The building that the antenna sits upon is only a single story high. A prefabricated structure that, without the antenna, would be worthy of little note. The sort that plenty of companies produce. The antenna, however, is another story. It's very clearly a custom job. A mast has been erected in the center of the rooftop made of beams and girders welded together and bolted down to plating atop the roof. Sturdy cables anchor it to each of the
#Traveler'sGorge – August 5, 2020
four corners of the rooftop and a number of cords run the length of the mast, looping in and out between the beams and girders and tied down in spots to keep them in place. A dish sits high atop the mast.
Kirill passes a few silent nods in greeting to a couple of turians that are making their way into the mess hall as he and Yan Sun pass by before shooting another glance her way. "Ain't the first time it's given us trouble." he admits, giving one more look towards the antenna, "But, considerin' we built it outta scraps mostly, I suppose I should just be happy it works at all." he snickers.
Yan Sun flashes another slightly awkward smile of acknowledgment to the passing turians before her gaze returns to the antenna. Kirill's words cause her to grin slightly. "Yeah... I'm no stranger to custom-built infrastructure, but I guess it's a bit harder to be picky about parts out here..." she muses out loud before her gaze falls to the building itself. "Is there a terminal or something I can have a look at?" she asks with a glance up at
the towering man next to her. "I doubt it's the case, but should at least check to make sure it's not a software issue before looking at the antenna. Might help pin down the point of failure too."
Kirill gives a sharp nod of his head. "Absolutely." he agrees, continuing down the worn-in path to the comms building. "Jeannie seemed pretty sure that the issue wasn't down here, but I wouldn't expect you to just start climbin' without seein' for yourself." he says.
Yan Sun nods and heads off towards the building alongside Kirill, silently giving herself a refresher on long-range transmitter diagnostics in her head as they go. The mention of climbing causes her to swallow and glance up at the antenna again, hoping in vain that maybe she just missed the ladder the first time as her mind helpfully provides a montage of her long history of falling off of things.
Kirill stops once he reaches the comms building and gives the door's interface a quick tap to slide it open and steps aside to usher Yan Sun inside.
Yan Sun is hit with a wave of warmth upon entering the building and it quickly becomes apparent why. The cramped building is loaded with equipment. Probably not unsurprising given the setup they have here. The building appears to be bisected, with the other half of the building hidden away behind a locked sliding door. It's far from luxurious. Tables have been set up with terminals atop them for the residents to use but there's no uniformity to
them. Just a few older and outdated models. Some donations and others picked up on the cheap. Jury-rigged equipment hums in most recesses of the large room, cords running all along the walls and floors. Tape is used in well-tread places to hold down the cords and ensure nobody trips over them. Only one of the terminals are currently in use by a man who looks to be in his late 40s or so. He's a heavyset sort, hair short with a dark, well-trimmed
beard. A thick winter jacket is draped over the back of his chair and his winter hat and gloves are placed on the table beside him. His forehead is creased in frustration as he pokes at the keyboard.
Yan Sun 's eye glows bright as she activates enhanced vision overlays and performs a scan of the building interior in order to get a sense of the layout and highlight any points of hardware failure inside the building itself. "Do all of these have equal access or is there an admin terminal somewhere?" she asks as she performs her scan, gesturing towards the diverse collection of hardware.
Yan Sun's scan hints towards an answer before Kirill has a chance to speak up. All of the terminals and some of the equipment seem to converge at a single point in the room beyond the locked door. There's another device back there as well, likely the terminal with admin access. If she were to do any preliminary poking around within the local network it would be clear that this Jeannie is probably more of a hobbyist. Not a professional. The sort
that can make things work, but isn't concerned with doing so optimally. But, other than questionable security and a ragtag setup, there doesn't seem to be any hardware failure within the building. She'd also note that extranet access is currently out. She may have noticed it flicker out a few times since her and Jessica's arrival.
