“Well I certainly understand that,” Jago responds to Corlan seriously, “and I must say I, that is we all consider you to be more than just a passenger, I’m miss you if you have to go, and not just because you have provided the only income I could absolutely rely on over these last two years.”

“We’ll see if there is any trade in that direction, I’d certainly like to oblige you if I can,” as Corlan leaves, Jago stands and sees him to the doorway.

“Hello Jett, can you give me a minuet, I’ve promised Kal-chan a word first, it’s turning into a busy day.”

“Kal-chan, would you like to come in?”

Kal-chan stands asice for Corlan to pass.  The older man says nothing as he heads for the door to the hold, and the passenger accomodations beyond.

The gunner enters the office, closing the door behind him.  He doesn't relax, but stands at attention.  When Jago offers him a seat, he somehow manages to sit at attention.

"Well.  Sir.  As you know, I've been here for two years now, and I like the job, and everything, and the others are good to work with, and the conditions and pay are good, and all of that.  It's all good, and... "

He finally winds down, sensing that perhaps he's starting to ramble a little.

"Best to get it over with, I suppose.  I want to resign, Captain." he watches for a reaction, just briefly, before continuing, "Regina is my home, and when we heard about the War, it didn't mean much.  But now the Zho's have taken my home.  It's personal."

"I'm going to sign up with the Corps again.  Maybe I can do a little bit to help.  I know we've got that Letter from the White Suits, but I'm a Marine, Sir.  I'd feel better fighting groundside, with battledress and an LAG."

Jago listens to Kal-chan in silence, and remains so for a little longer, “I’ll be sorry to see you go I must admit, but I wouldn’t dream of trying to stop you,” Jago says. “If you give me a while I’ll sort out the paperwork and the wages I owe you, maybe we can all go ashore for a drink this evening, before you head off.”

"Thank you, Sir.  I'd be pleased if you would have a drink with me."  Kal-chan stands, prepared to leave, then hesitates, "Oh, just one more thing.  Shall I tell Yas, or would you rather speak to her about it?"

"This is rich," Yas groans and fishes up her find.  "Here, since you asked about Ridge before.  Seems he left this one behind," she says and tosses a small item to Sushi.  "Seems to be the only weird thing about here though, so I suppose maybe he didn't leave any droppings, this time."

"I have found nothing, either," Shui states, one hand snapping out like a cobra to take the chip out of the air.  She pushes her glasses up on her nose, one thin brow rising as she takes in the title.  "How...interesting.  I have seen these in stores, of course, but never viewed one."  The woman sits down on the ground, frowning, and takes off her glasses to clean them with her shirt.

"It is possible your visitor left nothing behind.  Perhaps they are confident with what already lies aboard?"  A grimace, at that.  It isn't a pleasant thought.  Abruptly recalling the chip, she transfers her glasses to one hand and flicks it toward Yasmine with the other.  "My apologies."

"Interesting isnt' the word for these things.  And be glad you've never watched one," Yas smirks and catches the remains of a previous gunner in her right hand.  "Quite possibly, they may have had only one, or many devices hidden.  That's why I'm going to search Profit Margin through and through."

"Why the apology?" she then asks as she looks down at the palm of her hand where the chip lays, before turning to toss it in the trash system.  She grins with satisfaction as she hears the thing fall down the neck of the trash receptor, which starts up and makes the process short with the lewd bit and the naughty byte too.

"Through and through?" Shui inquires, stretching.  "I had no idea you had such interest in purile vids."  Waving off the attempt at a witticism, she replaces her glasses.  "If there is any way I can be of assistance...well, to begin with, I expect I should search the medbay.  Thoroughly."

And despose of any lurking detritus simultaneously, she decides.  While Shui hasn't found anything yet, that could sipmly be because she wasn't looking.

"Now that apology would be welcome," Yasmine says with all her teeth bared in a smile that left some friendliness to be wished for - but there was plenty of amusement there too.  "You do that, but I hope Sassy can help us make it more effective.  I should probably go ask her already."

"Hm.  My earlier apology was for not returning the chip, promptly...I see I will have to keep some banked for dealing with the fallout from my sense of humor."  The woman definitely has her a little nervous, Shui considers.  Too many memories.  Too many echoes to the past.

