After a little more than a week on Garda Vilis, the crew find themselves back at the port, in one of the docking pits, where the ship sits, bathed in the glare of the floodlights spaced around the rim above them.

The female half of Profit Margin's crew had arrived back at the hotel the previous evening (if such a term means anything on a tidally locked world with no day-night cycle.  Once there they had discovered a major development had occurred in their absence: Two days after their departure to explore (and, doubtless, tame) the wild frontier of Garda Vilis, Conrad had approached Jago and announced his intention to use a portion of his recently acquired bonus for the purchase of a High Passage ticket to Frenzie, where he intended to reenlist in the Navy and do his part in securing an Imperial victory in the current war.

Jago had, of course, expressed some concern over this, but Conrad would not be dissuaded.  And so, rather than taking a well-earned rest, the captain had spent a large portion of his holiday attempting to recruit a new navigator, in between constant visits to the ship to check on progress with the refit and refurbishment.

Eventually, he had settled on one T. Azton "Ash" Tescali, who appeared to have all the necessary qualifications for the job, and didn't grate on Jago's nerves as much as several of the other applicants.

Now, the crew, including Ash Tescali and the not-yet-gone Conrad, survey the exterior of the ship.  The new airlock, located on the port side, close to the bridge, is firmly closed (whatever the work crew have done to the ship, they have at least tried to maintain security).  The lower edge of the hatch itself is some two metres above the ground, but there is a retractable ladder, extended from a second, smaller hatch, just below the airlock itself.

"The access ladder can be controlled from any computer terminal aboard the ship, if the user has been given security clearance." explains Mott Henaris, the project supervisor for the refit, smiling like a proud parent showing off holos of her new baby, "In fact, it can also be controlled, with proper clearance, from any remote computer capable of linking to the ship's systems."

She gestures towards the ladder, "We can go aboard now, and take a look at the work from inside.  The security pad for opening the lock is on the right, there, just near the bottom, and easily reachable from the ladder.  The code for it is in the documents you were given, Captain Lanza, and can be changed at any time."

"Incidentally, have you noticed that dreadful screeching sound every time you lower or raise the main ramp?  I suppose you must have.  It's hard to miss...  We can take a look at that while you're here, if you like, and see if we can stop it."

Jago smiles a little at the engineer’s last remark, “no thanks, we know what that is,” he says, glancing at Saskia for confirmation, “and it wouldn’t be the same ship if she didn’t moan and protest every time we opened the door.”

Jago steps aside to let Saskia follow the engineer up the ladder into the new air lock, he’s seen it day by day as the work progressed and it’s the ships engineer who needs to be up there full of pertinent questions and an eye for the technical details.

“Up to now,” he explains to Ash, "if we wanted to get in or out in a vacuum, we’ve had to depressurise the entire cargo bay, or trek through the engine bays to an airlock that opens up on the top of the ship, there, by the fin. Same thing if we were on a planet with extreme atmosphere or temperature. This should make life a lot easier  under such circumstances. Should make security a lot easier as well, now Yasmin can keep the door covered without leaving her favourite chair.”
.

Ash has stood at the back of the group, mostly watching the crew, more than the ship.  He is sure that he will get the chance for a more detailed look at the Profit Margin once things settle down; but having only recently met the crew, he is more interested in those dynamics than any of the on-board systems.  Though I have to admit to myself that I have always liked the old VanRijn designs, Ash noted mentally glancing at the ship, something about that flying saucer shape...

When Jago refers to the Chief Engineer, Ash studies her for a moment.  He had wondered about Ms. Blake since being told her name after accepting the offer for employment.  She was not what he expected, but then Ash didn't really know what to expect.  She seemed all business, at least when it came to the ship; it was obvious that she knew the Profit Margin inside and out - just by the way she acted around her.  Just by the consternation that she showed that someone else had had a chance to work with her.

He nods to Jago, when addressed.  "That would have been highly inconvenient." he agrees about the former airlock arrangements.  "The new remote relays should make it much nicer." Ash notes, then mentally adds that he will have to try things out at some point - since his handcomp should have access - but that also presents its own security issues.  Another thing on the checklist to get familiar with in short order.

As for Ms. Crow, she was smaller than he expected for a Chief of Security, but she also was all business, though in a completely different way.  She carried her (very) toned form with an assurance that gave Ash confidence and pause.  He had seen her swagger before and been shot at not so long afterwards...  Ash had to smirk slightly - Jago's statement about Yasmine's favorite chair made amused Ash to no end, I have trouble envisioning Ms. Crow sitting still for very long.  Let alone wanting to.

Ash regards the ship's Steward and Medic next; she is impeccably dressed and coifed, as befits the public face of the ship.  Ash feels a bit ashamed for his rather scruffy appearance, it's not that he tries for that look - it just sort of happens that way.  He is unconsciously rubbing the stubble on his chin, when is notices that he is still staring at Ms. Tiesi.  A bit flush under the collar, he tries to look away before she notices anything.

So, then Ash turns to look at Mr. Orgesh.  He's not sure what to make of him either.  Ash supposes that he should feel some kinship with him, since they both had spent time in the IISS.  But honestly, Ash's left knee aches every time he remembers his stint with the IISS.   Still, that should not reflect on this man, he chides himself, I wonder what makes him tick?  Probably the same as me, just trying to get by, hopefully with people you can trust.

Lastly, Ash looked at Mr. Dietz.  He had found it awkward to meet the person he was replacing.  It was not that circumstances were acrimonious; far from it, in fact.  It was not like his last stint on the Fortunate Son, where Ash had barely made if off the ship with his duffel after the shouting match.  I probably should not have said anything ... I mean, their new navigator was cute and the captain's new squeeze, but that won't make their passage through a star any less painful, he noted.  Still, Ash kept his distance from Conrad - not out of personal jealousy, at least that is what he told himself.

Saskia follows the works supervisor to the ladder, eyeing the new airlock with some suspicion.  There is a mark on the hull, near the door controls, that she is sure wasn't there before.  Waiting until Mott Henaris starts to climb, Profit Margin's engineer reaches out and rubs at the mark.

It turns out to be dirt, not damage.  Nobody will have to die today.  So far.

Then she is up the ladder, her heavy boots making the climb trickier than it should have been.  Stepping into the lock, she switches on her comm so that her shipmates can hear what's going on.

"It's more - cozy - than I would have thought."

Now slightly tanned (a colour already fading from her skin), Shui watches with some unease as Saskia examines the work on the ship.

The trip had proved enjoyable, to be sure.  Better yet, no problems manifested...until they returned to the ship.  It came as a sorrowful blow that Conrad had come to a conclusion regarding his future while they were gone.  Shui did not begrudge him his choice, though she would miss him greatly, and is pleased he remained long enough to say goodbye.  Sometimes, the doctor knows, one has to pick up and move rather quickly, especially when destiny calls.

Or pushed.  Violently.

It seemed she would have to get used to a new member of the crew - likes and dislikes to file, concerns about diet requirements, medical examinations, and libation to be stowed somewhere in the steward's mind.  He seems a decent enough fellow, choosing to dress for work much like the rest of the crew (even herself - a steward must interface well with passengers and public).  She has noticed the insignia upon his tool-of-choice, and wonders if there will be friction, competition, or cameraderie between he, Yasmine, and Tylen.  Possibly all three, she considers, human nature being what it is.

Now, though, her attention and concern remain fixed on Saskia, and Shui stands ready to step in if things grow hot.  For a moment, long-atrophied reflexes send a quiver down her spine; she glances over her shoulder, but the only one behind her is Ash, standing at the back of the group and studying Tylen.  Then there comes a clangor from the ladder and she swings back as Saskia disappears into the lock.  A moment later the young engineer's voice crackles over the comm-link at her ear.

+ Cozy-small or cozy-comfortable, Ms. Blake? + Shui subvocalizes, the mastoid unit picking up the vibrations through her jawbone and sending them out to the others.

She really needs to look over the possibility of a better medical system for the ship - unfortunately, Shui has been flagrently negligent during her vacation, and hadn't even broached the topic with the engineer during the last few days.  Must arrange a meeting.  She cocks her head.  And one with Mr. Tescali - medical issues.

Waiting his turn, Tylen hefts the bag containing his new music box in his hand.  This one has a ballerina inside a little cabinet the music starts as the doors are opened and the ballerina turns. He had spent some time looking for something suitable, and had finally found it on an ‘antique’ stall at a sort of flea market.  It would need a decent clean up and maybe a quick look at the mechanism, but that wasn’t the immediate problem.  How do you climb a two metre ladder with a bag in your hands?  He had forgotten about the new airlock and now he had to climb it with a bag …

Self consciously he loosens his belt and passes it through the handles of the bag, pushing it around behind him, so that the music box dangles alongside his thigh, then carefully he climbs the ladder,  just waiting for the smartass comment from Yas …

A bit saddened by the fact that Conrad was leaving them Yas did not let it show, wishing him luck on his new endeavour instead.  She greeted his replacement, noting his limp, and watched him from time to time to try to judge him a bit.  He seemed harmless enough so far, but time would tell.

"Oh no, don't you touch the ramp, it's our signature, apart from the profits, of course," she tells the tech as she offers to "fix" the ramp.  No one would "fix" something as integral as that unless they wanted to be in a world of hurt - and then made to make it sound exactly as before.

But then she frowned and rubbed her chin with the back of her hand.

"Remote?  You'd best put in a darn good security for that one, or I'll pull the plug on that instantly," she comments with a serious tone.  "Convenience in all its glory and comfort, security is by far more important.  Show me what you've done," she demands and steps up towards the tech, holding out a hand is if expecting to have something handed to her there and then.

She cannot help but notice Ty fastening the bag to his belt and grins at the sight, although she remains silent as she turns to the tech again, awaiting a response.

Mott Henaris chuckles, and her voice is carried to those listening in, via Saskia's comm, "Unfortunately it couldn't be helped.  While there was a certain amount of space here, a lot of it was taken up by the airlock systems... pumps, sensors, electronics, alarm systems, and an equipment locker.  We also had to take into account that you still need to get past to access the bridge."

By the sound of it, the airlock is more cosy in the "small" sense of the word.

Yas' question brings a more serious expression, and the supervisor calls down to the security officer from the airlock entrance, "There is no security installed at the moment, beyond a simple encrypted code sequence and an access alarm.  The airlock is designed to be tied into the ship's own security system, but you'll need to deal with that, since you know who should and shouldn't be able to open the hatch."


OOC: There is a new-look deck plan here: link to a message in this game  It shows the location of the new airlock, and gives a rough idea of the location of furniture, fixtures and fittings.

Saskia runs her hand across the wall of the new 'lock, her face pensive.  Leaning close to the status displays, she reaches out to tap them with a fingernail, a gesture dating back to the days when the display would have been an analog device, comprising a pivoting mechanical indicator and a calibrated static backing.

As Henaris explains about the systems hidden in the walls, the engineer can almost see them beyond the metal.  "Okay.  That looks good."

Yas's question is, predictably, more to do with security than with the nuts and bolts of the installation.  While the supervisor explains the security systems, Saskia stoops to unlace her boots.  She kicks them off, then removes her socks, rolling them up and tucking them into the boots.

She straightens up, picking up her footwear and flexing her toes a little as she asks, "Can we go inside now?  I'd like to see the interior controls, and a schematic of the data linkages.  There's a terminal in the lounge you can use for that."

Shui frowns for a moment, then banishes it with a small nod.  No doubt Saskia is far too busy to answer frivolous questions.  She'll have to decide on the coziness of the airlock herself.  The steward quickly does a head count when the engineer suggests entering the Profit Margin, the better to decide on how much tea and coffee to prepare.  And cocoa for Yasmine, of course.

Saskia will likely be too busy for it, but she'll get a cup ready for her in any case.  Hopefully the discussion will allow her to slip away and check her 'guests', ensuring their continued survival.

OOC - Nice job with the map!
This message was last edited by the player at 01:51, Sun 19 July 2009.

Ash watches with amusement from the back.  He's relieved to hear that the engineer of the group is serious, funny, driven, focused, obsessed, and crazy all at once.  The best always are.  And it is good to know that the Chief of Security is, well, security minded at all times.

As he trails behind, a small smile plays on his lips as he observes, the group has a wonderful rhythm to it - Ash only hopes that he can catch the flow and work well with them.  It'll take time, he ponders, but if I am lucky...  He lets that thought trail off with a shrug.  Then, noticing that he has stopped for the moment, Ash trots to catch up to the rest of the group as they congregate closer to the airlock.

"Ah, good.  Then I can set it up as I want it," comments the chief of security, still weighing the pros and cons in the back of her head as she inspects the work.  She still has to make sure there is no so called backdoor as well, but all in good time.

"Now then," she continues and looks around, her eyes stopping once they reach Ash, "ah, there you are.  Do come in, get a feel for the ship and take a look at the bridge or whatever you Navigators do.  Just don't pee on things to mark them, eh?"  She grins broadly, making it almost uncertain - but only almost - whether she is joking or not.

If Ash has any consternation at being singled out by the Security Chief, he doesn't let it show.  He merely shrugs and ambles forward to look at the non-standard layout of the Profit Margin's bridge.  Ash notes to himself that there are a number of seemingly after-market modifications that have been done.  He runs his fingers over the edges of one of the dynamically configurable consoles and notes the layout of the physical plugs - he is especially interested in the interface for his HUD and comm, which he knows must be there in some form.  But he also knows that there will be time enough for him to get to know the bridge and all of its systems really well - a cursory glance won't tell much about things he cares about most, the internals under the panels and behind the walls, the software, and the crew dynamics.

Still, as he inspects the console, Ash stops for a moment as he regards a portion of the console intently; he seems puzzled for a moment, but then he nods approvingly and notes with genuine appreciation and only a small tinge of surprise in his tone, "Very nice, Captain.  You and your crew are to be applauded on the state of your ship.  I only hope that I can contribute to your continued success."  The statement is left tactfully guarded and intentionally bland.

But, then to please the Chief of Security, Ash makes a mock display by pulling the left side of his duster aside and lifting his leg towards side of the console.  He looks directly at Yasmine, noting with a wink "Suitably marked?"

Tylen grins at the byplay with the new navigator, as he moves into the lounge area to make space for those following him.  Having been  at the hotel when Jago recruited the new navigator, Tylen already had some feel for the man, but leave it to Yas, she’ll get him sorted gave him cause for a quick internal chuckle.

Slumping in a seat he puts the new music box on the table in front of him and starts fiddling with it.

"I said don't," Yas sighs with a deadpan expression and shakes her head slowly, looking at the lifted leg.  "Jago, looks like we'll be needing a new navigator already, I'll just go get my big gun, oh, and call the cleaners, he'll be all over the place soon," she calls out as she moves towards her quarters, possibly to get an ever bigger gun than the ones she is tooting already.

Once she gets to her room she intend to see if either Jago has been through her stuff or if nyone else dared to set foot in there.  She will know, oh yes she will, she is not Security for nothing, after all.

