Morning sees the crew of Profit Margin gathered for breakfast in the crew lounge.  A rough schedule for the day's activities has been posted:

• LOW PASSENGERS BOARDING - MAXIMUM SECURITY
• CARGO LOADING
• PASSENGERS BOARDING
• DEPARTURE

No times are mentioned on the list, but the ship has been fuelled, and Saskia's overhaul of the fuel purifiers is complete.  All of the long-term passengers are present and accounted for.  In theory, they could leave for Rangent immediately, though that would, of course, result in an empty hold and passenger cabins.

For the moment there is only breakfast, and conversation.

Before heading out for breakfast Tylen uses his data glove to check through the local stores looking for a Grav belt than he can purchase.

Jago wakes to the gentle chime of the computers alarm call, and says ‘thank you’, as he always does. He knows that computers are ‘supposed to be’ inanimate objects but he seriously doubts that this one is and considers her a friend. Any way, politeness costs nothing.

Jago wakes to the more insistent trill of the computers alarm call and says, ‘thank you,’ as he always does, though possible a little more abruptly than he had a few minuets before.

Jago wakes to the irritating buzz of the computers alarm call and says, ‘all right, all right, I’m up already,” then has to actually get out of his cot when the computer fails to fall for this ploy and continues buzzing.

As he cleans his teeth, Jago runs through the morning’s activities in his head, press ups and stretches, a quick jog around the hanger deck, shower, breakfast and then get ready for the low birth passengers.

Noticing the time, Jago skips the first three items and heads for the shower.

Finished her morning exercises, Shui checks her dataglove for the schedule while sipping at her tea.  Last night had been...fulfilling in a way she hadn't expected.  Certainly it hadn't ended in flames and perdition.

It make her wonder what this day will bring.

Noting the fact that passengers will arrive, she heads out a touch early to get breakfast ready - French Toast with syrup, today, along with whatever sides each individual member of the crew prefers.  Plus coffee, of course...and cocoa for Yasmine.

The Steward quietly hums as she works in the galley, enjoying the silence of the morning.

Gradually, and in spite of the air scrubbers, the smell of breakfast starts to permeate the ship, drawing the crew out of their quarters and into the lounge.

Yas edits the list of today's activity, adding her own comment:

• LOW PASSENGERS BOARDING - MAXIMUM SECURITY - DISARM ALL BEFORE BOARDING.
• CARGO LOADING
• PASSENGERS BOARDING
• DEPARTURE

“Good morning everybody,” Jago says cheerily as he enters the crew lounge, “ah! French toast.”

The captain ducks back into his quarters end emerges a moment later with an envelope sized, brightly coloured, plastic pack. Once seated he opens the packet and proceeds to layer the long, flat, irregular shaped, shiny brown contents between two pieces of the toast.

“Chocolate covered bacon,” he says, pushing the half empty pack to the middle of the table, “help yourselves, it’s pretty good.”

“Everyone get back OK? How are our passengers?” he asks between bites.

Before Ash entered the crew lounge, the navigator had gone through an hour long stretching routine under microgravity after being awoken to the chime of his alarm.  Of course, he had awoken with such a start that the book laying at his side was thrown from the bed to the floor.  Not exactly safe, but it was how he had drifted off to sleep.  He did not sleep in microgravity though, that was the saving grace.  Of course, in an emergency where gravity had be lost or cut, everything that was not tied down was a potential hazard.  So, Ash had to remind himself to follow protocols; he knew better and chided himself mentally to uphold that standard.

Drawn to the lounge by the smell of fresh brewed coffee and syrup, Ash wanders in and gives everyone there a reasonably awake, "Good Morning."  He helps himself to a serving of french toast with plenty of syrup and a mug of freshly brewed coffee.  He eyes the chocolate-covered bacon warily, but remains silent and rather circumspect about it.

The navigator shrugs slightly, when prompted about the other crew.  "Sorry, Boss." he notes apologetically following a sip of black coffee, "I'm here, but I don't really know about the whereabouts of anyone else."  He glances at Shui, "Well, other than the Good Doctor here.  And you, of course."

He does note that the Doctor is humming, "I will say that Ms. Tiesi seems happy enough this morning."  Ash ventures, "The Denotam Highport must agree with her."  He pauses for a moment as he takes another bite and swallows before he adds quite appreciatively, "Or she is just very pleased with the excellent breakfast that she had prepared this morning.  Very fine, indeed."

And after another swig of java, "And damned fine coffee."

"Captain Lanza," Shui chides, "I don't believe that's on your list of approved foods for your diet."  She eyes his 'addition' to her food with some distaste, but chooses not to take insult at the modification.  "Indeed, back here safe and sound, Captain.  And good morning, Mr. Tescali."

A small bow to the latter follows.  "Perhaps a little of both, Mr. Tescali.  It is good to see you in a fine mood as well."

Breakfast proceeds as normal, with the usual mix of conversation: talk of yesterday's shopping trips, today's plans, the nutritional quality (or otherwise) of the available foods and beverages, and the standard quota of jocular insults.  The only thing missing is speculation on the day's weather (perfectly controlled humidity and temperature, with zero chance of precipitation, and the occasional bursts of the same again).

And suddenly there is a break in the daily routine.

Profit Margin's computer, which seldom involves itself in the usual morning banter, emits an urgent chirp and the wall monitor at the secondary console in the lounge lights up to show a view of the docking bay.

Four people have just entered the bay, and are approaching the ship.  All are human, and one appears to be female.  Two of the men are shuffling along, holding an odd posture with their hands apparently clasped in front of them in an attitude of prayer.  The other man and the woman are walking behind them, and seem to be studying the ship as they approach it.
This message had punctuation tweaked by the GM at 20:42, Tue 28 Feb 2012.

"That's my cue," Yas says as she sees the approaching group and pushes to her feet.  "Quad, tag along and watch my back, will you?" she more tells Tylen rather than asking.

Readying her autoshot and grabbing a big duffle bag that she put near the exit to the cargo bay she grins at her fellow crew members and steps through the hatch.

Once in the cargo bay she starts to lower the ramp, allowing it to sing its song, and flips on the power to her new toy hat she picked up recently.  She walks down the ramp even as it is lowering the last bit and casually aims the gun in the direction of the approaching gang.

"That's far enough.  Put your little guns in this," she says with a commanding voice of a drill sergeant and tosses the duffle bag towards them.  "No one's coming aboard packing heat.  I'll keep it safe and we'll put you in and take you out in the right order.  Got a problem with that?"

She hefts her automatic shotgun and cocks an eyebrow, daring anyone to object.

Jago gives a wry smile as Yasmin’s demands follow close on the heals of the ramp’s groaning protest, no wonder Keryn is a little disillusioned.

The smile doesn’t last long though, he can’t help a little twinge of guilt as he watches the shackled prisoners on the screen, he has no idea what they will stand trial for but it could well be that he’s aiding and abetting an oppressive regime from what he’s since seen, still he’s committed now.

On a more practical note, Yasmin’s call for disarmament sets Jago thinking about security scanners. Right now there’s no real way of ascertaining whether these, or any of the other passengers are armed, hand held scanners, or perhaps something built into the ramp opening might be useful. He determines to talk it over with Saskia and settles back to enjoy his strong hot coffee and ‘chocky bacon buttie’.

Taking his cue from Yas, Tylen steps forward slightly, allowing himself to just come into  view of the potential passengers at the bottom of the ramp, but to stay out of sight of any one else in the bay.

No time for his new security uniform,  but back to the leather jacket with the aviators.  Revolvers slung at his hips, however, it is the laser carbine cradled in the crook of his arm that commands the attention.

This doesn't look good at all.  Evidently the security systems have picked up something from the incoming guests, and with a quick order to Tylen, Yasmine heads off to meet the approaching threat.  Pursing her lips, Shui considers the dirty dishes she's stacking in the small washer.  Finish and go, or go then finish?

She risks another glance at Tylen's back, now disappearing out the door, and wipes her hands clean.  "I will finish this upon my return."  Her baleful stare sweeps the galley.  "I trust nobody will attempt to do so themselves."  It's not a question.  Then Shui hurries out the door in pursuit of the vanishing security officers.

The Steward should be there as well, for greetings and settlings of the passengers if everything goes peacefully.

Curious that anyone would be carrying weapons, here, she muses.  There are rather strict laws.

The Steward comes up short in the area behind Tylen, out of sight of the bay and out of the line of fire.  It would be nonsensical and counterproductive to place herself in harm's way, further dividing the attention of the security personnel.

The two prisoners stop in front of Yas.  Their hands are still clasped in front of them, but now that Yas and Tylen have a clearer view, not filtered through the small monitor in the lounge, it's clear that they are both wearing shackles, connected by a short bar to a sturdy collar, so they are forced to hold their hands together in front of their chests.  The collars are secured by a lock on the back.

Neither man is particularly large or dangerous looking.

The third man, and the woman are both large and dangerous looking.  The woman starts to object to being disarmed, but the man waves a hand to calm her down, without taking his eyes of Yas, "Easy now, Kvetz.  We want to travel on this ship, we need to follow their rules."

He starts to reach inside his jacket, explaining as he does so, "I'm Gan, by the way, I don't have a gun on me, but I have an unloaded pistol in my luggage.  I also have a taser inside my jacket."

The woman grumbles, "I don't have any weapons either.  Just an autopistol in my bag.  Not loaded, of course."

Gan pulls a bulky taser from inside his jacket, careful to keep his fingers away from the controls, and drops it into the Security Chief's bag.

Yas sets the bag down behind her and begins using a hand held device to scan the passengers.  First the prisoners, then the two escorts.

Ash watches Yasmine and then Tylen leave.  He smiles slightly at Shui's admonition and warning to others with respect to the dishes.  He shrugs and nods amiably, then quietly watches the ship's steward also excuse herself.  Then the navigator stands, places his used plate and silverware in the sink and pours himself another cup of coffee.  He turns to regard the Captain.  "With your leave, Boss." Ash notes between sips, "I'll monitor the proceedings from the bridge.  You never know when the ability to open and close off sections of the Margin from a distance will come in handy..."

As he heads to the bridge, Ash quickly comms the rest of the crew on the common channel, ++I'm getting online - monitoring from the bridge.  If remote action is required, signal me.++  Setting his mug to the side, he sits down at his console and unlocks his session, fingers tapping away quickly on the dynamic controls.  Ash tries to pull up the internal and external visual sensor feeds as quickly as possible to be ready.  Just in case.

Jago nods in agreement, “good idea Ash, keep a three sixty watch,” he calls to Ash’s retreating back.

Left alone Jago smiles contentedly and takes his time over finishing his coffee, before rising to go meet his passengers.

Old habits made Yas automatically attempt to never actually get in the potential line of fire between their guests and Ty back at the ship.

"I know the feeling, I don't like being naked either," Yas says with a knowing grin at the woman.  At the introduction she says, "I'm Security Officer Crow."

"And I take the security of this ship seriously.  Dishonesty is not the way to get on my good side, or first name basis, and I don't need any toy to tell me you're holding out on me.  I know, because I would do the same.  In the bag."

She backs off enough to push the bag closer to them again and hefts her gun to help underline the seriousness in her voice, the scanner swinging briefly from the cord she attached to it to allow her hands to quickly be freed up.  A glare at the two prisoners ensures them that they are anything but forgotten and any folly on their part is going to cost them.

Tylen senses someone in the area behind him.   Partly because in her medical role she must oversee the disposition of the four into low berths he guesses it is probably the steward, but there is something else, perhaps the way that she walks or the position that she takes up, makes him sure of that fact without looking around.

There is a slight smile on his face as he sees Yas kick the back towards one of the guards, and although he can't exactly hear the words, he knows what that means.  But the smile drops from his face and the stock of the laser carbine slides close towards his shoulder while the muzzle swings around to cover the guard that Yas is talking to.

It is clear that he knows how to use his weapon and it clear that he is aware of the issue.  The only question the visitors might have, is whether he is prepared to burn someone who threatens one of the crew ...
This message was last edited by the player at 14:54, Sat 10 Mar 2012.

Saskia is still in the lounge, finishing her breakfast, as Jago gets up to leave.  She has one eye on the monitor, so she decides to give Jago some advice before he gets out the door, "I wouldn't go out there just now, Jago.  Looks like Yas caught the drannits up to something."  She nods towards the screen.  "You might be better off keeping down for a bit."

She smiles at him, "If one of them pulls a gun and blows your head off, you'll only have one place to keep your cigar."

Gan looks puzzled, then realisation dawns on his face, "Ah... sorry.  I forgot about this."  He pulls a knife from his waist, where it had been hidden under the skirts of his jacket.  Kvetz doesn't make a move as Gan keeps talking, "You know how it is.  Wear the damned groat sticker so much I sometimes forget I've got it."

He tosses the knife, large and heavy, with a single slightly curved edge, into the bag, and looks at Kvetz, "If you're still carrying, you'd better lose it, now Kvetz, or we're not partners any more."

"You'll have to forgive Kvetz, Crow.  She's Answerin, and that means she was born armed."

Kvetz scowls at Gan, then at Yas.  "Just ammo.  Didn't feel right without some weight there."  She pulls back her tunic to reveal a holster tucked in under her left arm, with a carton of ammunition wedged into the top of it.

As he listens to the exchange below Tylen's grin becomes a bit more fixed, and without looking away he mutters, hardly letting his lips move.  "Bounty hunters."  He hopes it will encourage Shui to get all four of these 'guests' sedated and in  Low Berths as quickly as she can.

Jago chuckles, “thanks, but these people are paying passengers Saskia, they are only the enemy in the eyes of Yasmin, but then that’s why she’s so good to have around. Don’t worry though, I’ll keep my head down until she’s declares them safe and sanitised.”

“Actually, I’m quite keen to check out their warrants or whatever,” Jago goes on in a more serious tone, “I’m not really comfortable with this to be honest, and the least I can do is make sure it’s legit and above board.”

Jago makes his way into the hold to greet his passengers, but stays back with Shui until Yasmin brings them up the ramp.

It's not hard to pick up the distaste in Tylen's tone.  At the same time, though, the situation seems to have relaxed somewhat.  Shui moves forward to the edge of the hatch, coming up beside Tylen, and shifts to be just inside his peripheral vision.

It's not as hard to judge as one might thing, especially given her practice with such things in her younger days.

"That certainly clarifies matters, Mr. Orgesh," she murmurs, studying the foursome.  Yasmine still hasn't given the all-okay sign, so she keeps back, unwilling to call out and potentially distract the security chief.

Not that she expects the 'guests' to suddenly pull pistols and hijack the ship, but...professional courtesy.

"Oh, I understand, I hate going through 'strip searches' myself," Yas says with a grin that grows when the content of the shoulder holster is revealed.  "Good idea, that."

"Hmm, thought you looked familiar, in a sense.  Served with a couple of you folks while I was in the Marines.  Damn good Marines too.  'The only thing to fear is fear itself and we choose to ignore the little frelnik' one would say," she says, squatting down to wrap a yellow and black striped tape around the opening of the bag.  "There, that'll show no one's been in the bag when you get 'em back at the other end."

Picking up the bag she steps aside and motions towards the ship.  "Welcome aboard Profit Margin."  Her gaze wanders over each person as they pass by and as she takes up the rear she calls in, < Coming in with our freezer guests now. >

Upon receipt of Yasmine's comm message, Ash nods to no one in particular since there is no one else on the bridge.  Via the video feeds, he already knows that the people are on the move - still, the Margin's navigator still comms his response back to Yasmine, ++Roger, Chief.  Paving the path.++

Ash tries to keep it simple, since the hold is so large.  As the their guests are escorted into the interior of the ship, his hands tap out a simple rhythm as he opens the door to the low berth chamber and closes of the rest of the various valves and doors to other portals out of the cargo hold.  He can't do much about some of the occluded angles that he has in the cargo hold due to the presence of actual cargo, but he tries to make due.  And, of course, that is why he has locked down the hold from the rest of the ship which makes the rest of the Profit Margin pretty safe from intrusion.  On the other hand, four of his crew mates are in the hold at this point - so, he remains vigilant.

Jago’s eyebrows try to take refuge in his hairline when the ramp comes up and he hears the latches and dogs slamming home in all the hatches and iris valves, why he wonders, is everyone so totally paranoid this morning.

With a sigh, and a count of three, he steps forward and offers his hand to the man who seems to be in charge.

“Good morning, welcome to the Profit Margin, I’m Jago Lanza, the Captain, and this is Miss Tiesi, our doctor, she’ll be making you comfortable and ensuring you’re safety during the passage.”

"Morning Captain.  I'm Gan, and this is Kvetz." the man who isn't wearing shackles replies, "These other two have outstanding arrest warrants for terrorist acts committed on Zircon.  The legal authorities there would quite like them bringing home to face the charges which have been laid against them."

"If possible I'd prefer that Kvetz and myself are put into the cryopods after the prisoners are frozen, and revived before they're brought out.  I'd also request that your ship's security team be present any time these two aren't asleep, at least until we can have our own weapons back."

The two prisoners say nothing while Gan makes his requests, and seem a little bored, if anything.  As Gan finishes speaking, one of them, the younger looking of the pair - looking to be in his mid-twenties, feels the need to add his own comment, "Independence for Zircon!"  He still doesn't seem very enthusiastic though.

It's a relief to know that someone at the controls is keeping an eye on the group, especially when Shui realizes they're dealing with terrorists.  Well, accused terrorists, until they've actually been judged guilty or confessed; she doesn't have the details.  Certainly the younger one has something to say on the matter, but it lacks...verve.  Even so, Shui has to fight to keep her lip from curling slightly.  Terrorists' disregard for human life - even their own - clashes violently with her beliefs and feelings, and, ironically, for once her and her father's philosophy are in accord.  Violence against innocents to make a point is inexcusable.

In any case, Yasmine and Tylen seem to have the situation well in-hand.

"Mr. Gan, Ms. Kvetz."  She steps up beside the Captain.  "As the Captain says, I am the ship's Steward and Doctor. I'm certain we can accomodate your desires with regards to the order of passengers being placed in cryosleep, as well as the security issues."  She glances at Yasmine, then Tylen.  "One of our officers will most certainly be on-hand until your charges are safely laid to rest, and will be present when they - and you - are awakened."

"When Security Officer Crow is finished here, I shall escort you to the lower bunks, and we can begin the medical tests."
This message was last edited by the player at 13:21, Tue 13 Mar 2012.

