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Post by Ilana Logan on May 17, 2023 21:38:40 GMT -5
Space, 2 days from Georgia System
July 15th, 2518
AST 7:31 PM
Ilana was curled up in the corner of the couch, and knitted grey throw over her legs. A half-full glass of scotch sat ignored on the end table beside her as she sat, fully enthralled by the schematics she was reviewing for the upcoming job.
She was reviewing the layout of the small compound (little more than a campground with a few cabins, really) that their target was expected to be at to get a good feel for where it would be best to make their entry. The layout was simple enough. There were two small cabins on the north side of the campground, one to the east, and one to the west.
The south side appeared to be the best route so far as she could tell, but she would definitely want another set of eyes on it before making a decision.
Ilana pulled herself out of the schematics and pinched the bridge of her nose, thinking. She took a drink and replaced the glass on the table.
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Post by Samantha Greystone on May 17, 2023 22:30:05 GMT -5
Since the dinner, where Ilana had announced the next job, Sam had been contemplating her options. She could stay on the ship and put her hacking skills to use, or not and put her fighting skills to use.
After dinner, Sam had taking her time doing the dishes and prepping for tomorrow as she contemplated her options. The crew had not questioned her late nights on the computer and as such didn't know about her hacking skills. Also, thanks to Rina and Mike's intervention at the bar, didn't know about her fighting skills.
Either skills used, would likely lead to questions later. It had only been a matter of time before that happened, anyway. With a decision in her mind, and everything done in the kitchen, Sam headed to find the Captain.
Ilana was easy enough to find, on the couch, looking at schematics. "Hey, Captain," Sam greeted the other woman, "Can I talk you for a minute?"
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Post by Ilana Logan on May 18, 2023 17:38:33 GMT -5
The young woman's voice breaking into her thoughts, Ilana looked up. "Hmm? Oh, yes, of course, Sam. Have a seat." She motioned to the many empty seats.
Ilana put her feet on the floor and set her datapad on the coffee table in front of her. She took her drink from the table beside her and sipped it. She gave the young woman a moment to find a seat then asked, "What's up?"
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Post by Samantha Greystone on May 18, 2023 19:23:02 GMT -5
Sam took a seat. In one of the chairs near the Captain and took a breath. Everything had gone so badly with her past crews, when it came out. They either wanted her to use her skills for things she didn't agree with or they just didn't want to deal with having someone doing something that illegal on board. However, everything about this Captain and crew were different than those. Maybe, that's why she never had told any of them on her own.
"I have a skill, well, skills that might be useful for the upcoming job." Sam explained. "I'm a hacker."
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Post by Ilana Logan on May 18, 2023 19:53:08 GMT -5
Sam appeared to be steeling herself for something, which immediately made Ilana wonder what she'd broken and why she seemed so nervous to say it. Finally, after taking the chair by the couch, she took a breath and just spit it out, "I have a skill, well, skills that might be useful for the upcoming job." Sam explained. "I'm a hacker."
Ilana raised a brow. Okay... not what I was expecting, she thought.
"Are you now?" Ilana pondered curiously. "If you're any good at it, it would certainly come in handy."
She thought for a moment, considering the possibilities for smoothing out some of the rough edges on the plan she was working through. "How good are you at this, exactly?" Ilana asked, then explained. "You don't have to be top notch or anything. I'd just like an idea of the odds you'll be successful if we take you up on your offer so I know what I'm walking into. I don't want to sneak up on their place and be thinking no one knows we're there and get blindsided."
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Post by Samantha Greystone on May 18, 2023 20:09:40 GMT -5
"How good are you at this, exactly?" Ilana asked, then explained. "You don't have to be top notch or anything. I'd just like an idea of the odds you'll be successful if we take you up on your offer so I know what I'm walking into. I don't want to sneak up on their place and be thinking no one knows we're there and get blindsided." Sam nodded, she certainly understood that. "Do you remember when I first got on the ship and what happened with Jace and Helios? Not the robbery but what happened with the surveillance cameras. How they stopped working? That was me. I tapped into the systems. I've been doing that kind of work for years. I don't know how much you deal with the hacking world, but I'm fairly well known on it by my online handle, of course." |
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Post by Ilana Logan on May 27, 2023 22:34:20 GMT -5
Ilana felt her eyes widen of their own accord, clearly displaying her surprise. "I can't say I'm surprised that the person who caused that was a friendly, or at the very least anti-alliance, but I have to say, I'm more than a little surprised to hear you did that," Ilana said. "Mostly because you applied as a cook, not a galaxy-class hacker," that last bit added with a chuckle.
