Jintaru

-=Fate of the Valkyrie=- A Sci-Fi Adventure. (Accepting/Open)

Following the pair through the crowds, she thought she heard Mani say something but it got lost amongst the furore. She never considered that it might be the last time she heard his voice. Had she known, she may have dwelt a little longer on it, but instead she found herself completely focussed on the brunette and his enigmatic companion. She considered briefly the lockdown and realised that she didn’t have anything even remotely constituting a plan. The knowledge made her uneasy to say the least.
As she approached the table, she drew up alongside Sky. Sparing the blonde little more than a sideway glance, she let her gaze settle on the unfolding card game. She watched Ruce buy-in a sit down.

“You think your boy has enough brain cells left to walk away from this one with his pride or wallet intact?” She asked Sky. Mani’s generously provided cigar still smouldered between her lips and she took a long drag. As she exhaled the thick, aromatic smoke whispered from her lips. She formed a ring with her mouth and blew a single smoke ring that whirled away from her, slowly expanding and dissipating as it went. “Military man over there probably wipes his arse on 20,000 credits but for the farmer boy and your drunken mate…that’s a small fortune.” She added. “Unless you know something I don’t?” She pulled once more on the cigar.

She had to commend the dealer’s dexterity as he expertly shuffled and dealt the cards across the crisp green felt rolled out on the tabletop. The man had done this before, his skill would not have looked out of place at one of the large corporate casinos, dealing hands to CEOs. Maybe he had? If so, what sequence of events lead to him ending up dealing hands to louts at the Down and Out?

She watched each player look at their cards, watching the faces of each one, trying to read something in the movements of their eyes, twitches in the sides of their mouths. She was no novice but it’s not as though she had 20,000 credits lying around to buy-in.

-=Fate of the Valkyrie=- A Sci-Fi Adventure. (Accepting/Open)

She stifled something physical within her as she let Ruce walk away. She wasn’t sure whether it was a laugh of a hastily thrown punch but either way, she buried it. She glanced at Sky – if he was the drunken wanker’s bodyguard then she didn’t fancy getting into something that would compromise her life, her plans, or Mani’s bar. She let the pair walk away but watched them blur into the crowds inside the crowded bar. The Down and Out always seemed to do well “for a shady, back-alley dive of a place” as Mani used to call it. And she hadn’t lied to the hulking cyclops, she did like it here – the patchwork of skin tones and the symphony of languages and accents that hung all around her brought a smile to her face – despite her dire situation. She sighed.

“Another one, Tes?” Mani’s voice from the other side of the bar made her turn around.

“No, thanks, Mani.” She replied, placing the glass down on the bar. “Wouldn’t want me getting to pissed now, would we?” She winked at him. She had looked at his face a hundred times and it always strangely perked her up. The labyrinth of crags, scars and craters told a tale of a life far more turbulent and complex than she knew. They had spoken at length about this and that but it was only then that she realised Mani had never offered up too much about his past. She wasn’t going to press him either. She owed the big oaf that at least.

“What, you mean like a month or so ago when you downed an entire bottle of Hylurian absinthe and tried to hit that handsy navigator with the jukebox?”
She snorted out a blast of laughter. “I’d have managed it too, if you hadn’t have stopped me!” She exclaimed, smiling broadly. Mani shook his head, his lips parting into a grin as he turned to walk away. “Oh hey, Mani?” She stopped him. “I know you’ve got a humidor behind the bar there…any chance?” She winked.

“You’re a pain in the arse, De Vries.” He sighed, discreetly fishing out the glass-topped box from underneath the counter. As he opened the lid, the cigars seemed to exhale, letting their scent wash over the bar and into Tes’ nostrils. “These are not easy to come by, y’know.”

“You’re the best, Mani.” She whispered, even more discreetly lifting one of the cigars from its felt resting place and running it under her nose. “When I get out there,” She began, nodding upwards “I’ll bring you back a box of these.”

