Monday, 088-1114: Late Evening
Regrets, Resets And Bribery
After meeting with the Count and hearing their "sentences", Colinne, Aiden, Fesic and Sekea had gone shopping and then returned to the suite. Mikah, Zimzod, Aali and Rol had gone to the Order house to shop, eat and meet people. While the others returned to the suite, Jocelynn had called Mikah asking her to meet at the ship to discuss something. On the ship, Jocelynn had not only dealt with the boxes and gear from InstellArms, but also set up a prank she'd been planning. When Mikah arrived, Jocelynn let Mikah lead, and followed her into the ship's lounge. There, Mikah saw what looked like their dead navigator, Terin! And the figure seemed to say, "Well, hello Lady Mikah." in Terin's voice! Of course, Mikah drew her laser pistol, shooting the figure twice before realizing he didn't fall and something was wrong. After Jocelynn explained what she'd done, they cleaned up and started back to the suite.
Having just been cloned, Rol knew his new body had no stamina for alcohol, so he'd been careful to only sip at the drinks bought for him or drinks he'd bought himself. Rol was also glad they'd taken a taxi back to the suite for Cr 35. Zimzod paid that while hoping Rol wouldn't get a drunk driving citation walking from the Order house to the portTaxi. While Jocelynn and Mikah returned to the suite, Jocelynn suggested they not destroy the remaining dummies so they could use them for practice. Mikah laughed and said any practice shots they fired would destroy the dummies. Accepting that, Jocelynn moaned about the head being cut off the first dummy. But Mikah only shook her head and said she'd enjoy ramming a rod down Terin's throat to re-mount the head. Then, they'd be able to shoot that dummy up even more.
With everyone back at the suite, and before people went to bed, Fesic said he'd had a change of heart, and wanted to have a stent implanted. Especially after spending time watching the crew learning to use theirs and seeing Jocelynn and Colinne communicate. When Fesic asked, Sekea reminded him his implant kit came from InstellArms. Then Fesic asked Sekea if he planned to have Mikah implant the kit, and Sekea said he did. Thanking Sekea, Fesic called InstellArms and was connected to his concierge. Fesic ordered a stent kit to be delivered the next day for Cr 1,350. When that deal was done, Fesic told the others he should have his surgery on a day when Mikah was in a good mood. Hearing that, some of the others laughed and they wished him luck. When Fesic suggested bribing Mikah to make her happy, he learned she really liked the chardonnay from the Zila system, an amber-zoned system in the Aramis subsector.
Hearing that, Fesic showed he'd forgotten anything he'd heard about the stuff. Still, he said he'd buy Mikah a bottle to make sure she was happy to do the surgery. Unfortunately, he said it loud enough that Mikah heard him, meaning he couldn't now back out. Mikah had also developed a taste for a pastry served in the Hammermium system called "Guurdarsa". Those pastries were made using a native flour providing starch and gluten proteins digestible by Humans. They also demanded eggs and the dried and powder-crushed roots of a native sweet-plant, which took the place of Terran sugar. Other native natural plant matter created a leavening effect as it drew in air along web-like water paths in the dough, creating the webs and clusters of small but puffy textures. Hearing her describe those, Fesic even suggested he'd look for sources of the pastry if he could find any. Having done his research and decided how to move forward to get Mikah on board, Fesic continued to hone his new plan.
After Mikah had paid the Cr 15 cab fare back to the hotel, she started telling the others about "killing" the Terin dummy non-stop. At her side, Jocelynn was thrilled the prank had worked out. The more Mikah talked, the more the others wanted to see the video taken from the ship's security system. Jocelynn tried to push the idea they should wait until after "serving their penance", and have a full-out viewing party. That was shouted down and she eventually had to load the file and play it to the cheers and laughter of the others. As brief as the vid was, Mikah still narrated the highlights. Rol groused that they'd thrown Terin's body out the airlock before he'd been decanted, so he wanted to see as much as he could. Colinne just shook her head at how much the crew had hated the man.
They laughed and joked while watching Mikah shoot the dummy on the vid, and planned to use the other dummies for target practice. Fesic made popcorn for them all. Fesic waited until Mikah was laughing to ask if she'd do his stent surgery? Hearing that, Mikah made jokes telling Fesic he'd committed himself to buying her Zila chardonnay and Guurdarsa pastries because she'd heard him talking about bribing her. As she did, Fesic learned from her how expensive the chardonnay could be, and tried to convince her to accept something else. Sadly for him, Mikah held firm on the chardonnay. She was OK if Fesic couldn't find Guurdarsa on the Ghandi station, but was certain he'd find the chardonnay. She also laughed when the others guessed at crazy prices. Concerned he might not find a bottle of the stuff, Fesic got on the station-net to search. Eventually, he did find a liter bottle for KCr 30! Moving before it was sold out from under him, Fesic bought the bottle and even had it gift wrapped with a bow for Cr 5. The seller said it would be delivered the next morning.
With Fesic now asking for a stent implant, Mikah and Sekea discussed when they would schedule his surgery? Mikah said they'd have to wait until they were done with their penance and Sekea agreed. Mikah decided to do both surgeries on the coming Friday, the 92nd day of the year. Adding details, Mikah said they'd go to the ship's med-lab mid-day to do the surgeries instead of renting space from an on-station hospital. When Fesic asked what he had to do to prepare for the surgery, Mikah joked that he had to shave his head. The others laughed, and Fesic didn't remember anyone else having had to shave their heads when they'd gotten stents implanted. So, he said he'd shave his head only after he saw Sekea do that.
Clearing his throat, Zimzod formally announced, "To prepare for this surgery, you have to get in your vacc suit and stick yourself outside the station's hull for at least twelve hours, so the radiation could prepare you." Looking at Zimzod, Fesic suggested he could make Zimzod a different kind of confection than what he was planning for Mikah. Fesic's tone suggested that pastry might be unhealthy to eat. Zimzod just gave Fesic a huge smile and said, "I'm gonna be assisting in your surgery. I can make sure all the tools Mikah uses were not sterilized." Smiling back at Zimzod, Fesic said, "Well. Then I die. And if I die, I die." While his tone was easy and carefree.
While Jocelynn kept playing the clips and making jokes, Aiden relaxed and enjoyed watching the video again and again. He also shared in the discussions and made comments until it was time for him to rack out. Rol also took part in the fun but wondered where the Count would have him sent for his re-hab, while the rest of the crew did their community service. He knew he could be sent to any number of civilian, government or even military health centers. Sekea also watched the vids while he spent time digging into the manual which had come with his new pistol. He read and committed to memory what he could get through before hitting his rack.
Before going to sleep, Jocelynn called InstellArms, and hope to also call their broker. Making the first call, she was transferred to her concierge, who asked how he could help? Jocelynn sheepishly said she had to reschedule the meeting to talk about the pell 'droid. Of course, the concierge knew all about their generous offer to volunteer to help the station recover, and was ready to set a new appointment with Jocelynn. They eventually set the meeting for the 94th day, giving Sekea two days to recover from his surgery. In the moment, Jocelynn also pleased her concierge by ordering yet another terin dummy. She asked if this one could have sensors which would cause the dummy to say things like, "Thank you Lady Mikah, can I have another", "No! Don't shoot him, we can question him" and more. Thanks to the audio Jocelynn had given them, the InstellArms techs could make him say almost anything. With the added gear, this dummy would cost her Cr 35,000.
Switching directions, Jocelynn asked if they also had embroidery services? When the concierge asked, she said they'd gotten a number of hats. She wanted some of them embroidered with the slogan, "I just flew on Lady Mikah's ship and all I got was this lousy hat". The concierge laughed, and said she could have that done. He asked how many hats would be done and Jocelynn said she wanted 34 to be embroidered. Nine for the crew and 25 to give to passengers like Maur. The Concierge asked in what colors the embroidery should be and Jocelynn made a few jokes. When Jocelynn suggested a "flame orange", the concierge suggested they use a "flaming text" font and add embedded micro-projectors to holographically make the letters seem to actually be on fire. The concierge said she could have the hats done for Cr 1,500. Jocelynn loved the idea and agreed with it. Jocelynn also asked about the progress on the work with their battledress? She was told the suits should be returned on the 94th day.
Before disconnecting, Jocelynn called into the suite, asking if anyone else wanted to speak to InstellArms? Fesic said he wanted to see if they had any drones? When he did, Mikah sighed and put her head in her hands while Colinne complained, "We already did drones." Zimzod said that others had bought drones but Fesic hadn't, in a tone suggesting they had enough drones that Fesic could borrow some for his use. Fesic only told them he wanted specialized drones. Connecting with his concierge on his own comms, Fesic said he wanted very small surveillance type drones and larger drones able to fire grenades and be reloaded. The concierge said they had those, but reminded Fesic the drones were limited to expert system controls, so directing them could be very distracting in combat.
