The Absence on Aquila

[Miz]

This is a private game involving

@Pineapple

Probably will have a better title later

__________________________

Scene 1: Arriving at JOS Aquila

__________________________

​

To: Mitch Riffost, Chief Inspector, Periphery Affairs




FW: Aalard Sterson, Bram Tayley, Periphery Affairs




From: Arien Mires, Assistant Research and Development Coordinator,

AHC Technologies




Subject: Inspection of JOS Aquila




Date: 3-53-43 G.S.




This is a formal notice from AHC Technologies.




Three months ago, an AHC Technologies Shipment Team was unable to make contact with the AHCT Jovian Orbital Station (JOS)

Aquila

. The commander of the shipment vessel, Liane Terson, attempted to contact the bridge in order to get access to the Space Station's landing docks and hulls. However there was no response by either the bridge or the main control system of JOS

Aquila

. The system did not respond to any override codes or emergency functions.




The Executive Board of AHC Technologies has contacted the Governor of Periphery Affairs to order an inspection of JOS

Aquila

. The inspection is to act primarily as a search and rescue mission for the AHCT employee, DR. IVAN GRAMART, with a secondary objective of recovering exclusive AHCT Intellectual Properties.




Interference from the JOS

Aquila

main control system and from environment factors in Jovian Orbit has made estimating the current status within the station difficult to AHCT at this time. It is unknown whether a technical or personnel accident is responsible for the situation or if sabotage from an outside entity has led to the situation at hand.




Further orders may be relayed to the Inspection Bureau of Periphery Affairs if more information is gathered by AHCT officials.




Technical specifications and override codes have been provided and attached to this file.




cc: Nera Barnels, Office of the Governor, Periphery Affairs







Bram was waiting patiently in the cruiser bridge. Sitting by the large monitor, he watched as the ship's engines attempted to slow down the craft. The computer had arrived in proximity to JOS Aquila, however a manual pilot would have to dock the ship. Likewise they had to make some sort of connection with the silent station itself.


The two of them, Bram and Aalard, had been instructed to investigate the conditions on JOS Aquila. Bram had worked alongside Aalard multiple times before. They weren't necessarily partners but they both were employees of the Inspection Bureau of Periphery Affairs, a very small government agency under the Governor of Periphery Affairs. Their job was to typically investigate issues that extended beyond Martian Space. This included investigating crimes aboard vessels traveling between Earth and Mars but also inspecting colonies and work stations within the asteroid belt. There were however rarer missions, like this one, that sent them farther.


Jovian space was not something Bram was accustomed to when it came to the job. This was the farthest he had ever moved in the solar system. He was schedule once before to head into Jovian space, but that job was given to a more senior inspector. The Aquila Orbital Station was situated near the Jovian moon Ganymede. Visuals were breath-taking when Bram looked at through the monitor. He found himself be drawn to the picture on the screen more and more as time progressed. Yet it may have just been the awakening process. Sleeping for six solid weeks could do that for you. They weren't able to stop at any of the asteroid docks near Ceres in the Asteroid Belt because of the path they had to take. So they used Mars' gravity to slingshot them out.

 

[Pineapple]

Aalard - or Al as he preferred to be called had received the notice about JOS Aquila. Dr. Ivan Gramart had gone missing, and they wanted to discover what happened to him, and recover a shipment of some kind - likely robots of some type. While Al had been past the Asteroid belt many times in the past, and while he had been to Jovian space before, he had never been to Dr. Gramart's part of the planet. He was excited at the idea of being able to meet the man and legend himself, and maybe get a glimpse of what he was working on.


Bram and Aalard had been placed into cryosleep over the 6 week trek across space, and as they neared their destination, they were awoken. Al took a seat at the helm of the ship with the controls in front of him. He stretched his arms and neck before activating manual controls. The autopilot could get them close to the destination, but it would require manual controls to safely dock the ship.


Aalard had a bald head, and brown eyes. He was generally strong and muscled, but had some extra weight to his frame. Al looked out the main window and could see Ganymede in the distance, and between it and their location was an orbiting station - Aquila. "You ready for this?" Aalard asked as he flipped a switch which activated the control maps on the screens, interrupting Bram's view.


Through a series of button inputs and control stick maneuvers Aalard started to slow the ship down as they got closer and closer to the station. "Do you think Dr. Gramart automated his station? I heard rumors he did." Aalard spoke to start up conversation as they got back into the feel of moving for the first time in weeks.

 

[Miz]

Both of the inspectors had awoken from their cryosleep at the same time. That didn't mean though both of them were out of their sleeping-pods at the exact same moment. Bram was up walking first. It was a myth that people just awoke from cryosleep after the machine turned the setting off. You still slept, it was just normal sleep. Your body would ease yourself awake. So if you were a light sleeper like Bram, you would awake in probably an hour. Aalard was a heavier sleeper, so it took him longer to get out of his pod. Hibernation was never an easy process though, bodies had to get accustomed to it. People not used to sleeping on board a ship might find their limbs unresponsive at first or may even be in a partial coma for a few days.


The Officers of Periphery Affairs had the latest cryo-equipment on their cruisers, so such matters were typically rare phenomena for them. It wasn't without its kinks though. Bram was still getting use to longer and longer cryo-sleeps. So when he awoke it felt like a hangover. He quickly did his mandatory stretches and responsiveness test before going to the bathroom and taking nausea medicine. He wanted to be set for the entire mission.


He might have dozed off in his chair at the bridge waiting for Aalard. Bram was dragged back to reality when the other inspector spoke to him on his way up to the helm. "You ready for this?" Aalard said eagelry.


