Zharis bows her thanks to the woman's back and leaves the office, although she wonders about the "between" part, which seemed unfinished. As long as it was Taza's war with someone else rather than against them, hopefully they would be okay.
____
When she sees Hani, she says
Um, no meeting on the books yet after the dinner last night. Lurian is going to set up a meet with her contact, and let us know.
Then she goes down to gamble.
It is quite a roller coaster day of gambling, with lots of good hands where she gets ahead and then really, really bad hands which wipe out all her winnings. In the end, she is lucky enough to come away with an extra 2,000 chips.
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Hani enjoys a nice swim. After a brief meeting with a dismissive Taza, Zharis again finishes the day ahead at the skimmer card tables--though it's clear life as a professional gambler would not be for the faint of heart!
Lurian sends through a comm--she's arranged a late afternoon meeting tomorrow with the Vestrani executive holding the keys to the Sun Diver!
DAY TEN
Morning brings the beginning of the Near Space expedition team's final comped stay in the casino. With a late afternoon meeting scheduled with Lurian's contact, there's just enough time left to win a fortune--or lose one!
Hani enjoys the wave pool one more day.
Zharis gets up and stretches, then packs up all her stuff so they could leave after the meeting.
She doesn't want to tire her brain out trying to read people today... she needs to save that skill for the executive that they have to negotiate with... so instead of going to the Skimmer tables, she sits down at Xylian's lucky slot machine, and starts pumping in the chips.
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Hani enjoys another day of leisure, knowing he should enjoy the serenity now if he and the others are soon going to be piloting a ship into the Pact Worlds' sun! Meanwhile, Zharis takes a mental break by mindlessly plugging credits into the slot machines, hoping for a lucky break. But somehow, it just isn't as easy as Xylian made it look!
The day passes quickly, and soon Lurian meets everyone in the lobby where a security guard is ready to escort the group to Vice President of Facilities Segal Vestrani's penthouse office. Lurian looks excited, but also nervous. "I'll let you all do the talking." she says. "If I open my mouth, I'm likely to yell and get us thrown out of here--without the Sun Diver!"
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Jin just observes the decadence of the Pact Worlds, ready to resume their main mission.
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______
Zharis is a little on edge going into the negotiation, having lost negotiating power rather than gaining any. She practices smiling in the mirror a few times before going to the meeting, making sure that she looks relaxed and competent rather than stressed.
When she gets there, she greets Segal Vestrani
Mister Vestrani, thank you for meeting with us. I'm Zharis. We're here to negotiate on behalf of the Deep Cultures Institute, which wishes to obtain the services of Ms. Straza here, along with the ship that she invented, but we understand that she has a pre-existing obligation here that needs to be cleared up first.
We're willing to pay off her entire debt at once if it can be done at a reasonable price. We think that the opportunity will also be of benefit to you and your casino, given that you will be able to get your money up front rather than waiting for Ms. Straza to accumulate it. We're willing to pay, say 30,000 for the ship, and an additional 20,000 to erase Ms. Straza's remaining unsecured debt. We believe that is a more than reasonable offer. I urge you to accept it, and we can take care of all of this right now.
Segal Vestrani is a heavyset man whose opulent office demonstrates quite clearly that being a blood member of the cartel must be quite profitable indeed. He listens politely to Zharis, and then grunts. "What youse offerin' ain't what she owes," he observes, jabbing a thumb in Lurian's direction. "But it's a start. For 50 K, you and the hunk of space junk can walk. But 50 K ain't 75 K, which means Lady Miss Pink Hair there ain't in the clear. She better ain't leave the dome, 'less sumpin' bad happen to her or you brainy friends of her." He looks directly at Lurian and scrunches up his face. "If ya can't cough up the rest, maybe you can help Gallask in the garage. Put in a solid year, and we'll call it copasetic."
Okay, then. You can wait years to get the rest, if you're insistent on that part. We can reluctantly agree to leaving Lurian's freedom out of the deal, but the offer will be commensurately lower. Thirty for the ship alone. And nothing for Lurian's freedom, since you don't seem to want the additional cash.
Segal's expression conveys irritation mixed with condescension. "Ya ain't unnerstand how this works. She," he points a stubby index finger at Lurian "owes me" he gestures toward himself "75 K. That's the debt. I ain't holdin' no one prisoner, I'm just givin' her what ya might call sound life coaching 'bout the dangers of not payin' debts promptly. Now, you want the ship, 50 K. How she pays off the rest, that's up to her, ain't it sweetcheeks?" If he was close enough to pat Lurian on top of the head, he surely would.
