Move 2.4 Recap

Flashback: Fluffy and Ione

Fluffy has been building a nest in a corner of the galley and decorating it with shiny objects. Before leaving on the mission to retrieve Jedao, Ione gave Fluffy a piece of crystal prism jewelry. Fluffy responded by nuzzling Ione and giving the jewelry a place of honor above her nest's entrance.

Securing Jedao

After searching Jedao, the team finds a tablet, a quaint communicator incorporated into an old-fashioned wristwatch, a tactical knife, and a multitool. Seyli takes the knife and the multitool.

Sasha tells the team, "Nice work, everyone." She instructs Ione and Seyli to take Jedao to a room she has prepared for him in one of the storage areas. She asks Alaric to explain to the Cantata that they don't know whether Jedao is a friend or not yet: "Maybe ask if they'd be willing to keep an eye on our new acquaintance?" She instructs Sulen, "You and Virmad should interview Jedao. Take Gerae, if you want him. It's your call whether to start now, or wait till the drug wears off." Her instructions for Reshad are, "Wait half an hour, and then I want you to contact Flute's people. Explain you were drugged, and demand to know what is going on." Reshad confirms, "I'm on it. I'll toss some blame around."

Ione and Seyli take Jedao to the room waiting for him. On the team's channel, Seyli says that they want to restrain Jedao: "I doubt it would slow someone like him down for long." For both Jedao and the team to hear, Ione says, "Water. We need to make sure our ... guest drinks." Reshad echoes, "Water," and fetches some for Jedao. She instructs him to drink, smiling at Ione. Jedao smiles, nods, and drinks. Sasha says, "Sulen, please instruct Seyli as to the level of restraint you would like to impose on our guest." Over the team channel, Reshad protests, "Do you think restraint will help? If we want him cooperative, we shouldn't act like his enemies." Sasha warns, "This is Sulen's judgment call." Reshad tells the group, "Be right back." She heads for Sasha's office. Ione smiles at Reshad and tells Jedao, "Let us know if you're still thirsty." She hopes this will not act as a suggestion to make repeated requests for water.

Over the team's channel, Sulen says, "He needs to be restrained, but not with prejudice. If he needs to drink, he can have one hand free, if his legs are bound." For Ione's benefit, they add, "Please remember he's trained as an assassin." Still on the team channel, Seyli says, "Someone bring me a set of spider restraints, I don't want to leave the room." Gerae stops by with a set printed on the matter printer, and offers them with a nervous smile. Seyli thanks Gerae and motions for Ione to step back. They drop Jedao's multitool on the floor and then, while pretending to retrieve it, secure Jedao's ankles; they kick the tool into a corner. Jedao says, "You have those too? Mine were a gift from my mom. She said it was shameful that the Kel don't issue them. Of course, my mom has a lot of Opinions about the Kel. Did you get yours as a gift?" He acquiesces to the restraints, remarking, "If I'd known it was that kind of dance-and-party night, I would have dressed a little differently."

Sasha's office: Reshad and Sasha

Reshad knocks on Sasha's door. Sasha gestures, and the door slides open. Her expression guarded, Reshad asks, "May I have a moment of your time?" Sasha is monitoring multiple datastreams and listening to the station security feed. She says, "Speak." Reshad says, "Congratulations on the successful mission." She immediately moves to the true purpose for her visit: "I want to be involved when he's coming around. Flute first, of course." Sasha replies, "This moth is still attached to a station where somebody has made a credible threat to murder hundreds of civilians. That contingency plan might still be in force. Until we are clear, and the threat I hope averted, I am not counting this a success." She gestures again, maintaining her attack on the station's cameras, then says, "If you can't read an environmental monitor, I don't need you in here. Take it up with Sulen." Reshad nods. She looks at Sasha's screens and the amount of data she is personally monitoring, says, "Very well," and leaves. Sasha is confused by Reshad's smooth acquiescence, and makes a note to ask Sulen what Reshad really wanted before returning to monitoring the station.

Sasha checks the activity of the other rebellion hackers; she finds that Spider is trying to locate Jedao using station records and camera feeds, while Firecracker is watching the station's damage control team. Sasha eases off her attack on the station's cameras. She erases traces of her presence as she goes. She confirms that station security has confiscated the cleaning robot containing more crowd-control drugs and code faking a connection to a heretical heptarchate group. She finds that a nutrient supply freighter and a pleasure yacht have already left the station, for apparently innocuous reasons, but the station is preventing other departures. About sixty ships have asked to leave, including the Lanterners' moth, but not the Kel moths. Sasha adds the Cantata to the list, under its current name, Symphony of Bees.

