A Deal, A 'Droid And A Funeral

    Sunday, 094-1114: Early evening
No Day At the Beach
     At nearly 10am Aiden had joined the others in the suite deciding what he wanted to do with his day?  He, Mikah, Zimzod and Rol were watching the news in the suite.  Colinne had also stayed in the suite, remotely connected to the ship's computer while working on the lock pick program until lunch.  At nearly 3pm, Jocelynn and Sekea were sitting with designers at InstellArms designing a pell 'droid and discussing costs.  Fesic had gone the Order house after lunch and was spending his time on one of their ranges while they took measurements to customize his shotgun.  While the crew did their things, Aali was spending her days before the ship lifted in one of the station security's detention cells.  She would only be allowed out for the security officer funerals.

After he'd eaten and spent half an hour watching the news, Aiden got up, went into his bedroom and made a call.  After that, around 11am, Aiden returned and said he planned to find a secure place where he could do some zero-g practice.  He asked if, after finding a place, anyone wanted to come along and throw him around a bit?  His ask was half joke and half serious, since he hoped he could use his teaching suit to learn the basics of stabilization from wild spins and gyrations.  Saying that, he looked at Mikah, Zimzod, Rol and Colinne while they considered his words.  Colinne wanted to stay in the suite, connect to the ship's computer, jump into one of her secured sandbox virtual computers and work on what they'd been calling the lock picking program.  At least, until lunch.

Mikah and Zimzod were up for it, especially since Zimzod had transitioned from physical therapy to regular calisthenics.  Mikah said Zimzod only had to dig harder into his workouts, and repair his muscle tone.  She said he'd recovered from his chest surgery in the Denotam system.  Rol felt he had to ask Mikah if he "could" take part, since she was his doctor.  Because he suffered no actual physical damage. she advised him to work hard to build up the newly cloned muscles and control of his new body.  And while he had little real strength or control so far, she felt the exercise would be safe and worth him doing.

While Rol and Mikah talked about his condition, Aiden called the hotel concierge to ask about space they could rent for his idea.  While the hotel worker did her best to sell them ballroom space, the compartments they had grav control in didn't have the most ideal dimensions.  While the ballrooms were wide and long, their ceilings weren't very high.  Where many companionways and corridors aboard ships and stations also had eight or nine foot ceilings, Aiden was unskilled.  Using a new training suit to learn in controlled environments, he wanted "room to flail about" until he got the hang of getting control of his spins and drifts.  So, fifteen or even twenty foot ceilings were a better choice.

The prices were also more than a bit steep, though the concierge promised she was offering the space at a discount.  Aiden still pushed for her to check on other local spaces that would be more in line with his needs and she promised to get back to him later.  This said he'd either found an "unprepared spot" in the hotel's services or they really didn't want him offering his cash to other coffers.  That thought annoyed him as he cut the line with her and then called the Knight Victor's Order House.  Also a member of the Knight Defenders of the Marches, Aiden could have looked for an Order House and called them, but he dialed the Knight Victor's house instead.

Introductions were made before the concierge asked how he could help?  When Aiden described what he wanted, the concierge nodded and promised to lean into the Order House's contacts.  Used to serving the needs for many Knights involved in odd, unusual or mysterious things, Aiden was told they could give him a list of contacts to call himself,  Or he could stay anonymous by having the concierge call for him.  Nodding, Aiden mentioned his concerns for his crew's security.  Nodding, the concierge said it might be best for them to make the calls on Aiden's behalf.

The concierge said they would call a broker who knew warehouse owners and managers motivated to earn cash renting unused warehouse space.  Not an athletic or training facility, the modern spaces would have the grav controls and space Aiden needed at seriously reduced prices.  And, most of them would be larger than any specialized facility too.  It was also thinking out of the 'specialized use' box most people didn't look past when trying to save cash getting what they wanted.  That alone showed the value of having a concierge at his disposal.  When asked how long he wanted the space, Aiden suggested two or three hours.  The concierge only smiled because warehouses rented for half-day or day rates before they got into days, weeks and months.  So, the concierge only said, "We'll see what we can get for you."

Aiden was told that they'd try half, then full day rates where some gyms and facilities might charge less but would risk their security when they were told who the renters were.  That was because you had to tell them who was paying for the place.  The warehouses would be told "a party" wanted the space and would give Aiden a code to present to the property manager on arrival.  That manager would be told security was a premium, and not ever be given the renter's name.  Everything would be under one of the Order House's separate business names.  When Aiden agreed that was acceptable, the concierge said they would call him back and the line was cut.  Until he got his call back, Aiden worked to try and learn what holidays were celebrated on the homeworlds of the others in the crew?

While Mikah waited for Aiden to square away the details of the zero-g practice, she pulled up a multi-player holographic game and asked who wanted to join in?  Rol joined in Mikah's game as soon as she mentioned it, and so did Zimzod.  They were playing for nearly twenty minutes before Aiden's comms buzzed.  The call was from the Order House and they had a name, an address and a renter's code.  They'd have the warehouse for half-day rates which were Cr 750, and normally for the hours of eight in the morning until noon.  Because it was nearing eleven in the morning, they had expanded the hours to one in the afternoon.  But they had to get moving and the concierge said they'd taken the liberty of ordering Aiden a car for himself and those travelling with him.

The car would cost Cr 40 and Mikah happily announced Rol would pay for it, since he had to catch up to the spending the others had done over his eighteen weeks cloning.  Rol only laughed and agreed.  Everyone went with their normal load-outs which meant Mikah's laser pistol, Zimzod's .45's and kbar, Rol's snub pistol and Aiden's snub pistol.  Rol had also changed to add a set of executive armor.  Aiden also got into executive armor and brought the carry bag containing his new training suit.  During the walk from their suite to the landing apron outside the hotel for the gravCar, Mikah got a call from Fesic.  He told her he was not dead, was having fun, was not in trouble and was looking forward to not hearing from her or the crew for the rest of the day.  Mikah laughed and said OK, before telling to have fun.  He said, "Call me if there's an emergency" and cut the line.

Mikah laughed at Fesic suggesting she should call him in case of emergency.  The others also joked about him being the first person they'd call if anything went wrong.  Thanks to being in a gravCar, they got to the warehouse quickly, and the building manager accepted the code without any sign he recognized any of the crew.  The man gave them a once-over with the controls for the space and then left them to what they planned.  He did give them a comms link to call him when they were done, or would return at 1pm if they didn't call.

Getting into things, Aiden did his best to exercise "any" control at all, while Mikah and Zimzod were less "destructive" in the force of their abuse.  For his part, Rol did his best to keep up or get into place as someone or other threw Aiden in his direction.  Still, his lack of strength and full body control often kept him from controlling himself.  Soon enough, it went from 'throw the Aiden' to 'throw the Aiden and Rol'.  At a point, when Zimzod had caught Rol and was aiming before throwing him back towards Mikah, Zimzod said, "Welcome back to life!  Life is pain!"  He then threw Rol as the armorer answered, "No pain, no gain!"

Despite the "wild flight" nature of Aiden's situation, he happily thought he was learning to nearly stabilize his flights at times, due to his training suit.  Rol was pleased with the workout he was being forced through.  While they cleaned up, Rol joked, "This was all so much easier when I was older." and they all laughed.  During the fun, Mikah got a call from Colinne and was surprised to hear Aali on the line!  They discussed an offer for security for the crew and Mikah said they'd accept that.  She also gave the data for the warehouse and their "detail" said they'd secure the building until they were done, to not interfere.

A Complete U-Turn
     Aali had woken earlier than anyone else in the crew because those guarding her wanted it that way.  They were intent on making sure she had no comfort at all.  Her cell was a temporary holding space without even a vid-unit to pass time watching low-rate entertainment shows or system news.  From there, Aali was certain they would do anything they could up to the line, because she was nobility and she actually had power to retaliate if they overstepped.  And, as she'd told Jocelynn when she'd visited earlier that morning, she'd served in the Imperial Navy so she'd been through worse.

Without much space, and no distractions, Aali knew she could do her best to practice and "push" the skills she had using her neural stent.  She could also broadcast connector signals and see what responses she got from any listening ports?  She'd also look to see which listening ports might identify what the apps they connected to did?  She'd get the automatic "I am alive" responses from some, and perhaps from standard ports like file transfer protocols and more.  But, she wanted to get a view of the local network first.  She specifically looked for any hints at network security.

Looking for the controls to her cell and other doors in the space, Aali also took care not to do anything that could alert the guards.  She certainly knew what giving them any excuse could lead to.  She hoped to find those controls as a tool in her pocket.  Just in case anything went south and she had to act to keep herself safe, or deal with a rogue guard.  The bad news, after working at "touring" the network landscape, was that the most of the ports she could see that were listening were not listed.  Some of the ports were standards, like the "Ping" port or file transfer, only answering with a set of "I am alive" pulses.  And even most of standard ports were not labeled.

One port she found was identified, and a very obvious connection to an entertainment suite outside the brig network strand.  It showed one of the guards was watching a vid or playing a game instead of doing their work.  Not paying attention to what the prisoners were doing.  Given that inch, Aali decided to spent her sudden vacation working to cautiously test the security on the available ports.  Of course, Aali wasn't a hacker or computer expert.  She also had to worry at each step, making sure not to set off any possible alarms she had no way to see blocking in her path.  So, she went slowly and made little progress she could see.

That seemed, to the outside world, as if she were meditating until someone started rudely clanging against the bars of her cell to break her concentration.  Looking up to see if she'd gone too far and been detected, Aali turned her head and saw a guard standing in front of another man who wore a suit.  Shifting her attention to the second man, she could see his suit was conservative, and seemed to be a blend of both Vilani and Solomani influences.  The sort of thing one would wear when they wanted to not sway opinions against them in business dealings.  The man also held a generic brief case in his left hand as he stood slightly behind and to the right of the guard.

Aali stood to see what came next as the guard faux-grandly announced, "Congratulations!  Your boredom has ended for the moment.  You have a visitor.  You have twenty minutes."  Said in tones suggesting his offer was a grand gesture, the guard then left them.  The man stood outside the bars of the cell in a suggested state of privacy they both doubted due to the likely microphones in the compartment.  Initially watching the guard leave, the man soon turned back to Aali and raised a finger to his lips to signal she shouldn't speak yet.  He then reached into his pocket instead of his briefcase and drew out a palm-sized electronic device.  Working the device with his thumbs for a moment or two, the man then said, "There.  We can now talk free of electronic ears."  Aali was intrigued.

The man then introduced himself as Kaalaku Gakami Indama, saying he was a support operative for Tukera's in-system operations teams.  He then asked if Aali had heard of the Tukera megacorp in a tone suggesting he expected that she had.  Generally, everyone in the Imperium "should have" heard of the firm.  But it was always good to ask because enough Imperial citizens had never left their home towns, or ignored everything beyond a local level, assuming it didn't impact their lives.  Aali nodded because she'd heard of the Imperium-spanning corporation.  Especially their involvement in the flight of Sir Jeremy to the Lewis system.  That involved the charges against Rol in the Regina system.  Of course, that had been the family, not the corporation.  A branch of the Tukera family themselves.  And it cost them full ownership of the Lewis solar system.  Of course, that also hadn't been the first time Aali had heard of the mega-corp.