“I know you, Tes’. If you ever get out there,” He mimicked her nod to the stars. “There ain’t a force in the void that’ll drag you back here.” He smiled. “And if there was, it damn sure won’t be to bring a bum like me cigars.” He finally turned away and made his way down the other end of the bar to tend to another patron.

Turning to lean her back against the bar, she pulled a lighter from her pocket and lit the cigar clamped between her teeth. Smoke danced up from the end and the glowing ember crackled and ebbed. She checked her IMP again.

LOCKDOWN STILL IN EFFECT. AWAIT FURTHER BROADCAST

“Shit…”

She reached out and took hold of her IMP. The glowing panels on the orbiting sphere retracted, the tuneful humming ceased and she placed back it in her holdall. She needed a new plan desperately. How the hell was she going to get past the lockdown? Her train of thought drifted back to the drunk pilot. If he was even a pilot. She took a long drag on the cigar and let the smoke roil over her tongue before exhaling slowly. Allowing the smoke to billow out from between her lips, she peered over the crowd to see where to enigmatic duo had gone. It was a long shot, but beggars could not be choosers. She pushed off from the bar and set out across in search of Ruce and Sky.

-=Fate of the Valkyrie=- A Sci-Fi Adventure. (Accepting/Open)

CONFIDENTIAL

CIRRUS PRIME DEPT. OF JUVENILE CORRECTIONS

DOCUMENT TYPE: 2.81.A - INMATE PSYCHOLOGICAL ASSESSMENT

---

Inmate PIP reference: F-7441

Inmate Name: De Vries, Amanda

Age: 14

Sentence: 3 years 4 months

[add] The inmate will be held in the custody of Cirrus Prime Dept. of Juvenile Corrections until her 18th birthday when she will be remanded into state custody to await adult sentencing.

Indictment(s): Breaking & Entering, Criminal Damage, Theft, Unlawful Access of a Restricted Network, Hacking with Intent to Defraud.

---

Assessment Conducted by Request of C.P.D.J by: Dr. Angelina Trace – Psychologist in Residence

Assessment Notes:

Amanda displays signs of acute attachment disorder and, as a result, struggles to build relationships with any of her fellow inmates or members of the custodial team. She shies away from opportunities to build such relationships and actively seeks solitude over social interaction. It is possible that this stems from issues within her family unit. Any attempts to discuss her parents is met with aggression or defensiveness. Despite this, Amanda is willing to talk very openly and fondly about her older brother.

[add]Investigations conducted by myself, suggest that Amanda is, and always has been, an only child. This discovery has not featured in any of my discussions with Amanda as I feel that this can only prove to have a detrimental effect on Amanda's psychological wellbeing.

[add][add]This does warrant further investigation and discussion.

Amanda exhibits severe contempt for authority. It is this attitude that I believe has played a part in setting Amanda down the path that has led to her incarceration. During her first three sessions with me, Amanda barely spoke. I believe that initially, she viewed me as part of the larger custodial team. Eventually, I built a rapport with Amanda. In our last session, she confided in me a nickname, given to her by her brother. He called her Tes – named after the 19th century inventor Nikola Tesla.

Despite her various psychological idiosyncrasies, Amanda displays an exceptionally high intellect as well as a technical and engineering skillset far beyond her years. Her creativity and ingenuity regarding mechanics and electronics is unlike any I have ever encountered in anyone, of any age. Using even simple components, she can construct things with an extremely high level of complexity.

Amanda’s ability in this area means that she spends an extended period in the IT workshop, supervised, but otherwise alone. She has crafted several constructs in her stay so far. Most noteworthy of such creations was a small airborne automaton, in the shape of a dragonfly. The robot was able to fly unaided, navigate various obstacles and hover for extended periods, much like regular dragonflies.

