PROLOGUE: A Song for Aram

Sa'id nods to Brahim. "The Captain does indeed a good job at holding this little group together, it's not an easy job..." He mutters absentmindedly while taking a strip of sandpaper, and smoothing one of the sides of the stone that looked rougher than it should. "It should reflect light a bit more... like... this..." he asks Brahim, while polishing the stone. "Don't you think? As to how to induce the false readings... mh..." he checks a couple of figures on a table "I was thinking to bombard it with K-short mesons in a thin lattice? Maybe slightly below a few MeV. That should induce a CP-violating signature in the polarisation spectrum of the beta decay..." He shrugs "At least for a while, it's not like it's going to stick forever, but I don't think we'll need it to work for more than a couple of weeks. "

Sani looks around finding nobody at all when RIYA checks in "Ah! Just the person I was looking for." Sani immediately says as the AI stops talking. "I just saw the captain outside. Probably doing some last minute paperwork. Is there anyone else on the ship now?" Sani asks not too worried about the apparent panic breakdown from the metal box that would take them past the deadly void into a deadly world. "No joke sorry. Eimti wants an old rock." Noticing RIYA is unconvinced by the importance of such task, Sani tries to form a deeper connection... literary. You don't look too keen. Is there any problem?

"Given that the composition of the stone includes 12% axalite ore, we will need .93 to .97 MeV K-short mesons for 113 minutes in a 185 nanometer lattice. If you want to increase the light reflectivity wash the surface with dioxylamiate, it will react with the axalite to produce a slight reflective coating. There is a vial in my portable lab."

Brahim pauses working for a moment and then looks at Sa'id and asks...

"Do you think we can avoid a conflict with Khalim's crew?"

Sa'id looks visibly impressed. Although he trusts Brahim, he checks twice on a MC simulation, just for the fun of it. "At 12% concentration, between .92 and .98 MeV for 112 minutes 57 seconds. Exactly as you said." Except it took Brahim a fraction of the time to determine those values, and without the hardware needed to process 10^10 events. Sa'id wouldn't be surprised if Brahim's answer wouldn't actually turn out to be more precise than the simulation, given it wouldn't be affected by statistical uncertainty. "Damn it, Brahim. That's really impressive." He admits, grabbing the vial.

He pours a few drops on a lint-free wipe and starts wiping the stone. He has to admit it, it looks like the real thing. Even he would be fooled for a while. "This looks good, Brahim." He ponders his question for a second. "No conflict with Khalim's crew?" He scoffs. "It would be more likely to see snow fall on the dunes of Dabaran. Ask yourself this. To what lengths would you go to make sure the artifact goes to Khadija?"

It started out as a rethorical question, but Sa'id goes now silent, interested in Brahim's answer. Yes, what would Brahim sacrifice for the mission? Despite the years spent together, Sa'id still wouldn't be able to answer that question. He still has a lot to learn about his crewmates, and especially about Brahim.

"The lowest recorded temperature in that region of Dabaran is 286k, not cold enough to create snow. So the likelihood of snow on the Dunes of Dabaran is effectively zero. If that is more likely than avoiding conflict then you think conflict is a near certainty.

To what lengths will I go to make sure the artifact goes to Khadija?"

Brahim tilts his head slightly and considers the question

"The question implies that my motivation is to please Khadija and that conditions exist that will limit my actions.

Your assumption of my motivation in this case is erroneous. My motivation is to avoid disrupting the crew and our life on Riyad.

Avoiding disruption does not necessarily require pleasing Khadija, but we must avoid displeasing her. If we fail to bring her the artifact, but also prevent Khalim from obtaining the artifact, this may mitigate her displeasure. We must also prevent injury to the crew and Riyad to avoid disruption of our lives.

I do not like violence and usually don't carry a weapon. When Ghalib was Captain of the Riyad, he and the crew frequently abused me physically, sexually, and verbally. They were usually careful not to injure me so badly that I could not work, except when I refused to help Captain Ghalib try to wipe Riya from the ship; he beat me so badly that I could not work for days and the broken bones took much longer to fully mend. I did not like Ghalib and his crew. I like our crew; although sometimes Sani says or does something that reminds me of Ghalib's crew, but she has not yet hurt me so I am operating under the hypothesis that she is different.

Tarek suggested I get a weapon that was 'easy to use' so I purchased an expandable baton. Captain Ghalib's gunner, Momar, was a moron and he used to beat me with an expandable baton when he drank too much; so if he could operate the baton that stupid and inebriated it must be a very simple weapon to use. I am willing to go to the length of hurting others.

I follow the Deckhand and I am invested in ships of all kinds and especially Riyad, she is my home. I am invested in ships the way you are invested in artifacts. After our meeting with Khadija I bought a small breaching charge that I might be able to use to disable the ship of Khalim's crew. I think Farouk would call it an act of 'sacrilege' for me to sabotage a ship. I am willing to go to the length of breaking a ship.

I will not go to the length of allowing a crew member to be hurt. I will not go to the length of disobeying the Captain.

If we fail, I would go to the length of running from Khadija to avoid her displeasure, provided the crew was able to stay together on Riyad.

What lengths will you go to, Sa'id?"

Sa'id had heard of Brahim's past before, but each time he was reminded of that, he felt a violent rage bubbling right in his chest. Sa'id could not be described as a violent man. But if he were to ever meet Ghalib, or Momar, or the rest of the previous crew... even he wouldn't know to what lengths he would go exactly to settle down the seething violence within him.