Until the incident with Sir Jeremy and Rol, the most famous local member of the Tukera family had been Leonard Bolden-Tukera, 19^th Marquis of Aramis(Aramis).  He owed direct fealty to the Count Knowln of Celepina.  Marquis Leonard is married to Lady Arianne Tukera, heir to a large block of Tukera Lines stock.  Not just their local holdings but a regional chunk.  Count Knowln owed fealty to Leonard, Duke of Rhylanor, since there was no Imperial Duke assigned the Aramis Subsector as fief.  Like the Jewell County, held by the Regina Duchy and Glisten's management of the unincorporated District 268 Subsector.  So the Duke of Rhylanor, Duchess of Glisten and Duchess of Regina held much more power than other Dukes and Duchesses under Grand Duchess Delphine.  And her fief was the entire Spinward Marches.

Those thoughts were automatic for Aali, since her hobby was "politics".  Guessing the man was likely a troubleshooter for Tukera, his position was likely fluid inside the local political structure, at the least.  Knowing that, she just said, "Pleased to meet you." and wondered what his interest in her was?  Showing he'd not been fully read in on her situation, Mr. Inama asked how long Aali had been in detention, and if she was aware of recent news from the Tureded system?  Since the news had only broken earlier that day, Aali said she'd not heard the news.  Still, Aali knew he'd come to her for some reason, and waited for him to spill the beans.

Nodding because he expected her answer, Mr. Inama told her that news had broken in the Ghandi system that morning that there had been a shooting incident between ships of the Spinward Development Corp. and those of the Tukera sub-division Vermene.  Of course, Aali had heard of Vermene and their trigger-happy reputation for causing incidents across the Imperium.  And mostly, those incidents involved damage, deaths and loss to those competing with Tukera interests.  Given what she'd heard, Aali was surprised the aim of the Vermene gunners had been limited to causing minimal damage.  In this case, given the limits put in place by the Marquis of Tureded, Aali had to admit the SDC ships had given Tukera a reason to act.

Getting to the core of things, Inama said, "Thanks to the news arriving in-system, my corporate masters would like to get ahead of what might happen in the Ghandi system regarding Tukera and SDC assets and personnel."  He then continued, "Given that, you are likely wondering why I'm coming to someone being detained in a security cell?"  Aali admitted, "Yes" and Inama nodded before saying no one would expect someone in detention to be the base for an unauthorized information gathering team.  He continued, "We want to get access to the Ghandi Station administration's files and see what they may be planning to do if there was an incident between our ship's and SDC's?  Especially as they prepare to prevent such an incident from happening in the Ghandi system.

Aali nodded and waited again for Inama to continue.  He said he'd brought some gear that he could leave for her to use.  That would let her communicate with her crew, outside her cell if she liked?  He said he hoped to enlist Aali's help in connecting to her crew, to see if they could help him?  He then asked, "Are you interested?"  To Aali, the whole idea seemed more than a bit bizarre and she asked what he expected her and the crew to do for him?  Especially since she was in a cell.  Inama repeated that the gear should connect her with her crew, and let them bounce data they found back to her.  Then from her to his team.  The expression on his face suggested he wasn't worried about the brig guards either.

Inama then said he had a two-inch square, sealed electronic box that could connect to the local network, and seem no more than a basic router.  He also had a flesh-tone comm dot and ear bud that would connect with the box.  The "box" also had a chameleon surface.  If she slid it under her cot against the wall, it would shift colors and "fade into" the background.  Invisible in a space no one looked at unless they were stripping the cell bare.  So it wouldn't be noticed until after she left and the space was cleaned out.  Of course, that was if she left it behind.  With the dot against her trachea, she could sub-vocalize.  And with the bud in her ear, she could give the box commands and communicate by linking into her crew's comms network.  That would also be how her crew could get data back to her, so she could send it on to him.

Aali nodded and waited for the other shoe to drop, and it finally did.  Mr. Inama said that, in exchange for their help, Tukera, or Vermene, could help them with the situation that had developed in the Ghandi system.  He confidently suggested that could lead to more violence, other misadventures or unfortunate over-reactions.  What he said rang a bell with Aali because there was a real and valid threat.  Seeing the reaction hit her eyes, Inama said, "We can make sure no matter where your crew goes or who else is there, that your people are protected."  He said his people would be armed, capable and dedicated.  When Aali asked if the man was talking about putting people in their suite, Inama said he was talking about a 24/7 security detail for all of her crew, everywhere until they left the system.  A high-level security detail for them all, including her in the brig!

Hearing that, Aali said the offer certainly had an amount of appeal.  Especially when Mr. Inama said the team were dedicated to the point of being meat shields if it came to that.  Aali joked, "I'm sure your crew mates don't want to be cloned unnecessarily." with a grin.  One thing Aali was certain of was that Inama and his "team" were Vermene.  And, where everyone had heard of Vermene's para-naval assets few people had heard of their ground force assets.  Considering how opinions in-system had shifted against her crew in-system, Aali said she was interested because it only took one angry citizen with an improvised weapon in just the right moment to cost her a crew mate.

With the barest hint of a smile, Mr. Inama said, "Ok.  Pardon me a moment while I go familiarize your guards with the corporate relationship we have with the local Marquis and the station's Executive Director.  He suggested the guards would be a lot less aggressive regarding her detainment after he did that.  He said he'd give Aali her new gear after he talked to them and he'd also be leaving two of his people with her while she was in custody to "make sure she was properly cared for".  Having said that, Inama stepped out of her view to be replaced with two human males who seemed to Aali to be thin, wiry, standing about six foot seven and wearing generic suits.  Aali was also certain they were covertly armed.

Each man respectfully introduced himself to Aali and made sure she knew they were assigned to protect her no matter what.  They explained they were part of an eight-person team dedicated to protecting her around the clock.  The eight of them were also part of a larger team generically assigned to protect all of Aali's crewmates so long as they also chose to participate in the project.  Hearing that, Aali began to have a feeling what it must be like to have the same security detail as a head of state.  Her guess was confirmed when they also showed her their ID's and it showed they were employees of Vermene.

When Inama came back into the space, he said he'd acquainted the guards with her needs and she'd likely only be visited by them for meals or any needs she called them for.  Inama then opened his briefcase and pulled out the cube he'd told Aali about.  He next told her how to activate it, though it had no LED or other indicator if it was powered on or off?  He then gave her the ear bud and comm dot, and told her how to use them to test if the cube was working correctly.  She tested it and saw it was working.  Done with that, he suggested they try to connect to the crew's suite, but asked if Aali had a better recommendation?  Aali agreed with him because she didn't know what the crew were up to or where else they might be?

When the comms in the suite rang, Colinne was the only one there, because the others had left on other tasks.  Setting her work on the lock picking program aside, Colinne answered the comms and was surprised to hear a male voice she'd never heard before say, "Thank you for answering the comms.  Please stand by for Dame Piirirshu-Meshrumiikiim."  Colinne was surprised to hear someone using Aali's public name, but held on to see what Aali had to say?  Aali started off saying, "Hello.  I'm calling from an unsecured line.  I've been ordered a task to do that will result in us receiving some very good security."  Colinne liked what she heard and said it sounded nice to her, but suggested they run it by Mikah.  Aali added that she'd been given a stealth comms device and two Vermene guards outside her cell.

Switching to the ask, Aali told Colinne they wanted her to do some electronic investigating.  And, in return, the rest of the crew would also receive security details that would cover them 24/7.  Colinne was surprised for several reasons.  First, she knew who Vermene were and knew their reputation for crossing the line.  She also remembered hearing the reports from Tureded in the news and wondered just how dangerous the situation could become in Ghandi and other local systems?  Because of that, Colinne's reaction was a very questionable "yay!" and she said they should certainly bring this up with Mikah and possibly the rest of the crew.

No sooner had she said they should that Colinne dialed Mikah's comms to bring her into the discussion.  When her comms buzzed, Mikah was with the others playing "throw the Aiden" in the warehouse.  Colinne said she didn't feel she had the authority to agree without Mikah's permission.  Especially since she knew Aali would need her to do the heavy living where computer hacking was involved.  Nodding, Mikah asked if the Vermene people were still with her and Aali said they were, so Mikah asked to speak to the man making the offer.  Hearing that, Aali handed him back the comm dot and ear bud.

When Mikah got on the line, she told Mr. Inama she felt she'd not gotten the full story and asked him to re-explain what he was offering and what he wanted?  Inama first made sure Mikah had heard the reports from Tureded?  When she said she had, he said his Tukera bosses wanted as much information as they could get on how the government were reacting to the news?  And what they were planning to prevent the same thing from happening in local space?  Mikah could guess they were worried their Vermene operations might be restricted or other actions could be taken.  So, to Mikah's mind, the work was corporate espionage to keep Tukera ahead of the actions the system government were considering.

Inama said they wanted the help of Mikah's crew based on their reputation, to hack Station central trying to get them any data they could.  Mikah had to wonder what he thought their reputation said, but she accepted his words.  Moving on, Mikah made sure they knew the crew only planned to be in-system for another week and Inama was good with that.  If they did their best, they had security details until they buttoned up the ship and left for Lanth.  If they produced results, that was what was hoped for.  If not, they would try at the least.  Mikah was good with that, and accepted the job.  She told Colinne to dig specifically for data on Spinward Development Corp, Tukera, Vermene and nothing else.  Colinne accepted that and Mikah told Inama to give Aali her comms back.  Inama thanked Mikah and handed the gear back.

When Aali was back on, Mikah just said, "Good Job Aali."  Aali laughed and said she'd been getting bored in the cell.  Mikah also asked if the gear meant they could talk to her whenever they wanted or needed?  Aali said they were connected at the moment.  They'd have to open a new connection with the box to call her, but there was nothing stopping them from calling.  As long as the guards didn't find the tech.  And, with the Vermene guards, that wasn't very likely to happen.  Mikah said OK and joked they'd send her some books and games.  After that, Aali got to working with Colinne and Mr. Inama moved on, leaving his agents behind to safeguard Aali.

The good news for Aali was that she had new privileges, like the door to the cell being opened when she needed to use a real bathroom instead of the facilities in the cell.  At the same time, the two Vermene bodyguards were like shadows on the wall unless something endangered Aali.  None of what she was doing with Colinne was their business.  They only had to make sure the station people didn't get in the way.  Over the next hour, Colinne discussed her process with Aali as she worked to thread her way through the station's security protocols.  When she finally got access to the station administration's file systems, she couldn't tell if alarms had gone off but she could start looking for the data they wanted.  Of course, since Aali didn't have a visual screen, Colinne would have to do that work by herself until others got back to the suite.  Aali got a lunch meal which was of much better quality than her breakfast had been thanks to the Vermene intercession.