As the party start up the ramp, Tylen steps back leaving the top of the ramp clear.  Armed with the Laser carbine he really doesn't want anybody to close to him.  Anyway, close up work is Yasmine's area of expertise.

However, nonchalant as he is, he makes sure that his line of fire covers the top of the ramp, the door to the Low Berths and the area in between.

Jago nods in agreement as Shui reassures them and then asks, “may I see them please, the arrest warrants that is?”

Gan smiles at Jago, "No, you can't, because I don't have them.  You can however take a look at this."  He hands Jago a datapad, "This authorises me to retrieve escaped prisoners and other criminals on behalf of the government of Arden, pursuant to Clause 8347/2 of Arden's Unified Code of Criminal Law.  Zircon, as you may be aware, is a protectorate of Arden, and falls under Arden legal jurisdiction.  As you can see it's all official, there's the seal of the Arden Legal Bureau, and the thumb print of one Mikaella Daranuush, a junior administrator at the Bureau."

He reaches out and taps the screen of the pad, "This is my permit to operate as a retrieval agent in Imperial Space, fully authorised by the Imperial Ministry of Justice, as you can see," another tap, "and this one is Kvetz's.  And here... " tap, "are the wanted notices for these two, plus a third man that we have not been able to locate."

Jago studies the slate, notes down some details and compares the images with the people.

“Thank you, that will do nicely,” Jago says, returning the data slate with a smile.

“I’ll leave you with Miss Tiesi then, I hope you all have pleasant dreams and we’ll see you at Rangent.”

Ash watched closely the body language of his Captain and the crew in the low berths from his limited vantage point.  As Jago made ready to leave, Ash made sure the portal to the cargo bay was open for him, then shut again after he left.  Unless otherwise instructed, he intended for the door to remain closed while their guests settled in for their long winter's nap.  It might put Shui at slightly higher risk (though the probability remained incredibly low in his mind, as the security detail remained), but ensured that the rest of the crew and the ship itself would not be compromised very easily.

As he watched the sleepers get put to bed, Ash pondered for a bit, he had always found cold sleep a little freaky.  It was more on general principles really; while he trusted Shui's competence and ability to be able to her job well, it never seemed a great way to travel to him.  The medications and slowed metabolism gave him strange and stilted dreams that were not quite vivid and yet never really full formed either.  Ash found the few times that he had done it, cold sleep was a rather disquieting experience - one that he was not very fond of partaking in.  Of course, there were people that swore by it - He didn't follow the Tenets of Tsort either, and there were enough adherents to that, apparently.  So, obviously, Ash wasn't an authority on the topic by any stretch of the imagination.

He smiled slightly as he took another sip of coffee and continued to watch the displays.

A third one Tylen makes a mental note of the fact that there is a third, as yet un-apprehended, member of this group.  However, he stands impassively, las carbine cradled as he covers the area.

"I'm ready when you are," Yas says with a nod to the steward/doctor.

"Ty, keep an eye out while I accompany our guests.  Never know if the third one is struck by a stupid idea," she tells Tylen and then, at the bounty hunters, "Got a notice or an image of this third one, on the off chance they do act?"

"Certainly Ms. Crow," Shui replies, all smiles despite the gravity of the situation.  She tries to ignore the implications of a 'third one', and the potential for disaster both before and after lift-off.  "If you would all please follow me?  I'll take you to the Low Berths, where we can begin the medical testing."

Gan flips through the pages on the datapad again, then holds it out for Yas and Tylen to study.  "That's him.  Name's Edrin Othati-Fenn, that one's brother."  He jabs a thumb towards the prisoner who had previously spoken.  "Sometimes calls himself Jonn Andari or Jonn Cooper."

"As far as we can tell, he left Denotam two weeks ago.  Maybe headed for Calit."

The image bears enough resemblance to the prisoner to make it clear that the two men are siblings.

The two prisoners are instructed to stand next to two of the berths, and only then does the older one start to speak, muttering a repetitive litany under his breath, "Nu legg eg mig niour ao sofa, eg bio thriggja sal mín ao halda.  Aetti eg ao deyja aour en eg vakna, eg bio thriggja sal mína til ao taka."

He keeps murmuring the strange words, even as Shui starts to perform the medical.

Tylen is comfortable to let Yas deal with the image of the third suspect, as he stays back at distance.  After all the last thing is wants is one of this group, prisoner or escort, grabbing his laser carbine.
This message was last edited by the player at 23:42, Tue 20 Mar 2012.

Shui continues her work, requesting the prisoners move as she needs them to, and inquiring if they or their guards would like something to drink.  "We have tea, coffee, and carbonated juices," she quietly notes, taking their vitals and comparing them to the requisite ranges.  "It won't have any effect on your coldsleep comfort."  Such as it is.

At one point, while running her tests and logging them on her dataglove, she silently trips the datagloves' recording option to capture the words the prisoner speaks.  It's a curiousity, but worth investigating.  Perhaps she can do something to make him more comfortable when he rises.

Terrorists or not, the men have been placed in her responsibility.

With the excitement apparently over, and no shots fired, Saskia finishes the last of her breakfast and heads into her quarters.  There's nothing she can do in Engineering for the next 35 minutes because the ship is running system diagnostics for her.

That thought makes her stop as she enters her cabin and give the bulkhead a friendly pat.

Then, with some time on her hands, she decides to take a quick shower.  The ship will alert her if it finds anything unusual.

As Ash watches Jago exit, he opens and then closes the low berth accessway and the cargo hold irises as necessary to facilitate the Captain's passage - trying to anticipate his route.

Noting that Tylen and Yas are still on alert in the berthing area, Ash remains vigilant.  The navigator notes over the crew common channel, ++Securing the cargo hold bay doors.++  It was just a precaution in case there was an escape attempt.  He didn't see any harm in it, since they weren't expecting any passengers or cargo arriving in the immediate future.

The medical checks are done, and the two prisoners are injected with a cocktail of chemicals which should minimise the chance of ice crystals rupturing cell membranes and increase the chances of successful revival.  They climb into the cold berths, where Shui administers a sedative, and once they are asleep, their shackles are removed.  Then the berths are sealed, and the shackles are laid on top, at Gan's insistence, "It's a reminder.  When it's time to open them up, it'll remind everybody that they need to be careful with these two."

With the prisoners asleep and cooling down, Shui starts to repeat the process on the two bounty hunters.

Saskia meanwhile returns to engineering and starts prepping the drives for launch.

And on the bridge, the comm panel signals that there is an incoming call...

With the two prisoners in the tubes and the cargo doors closed, Ash relaxes slightly and notices that the incoming call alert.  His head tilts for a moment and he looks slightly thoughtful.

Given that the Captain appears to still be in transit, he taps his console to answer the call.  "Profit Margin." he starts out, simply and professionally, "Navigator Tescali speaking.  How can I help you?"

With little else to do at the moment, Tylen remains alert.

In his cabin, Jago sits at his desk mulling over some figures, “at this rate the mortgage will be cleared in about two hundred and fifty years,” he says to ‘the thing’ which now resides in it’s tray on the left corner of aforementioned desk. “I’ll be long gone but I guess you, and I hope the Margin will still be around.”

"Gentleman and lady." Shui begins work on the bounty hunters, offering them her usual brand of care and politeness...much as she has the accused terrorists.  It doesn't much matter to her, in the end, if they're terrorists, bounty hunters, philosophers, ascetics, families, or dignitaries (not that she's likely to get any of the latter in the Low Berths); while she might not speak to certain of them outside of the ship, when in her care, all deserve the same human warmth.

She pauses a moment to message the captain.  ++ Captain Lanza?  I have completed securing the prisoners in the Low Berth ++ - that sounds awkward to her - ++ and have begun work on their guards. ++
Pausing for a quick smile at her watchful security, she continues.

"Hello, Profit Margin." the woman's voice says cheerfully from the comm panel, "I'm calling from Descartes Consolidation Factors LIC.  We have a mixed cargo for delivery to you today.  It's already loaded on one of our vehicles and can be at your berth ten minutes after leaving our warehouse.  What time would you like it delivered?  And do you need us to provide cargo bots to assist with loading?"

With their prisoners on ice, Gan and Kvetz relax considerably.  Gan smiles as Shui proceeds with their examination, "One of these days I'm going to take a trip where I don't have to be frozen.  It probably won't be on business for Zircon, mind you."

"Maybe the doc here could surgically extract some of their cash." Kvetz agrees, though her smile is somewhat strained.

Yas and Tylen are still on guard though, like Gan and Kvetz, their main concerns are now no longer any real concern.  Gan glances in their direction, "Does your job pay well?  Better than ours, I bet."

Saskia is working in Engineering, going through the results of the system diagnostic.  Everything from the lighting circuits in the passenger accommodations to the HEPlaR flow controller to the Jump field generator core... the data flows across her screens...

Jago, meanwhile, is working quietly in his office...

Ash glances down at one of the small displays on his console that has the morning agenda on it.  No times are listed, but the order is clear, cargo is to be loaded next before passengers.  The navigator of the Profit Margin tilts his head for a moment doing a bit of estimating.  "Ah, thank you, Miss." he notes with some uncharacteristic verve, perhaps merely reflecting back some of her enthusiasm.  "We were expecting a call from you." Ash hedges, "Let me confirm the timing with the Captain..."  He puts the woman on hold for a moment.

He quickly texts Jago, ++Skipper, I have Descartes Consolidation Factors LIC, on the line.  They are trying to firm up delivery schedules.  Is 9 o'clock fine?  And do we want to use their cargo bots?++  While waiting, Ash starts to tries to pull up some information on Descartes over the local net, just to make sure they are on the up and up.

"Pay well?  We get paid?"  Yas seems taken back and turns to look at Ty questioningly, before a grin cracks on her face.

The grin fades even as she turns back to Gan.  "Hard to say, since I don't know what they pay you.  But I've got a home I like and good friends around, which is more worth than money to me.  How about you?"  An eyebrow is lifted as she waits for an answer.

“.  .  . what? .  .  . oh,  .  .  . yea, nine o’clock’s fine and the cargo bots would be good, yea.” Jago seems a little distracted initially, but Ok once he gets into gear.

“Have you got an image of that third guy, best keep an eye out that he’s not snuck in amongst the loading crew or pasangers.”

Gan shakes his head ruefully, "Put it this way... we're, technically, self-employed.  Which means we have to pay all our own expenses out of whatever Zircon pays us.  To make matters worse, if we have to bring 'em back, alive or dead, then we end up paying their ticket home too.  Or a cargo fee.  This... " he taps the lid of one of the berths, "... is the best we can afford, even for ourselves.  Just once I'd like to travel on a ship where I can look out of the window."

"Tell them about Tannis." Kvetz interrupts.

"Oh, yes, Tannis.  I wondered when you'd bring him up again." Gan pauses for a moment as Shui takes  a blood sample, "I was younger then, and stupider.  I took a contract to bring back a man called Tannis Keladet, but by the time the papers came through, he was about two weeks ahead of me.  So off I went, always tracking him down, then finding that he'd moved on.  And every ticket I bought ate into the fee.  It finally took me twelve Jumps to catch him, then I had to bring him home, which was four more Jumps, paying for two tickets.  I got back, and Zircon paid up, and I felt pretty good about getting my man.  Until I realised I'd miscalculated the exchange rate and I'd lost a lot of money by doing that job."

"Nowadays I won't take a contract if the trail is more than a week old.  And Kvetz reminds me about Tannis at every opportunity"

Another pause as Shui shines a low powered laser into his eyes, then, "But there is a plus side to the way I live, though.  Would you believe I was born in 1032?  I'm 75 years old.  Side effect of spending more than half my life, since I was 25, in the freezer.  Short of somebody getting off a lucky shot, I reckon I'm going to outlive everybody who ever annoyed me."

Yas chuckles and shakes her head.  "I respectfully disagree.  You aren't actually 75, you merely pushed the pause button a few too many times.  And the way you put it I doubt you can save enough credits to make it worth it financially either.  'sides, I rather not outlive my friends via that particular method."

"As for Tannis..."  A pause to sigh deeply.  "I guess you will have to live with that long after everyone else have forgotten about him."  She winks at Kvetz.

Ash nods as Jago responds to both questions in the affirmative.  ++Aye, aye, Captain.++ he notes, then switches the connection, muting the local channel and taking the Descartes Consolidated representative off of hold.

"Ma'am?" the navigator queries semi-rhetorically, pausing only momentarily, "How about 0900 hours?  And any robotic assistance would be appreciated."  Then he pauses for her to respond to the affirmative - placing her quietly on hold, while he queries Jago again.

++Pardon me, Captain?  What third guy?++ he comms quickly to the Captain.  It's the first that he has heard anything about that...

Tylen grins, but leaves the banter to Yas, after all, she enjoys it that much more than he does.  Still he does relax slightly, although not so much as to drop his guard.

"Well," Shui murmurs, checking her data, "you're in excellent shape for a man your age."  She glances speculatively at the woman.  "First glance, I see nothing out of the ordinary, though I need to speak with Ms. Kvetz for a moment.  Routine question." With a small smile to the rest of the hold, she moves over to sit next to the woman and begins going over her dataglove.

"Now then," she murmurs, lowering her voice - not whispering, but merely keeping the conversation between the two of them.  "Ms. Kvetz, is there something the matter?  You seem on edge.  Is it the coldsleep?  Or something else?"

"See?  Excellent health." chuckles Gan, leaning against the berth, "Going to live forever, or die trying."

Kvetz looks less happy, scowling at Shui, "Since your friend there insists we can't carry guns, I'm practically naked.  And I'm about to be dead for a week, to all intents and purposes.  What could be the matter?"

She relents a little then, "Sorry Doc, I know you're just doing your job.  You, too." she nods towards Yas and Tylen, "But I really hate this part of my job.  The rest is fine, but this part... not so much."

The reply from Descartes Consolidation Factors is prompt and still cheerfull, "Certainly, we can have your cargo with you at 09:00, and will provide a crew of cargo bots.  Have a good day."
This message was last edited by the GM at 11:11, Sun 08 Apr 2012.

"Ah."  Shui nods in understanding.  "I see the problem.  My apologies, Ms. Kvetz."  There's no point in explaining 'rules are rules', or 'Captain Lanza and Security Officer Crow insist', because that would simply insult the woman's intelligence.  She knows this.  She knows the drill.  She just doesn't like it, and that much Shui perfectly comprehends.

"Fortunately, for you it will be a momentary discomfiture," she murmurs, then offers a half-smile of commiseration.  "Not so much of a reassurance, I am aware.  Would that I have something better to offer."

“One of those prisoners has a brother or something who is still at large,” Jago tells Ash, “the bounty hunters think his off planet already but just be aware.”

Ash taps the external comm link to unmute it.  "Ah, no, thank you, Ma'am." he responds slightly distracted as Jago's response registers, "We'll see you in about an hour."  And with that the navigator of the Profit Margin severs the link.

He cocks his head to the side, his brow furrowed slightly.  "There is a third bounty still out there?" he asks semi-rhetorically.  Of course, he knows it's true, Jago has no real reason to lie to him.  So, Ash plows on trying to cover his incredulity a bit, "Hmmm... okay, I'll keep up the vigil, then."

He adds as an afterthought, responding to the Captain's original question, "I don't have an image of the man in question.  Can you forward one to me?  You are absolutely right, sir.  We wouldn't want him to slip on-board as a stevedore or passenger..."

The second set of medicals shows up nothing to be concerned about, and Gan and Kvetz, having been dosed up with sedatives, climb into the cryoberths and the lids are sealed.  The temperatures drop, very quickly at first, then more slowly.  A quick check shows that the prisoners' berths are currently at a balmy 103 Kelvin, and still cooling, so the occupants are unlikely to be making trouble any time soon.

A tell-tale lights up on Ash's panel, and is mirrored on Jago's, and in the Captain's office.  The computer reports that Profit Margin currently stands at the minimum level of readiness for a successful launch.  In Engineering, various auxiliary systems continue their preflight calibrations and come online as they are completed.  Whereas Jago and Ash, have small lights which simply tell them that the ship is ready to go, Saskia is watching a more complex display, which currently informs her, for example, that the hot water supply for all crew and passenger quarters has been checked, and is set for optimal temperature...

The low berths with the prisoners in reach the temperature at which Argon shifts from a liquid state to a solid one, and a series of indicators flick from amber to green.  Gan and Kvetz are still firmly in the amber, but their vital signs have dropped to the point where they are no longer going to be any danger.  Yas and Tylen can relax, at least as far as the four passengers are concerned...

With nothing further to do for a while, most of the crew is able to stand down.  Ash has a quiet word with Yas and Tylen, and is soon presented with Gan's datapad, complete with image of the third terrorist, one Edrin Othati-Fenn, a.k.a. Jonn Andari, a.k.a. Jonn Cooper.    He's a thin faced individual, with a sallow complexion and a straggly beard.

The telltales on the second set of berths shift to green.  Everybody is at the correct temperature, and Shui can relax.  At least for a little while.

09:00 rolls around, and with it the cargo delivery, punctual to the second.  Two electic vehicles arrive in the docking bay, one much larger than the other.  The driver of the larger truck starts opening up the sides, while the driver of the van opens up the rear compartment, then walks towards the ship with a large datapad cradled on his left arm.  Behind him there is movement, and strobing orange light, as four yellow and black robots step down onto the bay floor, their limbs unfolding and telescoping to their full operational deployment.  Then they simply stand where they are, staring into space.

Both men are wearing orange coveralls, set with bright yellow Hi-vis strips, and neither of them resembles the missing terrorist.

The truck driver finishes opening the side of the vehicle to reveal an assortment of containers.

His partner, meanwhile waves to the remote viewing camera, and waits for somebody to drop the ramp.

The intercom in Shui's quarters chimes.  As soon as Shui answers, Keryn's voice is there, full of eagerness, "Would I be in the way if I stood outside to watch the robots?"

With robots and a delivery team to do the loading, Tylen changes into his new security clothes -  black trousers, dark grey shirt, and a lightweight black jacket - a black beret and a utility belt complement the look.  The "SECURITY" badge on the beret makes it plain what his role is.  The dark glasses are obligatory.

"So what do you think?" he asks generally as he prepares to enter the hold.

Jago ensures that Yasmine knows the cargo is at the door; he then lowers the ramp and heads out to check the manifests and cargoes.

Passing Tylen on the way he raises an eyebrow, “hm, very, er, officious,” he says.

