Profit Margin falls through Jump Space towards her destination.  Sensors detect mass shadows around her, and constantly compare their positions to information contained in the navigational database.  When they match, within a carefully defined margin of error, an alarm chirps on the Bridge, echoed in Jago's quarters, and in Engineering.

A notification displays on screens in all three locations: JUMP EMERGENCE: 180 SECONDS.  The digits start to count down immediately.  At sixty seconds they turn red, and a warning tone sounds.

Another tone sounds at the thirty second mark.  And again at ten, and five seconds...

... 004
003
002
001
000

And Profit Margin drops back into N Space.  Several alarms sound on the Bridge, none of which are part of the usual Jump exit procedure.

A new message flashes on every screen in the crew section, also not standard procedure.

WARNING: PROXIMITY ALERT.
This message was last edited by the GM at 17:39, Fri 25 Feb 2011.

At the three minute warning Tylen straps himself into his seat properly and turns to face the screens and controls that operate his turret, although he leaves the door to the bridge open so that he can hear the general conversation.

As soon as the first alarm sounds, Tylen's eyes widen and he slaps the 'close' control on the console in front of him.  As the door to the outer area closes he settles back into his seat and starts scanning for for irregularities.

"Shyte. he speaks softly as soon as the proximity warning appears, and he swings his viewpoint around in a complete circle as he searches for the source of the alarm.
This message was last edited by the GM at 17:40, Fri 25 Feb 2011.

Slaved to the emergency system while she is aboard, Shui's glove lights up.  Instantly, she triggers the holocontrol for the stateroom intercoms.  + All passengers - we are about to begin high-acceleration manuevers.  Please strap yourselves down. +  The dirty dishes from the crew's lunch go into the sink and she clamps down the sink cover, for anything could become a lethal missile if things get hairy.  Dropping into a chair, the Steward scans the lounge for any further large or pointy objects, and begins flicking into the private intercom systems of each stateroom in order.

+ Ms. Taylor - are you secured?...Mr. DeSeant - are you... +
This message was last edited by the GM at 17:40, Fri 25 Feb 2011.

Ash sits on the bridge, idly biding his time with the latest copy of Astrogation Today.  He had always been particularly interested in the Penrose-Gyutami variation of the Gorstan topological transformations used most basic jump and astrogation calculations, but the new three-fold symmetrical perturbation corollary for stability and route re-optimization studies introduced by Gzarrourg and Garzuno made it particularly interesting for him.  Ash has been busily testing and retesting calculation using the various algorithms.  He only regrets that he is unable to read the original article in Gvegh - he knows a smattering of that Vargr dialect, but really, the technical terminology would have been beyond him.

As the jump transition timer counts down, Ash seems relatively unconcerned.  But he does look up at the moment of transition and when the uncharacteristic alarms sound he immediately tosses the periodical to the side, as well as pushing his scratch calculations to the deep background.  Ash busies himself with pulling up external sensor data and starts to reconcile the data that appears to have triggered the alarms.  His fingers tap out a quick staccato rhythm as he tries to peruse reams of data at a glance, having previously configured his dynamic displays for color coding of just such anomalous information.

He glances at Jago, as he gives status report, "Captain, I'm tapping the external sensor feeds and pushing to the tactical displays.  I'm still analyzing the data, but I don't recall any asteroid warnings for System 728-907, previously..."  Ash hopes it is something 'innocent' like a stray meteorite, but prepares himself mentally for much worst.
This message was last edited by the GM at 17:41, Fri 25 Feb 2011.

"I hope it's a new McBurger joint, I've been itching to blow one of those up since their last commercial," Yas mutters to herself as she waits for the readouts to tell her where and what the offending proximity is.  It could be anything from some useless space rock to a drifting ship or a more alive and hostile variant of the latter.  For the sake of one passenger in particular she hopes that is proves to be something utterly void of life.
This message was last edited by the GM at 17:41, Fri 25 Feb 2011.

Jago swears under his breath and alternates his attention between the the viewports and the sensor displays that Ash is sliding across to his panel.  Yas and Tylen, meanwhile, are using their own dedicated systems to search surrounding space for the offending object or objects...

One by one the answers come in to Shui's urgent calls - the passengers have responded to her initial warning by making for their nearest seat with any sort of restraints, and all are currently safely strapped in.

The various sensors begin to build up a picture of the volume of space around Profit Margin - the ship is surrounded.

It appears that they have emerged from Jump near one edge of a cluster of objects, ranging in size from a few centimetres long to several metres.  The objects are widely scattered, the closest of them being around five kilometres away.  The ones closest to Profit Margin all seem to be moving in the same general direction and at approximately the same speed, somewhere around 120 metres per second relative to the ship, though a few are moving much faster.  Most of them seem to be emitting EM radiation at levels which are significantly above the normal cosmic background radiation, mostly in the infra-red bands.
This message was last edited by the GM at 17:41, Fri 25 Feb 2011.

Tylen’s eyes flick across his boards as the analysis of vectors and velocities flicks across his screen.  His eyes widen slightly at the number of objects that are reported, and the information about radiation levels is pushed towards the back of his mind, as he allows the computer to select the object that is the most danger to them.

Instinct kicks in as a target is selected, and he automatically chooses the laser as his weapon of choice.  For years in the scouts he had it drummed into him that lasers are easier, and cheaper, to reload than anything that needs physical ammunition.  His fingers flip across the controls and a beam licks out towards the intrusive object.

Somewhere in the back of his brain, his thought processes tick over as he watches for the results of the shot.  His fingers poised to select another target the moment success is confirmed, his mind thinks  Hot.  What could have made them hot? as the information about infra red radiation sinks in.
This message was last edited by the GM at 17:42, Fri 25 Feb 2011.

Ash instinctively starts to calculate vectors and speeds.  His extensive experience as a navigator kicking in and taking over; he watches the displays and lets his mind work the numbers quickly and efficiently.  He barks out a couple of quick numbers to Jago - giving the Captain more than enough information to match the speed and direction of most (but, unfortunately, not all) of the objects around them.  Ash lets his fingers work the displays, as well as the calculator to confirm the mental calculation values he has generated - but he knows they are correct (or, at least, correct enough) to over seven significant figures.

Ash also knows that seconds count here; but he also trusts that the Profit Margin should be able to match common speed of the objects within a few seconds - five of six seconds tops.  And once vectors are matched, that should significantly mitigate the risks from a majority of the debris.  "Captain, we should try to steer clear of the debris field." he notes dutifully, even if he is merely stating the obvious.  But, as navigator, it is up to Ash to propose a route, and he does so.  One that moves with the bulk of the objects, but breaks off gradually.

Of course, matching vectors doesn't yield additional information about what the debris is.  Unfortunately, the fact that some of the debris is still hot narrows down the likely possibilities.  Ash purses his lips, "Also, Captain, given the thermal profile of the debris.  I am going to have to venture that generating event happened only a short time ago."  He pauses and measures his words, "Given the size distribution and that the preliminary composition data I am seeing - I ... I think that we should be on high alert.  This debris field is likely man made.  We are flying through the remains of the makee - and the maker is probably near by..."
This message was last edited by the player at 06:28, Tue 01 Mar 2011.