Sa'id raises a hand, he wants to put it on Brahim's shoulder. Tell him that Ghalib's crew was not here anymore, and that this was not the same ship anymore. Then he drops his hand. And reminds himself that physical contact might not necessarily be a gesture that could actually be of comfort to Brahim. He clears his voice, and mutters. "I am... We... will try not to resort to violence with Khalim's crew. And I can assure you that there won't be any more violence on this ship. It's a different place now." And if that would require to actually give the artifact to Khalim, then so be it. That's a price worth paying. He thinks.

When Brahim asks him the same question in return, Sa'id tilts his head. He pauses before answering. "You would find, Brahim, that you and I draw pretty much the same lines on these shaky sands." He pauses again, gathering his thoughts "I did not pledge my life to Khadija. I won't risk my life for her gains. And I won't risk any of the crewmembers' for the same."

He looks at the fake artifact in his hands. He's quite impressed by the quality. "Well, it's not going to get prettier than that. Nor give more accurate readings. Unless we trigger the Thorium decay chain, but I'd rather not walk around with a radioactive source in my pocket, for the next couple of days. I'm quite old-fashioned, that way." He adds, jokingly.

It seems there was some sort of miscommunication regarding clearance for departure, which explains two things: one, why the captain has taken so long to come on board, as she works the bureaucracy and calls in a couple of favors to get things cleared up, and two, why she's in a towering temper as she does so.

"Riya, I swear, my comm was pinging so often it was starting to sound like you were trying to write a song to be played by com link. What do you need so desperately?" she says into the air, knowing their AI is listening in.

She heads toward the bridge and, as she does so, adds in a shipwide announcement that everyone should expect to depart within fifteen minutes. "And if you're not ready, I take no responsibility and have no sympathy for the bumps and bruises you might take, so be ready!"

Tarek looks up from the pilots station as Zahra enters the bridge. You okay? Need me to...work my charm and take someone out?

"Yes, except three more would just pop up to take his place," says Zahra acidly. "It’s over now. I’ll plot my payback while we’re on our mission."

She comes to stand next to Tarek. "How are we looking? Any issues before takeoff?"

SaniThe ambient sounds in the arboretum stop. They are replaced by what sounds like an exasperated sigh. "Jina? Not if I have any say in the matter... ah, the captain's on the bridge."

Zahra & Tarek

As you both are doing your last minute checks before departure, Riya's voice interrupts your conversation.

"There's one issue, Captain. Let me ask you a question. Would you ever want to to take a bath in acid, hmm?"

Zahra takes a slow deep breath. Her first instinct is to snap at the AI, under her current mood, but she has enough experience to know just how counterproductive a war of words with Riya is, and so she takes a moment to compose herself.

"I've... known some men that have made me want to take a bath in acid, yes. But I'm guessing you're not speaking metaphorically here," she replies lightly, and gestures to Tarek to keep working through the final checklist. "No one's going to drop the ship in acid, Riya."

She goes to the captain's chair and begins her own check of ship systems.

The sarcasm in Riya's tone is hard to ignore. "Well, that's good to know. Because I have no interest in dipping my body into acid... which is exactly what a descent into Jina's atmosphere would be. Back me up on this, Tarek?"

Riya's face abruptly manifests on several of the monitors of the bridge, including the main viewscreen. Her virtual avatar is the same as always: a bald-headed woman with skin of bluish-gray metal and wearing a hooded robe; the hood is pulled closely about her face. Her forehead sports a pronounced third eye in the form of a camera lens that constantly rotates and adjusts. She's often backdropped by various vistas, whether it's nebulas, or waterfalls, or sand dunes, though at the moment she's standing in front of thousands of lines of computer code.

"Anyone?!" Her query suddenly goes ship-wide through the comm system. "No one else has any concerns about traveling to an acid planet?!"

Farouk is in the ship's chapel and sitting cross-legged on a prayer mat on the floor. He has his eyes closed and is beginning his breathing exercises when he hears Riya broadcasting through the ship. Farouk sighs and shakes his head. It sounded as though the crew might be in for another of the data-djinn's tantrums. Icons help us...

The Mystic clears his throat and speaks out loud to the ship. "Riya, my friend, there's no need to fret. We won't be on Jina very long. It'll be a short visit. You'll be fine. Captain Abboud wouldn't sign off on going to Jina if she thought it represented any serious danger to you."

Sa'id takes a look at a rapidly fluctuating curve on the screen. "Oh... the field modulation is dipping. Damn it. We'll need to rerun the enrichment process. Sorry Brahim, I mis-calculated, this is probably going to take us a couple of hours more of work." He looks up when Riya's voice booms over the speaker.

Sa'id smiles, amused. "Here we go again..." He clears his voice then speaks up. "Riya, if cosmic radiation at 0.999 percent of the speed of light won't damage your hull, neither will a bunch of polyprotic molecules lazily floating in Jina's atmosphere. If all goes well, after this, we'll re-apply the kino-ceramic coating on your external hull, the good one, not the cheap one. It'll look even better. What do you think?"

Certainly not that I'm going to voice out loud, thinks Zahra as she finishes her checklist.

Murmuring a quiet thank you to Sa'id and Farouk, she says aloud, "We'll take our utmost care, Riya." A slow smile comes over her face as some of their past close calls come to mind. "Even more than usual. I promise, by the Traveller."