0004 Pequan to Tremous Dex

[joertexas]

Donovan looked down again at his hand and winced. "I think the sooner we start the healing process the better. It may be shock or whatever but this thing is starting to hurt like hell." He climbs into the auto doc. As he does he looks up and meets Zaki's eyes. "It quite possibly gave you some flying ability. Apparently I can sense the feeling of danger and somehow weld the things shut with my hands."

"Remind me to not ask for a massage," Zaki deadpans. "All right, lie still and we will get started." She closes the cover and starts the machine.

[helvorn]

Donovan looked down again at his hand and winced. "I think the sooner we start the healing process the better. It may be shock or whatever but this thing is starting to hurt like hell." He climbs into the auto doc. As he does he looks up and meets Zaki's eyes. "It quite possibly gave you some flying ability. Apparently I can sense the feeling of danger and somehow weld the things shut with my hands."

"Remind me to not ask for a massage," Zaki deadpans. "All right, lie still and we will get started." She closes the cover and starts the machine.

Donovan snorted with laughter. He laid back and smiled. "No hot oil massages then…"

[Eris]

Once he has cut through, he’ll kill the torch and set it to the side. “I won’t ask you to risk yourself. I’ll take pictures as quickly as I can and if something happens, the rope will let you pull be to safety. It’s already done something to three of you and while curiosity is part of what drives me, so it your safely. Guard my back and pull me clear if I fall in this battle, but let me fight this thing and reveal its secrets. Idiot that I may be.”

OOC: Okay, here we go! But keep in mind nothing might happen to any of you, it's going to be up to the dice.

Flighty kills the torch and pulls the lid to the shipping container up. He pushes the bubble wrap aside and lifts out the Styrofoam box setting it back on the cargo deck floor. Lifting the top of the foam up Flighty exposes the object inside, it's the first time he's seen it. As he starts to take picture he thinks, that it doesn't look all that impressive to....ur...
 

Flighty's eyes seem to fog over for a second. He blinks and it is like he is standing next to Donovan and Zaki in the Sickbay. Donovan looks down at his hand and winces.

Donovan says, "I think the sooner we start the healing process the better. It may be shock or whatever but this thing is starting to hurt like hell." He climbs into the auto doc. As he does he looks up and meets Zaki's eyes. "It quite possibly gave you some flying ability. Apparently I can sense the feeling of danger and somehow weld things shut with my hands."

"Remind me to not ask for a massage," Zaki deadpans. "All right, lie still and we will get started." She closes the cover and starts the machine.

Donovan snorts with laughter and lays back smiling. "No hot oil massages then…"

 
...from somewhere Flighty hears an irritating ticking sound. The scene in Sickbay fades into gray as he looks around for the ticking...it is growing louder. It's somewhere aboard and it's dangerous. He thinks he needs to find it...
 

Flighty is standing in Engineering. Doug has opened a access plate in Engineering and has his upper body inserted into the space within while Bob stands next to him holding a slate with specifications displayed on it. An open toolbox rests on the floor next to Doug.

"Hey, hand me a #4 Pin Release Extractor, will you?" Doug says holding his hand back toward Bob, "There's a wire connected to this terminal that isn't in the specs. No, changed my mind. he says, "Give me a Circuit Tracker instead. Let's see where this wire goes before I extract it from the power circuit."

 
Sigrun sees her Captain go stock still and his eyes unfocus. He isn't doing anything, he's just standing there with a puzzled expression on his face. Flighty straightens up and turns, cocking his head, first one way and then another, like he is listening for something that he can't quite hear. He stops and looks aft and seems to be watching something.

Herself, Sigrun feels a bit of a tingle running up and down her arms, but nothing more than that.

Karsci watches Flighty open the Styrofoam box and...
 

he hears O'Chaci call his name. He looks to his left and the old woman, the oldest shaman in his tribe, is smiling at him, "Karsci, you have done well, but you must protect your new tribe now. Your tribe will soon be walking into the dark waters and repülő szörnyek will descend upon you. Do not let your leader take you there, safety lies around távoli csillagok. Make your Kapitány listen."

 
Sigrun sees the rope Karsci was holding go slack, glancing back she sees that his eyes have also lost focus and he, too, appears to be seeing and hearing things that aren't there! Sigrun still feels no more than slight tingles in her arms and now her scalp and well she also feels irritated, but she is fully in control of herself as those around her seem to be in trances.