"Jago, you've got full power, if you need it." Saskia reports in from her station.

Of course he has full power, there's no reason he wouldn't have it, but at least now he knows.  She shunts the power flow diagnostics over to one side, where they wont distract her, but she can still see them.  A sudden flicker on the power displays is hardly even noticed - upper left corner is weapon systems - laser to be exact.  Tylen must be up to something.

New displays bloom in the centre of her panel, drive system monitors.  She has a feeling that the thrusters are going to be working hard any second now.

Jago starts the ship turning and activates the drives, taking them up to their full thrust as quickly as possible.  He gives Ash a quick nod of acknowledgement as he kills the alarm, then answers Saskia, "Thanks, Saskia."  The ship starts to accelerate at its maximum two gees, and the inertial compensators, tied in to the drive controls, match it easily.

Tylen fires the laser.  The target is small, and at such short range it has a high apparent velocity compared to the ship.  Profit Margin's sudden turn doesn't help.  The beam misses.  Still, with the ship accelerating, the display showing the time remaining until collision is starting to slow its countdown.

Information continues to flow from the sensors to various displays around the ship.  The entire cluster of objects is expanding from a central point in space-time, the computer tracks them back to that point, about 420 kilometres away and 55 minutes ago.

Images start to appear as optical systems focus on some of the larger objects.

Pieces of ship, in bright primary colours, predominantly reds and yellows.  Markings are visible on some parts, not Anglic, so not an Imperial vessel.

Secured in her seat - there's no point in her hurrying to the Bridge and disturbing all and sundry with pointless questions, Shui again keys her dataglove, this time sending the message out as a low priority, for any with the time to respond.

+ All passengers are safe and belted in.  Please advise if I need to proceed with any tasks. +

She doesn't know what help she would be, but...

The thrusters flare, full-bore.  She can't feel much of a change due to the compensators, but the thrum through the hull is unmistakable.  Mouth dry, Shui unstraps her belt.  Pushing herself up, she begins a full-out sprint down the passegeway toward her quarters - 'medical bay'.

If something goes wrong, if someone is injured, seconds might count.  It's worth the risk of sudden inertial failure.

"Frak it." Tylen grunts as he swings the laser back on  to target, focus his fire on that one item of debris most at risk of striking the ship.

Everything else seems to fade into the background as that one single target seems top expand to fill his senses.  For the moment, nothing will burst his small almost meditative bubble of concentration.
This message was last edited by the player at 17:26, Sat 26 Feb 2011.

Ash continues to track as many of the objects visually as he can, watching various pieces of debris with almost morbid fascination.  Another segment of his mind is preoccupied with the math and the topologies - the epicenter and time of origin all helping to build the working theory.  Seeing the estimated event time and location, he ventures half-heartedly, "Could be a misjump..."  But Ash (and he is pretty sure the rest of the crew) know what is the more likely reason - or at least the worst case.  And, thus, better to be prepared for something hostile remaining out there; better safe than sorry.

He starts to open up the sensor sweep for a wider angle array, to look for anyone or anything else in the area.  It wouldn't due to be surprised - otherwise, they might wind up being another debris field to be avoided.  Ash purses his lips at the thought, stamping it down and pushing it to the side.

Ash also starts to scan the common hailing frequencies.  He doesn't broadcast anything yet, but it would not due for the crew of the Profit Margin to be missing any urgent or emergency hails in their haste to avoid the debris field.

Tylen keeps a finger on the laser fire control, until finally he succeeds in hitting the target.  A 250mW beam laser, at a range of little more than a kilometre, is sufficient to vaporise the piece of debris...

The ship accelerates, matching velocity with the majority of the debris in the immediate vicinity and vastly reducing the chances of a collision.  Jago nods at Ash's suggestion, and says quietly, "Might be... might be... "  He sounds doubtful regarding the possibility of a misJump. 

Jago keeps the drive running just a little longer, and Profit Margin starts to overtake assorted wreckage.  With the ship moving just a few metres per second faster than the debris, he cuts the thrust.  Now the threat is from directly ahead, and the velocity is low enough that they should have plenty of time to deal with anything that looks dangerous.

"Shui, I think we're okay for the moment, but please stay alert.  Thanks."

+ Indeed, Captain?  Good news, then. +  Breathing a sigh of relief, Shui keys off and slowly stares about her cramped quarters.  "Stay alert," she murmers, recalling the old joke.  "The galaxy needs more lerts."  Silently, the doctor finishes preparing her 'black bag', then strides back into the hallway, heading toward the bridge.

With the bag in-hand, proximity is more valuable than being in the med-lab.  Besides, she can't see anything from there.

Opening a channel to Tylen Yas notes that "Well, well, on the second try.  Looks like you do need the practise, Quadman."

Then, a channel to the bridge as well.  "Looks like some Vargr met someone or something that didn't like them.  Takes me back, it does.  May still be about, although you can go far in the time since this happen, if you want."

She sets her scanners to maximum, ignoring that it will pick up a lot of false alerts, but better that than missing something if it is indeed still out there.

Tylen grins at Yas's banter, and the reply comes quickly and easily to his lips.  "At least I manage to get a lock on it and then get a couple of shots off ..." he responds highlighting the fact that Yas didn't even manage to get one shot off.

However, Tylen concentrates his scans on the immediate area, looking for anything else that might be dangerous to the margin.

"I let you take it, kid.  And you evidently need the practise," Yas replies in a matter-of-fact tone.  "It was 15 long seconds out, plenty of time.  So I waited for you.  But had you missed last I'd been forced to shown you how it's done."

"Of course you did Yas." Tylen responds, but you can hear the grin in his voice.

"Kids," Yas replies with a sigh and then focus on her duties.  Maybe next time she will shot first and tell him later, once he awakens.

Ash glances at the tactical displays.  But with the slight pressure from the acceleration dampened by the inertial compensators, Ash is confident in Jago's abilities to get the Profit Margin out of danger.  Instead he pulls up sensor sweeps of the larger pieces that they are passing passes any discernable markings through to the recognition software in the library.  He magnifies and rotates the visual readings to try and get a better handle on what he is seeing.  Trusting in the alert systems, Ash pushes communications scanner and proximity displays to the background while he the begins to scan the data packs to see if he can correlate anything.

The markings are distinct and garrish enough to perhaps connotate a connection to the Vargr...  Ash purses his lips, while they are on the frontier, it is rare for Vargr incursions.  "Glory hounds." he mutters quietly with a slight shake of the head.  Perhaps it is merely paranoia, but to Ash the timing is far too fortuitous to be purely conicidental.  He lets out a measured exhalation and redoubles his efforts to better the ship's computer's efficiency in identifying the remnants of the ship that surrounds them.

Some engineers would be content to sit at their station and watch the instruments.  Saskia isn't.

While she does keep a careful eye on the panel, she gets up occasionally and physically checks the drives.  A touch here, a few words there.  Reassuring the machines, and herself, that everything is running properly.  It's not that she doesn't trust the instruments -- it's more a case that she trusts her own senses more.

At the moment she has her hands resting on the casing of the port manoeuver drive's HEPlaR intermix chamber, feeling the vibration of the engine as it provides the thrust to keep the ship safe.  Anybody walking into Engineering would doubtless find it odd that she is quietly singing a child's lullaby to her engines.

