Fallen Grace

[Exdeathevn]

Epernon Base, Orleanais. 3 Days before Fallen Grace

Arek Maxim stepped into one of the command rooms and began punching numbers in.
Having left most of his piloting days behind to follow and aid the economic aspects,
he trusted the hackers on this station would enjoy a change of pace from the day-to-day
monotony of cracking the same safety mechanisms and security protocols on Solar's
holotainment devices.
The screen before him switched from graphs and charts of product stocks and projected
earnings, to a list of those currently working on the hypnotainment projects and their skill
levels. He scrolled through the list a few times, weighing each individual against the others
and making his selection, before logging off of the terminal.

Each hacker had their own workshop on the station, with their dormitory interlinked at the back
of the room. Desks strewn with various tools and computers, and crates of holotainment bands
left little room to move in most workshops. In the corner of 6 of these rooms, an intercom
buzzed, distracting the occupied hackers in them, as a digital voice spoke.
"Please report to meeting room 9 on deck 3 immediately. Repeat, please report to meeting room 9
on deck 3 immediately, merci."

A few minutes later, the hackers had assembled and were seated at the briefing room table.
They had brought their toolbelts and satchels with them, either out of habbit or because, in
one of their cases, they'd brought their work with them.

"Very prudent of you, monsieur Cole." Maxim said, stepping into the room.
Each hacker stood, a simple sign of respect, as Maxim seated himself at the head of the table.
He motioned them to sit back down while he poured himself a glass of wine.

"So what can we do for you, Commandant?" A black-haired woman asked, adjusting her glasses.

"Don't mind the formalities, Freya. I have an important job offer for you all, so long as you don't
mind the secrecy of it?" No-one objected. "Excellent. For starters, I should inform you that
this job takes prioriy over your current work, but you'll get to have some fun while you're at it.
So. Can I count on your support?"

"What is this job then, monsieur?" Cole asked, having not looked up from the holotainment band.
A couple of beeps emitted from the device as he put it down, finished with it.

"You're going to aid us in an operation I'll simply call 'FG'. Your job will be titled 'Falling Dove',
a distraction job against the Royal Navy in order to assist the Royal Navy." Maxim chuckled.
"You'll be hacking into the Navy's communication channels and... mis-directing some of their forces
to a non-existent threat in Dauphine. I'll station the Epee as a relay-post at the jumphole in this
system, as a relay point for as long as I can while you work on the communications disruption.
How does that sound?"

A few grins appeared on some of the hackers, either from the chance to do something against the
Royalists or for the chance to cause some chaos. Cole remained expressionless, being the first
to speak up.

"I'd say you can count us in, monsieur. How much is the bonus?"
Maxim held up one hand.
"5 times standard payment. And other questions?" A brief pause. "Non? Very well. I'll have one of
the old command rooms re-purposed for your work, the operation takes place in 3 days. We'll get you
all the necessary information and equipment you may need. Dismissed."

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