Executive Orders

CH 74 | Fun and Games

Harrison watches Huck, Quinn and Shireen winding down their session, impressed in spite of himself. It had been a symphony of a technical kind, data streams rising, falling in varying tempo, shifting swiftly from screen to screen until Harrison was dizzied from trying to keep up.

Huck was clearly the conductor, hands moving quick and sure over a dual keyboard, calling out and directing sub-routines to either Quinn or Shireen. Each woman took those calculations and made their own adjustments, sub-dividing the columns of data symbols, refining the initial calculations before directing them back to Huck.

Both Huck and Shireen started tossing questions at Quinn; even though he still didn't understand half of what they were saying, there was a fascination to the continual rise and fall of the symbols appearing, disappearing and reappearing on their screens while words like geosynchronous satellites and geostationary orbits and data retrievals were tossed around, leaving Harrison still amazed close to an hour later as Quinn and Shireen fed a few final calculations into their computers at Huck's direction. When they were done, Huck was ready and waiting and they all watched as he worked the last of their computations into his own digital schematics.

A few final cascades of symbols and numbers led Huck's screens to flash several times, then one after the other, each screen showed the same images, spinning globes on a map, each showing an image of the Americas, each one showing bright lines that concentrated on a separate part of the continent from the northern hemisphere to the middle and southern sections.

Huck sat back, his satisfaction showing in his eyes.

That was rare, Harrison noted to himself.

"Data sieves are operational." Huck announced.

Harrison thought that he'd understood that much, but he was still impressed. "That's why they pay you the big bucks."

"I don't know about y'all, but that's why they pay me the big bucks." Shireen said.

"It was a good script." Huck admitted. "Good bones."

"I thought it had potential." Shireen agreed. "I'm glad to see that thanks to you, I was right."

"I'm sure the Pentagon will be pleased." Huck said.

"I can cut you in on some of the praise - and the profits." Shireen said.

Something final closed in Huck's expression. "Thanks but no thanks. I'm good - I don't need the money. Or them."

"Oh?" Quinn lifted an eyebrow in Shireen's direction and grinned, deliberately lightening the mood before it could go dark. "If that's the case, tell me, Oh Obi-Wan Data-Datum - how do I get some of that big bucks energy?"

"Stay in your lane." Huck told her before Shireen could answer.

Harrison watched Quinn as she swiveled in her chair towards Shireen; Shireen raised her hands and shrugged her shoulders in a 'what can I do?' expression.

"The master has spoken." she told Quinn even as her eyes danced with amusement.

Before Quinn could say anything, Shireen glanced at Huck. "Maybe we should give her the chance to prove that she's worth a raise."

"We?" Huck asked. Despite that, he paused, seeming to take the time to consider Shireen's words. A long, long moment passed and then he tapped out a code on his laptop.

He swiveled his chair to look at Quinn. "Back us out of the geo-lateral conduits from the Americas' satellite array via the international space station sub-routes without being detected and maybe I'll bring the subject of the possibility of a raise up with Olivia."