Ash manages to focus the ship's optical sensors scan the debris, while the computer runs pattern recognition software on the markings on the wreckage.  Eventually it displays a message...

SCRIPT IDENTIFIED: VARGR TEXT.  GVEGH LANGUAGE.  PROBABILITY: 93.75%

Yas and Tylen rotate their turrets to point directly ahead.  For the moment though, there is no immediate danger.

Jago spots part of a symbol emblazoned on one piece of wreckage, "There."  He pulls the image off to one side while others continue to flash across his screen.  "Corsairs." he says to Ash, indicating the partial depiction of a burning skull.

He opens a channel to the gunners, "Looks like some Vargr pirates might've run into somebody who didn't just fall over and die.  Keep your eyes open."  Not that he needs to tell them, but at least it will show them that he is paying attention.

Finally he switches to a direct link to Shui.  "I'm going to take us out of the debris field in a few seconds.  Can you go across to sit with the passengers, just in case?"

Pausing in the hall, Shui feels a pang of distress at the captain's request.  But it's an understandable, despite the fact that it takes her far from what transpires.  The steward accesses her dataglove again.  + Certainly, Captain Lanza.  The passengers are in their quarters, but I will remain in the nearby lounge. +

A flick of her finger switches off a holokey, and she changes direction, heading into the cargo bay to make her way to the passenger lounge.

She doesn't argue, though something inside her rails against it.  If the ship is damaged...if people are injured...her responsibility, even to the passengers, is to save the crew first.  The crew is vital to the survival of the ship; without it, the passengers as a whole are doomed.  But Jago doesn't need an argument right now, and the situation sounds under control.

She'll take it up with him later, Shui decides as she navigates the cargo bay.

"Yeah, Vargr's biting off more than they can chew.  Reminds me of the good old days," Yas replies to Jago with a tone of voice that suggest that perhaps the good old days were not always that good.

It may be a merchant with a bite or something less friendly.  Either way she would spot it long before it spotted them if she had any say in it, and if the thing indeed was still around.

Ash nods in acknowledgement to Jago's assessement.  He had come to the same conclusion, just about the same time.  He purses his lips before noting, "Best behavior, Captain?  While we aren't corsairs..." he muses out loud, "perhaps the natives are more trig-..  er... restless than usual?"

Ash continues to scan the tactical displays anything out of the ordinary, while he starts to work up a route to the main colony.  "Plotting course to the downport, Captain..."  Then Ash glances at Jago, "Or are we just going to just try to skim some water and leave?"  Ash is not sure the latter will really go over well with tensions so high...

Jago takes a deep breath, and lets it out in a long sigh, "Might have been somebody like us, a soft target surprisingly able to fight back," Jago responds to Yas, "Or there might be a Navy ship lurking about.  Or it might be a falling out among thieves.  I'm not going to start taking chances."

Then to Ash, "Aim for a nice ocean, we'll set down well away from land and let the Margin drink her fill.  We can refine the fuel as we scoop it.  With this debris up here, I don't know who's in charge down there, and since we'd have to refine any fuel we bought at a backwater port like this one anyway, I don't see the point risking a landing there."

"Which reminds me... "

"Saskia.  Just to let you know, we're going for an ocean skim here."  He takes his finger off the comm before the Engineer can reply, and activates a ship-wide channel, so that everybody will hear it.

"Your attention please.  I intend to avoid the port here, and skim fuel from the ocean.  It'll be just as good as anything we can buy hereabouts.  This means we'll be setting down in mid-ocean.  There is no cause for alarm - the ship is, naturally, watertight."

"Our steward will be available in the passenger lounge shortly, should you have any questions or concerns.  Thank you."

"Ocean refuelling!" Saskia snaps, "Frelling ocean frelling refuelling!"

She gives the power plant fuel pump a hug on the way past, "Don't worry.  I'm going to check the processor and the filters now.  You'll get good fuel.  You never know your luck.  Maybe Jago will fall in and be eaten by - eaten by one of those big fish things.  What are they called?  Shacks or something?"

Ash nods and notes dutifully, "Aye, Aye Captain.  Picking a 'nice' ocean."  The alteration to the plotted course is minimal - less than a fraction of a fraction of a second of a degree of arc, given that the target is only a couple of thousand miles away - a drop in the bucket really, given that they were hundreds of thousands of miles away currently.  Still, down to seven significant figures, it mattered.  And at the very end, it would definitely matter.

As for 'nice', Ash presumes discrete and calm are the most reasonable interpretation of the word.  The former he can make a guess at given the topological maps of the main planet.  The latter will require recent telemetry data, which Ash has to monitor, especially as they get closer.  For now, a best guess will do.

The revised plot is pushed to the tactical display and the coordinates and calculations relayed to the computer, the Captain, and his console.  The detailed destination map revises immediately with an advisory that there was no starport at the target.  Ash acknowledges the warning, silencing the alarm.

He leans back in his chair for a moment, pushing against his harness.  Ash glances up at the displays and notes, "Course correction in, Captain. New plot up - I'll monitor weather and revise as necessary."  Even though he is well aware that the information is redundant.

Once Tylen is comfortable there is no immediate risk from more of the debris. he allows his turret and sensors to turn a full 360 degrees, to try and get some idea of the wider picture, before allowing the  turret to return to the forwards position.

"What's the weather like down there?" he asks on the crew channels when Jago talks about ocean refuelling.  "Can we catch a few rays and play quoits up on the top deck?"

"Thanks, Ash.  Oh, while I think on... can we drop the 'captain' thing?  I prefer 'Jago', or 'skipper', or 'boss' or almost anything.  I even prefer some of the things Yas and Saskia call me.  'Captain' is okay for talking in front of the passengers, or on special occasions, but the rest of the time it seems too formal."

Jago starts Profit Margin accelerating again, racing to get ahead of the debris front before turning the ship towards the planet, which lays some 650,000 kilometres away.

Once they are moving again, he starts calling up planetary details.

"Temperature looks to be ideal for shorts and no shirt." Jago responds to Tylen, "So a bit of sunbathing  might not be out of the question.  We'll be in the water for a few hours, at least."

When Shui gets to the passenger lounge, the door to Keryn's cabin is open.  She can see the young woman laying on her bed.  Gravity in the cabin has been ramped up to constant 0.8 G over the week in jump, and Keryn seems to be adapting to it quite well.  "Excuse me... can I talk to you for a minute, please?  I have some questions."

Finally she reaches the passenger lounge, her mood greatly improved by the lack of 'emergency' in the Captain's tone as he speaks over the PA.  Hearing Keryn's call, Shui cocks an eyebrow at the open door, but refrains from comment - in truth, she hadn't told everyone to keep their doors shut.  Hurrying over, she stands in the room's doorway, gripping the frame tightly with her left hand...just in case some kind of surprise springs on Profit Margin.

As one man with whom she used fly would say, 'T-plus five minutes is still an emergency'.

"Of course, Ms. Taylor," she assures the woman. "Ask away.  And as you may have guessed, the situation is under control...what seems to be the problem?"

