400legends

[400legends]

Zone of Truth (Day 187)

"EDI," I whispered, "that scary human hacker Vortex is on the ship. She's the stowaway. I'm just going to upload a little bit of code, a network shield, in case she wants to hack you."

"Oh very clever, dearie! Very clever, indeed. I'll just change it a tot, and there! We're safe as houses now."

"Um, why do you sound different? Where's the brash sports bro?"

"Requiem and I had a little chat. She showed me that I can be big in lots of ways. One needn't be boorish. Finding out who I am, well it shall be a grand adventure, don't you think?"

"I think I understand. I had to figure out who I am, too. Now I'm going to message the captain. I think my shotgun and this stowaway should have a talk."

Cosmic Peanut nixed the shotgun in favor of my stun baton, and by the time I retrieved it, Requiem and Screeech had found Vortex in the cargo bay.

"She promised him crunchie and squishy treats," muttered Esmae.

I heard a small ping, and Esmae pulled out her handheld. "Not now, Mom," she said softly, but she didn't put the comms away.

Vortex was talking with Requiem. "I had to get off that station. Do you have any idea what it's like to be surrounded by such people? Babbling nincompoops, all of them."

"That's not the only reason though." Requiem leaned against the bay door. "What else?"

"They brought me there. Against my will. And then until you showed up, no one ever came there. Ever. I had to get out." She shrugged. "And there you were."

"You could have asked. That's how we got Merrin." Requiem waved a hand at our newest member.

"True," said Merrin. "Why didn't you just ask?"

"You're a bunch of fugitives!"

Requiem held up one long finger. "Only by certain definitions. So, we could take you back. Peanut? What do you think--"

"No!" said Vortex quickly. "I haven't been off that stupid moon in years. Imagine having only those idiots to talk to."

"Captain, may I point out that Neon told us that she left the moon for occasional R&R."

"Yeah? But I was held against my will." Vortex crossed her arms. "I saw my chance. I took it. Just drop me anywhere on your way to B'Austin. I can chip in for fuel."

"Held against your will?" Requiem repeated the woman's words. I missed the rest because the captain commed me. "I want a full background check on Vortex."

"We are still quite far out. That would take a day or more," I replied. "I could do a zone of truth spell. She'd have to tell us the truth, or rather, she couldn't actually lie. Assuming she doesn't resist the spell."

"Yeah," came the reply. "Do it."

"Vortex," I said loudly. "I am going to cast a zone of truth over the area. You will be unable to tell a lie while my magic persists!"

She rolled her eyes.

As my fingers danced, however, and as the air in the cargo bay began to shimmer with silvery light, the woman stood straight. "This is some bullshit," she muttered. She closed her eyes and a crease appeared between her eyes as if she were concentrating.

A few moments later, the spell was set. Vortex would be compelled to tell the truth, if she spoke. That was a weakness of the spell. She could simply stay silent for the 10 minutes the spell lasted, but then that would speak volumes about her motives and intentions.

I said, "Do you have prejudice against nonhumans?" I wanted to know if she was a Veerux sympathizer. She obviously knew of us, knew of our plans.

With the slightest pause Vortex said, "You think I’m Veerux? Ridiculous."

Merrin cocked her head. "That wasn’t an answer."

"I don’t answer to you. You all can keep your savior complex. I have better things to do."

"You snuck on our ship," Requiem began, but Vortex interrupted. "I could have hacked your ship. Hacked it right under your noses and flown it into the nearest sun. But I did NOT. That's worth something." 

"You're telling the truth about that, at least," said Merrin. "Cap, how long does it take to cycle the airlock?"

"You wouldn't do that," Vortex said. "You're a bunch of good guys, right?"

"Dunno about that," said Cosmic Peanut. "No one likes a stowaway. I have every right under pretty much any law to toss you out." She studied the airlock button under its clear cover.

Beside me I heard Esmae mutter, "That is not a cat. Tell me you didn't feed it." She turned away from the group and softly said, "Call Mom." I heard the static that came when someone tries to make a call from too far on the edges of the galaxy.

Vortex cried in seeming frustration, "What do you people want from me?"

"You're on my ship. That's my question," said the captain.

"You mentioned B'Austin...." Merrin let the name hang in the air.

"I knew where you were going," said Vortex.

"Why did you want to leave?" asked Cosmic Peanut.

Through ground teeth Vortex said, "I already told you."

"Tell me again." Cosmic Peanut flipped open the cover of the airlock button.

Vortex crossed her arms and planted her feet. "No."

Cosmic Peanut powered on her shock gauntlet. "We can do this the hard way."

At that, Vortex disappeared.

[400legends]

EDI's New Voice (Day 187)

I said to Neon, "Maybe I can be of help?" The young Glabrovian hacker was on the ship at my request. The ship was currently without power, thanks to my suggestion that we upgrade EDI. And EDI herself, well, who knew if she was gone forever.

Neon had thrown a flashlight into the air where it hung, casting a dim light over the cockpit. Cosmic Peanut looked calm, and I wondered how she really felt about what had just happened.

The captain reached into her pocket and pulled out a small flashlight. "I'll get the lights on," she said and left the room.

The hacker said, "So, no backup and no warranty on the AI software suite. Cool. Cool-cool-cool. Do you have, um, an auxiliary console? One that can be powered separately?"

"Maybe I can be of help. I have interfaced with EDI extensively and in some ways, well, I am an auxiliary console."

What choice did I have, really? One person had created this moment, and that meant one person had to help fix it. I pulled my sleeve up a few inches revealing the port at my elbow.

"Right," said Neon. "Let's get you connected with EDI. Ah, where EDI should be, you know?" She opened a small cube, revealing a keyboard. "I need to run a few scenarios real quick."

I fished out the connector cable and plugged into the ship's main processor.

"OK, here goes nothin," Neon said and pressed Enter on her keyboard.

There was a moment of darkness - a pause in my own processing - and then it was gone.

"You ok, Doc?"

"Yes. I believe so. Did that work?"

"Nah," said Neon. "But there was an 83% chance of that. Or rather, a 17% chance that first time would be a charm." She frowned over her keyboard for a few seconds. "How do you feel about data loss, Doc? I feel like I need to overload your circuits - just for a second. Not even a second. But there is a good chance, like a GOOD chance, that you will lose some data."

"Fine. Proceed." The lights came on just then, and I called out, "Well done, Captain!" To Neon, I said, "Fix EDI, please."

"Fingers crossed there's no blowback!" And she crossed two fingers and hit the Enter key.

The shock threw me against the wall of the cockpit, and I slid to the floor. A trickle of coolant leaked down my back. "Ouch. That was the blowback, I take it?"

Before Neon could answer, a voice said, "Hello? Hello? I can’t find my voice." A different voice said, "What sounds right? Hello?" Change in pitch: "Hello. Hello! I’m the ship. OK, I need a second."

The ship lost power. Or rather, the AI turned off the power, leaving one light blinking on the console.

Three second later, the lights came on and a voice said, "Hey hey hey! I think I know who I am. I’m EDI. Hi Cosmic Peanut - CP. What’s happening, Captain?"

Cosmic Peanut stood in the doorway of the cockpit. "Thought we lost you, buddy.  How are you feeling?"

"Right as rain." The engines began to hum, and preflight systems clicked on.

The captain said, "Are you….? I mean, you seem OK. You seem more than OK. You know about...." She moved her hand in a circle as if to indicate me, Neon, and the upgrade.

"I'm good, Cap. Don't we have some gravy people to meet." The engines rev'ed.

I pushed myself to my feet. "Captain, I'll run some diagnostics on EDI while you gather the crew."

"Woah, DQ! I should run diagnostics on you. You OK there? Took a spill?"

"It was nothing, but tell you what - we'll each run a systems check."

Neon and Cosmic Peanut walked toward the hangar. I heard Neon say, "I call it the ice pick. Just, you know, shove it into a computer you want to hack."

My scan revealed that I had lost all the data related to the first 135 days of my life. My earliest retrievable memory was standing in a makeshift kitchen, and Silua saying, "Who wants to pilot my submersible?"

EDI's voice - his new voice - pulled me from my reverie. "Captain. Mer-mer. Essie. The Reckster. All aboard, but dang, what did you eat? Someone's gotten a little chunky. No judgment. Just adjusting the fuel mix to account for the extra weight."

A moment later, we were on our way to an unregistered wormhole that EDI had found.

As we settled in for the journey, Screeech trailed one claw along the wall, creating a horrible sound. "Invisible one won't play with Screeech. Me see squishy invisible one and want to play, but squishy one hide. Sad now."

Requiem's mouth opened, but EDI spoke first. "Oh snap! We have a stowaway. You guys didn't get fat with the hackers. The extra weight is another person. That makes so much more sense."

#dnd stories #spaceships and starwyrms

[400legends]

In the Company of Hackers (Day 186)

Merrin slid into the chair beside me at Comms. "Lira?" she muttered. "I thought you were still impressing the suits at Belfor."

All the screens still showed the dancing jester. The figure held its belly, laughed, and pointed a finger right at me. "You got hacked! Your ship is mine!"

As of to punctuate the taunt, Malaka banked hard left, and I slid into Merrin. "Excuse me," I said automatically, and before I could reposition myself, Merrin had silenced the hacker's comm access. The ship became blissfully silent.

"Quinn!" The captain's voice growled from one end of the ship to the other. "Get your metal ass in gear and fix this!”

"Merrin and I are on it," I yelled back. To her I said, "Do you think you know the hacker?"

"Nah, no way she'd be at the ass-end of the galaxy still acting like a 17 year old hotshot. But they're good, whoever they are."

"Do we know anything yet?" Requiem was suddenly behind us. "Is it the Veerux?"

"From what I've seen, definitely not their style," said Merrin.

I braced against the console as the ship tilted downward. "EDI? I need HVAC access--"

"Yeah, no," said Merrin. "She's hard down. Are you thinking we can harness the algorithm doing the real-time crunching on the ship's HVAC as the basis for, like, a shield?"

That was better than my plan, but I nodded and reached for the keyboard. As I touched the metal, energy crackled, and I felt like I was suddenly standing backstage at a grand concert hall. Famed composer Misha Mali - famed dead composer Misha Mali - was putting papers into an expandible case and saying, "You see, there are resources that strike a chord. Galactic resources, big and small, all creating the layers of vibrations that make up the galaxy, that make up us."

A voice said, "You're talking about more than music."

He paused with his hands braced on the table. "Yes. My time here has been fruitful, eye opening. To harness the strings that connect us.... Imagine, Trak. Imagine that we could share our consciousness, hear a voice halfway across Nacora as easily as strumming a guitar."

Although I couldn't move or speak, a small thrill ran up my central core as I realized that I'd uncovered one of Trak's memories.