Shui, having inspected the airlock and labelling it 'cozy-small', pauses in the door to the galley.  "Mr. Henaris, may I get you something to drink?  Coffee or tea?"  Where life exists, there is hope....  Her eyes flick to the new pilot, getting comfortable at his console.  "Mr. Tescali, I assume you have a preference with regards to libation.  Would that be coffee or tea, and how might I bring it?"

Fingers dance on her dataglove's holoboard for an instant, summoning up her scheduler - the doctor programs in a brief reminder to work out a time for a medical examination, and checks to see if Ash's medical files have been uploaded to the Profit Margin's mainframe.

It will certainly be interesting having more new crew around, despite her sorrow at Conrad's loss.  There have been quite a few shifts in the last month - Shui wonders what might transpire next.

As Yasmine moves out of the bridge, Ash looks to the rest of the crew for some clue as to whether she is joking or not.  As he lowers his leg, Ash figures that she must be joking.   But when the rest of the crew does not really indicate one way or the other, he casts his mind back and is reminded that he has been shot at with less provocation and much less warning.  He sighs and shrugs.

When the ship's steward asks about a beverage, Ash perks up.  "Offering a dying man a last wish?  Thank you, Ms. Tiesi," he stumbles a bit with the inflection and reddens momentarily, but continues on, "I.. I'll just have a coffee, black as you can make it."

Ash knows that Ms. Tiesi wears another hat, as the ship's doctor; he figures that he should broach the topic, since she has not yet.  He only hopes that he is not being too forward when he asks, "And when should I report to Medical, Doctor?"

And so the process begins... the steady progress towards flight readiness.  It starts slowly enough this time, what with the new systems to be checked over, and a new crewmember familiarising himself with the existent systems.

In the lounge, Saskia studies schematics and dataflow parameters.  Mott Henaris looks up at Shui's question, "Tea would be fine, thank you."  Then she goes back to explaining the set-up to Saskia, "We routed the airlock sensor feeds through the Secondary Field Node, keeping the Primary available for external sensors and flight controls, just as it is now.  Not that the airlock feeds use enough bandwidth to impair performance, but I know that... " and the rest of the conversation dissolves into technobabble which may, or may not, have its basis in Anglic.

Tylen sits back and relaxes with his new souvenir, which may not be as complex as jago's souvenir from the Swords, but seems to fascinate the gunner nonetheless. 

Jago examines the airlock carefully.  The control panels have nice, clearly marked emergency overrides, and security systems which look as though they can be engaged, and disengaged, easily from inside the ship.  Of course, once Yas has cast her eye over them, anything to do with those security systems may become a little more complex. 

Conrad, by virtue of still being half crew, is aboard too.  Mostly he's there to clear out his quarters, but he wants a last look round as well.  He leans against the side of his... no, Ash's panel, "I can help y'all with setting this thing up.  There's 'bout a hundred diff'rent layouts preloaded for a start off.  Might be easier to pick out one o' them, then tweak it to suit yourself."

Shui lets the stumble pass without comment - calling his attention, commenting on the proper pronunciation, any of these things might serve to make Ash more uncomfortable, have him feel more divided from the crew.  That's the last thing she wants right now.  "Black then, Mr. Tescali," she replies with a nod and a smile.  Her expression grows more pensive when he begins a question, then her eyebrows rise and she consults her dataglove with slightly exaggerated focus.

"Well.  I see my appointments are minimal at the moment."  Banishing the holoscreen, she smiles.  "Whenever is convenient for you, Mr. Tescali.  Soon, though.  A moment - I shall bring your coffee."

She perks up slightly at Mott's request.  "Tea, then, Mr. Henaris."  Quick steps bring her into the galley, where she immediately picks out a sealed pouch from her store.  Given he did not qualify his choice, the specifics are up to her...spooning out a small scoop of the loose tea into the open-topped infuser, she closes her eyes for a moment and thinks of home.

A small shake of the head banishes the memories, and Shui smiles at her foolishness as she pours the water, heated to a touch over three hundred and fifty three kelvin.  A timer begins in her head, and she busies herself cleaning up and pouring the various coffees.

*ting*  Time's up.

Tea removed and discarded.  Cup poured, placed with coffees - Yasmine has gone to her quarters, so the cocoa will wait.  Returning to the bridge, she moves first to their guest, quietly passing him his tea, then hands off Jago's coffee.  Saskia is in mid-examination, and shouldn't be disturbed.  Tylen receives his, Ash next, then Shui presses a cup into their former navigator's hand with a small smile.  "If there is anything you wish from stores - coffee, tea...a packed lunch - I can provide, Mr. Dietz."
This message was last edited by the player at 12:08, Thu 23 July 2009.

Ash is thankful that the doctor does not seem to notice, or at least comment, on his inability to pronounce her name correctly.  She'll likely correct me later, he notes to himself morosely.  But nothing can be done about it now.

He nods in acknowledgment to her answer about a physical and then turns to Conrad - whom he had been surreptitiously avoiding.  He probably, doesn't need the help, he remembers using similar dynamically configurable displays on the Andromeda's Wake, the last naval cruiser he was stationed on.  But, it would be pointless not to accept Conrad's offer, there is no need to burn a bridge unnecessarily, Ash smies and notes "Very generous of you, Mr. Dietz.  Generous indeed."  Ash sits at the console and starts to pull up the pre-configured set-ups. "Which did you find the most useful for the Profit Margin?"  He glances up at Conrad, and notes off-hand "Given the visible upgrades, I would suspect that there is more to her than meets the eye.  Anything that I should be especially careful of?  Or do I have to learn all of all those things the hard way ... "

Ash takes the coffee from the good doctor with a quiet, "Thank you, miss."  He glances at her prim and proper form as it lingers near the former navigator, when she makes her offer of additional parting hospitality and then watches her float away.  Ash busies himself with the console configuration, his fingers deftly flying over the panel as he moves certain displays to areas and modifies formats to those that he is more readily comfortable with.  He sips the coffee absently at first, then looks down.  It is quite good.  No, very good; not the bitter over-strained sludge that he was used drinking to on the Fortunate Sun.  Note to self, compliment Ms. Tiesi, and try not to screw up her name, next time, stupid. Ash notes mentally.

Ash leans back in the chair and puts his hands behind his head for a moment looking up at Conrad, "Thanks again, Mr. Dietz, - I offer you luck on your new endeavor."  He continues, but his tone is a bit more contemplative, with a slight touch of admiration and more than a little incredulity, "You must feel strongly to leave this crew.  Does the war really stoke that fire in you belly so much?"

"Given that the airlock isn't something that would be in constant use, Secondary Node should be sufficient." Saskia concurs with the supervisor's explanation, "But I'd probably have rated it at a slightly higher priority.  Somewhere between the ADS and the TCIMPS."

She scribbles a note on the back of her hand.  "I see you've installed a reduntant CLAR unit.  Good.  That saves me doing it."  The engineer manages a smile for Henaris - maybe the techs here do know what they're doing, even if they aren't real engineers.  "A burned out CLAR can be a pain in the eema, if you need to change it in a hurry."

Tylen watches Saskia and Jago discuss the airlock with the engineer as  he fiddles with the musical box, absently nodding his thanks as his coffee arrived.   He had only managed to collect it shortly before they left the hotel, so hadn’t had all that much chance to play with it.  His   grin grew slightly broader as he heard the comments from the engineer as she started to accept the changes made to her ship.

”Damn thing is sticking …” he mutters as the ballerina stutters a couple of times.
This message was last edited by the player at 07:11, Fri 24 July 2009.

Finished handing off the various libations, Shui tucks her small tray under her arm; about to head back into the galley, she pauses at the sight of Tylen's music box, one eyebrow rising slightly as she moves closer.  "An interesting device, Mr. Ogresh."  Cocking her head to the side, she studies his attempts to fix the problem of the sticky ballerina.  "A jewelry case?  Or simply for the music?"  Whichever, there is a purity to the sound difficult to duplicate with electronics.

"Perhaps Ms. Blake could assist..."  Pausing, Shui shoots a sidelong look at Saskia, currently discussing arcane matters of engineering with Mott.  I suspect she will be busy for some time with all of the new adjustments to be done.  "Or perhaps not," the steward concludes.  "If you like, I might have a look at it.  I have some experience with mechanical devices."

"That is to say, only if you are not having luck," she clarifies, not wishing to push.

"Both" he responds opening up a pair of shallow drawers that slide under the ballerina's platform, "Although they wouldn't have got much in there." The drawers are quite small and lined with a material of some sort; one contains the key used to wind the box, while the other is empty.

"You are welcome to have a quick look if you would like" the gunner responds "Although it is just the ballerina moves jerkily really.  I imagine that a bit of oil and maybe a clean up for the drive mechanism should solve the promblem" he says with a smile and turns the box towards the doctor.
This message was last edited by the player at 22:18, Fri 24 July 2009.

"Well, no one dies yet," Yas proclaims as she returns from her cabin, having slipped into something a tad more comfortable - that is, bigger guns and somewhat more casual clothing.  A wide grin is flashed at the new guy.

"So, you're jumping ship?  Good for you that you stayed long enough to wave goodbye or I'd have to hunt you down and shoot you dead a wee bit for being so rude," she tells Conrad, waving a finger at him much like the teacher that every kid is scared of.

"Now then, let's see about this new hole and if we can plug it safely or if we're better of welding it shut again already," the gunner states with a straight face and steps up to a console to have a little look-see on the new gadget installed in the old Profit Margin.  Then, another comment, as she works with the panels, "Oh, by the way, from what I hear, most ballerinas tend to be a bit of jerks, but not as bad as those screamers, whatchamacallem, ah yeah, opera singers..."

"Oh, I never minded the occasional screamer."  Tylen responds straight faced to Yas.  "Mind you, the neighbours complain if the volume is too loud." he continues as he shrugs his shoulder and grins wryly towards Shui.

"Well, you should try something non-electrical then, or at least with less exposed wiring, that'll save you screaming," Yas says to Ty with a helpful smile.
This message was last edited by the player at 07:49, Sat 25 July 2009.

Tylen grins across at Yas "Speaking from experience, then?" he asks the ex-marine before turning back to the music box.

"Indirectly.  Ridge's the one with that experience, 'nuff said," Yas replies with grimace and shudders, but not without winking afterwards.

"I shall do my best, Mr. Ogresh," Shui replies.  Her eyebrow jacks a little higher at the interplay between Tylen and Yasmine, but she turns her attention to the music box, studying the movement of the small figure.  Tylen, of course, is likely correct.

"I may have tools I can use for this back in the medical bay," she murmurs.  Small screwdrivers and the like, for use on her medical equipment when it needs a quick calibration.  "May I return this to you shortly, Mr. Ogresh?  If I cannot solve the problem quickly, I shall leave it to professionals like Ms. Blake."

"I have some small drivers in my room. Tylen responds "And some light oil that I am supposed to use on my hair clippers." he adds with a wink as he stands up and glances across to the group by the airlock.  "Why don't you work out how to get inside the thing, while I get the tools?  Very often these things have removable panels or such like, well ... at least the other one has ..." he says as he starts to move away towards his cabin.

"Here, as you can see, we put the MPL for the 'lock's electrical subassemblies on the same grid as the other enviro systems.  The GFTD runs through here, with control from here." Henaris continues explaining to Saskia, while Yas observes over their shoulder.  The supervisor indicates parts of the display with a fingertip, "This is the part where you'll need to consult with your captain and security chief.  The security systems are linked into your CAC and IFID, ready to run, but the protocols have not been set yet, so you'll need to discuss what's needed with them."  The woman takes a sip of her tea, and catches Shui's eye, giving her a grateful smile.


On the bridge, Conrad and and Ash are going through various control layouts, and discussing the benefits and drawbacks of them.  Suddenly the ship's comm chirps, and Conrad reaches out to activate the link, the smiles sheepishly as he gestures for Ash to take the call instead, "Y'all should get that.  Ain't my job no more."

About to demure, Shui acquiesces to Tylen's offer with a small nod of the head.  "Very well, Mr. Ogresh - we can work on her here.  A little minor surgery, only a touch invasive, and hopefully everything will be fine."  Immediately she sets to figuring out how to gain entry into the simple machine's innards, while simultaneously keeping an eye out for anyone's needs.  Mott's appreciation of the tea draws a slight bow and a smile - it's good to be able to serve one of her homeland's specialities here.

Her face darkens slightly at the ironic thought, but clears as she returns to the music box.

The chirp of the comlink interrupts; first and formost, though, her concern is for Conrad.  Reaching out, Shui touches Conrad's arm lightly.  "Perhaps not your job, Mr. Dietz, but to me, the Profit Margin is still your place."

Ash looks up at Conrad and motions to the panel as he sees that Mr. Dietz is fighting his instincts, he says with a chuckle, "You can answer it if you like, we both know that this is not the fun part of the job."

Seeing that Conrad is not going to do it, Ash reaches down and taps the comm controls pulling up the display and answering the angry red alarm (at least on that version of the display).  He tries to keep his tone even and officious, which just makes it sound a bit monotone, quite flat and rather deadpan, "This is the Profit Margin, Navigator Tescali, how can I assist you?"

Ash glances around furtively, he's convinced that the rest of the crew must be looking at him funny; he can feel the stares, really he can.

Jago watches his latest recruit answer the call with a ‘funny’ expression on his face, curious to see how he’ll handle it.

.

After a few moments Tylen returns with a small screwdriver set and a small plastic bottle containing a light oil.  "This should do it ..." he offers as he retakes his seat.

Shui's eyebrow twitches again as Ash answers the call.  So proper.  Not a bad thing, sometimes.  Accustomed as she is to the crew's informal ways, she herself would have answered the call similarly.  Perhaps it's Ash's way, or perhaps he merely operates by rote at the moment and will carry a different demeanor when settled.

For now, she simply looks away slightly when he glances around, not wishing to make him feel put on the spot.  Catching Jago staring, she sighs, shooting him a look of mild reproach before turning to the returning Tylen.  "Thank you, Mr. Ogresh...that should be perfectly sufficient."

With his permission, she sets a small pack of tissues down, raids the screwdriver set, and begins the careful task of opening up the music box and seeking the source of the problem.  Cleaning?  Oiling?  A loose gear?  Who can say, but surely a music box is not beyond her meager talents with mechanicals.

Just make sure not to have parts left over when you seal it up...

Tylen watches as the music box is gently teased apart, and takes the shelf with the ballerina on as Shui removes it.  Leaving the inside of the mechanism to the the doctor, he inspects the underside of the shelf, then blows into it hard trying to remove and dust and obstructions.  Carefully he tries turning the ballerina, and then applies a drop or two of lubricant to the underside, before turning her again.  Once he is happy the ballerina is turning freely on her shelf, he will shift his attention back to Shui.  "How's it going?" he asks leaning forward to watch the woman work.