She also said the smaller the drone, the harder and much more expensive it was to shrink programming down to fit into the crystals inside the device. So, no matter how well programmed a drone the "size of a fly" was, it would demand he be paying attention and provide some level of remote control to do what he wanted. Then, you add limits imposed trying to maneuver tech like micro-fans or antigrav, batteries and power, and storage for any data collected - or broadcast gear to send acquired vid/sound files to say the least. With the concierge on the line still, Fesic asked the others for advice, but knew mores of them had little actual experience to validate their opinions. Hearing what they had to say, Fesic had his interests set and was ready to place an order.
Fesic wanted three types of drones to play with. First, he wanted two drones with a grenade launcher installed. The drones were the same diameter as wide frisbees, and four to five inches thick. They used anti-grav propulsion and the chamber had an "open hatch" to load a grenade into it. The device had limited programing and limited AI control. That prevented crashing into walls and keeping steady flight. Firing worked in three ways. He could pre-program it so the controller knew where the target would be. It could also be visually linked to a HUD or connected to in-built sensors for identifying flight and identifying targets. The sensor-based option was dangerous where the operator's unit was linking up with another unit, since the AI was not smart enough to separate, say, one human from another. IFF signal data could be added to reduce that. Those would cost him Cr 5,500 each, for a total of Cr 11,000 for two.
Fesic next asked about two of the surveillance drones Aali said she'd bought in the Denotam system. His concierge said they certainly had more than the Denotam location did, including a stock of those. The drones were called "Sensor Balls", with two parts. Each "sensor ball" and a wrist-worn remote control bracer. The balls were two-inch radius, anti-grav propelled balls that were directly controlled from the controller. They could also follow programmed mission orders coded into the ball from the wrist unit. They also had both audio and video acuity, heat-based and micro-LIDAR sensors. The pair cost Fesic KCr 13 each, for a total of KCr 23.
Fesic also wanted five so-called "suicide drones, costing Cr 1,500 each. Those had a four-inch diameter and were four inches thick. They had open structures so the blast would throw shrapnel and project force from the grenade unobstructed. Those cost Cr 7,500 in total. He was told any of the drones could be upgraded with a HUD connection, allowing limited remote-programming of the device. It would also "follow" a sensor on the operator's belt, so they could be deployed to a "cloud" hovering over the user until assigned a mission. Of course, that could create a cloud above the user that could be targeted by enemy troops. The upgrade would cost Cr 500 per drone. Fesic didn't make an immediate decision on the upgrades.
Colinne spent the time before bed scanning the store listings on the station's sales concourses and taking notes on where she might find the decompiler she had yet to be able to shop for. She planned to go hunting after they finished their three days of public service and evenings on the range with her weapons. Zimzod hung with Mikah and made jokes about Terin and ways they could pose and blow up the other dummies Jocelynn had made. Aali laughed and joked with the others watching the vid of Mikah making sure Terin was "DED dead"! She also turned to give advice, as did Aiden, on Fesic's drone question. Before he racked out, Zimzod decided to call the Sladek ship and reschedule the bumper car challenge.
Connecting by comms, the answer he got was more than a bit frosty. When friendly didn't work, he said, "Look, your asshole came to challenge us to a bumper car duel. I'm calling about that. So, if you don't wanna take up the challenge, we can always rent a range from InstellArms and use live rounds. Whatd'ya think about that? Not getting any happy points from the crewman on the comms, he did get switched to the man who'd made the challenge to Mikah and Sekea at the bar. Angry and insulted, that man told Zimzod they'd take rescheduling under advisement and get back to their crew when they had an answer. He also accused Zimzod and their crew of trying to use delays to weasel out of the challenge before cutting the call.
After Jocelynn handed off her InstellArms call to Fesic, she cleared her comms and called the broker. Despite the hour, Jocelynn was surprised when the man connected with her call. Greeting her, the man asked if Jocelynn had had "that conversation" with her captain about hauling 'less than properly documented' cargos? Jocelynn realized she'd forgotten about that, but had spoken about it a bit with Mikah. So, she answered, "I spoke to her about it and she said no, which doesn't mean I'm not going to do it anyway." Still, she wanted to hold off and have a second conversation with Mikah before acting on her situation. Hearing that, he nodded and said he understood. The broker told Jocelynn he was connected to a man whose friend had over-produced a set of higher-tech devices and had an issue with warehouse space.
The issue with the devices was that legal restrictions said they couldn't be legally sold as "Made in Ghandi". Added to that, they were under "Validation Restrictions" in the Lanth system, where Jocelynn said they were headed. So, there could be customs and legal issues when they tried to sell them in the Lanth system. Still, he said they had a ten dTon overage and that could mean a bargain for Jocelynn's crew. Jocelynn knew the label "Advanced Technology Manufactured Goods" could be anything from high tech blenders and 'wave-cooker' ovens to High tech vehicles to high-tech androids. And, from the stories she'd heard, she knew Mikah was worried about the androids she might find in boxes.
When Jocelynn asked, she was told the seller wanted KCr 70 per ton, for a total of KCr 700. That meant a guarantee they'd be "buying low" so they only had to sell as high as they could on Lanth. And earn enough to make a profit after paying the broker fees. Jocelynn said she couldn't say yes and release ship's funds without her captain's approval so she'd try to get that one more time and see what happened? After that, she asked the broker for help trying to sell "specialty items" she said the ship wanted to get rid of. She did say she wanted "full market value", so they shouldn't be dumped. When he asked what those items were, Jocelynn sent him a list and details on the 2 Pressure tents, the laser comm with the 10-mile range, the 6 Aslan rifles and the Zhodani combat armor suit. When he asked for more information on the armor suit, Jocelynn said they were going to have their computer officer check for more data for that.
Tuesday, 089-1114: Punishment And Progress Alarms went off in the crew's bedrooms with some going off earlier than normal. As the crew went about their morning routines, Fesic got a message the hotel concierge had received two deliveries for him. When he had them sent up, he found one was the stent kit he ordered. The other was the bow-wrapped bottle of chardonnay from Zila. So, he spent some part of the crew's breakfast reminding Mikah the bottle would be delivered After she carried out the implant operation well. Mikah jokingly pushed back on that saying he'd said it was only to get her to agree to do the operation, and had nothing to do with the quality of the outcome. She also suggested there should be more negotiation before they agreed on that. That went back and forth until they got picked up by their "Work assignments" while the others laughed.
Mikah and Sekea had been "sentenced" to work in the same hospital. So, when a portCab was sent to collect them, Sekea volunteered to pay the Cr 15 cost. Not much after they left, another cab pulled up for Aali, Fesic. Jocelynn and Zimzod. They'd be assigned to teams working to repair physical damage in spots where panic turned to riot and fear sparked violence. Zimzod was told he'd be shifted, in the middle of the day, to a rehab facility since it was recognized he was still under medical therapy. Jocelynn paid the Cr 20 for that ride. Other cabs showed up to take Aiden to the shuttle port and Colinne to station central. So they both paid for their rides. Instead of a cab, Rol was picked up by a car sent by the on-station Imperial Marine contingent, to bring him to a military hospital for his re-hab work. Beyond having the androids to help him, Rol was finding it was easier for him to be self-mobile and lift himself out of the gravChair. He still kept them and the chair with him, just in case.
During the passing morning, Colinne had been working at the post assigned to her after having the job explained. While her work wasn't very busy, there was a steady stream of calls for her to field. In a moment between calls, Colinne's comms started to buzz. She set her work station to "busy", to prevent calls coming in, and answered her comms. The person calling her said she was a member of the Order House's concierge staff, and they had an update on her request for decompilers. Excited, Colinne asked what they had and was told they'd found a number of sales venues which might suit. It also turned out there was an Order member who was crew on the IMV Pind Teertshy and she might be able to help. Colinne was told the Knight's name was Dame Gaurzurka Kishi and figured she'd wait until she had a work break to try reaching out to the woman.
Having to get back to work, Colinne waited for her next scheduled break. Colinne soon stepped away from her workstation and called Dame Gaurzurka. The other knight answered her comms quickly and Colinne introduced herself when the other woman asked how she could help? Colinne explained who she was and said she was the new computer officer hired by her ship. She added that her new crew had handed her a puzzle in software they had but didn't understand. So, they'd handed it to her and she'd realized it was very powerful. And it resisted the decompilers she had. That meant looking for a "nuclear" option and she hoped Dame Gaurzurka could help her find a decompiler with "oomph". Dame Gaurzurka winked at Colinne and asked, "Just how devastating do you need this oomph to be?"