Kirill confirms the scans implication with a nod of his head, gesturing towards the locked door. He opens his mouth to speak up when the man at the table calls out to him.
Heavyset turns his attention to the pair, attempting to shift his frustration into some semblance of a friendly smile with a deep sigh. "Kirill." he greets, extending his greeting to the unknown stranger with a nod of his head.
Kirill turns his attention to the seated man when he's addressed, propping that smile of his back up. "Glen." he offers with a polite nod of his own before turning his attention towards the terminal in front of him with a furrow of his brow. "Givin' ya trouble...?" he asks.
Glen turns his gaze back to the screen before him with another sigh before giving a frustrated shake of his head. "Been in and out all day." he confirms.
Kirill gives a few shallow nods. "Well, seems like luck might be on our side for once." he says, that kind smile growing behind his beard as he glances Yan Sun's way. "This is Yan." he introduces, gesturing to the woman at his side with a small sweep of his hand causing the heavyset man- Glen, apparently- to acknowledge her with another nod of his head. "She's gonna take a look around and see about fixin' this problem for us."
Glen's smile returns to his face as he looks to Yan Sun. "That so?" he asks. "Just so happen to be passin' through the right place at the right time?"
Yan Sun offers a small wave and a polite smile to Glen as she's introduced. The question that follows prompts a shrug and another smile. "Guess so!" she says. "We're staying the night anyway, so I'm happy to have a look." In the back of her mind she makes a note to see about shoring up the network security a bit if she has time - she probably could have gained admin access remotely without much trouble, but it seems more polite to use the
Kirill nods in turn. At first he opens his mouth to add on to Yan Sun's thought but seems to think better of it and cuts himself short. The body language doesn't go unnoticed by Glen, however, and he studies Kirill curiously. Kirill lets out a huff that shifts into a snicker and he gives a small shake of his head, deciding to spill the beans. "She-... uhh-... She came here with Jesse." he says.
Glen gains a look of confusion. "Jesse?" he repeats, the name stewing in his mind for a moment before his confusion shifts to surprise. "You mean our Jesse?!" he asks, which Kirill is quick to confirm with a nod of his head. There doesn't seem to be any disdain in the heavyset man's tone. As a matter of fact, he sounds downright pleased to hear it.
Kirill seems to rethink his delivery, staying the man's expectations with a shake of his head and a small lift of his hand, palm outward. "They're just stayin' the night." he says, seemingly wanting to get out ahead of any assumption of Jessica's return.
Glen's excitement seems to temper a bit, his smile slipping away slightly, but he's quick to return a nod of his own. "Right." he hums. A brief moment of contemplation slips by before he scoops his hat and gloves off the table and begins to climb out of his seat in a hurry. "Well, in that case, I should get to work on dinner." he says, retrieving his jacket from the back of his chair. He gives an excited raise of his eyebrows to Kirill as he
swings the thick winterwear back on. "Gotta make sure it's something special!" he continues as he marches past them towards the door. It's almost as an afterthought that he turns back to the pair once he reaches the door, stammering out a hastey, "Nice to meet you, Yan! Good luck with the-... the-... all this." as he gestures to the mess of a room.
Yan Sun smiles a little at the reaction, a bit of surprise in her face as well. The final comment elicits a snicker and a "Thanks!", smile widening. "And, uh, you too." she adds before the man departs. She watches the door for a moment after he's gone, falling silent.
Kirill remains in place, gaze shifting to the floor as that kind smile of his grows into something a bit less restrained. Glen's departure allows some of the cold in before the door slides closed behind him and it somehow feels even more frigid after the warm embrace of a room full of humming, heat-emitting equipment. "He-... uhh-..." he cocks a thumb back over his shoulder at the door as he looks Yan Sun's way a bit sheepishly, "...runs
Yan Sun lets out a quiet snort. "I got that." she says through a small smirk. There's a comment about Jessica's reception on the tip of her tongue, but it never emerges. Instead, she looks off towards the locked door. "So, you wanna unlock that for me or should I get it myself?" she asks, a subtle, challenging grin tugging at the corner of her mouth.