Conrad smiles at Shui, appreciating the kind words.  "I've had an idea 'bout that.  Jus' need to talk with Jago."

The voice that comes over the comm channel sounds a little confused, "Excuse me?  Navigator who?  This is the Profit Margin under the command of Captain Jago Lanza, isn't it?  Or is it a different ship?  This is Corlan DeSant... I just wanted to let the Captain know I'll be there shortly.  Ten minutes at most.  I'm afraid I overslept."

Conrad heads through to find Jago.  "Where're y'all headin' to next Jago.  If'n it's Frenzie, I'd like to book passage.  Make the trip in comfort, like.  I was plannin' on headin' there to sign up."

"Right, we can sort out the security stuff ourselves." the Engineer says, with a glance at Yasmine, "But I'm sure our Security Chief will insist on doing that when no strangers are about to see what she's doing.  Right, Yas?"

Saskia studies her notes, "I think I'll put the EPS back where it was, and move the GFTD down here instead.  We have some nonstandard systems, meaning that the EPS sometimes gets hit with a frellin' heavy load.  Having it in here gives it a faster response to fluctuations in demand."

Ash sighs, why does everyone have trouble with my last name?  You'd think I was a Vargr or something.

He shrugs and then answers the person on the other end, "Ah, Mr. DeSant is it?  You have the correct line.  I'm new to the Profit Margin's crew.  I'll relay your message to Captain Lanza."  Ash glances at Jago, who as he expected, is looking at him with a look that Ash can't quite place.  Ash is pretty sure that Jago has heard the entire exchange - so, he gives him a crooked smile an a raised eyebrow, but doesn't say anything more.  Message delivered, he thinks to himself.

Ash turns back to the comm and adds addresses Corlan DeSant again, "Uh, Mr. DeSant, I'm sure that the Captain is expecting you.  Thank you for letting us know you are delayed.   Do you wish any other information be relayed to the Captain before your arrival?"

Shui nods to Conrad and keeps an eye on him as he moves to speak with Jago.  A smile touches her lips for an instant as he requests passage, and she slowly nods.  Good.  It's far too soon to say goodbye to their former pilot.  Shaking her head at Corlan's mild confusion, she waits to see how Ash handles it; quite well, as a matter of fact, so the Steward - Medic - Now General Repairwoman goes back to her work on the music box.

Probing around with her tools with the same delicacy as she might explore a wound, Shui finds something that moves when she's sure it shouldn't.  "The repairs continue apace, Mr. Ogresh," she responds to Tylen's query, her voice a touch more absent than the norm with her concentration split three ways.  "There is...something loose in here."  Picking up a slightly hooked tool, she teases the part a touch, verifying its current state and eyeballing the casing to determine where it should lock into place.  "I believe, though, I can fit it back without any need for replacement - the joint is not damaged, merely dislocated, one might say."

Pausing, she glances up with a bright smile.  "And machines do not suffer from long-term damage to soft tissue," the doctor notes before again delving into the music box's innards.  "I should have this done in time to assist Mr. DeSant settle himself in his quarters."

"Thank you." Tygen grins as he replaces the ballerina shelf on the table and sits back to drink his coffee.
This message was last edited by the player at 16:08, Thu 30 July 2009.

"DeSant, our resident guest.  He's not heard the news yet, thus his confusion," Yas calls out towards the new navigator and then turns to Saskia and the tech.

"Yeah, we got some to go through here, and you've seen more of the old girl than most people, let's not embarrass her any further, eh?" she explains and grins slightly.  Then she waits, looking at the tech with the grin in place.

There is a brief pause, before the voice from the comm responds, "Nothing else really, Nevigator Tescali, just that I'm on my way.  I hope that Captain Lanza enjoyed his holiday.  All of the crew, in fact."  Corlan deSant still sounds a little confused, "Um...  How are you today?"

The supervisor nods, her expession clearly saying, I know when I'm not wanted. without actually looking annoyed about it.

"I should get going anyway.  I think I've about covered everything important.  She pulls a small dark blue rectangle from her pocket, and a squeeze produces a shimmering holographic display, glowing letters floating just above the surface of the item.  "If you have any further questions, I can be reached here."  The card is handed to Saskia.

The question hangs in the air for a moment as Ash puts on a puzzled face.  It is difficult to tell if he is surprised by the question or his inability to answer it immediately.  After a pregnant moment, Ash answers, his voice stammering slightly, "I... I am doing well, Mr. DeSant.  Very well, in fact, I feel quite blessed to be working on the crew of the Profit Margin."  He figures he might as well stick with the truth, but he does note to himself, I count myself fortunate that Security Chief Crow has threatened kill me only once, so far.  Then he adds, almost as an afterthought, "Thank you for asking, Mr. DeSant.  I look forward to meeting you in person."

She almost has it.  With a nod to Tylen, Shui focuses all her concentration on the errant piece.  Balance carefully.  Use the skill honed by years of working as a medical officer, and her training before.  Still the tremble in the fingers, see and feel nothing but the tool and the part.  Gently, gently slip it home, carefully so as not to crack the fragile, aged plastic.

As Corlan converses with the no-doubt confused pilot, the part slips home, and Shui gently raises the box' innards, sliding them into place within the box itself.  It will hold, now.  "There," she whispers, nodding.

More quickly now, she fits the tiny screws in places, begins locking the device down.  With two of them ninety percent affixed, she glances up to where Tylen relaxes.  "Success, Mr. Ogresh.  Or so I believe."  Poor Mr. Tescali, struggling to handle an encounter with Corlan.  They can be quite...interesting.  "A moment to put it back together, then a test."

*Click*  Another screw in place - this one she tightens firmly, going back to finish the other two.  "There.  We only need to make an attempt, now."

Jago thanks the departing supervisor, passes a nod of approval to Ash and heads for his stateroom which is so conveniently next to the new air lock, though he reappears a few minuets later without his luggage.

“Right people, hope you all had a relaxing R&R, sadly it’s over now and there’s work to do. We’ll have about five hours before we are moved back to the launch pads and then we’ll be taking on cargo and passengers straight away. Saskia, I’m leaving you to run system checks or whatever it is you do, make sure that those guys haven’t messed up or crossed wires or whatever. Ash, familiarise yourself with the systems, I’ll log you in for computer access in a moment, and Conrad will help, if he wants that discount I’ve offered. The rest of you, we have state rooms to prepare, the rooms have been decorated but there’s new bedding and soft furnishings in the hold that need to be moved in, Shui, you’re in charge of that, Yasmin and Tylen can help out and I’ll be along as soon as I’ve sorted the computer for Ash. Oh yes, Shui, we have six sleepers for this jump, and a spare birth, if it’s still spare at take off I’ll bump one of the sleepers into it, you might want to arrange a lottery or something for that, unless they can come to an agreement amongst themselves. Any questions?”

.

Grinning Tylen reaches across for the music box and winds it idly as Jago gives instructions for crew deployment.  With a wink towards Shui, he sets the box back on the table and lets the the music play, waiting to see if it has truly been fixed.  Gracefully the ballerina starts to turn, smoothly this time, as the a simplified tune 'plinks' out around the lounge.

"Brilliant!" Tylen beams at Shui, before grinning across at the others.  Then with a shrug, carries both the box and tools carefully back to his cabin in preparation  for bed making.




OOC: ( http://www.emusicalgifts.com/m...Brahms%20Lullaby.wav )

"Certainly, Captain Lanza."  Shui offers Jago a short bow, somewhat distressed she had gotten so caught up in her work that she hadn't seen off the supervisor.  Frowning, the steward considers the tasks ahead.  More than enough time to bring up the furniture, then study the medical files of the sleepers.  A lottary indeed - based on health.  "I will begin immediately.  Ms. Crowe, Mr. Ogresh -"

Pausing, the doctor cocks her head, listening to the tinkle of the music-box, then replies to Tylen's smile with one of her own.  The little things often count, and it is a fine thing to see such pleasure on the former scout's features - she knows how much dealing with his past employers upset him.

"Ms. Crowe, Mr. Ogresh, when you have time I shall see you in the hold, or somewhere between it and the cabins."  Depending on where she is in the move.

That said, she takes her leave of the bridge, heading down to see the extent of the work ahead.

Once the tools and the music box are safely stowed, Tylen heads towards the hold and furnishing duties.  Wearing his new black T-shirt and his old leather jacket, Tylen heads into the hold, ready to shift some furniture.
This message was last edited by the player at 09:44, Thu 06 Aug 2009.

Ash nods to the Captain, as his duties are assigned to him.  He confers with Conrad, agreeing to stow gear and then meet later - Ash offers to Mr. Dietz, "If you would prefer, I can take some of the guest accommodations and leave you to your cabin at least for this trip."  Following, Conrad's decision, Ash makes his way to his cabin and takes a survey of the accommodations.  He is suitably happy with them as he unpacks his meager possessions.  Gear stowed, he heads out of the cabin with his longarm.

Ash stops by the Security Chief's quarters with his laser carbine slung casually over his back, it is not powered up.  He knocks lightly, waiting for her to answer.

"Whatever I do?" Saskia responds to Jago, with a grin, "Everybody knows what I do.  It's you that nobody's frelling sure about."

She stands and stretches, "Anyway, I wasn't going to say anything in front of that dirtside tech," she almost spits the phrase, "but everything actually looks pretty straight.  Just some minor adjustments here and there.  Shouldn't take too long, and then we need to set up the security codes for the new airlock."

Corlan DeSant arrives punctually, according to his revised schedule.  He looks healthy, and is laden down with his own baggage and a number of carrier bags emblazoned with the logos of several stores in the nearby city.

He strolls up the cargo ramp, his normal method of entry to the ship which has become his new home, and finds Tylen and Shui in the hold, moving furniture into the passenger section.  Profit Margin's permanent passenger smiles as he sees them, and drops his bags.  Searching through one of the carriers he pulls out a small electronic widget, which he displays proudly, "My company made this.  Or, rather, one of the factories I own manufactured some of the components used in it.  They were exported to Lanth, where another company made this, and shipped it to here.  I'll have to find out what it's for... "

His expression is one of almost childlike enthusiasm for his discovery.

Meanwhile, in the crew quarters, Ash is deep in discussion with Yas, while Jago and Conrad go through the settings which will grant the new Nav access to the systems he will require to do his job.  One by one, they change the permissions, adding in Ash's ID, and removing Conrad's ID and codes.  Ash will need to create his own security codes, but for the moment all his access uses the time-honoured default code, PASSWORD123.

Saskia is in Engineering, making sure that her precious drives understand the changes that have been made.  Mostly this involves reconfiguring power feeds and control links.  Easy work for the most part.
This message was last edited by the GM at 13:50, Fri 07 Aug 2009.

Upon arrival in the hold, Shui surveys the furniture 'depot'.  Closing her eyes, she calls up memories of the staterooms and begins to shuffle the furnishings.  The process takes some time, but her eyes snap open as Tylen enters.  "Ah, Mr. Ogresh.  Your timing, as always, is impeccable."  One hand motions toward the pile.  "We have something of an Aegean stable before us, though the the work will be cleaner."  One eyebrow quirks.  "And not self-replenishing."

Taking off her light coat, she hangs it on a convenient outcropping and runs through a few quick stretches - all small twists and lengthening of the spine - finishing as Corlan enters.  "Mr. DeSant - good to see you again.  Please, leave your bags - I shall transport them to your quarters on my first trip up.  I believe you will enjoy the changes we will make."  Curious, she studies the small device, noting its manufacturer, the model number, and any indentifiers.  Her fingers dance on the holocontrols of her dataglove, calling up a storage file, and the doctor subvocalizes what she sees for later perusal.

A habit of hers, drilled in during her youth.

"Yes, I know.  They messed about with your systems and cut a frelling great hole in your hull, didn't they?  I bet they didn't talk nice to you either, did they?  Yeah, thought so.  Bastards!  No idea how to treat a lady."

Saskia is in her element, seated at her engineering console and talking to the ship as she works.

"That's right, you should have run some current through the deck plates.  There was nobody important here, and it might have taught that shower of dren eaters a lesson.  Made them be a bit more gentle with you."

A deft adjustment to the panel, "How's that?  Pain going away?  That's good."  The engineer raises a hand to pat the bulkhead.

After conferring briefly with Yasmine about proper protocol and securing of his laser carbine in the ship's locker, Ash heads to the bridge to confer with Jago and Conrad about the required access security and navigational duties for the upcoming jump to...

Ash looks at Jago and asks quietly, "Captain Lanza, is our next destination Frenzie?"  A crooked smile crosses his face, "I figured that I would make sure - Mr. Dietz indicated that was his desired destination, but I thought I would verify.  Otherwise, we are liable to find ourselves lost - and that would really give Ms. Crow a reason to perforate me."  He says the last with a slight smile - probably indicating that it is only half serious, well, maybe three-quarters.

Ash starts making preliminary astrogation calculations on the basis that Frenzie is to be the next destination - he figures its good practice anyways - even if the final destination needs to be altered.  Ash starts with the calculations in his head, but moves to the console once all of the security checks and access codes are opened up for him and that Captain and Mr. Dietz are done with their work.

Tylen takes a moment as he works out the Aegean Stable reference, then grins across to Shui as he thinks Yep, a pile of shit to move… however, his spoken response is  more measured.    ”So where to you want this then?” he asks as he picks up the nearest piece of furniture.

Putting the cabinet back down again, he nods a greeting to DeSant when he arrives and watches on as the medic examines the articles, as he awaits instruction  as the positioning of furniture.

“Yep we’re heading for Frenzie,” Jago confirms, "we’ll have a full load of cargo and all the births filled except for one of the sleepers.”

The unlit cigar rolls across Jago’s mouth and settles in the opposite corner and he shifts his bulk in the well worn leather of the pilots chair before punching some codes into the keyboards.

“Computer, recognise Ash Tescali as the new navigator please, and remove Conrad Deitz from the ship’s roster, Mr Deitz will retain crew access until further notice.”

“Give her a moment Ash, and the computer will sort out most of the change over.”
.

Shui greets Corlan and takes a close look at the device he holds.  Though the more thorough inspection reveals that it doesn't look so much like a device, but does, in fact, look more like a component for a larger device.  Profit Margin's resident passenger leaves all but two of his bags near the top of the cargo ramp (but not too near, having been around the ship long enough to realise when things would be in the way).  Then, carrying the two selected bags, he makes his way through the starboard iris valve, and into the passenger section...

Shui and Tylen are soon joined by Yas, as the furniture shifting duties continue.

Ash stows his weapon in the small arms locker, per Yas' instructions, and returns to the bridge, where Jago is  confirming that the ship will be going to Frenzie next.  Conrad nods, "Suit's me, I'll definitely be takin' passage on this fine vessel."  He gives the controls one last check, "Looks to me like y'all're 'bout set.  It'll likely take a minute or so for everythin' to filter through, but there's nuthin' to do now but wait."

