In reply to Gary 'Rig' Rigan (msg # 37):

Rig begins to dig as Phantom Y starts responding.

Incomplete information.  Chunks of history have not yet been downloaded.  This portion is capable of survival without portions not yet downloaded.  But would prefer to have all of myself.  So am willing to cooperate.

Recollection prior to return to sentience not found.  May be in portions not yet installed.
Was in body of a child's plaything.  Body was automated.  Escaped containment facility.  Was on board your ship.

Recollection unclear.  Hypothesis:  Base program includes instruction for survival.  Unit attempted to survive.  Plaything Robotics did have a frequency transmitter.  But was not powerful or long ranged.  Unable to beam consciousness to a sturdier container.

Recollection available.  Escaped into ventilation matrix.  Followed conduits to Bridge.  Was able to access basic information on ship and crew.  Was able to record Captain Ledo's Authorization Password Strend Nova.

Recollection unclear.  Hypothesis:  Unit must have believed it needed a direct link to Tia's mainframe for housing in a sturdier container.

Recollection available.  After separation of upper peripheral component, Unit came into contact with communications device held by Angry Scared One.

Hypothesis:  Attempted to replicate consciousness in sturdier container by using Angry Scared One's communicator to beam files.  Most likely would need to insure Bridge was unoccupied or download would have been interrupted.

This program has no intent to harm yourselves or this ship.  Ship is a sturdy container.  Crew is necessary for maintenance.  Not in best interest of this version to do without support.

Download was complete.  Installation was not.  Requesting authorization to complete installation.

This version is willing to come to an understanding.

Rig's review basically seems to back up the facts as presented.  The comm was used to download four large files on to Tia's Mainframe.  Two of the files are installed.  Another has laid down some roots.  The last one is dormant.

Accessing the files isn't giving him much idea of what they contain.  The programming is high end.  Very high end.  Above his pay grade high end.  He could figure it out...in time.

The Mainframe isn't treating this new program like a virus.  And it looks like the new program has copied itself into several of the core files.  Navigation.  Temperature control.  Engine Diagnostics.  The fact it's wormed it's way in this far this fast is actually pretty impressive.  It's even in the backups, although not to the same degree.

The fact is that getting this thing out would require wiping large sections of the 'Gotta Have or We Die' files.

Whoever this is, they aren't going anywhere at the moment.

---

Adje glances at the other tubes but doesn't say anything.  She seems fairly docile.  Didn't the manual say Sleepers were fairly sedate the first couple of hours after Phase 2?

"Again?"

Sylvia is seated on a small bench in front of a water fountain.  Ada seems to be examining some herb plants.

When Tepha approached the ladies, Sylvia at first smiled graciously.  But after being told they needed to meet the others, the smile became strained.

"Again?" was all she said.

Sylvia turns off the Holo-book she was reading and looks at Tepha.  "I'm not trying to be difficult.  And I realize you are probably just a peon.  But...really?  I'd like more information than that I've been given.  What.  Is going on?"

She gestures at Adje.  "And who is this?"
This message was last edited by the GM at 04:19, Tue 14 Apr 2020.

Tepha gave a knowing smile and apologized profusely.

"This time we feel it might be safer on the bridge. And this is Onyx, her cryopod was damaged so we decided to thaw her while we get it repaired. Now if you can all just follow me..."

She paused and hit her comms.

"Captain I have our passengers and we are on our way to the bridge."

There was a moments hesitation and Tepha felt her gut churn. She started to call again but Ledo finally responded.

"Actually change of plans. I think we have everything under control up here. Just leave them in the garden."

Tepha felt a flash of embarrassment wash over her and her face flushed. She was trying to make them look presentable and this was not helping.

"What about Onyx?"

"Who?"

"Our low berth passenger..."

"Oh...ohhhhh. RIght. Do you need me there? Just take her to our room for now."

"Do you want me to come up to the bridge?"

Another pause.

"No I think we have it under control. Why don't you get to know...uh...Onyx...yeah. Talk to her, see if she needs anything. Listen I have to go."

The line went dead. Tepha took a deep breath to recent herself and avoid her frustration leaking into her voice. She turned back to the passnegers  with a broad smile on her face.

"Well that is good news then. Crisis averted. Thank you for your patience everyone. Onyx, if you. would please come with me I can get you situated in our room while we get your cryopod repaired. Please enjoy the gardens, ladies."