[Tiglath]

Sigrun sees her Captain go stock still and his eyes unfocus. He isn't doing anything, he's just standing there with a puzzled expression on his face. Flighty straightens up and turns, cocking his head, first one way and then another, like he is listening for something that he can't quite hear. He stops and looks aft and seems to be watching something.

Herself, Sigrun feels a bit of a tingle running up and down her arms, but nothing more than that.
 
Sigrun sees the rope Karsci was holding go slack, glancing back she sees that his eyes have also lost focus and he, too, appears to be seeing and hearing things that aren't there! Sigrun still feels no more than slight tingles in her arms and now her scalp and well she also feels irritated, but she is fully in control of herself as those around her seem to be in trances.

"Ýmirs frosteistna!"1 Sigrún rolls her eyes and then takes the picter from Flighty's hands and captures three images of differing focus of the talisman. "Leitt að trufla svefninn aftur gamli vinur. Ég skal leggja þig aftur í rúmið".2 She then quickly closes up the Styrofoam box and re-packages the artefact in the shipping container closing it shut.

Glancing at Flighty she mutters "Svo virðist sem guðirnir hafi verið gjafmildir og hylli okkur heimskingjunum. Nema..."3 She suddenly blushes "Ferðu vopnlaus fyrir framan skipstjórann? Við höfum lifað af hingað til - en hvað ef hann rangtúlkar þetta??? Heimsk víking!"4 Hanging the picter about the conveniently static Capatin's neck she grabs the back collar of his shipboard fatigues and/or the grip on any armour he's wearing and pulling him off his feet drags him from the vicinity of the container and back to Karcsi's position. Anyone watching would surmise she's practiced this particular drill countless times.

She makes no attempt to wake/cure either crewmate from their "psionic episodes" perhaps either through lack of knowledge... or maybe previous experience...

With a sigh of frustration she then searches Flighty to recover her pistol "Óðinn vinsamlegast ekki láta hann jafna sig á meðan ég er að grafa í buxunum hans!"5

Accepting that "irritated" is perhaps the natural resting state for one of her calling she nevertheless monitors her apparently increasing emotions lest something she truly fears take hold...

(OOC Old Norse (Icelandic) Trans Service 1-5:
1 By Ýmir’s frosty balls!
2 Sorry to disturb your sleep again old friend. I'll put you back to bed.
3 It seems the gods have been generous and favored us fools. Unless...
4 Going about unarmed in front of the Captain? We have survived so far - but what if he misinterprets this??? Stupid Viking!
5 Odin I beg you don't let him come round while I'm rummaging in his trousers!)

[terrymixon]

Sigrun sees her Captain go stock still and his eyes unfocus. He isn't doing anything, he's just standing there with a puzzled expression on his face. Flighty straightens up and turns, cocking his head, first one way and then another, like he is listening for something that he can't quite hear. He stops and looks aft and seems to be watching something.

Herself, Sigrun feels a bit of a tingle running up and down her arms, but nothing more than that.
 
Sigrun sees the rope Karsci was holding go slack, glancing back she sees that his eyes have also lost focus and he, too, appears to be seeing and hearing things that aren't there! Sigrun still feels no more than slight tingles in her arms and now her scalp and well she also feels irritated, but she is fully in control of herself as those around her seem to be in trances.

"Ýmirs frosteistna!"1 Sigrún rolls her eyes and then takes the picter from Flighty's hands and captures three images of differing focus of the talisman. "Leitt að trufla svefninn aftur gamli vinur. Ég skal leggja þig aftur í rúmið".2 She then quickly closes up the Styrofoam box and re-packages the artefact in the shipping container closing it shut.

Glancing at Flighty she mutters "Guðirnir voru gjafmildir og studdu okkur heimskingjunum"3 She suddenly blushes "Ferðu vopnlaus fyrir framan skipstjórann? Við höfum lifað af hingað til - en hvað ef hann rangtúlkar þetta??? Heimsk víking!"4 Hanging the picter about the conveniently static Capatin's neck she grabs the back collar of his shipboard fatigues and/or the grip on any armour he's wearing and pulling him off his feet drags him from the vicinity of the container and back to Karcsi's position. Anyone watching would surmise she's practiced this particular drill countless times.