She was thoughtful for a moment, pondering how best to approach this. She knew they could definitely use someone like that, work they do sometimes. She didn't know Sam well, but she seemed to get on well with the crew, and the girl had definitely developed a fondness for Rina.
"I think I have an offer for you. You'll be paid, as per our previous agreement, for cooking as usual, because that's what I hired you for and we do still need that role filled. Plus we don't exactly need a hacker at all times," Ilana said, and shook herself, realizing she had started rambling a little.
She continued on, "However, in addition to that, as a second agreement I suppose, I will pay you a bonus for hacking as needed. The pay you would receive for hacking for us would of course vary depending on the overall pay we get for whatever the job is and the difficulty of the hack. I know a little about hacking, but that's very little, so for the most part, I would be trusting you to be honest about the difficulty of your part in the job. Is that an arrangement you would be comfortable with?"
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Post by Samantha Greystone on May 28, 2023 10:31:24 GMT -5
Sam noticed the Captain didn't seem upset by the knowledge about Sam's extra skills and the woman had a feeling she'd be fine with whatever jobs came about with this crew.
Sam was a little surprised by the offer, for some reason she hadn't been expected to be paid extra for her hacking work. Despite the fact most paid premium for her services "Yes, that's definitely fair. I'll give you my word to be honest about how difficult the job is."
Sam was wondering if Ilana was going to ask about how a cook came to be a hacker or a hacker came to be a cook. She always got questions, it seemed.
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Post by Ilana Logan on May 28, 2023 13:09:24 GMT -5
"Yes, that's definitely fair. I'll give you my word to be honest about how difficult the job is," Sam said, sounding sincere.
Ilana nodded, accepting the girl's words. She was generally a fair judge of character, and tried to give people the benefit of the doubt, at least until given a reason not to. "I have a couple of questions though, if that's alright," Ilana said.
"It'd be fairly easy to guess where you got the skills to cook at your age. Most likely a family member or something like that taught you as you were growing up. My question though, how did you come by the skills to shut down the camera feed for an entire area on a major core world at your age? That's definitely not an intro-level hacker feat, and it was done very quickly."
After a moment, Ilana added, "If you feel like you haven't known any of us long enough to answer that question, that's fine. People find all manner of things personal, so I won't judge you for not wanting to answer that right away, but I'll reserve the ability to ask again in the future."
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Post by Samantha Greystone on May 28, 2023 13:31:54 GMT -5
"I have a couple of questions though, if that's alright," Ilana said. "It'd be fairly easy to guess where you got the skills to cook at your age. Most likely a family member or something like that taught you as you were growing up. My question though, how did you come by the skills to shut down the camera feed for an entire area on a major core world at your age? That's definitely not an intro-level hacker feat, and it was done very quickly."After a moment, Ilana added, "If you feel like you haven't known any of us long enough to answer that question, that's fine. People find all manner of things personal, so I won't judge you for not wanting to answer that right away, but I'll reserve the ability to ask again in the future." "Well, for the cooking, yes, my father showed me how to cook. And how to cook on a ship with everything and practically nothing." Sam's response led to answering the second question. "I was raised on a ship, my parents were co-captians. The entire crew took my older brother and myself under their wing. I was mostly interested in Engineering, so the engineer trained me. Turns out he was also extremely good at computers. When he found out I was interested in computers, he started showing me how to do a few things. It didn't take long before I was coding - advanced coding. I was six. By the time I was eight I knew how to hack, thanks to the engineer. That was the first time I did an illegal hack. Needless to say my parents were not happy about it when they found out about it but I continued to do it anyway. So, I've been doing it since then." She expected more questions but was hoping that answered Ilana's first one. |
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Post by Ilana Logan on May 28, 2023 15:49:55 GMT -5
Six for advanced coding and eight for illegal hacks! Ilana thought.
Ilana whistled low, "That's impressive, but kids are like sponges, so I can see that with the right teacher. That's why it's easier for kids to learn a new language than it is for adults."
She thought for a moment before continuing, "Before I ask this, know that I'd appreciate an honest answer, but I don't require specifics if you're not ready to provide them. Given your skillset and the bit of history you've told me, not to mention how young you are, I'd be willing to bet that something went sideways somewhere along the way. Mayhaps not anything you had anything to do with, but something."
"Beautiful young girls don't typically leave home, especially when that home is a ship where they get to travel and see the 'verse, when everything is smooth and shiny. Like I said before, I don't need specifics if you don't feel safe enough to answer, but are you running from something, or someone? Regardless of what or who, I don't like to be caught unaware of danger, and if someone is looking for you, it's best to know so we can be prepared should the day come that whatever or whoever you're running from catches up to you."
