“If we hadn’t covered your trail, even the young ones apprenticing in AI programming would have tracked you.”

“My encryption protocols…”

“… are child’s play against intelligence operations. Or military ones. And you are caught between two such operations.”

“The Niyabinghi and the…” Your voice trails off, already knowing Geoboe plays at agendas within convoluted schemes. Planning something on a large scale. The matter settles in your mind. “The Nguni. Do they seek to sever their ties with Muungano? Become our version of the Bronzeville Rebellion that happened on Mars.”

“Not quite. The Niyabinghi is working with the Nguni. We are establishing a new periphery defense system to be known as the Ring.”

“The Ring? Why haven’t we heard of this?”

“You simply hadn’t been read in on the Ring. But Jaha sending you here, the way you two keep bumbling about, has forced my hand.” Maulana displays the schematics for the array. His image flickers for a second. “The Ring will provide telemetric observations of the Orun Gate as well as monitor galactic traffic.”

“You’re gearing up for war,” you say.

“We’re being vigilant. We know full well O.E. has designs on the wormhole. Some stories have the weight of inevitability to them: Black Wall Street. Rosewood. The Atlanta, Chicago, D.C., Knoxville, and East St. Louis race riots. The MOVE bombing. The First World incursion. ‘If they don’t want you and me to get violent, then stop the racists from being violent.’”

“‘Tactics based solely on morality can only succeed when you are dealing with people who are moral or a system that is moral,’” you say. “I can quote the prophet, too.”

“Then you understand. The security council has been fortifying the Oyigiyigi mining operation for months now. Pulse turrets. HOVA staging areas. Warships constructed…”

“Warships?”

“We cannot face the enemy with slingshots and harsh language.”

“This is not the Muungano I know.” Turning to Ishant in disbelief, you throw your hands in the air.

“Don’t be naive. You, like everyone else, turn a blind eye to our military operations. You’re aware of the HOVA, but don’t think too hard about them. We keep the HOVA separated from Muungano, always a community within the community. We don’t want to remind the rest of Muungano that we are always girded for war and ready to defend ourselves. You simply rest in comfort knowing that the Muungano you know is safeguarded. With the Orun Gate, we have an asset that O.E. will not rest until they have it under their control.”

“What’s your interest in this?” Ishant asks.