She makes no attempt to wake/cure either crewmate from their "psionic episodes" perhaps either through lack of knowledge... or maybe previous experience...

With a sigh of frustration she then searches Flighty to recover her pistol "Óðinn vinsamlegast ekki láta hann jafna sig á meðan ég er að grafa í buxunum hans!"5

Accepting that "irritated" is perhaps the natural resting state for one of her calling she nevertheless monitors her apparently increasing emotions lest something she truly fears take hold...

(OOC Old Norse (Icelandic) Trans Service 1-5:
1 By Ýmir’s frosty balls!
2 Sorry to disturb your sleep again old friend. I'll put you back to bed.
3 The gods were generous and favoured we fools.
4 Going about unarmed in front of the Captain? We have survived so far - but what if he misinterprets this??? Stupid Viking!
5 Odin I beg you don't let him come round while I'm rummaging in his trousers!)

That would be an awkward time for him to wake up. “Is that a pistol in your pocket or are you just happy to see me?”

[Tiglath]

That would be an awkward time for him to wake up. “Is that a pistol in your pocket or are you just happy to see me?”

Well indeed!

I feel somehow obliged to keep pitching into that area where Loki can take a swing...

[Eris]

Karcsi is the first to come back to his senses as the vision fades away and he begins blinking his eyes and shudders while taking a deep breath. O'Chaci must have been dead for many, many years, but it was good to see her again. No, this is shaman stuff. That was a real, no, not a dream, it was a true vision, just like a shaman would have! Is he a shaman now?

Flighty notices that he is sitting down and leaning against a metal shipping container. How did he get here? The last thing he remembers was that he was in Engineering with Doug and Bob. No, wait a minute wasn't he in Sickbay with Donovan and Zaki. But that's not right either...cargo hold that's where he was. Still is, but over here, not over there, where he opened that container.

Looking up he sees Karcsi rubbing his temples with a big frown on his face to one side and Sigrun standing on the other looking down at him holding an auto pistol in one hand looking either concerned or irritated...he can't tell which.

[terrymixon]

Karcsi is the first to come back to his senses as the vision fades away and he begins blinking his eyes and shudders while taking a deep breath. O'Chaci must have been dead for many, many years, but it was good to see her again. No, this is shaman stuff. That was a real, no, not a dream, it was a true vision, just like a shaman would have! Is he a shaman now?

Flighty notices that he is sitting down and leaning against a metal shipping container. How did he get here? The last thing he remembers was that he was in Engineering with Doug and Bob. No, wait a minute wasn't he in Sickbay with Donovan and Zaki. But that's not right either...cargo hold that's where he was. Still is, but over here, not over there, where he opened that container.

Looking up he sees Karcsi rubbing his temples with a big frown on his face to one side and Sigrun standing on the other looking down at him holding an auto pistol in one hand looking either concerned or irritated...he can't tell which.

Flighty blinked. Well, that was interesting.

“Did I get the pictures? Did Sigrun need to shoot someone? And wasn’t that pistol in my pants?”

He slowly levered himself to his feet. “I had a vision. Two, actually. I saw Zaki and Donovan talking in the med bay. Joking about avoiding a hot oil massage. That was funny. Bob and Doug found a wire that shouldn’t be there. I think it was a bomb.”

His eyes widened. “A bomb! We need to stop them from messing with it! It might be real!”

Flighty

[Tiglath]

Flighty notices that he is sitting down and leaning against a metal shipping container. How did he get here? The last thing he remembers was that he was in Engineering with Doug and Bob. No, wait a minute wasn't he in Sickbay with Donovan and Zaki. But that's not right either...cargo hold that's where he was. Still is, but over here, not over there, where he opened that container.

Looking up he sees Karcsi rubbing his temples with a big frown on his face to one side and Sigrun standing on the other looking down at him holding an auto pistol in one hand looking either concerned or irritated...he can't tell which.

Flighty blinked. Well, that was interesting.

“Did I get the pictures? Did Sigrun need to shoot someone? And wasn’t that pistol in my pants?”