Colinne only smiled back and said, "Pretty devastating." Nodding while considering Colinne's words, Gaurzurka said she did have a decompiler with power that goes a fair bit beyond anything an average user would own, or even have access to. She then asked again what ship Colinne was crew of? And what the crew she'd joined were about? Colinne kept it basic and told the other knight they were a bunch of ex-military who'd shifted to the merchant trade. They flew from world to world buying and selling cargos and sometimes carried passengers. Hearing that, Dame Gaurzurka admitted she'd heard a small bit of both the ship and crew and some of their adventures. She explained her earlier comments saying she wanted to hear it in Colinne's own words.
From what Colinne could guess, Dame Gaurzurka wasn't impressed or disgusted. What she seemed to be was entertained, if Colinne was reading the woman correctly. As if guessing at Colinne's expression, Dame Gaurzurka added that she approved of what the crew of the Upgrade seemed to have accomplished. And Colinne could work with that. Colinne gave the woman a moment, to not appear to be rushing in. She was about to ask if they could talk about the decompiler more at some point when Dame Gaurzurka asked what Colinne was doing that night? Colinne knew her day was filled. She had to finish her shift in Station Central, then rush to the Order House to spend time on the range while they measured her firing stances, grip and other physical data when using the weapon.
Colinne also had to work in station central for the next two days, but wouldn't have to spend evenings on the range until her new shotgun was delivered. She'd then fire while they conducted tests with that weapon. They'd then take it from her again, to be customized. Knowing that, Colinne asked if Gaurzurka could meet with her the next evening? Gaurzurka said she could do that, and they set to meet the next night at 7pm. Gaurzurka suggested they meet at the Order house, where they had both public and private rooms, and business could be discussed safely. Colinne suggested they have dinner there and Gaurzurka said she was all for having Colinne pay for her dinner and the decompiler. Colinne laughed as she saw what the other woman had done. She agreed to buy the dinner and they left setting or suggesting the price for the actual meeting.
During his flight operations, Aiden also got a message from the Order house with the report he'd asked for on shopping for weapon sights. That listed 11 shops including InstellArms, Morder Arms, Eipshar Laleku, Neaarge Irkar and Bieprjenshkre. They also highly recommended the InstellArms manufactured "Confirmed Kill" scope highly. Since Aiden had to spend time on the range after his "work detail", he saved the report for when he could go shopping. Fesic also got a list of shops to look into for micro-gyrostabilizers for his pistols. While he didn't know it, the list was very similar to Aiden's. There were three more shops, and those specialized in micro-miniaturization instead of combat accessories. Since he'd also have to spend his evening on the range with his laser rifle, Fesic saved the list for later.
One thing Fesic wanted to do, as he was able, was to contact each shop and ask several questions. During each of his breaks, Fesic used his hand computer to connect to each site as he had time. Of course, while some of the shop staffs could be expected to be well trained on their stock, they were all there to make a credit. Because of that, Fesic realized he'd have to get a mental pry bar to separate the facts from fiction after waiting until his first break and calling the first shop. So, he realized phone calls and network crawls might not get him the facts he hoped for. As soon as he could, Fesic spent his first break calling the Neeikar Corp contact to ask the questions he could. The sales person he got said the shop had a number of excellently tooled micro-stabilizers on offer and invited Fesic to stop by and test them. On his lunch break, Fesic called three more of the contacts and was largely told the same thing. That screamed that he'd literally need an engineer and hard data on the devices, and not the shops.
Still, he got to one of the shop owners and the man soon recognized him as having been involved in the shutdown of the station. Surprising Fesic, after the man confirmed he had been involved, the shop owner asked if he'd like one of the best stabilizers he had in stock free? Fesic said that'd be great but wondered what he had to do to get that? The shop owner said he wanted to set up a "Meet Sir Fesic" event in his shop and invite people in. As Fesic negotiated with the man, he wasn't entirely certain a whole evening of his time on-station was worth a free stabilizer. Fesic did offer to sign a number of hardcopy images for him to give out but the man wasn't interested in something that could be faked. Or hard-copy images that had to be displayed. Perhaps, on ships where display-space was scarce.
Fesic also floated the idea of posing with the owner for a "Fesic shopped here" advertisement, which could also be faked by anyone with enough computer skill. While the man wasn't happy with either offer, he was ok with knocking a thousand credits or so off the price. But, nothing would be free and the "top of the line" units were likely to be expensive. Fesic wasn't happy with just a discount and pushed that he might have to respond to something he and his crew were obligated to, and the man understood that. When Fesic suggested it sounded like a fun thing to do for the stabilizers, the man reminded Fesic only "one" stabilizer was offered for the event. The man also said he understood Fesic might have to leave early, but he'd have to only offer a discount if the shop didn't get the advertising expected because Fesic would have to leave.
Fesic did say his time was worth a lot of money to him and the store owner said the stabilizers also cost a lot of money. When Fesic asked if the man would give him some kind of discount on the second stabilizer, the store owner said he could offer a Cr 1,000 cut. Fesic again pointed out he might be called away, and the store owner made it clear his free stabilizer and discount would depend on a reasonable amount of advertisement. If, somehow, Fesic got called away ten minutes into the evening, the shop would get nothing but bad press from that. So, Fesic had to be there for a reasonable amount of the evening for the full offer to be valid. Fesic also suggested he could try to get his personal fan club involved, but despite the fact he'd said he would start building a fan club, Fesic hadn't actually followed up on that with any actions. So, when the shop owner asked for numbers, Fesic couldn't give him that and the fan club offer fell flat. In the end, Fesic agreed to talk with the man further, to see if they could set things up?
One other thing Fesic had thought of, was asking if the ship had any spare weapons available when he had to turn his snub pistols in to be modified? Having forgotten to do that, he found himself watching the crowd almost as much as his work. He couldn't have brought his cane sword since it would be 'very out of place', and raise questions. People asking why someone who didn't need a cane would bring it could lead to questions and investigations. So, after the call with the shop owner, Fesic called Mikah to see if she'd answer? When she did, Fesic asked if the ship had any spare weapons? Mikah said they had two snub pistols in the ship's locker and he could use one of them while his weapons were worked on. But, just one. So Fesic had to get done with his work assignment and take a cab to the ship's berth. Then, another(or the same) cab to the Order House for his time on their range. Using ball rounds, Colinne spent Cr 125 while Aiden burned through Cr 200 and Sekea fired Cr 200 worth of ammo.
Colinne, Fesic and Aiden finished their details and had to pay cabs returning to the Order house. Fesic paid twice, adding a trip to the ship while Aiden paid most for a trip from the shuttle port. After the rush, they ordered small meals on arriving, costing Cr 20 each. After that, they were led to a lift, and below the main level, to a surprising set of compartmented spaces for varying types of firing ranges. They were surprised just how much the Order house had hidden in that level. Aiden and Colinne signed vouchers to pay for ammunition they burned through in the process. Fesic didn't, since he had his laser rifle and he'd brought a charged backpack of his own, to gain more experience with his own gear. And the energy cost was negligible. Aiden would work with the sniper rifle because the new LAG was still being created. Colinne worked with her gauss rifle, and would have to return on another day to work with her new shotgun. After their time on the range was done, those at the Order house joined up to ride back to the suite.
After her work detail, Jocelynn went to the Order house to talk about the wood choices and do the testing to model the three hand knives she'd bought on Denotam. So she also spent four hours working with their techs in a different space. Aali decided to go back to the suite after her assignment, and see if anyone was interested in a stent practice? If not, or after that, she'd work on gear maintenance and watch the news. Rol also went back to the suite, and he, Zimzod and Aali had dinner and shared stent practice. Mikah went to the Order house for dinner, despite the fact the rented android would cook them all a meal. Chiefly, Mikah wanted to have a "soul-melting massage" after eating. Zimzod had been in rehab and wasn't up to an evening in the Order House. He had a cab ordered for him which delivered him back to the suite.
After the stent work, Zimzod decided to be Rol's drill sergeant and drive him in PT. While Zimzod relaxed after the PT, Rol connected to the station shopping network and searched for downloadable classes on communications. After a first search revealed a virtual tidal wave of offers, Rol worked to check what he could cut through. Rol could tell the smaller packages, which were able to be used on smaller computers like handcomps, were not powerful or likely able to get into the deeper concepts. The larger packages, some of which demanded installation onto ship or facility computers, offered expert system instructors. And, the more one paid for a package, the more convincing the instructor. And, the better an expert system instructor could explain difficult concepts.
