Designation: Galactic Information Brokers
Aliases: Shadowscribes, Eyes-in-the-Dark, Whisper Traders
Primary Role: Intelligence gathering, covert communication, influence peddling
Notable Individuals: The Cypher, Cella Tonoi, Tallas Revik
Purpose and Role
Information Brokers are the unseen architects of galactic stability, and instability. Operating in the shadows between corporate alliances, government protocols, and criminal networks, these individuals and organisations control the flow of secrets. From political blackmail to technological blueprints, no piece of knowledge is beyond their reach.
In a galaxy where power often comes second to leverage, the brokers thrive.
Methods of Operation
- Data Leeching: Embedded operatives siphon intelligence from secure databases via neural-tapped implants or stealth drones.
- Proxy Trading: Brokers often never meet their clients directly. Encrypted dead-drops and anonymous channels allow secrets to change hands without risk of exposure.
- Faction Manipulation: The most elite brokers stir wars and broker peace depending on what serves their interests, or their clients’.
- Code Binders: Information traded is often locked within living neural networks, requiring special passwords, emotions, or biochemical triggers to access.
The Cypher
Before Cella Tonoi assumed the title, “The Cypher” referred to the most powerful and elusive figure in the galaxy’s intelligence network. Cloaked in secrecy and veiled identities, the original Cypher operated as a decentralised shadow, faceless, formless, but omnipresent in galactic data streams. No confirmed image or biometric trace was ever attributed to the individual, leading some to believe that “The Cypher” was a distributed identity or collective intelligence.
Despite the mystery, the Cypher’s influence was undeniable. Through a vast web of brokers, double agents, compromised councils, and black market channels, he (or they) controlled the largest intelligence network in the known galaxy. At its peak, over 80% of all mid- to high-level brokers were either directly employed by, or regularly funnelling intel into, the Cypher’s operations.
Power and Infrastructure
Primary Network Nodes:
- Shadow Satellites hidden in asteroid belts and nebulae for passive signal siphoning.
- Broker Hubs located on neutral trade worlds and pirate outposts.
- Quantum Mesh Relays capable of near-instant data synchronization across the inner seven rings.
Methodology: The Cypher’s empire ran on silence and leverage. Brokers under his banner were trained in deep-cover operations, memory-scramble tech, and anti-telemetry protocols. Deals were often made without either party knowing who they were speaking to, only that the Cypher’s seal was present, a three-pronged spiral etched in encrypted holographic script.
Strategic Doctrine: Rather than dominate by brute force, the Cypher weaponised knowledge. Information was leaked, staged, or buried based on who needed to fall and who needed to rise. Galactic trade routes, political elections, and even entire planetary rebellions were quietly guided by the Cypher’s whisper campaigns.
Known Outsiders
While nearly all major information brokers operated under or adjacent to the Cypher’s influence, a handful remained purposefully independent:
- Cella Tonoi – Even before assuming the Cypher mantle herself, Cella was one of the few who operated entirely outside his control. Her ability to build influence without being subsumed made her both a threat and an anomaly.
- Tallas Revik – A Veyreni broker and signal manipulator from The Beacon, Revik’s allegiance to no one made him unpredictable. The Cypher reportedly made multiple attempts to acquire or eliminate him, all unsuccessful.
- The Murmur Syndicate – A rogue group of whisper agents who specialised in counterintelligence and memory-hack warfare. Their loyalty to chaos over control kept them in conflict with the Cypher’s more ordered philosophy.
Fall and Transition
The original Cypher’s network began to fragment in the lead-up to the Milark crisis. Some say the pressure of galactic destabilisation stretched the empire too thin. Others whisper that a calculated betrayal from within undid the web from its core.
When Cella Tonoi assumed the title of Cypher, she inherited not just a mantle but a shattered legacy, one she rebuilt in her own image. Unlike her predecessor, Cella’s rule as the Cypher is marked by transparency in intent, if not in method. Where the former Cypher ruled from shadows, Cella operates in calculated twilight, trusting in precision over omnipresence.
Ethics and Influence
While some brokers operate within a moral framework, selectively leaking war crimes, uncovering corporate corruption, most view information as currency, not cause. This amoral stance has earned them enemies across every quadrant of the galaxy.
However, few can argue against their influence. Even the Galactic Council occasionally bends to pressure when damning evidence is poised to leak.
Legacy
Information Brokers are more than spies. They are the veins through which the galaxy’s secrets pulse. In a civilisation held together by diplomacy, commerce, and fear, the brokers are the silent puppeteers ensuring that no one, no matter how powerful, is ever truly safe.
As the Milark threat rises and political alliances fray, the brokers’ power only grows. And among them, whispers say the Cypher is watching.
G110 Studios 