Interfaced

The Interfaced are distinguished from other neural-lace users such as the Tavrosi by the continuous and unrestricted nature of their connection: a member's anger, attention, or impulse is instantly shared by all others in proximity. Though members remain individuals, they can conjoin their will to a single purpose. Their origins are unknown, believed to be from a rogue planet, airless moon, or dark-site station.

Members are designated by a numeral prefix followed by a personal name and an alphanumeric identifier, as in the designations Captain 2Maeve Gamma A27, 5Eamon, and 8Gael.

Three thousand Interfaced serve aboard the Mistwalker, constituting the backbone of Lorian's vanguard and elite troopers. A full third of them are aquilarii, each capable of operating an individual space-to-surface lightercraft. The remainder serve as ground troopers or as artillery crew responsible for the colossi the Mistwalker can deploy. The Interfaced design and operate the Armored Mobile Platforms (AMPs): four-meter combat suits controlled by neural lace, with weapons systems in the arms and shoulders and the ability to reconfigure for flight. When operating AMPs in surface assault roles, the units are referred to as cephalophores or hussars. When piloting cephalophores, the Interfaced are networked not only with each other but with their vehicles. Members of 2Maeve's contingent wear black tunics and jodhpurs and carry stunners.

The same neural lace that enables the Interfaced to function as a unified fighting force also constitutes a critical vulnerability: external control signals delivered through direct physical contact can propagate across the entire network simultaneously, subverting all members at once.

By the time Hadrian Marlowe rejoins the Latarran forces aboard the Mistwalker following his return from death, the Interfaced are already established as the elite security and vanguard contingent of Commandant General Lorian Aristedes. 2Maeve serves as Lorian's chief of security and leads the Interfaced contingent aboard ship.

For the Latarran assault on Vorgossos, Lorian designates the Interfaced as the assault contingent. Under the command of 2Maeve and designated Arthur Flight, they are assigned to fly cephalophores and secure a landing zone for the troop carriers. Lorian himself is not Interfaced and communicates with the contingent by conventional comm during the operation.

During the surface assault on Vorgossos, the female copy of Kharn Sagara deploys a clone whose golden hand sprouts cilia-like wires that worm between the Interfaced soldiers' armor plates and into their flesh, propagating control signals through the shared neural lace network. The entire contingent is subverted simultaneously and turned against Hadrian's forces. Hadrian, recognizing the Interfaced as enslaved rather than willing enemies, repeatedly declines to deliver killing strokes against them. 2Maeve is possessed by the Sagara copy along with the other Interfaced, and the Sagara speaks simultaneously through 2Maeve and the other controlled soldiers. 2Maeve is subsequently killed by Calen Harendotes, who seizes her by the pauldrons and fires coherent energy beams from his eyes, obliterating her head.

2Maeve Gamma A27 holds the rank of Captain and serves as Chief Security Officer to Commandant General Lorian Aristedes. She commands the Interfaced contingent designated Arthur Flight during the Vorgossos operation. She is possessed and killed during the assault when the female Kharn Sagara seizes control of all the Interfaced through the neural lace network.

5Eamon holds a lieutenant's position within the Interfaced contingent and participates in the Vorgossos surface assault.

8Gael holds a lieutenant's position within the Interfaced contingent and participates in the Vorgossos surface assault.