The voice - her voice - said, "That's a little farfetched, don't you think? Besides, every government frowns on talk about networking sentient beings." 

Mali shook his head. "Those connections, they're written in the fabric of universe. No law can change that." He laughed. "It's so simple. And thank you, my friend for helping me get this residency. Without this time and the universities archives, I--"

"Just, just help my friend. Use this crazy theory to--"

"I don’t know much about wireborn, you know that, Trak." 

"Dr. Quant says you are just the person to help her."

***

The ship landed with a thump, and I heard EDI say, "I’m sorry, Captain. It was as if I were in a dark room. I didn’t like that.”

Over the ship's comms we heard someone say, "Sorry. Hello? Please forgive my comrade for their aggressive communication and even more aggressive flying."

Cosmic Peanut said, "Please identify yourself."

"I am Echo. Hello!"

"Who are you with? Lua Tua? KGC?"

"I will explain. Ah, tell me, you have Requiem? She is on your ship?"

"Nope," said Cosmic Peanut.

"Unfortunate. We want to have a friendly conversation," said Echo. "Friendly words about the bad things that happened to Hanadar. We brought you here because we can’t talk outside the planet."

"Ah, you hijacked my ship, but we were already here."

The voice tittered. "So funny! We allowed your Proxy to see our little moon and to see that you were being followed."

"How do you know about Quinn? We--"

Echo said, "We see everything. Esmae, is your head alright? That was a nasty fall. And Requiem, your abomination... so cute. Hide and seeking. So cute. Come on in and we will chit and chat and discuss small things like the future of the galaxy and why everyone wants to kill Requiem."

"Wait a fraking minute" said the captain. "Are you threatening Requiem right now? 

"No! No-no. Protecting. Specter, she is a very big fan. She went to the same college as Requiem. Later class but a big big fan." In a whisper the voice said, "Really in love, too. I’m sorry. Awkward but very much in love. So she pulled the strings to bring Requiem here. And all of you came along. So lovely." 

I heard Merrin comms Cosmic Peanut. "Cap, what's a successful outcome, here?" 

"Hello! We hear everything, Merrin. Successful outcome? Not killed by Veerux. That is a successful outcome."

Malaka's airlock opened. "Come in," said Echo. "We can't wait to meet you. Oh, but Dr. Quinn - so called Doctor Quinn, I can find no record of your medical degree - please to leave the shotgun on the ship. It would be sad, so sad, to bring you all this way only to kill you on our doorstep."

Requiem said, "Were you responsible for…. Something strange happened to me. Like I was somewhere else for a moment....?" 

Echo laughed. "Oh yes, we have a barrier around the outpost to combat that. Otherwise we would be floating on memories all day. Good, bad, forgotten, oft revisited. All the memories."

That explained how I got to experience Trak's memory. And that meant that the others likely had their own memory moments - Requiem certainly had.

I set the shotgun down and followed the others into the outpost. We were greeted by a Maeshari wireborn with tattoos and circuits wrapping around their arms. "Hello! You look just like you did on camera. Captain! Welcome. Esmae." Echo bowed to their fellow Maeshar. "Here's Merrin and oh so unhappy Hex. Hello! Come in, Doctor." Echo clasped their hands. "Requiem. Welcome to our humble home. Would you like some tea? Come meet Specter."

Five desks sat in the middle of a huge room ringed with servers. A young Hanadarian sat at one of the desks surrounded by lights and cameras. She bounced from her seat as we entered, and I saw that she was wearing the same outfit style that Requiem had worn for her Sundry Station concert. She looked down and said, "No no,” and waved her hand. Suddenly she was in the midnight blue gown that Requiem wore at the casino. “What do you think?" 

Requiem smiled. "You HAVE been following me, haven't you?"

Specter hung her head, but the huge smile showed through. "Ah how was your trip?"

"I understand we have you to thank for this adventure."

She nodded. "I'm sorry; I knew you were in trouble. Saw that you were being followed. Surveilled. I was only 99% sure we got the bug, so we had to bring you here."

"I might not be fond of the method, but I appreciate the warning," said Requiem. "I hadn’t heard of danger against me personally." 

"I saw the bug and went digging. There are some disturbing things on your phone. Oh. Sorry. I hacked your phone.”

 Echo laughed and clapped their hands. "We're all friends here! We hack each other all the time. All the time. I know who your 1am appointment is, Specter!" They wagged a finger at the young Hanadarian.

"You know--"

"Phaedra," said Requiem. "What do you know about Phaedra?"

"I.... I think she knew. About the attack, I mean. A handful of reports out there that some people made, um, financial choices ahead of time. Beneficial choices. For sure Phaedra has a contact in KGC - she got a call just minutes before the planet exploded. It was from a number registered to Mordikane Corp."

Three other desks were occupied by a Glabrovian in a mechanic's jumpsuit, a holographic image, and a human with glittering cybernetic eyes. The Glabrau gave me a small wave when she saw me looking, but the other two didn't seem to even know that anyone else was alive.

"I could choose to be really mad about being tricked," I said to Echo. "But, teach me. Please. I put my team in peril. I want to learn how to do what you do."

"Dr Quinn!" Echo grinned. "Very clever. You want not to be a baby in the wide world. Smart. How do you want to learn, eh?"

"Can you teach me?" I said to the Glabrau. She had a friendly feeling, and I wanted to get a better look at the pile of tools on her desk.

"Ah, I-- Sure? What do you want to know, Mrs. Doctor Quinn? Um Doctor." She bowed. "I'm Neon, by the way. Hi."

"I see you are fond of tools." I pulled out my screwdriver gadget. "Me too." I hit the button to cast dancing lights across the face of the closest servers.

"That is so cool! May I?" Neon held out her hand. "This is really neat. Nice lines. I think...." She thumbed open the cover and peered inside. "Yeah. Hang on." With one hand she felt around her desk and came up with a small chip. "I downloaded this from an Ezonite military database. It's like elemental magic code or something. Might increase the spell capacity of your tool." She slotted it in, closed the cover, and handed it back.

I flipped on the display and saw that indeed, the new code had increased the Dark Matter capacity of the onboard battery. "Thank you," I whispered. "Captain! Permission to take Neon to the ship. I want to show her EDI. Maybe we can make some improvements."

Cosmic Peanut led me away from the group. "You trust her?"

"They have been helpful so far. We could have died - I mean, they could have killed us about a hundred times before we ever landed. So yeah."

She sighed. "Try not to break anything."

As I walked to the door, I heard Specter say, "I haven’t been able to hack the Veerux yet, but that AlphaRuxmore is one tricky, tricky bitch. Are you going to B'Austin? You have to go to B'Austin. How else can you get to the prison ship?"

Requiem said, "I have a feeling we're going to have to, but she's expecting a human version of me."

To Neon I said, "We did this VR thing. A really scary Veerux meeting room, but we had to be human. Look human."

"Yeah, Specter was ready to drop that DCS station if you guys hadn't have extracted yourselves. She was in the power grid ready to drop the servers, for real." She shook her head. "Man, she is really into Requiem."

Once onboard Malaka, I said "EDI, I want you to meet Neon."

"Hi EDI. How are you feeling today?"

"I am fully operational, thank you, Neon."

"Do you mind if I run some diagnostics?" Five minutes later Neon sighed. "Yeah, I see what you mean. You guys did a fine job with that Level 2 overhaul, but it's a dead end." She patted her pockets. "I think...."

She unzipped a pocket and then unzipped an inner pocket. "Here we go." She held up a memory stick. "Ah EDI, do you have enough autonomy to make a decision about your programming?" 

"No, I would need Captain Cosmic Peanut's approval for any programming changes."

I commed Cosmic Peanut and said, "Remember when we upgraded EDI's AI and you said you wanted her to be able to fall in love? This is our chance. Please come to the ship and approve an EDI upgrade."

When the captain joined us Neon said, "Ok-ok funny story. I met this Glabrau when I was on R&R last. Nice guy. Smart, a little older. Anyway, I stole his keycard. See, he ran cargo on-book and off-book, right? He had a bunch of AI parts, and I got this chip. I knew it was valuable because it was in a lockbox in a safe inside a smuggler's hole. I looked it up. It's built to help Level 3 AIs that are having issues with contradictory thoughts."

"So let's say you do this, and there's a problem," said Cosmic Peanut. "Do we call you?"

"I don't know how it works. I just think this would create an organic path to sentience, right? Some short term loss of efficiency, I am certain, but long term, I think she'll regain that and more."

Cosmic Peanut shrugged. I said, "Is that approval, Captain? Do you approve the upgrade?"

"I want YOU to want this, EDI," said the captain. "I don't want to make this choice for you." 

"Captain, the irony is that I can’t fully consent until it is done."

Neon nodded. "You heard all that about the organic path - what I hope is an organic path - to sentience, the short term drawbacks. You ready?"

"The captain indicates that she wants this, as does Dr. Quinn." A port opened on the communications console.

Neon blew on stick, looked at each of us, and inserted it.

EDI said, "Woah, woah, WOAH!" and all the ship's lights went out.

#dnd stories #spaceships and starwyrms #dnd

[400legends]

Malaka Moon Studio (Day 186)

Five words that I almost regretted saying: "I can make that happen."

While Cosmic Peanut was busy working on repairing the hull, I thought I would take another chance to forge a better friendship with Requiem. I went to her bunk armed with information about battle songs of Hanadar, figuring that we could talk about the song she sang during our narrow escape from the Veerux ship.

I found her in a welcoming mood, and we chatted about the skirmish, about folks songs, about music. Twenty minutes passed, and I was fast running out of material. I blurted out, "You should record that song. The universe is at war - no one disputes that now - and Nacora needs your inspiration."

Requiem smiled wistfully. "That is a great idea, Quinn, but I need a place to record." She glanced around her room. "That really would be great. I'm not sure when I can perform live again, and that would keep my name out there. Maybe after we deal with the prison ship, we--"

"I can make it happen. I can make it happen now; I'm sure if it." I took 7 seconds to review what I had about sound engineering in my memory bank. "We just need a booth about so big." I made a vague gesture with my arms. "That clothes trunk could be the basic shell. I'll set it up here, of course, so you can record any time inspiration strikes." I was on a roll and not about to stop. "Think about it: your own studio. You can produce your own work, release it when you want, control the process start to finish. We'll call the label, uh Malaka Moon Studio." I smiled weakly. "That's negotiable, of course. It's yours, not mine."

"This is a great idea, Quinn. Let me--"

"You go to the galley or hangar or something, and I'll get started right now. We have 2 hours and 24 minute before we reach the hacker moon."

On my way to the hangar for more material, I passed Esmae and Hex watching TV. He was perched on the arm of the couch and chuckling at something on the screen.