Shui glances up from her comfortable chair.  One eyebrow rises, the only sign of exasperation the Steward permits herself.  Then she flicks the holo-bookmark, closes her novel into the dataglove, and pushes herself to her feet.  The tea is left to grow cold; answering the intercom takes precedence, and it's important to talk from a standing posture.  It changes the voice.

++ Ms. Taylor.  A pleasure to hear from you. ++ She smiles - and it's genuine - at the young woman's enthusiasm. ++ Why not meet me at the bay, and we can ask? ++ She's already striding out of the door, heading for where the mechanix are hard at work.  ++ I'm certain it won't be a problem.++

Pausing, she checks her clothing.  Their 'security' might be on hand, and Shui would like to look presentable.  Foolishness, Shui, she remonstrates herself.  Next you will be putting on makeup when wandering out at 'night' for a tea.

Even so, she checks.

Ash glances up from his navigator's console on the bridge when the call from the stevedores outside came in.  It takes him a moment to pull out of the fugue of calculations that he was engaged in, but he refreshes the internal and external video feed displays, pulling them up from the background.

Noticing that the Captain is already on his way, Ash frowns slightly, noting mentally that he should have been faster - so as to not bother Jago unnecessarily.  But then, the Captain has full knowledge of the manifest and it is his prerogative, the navigator of the Profit Margin reminds himself.  Still, he sits up slightly and tries to remain vigilant as the loading sequence kicks into full gear.  Ash does have the image of Edrin Othati-Fenn (a.k.a. Jonn Andari, a.k.a. Jonn Cooper) pulled up to the side.  And while none of the stevedores (or the cargo bots) look like Mr. Othati-Fenn, Ash is nonetheless comforted by the 'official' presence of Tylen (who he notes mentally to complement him on his finery when he gets the chance) in the hold to help oversee the festivities.

He comms a short, simple missive over the common crew channel, ++Eyes up on the Bridge.++ as he settles into watch the displays.

"That's the point, boss.  It might just make people think twice before they try anything on." Tylen responds to Jago's comments as he follows the captain out to the ramp "  I couldn't resist trying it all on, but it won't see the light of day all that often." he adds dryly.


Tylen's lips quirk upwards slightly as Shui and Keryn pass his duty position but his dark glasses make it impossible to see exactly what his eyes are doing.  "Good Morning, Ladies" he comments casually.

"Mr. Ogresh," Shui intones gravely as she and Keryn pace past the security detail.  "The clothes suit," she tosses over her shoulder, unable to keep the corners of her lips from twitching.  Not out of amusement at his looks - cut well, the uniform fits to a 't', and Tylen presents a solidly official appearance - but from genuine pleasure at the greeting.

I shall have to work on that, she ponders, fretting about her professional appearance, then briefly ponders his sunglasses.  They look good, Shui decides, but...

...suddenly she's nervous about her clothes after all, and firmly resists the urge to check for a wrinkle or, perhaps, a sock clinging to the back of her leg via static.

Raising her dataglove, she speaks over the comm to the bridge, keeping her voice loud enough that Tylen can make it out as well. + "Pleased I am to see things are secure, Mr. Tescali, Mr. Orgesh.  Ms. Taylor expressed an interest in watching the loading procedures, and I am accompanying her. " +

The ramp lowers with its usual screech of protest and Jago makes his way down to meet the cargo crew.  The man with the datapad stands his ground outside the ship and calls up to Jago, "We have your cargo, Captain... er.... Captain Lanza.  I just need to go up and scan the hold so that the bots know where to put everything, then we can start loading."

He eyes Shui and Keryn with some concern as Jago checks the datapad, then relaxes as the two women move off to one side and find some storage bins to sit on.

Keryn studies the robots.  "They aren't the same as at home." she observes, "Somebody told me once that most things aren't really standard across the Imperium.  Worlds and subsectors and sectors have their own designs for things because it's not economical to make shoes at one end of the Imperium and ship them all the way to the other.  For some things it's not even economical to ship them to the other side of the same world.  So here I am, only a few parsecs from home, and already the robots are different."

“That looks to be in order,” Jago says as he hands back the datapad, “come aboard and take a look.”

Jago invites both men aboard and shows them the layout of the hold, discuses weight distribution and the significance of various markings on the floor designed to ensure that access to all the doors, hatches and access panels is kept free.

Only one of the men enters the ship, the one with the datapad.  As Jago talks to to him he pulls a cylindrical instrument from his pocket and starts pointing it at various parts of the hold.  A low powered laser projects from the device, which produces a series of bleeps as the beam is swept over the hold.

Then they step outside again.  A button is pressed on the instrument, and the robots spring to life.  Their broad, boxy, two metre tall forms begin hauling containers off the cargo transport, using lasers of their own to scan shipping labels.  Then they start trudging up into the ship, gripping the containers firmly in their manipulators.

"Well, they seem to know what they're doing." Keryn remarks, watching the machines working with rapt attention.

"The universe is a varied place," Shui muses in reply to Keryn's observation.  "I often forget that - after a while, one starts missing the little differences, focusing on only the gross.  It's good to gain a new perspective from time to time, to remind oneself of the small things." She smiles.  "There are even places where robots are not trusted, and exo-frames are used for such tasks."

The steward shakes her head as the robots begin their work.  "I sometimes wonder about them.  The robots.  Beings evolve, and as we make robots more and more complex, is it not possible some hitherto unknown factor in programming will allow their learning capacities to develop some kind of self-awareness?"  One eyebrow cocks.  "What, then, shall we do with those robots?"

Ash continues to watch the proceedings in the hold for a bit.  But, as the festivities wear on, he starts to fiddle with the various sensor inputs.  He checks to see if the internal audio sensors have any directional and gain filters, testing to see if he can home in on the standard human voice range.  Which in this case, of course, turns out to be any test conversation, such as the one between Shui and Keryn.  The navigator of the Profit Margin figures that he has had enough experience with communication equipment and protocols that he should be able to manage something with whatever was on-board the Margin.  Especially, since Jago and Conrad had indicated that there had been some 'upgrades' done by the INI at some point.

He whistles a catchy little ditty, which Ash only knows as Old Solomani - but, which a 20^th century Solomani might call a traditional Irish jig.

As Keryn had remarked, the machines seem to know what they're doing.  Under the watchful scrutiny of Yas, Jago and Tylen they carry the containers into the hold, positioning each one onlt after checking the area to ensure that it conforms with the parameters laid down by their software, and by their supervisor's scan of the compartment.

Out in the docking bay, Keryn herself ponders Shui's question for a while before answering, "I don't know.  Somebody cleverer than me will have to work that out.  I did see a documentary once that said there are groups on Capital that are studying computers and robots to try and improve how they think.  Probably somebody from one of those places will figure it out, and the Moot will make some new laws about it."

In Engineering, the last of the displays turns green.  Everything is apparently working normally.  Saskia routes the information to the Bridge, or rather a summary of it, which could basically be interpreted as, "Good to go."

Saskia takes a few moments to go around patting the drives and power plant.  Everything is running smoothly, just as she would expect, given how well she treats them.  She takes a sip of coffee and scowls as she realises that it's gone cold.  "I'm going to get a fresh coffee.  Behave yourselves while I'm gone." she admonishes the machinery before stepping though into the rear crew lounge.

Making her way through to the percolator she encounters nobody.

Which is odd.

Then she hears somebody whistling on the bridge.  She pokes her head through the door and spots Ash sitting in his usual position with his back towards her, so she calls out to him, "Well, somebody sounds cheerful."

Tylen watches from his position at the top of the ramp, keeping an eye out for unusual activity in the loading area whilst making sure he stays out of the robots' way.  It is certainly easier having the bots lots the cargo rather than having to do it himself, and that provokes a small smile.

Crew and passenger safety is Tylen's main priority while there are strangers aboard, or in  the vicinity of, the ship - so he makes a point of regularly checking that both Shui and Keryn are all right.  A smile flickers across his face as he notices how well dressed the stewardess is, not a wrinkle in sight and good style.   Just for a moment his mind flicks back to that lazy day swimming with the dolphin, and the smile broadens, as he recalls the doctor in a swim suit and short shirt.  Much better than everyday shipboard gear ........

Shui is a touch disappointed that Keryn doesn't engage in speculation, but shows it not at all.  Instead, she nods along with the other woman's words.  "I expect there would be people studying artificial intelligence and so forth rather closely.  The implications on society are enormous, as are the dangers."

Leaning back, she studies Keryn for a long moment before shifting subjects.  "And how are you feeling at this time, Ms. Taylor?  Any health complaints or issues?"

She's aware of Tylen's regard; something seems to have amused him, given his wide smile.  It's a battle to avoid brushing down her clothing or smoothing imaginary wrinkles.

From his rather informal slouch over the console as he worked quietly, the navigator of the Profit Margin sits straight up.  His sensor displays were still pulled up and the speakers broadcasting over the main tactical displays with the video feeds.  Despite the rather surprised posture, Ash quickly notes, "Ah.  Ms. Blake."  In response to her question, he shrugs slightly, "Just an old song that my mother once taught me.  It was one of her favorites..."  He looks distant for a brief moment and then returns to the present.

"Just testing out a bit of acoustical theory..." he adds quickly.  He motioned for her to come closer and then continued typing away.  "I have been messing around with a couple of filters and white noise generators." Ash narrates as he types, "to see if I can enhance and maximize the gain on human voice range."  He purses his lips slightly, "But, I must have miscalculated the phase offset or improperly done the reverse 2D modified Fourier filter approximation wrong."  The slightly tinny, garbled voices of Keryn and Shui are recognizable at least a third of the time.  But, with all of the background noise, it is incredibly difficult to make any sense of what they might really be talking about - except perhaps in the most broad terms.

He pushed the multi-line equation onto one of the side screens and gestured to it, "Care to take a look?"

While Ash and Saskia discuss the technicalities of eavesdropping, the faint sounds of the conversation between Shui and Keryn can still be heard from the monitors.  They seem to be discussing robots at first, but then the conversation switches to health matters...

Keryn smiles at Shui, "The economic factors affecting robot development are complex.  On the one hand, they can work out to be cheaper, and safer, to use for some work than organic labour, but as soon as you start to try and improve their intelligence to match that of those organics, they are soon priced out of the market.  Simply put, the cost difference between an intelligent human worker and an unintelligent one is far smaller than the difference in cost between an intelligent robot and a dumb-bot."  The way she says it, it sounds as if she's quoting something she heard, probably in a documentary, "So most research into improved robotic intelligence is performed using unique models which are never intended for mass marketing.  Improvements which filter down to mass-produced robots tend to be in peripheral systems: power supplies, cooling systems, limb mechanics, and the like, while the more advanced processors and memory units remain confined to the research institutes, for the most part."

She giggles then, "Sorry.  I watched a lot of stuff on the trid when I was growing up.  I suppose some of it sank in."

"I'm feeling quite well, thank you.  No issues as far as I'm aware.  I'm being well looked after."

And all the time the robots continue march in and out of the ship, their movements perfectly coordinated...

Saskia shakes her head, "It depends where the sources are.  If they're somewhere outside the ship then we don't have much in the way of audio capability out there.  There's a pickup near each airlock and one by the ramp, but they're very basic.  They're only intended  for use when somebody comes to the door and needs to ask for access."

The engineer seats herself at Jago's panel and calls up some information on the external audio sensors, "Yeah, here we are.  I suspect that pretty much anything more than a metre or two away is going to be pushing the envelope.  You can mess with the filters all you want, but you'll keep running up against the limitations of the hardware.  Maybe we can get Jago to swing for a big steerable parabolic mic.  You know, the sort of thing that can hear a mouse fart from a hundred klicks away."

She laughs, "We just need to think of a reason that we need it."

Jago watches the loading with the satisfaction of a man who thinks he’s struck a good deal and after drawing deeply on his unlit cigar, an blowing a long plume of virtual smoke into the air, he moves over to where Tylen is standing.

“You know Tylen, I’m not really one for formality, including uniforms and patches and stuff like that, but, you do look very professional. If you want to wear it, that’s fine by me.”

"Only trying it out, Boss." the ex-scout offers with a grin.  "I thought it would be handy next time we were caught up in a riot, like we were on Frezie.  If there is a chance the police are going to be involved, then sometimes it is good to look the part." the ex-scout says as he unconsciously rests his hand on the long torch that sits in a loop on his belt.

"When we get the chance I'll get a shotgun and military looking holster as well." he shrugs  "Sometimes when you look the part, you get shot at less." says before pausing for a moment.

"I also intend to get a grav belt, a camo suit and a a heavier duty laser rifle, when I can get my hands on them." he confides quietly with a smile down towards Shui and Keryn "If Yas is going to play 'marines' in that new armour of hers, then I need to have better sniping and flanking than I do at the moment." he says glumly  "And we need to teach everyone else to keep their heads down ...." he concludes as he thinks of the potential crossfire that could be  flashing about if Yas really needed to wear that armour in  a fight.

Jago receives the news of the intended military upgrade with a neutral expression frozen on his face, there’s a pause as the cigar rolls from one corner of his mouth to the other and he says quietly, “you are kidding, right?” Eye’s flick across the room to Yasmin and back, “you’re not, are you.”

With the neutral expression still carefully fixed, Jago turns away and walks towards the passenger accommodation, muttering something about giving people rope and trading the skimmer for a hover tank.

Both of Kimiko's eyebrows rise.  "Sank in?  Impressively so, Ms. Taylor."  She turns back to study the robots for a moment.  "A fine explanation, a sensible one.  Very logical.  I shall keep that in mind, in the future.  My thanks."

Nodding thoughtfully, Shui changes the subject slightly.  "Ms. Taylor, have you always had such a splendid memory?  It's quite impressive.  Most people could not explain such without some time to recollect discussions once heard or watched on the TriD."

She purses her lips.  "It might be quite advantageous in securing employment." Then Shui laughs quietly.  "Pardon me.  I certainly do not wish to pry." Her eyes return to the robots and a melancholic shadow crosses her face as she watches them pace through their tasks, going through the motions without any zest, feeling, or enjoyment.

"Sometimes," she muses, "the universe tosses mirrors in front of our faces, does it not?"

Her eyes catch movement - Jago, and he doesn't look pleased.  For a moment her brows knit together, and Shui files this for later discussion with the Captain.
This message was last edited by the player at 11:06, Sat 12 May 2012.

"My memory isn't that good." laughs Keryn, "I must have seen that particular show  more than two dozen times.  It was imported from Regina, or maybe Lanth, or somewhere, so it was a bit different, and that made it interesting.  It wasn't the same as the local programs."

She becomes a little wistful, "It was different enough to make me interested in robots.  I'd even started looking seriously into maybe getting a job designing them.  Was saving up for classes and everything.  Had a good job in a consumer tech store, and it paid quit well.  Of course, my savings are gone now, what with having to buy a ticket off Frenzie." 

Jago steps into the passenger lounge and finds Corlan and Eneris engaged in a game of Darrian whist, while something classical plays softly in the background.  Corlan looks up as the captain enters, "Captain Lanza!  We don't often see you over here.  Eneris and I are just taking advantage of Keryn's absence... one of us stands a chance of winning the game when she doesn't play.  Care to join us for a few hands?"

The cargo loading is almost complete.  From Tylen's vantage point at the head of the ramp he can see that only a few containers remain.  The robots have done a good job, stacking the cargo carefully and tidily.  Somebody will still need to secure the cargo, but that's the easy part...

On the bridge, Ash and Saskia are playing about with the audio pickup controls.  Every so often they manage to get a marginal improvement in the quality of what they're hearing, but then they lose it again as the tweak the controls in an effort to get a further improvement.

“That would be nice,” Jago smiles and lowers himself into a chair, “I really don’t spend enough time on this side of the ship,” he muses as he makes himself comfortable, “perhaps I ought to start hosting a ‘captain’s table’ now’n again, or something like that.”

“So, what did you think of this station?”, he asks as he fans out his hand.

"I see," Shui states, nodding thoughtfully.  Recalling how furious and insulted Keryn became when she offered to assist with her passage, she wonders how the woman will take it when she finds out Yasmine has dealt with that issue.  Completely.

"Robotics designer?"  She ponders this for a few heartbeats - slow, even ones.  "I suspect you can take a course via computer for that, should you desire.  I could assist with setting that up, at the next port; there must be standardized classes available, with specific ones for finishing in a particular region of space."  She frowns.  "Those would likely be the more costly ones, and you would have to save further for that.  For work...are you interested in finding work for yourself now, Keryn?"  She cocks her head to the side to study the woman in full.  "It could be difficult, given your situation, but not impossible."

Ash smiles slightly enigmatically to Saskia, as he chides flippantly, if a bit playfully, "Aw, but a parabolic array would take all of the fun out of it wouldn't it, Ms. Blake?"

He definitely seems to be enjoying the 'chase' more than the goal.  Ash seems to be willing to try any new algorithm that Saskia suggests and knows a fair few of them himself.  The Profit Margin's navigator doesn't seem to be overly creative in his applications, more he seems to be quite well read on the subject.  Ash scraps the latest set of calculations for a new set, if there is the mere potential promise of a modest gain in one of the problem areas that plagues the current set of parameters.  He really does seem to be enjoying himself.  "Should we try an additional four-fold symmetric cut off on the wave surface?" he ventures after the latest filter appears to push out too far in the mid-range frequencies.

Eneris speaks first, "Once you've been to one of these fracking places, you've been to them all."  He doesn't seem too serious about the statement, and Corlan laughs in response, "So you keep saying.  Personally, I have found the city quite interesting.  Keryn and myself visited two museums yesterday, one of which was dedicated to the colonisation of Denotam.  We ate lunch in a restaurant with a window which provided a panoramic view of the planet, and of its primary."

"Nice, rub it in again.  I spent the day shopping for cheap clothes."

And the whole time, the three men are playing cards...

Shui's questions give Keryn pause for thought, "I suppose I could study more, once I know where I'll be living.  I did say tell Yas and the Captain prefer a planet with at least the same level of technology as Frenzie.  Once I know where that is, I'll know what I need to learn.  I suspect that I'll have a lot of time at home soon, so I could do a home study course."

A smile, and a nod, "Yes, I need to find a job until then, though.  AS I said, I have a little experience working in a store, so that sort of work should be about the same everywhere, I think."