This, unfortunately, led to an altercation between Amanda and another inmate. The other inmate, [data confidential], stole Amanda’s dragonfly resulting in a heated argument. According to Amanda, the other inmate proceeded to destroy the robot, at which point a member of the custodial staff intervened, disciplining both inmates. Amanda felt as though she had done nothing wrong and was merely protecting what was hers. When she felt that she was being unjustly punished, she became very aggressive and attacked the custodial staff resulting in him requiring three stitches in his face.

Amanda has a very strong moral compass, unfortunately, this is often highly idealised and subjective. She has an acute knowledge of right and wrong, and will stand up for what she believes is right. The sad truth, as far as Amanda is concerned, is that what she feels is right, is not always legal.

---

Recommendations:

• Amanda represents a moderate level aggression risk, especially in situations she perceives to be wrong or unjust. Outside of this, it is my opinion that Amanda is a low-risk aggressor. It is my recommendation that no extra supervision is required for Amanda during group activities/recreation time – Amanda appears to shun these at every opportunity. I strongly recommend that all custodial staff refrain from use of pain compliance as a method of pacifying Amanda. Reading through her notes, it appears that Amanda has proved resistant to this kind of restraint techniques and I feel that Amanda will absorb more harm than is acceptable before an aggressive situation is resolved.
• At the moment, Amanda has shown no signs indicating that she poses a flight risk. That said, her intellect and attitude suggest to me that she has thought about it and any attempts made by her to follow through with those thoughts could pose a high level of risk. I recommend supervision at all times, particularly during solitary recreation time.

-=Fate of the Valkyrie=- A Sci-Fi Adventure. (Accepting/Open)

She had noticed Ruce looking at her as she strode up to the bar but had let it slip right by her. He made further lenience impossible as he addressed her. She let her left hand fall out of the pocket of her black cargo trousers and hang at her side. She resisted the urge to clench a fist as she had no idea how handy either the mouthy brunette or the armoured blonde were, and really didn’t need a kicking right now. That said, she couldn’t let the obnoxious comment stand.

“Will it cost you?” She fixed her gaze on the drunken man. ”It’ll cost you a fistful of teeth and about a litre of blood, if you speak to me like that again.” she threw him a wry smile before turning to look at Sky. “I suggest you ensure your mate watches his tongue. Not everyone is as delicate and forgiving as I am. She snapped sarcastically.

Mani refilled the glass she had set down on the bar. She nodded her thanks and tossed a credit chip down onto the bar. She lifted the glass to her lips, fixing her eyes back on Ruce “Oh, and as for ‘swords’,” She said. “Let’s just say they’re not my weapon of choice.” Another smirk flew Ruce’s way as she tried to hide the fact she was sizing him up. There was something about him that scratched at her. She got the feeling he wasn’t everything he seemed. The jacket told her he was pilot but the condition of it suggested he didn’t do very well out of it.

Waster or not, if she was right, and he was a pilot, there might be a ship. She needed to work this out.

-=Fate of the Valkyrie=- A Sci-Fi Adventure. (Accepting/Open)

The second drink vanished as quickly as the first and she set the glass down on the weathered table in front of her. She idly ran her fingers down the side of the glass and sighed heavily through her nose. ‘Fuck you, Bravus…’ She thought.

She reached into her worn duffel bag and pulled out a metal orb, about the size of a tennis ball. The surface of the orb was smooth with symmetrical seams running in flowing geometric designs close to the middle of each of its hemisphere’s. On one side, in the centre of the shape, was a small circle made of a translucent material, almost like glass. Pressing her thumb onto it, the glass circle flickered - it became obvious that this was actually a fingerprint reader. The seams running over the orb began to glow and separate, several small plates rising out from the surface of the main structure. The object emitted a soft, high pitched sequence of whistles as Tes tossed it gently into the air. Rather than falling to the ground, the enigmatic little sphere hung in the air for a second before beginning a slow, methodical orbit around Tes’ head.

