Inquiring Minds

Posted on 09 Jul 2017 @ 2:56am by Lieutenant David Moreau Jr & Lieutenant Commander Joey Geisler & Petty Officer 1st Class Allen Miller

1,279 words; about a 6 minute read

Mission: The Finnean Crisis
Location: The Net - DS15
Timeline: MD 5 || 1500 Hours

It was break time for the netgirls, and Joey found herself looking over the rest of the girls wondering what each of them had done to land themselves in such a position. She glanced toward Allen, for whom she was grateful was able to still be with her, and breathed a mental sigh of relief. Her threat had worked. He'd been allowed to stay with her, and was required to follow the same rules the rest of them were or he'd be jacked up like the rest of them. That just wasn't an option.

Now she found herself wondering if any of the other girls had witnessed a male back here before... aside from the owner and his thugs, of course. "I need to talk to some of the other girls... see what I can find out from them," she said, speaking where only Miller could hear her. "But first, I'm going to need to get synced up to the main data center and download as much as possible while it's clear."

Allen nodded. "You need a look out?" He did a quick check of the room to see if there was anyone around. Well, other than the girls.

Joey nodded her head and took stock of their surroundings. She wasn't too worried about being caught. That was easily explained away by saying she was eager to get started and prove her worth to her new boss. "Only if anyone tries to get handsy with me while I'm on the inside. Other than that, I think things will be all good," she replied. "I'm going to try to pick up a couple of clients along the way, too."

He chuckled and said, "Hey, if anyone gets handsy with you while you're in, I'll get handsy with them. And not in a good way. You know, I need to figure out if the Klingons have a small, portable, concealable pain stick. I could use that. And I'd name it, too. My sweet little 'Maximum Effort.' How's that sound?"

She laughed. "Sounds like my kind of friend," Joey said, taking a deep breath. "Okay, I'm going in. I'll see you soon." With that, the Lieutenant made her way to the main data center and spoke to the Selubassari currently in charge before she settled down and allowed herself to be jacked in.

It wasn't long before she was approached by a client seeking his form of pleasure, which happened to be her mothering him... and doing everything that came with it. If Joey was completely honest, which she was, she'd have preferred to be hunted again, but in this instance... the client got what he wanted regardless of how horrible she thought it was. That session concluded with her wishing she could take a shower, and was followed up with three more clients who all wished to do equally unusual things.

The moment the coast was clear, Joey began the download of the data center, and thanks to her people, she was able to do so without anyone noticing. There would be a lot of information for her and her people to go through, but it would be beyond worth it if they learned something regarding what was going on.

While Joey was jacked in, a burst of messages came to the data center to sync, mainly the jobs listed as done by the Netgirls, the time involved, how much was made and the usual information. Then a message began to trickle in which sounded like a call to arms from a Finnean and talk of a rebellion that was forming.

Joey intercepted the message as it came in and blinked. This wasn't good. She scrubbed that particular message from the database, then opened her eyes and waited to be removed from the main data center. Her fave remained a neutral mask as she made her way over to Allen. "We need to go," she said where only he could hear her. "But, we also need to talk to the girls."

"Gotcha, hon," he said, still in character. "You know me, I'm here to serve. But, as far as talking to the girls, I'm not so sure if they'd open to me as much as one of their own. Heh, but then again, talking to a man outside of the net...who knows. Either way, I'm here for you."

"Let's see what we can find out then. We'll have to make this quick," she said, gesturing for him to follow her as she approached one of the girls. Joey wasn't sure how to start this conversation, so, she gave a simple... "Hey."

"Yes?" the one she approached asked as she ate her meal.

Joey settled down across from her, hoping Allen wasn't too far away. "I'm a former netgirl from the surface, and I've recently come back into the fold, as it were," she began, trying to figure out what she wanted to say. "What can you tell me about life on the station? I only ask because this will be my home now. Who do I need to look out for as far as my safety goes?"

The Netgirl looked at her. "Yeah," she said. "Watch out for the owner and anyone else who thinks that just because they got some good action in the Link that they can get it in real life. The owner will try to find a way to get you indebted to him so you work for free for the rest of your life, too." She pointed at Allen. "If he's more than just eye candy with arms, I suggest you don't get out of his sight."

"He's more than just arm candy. He's protection. The very thing you've just spoken of is the reason why," the Starfleet Lieutenant stated, scanning the room. "As for being indebted, I don't have any intentions of allowing that to happen."

One of the other netgirls was speaking a bit loudly to the others while Joey was talking to the other one. "Stupid ruins! I swear, who cares about old ruins, anyway? I never had a customer tell me they wanted me to take them on a dig on the planet. Why are the Selabus..." Another netgirl slapped the one talking loud and clamped a hand over her mouth. "Shut up, fool! Do you want to work for them forever?"

Joey heard, but made no indication she had. There were still too many pieces of this puzzle. The probe was missing... the Selubassari had people digging on the planet for ruins... the secured areas not even their sensors could get through... what the hell did it all mean? She would find out, and maybe what she downloaded would lend an answer of three once she went through it.

Offering the young woman whom she was speaking to a smile, Joey rose to her feet. "Thank you for the tips. I'll definitely be careful," she said.

The netgirl who got muffled bit the hand covering her mouth, causing it to be removed with a shriek. "The Selabussari want something there! They're digging around all the steadings they control!'

The one who had been been bitten now made a fist and punched the loud one in the mouth and several others jumped in to break up the fight before they all got punished.

"Let's go. Now," Joey said before anyone could get back there and break it up. It was time to get the hell out of dodge, and that's exactly what she did with Allen in tow.

Allen nodded. "Sure thing, hon. Let's get out of here." He quickly followed Joey out, wondering what had spooked the spooky.

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