He slowly levered himself to his feet. “I had a vision. Two, actually. I saw Zaki and Donovan talking in the med bay. Joking about avoiding a hot oil massage. That was funny. Bob and Doug found a wire that shouldn’t be there. I think it was a bomb.”

His eyes widened. “A bomb! We need to stop them from messing with it! It might be real!”

None too gently slapping Karcsi's face to bring him round Sigrún says "Are you well Karcsi? The talisman took you but it will pass" at signs of protest/recovery she gives a relieved smile and ceases her assault. She then lists her replies to Flighty "No, no... and já!" her smile broadens into a grin. She adds "I took the pictures, repacked the container and then dragged you out. You and Karcsi were taken by the talisman so I retrieved my weapon. Seiðr magic is vile stuff but I think the talisman can only bring out what is already within so perhaps I was overcautious - but I didn't want to be going about unarmed in front of my battle brothers. It would have been unseemly...". As if to reinforce both her words and her warrior persona she puts a foot up on a nearby container in a distinctly "macho" pose.

Moving to help Flighty to his feet she uses the warrior's grip and states "We're through the storm. You are brave and have added to your store of honour Foringi Flighty".

Alarmed by Flighty's warning Sigrún exclaims "I too saw a bomb aboard in my vision - we must get to Engineering! Foringi you should sound the war horn... gah... Imperial... General Quarters!"

[terrymixon]

Flighty notices that he is sitting down and leaning against a metal shipping container. How did he get here? The last thing he remembers was that he was in Engineering with Doug and Bob. No, wait a minute wasn't he in Sickbay with Donovan and Zaki. But that's not right either...cargo hold that's where he was. Still is, but over here, not over there, where he opened that container.

Looking up he sees Karcsi rubbing his temples with a big frown on his face to one side and Sigrun standing on the other looking down at him holding an auto pistol in one hand looking either concerned or irritated...he can't tell which.

Flighty blinked. Well, that was interesting.

“Did I get the pictures? Did Sigrun need to shoot someone? And wasn’t that pistol in my pants?”

He slowly levered himself to his feet. “I had a vision. Two, actually. I saw Zaki and Donovan talking in the med bay. Joking about avoiding a hot oil massage. That was funny. Bob and Doug found a wire that shouldn’t be there. I think it was a bomb.”

His eyes widened. “A bomb! We need to stop them from messing with it! It might be real!”

None too gently slapping Karcsi's face to bring him round Sigrún says "Are you well Karcsi? The talisman took you but it will pass" at signs of protest/recovery she gives a relieved smile and ceases her assault. She then lists her replies to Flighty "No, no... and já!" her smile broadens into a grin. She adds "I took the pictures, repacked the container and then dragged you out. You and Karcsi were taken by the talisman so I retrieved my weapon. Seiðr magic is vile stuff but I think the talisman can only bring out what is already within so perhaps I was overcautious - but I didn't want to be going about unarmed in front of my battle brothers. It would have been unseemly...". As if to reinforce both her words and her warrior persona she puts a foot up on a nearby container in a distinctly "macho" pose.

Moving to help Flighty to his feet she uses the warrior's grip and states "We're through the storm. You are brave and have added to your store of honour Foringi Flighty".

Alarmed by Flighty's warning Sigrún exclaims "I too saw a bomb aboard in my vision - we must get to Engineering! Foringi you should sound the war horn... gah... Imperial... General Quarters!"

OOC: I'll wait for Karsci to respond before I do.

Flighty

[Eris]

Flighty blinked. Well, that was interesting.

“Did I get the pictures? Did Sigrun need to shoot someone? And wasn’t that pistol in my pants?”

He slowly levered himself to his feet. “I had a vision. Two, actually. I saw Zaki and Donovan talking in the med bay. Joking about avoiding a hot oil massage. That was funny. Bob and Doug found a wire that shouldn’t be there. I think it was a bomb.”

His eyes widened. “A bomb! We need to stop them from messing with it! It might be real!”

None too gently slapping Karcsi's face to bring him round Sigrún says "Are you well Karcsi? The talisman took you but it will pass" at signs of protest/recovery she gives a relieved smile and ceases her assault. She then lists her replies to Flighty "No, no... and já!" her smile broadens into a grin. She adds "I took the pictures, repacked the container and then dragged you out. You and Karcsi were taken by the talisman so I retrieved my weapon. Seiðr magic is vile stuff but I think the talisman can only bring out what is already within so perhaps I was overcautious - but I didn't want to be going about unarmed in front of my battle brothers. It would have been unseemly...". As if to reinforce both her words and her warrior persona she puts a foot up on a nearby container in a distinctly "macho" pose.

