Tylen chuckles as Shui suggests he wears the security uniform to dinner, or that his new security uniform might look anywhere near as smart as naval blues  "It would be more liable to frighten every one else away." the ex-scout says lightly. After all, that is mainly the point of it he thinks to himself as he offers his arm to the doctor for the trip across to customs.

"Oh, I think you judge yourself far too harshly, Mr. Orgesh," Shui returns, taking the arm.  "Far too harshly indeed," she murmurs as they walk.

OOC - I guess we're heading all the way in, Boss!

Ash walks with the others towards the customs line.  He listens attentively to Keryn discuss the plans that Corlan and she have made, nodding, hemming and hawing, and generally commenting to the affirmative, as necessary to keep Keryn talking.  The navigator assumes that the more comfortable Ms. Taylor feels the better off the trip on-station (and in general for the crew of the Profit Margin, moving forward) will be.  Ash likes the young lady; she reminds him of junior petty officer he once knew when he was in the Imperial Navy.

He fully intends to shop in the station proper, unless the line getting through customs makes that timing impractical given his watch duties.  So, he assumes a position in the line along side the Captain and the other from the Margin.  Not that he has much to declare, but the Denotam officials don't know that...

Clearance through customs is straightforward - a brief question and answer session regarding their purpose for visiting Denotam Highport, expected duration of visit, and whether or not they are carrying anything on the posted contraband list (which appears to consist mainly of devices designed to cause death and/or mayhem), followed by an inspection of ID papers. 

Answers are recorded, and visitor visas are issued, along with a reminder that travelling down to Denotam will require a more stringent inspection.

And then they are through Customs, and into the station proper, at which point the full scale of the place becomes apparent...

Immediately outside the Customs area is the Arrivals area, and beyond that the central core of the station - a vertical cylinder about a hundred metres in diameter, hollow in the centre and ringed by balconies.  Five hundred metres above is the upper end of the cylinder, a mass of inverted spires and pylons bearing lights, ventilation systems and environmental monitoring apparatus.  An equal distance below them, in the deepest pit of the core, can be seen the squat forms of power generation equipment, crouched in the depths below a faint red haze. 

Balconies, moderately crowded, ring the central opening, lined with business premises, at least on this level.  Stores mostly, with occasional restaurants and other businesses.  Elevators connect the different levels.

As the crew stand there, taking in the vista, a group of teenagers, all dressed in similar colours and style, run past laughing.  They suddenly stop, and two of them hop up onto the balcony rail.  Whooping, they leap off, into the open space beyond, while their friends cheer them on...

Falling, they perform a series of somersaults and aerial gyrations, until they hit the red haze below and slow to a halt before being pushed to one side of the shaft.  A yellow machine fitted with strobing orange hazzard lights (possibly a large robot, or maybe a small vehicle) appears from an opening below the lowest balcony, but above the haze.  It moves slowly towards the teenagers, then above them, obscuring them from view.  When it moves away again, there is no sign of them.

Their friends, on the balcony, are laughing and cheering.  At least until one of them spots two men who have the unmistakable look of law enforcement officers approaching, at which point they scatter towards several different nearby stores.

The officers make no attempt to follow them...

Shui pauses at the sight of the crazed teenagers, taking in their antics.  She tenses as they leap, breaking away from the Profit Margin group to sprint to the edge herself and lean over the balcony rail, her heart in her mouth.  But thoughts of suicide pacts and cults vanish as the technology below halts their fall and some kind of robot comes out to 'clean them up', presumably.

One assumes not into an incinerator.

Relieved, she turns her back and leans against the railing, unconcerned about the open space at her back.  Her father would be disgusted.  "Well.  Quite a first impression," the doctor remarks, mock-fanning herself and taking a quick glance at the approaching officers.

Initially shocked as the kids leap into the void, then puzzled by the attitude of the friends and finally amused by the whole thing as they seem to ‘land’ safely, Jago chuckles at the antics of the teenagers, life is full of little surprises.

“I have an appointment on deck eight” he announces, anyone going up that way, otherwise I’ll see you all back at the ship.”

