Anya gave XJ a hard blink. "That's... Wha--" Anya was speechless for a moment, confused. "XJ, when would three whole freight ships dock? And...even if they did, how would we..."
To XJ's surprise, Dolly put down her silverware and asked, "What... should I do?" XJ got the impression that Dolly would do just about anything XJ suggested in that moment. It was a potent sensation. XJ's eyes widened. Was she ready to lead in this way? She'd always been part of the team in a heist--not the one calling the shots. But everyone else here seemed content to keep doing this miserable grind. Eat, break rocks, sleep. Eat, get brainwashed, sleep. XJ couldn't do it, and if becoming a leader was what it took to get out of this place, then she would do it.
Both other girls looked at XJ expectantly. She kept her voice down as low as she dared.
"Right. Here's my thought. We jam one of the freight ships before it can leave. The guards think it's broken and call two more ships up--one to replace the old one and one to catch up on their latest shipment. But, we also need them to send some bigwig up here to inspect something. Or maybe just to commemorate it. Someone to boost morale." XJ did lower her voice, talking out of the corner of her mouth for just a moment. "Someone they can't afford to lose." XJ was worried that, if the people planet-side thought the prison was having an emergency, they might just vent the prisoners and the guards alike and wash their hands of the whole matter. No, if they were going to force an evacuation, they needed it to truly go by the book.
XJ really wished she had some dramatic papers to unfold as she detailed this next part, but that, obviously, would be too conspicuous.
She forced herself to take a bite of porridge, trying to look innocuous. She waved her hand and said with her mouth full, "I can probably suggest something like that to Gerald."
Talking faster and more excitedly now, XJ said, "I have the plans for the emergency evacuation. If there's an emergency," XJ said, stressing the word, hoping Anya would understand that they would need to cause an emergency, "the guards would take the escape pods and abandon the freight ships. Leaving them free to fly. We just need to find two other pilots."
XJ lifted her spoon ceremoniously, proud of herself. She knew it was elaborate, but if all the pieces fitted together just right, maybe they really could get out of this place.
((OOC: Laughing at imagining Gerald trying to convince Hamish to get a bigwig up in space.))
Part 2: Hatched!
Re: Part 2: Hatched!
Anya looked at XJ who appeared to be very serious. She shifted her eyes to Dolly who met hers. Dolly seemed to be looking to Anya for answers. It was all so specific, and yet so far-fetched. XJ having emergency plans and somehow convincing a guard... It was confusing until Anya pieced together that she must have simply not fully grasped XJ's sense of humor yet. She looked back at XJ and tried to stay serious.
"Okay, XJ. We'll suggest to Gerald... that... Pfffffft!" Anya couldn't contain it anymore and broke down laughing. Dolly smiled, but continued to look confused.
"Okay, okay," Anya said, "You had me going for a minute there! Jamming freight ships and manifesting bigwigs, I love it! It was the plans that tipped your hand, there's no way you'd get your hands on those; but you did have me going. Girl, we should play poker, I could use the extra side of potatoes every now and again."
Dolly timidly picked up her dulled silverware again and began fueling herself for the workday ahead.
"It would be nice to get out of here," Dolly offered, "It's nice to think about."
"It is, but at least I have you and this jokester to keep me company here!" Anya covered up her longing for freedom with a smile directed at XJ.
"Okay, XJ. We'll suggest to Gerald... that... Pfffffft!" Anya couldn't contain it anymore and broke down laughing. Dolly smiled, but continued to look confused.
"Okay, okay," Anya said, "You had me going for a minute there! Jamming freight ships and manifesting bigwigs, I love it! It was the plans that tipped your hand, there's no way you'd get your hands on those; but you did have me going. Girl, we should play poker, I could use the extra side of potatoes every now and again."
Dolly timidly picked up her dulled silverware again and began fueling herself for the workday ahead.
"It would be nice to get out of here," Dolly offered, "It's nice to think about."
"It is, but at least I have you and this jokester to keep me company here!" Anya covered up her longing for freedom with a smile directed at XJ.
Re: Part 2: Hatched!
"Okay, XJ. We'll suggest to Gerald... that..." Anya made an expression that XJ didn't recognize, and then her cheeks puffed out dramatically. "Pfffffft!" She broke down laughing, and XJ furrowed her brows, looking at Dolly in a mutually reflected confusion.
"Okay, okay," Anya said, "You had me going for a minute there! Jamming freight ships and manifesting bigwigs, I love it! It was the plans that tipped your hand, there's no way you'd get your hands on those; but you did have me going. Girl, we should play poker, I could use the extra side of potatoes every now and again."