Moving to help Flighty to his feet she uses the warrior's grip and states "We're through the storm. You are brave and have added to your store of honour Foringi Flighty".

Alarmed by Flighty's warning Sigrún exclaims "I too saw a bomb aboard in my vision - we must get to Engineering! Foringi you should sound the war horn... gah... Imperial... General Quarters!"

OOC: I'll wait for Karsci to respond before I do.

Flighty

OOC: Seeing as Eric is unavoidably absent right now, and I sure do hope his surgery went well and he's recovering quickly, I'll be NPCint Karsci for the nonce.


Karcsi, puts up his hand very quickly blocking Sigrun's slap and grunts, "Enough! I am myself again!"

"The Captain must listen to me!" Karcsi says, "The ship is in danger! Where we are going is dark water and we will be destroyed by flying dragons if you take us there! I know that doesn't make literal sense, but it means something."

[terrymixon]

OOC: I'll wait for Karsci to respond before I do.

Flighty

OOC: Seeing as Eric is unavoidably absent right now, and I sure do hope his surgery went well and he's recovering quickly, I'll be NPCint Karsci for the nonce.


Karcsi, puts up his hand very quickly blocking Sigrun's slap and grunts, "Enough! I am myself again!"

"The Captain must listen to me!" Karcsi says, "The ship is in danger! Where we are going is dark water and we will be destroyed by flying dragons if you take us there! I know that doesn't make literal sense, but it means something."

"I believe you. We'll get to the bottom of this, but first we need to make sure we don't have a bomb ready to blow us up. With me!"

Flighty headed quickly for engineering. He burst in and looked for Bob and Doug. "If you found a wire that didn't belong, don't mess with it! It might be a bomb! Am I crazy or did you just find one?"

Flighty

[Tiglath]

Karcsi, puts up his hand very quickly blocking Sigrun's slap and grunts, "Enough! I am myself again!"

"The Captain must listen to me!" Karcsi says, "The ship is in danger! Where we are going is dark water and we will be destroyed by flying dragons if you take us there! I know that doesn't make literal sense, but it means something."

Sigrún immediately declares "His vision matches mine! I saw our ship destroyed in ambush by other vessels. I then saw an alternate future where a bomb was hidden aboard somewhere near the cargo hold. It's on a timer!"

[Eris]

Flighty headed quickly for engineering. He burst in and looked for Bob and Doug. "If you found a wire that didn't belong, don't mess with it! It might be a bomb! Am I crazy or did you just find one?"

Doug pulls his head out of an access panel and looks over his shoulder at Flighty, "Yeah, just did. I was about to disconnect it, then I thought maybe you'd like to know what it went to before I do that. So, I'm just starting to follow it."

"There something I ought'a know about it?" the Engineer asks as he now turns back and squats on the deck looking up at Flighty, Karcsi and that new woman that Bob was talking about earlier, the passenger that was on the wreak...Sindee or something like that.

[Eris]

Karcsi, puts up his hand very quickly blocking Sigrun's slap and grunts, "Enough! I am myself again!"

"The Captain must listen to me!" Karcsi says, "The ship is in danger! Where we are going is dark water and we will be destroyed by flying dragons if you take us there! I know that doesn't make literal sense, but it means something."

Sigrún immediately declares "His vision matches mine! I saw our ship destroyed in ambush by other vessels. I then saw an alternate future where a bomb was hidden aboard somewhere near the cargo hold. It's on a timer!"

Karcsi nods and frowns while continuing to nod, "Yeah, I could see dark water being space and flying dragons being ships attacking us. It was dark, but it was near a big campfire that it happened, I think. Near a star, maybe?"

Then when Flighty takes off toward Engineering, Karcsi follows close behind.

[terrymixon]

Flighty headed quickly for engineering. He burst in and looked for Bob and Doug. "If you found a wire that didn't belong, don't mess with it! It might be a bomb! Am I crazy or did you just find one?"