Tylen had already spotted the repulsor field around the generators at the bottom of the core, and started grinning as soon as the teenagers jumped up on the balcony rail, guess that they are going to jump, or perform some other sort of 'death defying' feat, such as  trying to run all the way around the rail without falling or getting caught.

As the jump he leans right over the rail, watching the fall and commenting "Nice." as one of them 'lands' particularly gracefully on the force field some way below.   The grin subsides to a smile as security appear and the rest of the 'gang' disappear into the background.  "We used to do the same sort of thing off the high rocks." he adds with a grin, "Although that was into the sea, rather than a force field."

"Ah well.  I need to get to the shops, I suppose." he adds as he turns away from  the scene.

Saskia pulls her head out of the housing. and stretches.  Then she scratches at her cheek, only remembering a moment too late that she's just been changing a seal in the fuel plant's lubricant control unit.

"It'll wash off, I suppose." she grumbles, and looks at her hands.  She decides to stop off in her quarters and clean up a little before grabbing a coffee.  Wouldn't do to leave smears and smudges of lubricant all over the galley.

The ship is never completely silent, there are always air pumps and other automated systems running, but it is unusually quiet as she makes her way, bare footed, towards her berth.  Her human friends are ashore, of course, leaving only Profit Margin itself to keep her company.  The quiet whirrs, clicks and hums are like voices to her, telling her the condition of the various parts of the ship.  She makes a mental note to check the bearings on the primary air back-cycling fan when she finishes with the fuel plant, as it seems to have developed a slight rattle.

A few minutes later she pours herself a coffee.

Her hands are spotless, but she still has a dark smudge on her face.

Once inside the station proper, Ash casts his gaze about and nods approvingly.  He states quietly and to no one in particular, "Nice..."  It is not the biggest nor the highest tech of stations, and after the open water it is almost claustraphobic.  But the venue is much larger than the Profit Margin.  And much more populated.

With young and impetuous daredevils, apparently.  Ash watches the antics for a moment, and then shakes his head.  Not in disapproval, really - he'd be the last person to chide another for the actions of a reckless adolescence.  But it is more just about what would make one want to leave a perfectly stable platform for the open air - he didn't see the point.  At least, not for mere recreation.  And just like with the old Solomani roller coasters - it wasn't really dangerous apparently...

Ash had had his share of EVA activity and he never took such forays lightly - but, then accidents in the Deep Black were far too often fatal and there was never any safety net.  He shrugs slightly, again to no one in particular.

He waves to Jago, "Happy hunting, Skipper." and then to the others in the group, "Ciao all, I'll be back at the Profit Margin by nineteen hundred hours..."  And then Ash starts to make his way towards the shops looking for shops that supply uniforms, clothes, and livery.

"Your leaps, Mr. Orgesh, depended on natural water for cusioning." Shui leans over the railing again, peering downward.  "Those...for myself, I would prefer not to put all my reliance upon technology to keep me safe from my own foolishness."  A small smile twitches across her lips.  "Though I will deny saying that if anyone tells Ms. Blake."

"The shops for myself, I think," Shui admits.  "I have some purchases to make."  She shoots a quick look at Tylen, then away again.  "But alone, in this case.  If there is anything I can pick up for anyone, please let me know - I will have my dataglove on."  She waves to Ash as he heads off in search of clothing.  "Good luck, Mr. Tescali.  Stay safe, Ms. Taylor, Mr. DeSant."

Of course, given this place and its laws, what could go wrong?  "Captain Lanza, Ms. Crow."  With another glance at Tylen, she taps her dataglove meaningfully, calling up the holoclock.  "Mr. Orgesh - until later."

And into the shops she dives.

Evading her duty on the bridge by a few yards, Yas heads out into the crew lounge to grab herself a cuppa something or other.  She figures if someone calls with their life depending on it they have got the wrong number anyway.  Once out in the lounge she spots Sassy sporting a smudge on her cheek and is of course forced to comment on it.

