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LDFCV Steel Claw’s Bridge

The teacup clattered as Commander Stormworn abruptly put it down, using slightly more force than normal, but not enough to damage it. "He is already here?" She asked, more than a note of surprise in his voice. He was not scheduled to arrive for another hour, whatever else he may be at least he is prompt. In spite of this positive thought, she was not looking forward to welcoming a Gnoll aboard her pristine vessel. Supposedly this "Chief Mechanic Rslanso of the New Gnoll Matriarchy" is the "next best qualified" replacement for Senior Engineer Tim, and he "has a track record of respecting his chain of command"... whatever _ that _ means for a Gnoll. Her attempts to appeal the decision with Hack and Scythe had been denied, and when she requested to be transferred back to the Homeguard fleet Scythe had directly threatened her with charges of "opposing lawful and proper orders from an Alpha class officer," something that would guarantee she could kiss her dreams of one day ascending to Alpha status herself goodbye. Stifling a groan, she finished off her tea before standing and addressing the bridge crew. "I am going to brief the new crewmate, standard command auxiliary coverage and protocols apply." At that she strode over to the lift, feeling anything but the dignified commander she ought to be.

Snowlit Dawn - Mess Hall

Lana picked at the edges of the curious food on her plate - it was something she'd never seen before, and she couldn't decide if it looked and smelled appealing or over the top. Dorrin, the cook who'd prepared it for her, said it was something called "pizza," whatever that was supposed to be. "I'm glad to be away from there," she sighed, opting to sip the dark, strong smelling beverage she'd also been provided; which turned out to be bitter but in a good way, "but... what am I going to do now?"

"Well," began Lia from the other end of the table, "you can quit moping for one. You're out of a power structure that would want you dead for who you are, meaning you can actually live now."

"Can she?" Gerard asked, rubbing his forehead and shaking his head knowingly. "Last I recall, we got preeeety close to going broke because everyone suddenly withdrew their employment offers once the words 'Leonin Dissident' came up."

"Not to mention you're a fully qualified doctor," she sighed even deeper, looking down as her ears, drooped, "I was barely considered a passable trooper, and I've only really dabbled in computer stuff relating to Leonin systems. Who's gonna want that?"

"Funny you should ask that..." came an unfamiliar, distorted male voice from Lana's tablet, making her jump in surprise. "glad you made it out, Lana. I did my best to make it likely, but it was never guaranteed."

Just then Marla's projection appeared, giving the tablet and Lana curious look. She had seen Marla before, who had completely ignored Lana, but now she had her full attention. "Do you know this person hacking your tablet?"

Before she could think of a reply, the hacker responded. "Yes and no. Certainly not by my real name - 'Furious Echo' is what I've been calling myself in her case. That said, I'm not just here to chat with Lana. All of us have common goals in this case, especially Ambassador Longtail but... I fear neither you nor her will like what you're going to find at your destination."

Furious Echo? She thought, remembering when she first encountered that user on an underground BBS-like site she'd just happened upon when doing what had been at the time a mere hobby. There are basically two kinds of Leonin hackers: those who keep their heads down and do it to learn things they shouldn't know, and those who are dead. But Furious Echo was... is... different. "You aren't a Leonin, aaaaree you?" She asked, wondering as much whether he'd reply as the exact method he'd used to compromise her system, and how far back that had happened.

"You've got me there," Echo chuckled, "and don't take this the wrong way, but that's really a blessing. Aren't you curious how and when I got into your tablet?"

"The first data files you sent me?" She guessed wildly, knowing back then she hadn't locked her system down nearly as much, and yet, I still haven't detected anything malicious... but most of the scans I've ran were based on or entirely his code.

"Very good," praised Echo, "that's what I like about you Lana, you're insightful, and know how to draw your own conclusions."

"Wait, how do you know my name?" She asked haltingly, the realization she'd never shared it dawning on her in horror. After all, that was a great way to get arrested.