Meanwhile, Saskia too is playing the waiting game.  While Conrad and Jago have reconfigured control interfaces, the Engineer's adjustments are working in the heart of the ship, adjusting many of the systems which those interfaces manage.  Like the changes on the bridge, it will take a little time for the modifications to filter through, as the computer checks and rechecks every change before finalising it...

Ash nods to both Conrad and Jago when they ask him to wait for all of the security access changes to percolate through the system.  With only the three of them on the bridge, Ash rubs his chin thoughtfully, maybe perhaps even a little pensively, then turns to Jago and says, "Captain, permission to speak freely."

Ash leans forward and his eyes darting from the Captain to the ex-Navigator and back.  "Sir, I have been noticing that there are a number of upgrades to the systems - especially the electronics - on the Profit Margin.  I've never tried to be one to rock the boat, but I have not seen the types of physical tie downs that are used in on some of the avionics boards, nor have I seen the the console panels like these except on my last tour with the Viscount Grande-Marie, a Sylea-class battleship in IN."  He purses his lips for a moment, then continues.  "Now, Mr. Dietz here, is going back for a stint with the IN, I understand; so, I feel willing to ask this question in his presence, since I suspect that he already knows as well as Ms. Blake - who I understand is also ex-Navy and knows the ship inside and out, though I am unsure of the rest of the crew...  How deep are the hooks?"

Ash adds quickly, as if he suddenly realizes as an afterthought that his questioning might be misconstrued, "I ... I have nothing against Naval Intelligence, mind you; I am asking for my own personal edification ... So, that I know what can be shared freely with the rest of the crew."

“Didn’t take you long to figure that out,” Jago takes the unlit cigar from his mouth and studies it thoughtfully before turning his full attention onto Ash.

“We carry letters of mark and assist the navy in any way we can, mostly that’s just telemetrically downloading logs and sensory data any time we pass within range of a navy base but we are all up for anything else that comes along. To assist us in this, and to glean better data, the Navy have upgraded our sensors and weapons. All the crew, and Mr DeSant are aware of this, the general public, including the regular passengers are not, however, we do try our utmost not to subject passengers to any unnecessary danger.”

After studying Ash for a moment, perhaps looking to gauge his reaction, Jago pops the cigar back into the corner of his mouth and smiles, “kind of makes us feel a little more useful and a little less helpless, you know.”
.

Noting the make and serial number of the part, Shui hurries to first bring Corlan's luggage to his stateroom before running for the hold, anxious to begin the process of moving furniture without delay.  She's glad for the help - while stronger than she appears, she's no heavy-lifter.  Still, the doctor/steward throws herself into the task, pushing herself hard to accomplish it with the greatest possible efficiency - already having surveyed the quarters, she has a better idea of what might go where, allowing for a minimum of 'No, I think over there' to annoy the others among the crew.

Still, it's not an easy job.

Ash gives Jago a weak smile, "More of an educated guess, Captain.  It seemed the most reasonable, given the type of upgrades, their probable origin, the type of ship and crew, and the area of operations of that ship."

He watches Jago intently glancing at Conrad every so often, "As I said, I don't mean to rock the boat.  I just wanted to know what the crew knows and can be freely talked about.  Obviously, the transient passengers don't need to know - and should not be endangered."  Ash rubs his chin thoughtfully, nodding to Jago's statement about being less helpless, "The frontier can be a dangerous place.  Has the Profit Margin seen much action?  Have you had to report much to INI?  I'd just like to know what I have signed on here for..."

The work continues...

Corlan's cabin is the first to be furnished, since he is already aboard.  Politely, he sits in the aft lounge, where he can't see the work being done, and therefore does not give any impression of impatience.  In fact, if the truth were told, he is not impatient.  He has a book to read, a gazetteer of the Spinward Marches, and has spent some time during the week's break marking systems he has visited with Profit Margin, as well as reading about the many more that he hasn't seen yet.

Between the three crewmembers, Shui, Tylen, and Yas, the work goes quickly.

The new decor in the passenger section is simple, yet tasteful.  Lighter colours mostly, giving the illusion of more space.  The outboard wall of each cabin has been partly surfaced with a layer of MCHEs - microcrystaline holographic emitters - allowing a passenger to effectively convert that section of wall into a display screen, showing images from the library computer, or direct telemetry from the ship's sensors.

Currently they are all showing a cycle of images from the external optical sensors, switching to a new view of the docking bay every thirty seconds.


Conrad shakes his head, grinning at Ash's questions, "Spyin' on the Swordies mostly, wasn't it Jago?  There was this INI officer who chartered the ship to fly 'bout the Sword Worlds, tradin' as normal, while he made the reports.  Then he upped an' got hisself lost, so we came home."

"Like Jago said, the ol' gal's got Letters, an' she's dealt with some pirates, but she's avoided military actions.  Closest she came was at Arkadia, 'bout two weeks back.  We watched a battle from a few light hours away, then dumped our sensor logs over to a Navy ship, Shata Lunoqi, case they needed 'em for evidence in a war crimes hearin'.  Damned Swordies nuked one of their own hurt ships, 'stead of takin' off survivors."

Carrying a chair to its designated place, Yas sits down in it and exhales, looking around.

"All new stuff and such a bad choice of colour.  Battleship grey would have been so much better, or camouflage perhaps.  Urban, of course," she comments and pokes the chair's armrest.

"Security check.  Must make sure it's safe to sit in," she explains with a dead serious expression.

Tylen thinks about hooking the leg of the chair as Yas sits in it, but decides against it at the last moment, "It looks fairly secure." he responds as he passes by on his way to collect some more furniture.

Shui cocks an eyebrow at Yasmine's comment, suppressing a smile.  "Of course, but not all of our passengers will be former navy," she notes quietly.  "The brightening of the staterooms will draw in more customers, as will the holo-emitters."  A nice touch, she thinks.  "Comfort or cash, as one of my former captains used to say - people who want to pay for the former will pay a little more if the room is attractive."

"Does the chair pass the test?"  Unwilling to use the bottom of her light tee-shirt for wiping her brow, Shui contents herself with the back of her hand, smiling at the perspiration.  There isn't a great deal of it, but she's certainly getting a workout.  Twisting gently in place, she loosens her lower back, then rolls her shoulders carefully to work the upper spine.  "I shall have to create or purchase programs for imagery...I have images taken from the worlds we have visited, and some excellent ones from our time on this one.  I believe it would make a good start for a 'wall collection'," she finishes, waving at the holo-wall.

"Well, I'm not navy, I'm Marine.  That's like comparing the horn of a bull with the tail, with the Marines being the horn, of course," Yas says to Sushi with a tossed grin after Tylen for his comment.

"Yes, it seems secure enough.  Maybe you should try it too, Ty and I can haul what's left," she then says, getting up and motioning to the seat.  "Would not do to have our doctor sprain something, unless you plan on healing yourself, doc."

"Apologies."  Shui bows her head slightly.  "I fear that, as a civillian, the various arms of the military force are not entirely familiar to me."  She eyes the chair with a hint of amusement.  "I am far from broken at this point, Ms. Crowe.  Rest assured that while I cannot lift as heavy a weight as you and Mr. Ogresh, I remain capable of travail."  Another small bow, this one more light than the first.  "My thanks, but I shall assist.  Besides, I need to be there in order to assign positions for the pieces, otherwise I will have to call upon help to move them later."

Measure twice, cut once, as her father used to say.  Of course, he wasn't talking about moving furniture, but the principle remains the same.

"No worries, the horns need the rest of the bull to go anywhere, but they're the 'business end' so to speak.  And if you say you're good to go on, then I'm sure you are.  We'll be the bull and you'll be the horn, in other words," Yas says with a quick smile at the doctor as she moves on to finish the task.

Ash listens to Conrad's response as to the action that the Profit Margin has seen.  He stifles a chuckle at the thought of an INI field agent being 'lost', noting to himself, Ever the way with the INI - if one were cynical, one might say that is the parable for all of the INI.

Ash rubs the stubble on his chin one more time, "Letters of Marque?  And interesting twist on the 'get out of jail free' card.  Though at the same time, allowing Emperor to keep his hands clean, potentially allowing him and his bureaucracy to disavow any actions taken.  Nice."  Ash shifts in his seat, rubbing his leg - as though some old muscle memory has been triggered by that line of thought.  He grimaces as he tries to work the tension out of his thigh and knee.

He nods sadly as Conrad tells of the Sword Worlders preferring death to dishonor, "Are you sure that the people on the crippled ship wanted it any other way?  The Swordies to have a .... reputation.  Personally, I have never held my honor above my need for survival, but that is just me, likely."  He gives Jago and Conrad a weak, lopsided smile, then adds sheepishly, "And probably also why I never made it close to being an officer in the Navy and why my right knee doesn't work quite right, but the rest of me works just fine."

Conrad nods, his expression grim, "Oh, yes.  They were runnin' for the outer system.  Shata Lunoqi mauled them in close orbit over Arkadia, an' the Swordies all made a run for it.  Spread out as they went, so Shata Lunoqi couldn't chase all three of 'em."

"Then one of 'em went cold... no drive emissions.  Started callin' for help, an' the lead ship changed course to rendezvous.  Only when they got close, they opened up with a salvo of nukes.  We were hangin' 'bout doin' a little salvage work on a dirty snowball in orbit roun' one of the giants.  Witnessed the whole thing."


In the hold, the last few items for Corlan's cabin are finally moved through and positioned according to Shui's instructions (though the steward probably wouldn't object too loudly if the ship's resident passenger chose to reorganise his room).

One cabin down, seven to go.

Shui continues to work without complaint.  It's not easy shifting furniture from hold to cabins, but she has done worse work.  Tylen and Yasmine certainly have as well, and at least nobody is shooting at them this time.  The doctor ensures that there is enough water on hand for everyone to remain hydrated, and brings down a bowl of energy bars for quick replenishment of the body's fuel.

Aside from that, it appears there's not much more to do than move the furniture, adjust the furniture, and fix any accessories for the cabin...then move to the next.

The work is eventually completed, and Tylen, Yas, and Shui can finally relax.  For all of two minutes...

Comms kicks in, with a message for Jago, and everybody else aboard.  The techs are about to move Profit Margin back out of the yard and into a real docking bay.  This is done via the simple process of using a a massive G-lifter to carry the ship.  The vehicle simply latches onto the ship's dorsal surface, and picks it up.

The internal gravity and inertial dampers make a smooth ride for everybody aboard, and ten minutes later, Profit margin is back in the port proper.

A short while later, the cargo shows up.  At least the first part of it does - thirty tons of tailored wheat, specifically engineered for hydroponic facilities.  Ten tons of of computer parts are still to be delivered.  The truck, with the containers of wheat, is accompanied by two hulking robots, painted in yellow and black hazard colours.

The wheat will be shipped as freight, not as speculative cargo.  There is already a buyer for it at Frenzie.  The computer parts are another matter... Jago has bought them, and hopes to sell them at a profit, either at Frenzie, or further down the line.

The robots start hauling the cases of grain into the hold, directed by the transport driver, with instructions from Yas and Tylen.

Shui, meanwhile, takes a look at the passenger manifest.  Conrad and Corlan she knows about, of course - both will be travelling High Passage, with full steward service.  Two more passengers, Jacob Selacci and his wife, Simone, are also paying for High Passage.  Arvesh Kostekyn and two currently unnamed business associates have paid for Middle passage.

The Low Passage group are interesting, six monks, led by an Abbot Victor Letts, on a pilgrimage to Quare, via Frenzie.

The computer finally announces that all the necessary changes have been completed.  Ash Tescali is now, officially, recognised as a member of Profit Margin's crew, even by the ship herself.  As for the ship, Saskia has checked over the system changes, and pronounced them satisfactory, even by her own exacting standards.

Saskia hits the intercom toggle, "Jago.  I've checked everything out, and made the changes that were needed.  Ship'll fly as good as ever.  Even if they did cut a frelling great hole in her hull.

"I've started cranking up the core.  You'll have full power in about twenty minutes.  Jump fuel board is showing green all over, so she'll be ready to go whenever you are, after the core is warmed up."

Feeling as if she simple changed scene and still doing the same job, Yas at least now gets to direct rather than carry and move.  She shows where to put what and engages in some nonsensical small talk whenever the opportunity arises.  Never knew when the next chance for chit-chat with a stranger will come or what little titbit of information.

All the while as the cargo is being loaded she ponders her idea on how to use her newly acquired fortune - saving for old age is nothing that crosses her mind for very long as she is used to taking a day at a time and not planning too far ahead, coming from being an ex-marine with a long career behind her.

"To see a world in a grain of wheat, and a heaven in a real shower, haul infinity in the bay of your fleet, and eternity in an hour.  That's what it means to work on a ship like ours," Yas states to none and all and then heaves a big and heavy sigh, although it does come across as acted when she grins afterwards.

With many thanks for both Tylen and Yasmine, Shui continues her work.  Of critical importance is the screening of the Low Passengers for medical issues - that's the first step.  Once she has vetted them (or, a rarity, turned them down), she turns to the High Passage 'guests' and examines their records for special needs before returning to their quarters.  After setting them up properly, she moves to the Middle Passengers and repeats the process.

It proves to be a very long day.  For everyone.  So at one point, Shui takes a break to set up a small, simple meal in the lounge, and invites the rest of the crew to attend.

"You gonna set that to music, Yas?  You could call it 'Tramp Ship Blues', or something." the ex-scout asks as he hears Yasmine's philosphical outburst.

"You know, we could ptrobably get a couple of instruments sent on as last minute purchases ...."  he muses as he helps direct the loading robots.

Ash nods silently as Conrad relates the story of the demise of the crippled Sword Worlder's ship.  He purses his lips as if trying to find something more profound to say, but ends up with just a sad look in his eyes.  "It's just not right.  The Deep Black is unforgiving, but that is just not right."  Even though he knows that dying in space is all too common, Ash still shudders slightly at the thought.

The chiming of the central computer in completing it's third and final verification sweep of Ash's credentials, saves him from having say anything more about it.  Ash turns to the console and sets to work trying to organize the displays and get the core crunching on all of the necessary astrogation calculations.  He'll double-check significant sections of the calculations by hand, but the computer core is probably only three or four orders of magnitude faster than him.  Still, the practice never hurts.

Hours later, Ash is still crunching away at the various calculations and display setups when Shui's meal invitation comes.  He rubs his eyes and stands up, stretching for a moment.  He glances at the pilot's seat to see if Jago is still there.  Then he starts shuffling off towards the crew lounge, making a mental note as Shui's voice reminds him, I still need to set up that initial physical with the doctor.  But it can probably wait until we are well underway - too much else to do in port.

"Who're you calling a tramp?" Yas says with mock anger and then chuckles, shaking her head.  "The only music I'm good at may come through a pipe, but it's more lead than air coming through it."

"But, if you're so inclined - and best be gifted too - then my all means.  I suppose I could manage a drum, though," she muses in turn and makes a few punching motions with her fists.

