tetractys: (ZH SV ZKKVZIH RM GSV MRTSG HPRVH)
◬ ([personal profile] tetractys) wrote in [community profile] driftfleet2016-08-04 10:13 pm

enigma variations

Who: Bill Cipher
Broadcast: First to the SS Golden, then to the rest of the fleet after a few days
Action: Aboard the Golden
When: Wednesday - Friday

[Action:]

[There's a distinct smell of smoke when the comms fry, on the Golden, and a horrible electronic whine just barely within the high range of human hearing. The ship blinks off of fleet radar. Fifteen seconds go by, and the system fails to reboot itself. Thirty seconds. Sixty.

By the time any of the rest of the crew can come investigate, a bespectacled man with his sleeves rolled up is elbow-deep in the comm array, a small flashlight between his teeth. He hasn't been around the ship before, no one will recognize him. The ship's had all the equipment associated with a Communications officer for a month now, it's just that nobody's touched it, or even showed up to claim the title. So maybe this is the guy making an appearance, finally? Then again, it's a little weird that he's never come out of his cabin for meals, if he's been here that long.

The man waves over anyone who gets close and pulls the flashlight out of his mouth to hand it to them, if they'll accept it.]


Hi. Hold this, will you?

[Text, to the Crew of the Golden.]

[It's a few hours of tinkering before this message appears. Bits of the communications array have been tossed haphazardly around the entire surrounding area. Try not to step on anything breakable or sharp?]

The good news is that I found the problem! The bad news is that it's going to take the rest of the night to fix. It's good and cooked in here! I'd say the router is about medium-rare! Bring me some protien sauce to put on it and check back tomorrow morning.

The other bad news is that this was sabotage! But the other good news is that I've got a plan! I wrote an executable for you guys to all run on your communicators so that we're all on the same page when I can get the system running again.

Attachment: sysupdate.exe

Just type this in like you would if you were sending a regular message. Don't make any typos or we'll be isolated in the unforgiving depths of space for another six hours while I try to find out what you did wrong. Ha ha! :)


[What Bill isn't mentioning is that this little bit of code has nothing to do with fixing the ship and everything to do with remotely scripting any communicator it's run on.]

[Audio, fleetwide.]

[It's thirty-six hours into the rebuild when the systems suddenly click back on in a burst of static and feedback. Muffled, triumphant cackling is audible down the entire main corridor of the Golden. The ship comes back into radar detection. On the communicator network, an unfamiliar male voice crackles to life. Anyone who's heard Bill's real voice in a dream won't recognize this one - he's borrowing it from a friend.]

Hellooooo, fleet! This is a systems test, the SS Golden hailing any other satellites that can recieve. Please respond if I'm getting through to you! I've got some pret-ty interesting news about what just put us into a blackout.

[Text. Double-encrypted; Private-locked to self only.]

THAT SURE WAS A DUMB MISTAKE YOU JUST MADE. FORTUNATELY, I'M A GENEROUS GUY. I CAN SMOOTH ALL OF THIS OVER AND MAKE SURE YOU CAN STILL COLLECT WHATEVER IT IS YOU NEEDED. I WON'T TELL THE OTHER SHIPS HOW TO CORRECTLY UNHOOK YOUR LITTLE DOODADS, AND THINGS WILL GO BACK TO NORMAL FOR YOU. ALL I WANT IS TO GET IN ON WHAT YOU KNOW. LET'S BE A TEAM!

I WANT ACCESS TO PRIVATE FILTERED COMMUNICATIONS, FLEET-WIDE. I'M GOING TO GIVE YOU 24 HOURS TO THINK ABOUT IT. IF I GET MY PRICE BY THEN, I'LL ASSUME WE HAVE A DEAL. IF THERE'S NO CHANGE BY THEN, WELL - YOU WOULDN'T HAVE PUT THIS ON MY SHIP UNLESS WE HAD SOMETHING YOU WANTED! AND IF I DON'T GET WHAT I WANT, NO ONE DOES.


[(FQ PBBJP XQOLJX EXP X CLB, XK FKQBOZBMQLO PQFII RKKXJBA
F'SB PELTK JV ZXOA IBQ'P EXSB PLJB CRK
QEBOB KLT XOB QEOBB PFABP FK QEFP DXJB)]

((Want your character with a Commuications augment to be able to catch and decode that last message? PM or hit me up on Plurk, I'm totally down for that!))
ontrial: (truth and consequences)

[personal profile] ontrial 2016-08-06 11:07 pm (UTC)(link)
I haven't been out of my room much lately but I haven't heard anyone doing anything questionable over here. [ nor has she gotten any "let's sabotage a thing" vibes from the rest of the crew. usually that would be a helpful giveaway before things went sideways. ] But I can assure you I do know when not to mess with technology I'm not familiar with, ah...