"I shall endeavor to find any small, deactivated devices that Saskia's technology cannot locate...but, like you, I hope she will be able to expediate our search."  With a quick bow, Shui hurries off to begin her search of the medlab.

Cursed Navy.  All big ships, big guns, and ego.  Never thinking to do things the quiet, polite way....

“I’ll tell her if you like,” Jago says to Kal-chan, “but it would probably be better if you did, you know, one marine to another.”

“Would you send Jett in if you see him please.”

"Yes, Sir.  I'll do that straight away.  And I'll speak to Yas too." he raises his hand, and gets it halfway there before he realises that he's not back in the Corps yet, and Jago would probably have him thrown off the ship if he completed the salute.

He manages to turn it into scratching at his neck, then quickly turns and leaves.


"Jett, Jago says he'll see you now." he says to the navigator, and then comes the part he's dreading, "Uh... Yas... I need a word with you."

"I won't take much of your time, Jago.  I've just come to give you this." Jett passes a piece of paper over, "It's my resignation, I'm afraid.  I was on the bridge checking the datafeeds earlier, and the Navy is putting out a call for volunteers.  Especially for people with prior service."

"Seems they're pulling a lot of ships out of retirement too, to reinforce the front line squadrons, and they need crews for them.  I'm a good nav, and they'll need specialists.  So I'm going to sign up again."

"My family have been Navy all the way back for about five centuries, back to the Civil War.  We just missed the First Frontier War, but we've served the Imperium in every war since.  It's a matter of pride, as well as duty."

"Hey, you could have kept it for all I care," Yasmine calls out with a chuckle, shakign her head.  The new Doc is a bit nervous for some reason.  She begins to replace the stuff on the seat when Caution comes out of Jago's office and sounds as if he was about to ask her on a date, stuttering all over the place.

"Sure thing, Caution.  What's up?" she asks, dodging the chance to joke.  She knows his home is in trouble and she has no wish to put her foot in her mouth or something, seeing how far back they go.  "Want to talk here, or want to go somewhere else?" she asks, both soundign and looking quite sincere as she watches him for reactions.

Looking distinctly conspiratorial, Kal-chan beckons for Yas to follow him through to the bridge, where there seems to be another call waiting.  He looks nervous, and starts to say something a couple of times, only to stop after the first few words, and try again.

At last he screws up his courage, and simply says, "Yas, I've quit.  I'm signing up with the Corps again, and maybe I'll get to help kick the Zhos out of my home."  He thrusts out his hand towards the Chief Gunner, "It's been a pleasure working with you."

Jago sighs but smiles at Jett and offers his hand, “well good luck old friend, give them hell for all of us.”

“Kal-chan is off to join the marines, we were going to have a little drink tonight, I guess it’ll be a double fair well now.”

Jago follows Jett out to the crew lounge in search of any one else lining up for a career change but it’s empty right now so he just gets a cup of steaming, black coffee and wanders out to the cargo deck with it.

Not sure if she had expected it or not, Yasmine says nothign at first, only stands there looking at Caution for what no doubt feels like hours to him.  Then she steps past the outstretched hand and grabs him in a big hug that probably at first scares him more than the look has.

"I understand," comes the emotional words while the firm hug lasts.  It is the first time she actually has hugged anyone in front of him, apart from her own sister two years ago.  But he had become a part of this crew, perhaps partly because he is an ex marine liek herself - but he was the sort she could rely on no matter what.

The hug lasts a bit longer than it perhaps should.

The cargo deck is deserted too.  The ship seems like a ghost ship, and at the rate people seem to have decided to leave, it appears that it might soon become one in reality.  The air is cool in there, environmental controls set to maintain the hold at a temperature that will keep the fruit fresh for as long as possible.

Jago's breath steams, almost reminding him of the days when he used to actually light his cigars.

At least the fruit should be gone in a few hours, and once it clears the ramp, it's no longer his to worry about.


Living up to the nickname that Yas uses for him, Kal-chan cautiously returns the hug, still unsure if this is one of Yas' jokes.  He'd hate to end up sitting on the floor with a dislocated shoulder or something.  Especially since Yas is so much smaller than him.


In the medbay, Shui starts her search, but there are so many potential hiding places that it soon becomes apparent that she'd need to be very lucky to find anything at all.  At least without help.  There are drawers and cabinets, many of them containing small, slightly suspect, packages, nooks and crannies in larger equipment, vents and ducts, the list is endless...