Lurian is bottling up anger mixed with resignation. Finally, she whispers to you. "Get the ship--I couldn't bear to see it scrapped for parts. And that'll cut my debt by 2/3rds. Maybe you'll come across something valuable on a dive we can split to pay off the rest!"
Having reached a deal--reluctantly--with the loathsome crime boss, the Near Space expedition team wait while Segal Vestrani signals for the mechanic Gallask to arrive. When the shobhad does, Segal says "Take these fine folks down to the ship. You know the one I mean. Oh, and Lurian here might be changing oil pans with you for a bit. If she does, give her an honest day's pay for an honest day's work. We Vestrani are nothin' if not fair!"
Gallask nods and leads the way, trailed by his drone. When you reach the garage, he walks towards an apparently featureless wall and peers into a hidden retinal scanner. Suddenly, the entire wall rises into the ceiling, revealing an enormous chop shop holding a variety of vehicles and six small starships, each in various states of deconstruction and filling almost every available space. Lurian gives a little squeak of joy and rushes towards a small ship that has an odd, seed-shape to it. When she reaches it, she places her palms and the side of her face on its hull, as if embracing it.
Finally. Duergar's eyes brighten. Finally, something interesting is ahead. Real research and discoveries! Who knows, who can even imagine how rich the genome is hidden inside those creatures that we will meet in the depths of the sun?
After paying the man and cashing out her chips, Zharis gives 2,000 credits each to the rest of the team.
She also texts Nib
>Got it!<
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Nib texts back: >AWESOME!! Come to the DCI--we've got some supplies for you.<
Jin starts organizing a list of suggestions to maximize the lethality of the starship - he wouldn't know how to screw a bolt on it, but he's sure the engineers in the crew and at the DCI can figure out how to turn his plans into reality.
After a few days' work in the hidden garage, the Sun Diver is ready to go! Lurian asks you all to keep in touch--she's got some ideas of new improvements in the design and tech of the ship. Before you leave, she mentions off-hand that the ship has an artificial intelligence. "I know not everyone likes them, so I set it on silent right now, but just flip this switch over here and you'll get some assistance. I really have no idea where it got that accent from . . ." she says with a shrug. Gallask agrees to arrange transfer of the ship to Dawnshore Station so you can launch it into space when you're ready.
After a short linecrawler trip from Verdeon to Stellacuna, Nib meets you all in the lower levels of the Deep Culture Institute HQ in a long room abutting a storage area. Another ysoki is there with her--a gray-furred one, inventorying supplies, while absentmindedly passing something back and forth between her cheek pouches.
“Congrats and welcome back! This is so exciting. Oh, this is Beran,” says Nib. “She’ll get you set up. When you have everything you need, come back up and I'll go over a flight plan with you.” Nib leaves with a spring in her step.
Beran looks up, blinks and pauses, and then sighs and speaks warily. “The DCI is willing to grant you five thousand credits for supplies. Tell me what you need, and I’ll acquire and log it. That way, we’ll have a record of what burns up with you.”
You can tell that Beran is bored, and unimpressed with all of you. And that she thinks this is a fool's errand that will result in your deaths and a loss of DCI resources.
Hani spends the better part of at least two days pouring over the various systems of the Sun Diver. If he's going to keep his fellow explorers and scientists safe, he needs to know this vessel intimately.
Hani does a full systems and safety check of the Sun Diver, and is confident it's good to go!
(fail)
Thanks, Beran. Do you have any other suggestions as to what we might need? Seems like you think we're going to fail, which I understand... I mean, flying into a sun, am I right? But Lurian is honestly a genius, and the ship looks solid to me. Want to take a look at it? I'd be happy to show you around if you want.
____
When she first goes into the ship after it is delivered, Zharis turns on the AI and asks it to do a full systems check. She isn't confident at all that the Casino people are on the level when they have been working with their enemies.
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Finally! Finally! Tulgram rubs his hands - he seems excited and maybe even a little scared (although he hides it), but you can see on his face a strong enthusiasm that you have never noticed from him since your first meeting.
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Beran opens up a bit after Zharis' friendly approach. "I studied engineering with Lurian. Frankly, I think she lucked into the Sun Diver’s design and that it won’t hold up to the fundamental forces inside a star. But I've expressed my concerns with the DCI and been overruled." The gray-furred ysoki gives a little shrug. "So I'll do what I can to help. I just hope you all realise the risk you're taking. If something goes wrong with that ship, you'll be truly alone, with absolutely no hope of rescue. I'm sorry to be blunt, but that's just the way it is."