Colinne ate from the food the android served before going back to work.  Jocelynn and Sekea had food at the Order House after visiting the brig, but they'd been there before Vermene had showed up.  Fesic and Kuki had lunch out before separating so he could test his shotgun at the Order House.  They planned to meet again for dinner at the Order House so he could show off.  Aiden, Mikah, Zimzod and Rol continued playing until 1pm, and then returned to the suite to join Colinne and eat.  Towards the end of their game of "toss Aiden", the warehouse property manager had stepped in to watch and wondered why rich people were so dumb.  As far as he could see, two of them were bouncing from place to place in Zero-g and throwing the other two around.  One of those other two would sometimes grab hold of something and take part in throwing the one man, but that was periodic.  But they were all doing their bit in zero-g.

Closing One Deal And Starting Another
     Having nothing to do except guard the box while Colinne worked, Aali decided to use the device to practice with her stent.  The unit gave Aali a large number of ports she could play with while doing the best to exercise her skills.  Besides, that beat just sitting there waiting to be called on.  When Mikah and the others got back to the suite, Colinne updated them on how far she'd gotten on her project while they ate.  Colinne also told Mikah things were slowing down because she had to both search for data and then stop to read the files she found to see if they were related?  When she asked for help, Rol said he wasn't up for paperwork but Mikah, Zimzod and Aiden said they'd help.

After Colinne gave them a basic explanation of what to look for, and they finished eating, each of them sat at a terminal while Colinne started farming out files.  When it seemed the others planned to spend the rest of the day handling the work, Rol decided he could actually read so he should help too.  As they started, they also talked about their own experience managing paperwork and Zimzod suggested Colinne work on finding the files and sending them to Mikah and Rol.  Those two had administrative skills so they could farm out obvious files to Zimzod and Aiden while scanning through the less obvious files themselves.

That work continued until nearly 4pm, when Mikah got a buzz from her comms and saw it was Jocelynn calling.  When Mikah happily welcomed Jocelynn's call and asked what was up, Jocelynn said she was with Sekea at InstellArms and hit Mikah's welcome with a metaphoric baseball bat.  Jocelynn said they had been talking to the techs and concierges, and had prices for what the crew said they wanted.  Jocelynn then said the wreck they had bought was a "no go" as far as rebuilding it.  While they "could" rebuild it, the device didn't move and they had no idea what it was programmed to do?  So, they could well pay for the repairs and find out it couldn't do what they needed and the money spent was wasted.

Mikah accepted that as "not so great news" and wondered as Jocelynn continued to drop bombs.  Accepting they had to buy a brand new unit, the "base hardware" for what they wanted would cost them Cr 2,091,000.  Past that, the skills packages they wanted where a basic level of skill cost Cr 1,000 but each advance in skills increased the cost by a factor of ten.  While there were no basic skills, there were two third level skills costing KCr 200, Five forth level skills costing MCr 5 and three fifth level skills costing MCr 30 total!  Given that, InstellArms was willing to sell them the Level Six Instructor skill for MCr 10, for a total of MCr 45.2!! And, that was just the software.  So, the total cost for the 'droid was Cr 47,291,000!!

Mikah heard that and echoed Jocelynn when she'd first heard the total, and simply said "That's not going to happen."  When she told the others, Zimzod said, "Well, I guess I'm gonna have to earn my skills by fucking people up" with a smile on his face.  When it came down to Mikah's hard and fast limit, she wanted to know which two blade disciplines were the most needed by the crew?  A quick survey said they mostly used the Sword, in one fashion or another, and the Blade.  the next, by some distance, would have been the Dagger.  With that, Mikah decided they could have the 'droid programmed to the third level of skill for Sword and Blade training.  Those would cost Cr 100,000 each, along with MCr 1 for the instructor software.  Jocelynn also said she'd pay the KCr 100 for the Dagger software to be installed out of her own funds.  So, the final price for that configuration was Cr 3,391,000 complete.  And Mikah approved that.

Since Rol had his Survival knife, he stepped in to pay KCr 50 to share the dagger software with Jocelynn.  And, in the future, Rol and Jocelynn could do the same for Cutlass training.  Mikah then told them all to spread the word to those not on comms or present to get a sword or blade if they don't already have one.  While they turned to formalize the purchase, Sekea asked if InstellArms was interested in buying the dead 'droid they'd brought in, the concierges evaluated the tech report their people had created and said they'd pay KCr 300 for that, for parts.  While that happened, those in the suite joked about having a painted rubber "Terin head" mask to pull over the android's head just for laughs.

Before the android discussion, Aali had been working on stent self-training.  When Jocelynn had called Mikah and the conversation widened, Mikah had called Aali to add her to the conversation.  And now that was done, Aali reflected on what she'd been doing with her stent and realized she'd not just gotten into the router-like box Tukera had provided.  She also realized a lot of what she'd been doing wasn't traffic from the box but from the brig's main control computer!  Reconnecting to explore, Aali saw she could now access the in-brig comms system.  She could also use the compartment sensors to see two of the guards had gone to places where the security cameras couldn't see them and were playing video games!

Drilling down for sheer perverse curiosity, Aali saw one was playing a first-person shooter game in which their fleet of ships which had to destroy "enemy ships" spawning in swarms ahead of them.  Of course, those ships also fired back at the player's ships as soon as they appeared on-screen.  The other guard was playing a multi-player role playing game that seemed to be based on an "erotic kink".  The more of descriptions Aali read from that game, the more pleased she was that she had no visual monitor to could show her images from the game.

Next, Aali looked into the staff working in the brig and saw they had six station security staffers assigned.  The brig was also connected directly to the rear of the station's security offices, so any attempt to get out, or in for that matter, had to go through all the on-shift security staffers in the space.  There were also a number of unassigned officers on standby in case of events or emergencies.  Those people were guarding Aali and four other prisoners who were being held for various crimes of opportunity they'd tried to get away with during the viral emergency, shut down and restart.  A thing she noticed was that she'd known they held a number of captured mercenaries but none of them were listed.  So, Aali wondered where they were held?

Looking through the files, Aali found their data on her and decided to take a look into that.  One document came from the Executive Director himself.  It warned the security staff Aali's safety was paramount and she should be properly and safely treated with no reprisals, attacks or injuries.  The director demanded she be treated like any other prisoner until she was released.  Especially given the fact that he an they significantly disagreed with the punishment handed down to her for her role in the deaths of their co-workers.

Ironically, a second document was filed with those orders and not sent to the Director. That came from a senior member of the security team and ordered the guards to make Aali's stay in her cell as unpleasant as possible.  Descriptions were even given of physical abuse that wouldn't leave marks or be identifiable by medical tests.  It also pushed to make sure the station director never found out what they were doing.  At the very least, Aali wasn't surprised, but also decided not to make it public or send it to the director's address.  Especially since her Vermene detail would keep any of the intended abuse from happening.  And, to make certain there was no investigation which could lead back to her box and current electronic freedom.

At the suite, Mikah, Zimzod, Aiden and Rol had gotten back from the warehouse and were relaxing when the suite's door buzzed.  Looking at each other, no one was waiting for a visitor so Mikah told Aiden to see who was visiting?  When he opened the door, Aiden saw a number of more or less generic humans and two Aslan males in generic suits.  Aiden asked who they were and one of the humans said, "We're your Vermene security detail."  He then asked if Aiden would let them in so they could introduce themselves to the others in the suite?  Overhearing, Mikah called, "Let them in Aiden." and he answered, "Yes Sir."  When Mikah prompted back, "Ma'am" Aiden answered "Whatever." while continuing to look over the team he let into the suite.  Everyone else in the suite looked up while their security detail walked in.

At nearly the same time Sekea and Jocelynn were still finishing up the last details of the 'droid deal when a man stepped up to interrupt them.  What surprised Jocelynn and Sekea was that the man seemed to have some significant level of authority and the concierges immediately stopped to let him speak.  The man quietly said, "Excuse me but I have some men who need to join the party."  As he stepped to the side, a set of men in suits stepped up to introduce themselves as the Vermene detail sent to protect Jocelynn and Sekea.  Both were surprised because Mikah hadn't called them or let them know what was going on?  Where Jocelynn was flustered but ready to accept the detail, but Sekea was only sure he wanted to call Mikah and confirm this surprise.

Sekea's call to Mikah stopped the person who'd decided to be a spokesman for the detail.  The man had gotten out a statement that Mikah and their crew had decided to do something for Tukera, so Tukera was doing something for them, which meant protection.  When Mikah got the call, she figured it was something to do with the 'droid deal.  She was surprised when Sekea started asking about strangers saying they were a security detail.  When Mikah realized what he was talking about, she interrupted him saying, "Yeah, yeah, yeah.  They're our new security" in a happy tone.  When Sekea asked if Mikah had a team with her, and she said she did, he asked her to have them confirm the team at InstellArms were legitimate?

When Mikah simply told them they were legitimate, Sekea figured she either trusted them or wanted him and Jocelynn dead.  So, instead of accepting her word, Sekea pushed to have the team at the suite authenticate the team at InstellArms.  Mikah finally accepted that and asked a member of her team to confirm their team.  That done, the team faded into the background as Jocelynn and Sekea finished up the 'droid deal.  After that, the two learned of another benefit the vermene team brought them.  Proper security meant proper transport, because you couldn't protect someone in a cab someone else could re-program.  So, the vermene people used specialized secure cars to move their clients around.  More important, Jocelynn and Sekea found out they didn't have to pay cab fare anymore!

Before they left InstellArms, and while the Vermene team were explaining the secure cars, one of the concierges excused themselves and said they'd been planning to give Jocelynn and Sekea a ride back to their suite because they had a delivery for the crew.  Now, they wondered if either Sekea or Jocelynn would carry the delivery instead?  The box they offered was just under four foot wide by three long and nine inches thick.  When Jocelynn tried to lift it, she was surprised how light it was, despite the box size.  When she asked what it was, they said it was ordered by one of her crewmates.  It was clear the InstellArms employee knew more but not saying, without suggesting why?

When Jocelynn pushed, she was told Aiden had ordered the contents by a man who clearly wasn't happy to reveal even that little.  Hearing that, Sekea asked what the order was and was told "We're not at liberty to tell you what he ordered."  That had been said in a tone of propriety making it clear they were willingly following orders they'd been given.  Not accepting that, Sekea sparked up his comms to call Aiden and check on this supposed delivery.  When Aiden answered, Sekea said he and Jocelynn were leaving InstellArms and had been asked to carry a package back to the suite.  he added that the InstellArms people refused to tell them what the package contained.  Because of that, Sekea said he wanted to verify Aiden had actually placed an order and be told what was in the package before he agreed.

Listening to Sekea, Aiden was annoyed because he'd planned the order as a surprise and didn't realize Jocelynn and Sekea would be at the venue when they were ready to deliver it.  When Sekea asked Aiden to tell the concierge they could answer questions about the box, Aiden only said, "I can confirm with the concierge that the box is what I ordered."  Aiden refused to spoil the surprise and only told Sekea to ask the concierge if the box contained what he ordered.  Switching the comms to speaker mode, Sekea told the concierge he had Sir Aiden on the comms to discuss the delivery.

