Character: Vincent
Location: Larkarda Starport
1125.6.4 - 17:45 / 16:15 local time (18 1/2 hr day)
Vincent begins walking out of the terminal and into the main part of the
starport. Along the way he spota Chuck talking to some Scout. After the crap at
the bar, he makes every effort to walk past him unnoticed. He has his back to
Vincent and is pretty well absorbed in his conversation so he's oblivious to
Vincent. Phew.
Vincent enters the starport and walks toward the nearest electronics boutique.
He scans over their laptop offerings and finds one that meets his needs. He pays
$500 for it and leaves the store.
Vincent decides that the best place to go hacking is in a public place that has
plenty of wireless nodes yet he won't be disturbed: the starport terminals.
People are always coming and going and it is common for someone to sit and read
or work on their computers while waiting for the next flight. Vincent chooses a
different terminal than the one the Miishakaal is parked at, so as to not
be seen by Chuck or the others. Or if someone spots him, it gives him a chance
to throw them off his trail if he has to flee.
Location: Larkarda Starport, B Terminal
18:35 / 17:05 local time
Vincent fires up the laptop. It's not bad for TL12. He'd prefer a TL15 one but
he'll just have to make do. First thing he needs to do is hack into the wireless
network so that he can have free InfoNet access.
He's in. He faced a bit more of a challenge than he expected. Vincent considers
the possibility that he must be rusty. Anyway, that's that.
Vincent decides to go for the gusto and try and hack the Oriole City Police
website. Their site didn't list Mersshon as a wanted criminal but now he has to
check for Oda Linnachre. A search for her comes up empty. Ok, time to hack. He
starts out slow and cautious. He's not in any hurry here.
Vincent gets in but can't linger. He suspects that his intrusion will be
detected if he lingers. He quickly searches for any mention of Mersshon or
Linnachre under "criminal records" but he comes up empty. Vincent exits quickly.
Vincent decides that his next hack should be Wellesmoor Diversified
Products.
It's a little easier this time. Vincent makes his way to HR and into personnel
files. Mersshon is listed as having been with the company for 10 years. He's
been in the purchasing department as Chief Purchasing Agent of New Products the
whole time. His file says that he's been an exemplary employee and manager. No
complaints in his file.
Oda Linnachre is there too. It says that she has a bachelor's degree in business
administration. After college she went to work for Wellesmoor and has been
there ever since. It mentions how she rose through the employment ranks via
meritorious promotions. Ten years ago she transferred into Product Development.
Five years ago she volunteered for the role of New Product Acquisition Agent.
In her employee files are several reports regarding her discovery of, tracking
down of, negotiations over, and subsequent stealing of the bioscanner. Vincent
saves these files to his hard drive to read later. A quick scan reveals a
couple of rough sketches and specs but nothing too detailed.
Vincent hopes to find more information about the bioscanner in other spots.
Maybe over in R&D or Product Development but he comes up empty. He does find
a couple of staff meeting notes where Mersshon talks about "Oda's Bioscanner"
but that's about it.
Vincent figures that that's about all he's going to get out of Wellesmoor. He
decides to try his luck by hacking the Oriole city government's network.
Vincent goes right for the jugular at City Hall. Nothing he try gets him in
though. After awhile he gives up. Vincent figures that maybe he can get around
it by hacking the world government networks.
Vincent gets in to the world government network at first but... wait a second...
he's not in. He's been duped. They've caught him in a trap. Vincent tries to
break the connection, but he can't. They've launched a counter worm and it's in
his laptop. It's locked out keyboard commands.
There's no way to get rid of the worm as the keyboard won't work. So Vincent
tries to shut down the computer. Phew! That works. He gets up and start
walking back to the ship, making sure the whole way the laptop doesn't turn
back on. Vincent keeps looking around to make sure no one is following him but
doesn't notice anyone.
NEXT: Chowing Down With Chuck