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Data In, Data Out Part 1 - CP Kodiak
It was the third quarter of the fiscal year, and Engineering Officer Harona Stinton had been newly hired for the expanding Data Equity Management Inc. Corporation, as a software programmer, to assist in writing a brand new algorithm to store DEMIs grand archival system in, and to compress the data to fit into a single super computer core. Excitement filled the young officer’s mind as she looked upon the landing pad on the planet Ullyr. She was the first of his family to get a career in the Empire, and he was determined to make his parents proud. A roaring sound from the sky caused Harona to jerk her head upwards, and to see a shuttle descending from the clouds, evoking the reflex that it was mystical bird.
Landing on the FAC Arachne, sirens and lights were flashing around and everyone seemed far too busy. There was no greeting for the new engineers to DEMI, just a single Junior Technician telling everyone to stay on the shuttle. ‘What’s going on?’ ‘Are we under attack?’ ‘This is just great’ conversations started up all over the shuttle.
In a little under three hours things began to calm down, and the engineers were finally told what was happening. The entire database had been copied by persons unknown, and that they had disappeared. Stock prices at the exchange dropped hugely, and cost cutting measures had suddenly taken effect. However, their jobs were safe and damage control was trying to assess who took the data.
This caused Harona to think back a few months, to where the plans to the TIE Guardian were stolen by the Darkstar Syndicate, which is what got Harona recognized on Ullyr to begin with. She had single-handedly identified the routing that the Darkstar Syndicate had used to enter the Auroran computer networks, partly due to luck, and partly due to them routing through Ullyr’s main satellite array. Eyes widening in using her petite arms, she pushed her way through the confused engineers who were discussing what had happened, to the front of the shuttle, and managed to slip into the flight deck.
“What are you doing up here?” said the pilot, spinning around in his chair as soon as he heard footsteps on the flight deck, as the redheaded petite ample bosomed engineer rushed in, pointing towards the communications array.
“Contact someone in charge, I know how they did it” She gasped breathlessly, and hopped down in the empty co-pilots spot.
* * *
Engineering Officer Harona Stinton looked around the shuttle’s spartan interior as she reflected on the past few days. The bleak grey panelling seemed to absorb the hope and excitement of the incident which caused share prices to drop across the system. Sighing to herself, she rested her head on the hard plasteel headrest, and folded her arms over her ample breasts, then closed her eyes and attempted to sleep despite the hum of the hyperdrive.
The voice over the intercom of a slightly posh sounding pilot echoed throughout the main deck of the shuttle, waking Harona with a start. Stretching out, the tight fitting jump suit she wore immediately lost all the creases it had accumulated whilst she had slept. Looking around the cabin to re-orient herself, she noticed the pilot must have been telling the passengers that they had arrived, and then it hit home why Harona had been brought here. Releasing the harnesses over her lap and chest, Harona stood up from her seat, suddenly taking in the vast amounts of engineers on this shuttle. The bustle had generally left her alone as she slept, but now the milling around of different technicians caused her a moment of panic. The EPS Compiler, in all her glory, containing the entire database of historical and factual information of the Imperial factions in this corner of the galaxy, and more, just waiting for these new engineers to find out who exactly had stole all the data…
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