Move 19 (Chapter 1.19)

[yhlee]

(Thanks to zuhrovet for keeping the Station Moongray Timeline on the game wiki updated.)

Year 361, Month Three, Day Seventeen (Monday), ~0550

Just outside of Medical

Sulen has just been abandoned by Mikodez, who has headed into the reception area of Medical. They can hear Fluffy chirruping now that she's finished gobbling down the treats that Mikodez has fed her. Would it be best to go after Mikodez and try to contain the damage, or stand guard outside with the voidcreature? Baby Crowned-With-Eyes is wriggling very alarmingly in the sack and making ridiculously cheerful humming noises--and the spilled coffee still hasn't been cleaned up, and is probably a slipping hazard.

In Medical: antechamber

A triage nurse gives Mikodez a distinctly unfriendly look as he approaches with a caged Fluffy in tow. "You've had enough warnings," he says. "I don't care if you're Andan Bokali's special guests, you're disturbing our legitimate patients." He reaches over to a desk and pushes a red call button marked SECURITY.

In Medical: the actual patient

Istradez is, despite being awfully cavalier about his own condition, smiling reluctantly at Iawa for their solicitousness. Meanwhile, although Alaric has instructed Mikodez to fetch a nurse with float chair and discharge paperwork, he hears the triage nurse shooing Mikodez out. If they want a float chair, they're going to have to wrangle on themselves; it's clear that relying on Mikodez is not...the best idea considering how annoyed Medical is with him.

[Assuming that Alaric has called the "Bumblebee," Ashari (running as NPC) responds via lokwor.]

Ashari sounds very concerned about Istradez's status. "Bad enough to need a float chair? I'll dispatch one of the Kel to prep Medical," they tell Alaric.

on the "Bumblebee": the thieving Rahal

Gerae, taking Virmad's silence as a license to spill all his emotional upsets, will continue babbling about what a stressful year he's had unless Virmad interrupts him. If Virmad doesn't bring up the topic himself, Gerae will add plaintively that he could use some coffee (or stronger stimulant) and that he hasn't had food for a full day and could they get an early breakfast?

on the "Bumblebee": "xeno"mathematics the Cartesian way

The moth ponders Sasha's symbols and graphs for several minutes, then returns a graph with y = log₁₀x, y = x, y = x², and y = 10^x. Its humming has definitely quieted--perhaps the math is distracting it, or is taking more of its concentration.

[It's too bad I don't remember any LaTeX...?!]

Comms to EVERYONE, marching orders from Ashari

Ashari (running as NPC) calls everyone via lokwor, sounding grim, and instructs that they would like everyone to be on the "Bumblebee" and prepared to make a run for it within the hour. This means that Ashari expects Sulen and Virmad to prepare for a (remote) confrontation with the station administrator as per the plan.

Comments

Re: checking on the Rahal - paging Virmad

[yhlee]

Gerae bobs a grateful nod at Virmad. He seems to be intimidated by the sound of Sasha's voice over the grid, even though she's nowhere in sight. "Thank you," he says to Virmad, eyes downcast. "It's much appreciated, and I hope--I hope your meeting goes well."

Re: checking on the Rahal - paging Virmad

[zuhrovet]

So Gerae's rolling over and showing Virmad his belly. Sasha would be a lot happier if she knew the magistrate wouldn't have the same reaction to Quill.

"Any dietary restrictions?" she asks, through the grid.

Re: checking on the Rahal - paging Virmad

[yhlee]

Sasha can see on the camera feed that Gerae seems distinctly less enthusiastic to be interacting with the Mysterious Voice than with the friendlier-to-unlucky-Rahal Virmad. "No red meat, please," he says, politely enough, "although fish and insects are fine."

Re: checking on the Rahal - paging Virmad

[lleullawgyffes]

“I’ll come by again when I can,” Virmad says, smiling encouragingly. “In the meantime, hang in there, friend.”

He leaves, then, regretfully. He should probably ask the grid to make the door disappear again, but... Ah, let Sasha do it if she feels it’s necessary.

Re: checking on the Rahal - paging Virmad

[zuhrovet]

Sasha's waiting in the corridor. "Grid, please replace the door of the magistrate's room with a plain wall again," she instructs.

To Virmad, she adds, "Can I take a quick look at your lokwor? Iawa sent me a message that I find concerning."

Re: checking on the Rahal - paging Virmad

[lleullawgyffes]

Virmad sighs and wordlessly hands it to her — it’s easier than arguing.

Virmad's lokwor - paging Virmad and GM

[zuhrovet]

Sasha inspects the case carefully. If she doesn't find anything, she'll check recent login attempts.