Blowing an errant strand of hair from her eyes, Shui sits down on the floor, frustrated.  This will take days.  Well, days or not, it needs to be done.  She quickly slices the medical bay into smaller pieces, mentally of course, and inputs the list into her dataglove.  From there, she focuses on a single area.

Too much, and she'll get exhausted and sloppy.  Too little, and it'll never be finished.

Methodically, the doctor begins to work through that area.

Of course, this is no guarantee I won't MISS something, curse it.

"So," Yas says abruptly, and probably a bit too loud, as she breaks of the hug and grabs Caution by the shoulders, "when do you leave?  Soon, I suspect, but have you got any plans?"  The voice is wrestled back into a more normal tone and she even braves a smile.  I will miss you, you big, clever oaf, she thinks as she holds on to him while waiting for an answer.

Since he is so up close, he can no doubt see that she is honest in her query as well as what she is saying, even if he perhaps needs a moment to settle after her outburst.  Funny how the light seems to reflect a lot in her eyes too - but perhaps it always has.  She rarely stands still to someone this close up.

Cradling her left hand in her right, Saskia walks barefoot into the lounge.

A thin line of blood runs from between the index and second finger, across the palm, and into her cuff, where it becomes a spreading stain on the grey fabric.

With nobody about, she changes direction and heads for Shui Tiesi's quarters, where she clumsily pushes the button on the panel next to the door, with her right elbow, "Shui?  You in there?"

Shui jerks up, inside the access area for storage.  There is a dull thud, and she emerges a moment later, rubbing the back of her head.  Ow.  Huzzah - something to distract her from the irritation of the search.  "Enter," she calls, walking quickly across the room to key the door herself, looking back to memorize her current position in the search.

Hissing open, the door reveals Saskia.  Bleeding.  Shui notes that part almost instantly.  "Come in, Saskia - please, to the bed, and take a seat.  I'll have a look at that immediately.  What did you do?"

"What did I do?  I was stupid, that's what I did!" Saskia almost snarls, angrily.  Then her expressions shifts to one of shock, followed by embarrasment, and she continues, "Sorry.  It hurts.  I didn't mean to take it out on you. or anybody else for that matter."

The engineer slumps onto the edge of the bed.

"I was under the mass compensation unit, trying to realign the polarized coupling grid, because it's not quite in phase with - " she trails off as she realises she's starting to ramble about stuff that only engineers are interested in, and not even all of them.

"I was working under the engines, reached into the tool box without looking, and spiked myself on a coil degausser.  Nasty thing, got a point on it like a needle. but bigger.  Got me right between the first two fingers."

With a soft smile, Shui brushes off the engineer's angry greeting.  "Think nothing of it...understandable, given the circumstances."  Her expression  during the explanation isn't one of total incomprehension, though she appears somewhat tentative.  At the 'it hurts', she applies a mild, local pain reliever, and then begins to sterilize the wound (which quickly grows cold, the pain first distant, then gone).  "Hm.  Puncture wounds often hurt far more than cuts, and take longer to heal.  I will see what I can do - this is deep, but not serious."  She glances up.  "You will live," the doctor reassures Saskia with a small smile.

"In fact," she continues, appling a broad-spectrum antibiotic, "you may be back at work soon...might.  I will need to have a closer look before I seal it up."  Shui pauses.  "The tool.  It looks like this?"  Her hands sketch out a rough approximation of the device.  "Hm.  I had occasion," she continues, pushing her glasses up and going back to looking at the wound, "to assist an engineer on one of my other berths.  I fear I have no idea what the 'mass compensation unit' is by name, but if you pointed it out to me, I would likely understand better."  She ponders the wound and the explanation, both.  "In phase...coupling..."
This message was last edited by the player at 02:23, Tue 20 Dec 2005.

Nervously extricating himself from the hug, while trying not to appear too keen to do so, Kal-chan smiles, his face starting to turn red.  Which is an improvement on the last time Yas had gotten hold of him, which was during his basic training.

Back then his face had started to turn blue, while she demonstrated that training could beat size.

"I'll be leaving as soon as the Skipper gets my pay fixed up.  But we're going for a drink tonight." he says, then quickly adds, "Not just me and him... everybody can come along.  If they want.  I don't want to force anyone to go."