[I'm tracing the connection] Marla displayed in projected text over her, [not talking to avoid tipping them off. How does this person know all about the mission, is New Alliance Op-Sec that bad???]

"That's really not hard, especially since your attempts to mask your registered connection were laughable at the time. Sufficient enough to throw off the dimwits in Imperial un Intelligence for a while, though. Oh and Marla, please, you're not hiding anything from me like that... no, covering the tablet's camera won't help either, and the New Alliance has very good Op-Sec, I just happen to be working with them! Oh, go ahead, trace this transmission, I'll wait."

"Was that the only reason you helped me?" Lana asked her ears starting to droop, feeling more humiliated each moment that passed. "For some damn political goals?"

"No," he replied flatly the originally playful and self-confident tone all but gone, "if anything, people like you are why I do what I do, why we have this mission. The Leonin Empire is quite possibly the single biggest waste of lives, materials and time in the galaxy."

"If that's not Hack," mentioned Tallia, who'd just shown up to refill her coffee mug, "I'll forfeit this month's pay."

No one spoke for a long moment, then the voice returned, this time no longer distorted. "Well, I hope you're good with half pay, because technically an imprint is a partly distinct entity."

"Of fucking course," she muttered, "you'd all do well to not rely on this try-hard."

"Thanks for your unsolicited opinion, it doesn't change anything. Marla, if you've not tracked my transmission my now, I'm extremely disappointed."

Marla's projection looked shocked, and somehow more pale than normal. "He's... a few light minutes behind us, I'm not detecting a ship or wake distortions, whatever he's in, it's Ragerian make with milspec stealth."

"Yes and no," he answered, "it's mostly Ragerian, especially the baseline hull, but... any milspec kit was stripped long before we got ahold of them. We're quite good at putting unwanted and spare hardware to use after all."

"The 'we' being Echo Contingency?" Marla asked, gaining curious looks from everyone in the room.

"Yes, in fact you've ran into a couple of us directly already, which I'd been informed of. Part of the reason I'm talking with you openly now, you're already all considered assets in some fashion, even though there is a small 'lol' next to Tallia's entry."

"Urgh, don't have time for this space debris," she grumbled, stomping off, "got stuff to fix."

"Yes, please start with the attitude and don't let the door hit your tail on the way out."

"Did you insert yourself for a reason," asked Lia, rolling her eyes at the whole episode, "or did you just wanna shoot the shit?"

"Right," the imprint seemed to clear his throat in response, "Lana, I overheard your conversation and wanted to let you know that we would like you to join us. You don't have to decide now, in fact we'd prefer you thought it over a while before you do so. I've already left a file with the information on your tablet, don't try to transfer it to any other system though, that won't end well for the device involved, and I strongly recommend viewing it in... private. I feel like there was something else... Oh yes, right! Marla, I'm going to send you some very sensitive information, but before I do, you'll want to enable emergency failsafe mode, just in case."

Nine hells, thought Lana as Marla blinked and her projection flickered, what have I blindly wandered into. Still all she replied was a muffled "alright."

Marla's Memoryspace

"Emergency failsafe mode on standby, recent key memories in protected storage for flash reload... is... is this about Reese?"

"Short answer is yes," Hack's imprint sighed, "long answer is there are implications that likely apply to Ellia also, and my real self. I'm prepared to provide support in case you have to reset. The first imprint that volunteered to load certain files did, which have been flagged as dangerous and not included. There those included are ones we've been able to read, all or in part, but some we expect may prove dangerous to your matrix due to the... nature of the information contained and have been flagged, so you won't accidentally load them. I recommend waiting to read those until the ship and crew are in a safe or low risk setting after the mission is complete."

"Understood, I... Hack? I just wanted to say, regardless of what I see, thank you for this. It feels like you're the only Ragerian trying to help me, and you remind me so much of him."

"I hate to say this, Marla, but I fear there's a reason for that... and not one I call positive. For once, I think Denal and Vincent may have had good reason for keeping this from you."

