A new license plate camera was installed at the Den entrance.
IR. 130 feet. 4K night vision. The works.
The old G5 Pro still looked nice. Cat6 couldn't throw it away.
He took it back to his nook. Plugged it in. Powered it up.
Thought he'd VLAN it properly while he had some downtime.
Then he started playing video games.
The G5 Pro went live. Public. He didn't notice.
Game on one screen. VLAN config on the other. Neither getting his full attention.
G5_Pro_01 · PUBLIC · 00:00:01 · counting
Cat8. 11:03:41. Routine scan.
Cat6e. 11:03:42. She was already scanning. Notebook already open.
Less than a second later.
Before Cat8 or Cat6e could say a word — Cat7 and Cat6A were already in motion.
This is hilarious! He really doesn't realize we can all see him right now.
His patch cable length tail makes this whole thing so much funnier. Look see, he can hardly reach it!
Between rounds, Cat6 noticed the VLAN wasn't right. He grabbed the G5 Pro to find the reset pinhole.
Ok now, where is that tiny little hole, it says, oh on the bottom of the camera...
Cat6 fondled the camera between his legs in all directions to find a good angle to press the reset pin.
Gross.
Gross.
...Gross.
That is genuinely gross.
Cat6A sent the group message to Cat3, Cat5, and Cat5e. Added Cat6e to the feed link. Forgot to add her to the message.
Cat3 read the message, set his book down, and shuffled over to Cat5's nook. Just to watch.
I haven't moved this fast in three years.
Game over. Two minutes. Cat6 grabbed the camera again.
Okay — reset — VLAN 20 — tag the port — close WAN route — firewall rule — two minutes let's go.
All six. Same moment. Same feed. Same reaction.
CONNECTION LOST.
G5_Pro_01 · VLAN 20 · private · 15:19:04 · Cat6 got it right on attempt 2
A knock on Baycat6's nook door sparked him to waddle over with the camera still between his legs. When he looked outside to greet whomever was there he was surprised to see a small package of catnip.
He picked up the CAT NIP. 15 minutes later after all the treats were gone. He realized those were not his. He thought maybe they were Cat3's? They tasted old.
Cat3's nook. Empty. Lamp still on. Patch cane gone.
Hm. That's strange. ...maybe he's with Cat5?
Cat5's nook. Cat3 was already there. Cartoons on the TV.
Cat3, I think someone accidentally brought me your Cat Nip and I ate it?
You know, son — my catnip is all here. Fine artisan catnip from my travels that I have been storing.
Cat3 really does have the best catnip — oh and I really don't go near the stuff anymore. Cat6A was just talking about catnip. Let me see what he said.
Cat6 now knew the whole story and he felt embarrassed.
On the way to Cat6A's nook he noticed Cat5e's camera was also oddly placed. He thought maybe when he went over there to apologize he could offer to fix it.
Cat6e was waiting at her door. He walked right past.
She had seen the whole thing. She was expecting an apology.
He did not stop.
Stop three. Cat6A's nook.
6A — I wanted to apologize for the camera.
You know what a VLAN is, right Cat6? Like — you do know what a subnet is? I'm just checking. For a professional. This is wild.
Baycat6 thought about the kitty treats but decided to play it cool.
Stop four. Cat7's nook.
Cat7 — I wanted to say sorry about the feed.
Apology accepted. For what it's worth — I could have just blocked your feed. I just thought it was interesting that you ate all the kitty treats.
Cat7 found a way to make the apology about TERA but also found a way to blame himself for the treats.
Last stop. Cat8's nook. Stop five.
Cat8 — I'm sorry about the camera feed.
Oh don't worry about it. Honestly — I think my phone was running a little warm. Maybe it was glitching. I'm not sure I saw anything properly.
She was the first one in. Her scan timestamp said 11:03:41.
✦ The Ending ✦
Cat6 was heading back to his nook. Cat5e was on a ladder.
Cat5e spoke first.
Cat6 — I'm sorry. The camera. I know it's been aimed at your nook. I was going to move it, I just —
No — I was going to say the same thing. I'm sorry about my camera. The G5 Pro. I think we were — both going to apologize.
He blushed. She saw it from the ladder.
Cat6e watched from her doorway. She had seen the whole thing. She picked up her pen.
She closed the notebook before she could second-guess it.
Cat5e's camera stayed aimed at Cat6's nook. Slightly less. Nobody said anything. End.