The man who had already been aboard, scanning the hold, walks back up the ramp, nodding to Tylen as he approaches, "I just need to check how they're doing.  They'll be finished soon."  He stops by the security man and peers into the cargo hold, "That looks fine, should be plenty of space for what's left.  Not like a couple of days ago when something messed up the commlink between the scanner and the control unit, and the bots stood all the containers in a single line that stretched from the back of the hold all the way out the loading door."
This message was last edited by the GM at 21:48, Tue 15 May 2012.

Tylen smiles as Jago realises that he is serious about the various pieces of security equipment he intends to invest in.  While he might not have the same sort of military experience as Yas -  Tylen has enough security experience to  understand the subtleties of the role.  And in these unsettled times, you have to be prepared ...

Tylen chuckles as the man describes the long row of containers  "That must have been something to see" he answers with a grin  "So where's the control unit then?" he asks conversationally.  "I'd have thought that scanner you had would sort it all out and then there would be some autonomy from the bots?" he half suggests "But then I know next to nothing about bots." he confides.
This message had punctuation tweaked by the player at 14:50, Sat 19 May 2012.

Shui nods slow. "My apologies, Ms. Taylor.  I should have been more clear."  She taps a search query into her dataglove.  "I meant that I could assist you in setting up an education program on the ship's computers, if you desire.  We could purchase it at the next port, install it here for your use, and you could begin your education as you travel." 

She shrugs.  "There is no time like the present.  On the other hand, there is no need to rush.  I merely offer it as a suggestion."

"You could probably get a little more out of them if you took the gain up a couple of percent, but you're well past the point of diminishing returns." Saskia says, pondering the readouts.  "You're up to the point now where it will start to get worse as you take it higher because you'll just get more of the background noise.  And the input isn't sharp enough to let you create a really precise filter.  Take it one way, and too much dren doesn't get touched.  Take it the other way and the filter bleeds over the voices.

"And the trouble is that as you ramp up the gain the sweet spot between the two gets narrower."

"Control unit's in the van.  The brain's the most expensive part of a bot, at least if you need something that can think for itself." the delivery worker explains to Tylen, "So in cases like this, where a group of bots will all be working to the same instructions it's cheaper to have a single master brain running a group of dumbbots.  Especially if the master also plans the loading, checks the manifest, and monitors the condition of the other bots."

"So the van is transport for the team, and works as a brain for them.  They have just enough intelligence to walk without falling over, and the master tells them where to walk.  The scanner just gives the brain a look at places it can't get into, like your hold."

Keryn ponders Shui's suggestion and then answers the steward, "Well, I suppose I don't have much else to do just now, and studying will stop me constantly beating Eneris and Corlan at cards."

The two women are, of course, totally oblivious to how much attention their conversation is drawing from eavesdroppers inside Profit Margin.

And in the passenger lounge, Jago is gradually falling behind in the points for the game.  Eneris grins, "Keryn's a nice kid, but she does have a ruthless streak when she plays.  Looks like I'm going to win for once."  He lays down three cards, face up in front of him.  Corlan laughs at him, "Not so fast!" and drops three of his own, one at a time, to take the hand...

Ash nods as he listens to Saskia list the primary reasons not to continue.  A slightly crooked smile crosses his lips, "Well, I'll have to admit that I really like looking for the 'sweet spot', Ms. Blake."  A side-long glance and a slight shrug to the engineer of the Profit Margin and he adds quickly, "Call it a by-product of some long lonely hours spent alone on an x-Boat during my stint in the Scout Service."  There were at least a good, solid, six months there where he wasn't being shot at in one capacity or another.  The IISS recruiters are great at pushing the self-reliance and independence angles; they always neglect to mention the part about spending a lot of time alone in a fairly confined box.

"Of course," the navigator admits, "there is plenty of equipment that could help us in our endeavor."  He rubs his chin thoughtfully, "Though I'll also wager that I have always figured that what is up here..." and he taps his skull next to his right temple below the circlet and reticule resting on his brow, "is still the best and most useful equipment to have available.  Wouldn't you agree?"

Another more lingering glance at Saskia and Ash turns to face her more fully and prompts, "I mean, where would all of the vaunted hardware that comprises the Margin be without you to maintain and control it or the Captain to give it purpose and direction?"

"Makes sense." Tylen responds as the guard explains the way that the bots are managed, "Not much call for them in the scouts." he grins as he explains his lack of experience with robots.

Tylens lets his gaze wander - first around the hold as he half checks the positioning of the  load. NOt that he hasn't been aware of it as the robots were fetching things in, but perhaps with a slightly different perspective now that he has had the inner workings of robot porters explained to him.

Next his gaze wanders down the  the ramp, checking out what else there is to be loaded and where he would put it and then across to the two women, the Steward and her passenger as they talk.  His gaze lingers for a moment, before his attention returns to the man.  "So what is you next load, then?" he asks conversationally

"Is that so?" Shui's eyebrows rise.  "Well done, Ms. Taylor, putting those men in their place.  Mr. DeSant has been altogether too complacent since he cleaned house several months back."

She sighs.  "I no longer play cards.  I fear I dislike losing too much...and winning even more.  Though that happened blessedly rarely, I must admit."

Frowning, she studies the information on her dataglove's holoscreen.  It would be pointless trying to show Keryn, due to the nature of the holographic interface; she'd probably wrench her shoulder trying to put it at the correct angle.  "Interesting.  Ms. Taylor, the port network has a list of currently available courses we might download.  Some of them are for free, others are paid only -" she can cover much of the payment, herself, should Keryn need something a touch more expensive "- and there are quite a few that take one from introductory lessons to complex programming of robots."

This time one eyebrow arches, not both.  "Indeed, some of those are government-provided, and free of charge."  She slants a look at the passenger.  "Might you still be interested?"

"I shouldn't have a next load.  At least not this cycle." the worker says, with a broad smile, "My shift ends in... " he consults a display on the scanner, "... fifteen minutes, then I'm going home for a rest, and to see my kids.  Who will probably demand that I take them to see a holo about talking fish, or Cendo the Happy Air-Raft, or something.

Perhaps oddly, he doesn't look to distressed at the prospect of having his rest disturbed.

"And that is you're last crate."

Most of the robots have stopped walking alongside the van, and are now folding and telescoping their limbs into their more compact transportation mode.  Only one is still in motion, bearing a cargo container up the ramp and into the hold.

"Corlan's nice." Keryn says, a little absently, as she watches the display of mechanical origami, "Eneris is a bit grouchy, so I let him win sometimes.  Oh, look at that.  You wouldn't think they'd be able to make themselves that small... "

Not taking her eyes off the robots for an instant, for fear of missing something, she muses, "I wonder what it'd be like to be able to shorten your arms and legs, and stretch them out again, just whenever you wanted...  What?  Oh, a course?  Yes, I'd be interested.  Thank you!"  And now she does tear her gaze away from the 'bots, as she leans over and  briefly hugs Shui.

"Thank you!  Everybody has been so nice to me since I came aboard."

The final robot emerges from the hold, already retracting its arms, even as it walks down to the van.

"So, Captain," Corlan asks, as he watches Jago lose the third hand in a row, "did you come over here just to boost our egos by allowing us to beat you, or was there something in particular that you wanted to see us about?"

From the bridge, Ash and Saskia can see the robots folding themselves away, and the first one starts to climb into the smaller vehicle.  They can also see Keryn hug Shui, and hear her thanks.  Well, most of it...

Jago was enjoying the game in spite of his lack of success, but Corlan’s question reminds him of why he’s here and he takes the cigar from his mouth to study for a moment or two before speaking.

“Well, as you know I’m intent on discovering what I can about the little gizmo that I keep on my desk and Eneris here has agreed to help. We are heading eventually to a system called Fulacin which is eight or nine jumps from here, but I’m afraid two of those jumps will be to systems we’ve already visited since you joined us Corlan, either Extolay and Dinomn or Jenghe and Wypoc. We will actually be going within striking distance of Regina and I’m considering that as well. I won’t be making final decisions on the exact route until I have more immediate information on the war situation in the area but you ought to know as soon as possible in case you want to make alternative travel arrangements.

Jago eases in his chair before adding, “I hope you don’t go, it’s been a pleasure having you on board but I’m mindful of what you said when you joined us, what, nearly two and a half years ago now. Anyway, that’s the situation, I’m sorry we couldn’t keep providing new planets indefinitely.”

It's not hard to see the interest Keryn has in the robots, enough to take her attention away from the discussion.  And into curious areas.  One of Shui's eyebrows creeps upwaward as the passenger wanders into biomechanical impossibilities territory...

...only to be joined by the other - momentarily - as Keryn throws her arms around the Steward.  Ten years ago, it might have sent her into a brief, reflexive movement.  Now?  Shui just smiles, returning the embrace before releasing the other woman.

"One receives what one gives out to the universe, Ms. Taylor," she muses, the smile still playing about her lips.  "You are a fine person, a generous and giving soul, and a trusting one.  You deserve some goodness in your life, do you not think?"  Then she laughs, moving away from pretentious philosophy.  "It is, of course, our pleasure.  We enjoy your company, Keryn, and will be sad to see you go.  But to facillitate what you wish in life?  That is my honor, and my joy." A little bow follows, from her seated position.

One finger rises and taps her lips.  "I could, of course, show you something about the spine lengthening and contracting as well, but it is certainly not nearly as impressive as that -" with an indication to the collapsing robots "- nor as easily performed.  Years of practice, rather than programming."  Another amused laugh follows.

She eyes the collapsing robots with interest.  "That?  A trifle beyond me, though certainly I can see its use.  My bed would not require so much space, for example."

"Ah... I see." Corlan lays his cards face down on the table in front of him and leans back in his chair.  "Eneris, would you mind?  I'd like to speak to Capatain Lanza, alone."

Eneris lays down his own cards, "No, that's all right.  I could do with a frakking break anyway." He gets up and heads into his cabin, closing the door behind him.

Corlan speaks again. "When I asked for passage with you, as I recall, I stipulated only one condition - that we not visit any world more than once.  Since then we have travelled to many worlds, and I have seen many sights that I never could have dreamed of.  It has been a most enjoyable experience."

"I like to think of myself as a reasonable man, Captain.  But given that circumstances have changed considerably - we are now at war, and you have a specific destination in mind, rather than simply operating a tramp freighter - it would be unreasonable of me to expect an agreement made when I signed on with you to still be in force."

He pauses and sighs, "With that in mind, perhaps it's time for our arrangement to come to an end."

"With your permission, Captain, I'd like to propose a new one.  I'd like to propose that, as long as we keep travelling, and as long as you will have me, I shall remain aboard.  When I first came aboard, I didn't know anybody.  Now I consider yourself and your crew to be my friends.  I'd actually miss everybody if I left.  To be honest, I'd probably even miss my cabin."

"Smaller beds, Yes." Keryn laughs, then grows more serious, "I'm glad that you all like me.  I've never been on a starship before, and while this one isn't as impressive as the ones in the holodramas, everybody is much friendlier.  In the dramas they all have uniforms, like him," she nods towards Tylen where he stands talking to the delivery worker, "but they aren't as nice as everybody here."

Another laugh, "When Yas was bringing me to the ship on Frenzie, she said I'd need to talk to her captain if I wanted to travel on the ship.  I was actually expecting him to be tall and slim, with a white uniform and grey hair.  And medals.  Lots of medals."

Tylen nods as the workman talks about children's entertainment, but keeps his face impassive behind the dark glasses as he comments non-committally.  "That should be fun then."

The security man continues to lounge by the ramp, keeping an eye on his human charges as they watch the bots pack themselves back into the van.  "I'll get it all strapped down in a minute." he half comments as the worker leaves the ship  "You have a good one." he says with a half salute.
This message was lightly edited by the player at 11:35, Thu 31 May 2012.

Jago tries not to let his disappointment show as Corlan explains his reasoning and brings the long standing arrangement to an end, it’s right and proper and what he’s expected, but even so, he hoped that he would wish to stay on. Jago entirely fails to hide his delight when Corlan proposes a new arrangement.

“That’s splendid,” the Captain beams, “I must say that the thought of you leaving us was the down side to this trip, and had I checked the navigation details first I might not have committed to it.”

Jago fishes a cigar from his pocket still sealed in its aluminium tube, and offers Corlan, “care to join me?”

“Everyone will be pleased by this news,” he goes on, “and your far more than just a passenger to us, so, I’ll add my own little clause to the arrangement  if you don’t mind, and that is to grant you freedom of the ship. Use the crew lounge if you want a change of scenery, watch a landing from the bridge, it’s probably best to ask Saskia before you go wandering around the engines, but otherwise consider the whole ship as home.”

OOC
If Corlan accepts the cigar, Jago will light it and his own, if not, Jago will light neither

"Oh, I had the same impression when I first stepped on a ship," Shui laughs.  "All the vids, all the shows...Gamma Flight, Star Waltz, Station Fornax.  All terribly romantic and dramatic.  And everything was so shiny."

It's true enough she had seen such things...as educational tools into popular entertainment.  The rest?  Shui had also seen the live feeds from shipboard to give her a true impression of that situation, an important part of her training.

Still, no sense in saying that.

"And all the actors and actresses are so serious.  And dramatic.  And..."  She waves her hands in the air.  "Angst.  Much angst.  I far prefer Profit Margin's cheerful atmosphere."

Leaning over, she drops her voice.  "Mr. Orgesh's uniform is a new thing, in fact.  An idea regarding the situation in Frenzie, in fact - he feels if we wear uniforms, people might identify us more as paramilitary, and in dangerous situations seek easier targets."  Leaning back, she shrugs.  "He may very well be correct.  Certainly it cuts a more dashing flair."

She laughs quietly at Keryn's description.  "If Captain Lanza would only stick to my suggested exercise regimen...and diet.  Though that would do nothing for the height.  The hair will come in time, of course..."  Her voice grows more serious.  "He deserves a chestful of medals, you know.  Not for 'putting up with us', the obvious joke, but for his courage, his dedication, and his steadfast bearing in the face of danger.  And there has been danger."

Corlan has, no doubt, been filling her ears with stories.

She waves at the ship. "And we have come through without a scratch, haven't we?  Thanks in no small part to his leadership."
This message was last edited by the GM at 15:27, Sat 02 June 2012.

"I'd be foolish to leave now, Captain, with the possibility of so many interesting and exciting locations looming in the near future.  Ah... thank you." Corlan reaches across and accepts the cigar, opens the tube, and waits while Jago light it up.  "And for the freedom of the ship, of course." he adds, before taking a long draw on the cigar, and releasing a contented sigh (and a considerable quantity of smoke).

In the ceiling above the table, the ship's air scrubbers go into action...

"Thanks, you too." the delivery worker calls back to Tylen.  The final robot packs itself into the back of the van with its mechanical siblings, while their chauffeur closes the door behind them and circles round to the driving seat.

The driver of the cargo transport starts to close up the trailer.

Keryn pouts distractedly, "Oh, looks as if the show is over.  Pity.  Do you know if there are any more deliveries today?"

Her attention comes back to Shui, "What?  Oh, yes, the Captain deserves a medal.  All ship captains should get one, for looking after all the people they're responsible for."  A wicked grin spreads across her face as she studies Profit Margin's aging hull, "But I'm not sure how you could tell if the ship got another scratch though."

Ash purses his lips slightly.  He takes the pregnant pause in the conversation to mean that he may have stepped out of bounds in the conversation.  The navigator of the Profit Margin looks back at his console, pushing the volume and the gain way down, and notes quietly, "Sorry, Ms. Blake.  I appear to have spoken out of turn."

He stops typing on the dynamic display and hopes that Saskia doesn't leave, but doesn't turn to face her yet either.  He gives it only a 50/50 chance that may be offended enough to leave.  It isn't the first time that Ash has put his foot in his mouth - especially with respect to the Margin's engineer.  And knowing him, it is likely to not be the last.  Unless, of course, he accidentally gets spaced in the middle of j-Space during the next jump.  But Ash is pretty sure that he hasn't offended Saskia that much.  Well, he is sort of sure...

Shaking her head, Saskia replies, "No, it's fine.  I just never know how to take that sort of thing, and it would be really frelling embarrassing if I got hold of the wrong end of snowcat."

The engineer smiles nervously, "I mean, I'd feel stupid if I took it as a joke, and it wasn't one.  Or the other way round."

There is an awkward silence, and then she adds by way of further explanation, "I don't do well with people.  I know where I am with the drives, they don't deliberately lie to me."

Turning to face Saskia, Ash regards the Profit Margin's engineer with a rather somber expression.  "I..." he stammers for a moment, "I think that you do fine with the likes of me, Ms. Blake."  As to whether Ash is 'people' is up for interpretation; but he does seem genuine about the sentiment.

"You shouldn't be so hard on yourself." he adds.  Then after a pause and a tilt of the head, he shrugs, "I know that I would never be offended if one of my jokes, or non-jokes, was misconstrued.  Ifni knows that would be the kettle calling the pot black..."  Ash holds up a hand in an open, simple friendly gesture, "It would be a lucky individual not to have made such mistakes.  And I know for a fact that I am not that lucky an individual.  Far from it."  A slight shrug and his crooked, self-deprecating smile accompanies his words.  A troubled shadow crosses his face, as the ex-Scout recall some of the many mistakes he has made in the past misinterpreting people and their words.  But that is old news to him and not for him to dwell on for the moment.

A small slightly plaintive sigh later and Ash notes after the pause, "I promise that I will endeavor to not deliberately lie to you as well, Miss."  He leans back in his chair and continues, his tone adding a playfully timbre to it, "Though ... I will say that your drives and I might inadvertently lie to you."  His smile a bit broader and Ash prompts, "Would that be acceptable?"  He offers his hand to Saskia for a potentially friendly handshake to close the deal.

Jago relaxes in the crew lounge, enjoying the cigar, the company and the surroundings in contented silence while he muses on the blessed life he leads. It’s been a long time since he had a chance to truly kick back and just enjoy the simple pleasures in life, breakfast was hours ago.

“I’ll put out some feelers when we get to Rangent,” he says, trying not to smile at his own little joke, “and decide then which way we go. Would you want to stop of back home on Regina Corlan, if we got the chance?”

"Thanks." Tylen nods his goodbye to the man who has been overseeing the robots.

As far as Tylen is concerned, the cargo can stay as it is until everyone is back on board and the ramp is closed.  Soically, he stands at the top of the ramp, occasionally glancing around the area, but his attention first on the bots  as they finish packing themselves, and then on the two women who are currently his 'responsibility'.