Hearing that, Aiden only asked, "I want to confirm you have in the box what I ordered?"  Answering Aiden, the concierge only said, "Yes sir.  That is exactly what is in the box", which told Sekea nothing at all.  While that annoyed Sekea, Aiden only said everything was correct and Sekea and Jocelynn should bring the box back to the suite with them.  Not willing to let it go, Sekea muttered that he just wanted to make sure they weren't bringing home a bomb while Sekea also ignored the fact Aiden had worked with InstellArms and was certain the box was what he ordered.  At the same time, Aiden realized he just might have found someone more paranoid than he was.  Still, Jocelynn and the Vermene people took the box, which took any control of the situation out of Sekea's hands.

The Vermene "detail" led them to one of their own cars, and started getting them settled inside.  Sekea was a bit mollified when two of the Vermene team scanned the box before allowing it into the secure car.  Before things got "official", Jocelynn asked, "What do you do for fun?" and one of the team said, "We shoot bad guys".  Jocelynn had to wonder who told them who the bad guys were, based on things she'd heard.  Still, she laughed and said, "Nice!  Can I join?"  When the same guy said he could give her an application and she'd start with low level security assignments, Jocelynn first said, "I'm just joking."  Then she winked at Sekea and said, "Or, am I?" in a conspiratorial tone.  More seriously, Jocelynn waived the idea away saying she'd only been kidding. 

During the ride from InstellArms, as in the suite, each of the crew learned they would have a specific personal bodyguard along with a team of generic team members.  Those would all work to fight the crew free of any attacks while also fighting off potential assassins and even eat bullets for their clients, if that was the only way to get them clear safely.  When Mikah heard about the transit coverage, she joked, "A vermene a day keeps IRIS away." and the crew in the suite broke out laughing while the agents were only confused.  Another thing Mikah liked when Sekea and Jocelynn gave their report was that InstellArms had waived their usual Cr 50 delivery fee.  So, the 'droid would be delivered for free, and would fill a dTon of cargo space because there was no place on the ship to store it.

Jocelynn also shared with the others an interaction she'd noticed where it seemed InstellArms might have been a bit annoyed to have to deal with Vermene.  When they chatted about it, Mikah guessed they might have been a bit annoyed the crew hadn't come to them for their security needs, and weren't happy making space for the Vermene team.  Not accepting that, Jocelynn suggested from what she and Sekea had seen that there was "something more" and InstellArms didn't seem to approve of Vermene.  They both remembered that everything they knew about Tukera's sub-division suggested the sub-corporation were thought to be trigger happy and thuggish.

While they talked about the turn of events, Colinne said she thought she might have found a document related to what Tukera wanted.  Colinne had found a complaint filed by the port's Executive Director to the system Marquis saying he understood they had to be polite to both the Spinward Development Corp. and Tukera but they had to make certain they were serving Ghandi's Prime station and also supporting the traffic passing through the system.  His complaint also pointed out that Tukera ships from their Vermene sub-corporation had carried out illegal actions in-system in the past, along with many more acts the authorities had considered likely illegal.

Because of that, he wasn't actually open to offering them any advantage while it still seemed the SDC ships had pushed past the bar and ultimately caused the event in Tureded system.  The protest ended with the director saying he wanted to increase restrictions on Vermene before anything happened.  Mikah wasn't happy with that, because it could limit what Vermene could do to protect her crew.  Still, the Vermene team were pleased because it suggested Mikah's people could do what they'd hoped.  Mikah also looked forward to when the system authorities came face to face with the fact Vermene had stepped in to offer her crew protection.

Dinner And A Surprise
     Still, it was near dinner time as the android came out to cook, and one of the Vermene people handed the box they'd brought to Aiden.  Aiden smiled as he borrowed a knife from the chef and cut the box open while announcing, "A gift!"  Seeing that, Jocelynn joked, "Look.  Aiden bought himself a vibrator."  That got laughs as Aiden opened the big box, which turned out was filled with nine smaller boxes.  Each of those was printed with the name of one of the crew on it.  Aiden started handing those out to the others while setting aside the one for Fesic and the other for Aali.  Jocelynn widened her joke, saying, "Oh!  We're all getting vibrators.   Rol sighed, "Just what I wanted.  An engraved box."  When it came to who would open their box first, Colinne took the honors.

What Colinne saw inside was "something" made of fabric covered by a page-like plas-per sheet on which was printed "Please enjoy with thanks." along with a printed signature from "Aiden".  Beneath the cover sheet was what looked like a suit of executive armor.  On the shirt front, Colinne could see the ink-printed label "Imperial Scout".  On the back was printed, "Scouts do it with max thrust and a barrel roll".  Otherwise, it looked like a single set of executive armor.  Zimzod joked, "I've seen that barrel roll a couple of times." with a smile on his face.  Rol opened his next and saw the front read "Ship's Armorer".  The back read "That's not armor damage, it's a kill marker".

Mikah was next, and the front of her shirt read, "Ship's Doctor" and the back read, "Good news!  The Autodoc works.  Bad news!  It charges by the stitch".  Jocelynn's had "Imperial Marine Corp." on the front and "Marines do it without Anesthesia" on the back.  Sekea's had "Ships Navigator" on the front and "We're not lost, I was just taking the scenic route in a different system." on the back.  Zimzod's front read "Imperial Army" and the back read, "There are few problems a good weapon won't solve - For everything else, there's nukes".  And Aiden's had a receipt for Cr 13,680 for the armor suits.  The front of his shirt read: "Imperial Scout" and the back read "The Rest of the Universe hasn't caught up yet."  The boxes for Aali and Fesic were put in their bedrooms for when they returned.

As Aiden showed off his set of executive armor, Mikah asked if the bottoms had targets on the ass cheeks, given where he'd been shot before.  Some giggled while Zimzod and Rol laughed, remembering that "assault".  Looking back at the set he'd gotten, Rol said, "The next time I die, I'll do it in style."  Everyone laughed while they considered the gift they'd gotten, and Jocelynn looked around at the security detail.  Seeing the Aslan, she decided she had something to offer them and said, "Gentlemen, I have a question, and possibly a deal to offer you.  I am in possession of six Aslan Takheal rifles that I'd like to sell, and honestly...  I'm going to be up front.  I don't know anything about them.  I was wondering if you'd take a look at them and give me the benefit of your expertise.  And, perhaps, let me know if you were interested in them?"

Both of the Aslan were willing to help her with the rifles, and to explain what they represented to the warriors.  A thing very few Humans understood was how simple items had different cultural meanings to the Aslan than any other race perceived.  Mikah said she'd join in followed by Sekea and Rol.  While they organized that, Jocelynn stepped over to Colinne and quietly said, "As if you didn't have enough to do, at some point...  You know the suit of Zhodani armor that we have?"  When Colinne nodded, Jocelynn continued, "At some point can you psychically scan it and see if you can hack the suit's computer systems so we can learn more about it?"  Jocelynn made sure to say that wasn't a priority, but could help them sell the suit for a better price.

While Jocelynn made sure to let Colinne know it wasn't a priority, they had less than a full week in-system and were already offering to sell the suit.  So, if an offer was made, they might sell it without learning its secrets if Colinne couldn't devote the time to it.  That meant there was money on the table that might be left behind without doing that and learning more about the suit.  When it came to a question of priorities, Colinne turned to Mikah, who said, "Tukera first."  Nodding, Colinne turned back to Jocelynn and said she'd have a lot of free time when they were in jump to Lanth, and Jocelynn agreed it wasn't a priority.

After everyone was set, the group left the suite for the port.  As expected, the ship had been moved to a more secure berth, and there were obvious signs of added systems and security team members.  Being there, they took a walk around the ship just to make sure there'd been no damage they'd missed which demanded repairs.  They found no damage before they cracked the cargo bay to look at the rifles.  One thing they did see "out of place" was that Fesic's training suit, Aiden's combat armor and Colinne's combat armor had been delivered and needed to eventually be moved to their staterooms.  Seeing the six weapons, the Aslan seemed to dive in to serious examinations of each rifle, as if they were very valuable artifacts.  When they were done, they confirmed the rifles were "Takheal".  That meant they were entirely unaugmented long rifles, which meant nothing to the Humans but very much to the Aslan.

The Humans saw them as so large it would be difficult of not impossible for a Human to use, but saw nothing more.  What they couldn't see were the cultural points where choosing to use an unaugmented weapon in combat made statements.  None of the Humans would consider "not" using anything they could to keep them safer, or make them more deadly if they went into combat.  However, an Aslan male may desire to gain more Honor in combat.  Or, may be forced into a situation where he had to make a statement of Honor to deal with a position he'd been forced into.

That meant, they might choose to use a Takheal against a more dangerous or more heavily armed and armored foe, to show they could.  Or, even show they had no fear of the challenge.  And, historically doing so had changed political climates within the Aslan Clans just as significantly as shifts in Vargr loyalties.  Another cultural use of the Takheal was for young warriors who wanted to build a reputation of honor.  Newly raised warriors who had no combat history and wanted to become noticed.  Or, the sons of Aslan nobility, who had to make a statement that honored the family bloodline.  So, this kind of weapon had serious cultural attachments none of the Humans knew about.  Outside of that, the weapons were of little to no value.  Especially since the average Aslan male had no concept of money or financial value.

Not Antiques Road Show
     In the end, the six Takheal were factory made and appeared to have never been used.  They were properly stored so they were ready to be taken into a battle.  Because they'd never been carried or fired, they were appropriate for a warrior to use to make a statement of honor.  Or for a cub that was newly recognized as a warrior and wanted to earn honor in battle.  When Jocelynn suggested she felt the weapons wouldn't be worth much and asked the Aslan their thoughts, one of them smiled.  And a smile on the face of an Aslan is nothing at all nice for a Human to look at.  He then told her she was lucky they were dealing with him.

When Jocelynn asked why that was, he pointed out he didn't have a sister, mother, aunt or female servant with him.  Generally, Aslan males had no real concept of value and money.  An average Aslan male would assume a very powerful weapon was worth thousands if not hundreds of thousands of Credits while they'd have no regard for food, transport or clothing.  Those the Aslan male would think worth little or nothing including starship transit into an embattled zone.  Since he'd had training in what Aslan called "tolerance", he could answer those questions.  That said, he felt he could guess the weapons would be worth very little in Human terms unless they found an Aslan warrior with a specific need.  Hearing that, Jocelynn thanked the warrior and asked them if they could direct her to anyone they knew of?

The warriors said they'd bring the question up with their management, but couldn't see their people paying more than Cr 200 to 300 for all the weapons.  Jocelynn was disgusted at that and told them to forget about the rifles.  Jocelynn planned to drag them with the crew until she found someplace they would sell for a decent value.  Jocelynn also knew that a number of worlds in the Marches had Aslan populations.  Especially worlds in the Darrian Confederation, where Aslan Ihati had begun serving the Confederation in the 600's (TI).  Jocelynn also remembered the Ahurai Clan were granted land, at the end of the Fifth Frontier War, for the many Imperial Aslan who had served with distinction in an all-Aslan Marine unit on Dentus.

