

Common Name: Echo-Talon, Talon, or simply "The Ghost Comm"

Model: ET-2/B Prototype (Designation: Black Scimitar)

Maker: ARES Defense Systems (ADS) – Skunkworks Division: Project Icarus

Primary Function: Secure, multi-protocol communication, node masking, and real-time data flow integration with the brain's optic zone HUD and grafted DNA Comm Node.

Core Tech: Quantum Entanglement, Neutrino Uplink, Hyper-encryption/Decryption Suite

The Comm Node Baseline (Civilian Context)

Every Human is born with a genetically keyed communication node. It is not a device. It is a biological-digital graft encoded into DNA and registered at birth.

Instead of phone numbers, people have comm node identities. Routing is automatic, global, and collision-free. With over 13 billion humans in the explored systems, this system is the only way large-scale communication remains manageable.

Public comm node registries exist on every colony. Most people are searchable by default.

Exceptions include:
• intelligence personnel
• black-ops contractors
• high-level politicians
• certain criminal figures

Their nodes are scrubbed or masked.

Synthetic persons may opt in or out.
OGs do not receive comm nodes.

Maker and Origin

The black-ops comm unit integrated into Adi’s system originates from a Mars-based defense contractor operating almost entirely through skunk works programs.

Public name: Alecto Signal Dynamics

Internal designation: ASD Blackglass Communications Division

Primary facilities are buried beneath Elysium Planitia, separate from Cerberus Bio-Engineering but often sharing logistics and personnel. Alecto specializes in signal transmission where conventional physics becomes unreliable or inconvenient.

Their mandate is simple. If information exists, they find a way to move it.

Development History

The advanced comm unit was developed in response to three persistent problems encountered by Martian intelligence and black-ops teams:

1. Jamming and interception of conventional EM communications
2. Latency during deep-space or high-relativistic operations
3. Identity exposure through comm node metadata analysis

The solution was not a better radio. It was a layered communications architecture capable of shifting transmission methods dynamically without user awareness.

The resulting system was never meant for wide deployment. It was built for operatives who were already considered deniable assets.

Adi's unit is based on a previous communication unit, made by ARES Defense Systems (ADS) from Project Icarus.

History and Origin

ARES Defense Systems (ADS) - Project Icarus

• Location: Olympus Mons, Mars.
• Background: ADS is one of the largest Mars-based defense contractors, specializing in advanced propulsion, autonomous systems, and deep-space military communications. Its "Project Icarus" division is its notorious, off-the-books skunkworks, tasked with developing technologies deemed too volatile or classified for public knowledge or standard military deployment.
• The Echo-Talon's Role: The ET-series was conceived to solve the critical "Information Lag" problem inherent in interstellar/interplanetary warfare. Real-time coordination is impossible across vast distances because of the speed of light limiting radio/laser comms. The Echo-Talon provided near-instantaneous command and control across the explored universe.
• Stolen Prototype (ET-2/B): Adi's unit is the second-generation, 'B' model prototype, stolen by Kane from a high-security research vault during a raid on an ADS facility. Adi's unit, modified by ASD, is unique for its integration capabilities, designed to interface seamlessly with advanced cybernetic and neural implants; a capability not included in the standard military rollout.

Core Capabilities

Adi’s comm unit can route traffic through multiple transmission methods simultaneously or selectively:

• conventional EM for local traffic
• tight-beam laser for line-of-sight
• quantum tunneling for paired-node communication
• neutrino-based transmission for planet-scale obstruction penetration

The system chooses the method automatically based on threat, distance, and signal integrity.

Adi never sees this happening. The CCN handles prioritization.

The Echo-Talon operates on five distinct and layered communication channels, prioritized by speed and security:

1. Quantum Entanglement Link (QEL):

• Speed: Instantaneous (Non-local connection).
• Use: High-priority, encrypted bursts of data and command signals. It utilizes two entangled particles within the unit (one "local," one "broadcast"), providing a fundamentally un-eavesdroppable channel for short, critical transmissions.

2. Neutrino Transmission (NTX):

• Speed: Near-light speed, virtually unobstructed.
• Use: The primary, long-distance communication channel. Neutrinos pass through virtually all matter (planets, stellar dust, etc.) with minimal attenuation. This bypasses the need for massive relay satellites or line-of-sight connections, making it the bedrock of ADS's deep-space network.

3. Encrypted Pulsar/Laser Comms¹:

• Speed: Speed of light.
• Use: Standard, high-bandwidth connection for media, video conferencing, and large data packet transfers when an efficient line-of-sight path is available. Highly secured with shifting 2048-bit encryption keys.

4. Standard Hyperwave:

• Speed: Speed of light.
• Use: Back-up connection. This is the common civilian/corporate band, primarily used for accessing public records, news feeds, and non-critical data.

