Cell 87

Not to be confused with Cell 317.

Cell 87 is a ground support cell within the Antiswarm. It establishes contact with the orbital team via the Reticulum during consolidation beneath a sheltering balloon. The voice on comms is Suur Tulia. The cell reports operating from an equipment shed on a farm roughly a thousand miles southwest of Tredegarh.

Role and Activities

• Provides real‑time guidance and visualization to help a suited operator navigate the growing cluster of payloads around the balloon, including a 3‑D rendering of the structure, a highlighted target, and a deconflicted route.
• Talks the operator through procedures such as unstrapping from the S2‑35B “monyafeek,” traversing the cluster, and avoiding flagged hazards; issues step‑by‑step checklists.
• Monitors biometrics and suit consumables over the link and prompts pace discipline and life‑support housekeeping when needed.
• Coordinates with other ground cells supporting different teammates as part of a distributed operations net that lightens the orbital crew’s workload.

Relationships

• Supports the mission team designated as Cell 317.
• Communicates over the Reticulum and participates in the wider Antiswarm support web.
• Primary voice contact identified: Suur Tulia.

Communications

• Initial contact is over a high‑bandwidth Reticulum link; after the team transitions to stealth operations, further updates are routed via narrow‑beam, intermittent text with expected delays.
• During a later period of ambiguity on the Reticulum, Cell 87 sent delayed text queries, including a request to settle an argument by confirming a current head count; support cells were receiving contradictory reports about casualties.
• Following the on‑orbit decision to disable the transmitter—carried out by Fraa Jad—communications from Cell 87 ceased.

Status

Active as a remote support node during the orbital consolidation and early assembly work under the balloon, operating from the farm equipment shed southwest of Tredegarh. Communications did not continue after the on‑orbit transmitter was disabled during the covert approach.