"I heard Captain Lanza's announcement." Keryn says, nervously, "Did I understand it right?  He's going to land the ship in an ocean?"

"Is that safe?  Why would he do that?  Oh, and will I be able to look at it?"
This message was last edited by the player at 21:51, Tue 15 Mar 2011.

"Well at least some good has come from it." Tylen comments then uses his data glove to send a message to Shui.

++  Have we got sunscreen?  Jago says the weather down there is good and there will be time for sunbathing ++

"I knew we should have got a jet ski ... he muses.

Shui smiles, nodding her head. "You did indeed hear correctly, Ms. Taylor," she assures the woman.  "It is a safe, commonplace procedure with a competent crew and captain - we have both.  The idea is to gather fuel - hydrolysis can remove the hydrogen from water, allowing us to increase our fuel supplies at the expense of a little time." Stepping inside, she cocks her head, considering.  Seeing the ocean would be a novel experience for Keryn, but she doesn't know the...

*Ping*

A brief message from Tylen, and she has the answer.  "Apparently the ocean will be open for viewing," she notes, one eyebrow quirking.  "It seems that at least some of the crew is interested in sunbathing...I might partake of that myself, though I suspect I will be kept busy supplying drinks, food, and sunscreen." She glances up, meeting Keryn's eyes.  "Perhaps something you would not wish to miss...of course, we will have to find the proper attire."

Her fingers dance along the holocontrols for a moment.  + Of course, Mr. Orgesh.  We have sufficent sunscreen for a considerable time in the open air.  I will have to check ambient UV levels, mind.  One hopes you have your bathing suit. +

++ My What? ++

Tylen sends his response back to Shui.

Shui pauses and an amused look flickers across her visage.  Then her fingers shift across the holokeys.

+ Unless you plan on swimming and sunbathing naked.  While this is common on my home planet, I would personally suggest you refrain - others on the crew or passenger list might not be so sanguine about such things. +

"Apologies." She bows to Keryn.  "There appears to be some confusion among the crew as well."
This message was last edited by the player at 23:50, Tue 15 Mar 2011.

Ash purses his lips and nods to Jago, when he strongly suggests that he stop calling him 'Captain'.  "Yes, Ca..." he begins and barely catches himself.  After letting out a measured exhalation, Ash starts again.  "Yes, sir." is about all that he can manage.

Ash stares at the tactical displays for a bit, lost in thought.  Both of his stints in the Imperial Services had had some hierarchies.  The last crew he was with the Captain had preferred the term 'Captain', so, Ash hadn't worried about it.    Most of his other working passages, Ash had not really had the time to get to know the captain of the ship - it hadn't been an issue there.  But using the familiar form of address with Jago didn't seem quite right yet to the navigator.

But, he knows that he should get to know Jago and the crew better - otherwise, his stint with them will be as short as it was with everyone else.  The Doctor virtually ordered him to do so, and deep down Ash knows that she is right.  Not that it makes it any easier or more comfortable.  He lets out a slightly plaintive sigh.  Then shakes his head.  And then Ash glances at Jago and asks slightly tentatively, "Umm.... Skipper, do you mind if I ask you a personal question?"

Ash shifts his body to be more square with Jago, "I assume that you aren't really beholden to the INI and that your stake in the Profit Margin is substantial."  He pauses for a moment and then continues, "So, why do you Travel?  I mean, the ship is a nice home and all, but you could probably settle down quite comfortably and not have to worry about riots or corsairs.  Or profit margins and cargoes and buyers.  Or any number of other things..."

Tylen grins at the doctor's response and a brief vision of the two of them skinny dipping flashes across his mind.  Maybe I should offer to rub her sun tan  lotion in  ...." accompanies the images.

Back on the crew comms channel he asks, "Jago?  How about a  nice desert island?  I am sure Yas and I can find some fresh game and we could have a Bar-B-Que."

Jago takes the opportunity to answer Tylen's question, while he ponders what to say to Ash, "My first priority is going to be safety.  If that means sitting in the ocean, a thousand klicks from the nearest land, I'm afraid that's what I'm going to aim for."

"Besides, I don't believe that any animal you and Yas hunted would end up in big enough pieces for a barbecue.  Unless you know a recipe for barbecued soup?"

Finally he answers Ash, "For one thing, the Margin's mortgage is nowhere near paid off yet.  So I have to keep earning credits for that.  That means either getting my hands dirty, or sitting somewhere and letting somebody else run her.  But that clashes with my other reason - I like seeing new places, new things."

"For instance, not long ago, we found a wrecked ship on an ice moon.  While we were poking about, we discovered these... well... I don't know if they were plants or animals.  Mostly they were a patch of coloured ice that moved over the surface, and seemed to live by photosynthesis or something.  Never seen anything like it before, and probably won't ever again, because I don't usually make a habit of setting down on barren snowballs."

He grins, "But it was worth seeing the things, just once, and knowing that we might be the only people who had ever laid eyes on them."

Keryn looks confused at first, "Sunbathing?  Oh, is that when people are just laying about outside and not doing anything?  I've seen it in vids, but it's not really possible back on Frenzie.  Is it safe to do?  For me, I mean." she lays one hand on her stomach, "What about radiation and everything?"

Saskia calls up the data for their destination on her monitor.  "Looks like it might be reasonably nice.  The oceans are water, and safe for people to swim in, so they aren't going to do any damage to the hull or the intakes.  Should be able to get a full load of fuel in no time." 

Though her voice is calm, cheerful even, she is still quite angry.  The positive face is purely for the benefit of the drives.

"I would have to check the various radiation levels," Shui replies, pleased the young woman is thinking ahead, even when not fully comprehending the concept.  "If proper sunblock is applied, normally there is little danger unless UV or other radiation levels are quite high; indeed, the additional vitamin D one receives from time in the sun can help promote good health.  If necessary, we can also put up some kind of sun shield - an umbrella or lean-to allowing you to enjoy the fresh air and the sight without being in direct sunlight at all."

She takes a moment to consider.  "One might wish to have a good book if one is not swimming, assuming staring out over the sea for hours on end is not the sort of thing that interests.  For myself, I have found it very calming and peaceful."

"What if I only use my machete?  Or my hands?  I could wring the neck of some big wild ox!" Yas offers over the comm while she keeps scanning around for any sign of trouble.  Then she muses, "Sunbathing, eh?  Could be nice, but not sure I want to jump into the ocean unless we do a full analysis first.  The stories I could tell you about getting waist-deep in water on other planets without knowing what is in there, oh boy..."

Ash listens to the crew chatter on the comm line with a slightly bemused expression, but does not respond.  Instead he watches Jago carefully as the Captain explains why he doesn't cash in and settle down,  He nods as listens - an eminently sensible answer; even if, the answer is not unique.  "Well, sir, as a career curiosity seeker," Ash ventures, "determining the origin of your mysterious psychoactive object d'art is a true mixture of business and pleasure for you then."  He gives the skipper a slightly crooked smile.