5. CCN (Concealed Communication Network) Interface:

• Use: Directly ties into the covert network Kane utilizes. The Echo-Talon's hardware is the only unauthorized device capable of holding and maintaining an active, undetected node within the CCN structure, which is its most critical feature for black operations.

Quantum Pairing

For a limited number of trusted contacts, the comm unit can establish quantum-paired channels.

Characteristics:
• zero detectable latency
• no interceptable signal
• requires pre-established pairing keys
• pairing degradation over time

This is expensive, fragile, and dangerous to use improperly. Kane has paired only a handful of channels.

Neutrino Burst Mode

Used when nothing else works or in an emergency.

Neutrino transmission allows messages to pass through planets, stations, and stellar interference with minimal loss. Bandwidth is low. Messages are compressed, encrypted, and time-stamped.

Only specialized sensors can detect this mode, and intelligence agencies rarely monitor it.

Using it repeatedly increases the risk of pattern discovery.

Identity Masking

Adi’s public comm node identity still exists. It has to.

The black-ops unit overlays it with a mutable identity shell.

Capabilities include:
• real-time metadata scrambling
• delayed presence reporting
• selective visibility
• decoy node projection
• hard kill-switch on outbound identity traces

To casual observers, Adi appears normal. To anyone looking too closely, she appears broken, inconsistent, or not worth the effort.

The Optic Zone HUD Integration

The unit's display is projected directly into Adi's optic zone in her brain, appearing as a transparent overlay in her line of sight.

Haptic Interface: Adi "dials" or interacts with the projected interface via subtle muscle movements, ocular twitches, or silent, sub-vocal commands. Asteria has access to the comm unit and assists Adi with communications.

Projected Interface: The interface is minimalist, displaying only the target's Comm Node ID (a complex, unique string of characters), the active protocol, signal strength, and a small, persistent indicator showing the current status of the "Ghost Mask" (see below).

The Ghost Mask (Node Scrubbing)

The most critical black-ops function. The Echo-Talon can actively and continuously "mask" Adi’s genetic Comm Node ID.

• Mechanism: It generates a constant, rapidly shifting array of false Comm Node IDs and broadcasts them on the public band, burying Adi's true node signature beneath a cascade of digital noise.
• Result: To any standard civilian or military scanner, Adi's unit appears as a non-existent or randomly bouncing signal, making it impossible to trace her location or communication history through public records.

Comm Node vs. Phone Number

• Comm Node: A unique, non-reversible, genetically assigned alphanumeric string (e.g. GN-773/Alpha-Zeta-9) that is hard-grafted to every human's DNA at birth. It eliminates the need for phone numbers, as the Comm Node is the ultimate personal ID.
• Calling Protocol: Instead of dialing a number, the Echo-Talon scans for the unique frequency pattern broadcast by the target's specific Comm Node (or its mask), allowing for a nearly instantaneous connection across the 13+ billion known nodes.

Integration with the CCN

This is the dangerous part. The comm unit does not simply connect to Adi’s neural net. It routes through the Cognitive Conduction Node.

Effects include:
• thought-speed call initiation
• near-instant message composition
• emotional filtering of inbound traffic
• threat-prioritized interruption control

In combat or high-stress environments, non-critical communications are suppressed automatically. Adi does not miss calls. The system decides they never mattered.

Asteria has supervisory privileges here. Kane does not.

Variants and Versions

Civilian Tier:
• basic comm node
• EM transmission only
• public registry exposure

Corporate Secure Tier:
• encrypted EM and laser
• metadata shielding
• audit logs

Military Grade:
• hardened comm nodes
• tactical mesh integration
• limited quantum relay access

Black Ops Experimental (Adi’s Unit):
• full multichannel routing
• CCN integration
• quantum pairing
• neutrino burst capability
• autonomous counterintelligence behavior

Fewer than fifty of these units were ever fabricated.

Risks and Side Effects

The system is too capable for untrained minds.

Observed risks in test subjects:
• communication hallucinations
• identity dissociation
• phantom calls
• emotional detachment from contacts
• overreliance on filtered reality

Without the CCN, these effects are severe. With it, they are manageable but not harmless.

Adi’s emotional distance from people during operations increases measurably.

Legal Status

The comm unit violates:
• BuCol communication treaties
• Martian signal sovereignty laws
• intercolonial identity protection statutes

Possession alone is grounds for immediate detention and black-site interrogation. Discovery of CCN-linked comm integration would escalate that to asset seizure or termination. Because of Adi's combat abilities, it is likely that the opposition would kill her rather than attempt to take her into custody.

Narrative Implications

Adi is no longer just hard to reach.

She is selectively reachable.

Anyone contacting her is filtered, weighted, and evaluated before she is even aware of the attempt. Anyone trying to track her sees contradictory data.

For Kane, this means leverage and risk in equal measure.
For Asteria, it is another layer of control.
For Adi, it feels like silence unless she chooses otherwise.

And for anyone hunting her, it means the usual rules no longer apply.