Everything Is Connected

[Alia Discordia]

Daeva pops up on the screen directly in front Riley with an excited "HI!"

(To say he was 'startled' would be a bit of an understatement, but the good news is, at least he has his hearing back.)

Riley says 'hi' back, and he's happy to see that she apparently accepted Shamus' apology.

"Things went well, I take it?" he asked her.

She nods vigorously with an ear to ear grin, needing to say nothing.

"Where is he? Like I said, we're a fat-ass sitting duck right now."

"Yeah, about that," Daeva responded, "Turns out he can only stay online 12 hours a day"

Before Riley could freak out about that, Daeva preempts him.

"I've been thinking about that alot already, & I have a great idea! Meet me up in the cockpit."

She disappears off the screen, and almost instantaneously, her voice comes up over the speakers:

"C'mon then, Daddy-O! Chop-chop!"

By the time he catches up to her in the front of the ship, She's on every screen, sporting a flat-cap, sunglasses, and driving gloves.

Again, she speaks like a boss before Riley could protest.

"Whatever it is, save it! I.Got.This."

Riley was about to object, but it's clear she intends to try to take control of the ship, and there's going to be no stopping her.

He chooses instead to cross his arms, lean against the bulkhead, and be zen about it.

It took a couple of tries, but once she got it right, the ZBT's transponder changed from 'LochNet.Shamus' to 'LochNet.Daeva.'

At the same time, the interior lighting changed ship wide to a warmer hue, and she bumped the climate controls up a few degrees.

Finally getting the Whale moving again involved some trial and error, and weaving through the minefield in 41 towards the 49 jumphole was nerve-wracking for both of them, but once they got to the Lobos field, they were able to relax for a while, and casually cruise towards Dublin.

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