"Of course," Bram said not so excited. "Anything to stretch my legs and get off this ship for a bit." The main monitor on the ship, a bunch of holographic screens that appeared in the air, changed to the mapping function as soon as Alard sat down. Bram moved to the co-pilot seat, in case he needed assistance. Bram doubt that he would, Aalard was the better pilot of the two of them. Bram just did the mandatory training, Aalard lived for this kind of thing.


Aalard asked if the rumors about Dr. Gramart were true. "He probably did to be honest, I mean we didn't get any information about other people living on the JOS." The idea of automating an entire station was a bit far-fetch. Yet it wasn't impossible, Bram knew that much. People had automated their homes and satellites. Even ships could do most things by themselves if you paid enough money for the programming and that was for regular folks. So a robotic engineer should be able to do more, much more.


As Aalard started moving the controls around, Bram interrupted. "Not so fast, remember this isn't just a standard docking bay. There is no one receiving us and the bay gates aren't open. We need to type in the override codes. If they work, I mean."

 

[Pineapple]

Bram seemed to believe that Dr. Gramart had fully automated his station, which seemed reasonable for a man with his skills, and Bram reasoned that it was likely as they didn't get any word of others living at the station. It was true, they didn't get word of others living at the JOS. regardless, the idea of a fully automated station excited him, and caused him to move a bit too quickly. When Bram noticed and reminded him that the bay wasn't opened, and had no one to receive them, it caused Al to slow down and come back down to reality.


"Yeah, you're right." Aalard said as he loosened on the engines. "You got the overrides right? This ship runs a Q83-Transmitter so it has a million kilometer range. we should be within that shortly." Aalard informed Bram as he suspected that Bram would be eager to crack into the station.


However, it was clear when they entered the rage of the transmitter when a message was received. A beeping could be heard radiating across the ship. "It's a message from the JOS." Alard explained as he saw the flashing message on his screen. with a touch if his finger a 3d projection appeared in front of the window. It was a woman, only from the waist up. Her hair was long and brown, and he was dressed in what appeared to be a suit. The projection spoke to them though the speakers as it addressed them.


"Hello, I'm sorry to say that Dr. Ivan Gramart is not accepting guests at this time. We at the Jovian Orbital Station would like to apologize for any inconvenience this may cause."


Aalard leaned forward and spoke to the projection. "What is your date of creation."


"This messages date of creation is 3-41-43 G.S"


Aalard quirked his brow at the reply before trying a new approach. "Connect me to Dr. Ivan Gramart."


"I can not do that, the Doctor is very busy."


"Very well." Aalard said as he shut down the connection between the ship and the station. He turned to Bram with a intrigued look on his face. "Suspicious. Did you catch it too?" Aalard asked his companion. The message was created after Dr. Gramart had vanished, and if he was still gone, it's possible another human was on his station. They would have to bring their pistols with them.

 

[Miz]

Bram typed in the necessary transmission codes provided by AHC Technologies when instructed by Aalard. The process and frequency required to contact the station was a bit antiquated, or at least it felt outdated. When Bram tried the standard procedures for contacting a ship, it failed to make an immediate connection, with the computer stating it couldn't to make any contact. However he switched to a selective array frequency, something abandoned by most ship trans-communication in the last decade and he noticed he could pick up the station's transmitter.


Bram was surprised. Really it wasn't outdated, in fact it was advanced. It seemed to be an upgrade to the selective array technique. Data that streamed between the vessel and the station was encrypted but the vast amount of data being carried between the kilometers was impressive. From just looking at the data and numbers coming in from the station, Bram knew the communication was a controlled frequency. It was a secure line that had multiple selective array signals being sent continuously. It would be a difficult thing to breach, Bram had never even seen something like this before. Data was uploaded to the cruiser without Bram even noticing. Bram could only surmise that the station was able to control communications of vessels around it. How that was possible, Bram wasn't sure.


"Well, it knows we are here regardless," he said before an 3D hologram of a woman came onto the monitor and began communicating with Aalard. Bram would have responded but he was focused on reading the signals coming into the ship. The thing could probably override their controls if their cruiser wasn't switched the manual. It was a dangerous form of contact.


Once the broadcast from the JOS was over, Aalard remarked on the suspicious nature of their circumstances. "Yeah, the message was created after the shipment team from ACHT visited the station. Furthermore, its newer than even the report given to us by the Bureau. It could be a bug on the message but it seems likely we have meddling of some kind on the station." Bram saw how Aalard checked around for his own firearm. "Though its also possible that the doctor just snubbed the people at ACHT. He's not the most considerate of guys, according to his reputation and profile. Its why he has to live all the way out here anyway."


Bram began working on the computer. He implemented the first override code for the JOS's system given to them from ACHT. However after the station did not respond to the first command. Bram only sighed and decided to use another strategy. It was possible to use a technique that even ACHT employees lacked access or even knowledge to utilize. Ironic speaking the JOS was a company vessel. Typically Bram wouldn't even consider the use of this device, but this was the kind of situation, legally, they were allowed to use a force-entry authorization code.


Technically it was a virus but it was legally sanctioned by the central government by special officers. Bram fortunately brought a copy of such an authorization process with him. He doubt it would last that long against something developed by Dr. Gramart but he figured even the genius's computer systems had to have the same base as all other modern computers. "Alright, the override code aren't going to work, so I am entering in forcefully," Bram said after a few seconds of preparation. "Not really my style but we are getting the run-around from somebody. Plus we have reasonable suspicion and, well, ACHT gave us permission to enter. Its their station after all."

 

[Pineapple]

Aalard nodded when Bram explained what he already knew - the message was too recent. However, when Bram theorized that it was possible that the doctor had snubbed AHC, Bram was slightly bothered. Not that it wasn't possible - on the contrary. Dr. Ivan Gramart had done just that about a decade in Earthian Years. HyperReal Technologies had ordered many thousands of androids from him, and he took the money and ran. That was why he stayed in Jovian space now, to avoid authorities. However, he made off with over five hundred million in credits, which was more then Aalard would likely make in his life.


