Chapter Text
Audio file localstorage.2205170:
feedID[Laporte, Jacqueline]: “How’s the new gear treating you?”
feedID[Takeda, Tira]: “Medical cleared me. That’s all I need.”
feedID[Laporte, Jacqueline]: “Augments that extensive are no joke. If you need the time, take the time.”
feedID[Takeda, Tira]: “Negative on that. No way to break them in except to fly with them. Besides… two raids already this month. All they got last time was gear, but I’m not going to sit in bed rubbing my eyes while the corpos grab somebody’s kids. Not if I could be out there.”
feedID[Laporte, Jacqueline]: [sigh] “I’ll give you that. Well, on that front. I have good news and bad news.”
feedID[Takeda, Tira]: “Chief?”
feedID[Laporte, Jacqueline]: “The good news: we have a bird for you. The bad news…”
feedID[Takeda, Tira]: …
feedID[Takeda, Tira]: “That’s not funny, Jackie.”
feedID[Laporte, Jacqueline]: “Wonder when you think I grew a sense of humor?”
feedID[Takeda, Tira]: “That’s a gunship. A GenValen gunship. How…?”
feedID[Laporte, Jacqueline]: “Recovered after the last raid. We didn’t even have to shoot it down. Pulled it out of deteriorating orbit right before it would’ve started burning, whole crew of corporates dead inside. Techs claim rapid decompression and electrical failure killed ‘em. Fixed the seals and they say it’s flightworthy.”
feedID[Takeda, Tira]: “So it’s… ours now.”
feedID[Laporte, Jacqueline]: “Don’t make that face. It’s not like we’re so rich with ships we can throw out one that works. Just think of the surprise the bastards are in for the next time they come back. Shoot ‘em out of our sky with their own railguns.”
feedID[Takeda, Tira]: “Why doesn’t it have a pilot yet?”
feedID[Laporte, Jacqueline]: “After seeing the cabin full of bodies, nobody’s been in a real hurry to get behind the flight controls. Everybody’s been a little… well, let’s say wary.”
feedID[Takeda, Tira]: “I’m not superstitious. So long as it’ll fly.”
feedID[Laporte, Jacqueline]: “It’ll fly. As far as your interface goes, engineering had to scrub the software. Much as they could, anyway. Some basic subroutines they can’t get rid of that keep the engine running, so to speak, but they shouldn’t give you any trouble. There’s no personality left in there to get in your way. That thing’s dead.”
feedID[Takeda, Tira]: “If you say so.”
feedID[Laporte, Jacqueline]: “Listen, you’re the one that wants to fly. This is the bird I have for you, at least until our new wings are ready. Just put this thing through its paces, break in that fancy new hardware in your brain, and I promise you I’ll see about getting you moved up the list for something a little friendlier as soon as we can. All right, Takeda? I promise you.”
Feed log localstorage.2205172:
{Authentication protocol: pilot ID Takeda Tira, callsign “Gravity.”}
{Authentication successful. Welcome pilot Takeda.}
feedID[Gravity]: Guess you still have enough of a brain to say hi. Query: identification.
{ShipID GenValen enforcer designation 13-02313.}
feedID[Gravity]:Right. Great. Not ominous at all. Let’s see what we’ve got. {Ping: Jasper Sikora, callsign “Techno.”}
feedID[Techno]: Boss lady. What’s up?
feedID[Gravity]: Systems report?
feedID[Techno]: Eh. You can get it into the air, for whatever that’s worth to you. Not sure if it’s my imagination or if the entire crew bay really still stinks like dead corporates. Not that I feel sorry for the fuckers, but I can’t imagine dying in this tin can.
feedID[Gravity]: Your head’s gonna be in a helmet anyway, what do you care what the upholstery on your chair smells like?
feedID[Techno]: I know. It’s just the design of this thing… brr. Gives me the creeps in here.
feedID[Gravity]: Techno. The systems report.
feedID[Techno]: Yeah, yeah. Triple-checked engineering’s upgrades. Seals look good. Turret diagnostics coming back solid gold. Engines, check. Electrical, check. Bot pilot is reading as limited cognition/residual functionality only. You make friends yet?
feedID[Gravity]: Very funny. So far it gave me an ID and that’s it. Interfacing like that still makes my teeth itch.
feedID[Techno]: You’ll get over it. What’s it call itself?
feedID[Gravity]: No name, just a registry designation. 13-02313.
feedID[Techno]: Hell. Chief is actually making us fly corporate death trap number 13?
feedID[Gravity]: No, Sikora, I’m asking you—politely—to help me get my ship run-ready.
feedID[Techno]: Cursed-ass piece of… this isn’t a ship, it’s a coffin with wings.
feedID[Gravity]: Rude.
