Appears in After Amargosa
While attending MIT as part of his Compact Navy warp research assignment, Ensign Connor Duffybecomes aware of a developing hostage situation at a theater near Harvard. Radical Cubist insurgents, armed with incendiary nanites, threaten mass destruction in downtown Boston. Recognizing the danger from his wartime experience on Amargosa, Duffy quickly realizes the authorities will not act in time to prevent disaster.
With the reluctant help of his roommate Hiro Shirioda, Duffy illegally infiltrates MIT’s underground research annex, the Big Dig, using Vice Admiral Burke’s name to bluff his way into a restricted Cybercommand lab. There, he acquires salvaged Gelt stun grenades and repurposes maintenance drones—nicknamed “Spider“—to deliver the grenades beneath the theater via the city’s old sewer tunnels.
The improvised operation succeeds: the stun grenades neutralize the terrorists’ incendiary nanites before detonation, averting a mass casualty event. However, Duffy and Shirioda are arrested for multiple Compact-level felonies, including unauthorized access to classified technology and assaulting MIT security personnel.
Vice Admiral Eileen Burke personally intervenes to prevent Duffy’s prosecution but delivers a harsh reprimand. As punishment, Duffy is ordered to complete his current semester, then transfer to Officer Training School on Tian. He is also barred from remaining in Boston after his studies. The incident underscores Duffy’s brilliance and lingering insurgent mindset—and highlights his ongoing struggle to adapt from battlefield improvisation to the discipline of peacetime service.