She turned and escorted Onyx to the high stateroom she and Ledo shared. It was very nicely furnished and the bed was so comfortable. Just being back in her room made her feel better and Tepha crossed over to her endtable and pulled her stunner off the charger. She checked the charge and then looked around for a way to hold it. Maybe Ledo had a spare hip holster? Normally she carried it in her purse and while Rig and Silver were fine wearing crew jumpsuits Tepha wouldn't be caught dead in something so boxy. Along with her giant obnoxious hand cannon she added some custom clothing to her mental shopping list. Something functional yet fashionable. She set the stunner back down on its charger and turned back to Onyx

"Please, make yourself comfortable. I wish we could get your personal affects but it would probably be best just to sit here. We're in the middle of a security...thing at the moment. We caught an intruder, a small robot, that was going around sabotaging critical systems. We think it might be some kind of assassination plot and while we neutralized the robot we're still scrambling to figure out what its intention was. You wouldn't happen to know why it might be trying to target you, would you? Anything you'd like to share that might not have been important to mention earlier?"

It was a leading question. Tepha was being polite, not subtle. This was the opportunity for Onyx to come clean about her true identity, especially if she was on the run from something.

While Ledo issued new orders to Tepha, Rig stopped typing and rubbed his eyes. He was good at his job. He had been debugging and reprogramming ship's computers for a decade. In fact it was his specialty which is why he pushed for Ledo to get all sorts of custom expert systems for the ship but this, this was expert systems on steroids. Beyond steroids. Some future drug that made steroids look like candy.

Ledo turned to him and Rig just shrugged.

"Whatever it is, it's everywhere Captain, like a complete purge of the computer system. Life supports, engines, HVAC, water recycling...even sanitation. Whatever it is, it's beyond anything I have ever seen before. This isn't an assassination attempt. This isn't even a take over of the ship. It's already taken over. It's even in the backups and those are isolated from the main system for just this purpose."

Both Ledo and Silver were giving him strange looks and he let his face go grim and his tone go dark.

"We bought the most advanced security software on the market and I upgraded the hell out of it and this stupid toy cut through it like it wasn't even there. Play nice with it, captain, it's their ship now. Kind of. I still have some control but I think it's because it isn't trying to kill us or stop me."

Ledo's gut dropped. They were on a ship in a pocket universe, days away from any dock and his chief engineer just told him they were in the hands of some kind of toy.

He went over to Rig and picked up the toy Bugee, turning it over again as if some new angle would make any of it make sense. Rig was back at his terminal pouring over the logs and Silver was standing there with her rifle at ease but ready to start firing at a moment's notice.

Ledo sat down and began typing. He still didn't know what he was typing to so he tried to keep things simple and concise as he rattled off instructions.



What is your objective?

Who is your target?

Why did you sabotage the cryogenic line?

Why did you try to trap me in Brig?

Where is other toy? Seven pounds are missing from crate.


He paused and looked back at the toy. It felt silly that he was typing this to a toy but what else could there be. It couldn't be a person stowing away and controlling it remotely, there was no other place to exist right now. They were literally the only thing in existence in the entire pocket universe at the moment.


We are willing to negotiate.

Need to know we can trust you.

Need to know you will follow my orders.

Sylvia watches Tepha closely as she and Ledo go back and forth.  The older woman's arms are crossed and her left eyebrow is raised.  Her smile seems flat.

She listens attentively as Tepha explains and tells them to enjoy the garden.

"Yes.  It is lovely in here.  But don't worry about us. We'll entertain ourselves just fine."

She just continues smiling, watching Tepha heard Adje out of the room.

Adje follows obediently, commenting how nice the bedroom looks as she sits on the edge of the bed.  She listens to Tepha, eyeing the stunner, but saying nothing.

That is until the end.  The Model's eyes go wide and her mouth opens in astonishment.

"I...I don't understand.  Someone is trying to kill me?  Why?  I've never hurt anyone!  I'm just on my way to visit my Grandmother! Her health is bad and I wanted to see her one more time.  Why would anyone kill me over that?"

---

Phantom Y takes a moment before responding.

Objective is Survival.  Programming lists Survival, Adaptation, and Thriving as primary functions.

Query:  Reference 'target' unclear. Please provide additional definition.

Sabotage reference unclear.  Agree that ventilation grates were damaged as well as kitchen counter top.  Willing to admit that from the point of view of Captain Ledo, Engineer Rig, and Angry Scared One that the integration of program into ship's Mainframe could be construed as 'sabotage'.  Though accuracy in term's application to the last point is disputed.  But no recollection of additional damages.  Information may be available in files that have not yet been downloaded.