However, it bothered Aalard to think that a man he looked so highly up to would do that to AHC - to the company he worked for. It would feel light a slight against him. "Maybe... But we don't know what happened with HyperReal. He's never spoken out about it. I'd give him the benefit of the doubt."


Aalard could see Bram hard at work trying to crack into the station, and it seemed to be giving the man some trouble, Aalard could tell by the look on Bram's face that he is possibly confused by it. However, he knew that Bram could get them in, it was his specialty. Instead of focusing on Bram Aalard returned to the controls, and piloted as close as he felt comfortable, which was when Bram spoke out once more, claiming the override codes were not working, and he would have to forcefully enter. He explained they were authorized to, which was true.


Aalard sighed. "That's going to be hell in papers. You know the suits don't like when we start to improvise." Regardless of Aalards desires, it would have to be done, and Aalard would give the go ahead. "Alright, go for it. Don't forget to turn on the MLGP, there is no crew down their doing it. I'd hate to have to explain why we broke millions in equipment." The MLGP (Magnetic Landing Guidance Platform) was an essential component to smaller landing bays, as it preventing any accidental collisions. They would be entering and incredible speeds, even if it seemed relatively slow. A slight ding could cause incredible damages. The magnetic forces keep the ship away from any sides, and once it passes the front gates, the floor helps to drag the ship into a docked position.

 

[Miz]

Bram just laughed when Aalard protested. "Yeah I know," he said referring to the suits. "The execs in cubicles back on Mars are going to hate us for this one. But look at it this way, the folks on the Ceres station will be happy that we at least got inside the place" Bram was quick to joke about the people on Mars. They were office-jocks, working in the Nerio Settlement on Mars. That was where the Head Periphery Affairs office lied along with the Governor of the Periphery. There was plans to move the offices to the station located on Ceres but those plans were scrapped when legislature on Earth cut the budget for Periphery development.


Bram didn't mind messing with the Martian authorities mainly because they were heading to Ceres first on their return home. They would fill out the needed paperwork at the branch there before heading to Nerio. Besides everyone in the Periphery Office was panicky about this mission. They put Aalard and Bram on the mission just because they were the first two available for the job. Bram lost vacation time because of it. However he figured there might be some minor promotion if they succeeded. After all, ACHT was known for its lobbyists. Perhaps if they did the mission without too many issues, the funding would be returned to the Periphery. Wouldn't that be a happy story?


When it came to Dr. Gramart though, Bram wasn't so jovial. He read about the man's work extensively, but the man was no idol. Much like other inventors in history, he was quite the egomaniac, at least as far as Bram was concerned. Yet Bram would admit, it would be difficult not to get cocky when you make that much in one job. In fact, Dr. Gramart made probably ten times more than Bram will ever make in his life in one assignment he didn't even perform. "HyperReal rumors might just be rumors, but think about the amount of money he was supposedly making from one assignment... and people complain about economic inequality."


The force-entry authorization code appeared to work when Bram transmitted it to the station. The authorization code required his credentials as an Periphery Inspector. It was a shame too, speaking it would go on his permanent record. "Let's just hope I don't get court martialed for this in Nerio," he said back to Aalard. "Make sure you steady the manual controls, as I can't help you when I am moving the MLGP.


It was times like this that Bram realized how useful it was to have people on the other end of things. Well people or working technology. Trying to help stabilize the ship and manually activate the docking procedures for a station was a hassle. It took a minute or so before Bram could take full control over the MLGP and the larger docking station. However just as the MLCP activated and began to move into place, the process was deactivated. "Stop," Bram said.

 

[Pineapple]

Aalard shook his head at the thought. They would be more then happy that they got into the station, however, they will still not like how it occurred. Bureaucratic bullshit. Aalard could even recall why he was on this mission. He was suppose to be working on earth for a few months, close to his son and family so he could maybe see the little guy. He would be seven years old in just four weeks. Actually, two weeks ago. He missed his son's birthday.


However, did it matter? His ex wife already re-married years ago, an his son hardly knows him or expects anything from him. That was why Aalard was here, because they requested his presence on the mission, and he realized he wouldn't really be wanted around his family. His own son just called him Al, not Dad. Maybe it was karma for all the time he was gone. It didn't feel like it for Aalard. He would just close his eyes, wake up do a job for a few days, and then close his eyes and end up at home again. But his son would be crawling, and his wife had a new hairstyle, and everyone wondered just when he would vanish again. And he would vanish again, but this time his son walked, and his wife was gone. It felt like a few months to Aalard, but it was years of neglect for his family.


The thoughts of his family encroached on Aalard as he was at the helm of the ship, and he was having trouble staying focused. Bram made an off comment about the economy, and Aalard just murmured back an acknowledgement, not sure what Bram had said exactly. Though, when Bram told him to steady the controls Aalard squinted his eyes tight and brushed his face with his hand. "Right,"


Aalard tossed the thoughts of his mind and grabbed onto the controls with his hands, moving steadily towards the newly open gate; he could see the MLGP moving out to greet him. Aalard had done this a thousand times before, and he would likely do it a thousand times more, it was easy to him, second nature. Far more simple then the antique vehicles he had back home. On those things, every crack and bump on the ground would effect you.