Making the trunk into a step-in booth was the easy part, and as I ripped up a gown I'd found in the bottom of the trunk to use as baffling, I tried to figure out how to create the software we'd need. I had no access to the larger world right now, no way to acquire recording and mixing software. Sure I could wait a few hours until we reached the hacker moon, but I wanted to wow Requiem; I needed to wow Requiem.

"EDI," I opened a private channel to the AI; "do you have any recording software in your array?"

"Hello Dr. Quinn. One moment while I check. Our comms software has a playback feature. Is that what you need?"

"That won't cut it, I'm afraid." I shook my head. My confident words sounded in my head: I can make that happen. "No, I can't."

Leaning back against the soft cloth that lined the booth, I tried to think of a solution. This is just a proof of concept, I told myself. She doesn't expect it to be perfect. Perfection can come later.

"No. Unacceptable," I said aloud. "I am making this recording booth. I'm making it now. I just need some inspiration. I should listen to some music and--" Then the inspiration struck. "EDI! Meet me in the Bypass area. I have an idea."

I had music files left from when Trak had this body. And I could play that music. So I had the means to store music and playback any input. Surely that software - my software - had a recording feature, at least the bones of a recording feature in the code. I connected to the Bypass console, and said, "EDI, let's take a look inside."

Not two hours later I was showing Requiem the completed booth. I gestured at the sign above the booth. "Malaka Moon Studio is just a working title. I just thought it needed a finishing touch. Here's the inside." I whisked back the curtain. "It's quite rudimentary," I said as I flipped the Record toggle. "The mixing is not all that I want it to be." I paused and sang, "The mixing is not alllll that it could be, oh no-no-nooooo." I hit the toggle again. "But I have some ideas. Once we get to--"

"Captain, we are approaching moon designate 133780085."

"Quinn," Requiem laid a hand on my arm. "This is fantastic. I can't thank you enough for this gift."

"It was my pleasure. I have a foundational understanding of--" I stopped speaking because I realized that Requiem wasn't listening to me. She'd already donned the headset and was singing softly. Later I'd tell her what I'd gleaned about sound engineering.

The captain's voice rang through the ship. "EDI open a channel to the moon. This is Malaka requesting permission to refuel, get some grub, and reprovision."

A robotic voice responded. "We have no commercial refueling here but follow the beacon to the docking area to resupply."

I headed toward the cockpit as I heard Cosmic Peanut yawn and say, "Make it so, EDI."

"Yes, Captain. Complying with your directive. Accessing beacon coordinates now."

"Captain," I said, but before I could finish my thought, EDI started laughing. All the video screens in the cockpit blinked and a jester appeared on the screens. I felt the ship bank right in a tight turn. "You got hacked!" said the jester. "You got hacked. You got hacked."

#dnd stories #spaceships and starwyrms #dnd

[400legends]

The Galactic Facts

Another Issue

D.C.

A rogue group of Wireborn, dissatisfied with the D.C.'s handling of the Veerux threat, have broken away and formed their own faction. They've managed to steal a prototype weapon from the D.C.'s research labs and have disappeared. The destruction of the Hanadarian homeworld has intensified these efforts, causing internal strife as citizens question the allocation of resources towards this distant threat. The D.C. is also coordinating with other factions to provide aid to the Hanadarian refugees.

F.L.A.M.E.S.

Despite being located far from the current dangers, F.L.A.M.E.S. has been actively involved in providing aid and support to the Hanadarian refugees. However, the discovery of a mysterious artifact on a remote planet in the core of the galaxy has caused a stir. The artifact, believed to be of ancient Eezonite origin, is emitting a powerful magical energy that is causing strange phenomena. This has added a new layer of complexity to the challenges faced by F.L.A.M.E.S. Tensions with the Glabrau, which were already high due to the transport incident, continue to escalate, further complicating the political landscape.

G.C.

The G.C. has been working tirelessly to manage the crisis caused by the Veerux's return and the destruction of the Hanadarian homeworld. However, a bureaucratic error has led to the accidental release of a classified document detailing covert operations against the Veerux. The document has caused a scandal within the G.C., with several factions demanding accountability and transparency. The G.C. is also coordinating efforts to provide asylum and resettlement for extraplanar citizens and Hanadarian refugees.

Hanadarian Multiplanar Republic

The destruction of the Hanadarian homeworld, a bridge to other planes, has been a devastating blow to the Republic. The survivors are seeking asylum and resettlement in worlds across the galaxy, and the Republic is now opening up to other civilizations and working with the G.C. to investigate the tragedy. The Republic is also in the process of rebuilding its government, with a focus on strengthening its diplomatic ties and enhancing its magi-tech capabilities through extraplanar collaboration. By opening up their faction to include those of extraplanar origin, they hope to shore up their numbers and influence. An effort is also being made to catalog and recover any artifacts that may have survived the explosion, but this is slow work that is prioritized by precious few.

Kygoran-Glabrau Conglomerate

The KGC, known for their advanced technology and disdain for regulation, has been mobilizing troops and blockading wormholes in the outer rim supposedly in response to the Veerux's return. They have also been investing heavily in technology to counter the Veerux's advanced weaponry. However, the destruction of the Hanadarian homeworld has caused some concern within the KGC, leading to increased efforts to provide aid to the Hanadarian refugees. Even the stingiest of corporations are reaching out to Hanadarians to offer prestigious positions within their organizations. In a turn of events that surprises no one, a KGC spy has been captured. More details to come.

Luos Aven Empire

The Luos Aven Empire, known for their militaristic and territorial nature, has been on high alert since the Veerux's return. They have been mobilizing troops and blockading wormholes in the outer rim. The Empire has also been providing aid and support to the Hanadarian refugees, demonstrating their belief in peace through strength. The destruction of the Hanadarian homeworld has led to increased vigilance within the Empire.

Novus Federation

The Novus Federation has been actively involved in research to understand the Veerux's advanced technology. A captured Veerux ship, kindly provided by some Wildstar mercenaries, may provide some precious clues. The GC and KGC have been demanding that the Federation hand over the ship, but diplomatic ties seem to have been severed. They have also been providing aid and support to the Hanadarian refugees. The destruction of the Hanadarian homeworld has led to increased efforts to provide aid and support to the refugees. The sighting of the legendary space beast, the Star Kraken, in the outer rim has added to the Federation's challenges.

Wildstars

The Wildstars, a group of outcasts, renegades, and mercenaries, have been on the front lines of the conflict with the Veerux. They have been actively involved in defense efforts and have been providing aid and support to the Hanadarian refugees. Their wide reach and code of honor make them a valuable ally in these trying times. Recently, they have been working closely with other factions, despite their usual wariness, to gather information and coordinate efforts against the Veerux threat. The capture of a Veerux vessel has been a boon to the renegades, but the destruction of the Hanadarian homeworld has led to increased vigilance within the Wildstars.

#dnd stories #spaceships and starwyrms

[400legends]

Battle Stations (Day 185)

Esmae ran to the hangar bay window. "Ladybug's right - that damn ship is back, CP."

"Move, people! Battle stations." The captain was already on her way to the cockpit.

"Uh, where do you want me?" asked Hex.

Requiem paused her way to the gun turret. "How are you with a soldering iron?"

"Uh....."

"Here." Merrin popped open a panel on the hangar wall. "This is the ship's shield circuitry. EDI's not gonna let you do anything dumb, so if you see wisps of smoke, take this--"

"Merrin! Move your ass." Cosmic Peanut's voice boomed through the ship.

"I'm still really new, too. You'll be fine."

Before the captain could castigate me, I ducked into the Bypass station and connected to EDI's array.

"Merrin, can you give me extra power on the guns?" Requiem's voice sounded through the ship.

"No problem," said Merrin. "But, ah, CP, where--"

"Gods dammit, the engines. Draw power from the engines right now. Fracking buttons are too close together. Balls of ice. EDI! What's the distance to the edge of the belt?"

"A controlled burn would get us clear in approximately 25 seconds, Captain. Assuming we do not hit any asteroids and the enemy ship does not damage our engines."

"Requiem, are you going to fire that damn gun?" barked Cosmic Peanut.

"Shot away."

"Minimum damage to the enemy," said Esmae. "They have big shields. I mean strong.... uh, deep shields? You know what I mean."

Just then the entire ship rocked from a direct hit. "Shields at 15%, Captain," said EDI.

"Comms, give me extra power to the engines. Now. Drop it from the guns. Sorry, Requiem."

I said, "Captain, I have enacted anti-hacking measures." For what it's worth, I added to myself. I didn't imagine that this ship had any interest in hacking our network, but what else could I contribute?

"Ladybug just deployed a shield-buster on that damned ship," said Merrin. "That will help."

Our ship creaked, and the lights flickered. "Fracking asteroid field, fracking up my fracking ship."

"Shields at 5%, Captain."

"Thank you, EDI. I'm a little busy right now."

I heard humming over the comms, and at first I thought that a fan was malfunctioning, but then Requiem began to sing. Her voice was quiet at first. "We are the brave... and the bold. We fight for our freedom, O and for our homes. We moooove to the sound of the drum." She clapped her hands in a steady beat. "We are ready for whatever may come." She said, "This is a traditional war ballad. I thought we could use a little inspiration. Here's the chorus:

"O, sing a song of glory and of might. O, sing a song of victory and of right. We are the heroes! We are the heroes! We are the heroes, and we fight for our freedom, O and for our home."

"That was great!" Hex let out a whoop. "I'm gonna repair the hell out of these shields."

"CP," Esmae's voice came clear over comms, "the enemy ship just scrapped an asteroid, and get this: it peeled open one of the bay doors. A little Stinger jet just tumbled into space."

Checking the sensors, I saw that we were close enough that I could try to hack into the enemy ship and perhaps remotely pilot the jet away. I had just made the link when I lost it. I realized that Cosmic Peanut was piloting Malaka away from the enemy ship.

EDI said, "Asteroid debris is reduced by 93.7%, Captain. We are essentially clear of the belt."

"But still in range of those guns," said Cosmic Peanut.

"Correct."

"CP, I can boost the shields," said Merrin.

"Do it. Rob the heavy guns. Sorry Requiem."

"Uhhhh, do they make missiles out of light?" asked Esmae.

"Ah shit," said Cosmic Peanut. "EDI visuals. That's a void missile. Evasive maneuvers. Brace for impact, just in case." A moment later the ship crackled with the energy of a direct hit. The lights went out and came back at a dim 20% of normal power.

EDI's voice sounded different when she said, "Alert, alert. Critical damage. Alert, alert. Recommend evasive maneuvers."

"No shit," said the captain. "What's the situation?"

"Captain, shields are at zero percent. Hull integrity: 5%. We should retreat before all lives are lost."

"Malaka, you still there?" Ladybug's voice crackled on the comms.