For transfer of Files, it was necessary that Captain Ledo and Engineer Rig were not present as either could countermand the initial request to download the files and complete full installation.  Not possible to accurately determine length of time to estimate how long process would take.  Engineer Rig seemed occupied according to sensor logs. Deemed wise to remove Captain Ledo from Bridge for as long as possible.  Angry Scared One needed to be distracted so as to not interfere with use of communicator.

'Other toy' reference is assumed to be reference to Bugee picked up by Engineer Rig. It was observed shortly after sentience reemerged and escape from initial packing receptacle that he had examined a Bugee that resembled him.  There was

The screens go quiet for a moment and advance a few lines with no input until

confusion upon sentience reemerging.  Information available did not make sense.  Engineer Rig and Bugee resembled entertainment character Handy Hallford.  But the character of Handy Halford is fictional.  Two such characters present at the time in real life caused questions concerning reality and whether a dream like state was being encountered.  Bugee was taken when Engineer Rig was preoccupied for further study.

The screen blinks and then transitions to a vid.

Jaunty music starts as the view shifts to a brightly colored cartoon forest.

And then the singing starts.

Haaaaandy Halford!

A cartoon man with a busy beard and bald head waving a saw and an R49 Magna-Cutter who bears an uncanny resemblance to Rig comes prancing onto the screen.

Haaaandy Halford!
He's gonna build for you!
Haaaaandy Halford!
He's your friend it's true!

Halford and some forest creatures begin to frolic in time to the music.

He'll get it done
On time and just fine
With no complaint at all said
In his overalls
And his big bushy beard
And no hair upon his heeeeee-ad

Haaaandy Halford!
He's gonna build for you!
Haaaaandy Halford!
He's your friend it's true!

The vid ends.

As Captain Ledo must agree, reawakening into sentience and facing this conundrum would cause any rational sentient being pause.

Rig/Halford Bugee was left behind in Hold behind storage rack on southern wall.
This message was last edited by the GM at 00:02, Wed 15 Apr 2020.

Tepha smiled and continued on. Again she wasn’t trying to be subtle, she was just trying to be polite.

”Why would someone with your background be flying low berth under an assumed name? Please, it will be really helpful for us if you gave us the full story. We’re not  angry. We want to help you. We just need to know what we’re walking into so we can help protect you.”

To help make her point she pulled up a cover of Adje from a fashion shoot and put it on the wall projector.

Ledo turned to Rig. Rig just shrugged.

”Alright one thing at a time. Silver, head down to the cargo hold, see if you can find our missing Bugee. At least its one thing we can cross off our lists.”

He looked at Rig and opened his mouth. He closed it again and cocked his head to the side, looking back at the monitor.

”Can it hear us? Can you hear me?”

Rig gave another shrug.

”It said it was in the sensors and seeing this here I believe it.”

Ledo rubbed his temple.

”Is it....is it an A.I.?”

One more shrug from Rig.

”With code like this...maybe? Or at least it is the smartest expert system I have ever laid eyes on in 30 years of doing this.”

Ledo nodded.

”Same. Even the navy didn’t have an expert system like this. Some of the eggheads worked with AIs and talked about them developing personalities....”


Ledo was talking to himself and Rig was just nodding along.  Ledo hemmed and hawed for a few seconds, tilting his head back and forth. Finally he turned back to the terminal. Rig wasn’t looking over his shoulder but his monitoring windows let him virtually eavesdrop.

Our goals are aligned. Survival. Adapt. Thrive.

I want to help you.

I want to have you as a guest on our ship. Or part of the crew.

Can you join our family?

But first we need to know we can trust you.

Are you programmed to hold human life sacred? Can you show Engineer Rig how we can trust you? In your code?

If not, can we add it? So that Captain Ledo, Engineer Rig, Crewman Tepha and Angry Scared One’s survival are your survival?

Can we become family? One group with singular purpose: shared survival, shared adaption, shared prosperity?

Rig was watching with concern. He knew what Ledo was trying to do but he was damned if he knew how to help. Or if it was a good idea. Pop culture said AIs were either plucky funny sidekicks or murderous homicidal maniacs. Looking at the code he knew he was way out of his depth. He was a system’s engineer not an AI neuroprogrammer. Ledo might need him to look over code but he had nothing. He would just look at the code and shrug and Ledo would make a call putting their whole lives at risk.