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Post by Samantha Greystone on May 28, 2023 18:54:11 GMT -5
The question was a fair one, and not unexpected. Sam didn't talk much about her past, there was too many variables to telling could go wrong. This Captain however had given her a job knowing nothing than that the girl could cook.
Maybe, just maybe a little wouldn't be bad.
"Yes, I'm running from someone. That's the short answer, the answer to who is a little longer but I think you should know." Sam's voice had grown, uncharacteristically, quiet. This was clearly something that was difficult to talk about.
"About three years ago my parents decided to stop in Panquin, they sometimes picked up passengers though we mostly hauled cargo. This time, however, they picked up a man named Chen Hui. He seemed alright but I had taken to researching all the passengers we picked up. As deep as I dug, on the Cortex, I couldn't find the man anywhere. Its one thing to just have a fake ID but he was a ghost even on the dark web. I kept it to myself for a time, mostly because Chen seemed nice and my parents didn't like me hacking, they thought it was too dangerous.
We stopped at Persephone, my mom sent me to a store to get a few things. By the time I got back..." Sam stopped and looked down, realizing she had been slightly bouncing her foot. She took a moment to breathe.
The next part came out quietly, a little quickly, as if she didn't just get it out, it would remain trapped forever in her throat. "I got back to the ship...and ..and... everyone had been murdered. Almost everyone...except Chen Hui and my brother who were both missing." She took a moment to wiped her eyes with her finger and give herself a moment to suppress the actual memory. She would likely have nightmares tonight from this but oddly it didn't feel as horrible as Sam thought it would. "Chen Hui, left a message which read "Nǐ shì xià yīgè". He's one of the people after me." Sam decided to let that sink in before continuing.
*Nǐ shì xià yīgè. - You're next
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Post by Ilana Logan on May 29, 2023 11:30:46 GMT -5
"Yes, I'm running from someone. That's the short answer, the answer to who is a little longer but I think you should know," Sam said quietly.
Ilana sat in silence, listening while the girl talked. She spoke clearly, but softly, as though she feared Ilana might hear her. Sam wove a story of a ghost of a man, her speech becoming faster as she reached the end. This ghost of a man had murdered her entire crew, along with her parents, and seemingly kidnapped her brother. Sam ran a finger under her eyes as she spoke. The man had left an ominous warning behind, though why he would threaten one child and kidnap another, Ilana didn't understand.
"You're next," Ilana whispered, almost inaudibly.
Wuh de ma… 3 years ago... 15… Ai Yah Tien Ah, the poor kid… Ilana's thoughts raced.
It had taken a moment for Ilana to catch the specific phrasing Sam had used. "Wait… he's one of the people after you. Implying he's not the only one?"
Wuh de ma - mother of god
Ai Yah Tien Ah - Merciless hell
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Post by Samantha Greystone on May 29, 2023 12:15:43 GMT -5
Sam nodded when Ilana asked about that only being of the people after her. "When I had time, after running from the ship, I managed to log into the ships system. There was no mention of there being a passenger on board. By that time, the Alliance already knew about the murders. They've been looking for my brother and myself ever since. They told the news it was for questioning but I am sure they just want someone to pin the murder on."
So, the Alliance made number two. "And..." meaning there was another coming. "A few months after I was on my own I got a job, as a cook, on a ship. I had been living on the streets for several months and I was just building a name for myself as a hacker for pay. So, I took the first job that came my way. Have you heard of the slaver, Mao Ching? It turned out to be his ship. I found that out a few days into the job, when he picked up some slaves. He was vicious towards them. I decided to try to do something about it so I jumped ship in Highgate and contacted the authorities. I hid and watched as the authorities showed up, went on the ship and left with a handshake from Mao. Obviously he probably bribed them." She paused. "Though my hacking I found out that he's looking for me, as well. I don't know how actively but he definitely has feelers out."
She paused to allow time for the Captain to respond, the contemplation to become completely clean weighing on her mind.
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Post by Ilana Logan on May 29, 2023 13:28:52 GMT -5
Sam gave more details regarding the man who murdered her family, and went on to explain that because of those murders, the alliance wants her and her brother as well, believing they just want someone to pin the murders on.
She's probably not wrong, Ilana thought grimly.
Following that was a slaver. Ilana grimaced. She hadn't heard of that one in particular, but there were so many. The one after Sam being one that either has enough funds to bribe officials, or has enough influence politically that he's virtually untouchable. Both prospects were terrifying in their own ways, really.