The cargo is all loaded, and the transport vehicle and its escort exit the docking bay.  The station's cargo door closes with a hiss of compressed air and a loud thump, followed by the clattering of securing latches.  Profit Margin, her crew, and her guests, are alone for the moment, and isolated from the rest of the orbital city.  Tylen and Yas will have little to do now, until the passengers arrive.

Keryn stands and stretches, "If that's all the entertainment finished, I think I'm going to go back inside."  She turns back to Shui, "Thank you for keeping me company.  And for finding that course for me."  She glances at the ship, "Tylen keeps looking at us."

On the bridge, Saskia and Ash are deep in conversation, when the comm system chimes, indicating an incoming call.

Corlan considers Jago's question, then removes the cigar from his mouth, inspecting it thoughtfully as he answers, "I suppose I do miss my family.  Having Keryn about makes me think of my own children and grandchildren a little more than usual.  The chance to at least contact them, if not visit them, would be good.  As long as it doesn't mean a diversion from your planned course."

It appears as if everything is done.  Shui pauses a moment for a long look at the driver, as he moves away.  Something twinges at the back of her mind, a near-forgotten piece of her childhood, and she checks his face in her memory against those of the people they have in coldsleep.  Family resemblance?  Or not?

Probably not.  Paranoia, Shui? she thinks to herself.  Do you really want to go through years of that?  Again?

"Deliveries..."  Shui links her dataglove with the Profit Margin's manifest list, searching for anything being onloaded or offloaded today.  Then she pauses, her gaze slowly rising toward Keryn's face.  Her expression is one of guarded horror.  The Steward slowly turns her head to check behind the two women.

Nobody.

Muscles begin to relax, and Shui lets out a slow breath. "Ms. Taylor...you must not be familiar with the third safety rule aboard the Profit Margin.  Following closely on the heels of 'Listen to Ms. Crow when she gives an order', it is 'Do not criticize the ship within hearing distance of Ms. Blake.'" She settles back, shaking out her shoulders.  "Dangerous, Ms. Taylor.  Dangerous."

A small smile blossoms, proving her warning to be (partly) humorous.  "Well, the ship has brought us through some impressive scrapes, and over great distances.  A little wear and tear is expected."  Her fingers run along a scratch in the hull.  "A badge of honour, even."

Tylen acknowledges Keryn's glance with a nod and a slight smile.

Ash turns his head for a moment, as the external call interrupts his conversation with Saskia.  "Ummmm." he notes rather apologetically to the engineer, "Sorry, Ms. Blake.  Excuse me for a moment."

He turns to face his console and taps the display for the alert, opening the link to the external line.  "Profit Margin" he states rather flatly, if professionally, "This is Navigator Tescali.  How may I help you?"  He glances in Saskia's direction to see if she has decided to remain on the bridge while he is taking the call...

"Good cycle... er... Profit Margin.  This is... er... Dav Sedric." the young man on the other end of the comm channel sounds flustered, "I have tickets... er... passage booked for myself and my... er... partner.  I was wondering if... if it would be all right if we checked in a little early?  My partner, you see,... she is worried about being late."

Keryn smiles brightly, "Oh, I know there's nothing wrong with the ship.  It's just not as shiny as I expected.  Stupid holos again.  And Yas warned me not to say anything bad about it in front of Saskia.  She also warned me not to even think that I might be sick in front of you.  And not to sit still for too long in front of the Captain, or he'd probably eat me."

"I suspect some of those might have been jokes though."

As they make their way up the ramp she stops and says to Tylen, "Your new uniform is very smart.  It looks good on you."

"Thank you." Tylen acknowledges Keryn's comment with a grim.   He then deliberately postures and turns around as if he is modelling the new clothing.  "I had to check it out to make sure it fitted properly and looked the part."  the smile broad across his face as he speaks.   "I need to get a few more bits.  I still need the right looking military holsters and a flak jacket, but it will look the part if ever I need to deal with civil unrest again." he adds a bit more seriously.

A short pause and he becomes a little bit more business like  "All done out there ladies?  Can I shut the ramp now?" he asks the pair.

Shui laughs.  "You are indeed correct.  Ms. Crow exaggerates.  I merely take good care of the crew.  And Captain Lanza is on a strict diet."  Her hand comes up and taps a finger against her lips. "Though...he does not keep to the diet.  And Ms. Crow was correct about Ms. Blake."

Hmm.  She should run a blood test on the Captain.  See what he has been eating lately.  Maybe Yas is on to something....

The amused thought fades as they come abreast of Tylen, and Shui's eyebrows shoot up as Keryn pauses and offers a compliment to the security guard.  It's not surprising; he does look trim and efficient in the new suit, and there's something about men in uniform that appeals.  But Shui has to fight off a rare moment of jealousy, a green-eyed rodent hissing and chattering in the back of her mind.  Foolish.  Leave it be.  The woman meant nothing of it, and if she did, Shui has hardly laid claim upon Tylen.

But it irks her.  And with that, her annoyance shifts to herself.

As Tylen mock-vogues, one risen eyebrow slowly falls, leaving the other cocked dubiously.  "Mr. Orgesh, the effect is ruined when you do that," she states with dry amusment.  It pleases her to see him smile, no matter what the cause.  "You cut a dashing figure; please, do no spoil it."  One hand reaches out to flick a tiny, near-non-existant bit of lint from the collar of the uniform, and Shui hastily draws it back.  "I believe we are finished, yes," she confirms, sweeping an errant lock of hair from her forehead.

"Ah..." Ash notes with only the smallest touch of surprise in his voice, "Good cycle to you as well, Mr. Sedric."  The Profit Margin's navigator pulls up the passenger manifests to verify the name given.  As he scans the lists, Ash chats with the man, "It shouldn't be an issue to check in early, sir."  A glance at the external and cargo hold visual sensors verifies that the cargo bots have finished their work, "Absolutely no issues at all ...  What time should we be expecting you?" the thin ex-Scout reassures Dav.

"Mr. Sedric," Ash prompts, "for my own personal edification, can I verify the pronunciation of your partner's full name?"  Also, one never can be too safe.

"We could be there in about ten minutes." Sedric confirms, noticably less nervous now.  "If that would be all right?  My partner's name?  Jaena Daws.  She'll be pleased to hear we can book in early." 

Keryn and Shui enter the ship and Tylen hits the access controls.  The ramp starts to lift with its usual shriek of tormented bearings.  Keryn stops in her tracks and turns to look at it.  Raising her voice slightly over the noise, she asks, "Why does it always do that?  Why hasn't anybody fixed it?"  Her questions, though, seems more motivated by curiosity than by criticism.

Corlan's expression grows thoughtful as he watches the smoke rising from the cigars to be drawn into the air ducts, then he reaches into the breast pocket of his shirt.  He pulls out a small, flat device which he places on the table in front of him.  The press of a stud causes it to project a holographic image of a young child, a girl, perhaps five or six years old, smiling happily as she hugs some kind of small furry animal.  Another press, and the image changes to show a boy, about the same age, holding a ridiculous orange plastic cutlass and wearing an eyepatch and a somewhat fanciful blue helmet.  His face is set in a scowl of determination, "These are my grandchildren.  They're a little older now, of course."

While Ash chats to the passenger, Saskia uses Jago's panel to call up a display of the ship's non-critical systems.  Everything looks to be fine there.  Which doesn't really surprise her -- the ship would have warned her if there was anything to be concerned about.

She runs a finger down the screen, hilighting each system in turn and watching as deeper layers of data are displayed.  No problems so far, and the engineer smiles to herself.  The ship is behaving like a proper lady.

She listens to Ash with half an ear.  He seems to know what he's doing, which is good.

Shui pauses, staring at the track for the ramp with a perplexed expression.  She turns to glance at Tylen, then back to Keryn, one eyebrow cocking.  "I suppose...we are all accustomed to it.  It does not hinder the ship's performance -" yet "- and Ms. Blake's time is taken up on important tasks." 

The steward's eyes narrow. "Sometimes it takes someone unaccustomed to things to spot a potential problem.  I suspect we should get that repaired.  I shall bring it up to Ms. Blake at the earliest possible convenience."

Hopefully Saskia won't try to kill her.

Ash nods to no one in particular as he notes to Dav, "Ten minutes would be fine, sir.  Ms. Daws may rest assured that it is our pleasure to serve you, Mr. Sedric.  We will expect you both in a few minutes."  He checks to see if any other cargo is scheduled, as well as perusing the rest of the passenger manifest - mostly out of idle curiosity.

He adds as an afterthought, "Are there any special requirements that you or Ms. Daws need for the trip?"  Although those would generally already be listed in the manifest, Ash figures it doesn't hurt to confirm - people sometimes forget.  And Mr. Sedric's partner (and thus, by association, Dav himself) seems, well, the potentially nervous type.  As he awaits a response, Ash glances over at Saskia as she taps away at the pilot's console.

Then the navigator for the Profit Margin taps his wrist computer and opens a commlink message directly to the ship's steward and doctor - ++Passengers Sedric and Daws inbound.  ETA: 10 minutes.++  He gets ready to tack on any special instructions that the passenger might have given him as well.

"No, no.  No special requirements.  Unless air, meals and beds are classed as special requirements." Sedric replies with a nervous laugh, "Just my little joke."  His "little joke" definitely sounded forced.  "We'll see you in ten minutes then.  Good bye." 

Keryn considers the possibility that the crew could have grown so accustomed to the awful sound the ramp makes every time it moves that they no longer hear it.  Then she shakes her head slowly, as if denying the possibility of such an occurrence.  "You really don't notice it?  But it's the loudest noise I've ever heard the ship make.  And it sounds really horrible."

She looks at Tylen, shaking her head again, "I don't think I could ever get that used to it."

Jago takes the time to study the picture carefully, a warm smile spreading over his face, “charming.”

”Never had kids myself, least ways not that I know of, my sister has though.”

The Captain produces his battered old data slate and quickly locates a 2D image of two boys and a girl standing very formally in an orchard, posing in their Sunday best, the girl is fourteen or so, the boys a couple of years younger.

“They’re on Regina, that’s their farm just outside Bristo,” there’s a wistful look in his eye as Jago watches the grey smoke rising slowly from the cigar and accelerating just as it reaches the air scrubber, but he pulls out of it abruptly, “still, best to check the situation first, before we go making plans.”

Jago pulls himself out of the chair and retrieves the data slate, “well, best go and at least pretend the ship can’t run perfectly well without me, it’s been fun, we’ll have to do this more often.”

Shui frowns.  If the sound is that bad, they should really do something about it. "Accustomed might be the proper word, but that does not mean it should continue," she mumurs, bending down to examine the problem in question.  "I have...some experience with engineering," she notes absently.  "Not in a trained manner, and orders of magnitude below that of Ms. Blake, but I have assisted engineers in the past and been aboard a great many different starships.  It has given me certain insights."

Well, that and the fact that her father had her and her siblings 'trained' in all manner of different areas.  A broad, shallow knowledge-base gives her the necessary flexibility to allow them to carry out her assigned tasks.  Not that Shui works in the family business now, of course, but the 'training' remains, only slightly dulled by time and lack of use.

"Even if I discern the issue," she murmurs, "the trick will be finding a way to discuss it with our resident expert."

Jago exits the passenger lounge to find that the hold has been filled to capacity, which is a good thing.  Now they're just waiting for the warm passengers.  Shui, Tylen and Keryn are standing by the ramp, talking.  Shui seems to be examining the ramp closely.

As Jago approaches, Keryn turns to him with a bright smile, "Hello, Captain.  We were just talking about the noise the ramp makes when it operates."

“Oh yes,” Jago smiles, and waits, expecting Keryn to expand on that statement, “what about the noise?” he asks when no further qualification is forthcoming.

Keryn starts to look a little nervous,  "Well... we were wondering... that is, I was wondering if it could be fixed.  Not that it needs to be... but I was wondering if it could be.  And if it could, then why hadn't it been.  Fixed, I mean.  Because it's so loud.  The noise is." she finishes rather lamely.

Then, in case further explanation is needed, "I didn't mean anything by it.  I was just curious."

“Oh, I see, I’m sorry if it bothers you, we did try to fix it, many times in fact, but the problem proved elusive, even for Saskia, and she’s the best engineer I’ve ever met.” Jago pauses to puff on his cigar which is actually lit for a change, then lowers his voice and glances around when he continues. “We did try to fix it but then, one night, many years ago on a lawless planet called Wonder, I think, a bunch of near do wells managed, somehow, to get hold of our electronic codes and attempted to hijack us. While we were asleep, they unlocked the ramp remotely, but when they tried to lower it, it made that noise and we knew immediately that something was up. There was a bit of a scrap but we saw them off without too much trouble, and ever since, we’ve left the ramp alone. It’s noisy, sure, but it does no harm and who knows, one day it might save our lives again.”

Jago sends up a big puff of smoke as he walks off, leaving Keryn to ponder his story, but he tips Shui a wink so that she knows he’s made the whole thing up.

"Wow!" Keryn watches Jago's retreating back, and says nothing until she sees him pass through the hatch into the crew section.  As soon as the hatch closes again, the questions start, "People really tried to hijack Profit Margin?  Was this in Imperial Space, or somewhere else?  What did he call the planet?  Wonder?  I'll have to look it up.  And I was just saying to Shui how different the realities of travel are from the way it's presented in holos, but that story could have come straight from a holo."

On the bridge, Ash and Saskia hear the hatch open and close,  and are aware that somebody has either come through from the hold, or has left the crew section.

The sound of the hatch doesn't really startle Saskia.  She knows that at least two of the crew are out in the hold area, and it could be either one of them coming in.

What the noise does do is trigger a mild guilt reaction which sees her clearing Jago's panel and moving out of his seat.  She moves over to stand behind Ash's shoulder, where she can watch him work.  "You handled that call well.  I had to speak to a passenger once, and it nearly frelling killed me.  Not a people person.  You're pretty good at it though.

"If you don't mind me saying so."

Ash chides himself for not being more personable and laughing at Dav's joke.  Since he hasn't already done so, he lets the moment pass; partly out of embarrassment and partly out of confusion, not knowing what else to do.  He turns back to his own console, noting into the comm link, "Ah... We'll see you in a few minutes, Mr. Sedric.  Goodbye."  And he closes the Margin's end of the external comm line after Dav disconnects.

He acknowledges Jago's entry onto the bridge with a gesture.

Ash purses his lips for a moment and can feels the flush in his face when Saskia comes up behind him and compliments his 'people' skills.  He clears his throat and then notes rather sheepishly without turning to face the engineer, "Th-thank you, Ms. Blake..."  He pauses for a moment to take a deep breath, realizing he is stammering slightly.

Despite the warmth in his cheeks, he turns to face Saskia.  He looks up at her, the sheepish grin still on his face.  Ash gives her a shake of the head and a slight shrug.  "I suspect that I have just had more practice than you." he ventures quietly, "I don't count myself as much of a 'people' person either."  The navigator scratches some stubble on his chin, before adding, "I've never been a remarkably quick thinker on my feet."  His tone is rather confessional as he continues, "It often leaves me one step behind in conversations."

"I..." Ash notes off-hand, "I can't imagine that you have that problem, Ms. Blake."  From what he has seen, the Profit Margin's engineer has a good level head on her shoulders, a quick mind, and plenty of engineering skills and experience.  Even if she does talk to inanimate equipment.  To Ash, the jury is still out on whether she relates better to the Margin itself or its crew.

Saskia shakes her head, "No.  Different problem.  I know what I want to say, but it doesn't come out the way it sounds in my head.  Or sometimes it does, and it's only when I say it that I realise how stupid it sounds."

She gives Ash a lopsided smile, "I'm fine with people I know, and with drives.  Or if it's something official where I'm not supposed to be friendly and clever.  As soon as I have to be sociable with some stranger though, everything falla apart."

Tylen listens to the conversation with a slight smile, and then nods at the the group as he leaves to get changed.  "Need to get into something more practical if I am going to strap this lot down ..." he comments as he passes the group, clearly not unhappy with the idea of crawling around the cargo hold in his new threads.

"I doubt the hijacking went as it normally does in the vids, Ms. Taylor," Shui notes, amused despite herself.  "Things like that...rarely do." Few 'heroics' or 'daring deeds'; instead, it most often comes down to a short, bloody gun battle, with one side having an overwhelming advantage over the other, much like the trouble they got into some time past.

One eyebrow cocks, though her amusement remains.  "I am certain Captain Lanza could give you the vid-version of the story, though.  In sprawling detail." There's only a hint of irony in her tone, and no sarcasm whatsoever.

Tylen announces his intentions, and Shui's other eyebrow rises to join the first.  "Leaving so soon, Mr. Orgesh?" But he's right; Shui thinks he looks splendid in a sharply pressed uniform.  Too much work in those clothes and the stains creep in, the creases die a slow death....

Better to swap for something else.

Speaking of which, she runs a quick check on her dataglove, searching for unfinished work.  "A moment, Ms. Taylor, I must ensure I have no pressing business...."

Keryn stretches and yawns, then makes a vain attempt to stifle it.  "I think I'm going to go for a nap."  She nods to Shui, "Thank you for finding out about that course for me."

Another less prodigious yawn, and a smile for Tylen, "Sorry, I'd sit and watch you working, like I did the robots.  But watching how hard they worked has worn me out."

With a wave to the two crewmembers, she heads for the door to the passenger lounge.

Ash and Saskia are still chatting on the Bridge as Jago joins them, settling into his seat without activating his panel - there shouldn't be much for him to do just yet anyway...

"You seem to have done okay with Eneris..." the navigator notes as a counter to Saskia's claim about her ability to deal with strangers.  He assumes that the two ex-IN spacers had never interacted before...

Then Ash gives Saskia slight smile.  "But," he notes off-hand going off on a bit of a tangent, "it seems all you have to do is get to know every sophont in the galaxy..."  A small pause and then he adds rather deadpan, "However many trillions there are."  He throws in a slight shrug as well, "Seems like a completely tractable problem."

A glance downwards with his self-deprecating smile accompanies, "It's probably an easier solution to my addled brain."  Another shrug, "I have never found the solution to that..."

Tylen heads back to his cabin and changes back into his jeans and tee shirt before heading back to the hold to secure the cargo.

Saskia smiles, "Eneris is Navy.  I know Navy.  Besides that he's a bit like my father, at least he's like my father would be under a layer of dirt and pickled in cheap booze."