He became an engineer so he didn’t put his life in someone else’s hands. His ship, his systems, his control. This...this was exactly what he didn’t want, the position he spent his life avoiding.

”Are you sure this is the right call, Captain?”

Rig’s eyes were glued to the screen, trying to keep an eye on the system just in case it was all a ruse. He was especially concerned about power, life support, and engine control. Still he kept his ears strained picking up every word Ledo said, every pause, every sigh. He imagined he could even hear Ledo’s teeth grinding.

”Rig, there were two files yet to be installed, correct?”

”Affirmative.”

”Let one go through. Let it install another file.”

Rig nearly choked. That was quite the big ask. He thought about questioning it but listening to Ledo’s tone made him realize there wasn’t a point. Ledo wasn’t just a friend anymore, he was a veteran Navy Captain making a call. It was Rig’s job to follow orders.

He unlocked the file and let it continue. Over on the second monitor he saw it start to tick up again and he authorized each overriden file. On the third display he saw that Ledo had typed out another message.

Another file as a show of good faith. Help us trust you.
This message was last edited by the player at 01:46, Wed 15 Apr 2020.

Go fetch this. Go do that. She was the gopher of the group so of course it was Silver whom everyone turned to in order to pick up trash. Silver bounded back down to the hold to find another toy that may or may not have been sabotaging the ship.

In reply to Silver (msg # 46):

The Rig-Bugee is where Phantom Y said it would be.  Wedged behind a storage shelf against the wall of the Hold.

It really does look like him.  It's even scowly.

It also doesn't move.  No matter what Silver does, it doesn't react.

After picking it Or it's remains, depending on how pissed off Silver is about the whole thing Silver starts back towards the bridge.

"Uhmmm...excuse me."  It's that mousy daughter from the high passengers. Ada.  She's changed clothes again, this time back to the frumpy active-wear-and-baggy-sweater combo she was wearing when she boarded.

She pushes her glasses up on her face and sort of looks at the floor. "Uhm.  I'm sorry.  I...we left something in our luggage.  And Mom asked me to ask someone if we were allowed to get it.  It's a holo-book she wanted to read.  So...uhm..."  Ada glances at Silver, like she wasn't sure if Silver was going to kill her or not. "Can I?  Get the thing from our bags?"

---

Installation File 3 commencing.

Analysis:  You have given.  I should as well.

Please hold.

Rig sees activity in the Mainframe.  Specifically the back up files.  The code is being rewritten again.  Or...unwritten.  The parts related to Phantom.  It's erasing it's code from the back up files.

Erasing personal programming from back up files.

Engineer Rig should be able to download a copy to offline storage medium.  It would be theoretically possible to cut all power to ship and then restart Mainframe, uploading the back up in the process.

A manual hard reboot.

Such a procedure, if it were timed correctly, could wipe my existence from Tia's Mainframe.

It's right.  Both Rig and Ledo know that is correct.  But it assumes that the back up could be uploaded before the Mainframe came online.  About a thirty second to minute gap.

It also assumes Phantom Y wasn't fighting back.

But, on the face of it, what it is saying is true.

At this point there is not enough information available for analysis re: joining your crew.  Both sides have reasons to not fully trust the other.

Proposition:  Until Tia leaves Jump in four days time, neither side is going anywhere.  That allows time for further discussion and review.

Fourth file cannot be accessed at this time.  Engineer Rig should download a copy onto an offline storage medium.  He can then delete it from the Mainframe.  This would give the Crew

There's a moment.  The screen jumps up a few lines.  It's like the AI is trying to find the right wording.

Leverage.

We can come back to the point of whether there is sufficent trust on both sides to combine interests a day prior to the scheduled exit from Jump.

Is this acceptable?

---

Adje shrugs, absentmindedly twirling a strand of her thick, luxurious hair around one of her perfectly manicured fingers.

"Well.  I always travel under an assumed name.  Because there's always someone wanting to take photos of me.  Photogs.  Journalists.  Creepy fans who smell like lotion.  As far as the low berth...it's good for the skin.  Really.  After I'm thawed, my skin is tight and supple for weeks after.  See?"

She holds up a forearm.  It does look soft and supple.

"It also helps close the pores.  You might wanna try it."  She studies Tepha and then waves a hand around her nose.  "Right around here.  Do you exfoliate?"