[I can think of various ways that Virmad's lokwor could be bugged without instantly dooming the mission. For example, a bug might need station grid access or a nearby receiver to transfer the information it has gathered. For medium levels of excitement, there might be something taking images of the screen rather than an audio bug, in which case Teo might have read Ashari's marching orders, and I'd be curious about their precise wording.

Though if nothing's wrong and Virmad just revises his estimate of Sasha's paranoia upward, that's fine too!]

Re: Virmad's lokwor - paging Virmad and GM

[yhlee]

There's a very simple bug attached to the lokwor, of the same type that got stuck to Istradez's--which is to say, it simply transmits audio. However, Sasha can probably tell that it has a limited range and won't be any good to the listener once they're any distance from the station.

Re: Virmad's lokwor - paging Virmad and GM

[zuhrovet]

[Does it transmit only lokwor audio or anything Virmad says? And would it be able to transmit from the Wasp to the station while the Wasp is docked?]

Re: Virmad's lokwor - paging Virmad and GM

[yhlee]

[Only lokwor audio. It could definitely transmit from the Wasp to the station while the Wasp is docked.]

Virmad's bug

[zuhrovet]

Fucking wolverines. "Grid," Sasha says, "please inform all crew members currently on the ship they should refrain from making voice calls via lokwor until further notice."

She checks Virmad's lokwor to see whether he has made or received voice calls [I'm pretty sure the answer is no], then wipes it, resets the number, and puts it in her pocket. "I'll print you a new one," she tells Virmad, and heads toward the common room.

As they enter the room, she turns to Virmad and says, "You told me you maintained physical security of your device. I'd like to know why you lied to me."

Re: Virmad's bug

[lleullawgyffes]

“I did,” Virmad says. “I dozed a bit on the station, but I was sufficiently aware that I’m certain Teo never got up and messed around with my lokwor.” He flushes slighty. “I’m not very good at actually sleeping when I have to share a bed with someone.” He clears his throat, slightly embarrassed, then composes himself. “I’ll admit I don’t fully understand the way lokwors work — while on the station are our communications being routed through the station grid? In other words, is it possible that the station itself attached this bug when you sent your message about the second arrest? I can’t remember even taking out my lokwor at any other point on the station.”

[THAT SAID: did they, like, security check our devices when we came aboard the station? it's been so long... that's the only time I can think of when Virmad's lokwor would have been, like, out of his reach/sight if not actually on his person.]

He pauses. “Who makes lokwor voice calls, anyway? Or, more to the point, who that’s engaged in any kind subversive activities do they expect to make lokwor voice calls?”

[the mystery of the bug]

[yhlee]

[Virmad wasn't negligent in that regard. If Sasha or Virmad or somebody examines the bug more closely and pokes at it, they will discover that the bug is ambulatory--in addition to being tiny, it has tiny scuttling legs with which it scuttled into place and attached itself to the lokwor.]

Re: Virmad's bug

[zuhrovet]

Sasha's face is so red she'd make a good wedding decoration. She does not want to talk Virmad through his precise movements in the last few hours.

"It's a physical bug. The kind you'd use to get someone's voice password, which is why solo voice authentication is a terrible idea."

She pulls the lokwor out of her pocket again to show Virmad, and notices a twitch. "... Oh. Fuck me through the thousand hells, that thing is mobile. Here, little buglet, let's find you a nice safe container."

She finds one in the galley, the sort of box you'd store leftovers in. The bug shouldn't be able to open the lid, but just to be sure, she instructs the grid to track the foreign communications device, and notify her and Yehan if it leaves its container.

"To answer your question," she tells Virmad, a bit more calmly, "people make voice calls if they're less worried about recordings than about a written record. Or if they're perfectly innocent time travelers who just have some interesting technology. Or if they need to hack the teenager's lokwor to find out where the fuck he is."

[Are condoms common in the heptarchate? If I needed to fumble around in a drawer to release a spy bug during an assignation, finding a condom would definitely be my excuse.]

Re: Virmad's bug [this icon seems weirdly apropos]

[yhlee]

[Yup, condoms along with other means of preventing venereal diseases and/or pregnancy (well, okay, not that Virmad and Teo need to worry about that unless they have some mods that no one has told me about) are common in the heptarchate.]

Re: Virmad's bug

[lleullawgyffes]

“The Shuos kid isn’t back yet?” Virmad raises an eyebrow. Now that they’re safely away from Gerae’s room he can ask the follow-up question: “What about Fluffy? I know by now I’ve lost any respect you ever had or could have had for me as a part of this mission, but at this point it is both my personal and professional opinion that if we want to ensure the magistrate’s full cooperation and avoid a repeat of the lockpick incident — or something like it — the best thing we can do would be to make sure he and Fluffy are reunited as quickly as possible. Also,” he adds, “she’ll give him something with which to occupy his time, since he won’t have visitors 25/8.”