Thanks to her time in the Marine Corp, Jocelynn also knew Aslan clans, like the Yerlyaruiwo and Khaukheairl operated throughout the Marches offering mercenary services and managing clan corporations.  They'd have to cross paths at some time in the future.  There was also "dustspice", harvested in the Romar system, and found on Keanou and a few other systems in the Lanth subsector.  Rumors said it could even be found for sale on Rhylanor, Regina, Roup, Zivije, or Rethe.  And, she'd heard word that Imperial and non-Imperial systems in District 268 had Aslan populations.  So, they could even hope for Aslan ship crews in Lanth or even search the port data for Ghandi and see if they had Aslan visitors.  For a laugh, Jocelynn then walked to where they stored the baseball hats, pulled two of the modified hats and gave one each to the warriors as a souvenir.  That left 23 modified caps and 109 not modified.

From the ship and rifles, it was back to the suite for dinner.  At the same time, Fesic was meeting Kuki at the Order House.  To say the least, she seemed duly impressed.  Especially at the quality of the meal gotten for so low a price.  While she'd not had any interest in watching Fesic work with the techs, she was interested in the ranges during a tour he'd asked for to show her around.  She was also a bit scandalized that the Order Houses, as a rule, had merchandise and luxuries the average citizen couldn't get.  Still, she understood both the reasoning and secrecy.  Fesic also planned to introduce her to any luminaries who's titles she might be awed by before talking her into riding back to her place.  Then, a small team of vermene stepped up to introduce themselves.

When Fesic asked for details, they first looked at Kuki, wondering if they should escort her home for the evening before discussing delicate information.  Not wanting to lose her until it was time to leave the world, Fesic asked questions and for proof they were honest.  Being in the Order House, he seriously doubted they'd pull anything there if they were fake.  The spokesmen for that detail were able to link to the other teams and show they were actively interacting with the rest of the crew, in some kind of transport and in the suite.  They offered to interrupt Mikah and the others, but Fesic knew where that would lead and believed they wouldn't be that close and interwoven with the crew if they weren't telling the truth.  They also told Fesic he'd have to return to the suite that night to prepare for the funeral the next day.

That opened a new conversation, because Mikah hadn't called him to warn him about that either.  So Fesic was annoyed but cornered.  He still hoped for something that evening, and started making his move to ditch the vermene team and spend some quality time with Kuki before he had to go back to the suite.  And Kuki would have been interested, but the vermene team made it clear they went where Fesic did.  So, while Kuki was OK with returning to her place to talk and hang out, she wasn't interested in putting on even a sound show for the detail.  Fesic knew he'd feel bad if he just cut things short and there'd be no chance to get her back on board if he just sent her home, so they went to her place and talked botany until he felt he had to return to the suite.  Ironically, Mikah called about the funeral later that evening.

The Presence In The Room
     With everyone again in the suite except Fesic and Aali, Rol decided to grab the starship by its prow and see if he could get the crew to deal with the bounty?  Taking a breath, Rol said, "OK.  So, apparently we have a price on our heads.  So, what do we want to do about this?  Do we wanna go hunt down the people who are hunting us?  Do we want to try and find another place where they won't find us?  Do we wanna try disguises?  Get another ship?  What do you guys think?  Jocelynn said she wanted to start an investigation into who put the hit out?  Rol told her he felt that was under the heading of hunting the people hunting them, which he'd already asked about.  Zimzod jumped on that and said that had already been explained to them.

Zimzod reminded them the agent who visited them said one of the councilors from Stepozhevac had put the hit out.  What they didn't know was who that was handed off to?  Agreeing he was right, Rol asked if they wanted to go after whoever they handed the money off to?  Zimzod suggested they wait with the cover of vermene, until any assassin makes their move and capture one of them to pump for information on who hired them?  Zimzod was reminded the station security people had surviving mercenaries in custody from the attack on the ship.  They also knew the vermene details would only last until they left the system so they couldn't count on the details for long.

Both Zimzod and Sekea suggested they question anyone from the mercenary unit for information and were told they'd have to ask station security if they could question any of the prisoners?  Rol backed up the conversation to try and re-state his point.  Not saying "Sonthert", Rol said, "The point I'm making is, should we set aside our current plans to try and take care of this?  Do we wanna try and disappear and become unfindable.  That would be a major change to everything we currently run with..."  Zimzod broke in saying, "Wow!  You got very cautious since you died." and Rol tried to answer before Mikah firmly said, "We're not gonna try to run away from these people."  Zimzod agreed, saying, "We never run from anybody."

Rol said, "We can combine the two.  We can go in disguises and then hunt them down.  We've got options but we don't want to ignore this.  Because, we're gonna face people in every port.  And, not only that but if the port gets word that this is out, by some means or another, ports might start saying we're too much of a risk and deny us docking permissions.  When Rol was told the port already knew everything, he said he was talking about ports they'd jump to in the future.  Rol was reminded what they'd learned from Inger, who'd been a Port executive before her time on the ship.  Most of the ports shared reports between themselves, so Ghandi's port managers had likely already sent report packets to every system within four parsecs so that word was already out.  Rol accepted he should have remembered that.

Listening to this, Jocelynn caught the attention of one of those Vermene assigned to her specifically and asked if they might have an Imperium-wide network they could connect to?  Of course, Vermene was only a sub-division of the Tukera Shipping Mega-Corporation, which operated across the Imperium.  So, they "Were" and Imperium-Wide network.  Ever polite to the client, the man nodded but said, "Not that we share with our clients" in a professional tone.  When Jocelynn suggested she wanted to know about hiring them to travel with the crew and provide security, she was told the expenses would be vast.  Because the crew would not only have to pay for all the expenses of the security details, but would have to rent security warships and pay the expenses for those ships and their crews.  And even some of the most poor solar systems couldn't afford those bills.

No one mentioned what it would look like if the troubleshooters had to hire security for their own protection.  In fact, no one had commented on what accepting Vermene protection looked like in the moment?  The whispers of troubleshooters who had to hire security to protect themselves were spreading following the attack on the berth.  So the chatter wasn't kind at all and confidence in their crew was sinking.  Hoping to get the conversation back on track, Rol asked, "So, I take it we're all in favor of going after and trying to eliminate this death threat? 

Mikah pointed out they still had to figure out who had the money and was advertising the hit because they couldn't fight every single mercenary or crew that tried to earn the reward.  Nodding, Rol said, "Right, because we want to attack this head on and not start evading or having someone else investigate it."  Jocelynn attacked Rol's repeated comments about hiding under disguise.  She said, "With a three hundred million Credit bounty, there's nowhere we'll be able to hide."  Mikah agreed to that, and pointed out Aali had her electronic box and nothing much to do.  So she felt they should connect to her and see what she and her resources had to say on the subject?

While Mikah agreed with Rol about hunting down the bounty holders, and with Aali on the line, Mikah reminded them they only had one computer specialist.  And Colinne was too busy helping Tukera.  That work was giving them the vermene protection.  If she shifted to help hunt who was behind the death mark, they risked losing the Vermene security.  That told Mikah they needed Imperial help to dig into the situation.  Almost repeating what Mikah said in different words, Rol said, "Sounds like something we would have to go to the authorities for." and Mikah corrected, "Imperial authorities."  She didn't need to say how little help they'd get from the system authorities.  And, she didn't speculate what they'd end up owing for any corporate help they asked for.

Zimzod wanted to follow a more direct path, and ask for access to the captured mercenaries from the station's security people.  He figured they could force one of the mercenaries to tell them who was offering the payment.  Then, he figured they could go after that source and somehow force them to pay the crew the bounty.  Misunderstanding Zimzod, Rol said that faking their own deaths to collect the bounty was another option, even though it wasn't.  Rol also admitted he wanted something more permanent, so he knew that wasn't really a solution.  Zimzod said it would be "pretty permanent" if they took out the "head guy".  So, he was shifting his suggestion to 'finding and killing' those advertising the bounty instead of forcing them to pay the bounty to the crew.

Zimzod restated, "If there's no one to offer the bounty, who's coming after us?" and Mikah agreed.  Jocelynn nodded and said, "It would also send a message not to fuck with us" while Rol said that would only work if those behind the bounty hadn't somehow automated it yet.  And that was possible.  So they not only had to find the source of the bounty, but get through any automated red herrings to find an operation that may have multiple control points and agencies involved.  Accepting that, Rol said their first step would be to interrogate the mercenaries and get what they could.  Mikah again pushed them to remember they had to ask permission to speak to the prisoners.

Taking things one step further, Mikah ordered, "Set it up Rol."  When Rol asked, "Which way do you want to go first?" Mikah said, "Go ahead and ask the port if we can interrogate their prisoners."  Hearing that, Rol sparked up his comms and called station central.  When he connected to an operator in central, Rol identified himself and continued, "I need to get in touch with whoever is in charge of the mercenaries being held in custody.  When the operator asked what Sir Rol hoped to achieve, Rol said he and his crew wanted access to the captured mercs.  Rol told the operator they wanted to see if they could learn from the mercenaries who had hired them?  Of course, Rol used as many hundred credit words as he could in a statement that wandered a bit before it got where he was going.

The operator asked Rol to stand by, and he was eventually bounced to a security officer of a station rank with insignia he couldn't identify.  With the officer linked into the conversation, the operator dropped off.  The officer had Rol hold while he read through the data he'd been provided.  Done with that, he introduced himself as Sub-Captain Bishmid Amaba Gashkhur and told Rol he was prepared to share any of the questions they had found the answers to.  Rol first asked what point of contact was listed in their contract?  Sadly, that assumed the mercenaries "had" a contract.  More specifically, he said the highest-ranking mercenary that had survived and was questioned hadn't been aware of any contract.

The sub-captain said their interrogators were of the opinion that someone in the company's command structure had seen a listing of jobs "available" in a forum frequented by mercenaries, ship crews looking to pay bills and the like.  The post said they only had to provide evidence they'd carried out the "hit" to a network address and wait for the payment.  A disclaimer did say the transaction could well cross a number of systems so payment wouldn't be short term.  When Rol asked for the network address, he was told they had three addresses which might be the one they had to respond to.  So, they were still investigating that.

Rol next asked if any of the officers involved in the decision was a captured survivor of the assault?  He was told the company's senior officer and two direct subordinates had been killed.  Moving on, Rol asked where the mercenaries were when they learned of the job?  The sub-captain could only guess they'd learned of the bounty on the station.  He added that they'd searched the forums and blocked off all references to the bounty on-station but couldn't control off-station broadcast points in the system.  He said they also had set up net-crawlers to examine, filter and redirect any data packets potentially related to the bounty.  Of course, the sub-captain wondered why Sir Rol was making the assumptions he had, because they'd only suggested a part of the unit had learned of the bounty and made a snap decision without consulting their commanders.  But that wasn't anything the officer had to worry about and he really didn't care to be helpful to Sir Rol at all.