Dolly returned to eating, and XJ felt her motivation slipping away. Embarrassed, she looked down at the table, her brows still furrowed.
"It would be nice to get out of here," Dolly offered, "It's nice to think about."
"It is, but at least I have you and this jokester to keep me company here!" Anya smiled, and XJ made a half-hearted attempt to return it. Maybe Anya was trying to make the three of them look less suspicious? The last thing they needed was a guard on their case.
"Ha. Ha," XJ said, the laugh obviously forced, "Poker, riiiiiiiight. Yeah." XJ winked, trying to communicate that there was something real about all this. But, what evidence did she really have? It wasn't as though she could just turn out the pockets of her mind and show Anya the coins she'd picked up. And who was to say that the plans were actually correct? Was there some way to test it?
"All right, all right, humor me, though," XJ said, coming up with a new plan of attack. "Let's say I did have the plans. How would we know they were the real ones? What questions would you ask me?"
"Okay, okay," Anya said, "You had me going for a minute there! Jamming freight ships and manifesting bigwigs, I love it! It was the plans that tipped your hand, there's no way you'd get your hands on those; but you did have me going. Girl, we should play poker, I could use the extra side of potatoes every now and again."
Dolly returned to eating, and XJ felt her motivation slipping away. Embarrassed, she looked down at the table, her brows still furrowed.
"It would be nice to get out of here," Dolly offered, "It's nice to think about."
"It is, but at least I have you and this jokester to keep me company here!" Anya smiled, and XJ made a half-hearted attempt to return it. Maybe Anya was trying to make the three of them look less suspicious? The last thing they needed was a guard on their case.
"Ha. Ha," XJ said, the laugh obviously forced, "Poker, riiiiiiiight. Yeah." XJ winked, trying to communicate that there was something real about all this. But, what evidence did she really have? It wasn't as though she could just turn out the pockets of her mind and show Anya the coins she'd picked up. And who was to say that the plans were actually correct? Was there some way to test it?
"All right, all right, humor me, though," XJ said, coming up with a new plan of attack. "Let's say I did have the plans. How would we know they were the real ones? What questions would you ask me?"
Re: Part 2: Hatched!
There was something in XJ's wink that Anya couldn't quite place. On the surface it seemed like a nod to the grand joke that Anya perceived XJ to be making, but there was something else there. A conviction. Could XJ be trying to say something concrete behind the joke? But what could it be?
"All right, all right, humor me, though." XJ said, "Let's say I did have the plans. How would we know they were the real ones? What questions would you ask me?"
Time was short, work would soon begin; but there was a little time here before they were whisked away by the procedures of this place.
"What questions?" Anya pondered aloud. "I mean, you'd have to test them to see if they were the real plans. Like, maybe the guards slipped you false ones to see if you'd try to escape? Maybe?" Anya furrowed her brow.
"As to what I'd ask you if you had them... There's no end to it. How many blocks are there, where are the guard stations and how far from our area, how many ports for starships, where are access terminals--especially ones we could access, does Oh-Bee have any blind spots and where... The weakest spots of any operation is where stuff goes in and out, so especially at those points--what extra security is in place; where the food comes in, waste goes out, the rock and gems we mine..."
Anya trailed off and looked to XJ's face to try and see if it would reveal some insight into what she was getting at.
Dolly's voice came like a whisper after, "I'd want to know... Um... Well, how you got the plans in the first place. I mean... Well... If they were real, that would show us a a pretty big weak point... And, um... Well maybe we could find more weak points there. At least... it might be a place to start..."
"All right, all right, humor me, though." XJ said, "Let's say I did have the plans. How would we know they were the real ones? What questions would you ask me?"
Time was short, work would soon begin; but there was a little time here before they were whisked away by the procedures of this place.
"What questions?" Anya pondered aloud. "I mean, you'd have to test them to see if they were the real plans. Like, maybe the guards slipped you false ones to see if you'd try to escape? Maybe?" Anya furrowed her brow.
"As to what I'd ask you if you had them... There's no end to it. How many blocks are there, where are the guard stations and how far from our area, how many ports for starships, where are access terminals--especially ones we could access, does Oh-Bee have any blind spots and where... The weakest spots of any operation is where stuff goes in and out, so especially at those points--what extra security is in place; where the food comes in, waste goes out, the rock and gems we mine..."
Anya trailed off and looked to XJ's face to try and see if it would reveal some insight into what she was getting at.