Rol eventually found a seller with good reviews, which was surprising because those had to come from locals. Spacers who'd done business with the seller would be long gone before they'd tested the products they'd bought locally. The seller was offering an Expert System Instructor-led class that could allow Rol to gain two certifications. The first would be a basic ship's Comms Officer rating and the second would expand his skills from a Fourth Officer grade to Third Officer. The real surprise was the cost, which was KCr 65. Since Rol already had the comms skills to be a ship's rating, he expected that level of course to cost over KCr 100. Rol decided to save that and buy it the next day, unless his research led him to a better purchase. He also wanted to look into smaller, more portable packages that he could also use on his handcomp.
Seeing Mikah at the Order house restaurant, Jocelynn asked if Mikah would speak with her while they ate. She especially wanted to talk to them about the idea of smuggling, and work on Mikah's objections. As soon as Jocelynn brought the subject up, Mikah pointed out the crew had experience in trying their hand at smuggling and seeing things go wrong. Having been told about the female android in D'Ganzio, Jocelynn said she knew that was Fesic's fault. Mikah told her it was Zimzod's fault, ignoring her own part in what happened. She explained that Zimzod and she'd met the tattooed man and his girlfriend. Telling Jocelynn they'd agreed to carry the cargo because Zimzod had been all horny for an FGMP-15. Of course, she'd been there and agreed to the conditions along with Zimzod so she shared the blame.
In the end, much of what Mikah complained about came down to members of the crew, including Mikah, not asking the right questions. Like, "How would we get in good with the D'Ganzio government when we're sneaking something into their system for someone else?" Especially when it turned out to be an android that looked like a high-end prostitute and was programmed-to-destroy? There was the cover, for much of the transit, that they didn't know what was in the pod. But the first question should have been asked before the cargo was loaded. And, once Fesic broke orders and did open the pod, the second question should have been asked immediately. Especially since they weren't being paid to carry the cargo. Another mistake Mikah and Zimzod shared blame for.
Working that angle, Mikah finally decided to let Jocelynn take a swing at it. BUT. Mikah charged her with asking all the right questions. And, Jocelynn would be responsible for making it work or cleaning up any mess she created. But, before she pulled the trigger, Mikah wanted all the answers so they could talk again. But Mikah made it clear they'd talk later, after everything was shared. Jocelynn was good with that, and had to make her plans for the next call she'd have with the broker. Especially since she didn't yet know what she didn't know about the cargoes he'd offer.
Getting back to the suite from the hospital, because Mikah left him and had gone directly to the Order house, Sekea went to the suite first. Unlike the others, Sekea had a share of what the android cooked for them before he chose to call the Order house. He asked if they had a firing range free for him to rent? When they said they could rent him a range, Sekea put in an order and hopped a cab so he could try out his new "highly reliable" snub pistol. After that, Sekea planned to spend some time in the meeting rooms getting to know any of the other knights he might meet there. Eventually, after some drinks and conversations, Sekea met up with the others and Mikah had Aiden pay for the cab back to the suite.
Wednesday, 090-1114: Questions And Lists Early that morning, the crew woke to their alarms and prepared to leave for their assignments. While working with her team, Aali was called by InstellArms and told they'd returned her two upgraded drones, which included chem-sniffers and a trace reference library allowing detection flexibility. Sekea, Mikah, Colinne and Aali were also called and told their new or updated combat armor suits had been returned to the hotel. Fesic got the same call about his vacc suit and combat armor. The same with Mikah and Colinne, who were told their vacc suits were returned. The hotel then called each of them to ask if the deliveries should be held or moved into their suite? They each said to move the gear into the suite and returned to their work assignments.
Sekea also got a second call from InstellArms regarding scopes for his weapons. While he'd bought sights from Mordor Arms, he still had them in the boxes. That was because he'd asked the techs at InstellArms to search for any better scopes or sights he could buy. They told him they'd completed a search and sent him a report including the sights they'd found. All of them were higher end devices that were more than just sights. They included software and sensors to help improve the shooter's aim. That list included: The 'Confirmed Kill', which was an InstellArms internal brand The 'StrikSpotter', made by the Neeikar Corp. The 'Detector', made by the Burrett Corp. The 'Scope', made by Dushir Ushir Optics The 'Girma Gee', made by Gimble Alignment (based on the Vilani word for "Telescope") The 'Gidru', made by Naasirka Corporation (Vilani word for "Scepter") The 'Amalik Gi', made by Naasirka Corporation (Vilani phrase "Battle Eye") The 'Optic Force', made by DerBonne Merchants, LIC out of District 268 The 'Firefield', made by Military Technologies LIC, out of Rhylanor The 'Vortex', made by Arken Optics The 'Kon-beseh', made by Iro Inc, a well-known Darrian Corporation (Darrian Word: View[Enhanced])
After her work day was done, Colinne lit out quickly to hire a cab, get to the Order house and meet with Dame Gaurzurka, to talk about her decompiler. Dame Gaurzurka was there waiting when Colinne arrived and they greeted each other before finding a place to talk. Sitting in a more "pub-like" compartment, Dame Gaurzurka asked how long Colinne had been a member of the Order? When Colinne laughed and said, "Not very long at all", Gaurzurka said that sounded like the beginning of a good story and waved a server over so they could order food. With the food ordered and arriving, Colinne explained the events which led them to being inducted by the Order. While the details were noteworthy enough on their own, there were also things like the fact they'd been inducted at the order of the Arch Duke! And, in the presence of a Prince of the Realm!
While Colinne spoke, Dame Gaurzurka's attitude became less open and carefree while she realized Colinne and her crew could in fact be dangerous people. Both in action and politically. The kind of people who could be good friends or become serious liabilities if not treated carefully. Now more cautious, Gaurzurka asked Colinne just why she thought she needed so powerful a decompiler? Playing her cards close to the chest, Colinne only answered, "Well, we've acquired some interesting software and we need to crack it." Gaurzurka pushed that Colinne's answer would be generic for any software. She then pressed, "Why do you feel you need this powerful a decompiler?" Not really answering the question, Colinne told her she'd been working her way up from weaker packages and none as yet worked.
Used to deals where the details were behind curtains along with clandestine deals, Gaurzurka said they could proceed in one of two ways. Gaurzurka suggested Colinne could give her a copy of the software causing the issue along with Cr 10,000 for the decompiler, or they could just pay her Cr 100,000 for the decompiler if she had issues releasing a copy of the offending program. The offer hit Colinne's concerns about the lock cracker in the gut. She was already very concerned about just how powerful it was? Not to mention poking the risk of spreading it around until someone not only got caught with it, but also pointed fingers at them for spreading it. Especially since the Rhylanor subsector branch of IRIS already believed they'd turned over ALL copies of the package. Letting "You lied to IRIS" come home to roost would be a very bad thing! So Colinne simply said she could pay the KCr 100 because she didn't want to spread the software around.
After Colinne answered, Gaurzurka smiled as she nodded and said, "That was the right answer. You passed my test." Colinne realized that her choice not to share questionable software was the right answer. As Colinne smiled at the realization, Gaurzurka said she was happy to give Colinne the decompiler she had for free. Confused, Colinne asked what Gaurzurka wanted in return? Gaurzurka shook her head and said, "I want nothing in return. I just want to be sure you are someone I can trust." Because she wasn't used to people like that, Colinne was a bit flustered. She accepted not having to pay for the software, but asked what favor she could do for the other Knight? Gaurzurka told Colinne they could wait, if she really wanted, until time passed and Gaurzurka felt she needed a favor. If Colinne found something she could do for Gaurzurka that no one else could do, she would accept that as payment. Hearing that, Colinne accepted and said, "That's fair enough."
Done with the agreement, Gaurzurka gave Colinne what she would need to connect their ship's computer to a device to pull the download from. Gaurzurka also said the download would likely continue over-night, so Colinne had to get it started sooner, than later. Surprised, Colinne realized this had to be a corporate, government or even military decompiler. Still, the two did take the time to finish their meals and chat. Gaurzurka also told Colinne that if her ship ever crossed paths with the IMV Pind Teertshy, she'd make certain the Pind's captain knew they were friends and could be relied on to lend a hand or be helped at need. Especially if she dropped Gaurzurka's name. When they were done, they said their goodbyes and Colinne went off to the ship to get the software rolling.