Kirill gives a somewhat embarrassed snicker at Yan Sun's initial response, humming out a soft, "...Right." Her follow up question garners a louder, more sincere chuckle and he offers a shake of his head in turn as he starts towards the door. "Startin' to make a whole lot more sense why you and Jesse wound up together..." he offers in a none-too-serious mutter. It only takes a small pass of his omni-tool for the door's panel to shift from red
The room that the door opens up to mimics the first in shape and size. A desk is tucked away in the back corner with a terminal sat atop it. This terminal is noticeably nicer than the ones in the previous room. A few datapads and stacks of paperwork clutter the desk. Hung on the wall behind the desk is a painting. It looks to depict the horizon of Aite in all her glory, moons looming high above and almost stands out amongst the rest of the
disarray of the room. In the corner opposite of the desk is a collection of servers that many of the devices' connections in the building converge on. Once again, cords are haphazardly strung up throughout the room as best as they can be without getting in the way, but it's an organized mess at best. The rest of this room seems to be relegated to storage for spare parts and equipment that they just can't risk leaving out in the open as well as
Yan Sun offers a sheepish shrug, doing her best to suppress the grin in favor of feigned innocence. It's a limited success. As they step into the locked room she lets her gaze wander curiously, making note of the contents. The painting catches her eye and she lingers for a moment - not exactly the sort of thing she'd expected to see in a comm building backroom. Once she tears her gaze away she wastes little time in heading for the terminal,
checking to see if it's locked. 'Organized mess' is about what she's used to after five years with the Little Dragons, so the state of the room doesn't faze her much. "This shouldn't take long." she assures. "Guessing I'll have to go up on the roof but I'd like to make sure first."
Kirill gives a few nods of his head, hands coming to rest on his hips as he gives a quick glance about. "You just go on ahead and take your time and I'll gather up the equipment." he says. There's a brief pause before he realizes something and gives an apologetic shake of his head, stepping over to quickly unlock the terminal with a set of keystrokes. "Just-... be careful." he pleads as he steps aside to keep out of Yan Sun's way. "We use
that terminal for just about everything around here." Once she takes his place, he gets to work on collecting a few things stored off to the side. "If anything were to happen to it, I'd never hear the end of it." he snickers.
Confirming his claim, the terminal seems to perform a wealth of tasks, from a program for monitoring their water supply to one that allows them to remotely check in on the greenhouse's crops. Inventory and power management. Shift notes. It seems to be the hub of their little outpost.
Yan Sun seems a little caught off-guard by how pivotal the unassuming terminal seems to be to the operation of the whole settlement, eyebrows rising a little as she takes a moment to browse the various functions it fulfills. "You weren't kidding..." she says in a half-mumble as her eyes dart across the screen. "Don't worry, not gonna screw with anything." she assures as she starts to run a basic diagnostic to try and determine whether the
computers' connection to the antenna or the antenna's connection to the extranet is the point of failure, and whether there's any other clues in the logs. "I'd recommend upping security on this thing though, someone that knows what they're doing could mess up a lot of stuff without stepping foot in the building. Not sure how much of a risk that is out here, but... better to be safe."
There's currently no connection to the antenna's transceiver. Sifting through the logs very quickly seems to mount evidence in Jeannie's favor. There doesn't seem to be much of a pattern as to when the outpost loses connection, but, as Kirill stated, it does seem to have gotten worse over time. The logs regularly write a backup to the local server so there's plenty to sift through, including diagnostics from the antenna. While there's no way
to see what's currently going on given the connection blackout, the pattern seems to dictate that the problem lies somewhere between the network's hub and the transceiver. Either with the transceiver itself, or due to faulty wiring somewhere between.