Feel free to be blunt. I totally understand. It is sort of a frightening prospect. That's why I want to get the ship checked out really well before we go, to make sure nothing goes wrong that we can prevent, and then, I guess we just need to take a lot of spare parts with us in case something does go wrong.
I promise that we'll try to make the DCI's investment worth it.
Zharis wants to get her claws upgraded, so she asks around at the DCI to see if someone can do that for her... if not she will head into town for that, and perhaps to pick up some other minor things.
She has her claws professionally sharpened, and then infused with nanofibers so they will stay that way.
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Beran nods. "Well, good luck. I'll get you what decide you want."
While everyone talks over options, Xylian takes a last look at the Sun Diver and discovers that some of the upgrades have thrown the systems out of whack! Now that the problem has been spotted, it's easy to fix, but there was a catastrophe in the making.
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Instead of overseeing the installation of new hardware on the ship, Xylian opts to go in after the contractors have left and fix everything they broke in the process. While waiting for the outside mechanics to do their damage, Xylian prepares for their imminent journey into the star.
His lashunta armor had served its purpose well on this expedition, but it did not allow for upgrades to better handle the heat they would face in the interior of the star. He opts to purchase an Industrial EJ Hardsuit - bulkier than the streamlined armor of the lashunta, but the hardsuit has two expansions slots for upgrades and would be all around more protective. He installs an advanced thermoregulator as well as a shoulder mount for his carbine that would allow him to keep his hands free in combat and upgrades his exocortex with synaptic enhancers that further improve his hand-eye coordination. All things he had not expected to need on a scientific mission. After adding radiation resistent options to his reconfigurable clothing and returning his rented enercycle, he begins preparing the new ship.
After the Sun Diver is fully prepared and supplies selected, Nib, Taeress, and several members of the Deep Culture Institute assemble with the Near Space expedition team in a conference room. Over the center of the table, a three-dimensional hologram of Mataras and the Burning Archipelago has a moving dotted line with a tiny model of the Sun Diver taking off from Dawnshore Station, passing through the Sarenite-controlled tunnel to space, and then arcing over the sun in almost a 3/4 orbit, before plunging suddenly straight down towards a tiny "X" that looks to be deep in the chromosphere.
Nib starts, barely able to contain her enthusiasm. "Okay, everyone! This is it! Noma! Follow the dotted line, and you'll be the first ones in history to visit a place inside the sun. Good thing we figured this out before the Corona Artifact Divers. If they knew about Noma, they’d go there and toss the place before we have a chance to take a meaningful survey."
Taeress adds, in a drier but calmer tone, "Our modelling indicates a journey of approximately five days to reach the coordinates designated 'Noma.' You'll need to conserve supplies for the time it takes you to survey the location and then return to orbit. Despite my . . . colleague's . . . enthusiasm," Nib rolls her eyes, but it's clear she knows she's being gently teased, "we have no data on what Noma is. It may be a structure, a portal, a vessel, or simply a flagged astronomical anomaly. Given the experimental nature of the Sun Diver, please exercise the utmost caution. Are there any questions?"
"Are we to survey Noma entirely, or a superficial 'first analysis' will be enough?"
Bah! I think it depends on what we'll find 'ere! Perhaps it will be so breathtaking and push our boundaries of knowledge about the universes so much that we will not be able to deny ourselves a more detailed study!
Tulgram rubs his hands, looking at the dotted line.
Aye, it's no hotter than working in a smelter. My ancestors coped with this, and I will cope too. May the Master of the Dark Furnace help us.
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In response to Jin's question, Nib says "Full survey!" at the exact same time that Taeress says "Preliminary scan only."
Beran, present in case there are any last questions about supplies, says diplomatically: "Maybe we'll leave it up to your discretion," she nods in agreement with Tulgram. "Those on the scene will be best poised to assess the risk."
Personally hoping that "the master of the dark furnace," whoever he was, would stay far far away, Zharis responds to Beran's comment:
Good idea, we'll make that call depending on our circumstances, get as much data as is reasonable, and then return, with our priority being returning safely.
Hani heads to the galley and assesses the food situation, doing the calculations for how many days of food are stored aboard the ship. A last minute call to deliver more before take off will be made if necessary.