"Stop,"


Bram had spoke out, but Aalard wasn't focusing properly. "Don't worry, I've done this many times before." Aalard claimed as he slowly progressed towards the MLGP, however as the tip of the ship breached it's gate, it became clear what Bram was saying stop about. The MLGP was deactivated, the magnetic displacement field was not activated. "Fuck!" Aalard remarked as he slammed onto a green button in front of him. It activated the stabilizing thrusters. Aalard had made a mistake coming in, and there was no way he could safely back out. He hadn't parked a ship in a dock as small as this without a MLGP since the university. "Fucking Hell," Allard pulled back sharply, causing the entire ship to jossel, he had flipped the engines to try to immediately slow the ship down. normally the MLGP would do that for them, but now that wasn't an option. At the least, Aalard was safe in his seat when the ship shook violently.

 

[Miz]

The ship vibrated chaotically. The impact almost appeared slow motion, but there was no air resistance to slow down the vessel in space. Bram tried to intervene as co-pilot but by the time he could, Aalard had already pressed the stabilizing thrusters. It took several seconds for the silent jostling in the hull to stop. Collisions without a sound were something you had to get used to in space. The human brain wasn't traditionally accustom to such an environment. However Bram by his fourth long-term mission had adapted to the silence that surrounded him. More often than not, his brain just made up the sound effects for him.


Bram however was not as luck as Aalard. He had forgotten to strap himself full into his chair. When the ship shook violently he banged his head against the side of the ship. "Shit," Bram said as he removed his hands from the 3D-display he was interacting with to control the MLGP. He felt his head and didn't feel any bleeding or anything. Fortunately he was thick-headed. To make sure though he was okay, he maneuvered his hand into the air and made a visual of himself appear. The ship had cameras and sensors all around it, and he turned his hair to meet the direction the visual was projecting from. There was no blood. "I don't think I have a concussion," he said. "Fortunately with my meds, I probably won't be feeling it for too much longer."


Examining his actual face, Bram looked at his pale skin and blue eyes. He couldn't believe he was getting paler. He felt like he would need to spend time in an artificial sun spa at this rate or, if he couldn't afford that, the ship's engine room. Worse his blond hair was turning prematurely gray in some spots. He damned his genetic-luck, he was still experiencing a side-effect of the cryosleep process even by this mission. Turning away his own appearance he fastened himself further into his seat as Aalard tried to park the ship manually.


"Be patient," he said to Aalard annoyed. "We won't have to park the damn thing manually if you just give me a moment." Frustrated slightly with his head being beaten over, he tried to make connection again with the terminal. Bram was confused though upon reading the screen. The force-entry authorization was still functioning, The MLGP had just been disengaged. He didn't order the action. "Damn it, something is wrong with this whole station," Bram complained. "I can understand why the shipping-vessel didn't even bother. I am not even sure if the MLGP is currently coordinating with the JOS main frame. Its registering me as having full control, but the thing isn't moving." Bram waved his hands around on the 3D projection but the MLGP stood idle.


Bram opened another projection on the floating monitor. When it opened, a list appeared and at least a thousand entries flew by his face. "I can try to find where it might be in the station registry," he said trying to explain the situation. "Else we will probably have to park it manually or, dare I say it, do a walk."

 

[Pineapple]

Aalard had his adrenaline pumping as he could see all the way to the back of the docking bay. The far wall fast approaching. It was possible they could collide into the wall. However, Aalard was not prepared to have that happen, after engaging to stabilize and flipping the engines the ship slowed down, but it didn't slow fast enough. "I don't think I have a concussion. Fortunately with my meds, I probably won't be feeling it for too much longer." Bram said as he got up from the floor. The man had been knocked backwards from the direction shift of the engines.


Aalard didn't have time to ask him how he was doing, or what was wrong. Instead he focused onto the controls. He had an option, but it was going to cause problems. Yet it seemed that a collision would be unavoidable otherwise. Aalard engaged the defensive reverse engines, two very large and powerful engines at the front of the ship facing backwards. When they engaged Aalard could see the the engines light up and shoot out front the front of the ship, causing a large reversing force. The ship slowed much faster, and with only a very small distance from the back wall, the ship began to reverse out of the docking bay.


They had avoided the crash, however Aalard had scorched the back wall. He could see two large black marks where the reverse engines had struck it. Mostly it was a discoloring, and their may be some minor warping. However, it would still cost to replace it. "Fuck. This place better be insured." Aalard remarked just as the ship fully backed into open space.


Had Aalard known the MLGP was deactivated, he could have better prepared for docking, going in at a slower speed. He could go again, but first he needed to regroup his thoughts and catch up with Bram. Bram said he needed to be patient, which Aalard apologized for. "Sorry, my mind wandered."


Bram explained that the MLGP seemed disconnected from the mainframe, that his controls weren't working. Bram quickly explained that he could try to find the source of the problem, or they could try manual parking or even a space walk. Aalard just shook his head. "No, no. we won't be walking. Try to find the source. It may be a disruption in the core docking system of the JOS mainframe."

 

[Miz]

Bram listened to what Aalard had to say. Alard had calmed down now that they were slowly moving out of the docking bay instead of colliding with it. Bram felt somewhat unprepared for this moment. He hadn't really experienced a ship docking without a MLGP or a dock crew of some capacity since the academy. In those training modules though Bram had performed an emergency side-docking with another ship. The ship didn't have power and they had only so much time to dock in order to get a passing grade. This was different, they had plenty of time and they were going into an actual dock. Perhaps that's what made the task all the more frustrating. It should be a simple process, both Aalard and Bram knew this, they had done it dozens of time (at least) by this point.


Bram continued to search the JOS register before he found the station core docking process. "Who would have thought that this station would use a HyperTech C6 model with a Mooring79 Control System?" Bram said as he looked into the stations docking features. It was a unique combination mainly because Hypertech devices, at least in Martian models, were not typically programmed to use Mooring OS. To Bram it was obvious this JOS docking mechanisms were customized by Dr. Gramart. It was also likely that both the C6 Model and the Mooring system had been altered to handle things they typically couldn't. The doctor was just using the old names for his experiments instead of giving them new ones. Probably to remove any sort of suspicion by ACH Technologies.