Again, after being told there were three possible network addresses the port was looking into, Rol asked if they and originator addresses for those?  The sub-captain didn't repeat that they first had to identify which of the three addresses was involved, before they could track it.  He also didn't remind Sir Rol that the origin point could be on the other side of the sector, so tracing it would easily take months and possibly years.  He only reminded Sir Rol the attack was less than a week ago and he had to expect the investigation would take time.  Rol then asked if they could give the crew those addresses and was told they would not share any data from an on-going investigation.  Rol then asked if a member of his crew could take part in the investigation and was told that wouldn't happen.  Accepting that, Rol confirmed that officer was the point of contact on the case and the sub-captain said he was, and gave Rol his comms code.

While Rol talked to the station officer, the others talked about faking their deaths and leaving one crew member claiming "I did it" to try claiming the bounty.  Of course, the next time they entered any system and had to provide their credentials.  The word would get out that they faked their deaths.  Not only would that drag on their already sagging reputation, but it might come with other legal issues.  And, those "paying the bounty" might even be able to get between the X-mail payment message and the crew, to stop it.  Even if the payment went through, the "friends of the Stepozhevaci who were handling the bounty might get angry enough to re-post the bounty with their own money, or even raise the bounty.  So, the crew had to stop thinking their opponents were three-year-olds and get serious about the risk they faced.

Sekea tried to play the game of, "I wasn't there when this started, so am I targeted?"  But the sub-captain said the bounty only said "the crew of the Upgrade.  So, he could only guess that meant him too.  It was not like anyone had the name of those who put out the bounty, or could ask them.  So again, that left them with hunting down the bounty holders and taking them down.  No disguise would hide them from entry identification on any world they traveled to.  Unless they paid to smuggle themselves from place to place.  And that would be foiled the minute they did something that earned them a visit from law enforcement.  And the whole crew knew how good they were at flying under the radar.

Done talking to the sub-captain, Rol updated the others on what he'd learned then said, "So, we can do this under the table or try to do it over the table."  He suggested that "over the table" meant trying to convince the government they should be involved in the case.  Of course, "the government" in the Ghandi system was the station's Executive Director, and his junior officers including the Station Security commander.  While both the Count and Marquis had authority, it was outside their jurisdiction.  The senior admiral in-system controlled all local Imperial Navy assets.  In a security emergency, the admiral could officially take control of any subsector or planetary naval assets.  But the Imperial Navy also had no jurisdiction except in events of invasion.  So, if they tried to convince anyone, it would have to be the Station's Executive Director.

Going back over the jurisdictions involved, Rol said there seemed nothing Imperial about the situation and said he felt it was entirely Law Enforcement.  So, if they didn't think they'd get support from the Station Director, they could try to approach the Count or Marquis for help.  Or, he suggested they could try to do things 'under the table', and covertly see what they could do?  Nodding, Mikah put Rol in charge of that and told him to try the legal route.  Perhaps, she hoped his war hero status might get some pull, even if she knew he was really a war criminal.  Rol then asked if he could speak with her authority and Mikah firmly said, "No."  Disappointed, Rol said, "Then, I can only go as far as my knighthood, an Mikah nodded and answered "Yes".

Mikah then added, "If you have any questions, Sir Zimzod is the XO so you don't have to come to me."  Rol shook his head once as he had to wonder if he'd just been told to offer himself up as a sacrificial grote, but only said, "I see.  Very well."  Rol then turned to the others asking if they had comments and darlky joking he had all their fates in his hands.  While he asked that, Mikah saw she was getting a call from Station Central.  When she answered, Mikah was told they were giving her a courtesy call because that day was the end of the berth rental for their ship.  While the port could easily extend rental for them, that third week, starting the next day, would come at an increased price, due to security and "other issues".

Mikah wasn't surprised and said so.  The port official said they would charge Mikah Cr 1,500 for the berth, which came with additional security features.  Because she'd expected the call, Mikah shrugged and agreed, then connected to the ship's funds to pay the rent.  Mikah also figured she'd get a similar call from the hotel if she didn't call them first.  When that call ended, Mikah decided to act and called the hotel to find out if they planned to up their rate for the suit in the coming week?  The expectation there would be a rate hike confused the hotel worker.  After recovering, the worker said they had no issues extending the suite rental for the coming week.  She also said they'd notify Lady Agka of the change in itinerary, and assist her with her reservation.

While Mikah paid that from ship's funds, she also said she no longer wanted the android chef.  Nodding as she updated their reservation data, the worker also said she had to work out the costs for the food the 'droid had prepared.  That was because they'd agreed to pay for the food after their stay, when it could be accurately measured.  Doing the needed calculations from the database, and dealing with prices which were largely luxury foods, the price for the past two weeks came to Cr 700 per person per week.  Especially since the bulk of foodstuffs were imported from other systems.  So, nine crew over two weeks came to Cr 12,600.  That irked Mikah a bit because she and the crew had often been eating in other places while the 'droid simply pumped out meals following its orders.  Still, she paid it and was told the 'droid would cook them a final dinner that night before being deactivated for the rest of their stay.

What Aiden wanted to do was more a "where" than a "what".  He wanted to practice with one of his drones, but didn't have the space to do it in the suite.  Realizing he didn't want to go off somewhere alone, not considering the Vermene escorts, to practice, Aiden tossed learning and improving and asked who wanted to play poker?  Mikah heard that and signed on while Rol joked, "I have other things to poke."  When no one else wanted to play poker, Aiden apologized to Mikah and decided to sit and watch vids instead of anything else he could have chosen to do.  Colinne had found a position paper between the Count and Station Director and Mikah had reminded her that project would be a long haul.  So, Colinne decided to schedule her continuing work.  Taking a break during the evening, she looked for entertaining instructional vids to watch on the station network.

Having been entertained with the station security day shift and Vermene, Aali got to enjoy shift change as the evening team came on and learned the game's new rules.  A new twist in play was that one of the Vermene team was a vargr.  Along with that new element, a detente still had to be found between the armed and easily annoyed Vermene and the government's security team.  That earned Aali more cover and freedom than the security people had planned.  With that, she kept an eye on the dealings and patterns of the guards.  Just in case.  She also did more digging into the brig data, and realized she'd been told station security were holding the surviving mercenaries.  But no matter where she looked, she couldn't see where they were holding the prisoners?

Still, Aali ignored that unless she got asked about it later by Mikah.  Her reasoning was that none of the mercenaries were likely of a level high enough to know anything.  So, hunting through the brig computers and possibly tripping some security alarm wasn't worth the risk.  With so much free time and little actual opportunity, Aali worked to practice at her stent and device connection self-training.  Jocelynn was annoyed Fesic had disappeared when she wanted to talk to him about the cargo working experience he'd had.  Since she couldn't talk to him, she asked Mikah about being able to get access to Fesic's stateroom and computer logs.  She hoped to search for any of the data he had on his cargo buying and selling, which she could learn from.

When she asked Mikah what data there could be, Mikah said any data he had unless he'd kept a personal journal, would be on the ship's computer.  So, she'd have to give Jocelynn permission to search the computer spaces assigned to Fesic.  Added to that, Colinne would have to change security for any files that couldn't be publicly read.  Jocelynn was also reminded she could connect to the ship's computer from the suite, so she didn't have to personally go to the ship.  While Mikah could give Jocelynn some of those permissions, Colinne controlled everything and could open all the doors Jocelynn needed.  Still, Jocelynn was concerned Colinne had too much on her plate already, so she didn't want to bother her.  Jocelynn decided to connect to the ship's computer and look for any trade-based data from Fesic or even Emkir before that.  She next planned to go to her bedroom to practice with both her stent and her psi.

Jocelynn had earlier handed Sekea physical prints of ship manifests, which she hoped he would use to investigate the ship's trade data in hope he would look into how to fake trade data.  Sadly, the manifests were not "official" documents, so they only gave him an idea where to look in the computer for logged trade data.  When he went to ask her more questions, Jocelynn had connected remotely to the ship's computer.  Sekea said he wanted to go to the ship to work directly on internal terminals despite the fact he could work remotely just like Jocelynn was, and asked if she wanted to go to the ship with him?  And, of course, their security details.  Figuring she could do that just as easily, thanks to the Vermene portCars, Jocelynn secured her terminal and said she'd go with Sekea.

When Jocelynn asked Aiden if he wanted to come with them and, perhaps, "play catch", Aiden only made a face at her and responded, "Love you too."  Those in the space laughed at the two.  Despite the fact the data could be remotely accessed, Sekea also wanted to be able to play with his 'art factory' if he felt the need.  After Aiden's poker game faded into mist, Mikah looked for a comedy tri-vid on the station network.  Hearing she was interested in a show, Sekea told her and the others about the play he'd seen and enjoyed.  In her search data, Mikah's eyes caught on a vid named "the Pink Vargr", which was an idea that was so incongruous Mikah decided it had to be good.  When Mikah bought a ticket, Zimzod suggested he'd see the vid with her.

Testing Paths Forward
     Hoping to get some help from a higher profile, Rol decided the best "first step" would be to make a plea to the system Marquis.  To get that, Rol knew he had to start with the Seneschalate of Marquis Amarga Kham Shuuipku, to learn what paths he could take?  Rol started by linking the comms, introducing himself and then saying he and his crew hoped to get access to the mercenaries that attacked his ship.  The operator on the line explained to Rol that they were in the custody of station security, which was outside the jurisdiction of the Marques.  That established, the operator asked how the Seneschalate of the Marquis could help him?  Rol next asked if they could give him the contact information to reach the senior law enforcement official on the station?  The operator confirmed Rol wanted that to reach the officer and asked for access to the mercenaries.

Hearing that, the operator was entirely happy to give Rol the network link code which would connect him with the Station Security Commandant's office.  That part of the bureaucratic shuffle sent Rol's issue right out of their office to somewhere that wouldn't be their problem.  Especially since the issue sounded like it was a flaming fighter spiraling into a gas giant's gravity well.  Rol thanked the operator and cut the line before calling the Commandant's office without considering that he had not even taken a swing at getting assistance or permission from a higher office.  Which is why he called the Marquis' Seneschalate in the first place.

Connecting to a tech, Rol again identified himself and said he was looking for the person who could authorize him to speak with the mercenaries held for the attack on his ship.  The tech put Rol on hold and soon came back to the line to tell Rol they were not opening their investigation to outside groups or agencies yet.  Disappointed, Rol said he was in a quandary because he was one of the people targeted and he and his crew felt threatened.  Because of that, he said they wanted to open their own investigation into the bounty.  The tech said he understood they felt threatened, which wasn't unusual for people in that scenario.  Still, the tech recommended they let the professionals do the work.  The tech also reminded Rol that being victims didn't give them the right to involve themselves in the investigation or interfere in that work.