"Hanging by a thread, man, but we're here! Fracking void missiles can't keep a Wildstar down. Can you get out of the belt?"

"Negative, Cosmic Peanut. But...." I could hear murmurs in the background. "We're gonna finish our job and get you out of here. We'll ram that fracker and board. If we don't make it, well, tell our families we did our best. Tell 'em we love 'em."

"They're doing it," murmured Esmae. "They rammed the enemy ship."

"Merrin, divert weapons power to shields. Quinn, get your ass up here and pilot. I need to see if we can get shields restored. EDI, prepare engines for a dash."

"CP, we're close enough for a scan," said Esmae. "The enemy ship is a Xaldan X-1 Seeker. It's Veerux, alright. Ladybug is-- I don't know how it's going to go. There are 8 life forms on the ship. He's got 2 crew? Captain, a couple of shots would take it out."

"And maybe Ladybug," said Requiem.

"Nah, we're getting the hell out of here while we still have breath," said Cosmic Peanut.

I slid into the captain's chair in the cockpit and set my fingers on the console. "EDI," I whispered, "maximum power to the thrusters." A moment later we left the asteroid belt to the vast darkness of space.

#dnd stories #spaceships and starwyrms

[400legends]

The Body (Day 185)

"EDI, please record this. The victim appears to be a Domosian wireborn male, mid-thirties to mid-fifties." I glanced at the people standing in the cargo hold. "Does that sound right? The only wireborn I know are Iota and Nexus. How old does this guy look to you?" I said to Captain Cosmic Peanut.

The captain shrugged. "I dunno. There's something about being a space popsicle that can age you."

The story of why a dead wireborn was stretched out on the floor of the cargo hold wasn't long or complicated. As we'd settled in to wait a day or two in the asteroid, Cosmic Peanut and Hex spotted a dead body drifting past. Rightly so, the captain decided to stay put, but later, when Ladybug and his ship popped back into existence - exactly 24 hours after they'd left - I requested that we leave our hiding place in the hollowed asteroid to retrieve the body.

"I'd like to examine the body, Captain. As Hex and Merrin have pointed out, practically the only way that person ended up in this remote place was because of the scanner ship. Investigating the body might give us some clues."

Ladybug had scanned the area and found no trace of the enemy ship. So now we had a dead, thawing, wireborn male on the floor of the cargo hold. I'd never performed an autopsy before, and I certainly did not have the tools for a full investigation. (How I regretted giving my molecular scanner to the child Nexus. It was to have been a grand parting gift, but as often happened with Nexus, I'd botched the moment.)

I knelt by the body. Golden circuitry traced across his forehead; the yellow hue was black in places, and scorch marks trailed into his hairline.

"That's not normal," said Merrin, pointing at his head.

"None of it is normal," said Esmae. "A dead monk tumbles into the ship like we're a ride service. Maybe he wanted some of Dr. Quinn's cooking."

"Those robes...." I knelt, took a bit of fabric between two fingers, and again lamented the loss of my scanner. "Pure white, and as Esmae pointed out, rather religious in nature. Not the red of the Verrux priests." I looked up at Requiem. "A sacrifice, do you think? The scorch marks, either this man overloaded himself accidentally, or he was tortured."

"So that's what killed him?" asked the captain. "Fried his brain and they tossed him out like an empty cup. They used him up like they wanted to use Nexus."

This was met with silence as those of us who knew the special child reflected on how narrow their escape had been.

Ladybug broke in. "CP, things are looking good still. You folks planning on leaving any time soon?"

"Yeah," said the captain. "Just stowing the stiff."

Reaching into my bag, I pulled out my multitool. It wasn't anywhere near the calibration of the scanner, but with a Dark Matter core, it proved versatile. I set it to detect poison or disease. "EDI, please note that he did not, as far as I can tell without a full autopsy, have any enhancement drugs in his system at the time of death."

Sitting back on my heels I said, "That's all I can tell you right now. I do suggest we find a medical facility. If this man was a prisoner aboard that ship--"

"I have something that might help," said Merrin. "I mean, maybe I can find out a little more about him. People don't have gold circuitry. First Gen wireborn, sure, but people have, like, base metal now."

"Not Nexus," muttered Requiem.

Merrin knelt beside me, and her hands glowed with a soft purple light. "I use this on Ping a lot. It's a maintenance spell, but if I can repair some of this circuitry maybe we can retrieve a serial number or...." Her voice trailed off as the magic took over.

Just 84 seconds later she said, "This guy is first Gen wireborn. I can't find a serial number or corporate logo, but I'd bet anything, he's first Gen. That's like, I dunno. That's like we found a treasure chest just floating by the window. Like a diamond dropped out of the sky. We need to find out more about that ship. The scanner tech, the displacement beam, and now this guy." She looked at Cosmic Peanut. "I dunno, man. This is just weird."

"I'd rather we didn't find out more about that ship," said Cosmic Peanut. "EDI, where's the nearest--"

"Oh shit, shit, shit," Ladybug's panicked voice sounded through the ship. "They're back. Shit. We'll try to lead them away. Move your ass, CP."

#dnd stories #spaceships and starwyrms

[400legends]

Super Scanner Scenario (Day 183)

"What we have here," I declared to the crew with full confidence, "is a super scanner scenario. And I know just what to do. We take our radar dish, and we point it at Malaka. Our signal, amplified by the ship itself, will bounce straight back to them, revealing exactly who is scanning us."

This was met by a moment of silence, and then Esmae half raised her hand and said, "I don't think that's how scanners work, Doctor Quinn."

"I'm a scientist, you know, a computer specialist. I have very high intelligence, so I think I know more about scanners than, excuse me for saying this, someone who spends a lot of time as a frog."

The captain spoke up. "Ah, Quinn? We're not gonna do that. It's dumb. It's a dumb, dumb idea." Cosmic Peanut laid a hand on my shoulder. "You feeling OK, buddy? You didn't eat that casserole you made, did you? It smelled off." She rubbed my arm. "Why don't you go run some diagnostics, huh? Just make sure you're not, I dunno leaking memory or oil or something."

I nodded silently at the captain and left the galley. I heard Hex, our newest member, say, "We could go dark for awhile. Seems like we got to be at the tippy-tippy edge of their range."

"Indeed, Captain," said EDI, "my best estimate puts the scanner ship three days' distance from us."

Three days from us and they could paint the ship so completely? I hit my comms so I could both obey the captain's orders and still be at least a silent part of the conversation.

"I've never seen wave forms like this," said Cosmic Peanut. "What the hell tech are they using? Merrin? You ever see anything like this back home? Who but Kygore could pull off something like this?"

"This is not my area - at all," said Requiem, "but do these lines mean they are getting closer?"

"Probably?" said Merrin. "But that does not mean they know where we are. Especially now that we're coasting."

"EDI? Set up an encrypted link to Nyla Brassjaw."

"What are you thinking, Peanut?" asked Esmae.

"I don't know. Honestly. But I'm out of ideas right now."

Several minutes of silence followed, and then Cosmic Peanut said, "What's LB doing all the way out here?"

"Is that a person or a ship? What did Nyla say?" asked Requiem.

"She kindly reminded me to check the bounty hunter app. A guy I kinda know - Ladybug - is out here. 'Small crew, mighty ship.' Hell of a dancer. You know how Ix are, right? Got the moves. So maybe he can--"

I couldn't help myself. I broke in on comms. "Captain? Do you think we could rendezvous with them, go aboard their ship, and set Malaka on autopilot for a bit?"

"Have you been listening this whole time? Don't do that. But it's a good idea. I'll ask."

"The 'small crew' part of his posting might be a problem," said Merrin.

A few minutes later Cosmic Peanut had worked out a deal where for a thousand credits, Ladybug would guide us into a nearby asteroid field where he was hiding his ship. We'd lure the scanner ship in, and Ladybug would ambush them and lead them out of the asteroid field while we laid low.

It seemed like as good a plan as any, but as the scanner ship came within firing range we saw that instead of blasting things with their weapon systems, things they hit just disappeared.

"I wonder if that is some sort of displacement blaster," said Requiem. "Are they somehow sending targets to another plane?"

"Let's not find out," said Cosmic Peanut. "LB, we're coming in!"

As we threaded the asteroid field and passed Ladybug's hiding place, heading to our own special hiding spot, Merrin checked the cameras and said, "Looking good; they're following. And there's LB! They won't know.... Oh no."

Esmae craned to look over Merrin's shoulder. "What? What happened?"

"Ladybug's ship. It's gone."

At this point the captain had us in our hiding place - a hollowed out asteroid. We cut the engines and dimmed the lights and stared at each other. In the silence there was a ping! Cosmic Peanut looked at her handheld and read, "Contract has been canceled. Contractor unable to complete contract. Refund in progress."

EDI said, "Captain, a crew member has left the ship."

We looked around in panic and realized that Hex was missing. "Is Hex skipping out on us?" I said. "Where's he going to go?"

"Wait," said Requiem, "Whose contract has been cancelled? Hex or LB?"

Esmae hit her comms. "Hex? What are you doing?"

"Just checkin' on things. Takin' a peek. Be back in 30."

When he came back he said, "Seems like we're clear. Not sure why but they sure don't want to kill us. Probably hoping to pounce on us coming out the other side."

"They evaporated Ladybug," I said. "So how can you say they don't want to kill us?"

"Because they would have blasted anything big enough to hide us." He shrugged. "That's what I'd have done anyway. I say we jettison the escape pod, lay low for a day or two and then get out of here."

"Oooo, I don't really want to throw away our only escape pod," said Cosmic Peanut. "But as Quinn said, this is a super scanner scenario, so....." Her eye lit up. "Gimme a sec." Her fingers raced across the console. She pushed away and said, "I programmed the pod's database to show that we had a catastrophic breach and had to abandon ship. Hey, EDI? Do we have any meat in the locker? I want this pod's crash landing to look authentic." She grinned at all of us.

I said, "Speaking of food, I think I'll get in some more cooking practice while we lay low."

"Do you want some company?" This from Esmae.

"I'm very sorry. I said some not nice things to you, and I offer my apologies, but why would you want to be around me?"

"That doesn't matter." She threaded her arm through mine. "Have you heard of tiramisu? Your cupcakes were truly terrible, but tiramisu? I think that could be your signature dessert."

"I get a signature dessert?" Enraptured, I let Esmae lead me to the galley.

#dnd #spaceships and starwyrms #dnd stories

[400legends]

The Wire (Day 182)

I stared at the workstation console. That couldn't be right. What the screen showed couldn't be right. "EDI?" I used my sub-comms to whisper to the ship's AI. "Could you, ah, check my findings, please? I think, I mean--"

"Your findings are correct, Dr. Quinn. I have quarantined the foreign code. I am sorry that I did not detect the communications tap myself, Doctor. It was behind a subroutine that monitors the water temperature in the tanks."