He opened the Mooring79 System and tried to find where the controls were for the MLGP. After a minute or so of looking, Bram just shook his head. "It just doesn't make sense, the MLGP isn't responsive but the Mooring OS is telling me that not only is the MLGP working as it should but that we should already be docked." Frustrated again, he started rubbing where he hit his head. He had to try to come up with some plan. "Well unrelated to the MLGP, the C6 also handles berthing and its robotic joints are still functioning. We could try to the berth ourselves inside instead of using our propulsion. However speaking how frazzled the MLGP has been acting..."

 

[Pineapple]

"HyperTech isn't compatible with Mooring Systems, they use BlackLite." Aalard caught that right away, he knew that HyperTech and Mooring were competitors, and that their hardware and software was normally incompatible. "Wait, do you think he customized his system? That's amazing." Aalard was amazed that Dr. Gramart was able to get the two working, and was curious just how much more they would discover inside of the station.


Bram explained the situation, the system was fully operational, and more then that, they were already docked onto the station. When he suggested they could attempt to berth to the station Aalard replied quickly. "No. It seemed highly likely that the system is damaged, or there is malicious code deeper then we have gone. Either way, we won't have time to run full diagnostics, we need to get in there." Aalard said with determination. He pressed a button, which pulled up a holographic keyboard in front of him, which he quickly typed away on.


He was checking the ships condition and systems. "We can do this manually and safely." Aalward swiped the keyboard from the side, sliding it to Bram's position. "This is locked into the grounding cables, you know how to use them?" Grounding cables were large metal cables that have powerful magnetic on the end, they can be controlled to lower to a docking platform, which should ideally help guide the ship downwards. It wasn't a common feature on ships, as they only worked on the smaller crafts.


Aalard gripped onto the controls of the ship and dropped the engine power by fifty percent. "I'll guide the ship into the dock, once the tail passes in, lower the cables and I'll engage landing protocol." Aalard waiting for Bram to confirm he was ready to proceed.

 

[Miz]

Aalard wasn't interested in berthing, a process that if functional would have had the robot arms of the ship lock on and pull the ship into the station. Instead he was still focused on doing the docking maneuver manually. Fortunately for them, their ship still had power so it would only be partially-manual. Nevertheless Bram just kind of sighed a bit, "When you're determined on doing something, you do it. I forgot that since we lacked worked together," he said jokingly. Bram wasn't against doing the manual dock, it just didn't necessarily seem like the safest method. It was certainly the fastest, but the safest? Yet again, he would agree with Aalard: time wasn't on their side.


Bram took controls of the grounding cables. "To be honest, I haven't used these cables before. I've only watched Karin and Arer perform manual docking when I was on assignment with them years ago. That's was when we had to forcefully dock with a non-cooperating cruiser." He was a bit reluctant but he knew he had the training plus he watched a real-life demonstration on how to do it. Bram would much rather have Aalard pilot than him in this situation, so it made sense to use the cables. The task wasn't too hard, the computer on the ship did most of the work calculating the affair.


"Just take it in slow," Bram said. "I might be strapped in but I didn't bring a helmet." He was trying to be humorous but he still didn't enjoy the pain he felt in his head.

 

[Pineapple]

Bram explained he had never used the landing cables before, but Aalard just shrugged. "It's not so bad, you'll get some experience now." Aalard could land the ship without it if needed now that he had time to prepare for the docking. He slowly lead the ship towards the opening of the landing platform, careful to watch the ships speed and vitals. He wouldn't make a mistake again, he was alert and vigilant.


"Once the tail gets past the MLGP you can release the cables." Aalard explained as the front of the ship broke past the MGLP and entered into the main landing area. It was tight, and designed around the MLGP bringing the ships into position, which lead to it not being ideal for unassisted landing.


The entire process moved smoothly, and as the tail reached the threshold Aalard prepared for landing by extending the ships landing legs and slowing to a stop, where he would then redirect the engines to push the ship down towards the ground. It wouldn't be difficult, if Bram released the cables properly, they could be landed within the minute. Though, it wasn't vital. Aalard executed flawlessly, and even without the cables he could land it. Yet, it would take longer without the cables to guide the ship down. "Once we land, close the hatch. We will likely have to just gear up. It would take too long to oxygenate the area. As well, make sure gravity is engaged."

 

[Miz]

Once the ship went into manual docking, the monitors in front of Bram all shifted to viewpoints of the ship. The entire cruiser was lined with cameras that gave certain vantage points for the co-pilot. When the ship was prompted into this mode by Aalard, Bram immediately brushed away the holographic panel in his hand (which contained the station registry) and took control over the landing cables.


As he admitted, he had never done such an operation before. Except it wasn't really a complicated procedure. The manual cable method was what had to be done before automated docking mechanisms became common place. Plus they were the usual tools small crafts had for emergency landings and other situations. For that reason, they were almost perfected for civilian use. Almost any idiot could use them. Nodding his head when Aalard spoke, Bram didn't think it would be that difficult speaking their cruiser was smaller than most orbital yachts the aristocrats on Mars owned.


Firing the cables when the ship cleared the entrance, Bram realized he only had to push a button. That action by his fingers constituted as "manual", the computer calculated and did the rest. If the power was down, this landing would be a whole different matter. Fortunately for Bram, the power on the ship work just fine. Upon being fired, the cables slowly drifted downwards before hitting the docking bay's floor. Once they made contact, Bram had to push another button to activate the magnets within the cable heads to ensure that the ship was actually anchored ot the station.