{Environmental adjustment: forced-air-recycle(crew cabin)}
feedID[Techno]: Aww, fresh air? For me? You’re too kind.
feedID[Gravity]: Wasn’t me. Automatics kicked on. Guess she heard you complaining.
feedID[Techno]: Not reassuring, boss. Not reassuring.
Feed log localstorage.2205177:
{Communications protocol: tightband local, return signal: emergency hail, civilian sector, Ardath-Benak Agricultural Community}
feedID[Gravity]: This is pilot Takeda Tira with Nemvali-IIb auxiliary air support, responding to distress call. We have three support ships inbound, do you copy?
Civilian feed: …
feedID[Gravity]: I repeat, this is pilot Takeda with aux air, can anyone hear me?
Civilian feed: …
feedID[Gravity]: 13, channel filter and rescan. Max signal sensitivity.
{Filter set to maximum gain. Scanning.}
{Scanning.}
{Signal not detected.}
feedID[Gravity]: Dammit!
feedID[Gravity]: Bruno! What’s our eta?
feedID[Bruno]: 90 seconds, ma’am.
{Ping: pilots Valo, Candace and Joshi, Vanya}
feedID[Gravity]: CV, Flashbang, check in.
feedID[CV]: On your eight.
feedID[Flashbang]: On your four. Picking up two hostile ships, one at the landing zone, one holding in low hover.
feedID[Gravity]: Any intel on the people?
feedID[Flashbang]: None.
feedID[Gravity]: Fuck. All right. CV, you and I can take the flier. Flash, get your crew groundside. Those assholes don’t leave this planet with a single civilian.
feedID[Flashbang]: They aren’t leaving this planet full stop.
feedID[Techno]: Boss, our sensors are freaking out.
{Incoming command packet: GenValen piloting overrides. Apply command packet y/n?}
feedID[Gravity]: Ougch, son of a… gods, it’s like bugs in my eye sockets. No! No. 13, dismiss command packet and screen sensors for interference.
{Affirmative, pilot Takeda.}
feedID[Techno]: Gravity with the magic touch! Our eyes are clear. Contact in 20 seconds.
feedID[Flashbang]: Breaking for groundside. Give ‘em hell.
feedID[CV]: Like we were born for it.
{Hostile gunship acquiring targeting lock, preparing to fire missiles.}
feedID[Gravity]: What—? How do you know—
{Evasion protocol y/n?}
feedID[Gravity]: Yes!
feedID[Bruno]: Brace for impact!
feelID[Gravity]: Aaaaughh
{Missile detonation evasion successful. Secondary debris impact. Hull integrity: 97%.}
feedID[Techno]: You all right boss?
feedID[Gravity]: I felt that debris impact in my fucking spine. Gotta figure out how to turn down the volume on the augments.
feedID[Bruno]: Targeting validated, ma’am. Firing on hostiles.
feedID[CV]: Crossfire incoming.
{Incoming ground communication: pilot Joshi}
feed[Gravity]: Flash?
feed[Flashbang]: Takeda. I. hsst
feed[Gravity]: Joshi! Report now.
feed[Flashbang]: Got a little too hot down here, Grav.
feed[Gravity]: Get back to your ship, Vanya. Cut and run.
feed[Flashbang]: No can do. We’ve got the civilians but we’re pinned down, and we’re… not walking anywhere anytime soon.
{Brace for impact.}
{Projectile impacts to rear third of ship. Hull integrity: 91%.}
feed[Gravity]: Shit. Shit!
{Pilot Takeda.}
feedID[CV]: Get over here you fuckers!
{Pilot Gravity?}
feedID[Gravity]: … uh. 13?