"Quite the love bite you got there, Sas," she says, leaving any further details out, and grins from ear to ear.  She wanted to see if the engineer could figure out what she meant while she decided what to go with;  coffee, tea, hot cocoa, a soft drink or a slightly less 'soft' one.

With Saskia and Yas still aboard the ship and, in theory at least, working, the rest of the crew, and the passengers, take the time to look around the highport...

Jago takes an elevator up to the business admin offices to discuss cargoes, while Shui, Tylen and Ash head off to do a little shopping.  Eneris wanders off somewhere alone, with a promise to call in to the ship every couple of hours, and Corlan announces that he and Keryn are going to visit a museum, which brings a grimace from her, though she seems cheerful enough as they head off together...

Shui begins her shopping.

It's a little out of the ordinary for her, though, as she has rather critical supplies to locate.  Her souvenir of this stop can wait until she finds what she needs for tonight.  So the Steward immediately begins heading into whatever appropriate stores exist, seeking out the necessary purchases.

"What?"

Saskia looks at Yas curiously, not sure what the First Officer is talking about, "I have no idea what you're talking about.  Have you been sniffing frelling gun lube or something."

She sips her coffee and asks, "Everybody else ashore?  How come you're still here?  I would have thought you'd be poking about for some new gadget to add to your suit."

Tylen isn’t too surprised that he can find a shop selling security equipment on the level close to the landing area, and he uses the information he had downloaded to his data glove to work out where the nearest supplier would be.  However, it didn’t take long to find the internal transport hub, and then the journey was fairly swift as well.

How strict must their litter laws be? he wonders as he notices how clean and litter free the transport is.  ”Perhaps the jump onto the repulsor field really is the limit of childhood exuberance …

The transport drops him almost right outside the store, so he makes his way inside and starts to look for the security department.  The signs show that it is close to the Chefs’ equipment, and Tylen raises his eyebrows slightly at the positioning.  However, almost as soon as he moves forward he spots Ash by  one of the displays.

Surprised to see the navigator he makes his way across to the man.  ”I wasn’t expecting to see you here.” he says with a smile.  ”Looking for something in particular?”
This message was last edited by the player at 10:40, Tue 13 Dec 2011.

Ash has to stop to ask directions at a kiosk as it becomes apparent that he is unlikely to find what he is looking for near the docks.  A quick ride on the very fast and incredibly immaculately-maintained transport car finds the navigator of the Profit Margin a bit far afield.  However, Ash enjoys the small foray, a minor bit of exploration; in fact, he hums quietly to himself almost the entire way.

Once at the store he is looking for; Ash looks up with satisfaction.  The kiosk terminal didn't lie.  Likely uniforms and livery can be found at this establishment, if they can be found anywhere on station.  He holds the door open for some exiting patrons and then makes his way past most of the work jump suits and coveralls towards a counters with customized designs and some personnel managing said counter.

When Tylen's voice addressed him, Ash startles a bit.  "Ah, Mr. Ogresh..." he notes as he recovers and turns to face his fellow scout, "I could say the same of you."  Ash returns Tylen's smile, though his is perhaps a bit more sheepish.  "As I noted on the bridge.  I'm just looking to get a set of ship's livery for the crew.  Nothing too extravagant - merely a set of patches that might be affixed to the clothing to denote our association."  He fingers a couple of samples and sets aside a couple of potential candidates.  Each are embroidered, one with hotter colors and one with cooler blues and greens.  Both patches have simple sans serif lettering and small emblems reminiscent of an idealized five-armed galaxy.  "What do you think of these?" Ash ventures.

As he looks at both of the patches again, Ash rubs his chin for a moment.  "There is space for a motto, as well." he notes thoughtfully, "Has the crew of the Margin adopted one?"

"I would think the patches might add a touch of professionalism and such." he states matter-of-factly.  Then he reddens slightly and adds quickly, "N-not that we aren't professionals without them..."

”A set of ship’s livery?” Tylen questions with a frown.  He had, vaguely overheard some comments about a ship’s livery as he was leaving the bridge earlier, but he really hadn’t taken it seriously.  ”On the margin?” and he doesn’t think to suppress the chuckle that the image brings to mind.

