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CH 74: Crossed Wires
🕑 Added 2025-01-03 15:00:00 +0000 UTC<]]) Thad ([[>
A clanging alarm rang out from Thad’s console. This was not good.
He’d started the jump procedure, which meant pointing the ship at the direction he needed to go, then pulsing the engines in an oscillating pattern until they reached the critical point, and releasing a mass of extra energy from the mana reactor. The issue with that right now was the whole ‘point straight forward and don’t move’ bit.
This loaf, the current bane of his existence, was seriously messed in the head. He never expected the idiot to actually fire missiles at him. It was a guaranteed, in-person visit from the sector Croc. Not even the good loafs wanted that crap. But here Thad was, again cursing the idiot and their entire family line.
There were few things a ship could do in this situation. The engines couldn’t be powered down quickly now that they were in oscillation, and if he did abruptly shut off power, he’d fry any active circuits and lines in his ship. If he maneuvered with the oscillation going, he’d lose his chance to jump where he needed to go – and the engines would both explode if they didn’t get the jump surge at the right time, which would not end well. If he sent the surge early, he’d brick his ship for at least an hour before things could get brought back online. A charged jump was a tricky move on its own, which is why only the brave, experienced pilots attempted it.
And an experienced pilot always had a trick behind the ear. Thad slammed a hand onto the side of his life systems console until the false panel fell away. Inside was a simple set of controls with a single viewscreen, and it blinked to life as Thad powered it on.
This was one of the most illegal things he kept on his ship. War systems were made for military ships and trade escorts. There were usually some limited systems on the ruling class’s personal crafts, and even those were closely monitored and regulated.
But there were always methods to acquire things if you had the right connections.
Thad’s system consisted of a single, non-targeting laser hidden at the front of his ship, and a series of countermeasures in the rear. He preferred to avoid ship to ship combat, so getting away from a fight meant far more than winning one. The only time he’d ever used the laser was to intimidate a stranded corsair’s crew to let him aboard. The countermeasures saw a fair share of use, and had saved him more than once after after transactions that had gone sideways.
Using any of his options for missile countermeasures now meant getting the Wheathop flagged for it - and from then on every enforcer would have more to gain from turning him in than turning a blind eye. It would kill his ability to finish future work. Using the system now was the same as scrapping the Wheathop with his own hands. It was still better than dying.
Thad swore and slammed the countermeasures button down.
+ Reid +
An industrial beep and the clang of metal pulled Reid back to consciousness. He blinked as a strong wind whipped around him in the cage. He knelt up and looked out the metal slot as he tried to catch his breath.
The block of metal crates that had been secured together was shaking, and one after another they tumbled down and towards the far wall. A nail-on-chalkboard screech accompanied the bulk of the remaining crates sliding together towards the wall, then… out.
Dull silver cubes floated out onto a black canvas illuminated by tiny pinpricks of light. Reid braced himself against the cage and fought to breathe.
The cargo hatch door was open to vacuum.
<~\ Walt /~>
Walt continued his narration for the recording. “Ordinance contact in five, four, thr –“
A flash filled his viewport and he turned to the sensor readings.
“Early detonation. Wheathop’s cargo bay doors are open. Looks like they dumped their load to stop the missiles. Uncertain what in the cargo could’ve given the 0-4’s a legitimate signature to detonate on. Need to investigate further later on. Sending another volley.”
<]]) Thad ([[>
The clanging alarm had paused for a glorious few seconds, but it was back, again, and Thad’s countermeasure controls were dead - which meant he was out, or the system was broken. There was also a trill warning that the air pressure in the cargo bay was rapidly dropping. Thad assessed the situation. The countermeasures must have all popped off at once, popped late, and the resulting explosion from the missile had torn a hole somewhere in the cargo bay walls. Not a terrible outcome, but they’d be cutting the jump close to the arrival of the next set of missiles.
He barked behind him, “Kid – go close up any holes in the cargo bay. When you’re done, make sure my bumpkin is still alive!”
Thad turned back to his control panel. He watched the missiles on the console as they raced towards the Wheathop. Seconds ticked by, his eyes flitting between the engine readouts and the approaching missiles. Sweat formed under Thad’s brow and soaked into the fur of his ears – this was going to be closer than he wanted.