Re: Virmad's bug

[zuhrovet]

Sasha grabs some soup and starts heating it for the magistrate. She's trying to keep her voice even, but she slams the cabinet door. "Avrayen has Fluffy. I heard her when I called him. Sulen found Avrayen outside the medical center, and Alaric has gone to meet them. And before you ask, no, I don't know what Avrayen has been doing. Or why he didn't report Imsayed was hurt."

appropriate disposition of Virmad's bug

[zuhrovet]

Prophet grant Virmad's thinking about something useful. Sasha assembles a tray: the soup, some rice balls, a plastic spoon, pineapple in syrup, and a handful of ration bars (walnut-salted plum and lime leaf-cricket) in case the tofu skin floating in the soup isn't enough protein, or things get busy later.

She tells Virmad, "I didn't destroy the bug because I think it's possible that you and Sulen or Ashari will want to make a call that you know the station's listening to. Do you want to keep the device, or should I give it to Ashari? This box should keep the bug from crawling off."

Re: appropriate disposition of Virmad's bug

[lleullawgyffes]

“Hm? Oh. I’d say give it to Ashari,” Virmad says. “They are the mission leader, after all.” He adds, a little meekly: “I’d imagine you’d rather they have it than me, anyway, personality conflicts notwithstanding. Have we had any more news about Imsayed’s condition?”

[thanks, zuhrovet, for being willing to backtrack — Virmad may be distracted and sleep-deprived, but he's not THAT sleep-deprived.]

[sleep deprivation]

[yhlee]

[I am starting to think Ashari (NPC) needs to enforce some SLEEP TIME for y'all or no one is ever going to get any sleep. :p ]

Re: [sleep deprivation]

[zuhrovet]

[It's only been, like, six months of realtime, we're fine. ;) ]

Re: appropriate disposition of Virmad's bug

[zuhrovet]

"I'm not sure what you have heard," Sasha says, making an effort to appear calm and unconcerned, "but Ashari and I have resolved our differences. I will speak to them."

She rifles through the boxes in the galley's cupboards until she finds packets of instant coffee powder and sweetener, and lays them on the tray, together with hot water in an insulated mug. [If we don't want to subject Gerae to the horrors of Space Nescafé, a character who drinks coffee is going to have to make it.]

"As for Imsayed, Yehan's been on comms, so you'd have to ask her for the latest news. I know Iawa is with him, and is worried about the lokwors, likely because of a bug like yours."

[No problem! This timeline is clearly better for everyone.]

very virtuously reporting in - paging GM/Ashari

[zuhrovet]

After printing a few things and sliding the tray of food through Gerae's door, Sasha says, "Grid, please inform me of Ashari's current location, and ask them whether they have a few minutes to talk."

[lleullawgyffes, do feel free to continue the conversation if you like!]

Re: very virtuously reporting in - paging GM/Ashari

[yhlee]

After a few minutes' pause, the grid lets Sasha know that Ashari is in their bedroom, but they are up and will come out to their office to talk to Sasha.

Re: very virtuously reporting in - paging GM/Ashari

[zuhrovet]

Sasha spends several minutes confirming her analysis of the bug's design-- it does indeed twitch very slightly when Virmad's old lokwor receives a message-- and waiting for Ashari to settle in their office.

She knocks, waits for permission to enter, then steps inside and sets the transparent box holding the lokwor on Ashari's desk. "I need to explain this item," she says, "and then I have one question. This was Virmad's lokwor. He picked up a surveillance bug on the station. It's a classic design, powered by the lokki signal. It switches on and starts transmitting audio when someone makes a voice call. The rest of the time, it's using low or no power, so it likely won't show up without active scan. Which we've got, on the Wasp, but we have to be consistent about using it. This bug's a mobile variant. Someone could send a lokki signal to tell it to move, and it probably homes in on nearby lokwors, too. I've printed a clean lokki for Virmad, but I thought you'd like to keep this one, in case you want to make a call that you know the station will hear. Or tell Virmad to make one."

Ashari never interrupts; they just wait menacingly. This time's no exception.

Sasha continues, "I'm headed to the station now, to see what Iawa found; I expect it's another bug like this one. Can you confirm that you're expecting the Rahal to contact the station administrator from the Wasp? Sulen had asked me to provide them with a weapon, just in case something went wrong during that conversation. I could print one while I'm on station. But based on your message earlier, I'm guessing it won't be needed?"

[Sasha's infodump owes a great deal to a conversation with my spouse about microphones and The Thing.

Ashari may or may not want to warn Sasha not to make assumptions about their relationship with Sulen.]