Mikah finished up at the hospital, then caught a cab to the Order house for a meal and massage. On her way, she called the Order house and set up with a concierge to schedule her massage. First, Mikah had an enjoyable meal as she let the day's work drain away, and then asked to be taken to her masseuse. Mikah looked forward to relaxing even more as she was led to a room. Passing the guide as she pointed to an open door and said, "In here My Lady", Mikah realized she was stepping into some kind of meeting room as the door closed behind her. Sighing an annoyed and disappointed, "Oh no", Mikah saw the door on the other side of the room open. Baron Sir Miriorbsiv Forsen stepped into the space. She remembered he was a Knight Captain of the Order and worked for the Knight who controlled and managed the Order house. So, it was little surprise he could have her moved where he wanted.
Asking Mikah to sit, the Baron reminded Mikah he'd said he wanted to learn the real details behind what happened in the lab just before the shutdown. Frustrated and annoyed, Mikah verbally flailed back at him that she'd already told everyone what really happened. It turned out, in the conversation that followed, that he just couldn't get his mind to believe the claim she'd made that the virus had been a true and aware AI. At the same time, Mikah wasn't in a charitable mood, but she did her best to educate the man on what he needed to start believing because she knew they were out there. After agreeing to disagree, the Baron gave her a chit that would pay for her massage. Before he let Mikah go, he reminded her of the reporter, Sir Dovid Fensane.
When Mikah said, "OK", Baron Miriorbsiv reminded Mikah the man had been present when she opened up about what happened to them in the Tremous Dex system. He then told her the reporter planned to release what he was calling the most comprehensive and factual coverage of the actions taken by the crew of the IMV Upgrade in that system. He said he expected it to make a splash since none of Mikah's crew had released anything on what had happened in that system. Or, in the Arden system either. When Mikah said she wasn't worried about that, the Baron thanked her for her time and called an orderly. He then had Mikah led to a room where a masseuse did his best to turn Mikah's body into a puddle of YEEESSSSS!!!!!. In the end, they had to call a car for Mikah and have her metaphorically "poured into a beaker" for her ride back to the suite, where she'd be poured into her bed. Those who returned to the suite for dinner also watched the news and saw the following stories:
Ghandi (B211455-A N Ni Ic G 303 Im F8 V M3 D) Date: 089-1114
Following the initial departure of ships on the Third Spinward Marches Point to Point Race, local race officials confirmed
there were few small issues in the Ghandi system. A notable ship design fielded by the RISED suffered a brief moment of
embarrassment when power systems failed. The five entrants gathered in the Ghandi system had launched from the P2P docking
structure and prepared their systems for the moment the race was officially "on". It was during that starting phase that
the IRS-X Ganipome Thaphe appeared to lose power and even begin to nose into an unintentional downward pitch.
(RISED: Regina Institute of Space Engineering and Design)
Despite the momentary failure, and with support craft already moving in "just in case", the ship's commander broadcast an
"all clear" which was soon followed by resumption of power. The Ganipome spent extra moments correcting her flight vector
before firing her thrusters to overtake and even pass some of the four other vessels. Experts also suggested, based on
their sensors, the Ganipome may well have carried some of their vector into jump. That suggests a calculated tactic to
carry speed into the next system in hopes of cutting down the time to docking. Some of the more educated observers wondered
if the crew had plotted their jump to one of those worlds deep within the 100-diameter well of a gas giant or close-in
M-Class star?
With the release of the racers completed, the observation data from the docking station were packetized. That would be
beamed to a special set of x-boats in system, who will carry that data out to all neighboring systems participating in the
race. Or, at least, links to those systems beyond a four-parsec distance too. To remind viewers, the race will ultimately
be decided by tracking and totaling the records of transit times from the system they started in and through all those
systems they passed making their circuit of the course. As a result, the same five ships which left the Ghandi system
a day ago should return to Ghandi when they finish. 
Ghandi (B211455-A N Ni Ic G 303 Im F8 V M3 D) Date: 089-1114
Following the horrific events of the 84th day crisis, with some reports submitted, more investigations are continuing
to be filed. Following the surprise announcement from Lady Mikah Kirlim and her crew as they step forward to support
the station's recovery, another surprise announcement has been released! In a combined statement, Knights related to the
various Order Houses have matched the MCr 50 donation made by the crew of the Upgrade. In addition to that, members of
the various Chivalric Orders have announced they will split into two teams to work on-station. The first team will lend
a hand, along with the crew of the Upgrade in repairs and recovery. The other team will provide both additional security
and med-rescue teams. The latter until conditions on Ghandi Prime calm to pre-crisis levels.
Mire (A665A95-C M Hi Cp G 110 Da M6 V) Date: 039-1114
An announcement from the Confederation Government confirms they have been in talks with members of the government
of the Condaria system. Historically, the Condaria system had been a colony of the Darrian Confederation before the Maghiz.
Following that event and the devastation wreaked across more than a sector of space, the people of Condaria recovered, and
elected to maintain a pre-spaceflight society. While maintaining cordial relations with the Confederation, Condaria had
also decided to sever official ties with Darrian and the new Government formed in the Mire system. This has been the case
for the last 1,024 years. That decision predates the foundation of the Third Imperium by ten years.
Following the Fifth Frontier War, and the effects of military actions on belligerent and neutral systems, rumors had spread
that an embassy from Condaria had arrived on Mire. Since then, it is believed there have been several exchanges between the
two governments without any announcement of the content of those meetings. Today, officials of the Confederation government
have confirmed that talks have been held. Beyond that, the public and media have been told the Condarian authorities have
consulted with the Confederation government and military regarding security concerns. Reasons why they now question their
interstellar security were not addressed.
At the end of a public briefing which very successfully buried the lead, Confederation Officials have announced the
government of Condaria will prepare a plebiscite for their system. The population of Condaria will be offered options to
remain neutral, join the Confederation or seek other security solutions even including suing for membership in the Third
Imperium. That last item appears doubtful given the five-Parsec distance from that system to Imperial borders. It should
be considered that the Imperium has granted the Ucella and Bularia systems "Client State" status. The Bularia system would
push the "considered" Imperial border closer, to three parsecs. Still, that is considerable where the Condaria system is
not even space-flight capable.
Ghandi (B211455-A N Ni Ic G 303 Im F8 V M3 D) Date: 090-1114
TAS Newman Sir Dovid Fensane has released a sensational work about the actions and events he states Lady Mikah Kirlim claimed
factual regarding their actions in the pirate harbor of Tremous Dex! Hot on the heels of their actions here in the Ghandi
system, Sir Dovid said he was present within the Order house of their Order when Mikah was asked about the subject. Sir
Dovid wrote Lady Mikah regaled all present in the meeting room with a tale ripe with action and rich in detail. Sir Dovid
here recounts the details, recorded in Lady Mikah's own voice. He has also added to the account footnotes where data could
be found regarding the pirate personality "Smiljan", who appeared in Imperial Naval reports Sir Dovid said he had access to.
In addition, new reports from the Denotam system not only indicate the pirate ship Rumen arrived in that system and Lady Mikah
was key in identifying the ship as a raider. The report also stated Lady Mikah and her crew were instrumental in bringing
that ship and her crew into custody while also rescuing prisoners held by the pirates. One of those freed prisoners, Lady
Aadshur Kurdig Maur Ishnush Agka has agreed to sit with Sir Dovid and recount what details she could about the events on the
doomed IMV King George, her capture and suffering at the hands of the pirates and her rescue and travels with the crew of Lady
Mikah and the IMV Upgrade.
On Lady Mikah's discussions about her arrival in the Tremous Dex system, she said her crew had planned to jump into Dex to
refuel before moving on to the Arden system. She also added, to great laughs from her audience, that she and her crew had
planned to try and play things "low key". Sadly, a ship she named the Krama Vjera attempted to engage them and demand "taxes".
Per her comments, a stratagem created by Sir Zimzod Egosion led them to dock with the pirate and trap their boarding party near
the airlock of the Upgrade. Lady Mikah's crew expected to use the wounded, and in some cases dying, from that ambush to force
a peaceful entry to the system but they turned out to be bait, along with the ship. Quickly, a three-ship flotilla including the
Rumen(mentioned before and captured in the Denotam system), Xefe and pirate flagship Cedna set to block Lady Mikah's way until
she warned them she'd die in glory and wreck the pirate Smiljan's fleet.
The story went on about their adventures, but all except Rol had been there and they'd had heard it all from the horse's mouth. Colinne had too, but she'd gone to the ship to set up and start the decompiler download as far as he knew. So, those in the suite tuned off the news for something they cared about. Fesic and Aiden had to spend four hours on the range that night. Rol griped it didn't take long for the media to jump on things, but they had to admit Sir Dovid had done his best to punch up the drama and their heroics in the part of the story they listened to. They also had to admit, he seemed to have done his research well, and while he said Mikah claimed the story was fact, he also provided footnotes with actual evidence where the news reports had reached TAS in Ghandi. They also expected Maur's interview to nail home the authenticity of the piece. When Rol joked about Sir Dovid not describing Zimzod in a loin cloth with a vibro-sword, Zimzod puffed up and proudly said, "I'd pose for that picture!" with his right thumb up and a huge smile.
