Cryo-7

by Metal Pony Fan

I Made Her an Offer She Quickly Refused

"You want to what?" Growl asked slowly, not quite believing what she heard.

"I want to buy a cargo bay," Berry happily repeated, bouncing in her chair on the far side of Growl's desk. She was wearing her bandolier, and it was stuffed with tools, parts, and broken pieces of household items. "Preferably the one the Philomena is in now, but it could be any of them that will hold her. And opens to space, obviously. Oh, and has mainline access to the station's power systems."

"That's what I thought you said," the older earth pony replied with a nod. "Luckily for you, I'm in a very good mood after last night. No way in hell."

"Why not?" Berry whined. "Maybe, 'buy,' is too strong of a word. I don't want to keep it, I just want to borrow it for a little while, and not get stopped when I try to open the access panels for station utilities. Rent! That's what I want to do, I want to rent the cargo bay."

Growl sighed. "You already have access to power and data systems via dozens and dozens of ports on the wall. I can get a tech to install a specific type if there's a compatibility issue, but that's already being more than generous, considering that you've already asked me to install more lights, a manipulator field, and two dozen storage cabinets."

"Hmm..." Berry's mouth twisted in concentration as she considered the other pony's words. "What if I... paid for it?"

Growl laughed, short and harsh. "With what? That credit account your friend gave you? I heard you've been on a shopping spree, but I doubt you have enough funds to cover what I should be billing you." With a shrug, she added, "your friend did save this station, so I'll do what I can, but... do you have any sort of end goal in mind here? Any sort of limit? Any way for me to know how much you're going to ask for?"

"Hmm..." Berry scratched her chin. "Nope." Then she pulled a small pad from the largest pocket of the bandolier. "I honestly don't know exactly what it's going to take to finish the repairs to the Philomena, but I will once I get the computer back online. To do that, I need more data access than a port will allow."

Growl shook her head. "Our systems are pretty old. The ports we have in place account for that, bypassing them could disrupt some of our systems. I might be able to schedule you for more access during an off-peak time, and take down the weather simulation in the commissary for a few hours. Give me a breakdown of the data requirements, and I'll see what I can do."

Berry offered her the pad, setting it on the edge of the desk before sliding it over. "It might be easier if I just fixed these for you. And I can make certain upgrades that might help as well."

"Huh?" Growl switched on the pad. Her weary eyes flew open wide as the itemized manifest for secure storage bay two popped up on screen. Highlighted, were two defunct computer cores, being held until their crystal components could be properly wiped and disposed of. "How the hell did you get ahold of this?"

"You say, 'hell,' a lot," Berry pointed out.

"And why the hell shouldn't I?!" Growl let out an angry snort as she started navigating through the pad. "What the hell? You've tapped into our root file directory, tunneled through the guest interface, you bypassed all our security systems, and-" Growl checked her own pad, then hung her head. "You gave yourself a publicly visible admin account."

Berry shrugged. "I needed a-"

"What the hell?!" Growl shouted her interruption. "Why would you- How would you- You hack our system, avoid all detection, and then you just slap your name up on a list that everyone sees when they boot up a terminal?"

"I was going to add a profile picture too," Berry explained, "but I didn't like the lighting in my quarters."

Growl rubbed her face, pulling it in all different directions as she debated whether pulling a patch of fur out would make this more or less painful. "Ok!" She slammed her hooves down on the table. "Here's the deal."

"Mhm?" Berry nodded, listening intently.

"This is a space station."

Berry nodded again.

"It's basically a self contained city, but it's treated more like an independent country."

Another nod.

"It has its own laws, system of government, and so forth."

"Understanding so far," Berry said with a smile.

"You just breached the security of an entire nation, gained unauthorized access to data regarding the operation of an entire city. Most places would throw you in prison for that, at the very least."

Berry blinked. "Ohh," she said slowly, "so it's like a ship's computer?"

Growl raised an eyebrow, surprised at the utter lack of a reaction to the mention of prison. "In what way?"

"You have to ask the captain before you modify it." Berry raised a hoof, pointing it at Growl. "But, it's gotta be the captain of the ship you want to modify."