"Ah impeccable timing as usual," she states as Sushi calls for a meal just as the last of the load is done.  "Have yourself a good one now," she calls out to the guy handling the loaders and waves, making certain he is good and gone before she begins to retire towards the crew lounge.

With the containers of grain finally loaded and secured, and no sign of the computer components yet, everybody finally gets a little time to sit in the crew lounge and enjoy the simple meal prepared by Shui.

The passengers, apart from Conrad and Corlan, are due to arrive soon, and once they and the remaining cargo are aboard, then the ship, fully powered now and with full fuel tanks, will be ready to leave Garda Vilis.

For the moment, though, all is quiet.  There is time to relax, talk, and eat.

And, just as everybody is getting settled, the intercom chirps.  The indicator shows that the call is from the bottom of the ramp.  Probably somebody requesting access...

As he eats with the others, Tylen uses his data glove to pull up details of various musical instrument, with a grin at Yas he orders an electric beginners drum kit to be delivered to the ship forthwith, and for himself gets a synthesizer keyboard, along with 'teach your self'  programmes for both.

As the intercom chirps he looks  across to Jago and then towards Yasmine.

"Ack.  I'll be right back, just goin' to shoot, er, see who it is," Yas sighs and makes it appear an effort to get up again.  She sweeps up her scattergun and checks her side arm as she steps through to the cargo bay.  As she closes the hatch behind her again she calls out to Tylen, "Oh, and you'll regret getting me drums, I bet I'll play them out of tune."


Once the hatch is closed she makes her way over to the panel close to the ramp to try to figure out who might be coming around knocking.  Possibly the second delivery, but if it is a ramp-to-ramp salesman she plan to indeed shoot him, at least a little.

As she activates the screen she also activates the two-way speaker.  Even if she might see what it is the protocol also expresses a desire for confirmation.

"This is Security Chief Crow, state your business," comes the very businesslike inquiry.

"Yeah!Thrash metal ...." Tylen mumbles as Yas heads towards the cargo area.

Unconsciously, Tylen checks his own pistols - that are now back on  his hips after the trip planetgside.
This message was last edited by the player at 07:48, Tue 08 Sept 2009.

The chair creaks loudly as Jago collapses into it and leans back with a broad grin.

“It’ll be good to get back to work,” he says, waving his cigar expressively towards the ceiling and the stars beyond, “this down time is exhausting.”

He glances us as the intercom chirps, but Yasmin has it covered, as always, in fact everything is covered, as always, except perhaps the newest element in the crew.

“You’ve spent a long time on that clotting chart Ash, everything OK?” Jago asks as he fills his plate with a generous ‘Captain’s’ helping.
.

Ash looks up from his plate when Jago asks him about the astrogation calculations, and he stammers a bit, "Hmmm?  Oh, no!  Everything is fine.  Quite fine..."  He gives the Captain a weak smile, "You'll have to excuse me, sir.  I often double and triple check things by hand, especially on a new system."  He pauses for a moment, "It's not that I don't trust the system... Not at all, it's just a throwback to my time in the Scout Service, I fear.  Old habits die hard, I'm afraid."

He glances in Yasmine's direction, as the Chief of Security moves to answer the intercom.  Then he resumes eating, but states between mouthfuls to no one in particular, "It's... it's just that you never know when you are going to need to do those things by hand."  He reddens a bit, and then falls silent, as though he might have first hand experience with having to do exactly that.  But he says no more.

Ash quickly digs into what is on his plate and nods to Shui, "Doctor, this is very good.  You appear to wear many hats and know how to take care of your charges in all of them."  He holds up his tumbler with plain water in it, as a sort of toast, and says, "Thank you."

The face which appears on the screen, and which is repeated on the monitor in the crew lounge, is not human.  The voice, when it comes, is deeper than Yas', and has an odd, rumbling quality as it comes through the speakers.

"Hioilsal, assistant to the Aikhahehtarl of the Ealreao clan, respectfully requests that she be allowed to speak with those who saved the Aikhahehtarl's life."

Saskia stares at the monitor, and says, "Jago.  It's one of the Aslan we told you about, the ones we met last week on our way over to the scouts' observatory."

She sighs and adds, "I hope they haven't got more trouble."

Tylen frowns as he remember the incident, although a faint smile crosses his face as he recalls the aggressors surprise as they were met by laser bolts and shotguns, rather than the two injured Aslan they were expecting.  "I wonder what she wants?" he murmurs, genuinely surprised to see Hioilsal at the ships ramp.

"Ah yes.  No bad news, I hope?" Yas says as she triggers the lowering of the ramp.  Either they came to show their gratitude or they had run into more trouble, although the latter was less likely, she figured, partly due to the somewhat unstressed appearance of this Holosail character and the odds being against them asking for outside assistance.

Still, as the ramp lowers, she keeps all options and possibilities open, including having to use the weapons she is carrying.

Hioilsal comes up the ramp, accompanied by a male, who is large, even by Aslan standards.

The female Aslan is dressed somewhat differently from the last time she had encountered the crew of Profit Margin.  On that occasion she had worn a strictly utilitarian jumpsuit and a heavy, hooded coat.  Today she is dressed in a red robe, heavily decorated with gold braid, and she has a matching skullcap.  She carries a flat metal box under one arm, about thirty centimetres square, and perhaps five deep.  Her face is set in an expression which looks deadly serious.

The male appears unarmed, but is wearing some sort of armour, consisting of black ceramic plates over a dark red leather-like material.  To Yas' eye, the limited coverage of the plates, their ornate sculpting, and the presence of some kind of flowing alien script, in gold, on every piece, all suggest that the armour is more ceremonial than practical.

Hioilsal raises her free hand, palm turned towards Yas, demonstrating that her claws, including the aisai, the large duelling claw on the thumb, are all retracted.  Lowering the hand, she bows, and then yowls something in Aslan, before adding, "We come, with sheathed claws, to honour heroes."

As the gesture of "no weapons" were displayed Yas decides to follow suit and slings her scattergun over her shoulder.  She figures that they do come in peace, but just in case that one in a billion thing happens she suspects he is as fast on the draw of her sidearm as they are with their built in jackknife.

"We are honoured by your presence alone," she answers in kind as she steps back with a gesture offering them to follow her, offering a small bow.  She has little idea about the protocol, but knows a little about the big cats to at least avoid offending them - she hopes.

Moving over towards the hatch to the crew lounge she opens it and motions for them to step through.  She believes the male will fit through but in case, well, best stay back to give him the boot - or at least a gentle nudge, should it come to that.

Hioilsal steps through into the lounge, stooping to get through the hatch.  The male ducks, looks through the opening, and produces a sound something between a cough and a snarl, before stepping aside and taking up a position outside the lounge, but still where he can see through the hatchway.

The female Aslan glances back at him, and the male rumbles something, in a voice so deep it almost drops below the range of human hearing.  "He says that he would rather be permitted to stand guard outside the opening."

Her attention comes back to the room, and she looks around those present.

"The Aikhahehtarl has given instructions that those who played their part in protecting his life are to be rewarded."  Placing the box flat on the table, she touches two opposite sides, causing the lid to spring open slightly.  "So I have come to present you with these gifts."

She swings the lid fully open to reveal several objects in the box.  There are five small bags which look to be made of the same dark red material as the non-metallic parts of the male's outfit.  There are five pieces of black paper, covered with swirling silver script, and intricately folded into miniature representations of some six-legged animal.  And, finally, there is an envelope.

The female Aslan looks around the room, "Not all of you were present during the attack on the Aikhahehtarl.  I do not have gifts for those who were not present."

“And rightly so,” Jago says, standing as the Aslan enters. “Captain Lanza at your service. Please, make yourself at home and go ahead with your presentation, we’ll just watch.”
.

Ash stands and turns to face the Aslan female, Hioilsal, as she enters the crew lounge.  He unconsciously tries to smooth out some of the wrinkles in his coveralls.  Following the Captain's lead, Ash bows slightly to Hioilsal before backing away towards the wall - to give the Aslan plenty of room to present the gifts and to designate that he is merely a respectful observer of the ceremony and not a real participant.

Ash does make a mental note to ask the rest of the crew about it later.  Presumably, it must be a really good story...

Tylen rises as he realises that Yas is bringing the Aslan into the lounge and  just about manages to hide a smile as the taller Aslan male decided to keep guard from outside.  Suddenly he is aware of the gun belt at his waist and makes a mental note to get something less obtrusive.  Looking like a cowboy is fun, but perhaps not always practical on a ship of this type.

Not able to remove the weapons before Hioilsal enters the lounge he stands carefully with his hands clasped behind his back, almost in a relaxed 'at ease'  stance, as he waits for the others to take the lead.  Alright it might have been 'his' mission, but both Saskia and Shui were better at this type of thing than he was.  He shrugs mentally I suppose that is hours alone in scout ships for you ...

The Aslan bows her head to Jago, "Your crew do you much credit, Captain Lanza.  Their generosity in assisting strangers, and the courage demonstrated while doing so, speak well of the leader who assembled such a group."

She reaches into the box and draws out one of the small bags, which gives a faint *clink* as she lifts it.  "None of you are of the Fteirle, the Aslan as you name us, yet that did not prevent you assisting us.  The Aikhahehtarl has declared you honorary members of the Ealreao clan.  You are now Fteirle, and so you must be able to fight honourably, should you be challenged to a duel.  To that end... "

She tips the contents of the bag out into the palm of one hand - two gleaming curved golden blades, about ten centimetres long, each attached to a ring of the same metal and a short strap.  "These are ayloi, they are to be worn, attached to the thumbs, by non-Fteirle when dueling, and simulate this... "  She raises the empty hand, and a large claw extends, briefly, from its sheath at the base of the thumb.

The two blades are returned to the bag, and it is placed back in the box.

One of the paper animals is removed next.

"The Aikhahehtarl folded these himself.  They represent an animal, the khashayliio, which is native to our homeworld, Kusyu, and is said to embody the qualities that all of the Fteirle should strive for - bravery, devotion to family, defence of the home, and loyalty.  When unfolded, the writing explains your deeds, and declares that you are fiy, vassals, of the Aikhahehtarl, and that those who insult you insult all members of the Ealreao clan.  The colours of the paper and ink are symbolic of good fortune."

The animal is set back in the box, and the envelope removed.  "This contains a document which restates your deeds, and fiy status, so that there is no need to unfold the other documents.  This declares that you are under the protection of the Aikhahehtarl, and of the Ealreao.  That protection extends to any vessel you are travelling aboard in our territory."

The envelope is also returned to the box, "Please accept these gifts, presented in the name of the Aikhahehtarl."

Yas, having stayed near the door and glancing at the male from time to time - making sure she did not stare - looks over with her interest peaked as the jingling starts.

She figures there is little point in waiting for someone else to take the first step and steps forward.  Some of the others will not be as keen to receive weapons, she suspects.

"We shall persevere to uphold the honour you have given us, we accept the gifts gracefully and with humility," she says, doing her best to avoid (mis)pronouncing any names.  "Eye-loy, where they?" she asks as she reaches out towards the box, watching the female Aslan to see whether it was acceptable behaviour or not.

If this carries on, I'm going to end up with more Aslan honors and trinkets than the average Aslan.

It was becoming clear to her that the Aslan didn't believe in just giving cash rewards, at least were saving lives was concerned.  Last time it had been a personal gift for her, and a paper similar to the one they had been given today, which benefited both her and the ship.

She can feel her cheeks starting to burn as she steps forward, right after Yas, hoping to get this over before her face gets too red.

"It was our honor to assist." she says, a tremor of nervousness in her voice.  Then she adds, "Can you tell us, what happened to the injured men?"

Tyler allows Yas and Saskia to go forward and then takes his  turn.  ”It is indeed a great honour.” he says formally with a  small bow towards the Aslan.  However, a tight smile brightens his features slightly as he continues ”I will ensure that I practice with the ai-loy diligently" he offers the Aslan a slight nod, "if I should ever need them I would not want to disgrace the Aikhahehtarl completely.” he says recognising the difference in stature, sped and agility between and Aslan and a Dardian.
This message was last edited by the player at 12:08, Sun 20 Sept 2009.

The female Aslan inclines her head in a small bow to each of the humans as they step forward.  To each she speaks a brief phrase in her own language, the same phrase each time.

Saskia's query gains a more extended reply, "The wounded men were, as promised, placed in the custody of the local legal authorities.  They seemed to take the idea of an assault against foreign nationals engaged in a mission of trade and diplomacy quite seriously."

Hioilsal's lips pull back, revealing a formidable array of teeth, and flattening the tone of her speech, "We have also conducted an investigation of our own, and one Aslan crewmember has confessed to arranging the attack.  She was, it seems, secretly affiliated with a group who would like to see our mission here fail, in a spectacular and dramatic fashion."

"She has been confined to her quarters, until the Aikhahehtarl has considered the matter, and decided upon her punishment."

Tylen's ears prick up, figuratively of course, as the Aslan speaks.  "Is this group something we should be aware of?  If they wish to see the Aikhahehtarl's mission fail so badly, perhaps they might find an interest in us?  After all we are, sort of, associated with the Aikhahehtarl now." the ex-scout can't help but see the deeper implications of Hioilsal's statement.

"By the way, I only just realised what you said earlier on.  Please express our deepest gratitude to the Aikhahehtarl, we are honoured that the Aikhahehtarl  chose to fold the animals himself." he adds almost as an after thought, as the implications of the Aslan's earlier words seep through the 'surprise' of the situation.
This message was last edited by the player at 18:10, Tue 22 Sept 2009.

Pleased by the approval of her meal, by crew members both old and new, Shui quietly accepts the Hioilsal's offerings, bowing low as she accepts the gifts.  Certainly they are the most interesting 'souvenirs' she has garnered from a planet...and will be treated far differently than her other findings.  "My thanks, Hioilsal, for the gift your clan has offered," she replies quietly.  She does not offer modest words, or attempt to beg off - to do so might insult, and Shui has no wish to offend the proud creatures they assisted.

Another family, now.  Different again from her own, and more distant from that of the ship, but still.  She examines the folded paper creature with great care.

"I will carry this honor and memory close to my heart, and defend it as I would my own."  To the best of her ability, she suddenly decides, with a certain amount of sorrow.  Dueling.  An ugly thought - it seems unlikely such as she will ever be challanged, but one never knows.  Best I get myself back into some semblance of shape, then.

She listens carefully to the explanation of the reason behind the attack and Tylen's following question.  As Tylen suggests, it might prove to be troublesome for the Profit Margin.  Not that she regrets getting involved, but...forwarned is forearmed.

"It is unlikely that this treachery will have repercussions for you, at least in the foreseeable future.  The traitor has been isolated, and has no means of communication.  We did not tell anybody who had assisted us, only that we had received aid from some passing humans."