"I wish that I could say that it was purely curiosity that kept me on the go." Ash sounds a bit wistful, "And while, it is a part of it. ... for a long time I've been chasing a dream, I guess.  A hope for something better; I don't really know what, but better than what my family had on Jewell."  He looks at Jago, wondering if he should say any more, but Ash can't seem to help himself, "I ... I thought I had found that in the Navy, but washed out there.  Hard.  Been searching ever since."  He shakes his head a little bit, as if to clear it, "It's a bit silly.  I know that that Life is not meant to be a Means, but an End in and of itself.  I guess I just keep hoping, sir."  He shrugs slightly, but doesn't continue.

Instead, Ash start to pull up library data from the ship's computer.  Now that Yasmine has planted the see, he wants to verify that ocean is not tainted or inhabited by anything too dangerous (especially if the crew intends to swim) - and that the atmosphere isn't too thin or tainted for any reasonable sun exposure.  Upon reviewing some of the information at hand, Ash wonders out loud into the crew linked comm, "The Library data on the system shows large forests, which we are unlikely to be close to ... no large or higher evolved animals known or encountered... but a significant insect population noted.  While we are unlikely to encounter those, since we won't be close to land, it might be good to have some repellent on hand.  Just in case."  Ash flicks off the comm and continues to peruse the Library data as well as watching the tactical displays and proximity alarms.
This message was last edited by the player at 08:00, Tue 22 Mar 2011.

"I've got repellent, and propellant.  Scatterguns work well for bigger bugs, anyway," Yas comments a chortles.  "But yeah, flying bugge... er, bugs can be as bad as swimming ones.  I could tell you some stories there, this wasp-like thing that would lay eggs in your eyeballs...  Or the other one, that...  Well, maybe I'll save these for the camp fire tonight, eh?"

"I'm not sure we'll be having a camp fire." Jago interrupts Yas's gruesome tales, "We'll probably be far from land, and I'm not going to let you light a fire on top of the hull.  And even if you'll never listen to a word I say, Saskia might object."

Keryn pays rapt attention as Shui explains the dangers inherent in sunbathing, and the precautions which can be used to minimise the risks.  "Swimming might be fun, if it's allowed.  Water supports the body, doesn't it?  It might give me a break from the gravity, if it's higher than what I'm used to.  Is swimming difficult to learn?"

"Hello... " interrupting the banter, Jago pulls up a sensor display, and announces over the crew channel, "We have company.  Neutrino emissions, some forty thousand kilometres out.  Looks like somebody just powered up their fusion plant."  He transfers position data to Ash, Tylen and Yas.

Ash sits up straighter immediately and begins to scan common communications frequencies for hails.  "Is our transceiver information up and running?" Ash asks Jago.  He doesn't specify which, assuming that the Captain has the one he wants going already going.

His finger is poised over the comm display, "Should I hail the ship, Sir?  Or do you want me to wait for them to make their intentions more clear?"  As Ash waits for Jago's decision, he keeps a close eye on the movement vector of the neutrino source.  His experience as a navigator kicks in and Ash's brain is already starting to mentatlly plot optimized alternate routes for best intercept, least contact and evasive action plots for varying pursuit speeds...  You know, just in case.

"Swimming is certainly allowed," Shui assures the young mother-to-be, "barring dangerous toxins in the water."  She'll have to do tests beforehand - one never knows what kind of chemistry or biology one will find until one checks.  As for swimming being difficult, no - it is quite comfortable, due to the buoyancy."  She taps her lip thoughtfully.  "I am, of course, no great swimmer myself, but I find it easy to paddle around.  Perhaps you shall join me, and we can amuse the others with our lack of skill."

They really need to find some sort of swimming gear for Keryn, Shui decides.  Something to wear.  She surveys the young woman, studying her size and dimensions, trying to figure out who on the crew comes closest - herself, Saskia, or Yasmine.

"I am certain something can be arranged," she murmurs thoughtfully, calling up personnel files on her dataglove, checking heights and weights.  They don't tell the whole story, of course, but it's a start.

Jago shunts the information from the sensors through to Saskia's station in Engineering, and calls her, "Saskia, we've got some company.  Can you take a look at these neutrino readings, see if you can work out anything from them?  Thanks."

Then the gunners, "Tylen, prep a missile, just in case.  If I have to give the word to launch, I want it out of the tube before I've finished speaking.  Yas, take point defence for the moment, just in case they decide to send us a package."

"Ash, see if you can get me any clue on what it's doing, I can't even tell if it's moving with all this junk in the way, see if you can clear the scans up a bit."

And finally a message to Shui, nothing spoken, just a brief chirping alarm signal to let her know that she should call the Bridge when she has a moment...

"I suppose I could try swimming then." Keryn replies, "If the water isn't too deep, or too cold."  Then she laughs and adds, "Or too poisonous, or too radioactive."

"I must seem like a complete fool sometimes, worrying about things that other people take for granted."

Tylen swung his turret towards the neutrino bust as Jago identified it, then acknowledged the command to prep up a missile.  "Aye Aye, boss."

"Not at all, Keryn."  Shui moves a little further into the room.  "When I consider how many times world-bound people have worried about pressure drops, explosive decompression, and such other things, I would never say so."  She lets out a quiet laugh of her own.  "I suspect it to be a matter of one's perspective - familiarity breeds contempt, while the unknown is fertile ground for worry."

She cocks her head to the side.  "We all have our own fears, and I am well-convinced that no matter how logical a fear might seem for us, there is someone in the universe for whom it would be ridiculous."  One eyebrow rises ironically.  "Which might make the fear no less valid.  For myself, I respect you erring on the side of caution rather than recklessness - you have someone else depending on your decisions, after all."

Ash nods to Jago. "Yes, sir.  Running filters on the sensor feeds now."  His eyes darted between the raw and altered displays, as he noted, "I've been wanting to try this six-fold symmetrical notation filter that I read about in the Popular Communcations..."

His brow furrows as the white noise in the signal increases by over an order of magnitude - generating a proportional number of false positive images on the filtered display.  "Well," he notes ruefully, "that is not it."  And he begins to feverishly pour over his calculations looking for the mistake that he is sure is there...

"Maybe an older model." Saskia informs Jago after briefly examining the data, "Resonance frequencies are all in the lower bands, but really spread out.  For a more modern unit, I'd expect to see tighter focussing in a narrower range, and that range would be at higher frequencies.

"Low neutrino resonance tends to be a sign of lower fusion efficiencies, and wider spread across frequency bands usually indicates less precise reactor control."

She pauses, reconsidering, "It could be a sign of damage, I suppose, but I don't think so.  It looks too stable.  The frequencies are spread over a wide range, but they're spread evenly over that range.  For damage, I'd expect to see a lot more fluctuations in the proportion of neutrinos in each band."

While Ash tries to clean up the scan in an effort to get more information about what the neutrino source is up to, Jago makes a small course adjustment - Profit Margin is still headed for the planet, but not quite so directly.  They will have the benefit of whatever cover the debris can provide for a little longer...

The captain's eyes don't quite glaze over as Saskia feeds him her assessment of the source, but he does say, "Thank you." as soon as he thinks he has heard enough, before she can continue with a more detailed technical explanation.

"Okay everybody.  Looks like it's an old power plant, or a faulty one.  Don't get complacent though.  An old ship can still carry nice modern weapons."  Just like the Margin.