Ilana thought for a long moment on how best to start. Finally, she decided to just be direct. She'd never been much good at sugarcoating things anyway. "First, I'm very sorry that happened to you. You've been through a lot for someone so young, and I would have to imagine it's aged you well beyond your years," Ilana began.
"You should know though, that you're not alone here. You're also not the only one wanted by the alliance for - ah - questioning. I'll tell you the same thing I told Jace a while back, it will be over my dead gorram body that anyone on my boat goes to the feds."
Ilana paused a moment before continuing, "My point is that almost everyone on this ship is running from something or someone. We don't make a habit of getting caught in the act, barring Helios's idiocy on Osirus - thank you for cleaning up that mess, by the way - and we don't accept jobs that have a high risk of ending up fodder for purple-bellies."
Since the girl was being honest, Ilana figured it was best that she was too. "We have a fair amount of danger in our line of work, but we try our best to stay away from slavers, though we had a run-in with one group a while back. Didn't know they were slavers when we took the job either, and we made it right in the end. They're all dead, and at least those slavers will never harm anyone again. Point is, you're as safe here as you can be given the circumstances, and you have a place here as long as you want it."
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Post by Samantha Greystone on May 29, 2023 14:18:28 GMT -5
Ilana's response was met with some relief from Sam. As for the danger to the job, she understood and was fine with it. Now, came the internal debate of whether or not to just come clean about everything.
"Thank you for that. I have been pretty much jumping from ship to ship for years now." It was good to hear that she was welcomed here, now hopefully that would remain the case. "I think though there is something else I should tell you and I'm not sure how you're going to take it "
The fact Ilana didn't ask her about her fake ID or the name of the ship she had been raised on, left it up to Sam to tell but she figured this was better than the Captain finding out on her own, somehow.
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Post by Ilana Logan on May 29, 2023 15:46:53 GMT -5
"Thank you for that. I have been pretty much jumping from ship to ship for years now," Sam said, confirming Ilana's assumption about where she'd been since the massacre on her ship. "I think though there is something else I should tell you and I'm not sure how you're going to take it."
Ilana almost laughed, more from tension than from actual amusement. She hadn't even realized how tense she'd gotten. She took a breath and relaxed a bit into her seat, trying to will her muscles to uncoil. She picked up her glass and stared at the amber liquid inside, thinking. She took a short pull on her scotch and set the glass back down.
"Honestly Sam, after all this, the fact that this is the part of the story that you're not sure how I'll take worries me a little." Ilana did laugh just a little then at the bizarre turn this day had taken. "Lay it on me, kid. After all that you've already told me, I think my delicate sensibilities can handle one more.
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Post by Samantha Greystone on May 29, 2023 16:54:45 GMT -5
Sam sighed, a deep sigh. Ilana calling her kid might be more appropriate than the Captain realized. "I got those jobs on a ship by using a fake ID. Fake name, fake birthday." That shouldn't be a surprise, but the next part was the part that might concern the Captain. "I'm not 19. I'm 16."
Now, Sam was well aware this stil could end badly but she was praying her instincts were right and it wouldn't.
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Post by Ilana Logan on May 29, 2023 17:28:35 GMT -5
A heavy sigh from the girl, and then, "I got those jobs on a ship by using a fake ID. Fake name, fake birthday." A pause. "I'm not 19. I'm 16."
Ilana took in a breath, held it a moment, and blew it out. She nodded and took another pull on her scotch, again staring into the amber fluid, thinking careful on how best to proceed.
"First things first: I don't believe there are many that need to know any of this, however, I think the crew should be aware of your skillset for the sake of simplicity. It makes it easier if the entire team can be in the same room during the planning stage of things," Ilana began.
"The only one I can think of that may need to know your real age would be the doctor for, well, doctoring, and he wouldn't dare breach doctor-patient confidentiality. He's real uptight about that sort of thing, but even he wouldn't need your real name," she explained further.
"For the most part, your story is yours to tell. I won't make you tell anyone anything. If you get close enough, and comfortable enough with anyone else here to share the rest, that's fine, but I won't be the one to tell your story."
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Post by Samantha Greystone on May 29, 2023 17:47:46 GMT -5
That went better than expected, but at this point Sam was never sure what to expect.
"The crew can know about my skillset," she trusted they would keep that information to themselves.
Sam nodded, it did make sense to tell the doctor her actual age though she wasn't sure how much of a difference between sixteen and nineteen there was, in that sense. "I'll tell him."
When the Captain said it was up to her who else she told, Sam was relieved."Thank you." The girl paused, her voice grew lighter expressing the weight that had been lifted. She gave a slight smile. "And thanks for not just kicking me off the ship."
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