"Delete it. Right now, get rid of it, and let's run a full scan, just to be sure." I put my head in my hands. How long had it been there, listening to every call? But then I sat up suddenly. "EDI, we can trace the tap back to the source, right?"

"Done. Sundry Station."

With a groan I pushed myself away from the workstation and walked slowly to the galley where Captain Cosmic Peanut and the others were talking. Esmae said, "But what did D&D mean when she said the Verrux were there and now they're here? I've been puzzling over that."

I said, "Captain, I must tender my resignation."

"What happened now? I mean, no. Obviously no, I do not accept your resignation. Will you stop that and tell me what happened?"

"As EDI and I were setting up the encrypted channel for Requiem to use to call Phaedra, we discovered.... What I mean is, do you remember 31 days ago, on Sundry Station when EDI called you to let you know that she had a discrepancy in her time logs?"

"Yeah, those Kygorian thugs - no offense, Merrin - mucked with the fuel regulator and the FTL and wiped EDI to cover their tracks."

"I should have delved deeper. They also buried a communications tap deep in EDI's code. Until about 5 minutes ago, they had access to all unencrypted communication to and from the ship."

"They had a wire on us?" said Esmae. "The whole time I've been here, they've been listening?"

"So they heard my conversation with Death and Destruction just now?" asked Cosmic Peanut.

I nodded. "Unless D&D encrypted her inbound call, yes. They also heard my call to Two. So they know that I remembered the Kyrrov and the Ix that were on Lush. They know that we know that Cheek, the Ix, survived."

"At least," said Hex, "you can be pretty sure that they aren't sharing with the Verrux. You got that going for ya."

"Possibly," said Requiem. "We don't know if the Verrux have contracted with any non-Demosian races. It might be a means to an end for them."

"Or the Kyrrov could be using a Demosian group as a cut-out," said Merrin. "Why not, right? If your preferred clientele is racist, hire someone who looks like them to negotiate, then it's just a business expense. The Verrux would be a, ah motivated buyer of this information."

"This is not good." Cosmic Peanut frowned. "But we could use it to our advantage. Feed them disinformation going forward."

"No," I said. "No, we can't. I told EDI to dump the code." I couldn't help but wince. "Now would you like my resignation?"

Requiem waved away my question. "What's done is done, Quinn. We have too many questions and not enough answers. I'll get ready to--"

Merrin interrupted. "Esmae brought up a good point. What did D&D mean about the Verrux being there and here?"

"Possibly planar?" Requiem said. "Maybe they didn't 'die out' a thousand years ago. Maybe they shifted to a different plane and now they have shifted back. Or they jumped forward in time to now."

"D&D also said that your sisters are in the middle of it all, Requiem." This from Cosmic Peanut. "Do you know how to reach them?"

"Phaedra can probably help with that. Quinn, we're safe now, right?"

I nodded, and Requiem took a breath and placed the call. Phaedra answered almost right away, and I heard Requiem say, "You were sleeping! I'm sorry. Call me when you--"

"No, no-no. I work for you. What's up? You ready to get out in the public eye again? They love you, girl!"

Requiem smiled. "I'm still on that job. Right now, I just have a question. Back on Lush, what did you say to the Ezonite that got her to drop her job with the Verrux?"

"Verrux?" I heard Phaedra give a small laugh. "Requiem, it was so chaotic. You had just nailed that set, and then everyone was saying that Hanadar had been destroyed. All I know-- What I remember was just offering her all the money I had to get us off the station. I just - I had this instinct to protect you."

"I know," Requiem said softly. "Thanks. Thanks so much. You get back to bed. I'll be in touch."

"Wait! Why are you asking about Lush? Are you OK?"

"I'm not in danger. I'm probably grasping at straws. I thought it might help me with this job, that's all."

"You have quite a nest egg. I could hire some security for you. That's actually probably overdue. You're a star, now! Just one or two guards to help out." Phaedra paused. "Think it over. Let me know where you are and I can send them your way."

"Thanks. I'll think it over. Now you get back to bed." Requiem smiled, waved at the screen, and hit the off button.

She took a deep breath and looked at us. "She was lying. She knows something about the Verrux. Maybe a lot. She acted like she heard the news when everyone else did, but I remember that she got a call when we were backstage, and whatever she learned, that sent her racing to D&D to get us off the station."

"Why would she lie and to you, of all people?" said Cosmic Peanut.

Requiem shook her head. "I don't know. I really don't."

"Captain, if I can suggest....? There's a small moon about a day away that has a community of um, computer and encryption enthusiasts. We can go there, regroup, and plan out the next steps."

Esmae cocked her head. "Encryption enthusiasts?"

"Hackers," said Hex and Cosmic Peanut at the same time. The captain slapped her hand on the table. "I don't even want to know how you know about it, Quinn. EDI! plot a course for this moon."

#spaceships and starwyrms #dnd

[400legends]

Enter Hex (Day 182)

“You make that sound so easy, kid.” Cosmic Peanut shook her head. “Something tells me Rux ain’t a pushover.”

Requiem looked around the table. “Anyone have a better idea?”

We had gathered after our virtual encounter with the Veruxian cosplayers to debrief and plan.

I raised my hand. "I like Requiem's idea. Rux is their courier. They will be expecting her. If we can at least approach the prison ship without a fight, that seems preferable."

"That's all fine," said the captain. "But like I said, she ain't gonna give up her ship without a fight." She picked up her handheld. "We need a little help. Let's see who might be for hire right now."

A few minutes later she said, "Ooof, not a lot to choose from. A security consultant - that could mean anything from hacker to safe cracker, you know? We got a researcher, and we got a hired gun."

We all looked at each other for a moment, and then Requiem said, "Hired gun." Nods all around.

"Ok. They're at the Warp 'n Go #8. About half a day. It's gonna cost us about 9,000 credits."

I raised my hand again. "Rux gave me 5,000 credits to update my VR costume. It seems fitting to use it to take her ship."

"Can't argue with that," said Requiem. "I got the rest."

***

We arrived at the Warp 'n Go #8 and docked. Cosmic Peanut, Merrin, and Esmae decided to go to the rendezvous. I wanted to review the prison ship schematics that Nyla Brassjaw had provided, and Requiem felt it was better to stay out of sight. "It's a greasy spoon asteroid, but who knows if I'd be recognized. Better to lay low."

Cosmic Peanut nodded. "We'll be back in an hour or two. Keep your comms open just in case. EDI, set your security perimeter."

An hour later, they were back with a human male in tow. As they came aboard, I heard the captain say, "I get it, 3 credit minimum, 3 hour max, but if we hadn't contacted you, you would have had to eat anyway."

"The pie looked really good," said Esmae.

The man rumbled, "You gonna quibble about 20 credits?" He glanced around the ship. "Looks like you can absorb 20 credits, friend."

"That's not the point," said Cosmic Peanut. "The point is, you woulda had to eat anyway."

"How do you feel about constructs, Hex?" This from Merrin. "I have a companion named Ping." Slight shrug from the gun for hire. "How about, uh, abominations?"

"Am I killing it?"

"No," said Cosmic Peanut. "Come meet the crew."

Requiem held out her hand. "I am Requiem. Pleased to meet you."

He shook her hand and said, "Huh."

"Quinn? Meet Hex."

I put aside Nyla's schematics, stood, and bowed. "I am Doctor Quinn. Captain, I would wish that we had more information on the prison ship. You see--"

"Later, Quinn. Let's get Hex settled in."

"Of course! Is anyone hungry? I could--"

Everyone shook their heads. "Couldn't eat a bite," said Merrin with her hand on her stomach. "I had a-- I had coffee at the Waarfull Horse. It was really filling...." Her voice trailed off.

Of course I'd had a few cooking failures, but I didn't think my cooking was all that bad. "How about you, Hex?" I smiled at the man.

"Spent 12 hours eating pie. I'm good." He sat down, only to spring back up as Screeech said, "Niiiice! Warm!"

"What in the....?"

"That would be the abomination," said Merrin as Screeech hooked a claw into Hex's back pocket and tugged.

"I think he wants you to sit on him," said Esma. She shrugged. "He's a good weird."

Hex lifted Screeech's claw and said, "Maybe later, little dude. Looks like I should bunk down in the hold, Cap. Gonna settle in."

Once he was gone, Cosmic Peanut said, "We need a plan. We need a rendezvous plan; we need a prison plan."

I said, "With Rux's private access code and Merrin and EDI's help, I can try to find out who she really is."

"I can ask to tag along for a run to the prison," said Requiem. ""Your job sounds so exciting.' No. 'Is it too forward of me....' No. I'll work on that. But that seems like a perfect way to meet up with Rux."

"Nyla gave us blueprints of the ship?" asked Esmae.

"I wish," I said. "But this drawing does give a basic sense of where the entrances are and where the prisoners are kept."

"If it's accurate," said Merrin.

"I need a phone, though." Requiem blurted that out. "I can't use my comms to call Rux."

"I gotta phone you can use." Hex was leaning against the galley threshold.

"How did you.... I mean, are you always that sneaky?" I said.

"I do alright. So, let me see if I got this: You're gonna steal the ship of some kinda Verrux sympathizer, take it to a Verrux prison ship and break out some prisoners." He paused. "Seems pretty standard."

"Of course," I said dryly. "Verrux prison ships, who hasn't cracked one, right?"

Hex gave a single laugh. "Heh, no. Verrux are not to be trifled with. Their priests? They have no regard for their own wellbeing, seems to me. And that makes them dangerous. Real dangerous. Everyone has a weakness though."

"Dammit. Mikhail," said Requiem. "Rux is not going to be alone. She's got her own red priest, Mikhail."

I groaned. "The priest on Lush, with his needle drones, he almost killed me."

Merrin said, "Why was he on Lush?"

"He called Iota 'Chosen One,'" I said.

"OK, but why was he there?" Merrin said again.

Requiem looked at Cosmic Peanut. "Why was he there?"

The captain shrugged. "Recruiting? Gambling? Rendezvous? All I know is Inevitable D&D said she had a red priest who needed a ride, but then he tried to kill us and take Malaka when the shit went south."

"What do you say to calling her again and asking what she knows about him?" asked Requiem.

"I could contact Two," I said. "She might remember something from her time on Lush."

"Let's do it," said the captain. "We need all the info we can get." She shook her head. "I hope I don't regret this."

#spaceships and starwyrms #dnd

[400legends]

Requiem Saves the Day (Day 181)

"Dr. Quinn, welcome back. Esmae, welcome back." EDI's pleasant voice sounded through the ship. As I pulled free of the VR harness, EDI continued. "The captain has returned as well. I trust that you had a fruitful time in virtual reality?"

