Cold Call - [Sibby-verse 1]

7

"Jay, turn off the sail." Eds backs down. "Disembark ASAP, off-charts."
                "Aye sir."
                "This convo stays here, Commander!" Addie-Lit adds. "Out!"

I immediately leave. Once in the hallway, I pause for a second in sheer disbelief, but good sense prevails and carries me back down the corridor to the bridge where I retake my seat in stark silence on the bridge.

                "Lito, turn off our sails, navboard plot up plan B route to Endeavors. No questions." I order to murmured "yessirs" with inquiring looks. I gesture knock it off, quick. I direct comm Medbay. "Twink or Ra-Ra? Stats?"
                "We've got everyone locked down and stabilized for the most part, ready to move." Twink answers.
                "Aye. All right, let's rock then." I say, seeing the course Trippy plotted on the screen and I remember just in time to jack back in and then switch on the light-cycle sequence to blue-blue-blue for impending push-off.

While waiting the regulated five minutes for all aboard to take-hold, I double-check Trippy's plot, add in a couple of diversionary maneuvers and order a starchart update since we're still in range of a CLUSA-point to use deeplink. Turning off the sail – that last signal to show your position approximate to all ships, stations, satellites nearby will increase the risk to ourselves and others. I've run off-sail on multiple occasions but these civs haven't. They're side-eying me like never before. They're going to complain loudly, justifiably, it's just a matter of time.

Right on the first five-minute mark, Eds and Addie-Lit enter the bridge and take seats with Addie-Lit sitting secondary security post with privileges I see, making good on her word. Rumor is that you do NOT cross her, at all. It's also rumored that she and Eds are an unlikely couple.

I sound the klaxon in one short burst and switch our light-cycle to red-red-red for imminent burn and ignite the gins. They didn't need warming up as they were on idle and nothing is in our pathway to distort our trajectory so, we can go immediate slide-run. I flick the light-cycle to blue-red-blue to indicate just that.

                "Slide-run imminent, slide in five, take hold!" I announce over all-ship comm.

We immediately run the rest of our sequence for e-particle bombardment and angling with a couple of Core pulses to successfully hit our mark and transition to slide three minutes later, as always. Once all is steady on green, I switch the light-cycle to yellow-yellow-yellow.

Miraculously, the navboard is mum. They're also not in personal inline boards either, smart. Hopefully, these next five starhours will be uneventful. I decide to drop an update to GoSo's comm-node and for minimal distraction, I don't read any updates on the node. I just add that we intercepted Five and Six, what's left of them with Trader's Delight destroyed, Merchie's Nap dead in the water, that we're headed for Endeavors, ETA five starhours.

I need another conversation with Eds, that's for sure. What precisely does he have up his sleeves and gotten us into? I'm honestly shocked. But too, no one in Sibby is an innocent, haven't done anything saint either. We've ALL got a past we're paying for. I check on my correlation keyword search – no results. What's certain however is the fact that we're in hot water.

Fifteen real minutes into our slide however,

Eds wanna drop outta slide – Lito
Why? – me
Distress sig' from Pity Treaty – Lito, I see the co'ords roll over onto my boards
This just gets better and better, kay – me
Upscan charts? – Trippy
You bet, even if we need a double-back, no need of runnin' into some-else unexpected – me
Got it – navboard understanding

Capitalist has an excellent comp-sys suite however, I wanna make sure we don't hit any unexpected objects when we exit slide or boost any rocks down with us to hit anyone who happens to unfortunately be in our path. The upscan takes five well worth it minutes and once it confirms a clear path, I initiate gate-exit, light-cycle switch to red-red-red with a klaxon burst with immediate running of long and shortrange scans of this area. We drop in on the Mid-Inn region, not far from Chancer Station but still enroute for Endeavors, which is in the Rim's Edge region of the InnerRim.