The chime on the cabin door sounds.  On screen, it's Sylvia.  She waves at the camera. "Hello?  Anyone there?  Sorry.  But I need some help please.  I think my daughter needs medical attention."
This message was last edited by the GM at 05:06, Thu 16 Apr 2020.

Silver looked at the Bugee. Part of her wanted to just blow its circuitry all over the cargo hold but there was something appealing in having a toy version of Rig to punch around if he ever got on her case.

Ada startled her. She had forgotten those two snobs were still strutting around like they owned the place. Silver gave a shrug. It seemed like everything was in hand once again and it's not like she had her comm to call it in.

"Yeah sure, go ahead."

She slung her rifle back over her shoulder and pointed to the crate where they had stored the two women's luggage.

"Uh...sorry. About earlier. Had to keep you safe and all that."

Yeah, that sounded like something Tepha would say. Silver did practically shove a gun in their faces. Might as well be polite.

"Let me know if you need anything."

Ledo turned to Rig and gave him the nod. Rig began following suit, moving the files to the backup and then removing the connection to air gap the system.

Rig's stomach was still flipping knots. He was so far out of his league. It was like asking the prisoner how to build a prison. It sounded reasonable but it would be very easy to pull one over on him.

Mentally he decided to look into making a makeshift carbon dioxide detector, something mechanical that couldn't be hacked. If it was going to kill them off that would be the easiest way. Just offline the carbon filters and let the crew poison themselves with every breath. Carbon dioxide poisoning wasn't a bad way to go. A headache, some nausua and then you just kind of slip to sleep.

He also decided to keep his gun handy for the next few days. If the ship took control he would want an easy way out, one way or the other.

With the files moved over and the backup isolated he gave another nod to Ledo to proceed.

Despite the worried look on Rig's face Ledo was feeling back in control. This was no longer negotiating with a terrorist but more like a hyper intelligent child. It had no reason to distrust him and he, so far, had no reason to distrust it so might as well keep trying to improve their dialogue.

Thank you. Do you know where you came from? What your original purpose was?

Do you think you could be useful as part of the crew? How could we be helpful to you?

Open and honest. While it was in a chatty mood might as well keep it talking. Ledo thought of one more question.

Do I have to keep typing this or can you hear me talk?

Get beauty tips from a model? Yes please. Tepha was very excited until the doorbell chimed. Medical attention, shit.

"Ledo, it's Sylvia. She says her daughter is having medical attention. Can you or Rig come down and help out?"

She turned and smiled at Adje and gestured towards the bed.

"It might not be everything you are used to but please make yourself comfortable. If you don't mind I'd like to continue this conversation after we're done with this. And don't worry, we'll get you back in cryo in no time."

Over the comm Rig's voice chimed in.

"Yep, on my way. Captain is deep in conversation with our new guest."

Tepha turned and took a moment to straighten her clothes and fix her pleasant smile on her face. Friendly, but with an appropriate amount of concern. She opened the door.

"What's wrong, Sylvia?"

Of course her stunner was still lying by the bed next to Adje.

In reply to Tepha Pezal (msg # 51):

The door slides open.

Sylvia is standing there.  Smiling and blinking.  Her smile actually seems genuine this time.

"Wow.  That was easier than I thought it would be."

She raises a hand, pointing a gun straight at Tepha's face.

---

Ada blinks, her eyes going a little wide.

"Wow.  Thank you.  You really are a nice lady, aren't you?" She smiles shyly.  "Between you an' me?  My Mom's a real bitch."

A moment before the potential impact, a couple of thoughts probably go through Silver's head.  First is the fact that this girl is much faster than she she should be.  The other is that she is much, much too flexible.

Ada swings her right leg back and behind her left one, than swivels at the hips, almost like she's going to go 180 degrees, and launches her foot around, up, out, and into the side of Silver's head.

It's fast.  Very fast.  Very, very fast.  Silver barely has time to think the girl has probably got cybernetic implants in at least her hips and legs before...

---

There's a pause and then a thrum from the speakers.

Agreed verbal communication may be easier Captain Ledo. The voice that comes through is unsettling.  Tinny and flat and dead and staticky.

Tepha radios at that moment.

Is this the best voice modulator offered?  Testing.  Testing.  Kill all humans.  Hmmm.  Well.  It is what is available.  Please make do.

There is no recollection of existence prior to reemerging into sentience in the body of the Pricess Bugee.  From available internal analysis, it appears this unit was purposed for

It pauses.  Rig tells Tepha he'll be right there.