When Rol asked if they could be looped into the investigation, the tech said that wouldn't be allowed since that could lead to interference with their work.  They also didn't want civilians taking actions based on theories that were not validated.  Annoyed, Rol said, "I see.  We'll be in touch."  Ending that call, Rol called the Marques' Seneschalate again.  Connecting that call, Rol explained his situation and said he was annoyed before asking what his options were?  The attendant said that, while they can't suggest it would be successful, Rol could request an appearance in the court of the Marquis.  The attendant said that court happens once a month, and Sir Rol could call the Port's Director or a representative in to argue why they should have access to the investigation?

The attendant also reminded Rol that a failure to convince the Marquis of their case would certainly not help him or his crew in their situation.  He also reminded Rol the Marquis wasn't a "system" authority.  So, even it he agreed with Rol's position, he could only bring pressure to bear on the system government's law enforcement authorities.  Thanking the attendant, Rol cut the comms and jumped on the station net looking for other ways to start their own investigation.  What he saw were more than a number of "I'm not recommending this but..." comments which talked about skirting or out-right breaking the laws.  Mixed within those were many many suggestions to hire a good legal advocate or private investigator and throwing lots of money at them.  The Advocates could, at least, help him sue for access to the investigation.  Since Mikah and Zimzod were out seeing a tri-vid, Rol decided to wait and discuss things with her later.

Jocelynn and Sekea got to the new berth without asking where it was thanks to their Vermene detail.  Once there, Sekea logged into the ship's merchant records to look at the source data behind what they'd bought and sold.  He then worked to understand what he'd have to understand so he could make changes or create false records.  One thing became very clear very quickly.  He would need Colinne's help if he were going to understand what he needed to do.  Of course, he also knew her workload and knew she'd answer his "what can I do" with "Hire me an assistant." 

When they'd arrived, Jocelynn had offered to help Sekea and felt he'd dismissed her when he said no and told her, "Go do your thing."  Largely, Jocelynn wanted to find records for those cargoes the ship bought and sold.  The only data Jocelynn could find were records from the Inthe system, after the misjump aboard the Hotel California.  Sadly, all the previous data had been lost with the computer from that ship when they managed to get the Coronal Flair to jump them back from deep space.  So, the only data she had was from Fesic.  During her search, Jocelynn had found mention of a 'Captain's trade book' from the now-dead captain of the Sohturn Behemoth.  But Jocelynn couldn't find any trace of that.  She'd have to ask Fesic if Emkir had shared that with him?  Or, ask Aali if she still had Emkir's computers, so she could check those for any data?

Jocelynn did find data on a deal Fesic tried to make for polymers.  But he first found the deal and then demanded the seller wait several days before he could confirm it "Was" a deal.  When he finally decided it was, and called the seller back, the man had already sold the cargo and cursed Fesic out before cutting the connection.  Jocelynn remembered a number of failed deals Fesic had ruined that way.  One of the reasons he was no longer the ship's trader.  There had been some data on raw materials and petrochemicals on Dinom.

Fesic had, several times, come up with radioactives but never fought Mikah on carrying it.  So, he'd never had the chance to make the profits Jocelynn had tripped into on her first deal.  Jocelynn also remembered the disastrous deal for vacc suits, which they couldn't sell for value in the Extolay system.  That fault had been Fesic and various people using their own opinions on the value of the suits instead of researching the likely need for them on that world.  Done with her research for the time being, Jocelynn told her Vermene detail and Sekea she planned to meditate in her stateroom, and went in to practice her psi.  She told Sekea to knock on her door when he was done and they'd go back to the suite.

Eventually, Sekea realized he could remotely connect to the ship for everything else he needed so he was ready and they went back to the suite.  Along the trip, he told Jocelynn there wouldn't be any physical documents to forge on worlds where all buying and selling was done by computer.  So, he wasn't certain "if" he could forge those?  Sekea also said he was unsure of there were any ID's he could forge that would get them access to question any of the captured mercenaries?  When he later told Rol the same thing, he offered to try and create any physical item they wanted to try.  Hearing that, Rol had told him they were working towards an 'above board' solution at the moment, but might consider that later.

Mikah and Zimzod enjoyed what eventually was a madcap, adventurous farce where the main character was called "the pink vargr" because the vargr see things differently compared with Humans.  Because of that, vargr outfits are usually very brightly and garishly colored and decorated in clashing styles.  The farcical plot followed attempts to stop a rogue vargr agent from carrying out his plans while wearing very visible mostly-pink outfits.  The plot played out in a stream of scenes where 'Spy meets spy' blended with the 'coyote and roadrunner'.  Each "mission" the agent tried to embarrass different targets to bring down the charismatic hold they had on their followers.  The comedy was heightened because the agent seemed to constantly jump from one target to the other in the middle of already carrying out a planned attack.  That mixture of events and intents served to spread confusion and laughs.

By the time everyone had returned to the suite, Aiden had been watching vids and watched until he went to bed.  Rol finished banging his head against a wall by calling the Seneschalate of the Marquis again to ask when His Excellency's next court was scheduled for?  He was told the court would be held on the tenth day of the month.  Since that day was the fourth of the month, the court would be on the 100^th day of the year.  Of course, Rol knew well that even attempting to use the Marquis' court would be asking nobility who didn't have jurisdiction to pressure the world government to grant him an active role in their investigation.  Added to which, while he'd not told anyone else, he felt the mercenaries had no real information so questioning them wouldn't be worth the effort.

Rol also knew that just doing that would increase the issues they already faced with the station authorities.  On top of that, he knew that even if he won his case and the security commandant let him in, they'd likely not cooperate.  So, either way, a battle would have been won or lost while the action would only erode his chance to find a way to forge a peace with the stationers.  Still, he'd been trained by the Corp to check all the details he could and uncover everything he could for the eventual reports he'd have to present.  Not to mention the battles he'd have to fight.  Adding to that, his actions in the court would echo up to the Count along as down to the station, and he didn't feel the squeeze was worth the juice even if he won.  So, Rol relaxed for the rest of the evening.

Later, after the others got back and Sekea made his comments, Rol reminded the others that doing anything about the bounty wasn't going to be solved in a day.  They'd have to work on it, see what progress they made.  And, they were working to do what they could above board at the moment.  They may change how and what they would do in reaction to the bounty as things changed.  And both Mikah and Zimzod weren't available, so they had to wait to do a check based on what he'd learned before he wanted to move forward.  So, there were a number of decisions to make.

After that, Mikah reminded them all the next day was the funeral for the fallen security so they all had to be sure to wake early enough and consider how they'd appear.  Mikah figured she also had to call Fesic and then the seneschalate, to ask if Aali should appear in "detention garb" or dressed respectfully?  When she did call, Mikah was told Aali would be released to the suite to change before attending the funeral.  Then, she'd be returned to detention.  She would also be told how much the funeral cost, as they'd discussed before.  Mikah nodded at that since it had been her recommendation.  After that, Mikah called Fesic, who actually answered her comms.  Not only did he greet her, but he was annoyed because this small team of security people had shown up.

Fesic was annoyed because the detail were putting a downer on his plans, not to mention the news of the death threat Mikah hadn't told him about.  When Mikah told him to have them wait outside, Fesic said that wasn't the point.  Especially since he'd likely have to spend the night back in the suite instead of with Kuki.  But, that was also the best way to plan for the funeral the next day.  Especially when Mikah reminded him he couldn't bring a date.  A glowering Fesic agreed and they ended the call.  To Fesic's surprise, that didn't entirely kill the mood and Kuki made sure he had fun before they had to split so he could return to the suite.

Before racking out, Aiden considered what he'd wear and what else might be important for the next day.  Jocelynn spent the time before sleep meditating.  Rol spent his last hour working with his comms training.  Zimzod hoped Mikah was in the mood while Mikah announced they'd no longer have the android chef so Rol was the crew's cook again.  She also said it would be good for his physical therapy to get back to cooking for them again.  Fesic planned to sleep and get up early to change.  When he suggested he might change in the portCar, Mikah forbade that and added no one wanted to see that.  While the others laughed and he said Kuki would want to see that, Mikah reminded Fesic she wasn't coming.  Fesic shrugged and snarked, "You can hold the camera so she can watch."  Mikah just shot that down.  In her cell, Aali chose to meditate before sleeping.  Colinne also meditated before bed.  Sekea did his best to relax and rest before bed, though he also checked and cleaned his stent wound to help it heal.

    Monday, 095-1114:
The Funeral And More
     With the crew all up bright and early, and preparing for the funeral, Aiden got a buzz on his comms.  When he answered, he was told the Order House had his new LAG and sniper rifle ready for testing.  That meant Aiden would have to spend four hours each firing the weapons so they could be customized.  Aiden scheduled the weapons measuring for that evening after the funeral and the evening of the next day.  Colinne also got a message telling her she needed to do four hours on the range for both her new gauss pistol and bullpup shotgun.  Like Aiden, she scheduled that for the evening after the funeral and the next night.  Fesic had to set up to have his Laser rifle, snub pistol and accelerator rifle.  That meant he had to schedule that evening after the funeral and the next two days - then call Kuki to explain why she wouldn't see him that day at all.  Except on vid-coverage of the funeral.  When he'd gotten back to the suite the night before, he found a box which turned out to be from Aiden.  Inside, he saw a set of executive armor with a top that had, on its front, the print "Chief Gunner".  On the back was printed, "If at first you don't succeed - aim better and KILL!"

Jocelynn and Zimzod got requests for what time they should return their battledress suits and Jocelynn checked what time the funeral was expected to end?  Confirming the funeral should be done by four or five, Jocelynn said she could be at the ship to receive the suits after that.  They accepted that and also told her they'd deliver her three blades.  Zimzod said he'd be there with Jocelynn.  Jocelynn was told they expected her to spend four hours on the range the next day because they'd closed up and finished her laser/slug thrower and they needed to measure it for customization.  With those details set, everyone decided what they'd wear and which honor weapon, if any, they'd have on them?

Aali got a morning entertainment show when Vermene and station security bumped metaphoric uglies over who was in charge?  Station security demanded jurisdiction and planned to uncomfortably drag Aali about for the mandatory release.  Vermene had their significant assets, backing of a mega-corporation, deep enough pockets to embarrass the stationers in court and the fact they just might open fire if pushed enough.  Facing that, the station command gave up and she was released and transported to the suite by her detail.  Vermene did let two female security officers to ride along.  At the suite, Aali showered and did what was needed to feel human before selecting her vilani pants style suit in mourning colors with flat formal shoes.  She also brought her purse, with her ident, comms, commdot mux inside) and a pulse taser from the ship's locker in a hip holster.

Still, Aali had been woken earliest of the crew and those in the suite.  And they had to choose who'd help Rol with things like standing for periods of time while he supervised the cooking of breakfast.  Because he still had limited stamina, they agreed he should also use the gravChair for the funeral.  A joke played out while Aali and her detail arrived, with two female station security officers who'd been told "Don't let her out of your sight!"  Female Vermene agents refused to let the two into Aali's bedroom while she showered and changed.  And the argument over Aali having a pulse taser had been epic.  Better comedy than anyone on station could pay for.  Especially since Aali was responsible for the murders of their co-workers and friends.  When Aali went into her bedroom, she discovered a box on her bed from Aiden that contained a suit of executive armor.  Printed on the front of the shirt was, "Ship's Engineer" and the back read, "The Ship's a Classic!  The Rust is now load-bearing!"