Dolly's voice came like a whisper after, "I'd want to know... Um... Well, how you got the plans in the first place. I mean... Well... If they were real, that would show us a a pretty big weak point... And, um... Well maybe we could find more weak points there. At least... it might be a place to start..."
Re: Part 2: Hatched!
XJ paid close attention as Anya thought out loud, pondering the question. She nodded slowly as Anya said it might be possible that a guard gave her the plans to bait her. XJ hadn't considered that.
Then, Anya started listing options. "How many blocks are there, where are the guard stations and how far from our area, how many ports for starships, where are the access terminals--especially the ones we could access, does Oh-Bee have any blind spots and where... The weakest spots of any operation is where stuff goes in and out, so especially at those points--what extra security is in place; where the food comes in, waste goes out, the rock and gems we mine..."
XJ looked around with only her peripheral vision, getting nervous about what Anya was saying catching the wrong sort of attention, but no one was looking their way.
Dolly quietly added, "I'd want to know... Um... Well, how you got the plans in the first place. I mean... Well... If they were real, that would show us a a pretty big weak point... And, um... Well maybe we could find more weak points there. At least... it might be a place to start..."
XJ wondered about telling them the truth about having a telepathic overlay of the blueprint and the evacuation plan, but she worried they would think she was losing it. But, every time XJ had checked the plans against the reality, they lined up with what was real. She had no reason to doubt them. She closed her eyes, flicking between the blue and the orange overlay.
Without opening them, she said quietly, but not too quiet to draw attention, "Seven other blocks almost identical to ours. Two guard stations in each--the prominent one and a hidden one. And a guards-only area in the middle of the blocks. Four starships ports and lots of smaller ports for shuttles. The only airlocks are there."
XJ opened her eyes, looking at her companions. Did they believe her now?
"I don't know why they're in my head--maybe I dreamt them--but they're here, and they haven't been wrong yet."
She tried to keep smugness out of her voice--she hadn't really done anything to get the plans, after all--but she couldn't help it slipping in at the end.
Then, Anya started listing options. "How many blocks are there, where are the guard stations and how far from our area, how many ports for starships, where are the access terminals--especially the ones we could access, does Oh-Bee have any blind spots and where... The weakest spots of any operation is where stuff goes in and out, so especially at those points--what extra security is in place; where the food comes in, waste goes out, the rock and gems we mine..."
XJ looked around with only her peripheral vision, getting nervous about what Anya was saying catching the wrong sort of attention, but no one was looking their way.
Dolly quietly added, "I'd want to know... Um... Well, how you got the plans in the first place. I mean... Well... If they were real, that would show us a a pretty big weak point... And, um... Well maybe we could find more weak points there. At least... it might be a place to start..."
XJ wondered about telling them the truth about having a telepathic overlay of the blueprint and the evacuation plan, but she worried they would think she was losing it. But, every time XJ had checked the plans against the reality, they lined up with what was real. She had no reason to doubt them. She closed her eyes, flicking between the blue and the orange overlay.
Without opening them, she said quietly, but not too quiet to draw attention, "Seven other blocks almost identical to ours. Two guard stations in each--the prominent one and a hidden one. And a guards-only area in the middle of the blocks. Four starships ports and lots of smaller ports for shuttles. The only airlocks are there."
XJ opened her eyes, looking at her companions. Did they believe her now?
"I don't know why they're in my head--maybe I dreamt them--but they're here, and they haven't been wrong yet."
She tried to keep smugness out of her voice--she hadn't really done anything to get the plans, after all--but she couldn't help it slipping in at the end.
Re: Part 2: Hatched!
"Mhmm, mhmm." Anya nodded along to XJ's answers. When she finished, Anya giggled, "Okay, but where do I get some blue drink, XJ?" Anya flashed a cheesy grin at her companions.
"That means," Dolly said, "There are at least twenty-one guards. That's a lot." Dolly spoke softly.
Anya dropped the playfulness as she realized that both XJ and Dolly were taking this prospect seriously. Anya knew that Dolly had a sense for these kinds of things. "Wait... You're... You're not joking, are you? Shit... Wait, and you can just close your eyes and look at them? When did this happen?"
"That means," Dolly said, "There are at least twenty-one guards. That's a lot." Dolly spoke softly.
Anya dropped the playfulness as she realized that both XJ and Dolly were taking this prospect seriously. Anya knew that Dolly had a sense for these kinds of things. "Wait... You're... You're not joking, are you? Shit... Wait, and you can just close your eyes and look at them? When did this happen?"