”While that might work for the trading lines, I can’t really see it on an old tramp trader like the margin.  It’s not as if we have a bunch of pretty cooker cutter crew, who spend years in the same job now, is it?”  and it is clear that he really doesn’t take the idea very seriously at all.  ”We are just a bunch of old reprobates, and uniforms, no matter how  basic, aren’t really going to change that, are they?  And we have so few passengers they get all introduced to the crew, and their roles, personally.”  he grins and pauses for a moment.  ”I never really felt the need to belong to a club with a badge or a motto.” he adds casually, before realising that the comment might be seen as impolite.

”Hrmmph, I’m here to get some security  gear." he offers quickly, trying to change the subject, " It might work in my favour if I can scare the shit out of people before I have to shoot them.” he continues nonchalantly.  ”Although I’m not quite sure what they have here yet though.  These high law planets tend to be a bit scrubby about some sorts of kit.”
This message was last edited by the player at 09:36, Wed 14 Dec 2011.

Nice to meet you Miss Armitage, thank you for seeing me. I’m leaving for Rangent in the next day or so and I’m interested in several of the items that are on offer, most of them actually.

Jago passes over the list he’s printed off
20 tons of refined ferrous metal ingots.  Cr   600 per ton (Cr12,000 total)
   5 tons of machine parts.                 Cr12,000 per ton (Cr60.000 total)
   2 tons of crystals.                      Cr30,000 per ton (Cr60,000 total)
   8 tons of protein concentrates.          Cr 2,200 per ton (Cr17,600 total)

I did consider some of the prices mentioned here a little steep though, and wondered if there were any room for negotiation. The crystals are the main point at issue, I’m not overly confident of the market at the other end and I’m still not sure whether I should invest in them, or not.

Tylen's chuckle only elicits a slightly rueful smile from Ash.  And small shrug.

Ash purses his lips slightly as he listens to Tylen explain why uniforms would never work on the Profit Margin.  He can only nod slightly as he pulls the samples back across the counter to inspect them further.  They look mighty interesting to him for a moment.  Then the quiet moment passes and he merely offers another slight shrug as he notes quietly and simply, "I-I don't think that the crew lacks moral direction..."  But of course, his fellow scout may feel quite differently.

Ash glances at his companion for a moment, giving him an appraising look when Tylen mentions purchasing his own uniform.  The irony is not lost upon him, but all that appears on his lips is a small smile.  "Good luck in your search." he notes with a touch of genuine enthusiasm.

After a momentary pause, the navigator quips rather happily, "Maybe you should wear the thing on your 'hot date'.  Women love men in uniform."  The raised eyebrow and slightly crooked, slightly sardonic smile that accompanies the statement reinforce the levity with which that last statement is made.

Yas chuckles and taps her own cheek in response to the engineer's rhetorical question.

"I'm on duty.  Our Lord and Master..." she starts and fails to keep a straight face, "Heheh.  Jago wants someone on the bridge at all time in case we get business, and I took first watch.  Then we'll all cycle around, taking turns, except for you and Jago, who will take over whenever he is done.  So if we stay a long time he'll be not getting any sleep, the old boy.  You got enough to do already, I bet."

Picking up a cup she decided to go for some coffee, rare as it is.  It might get her hyper enough to annoy someone at some point, or just keep her awake until she is done shopping.

"As for upgrades, doubt they have much here, but I'll check when I go off.  Might at perhaps find some civilian grade hardware, which will do until we can get in touch with our friends with the real deal."

Tylen frowns for a moment at Ash’s most literal interpretation of reprobate, but chuckles heartily at the idea of wearing his uniform to his Hot date.  ”The whole point is to be impressive to the point of being oppressive, without having to shoot someone.” Tylen  continues with a smile, well aware that he is speaking of a semi-official uniform current among the security profession.  ”The whole point is to have an extra weapon in the locker.  One that makes people think that I have right of way or that I have some extra authority that I don’t.” he continues ”A bit of a mind game, headology if you like,  that uses other peoples’ own expectation.” he pauses for a moment before he continues ”Although I expect it to have good armour capabilities as well.  Just in case.” He grins.