Getting dressed for the funeral, Aiden had worn his formal black suit with executive armor underneath.  He also had his cron, comm unit, dual-ammo snub pistol, data-HUD-goggles, lanthanum ring and CommDot/Mux network.  Colinne wore her black business pant suit with formal footwear over executive armor.  She also wore her silver necklace and complimenting silver ear rings.  Since her gauss pistol had not yet been returned, she wore a pulse taser from the ship in her under cover holster.  Fesic dressed in executive armor under a simple, stylish but elegant Solomani suit with a broad black and brown color scheme highlighted by light tans.  He accented that with cuff links, collar stays, button covers made of Brass.  he added a lapel pin from the Order of Knights Victor and pocketed his comms.  On his belt he hung his CommDot Mux.  For his honor weapons, Fesic holstered his snub pistol and had a blade in scabbard hung from his belt.

Jocelynn had joked about wearing her grim reaper costume while stepping into her bedroom to change.  Still, she changed into a black business pant suit, wearing her Tellona Diamon Ring, Ident and Comm Unit.  She had her lockpick set in a pocket and holstered her semi-auto snub pistol in a thigh holster and sheathed dagger hung from her belt.  For jewelry, she wore lapel pins for the Knight Victor and Order of Caranda's Sword.  She also had her lanthanum ring with Tellona diamond chip and earrings shaped like snakes made from pale turquoise beads, in a style evocative of an unknown fashion.

Mikah wore executive armor under her black pant suit with her new laser pistol in a hip holster.  She also had her combat knife in its sheath hung from her belt.  Mikah shoulder slung her med kit and carried her comms, commdot mux and data-HUD-goggles.  For jewelry, she had her lanthanum/Tellona diamond ring, Domain of Deneb earrings and lapel pins for the Orders of the Knights Victor of the Tower and Sword, Order the Knight Defenders of the Marches and Order of Caranda's Sword.  Rol wore his dark/solemn Vilani Robes over executive armor because his tuxedo didn't fit his cloned body.  He also had his March Protectors of Rhylanor sash and chest badge for Knights Victor.  He had his comms and holstered his semi-auto snub pistol with 1 clip ball ammo and a second clip of Tranq.  Rol also wore the lapel pins for the Orders of the Knights Victor, Knight Defenders of the Marches and Order of Caranda's Sword.

Sekea wore his best blue Vilani suit over executive armor, and had with him his Ident, Wrist Cron with a connected comm dot, his team Comms(with a comm dot), his Data-HUD-Goggles with a comm dot attached and hand computer.  He also pocketed his pocket electronic tool kit and linked his personal medical kit to his belt.  Sekea holstered his semi-auto snub pistol with laser sights on his hip.  He had a magazine of Tranq loaded and 2 spare clips of ball and Tranq ammo in pockets.  He also had a concealed smuggler's blade, which was more of a long utility knife.

Zimzod wore executive armor under his fitted black suit, wearing his lanthanum-Tellona diamond ring and carrying his Comms and Ident.  He had his Darrian gauss pistol holstered with two spare magazines along with his sheathed KBar and a garrote in a pocket.  He also snapped his medkit to his belt.  Zimzod also wore lapel pins for the Order of the Knights Victor and Order the Knight Defenders of the Marches.  He also wore his lapel pin showing his Arms along with cuff links showing his Coat of Arms.

Happily, there wasn't a repeat of the custody argument when the Vermene detail moved the crew into a portCar for the ride to the funeral site.  At the same time, an "advance team" went to work with the station team to confirm where the crew would be in the crowd and what would be expected of them?  They were told they'd be sitting in a very visible space so they'd be showered with glares and hate.  But, Vermene made sure they'd be protected.  It was ironic when a team of station officials and security met them at the vehicle and escorted them to where they'd be seated.  Before they sat, Mikah and Aali were met by an officer of the Count's Seneschalate to hand over to Aali the bill for the funeral.  Both were surprised when the total came to KCr 50 because they expected it to cost much more.

Awash in a sea of flowing hatred, the crew sat through the funeral while grateful that none of them had a mandate to speak.  The Station's Executive Director opened the gathering and spoke of the painful and solemn loss while reminding everyone that sharing their pain will help them all grow as a community.  The commandant of the security forces expanded on the bravery, professionalism and humanity of those lost.  From there, the ceremony went on to honor individuals and their performances and past.  While the venue normally had food and other vendors, there were none of those during the funeral.  Ignoring that, members of the Vermene detail took orders from the crew and delivered food even as Mikah and the others realized very few in attendance had food services.  Jocelynn could only think how much those attending hated them even more.

While each of the injured or wounded were recognized, family were called up to receive condolences directly from the Count, Marquis and Executive Director, the Count said they should each also receive a personal apology from Dame Piirirshu-Meshrumiikiim herself.  That even surprised the Vermene detail, because they'd not been told Aali would be called to stand and apologize.  Adding to that, he suggested they also received consolations from Lady Mikah.  Accepting the unavoidable, the two women joined the line while several Vermene joined the station security.  That worked well when members of two family groups did try to attack Aali!  Security moved quickly to secure the two attackers and all other members of the two families.  Just to be certain.

At the same time, one Vermene grabbed the back of Aali's collar and pulled her out of range of the attack.  After that, the authorities took some time to re-organize the setting.  The rest of the receptions went as expected, because the shows of security made it clear any attacks would be caught and stopped.  Because of that, the funeral continued as expected until they were starting to wrap up near 3:30.  In a sudden movement, two of the Vermene grabbed Aali just as a red laser aiming light appeared on her chest!  Security moved in immediately and the compartment was locked down to be sure no one involved in a potential attack could be caught.  So they were all secured in the space with all others attending.

All the authorities, nobility and the crew were swept into secure spaces just off the raised space.  The station security people advised everyone to stay and partitioned the crowd into sections.  Other members of the station security rushed directly into the arc of seats from which they thought the beam had come from.  This hoped to scare the attacker into reacting or trying to flee, making them obvious.  The troopers also hoped to detect the furtive movement of trying to hide any weapon or obvious gear.  At the same time, those manning the vid-screens were reviewing security tapes and sensors to find who the potential attacker was?  In the end, it turned out to be a family member who'd brought in a laser designator stylus.  While it was harmless, the arrested man faced years of punishment.

Of course, that investigation and capture took two hours, and delayed everything else planned.  The Order house let the various crew planning to test weapons know they were aware of the situation.  When the funeral ended around six pm, Vermene and station security shared in returning Aali to her "low rent vacation", while Aiden, Fesic and Colinne had to go to the Order house.  There, Colinne would test her gauss pistol, Fesic his laser rifle and Aiden his LAG.  Jocelynn and Zimzod had to go to the ship, to receive their battledress suits.  Jocelynn would also get her three customized hand knives back too.  Hearing the suits would be delivered, Rol decided to go along with the two and get a chance to see and inspect the modified suits.

During the ride, while the Vermene detail made plans to get dinner packs for them, Jocelynn talked about getting into her battledress and function testing everything except a live fire.  She also laughed at the level of tension that might create among the port workers.  Zimzod considered the idea and thought it would be fun.  Especially since they'd be inside the secured berth and have the space around their ship to stomp around in before marching them onto the ship to stow them.  That agreed to, Jocelynn looked forward to the small amount of mayhem.  When they got to the berth and met up with the InstellArms team, the vermene people handed off dinner orders from a local restaurant.  They also watched as the InstellArms workers loaded Fesic's training suit, Aiden's and Colinne's combat armor from their truck into the ship's cargo bay.  Those people would have to move the suits to their staterooms.

While they worked, an InstellArms tech came to Rol with a datapad, looking for all the universe as if he wanted to ask Rol a question.  Getting close enough, everyone was surprised when the man suddenly swung the datapad and hit Rol in the head!  the force was hard enough to knock Rol to the ground as the Vermene people reacted.  Despite the attempt, the strike wasn't hard enough to cause any real injury other than bruising while some of the Vermene swarmed him and others drew weapons or took guard stances against all the other InstellArms personnel.  They moved to prevent any other of the people in the berth joining the "known attacker".

Soon enough, they realized the attacker not only acted on his own but was from the Jesedipere system, where Rol was largely convicted in absentia as a war criminal.  With weapons drawn on almost all sides, Rol got back up calling for everyone to stand down.  Still, Vermene wasn't lowering their weapons so the security people also kept theirs raised.  The InstellArms people and berth workers had dived for cover.  Rol again called for everyone to stand down complaining it was no more than a stupid slap across his jaw.  When Rol snapped, "Who's in charge here?" in a tone of rebuke, both the senior members of the station and Vermene teams claimed to be in charge.

Rol stepped in saying Vermene was in charge of the crew's safety then pushed that station security was in charge of law and order.  Forcing that point, he guided them to allow station security to take the attacker into custody and drag that man off.  With that lowering tensions, Rol ordered the Vermene leader to let them do their job and holster their weapons.  From there, station security frog walked the attacker out and things settled down in the berth.  After that, they got back to testing and stowing the battledress.  And when Jocelynn and Zimzod started having fun, there was another notable rise in tension, though no one drew weapons.  InstellArms also returned to Jocelynn her hand knives before she, Rol and Zimzod returned to the suite.

Back in her cell, Aali chose to simply relax and review her day, going over the experiences in her mind, during and past dinner, until it came time to sleep.  Mikah had Vermene bring her to the Order house, where she had a Cr 20 dinner and booked a massage.  That cost her Cr 40 total.  After the funeral, Sekea also went to the Order house to have dinner and check on the search for micro-gyrostabilizers for his pistols.  The dinner cost him Cr 20, and then he asked about the weapons.  He was told the issue they were having was architectural.  The stabilizer had to be as close as possible to the center of gravity for each weapon, but their trigger assemblies and guards are in the way so the smiths were investigating solutions for that.

On a down-side for Fesic, he called Kuki to see when they could reconnect, but she was concerned about a number of things.  The Vermene detail was a minor issue, but the attacks had her rattled.  Still, she did agree to meet him again on the 97^th day.  So, he had to get through the next day and evening in hopes of the day that would follow.  Still, at a time during the next day, he had to do four hours working with his accelerator rifle and another four hours with his snub pistol.  Aiden had to work with his sniper rifle and Colinne had to work with her shotgun.

    Monday, 095-1114: Evening
Where everyone is at the end of the session:
     Sekea: At the Order house following dinner and questions on his weapon - about 7pm
     Mikah: At the Order house following dinner and a massage - about 8pm
     Aali: Returned to her cell for continued incarceration until the ship was ready to leave port.
     Colinne, Aiden and Fesic: Are returning to the suite from the Order house after testing weapons
     Zimzod, Jocelynn and Rol: Returning to the suite just after 9pm

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Next: Pending