"Alright, you are free to pull us downwards," Bram said to Aalard as the ship gently moved down in perspective to the ship. Down of course was always relative in space, but because he aimed at the docking bay's floor, Bram made the decision to constitute that direction as down. However such a decision could change once the two inspectors made their way into the station.


Aalard advised Bram to get suited him. Bram got up and obliged. It made sense to Bram. "Well forget about air filling the room, we don't even know if the oxygen system or the nitrogen system is fully functioning in there. I'd bring a backup tank just in case."

 

[Miz]

__________________________

Scene 2: The Brilliance of JOS Aquila

__________________________​

To: Mara Nezal




From: Ivan Gramart, Ph.D




Subject: Living over Jupiter




Date: 6-52-38 G.S.




Don't worry so much about me. Tabloids will be tabloids. They just want to make something more than it actually is, you know how writers are. All of those articles you linked me fail to really look at the fact that HyperReal cancelled the contract with me. My lawyer, Ronny, put that amount in the legal documents in case such an event occurred. Companies like HyperReal aren't above tricks, they want me to develop something for them and then half way through development, take what I have created and my other notes in order to finish the product on their own time. That way they can get all the credit themselves. Its one reason I don't particularly enjoy companies.




Nothing makes me happier though than knowing you are worried for me. Someone has to be because I am not. I recently acquired a deal with AHC Technologies. I have worked with them in the past and they are modestly better than HyperReal. I am using the money they are funding me to complete the second phase of JOS Aquila. The plans to build such a station might have to be rushed slightly though speaking HyperReal is probably going to seek legal trial against me. Like I said, I really don't enjoy companies.




Rushing does mean it might make it difficult for people to come and visit me. But you know how I do love my solitude. Plus I would much rather prefer to have people visit such a station when it is completed. You have no idea how much I have planned into such a station. It will make the orbitals around Earth look archaic like the Parthenon or the Pyramids.




Try to stay out of trouble as I know HyperReal isn't pleased with you. Unfortunately that's the price you pay for working with brilliance. If you don't get arrested or anything, you can expect a seat on a AHC Technologies cruiser to come visit me where I am currently working. At the moment though it isn't safe for me to say where that is. Once again, be careful.



Bram had switched from his standard regulation jump-suit, a pair of loose fitting clothing given to Inspectors by the Periphery Affairs Office, into his slim fitting SilverSun external space suit. The suit was skintight and was used mainly for emergency procedures within a ship or for brief expeditions outside of a craft or station. The suit's composition allowed for mobility and for its tightness it was surprising comfortable. However it wasn't a hard suit, so it wasn't meant for any sort of long-term exposure to radiation or other hazards. Bram though was only wearing such a suit as precaution, just in case the oxygen or nitrogen levels inside the ship weren't set correctly. By how the place acted when they tried to dock, Bram wasn't taking any chances.


Placing on his helmet, holographic monitors appeared on the inside that would be controlled with either gestures or his eye movements. "What gun are you taking with you?" Bram asked Aalard right before they left their ship. The two of them had already lowered the ship's doors and closed the dock's airlock. "I mean I would assume a hand-blaster would be fine. But that's because I wouldn't recommend using one of our rifles or anything. We aren't storming the place."

 

[Pineapple]

Aalard had suited up in his SilverSun spacesuit with Bram as he prepared to walk across the landing dock towards the stations entrance. As they were finishing their preparation they stored clothing in a bag with the various supplies they would need. They couldn't wear any civilian issued clothing underneath the suit, and it would be ill advised to wear any over the suit, lose clothing could be death in many situations. When Bram asked about their guns he mentioned the hand-blaster.


Normally Aalard would agree, however in this situation he questioned the practicality of such a weapon. "Possibly. however, we are on an investigation of Gramart, and we have no records of any others in the station. There hasn't been any movement around either. I'm thinking we could take the stun batons instead. Maybe there is 1 or two people in their, and we should probably avoid any damage or deaths." Aalard explained to Bram as he finished packing and zipping up the supplies tightly.


"Unless you think the robots will be a problem." Aalard joked, as stun batons wouldn't affect most robots or androids, but there would be no reason to attack them, hence Aalards slight chuckle with the remark. "Anyway, we're all packed, ready to cross?" Aalard asked as he checked the charges on the stun batons.

 

[Miz]

Aalard was amused with Bram's comments. The fellow inspector also suited up in a SilverSun but advised against taking any sort of blaster. Instead he only desired to bring a stun baton. The weapon was useful against most individuals. Bram knew why Aalard opted to not bring any sort of firearm or blaster with him. Aalard didn't like to use such tools, as when they were fired they could easily do damage to someone. Bram didn't really argue back, Aalard had his reasons and they were told no one else should be on board. Bram though chose a different route. He packed his own blaster and strapped it to his waist via holster.


Bram was a slightly better shot than Aalard in the training stations. Additionally, Bram wasn't as physically strong as Aalard, so a stun baton wouldn't be his first weapon of choice. He would prefer to have range and intimidation. Stun baton didn't really coax people like a pointed blaster does in dire situations. Still Bram knew what Aalard was getting at and he took a stun baton with him as well. It would be useful minimally at frying the circuit boards if they needed to gain entrance anywhere.


Aalard made a joke about robots, Bram just rolled his eyes. "You have your way, but I have mine. I am going to follow standard regulations and bring a blaster, especially if there isn't just robots on board. I sense foul-play," Bram said before nodded that he was ready to cross.


Really the docking area was cleared and all it took was one air-locked chamber to another to get onto the station. The process could be controlled from Bram's terminal in his suit. As he walked in behind Aalard he gave the command to shut the door on the cruiser side. "Be prepared for a switch in artificial gravity," Bram said to Aalard. "It should just be the usual stuff, I don't see the artificial gravity not working on the station, so the entire thing should just be a easy walk through the pressurized tunnel. If not, we will just have to experience some zero-Gs for a bit until we can get into the station." The door behind the two men finished closing and locked. "To be honest, I have no idea what to expect," Bram said as he began the mechanism to open the pressurized hatches that formed the actual dock or links between the ship and the station.

