Down A Peg pt. 64
Thueknorrurr (Knoellighz 1127) B679000-A Di VAsP
http://wiki.travellerrpg.com/Thueknorrurr_(world)
The text message came over the Portable Controller to Kakhskha. It was from Dead-Hex who had locked himself in his cabin and was busy with the Darknet hack. Captain, are we leaving? I need to keep a Comm connection if this going to work. I can feel the Drives powering up from in my cabin.
Kakhkha sat on the Bridge and typed a response back to the Duelean male once she saw Prof. Zannun and Lt. Anghal enter through the iris valve and take up stations with the Captain. Don’t worry, Dead-Hex. The Prof has a plan. He and Anghal have been sneaking through the station this morning. We will be able to maintain a connection. Just do whatever it is you are doing back there.
Since there was no answer, the Pact female had to guess that Dead-Hex had gone back to work at his cabin desk. With no Passengers, Freight or new speculatives, Kakshkha had loaded only a single Mail canister released to her by the duty officer of the local Admiralty. With a shrug, the male naval Vargr had given over a very dated Mail canister six years old. She had explained to the Lieutenant that it would serve historical archives if brought back home to Roethoeegaeaegz. As there were still quite a few Mail canisters left, the male signed over one for distribution. Kakshkha also knew that it would be welcomed at the next waypoint world as Utogagzae would mistake it for a current Mail update and easily take in the shared information, with the embedded and hidden info-virus. Given that the next world was significantly lower-tech, Kakhskha was confident that the hack would be missed as the Gatherer passed through as just another innocent, civilian Merchant vessel registered at her homeworld.
It had been twenty-four hours and the local Admiralty Vargr were starting to get anxious for the Gatherer to depart. If the Surveyor had been caught on Sensors by the patrol fleet, the local duty officer would have to produce a more detailed report on the Gatherer’s business at the station.
“Report,” ordered Kakhksha who was seated at the Helm. Lt. Ardell was helping her with the Sensors boards but only so she could look at them when she needed.
“Mission complete, ma’am,” said Lt. Anghal crisply. “Professor Zannun and I have the components in place, hidden and online. We can leave.”
“Well done you two,” nodded Kakhskha. “I now need Prof. Zannun to run the Astrogation numbers for jump to Utogagzae. If this works, there will be no rush to jump from this system. So take your time, Zannun. Don’t be hasty like Dead-Hex always flaunts his math skills.”
“Yes, ma’am,” said the eldest Vargr. The black-furred Seruean then sat down at Dead-Hex’ usual spot at Astrogation and began working. “Comms?”
“We won’t need them until the final upload commit just before jump,” explained Kakhskha. "But we do have to be away from the station and out of Sensor contact. So, I have to engage the Stealth Mask and we will run silent until that time.”
“Internal power online, Lifters active and Maneuver Drives available, ma’am,” said the Chief Engineer. Inwardly, Kakshkha was glad the chocolate female was the least stressed about this maneuver Kakhskha was about to attempt. It concerned technology beyond both the average League and Pact Navies.
The SJL-3A32 Gatherer pulled from the opened hangar and proceeded to lose itself amid the thin ring of debris and wreckage as it made a quiet circumnavigation around mainworld Thueknorrurr. Kakhskha took her time and ordered the ship to expend minimal energies and observe a communications silence though she knew that Dead-Hex would need that connection when he finally pressed the COMMIT button from his spot in his cabin.
Twelve hours earlier, the Duelean had taken food, coffee, water and his Portable Controller into his cabin. Killing his lights as the door shut in Kakhskha’s face, Dead-Hex locked the door between them. It was a weird thing to happen to her, on her ship, but the Captain shrugged. Hackers were shut-ins it seemed. She had returned to the Bridge to await Anghal and Zannun. In that time, she had chewed both her thumbclaws down to the quick in her habitual patience.
“How is this going to work, Kakshkha?” whispered Marine Lt. Ardell as the two newcomers continued work on the Bridge. “I don’t understand how we can keep silent, transmit the data and maintain stealth from the backside of the planet.”
“Don’t distract me,” whispered the beige female. “That’s a lot of junk out there that I have to dodge.”