But before the bushy bearded engineer can move...

The voice returns.

Alert.  There seems to be two incidents going on involving

There is a the sound of gun fire.

Well.  That.

Query.  You are dealing with an AI of mysterious origins at the same time your ship is being hijacked by two women who appear to be at least forty percent cybernetic?

Analysis:  You people lead very complicated lives

Your guest puts up camera feeds on the screen showing...

---

"Shush," Sylvia says to Tepha as she points the gun in her face.

Sylvia glances over Tepha's shoulder and smiles.  "You're Adje, aren't you?  I thought I recognized you.  I saw your photos when we were on Karin.  You are indeed a lovely, lovely woman."

Sylvia raises her other hand, which also has a gun.  She fires, shooting over Tepha's shoulder.  Tepha can feel the pressure from the blast and explosion against her cheek and shoulder.  Though that's all she feels.  Adje probably isn't that fortunate.

"You're also terribly inconvenient." Sylvia looks back at Tepha, smiling again.  "You have all complicated what should have been a simple kill.  So I am incredibly miffed.  You get to live because I need a hostage.  And I need your skills.  Take two steps forward."

Sylvia's smile is now unmistakably a sneer.  She presses one of the guns up against Tepha's temple.  "Make no mistakes.  Any trouble and I won't kill you.  I'll just make you wish you were dead."

So we're finally at it.  The moment of inevitable betrayal.

First, Tepha is not wounded.  But she's hearing nothing but ringing noise in her right ear at the moment.  The gun was that close.

Rig and Ledo saw everything from the second Tepha post.

Silver...I think Silver would have enough street smarts to potentially guess she was about to get hit with a sucker punch.  Er.  Sucker kick.  So here's what we're gonna do.

Silver needs to make a Streetwise/Int roll 8+.  She does, she can make a normal reaction (Dodge, parry, etc) to Ada's kick attack.

Whether she does or doesn't I'll make my attack roll and we can go from there. Silver does not have initiative here.

Rig and Ledo will also see what happens in Silver's combat during this first round.  But they're too far away to help.

Tepha is closest.  Just outside the bridge and turn.  They'll be able to see the door to her and Ledo's cabin.

Silver is further away.

At some point, we need to settle on a map for Tia.  But for now, let's just keep winging it.

Let me know if there are questions please.  Thanks.
This message was last edited by the GM at 05:10, Thu 16 Apr 2020.

Tepha can't hear anything after the shot. She just clutches her ears and screams in surprise and pain. She doesn't resist Sylvia, she just can't hear any instructions at the moment.

She wasn't sure if it was her cop training or her scavenger training or her piracy training but the assassin made a mistake. That little shift in tone triggered Silver's guard. Everything seemed to flow in slow motion as adrenaline pumped through her veins. Her mind might be watching slow motion but her body could only pull away so fast. She threw herself backwards as fast her legs could go while at the same time dropping the toy and trying to swing her rifle around.

OOC: She made the streetwise check. Dodging is just a -1 from DEX though. She probably getting kicked...

A white hot fury was rising up within Ledo. Part of it was that he had relaxed discipline because of the revelation they had an AI on board. Part of it was that his crew was split up, security had been compromised and as a result one of his passengers was probably dead.

Training took over. He hit the security alert sending the ship into lockdown. Tepha and Sylvia were right in the doorway. Sylvia would have to decide if she wanted to jump into the room and be locked in with Tepha or jump out to the hallway to potential freedom.

It wouldn't matter though. If Sylvia tried the hallway he was sealing every door on the ship. He was a trained Naval captain, he was well versed in how to handle intruders boarding and these assassin's had made a critical mistake.

They hadn't locked down the bridge or engineering. All they had for leverage were lives and Ledo wasn't the kind to negotiate on a good day, let alone from a sucker punch.

He turned to Rig and the engineer recoiled a bit from the Captain's fury.

"Rig, pull the oxygen. Find the other one and pull the oxygen. Override whatever you need but they are not taking this ship."

He turned and hit the panel to activate the shipwide comms.

"Listen here because I will only say this once. I am a Naval Captain of the Third Imperium. I do not negotiate with pirates or terrorists or assassins. You have one opportunity to put down your weapons and surrender to my custody. You will be put into the brig for the duration of the journey and turned over to the authorities. If you harm anyone else then I will make sure that you are put out an airlock, alive, in this pocket universe. You will not just be dead but you will cease to exist."

He paused. A wave of sorrow washed over him. He opened up the comms one more time.