She called it an IMP – Individual Media Port – and it was a device of her own design and one of which she was most proud. The orb was a portable, hands-free, multimedia device, communication relay and cross platform data receiver. Twinned with a sub dermal implant, the prototype for which was currently embedded parallel to the base of Tes’ skull. The link between the implant and the orbital device allowed two-way communication between the two meaning Tes was able to access any open network and utilise information – much like the common datapad. Rather than a screen, however, the implant allowed for a direct link to Tes’ optic nerve, providing a neurologically controlled HUD.

She scrolled through the most recent news bulletins.

BREAKING NEWS

FULL PLANETARY LOCKDOWN EFFECTIVE IMMEDIATELY

Due to emergency conglomerate ambassadorial assembly, Gamma Capuli V will be subject to full planetary lockdown, effective immediately.
Docking clearance for all ext-atmo craft has been rescinded pending further notice. All approaching craft are instructed to establish orbit and await further instruction.

All grounded craft will remain under strict lockdown protocol until further notice.

“Are you fucking kidding me?!” She hissed. She saw her hope of getting off-world dissolving before her eyes. There was no way she could get out now. Not through conventional and legal means anyway. She felt her blood bubbling in her veins and she held her breath, closing her eyes and trying to stop the anger screaming in her ears. Exhaling steadily, she opened her eyes again. She needed another drink.
Despite being female, Tes’ had never had problems holding her own and she rose from her seat was able to force her way through the growing crowd inside the Down and Out. Her IMP took a higher orbit to avoid colliding with anything around it. She arrived back at the bar alongside a blonde, armour-clad man and his drunken friend. She noticed the sword sat at the blonde’s hip. She knew that there were only two reasons why a person chose to wear a sword nowadays. Either he was some posh tosser who valued style over substance or he knew how to use it and was not afraid to. Out of the corner of her eye, she examined the man. She guessed it was the second one. Merc? Bodyguard? She mused.

She caught Mani’s eye and simply held up her empty glass and nodded. She wasn’t being rude and she knew that, when he could, Mani would get round to serving her.

-=Fate of the Valkyrie=- A Sci-Fi Adventure. (Accepting/Open)

Glossary of Terms (Constantly Updating)

Faraday Mesh

A fixed, high tensile mesh around the hulls of some interplanetary craft designed to concentrate and disperse electromagnetic pulses around the body of the craft to protect vital on-board equipment.

-=Fate of the Valkyrie=- A Sci-Fi Adventure. (Accepting/Open)

Planets and Orbital Habitats Commission – Constitution of Galactic Affairs

Section: 1.34.9 – Habitat Classification
Legislature: 1.34.9a

In order to be classified as an Orbital Habitat, a structure must possess:

- A non-fluctuating orbit
- Population ≥ 20,000

By P.O.H.C legislation, any structure with a population ≥ 20,000 – and therefore classified as an Orbital Habitat - must possess the infrastructure to provide its populace with at least 65% of its survival needs. Any Orbital Habitat – structure with a population ≥ 20,000 – without the infrastructure to provide its populace with at least 65% of its survival needs will be in breach of P.O.H.C legislature 1.34.9a on Sentient Rights.

A structure is classified as an Immobile Vessel if it possesses:

- A non-fluctuating orbit
- A population of < 20,000
- An agricultural/military/scientific directive (or any combination thereof)

By P.O.H.C legislation, any structure with a population < 20,000 – and therefore classified as an Immobile Vessel - must possess the infrastructure to provide its populace with at least 22.5% of its survival needs. Any Immobile Vessel – structure with a population < 20,000 – without the infrastructure to provide its populace with at least 22.5% of its survival needs will be in breach of P.O.H.C legislature 1.34.9a on Sentient Rights. Any Immobile Vessel – structure with a population < 20,000 – operating without an agricultural/military/scientific directive (or any combination thereof), will be in breach of P.O.H.C legislature 3.51.7c on Unclassified Orbital Craft.