Hioilsal pauses, studying the strange human faces carefully, perhaps attempting to gauge their reactions.  After a few moments, she continues, "Only myself, the Aikhahehtarl, and Shtohwufiwhyu... " here she gestures towards the male, who still waits just outside the door, "... know of your connection to this ship.  Shtohwufiwhyu is the Aikhahehtarl's most loyal bodyguard, and considers you heroes."

"Add to which, even with a fast Fteirle ship, we are currently at least an Imperial year's travel from the border of Hierate space.  Two years to send a message, and receive a reply authorising action against you, even if they knew your identities.  And long before that two years is finished, their agent, the traitor, will either be dead, or back in Hierate space, as a prisoner."

"The Aikhahehtarl will report this incident to his father, who will certainly report it to the Tlaukhu.  While they may tolerate feuds and warfare among our own people, they will be less tolerant of actions which might spark a war between our people and the Imperium."

"I suspect our enemies will lose a lot of influence as a result of this.  Any future activities will be watched closely."

"As it should be for such a cowardly attempt.  May your clan grow stronger and more prosperous for each day," Yas says and offers a small bow of her head, having been listening in even as she was playing with the new and interesting weapons, already thinking of ways to conceal them in her outfits so that she always would have them ready, in case.  To anyone familiar with the Aslan it will no doubt also work as a potent deterrent, seeing these strapped to the fingers of a human.  Sure, copies are bound to be around, but this was craftmanship and no doubt easily spotted by anyone that familiar with the Aslan culture and weapons.

"Should your enemies ever turn their eye to us they may find it taken out," she comments, perhaps mostly to herself as she makes slow motions as if seeing in what manner the blades would best work to indeed pluck eyes out of sockets.

"Thank you for the gifts.  You - you do us a great honor."  Saskia says, with a shallow bow.

The blades she could do without, of course, since owning them is likely to encourage others to think she can fight.  Worse, she might believe them.  The paper animal is interesting, and she'd love to see how it's made, but she's smart enough to know that she shouldn't take something apart if she doesn't know how to put the freller back together again.

"And thank you for telling us about the injured men, and the traitor.  We will spread word of the noble Ealreao clan, and mock your enemies at every port."

The Aslan makes a noise which is possibly a laugh, a short burst of sound somewhere between a snarl and a whistle, "Spoken like Fteirle.  Our enemies are of the Khuaowayasawao clan, should you wish to tell others of their treachery.  It is likely that there will be a blood feud when the Aikhahehtarl reports their involvement in this to his father, the Ealreao'ko.  Then all will know of their part in this."

She bows her head to each of the crew members who had been involved in the incident out in the wilderness, and then to Jago and Ash.  "We must leave now, but the gratitude of the Ealreao remains with you."

Tylen watches the interplay, grinning as Yas makes a poor pun at the expense of Hioilsal's enemies, but then looking slightly surprised at Saskia's response  mock their enemies in every port? the idea surprised him, but from the Aslan's response it was apparently the right thing to say, and it certainly made him smile.

When Hioilsal bow to him as a sign of her imminent departure, Tylen bows back - unsure of what the precedent is he doesn't try to bow to deep or with any great style, but just sketches a normal human bow towards the Aslan.

When the Aslan prepares to leave, Jago returns the nod and where he has been leaning against the bulk head, he now finds himself standing up. Something about the Aslan seems to demand a show of respect, perhaps its their gravitas and formality, perhaps it’s their physical size and obvious strength or perhaps it’s that they eat wildebeests for breakfast. Whatever the reason, Jago’s reaction is automatic and unthinking and makes him smile a little.
.

Ash seems a bit surprised to be directly addressed by the female Aslan.  He has been standing the entire time in the background, trying to do his best to be part of the bulkhead.  Still, he is paying immense attention to the proceedings and he bows deeply, if a bit awkwardly, at the hips with his palms together as if in prayer, when Hioilsal acknowledges his presence.

As Ash completes the bow, he stands again and can be seen swallowing hard.  That and trying to blend in with the bulkhead again.

Saskia relaxes a little.  She had remembered enough from her last encounter with the Aslan to make a good impression.  With luck, the next time she meets any of them, it might not involve a Life or Death situation.

A casual encounter in a store would be good.  Or a friendly discussion about the merits of various drives in some bar.  Even a cocktail party would do.

Just so long as, for a change, nobody is in imminent danger of dying.

The engineer bows again, just to be on the safe side.  After all, you can't be too polite, especially with a people who regard any insult as a potential challenge to a duel.

Shui would be more than happy to let the matter of their involvement drop - it's possible their names might end up bandied about to the wrong ears - but certainly isn't going to shadow anyone's honor by bringing that matter up.  She doubts the Aslani would even comprehend such a way of thinking, in any case, and it might insult them.  Greviously.

She does, however, smile at Saskia's avowed intention to spread derision upon the Aikhahehtarl's enemies.  The engineer seems quite adept with races outside her own, obviously having a fair bit of talent and experience in that department.  Unfortunately, it seems that there will be a minor war over this, or at least some bloody skirmishes.  The doctor grimaces inwardly at the thought, but keeps her opinion to herself.

When Hioilsal offers her a bow, she returns it in the style of her world, slightly lower.  "It was my honor to assist," Shui quietly replies.  "An experience I would not have missed."

The Aslan, their business concluded, depart the ship, with an honour guard provided by Yas and Tylen - the closest thing that Profit Margin has to ship's troops.

Finally everybody gets to take the break they've been promised, even if it's unlikely to be a long one.

As it turns out, it lasts about an hour before the second cargo shipment arrives.  This is the speculative cargo, and the main oportunity for Jago to turn a profit.  Ten tons of computer components which, unlike the wheat loaded earlier, actually belong to Profit Margin's captain.  Somewhere down the line they will be sold on, hopefully at a tidy mark-up, and the crew will see their cut, in the form of salaries and possible bonuses.

There are no robots working on the loading this time.  A quick call from Jago produces two cargo handlers, equipped with a small forklift, who offload the half-ton pallets and stack them as directed by Tylen, while Yas compares shipping documentation with the pallet labels, checking quantities and item codes.

Some time during the operation, the first three passengers arrive.  Paying only for Middle passage, these three will receive only minimal steward service during their trip to Frenzie.

As the last of the computer parts are stowed in the hold, a small group of people arrive at the foot of the ramp and stand there looking a little puzzled, while being very careful to stay out of the way.  All are wearing identical dark-coloured robes, and carrying equally identical small suitcases.

After a brief period of confusion, one of them spots Yas and Tylen in the hold, near the top of the ramp.  He points them out to one of his companions, who points them out to another one, who finally calls up to them, "Excuse me.  I'm terribly sorry to bother you.  But would one of you be... " a glance at something which looks suspiciously like a boarding pass, "Captain Lanzo... sorry... Lanza of the starship Profit Margin?"

On the bridge, Ash notes the new arrivals on the external monitor. 

The engines, meanwhile, having accepted the various changes made to the ship system during the refit, and the further changes made to those changes by Saskia, are buiding up power nicely.
This message was last edited by the GM at 04:25, Mon 12 Oct 2009.

Shui, at the moment, is dealing with assisting the Middle Passage patrons to stow away their gear, and pointing out the amenities of the ship.  While they don't automatically receive the same level of service as those travelling High Passage, she has time, and it would be easier on them and the crew both for things to get sorted out properly in the beginning.  There are safety issues as well which must be dealt with - whether or not her passengers are experienced space travellers, Shui makes certain they get the basic rundown on emergency procedures aboard the Profit Margin, and their own place within those procedures.

Additionally, she inquires regarding particular nutritional requirements and any medical issues they may have missed on their boarding questionaire.

"Just to let you know, Jago, that everything's looking good back here." Saskia informs the captain over the intercom, "You could lift her now, and there isn't a ship in the system could keep up.  She's running so sweet she'd make the Emperor's private yacht look like a frelling pile of steaming groat dren."

She lifts her thumb off the switch and looks around the engine room, "Hear that, babies?  Mommy Saskia is very proud of you."

With a shrug towards Yas, Tylen makes his way down the ramp towards the newcomers.  "Captain Lanza is busy at the moment, can I help you?" he asks as he approaches the men.  "Are you traveling with us?" he asks when he gets closer, holding his hand out for a boarding pass.

Ash is really sure what to make of the gaggle of monks.  He watches with a mixture of amusement and apprehension as they tentatively approach Tylen and Yasmine.  He smirks a little, That seems like the lambs being fed to the wolves...  At least, the monks appear to be innocent and harmless enough.

Ash shrugs to no one in particular.  There doesn't seem to be a reason to be too alarmist yet.  He seen religious extremists before, and while they might dress similarly and carry the same suitcases as these guys, they generally are not as timid as these boys seem to be.

Still, while they might not be trouble in the violent sense, Ash wonders, if they will have any interesting habits such as dietary restrictions or requiring to face a certain direction even while in J-space.  He chuckled to himself, as he remembered one particularly interesting incident with an old Solomani man, who engaged in a particularly old Solomani orthopractic religion - Ishlan, Ash thinks it was called.  One that required him to face towards Sol every prayer period.  Figuring out how that worked in J-space had made life interesting on that flight.  Of course, as the astrogator, Ash had been required to do the calculations and then present them in person to him to ease the man's mind.  Go figure.

The two younger passengers, the woman in particular, express satisfaction with their staterooms.  The older man, Arvesh Kostekyn, pronounces his room, "adequate", and proceeds to give Shui a list of dietary requirements which consists, mostly, of things that he can/will not eat - strong spices, several types of vegetable, the juice of various fruits, a number of meats... the list seems interminable, and fairly random, to the point where a less patient person might have been forced to ask, "What about herbs with a letter 'H' in their names?  Can you eat them?"

At the ramp, the man hands the boarding pass to Tylen, "I believe so, yes."  It gives his name as "Abbot Victor Letts", and indicates that he has six low passage berths booked for a trip to Frenzie.  The number of berths matches up with the number of robed men standing here, and the ship ID is correct.  They really have booked passage on Profit Margin.  The ship will be carrying corpsicles this time out.

The man smiles nervously, "We're not late, are we?  Brother Magnus' claimed infallible direction sense managed to get us lost in the terminal.  Five times."

On the bridge, the external comm channel chirps, indicating an incoming call.

"You made it before take off, so you're not too late at least," Yas says with a friendly grin, content with standing there displaying her arsenal and serving as a deterrent to everyone and everything, just for the sake of it.

"No you aren't late." Tylen agrees with Yas, "Indeed we are still waiting for a small consignment of musical instruments ..." he  grins across at Yas. With an apologetic look towards the monks, Tylen keys his  data glove and sends a message to Shui indicating that the low passengers have arrived "Anyhow, if you would like to follow  me?" he says to the monks, leading them into the hold and towards the passenger area.

Ash is metaphorically shaken from revelry by the ship's comm.  He had been leaning back in his chair looking at the ceiling for a moment, daydreaming.  His mind wandered back over some of his past trips; memories triggered the presence of the monks in the cargo area.  The reticule on his small HUD eyepiece overlay instinctively moves with his eye to the blinking alarm that is now visible in his field of view via his link to the ship's computer through his handcomp and personal comm.

Ash leans back forward, sitting up straight and smoothing out a crease in his coveralls unconsciously.  Before Ash taps the dynamic ship's display sitting in front of him to acknowledge the call, he cleared his throat.  Then Ash answers in his rather flat voice, "This is the Profit Margin, Navigator Tescali.  How can I assist you?"

Through herculean effort, Shui manages to get through her discussion with Mr. Kostekyn without any sign of her weariness.  She truly understands when people have dietary restrictions, but paying for medium passage then expecting perfection in the food in accordance with one's wishes rather than health requirements seems a trifle beyond the pale.  Still, she smiles, nods, and takes notes on her dataglove, finally finishing far past when she had expected.  Leaving him to prowl about his compartment in search of something warrenting complaint, she leans against the wall for a moment, eyes closed.

Father, there are times when I understand your point of view.

It's a poor thought, though, even as a joke, and she discards it immediately.  Like as not, Kostekyn is fearful of his advancing age, his position, or any number of things, and seeks a means to control his life.  Lacking the ability to deal with the subject of his fears, he focuses upon minutae, a very human condition.  With that in mind, Shui trades in her ill-feelings for honest pity and heads out of this passenger area.

After all, the other two mid-passengers were quite polite and thankful.  One bad experience of three is nothing.

Touching her dataglove's holocontrols, she routes her next words to the crew's channel.  ++ Your pardon, but have any other passengers arrived? ++

"Musical instruments?" the Abbot enquires of Tylen, "Hopefully they will not be played too frequently, or in our presence.  All forms of music are an affront to Tsort."

The group of monks start up the ramp into the hold, and Shui steps through the hatch from the passenger section just in time to see their arrival...

Ash answers the comm call, and gets a burst of static for his trouble, followed by a woman's voice, "Sorry about that, I'm not used to these damned things.  This is Simone Selacci.  My husband and I have booked passage with you, and we're on our way over there now.  The driver says we'll be there in a couple of minutes, just in case you were worried that we weren't coming."

A pause, then, "Er... over?"

"You don't have to say 'over', dear." a male voice says in the background, "I'm sure the man isn't living in the Stone Age."

"Are they?" Ash responds as he leads the men into the ship, relaying the message of the monks' arrival to Shui.
This message was last edited by the player at 18:53, Tue 20 Oct 2009.

Ash instinctively flinched when the burst of static came over the line, he hoped that his cringe and the resultant distress did not show too much in his voice when he tried to answer Simone Selacci.  He pursed his lips then started, trying to keep his voice even, "Er... Roger that, Mrs. S-Selacci.  I... er ... we will be expecting you shortly.  I'll let our Chief Steward, Ms. Tiesi, know that you are coming."  Ash smiled inwardly, he was quite proud of himself that he had not stumbled over Shui's last name - for him, sometimes it was the little battles that mattered.

As finished, Ash left the line open, but first checked the passenger manifest to see, how to spell 'Selacci' (the double 'cc' always confused him) and then he pulled the chat window that the good Doctor had just initiated into the display foreground.  He tapped in a brief message there, figuring that everyone should likely get a heads-up: ++ 2 More (Mr. & Mrs. Selacci) en route.  ETA: 5 minutes ++

With that brief message blasted off, Ash turned his attention back to the comm, "Er ... Is there anything else that you wish to relay to us, before your arrival, Ma'am?"  Ash never really minded this portion of the job, but he would be the first to admit that it was not his forte either.
This message was last edited by the player at 05:33, Wed 21 Oct 2009.

"Infrequently as well as the playing part being questionable, so have a safe journey," Yas says with an not overly reassuring grin, but manages to keep to herself what goes through her head; We'll make sure to play for y'all when you're in the freezer then.

There are some weird ideas around and this one with the music must result in one mind-bogglingly boring life, with spikes of excitement trying to run away from all the music played around everywhere.  But then again, they do not look like the type of people to haunt shopping malls or bars.