 

[Pineapple]

Bram shrugged Aalard off, stating he would bring his blaster as per regulations. Truthfully, Aalard didn't want to have to use it. He had only used his blaster once in a mission and it did not end well, he didn't hit some criminal, he hit an innocent by standard. Granted, they were not killed. However it did cost the Periphery Affairs a fine penny in settlement costs. Aalard didn't enjoy the blaster. Aalard just shrugged towards Bram, not seeing any need to argue his point.


Bram told Aalard to prepare himself for the shift in artificial gravity and he prepared to open the pressurized hatch. Aalard was concerned. Nothing was working on the station so far and he had to wonder if the gravity would be working properly. Fortunately for them, once the hatch opened and the duo walked off of the ship they stayed grounded. "unbelievable." Aalard muttered under his breath. He was honestly surprised t see the gravity still working fully.


It was a very short walk to the airlock chamber, which from there, they would be able to enter the main station. On the small trek across the platform Aalard swung the supplies around from his back to his front and started to dig around inside of them looking for his small tool kit. It was a small back case with a metal hatch and inside were some wires with connectors and a variety of small tools for dealing with small electrical panels.


As they arrived at the airlock door Aalard placed the supplies back on the ground and inspected the password panel. "If you want, you can try opening the door, but I'm gonna start taking the plate off." Aalard said as be brought out a small tool shaped like a " with a button at the top. Aalard slid the button into a slot and pushed it down, locking it into place. Then with a push of the button the tool spun in circles until a click was heard and it stopped which prompted Aalard to lift and withdraw his tool. Three more of those and the plate should be removed.

 

[Miz]

Aalard was surprised when the two of them weren't even a little bit weightless. The artificial gravity within the large docking platform seemed to be working. Bram was happy though, he was worried that the terminal's artificial gravity could be set to a different tilt than their cruiser's living space. If he didn't have his helmet on he would probably have another head injury and possibly a concussion on his way. Now, that would be an awkward incident.


Though they weren't necessarily out of danger. Once they crossed through the next pressurized gate, the next chamber's conditions could be functioning differently. Not necessarily in a gravity sense, that would stay relatively the same even if the artifical gravity was malfunctioning. This was because a chamber within an orbital station only deviated slightly in terms of gravity from the one's adjacent to it. So it would either be the same gravity or no gravity, which was hard to imagine speaking both Aalard and Bram weren't weightless or being idly dragged closer to Jupiter within the room.


The terminal was a plain sterile white on all sides. Bram wasn't an artist so he had no idea if there was a design scheme when it came to the colors in the long and wide hallway. To him, it just appeared white and was basically barren of anything extra except for the passageway door on the other side. Beyond that door was the station-proper. That was where it probably started getting impressive.


After they crossed the platform Aalard immediately started working on the password panel and Bram was instructed to make an attempt at gaining entrance into that proper portion of the station. Pulling up the screen within his helmet, Bram tried to wirelessly access the door. "I will take a crack at it, but I don't know how well it will respond to anything I do," he said as the entry module appeared before him. Bram not interested in trying a force-entry code again decided to try and use the information provided to them by AHC Technologies. Putting in the code he gestured with his hands when standing. "If you get in before I do, just remember to make sure your life support systems are engaged. We don't really know what it is going to be like in there until I can hook up properly from the inside. I am certain the information I am receiving outside is just a part of a delayed feed or some other scheme the doctor may have made up."

 

[Pineapple]

Aalard nodded along with Bram as he began working on the other corners of the entry pad. "Will do." Was all Aalard said, as he was now in grossed in his work. Disengaging the locks of the panel didn't take too long and after the final corner Aalard applied a small suction hook to the plate and pulled, popping the panel off.


Without the panel on, all of the wires below the surface showed themselves. There were dozens of them, varying thicknesses and colors all interweaving and connected to the buttons on the plate and spreading outwards to all sides and beyond the walls. Aalard gently rested the plate against the wall, still fully connected to all of the wires as he pulled out a rolled cable and a long thin glass rod from his bag of supplies.


He used the hook to move all of the wires out of his way revealing a input port for a T99 connector, which was the cable he had in his other hand. Aalard held the T99 cable by the end and plugged it into the port. The connector could be connected to one of either his or Brams suit allowing them a direct physical line to the hatch. However, before that would Work Aalard would need to disable the Direct Connect Rejection Module (DCRM).


It wasn't a difficult task, he would just need to scramble a purple cable, which would prevent it from triggering. However, Aalard met a road block, there was no purple cable. It was obviously in place, it would be foolish not to include it, Aalard knew this much. This meant that someone was working outside of the standards. Aalard checked the other wiring to confirm his suspicions, nothing was coloured appropriately. "Huh. This station was either peiced together on scraps, or whoever wired this place has their own standards that don't abide by the S.W.S."

 

[Miz]

Bram began work on the door from his own suit. The different modules appearing inside his helmet that had displays at different parts of his body (like his hands). Unlike Aalard, Bram didn't need to connect physically to do his job. He should be able to connect seamlessly with the front-end operating system as long as the station remained functional. If that gave, he would have to plug in his suit manually or try to get an intercepting transmission device (I.T.D.) to narrowcast the signal to his suit.


The docking door was sealed and locked, as was typical. Nothing was really unusual except the fact that there was no way to confirm with the inside of the station that they were there. So they were stuck within the air-lock, unable to get into the station proper through the normal course.