-=Fate of the Valkyrie=- A Sci-Fi Adventure. (Accepting/Open)

Her mood hadn’t improved by the time she disembarked the elevator from the port and, as she pushed her way through the throngs of people milling around in the streets below, a pall of anger and frustration had descended upon her, so potent it almost audibly crackled and roiled. Her mind was full of static. She had no idea whether to cry or scream or simply stop altogether. A man uttered an indignant exclamation as she shoved past him almost sending him toppling forward. If she heard, she was in no mood to engage. She flipped the collar of her oil-stained leather coat around her ears and pushed on.
She finally arrived at The Down and Out and ducked inside.

“A tall glass with something strong and a large plate of something that might kill me, please, Mani.” She said to the cyclopean barman as she slung her bag and tool kit down in front of the bar.

“With the greatest of respect, Tes, what the fuck are you doing here?” The hulking, scarred man responded. “I thought you had a junk ready to whisk you off somewhere?” He added.

“That wart-faced waster, Bravus went and backed out of our contract!” She began, venom dripping from every word. She felt her fists clench within her fingerless gloves. “Claimed that the Omniwide contract he’d secured wasn’t going to cover all the expenses.” She made ironic, emphasised air quotes with one hand. “The stupid bastard obviously doesn’t see an engineer as a necessary requirement.” A narrow glass filled with a honey coloured liquid was placed down on the counter top in front of her. Two long swigs saw it emptied and set back down. “I hope he kept enough in the kitty for a medic anyway.”

Mani sighed. “Put him on his arse, did ya?”

“He’ll be alright.” She replied. “Maybe a broken nose will add a level of intrigue to the pudgy fuckwit’s face.”

“You gotta be more careful, Tes. I’ve never known a woman who calculates every damn move she makes, be able to make such piss-poor decisions sometimes.” He smiled.

“He welched on a fucking deal, Mani!” She snapped before sighing. It wasn’t Mani’s fault and he was right. She was wired to take a Newtonian approach to everything yet she loses her cool and risks everything she has spent so long constructing. Closing her blue/grey, heterochromatic eyes, she rubbed her temples with her fingertips. “I’m sorry...” She said. “You’ve always been good to me and I like it here…” She gestured around the crowded bar.

“But you want less Down and Out and more Up and Away?” The bald man finished her sentence for her in a way that surprised her, both in its poetry and accuracy. He smiled and broken, lacerated smile at her and she threw him one back. He placed another glass of the swirling amber nectar down on the bar and nodded to a table at the back. “Grab a seat. I’ll keep ‘em coming, eh?”

Crying suddenly seemed like the perfect option but there was no way she was going to give that away in public.

“You’re the best, Mani.” She smiled before picking up her things and walking over to the table. Her boots thudded across the floor as she approached her seat and sank heavily into it.

-=Fate of the Valkyrie=- A Sci-Fi Adventure. (Accepting/Open)

"I'm sorry, Tes, but my hands are tied..."

"You're sorry?! What the hell good is that to me? We had a contract, Bravus!" Tes spat, furious. Her fists clenched as she stood almost shaking in front of the balding, pot-bellied captain. "You can't just back out on a contract!"

Look, Omniwide aren't paying great these days and I gotta to make cuts. Bravus took a step backwards and raised his hands in front of him in a defensive gesture. His backward motion offered a very limited moment of surcease as Tes quickly closed the gap on him. Lightning was raging behind her eyes, Bravus and The Balthazar, his ship, crouched serenely behind him, were her way off this planet and she could feel that opportunity falling away, and her potential freedom with it. Despite not knowing him very long - they'd only met the previous day in one of A.T.G's bustling taverns - Tes had gotten the measure of Bravus. The man was driven by greed and cowardice.