[ it's a spot where a name would go for reassuring emphasis. but she doesn't have one to use for him. ]

Sorry, I don't believe we've met before. I've only been here a few weeks.
ontrial: (grit and bear it)

[personal profile] ontrial 2016-08-12 06:58 pm (UTC)(link)
That is my face.

[ that is exactly as far as her patience goes, right to her personal space. still, she seems to realize that sounded rude as soon as it's out of her mouth and so she recoils, taking a full step back and putting a hastily apologetic face on. ]

Sorry, Doctor, I- They're ceremonial tattoos. In mirialan culture, they signify my achievements and capabilities as a Force user.
ontrial: (are you sure about this)

[personal profile] ontrial 2016-08-14 02:10 am (UTC)(link)
Generally, we don't go in depth explaining them to outsiders, so it's more for ourselves, but rhombus shapes in general show a connection to the Force. [ she raises a hand, tapping the little diamond on the front of her nose. ] This is where I started, when I was just a youngling, to show a respect for the culture of my birth while still looking forward to a future with the Jedi- the order that raised and trained me.

[ the order she was introducing herself as a member of when she first arrived. not any more, though. thankfully her tattoos are much more about her connection to the force than they are to the jedi, so she's only filled with minimal self loathing when she catches her reflection in the mirror. ]

The rest of the patterning on my face was influenced by my mentor and her own choices in markings, added as I aged and eventually became her apprentice.

[ both hands come up this time, held so that he can see the pattern on the backs of them. they're not hidden usually, but if she's talking about this, she might as well make them clear to see: four diamonds arranged in the shape of a larger one, like the prominent shape under each eye. ] These, I added when I decided that I wanted to be a Healer. I was talented at healing for my age and knew that I would have many studies and trials still ahead of me, but these marks would serve as a reminder of what I wanted for my future, what I wanted my hands to be capable of.
ontrial: (shadowing)

[personal profile] ontrial 2016-08-16 06:50 am (UTC)(link)
I suppose nothing was really making me decide, then. But I was twelve.

[ and even though she doesn't quite look twenty yet, she's clearly been through a whole lot since then. ]
ontrial: (patient smiles)

[personal profile] ontrial 2016-08-18 12:50 am (UTC)(link)
[ she's seen more unsettling things, so she's politely ignoring both the smile and whatever his neck is doing. part of being a jedi is not being put off by weird mannerisms, after all, and she may not be a jedi any longer, but she can still be that sort of patient. to some degree, at the very least. ]

Many Jedi decide on their paths young. The Force guides us in our decision making and we find it easier not to go against that. Besides, if you grow up thinking that you have a purpose and have the ability to impact your environment somehow, I think you're probably more like to do it.
ontrial: (why geonosis)

[personal profile] ontrial 2016-08-20 03:18 am (UTC)(link)
That would be a letdown for anybody, no matter when they chose their path in life. [ she shakes her head, looking briefly confused. ] And that's all the more reason not to let yourself or anyone else down, isn't it?
ontrial: (oh did i initiate fighting)

[personal profile] ontrial 2016-08-23 09:11 am (UTC)(link)
Just because you've been lied to or manipulated doesn't mean you can't still do what you believe is right for you and your life.

[ it's almost like she has some experience and an opinion on that. still, when she pauses, it's to lean forward and look at the mess he's been working on. ]

Do you want me to take a look? I'm no engineer, but I do know the basics of technology at home. Maybe this is similar.
ontrial: (dependable barriss)

[personal profile] ontrial 2016-08-25 07:39 am (UTC)(link)
[ it's not really a surprise that barriss hardly knows what she's looking at when she takes a closer peek at the mess bill has been working on, but she still pays attention anyway, poking around for a few moments. ]

How long have you been with the fleet, anyway?
ontrial: (my bad)

[personal profile] ontrial 2016-08-26 01:34 am (UTC)(link)
A few weeks. Dropped in while everyone was still enjoying that last planet. [ finally, she'll pull away from the tech, giving bill space to take over again. ]

Yeah, sorry, it's nothing like a starfighter or a lightsaber. I'll leave it to you.
ontrial: (stereotypical thinky face)

[personal profile] ontrial 2016-08-30 08:45 pm (UTC)(link)
[ a nefarious bug. great. just what she needs. ]

I haven't noticed anyone particularly suspect among the crew, but I suppose someone might be an exceptional liar... But why? Never mind. Possible motives aside, do you think anyone else aboard would be capable of this, even given time to tinker?