Rol continued his research and eventually bought the communications training class, and would have to work with Colinne to download and install it on the ship's computer. Colinne had gone to the ship to start the download, but when Rol called she told him to hold off on his download and wait for Mikah, because she wanted the Captain's OK first. He also went on to research a smaller package he could work with on his handcomp. To his surprise, while he did that, the seller for the larger package comm'd him through the ship. It turned out that for "big ticket items" like the package Rol had bought, the man had a sniffer built into the sales site. So, he'd gotten an alert and a trace on the sale that went back to Sir Rol and the ship! Connecting with Sir Rol, he wondered if he could help with items not listed publicly?
Rol said he'd found what he'd been looking for and was happy with that, and the man asked what Rol hoped to get out of the package he bought? Rol used his best hundred-credit words to say he wanted to become certified in ship's communications work, which got laughs from people hearing him. Especially when he didn't say that and did say, "...to become proficient in inter-ship inter-system communications..." Nodding at Rol's big official words, the man said he had an add on to that package that Rol might be able to use and asked if Rol had a neural stent? When Rol said he did, the man said he'd be able to use the add on package too. For Cr 10,000 more, the add on creates an aid which Rol can learn from "directly in his mind" instead of an external holographic teacher. Software on the stent wafer would integrate with his class and provide more in-depth concept definitions and a better class instructor than just the software itself. Rol first wanted to make sure he could work with, or without, the stent wafer as needed and was told he could use the wafer as desired or not. Rol then also bought a smaller package for Cr 7,000, which he could use off the ship.
Thursday, 091-1114: Preparation And Planning The 91st day began as had the two days before, with the crew riding out to their work details while Rol went to rehab. After that, Fesic had to spend four more hours in the Order House range while they measured him using one of his snub pistols. After his shift, Aiden also went to the Order house and practiced with his auto-pistol and submachinegun. He eventually spent Cr 300 for the ammo he burned. Getting back to the suite, he listened to a bit of his music collection before ending his day. After waking, Colinne connected to the ship's systems to check on the continuing download and security check. She knew the download should end during her morning, but wanted to keep an eye on the progress during her morning breaks. By her lunch break, Colinne could see the download had finished and she ran a suite of her own personal security checks to make sure it wasn't corrupt or infected. Still, Colinne wanted to talk to Mikah before she installed the program, because it was large enough it could only be run on the ship's computer. Since Mikah was doing other things, she figured she'd wait. So, Colinne worked on her small neural stent apps.
After their work days ended, Mikah told Zimzod he would be assisting her in the ship's med-lab the next day. She then spent time explaining the process to Sekea and Fesic. She told Sekea he'd get his implant first, and told Fesic he could watch. She planned to keep them in the ship's med-bay overnight after the surgery, for recovery. At the same time, she also had to speak to and check on Rol, because the next day would be the last he had before they had to return his two walking 'droids in two days' time. Thanks to his physical therapy, Rol was now able to get out of his bed or chair and walk about on his own. But that was with many pauses and grabbing hand-holds. Still, he was self-mobile and could work on strengthening that. He still needed the gravChair to move 'at speed' with others, but could attack that too.
Rol also wanted to install the comms program into the ship's computer, but when he asked Colinne, she said she was waiting to talk to Mikah about the decompiler, so she asked him to hold off on doing that. With nothing needed of her, Jocelynn had gotten her work detail done and then returned to the suite to meditate and practice her psi exercises. Aali spent some of her evening time reviewing the reports from the androids since they were still active on the ship. She also decided she'd commit more time the next day to manage more of the work and read through the android reports. Zimzod did more PT after he got back to the suite, and then relaxed and watched Vids with some of the others. The crew eventually settled down for the night.
Friday, 092-1114: Cut - Snip - BOOM! Now freed from the Count's work details, Aali planned to set time aside to go to the port and work with the androids and ship's systems. After that, she brought her two upgraded drones to practice with. She would practice with those in the ship's cargo bay. She'd then consider what to do with the rest of her day? Colinne knew Mikah would be busy for the day, with Sekea and Fesic's surgeries. Because of that, she had to delay the talk she wanted to have with Mikah regarding the decompiler. With nothing else planned, Colinne checked to see what sightseeing tours were advertised on Ghandi station. As she logged on and looked at what was there, Colinne saw a number of "tour the solar system" flights on offer.
While some of those lasted more than a week, there were also other shorter-term guides. One of those, a day-long flight, offered an over-flight tour of Ghandi Prime. The tour was in a ship that would make multiple orbits and "deep dives" into the world's trace atmosphere. Because there was no down-world tourism, Colinne saw station-side offerings. For those who didn't spend their lives in space, tourists could be sealed into a vacc suit and spend time floating and tethered to the station's outer hull. or, even, "zip-lined" to an asteroid also tethered to the station. There were obsolete small naval warships docked to the station, which visitors could tour as well as tours of the station's spaces. Colinne took a look at a map of Ghandi Prime and decided to take a day-long tour. Signing up for the tour, Colinne paid Cr 5,000 and got her boarding ticket and vouchers for "Lunch", "Dinner" and "Spare" meals.
Done with his morning routine, Fesic spoke to some of the others about the upgraded chameleon skin for their armor or vacc suits. Coming late to the party, Fesic decided to call InstellArms and have them pick up his vacc suit before he left for the ship for his surgery. He asked them if he could have his suit updated with that? Like the others, his Concierge suggested he simply buy a new suit and trade in his old one after they transferred any upgrades from it. Especially since "skinning" the old suit might take a week and come very close to when they planned to leave the station. Not to mention, it would cost as much or more. Added to that, when they checked his suit model data, they told him it wasn't self-sealing. That was something they couldn't retrofit. Fesic agreed he certainly wanted that and was charged Cr 15,000 with the trade in of his old suit.
At breakfast, Jocelynn had joked about assisting Mikah with the surgeries, and made jokes about suffocating the patients with gauze. Seeing almost everyone planned to leave the suite, Jocelynn decided she'd help Rol if needed and get in more psi practice before meditating. Jocelynn assumed Mikah would be going to the Order house after the operations, and considered trying to meet up with her there. But, Mikah finished eating and told her two test monkeys to finish their mornings, get their gear and be at the ship by mid-day. She had then done what he had to before she gathered her gear and left. Zimzod did the same and left with her. Mikah had invited Jocelynn to watch the operations if she'd wanted, but Jocelynn had begged off. At the time, Mikah confirmed her plans to hit the Order house after the surgeries, then return to the suite.
Because Rol had spoken to Colinne, an since she'd waived him off downloading and installing the package he'd bought on the ship's computer, he opened and began installing the smaller package on his hand-comp. After that, he used the androids to do physical therapy until the vender came to recover them. He also started working on the beginnings of his class after the software was installed. He did say good luck to Sekea and Fesic. Sekea had asked if he should restrict himself to a liquid diet before the operation, but Mikah told him she'd only be using local anesthetics because it was safer that way, with her having to open the skull and all. The stent kit itself had an in-built system to penetrate the meninges and make connections with the brain's synapses.
With everything set, Mikah, Zimzod and the patients arrived at the ship and Mikah had her two victims sit while she and Zimzod organized the operating space. With Sekea going first, Fesic was told he could watch if he wanted? Getting to work, anesthetizing the base of Sekea's neck behind his right ear, Mikah began cutting to expose his skull. She was well through the process and preparing to insert the neural kit when the ship seemed to suddenly lurch to the right! She had to re-balance herself before applying the device before placing it against the meninges. Not pleased, Mikah ordered, "Zimzod. Go see what that was?" At the same time, Fesic tried to be nonchalant while he said, "I'm gonna go see what that was." Zimzod said, "She told me to do it, but you can come along too." He was already leaving the med-bay as he spoke. In the ship's engineering, Aali had not checked in with Mikah and was working with the 'droids, so she started checking instruments to see what had happened?
Before they got very far, the ship was hit by a harmonic "port blast". That was an audio wave aimed at one or more ships that relied on harmonics to cause the message to be heard by anyone inside those ships. The message they heard was, "Please stay secure in your ship! We are handling the situation." Listening, but ignoring the advice, Zimzod had stepped out of the med-bay and opened the hatch leading down to the lower deck. Sliding down the ladder, he was making his way forward to the hatches leading to the ship's dorsal turrets. Fesic was following him and glad he wasn't the one on the surgical table. Quickly, they were in the cargo bay and Zimzod had opened the left gun hatch and dropped in. Fesic did the same on the right and they both powered up the vis-light sensors.