"Cuts?! You must be the most monumental idiot on this entire rock, Bravus! You want to make cuts and you think leaving a ship the size of The Balthazar without an engineer - not to mention the best engineer this end of the Void - is a good idea? Her azure hair, shaved on one side of her head, cascaded down the other and she swept it behind her ear with a gloved hand. She no longer cared what she said to him, she knew that the avaricious reptile would never let her back on his ship. The fat bastard is already counting the bigger cut of the Omniwide job that he'll pick up with me out of the way. She could see he wanted to speak and beads of perspiration had begun to form on the fat man's spacious forehead. It reminded her of vaccum packed meat that'd been left out in the sun. She paused in her tirade to let him at least splutter out whatever irrelevant pleasantries he wanted to try and salvage some sort of equilibrium from this conversation.

"If any other jobs come up in future then I'll let you know, yeah?" Bravus shrugged.

She saw red.

Twisting her feet to shift her stance, she cocked her left shoulder back and launched an enraged fist towards Bravus. The punch landed halfway across the man's nose leaving her outer knuckles to connect with the flesh of his cheekbone. She felt his nose break as his head snapped backwards and his feet fell from under him. A spray of scarlet erupted from Bravus' shattered nose as he landed heavily on his backside on the floor of the hangar. He tried to say something but it came out in a sequence of wet vowels.

"To hell with you and your overpriced ship, you sweaty gargoyle." She snarled. Shaking loose her fist, a slight wince crossing her pale face. "I hope you're up there and you need me and those extra credits of Omniwide's money you earn are a great fucking comfort to you when the airlocks fail and the void reaches in and takes you!"

She picked up her bag and tool kit from the steel mesh of the landing bay floor, turned away from the crumpled mass of Bravus' and strode towards the elevator.

Valkyrie ~ Science Fiction Adventure ~ (Accepting Applications)

She attempted contact with the downed craft a couple more times but to no avail. She wasn’t surprised, it wasn’t common to find survivors in amongst the wreckage of a crash, especially not when the ship started its run-up from outside atmo. She sighed. Death seemed to be everywhere these days. One can never escape its cold grasp but it just seemed to her that the grim spectre was closer than ever, lurking round every corner, behind every star, in the blade of an assassin or mercenary, or in the eclipsing shadow of a destroyer. She shook her head as she heard Ruce’s voice over her communicator.

“With all due respect, Chief, if you’d have been here fixing her up instead of out getting shitfaced, Valkyrie would be ready right now.” She said.

She slid her fingers over the touchpad in front of her, triangulating the source of the distress call. She knew she wouldn’t have been the only one to hear it and she’d be damned if she was going to allow Ruce to lose them a potentially valuable salvage claim. Swinging her chair left, she accessed a small recess in the wall. The small door hissed open revealing an assortment of loose wiring, tools and oddments. She noted that she really could do with tidying it up. She found what she was looking for; a shallow, triangular piece of metal and black plastic with three prongs jutting out from one side. She pushed it into a port on the side of her monitor.

“Listen, Chief…” She began. “We’re about to go silent for a little while so, if you need to contact me, you’ll have to do it the old fashioned way.”

She opened the file on the storage device she had input. The file was rendered in a three-dimensional image, moving and shifting on the screen. Black and white flecks danced all over the image’s amorphous surface.

“Hello, you.” She said. “Been a while.”

She smiled at the constantly moving thing on her monitor and tilted her head. It had been a while since she wrote the programme and, although impossible in reality, she couldn’t help projecting onto it, a sense of melancholy at having been locked away for so long. Dragging a few files and commands around, she finally opened a multi-frequency comms channel. Finally, she released the shifting code into the channel. It disappeared into the ether through the comms channel and vanished from her screen. She had to test it.

Sliding out of her chair, she made her way through the bridge bulkhead and down the corridor, into the cargo hold. Fishing her IMP out of her pocket, she cast it and opened a channel to Ruce. Static. Nothing else. The hissed voice of her creation at play. She tried a mid-range channel and, once again, found nothing but static.

“Well done, little one.” She smiled. She sat down on the edge of the gantry and hung her legs over the side. Leaving the mid-range channel open, she let the static whisper to her.