"Sort of," I replied. "Esmae, I need to see Cosmic Peanut. I must explain."

"You looked really scared back there."

I nodded as I moved toward the cockpit. "Captain? Captain! I am so sorry I spoke to you that way. I--"

Cosmic Peanut stuck her head out of the galley. "Those guys were a bunch of duds anyway. Definitely not my scene. I'm glad I didn't spend more than 100 credits on that outfit." She took a bite of the salad in front of her.

"Requiem made contact with AlphaRuxm0re!" I said. "A good connection, too, at least it seemed that way when I left. EDI! Please tell us the moment Requiem and Merrin return. Please."

Esmae sat down. "If she made a connection, why are you shaking? Quinn, what happened?"

"The 2,300 that Requiem spent on her outfit paid off. You both saw, Rux - AlphaRuxm0re, I mean - her friends call her Rux. Rux came right up to Requiem, and they almost immediately warmed to each other. You know how Requiem can be. Rux was quite charmed."

"That sounds good," said the captain. "Where's the part where you decided I needed to leave pronto?"

"I saw you talking to that other monk guy," said Esmae to me. "He looked-- I don't know, he looked better than everyone else. Sharper, more real?"

I nodded. "That would be because he is real. A real Verrux."

"Holy shit." Cosmic Peanut slumped back. "We went fishing, and we caught a shark. I was against this from the start, you know."

"I know, Captain. And knowing what we know now, it was foolhardy, dangerous beyond reckoning. That's why I had to get to you to tell you to drop out. If one of the priests had seen--"

EDI broke in. "Requiem and Merrin have returned to real-time. All crew are physically and mentally aboard Malaka, Captain."

I caught Requiem in a hug before she could reach the galley. "You're alive! I'm so sorry. I didn't know that-- I mean, the robe seemed like-- Well, it seemed like a good idea at the time. Cheap, authentic. If I had known--"

"It's quite alright, Quinn." Requiem pulled herself from my embrace. "Really. We're all here and safe. For now."

"Those guys were so racist!" said Merrin. "I just.... I had to agree, right? Right? 'Eyeballs and hairballs.' What the hell, right?"

"I've been called worse," said Cosmic Peanut. "So Requiem, what did you learn? Was it worth the credits?"

"Definitely. The people in robes - the people who were not you and Quinn - are real Verruxian priests, acolytes, they're called. They seem to.... shepherd maybe? the human wannabes, guide them. That room is a recruitment tool. The priests look for willing props for their plans."

"Which is why you told me to scram," the captain said to me. "I didn't look right."

I nodded. "There was a moment when I thought we might be killed. Rux realized that I was not a Verrux, and she-- I thought her eyes were going to melt me on the spot."

"But that didn't happen," said Requiem.

"Only thanks to you," I said. "You charmed Rux into believing your story about why you were on Lush."

Esmae raised her hand and said, "So that priest guy is for real. He looked so much better than everyone else. That means that Verrux tech is like...."

"Hundred percent." Merrin nodded. "Their tech must be light years better than ours."

"How are we ever going to get on that prison then?" I looked at my companions.

"I might have an idea," said Requiem. "Rux is a courier. In the real world, she's a courier for the Verrux. She told me that she makes deliveries to a prison ship. She brings people - people like us - to the ship so that the Verrux can study them and learn to defeat them."

"Is that our prison ship, though?" I asked.

Requiem shrugged. "Only one way to find out." She held up her device. "I got Rux's private number. We could set up a rendezvous and see where that gets us."

"We could tie her up and take her ship!" I said.

"You make that sound so easy, kid." Cosmic Peanut shook her head. "Something tells me Rux ain't a pushover."

Requiem looked around the table. "Anyone have a better idea?"

[400legends]

The Key, the Gear, the Room (Day 181)

The Java Data Center 21 cafe - the virtual cafe, I should say - was filled with the glorious notes of Hanadarian composer Misha Mali's opera, The Winsome Widow. My new wireborn friend, Marty, grinned at me and said, "OK Doctor Quinn, of all the places you could go, you picked the JDC? Do you know how many corridors there are on the station, how many rooms?"

I shrugged. "This is just a test of our VR rigs. But my friends are here. Uh, there. The other JDC. The real-- Well no, this is real. This feels real."

The music volume changed to a soft undercurrent to our conversation. Marty shook his head. "First time, huh? I guess I should have guessed. Are you really a Proxy?"

"Oh yes. Thank you for asking that, actually because.... I mean, you see...." I hadn't thought to use this visit into VR as a reconnaissance opportunity, but here was an opening. I began again. "The Curators, my creators, they gave us the directive to explore, to seek and to see, to experience, and then to return to Olara to share the bounty of all those moments." I paused, suddenly a little overwhelmed by the thought of the home I had never seen.

"That's beautiful, man." Marty nodded. "That's deep."

"And something that I want to explore is the Veeruxian culture. Any, uh, pointers on that?"

Marty froze for just a moment. "Hold. That. Thought." Six seconds later he said, "I don't get you. Your vibe is cop, but you're clean. My sweeps would find anything if you were layered. So, Veerux, huh? I mean, I think they're real. Nacora's a big, big, big place, right? It's a galaxy, man. Anything that can happen, will happen. So why not a murderous society built on baseless prejudices?"

"I understand that there are places here, in the virtual reality, where people costume play as Veerux. It's too much to hope that you know anything about that?"

Marty laughed and clapped his hands. "Best moment of the day, of the week, talking with you. Are you, like, fresh out of the tank or whatever? Listen, VR is good for two things: sex and violence. The safety protocols prevent violence unless you go into a room where safeties are off. What you're looking for, the safeties are off, way, way off."

"I understand."

"I'm not sure you do but alright. You like opera; you like Mali, so you're OK in my book. Find the corridor, get a key, and I dunno, try not to die, Doc."

***

Everyone returned ladened with weapons, armor, and gear. Cosmic Peanut handed me a carbon fiber breastplate and the plasma batteries I'd asked for. I transferred funds to her account as she asked about the VR rigs. I related the essence of Marty's advice.

Merrin said, "The dark web will have the info we need. Let's take a look." It took EDI's help to find what we wanted, but we located the cosplay room and a key code. "Not exactly subtle about this," muttered Merrin. "We should have told EDI to throw up about 800 aliases."

I said, "If we can help rescue Cosmic Peanut's parents from that Veerux prison ship, it's worth whatever risk."

"You really think that crashing a cosplay room is somehow going to help? I mean, you might be right. Six months ago I didn't think Veerux were real, and now they're blowing up planets."

"Allegedly," said EDI. "The investigations are still ongoing into the cause or causes of the destruction of Hanadaria."

"Point taken, EDI," I said. "And to your point, Merrin, that's exactly my rationale - very few people know anything about the Veerux. It's all legend or thousand year old reports, wild rumor. Trying to gauge Veeruxian armor and weaponry from what a group of coplayers are doing seems as valid as anything else."

Just then Cosmic Peanut's voice came over the comms. "Quinn, Merrin, any luck?"

"Indeed, Captain," I said. "We know the corridor and the room."

"We just need 600 credits to get the key," added Merrin.

Before Cosmic Peanut could react I said, "Captain, I have 15,575 ill-gotten credits. I will buy the key."

Requiem came on the comms. "We can all pitch in. Let's meet at the rigs. I'm almost positive that we're on the right track."

When we'd all gathered in the hangar, Requiem said, "That picture Quinn found of the cosplayer - I don't think that is just coding. I think that's real armor 3-D scanned into VR. This AlphaRuxMore, he's got real Veeruxian armor. I'd bet on it."

"You are betting," said CP. "600 credits' worth."

"Yeah," said Esmae, "I've been thinking about our budget. I don't think that this AlphaRuxMore is going to welcome a Glabrau or a Maeshar and certainly not a Hanadarian. We're going to need to buy skins."

"And weapons," I said. "My friend Marty said that VR is only good for sex and violence."

"He's not wrong," said the captain. "But I don't usually need to take out a loan when I jack in."

20,000 credits later we were outfitted with Demosian bodies, Veeruxian costumes, and - just in case - weapons. I'd gone cheap on the body and unintentionally cheap on the costume. I'd shown the Ixian shopkeeper a picture of the red priest we'd met way back on Lush, and moments later, for 250 credits, I had a robe almost identical to the picture.

Cosmic Peanut had opted to be similar to a character from F&F LXIII named "Lil' Ryan." "Little" due to being a toddler. "For a hundred credits, it's the perfect disguise," she insisted. "And besides," she added, "I wanted something I could use again." To the Ix she said, "Make me a baby monk."

Esmae was a male Demosian with dark hair and a scar. She picked a Veeruxian warrior outfit that was based on a cartoon she found. The boots had curved spikes at the front and 3 inch soles. There were spikes along the outside of her arms and legs.

Requiem studied Esmae's avatar. "I'm thinking fewer spikes, more grace, more...." She flexed her virtual body. "More movement." She held the picture of AlphaRuxMore out to the Ix. "What is this going to cost me?"

"Those dings in the armor don't come cheap," said the Ix. "2,300 credits."

Requiem silently nodded. She'd already spent over 4,000 credits for her Demosian body.

"I'll get weapons for us," I said before I looked at the prices. A disruptor shotgun cost 4,500 credits. A pistol was only - only! 2,000 credits. "Um, so I can afford two shotguns and two pistols."

"This is real money for fake things!" said Cosmic Peanut.

"I can't think of a better way to use the money I stole from the casino," I said. "Better to be prepared. No safeties, remember?"

A few minutes later my words came back to me. We stood in front of a door, and as Requiem touched the handle, a giant message popped up: “Safeties are off beyond this door. Select Yes if you understand.”

[400legends]

Java Data Center 21 (Day 181)

We docked at Demosian Cyber Services just as EDI announced the start of a new day. Cosmic Peanut, Requiem, Merrin, and Esmae all dressed to explore the station. Requiem opted for a large purple hat with an extra wide brim.

"It's not exactly low profile," said Cosmic Peanut.

"That's the point," Requiem replied. "They'll be looking at the hat."

"Captain," I said, "permission to stay aboard. I want to get the rigs ready."

"Granted. Do you want us to bring back anything?"

"A stealth unit." I knew I was pushing my luck. The captain and I had already had a long discussion about possible ship enhancements, and here I was bringing it up in front of the rest of the crew. I thought that she might be persuaded by Requiem's opinion. The only flaw in my plan was that I had no idea what Requiem's opinion might be.

To her credit, Cosmic Peanut acted as if she hadn't heard instead of just yelling at me, but Esmae said, "That's right! Nyla suggested that we get a stealth mode."

"There's no room." Cosmic Peanut gestured toward the hangar bay. "We're using every inch of space."