The thrum of the mana reactor shook through the hull of the Wheathop. The oscillations were rapid now, rebounding from one side to the other as the engines did their best to contain the surging power within. A building whirr emanated from the cables running between the reactor and the engines. Thad’s hand shook as it hovered over the controls.
He heard the crescendo before he saw it, the rhythm of the oscillations reaching an apex as the energy begged to be carried out of the engines. His palm was already slamming the button on the console when it blinked green to tell him the surge was ready.
The Wheathop groaned and let out a sound like a massive popping balloon as it lurched forward, into space, into safety. The energy from the charge jump wouldn't run out for a long while now, and they’d keep going straight towards their eventual destination without him needing to touch the controls. A stray asteroid or unlucky ship could turn their journey into a fatal crash, but the likelihood of something like that was so low it wasn’t even worth a second thought.
The jump should put them just outside of the Alfax space, where he’d meet up with DenWu to sell this cargo. Depending on the crusty armadillo's mood, he might also be interested in purchasing the country bumpkin and the street rat. The kid was slightly useful, sure, but Thad already had a mechanic - there was no need to keep the kid around once this job was done.
Thad settled into his chair and grabbed his flask. The bitter liquid numbed his throat. He opened the notification blinking in the corner of his vision. This was always the worst part of the jump, and he didn't want to be sober for it.
WARNING! Exposure to volatile mana detected
NOTICE: Exposure to volatile mana has affected skill, shoveling [basic]. Skill growth may only be achieved by shoveling dirt.
Thad nodded. It was a bad skill, and he’d only used it once, when tales of ancient pirates burying treasure led him to ruin a local field with half a dozen holes. He took another swig.
There were always two impacts from a charged jump. In his experience, they tended to follow a pattern. One was always a restriction to one of your existing skills, and the second was random. Most common were changes to stats - either good or bad. There were also biological mutations – which Thad had received when he lost his nose. Last were zero-skills.
Zero-skills were all but useless things that were basically guaranteed to never benefit the recipient in any way, called that because their rarity was always undefined.
Thad readied a mirror before viewing the notification for the second change, a not-small part of him wishing his ears had grown larger - or that he'd get his nose back.
NOTICE: Exposure to volatile mana has reduced stat – Intelligence from 5 to 2
“Fract.”
./\.+ Lycra +./\.
Lycra scratched the back of his neck. Things were… complicated. He’d already seen his notifications – one was a full restriction to his running skill. Full restrictions were rare, but not unheard of. That was coupled with something… new.
NOTICE: Exposure to volatile mana has imparted new skill, mana lattice engineer [undefined]
Mana Lattice Engineer [undefined]
Understanding and learning related to Mana reactor technology substantially improved. When working with Mana reactor technology, gain a boost to all stats, health, and mana. This skill improves as the user levels or invents new advancements in Mana reactor technology.
It was… insane. No zero skill was something that people could actually want. They were supposed to be utterly useless. He’d never even heard a rumor of something like this happening. This skill could be his ticket to a better life. He could pay off his servitude, and eat fresh meals. Heck, he could work on larger ships or even earn enough to rent out a room somewhere. But... the most appealing part was actually being good at doing what he loved.
Lycra had fallen in love with mana reactors on a rainy day, when water pooled on the edges of the street and ran into the gutters. He'd chased a floating piece of bread until it slipped down the grates and into the pipes below. His sense of defeat and his aching stomach were both momentarily forgotten when he stood and saw the beautiful blue structure glowing through the workshop window. It was a dazzle of color and intricate workings that pulled him like a gravity well. From that moment on - he was hooked. He dedicated his life to moving himself into the orbits of scrapyards and chop shops and even repair stations just to be close to the technology. Only his lack of a formal education was holding him back. There was only so much you could learn from an inert crystal attached to broken piping - sitting outside of a ship.
The zero skill he'd been given was unimaginably great. The complication was figuring out how he could live long enough for it to matter.