Kirill has begun stuffing a few basic tools into a duffelbag in preparation as Yan Sun speaks, causing him to glance back over his shoulder towards her, brow furrowed in concentration. "...That so?" he asks. "Not exactly my area of expertise, but Jeannie seemed to think it was good enough. You don't think so...?" he asks as he hunts for whatever it is he's looking for.
Yan Sun answers without looking away from the screen as she sifts through the relevant data. "Depends on how worried you are about someone trying to breach it I guess. Haven't ran in to a lot of places out here that are all that secure honestly, so maybe it's not a concern. I could leave some suggestions for, uh... Jeannie? ...if you'd like. Beefing up security on the wireless access would be a good start. A lot easier to notice someone up
to no good if they actually have to get inside or climb the roof instead of just loitering outside with an omni. Should make sure the terminal locks down and asks for authentication too, considering how easy it is to get in the room. Right now some kid that swiped a device with access could just walk right in and start messing shit up." By the time she's done speaking she's off the terminal, looking to Kirill as he searches the
Kirill chews on the inside of his cheek as he listens to Yan Sun speak, having paused his search part way through. For a few moments after she's finished he just remains quiet, absorbed by his thoughts. Concerns? Whatever worries he has, he doesn't see fit to burden Yan Sun with them and quickly clears his throat as he realizes her eyes are on him. He sniffs at the air, nodding a few times in response as he leans over to start digging
through another crate. "We're certainly not in a position to go around turnin' down advice." he says, trying not to let his concerns color his tone by propping that kind smile of his back up, "So we'll take whatever suggestions you're willin' to offer." Just as he finishes speaking he seems to find what he's looking for and pulls a couple of harnesses free. They look to consist of rigging that secures around the waist and upper thighs
with a few anchor points existing around the belt of it. "So how's it lookin'?" he asks, shooting a glance towards the terminal for emphasis. "We gonna be needin' these?" he continues, lifting the harnesses up slightly.
Yan Sun 's eyebrows furrow slightly, perhaps picking up that there's something there, but she's quick to move past it as Kirill does, nodding a couple of times. "Sure thing, I'll write something up later." she says before eyeing the harnesses, a less-than-enthused look quickly taking over. "Yeah... looks like we are..." she says, not seeming thrilled about the idea. Despite repeated attempts she's never been much of a climber - she'd usually
end up feeding remote instructions to one of the more agile members of the Little Dragons in situations where that sort of thing was required. But hey, a harness was more than she'd ever had before. And maybe if she's lucky, the problem is at the base of the antenna...
Kirill seems to catch on to her discomfort, causing a small raise of his brow. "I'm gettin' the impression that you might not be the biggest fan of heights..." he posits, that smile of his ever present.
Yan Sun scratches her neck, flashing a slightly embarrassed smile. "I don't mind the heights that much, it's more the, uh... falling. I... have a bit of a track record. Of falling off of things. Antennas, cliffs, trucks, fences... furniture... skyscrapers..." she rattles off, the last added with a bit of a mumble and an awkward shrug.
Kirill snickers to himself as he looks down to the harnesses folded up in his hand, turning them to give them the once over before crouching down and shoving them into the bag as Yan Sun continues to rattle off her misfortunes. The final addition causes him to slowly tilt his head upwards to her, forehead creased in curiosity that's quickly wiped away with a second, somewhat exasperated snicker. Hands pressed to his thighs, he rises back to
his feet with a groan. "That is a-..." he lets a long breath out through his nose and gives a small shake of his head, sincere smile spread across his lips, "...mighty impressive list." he admits. "It is. But I ain't gonna let you fall today. Alright?" he offers and, despite the lighthearted teasing, there's a sincerity in his voice. An attempt at providing some semblance of comfort.
Yan Sun lets out an embarrassed snicker, gaze falling away for a moment before nodding. "Thanks." she says through a smile, another firmer nod following. "Don't worry, I'm up for it." she says, tone a bit more serious, before grinning slightly again and offering another shrug. "The list is only that long because I've kept trying."