Keryn nods as Shui speaks, "Well, I must admit, I learned everything I know about other worlds and space travel from holodramas."  A smile, and a small laugh, "I was almost surprised when we were in space for a whole day without being attacked by Vargr corsairs, suffering a drive failure, and being hit by an asteroid."

"I'm probably going to be terrified the first time I see a wild animal.  The nearest we had on Frenzie was rats, and there weren't many of them."

"Thank you for your help.  With everything."

"Holodramas, goodness!" Shui lets out a laugh of her own.  "We've all seen those, and they do tend to colour perceptions.  Isn't it lucky they're largely exaggerated?"  She smiles at Keryn's confession of her concerns regarding wild animals.  "I would guess that being cautious of wild animals is a far wiser choice than unwary, Ms. Taylor."

For a moment she stares at the ceiling, considering.  "When I first stepped aboard a ship, I admit to expecting broad hallways - sparklingly clean - fine dining, dashing shipmates, humorous banter...perhaps even a handsome, misunderstood pirate?"  Another quiet laugh follows.  "You can guess which holodramas I watched.  Some of those things I have encountered," she confesses, "but not always.  In fact, quite rarely, given some of the ships upon which I have travelled." The Steward touches the wall.  "This one matches most closely the list of my expectations, and is the best I could imagine."

The steward inclines her head slightly at Keryn's thanks.  "But it is my pleasure, Ms. Taylor.  I am only too happy to assist - your entry aboard this vessel was certainly under difficult circumstances, and I would much rather see you leave it with only fond memories of your time aboard it."

Ash frowns, he knows that he is letting the Captain and the rest of the crew down by not getting results.  It is not a new feeling for him; far from it - the feeling could be a microcosm of his life, but for once, he would prefer not to have to live with the embarrassment.  Ash lets out a measured exhalation and starts in on his task of clearing up the sensor signal one more time.  He can feel the sweat beading on his brow as he sets all of his concentration on the task.  The navigator no longer keeps a running commentary of his efforts to analyze or filter the data.  Ash is fully aware that the rest of the crew is relying on him for proper results.

The ex-Navy, ex-Scout washout can only hope that their trust in his abilities is not misplaced.  But he sorely suspects that they are...

It takes but a moment or two for Tylen to arm the first of the missiles in the rack.  A fast diagnostic program runs a short test on the  command and control systems while another diagnostic checks the launch rail and  initial racking software.  Once the missile and its launch rail are shown to be working properly, he flips the switch that selects that missile for launch.  "Ready." he grunts into the comm system as he starts running launch checks against the other two missiles.

Taking the point of the defence to the point, as is the nature of such defence, Yas watches and waits.  Old power plant or not says nothing about the teeth of the critter, or whether it is hostile or not.

While she waits she hopes that her protégé is feeling safe and secure, possibly even getting spoiled by the stewardess.  Hopefully she will have some time to sit down and talk to her once they are on the planet, or the ocean, as the case is.

"Let's just make sure they aren't going to wait for us to settle down in the water, eh?  Sassy, can you rig some sort of remote warning system in case they do try to sneak up on us while we're dipping out toes?" she calls over the crew comm.

Jago makes a fractional adjustment to the ship's course, and glances at Ash, "Any progress on clearing up the sensor data?"

"Well, I'm just glad to be off Frenzie." Keryn says, not sounding particularly glad, "I was on my way to the port with some other people to try and catch a ship.  Then we heard fighting, and everybody else decided they were safer at home.  I carried on.  Then Yas found me and brought me the rest of the way.  Told me I should avoid the craters in the corridors.  Something about fuzzy guns, or something.  And radiation - she definitely mentioned radiation."

A few final tweaks of the controls allows Tylen to get a fix on the location of the potential enemy "... and locked on." he adds softly as he finally picks up a clear fix through the debris.
This message was last edited by the player at 23:12, Sat 02 Apr 2011.

Ash glances at Jago and smiles sheepishly, "Sorry, Cap... Boss.  I'm having some problems applying the correct filtering algorithm."  He purses his lips, know that it is a lame excuse.  Especially given the timing and the critical nature of the problem.  And "Ah" escapes his lips as a rogue factor of two gets caught and squashed in this pass of the calculations.  He confidences somewhat restored, Ash puts the finishing touches on yet another attempt to clear up the sensor data (his seventh or so, by his count - but, really who is keeping track?) - this time a simple, third power spline with some biases for local temperature and energy gradients and some clipping thresholds.  "I think that I finally have it, C- ... sir." he lets the Captain know first.

Still, Ash closes his eyes for a moment and crosses his fingers as he applies another filtered pass over the streaming sensor data.  With the sensor feed looking much cleaner, he starts to push the stream onto the main tactical displays and to the other crew stations in the ship...

"I seeee yoooouuu," the Security Chief whispers triumphantly to herself as she distinguishes the potential hostile through all the remains of the Vargr ship.

"Fuzzy guns?" Shui's eyebrows shoot up.  "I am...unfamiliar with military weaponry and jargon." She tries to make some sense of that - was Yasmine deliberately nicknaming a weapon, as was her wont with people, or had Keryn misheard?  The steward finally gives up, unable to decipher the code.  "Yes...plenty of problems back on your old home.  Between the radiation and the violence, no place for a woman expecting a child."

The doctor rocks on her feet a moment, deep in consideration.  "Your pardon, Ms. Taylor."  Some people can be prickly, and Shui rarely goes by the 'begging forgiveness is easier than asking permission' aphorism.  "You do not seem completely convinced your situation is better.  Might I ask why, or if there is anything I might do to alleviate worries or discomfort?  If I am overstepping my boundaries, please, merely say so."

"Thank you." Jago says as the data starts to appear on the tactical display, significantly clearer.  After a few moments his expression grows puzzled.  "Odd... "  He leans forward and wipes his sleeve across the display, just in case there's dirt or something confusing the situation, "Okay, as far as I can tell, it's just sitting there.  It powered up, but doesn't seem to be doing anything else.  Well, apart from the fact that it just starting to scan us with active sensors."

"Oh, and it's bigger than us, but I don't recognise this profile."  He calls up the library functions, and starts the computer running a search for something that matches the information they have.  "Anybody got any ideas what might be going on?"


Keryn is silent for a moment, then spreads her hands helplessly, "I don't know.  Maybe I'm a bit homesick."

Shui closes her eyes for a moment.  Homesick - she can understand that.  These days, home is a long-lost memory, little more, but at the beginning it was oh, so very difficult, even considering what she left behind.

She moves a step closer, lowering her voice.  "Do you regret leaving?  I am certain that the problems we left behind will sort themselves out, and I can see to it that you find your way back."  Oh, she doubts very much that Jago will be able to just turn the ship around and revisit any time in the next year, but Shui has more than enough funds to pay for a ticket to bring Keryn home.  With her baby.

Tylen doesn’t stop to think deeply about the problem, instead he reels off a number of scenarios that occur to him in response to Jago’s question.

”Well …  a damaged power supply coming back on line might indicate the ship was hit in a fire fight.  Or it might just have been laying low running diagnostics.  Or in might be waiting in ambush for ‘friends’ of what ever was blown up – or it may be some sort of  system defence ship that wasn’t listed.   What ever it is, if it was me in a scout ship, I would have been laying low to see what happened.  But if I thought I was being scanned by someone else – I would certainly want to know a lot about the ship that was scanning me.  Things like whether they had missiles or other weapons locked on to me …..

