With Arkadia's thirty-one hour plus day, by the time the business day starts, Profit Margin's chronometer reads 11:30.  Twenty minutes later two vehicles pull up outside the ship.

The smaller one has a consignment of groat steaks for the ship's supplies.

The larger one, a noisy, roaring monster, is there to collect the cargo.  A few minutes later a third vehicle, a van, arrives, and a dozen men spill out onto the field, along with three muscle-powered cargo trollies.

The van driver approaches the bottom of the ramp, with the paperwork for the collection.

Tylen signs for the meat and loads it into the freezer. He puts in a call to Jago.

"Hey boss, the guys for the cargo are here. You want me to handle it or do you want to come check the paperwork?"

(NPC'd)

"Just check they're here for the right cargo, Tylen, and get them to sign for it when they're finished.  Should be plastic polymers they're after."

Jago goes back to his own paperwork, and wonders exactly where the next cargo will come from.

Standing guard as always, Yas stays bck and lets the boys handle it this time around.  She is happy standing off to the side and keeping an eye on things, armed to the teeth as usual.

Tylen checks the paperwork and lowers the cargo ramp.

The paperwork is all in order, so far as Tylen can see.  The quantities and descriptions of the goods to be collected match the markings on the containers.  He drops the ramp, with its characteristic screech, and signals for the cargo handlers to move in and start work, shifting the containers, using the trolleys and raw muscle power.

Slowly, so slowly, the containers start to roll out of the hold.

The driver grins at Tylen, "Shouldn't be too long, I think.  An hour.  Seventy-five minutes, tops."  He steals a glance at Yas.  "Who's that then?"


In her quarters, making sure that everything loose is safely secured or stowed away, Shui hears the squeal of the ramp, and knows that the last obstacle to their mission is now being taken care of.


Saskia moves around Engineering, resisting the urge to make last minute tweaks and adjustments.  The ramp is heard only dimly here, but it's a sound she knows well, and has never been able to stop.


Strings of course data and vector calculations flow across Conrad's panel.  With a natural eye for the details, he bounces the best choices over to Jago's console, only to update them  moments later, to allow for orbital motion of Arkadia, and the two giants.


Jago studies the courses, overlays them, and picks out the ones that he likes best.  Some look a little odd at first, until he notes that perhaps  a slight, unexpected deviation here saves a couple of hours there, or means that their approach to one of the giants will put them in the shadow of a moon.  Conrad, it seems, knows what he's doing.

Having already checked on their passangers this morning (first thing, Jago had said), Shui is relatively secure in the knowledge that they are prepared.  But under the circumstances, it just might be a good idea to check again.

++ Mr. DeSant. ++  She strides quickly down to the passangers' cabins.  ++ Are you prepared?  We are close to lift-off. ++

Spotting the driver looking at her while talking to Tylen, Yas smiles prettily and waves her fingers at him before resuming her guardiong as if nothing had happened.  She do keep an eyecorner out for any reactions though while suppressing a chuckle.

Tylen looks across at Yas to only to catch her smiling and waving. he turns back to the Driver shaking his head.

"Buddy, that's one crazy, bad-assed, ex-marine."

He leaves the Driver to supervise the unloading, he wants to be one hundred percent sure that only the correct cargo gets unloaded and nothing else.

Corlan answers Shui's call, "Yes, I'm just securing the last of my belongings, per your instructions."  By the time Shui reaches his cabin, all the cabinets are latched shut, and everything is stowed away securely.  The stateroom's window currently displays a wide angle view of the landing field, piped in from the ship's sensors, and occasionally overlaid with datafeeds, neatly bracketing various moving objects and attempting to attach identification markers to them (though the computer keeps insisting that the groats are actually carbon-based asteroids).

The same goes for Dahkingzuel's quarters.  The Vargr had not been planning a long voyage anyway, and she has little in the way of belongings with her.  She smiles at Shui, though she doesn't show her teeth, and her tail wags.  "We go soon now, yes?  We hunts piraates, take ven-ge-ance for Oezzarr's death.  His spirit will rest easy after this."