Usually mostly useless in ship to ship battles over thousands of miles, the vis-light screens showed both men some kind of firefight taking place in the ship's berth! The station security seemed hard put in fighting with some kind of heavily armed semi-composite armored troopers. Making things worse, the armored troopers seemed to have no unit insignia on their combat uniforms. The fighting was fierce and there were a number of bodies from both sides on the ground. In the first seconds though, neither Zimzod nor Fesic could tell who had the numbers? What both men could see was that there had been some kind of explosion in the berth, which had followed at least one other explosion blowing a hole in the wall so the attackers could get into that compartment. That hole was littered with bodies in port security, leaving no question what had happened there.
Zimzod reported back to Mikah, who told him to get back to help her finish Sekea's operation. Knowing the answers before he did the math, Fesic ran the ideas through anyway. Still, as he fed Mikah information on what was happening, and told Zimzod to return to the med-bay, the math said opening up the turret guns with any power level at all would cut through basic berth plating. And that would then cut into anything from neighboring berths to port machinery to external hull plating! And any of those would be very bad. On his way back to the med-bay, Zimzod called the rest of the crew and warned them the ship was under assault! When Fesic asked if Mikah wanted him to find a way to get involved, she asked what Zimzod was doing first?
Zimzod's battledress was at InstellArms being modified, and he needed that suit's pwoer, which his combat armor didn't have. So he couldn't armor up. Rol's battledress was on the ship but, since Colinne had told him not to load his software, he hadn't come to the ship after all. That meant Fesic was their eyes, in the turret while Zimzod moved back to help Mikah sculpt the skull fragment before starting to close the surgical wound. That left Fesic and the snub pistol he'd borrowed from the ship's locker as internal security. It would take some time before Mikah could get Sekea off the table.
After that, he could decide to take some knock out drops and trust the others to solve the problem or take pain killers and join Fesic in ship's security. Fesic was all good with not getting cut on while the fighting was going on, so Mikah and Zimzod could also join in with him too. Heading back to Mikah, Zimzod called the folks at the suite and told them to call the port and find out what the hell?? Aiden had been reading and leapt up to see if he could help when word broke of the attack. Aali checked in too, saying she had some ideas she was preparing for.
Ironically, when Rol did connect to a tech, the man tried to shuffle him to holding because they were dealing with a situation. Before the man could dump him from the board, Rol started dictating his titles and the man realized he had to explain something to the self-important idiot he'd connected to. The tech started to explain there was an issue in the port berths and Rol cut him off, shouting, "WE ARE THE ISSUE!" That stopped the man long enough for Rol to announce he was crew from the Upgrade and he wanted to know what was happening because they had crew aboard! Suddenly catching up to the moment, the shocked man said, "Oh shit!" Sorry, who am I speaking with?" and Rol identified himself again and, with more authority in his tone, demanded an update from the technician. Jocelynn had started her psi practice with the plan to do meditation too. After that, she had planned to go to the Order house for a meal and massage. So, when she heard the comms traffic she moved out into the suite's living room to see if she could help?
The report Rol got was something he was used to from someone who didn't know the full story and filled in some of the less important details from what he assumed was happening. At the same time, Aali had started making changes to the ship's systems and her androids so she could over-pressurize compartments to cause trouble. The tech said, "Some unregistered mercenary unit with varying levels of tech has decided to take exception to your crew's presence on the station." When Rol pushed for details, reminding the man they had crew aboard the ship, the tech said the station's heaviest forces were responding to the attack. He also understood security had them isolated in three separate compartments on three different decks. One of the groups was entirely surrounded and expected to surrender very soon. Rol asked, "What about our berth?" and was told the tech didn't have an update from that section commander yet.
Rol demanded any update as soon as security got an update from that section commander, then updated Zimzod and Mikah. Rol recommended they fortify themselves inside the ship and let the mercenaries try to force themselves into the ship to come at them. Zimzod agreed with that plan. While he was their eyes, Fesic still asked someone to go into his stateroom and grab his combat armor. Zimzod said he'd do that, and grab whatever armor wasn't being worked on for himself and Mikah. For both Mikah and Zimzod, that was their vacc suits - which would act as cloth armor. In the meantime, Fesic watched the fighting in the berth until two things happened in quick succession. The first was that some of the mercenary figures started pointing at Fesic's turret. That meant they'd noticed it was active so some of the troopers started firing on the cameras that fed the vis-light sensors.
While Fesic was annoyed at the attention, they were using hand-weapons and he had to fight back a laugh. The turrets were designed to resist ship to ship weapon fire. Damage to the cameras was "possible" but unlikely unless it took massive and incredibly accurate fire. That comforted Fesic only until he noticed a flying object that came into the berth and suddenly exploded! When his vision cleared, Fesic could see more station security bodies on the deck than there had been before. And, more mercenaries were flooding into the berth from the support spaces. From what Fesic could tell, a third to half the defenders were down! Reviewing any options he had that didn't include stepping out of the ship, Fesic also let the others know about the loss.
Back in the suite, Rol wondered how much force he could add to things if he could gear up and get to the port? At the same time, Aali giggled almost to herself in engineering and quietly said, "They should enjoy this." with a smile on her face. Aali called over the comms and told the others in the ship they should strap in quickly. Not sure what Aali was about, Mikah had to choose between continuing to sculpt the bone cap to fit around stent device or grabbing something. In the end, she joined the others in grabbing a hold bar built there for stability during sudden maneuvers. That came as Aali warned, "Mikah, please hold on to something firm please." Strapped down on the operating table, Sekea was certainly not enjoying the ride while too completely aware part of his brain was openly exposed should things go bad.
Suddenly, everyone aboard felt the ship rumble while only Fesic had eyes on what was happening. A certain component of their awareness recognized, where the rumbling seemed to feet like the ship's main engines! Fesic saw a sudden glow at the ship's aft as Aali's voice came from the speaker. She warned them, "I've just activated the ship's engines at a low level. When Fesic mused about burning the berth and getting trouble back from the station, Aali laughed and said, "On my honeymoon, I got to fire off nukes. Now, I'm getting to set fire to a landing berth." Fesic only smiled wryly, shook his head and playfully said, "You are having too much fun." while watching the figures in the berth panic and fight to escape the berth!
All disputes evaporated in a desperate struggle to escape the sudden inferno. There were no allies or team mates in the "every man for themselves" struggle to get out of the flame-filled berth. At the same time, the ship and crew were now being pinged from the port! Both Fesic and Rol answered a panicked technician who demanded what the hell they thought they were doing? Rol was the first to get a line out, advising the port they were exercising "creative crowd management." Hearing that, some in the crew busted out laughing while Fesic clarified, "We figured the only way we could help was to burn off some of the chaff." The tech glaring from the comms was horrified at the crew's casual disregard to the situation. Especially since a number of those defending the bay had retreated to use the ship as a defensive barrier. Including the engine baffles.
Getting back his equilibrium, the tech told them the other two conflicts had been resolved and additional forces were closing on their berth. He added they should arrive momentarily and the crew should take no further actions unless their ship was breached. When it was suggested they try not to burn through the bulkheads, Rol said, "We'll try not to. And we hope the belligerents are willing to see reason." Fesic added, "Or they could just burn up and die." When Fesic then told Aali she could cut the engines, Rol asked for a sit-rep of conditions in the bay. All Fesic could see were survivors from both the station teams and mercenaries fighting in an all-out drive to get out of the flaming berth.
Reporting that to Rol and the others, Fesic made sure the external camera system they'd installed had been filming the entire event. Doing that, he noticed the mercenaries seemed to have some fresh troops who'd not gotten into the berth. Those seemed to be helping to pull their people out while firing into the berth in hopes of finishing off the station troops. Callus to the death and carnage he was watching, Fesic announced, "This is popcorn night! Barbecue in the berth." Aali accepted the command to shut down the engines and went about the steps, so there was a slight delay. In the meantime, bodies and other materials still guttered in flames even after the shutdown was done. Visual inspection of the bulkhead burned by the engines guaranteed their ship would be moved to a different berth when everything was settled.
