"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?"