Lycra had rushed the final repairs due to Thad's ceaseless prodding, and while things had looked fine on the surface, his hasty work jumbled two connections and their control links. Possibly a minor issue. Potentially a major one - and this had proven itself a major one.
Thad had attempted to deploy countermeasures. All smugglers had them and every single one of them thought it was some grand secret, that each of them was the only special idiot that could get their hands on decommissioned war tech.
Except, Thad's countermeasures never fired. Instead, their control command opened the cargo Bay door.
Lycra had nearly died closing the door with its local control panel - which was, thankfully, not impacted by his wiring mistake. Nearly getting sucked into hard vacuum was not on his list of things to try. He'd been half tempted to just leave the door open - but he couldn't doom the prisoner to suffocate. So his softness had once again put him in danger, and he'd once again gotten out of it okay.
The cargo... was not okay. None of the illicit goods remained, and the only thing left in the bay were cages and lockers mounted and welded to the walls. Thad was going to kill Lycra for losing the cargo. He’d probably be killed even more slowly if the human was also dead.
Lycra felt awful for the man. No one deserved to be bound and caged, and Lycra had seriously considered telling Thad he wouldn't fix the reactor unless the man was let go. He didn't do it, but he imagined himself doing it.
Air pressure still hadn't returned to a comfortable level, but at least it was breathable. He hoped the bulky man Thad had kidnapped and savaged was still safe in his cage. At this point, with the cargo gone, he might be in a better position than Lycra.
Lycra's fingernails scratching against the back of his neck broke through the thin skin before he realized his nervous tick was acting up again. He’d been beaten and berated, kicked and starved for mistakes before, but... Thad was the first one in a while that actually scared him. Lycra dreaded what would happen when he found out about the cargo.
An idea weaved its way into Lycra’s mind like a tendril, wrapping itself around all of his other thoughts until it was the only thing that he could focus on. Lycra couldn't avoid the coming trouble from losing the cargo, but neither could Thad.
Thad’s boss was their buyer, and that meant Thad would be punished for causing the issue, and Lycra might be able to slip out during that commotion. Two step plan. Free the prisoner, and then slip away. He just needed to keep Thad out of the cargo bay. Okay, so three step plan.
Thad had proven to be a lazy, entitled, and sloppy captain. If Lycra just... lied, and told Thad nothing was wrong, he would never come down and check on the cargo himself.
Once they landed, Lycra could run into the streets, find an alley, and start over again. There were always scrap yards that needed someone who knew how to deal with mana reactors, and there were always ships with cheap captains that he could use to replanet. The prisoner - well, he needed to actually interact with the man before making any concrete plans that included him. Once he did, he'd be able to make a decision. Lycra had learned to read people from a young age - so he always knew who to trust.
Lycra jumped in fright when the human’s cage rattled. He corkscrewed two fingers together - superstition never hurt anyone - and hoped the noise meant the man had lived through the ordeal.
He slowly approached the disgusting cage. Years of filth had seeped into the pores of the metal and become part of it, and Lycra unbound his fingers to cover his nose.
When Thad had brought the naked native on to the ship, Lycra had insisted on putting him in a frock. Not just because people normally wore clothes, but because he knew firsthand how bad it was to have bare skin touching a filthy cage floor.
He was happy to see the man still wore the frock, and made a mental note that he probably hadn’t been naked by choice. Nakedness had its place in the cosmos, but humans were not a species known for going bare. Any humanoid race, really, were expected to wear some kind of clothing.
The human made a noise between a groan and a growl as he hunched forwards. Lycra announced himself and tapped on the side of the cage.
The man jumped, slammed his bald head into the top of the cage, and crumpled to the floor. Lycra saw him check the slack on the chain before he knelt back up. He’d probably already triggered the electric shock. Lycra shivered at the thought and pushed past the unfortunate memories of his own years in chains.
He put a hand on the slider opening as he introduced himself. “Sorry for scaring you. I’m Lycra, and –“
The man extended himself just to the edge of the safety zone before the shock would've hit him. He caught Lycra by the arm and yanked him hard into the metal door. The man's grip was iron, and the corners of his eyes seemed to glow with red light.
He grunted out two words. “Open. Now.”