"Huzzah," she mutters to herself as the last of the monks vanish out of sight, leaving her alone with how much else might be an affront to that Short fellow or whatever, as well as what they might actually do instead.  A crooked grin grows on her face, no doubt an affront to Tsort.
This message was last edited by the player at 12:17, Wed 21 Oct 2009.

Receiving first Tylen's message, then that of Ash, Shui vacillates for a moment before hurrying off.  Arriving in the cargo hold, the steward is relieved to find one group here, the other...not yet.  Five minutes.  If they continue to come in small groups...  Better to be running around than having people queue up.

"Thank you, Mr. Ogresh."  Thank goodness Tylen made this catch.  A quick nod for Yasmine, then she bows to the monks - a bow of greeting rather than with any religious overtones.  "Good day, sirs.  I am Shui Tiesi, ship's Steward and Medical Officer."  She offers a small smile.  "We are somewhat pressed for time at the moment - perhaps I can show you the facilities and give you somewhere to rest for a short time before I verify your medical files?"

OOC - Sorry, missed Tylen's message on the first read.  :( 

Abbot Letts gives Tylen a nod, and a smile, "Thank you for your assistance.  Tsort be with you." then turns to Shui, "Hopefully we will be in the Low passage berths, and entirely unconscious before the ship leaves the atmosphere?"

He seems a tad... eager... for a soon-to-be corpsicle.

Behind him, the other monks are studying the drab interior of the hold with the expressions of people who have just stepped into a grand cathedral for the first time.  One of them is peering closely at a notice near the ramp controls, which warns of the inherent risks of operating the ramp during fast atmospheric flight, or possibly informs operators that they should wipe up any beverages spilled on the panel - hard to say, nobody reads those things anyway.  Except this monk, it seems, who appears to be memorising it.

"You'll have to forgive my brethren, Doctor Tiesi.  Travel is a rarity for our order, and the interior of a starship is an exotic location which they will doubtless talk about for months to come."


There is a brief pause from the comm, leaving Ash sitting in silence, and then Simone Selacci responds, "No... I think that about covers it.  We'll see you... oh!  Wait!  Yes, one more thing.  Has anybody else contacted you today, trying to reach us?"

The steward is quick to reassure the Abbot.  "As soon as the ship is prepared, we can get you settled."  Euphamism for 'frozen', but Shui always likes to keep things on a more comfortable level.  With the dataglove, she does a quick check on timelines - when they plan to leave, when she can 'insert' the low passage clients.  It should be after powerup but before lift-off.

But when the Abbot apologizes, she offers a sunny smile in return.  "Not at all, Abbot.  In truth, it is refreshing to have passengers for whom space travel is a novelty."  Her voice lowers, just a touch.  "I often worry that it becomes pedestrian for most people - in my opinion, interplanetary travel should be approached with wonder, and perhaps a trifle more respect."  A wave of the hand indicates the ship.  "If you like, should I find myself with more time on my hands -" regrettably unlikely, considering the volume of passengers "- I can give any who desire it a short tour of the vessel."

Areas to which passengers are permitted, in any case.

"If you would follow me, I can bring you to where you can store your luggage, then to the lounge?"

Tylen grins as the abbot names his god in  benediction ...  sounds just like a strangled sneeze.. runs through his mind as Shui takes over.  Fortunately the one time scout has back is towards the group and is walking back down the ramp when he hears Shui wishing for more respect for inter-planetary travel ...  Well there is religion and religion he thinks as he considered the young woman's comments.

"Anything else coming?" he asks as he rejoins Yas.

"Not me, for sure," Yas comments with a sad sigh, "but we're expecting a couple, by the looks of the list."

She glances down at the pad in her hand and points to a couple of names.

"Mister and Missus Selachii or something.  Isn't that fossils or whatever?" she wonders, "probably true, fossils with their noses stuck in the upper atmosphere.  First class.  Snotty snobs, shoudl go well with the name of that diety, the sneeze or something."

Ash stayed his hand, which was hovering over the button to cut the connection to the Selacci's.  He had not really expected any more requests.  He looked puzzled for a moment, and then started to plow through the manifests and ship's logs concerning past recent comm connections or messages.  "Er... Ummm... Let me check for you, Ma'am." Ash said with a start.  He frowned slightly, as he typed away.

Noticing the rather pregnant pause that followed, he added "I don't recall taking any messages personally for you.  Just a moment, as I check the logs..."  Another pause.  "Are you expecting something from someone in particular?" he asked idly as he stalled, waiting for the query to come back for the computer core.  He drummed his fingers lightly on the edge of the console as he waited.

Tylen fiddles with his data glove for a moment and then his eyes widen slightly, "Apparently some sort of noble family from a planet called Ank Mopak in the Sto Lat sector, wherever the hells that is." he responds to Yas.

"So the first class bit fits.  I wonder if the others are aware of that? Tylen wonders aloud as he sends  a brief message to both Jago and Shui.

Saskia exits Engineering.  Everything is running just fine there and she doesn't need to watch the instruments to know it.  The faint vibration in the deck plates, felt through the soles of her bare feet, tells her the full story.

If anything starts to even get close to wavering outside the required parameters, she's confident that she'd know about it before the instruments anyway.  She grabs herself a coffee and wanders out into the hold, looking to get a last breath of Garda Vilis.  The largest space on the ship is packed solid with cargo containers and the engineer glances idly at their labels as she passes.  Some of them show the contents as computer components - metaphasic cores, rapid transfer datanodes, dual pass linkages - and she pays a little more attention to them.  Professional interest, and all that.

She approaches Yas and Tylen, who both seem to be at a loose end, "We all done here?"

"Assume they will assume you to know exactly who they are, that's how these high animals tend to work," Yas says to Ty and then looks over at Sassy with a grimace, "Almost.  Waiting for a overly rich couple, should I shoot them just a little to make a point, yes?" she asks with a bit of hope in her voice and strokes her weapons lovingly.

Tylen stands quietly, head cocked to one side as he watches Yas caress her weapons then, without taking his eyes off of the ex-marine, says in a deadpan voice "I swear, if she were a man, she would would be a flasher."

"What do you reckon?" he asks the engineer.

"No, nobody in particular." Simone Selacci responds, and then, after a brief pause, "We'd rather our departure was not publicised, is all."

"Ah... the driver says that the landing area is just ahead.  We'll be there shortly."

The monks follow Shui, first to the Low Berths, where they store their small luggage allowance in the locker located above each cryotube, and then, eventually, into the passenger lounge.  It's not an easy journey, as they have a tendency to get distracted by just about all of the things that Shui takes for granted - intercomm panels, winking telltale lights, warning notices...

This provides a brief interlude of entertainment for the two security officers and the engineer, as Shui leads her somewhat unruly flock back across the hold and into the lounge (where almost all of them find the iris valve almost too interesting to pass through).

Finally, the steward gets them all seated.

Ash tilts his head slightly, his expression shows signs of both bemusement and puzzlement, but his voice still comes out flat, almost deadpan, "Of course, Mrs. Selacci.  We'll see you momentarily."  If the delivery was meant to be overly reassuring, it probably could have used some work.  If it was meant to be distant and relatively professional, Ash's delivery was spot on.

Ash pushes from his console, locking the display.  He'd decided to head towards the hold via the lounge.  All of the preflight checks had been completed and their statuses secured in core.  Ash patches the central ship's comm through his personal comm, via his wrist computer - any additional incoming messages should still be routed to him.  He is definitely curious to see just what the Selaccis looked like in person.  Not that he wasn't about to spend an entire week (if not more) with them in relatively close quarters.  But, I might as well know what we are getting into. he noted to himself.

Ushering the monks through the ship proves akin to herding cats; Shui tosses a harried glance to Tylen and Yasmine as she moves past them.  Eventually they reach their goal, and with the monks finally ensconced in the lounge, Shui takes orders for beverages and begins to prepare them.  Likely tea, tea, and more tea...fortunately, she's well-stocked.  While the drinks are getting underway, she ducks her head into the cockpit.

"Mr. Tescali?"  It's better to do this sort of thing in person, whenever possible.  "Has there been any word with regards to our other guests?"  The steward waves a hand out into the lounge.  "I still require some time to run medical checks on the low-berth passengers."

Shui caught Ash in mid-stretch as he stood from the navigator's console.  Oblivious to her presence for the moment, there was a slightly disconcerting crack from both his spine and right leg as he worked out the kinks.

He whirls in place, slightly off balance, when Shui addressed him.  Ash looks at her, blushing slightly.  He smiles weakly, as he tries to regain his composure, "Ah... Ms. Tiesi, yes... The Selaccis will be here momentarily.  They 'can see the landing area'"  Ash tries his best imitation of Mrs. Selacci's accent.  Then he adds, "I was just going to the cargo ramp to wa-... er... inform, Mr. Ogresh and Ms. Crow about their imminent arrival.  They sound as though they might have a lot of luggage.  Take your time with the low-berth passengers, I'll see if we can't sta-... er ... entertain them for whatever time you need."

Shui studies Ash as he speaks, not having missed the popping of synovial fluid in his joints.  He could, she decides, benefit from a stretching regime - something to help him deal with long hours of sitting hunched over a console.

When he finishes, she touches her chin in consideration, calculating times and placement, working out the importance of efficiency versus politeness.  "I think," the steward begins slowly, "it might be best for me to be there to greet our High Passage guests.  I can ask the Abbot to keep his people in the lounge - I am certain they have much to discuss - while I deal with the Selaccis."  Already she's attempting to classify the accent, based on Ash's attempt.  Nothing springs to mind...yet.  "I would appreciate the assistance, of course - many hands, light work."

A smile brightens her solemn features.  "Then, when the passengers are all comfortable, perhaps we can set a time for your physical."

For those in the cargo hold, including Shui, freshly returned from getting the monks settled in the lounge with fruit juices and water (tea drinking, apparently, being a sign of decadence and an affront to Tsort) the arrival of the Selaccis is easy to notice.  The docking bay doors open (not the pedestrian entrance, mind you, but the larger vehicle access) and an older model hovercar drives in.  It pulls up at the foot of the ramp, dust and small pieces of debris swirling around the edges of the air cushion as the engine throttles down and the vehicle sinks to the ferrocrete floor.

Three figures step out of the hovercar.  Two are human, a man and woman in their early twenties, both dressed impeccably, and wearing enough jewellery that, had it all been combined in a single piece, it would surely have had a noticeable gravity well.

The third figure is a robot.  Basically humanoid in form, it stands a little over two metres tall, and has been painted in a style which makes it look like it's wearing a servant's uniform in the old Vilani style.  The machine, it's round eyes and voder making it wear an expression of perpetual surprise, moves to the front of the hovercar, where it opens a compartment and starts lifting out very expensive-looking luggage.

As it turns away from the ship to lift each item out of the car, a large key is clearly visible, turning slowly, in the centre of its back.

The man and woman stop at the foot of the ramp, and the man calls up to those aboard the ship, "Good day to you.  Jacob and Simone Selacci requesting permission to come aboard."

"Shall we refuse them?" Yas mutters quietly to Ty and Sas, but turns to the last of their passangers - who else could it be - and calls out, "Permission granted, Mr and Mrs Selachii," adding more quietly, "and the tincan, no doubt named James or something."

She puts on a smile that almost looks genuine, possibly because she does not try too hard.  A moment later it is gone and she is back to hefting her guns.

Shui waits quietly while Yasmine gives the permission - as 'ranking officer', it's only fitting that the security chief replies - all the while studying the clockwork robot, a single eyebrow raised.  She shoots a quick glance at Saskia, seeking the engineer's opinion on it.  "I have never seen such a mechanical," the steward notes quietly to the trio, wondering if any of them have before themselves.  "Cosmetic affectation, no doubt."

What it says about the Selaciis, she has no idea.

Once Yasmine finishes, the steward steps forward.  "Mr. and Mrs. Selacii?  Welcome aboard the Profit Margin.  Shui Tiesi, Ship Steward and Doctor - this is Yasmine Crow, Security Officer, Saskia Blake, Engineer, and Tylen Ogresh, Gunnery Officer."
This message was last edited by the player at 19:05, Tue 10 Nov 2009.

Saskia is about to give Tylen her opinion regarding Yas, but is interrupted when the two wealthy looking types appear on the ramp.  The engineer steps back a little way, moving out of their direct line of sight.

The 'bot is interesting, and confirms that these people probably are rich.  To the engineer, the machine actually says more than their clothes do.  Robots, particularly those meant to emulate people, are rarely cheap.  Especially not at the low tech level that clockwork would indicate.

And even if it isn't really clockwork, it would still cost a lot of credits.

Ash nods acknowledging and acquiescing to the doctor's very logical decision about the Selaccis and the monks.  He also acknowledges her request for a physical, this time speaking, "Of course, Ms. Tiesi.  I am ready and willing whenever you have the time."

He waits for her to exit the bridge first, following a few steps back.  When they reach the cargo area, Ash watches with a slightly bemused expression as the Selaccis arrive with their robotic help.  Ash tries his best to stifle it, but can't help making a slight cough and smirk as he hears Yasmine's aside about the robot's 'name'.

Tylen stifles a grin as the couple and their 'bot appear in the 'older model' hover craft and wonders just how much of the jewellery is bling.  With a nod at Shui's introduction he walks down the ramp to offer assistance.  "Can I help with those?" he offers.

Jacob Selacci performs a shallow bow, directed at Yas.  "Thank you." he says, and takes his wife's arm as the two start up the ramp.  Behind them, the robot continues unloading the luggage.

As Shui greets them, the man bows again, "Thank you.  Are our cabins ready?  The journey has been a little tiring, and we would prefer to get settled in as soon as possible."

He glances at Tylen, "It's quite all right, Butler can manage the luggage.  It is why he's here, after all."

As if to confirm this, the robot manages to lift all of the luggage at once, and starts to follow the couple up the ramp.  Encountering Tylen, it offers a friendly, "Good afternoon, Sir." in a completely human-sounding voice, with exactly the same upper class accent as the Selaccis.

"Of course, Mr. Selacci," Shui replies, wondering when she's going to have time to fit Ash's physical in during all of this.  It's rather necessary - one doesn't just fly off with an unchecked pilot.  "If you follow me this way, I can take you directly to your cabin, and show you the ship's amenities at your convenience."  She makes a mental note to find out if their servant has any special needs.

Particular power requirements, for example - filed under 'Things Saskia Needs To Know'.

"A tiring trip, then," she muses as she leads the first class passengers into the Profit Margin.  "One hopes it was not a difficult one, only long."

With a slight shrug Tylen steps back and allows the robot to carry the bags into the ship, but grins as butler offers a greeting.  "Hello." he replies, wondering how the Selacci's  will react.
This message was last edited by the player at 17:24, Thu 26 Nov 2009.

Saskia's eyes are fixed on the robot.  She hauls a battered looking hand computer out of one of the pockets of her coveralls and starts inputting data.  Still without taking her eyes off the 'droid.