Kirill gives a nod of his own in turn at Yan Sun's assurance that she can do it, but her final addition catches him off guard, eliciting a bit of genuine laughter from him. "Yeah..." he sighs, using his boot to scoot the duffelbag across the floor, closer to Yan Sun, "...Makin' a whole lot more sense..." he repeats his earlier assessment with a shake of his head, fond smile on his face. "Well, how 'bout you go ahead and grab whatever you
think ya might need and we get this all situated?" he asks before glancing about the odds and ends strewn about.
The storage area of the room- which takes up about half of the room- is comprised of a set of four long shelving units, two against the walls and two in the center of the room against each other, creating two small shelf-corridors. They're stocked with an assortment of replacement parts and odds and ends. Despite the clutter, there does seem to be some method to the madness. Perhaps not neatly organized, but there's a certain sense to be made
to where everything is. Or, at least, it probably makes sense to Jeannie. At the head of the corridor is a makeshift work bench where, one would presume, Jeannie does her work. A full toolbox is stood beside it. It looks like she must've been in the middle of a project when she left, as a few tools and circuitboards are laid out on her bench.
Yan Sun 's gaze darts away as Kirill's comment elicits a slightly flustered snicker and a brief, goofy grin. Looking down at the bag prompts her to swallow the smile and nod, reaching down to grab the strap and swing it onto her shoulder as she heads over to the apparent workbench area, looking through the various parts. She seems confident that she won't need any tools aside from her own omni-tool and multi-tool, just grabbing some spare
parts that might come in handy - if they don't cover what's broken she'll just have to fabricate her own parts. She does, however, tug the left sleeve of her jacket up to her elbow, revealing the glowing patterns that decorate the arm beneath. With a faint, mechanical sound and an intensifying of the blue lines around it, a hidden panel opens, offering the bizzare sight of her skin lifting and sliding to the side. An omni-gel
canister in the compartment within, nestled between the cybernetic tendons and motors that enable her lower arm to move. She takes a moment to unscrew it and drop it on the table before grabbing a fresh one from the shelf and inserting it in its place - quicker than scrapping junk parts, especially when she doesn't know which of the ones available Jeannie would consider such.
Kirill remains in place, hands on his hips as he waits for Yan Sun to gather what she needs. He's seen her implants in action previously, so the glow doesn't surprise him. But, despite knowing that her cybernetics were advanced given their time at the club, the omni-gel compartment still gets a sideways look out of him, drawing his eye right to it. One tends to see their fair share of interesting tech out in the Terminus, but it's not often
that you see something so intricate- not to mention obviously expensive. It takes him a moment to make sense of it, causing him to furrow his brow as he meets her gaze once more. "You got a fabricator in there...?" he asks, a hint of surprise in his usually even-toned voice.
Yan Sun lets the compartment close, a small grin crossing her lips as she nods, lifting her hand and wiggling her fingers as she pulses the circular blue light that surrounds the coin-sized muzzle of the fabricator integrated into her hand. "Yup. It's a custom build. Full omni-tool in there, plus some nice extras that you couldn't fit in a handheld unit." she boasts, grin widening a little. She always enjoys a chance to show off her tech.
Kirill's gaze turns back to Yan Sun's hand as she shows off a bit, giving a high-pitched, impressed whistle. That restrained smile of his spreads back out across his face as he studies the fabricator integrated into her palm. "That's-.... somethin'." he decides. Given the large man's usually-calm demeanor, that seems to be about the closest to genuine surprise that he gets.
Yan Sun is obviously quite proud of her cybernetics, the grin lingering for a moment before she adjusts the strap on the bag. "It comes in handy." she says with a small shrug, trying and failing to look humble. She glances towards the door and gives a nod in its direction. "Think I'm good, let's get going, yeah?"