Growl dropped her face to the desk. "My head hurts," she muttered. "Where are you from? How do you not know that you shouldn't hack other ponies' computers? Or that you should at least try to hide it?"

"Well, I'm from Sevus," Berry answered. "And I guess, 'cause Granpa never told me."

Growl lifted her head slightly. "Sevus? Never heard of it." She grabbed her own pad from the drawer and looked it up. "A small colony on the outskirts of the Taro cluster, sister colony of the destroyed planet Serus," she read out loud, slowing to a halt as she read the next part, "known for its complete rejection of technology... how... what?"

"The hell?" Berry offered helpfully.

That earned a glare. "Let me get this straight. You came from a planet with no technology, and yet you are some sort of computer genius?"

The young earth pony blushed. "Aww, thanks. Granpa taught me everything he knew, so I'm pretty good with anything electronic."

"Uh-huh." Growl brought up a schematic on her pad, the results of a recent scan. "Well, if you're so good with electronics, what is this? And can you give me any clues to who made it?"

Berry leaned forward, stretching her neck to see the screen as Growl held out the pad. She grabbed it once she got a good look. "This is..." Berry shook her head. "It can't be, he never finished it."

"You've actually seen this before?" Growl prodded. She was hoping for some little bit of insight before she sent it off for analysis, but it looked like Berry might be able to give her far more than that. "What is it?"

Berry looked up at her. "It's a bio-mechanical interface meant to translate a neural connection into reliable mechanical controls. It allows a pony to control artificial limbs without the need for intensive surgery, or fragile biological grafts. Its main advantage over conventional methods is that it's also expandable, and can be used to control just about any machine." She looked back at the pad. "This is how that pony was controlling those construction drones, wasn't it?"

Growl nodded. "I'm trying to figure out where she may have gotten this, and if it's possible that other criminals are using similar technology."

"I don't know." Berry shook her head. "This has been modified from the original design." Berry pointed at several components. "These would have to replace a portion of the pony's brain. Unless it was already damaged, you would lose your memories, personality, everything."

"At one point, this pony was a pilot with no family and severe brain damage stemming from a crash," Growl explained. "Perfect candidate for testing something like this. And, it sounds like you know who made this."

Berry sighed. "I'm not sure who made this one, but this is Granpa's design. Only, he never finished it."

"Berry, this is incredibly advanced medical technology. Just who was your grandfather?"

Berry shrugged. "I don't really know. He never told me about things that happened before I was born." With a sigh, she added, "I only ever heard his full name a few times. Grandma always just called him Grin."

"And his full name?"

"Grinparch Norland."

Growl felt a chill run down her spine, and she caught her hoof moving for the stunner she kept hooked under her desk. She clicked the silent alarm instead, but kept her hoof near the weapon just in case. "Berry, please take off your tool belt."

"Uh, ok," the pink pony muttered in confusion. She shimmied her way out of the bandolier and dropped it on the floor. "Is this going to help me get that cargo bay?"

"I'm afraid not." Growl frowned. This didn't feel right. It was standard procedure for security forces across the galaxy to detain anypony with ties to Grinparch Norland, and to deliver them to the nearest planetary authority. But, this pony, who helped save them, openly admitted to being his grand-daughter? "Berry, where is your grandfather?"

Berry looked down at the floor. "With grandma," she said sadly, "the cough took both of them. I'm the only one who got better."

He was dead? Growl brought a hoof to her chin. It was long suspected that something had happened to him, especially since his original group had disbanded. "Berry, who is in charge now?"

The pink pony's head tilted to the side. "Huh?" She looked so confused. "You are, duh. Is this a trick question? Because, if it is, um, the answer would be something like, the citizens of station? Because you really work for them, even though you can order them around?"

Growl sighed, and brought her hoof away from her concealed weapon. "Berry, by now, there is a fully armed response team outside the door."

She glanced back. "Why? Seems like a silly place for them."

With another sigh, Growl continued, "they are ready to take you into custody if necessary."

"Oh," Berry's ears drooped. "I guess negotiating isn't my strong suit. I'll stop bothering you about the cargo bay."