"Please to say to Cap-tain Lanza that I am much grate-ful to her for help.  I hopes we find piraates soon, so will bring swift end to matter, and Profit Mar-djinn go back to true bus-in-ness."


The movement of the cargo takes closer to ninety minutes in the end, and none of the handlers touch anything that they shouldn't.  When all is done, the driver scribbles a signature on his paperwork, gets Tylen to countersign it, then hands the crewman the top three copies, and an envelope.

"That's a bank draft to cover the price for the cargo.  Tell your captain that he can cash it over at the Port Building, at his convenience, but he'll need to have ID on him."  He gives Yas another look, then turns back to Tylen, "Thanks for your help.  Have a good day."

Tylen ensures the envelopes contents are as described and then nods to the driver.

"Pleasure doin' business with you."

He strolls over to Yas as the heavy vehicle pulls off.

"I think you scored with the delivery driver Jarhead."

He says with a smile.

The doctor bows as she leaves the second cabin - not too deeply, it wouldn't do to be labeled as submissive.  "I shall certainly convey your sentiments to Captain Lanza."

Shui hurries away from the second cabin, moving deeper into the ship.  She wants to check on her own 'passengers' before lift off.  ++ Captain Lanza?  The passengers are well-stowed and prepared. ++  She palms open the door to the med-bay and enters, quickly moving to check on her two 'guests'.

++ We are prepared for lift-off.  Dahkingzuel offers her thanks and a hope for a speedy completion of the task. ++

Waving and winking at the man as he glanced over at her again, Yas had moved over to meet Quadman as he finished things off.

Her shotgun comes up over her shoulder, and when he mentions having scored with the fellow, she chuckles and shakes her head.

"No, no, no, I like it slow, no quickies," comes the odd reply as she moves towards him, grinning like a hungry wolf.  Nearly brushing up against him and she walks past, she puts all her femininity into her walk - an unusual sight indeed - and then she glances back at him for a moment.

"Beside, he's not my type.  But a bit of teasing is only fun!"

She stops and laughs, "Never mind me, I've been too long around stupid jarheads, remember?"

Somewhat confused by Yasmines display Tylen shakes his head,

"I think the Shotgun kinda spoils the effect Yas,"

He says as he heads up the ramp to deliver the draft to Jago.

He knocks on the cabin door before entering.

"Paid by draft Boss,"

He says proffering the piece of paper.

"You can cash it at the Port Building apparently but you'll need ID."

“Thanks Tylen,” Jago says, smiling broadly as he leaves his desk to take the envelope, then moves over to place it in the safe on the wall.

On the desk, in stainless steel tray is a a 30 cm dodecahedral structure of thread-thin struts.

“I’ll have a little chat with everyone in the passenger lounge before we lift off,” he goes on when the safe is firmly locked again, “say ten minuets.”

As Tylen leaves, Jago uses the intercom to inform the crew, and passengers, of his intended meeting.

Catching the intercom message from Jago, Shui hurries to the 'lounge'.  There isn't much time.  Ten minutes, in fact.

Coffee pot on, so quickly it's like watching a machine at work.  The movements have been practiced so often, they have become rote.  Heating milk for Yas' cocoa and kettle for tea.  Cream, milk, and sugar placed out on the table.  She quickly pages their resident Vargr - + Pardon me, Dahkingzuel, but given that the Captain has set up a meeting, I was curious as to your choice of beverages. +

All the while, her hands continue to move.  Measure out the cocoa.  Check the milk.  Pour the nearly-boiling water into the pot, and add the tea cozy.  Begin mental timing.

Only ten minutes.
This message was last edited by the player at 14:26, Tue 14 Nov 2006.

With a shrug, Yas waltzes into the lounge and catches Sushi there.  Briefly considering another "assault" she quickly dismissed the idea and waves to the doc, as that is what she is to the Ex Marine Captain.

"Hey, doc," she says, sticking to the more formal of her names for the doctor to avoid causing any further offence or such, "need a hand?"