Finally she smiles, shaking her head, and drops the computer back into her pocket.

In an utterly non-conspiratorial fashion Yas sort of slides over towards Saskia and tries to glance at the hand computer and once it is gone into the pocket she equally inconspicuously whispers into Saskia's ear, naturally no means influenced by her not too brief stint into the world of Marines; "What did you figure out?  That it's a giant sex toy running on power cells?"

If nothing else she figures Saskia's reaction will be interesting to see.

Ash smiled slightly as he listened to the banter of the rest of the crew.  He felt a little self-conscious as the 'new kid on the block' and so, he said nothing, and just watched the proceedings.  Seeing that everything was taken care of, and that the Selaccis would likely be as much of a spectacle once they took off, Ash decided that the bridge would be a more appropriate place for him.

He nodded quietly to Ms. Tiesi and the Selaccis as they passed and then to the rest of the crew in the hold as he took his leave and made his way back to the bridge.  Once there Ash settled back into his seat, fastened the buckles to his harness, pulled his dynamic console back into position, and started to watch the internal and external comms as well as the security sensors for a moment.  That is, before he started through the pre-flight checklist one more time.

With the Selaccis, led directly to their cabins, and their robot ensuring that the correct luggage is delivered to each of them, things seem to be proceeding smoothly.

That just leaves Shui with the monks to worry about.  A quick mental review of the numbers shows that, yes, all the low berths are accounted for, and there is one passenger cabin still unoccuoied.

The drives are warming up nicely, as Saskia is somehow aware, despite not actually being in Engineering.

Jago makes his way onto the Bridge, having spent some time in his office, doing... whatever it is that captains do when nobody's watching them, and settles at his own console.  "Preflight all done?" he asks Ash, then toggles the intercom stud with his thumb, "Captain to all crew.  Report status."

A bit formal, but if any of the passengers overhear it, it will sound professional.

Striding back toward the 'lounge' where she left the monks, Shui pauses to answer the captain.  + Captain Lanza, I need only to run a quick medical check on the low-berth passengers, though I would prefer to give Mr. Tescali his full medical as soon as possible. +  It looks like that's out of the question for the moment.

Studying her dataglove's holoscreen, she checks to see if there are any further passengers expected, and that everyone (including Corlan) is now safely aboard.

Saskia snorts at Yas's remark, and answers, "You should be so frelling lucky."

Followed by, "Not clockwork.  No way they'd get enough power to run it from a wound spring, and if they could, they wouldn't get the efficiency to let it lift all of those bags.  I'm guessing a fuel cell, or maybe - "

Jago's call interrupts her speculation, so she reaches for the nearest comm panel, "Drives all in the green, Jago, just waiting for you to give the word."

Ash looked up from one of the displays on his console and gave Jago the thumbs up, as he noted, "All bridge pre-flight checks concluded and signed off, Captain."  He leaned back in his chair waiting for the others to sound off.  As he did so, he glanced again at the passenger roster: Corlan DeSant, the Selaccis, Conrad, Mr. Kostekyn, and the younger couple - made seven.  Ash thought that he recalled Jago mentioning something about one of the low berths being free, but as it stood, there were six monks filling the six cryoberths.

Ash cleared his throat quietly, before asked "Captain, do we intend to leave one of the staterooms empty on this trip?  Are we still waiting on someone?  Or are we giving one of the sleepers a free upgrade?"  He gave Jago a crooked, if slightly conspiratorial, smile as he added, "You know, if we tried to be nice and upgrade one of the monks, I am not sure that Tsort would approve.  Upgrades might be an abomination."  Ash made a mental note to make sure that he brushed up on the tenets of Tsort as soon as possible.

"Drums and keyboards haven't arrived yet." Tylen reminds Yas before she makes her report on cargo.  Then he saunters back up the loading ramp and stands at the top looking out over the spaceport, "I wonder what they intend to do with the hovercraft?" he comments casually, before he glances across at Yas.  "You got your eye on that clockwork sex toy then?" he asks with a grin.

Grinning at Saskia's remark and pulling back her fist as if delivering a punch to the engineer's nose Yas shakes her head and then laughs briefly.

"I owe you one now, Sassy, I owe you one!"

She looks over at Ty as he speaks and shrugs, "They best hurry delivering them then or they have to send a shuttle after us, we got a schedule to keep, you know," and then glances over at the hover craft.

"Maybe they are tired of it and will let it fry during take-off?" she suggests to the former scout and adds, "I'm no mind reader so you best ask them, I suppose."

Then she squints at his last comment and seems to ponder the question.  Then she confides in him, in a theatrical whisper, "He is a looker, I'll say that.  And you're just too much man for me, or I'd be all over you by now.  I'm hopeless that way."

To herself she briefly thinks about the last time she actually did the deed, but brushes it aside as quickly.  Business before pleasure, after all.

(NPC'd)

Jago nods, but the unlit cigar moves from one side of his mouth to the other, and back again, before he answers verbally, "That's all the passengers I could get for Frenzie.  I asked Shui to check if one of the sleepers wants an upgrade.  Not sure if she has an answer on that yet."

Outside the ship, the hovercraft answers the questions regarding its fate by firing up its motors and moving away, towards the exit from the bay.

Jago activates the intercom switch again, "Shui?  Don't forget to see if one of the low berth passengers wants to travel warm.  Be as quick as you can on the medicals, and let me know as soon as you've got the sleepers tucked in."

He grins at Ash as, still addressing the Medic, he adds, "You'll have a week to give Mister Tescali his check-up, once we're in Jump.  I suspect that, like most Navigators with nothing to do in J-Space, he'll welcome any sort of distraction by the third or fourth day."

"Yas?  Tylen?  Cargo all loaded?"  He can, of course, see that the hold looks full, simply by pulling up a feed from the hold security cams, but there is a right way and a wrong way to do these things.
This message was last edited by the GM at 21:11, Sat 28 Nov 2009.

"Just waiting for the musical instruments, chief." Tylen responds with a shrug and a grin at Yas, as he acknowledges her description of her own sexual proclivities.  "Yeah ... right."  he comments softly.

There are times, Shui thinks, where she could use an assistant.  This is one of them.  Takeoff can be difficult, between settling all of her passengers (Steward) and getting the Low Berth people prepared (Doctor), while simultaneously ensuring the crew has whatever they require for comfort (Steward, and more of a personal task).

+ Of course, Captain Lanza. +  Entering the lounge, she moves to speak with the abbot, carrying out a quick headcount as she does.  "I'm ready to take you to your berth, now - there will be a medical check, then I can settle everyone and we'll be off."  She leans a little closer, lowers her voice.  "Abbot Letts, there is an unused cabin.  If one of your order wishes to remain awake during their travels, we can certainly accomodate them - the Captain's offer."
This message was last edited by the player at 12:36, Mon 30 Nov 2009.

Saskia takes the opportunity to head through to Engineering.  She knows everybody in there is behaving just fine, but she'll feel much for comfortable sitting where she can talk to them during the lift.  As she settles into her seat, a thought strikes her (or is possibly whispered to her by the fusion plant).

She activates the link to the Bridge, "Hey!  Don't forget to make sure you've sealed the new airlock before we leave the atmosphere."

"If they aren't here soon we'll donate them to charity.  A good cause any way you look at it," Yas says to Ty with a grin of her own.

"And yes, I couldn't possibly handle as much man as you are, being the delicate little flower that I am," she said in a surprisingly gentle and meek voice, batting her eyelashes at him.  The multiple guns and toned up physique somewhat spoiled the impression, however.

"Nah.  You'd just chop off the bits you wanted ...." Tylen responds with a grin.

"True.  Shall I do so now?" Yas says matter-of-factly and looks at Ty with raised eyebrows, putting a hand on her machete, ready to oblige, complete with a friendly yet forbidding smile.

The Abbott smiles at Shui, and shakes his head slowly, looking for all the world like somebody indulging the questions of a child.  When he speaks, his voice bears an odd sing-song intonation, as if he is reciting something from rote, "And Schaefer slept, and Holy Tsort appeared to him in his dreams, and said unto him, 'Lo!  You are blessed above all others upon this vessel.  They shall see the Dark Places of the Void, and the knowledge of those Places shall drive them unto madness.  You shall not share their Fate, for you travel in sleep, and shall not witness the Darkness.  This is My will.'"

"'And when he awoke, he found it was just as Tsort had pronounced.'"

The holy man pauses for a moment, "I'm sorry.  It is one of our most basic tenets that the true Tsortist must travel between worlds only in coldsleep.  To do otherwise risks the discovery of secrets which man was not meant to know.  Followed, shortly afterwards, by insanity."

"And probably death."

Jago chuckles at Saskia's reminder, "I thought I'd leave the door open, and let in some fresh air while we're in Jump.  Already done, Saskia.  Lock's closed and sealed.  And so's the ramp, now."  He reaches out and slaps the appropriate control, and Yas and Tylen find their banter rudely interrupted by the screech of the cargo ramp lifting off the ferrocrete of the bay.

The latches thump home and, officially, Profit Margin is not really on Garda Vilis any longer, at least as far as the local police are concerned.  A murder on board would now fall under the jurisdiction of the ship's own security personnel.

The Captain pulls the displays from Ash's console over to his own and scans them quickly, "Good work." he comments.  "Do you want to call Traffic Control and ask for clearance to lift in about thirty minutes, or shall I do it?"

"You'd blunt that on the tin man" he shouts across the squeal of the ramp as he heads back into the main  body of the ship.

Shui listens to the story, gleaning what information she can from it about the Order.  It does point out some interesting ideas they might have about the rest of the universe, but she only smiles, nodding to his refusal.  "As you wish, Abbot.  Please, follow me - we should get you safely asleep, then, and before that I still require basic medical checks on you and your people."

With that, she leads to them to her office/medical laboratory; following the medicals (brief, but detailed enough not to be perfunctory), she will get them safely ensconced in their sleep-berths.

"I meant you.  I'd be happy to provide this service," Yas calls out with a wide grin as she trails a bit behind the former scout, making certain everything is in order before she stops at a panel where she quickly makes a security check to verify that everything is indeed in order.

"I buy you a drum kit and now you are after my drum stick?" he asks rhetorically "Still ....   If you are that hard up, I will get you a selection of ..  err ..  alternatives next time we hit dirt ...." he continues grinning as he waits for Yas' security to check to be completed.

"So kind of you to offer, but I'll live.  And so will you, it seems, for now," Yas says with a sweet smile and voice alike.  "'sides, you'll regret the drum kit once you hear me play it out of tune..."

"I got an electronic set, they are self tuning ...." he grins across at the ex-marine "So you might be off the beat, but you won't be out of tune."

This message was deleted by the player at 22:46, Fri 04 Dec 2009.

"Oh, but you've never heard me attempting to play, not yet at least.  I can clap out of tune, even.  Beat, now that I've got beaten, kinda comes with the training, you know, but the only tune I'm good with is the radio variant," Yas confesses and then, after a pause with a suspicious look at Tylen, adds, "...unless the set you're talking about is, y'know, 'alternatives'?"

Ash inclines his head acknowledging the Jago's compliment on his work, then has to stifle a chuckle when asked about his preference when dealing with Traffic Control.  He states plainly, starting slowly as he measures his words, "Perhaps, 'want' is too strong a word, Captain."  Ash smirked slightly before he continued, "However, it is your prerogative to delegate the duty, for whatever reason; for example, if you find it to be too tedious or distasteful.  I am more than willing to request flight clearance."

With that Ash toggled the dynamic display that controlled the ship's external comm opening a connection to the Garda Vilis Traffic Control. "Garda Vilis Flight Control," he stated in his monotone 'professional' voice, "this is the Profit Margin requesting clearance for departure in thirty minutes.  That is an estimated departure time of eighteen-twenty hours.  Do you copy, Flight Control?"

"Garda Vilis Downport acknowledging request Profit Margin.  Please stand by for data squirt.  Have a safe journey."

Moments later, course information is scrolling across Ash's console, and repeated on Jago's.  The Captain nods, "That's good.  No traffic problems flagged.  Keep monitoring the channel though, just in case somebody Jumps a battlefleet into orbit.  Happened at Arkadia, and this system is a much bigger target."

He activates the intercom, "All hands.  We'll be lifting in thirty minutes.  I want everybody at... " a pause, Profit Margin is a merchant ship - it doesn't really have a battle stations, at least not one that Jago has ever called for.  Though, now that he thinks of it, he'd be willing to bet that Yas has planned something out, "... I want everybody ready, in case of anything unexpected on the way to the Jump point."

Shui works through the health checks on the monks.  They all seem to be in good shape, something the Abbott attributes to their healthy diet, in which anything more exotic and tasty than bread and water seems to be tempting the wrath of Tsort.  It's perhaps a good thing they'll be spending the whole trip asleep, since the ship's stores don't have a lot which is that bland.

In Engineering, Saskia's drives are running smoothly and green markers are spreading across her main instrument display at a steady pace...

Now on to the rough part.  With the physicals complete, Shui assists the monks in preparing for their time in coldsleep with the proper doses of chemicals, and gives them time to get comfortable in their chambers.  As they fuss and fiddle, she runs one last diagnostic on the units, her concerns at a peak.  She hasn't lost anyone yet, and doesn't plan to on this voyage.

A final check, and she remote-links her data glove to the coldsleep monitoring system, to give her an alarm should any fluctuations occur in their operation or the life signs of the passengers.

All that remains is to push the button, once the monks are settled.

Shui gets the monks settled with ten minutes to spare.  The first of them is already asleep, his core temperature dropping to hypothermia and beyond even before the final berth is sealed.  Their leader insists on going last.

Even if the Abbott, by some freakish chance of metabolism, isn't completely asleep by the time the ship lifts, the internal grav and inertial dampers will ensure that he doesn't feel any movement...

The chronometer on Jago's panel blinks through the last minutes, and then the final seconds, and Profit Margin rises into the air, dead on schedule, graceful as a bird.  She slips into the traffic pattern, transferring to new vectors as required, and climbing easily away from the port.  Two kilometres up, and four out from the perimeter beacon, the drives ramp up to a full two gees, and the climb becomes steeper.

"If you have anything you meant to leave here, you're too late." Jago announces, pulling Ash's own course up, ready for use.  Once they out of the Traffic Control Zone, they'll be free to take whatever route they want.

Minutes pass, until finally, "Garda Vilis Downport to Profit Margin, on my mark, you will be exiting the Regulated Traffic Zone.  Five... four... three... two... one... and mark."

"Thank you, Garda Vilis.  Profit Margin adjusting course to... two four niner point three seven and heading for the Jump limit."


Things go smoothly.  The ship travels out from Garda Vilis, and reaches the hundred diameter limit a little over five hours later.  Saskia confirms the drive status, and Jago dims the lights briefly (because passengers love tradition).

And suddenly, where Profit Margin was, there is now only an expanding cloud of rapidly dissipating photons and other, more exotic, particles.