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Xylian transfers their remaining equipment from the Sun Runner to the Sun Diver. He takes advantage of the opportunity to clear out some of the unused gear - mostly weapons and armor - and purchases a crate of UBP's to fortify their supplies for the trip into the sun. He creates a signup sheet on the ships computer so people can reserve the medbay and techlab in one-hour increments. The rest of the time waiting to launch he spends running simulations to test the various ship systems.
"Our study of Noma will be adequate." Xylian says blandly. Obviously he would not be leaving the job undone.
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After getting the coordinates for Noma and saying their farewells to Nib, Taeress, and the other members of the DCI, the Near Space expedition team make their via linecrawler to Dawnshore Station. There, the Sun Diver stands fully loaded with supplies and ready for take-off. As Hani and Xylian double-check the payload, Zharis heads for the cockpit and flips on the artificial intelligence that Lurian mentioned. Instantly, a gravelly voice can be heard in every room of the ship: "Reckon' all systems churnin' like smooth, smooth Castrovelian butter. Yeehaw!"
Once everyone is strapped in and ready to go, the ship rises smoothly into the air, receives automated clearance from Sunrise Control, and exits the Burning Archipelago. Glare shields immediately activate to reduce Mataras' blinding light. Thrusters fire, and moments later, solar plasma surrounds the vessel and a low, soothing hum fills the interior. Instruments show the Sun Diver is channeling stellar forces around and through its systems, siphoning a portion as extra power. The AI speaks again “Hold onto your butts, y’all! Here we go!”
Zharis knows this role, having played all the ship roles over the years of "As the Black Hole Turns."
Course laid in. All ahead full.
(She checks the captain's display to make sure the course actually *is* laid in, and then sits back while Xylian guides them.)
DAY ONE
Xylian guides the Sun Diver towards the roiling mass of heat and gravity. In seconds, the ship is surrounded by a reddish-orange envelope of solar plasma, and the blackness of space is left completely behind. But the interior of the ship remains nice and comfortable, and the navigation equipment on board makes it easy to head for the coordinates Nib gave you.
After the initial hours of spectacle--you're actually inside a star!--the wonder starts to fade and a semblance of routine kicks in. There are meals to be had, cleaning rotations to set up, diagnostic checks to make, and more.
All ahead full, indeed. Ignoring the posted speed limits for the space around the port, Xylian accelerates the Sun Diver to its full, sub-drift speed. Once their course was set and chief engineer Hani had determined everything was running within parameters, Xylian sits back in the pilots seat as best he can with the seatback set completely vertical. He was as familiar as anyone with AI's. His exocortex, which he build and programmed himself, was one. His exocortex did not communicate directly with him, instead it was seamlessly integrated into his brain and nervous system. He was not opposed to having an AI on the ship, but needed to know if it would be useful. If not, it would be better to shut it down.
"AI. What are your capabilities?"
"Well pard, I reckon' I can keep an eye on this floatin' Akitonian ranch house in case any crest eaters come gnawin' at the door! And Lu, she liked havin' me around just to have a friendly ear to chew the fat with when things got a mite lonely."
I'm a pretty controversial shooter. But damn it, I'll try.
With these words, Tulgram will approach the study of all the guns on the ship quite responsibly and scrupulously. It is clear that this is new to him, but he is going to work hard and master what he has no talent for.
Like everything else in this life.
Day Two
As Xylian converses with the ship's AI and considers whether or not to leave it active, Tulgram does a full study of the Sun Diver's (and its crew's) weaponry. For a scientific expedition, by all appearances this group is ready for anything!
Jin exercises when he isn't at the gunnery station, and does maintenance on his gear when isn't doing either.
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Xylian notes in the maintenence logs that chief engineer Hani had reduced the sun's damage to the ship hull to a minimum on the second day. He describes the work as "adequate". Otherwise he spends the travel time running scans of the interior of the star.
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Hani notes in the maintenance logs that Xylian has taken an unusual interest in the maintenance logs.
He leaves him a crudely drawn, somewhat profane doodle. He also leaves him a small package of sweets he had in his backpack, ones that he has seen that Xylian seems to enjoy eating.
He actually does take some time to assess the situation with the hull of the ship slowly taking damage. He attempts to sort out whether he can further minimize this damage.
Zharis starts chatting with the AI to pass the time when she isn't obsessively checking to make sure that nothing is wrong. The whole going-into-the-unknown thing seems cool at first, but worrying about it made it less and less cool as you went, she was finding.
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DAY THREE
As Xylian and Hani hold an interesting asynchronous dialogue via maintenance logs, Zharis chats with the ship's AI. The solar forces around the ship are building in intensity, and perhaps so is tension amongst its crew!