Bram was certain Aalard would beat him to the punch so he waited idly for his colleague to open the door. Yet the technician had trouble dealing with the wires. Apparently nothing was up to standards, which Bram almost rolled his eyes on accident in response. "Nothing here is up to standards," Bram complained to Aalard. "As for built from scrap, its possible but knowing the doctor he probably specialized everything."


Bram kneeled down next to Aalard. "Something tells me I won't be able to just get in through the front-end and I'd rather not use a force-entry code right now. Saving that would be vital as the system becomes less and less prone to it as time goes on. Plus I don't have another," Bram ranted a bit to Aalard. "So let's see here," he said looking at the terminal's wiry insides. "Maybe... Did you work in P.A. before the current standards were adopted? Its possible its using an older S.W.S. that was then customized. Some of the earth-based stations work along those lines. That could be a clue," Bram said trying to suggest any ideas. They were stuck with hardware which wasn't his strong-suit. Still he decided to see if he had any manuals set up within his personal storage device.

 

[Pineapple]

Aalard tapped his foot as he thought and listened to Bram. "I was only a Intern back then." Aalard replied when Bram asked about the older standards. Still, Aalard used the glass tube to poke around as he tried to think back to those times. "I don't think it does... look here." aalard as as he issolated a specific cable.


"This is a T99 to D83 conversion cable." The wire that Aalard was talking about was dark blue and split into two cables about half way with a slight bulge where the three paths connected. It wasn't rare to see these types of cables around, but they weren't included in the old standards. That was one of the reason the standards were updated, so that they could make use of D83 technology. "There is no way it's using old standards."


Unfortunately for Aalard he couldn't just follow the cables to their sources, they spanned outwards through the walls far beyond sight. In fact, the cables he was looking at seemed to be purposefully designed to be confusing mess to understand. "Maybe..." Aalard thought before he click a button on the side of his helmet activating the internal holo-screen. "Is there a wire map in the stations archives? If we can recover that I can find out what the standards used are."

 

[Miz]

Aalard explained that he was an intern when the old standards were in place. It was an awkward remark mainly because it showed the age difference between the two men, but also because Aalard almost acted like Bram should have known Aalard's true age. In reality, Bram wasn't sure when the new standards came into effect. He learned the current S.W.S. when he was in secondary school. He just more or less assumed Aalard with his experience might know something about older units.


Time and age were always a strange part of the Periphery Affairs. People who traveled so far and so often in cryosleep moved at a different time than the rest of the galaxy. To them, three standard months could be one nap in deep space. So how old Aalard really was, Bram wasn't even sure. He just knew that he was older. Bram was no exception though, even calculating his age people would be off by several years. The only thing that might give him away is his "graying" hair. He couldn't believe how much his hair was already turning silver because of cryosleep. It was better than being bald though, he had to admit.


Aalard listed off the reasons why the station wasn't using the older standards before asking for a wire map. "Wire map?" Bram said. "I don't know if the doctor would store such a thing digital. He seems a bit too paranoid." Bram began looking around on the station's records. AHC Technologies may have provided them something, so tried to start there. "ACHT probably has something on this, they should have helped him build it."


As the notes given to them from ACHT began showing up on the interior of his helmet, he paused. He looked at the cables within the terminal for another few seconds. Door terminals were not hard things to wire. Over the decades companies got designing them down to a fine science. Other wires maybe put into the modules to scramble interceptors and other actions, but the mechanisms were pretty simple. Looking back at the files, Bram was actually amazed. "Wow there is actual notes on this stuff for once. Those ACHT guys actually did their homework."


Looking through it, he wasn't entirely sure if it was relevant but Bram didn't see a reason to share with Aalard. "Yeah apparently there is a security measure on the doors, it was inspired by the Kniffin Mistake." Bram reached out his hand and touched Aalard on the shoulder. Just the light tap between the two electronic suits was enough to send the file right to Aalard's own suit terminal. The exact files showing up for him.


The Kniffin Mistake was a series of string-vandalism attempts that were all the rage in the media for their elaborate use of electronics. One of the vandalism attempts actually happened at a space port. Because the vandalizes structured the door terminals in a manner unlike any set standard or method, an entire section of the space port became unusable and the place had to be evacuated. Apparently they did the same things to air mechanisms, gravity devices and even window modules. It was an entire mess that dumbfounded even the station's technicians for several days and ultimately led them to just deconstructing the door.

 

[Pineapple]

Bram was digging through the AHC archives looking for any information on the wiring scheme when he discovered that it was inspired by the Kniffin Mistake. "Of course." Aalard said as he looked at the documents and files that Bram had transferred over to his suit. It all made sense suddenly. The station used the wiring standards that the vandals of the Kniffin Mistake utilized. This was not as big a problem as it could have been. The space port that was hit by the vandals was broken down and reverse engineered, the documents and maps should be available in the archives.


Bram dug into the achieves and found the files that he was looking for. Information about how the vandals laid out their wires, and why it was so difficult to resolve before. There were some very interesting things in the field Aalard wished he had time to read, but he knew they could stand there for hours while he did some heavy reading.


Aalard however knew what he had to do now. He took out two wire scramblers and cross referenced the documents he had open before pinning the wire scramblers to two seemingly random black wires. "The problem with the Vandals and the entire Kniffin Mistake, was that the colors were just decoys. The wires were actually arranged by markings." Aalard explained as he ran his finger above a wire in particular. "See, this one has a notch every 50 millimeters, that means it's the central data transmission line. It should be red, but it's blue." Aalard did his best to explain it. The Kniffin Mistake was widely known, but the solution was not, possibly it was kept secret so AHC and other corporations could utilize its standards.


"Anyway, it should be clear for contact now." Aalard raised the end of to connector, inviting Bram to give it a test drive. "Don't worry, if you get rejected there is a back up suit in the ship."