With the shotgun still across the shoulder she looks like she is more likely to shoot the tea set than anything else, but then, impressions are often quite misleading, often intentionally.

Shui glances over her shoulder, and proffers a smile.  A very quick one.  Then it's back to the counter.  "If you could put out everyone's coffee mugs, Yas, save for your own, I would be much appreciative," she replies in a breathy, distracted voice.  Milk into the cocoa.  Tea is ready.  Her fingers expertly hook the cozy from the teapot, and place it carefully in a bowl beside the sink.  The coffee is dripping away, and everything else seems on schedule...but help with the cups would be a godsend.

The shotgun would be nervewracking, except that half the crew seemed to come aboard with a full arsenal.  For Yas, carrying a shotgun is 'Tuesday'.

"I usually don't put out, but for you, I will," Yas wisecracks but actually sets the shotgun down - in a place where she knows where it is but that is nto obvious to anyone else - and begins to place out cups.

"Hey, doc, once we're out and chugging along there's something you should take a look at.  Nothing serious, but it can't hurt, I figure," she informs Sushi while setting the table, apparently putting the cups in an identical position at even spaces although it seems to be automatic rather than conscious.
This message had punctuation tweaked by the player at 15:17, Tue 14 Nov 2006.

The quip is expected.  What isn't expected is the question that follows it.  Shui frowns - it's not like Yasmine to ask for help concerning herself.  So either it's serious, or it concerns someone or something else.

"Very well, Yas."  She places Ms. Crow's cup, full of steaming cocoa, in the appropriate place on the table.  The teapot is put down in the centre, beside the insulated coffee pot.  All prepared.  Shui moves to the pantry, begins hunting for small biscuits.  Finding an assortment, she begins to arrange them on a plate.  "And it concerns yourself?  Or someone else?"

"Oh, just old me, I wouldn't dream of going in someone else's place unless it was a matter of security," Yas says with a shrug and looks around for anything else to help with.

"So, anything else you need help with?" she finally asks, failing to think of anything else that might be needed, short of a few guns and such for herself, half jokingly, which she keeps all to herself in case Sushi would misread it.

Shui absently notes that her use of Yasmine's chosen name appears to be doing splendidly.  "It might be better if we meet in my office, then.  At your convenience."  Her smile is small, and entirely unconvincing.  "I expect I shall be free for a short time after we take off."

And after that, she might have more work with which to deal than she able to handle.  This isn't making her feel very good about the future.

"I believe...."  Shui sets the plate down on the table, bicuits carefully arranged.  "...I am fully prepared," she finishes, stepping back to consider.  "Do you have any suggestions?"

"Yeah, well, I was thinkign when we hit J-space.  Until then I must keep an eye on things," Yas comments and glances about in case the Vargr is around - it would not do to reveal she is not the captain by accident, after all.  Then she grins at Sushi, big enough for both of them.  "It's nothing serious, as I said, no surgery or transplants, even if I probably could use a new head sometimes!"

As the doctor's petition for ideas, Yas steps back as well, as if knowing what she was looking at, or for, and put one arm across her abdomen, rest the other on it and her chin cupped in the hand of the latter arm - a finger tapping lightly on the tip of her nose.

"Hmm.  A couple of chocolate birthday cakes, for me?" she suggests carefully, sounding deadpan serious and looks over at Sushi, gently lifting both eybrows as if to firther ask for the doc's input on this idea.

"Understood, Yas."  If the marine said no surgery, then no surgery.  Shui trusted her to tell the truth, when not joking.  And this didn't seem like a joking matter, whatever the problem might be.

"I believe," she murmured, staring at the table, "we could all use new heads at times."

Yasmine's suggestion is met by a single, raised eyebrow; Shui continues to stare at the table as if envisioning the two cakes.  "If it is indeed your birthday, Yas, you should have informed me before and I could have baked.  Though two cakes might be a little far afield from my dietary suggestions."  She glances over at Yasmine, her eyebrow still high.  "Perhaps one?"