Doug pulls his head out of an access panel and looks over his shoulder at Flighty, "Yeah, just did. I was about to disconnect it, then I thought maybe you'd like to know what it went to before I do that. So, I'm just starting to follow it."

"There something I ought'a know about it?" the Engineer asks as he now turns back and squats on the deck looking up at Flighty, Karcsi and that new woman that Bob was talking about earlier, the passenger that was on the wreak...Sindee or something like that.

"A very strong hunch? Maybe one enhanced by our cargo. How can we find what the wire leads to without setting it off? If it is a bomb, there might be some kind of anti-tampering circuit. We need to be super careful. Please proceed."

Flighty

[Tiglath]

Karcsi nods and frowns while continuing to nod, "Yeah, I could see dark water being space and flying dragons being ships attacking us. It was dark, but it was near a big campfire that it happened, I think. Near a star, maybe?"

Then when Flighty takes off toward Engineering, Karcsi follows close behind.

Sigrún follows towards Engineering letting folk who look intent on using relevant and useful skills therein precede her. She puts a ship comm call through to the med bay "Zaki put your Vacc suit on. There's a bomb onboard. Oh, and remain calm - já?"

She continues her conversation with Karcsi making sure Flighty hears what she has to say. Smiling at Karcsi she states "Your big campfire was the gas giant I saw in my vision. The ambush was positioned there to strike ships as they refuel - it's a standard tactic. It works better in systems with only one refuelling source - like Tremous Dex!"

Making sure she has Flighty's full attention she states "I know you are dealing with the bomb... but we are jumping into a system with an ambush waiting for us at the gas giant. Karcsi and I have both seen it! You are familiar with the Tremous Dex system? The primary is near enough a vacuum world so even if we deal with the bomb the only other source of fuel is the starport. So that's half a solution but you do know of the Zhodani interest in the planet? Moves to make it into a protectorate? Given our current situation the chance of Zhodani naval vessels insystem just makes things... complicated. Um... probably...". Then she adds "Unless... it was them that I saw destroying our star ship... but then...".

She slips into brooding thought adding distractedly "Let me know how I can help with the bomb...".

(OOC: ...and confusing your Sindee and your Sigrún is probably a mistake you'd not want to repeat! ).

[terrymixon]

Making sure she has Flighty's full attention she states "I know you are dealing with the bomb... but we are jumping into a system with an ambush waiting for us at the gas giant. Karcsi and I have both seen it! You are familiar with the Tremous Dex system? The primary is near enough a vacuum world so even if we deal with the bomb the only other source of fuel is the starport. So that's half a solution but you do know of the Zhodani interest in the planet? Moves to make it into a protectorate? Given our current situation the chance of Zhodani naval vessels insystem just makes things... complicated. Um... probably...". Then she adds "Unless... it was them that I saw destroying our star ship... but then...".

She slips into brooding thought adding distractedly "Let me know how I can help with the bomb...".

"I don't really know much about it at all. If we have to, we can do a second J-1 and get to a different system. That's something we'll need to talk about. One thing I feel pretty confident about is that they'll want their cargo before they kill us." He turned to face her. "My bet is that the attack at the gas giant is to make sure there are no witnesses to tell what we picked up. If they blame it on the Zhodoni, that would throw the scent off them. The bomb on a timer is to make sure that we don't run off and leave them high and dry."

He shook his head. "I wish we'd have been able to recover the transponder on that wreck. Having a new identity would be helpful right about now."

He has an inkling of a plan she might like. Defuse and remove the bomb, pack it in place of the artifact with the timer reset, and get out of there without getting the refuel. That would send a message. It would be safer to just run, but he'll trot the idea out when everyone can talk.

(OOC: ...and confusing your Sindee and your Sigrún is probably a mistake you'd not want to repeat! ).

Maybe it's her alter ego. Sindee is fun on dates, but in a completely different way.

Flighty

[Tiglath]

"I don't really know much about it at all. If we have to, we can do a second J-1 and get to a different system. That's something we'll need to talk about. One thing I feel pretty confident about is that they'll want their cargo before they kill us." He turned to face her. "My bet is that the attack at the gas giant is to make sure there are no witnesses to tell what we picked up. If they blame it on the Zhodoni, that would throw the scent off them. The bomb on a timer is to make sure that we don't run off and leave them high and dry."