Jedao wakes up

Ione, who has been watching unobtrusively, suppresses a laugh at Jedao's comment on the "dance-and-party night" and asks, "So you're feeling all right, general?" Jedao answers, "Could do with a spot of whiskey. Otherwise, I'll take a glass of water, thank you." Reshad, who is just returning to the room, quickly fetches a glass of water for him, then tucks herself against the wall next to Ione. Seeming more alert, Jedao asks Reshad with narrowed eyes, "I'm sorry, where have we met before?" Reshad says, "We've only just met. I do apologize for the restraints." Jedao responds softly but intensely, "Excuse me. Two questions. One: who do you represent? Two: Where are my Kel?" Seyli moves closer to Reshad, tense. Jedao asks them, "So tell me, are you a deserter, impersonator, or traitor? Because you're no legitimate hawk." Seyli is bitter and frustrated but remains silent; they shift into a Kel waiting stance. Reshad tells Jedao, "Your Kel are fine. There was a plot to assassinate you. We stopped it. Nobody was injured, and certainly no casualties."

On the team channel, Reshad says that Jedao is "coming around": "Rahal, we need you." Sulen answers, "On our way." They ask Sasha, "Anything you need or developments I should be aware of before I go in?" Sasha tells them, "The Lanterners have requested permission to leave station, along with us and a whole list of other ships. I'll alert you when and if we move."

Sasha's office and the cockpit: Alaric and Sasha, with messages from Cantata

Alaric wanders into Sasha's office. "Lots of people deciding that this isn't the conference for them, huh? Here's an engineering question: what actually holds on onto the station? Magnetic mooring beams, physical clamps, umbilical lines?" Sasha answers, "Largely magnetic, aside from the airlock seals. The biggest problem isn't physically breaking away. It's making sure nobody is interested enough to come after us, especially not any stray Kel. That's easier if lots of other ships are moving simultaneously."

Sasha decides that, since Firecracker and Spider are looking for information about Jedao rather than carrying out the contingency plan of murdering people on the station, she can relax her vigilance slightly. She asks Alaric to take over the analysis of the station's atmosphere readings: "I set the tolerances very narrow, which means assessing a fuck of a lot of false positives. Can you offload some of that assessment to the grid, and I'll look a bit harder at the station's traffic restrictions?" Alaric agrees, and starts to work. He suggests, "If you're faking departure authorizations, you might change the assigned flight paths too. It'll make any odd behavior on our part less noticeable, especially if someone buzzes our possible pursuers and distracts them." Sasha says, laughing, "I don't know how the flight paths are computed, but I'll see what I can access."

Sasha attacks the traffic-control grid. She is able to hack both human and grid-controlled functions; to her horror, she even find access to the low-level code that determines flight paths. She forges a message from the station chief saying, "The delay of outgoing ships is no longer necessary," diverts any reply messages, and rearranges the departure queue to put the Cantata fourth in line. She tells Alaric, "The station should be about to clear us for departure. Can you get ready to take us out of here? I'll take the atmosphere monitoring back."

Alaric acknowledges, "By your command." He prepares for departure, and suggests to the Cantata that once they are outside the range of station and Kel sensors, it might enjoy a bit of sprinting. He asks Sasha, "Do you have a destination in mind, or will 'anywhere but here' suffice for now? I'm thinking not straight to the rift, in case we're followed. We can probably find somewhere to hide if we look." The Cantata sings to Alaric about its joy in sprinting and desire to share flight with the mothlings. Sasha tells him, "The least suspicious thing we can do right now is head back toward the Lanterner system we came from. Set a course for Autumn Pyre, and we'll discuss whether and when to veer elsewhere once Reshad speaks with Flute's people." She prepares to cut off data streams that would be too obvious once the Cantata leaves dock. The queue empties quickly, and the station clears the "Symphony of Bees" for departure.

Interviewing Jedao

Sasha informs the team channel, "I have forged a departure clearance, and we are drawing back from the station."

Notes

Sasha worrying about Sulen's judgment of her previous interrogation failure - Reshad reads as opposition what is an attempt to preserve working relationship with Sulen

Sasha is trying to do too much herself - common engineer/Nirai problem - not appropriate in leadership role, no matter how scary threat to station is

Seyli is a giant ball of stress & unprocessed emotion

Alaric works well with Cantata