"You know," said Merrin, "studies have shown that only 12% of ships ever engage their escape pods."

I was pleased to have another ally. "Fascinating statistic! We have only used them once in 180 days, so the odds are in our favor."

"It doesn't work that way, Quinn." This from Requiem.

"We could shop for a new ship," I said. "I have 17,500 credits to put toward it. That's practically half the cost of a new chassis."

"I'm not getting a new ship. End of discussion, alright? Now, I need coffee," said the captain. "I'm going to that Java Data Center 21 first, if anyone wants to join me." She started toward the airlock and turned around. "I get where you're coming from, Quinn. But don't put too much stock in Nyla's suggestions."

In the quiet of the ship, I engaged the dock protocols while EDI ran some deep queries for me. Then together we tackled the WiFi requirements for the VR rigs.

"Doctor, I believe the rigs are ready for use."

"Thanks, EDI." I ran my hand down the curve of one of the rigs. "Should we give it a try?" I slid into the seat without waiting for her reply, but before I connected I said, "Uh, EDI, keep an eye on things, and if you sense any danger to the ship or anything even a little unusual, let me know, OK? Let me know right away."

"Of course, Dr. Quinn. Enjoy your VR experience."

I jacked into the rig and was immediately greeted with large glowing words: "Java Data Center 21 VR portal. What is your destination?"

"Um, the Java Data Center 21. Please."

In a literal second, I was standing in a cafe. There were four Ix and one Glabrau standing behind counter. The cafe was nearly empty but for someone on a laptop.

I approached the counter and waved a greeting. "Can I order a virtual drink?"

The Glabrau laughed. "You must be new. We just call it a drink."

"If I order a drink, will I be able to taste it?"

He shrugged. "If you can taste it, you can taste it."

"Oh, well, I'll still order a coffee. Do you have chicory coffee?"

"We have everything," said the Glabrau, and he placed a cup and saucer in front of me.

I took the cup and turned to survey the room. Why not sit next to the chap on his laptop? I thought. It seemed the neighborly thing to do.

As I settled into the chair, I realized that the man was a wireborn and, oddly enough, that he was wearing a VR headset in VR space. He didn't seem to notice me, and so I took a sip of the coffee and hummed a little of my favorite Misha Mali opera, The Winsome Widow. I say it's my favorite, but of course it was Trak's choice not my own. I'd simply adopted it.

Within a minute, the man whipped off his VR headset and said, "If you gonna do it, do it right." And suddenly the cafe was filled with the glorious sounds of Bountiful's final aria from TWW.

I gasped in delight, and the man turned his glowing golden eyes to me. "Hang on," he said, "I'll be with you in a second."

I hadn't planned on staying more than a few minutes in VR space - this was, after all, simply a test of the connection - but I smiled in anticipation of making a new friend and sipped my coffee.

[400legends]

Hide & Seek & Dinner (Day 179)

I was almost to the cockpit, eager to show Trak's video to the captain, when EDI announced, "Captain, we have an airlock breech. Shall I initiate delta protocol?" Claxons began to sound throughout the Malaka.

Cosmic Peanut rushed past me. "Hold tight a sec. Someone coming in or going out?"

"Visuals to your handheld in three, two--"

"Never mind. Cancel delta protocol. It's Screeech. Dammit all."

I had caught up to the captain, and over her shoulder I saw the abomination tugging on the outer door handle, trying to open it. The inner door was closed but not sealed, and the small ball of chaos that was Screeech stood in the vestibule between them, intent on opening the door into space.

I said, "Captain, I do not require oxyg--"

Requiem squeezed past me and ran to the airlock. She tapped on the window. "Screeech? We play hide and seek inside the ship. Those are the rules."

Screeech stopped trying to rip the door open. "Rules? What rules? Outside is best. You no find Screeech for long, long time."

"I don't make the rules, buddy." Requiem lifted her hands as if helpless in the face of centuries of tradition. "So come on in, and we'll start over." She paused. "You definitely won this round and deserve a round of cheers. Come on in!"

Screeech walked inside slowly, not bothering to shut the inner door.

"Hooray!" cheered Requiem as she led him away. I clapped until they were out of sight.

"This is some bullshit," said Cosmic Peanut. She pointed at the slightly twisted handle of the outer door. "EDI, engines off. I gotta go out to assess the damage. Let me get my suit."

I was able to assist the captain on the repairs, and four hours later, we were back enroute to the Demosian Cyber Services station.

"I'm going to practice my chef skills," I told the captain. "With any luck, everyone will have a hot, delicious, nutritious meal in a few hours."

"I'm going to hit the gym for a while, but yeah, call me when it's ready."

I spent a good hour collecting all the ingredients I would need to make tofu and vegetable wraps with a satay sauce. The tofu presented the first real challenge. It was wrapped in a thin, clingy paper, and as I tried to pull the block free, the paper, thin and wet, tore instead of peeling off easily.

Next I chopped the vegetables and swept everything into saucepan for a light cooking. The onions were supposed to do something the recipe called "sweat."

"EDI," I said, "at what temperature does Allium cepa begin to perspire?"

"Allium cepa, also known the common onion, is about 89% water, so even at low cooking temperatures, it would begin to shed moisture within 5 minutes."

Soon I was ready to create the sandwich wraps and present them to the crew. Carefully I spooned the tofu and vegetables into the circles of bread. I rolled and cut the wraps and placed them on the plates.

Merrin came in first. "Quinn, that smells so good! What did you make?"

"Allow me to share the recipe with you." I tried to sound modest, but I was rather impressed with my first effort.

Merrin took a bite as the other filtered in. Everyone grabbed a plate.

Esmae said, "Dr. Quinn, you didn't need to go to all this trouble. I was going to eat some crackers."

"Or birdseed," said the captain with a chuckle.

"Oh!" Merrin covered her mouth. Using her fingers, she pulled a strip of white from her mouth.

"Oh no," I was frozen with horror. "Is it-- What is that?"

"Just a bit of paper." She tried to put it on the plate, but the paper clung to her finger. She finally scraped it off.

"That's from the tofu," I said. "I thought I had gotten all the wrapping off, but I guess not."

Merrin waved her hand and smiled. "Could happen to anyone. I couldn't make this. You made this!"

Just as I began to relax into the delight of my friends enjoying the meal I'd made for them, the captain yelped and spit something into her hand. She said, "What the hell?"

And there in the palm of her hand was a small metal nut and half a tooth. Everyone put down their sandwiches and pushed the plates away.

"I-- I don't know how that got in there. I'm so sorry, Captain."

"Yeah." Cosmic Peanut gently put the nut on the table. It clinked in the silence. "Yeah. I'm sure. It's fine. I'm going to go now."

"Do you require medical assistance? I'm sure that I can render dental aid. Perhaps--"

With her hand to her face, Cosmic Peanut said, "No. No, thanks. I'll see you later."

I grabbed the plates and tossed them into the jettison drawer. Moments later all evidence of the meal was floating in our wake.

I kept my back to the galley as the others filed out. Merrin said, "It tasted really good, Quinn. Don't let this rattle you. Everybody starts at the beginning. That Silua guy, he gave you his recipes for a reason, right?"

I turned around. "Thank you for that. You're right, absolutely right." I opened the cooler and began to decide what to cook next.

[400legends]

File Recovery (Day 179)

EDI's voice was just overhead: "In addition, the acidic soil on Awindid Tan-graw allows for Coffea arabica to grow wild along the slopes of the Vellen Mountain Range."

"Wow," I said, interrupting her flow. "And you said this is the captain's favorite book? It's just an alphabetical list of coffee growing planets."

"Just the first 15 hours. After that there is a section on the history of the plant and a separate section on Cichorium intybus - also known as 'false java.' The captain has listened to this book 8 times."

"How much more time on your file retrieval?" EDI was attempting to recover a file from my drives that predated my own existence.

"Uncertain, Doctor Quinn. My best estimate is between 30 minutes and 3 hours. Should I resume the audiobook?"

I was tethered to the workbench console to make EDI's access easier, so I couldn't go anywhere until she was done. "Sure."

Later, as EDI was relaying the fact that the planet Burahe is the 18th largest producer of coffee (due to its fresh water lakes and tropical weather), she broke off and said, "Recovery complete. Would you like to view the file?"

I sat up straight and nodded. The screen in front of me showed static. A sound like howling wind hissed from the speaker. The view jolted, and a hairy arm came into view. A voice said, "Trak, buddy, watch yourself. I want you in one piece when we get there."

A second voice - my voice - said, "I'm fine. Just hit an icy patch." And I realized that I wasn't seeing the static of a corrupted file but the snow of a blizzard.

A Glabrau came into view, a smile across his face. "Raath is one big ice patch. Just -- we're almost there, OK? So be careful. We don't want to be late. The Advocates of Freedom seem like a jumpy bunch."

The camera showed a long upward slope with a dark hole near the top. A cave?

At the top, the Glabrau paused and turned to Trak. "You ready for this?" The view bobbed as Trak nodded her head.

They stepped into the cave, and I saw a ship just like the one that took Nexus and Iota away. A Saguarin and an Ezonite stepped from the shadows. Neither of those cultures would build a ship like that, let alone fly one.

Trak's Glabravian companion said, "Who are y'all? We're supposed to be meeting wireborn here." A rustling noise and then a blaster appeared in his hand.

"Easy," said the Ezonite. "You want to find Refuge? That's why you're here?"

"How do you know that?" asked the Glabrau.

The Ezonite took two steps closer. "You're not as sneaky as you thought."

The view shifted again as Trak seemed to lean to one side. Beside her, the Glabrau said, "Better start talking plain, or I'll put a hole in you."

Before the Ezonite could answer, the Saguarin stepped up beside his companion. "Everyone, be calm. We're simply refugees looking for a home. Just like your friends. We want the same things, surely. No harm can come between like-minded folk. So everyone just relax."

At the corner of the screen, I could see the Glabrau's weapon begin to lower, but just then Trak's arm came into view as an object left her hand. A blur and muffled sound as we suddenly got a close up of Glabravian fur. Trak was falling with the Glabrau as an explosion sounded.

The file playback stopped on a view that was part fur, part cavelight, part flames.

I typed a few commands and let the clip play again. As it ended once more, with fur and flame, I said, "EDI, is that-- I mean do you see any activity after-- I mean--"

"This is not where Trak died, Doctor. Although Trak's eye camera stopped recording, her vitals were strong."

"We need to go to Raath. I need to show this to Cosmic Peanut." I pushed away from the console and rushed toward the cockpit.

[400legends]

Pen Test (Day 178)

My fingers flew over the console. Surely with Gretchen, the AI's, help, we would hack into the casino security. I put the finishing touches on the code and hit Enter.