Thueknorrurr (Knoellighz 1127) B679000-A Di VAsP
http://wiki.travellerrpg.com/Thueknorrurr_(world)
The text message came over the Portable Controller to Kakhskha. It was from Dead-Hex who had locked himself in his cabin and was busy with the Darknet hack. Captain, are we leaving? I need to keep a Comm connection if this going to work. I can feel the Drives powering up from in my cabin.
Kakhkha sat on the Bridge and typed a response back to the Duelean male once she saw Prof. Zannun and Lt. Anghal enter through the iris valve and take up stations with the Captain. Don’t worry, Dead-Hex. The Prof has a plan. He and Anghal have been sneaking through the station this morning. We will be able to maintain a connection. Just do whatever it is you are doing back there.
Since there was no answer, the Pact female had to guess that Dead-Hex had gone back to work at his cabin desk. With no Passengers, Freight or new speculatives, Kakshkha had loaded only a single Mail canister released to her by the duty officer of the local Admiralty. With a shrug, the male naval Vargr had given over a very dated Mail canister six years old. She had explained to the Lieutenant that it would serve historical archives if brought back home to Roethoeegaeaegz. As there were still quite a few Mail canisters left, the male signed over one for distribution. Kakshkha also knew that it would be welcomed at the next waypoint world as Utogagzae would mistake it for a current Mail update and easily take in the shared information, with the embedded and hidden info-virus. Given that the next world was significantly lower-tech, Kakhskha was confident that the hack would be missed as the Gatherer passed through as just another innocent, civilian Merchant vessel registered at her homeworld.
It had been twenty-four hours and the local Admiralty Vargr were starting to get anxious for the Gatherer to depart. If the Surveyor had been caught on Sensors by the patrol fleet, the local duty officer would have to produce a more detailed report on the Gatherer’s business at the station.
“Report,” ordered Kakhksha who was seated at the Helm. Lt. Ardell was helping her with the Sensors boards but only so she could look at them when she needed.
“Mission complete, ma’am,” said Lt. Anghal crisply. “Professor Zannun and I have the components in place, hidden and online. We can leave.”
“Well done you two,” nodded Kakhskha. “I now need Prof. Zannun to run the Astrogation numbers for jump to Utogagzae. If this works, there will be no rush to jump from this system. So take your time, Zannun. Don’t be hasty like Dead-Hex always flaunts his math skills.”
“Yes, ma’am,” said the eldest Vargr. The black-furred Seruean then sat down at Dead-Hex’ usual spot at Astrogation and began working. “Comms?”
“We won’t need them until the final upload commit just before jump,” explained Kakhskha. "But we do have to be away from the station and out of Sensor contact. So, I have to engage the Stealth Mask and we will run silent until that time.”
“Internal power online, Lifters active and Maneuver Drives available, ma’am,” said the Chief Engineer. Inwardly, Kakshkha was glad the chocolate female was the least stressed about this maneuver Kakhskha was about to attempt. It concerned technology beyond both the average League and Pact Navies.
The SJL-3A32 Gatherer pulled from the opened hangar and proceeded to lose itself amid the thin ring of debris and wreckage as it made a quiet circumnavigation around mainworld Thueknorrurr. Kakhskha took her time and ordered the ship to expend minimal energies and observe a communications silence though she knew that Dead-Hex would need that connection when he finally pressed the COMMIT button from his spot in his cabin.
Twelve hours earlier, the Duelean had taken food, coffee, water and his Portable Controller into his cabin. Killing his lights as the door shut in Kakhskha’s face, Dead-Hex locked the door between them. It was a weird thing to happen to her, on her ship, but the Captain shrugged. Hackers were shut-ins it seemed. She had returned to the Bridge to await Anghal and Zannun. In that time, she had chewed both her thumbclaws down to the quick in her habitual patience.
“How is this going to work, Kakshkha?” whispered Marine Lt. Ardell as the two newcomers continued work on the Bridge. “I don’t understand how we can keep silent, transmit the data and maintain stealth from the backside of the planet.”
“Don’t distract me,” whispered the beige female. “That’s a lot of junk out there that I have to dodge.”
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