Ash's suggestion broadens the smile, "Mivonks to that dren!  I have enough trouble dealing with one or two new frelling people a year.  If I had to meet more than that I'd end up shutting myself inside the plasma containment chamber, just to avoid them.

"I was nice to you.  I said you handled that passenger well.  Why'd you have to repay me by threatening me with socialising and meeting people?"

The gaunt ex-Scout can only nod when Saskia mentions that Eneris reminds her of her father.  Ash pushes off the thoughts about his own father, gone these many years.  Eneris was nothing like that man except for the pickled part - perhaps Ash's life would have turned out differently, if Ash's dad had been less pickled and more like the other parts of Eneris.  Then again, perhaps not.

Ash raises an eyebrow to Saskia rather playful chiding, noting in kind, "And I merely returned the favor, Ms. Blake.  Noting that I believed that you to be equally capable of the task of socializing.  It definitely was not meant a threat, only a sincere compliment."  He gives her a crooked smile and a nod, adding, "I still think that you sell yourself short on that account..."

He glances in Jago's direction, and prompts the Captain, "What do you think, S-?"  The Margin's navigator catches himself before he completes the honorific that Jago dislikes.  He reddens slightly, but the question still stands.

Ash's gaze returns to Saskia.  He clears his throat for a moment, before asking, "So... Ms. Blake, if you don't mind me asking.  Why did you leave the Imperial Navy?"

Sunk into the familiar comfort of his chair, Jago pays little attention to Saskia and Ash beyond just enough grunted responses so as not to seem rude, instead he is rather engrossed in the images on his battered old hand computer that he studies one at a time.

Eventually he’s reminded of the passage of time by his cigar threatening to burn his fingers and he takes a final puff before stubbing it out in a rarely used ash tray, stowing the computer and looking round to take stock.

“Sorry, what do I think of what?” he responds rather vaguely to Ash's question, “ah, passengers, are they due already?” he says as his eyes light on the manifest that the navigator has been studying.

“ Are you armed Ash?” he asks, his hand automatically sliding down to check on his own pistol, “just in case anyone tries to liberate our frozen felons.”

Jago repeats the message to Tylan, though he thinks it unnecessary, he doesn’t repeat it to Yasmin, that would just be ludicrous.

Ah.  More passengers on their way.  "It has been a pleasure talking with you, Ms. Taylor," Shui offers as Keryn says her goodbyes for the moment.  She considers the incoming people, the fact that the cabins are fully prepared, and realizes she's at the proper position to greet them.  Pretty much.

So it's back outside she goes, to wait near the hatch.

Ash shrugs slightly when Jago doesn't really respond to his question about Saskia.  He decides after a moment to let it slide; the navigator hadn't really expected an answer from the Captain.  Besides, with actual questions concerning events on his watch, he switches gears and responds in kind.

"Yes.  Two of the passengers are on their way, Boss." he acknowledges with a slight nod.  His fingers tap on a display to update the manifest item with a note about estimated ETAs.  Ash continues as he types, "Mr. Sedric and Ms. Daws. are on their way.  They wanted to check in early, if possible."

He turns to regard Jago slowly when prompted about whether he has any weapons on him.  Ash eyes the Captain and slowly shakes his head, "No, sir."  He lets the honorific slip and doesn't think anything of it in this case.  When Jago offers his reasoning, the Profit Margin's navigator's head then begins to nod slowly, "Of course, I will get my autopistol from the ship's locker." he offers, "if you believe that is most prudent."  Ash makes the offer despite the prickles on the back of his neck; his experience has generally been that violence begets violence.  But in this case, who is the instigator and who is the victim?  Jago has the right of it likely, best to make sure that the crew of the Margin aren't amongst the victims.

Ash purses his lips and wonders if he should also arm himself with his blade as well...

The ramp screeches down again, and Shui steps out onto it.  Just in time to see two young people enter the docking bay, a male and female, both looking to be in their late teens, each carrying just a single suitcase in one hand, the other hand being firmly entwined in that of their partner.

They stop as they spot Shui on the ramp, and detach themselves, reluctantly.  The boy calls out, "Hello, Miss, good cycle to you.  My name is Dav Sedric, and this is Jaena Daws.  We called... that is, I called... and spoke to somebody.  About boarding.  And he said we could come over,  And board a little earlier than planned.  So we're here.  Ready to board."

The girl nudges him with her elbow, and mouths a word at him, "What?  Oh.  Yes.  I have our booking confirmations."  He opens his bag and pulls out a sheaf of hardcopies, leafing through them until he finds the right documents, which he holds out to Shui.

The whole performance is witnessed by those on the bridge, via one of the external monitors, complete with faint, tinny audio.

Tylen changes back into jeans, tee-shirt and his comfortable old boots in preparation for working in the hold and is already strapping on his gun belt when he gets Jago's message.  With a slight shrug he makes his way back to the hold and gets busy.

He is on top of one of the shipping containers as he hears the ramp go down again, so he stands on the end of it and watches from there as Shui goes out to meet the new passengers.

Ah.  So very young, these two, and so obviously in the throes of youthful ardor.  A wistful smile dances across Shui's sharp features as the pair march forward, proferring names and boarding passes, both.  She bows as she receives the passes, quickly straightening.  "Welcome to the Profit Margin, Ms. Daws, Mr. Sedric.  It is a pleasure to meet you."  A quick survey of the boarding passes and indentification follows. "I am Shui Tiesi, Ship's Steward and Doctor - if you require assistance, do not hesitate to ask me or any member of the crew not currently involved in a situation.  At the least, they can direct you to me."

"Ms. Daws?" Deftly, she slips the suitcase out of the young woman's hand.  "I can carry that for you."  The boy appears to not be having trouble with his own, and Shui won't embarass him by offering to carry his single bag.  The pair certainly don't look problematic.

Appearances can deceive, of course, but Shui would rather remain optimistic.

Jago can’t keep a smile from creeping across his face as he watches the young couple at the foot of the ramp and fishes in his shirt pocket for a cigar to hide behind. Of course there’s no cigar there, he’s given his spare to Corlan.

“Back in a mo,” he says, heading for his cabin for fresh supplies.

Under Shui's guidance, and under Tylen's watchful gaze, the two young love birds board Profit Margin and make their way to the cabins.  Corlan is in the passenger lounge. engaged in some sort of solitaire card game, with the cards laid out in a circular pattern which takes up most of the table in front of him.  He nods to Shui, and smiles politely as the trio pass through to the two adjoining cabins that Dav Sedric and Jaena Daws will occupy for the duration of their stay aboard the ship.

Keryn and, presumably, Eneris are in their own cabins.

Jago heads back to his quarters for more cigars, having long since realised that the lack of a cigar could very well endanger his health, wellbeing and, indeed, his very life.  This, of course, leaves Ash and Saskia to their awkward silence.

Tylen, all alone in the hold again, starts strapping down the cargo while keeping at least one eye on the ramp...

Saskia studies the youngsters as they approach the ship and rolls her eyes. "Kids!  If they want to travel at that age they should join the navy or something.  Especially with a war going on.  But I suppose that if it's anything like the last war it would be over before they finished filling out the IN-172.

"I suppose it'll be nice for Keryn to have somebody her own age aboard.  They can talk about music and clothes and whatever else kids talk about."

And that reminds her, with Keryn and Shui inside, there's nobody to spy on test the audio pick-ups on.  "I suppose I should get back to work." she says to Ash, "Unless you need me up here for anything else."

A slight chuckle escapes Ash's lips when Saskia voices her indignation at their passengers behavior (and apparent youth).  "Yeah, right." he reminisces playfully, "My IN-172 hadn't come through before I was drummed out of the service four years later ..."

"Oh," Ash looks at Saskia slightly askance, "no... no... Don't let me keep you from your duties."  He smiles slightly apologetically; there is only the smallest smidgen of disappointment in the tone - though it is not clear with whom it is targeted towards.  But it is still a smile, and the Margin's navigator adds, "Thank you for helping me, Ms. Blake."

He stands after a moment, pushing back from the console, "Do you mind if I walk with you for a bit?  Apparently," he notes off-hand with a glance in the direction that Jago just left by, "I need to arm myself."  And although, Ash is dying to know if Saskia intends to do that same, he bites his tongue and remains silent - his vocal chords refusing to ... well ... vocalize.  While, he is still debating about the knife, his autopistol is in the secured area and needs to be retrieved for crew safety (apparently).  So, now is as good a time as any to do so.

"Well!"  Putting down the young woman's bags inside her room, Shui motions both to enter.  "The rooms are identical, so I can show both of you the amenities simultaneously."  Said demonstration won't take terribly long, for while the rooms aren't spartan, there's a limit to how much one can cram into them.  However, Shui does round out her discussion/instructions with some advice on eating arrangements - in their quarters or the guest lounge - and a quick rundown on the other passengers aboard the ship.

Nothing, however, that crosses lines of personal privacy.  No reason for their travelling, no discussion of their pasts.  Just names, some idea of their personality (only positive things), and a quick description, including mention of Corlan as being the fellow they past.  Similarly, she describes the crew - again, no mention of quirks, embarassing anecdotes, or personal issues.

Following that, a short list of their instructions for emergencies or medical issues of a less stressful nature, all carefully sanitized so as not to cause alarm.

"Any questions so far?" the steward inquires.  "Please, break in at any time."

"No, I don't mind.  Not that there's that far to walk.  It's only about forty metres from here to Engineering.  Probably 25 at most to your quarters." Saskia says with a smile.  Her voice rises slightly in volume as she steps off the Bridge and comes within earshot of Jago's quarters, "I don't know what gets into Jago some days.  Why would he want everybody armed, with Yas and Tylen aboard?  If those two ran into twenty or thirty Zhodani Consulate Guard, with psi support and a couple of those warbots they have, I'd feel sorry for the Zhos.

"You know Yas keeps a ceramic knife in her shower, right?  And a frelling .44 revolver in a zippy bag too."  The engineer laughs, "She says she's worried about bugs crawling up through the drain."

Corlan comes out of the passenger lounge and waves to Tylen as the gunner works to secure the cargo, "Good morning, Mister Orgesh.  Thought I'd just walk about in the docking bay for a while, stretch my legs a little."

Shui's explanation of the facilities and features of the passenger cabins is followed with close attention by the two young passengers.  There are questions of course - fairly standard ones regarding mealtimes, how to uperate the controls for the shower, an explanation of how to set the walls to display various images.  All of them things that Shui was planning to cover, but they were scheduled for later in her presentation.  Then comes the surprise...

Dav Sedric looks at the time display projected on the cabin wall, above the bed, and raises a hand, almost as if he were in school.  "Miss, does the ship conform to a standard 24 hour day?  You see, we are followers of the Church of Blessed Light, and we are required to spend some time in prayer and meditation every 19 hours.  Would we be able to reset the clocks in our cabins so that we can follow that cycle."

Saskia and Ash are chatting outside Jago's cabin, and the engineer seems to be making an effort to ensure that the captain can hear every word she's saying...

Ash lets out a slight chuckle as he walks with Saskia as the Margin's engineer regales him of the martial prowess of Yas and Tylen.  And then he raises an eyebrow and turns slightly to face her when she notes the fresher armament of the ship's Security Chief.  "Hmmm... I-I didn't know that..." he ventures thoughtfully, if slightly playfully, "that does explain a lot about, Ms. Crow, though."

"As for bugs in the drain system," Ash notes dutifully, "wouldn't you know about them before she does, Miss?"  He can only assume that Saskia would have some hand in their presence (even if it is only willful neglect) - if there were to be such things.

Then the navigator pauses for a moment, looking slightly puzzled and asks, "Umm... just how do you know what armament the Chief keeps in her fresher, Ms. Blake?  Is that public knowledge?"

Shui immediately nods, answering the question while her mind works through the surprise. "The cabin clocks are completely programmable.  It's very easy to set them for a different day-period.  Allow me."   Synching her dataglove with the cabin controls directly, she shifts the clocks to a nineteen hour period.

"There.  That should be satisfactory," she muses when finally complete.  "However, I should ask - are there any other requirements you require for your religious observations?  Dietary preferences and exclusions, settings for the cabin?" 

Her face breaks into a bright smile.  "Please do not hesitate to inform me of such as it comes up.  I will do my own research of course, now that I am aware, to see if there is anything I might do to accomodate you better, but the two of you are a far superior source of information than some random extranet article."

"I think she was joking about the bugs.  Personally I think it's just the way marines are -- they get twitchy if they have to go more than fifteen seconds without seeing a gun."

Saskia is unusually chatty today, measured against her generally quiet self.  Even Ash's question about how she knows about Yas's shower habits doesn't bring more than a mild rebuke, "Don't you go starting things like that, at least if you want your shower to work at a comfortable temperature in future.  To say nothing of what she'll do to you if she hears.  We had enough of that dren from Ridge, just because we didn't find him attractive.

"I know about her shower because I had to replace the heat exchanger in there a couple of years ago."

Ash nods slowly to Saskia's assertion about marines and guns.  "Probably so," he agrees amiably, "though, truth be told, I wouldn't mind not seeing another gun for the rest of my life."  He gives her a slight shrug and an even slighter smile as he adds, "But, given my chosen profession and the political climate in the Marches, that is unlikely, I suspect."

He holds up his hands in half-joking gesture of submission when she 'threatens' him with a malfunctioning shower.  "No untoward insinuations intended, Miss Blake." he soothes, "I was merely curious as to whether Miss Crow regularly offered up such information."  Another crooked smile crosses his lips, "I mean she doesn't seem shy about voicing an opinion about almost any topic...."  He tugs at an ear subconsciously.

The navigator stops at his cabin door and palms the trigger to open it.  "Thank you for taking time to chat." he states a bit sheepishly, but seems genuinely grateful.  After a slight awkward pause, he adds, "I-I hope we can talk again..."

Saskia’s over loud comments put a smile on Jago’s face and a number of responses flash through his mind and are instantly rejected as unimaginative or cliché. In the end he says nothing, knowing that she’s right but still very uneasy at the transportation of ‘prisoners’ who someone may wish to rescue. On top of that he’s not sure he doesn’t sympathise with them, or at least their cause, which he assumes is the liberation of their home world.

Jago had accepted the prisoners on the grounds that if he didn’t some one else would and at least here, they will get treated with respect and have the best possible chance of surviving the freeze, (such is his faith in his doctor and engineer), also to walk away and have nothing to do with it some how seemed worse, now he wonders if it were wise. ’What’s a guy to do?’ Jago resigns himself to paranoia as an extra passenger on this trip, and a conscience that will trouble him into the foreseeable future as he fishes out a couple of fresh cigars from the draw in his desk, slips one in his pocket and goes through the calming ritual of putting the other in his mouth.

Unaware of any regulations that might prevent the trip outside, Tyleh nods."I'll let the bridge know you are going ashore." he comments to Corlan.  "We wouldn't want to lift while you were still outside." the scout finishes with a grin.

Then he takes a moment to send a message on the crew channels that 'Corlan has gone ashore to stretch his legs'.

Sedric shakes his head, "No, there is just the nineteen hour worship cycle, and we are not permitted to consume alcohol or other recreational drugs."  He looks at Jaena Daws and smiles, before adding, "Oh, and as part of our worship we are required to strip naked in a public place, daub ourselves with fresh, warm groat blood, and sacrifice three virgins."

Jaena Daws punches his arm, "Dav!"

"Just joking." Sedric rubs at his arm, "Just the 'no drugs' requirement, and the nineteen hour cycle."

Jago returns to the Bridge, and is joined, shortly afterwards, by the now-armed Ash.  Outside the viewports, they can see Corlan wandering aimlessly about in the docking bay, inspecting various random fixtures and fittings.  The man is being careful not to touch anything.

In the hold, Tylen continues to work at securing the cargo.  The job is almost finished.  Just a few moere minutes...

In Engineering, Saskia starts making adjustments to various parts of the drive systems.  The results would be imperceptible to anybody else, but they are a point of pride to the engineer.

Back on the bridge Jago toggles some overhead switches and leans over, checking varies readouts without sitting down.

“Saskia, it’s a little bit early but I’m starting pre-flights,” he tells the intercom, “I’m doing the ‘walk around’ now.”

“We’ll be off as soon as the passengers are settled,” he tells Ash, “ can you log the flight plan please.”

Drawing an old fashioned and well-worn clip from its pocket on the side of the chair, Jago heads on out without actually looking at it, intent on a visual and physical inspection of the outside of the ship. It’s a routine that’s become embedded in his psyche over the years, but not one he’ll ever get complacent about, every responsible pilot gets out and ‘kicks the tyres’ before taking off.

"...no virgin sacrifice, check." Amused, Shui cocks an eyebrow. "I might have been able to manage the goat's blood, so long as you didn't mind processed soy, but the virgins would have been difficult to garner." Her smile brightens. "No drugs and alcohol will be far more simple."

Then her head cocks to the side a touch and she considers the two. "If you do not mind me asking, I am curious regarding your beliefs.  If you feel comfortable explaining them, perhaps we might take some time during the flight?"

As Shui commonly notes, there is almost no such thing as useless knowledge, and better understanding her passengers will assist her in assisting them.  Besides, curiousity has bloomed.

"Aye, aye, Captain." Ash notes as he slides into the co-pilot's seat.  He let the honorific slip out since the phrase doesn't sound right otherwise.  'Aye, aye, Boss.' definitely isn't right and while 'Aye, aye, Sir' is better, it still doesn't have that snap to it.  He nods to Jago as he leaves the bridge, stifling an old, almost forgotten, urge to stand as he leaves the bridge.

After unlocking his console, Ash opens up an external commlink to the Denotam Port Authority.  "Denotam Highport Control," the navigator starts out, "this is the Profit Margin," and he gives them the ship's transponder ID and registration information.   Ash continues, "We are outbound to Rangent and requesting flight path and clearance, please."  He glances at the schedule and passenger manifests before adding, "We expect to be ready to leave within the next thirty minutes.  Over."

He pulls the public traffic information and pushes it to the main tactical display to see how much competition for the traffic controllers attention he is vying for.  He wished that he could make the estimate more accurate, but given rough outline, it is the best he can do.

Ash pushes the external visual sensor displays to one of the side panels; just in visual range, but not so that it dominates his field of view.  That way he can try to keep an eye for any new passengers approaching, as well as make sure that they do not leave Mr. DeSant behind...