"The cargo bay?" Growl shook her head. "No, that's not... Berry, do you seriously not know what your grandfather did? Who he was?"

Berry shrugged. "Not really. I know it had something to do with computers, but he retired when he got hurt. We lived in a junkyard on Sevus for my entire life."

Growl chewed it over. This pony was either the most naive being in the galaxy, or the most cunning. "In that case, I won't have you taken into custody. But until I'm sure you aren't a threat, I have to focus on the safety of the station."

---

Radio waved as Berry entered the waiting area for the main shuttle bay. He got her attention pretty quickly. She headed over to him. He would have headed over to her, but he didn't want to leave his bags alone.

He had both of them again, now that the Philomena had been cleared of monsters. And all his personal belongings, and freshly replenished medical supplies were packed nice and neatly inside.

"Did you get what you wanted?" he asked as Berry approached.

"I'm not sure. Things got pretty weird after I told her Granpa's name." Berry shrugged. "I'll ask again later."

"Good, don't you dare give up." Radio gave her a light lunch to her shoulder. "I expect the ship to be back up and running when I get back."

"Yeah..." Berry sighed sadly. "In a month."

"What's wrong?" Radio tried his best to hide that he was feeling the same way. "You gonna miss me?"

"Of course I am," she said, suddenly loud. "Even if you are a braggart. And a bully."

Radio frowned.

"And bossy. And nosy."

"Hey now."

She didn't stop. "And arrogant. And a know-it-all. And a show off. And you lie to get things done. And I still haven't forgiven you for the ice cream thing." Berry hugged him before he could react. "But you're still a good pony."

"Thanks," Radio muttered, returning the hug. "You know, you remind me a lot of Ribbon. Very... honest."

Berry let go of the colt. "She's lucky. I used to imagine what it would be like to have a brother, or parents, or anypony, really..." The mare shook her head, realizing she was getting off topic. "Anyway, you would have been a great brother."

Radio tried to smile, but found himself choking up. "I don't know about that, but we're crew now. That makes us kind of like a family, right?"

Berry nodded. "I have no clue, but I'm going to agree because I want to."

The colt chuckled. "Well, we'll have to put up with each other plenty once I get back then. So enjoy your days of peace while you can." He grinned evilly. "Oh, and I gave James the list of vaccinations you still need. Have fun with that."

"Hmph!" Berry turned her nose up. "I should have known you didn't forget about that."

"Hey," the colt shrugged, turning around as the PA system dinged, "I want to keep you healthy enough to put up with me. And look on the bright side, you've got to wait in between some of them, so I should be back in time to give you the last one."

"Now boarding, Shuttle Gamma Exhedron, bound for Canterlot. Stops at Pharaoh's Mill Paper company, Yarnhead's tree farm, and Luna's Academy Main Campus."

Berry glanced up at the ceiling. "That's you, isn't it?"

"To paraphrase a friend, eeyup." The colt grabbed his bags and sighed softly. "It's only for a month, and I'll come back fully licensed to practice medicine in the Galactic Assembly. We'll be able to stock proper medical gear on the Philomena, all sorts of medicines, and I'll be able to restock at nearly any planet we visit. We won't be limited to my emergency gear. This will help us on our mission."

"I know." Berry started walking away. "It's just that everything is moving so fast now that I left Sevus, it's hard to get used to."

"Yeah," Radio agreed as he started for his shuttle, "I know what you mean."

Berry kept her smile until the colt disappeared through a doorway. As soon as he was gone, she turned a scowl up towards the ceiling, at a security camera in the corner. "Twenty-four hour surveillance," she said mockingly, before sticking her tongue out. "All I wanted was to help."

She stared at the camera for a moment, then sighed loudly. She needed to fix the Pilomena, but she couldn't do that as long as Growl was standing in her way. She needed something that would pacify the grump. "Hey!" She suddenly shouted at the camera. "Tell your boss, I have something to trade."

Comments

[Misplaced Mage]

“If I can’t find a friendship problem security breach, I’ll make a friendship problem security breach!”