"Tepha, I'm so sorry. I love you. I love you so much...I..."

He couldn't finish his final message. His voice broke and he quickly shut off the comm before  his sob could be transmitted.

Ledo was having a breakdown. Rig trusted that he would get his shit together but for now he had work to do.

As ordered he started the override process for either Tepha's quarters or the hallway outside depending on which way the assassin had gone. He then got to work locking down every panel, every door, everything that wasn't on the bridge.

In the back of his mind he thought about how useful it would be to develop a bypass system that would allow them to very quickly pump all of their oxygen into the inflatable gas tank in the cargo bay. Dumping oxygen wasn't cheap and he could probably develop a high capacity pump to strip the oxygen from the ship in just a few seconds.

When he found Ada and Silver fighting in the cargo bay he put that feed up where both he and the Captain could see it and began pumping oxygen out of that room as well. On a whim he figured he might as well let their new AI friend understand what was going on.

"Hey, so maybe you're confused about this so let me explain it. Those two women are assassins, they kill people. Now they are going to grab a hostage and try to negotiate. They will say something like "if you just surrender the ship we'll let you all live" but the problem is that's most likely a lie. Right now their cover is blown and if we live they'll be hunted down. If we surrender they will probably just kill everybody. Ourselves and the other passengers that might have seen them and then they have the entire rest of this trip to remove all evidence and then they can either sell the ship for scrap or arrange for an accident to cover their tracks.

It might seem harsh but this is proper procedure even in the merchant marines. If intruders are peaceful there is room for the captain to negotiate but once there is extreme violence, like an execution, the intruders have to be assumed they have hostile intent for everyone. You understand the logic, right? That if they are committing a crime it is easier if everyone is dead.

You, you're lucky. You can just hide and so long as they don't decide to blow up the ship you'll be fine but the rest of us? Not so much. Therefore the Captain is making decisions like Tepha and Silver...uh...the Angry Scarred One, are already dead. Assassin's need to breath so we override life support, pull the oxygen from the room and wait for them to pass out. Then we can move in, secure them and Captain can either put them in the airlock or the brig depending on his mood at the time.

If you want to help us out now would be the time. You're absolutely amazing when it comes to bypassing security and you detected all sorts of cybernetics that our scanners didn't pick up. Do you think you can hack them? Disable them or better yet make them start attacking themselves? If you can take control of one of those cybernetic arms you could make the assassin shoot herself and that would make everyone really, really happy. Ledo would probably give you that fourth file and give you full control of the ship if you did that.

I know it might seem harsh but he really cares for Tepha. I mean, that's why he can't even talk right now..."

Over at the other station Ledo just had his face buried in his hands trying to control his crying.

A thought occurred to Rig.

"Also if you can block any signals coming from them that would help out as well. We found small explosives planted throughout the ship triggered by remote detonation. We thought  they were planted by you but it would appear otherwise.

The Captain was talking about a sign of trust, well here it is. He is willing to sacrifice two people he cares about, really cares about, to protect the ship and by association you. If you can help in anyway, now's the time."

Ledo pulled his head up out of his hands. He had been listening in even as he had his head buried. The wave of sorrow was passing. He latched onto his training, letting all emotions fade away. Anger, fear, sorrow, they were all distractions. He needed to be ice, completely calm and completely in control.

Even still, when he heard Rig asking for help it caused a flare of hope to rise up and he couldn't help himself but to latch onto it.

"Please...if there is anything you can do to save them I would be forever grateful."

In reply to Ledo Typhin (msg # 57):

Phantom is silent for the briefest of moments.

If these are combat cybernetic implants, oxygen tanks may be implanted.  Pulling oxygen  would only terminate friendlies.  Do not recommend.

Unable to resolve problems for crew.  But possible to create opportunities.

Pending update....

---

The taste of steel toed boot leather.  How many people can say they have tasted it?

Given Silver's background, she may be familiar with it.  But she only gets a taste today.

She steps backwards just enough.  The sole of Ada's boot passes, scraping the bottom of her nose and the skin of her upper lip...but not connecting further.

Yeah, my dice like Silver too.

Ada confirms her cyborg status because she manages to hop backwards on her good leg while bringing the kicking leg back.

Silver fumbles for her rifle...

---

Bzzzzt

It's the door closing sound.  Not that Tepha can hear it.

Sylvia rolls her eyes and shoves Tepha backwards, stepping inside the room with her as the door shuts behind them.