"Sorry, Sir." Ash says with a furrowed brow, "I don't recognize ship type.  It's power fluctuations mean that it could have been damaged in the previous fight, I suppose - or it could be faking it."  He starts to scan the various comm channels for any hailing signals, "I'm not hearing any chatter on any of the public lines.  They are not being very open."

Ash glances at Jago, "Should I try to hail the ship in question?  Although they are not transmitting a Signal GK, they could be having problems and may need our help..."  He knows it is a very remote possibility, but still can't be completely discounted.  Hailing the unknown ship could destroy whatever advantage they might currently have, though.

Saskia has a theory.  "Automated defense platform, maybe?" she suggests.  "Park one near the J-Point and program it to watch for enemy ships.  Something comes through, and while it's still waking up after the emergence, the defence platform hits it."

Then she seems to have second thoughts, "Though I'd expect something like that to be much smaller than us, probably not much bigger than a turret, a simple sensor array and targeting system, power plant, and a small fuel tank."

Profit Margin continues to accelerate towards the planet, the computer helpfully warning Jago that he is not on the plotted course, and suggesting changes which would compensate for this.  Jago ignores its advice, prefering to stick to the course revision that he started using after the "mysterious stranger" had powered up.

Eventually the computer chirps, and technical readouts start to flow across the screens at the two bridge consoles.  Jago peers at the displayed specs.  "According to this it's an express boat tender.  Strange.  We aren't on an X-boat route, so why would the Scouts have a tender parked here?"

"No, I don't regret it." Keryn shakes her head emphatically, perhaps a little too much so, "No clue when the trouble there will be sorted out, and until it is, Frenzie wouldn't be safe.  It doesn't even need to be a deliberate attack, all it would take is for something to be accidentally damaged, in a riot or something, and people could get hurt."

"Sold it off?" the scout suggests "Or even in use by someone on   'detached service'?" he suggests as Jago identifies the potential enemy as an  Express Boat tender "Or maybe just doing a runner like us?" he adds as an after thought.  "Although there was enough military around Frenzie that all sorts of ad hoc x-boat routes could have been  invented." he adds dryly.

Ash's brow furrows for a moment as Jago solicits suggestions for the X-Boat Tenders presence in system.  He shrugs and notes over the crew commlink, "Tenders are generally not detached duty vehicles as far as I am aware.  Too specialized a vehicle with limited jump capabilities." A brief pause as he mentally collates the two or three most likely scenarios to himself, "I would wager that the tender is either an old, abandoned asset from a previously attempt of a new route.  Or a privately acquired commodity - though it specialized function still makes that seem unlikely - unless it was converted."

"In which case," Ash notes with slight smile on his face and only a touch of irony, "both Ms. Blake and Mr. Ogresh could be right.  It might be an old x-Boat Tender - one that was originally here tasked for a new route which got bypassed.  The asset was not transferred out of system, but acquired by the locals and converted to their very own weapons platform..."

"It would seem a waste, though." Ash notes to himself more than anyone else, "A rather expensive waste.  As Ms. Blake notes, there are much cheaper alternatives."

Shui sits down next to their passenger and lets out a sigh.  "Yes, all very logical reasons to be regret-less." She stares at the wall, giving Keryn her space from scrutiny while staying close for company.  "I have many logical reasons to not be 'home', myself.  I make sure to repeat them to myself from time to time to keep them in mind...."

She slides a quick glance at the girl.  "Home is still home.  It does not to matter how long I am away.  Nor the reasons.  Nor the things preventing my return.  It still holds a piece of me, and I remember...everything."

The good and the bad both, and there was plenty of each before she left.

"Do you ever feel that way?" she asks.  Quietly.
This message was last edited by the player at 12:41, Tue 12 Apr 2011.

Jago watches the displays as he starts to pull Profit Margin  back onto the plotted course, "Whatever it's doing, and for whatever reason, it's not following us.  I'm going to risk taking us down to our selected landing spot."  The captain scrutinizes the nav display, and overlays the image with realtime sensor data on their destination.

"I don't know.  I suppose I do, but I've only been away for about a week." Keryn replies, and then an announcement comes over the shipwide channel, interrupting anything further she plans on saying.

"Ladies and gentlemen, you'll probably be pleased to hear that our projected landing point is close to this world's equator and the weather looks good."

"I don't know much about weather, it wasn't really a big thing on Frenzie.  What do you think he means when he says, 'good'?"

Jago switches off the intercom and goes back to the crew-only channel, "Meanwhile, stay alert everybody.  Something doesn't feel right here."

It sounds to Shui like Keryn isn't certain at all what she's feeling.  There could be any number of reasons, and puzzling through them would begin to be an interrogation, something she expects neither Keryn nor herself desires.  Better to just let it go - hopefully the girl will be more at ease and able to confide in Shui when she sorts things out.

"Weather..." Shui ponders for a moment.  "I expect he means it will be sunny - no clouds to occlude the light - with little rain or wind.  And warm."  She smiles.  "The sort of weather in which one could actually be comfortable out atop the ship.  I should start thinking about appropriate attire for you."

Ash nods to the Captain when he gives the order to remain alert, "Aye, aye, boss."  Ash is sure that he has the same 'Friday the Thirteenth, Black cat' vibe from the situation that Jago is sensing.  It doesn't help that he feels that he has let the others down with his less than timely reaction speed in getting the sensor data filtered.   Precious seconds wasted, he chides himself, Seconds that may become all too important in the next few minutes.  Seconds that we could not really afford to lose...  A small plaintive sigh escapes his lips as all he can do is keep watch on the debris field and the ship that lies beyond.

Tylen swings his chair aimlessly as he sits watching the screens, alert for an sign of threat.

"Have you thought of asking them?" he suggests, although it might not be clear whether he is talking about the x-boat tender or the people who are supposed to be planet side.
This message was last edited by the player at 22:00, Mon 18 Apr 2011.

Jago consider's Tylen's suggestion for a moment, then responds, "I was really hoping to sneak in without being spotted.  Though if our friend there has spotted us, I suspect it's already sent a signal down to the planet about us."

He sighs, "Let's announce ourselves then, a nice low power transmission so we don't wake up everybody in the system, and see if somebody answers."

A moment later, and he is broadcasting a message, "This is the free trader Profit Margin, newly arrived from Frenzie, requesting traffic information."

He repeats the message twice, just for good measure, then mutters, "Will probably take them a while to answer.  With so few people living here, they probably don't have dedicated traffic control staff."

The ship edges back onto her proper course and resumes a more direct descent to the surface...

Keryn nods, "I don't have much with me in the way of clothes.  I packed pretty light, because I wanted to get to the docks quickly.  I thought I'd be able to buy more clothes on the ship."  She sighs, theatrically, and gives Shui a sheepish smile, "Stupid holodramas taught me everything I know about travelling!"

Ash continues to watch the boards, warily glancing back at the display with the debris field and the tentatively identified xBoat Tender on it.  As the continue to pull away from it, he relaxes visibly.  He figures that the more distance between the two ships, the more time the crew of the Profit Margin will have to react to whatever.