Then with a sly smile he adds ”I can just see Shui being impressed by me turning up at a restaurant dressed like a repressive security guard.” he comments, half  amused by the whole ‘hot date’ thing and surprised that Ash is taking Yas’s quip even half seriously.  Where did they think he was going to get a ‘hot date’ on a planet they had never visited before, all before they had cleared customs?
This message was last edited by the player at 11:32, Thu 15 Dec 2011.

Ash notices Tylen's frowns out of the corner of his eye when the navigator denies the presence of any questionable morals in the group.  But he also knows that his companion used the word first, and was likely well aware of its meaning.  Ash thinks no less of him, as he knows from the actions that he as seen in the last couple of weeks from the man - whether sparring with crewmates, interacting with passengers, or retrieving friends under heightened tension siutations -, that Tylen is far from amoral.  He may be flippant, sarcastic and a bit of scoundrel in other ways, but Ash's limited experience with Tylen has given him a glimpse of a genuinely caring and conscientious person hidden beneath.  At least, that is what Ash thinks he sees.

A raised eyebrow accompanies Tylen's explanation of the use of a uniform and who he is meeting for dinner.  Ash is not exactly surprised that Tylen and Shui are meeting for dinner, but given the Doctors previous protestations a few weeks ago, Ash does find it an interesting turn of events.  It makes sense given the time the two spent together on the Profit Margin's hull in System 728-907 and then again in the Denotam Customs line.

Ash nods as he agrees amiably, "Avoiding violence whether via an implicit deterrent or otherwise is an admirable goal, especially now that we are in the private sector.  I think that a uniform would be a great idea.  Have you chosen a color scheme?"  He gives his fellow scout a slightly self-depricating smile, as he adds, "Not that I am much of a fashionista - but, I am having some issues envsioning you settling on a simple white and blue, collared coverall..."

"Black." the ex-scout says with a grin "With a bit of grey for the hell of it." he adds.  "If I get it right, I will be able to do everything from a standard perimeter patrol, right up to full blown riot squad." he half chuckles at the thought, "Accessorised with every thing from a massive torch, that doubles as a club, through a shot gun ... up to, and including, the laser-carbine." he pauses again to allow Ash to picture the various 'Tylens' before he continues "Although I won't be able to get everything I need here."
This message was last edited by the player at 21:34, Fri 16 Dec 2011.

Shui continues to poke her way through the stores, studying things here and there...purchasing things here and there.  Some small items here, a larger item there.  Sometimes it requires a little time for testing, other times she knows what she wants the moment she sets eyes on it.  It's a quest, really, just like her other searches through curio shops on the hunt for a souvenir of a world she visits, but this time with a more focused intent.

Ash and Tylen spend a little time studying the uniforms.  Black seems to be a popular colour, in numerous styles, usually with the word "security", in Anglic or Bilanidin script (or both) somewhere on the tunic, in various colours and sizes, apparently depending on the degree of subtlety the wearer is trying for.  There is also the option to add text, to the customer's specification - company names, wearer's names, ship names...  There is, however, nothing in the way of armour more resistant than basic ballistic cloth and reflec coveralls...

The broker calls up some information on her terminal, then says, "The crystals are prime quality flawless zanalium with a guaranteed minimum transparency of 99.8%, manufactured here, in orbit above Denotam.  As I'm sure you realise, zanalium sees use in many high technology applications, notably as the basic raw material for spacecraft viewports.  I might be able to arrange a reduction in price for you, since you are prepared to take the whole consignment."  Miss Armitage smiles, and so the negotiations begin...

Shui meanwhile browses the stores, picking out various items every now and then.  Soon she has accumulated a small collection of shopping bags emblazoned with the logos of several different establishments...

And back aboard the ship Saskia and Yas drink coffee and chat in the relative silence.  Not total silence, of course - there is always something humming, buzzing or cheeping somewhere aboard the ship.  Saskia could probably tell an interested party (assuming she could find one) exactly what each of those sounds represents.  Still, at least for the moment, nothing is blaring, ringing, or howling...