09-16-2026, 09:31 PM
Sebastian's attention returned fully to the task when Amila's sharp reminder reached him.
She was right. They had been spending valuable time discussing what might be done when the actual objective was much narrower.
*Get the shield modulation frequencies.*
That was what mattered.
"Understood, Lieutenant," Sebastian said quietly. "I'll stay focused."
His attention shifted back to Keti's work. He watched as the developing code established the secondary link and began routing the information toward the isolated system Keti had created.
Sebastian considered it for a moment before speaking.
"I think you're right about keeping the firewall difficult, but not impossible. If we make it too easy, they'll know something isn't right. If it looks like someone had to work to get through it, that makes the intrusion more believable."
He paused.
"Maybe we can make the access pattern look less like we're breaking through and more like we're exploiting something that's already there. That would give us another layer of cover."
Sebastian glanced at Keti.
"What do you think?"
He looked back toward the display.
"And keeping the information isolated is probably a good precaution. If they detect the connection, I'd rather they find a dead end than a path leading directly into the Zephyr's systems."
The situation aboard the Bridge remained tense, and Sebastian's expression became more serious.
"We don't need to shut their ship down. If we can get the shield frequencies, we can give our weapons what they need to get through their defenses. That's enough."
He looked at Keti again.
"You've got the link working. I can help refine the intrusion profile while you work on the data collection. If you see a better way to disguise it, though, go with it. You're looking at the code from the other side of the problem."
A faint smile appeared.
"I'd rather have two programmers looking for the same solution than one programmer pretending he has all the answers."
Sebastian returned to his console.
"Let's see what we can get from them."
== Tag Ra'an and Keti.==
She was right. They had been spending valuable time discussing what might be done when the actual objective was much narrower.
*Get the shield modulation frequencies.*
That was what mattered.
"Understood, Lieutenant," Sebastian said quietly. "I'll stay focused."
His attention shifted back to Keti's work. He watched as the developing code established the secondary link and began routing the information toward the isolated system Keti had created.
Sebastian considered it for a moment before speaking.
"I think you're right about keeping the firewall difficult, but not impossible. If we make it too easy, they'll know something isn't right. If it looks like someone had to work to get through it, that makes the intrusion more believable."
He paused.
"Maybe we can make the access pattern look less like we're breaking through and more like we're exploiting something that's already there. That would give us another layer of cover."
Sebastian glanced at Keti.
"What do you think?"
He looked back toward the display.
"And keeping the information isolated is probably a good precaution. If they detect the connection, I'd rather they find a dead end than a path leading directly into the Zephyr's systems."
The situation aboard the Bridge remained tense, and Sebastian's expression became more serious.
"We don't need to shut their ship down. If we can get the shield frequencies, we can give our weapons what they need to get through their defenses. That's enough."
He looked at Keti again.
"You've got the link working. I can help refine the intrusion profile while you work on the data collection. If you see a better way to disguise it, though, go with it. You're looking at the code from the other side of the problem."
A faint smile appeared.
"I'd rather have two programmers looking for the same solution than one programmer pretending he has all the answers."
Sebastian returned to his console.
"Let's see what we can get from them."
== Tag Ra'an and Keti.==