Jago walks down the ramp and starts to make his way down the ramp and starts to circle around the ship, giving the hull a quick visual inspection.  He catches sight of Corlan chatting to a maintenance tech across the docking bay.  The passenger spots Jago and waves to him...

Traffic control confirms Ash's request for a departure slot, and starts to reel off a series of times, flight vectors and communication channels... 

Streams of data are running up the Bridge consoles as Saskia starts running one final set of drive diagnostics.  Everything looks to be green, which is hardly surprising, as this is the third time she's run this sequence this morning...

In the hold, Tylen finishes his work and stretches as he steps away from the secured load.  From his position, close to the ramp, he can see Corlan talking to a man dessed in the uniform of a port tech, and Jago just moving out of view as he circles the ship...

"We'd be pleased to tell you about the Blessed Light, Miss, whenever you have time." Dav Sedric says to Shui, with a smile...

"That would be wonderful," Shui enthuses.  It should keep her passengers happy, while simultaneously imparting information.  Plus, she might learn something quite interesting.

And they seem like wonderful people.

"Well," she states, rubbing her hands together briskly, "if there are no other questions for the moment, I have some duties to take care of...amoung them, seeing to a meal for the crew and passengers.  If you have preferences for beverages, now is the time to let me know, and I'll do my best to provide."

Assuming there are no other questions, she bows fractionally and steps toward the door.  "I will chime over the intercom when it's time for a meal," she notes.  "And beforehand, to give advance warning." 

Tylen coughs softly as he climbs down from the last of the packing cases and a slight grimace crosses his face.  Still, he walks across towards the ramp and finds a nice piece of cargo to lean against, that allows him to see outside.

Nothing out of the ordinary appears to be happening, Corlan always seems to find someone to talk to and Jago always takes a tour around the ship before lift.  So Tylen settles back against the case and pulls a coin from his pocket, rolling it around between his fingers, he waits for the two of them to come back aboard.

Corlan seems to be engaged in enthusiastic conversation with the tech, who is lounging against the wall with his hands in his pockets.  The passenger laughs and turns to point towards the ship and...

Suddenly there is a pistol pressed against the side of his head as the tech grabs him from behind.  Corlan freezes, and the tech mutters something to him.  Then Corlan calls out, "Captain Lanza!  I think there's a problem."

In the passenger section, Dav Sedric considers for a moment, then shakes his head, "No, I think that about covers everything.  Thank you."  "Yes, thank you." chimes in Jaena Daws, then, "Oh!  Would it be all right if I used the lounge for some simple daily exercises - push-ups, sit-ups, a little yoga and the like?  I like to keep fit, and there is more space out there than in here."

Elsewhere, Yas lifts the heavy carryall off the counter and hands a credit chip to the storekeeper, who processes the transaction.

OOC: Ash and Tylen can both see the attack on Corlan from their positions, but it happens too fast for them to do anything about it.  Corlan and his assailant are a good twenty metres from the ramp.  Shui and Saskia are both blissfully unaware of the developing hostage situation.  Yas is ashore somewhere, running an errand for Jago.

++“Heads up everybody, Corlan’s been snatched”++ Jago says into his comms, ++“sit tight check for other bandits on the pad and don’t trust those new passengers already  aboard.”++

Tucking the set away Jago smiles and begins to walk towards Corlan and his assailant, keeping his hands well away from the snub on his belt.

“Good morning,” he says pleasantly, “I’m the ship’s captain, is there something I can help you with?”

++Security Alert:  Lock the new passengers in their cabin."++ Tylen adds as a general crew text message following following Jago's comments on the crew channel.  Then continues on a verbal channel ++"Ash:  Secure the ship, leaving the ramp open, and contact Yas and base security.  Saskia, please bring me my Laser Carbine."++ he says quietly.

Bloody typical he thinks grimly just when we need Yas she bloody goes shopping ...

"Well, first of all, you can stop right where you are," the man in the tech's uniform replies, "or I'll shoot you and keep my chatty friend here alive so I can negotiate with your second-in-command."

"Second, my brother is a political prisoner aboard your ship.  I want him released right now."

From his vantage point on the bridge of the Profit Margin, Ash looked up with a slight start when he he received Tylen's terse instructions.  He scrutinized the external feeds more closely and pursed his lips, his brow furrowed.  He turned up the gain on the audio sensors and focused in on the tech brandishing the weapon and threatening Corlan.

Then the Margin's navigator nodded to no one in particular, "On it" he whispers into the common crew line.  He unmutes the external commlink to the Port Authority, interrupting the controller's flight plan instructions.  "Denotam Port Authority." he blurts quickly, "This is the Profit Margin." and he repeats the transponder identification and berthing information for the controller, "Belay those coordinate relays.  We need Port Security asap; we have a high priority alert.  We have an armed assailant in the docking bay who has taken one of our passengers hostage."  He pushes the image that he received from the others to another display on his console.  He glances at it to make certain that the tech holding Corlan hostage is likely the third terrorist.   Ash adds notes to the Port Authority controller (and hopefully now with security on the line - or at least the conversation recorded for them), "We believe that the armed individual is ... one Edrin Othati-Fenn, a.k.a. Jonn Andari, a.k.a. Jonn Cooper - an individual with an outstanding warrant for violent crimes on Zircon."

Ash then starts to lock down various parts of the ship, securing the bridge, crew quarters and then isolating the passenger lounge.  He mutes the Port Authority line before he comments on the common crew line, "Securing ship now..."   Then he pages Shui, announcing rather officiously into the ship-wide comm, "Ms. Tiesi, your presence is required at the main airlock."  He adds for sake of Dav and Jaena, "All passengers are requested to remain in quarters until liftoff."  He checks the internal video feeds to see if they comply.

Ash also checks the status of the low berths and their power.  He doesn't want anything to happen to them (for example, shutting down) unintentionally.

He taps a quick written missive to Shui's inbox (and hopefully her dataglove) with high priority, ++Security Alert:  Ensure all passengers shelter in quarters.++  Ash makes ready to lock Dav and Jaena in their cabin once Shui leaves them.  Likely Shui should check on Keryn as well - at least he expects her to, but Ash will remotely lock her cabin, if necessary as well.

Then Ash tracks down Yasmine's comm code and opens a link to it.  He mutters under his breath, "C'mon, Chief ... pick up."  While he waits on both the Port Authority and Yasmine's responses, Ash grimly notes to himself with some irony that Ms. Crow is the First Officer on the Profit Margin - so, shooting Jago is likely to be highly unproductive for their would-be hostage taker.  Not that Edrin Othati-Fenn (a.k.a. Jonn Andari, a.k.a. Jonn Cooper) would know anything about that - which is, of course, the irony.  And his messy death at her hands should he harm the Captain is probably the grim part.

Jago stops, and raises his hands half way and regards the young man.

“You don’t really want to be dealing with my second in command, she’d just shoot you, and Corlan, and anyone else in the vicinity for good measure, then ask, ‘what do want?’ Don’t you think Corlan?”

“Meanwhile, you have a bit of a problem, base security will be on their way by now, and your brother is frozen like a popsical and it’s going to take at least twelve hours to defrost him safely.”

"I don't want to see anyone get hurt and I have an solution that you might find acceptable, but we’ll have to get out of sight of these cameras, and call the security off,” Jago nods towards the corners of the hanger bay where he assumes cameras would be located, if there were any.’

“Would you like to come on board and talk about it? You can keep the gun. Or, you can let Corlan go and I’ll explain over a coffee somewhere netrual on the base.”

Jago gives the man his best, ‘come on, whada you say’ look while the phrase ‘be careful what you wish for’ runs through his mind.

OOC
Dice gave me 7, Jago has good social abilities but no applicable skills, (except JoT).
This message was last edited by the player at 10:44, Sun 29 July 2012.

"Oh, absolutely," Shui states.  "So long as it doesn't disturb the other passengers, and I'm certain we can set up times." A smile follows.  "Perhaps I could join you in your exercises.  I have my own, but they've grown a touch stale over the years -"

Jago's message rolls in over the comm, and Shui blinks, her voice stuttering.  Snatched?  Corlan?  The new passengers?  A ping follows from her dataglove, set to vibration mode (with the comm off at the moment).  She glances down out of habit a
and catches the gist of Tylen's text message.

"Apologies." A helpless shrug follows, but Shui's acting is out of practice.  If the situation in THIS room is what some suspect, she could be in trouble.  "I seem to have a bit of an emergency - Steward emergency, that is -"

And right on cue, Ash's summons rolls out of the intercom.  "And there," she notes.  "Please excuse me - there has been a problem, and I'm going to have to ask you to remain in your quarters."  Her innate politeness precludes any possibility of simply locking them in surreptitiously.  "I assure you, it will be dealt with promptly and I'll be back to continue arrangements on exercise schedules."

With a smile, she heads for the door, wondering if she'll make it.

"Frellfrellfrell!  Dren!  Yotz!  Frell!"

Saskia hurries to Tylen's cabin and uses her override code to open the lock.  She starts searching for the laser.  "Drendrendrendrendren!  Where the frell is it?  Wait.  Calm down Saskia.  No, you frelling calm down.  FRELL YOU, I AM CALM!"

Weapon rack?  The thought forces its way through the layers of calm and finally gets to the surface.  "Weapon rack!"  After that, finding the laser carbine is easy.  She grabs the weapon and starts towards the cargo hold.  Stops.  Grabs the power pack.

Carbine?  Check.  Power pack?  Check.  Go!

She finally makes it to the hold, approximately ten years (at least to her senses) after Tylen requested his weapon, and hands the carbine to the security officer.

"Thank you." the ex-scout says as he takes the laser carbine, with hardly a glance at the engineer.  His eyes hardly leave the tableau outside, although he steps back to a point where only his head is visible to the man holding Corlan as he straps the power pack around his waist.

"You had better see if Ash needs a hand on the bridge." Tylen says, as he finally senses the engineer's discomfort. "And could you ask him to let me know when Shui is free from the passengers?  Just a comms notification ..." he adds softly as he suddenly has a vision of a people trying to bring him messages here in the hold ...

Shui leaves the passengers sitting in the same cabin and hurries to check on Keryn, who opens the door after a short delay, bleary eyed and somewhat dishevelled.  The young woman blinks at the Steward.  "Is something wrong?" she asks, stifling a yawn.  "Was having the strangest dream."

Corlan nods, as best he can with an arm around his neck, "Oh, yes, Captain Lanza is right.  Most definitely.  She'd certainly shoot you.  But not fatally.  Not until she's had a chance to question you.  Though she'd probably aim for somewhere painful.  Frankly I'm surprised that they let her out of jail after the last time."

His attacker starts to look a little concerned.  And when Jago explains that the man he's here to rescue is in a low berth, definite signs of panic start to set in.  Things are clearly not going the way he had anticipated.  Snapping at Jago to, "Back off!", he looks as though he's trying to think of a way out of the mess.

Tylen watches the whole drama unfolding from his position at the head of the ramp.  He sends Saskia back up to the Bridge to assist Ash.

Ash is busy explaining the situation to the Port Authority, who assure him that a security team has been dispatched and will be there shortly.

And a welcome voice comes from the comm system speakers, "Yas.  What's up?"
This message was last edited by the GM at 15:35, Sat 04 Aug 2012.

Tylen leaves the comms to Ash and and the rest of the crew, but steps up a bit, now he is fully dressed, just far enough to allow the snatcher to see the laser carbine.

"Thank you, Denotam Port Security.  What is your ETA?" Ash notes after quickly switching the audio feed to the external link to the Port Authority.  After a pause for a response, he queries the controller that he rather abruptly cutoff, "Uh, Would you mind staying on the line? At least, until security arrives?"

He mutes the Port Authority line immediately, when Yasmine picks up.  "Chief!" he blurts excitedly and with more than a modicum of relief, "Tescali here."  He forces himself to pause and take a breath, before continuing in a (slightly) more controlled manner, "We have a situation in the docking bay."  Ash pauses again, since he is not sure where Yasmine is or who might be near by.  "You are missing the 'fun'," he notes rather deadpan, "We have a visitor, a brother, who is looking to find our two special passengers.  He has Mr. DeSant all to himself.  The Captain is in negotiations with the man right now, but the man is not very receptive.  In fact, I hope no one gets hurt, the man is positively threatening in his demeanor."  Ash purses his lips, he can't put it any more plainly.  Well, actually, he can; so, he adds, "I would think that the man is liable to shoot off more than his mouth at this point."

The navigator mutes the line to Yas briefly when Saskia arrives and motions for the Margin's engineer to get onto any of the bridge consoles.  "Thanks for visiting again so soon ..." he chirps, then Ash grows more serious, "Can you double-check the ship is locked down - that I haven't missed anything ...  and that Shui is clear of the passenger deck."  Ash does look just a tiny bit harried as he tries to juggle the various tasks at hand.  The main tactical displays have the external video and audio feeds focused on Jago, Corlan and Corlan's captor.

Throwing the bag over her shoulder Yas listens to Ash's reply.  Either he got some great, or bad, news or he has a thing for her.  She is not sure which would be worse, or better.  Both and neither, perhaps.

He calms down, however and she cannot help but chuckle -- evidently is was news.  She is unsure whether or not to be disappointed when his next few words makes her see red.  Bad news, really bad news.  Reaching for her gun she realises that she is practically naked, since all she got on her is her trusty machete.  Glancing around she realises that others do not see her as naked, but she might as well be wearing nothing but a thong.  She sighs and replies, sounding a bit annoyed, "I knew it, he wasn't off world.  I'll make sure to tell our popsicles, unless someone gets hurt, because then..."

Her voice grows darker for each word and her pace quickens at the same rate.  Her brow furrows as she speaks to Ash anew, "I'll be there shortly and then we'll see what happens.  Keep me posted on any changes, I might need your help soon.  Stay sharp."

"Ms. Taylor," Shui begins in a quiet voice, avoiding the 'hushed whisper' that tends to engender panic.  "We are having a minor emergency.  Nothing port security and our own cannot handle, but for the safety of the passengers I am asking all of you remain in your quarters until I or another member of the crew opens your quarters."

She gently pats the other woman on the arm, giving a bit of human contact to soften the news. "Please try to be at ease - nobody is hurt and it does not involve violence -" yet "- and again, this is for your sake and the sake of ship security."

She puts off any further questions and, if Keryn acquieses, closes the door and sets it to locked, keyed to the crews' codes.  Then Shui heads down the hall toward Eneris' quarters.  There's comm chatter, but she doesn't interrupt.  Interruption would be foolish, and possibly critically distracting.  Her business is with the passengers - check their quarters, get them locked away, then move to see if she can assist.

Unless there's gunfire, in which case she needs to move to that location.  And quickly.
This message was last edited by the GM at 15:49, Sat 04 Aug 2012.

Ash remains quiet as Yasmine makes her pronoucement, he purses his lips slightly.  Her response is not unexpected.  "Yes, Ma'am" he notes dryly, "I'll keep the line open.  Oh, and Chief, Port Security is on their way..."  He glances the chronometer in the corner of the main tactical display and adds, "... They're telling us less than five minutes.  What is your ETA?"

Yas picks up her pace a little, but not so much that she'll arrive at the ship winded.  Her hand computer is in her pocket, with a map of the orbital city (which she has privately dubbed, "Orbitsville") downloaded into its memory.  By her estimate she's a good three kilometres from Profit Margin, due to the fact that taking the most direct route would mean two fairly brief, but probably fatal, periods of exposure to hard vacuum, and an even more lethal short cut through the city's fusion reactor.  A flashing icon on the map attracts her attention...  One hundred metres away.  Public transport.  A tunnel-bus every two minutes, two minute ride to a stop fifty metres from Profit Margin.  It's faster than running three kilometres, even if she just misses one of the buses and has to wait almost a full two minutes...

Security estimate they can be at Profit Margin in about three minutes.  The operator is happy to stay on the line and get more details from Ash - Does he know who the attacker is?  Does he know what they want?  What are they doing now?

Outside the ship, the hostage taker is definitely starting to get a little more edgy.  "Right... right...  Start thawing him out then.  I'll come inside to get away from Security, but Mr Talkative here stays with me.  Once my brother is back with me, the three of us will take a little walk to the vehicle I have just outside, and once I'm away from here I'll release him."

He spots Tylen, just as the crewman had intended, and that brings an immediate threat, "I bet I can pull the trigger before you can aim that thing!"

At Jago's Bridge station, Saskia is busy running security protocols, though she remembers to override ramp closure...

Keryn's tired expression switches to one of mild panic, and almost as quickly to another which looks like a blend of excitement and curiosity.  "I'll stay in here, yes."  This is it.  The great starship adventure she's been expecting since she boarded Profit Margin.  Doubtless her thoughts are full of some square-jawed hero in a white uniform rescuing her, personally, from whatever peril threatens...

Eneris' response to the news is a little different, "Well we're still docked, so it can't be Vargr corsairs.  Is the station under attack?  Can I help?"

“You could shoot him, then we’d shoot you and your brother still goes to prison,” Jago says patiently, “you’ve run out of time and options but there is a solution to this. Put your gun away, we won’t take it off of you, we’ll call off security and you come aboard and listen to my proposal, if you don’t like it you can walk away, without your brother, but you’ll still be at liberty to try again. You’ll have to be quick though, once security get here it will be out of my hands, there’s likely to be bloodshed and they are not going to let you walk away, with or without your brother.”

"And I might just be prepared to bet that our medic can put him back together  again." The ex scout says with a bit of a drawl.  "But one thing you can be sure of, I won't miss.  And I will make sure you are burned so badly that your brother wouldn't recognise you." he says.

"Your best bet is to make a break for it now, before port security or Yas gets here.  I won't shoot unless you do, because I really don't want to get into a long discussion about gun laws in this place." and he grins slightly.  "You might even get away with it ..."
This message was last edited by the player at 09:03, Sun 05 Aug 2012.

“You could just run for it,” Jago agrees, “that would be a lot easier for us.”

OOC
At what distance was Jago obliged to stop please?

Pleased that she doesn't have to argue with Keryn, Shui faces Eneris next.  This one could be a little trickier.  "The station is fine.  It's a single person, which at present can easily be handled by Port Security and our own Mr. Orgesh and Ms. Crow."  Thank goodness Yasmine is returning; Tylen can no-doubt handle the situation, but the more the merrier, and Yasmine is extremely capable regarding these sorts of things.