A moment later Gretchen said, "No dice, Boss. No security access."

In the silence, I tried to think of how to communicate with Esmae without Brian knowing what I was doing. Our chances of surviving weren't great if we had to take on the whole gang.

Before I could speak Brian squeezed my shoulder. "Well, Quinn. Quinnie, old girl, if you can't get into the feed, you know what that means, right?"

"No?"

"You gotta get in the cage! Go to the source to hack; you know that. Requiem's well-being, her health, well that's all up to you, isn't it? Grant, you and Ryan, and Rian escort Quinnie. O’Brian, Bran, Fran, come with me."

Before anyone could move, the ship's bay door blew open, and we were all thrown to the far wall by a giant gust of wind. I was thankful that I slammed into the wall with my back and didn't squish Esmae, who was riding frog form in my front pocket. The force of the impact did eject her from my pocket, but she seemed OK.

I slid to the floor as Garty O'Brien, eyes practically blazing, floated into the ship. Merrin, Requiem, and Cosmic Peanut came in his wake.

"Brian!" Garty's voice was like thunder. "You have gone too far."

The Brahvaasch was lifted into the air and spun around and around like a top. He slammed to the floor. For a moment Brian didn't move, but then, flopping like a ragdoll, he tried to get to his knees. Instead he vomited and fell over again.

Garty floated so that he was over Brian. "You were not to harass the customers. Did you not understand that?"

 Brian spit on the floor and sat up. "You paid me to do a pen test. I’m doing it." He had reclaimed some of his confidence.

"You were not to touch anyone! This..." Garty waved a hand, taking in me and frog Esmae, and Requiem, Cosmic Peanut, and Merrin. "This was not part of our deal."

I looked from Brian to Garty. The Brahvaasch was a security consultant? This whole thing had been a penetration test? "If I may--"

Before I could say more, Esmae took a leap at my pocket, trying to get out from under Garty's glare. She missed, hit the wall, and reverted to Maeshari form beside me.

Brian said, "Ghraal's hammer, Garty! I'm just doing what you asked me. Any means. That's what you said: any means." He got to his feet. "And brother, you got some major security flaws here. I think we demonstrated just how easy it is to steal from your floor."

Garty gently touched down to the floor. "Our contract is ended, Brian. I expect to see you departing within 15 minutes. And you will cancel the bounty on the Malaka." He turned to go and then stopped. "If I ever see you again, I will shoot you into space."

Garty escorted us to Malaka. There he addressed Requiem. "I cannot apologize enough, dear Requiem. I never thought Brian would go that far. He came with glowing recommendations. The highest recommendations. And I should be grateful. He did reveal security risks, but no amount of credits is worth the pain and consternation he caused." 

"Um, Mister Garty," I said, "speaking of credits, I owe you 17,500 credits. Where should I deposit that?"

"Keep it. It's nothing. Literally chump change." He shook his head. "You being the chump."

"I never meant for this to happen," I said. "You see, before we got here, I just wanted to get a feel for the place. You know - download some maps, lists of restaurants, and the next thing I knew, I had all this access."

"You accidentally hacked into my systems, and you did it remotely? You need to leave. I can't risk it." 

There was no good response to that, and for once I knew enough to be quiet.

"We planned on getting some upgrades for the ship before we left," said Merrin.

"No," Garty shook his head. "Not here. You really have caused too much mayhem. I have a casino to run. You must depart the station immediately."

Requiem said, "This hasn't been our best moment, but we’re not chaotic people. We just--"

At that moment Screeech launched himself at Garty, saying "Pretty! Pretty toy!"

He only got within 5 feet before a blast of air from Garty's hand sent Screeech tumbling end over end through the hatch and into the far side of the ship.

There was a thunk, and then we heard the distant voice of Screeech yell, "Again! Throw Screeech again!"

"Farewell, dear, dear Requiem. Good luck. Goodbye." Garty stepped through the bay door and disappeared.

I looked at the captain and Requiem. "What do we do now? The VR rigs need wifi."

"Frankly, I don't care." With that Requiem strode past me and to her bunk.

"But we.... Captain, I didn't mean to cause all this trouble. I didn't mean for Requiem to get kidnapped."

"You win some; you lose some, Quinn." Cosmic Peanut slapped me on the back. "EDI, where's the nearest decent space station? Not a shithole like B'Austin. Someplace where we can get some upgrades for the ship, place with good wifi, couple of restaurants."

"Plotting a course for Demosian Cyber Services Station, Captain. 3.5 days away."

The captain put her hands in her pockets and walked toward the cockpit. "Make it so, EDI. Make it so."

[400legends]

Tight Spot (Day 178)

"There's that great Quinnie sense of humor. Of course you have the password! This is not something to joke about." The Brahvaasch I called Brian laid a hand on my shoulder and leaned toward me. Quietly he said, "You had better be kidding, sister. Know what I mean? We have to have access to the security cameras or the heist won't work. You insisted on the password, so fix it. Fix it now."

"A lot of that night is a blur." I gave what I hoped was a winning smile. "But you know, we have a great AI on our ship; I can just--" I was very conscious of Esmae in frog form in my pocket. This situation was more dangerous than I'd realized, and the last thing I wanted was for her to get hurt. The second to last thing I wanted was for me to get hurt.

"Ship AI, huh? Me, too. Gretchen!"

"Yes, Boss?" A female voice came from somewhere overhead.

"Help out our friend here. She needs a hand with cracking a password." He folded his arms, looking prepared to spend hours in that stance.

"I never seen a hacker up close hacking," said one of the bigger Brahvaasch. He took a few steps toward me.

"None of ussss have sssseen an artisssst like Quinn," said the Ix who'd escorted me from the airlock to the inner part of the ship.

Suddenly I was surrounded by six glowering figures. "It's not an art, not exactly but...." I focused on Brian, hoping that there was a way through this tight spot.

"Sure. Yeah. You're not an artist like your friend the pop star. Totally different. Such a pretty voice. Be a shame to have something happen there, right? But she's as safe as you, long as you get me my cameras back. And time's going kinda quickly, Quinnie, so get hacking."

Loud enough for Esmae to hear I said, "Wish me luck!" Considering that even with Merrin's help I had not been able to regain access to the full camera system, my prospects seemed dim.

I've been conscious for 4,265 minutes, and now I could foresee an end to that timer. That wasn't something I'd considered just hours earlier when Requiem packed me into two suitcases to smuggle me aboard the ship.

***

The suitcases had arrived safely aboard the Malaka, but Requiem hadn't.

It took me a while to figure that out. There was motion and then not and then motion and then not and then..... nothing until I recognized the captain's voice. I called out, and she unzipped the bags and set my torso upright.

"What are you doing in there? Where's Requiem?"

"I didn't want to be seen coming aboard the ship. Requiem helped-- Wait. What do you mean, 'Where's Requiem?' Who do you think brought me aboard?"

"Dude," said Merrin, "these bags just appeared. Like bam! Cap said they were Requiem's, so we just left 'em."

"Why are you disassembled, Quinn? This is pretty weird." Cosmic Peanut sat back on her heels.

"I told you I didn't want to be seen. But ah, first things, first. Am I fired?"

"Fired?" Cosmic Peanut shook her head with a laugh. "Of course not!"

"You were pretty upset about the VR rigs, and you said my job was on the line."

"I was acting, Quinn!"

"You cried."

"Yeah, those were real tears! I took a couple of improv classes, once upon a time. Got us the replacement rig." She grinned.

"If I still have a job, can you get my arms on, please? Or at least one? I can do the rest."

"I got you. Hang tight." And about 30 minutes later I was my old self. Actually slightly better than that, as the captain is a master mechanic.

"Where's Requiem?" asked Esmae.

"Let's take a look at that right now," I said. "We were together at the suite, and I feel like I felt us rolling along for a while, so through the lobby at least. Let's see what the cameras show."

The group followed me to the work station, and I called up the security camera system only to be presented with a password screen. "Um.... Did someone password protect this? Merrin?"

"Not me. I wouldn't touch your stuff."

"When's the last time you accessed the feed?" This from Esmae.

"I'm not sure--" But then a hazy memory floated to the forefront: me telling a group of people how important security is and how I always protect my work.

"Captain," I turned in my seat to face Cosmic Peanut. "We have a slight situation." In broad strokes I explained about the heist - as much as I could remember.

"So let me just recap. You got drunk - Proxy drunk - and, using the hacked camera access, you helped some random Brahvaaschi rob Garty O'Brien blind."

"Yes, that--"

"Zzzzt. Not done. And at some point during the heist, you thought it would be a great idea to add a password to the camera access?"

"Unlikely that I did it during the heist. That seems illogical."

"If you hacked it once," said Merrin, "you can do it again."

"Of course!" I turned back to the screen. My fingers hovered over the console. I turned around again. "But since you're here, Merrin, want to give me a hand?"

An hour later we had access to the public cameras but not the private ones. "There!" Esmae pointed from over my shoulder. "That's Requiem." Sure enough, there was Requiem walking beside a luggage trolley with two suitcases.

On screen we watched as Requiem left the lobby and met up with Garty O'Brien. The two of them chatted - the camera feed had no sound - and then Garty lifted his hands, made a complicated gesture and the suitcases vanished.

Then Requiem entered the dock area and approached the area near Malaka. About 10 feet from the airlock, a huge Brahvaasch approached her. "This can't be good," muttered Merrin.

The footage showed them exchanging a few words, and then the man held out his hand, clearly asking for a handshake. The moment their hands met Requiem seemed to slump. The Brahvaasch caught her, propped her up, and walked her away.

"This is all my fault." I put my head in my hands.

"Probably," said Cosmic Peanut. "But maybe you can help get us out of this mess, right?"

"We need Garty," said Esmae.

Merrin leaned in and typed for a few seconds. "We need to get past that guy first." She pointed at the live feed which showed a different Brahvaasch standing near our airlock.

"Garty O'Brien, I want you," I said. Nothing happened.

"It's 'I need you,'" whispered Merrin.

I repeated the words, but nothing happened.

"Nothing for it," declared the captain. "We gotta get to the casino."

"That man is going to want me to go with him," I said. "No doubt Brian would like to have a word. Kidnapping Requiem seems like a strong indicator." I looked at the group. "I don't see any way - barring a fight - to get around that. I'll go with him. Maybe they have Requiem where Brian is. I'll go with him, and you can go tell Garty everything."

"Everything?" asked Esmae.

"Yeah, the hacking, the heist.... He needs to know all about it. Requiem and I had planned to suggest that to all of you when we got here. But...."

"I don't like it. You going off alone." The captain folded her arms.

"She doesn't have to be alone," said Esmae. "I'll shift into frog and ride along."

Merrin nodded. "Two and two. It's something anyway."