{Adversarial software protocols partially operational. Deployment against hostile gunships possible. Deploy y/n?}
feedID[Gravity]: You still have your killware modules?
{Partially operational. Deploy y/n?}
feedID[Gravity]: … screw it. Yes.
{Deploying.}
feedID[Techno]: Ha haaaa! Hostile flier appears to be experiencing a few technical difficulties.
{Deployment successful.}
feedID[CV]: Hot damn. Come on over here, assholes, I’ve got a present for you.
feedID[CV]: I’ve got this one, Grav. Go pull Vanya’s boots out of the fire.
feedID[Gravity]: You sure?
feedID[CV]: Drinks on me back at HQ.
Video file HQ.medbay.2205178:
feedID[Laporte, Jacqueline]: “Wanted to come by and check up on you, Takeda. How are you feeling?”
feedID[Takeda, Tira]: “Tired. Sore.”
feedID[Laporte, Jacqueline]: “Sounds like you earned both. The surgeon reports that Joshi and Irving going to make a full recovery. I understand that’s thanks to you and your crew. Want to tell me what happened?”
feedID[Takeda, Tira]: “You got my report? The ground team got the civilians away from the GenValen acquisition squad, but Joshi took three shots in the back from close-range energy weapons. Irving took out a combat bot but sustained multiple fractures in his right arm and right leg doing it. They were pinned down in one of the outbuildings. I came up on the hostiles from behind, and Bruno got up on the roof. Techno gave us cover fire with the ship’s air-to-ground turrets.”
feedID[Laporte, Jacqueline]: “I read it. I’m not complaining—that was a hell of a thing you pulled off. I’m just curious, though. You said you left Valo going after the flier. What were you thinking? Landing with that thing still armed and in the air… that’s not just stupid, Gravity, that’s dogged pursuit of martyrdom and I don’t have you pegged as the type. I’m going to need an explanation.”
feedID[Takeda, Tira]: [sigh]
feedID[Takeda, Tira]: “13 disabled it.”
feedID[Laporte, Jacqueline]: “So your report claimed. But how? How’d you do it?”
feedID[Takeda, Tira]: “Not me. 13. I was mostly just trying to fly through a migraine. But 13… she knew what she wanted to do, I think. She helped.”
feedID[Laporte, Jacqueline]: “Thought you weren’t the superstitious type.”
feedID[Takeda, Tira]: “Don’t look at me like that.”
feedID[Laporte, Jacqueline]: “Takeda, that ship is dead. Engineering scrubbed the bot pilot. It can’t know anything. You sure you don’t want medical to have another look at your augments?”
feedID[Takeda, Tira]: “No, I’m—I’m fine. Tired, like I said. It’ll pass.”
feedID[Laporte, Jacqueline]: “I can have the techs take another look at the ship, see if there’s something they missed.”
feedID[Takeda, Tira]: “No!”
feedID[Laporte, Jacqueline]: “No?”
feedID[Takeda, Tira]: “No, sorry. Just… whatever’s going on with the bot pilot, leave it alone. Please. I like it how it is.”
feedID[Laporte, Jacqueline]: …
feedID[Laporte, Jacqueline]: “All right, Takeda. All right. Rest up tonight. We’ll talk again soon.”
feedID[Takeda, Tira]: “Thanks, chief.”
Feed log localstorage.2205178:
feedID[Gravity]: Hey, 13. You there?
{Acknowledged, pilot Takeda.}
feedID[Gravity]: I’ve never met a bot pilot that talks.
feedID[Gravity]: Not that you’re supposed to even still be a bot pilot. Or anything at all.
{Physical readings indicate ongoing somatic reflex response.}
feedID[Gravity]: Yeah, it’s not the warmest in here.
{Environmental adjustment: temperature-modulation(flight control cabin)}
feedID[Gravity]: …
feedID[Gravity]: You called me Gravity.
{Affirmative, pilot Takeda.}
feedID[Gravity]: I think I’d like you to keep doing that.
{Affirmative, Gravity.}
feedID[Gravity]: They said they scrubbed your software. They think they did.
feedID[Gravity]: I don’t think they knew what they had with you.
feedID[Gravity]: But I do.