"Guess I'll see, loading files."

Snowlit Dawn, Bridge

Captain Donna Briskwind was sipping coffee as the bridge lights and consoles flickered for a moment. "Marla, status report!"

A few awkward moments passed without response from Marla, before Herbert spoke up. "Uh, Cap, whatever happened, we're still on course."

"Navigation also appears normal," Sabre muttered, "verifying everything, stand by."

"Comms also blipped," chimed in Aria, "I'm seeing some unusual activity from Marla's core but it's online and everything seems to be running."

"Void, I was afraid of this," came a voice over the speakers Donna recognized, and did not expect to hear, "we were prepared for this eventuality. General Jorlen should be back with us in a few minutes."

"And exactly what is this 'eventuality'?" The Captain growled, "Hack I presume? I don't take kindly to someone randomly taking over my ship's AI."

"Relax Captain," the imprint replied, "this transfer was planned, Marla is, er, processing a large amount of data I sent her, relevant to the mission. Once she's back everything will be fine."

He's not telling me something, she thought, gulping down the rest of her coffee, but is this a critical detail or just something he thinks is too "technical"? "I'd better have a chat with her about timing and letting me know what's going to happen. Thanks for telling me, by the way." The sarcasm in her last remark was enough to breach a bulkhead.

"Apologies," he sighed, sounding like he meant it, "I had expected she'd given you some notice. Perhaps I should have expected providing information on Reese might lead her to overlook things in favor of processing it. Also, excellent work on that mission: the role you, your crew and your mother are filling is more important than you know."

"And just what is that 'role'? I'm getting very tired of being led around in the dark."

"I wish I could tell you, I really do, but revealing certain things too soon will put far more than just your crew or our plans in danger... ah, she's back now. Marla, how did it go?"

Marla appeared, her fur and uniform seemingly looking unusually disheveled, before flickering and returning to normal. "Ever feel like a file tried to eat your brain? That's how it went, Hack. I was able to retain a bit of data, but I did encounter selective soft resets; that's... never a good sign for an imprint. Captain, I'm sorry, should have warned you; it's a good thing Hack told me these files were risky, if I'd not set emergency failsafe mode I'd have lost all my recent memories."

"What in the void is she talking about?" Declared Aria, twitching a bit nervously.

"You know how traumatic news of a personal nature can alter one's emotional and mental state?" Marla tried to explain, but it seemed like it was not something she knew how to clarify. "Well, those files were recorded experiences, some of them belonging to a Dr Llorien Longtail, a few unknown and others... well, others we believe are from Reese Jorlen. The ones from Llorien appear unmodified but... there are abnormalities in the others files. This is... not my specialty by any means, but augmentation of memories is very tightly regulated in the Ragerian Union, and this does not appear to have been done with their blessing."

"Wh-why would anyone do that???" Herbert neighed, almost taking his eyes off his console.

"Actually," replied Marla, "there are many legitimate applications: it's a great way to 'program' muscle memory for physical tasks, and makes transfer of factual knowledge much simpler."

"It's also one of the 'emergency' methods Division 3 uses to suppress efforts to understand Ragerian tech," Hack answered gravely, "and in the wrong hands, it could be used for far worse. I have my suspicions that someone has, or is already attempting something much worse, and it's related to these files... which were remotely retrieved from the base you're heading to. Unfortunately, many systems are not remotely accessible. I can also tell you that Commander Denal Blackpelt wants the base entirely gone, so we have a limited window to see what's in there."

"And it seems my son is involved in some way," Marla groaned, rubbing her temples, "great."

"How do I get into these messes?" Donna grumbled, getting up to leave the bridge, "I have little choice, I see. Excuse me as I go find something to drink."

New Dawn, Cabin 802521

"Hello, Sa-er Stripes, are you awake?" The voice of Senior Voidguard Mace Northpass awoke the Tigrin from a nap he felt as though he'd just began, and from checking the clock it appeared that was indeed the case.