He shook his head. "I wish we'd have been able to recover the transponder on that wreck. Having a new identity would be helpful right about now."

He has an inkling of a plan she might like. Defuse and remove the bomb, pack it in place of the artifact with the timer reset, and get out of there without getting the refuel. That would send a message. It would be safer to just run, but he'll trot the idea out when everyone can talk.

Maybe it's her alter ego. Sindee is fun on dates, but in a completely different way.

"You carried two jumps worth of fuel?" Sigrún's rich laughter is perhaps a rare thing to hear "I knew I liked you for a reason Foringi Flighty - now I know what it is!"

Clearly approving she adds "A transponder change would be very useful about now. There may be some people on Rangent who could help with that. You seem to be an irregular trader Kapiten Flighty. My family were belters but even when they settled they always had a sideline in unscheduled orbital transfers and small packet trading".

She then adds soberly "You should not discount that you are working for Zhodani Intelligence - double redundancy is perhaps their signature and, yes, they have penetrated deep into the Imperial border worlds. Their reasoning might run like this - if the talisman exists you find it and bring it back. You run with or without it - you die, you bring it to Tremous Dex - you die. I saw the attack at the gas giant. No targeting the drives, no boarding action - just the destruction of the entire ship by main armament. The mission isn't asset recovery - it's deniable asset denial. Alternatively the people you work for may be a purely commercial concern but if so their work will be illegal within the Imperium and attract more than passing "special interest" from both Imperial and Zhodani covert agencies. Bear in mind that the talisman triggers latent psionics which are in themselves dangerous. That societal "chain reaction" pretty much ticks every box on the Ine Givar wishlist as a terrorism "spectacular" and employs a reusable and effectively untraceable weapon. Maybe that's who you are working for?"

Maybe it's her alter ego. Sindee is fun on dates, but in a completely different way.

Perhaps Sigrún is Sindee... at the weekend!

[terrymixon]

"I don't really know much about it at all. If we have to, we can do a second J-1 and get to a different system. That's something we'll need to talk about. One thing I feel pretty confident about is that they'll want their cargo before they kill us." He turned to face her. "My bet is that the attack at the gas giant is to make sure there are no witnesses to tell what we picked up. If they blame it on the Zhodoni, that would throw the scent off them. The bomb on a timer is to make sure that we don't run off and leave them high and dry."

He shook his head. "I wish we'd have been able to recover the transponder on that wreck. Having a new identity would be helpful right about now."

He has an inkling of a plan she might like. Defuse and remove the bomb, pack it in place of the artifact with the timer reset, and get out of there without getting the refuel. That would send a message. It would be safer to just run, but he'll trot the idea out when everyone can talk.

Maybe it's her alter ego. Sindee is fun on dates, but in a completely different way.

"You carried two jumps worth of fuel?" Sigrún's rich laughter is perhaps a rare thing to hear "I knew I liked you for a reason Foringi Flighty - now I know what it is!"

Clearly approving she adds "A transponder change would be very useful about now. There may be some people on Rangent who could help with that. You seem to be an irregular trader Kapiten Flighty. My family were belters but even when they settled they always had a sideline in unscheduled orbital transfers and small packet trading".

She then adds soberly "You should not discount that you are working for Zhodani Intelligence - double redundancy is perhaps their signature and, yes, they have penetrated deep into the Imperial border worlds. If the talisman exists you find it and bring it back. You run with or without it - you die, you bring it to Tremous Dex - you die. I saw the attack at the gas giant. No targeting the drives, no boarding action - just the destruction of the entire ship by main armament. The mission isn't asset recovery - it's deniable asset denial. Alternatively the people you work for may be a purely commercial concern but if so their work will have a more than passing "special interest" from both Imperial and Zhodani agencies. Bear in mind that the talisman triggers latent psionics which in themselves are dangerous. That societal "chain reaction" pretty much ticks every box on the Ine Givar wishlist as a terrorism "spectacular". Maybe that's who you are working for?"

“All true. We may never know. It’s probably best if we vanish and they never find out what happened to us. That’s where a different IFF would come in handy. We could use Donovan and you as fresh faces until we get clear. One more thing to talk about once we are sure we won’t blow up.”

Flighty