While Fesic watched what had become a knife and hand to hand fight at the blown berth hatches to escape, he could see very few surviving port troopers at all. Fesic was beginning to worry about a possible second wave from the remaining mercenaries when it seemed explosions erupted behind their line and beyond what he could see through the hatches. That was followed by heavy fire and many dropping bodies as station reinforcements finally arrived and started pouring through the blasted openings. While those troops moved into the space and started securing things, Fesic was making a copy of the entire battle scene along with special "Director's cuts" while he counted eggs he couldn't prove would hatch. Certain his video productions would get him extra discounts for his micro-stabilizers, Fesic had yet to consider the number of station security funerals it might be suggested the crew attend. Especially those who were caught and killed in the ship's engine flare.
With the grim work of securing the berth and calling in tech and other teams, they advised any members of the Upgrade to stay inside the ship until they had haz-mat teams clear the space. They also advised Rol to have Lady Mikah prepare to move the ship, since that berth was no longer able to be rented to them. Rol was also warned there would be additional security teams assigned to them and their ship once it was moved, which included the crew's further activities on-station. Just in case there were additional mercenaries. Not to mention a number of questions they'd have to answer about how lighting the ship's engines seemed to be a good idea when the station still had defensive forces in the berth? On a private channel, Aali quipped, "They have insurance". Rol answered, "You know how these station types are when they lose a fight." and Fesic added, "They needed us to save them." Zimzod shrugged and said, "It's a learning experience."
In the process, Mikah and Zimzod had managed to finish implanting Sekea's neural stent, and he asked for pain killers while he stayed awake. In case they had to evacuate the ship. Realizing the situation was secure and they had to wait some time before they could leave the ship, Fesic decided it was time to go under the knife and have his stent implanted. At the same time, Sekea was led to one of the med-bay's two beds to relax and begin his recovery. Thanks to the growth enhancers and other topical sealants and recovery aids, Sekea knew his cuts would seal in a day or so, and be mostly recovered in three or four days. The same with Fesic once Mikah was done working on him. As the jokes turned to speculation, Jocelynn said, "I told you the pirates would come. Nobody listened." That was despite the fact that Smiljan only had four ships that they knew of. And of those, the Xefe had been destroyed, the Rumen had been captured in Denotam and investigation of that ship's cargo showed it likely contained hull sections from the Krama Vjera, which they'd shot up. And they'd captured and sold the Cedna to the station there. Unless the Ardeni military had taken it from the station, it would still be under repairs there.
So, if Smiljan had other ships, they'd have scattered or had to deal with the Ardeni navy f they'd come back to Tremous Dex at all. And the odds they were so broken hearted over their dead leader they'd try to follow Mikah's crew to Arden, then to Denotam and Ghandi was less than likely at best. Their own needs would have likely led the captains of any surviving ships to start building commands of their own. Sekea suggested it could have been from the Sladeks of the IMV Dilucca but Zimzod shot that down. He said they were a merchanter family ship, and had already issued the bumper car challenge. So, while there were sore feelings, they would hardly have had the resources to hire a full out mercenary platoon, which is what he was guessing they'd been hit by. Still, the fighting seemed over and they went back to getting things done. In engineering, Aali started working to find if she could find any important damage from inside the ship.
In the meantime, as Fesic was working with Mikah to prepare for surgery, he invited them all for popcorn and vid from the attack afterwards. Mikah joked, "I'm glad you told us that now, 'cause you're not gonna be able to talk for a few days." When that caught Fesic by surprise, he asked why, and if that was normal? But while Mikah hit him with the local and strapped him down, she gave him an evil smile and said, "nope." That caused a now panicked Fesic to start trying to bargain for the safe outcome he'd expected. She eventually told him it was a joke, if only to stop him squirming as she got to work. Aali confirmed she'd been using her androids to maintain surveillance in the ship's engineering spaces. Aiden also connected remotely to the ship, to help Aali if needed. Rol complimented Aali on using the engines and she gave him a thin smile, dryly suggesting they ask station security to organize the captured mercenaries in a chain gang with tooth brushes to clean the aft end of their ship.
A Bang Of A Different Kind Aboard a tour ship, Colinne was enjoying a paid tour making orbits and deep dives into Ghandi Prime's atmosphere on a sightseeing trip. While she was enjoying over-flights of the planet's geology, Colinne listened in as reports of the attack began. Reacting to that, Colinne asked one of the craft's stewards if there was anything they could do to change the tour and get her back to her ship? Asking the details of the situation, none of the tour crew wanted to turn their ship into a possible battle to start with. And, they still had the rest of the tourists to consider, so there was never a chance the boat would be turned back to Ghandi station to drop Colinne off there. She was told to do her best to enjoy the rest of the tour and they'd make certain station security met them to protect her when they docked again.
She had to relax and enjoy continued visuals of Ghandi's geography, which were sometimes breathtaking. Especially where expert pre-recorded tracks talked of signs Ghandi had once had a thicker atmosphere. That was believed to have been burned away by the systems red star primary. Those features existed side by side with impact craters and other features that would have eroded away over the millennia if the atmosphere had remained. Colinne enjoyed both the visual systems and data shares the tour boat had. She also used her data-HUD-goggles, which had additional vision bands the others aboard didn't have. With the goggles, Colinne could scan the surface and air currents as the ship moved, and managed to spot rising streams of hot gasses. Looking at those closer, Colinne realized she could see a number of vents spouting gas that had to be escaping under pressure. Like steam off a pot. The sort of thing even Colinne knew likely preceded a volcanic eruption.
Even more significant, she couldn't see any sign of a crater or caldera, so whatever event was building was new to that part of the world's surface. And, she realized, it was likely imminent too. Concerned about hazards to the ship, like rocks and even lava thrown to high-altitude, and perhaps near their flight path, Colinne decided to try to clair-voy into the future one to two hours. After settling and centering herself, what she got back was an after the fact vision. In her mind, she saw what had happened after a blast ripped open the surface from which the gasses were escaping, and the area had already settled down. So, she knew the mass eruption which had caused the destruction had happened well before her vision. Which meant closer to "Now" in time! And, the size of the caldera ripped open screamed that a massive eruption had happened under the airspace in which they were flying! And, the event looked entirely natural.
Very concerned, Colinne flagged one of the tour stewards and explained her goggles and the gasses she had been seeing. Colinne did her best to sound highly educated on volcanoes and tectonics as she suggested an event might be imminent and the flight crew should take protective action. The steward Colinne spoke to got excited and called over the shift's head steward. That man listened carefully to what Colinne had to say and did his best to get a good handle on where she said she'd been seeing the escaping air jets on the surface. And, while Colinne said she hoped they'd warn the captain to get away from the area, the lead steward reacted with what sounded like a coo of joy! He then said he'd certainly notify the flight director and flight crew about what Colinne said.
Minutes later, the pilot came on the intercom and directed those who could to look out the craft's right-side view screens and ports as the pilot put the craft into a gentle bank to circle the area. He went on to say, "One of your fellow tourists has spotted what seems to be jets of superheated air rising from a ground vent, and suggesting a possibly imminent volcanic event. The tone of the man's voice was positively gleeful. Because he'd been warned, the man said he'd do his best to give everyone aboard some kind of view in hopes they'd get to see the eruption when it happened. That reaction took Colinne completely by surprise and she hoped they knew what they were doing. He also assured everyone they were both high enough and far enough away from what he expected to be the epicenter of the coming blast, so he was sure they were safe.
Everyone aboard was also given a chance to swipe their Idents and get hold of a hand-held vid recorder and aim it at the planet's surface before waiting for the blast. The descriptions continued as the craft circled and facts about Ghandi's surface spooled out until there was a sudden and massive volcanic blast. The ship shuddered in an air blast despite the distance and they could feel lurches as the flight crew made sudden course changes. Despite the altitude, it appeared they had to avoid debris lofted from the eruption. After the show was over, one of the stewards came back to where Colinne sat while carrying a hand microphone. Getting to her seat, the steward announced, "Madam! Congratulations on being the first to spot this event. In recognition of your eagle-eyed feat, what would you like to name this new caldera?" Completely flustered, Colinne could only pull one name out of her mind, so she blurted out, "Mikah!" Thanking Colinne, the steward said the information would be conveyed to the Ghandi Prime Survey mission from the IISS and the spot would henceforth be officially named "Mikah caldera".
Friday, 092-1114: Where everyone is at the end of the session: Mikah, Zimzod and Fesic: Taking part in Fesic's stent implant surgery in the ship's med-bay Sekea: In the med-bay aboard the ship recovering from stent implant surgery Aali: In the ship's engineering space Rol, Jocelynn and Aiden: In the suite, working to help those of the crew in the ship Colinne: Aboard a tour craft exploring the geology of Ghandi Prime
_________________________________________________________________________ Next: Things On And Off Track