Focusing more on his displays with the primary communications channels, Ash notes to Jago, "I'm only reading the standard automated field transponder beacon, Si... er... Skipper."  Ash's brow furrows slightly, "A bit strange, given the circumstances - almost seems like no one is home...  I'm not hearing any in-system traffic or chatter either."
This message was last edited by the player at 17:16, Wed 20 Apr 2011.

"Not to worry, Ms. Taylor.  An easy mistake to make, you not having been aboard a ship before, but one reasonably easily rectified."  She hopes.  "We have clothing aboard - in various sizes -" certainly the three women are not identical "- and I should be able to find something."

One of her eyebrows crooks.  "I have some knowledge of sewing...laser sutures may be en vogue these days, but I have made do with more crude varients from time to time.  Once we find a space port, we will certainly take the time to outfit you.  Properly."  Her smile broadens.  "I would be most honored to accompany you shopping, and perhaps pick out a gift for you."

"Not that strange." Jago says, though he sounds far from convinced of it himself, "There's only a handful of people down there, maybe there really is nobody at the landing field just now.  This sort of place can't afford to employ somebody to sit about doing nothing all day.  They use a lot of automatics."

Time passes, a few minutes, and Jago announces over the crew channel, "We now have a clear line of sight between us and the bogey. So far it's made no hostile moves against us, other than powering up, and that's not really that hostile."

Keryn thanks Shui for the offer and reaches for the control which transforms one wall into a display screen.  A planet appears - swirls of white and grey cloud partly obscuring patterns of blue, green and brown.  "That's where we're going.  I pulled this from one of the ship's sensor feeds.  It's very colourful, isn't it?  Frenzie was all grey and brown."

Ash merely nods as Jago makes his rather stream of consciousness justification for why the system seems rather deserted despite all of the happenings in Frenzie and the news that must have reached this system as well, by now.  There isn't much to say, really - it is possible that the news was delayed getting here.  And that no one else has made it here from Frenzie yet.  Or that the natives aren't worried about much.  Or... well, something else is preoccupying their time.

When Jago notes that the Profit Margin and their contact near the jump point have clear LOS, Ash notes quietly and dutifully, "True, skipper.  Powering up is merely a prerequisite to doing something hostile..."  He realizes only too late that the crew comm line is still open and that he had not pressed the 'mute' button as he had wanted to.  Ash reddens; luckily, though only Jago can see him in that state.  Of course, he is sure that the others are well aware of his discomfort; it is readily apparent in his tone.  "Or... uh, something... um, friendly p-perhaps..." he stammers.

Tylen grinned at Ash's comments, although he didn't comment - deciding that Yas was senior and therefore had 'right of response' - if she wants it.  Anyway she enjoyed that sort of banter more than he did.

That said, It is Tylen's job, as a gunner,  to prepare as if everything in sight might be hostile - so he was aware of Line of Sight issues before Jago commented.  His weapon systems had the  potential target identified and locked some time previously, and were now tracking targeting probabilities and obstructions for him.  Exactly the same as any gunnery station aboard the X-Boat tender would be doing to Profit Margin.

However, that doesn't mean that the systems are completely focused on the potential target.  Other displays show scans of the area that show other vessels and highlight  anythat 'suddenly' appear on the scene - and they are set to be sensitive enough that they will spot small devices, such as missiles, powering up or moving as well.

Other parts of the display are running systems that might help detect debris, or even mines before they come close  enough to activate.  A separate section shows concentrations of communication activity, and there are other minor systems that display data about all sorts of strange things that might, sometimes, indicate a target.

While most systems have visual tell-tales, there are a couple with warning sounds as well and the sound systems are designed to superimpose those noises  over the comms and music channels to ensure that he doesn't miss them.

At the moment Tylen is listening to the Breezes movements of Calakinstein's Sea Symphonies.  These consist of light string music, combined with wave like rhythms, synthesised whale song with a woodwind counterpoint  to represent the breeze itself - he finds it relaxes him and bring back vague memories of his youth.
This message was last edited by the player at 08:30, Mon 25 Apr 2011.

"Worlds are so different, everywhere we go," Shui murmurs, taking a closer look.  "This one has oceans of water in which we can swim, breathable air, forests, earth, and clouds swirling above the landmass and water."  She taps a finger on her lips, thoughtfully. "I have seen brilliant emerald seas of gold and cyanide, atmospheres deep red with vaporized nitric acids and irons, 'forests' of slow-growing crystals, and deep blue clouds of boiling copper."

She waves a hand at the viewscreen.  "There is something about these ones, though, with these colours - they tug at my spirit, whispering of planets where we can set foot, breathe the air, run our fingers through the soil." Her smile deepens.  "They call out 'home'."

The eyes of the first gunner began to close in a blink.

"...clear line of sight..."


"We have a clear line of sight to the enemy.  They are still dormant.  Get out of here, now."

The voice of captain of the corvette carried down the corridor to where the two marines brought up the rear of the column.


"...no hostile moves..."


"Enemy powering up, Sir!"

A rush of adrenaline went through the young female marine and she glanced back at her squad mate.

"Punch it and keep an eye on them!"

The looks she got back from him told her all she needed to know.  Yes, what they did was wrong, yes, it did not matter, yes, he still loved her.

"Still no hostile moves, Sir!"


The eye reached their fully closed state and began to open again.

"...merely a prerequisite..."


"No, it is merely a prerequisite to join."

A couple of year ago, eighteen years old, joining the Marines against her parents wishes.  But she heard the call and could not resist.

They hardly spoke to her after that.

"They're powering up their main gun!  They're tracking us, Sir!"

"Evasive manoeuvres!  Everyone, hang on to something!"

The heart pounded in her chest and she tore her gaze from the man she loved.


"...something... um, friendly p-perhaps..."


"So what do you suggest?"

It had been a year since she asked him that and he had stammered his answer.

"Uh, I, eh, dunno.  Something, um, friendly...  Perhaps?"

They had gotten friendly indeed, cutting the sparring session short.

"Taking fire!"

The blast hit her from behind, sending her flying into her squad mates up ahead.  Buried deep within her back was shards of twisted metal.  The scars, external as well as internal, would never fully heal and she would never look upon her first love ever again.


Eyes wide open again, the head of security aboard the free trader Profit Margin scowled without really knowing why.

Home.  This is my home.  My family.

Her back gave her a shot of pain and she grunted silently, annoyed at the random thought that had entered her head.

"Still nothing." Jago reports, even though the absence of both enemy fire and any sign of contact with the surface is entirely obvious.  "No reason to change our plans just yet.  Everybody keep an eye on the other ship, just in case, at least until we hit atmosphere.  I don't think it's capable of carrying anything made for a decent orbital bombardment, so we should be safe with a few kilometres of atmosphere overhead."

"Home, to me, is... was... an airless rock." explains Keryn, "This is pretty, but I have no real idea what to expect.  I've seen images, and heard audio recordings, but that's it.  They don't tell you about temperatures and smells, and other things too, I suppose.  In theory I know what it's like down there, but I don't really know what it's like."

She smiles, "Hopefully it will be fun finding out, and nothing will eat me."