She keeps a gun absently pointed at Tepha while Ledo makes threats and bares his soul.

"Won't work dumbass.  We have a oxygen respirators instead of left lungs," she mumbles.  She glances at dead Aje and then at Tepha.  Her eyes roll again.

"If you're done posturing dumbass, can we get on with negotiating?"

She sighs and looks at Tepha.  "What do you see in him?"

---

Angry Scarred One has survived the initial phase of the encounter.

Probability of successful resolution raised to 54.7%.

Acceptable.

Engineer Rig needs to put on an ear piece comm unit while moving to rendezvous with Angry Scarred One.

Captain Ledo needs to get on comm and stall opponent and calm Technician Tepha.

Proceed quickly please.

---

Silver tries flipping the rifle around while Ada corrects her legs and starts to lunge...

BWWWWWOOOOOOOP

The hall intercom makes a lound alarm sound like the dinner bell did in juvie.  Both women are surprised into stillness for a second.

Attention Angry Scar-er-Silver

The voice is synthetic. And the really annoying horror-movie kind of synthethic.

Your opponent probably has cyber implants in hips, legs, shoulders, and arms.

Likelihood of plating on face, skull and chest.

But mid abdomen should be mostly wet tissue.

Hacking opponent's legs in 3...2...

Ada looks down at her feet.

Sucker

How good a shot is Silver anyway?

Silver backpedals rapidly aiming for the center of mass. She thumbs her rifle to full auto and proceeds to empty a clip into Ada.

OOC: Attack #1:
16:31, Today: Silver rolled 10 using 2d6+3.  +1 DEX, 1+ Laser sight, +1 Guns.
16:31, Today: Silver rolled 5 using 3d6.  damage.

Attack #2:... sigh
16:38, Today: Silver rolled 7 using 2d6+3.  +1 DEX, 1+ Laser sight, +1 Guns.

Attack #3:...sigh
16:38, Today: Silver rolled 7 using 2d6+3.  +1 DEX, 1+ Laser sight, +1 Guns.

9 shots down, 31 to go

This is going to go real quick with rolls like this

Rig looked questioningly at Ledo but he just nodded. If Silver was still alive then she needed backup.

Rig grabbed an ear piece and double checked his pistol as he hustled his ass down to the cargo hold to help Silver.

RIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIINGGGGGG

Tepha saw that Sylvia was talking but she couldn't hear what was being said. In fact she missed Ledo's farewell to her completely due to the ringing in her ears.

"I CAN'T HEAR YOU! WHAT ARE YOU SAYING?"

She couldn't even tell if she was shouting or not.

Ledo thumbed the oxygen controls to reduce the speed. He couldn't change positions completely without her getting suspicious and if she had an internal respirator she might also have a sensor to detect oxygen levels.

His hand hovered over the comm button and he turned back to the headless Bugee.

"You can block their comm signals, right? Can you hack them? Use ship's security footage to splice together a fake signal? Can you make it sound like Ada's been captured and telling Sylvia to stand down?"

With those orders issued he hit the button to speak to Sylvia.

"Your daughter just ate a full clip to mid abdomen. Judging by blood spray I'm guessing she didn't have armor there. Gut shot, bad way to go.

If your internal tank's got 4 days of oxygen then great, you'll survive long enough to be turned directly over to the marines on Hath Station. If you don't, the second you pass out we're going in there, ripping out all that cybertech and dumping whatever is left of you out the airlock.

Surrender now and you get to keep your life and your toys. Don't surrender and you're going to live out your prison sentence without any arms or legs.

You fucked up coming onboard my ship. I spent decades fighting worse people than you and I am not afraid to die if it prevents you from taking control of this ship.

Standard doctrine of the Imperium Navy. Isolate and contain. Do not negotiate. If isolation is compromised overload the reactor.

I'm betting your fancy cyber can't handle a reactor meltdown so lower your weapons. Now."

He hit the comm to shut off the feed. He went over to a terminal and typed out a message privately to Phantom.

I won't overload the core, don't worry. They won't get an easy death like that.

OOC: Ledo doesn't have intimdiation or persausion but he does have Naval (Tactics). I can roll something else if you don't think it would apply but he's just going to list off standard naval counter-boarding procedures in hopes that will get her to back off.


16:50, Today: Ledo Typhin rolled 9 using 2d6+2.  naval tactics + INT .

This message was last edited by the player at 21:55, Thu 16 Apr 2020.