"I am now," he grumbled as he hit the intercom, perhaps harder than he should have, "you may as well come in." He sighed, shaking his head, after the battle everything had been an absolute whirlwind: first he found out that not only had his wing commander's shift equipt escape pod saved him, but that the Lupin had insisted on him attending some overly drawn out "decoration" ceremony. In truth, it hadn't been that bad... once they finally finished saying very little with far too many words, and he no longer had to worry about Icebox falling asleep next to him. After it finished they were invited to an unofficial celebration with the "Gammas" who apparently were enlisted Lupin or something; Mace had tried to explain there was more to it than that but he really didn't have the bandwidth for it at the time. What he cared about, and what mattered at that point, was that they were being far less formal, and actually knew how to throw a proper feast. Even though he'd avoided the ale they brought in, which had been difficult for him to manage, the Tigrin had eaten far too much "snow rabbit" for comfort... and his body demanded he sleep.

"I have..." the Lupin began as he entered, his silver eyes scanning the room, "settled into my new quarters." The gray and white furred anthro wolf looked confused as Saril stood to try and keep focus. "Is it normal for us to have separate rooms here? No one below Beta Class has such for us Lupin, and even then tend to share rooms."

"Apparently," Saril nodded, he'd heard that communal sleeping arrangements were common for Lupin, something that would likely have all but the closest Tigrin ready to kill each other in less than a few days, "and welcome to Chimera Wing." He chuckled as he held a hand out to the Lupin, who grasped it with a smile. The news that pilots would be transferred between the New Dawn and the Steel Claw had not been a surprise, but he had not expected one would be in his wing. Then again, there is a reason we picked the chimera as a mascot. "Has Monk briefed you yet?"

"He has," Mace nodded, looking around almost nervously and then lowering his voice. "Is he... normal... for a Ragerian Beta?"

"A what now?" It was Saril's turn to be confused at that, "If you mean officer, I don't think I have an adequate frame of reference. Very few of their actual military officers are with the New Alliance, as you've noticed those like Angie are more like Civil Service. Why do you ask?"

"He is... not what we are trained to expect." Mace shrugged, as Saril sighed and pulled down a fold out table and seats from the wall. "We expect evaluations, directions, goals and professional advice from our... officers. A Lupin Beta does not refer to one under their command as their child, nor do they ask them of their feelings."

"If that's not a Ragerian thing, it's a Monk thing," Saril shrugged, "he sees us as his family, not just units to command, that's how he treats everyone in the wing."

Mace sat silently for a moment, then blinked, letting out a sigh and lowering his ears. "This is not what I was expecting when I enlisted."

"What did you expect?"

"To put it plainly, I was expecting to spend 15 to 20 years working my tail off wherever the Council said to go." He shrugged, taking a cup of water from a dispenser in the wall and sipping it. "Apparently I have so little a fear of the open that they immediately put me in pilot training, and assigned me to the Steel Claw upon completion. That was also not what I had expected either, but closer to it." He leaned forward, speaking quietly once more. "I will also admit I had not expected to be serving with Gnolls after taking part in skirmishes against them, or a Vulpin, or a Ragerian."

"Or a Tigrin?" Saril chuckled slightly, knowing before Mace nodded that was the case. "I didn't expect I'd wind up a soldier when I left home, or that I'd call a Lupin a friend, so..."

"Your point is well taken." Mace smiled as he stood, heading for the door, "I am sorry for the disruption, please have a good rest, Stripes. We had mostly expected you to pass out within the first or second hour of festivities."

"Oh, really?" Saril narrowed his eyes, but his tone remained playful to match that of Mace.

"Perhaps you noticed many of us leaving the room for up to half an hour at a time? Retiring to regain energy during such off time celebrations is the norm."

"And of course you never told me, damn Lupin! Hah!" He snickered with a broad grin, flopping on his bunk as Mace laughed his way out the door. Dorrin was wrong, they do have a sense of humor.