"At present, we do not require further assistance, and would rather not put our passengers in jeopardy."  She doesn't bother going into the legal implications - that would be insulting, and isn't her primary concern in any case.  "But I shall relay your offer to the captain, Mr. Armusezash, and if we do need assistance I can remotely unlock your door."

That said, she ensures he is solidly ensconced in his stateroom before locking it down as well.

Then it's a brief transmission to Ash on a private channel - he's the communications coordinator at the moment, and she doesn't want to break into an open channel at the wrong time.  ++ Mr. Tescali, I have all four of our current passengers locked-down, and am retrieving my medical instruments. ++  This said as she jogs down the hall to her office/room.  ++ I will be there momentarily, though I will keep myself behind a secure bulkhead. ++

Duck into the office.  Snag the medical bag.  Jog back toward the hold with the intention of getting close but staying well out of sight.  All the while, Shui struggles to keep her breathing slow and even, and mostly fails.

Corlan with a gun to his head.  Jago in harm's way.  Tylen in the area.  Yasmine approaching.  Four people she knows, cares for.

If shots are fired, medical skill can only go so far.

"That's the last of the hijack protocols engaged, except one.  Everything is locked down, excluding the ramp." announces Saskia, with a satisfied nod, "Cabin doors, passenger side, are all sealed, and the iris into the hold from that side too.  Power output is at minimum and the computer will go to sleep if I don't enter my access code every three minutes.  Turrets and drives are disabled.

"The doors on the passenger cabins aren't the strongest, they're designed for privacy, not security, but they'll slow people down a little, and trigger this alarm if any of them are forced open."  She points at a red warning light, dark for now.  "There'll be a frelling awful klaxon too, so if you hear an alarm that you don't recognise, check to see if that light is lit up."


OOC: Sorry for the delay.  Stupid computer.

"What is your ETA?" Ash asks and as luck would have it Yas notices the timing is working in her favour.

"About two minutes, barring any unexpected accidents on behalf of the public transport system.  If you can, tell Ty to be ready to try to keep the attention of our visitor, if he's out of reach, maybe you can do so for me.  Just keep him talking, all right?"

As she finishes her report the transport arrives and she boards it, trying her best not to knock anyone flat with the heavy bag.  She crashes down into a seat and unzips the bag to see what she got to play with beside her oversized butter knife.
This message was last edited by the player at 19:20, Mon 06 Aug 2012.

The navigator of the Profit Margin nods gratefully to Saskia, "Thank you, Ms. Blake."  He gives her a slightly wan smile, and notes slightly ruefully, "I guess I should have noticed that tech was acting a bit strange - or, at least, recognized him from the picture..."

Then Ash stats slightly and taps the virtual button to unmute the line to Yasmine (and fade the others out).  "Roger that Ms. Crow." the navigator notes, "I'll see what I can do to contact Mr. Ogresh."  Ash adds as an update of sorts, "The Captain has the man preoccupied for the moment..."   So, that Yasmine can have some idea of what to expect - that he will likely not be the one that is personally engaging the man.  He's not disinclined (though, he admittedly would prefer not to get shot), but their visitor is likely already feeling overwhelmed and adding himself to the mix outside (whether physically or virtual, via the external speakers, is likely to viewed unfavorably by their opponent as 'piling on'.

He places a text message on the crew common line, figuring that everyone should know what is Yasmine is requesting.  ++Chief en route; ETA 2 minutes.  Wants guest occupied upon her arrival.++

Jago holds his position a good seven or eight metres from Corlan and his captor.  Tylen is further back and a little to one side, but not so much that Othati-Fenn can't keep an eye on both of them.

Corlan is keeping very calm, despite having a gun pressed to his head.  Othati-Fenn, on the other hand, is looking less and less calm with every passing second.

Just inside the ship, at the top of the ramp, Shui holds herself in readiness in case something goes wrong and her medical skills are required.

Meanwhile, on the tunnel-bus, Yas checks the bag.  Mostly semi-milspec comms gear and sensor modules, and tools for working with them.  No real weapons, though there are a few items which might serve for inflicting blunt trauma.  The only problem is that using them in that way would probably break their inner workings.  Some of the tools might serve as stabbing weapons.

The tunnel-bus starts to slow, approaching Yas' stop.

On the Bridge, Port Authority reports that security will be there in about a minute...

"How do I know this isn't some sort of trap?  If I come aboard, I keep my friend with me, and my gun, until I know what's happening!"

"No." Tylen says quietly  "You will not compromise the profit margin in that way."  As he drops to one knee and brings the laser rifle up to his shoulder.    The laser rifle isn't yet pointing at anyone - but is is not far off it.  "Your best bet really is to run ..." Tylen says softly

Leaning against the hull, Shui closes her eyes for a long moment.  Her breathing slows.  Her shoulders relax.  There's nothing she can do right now.  Nothing at all.  Brief thoughts of offering herself in exchange for Corlan - a member of the crew, a woman versus an older man, that might be an attractive offer when it comes to hostage leverage.  And she would do so without hesitation if it would take Corlan out of harm's way.

But if she steps out there right now, she might precipitate a shooting.  And if I am shot, she considers with frustration, will there be anyone on hand if someone else is injured?

She should be training people in basic medical practices.  The Steward grimaces, filing the thought away for future reference.

Keep out of the way.  Let security do what they need to do, without mixing herself up in their equations.  Be ready to sprint if someone is hurt.  Necessity dictates these choices.

She could also pray, comes a random thought.  Tempting, indeed, but Shui lost what little faith she possessed over a decade ago.

“Keep the gun, point it at me if you want, but you let Corlan go, that point is not negotiable.”

With his back to Tylen and his focus on Corlan and his captor, Jago doesn’t see Tylen aim his weapon but he hears his voice, and can guess that’s the case and curses quietly to himself as he tenses for instant action.

Jago desperately tries to negotiate a release for Corlan, and there does seem to be some progress, "You walk over here Captain, slowly.  Keep your hands spread out where I can see them, and stay between me and the crewman there.  I'll release my friend... Corlan did you say his name is?  I'll release Corlan when I have a new friend to play with."

Ash continues to relay information to Yas, and receive updates on the arrival of local security, who are still a good minute away.  Or a bad one, depending on where you're standing in the docking bay.  Saskia monitors the shutting down of various ship systems.  If anybody tries to steal the ship, or even just use it as a bomb, they're going to have to override her security codes to get various critical systems running again.

In the hold, Shui waits, just out of sight.  There is a sudden flicker of light, and an image springs to life.  Somebody on the Bridge has thought to relay a feed from one of the ship's external cameras to her dataglove.  At least now she isn't trying to piece the situation together just by what she can hear.  If there are shots fired, she will know whether or not there are any injured who might need her attention before she steps out into the line of fire.

And outside the docking bay, Yas reaches the personnel airlock.  She still has the heavy bag of security equipment slung over her shoulder, and a plan in mind, as she reaches for the release on the door to the bay...
This message was last edited by the GM at 15:37, Tue 14 Aug 2012.

Tylen holds his position knelt down still ready to fire, However, the laser rifle comes up to point directly towards the man.  "Don't try anything stupid." he says softly, knowing that both port security and Yas will be here shortly.

Jago does as the gunman asks, keeping his hands high and wide as he approaches while blocking Tylen’s shot.

Ash purses his lips slightly as he watches the situation unfold.  He does continue to narrate to Yas and the Port Authority controller what appears to be happening.  He tries to keep the tension low in his voice with only limited success, "Uh, hmmmm.... The Captain appears to be bargaining an exchange .... him for the passenger, Mr. DeSant..."

The Margin's navigator does try to push a video feed to the personal communicators of the rest of the crew (even though he knows that Jago and Saskia are pretty much guaranteed to not access the feed) - it is possible that Shui, Yasmine or Tylen might all find the additional information useful and the common channel is the quickest, easiest way to disseminate that information.

Plus, Ash notes glumly to himself, the recording will be important evidence.  Especially if, there is violence - and the Captain or someone else in the crew or passenger manifest gets shot...

Pausing for a few seconds Yas releases the door to text to the crew.

I'm not the Security Chief, officially, but I still expect pay as usual!

Then she drops the bag down on the ground and pushes the door open, starting to drag it through the doorway using both hands.  She glances over her shoulder as she does her best to struggle with the bag and making herself seem even smaller than usual.

"Hey, this is Profit Margin, right!?  Am I too late?!" she calls out to the figures that are seen outside the ship - there is Jago and Corlan as well as the not overly off-planet brother.  No doubt somewhere is Tylen, ready to shoot.  "Cart broken down, sorry I'm late!" she huffs and puffs, trying to remember how she sounds after a hard workout.

Hopefully everyone will pick up on her little ruse, except for the dear brother of the frozen guy, of course.

"Ah, perfect," Shui whispers, barely audible to herself.  She studies the imagery, noting positions of the various people involved.  Tylen seems better set to hit cover than Jago, but obviously the captain wants to stay close to their assailant and talk.  And the sight of Corlan with the pistol pressed against him turns her stomach.  Please, let nobody be hurt, she thinks.  It's not a prayer, precisely; Shui has no faith to support her.

Then Jago moves toward the hostage-taker.

"No, no," Shui whispers, almost vibrating in her tension.  Two hostages is one too many; there's a greater chance something will go wrong in the exchange.  And that should be HER down there, rather than Jago.  It's coming up to a critical point now, and....

Yasmine.

Shui isn't certain if her friend's timing is perfect or horrible, but whichever it is, she trusts Yasmine to make the most of what she has.  But her appearance does indicate this little standoff is about to come to a close, one way or another.  It's pretty obvious she's playing a ruse, which means she's prepared to move in moments.

Thank goodness she isn't wearing any Profit Margin patches.

Biting her lip, Shui waits, her bag in hand.  There doesn't seem any more she can do.

Othati-Fenn looks away from Jago, and the gun swings away from Corlan yo point at Yas, "Who the frack are you?"  He looks at the short, breathless woman, in civilian clothes and with a large, obviously heavy holdall.  "Another customer?  Looks like I'll have no shortage of hostages in case I need them.  You get over here too."

The pistol, along with his attention, is wavering now between Yas, Jago and Corlan, and back to Yas to start the cycle again.  From the looks of it, he's just discovering that sometimes when you have all the cards, it just gives you too many things to hold.

On the Bridge, a revised ETA for the port's security people comes in, they're now saying somewhere between 30 and 45 seconds...

"I'm...  What?  Me?  Yes, I...  Are you part of the crew?  Can you help, please, the bag is too heavy for me," Yas replies trying to sound as confused and busy as she can and continues to drag the bag in the general direction of Profit Margin, even if she seems to almost stagger away from it now and then as the heavy load causes her to lose balance.

Tylen waits patiently, his laser carbine pointed directly towards the kidnapper.  Unfortunately Jago is in the way ....

Ash unmutes the external line to the Port Authority to acknowledge their message about the ETA of Port Security.  He tries to keep his voice even, "Thank you, Port Authority.  Please advise the security detail that multiple members of the crew are in close proximity to the hostage taker to keep the man occupied with negotiation requests.  Also be advised, we have medical staff on site."  He pauses for a moment to listen to and watch the man pointing the gun at Corlan... er... Yasmine... er.. Jago... and to see what Yasmine is up to.  "Also be advised that the armed man is dressed as a Port Authority technician and brandishing a pistol..." he rattles off the make, model and specifications as near as he can manage it, "and holding Mr. DeSant, a passenger on our manifests - the individual of ruddy-purple complexion - as an immediate hostage."

The navigator posts another hurried text to Shui and Tylen specifically, since Yas and Jago are occupied and do not need to be immediately distracted or tagged as crew members. ++Port Security ETA 30 seconds++  So, whatever play is going to be made either needs to be done or aborted quickly.

He gives a worried, and slightly helpless, glance at Saskia.  Ash can only hope that he hasn't forgotten anything...

Thirty seconds.  Thirty seconds is a long, long time in a gun battle, but a very short time for Yasmine to deal with their hostage-taker without things falling apart.  Shui grimaces.  Is it thirty seconds to their touchdown?  Or thirty seconds until they're in sight?

Well, twenty-five seconds now.  Twenty-four.  Twenty-three.

Shaking her head, she banishes the numbers and gets back to studying the video feed.  It's probably a good thing the man with the gun is an amateur terrorist, she muses.  True, it means he's more likely to do something rash, but at the same time his lack of training, experience, and knowledge of the human body hampers him.  He cannot, for example, see that Yasmine's 'stumbles' are deliberate, her compact frame easily strong enough to handle the apparent weight of the load, and (most of all) the sharpness of her eyes beneath her supposed confusion.

Not that Yasmine is a poor actress, mind.  It takes a professional to spot this kind of thing in a crunch situation.

"Be careful," she sub-vocalizes again, speaking below even a whisper.

Hands high, Jago continues his steady approach. Up to now he’s been concentrating on negotiating a peaceful resolution to the situation, but things are getting more complex by the minuet.

Once the opportunity presents, Jago goes for it, as he moves within reach and the gunman’s weapon and attention waver towards Yasmin he lunges suddenly forward, grabbing for the arm that holds the gin, intent only on lifting it harmlessly towards the sky and trusting to Yasmin to finish what he starts.

OOC
12:38, Today: Jago Lanza rolled 5 using 2d6 +0. Arm grabbing (brawling).

Seeing that the dear captain of the Margin leaps, sort of, into action, Yas follows suit.  She moves as quickly as she can toward the brother of their unwilling passenger in hopes to grapple him and put him out of action - temporarily - and assure the safety of their long term passenger.

Tylen will not fire unless he gets a clear shot on the kidnapper.

When Jago starts to make his move, Ash stops narrating to external line to the Port Authority.  In fact, he leans forward in his chair to scrutinize the main tactical screen which has the feed from the Margin's external visual feed with all of the action on it.  His mouth is slightly agape, as he tries to make sense of what he is seeing.  He rather absently, taps the 'mute' button on his dynamic display for the external comm line.  He knows that he doesn't want to be narrating this part.

Perhaps he should not have prompted the crew with the timing update from Port Security.  Or, perhaps they know something that is not apparent in the remote feeds.  But, for whatever reason, what is done is done - the Captain and Yasmine commit to action.  Ash purses his lips, as he is torn between whether his physical presence on the bridge or in the docking bay is more useful.  However, with Saskia here and Yasmine, Tylen and Shui there, perhaps his presence is not really necessary at all...

Still, Ash no time to dwell on that rather dark thought.  No, he is transfixed by the potentially macabre scene unfolding in the docking bay.

Jago, almost like the two-fisted hero of some action holovid goes into motion.  The only things missing are the trademarked wise-crack and the dramatic, uplifting music.  The gun starts to swing back towards him, even as Yas makes her move.

The owner of Profit Margin grabs at Othati-Fenn's wrist and attempts to push the gun upwards, to where it will only be a danger to the overhead lamps.  He doesnt get a clean grip on the arm, but does manage to grasp the man's sleeve.

There is a brief struggle, and a single shot is fired...

And Yas' bag (filled, appropriately enough, with security equipment) crashes into the side of the terrorist's skull.  He drops immediately, and the weapon falls from his hand to slide across the floor plates of the docking bay.

He doesn't stay down for long, and starts to sit up, dazed and shaking his head...

Somewhat alarmed at his own, ham fisted ineptitude, and most concerned that the shot has not hit Corlan, Jago leaves the gunman to Yasmin’s tender mercies and bundles the passenger away from the scene, keeping his own bulk between Corlan and the action.

“Are you hurt?” he asks, “Did he hit you?” then into his handset as hustles Corlan towards the ramp, “Shui, could you spare a minuet please.”

AS soon as the situation is resolved, Tylen and his Laser carbine withdraw to interior of the hold.  After all he really doesn't want to get involved in explanations about weapons if he needs to.  As he passes Shui he grins briefly to the steward.

Divesting himself of the  energy weapon he leaves it in the hold, somewhere out of sight, before returning to the top of the ramp,  Lounging against the side, as is his wont, he watches what happens down in the landing bay.

Dropping the bag Yas pulls out her machete in one smooth movement that ends with the tip of the blade against the terrorist's neck, seeing that the captain is getting Corlan away from the scene.

"Roll over, arms behind your neck!  NOW!!"  she half yells with as an authoritative voice as she can, which is a fair bit.  She does not take the eyes of him for a single moment and pushes lightly on the machete to drive the point home, at least figuratively.

Ash scrutinizes the video feed closely as the situation unfolds.  Only once the terrorist is down and covered by Yasmine does he realize that he is holding his breath.  The navigator takes in a short, sharp breath.  He glances at Saskia with more than just a touch of worry in his eyes, "I heard at least one gunshot fired..."  Ash adds hurriedly as he turns back to the display and his console, "Did you see where it went?"

He taps a virtual button to activated link to Shui's comm, "Ms. Tiesi, did you see all that?  I believe at least one shot was fired.  Are their any injuries to attend to?  Is Mr. DeSant all right?"  There is a hateful knot in his stomach as he awaits more information from the good doctor ...

The Margin's navigator starts to cycle through the other external video feeds to see if he can see any other damage or have a different angle to all of the movement.  He notes to Shui, "I believe that Mr. Ogresh and the Captain with Mr. DeSant are headed your way..."

Ash mutes the crew line and reopens the connection to the Port Authority, "P-port Authority... I ... I believe that shots have been fired..."  He purses his lips and takes a deep breath before continuing, "I am looking for confirmation on that.  Situation is chaotic for the moment ..."  Ash wipes a bead of sweat from his brow as he prompts the controller, "Umm... What is the ETA for Port Security?"

Saskia grins triumphantly at Ash, "Hah!  I knew he was in trouble from the moment I saw him.  He should never have pulled a gun standing that close to the ship.  The Margin looks after her family.  There's a lot of luck soaked into her, and she lends it to her people."  She reaches down to pat the deck.  "Good girl."

The Engineer starts running her hands over the console, reinitialising systems and unlocking security protocols.  Now that the problem seems to be under control, there isn't really a reason to keep things locked down.

"Mr. Orgesh," Shui breathlessly replies to Tylen's grin as she flows past him, moving with smooth strides toward the captain and their passenger.  "Thank you, Mr. Tescali."  Taking Corlan's other arm, she helps the captain move him past Tylen - again - into the safety of the hold. "Captain Lanza, Mr. DeSant, both of you sit please," the doctor 'requests', immediately beginning an assesment.  "Are either of you injured?"

She bites her tongue against the pressure of a scathing comment to the captain about putting himself in harm's way.  She would have done the same for Corlan, and has little doubt anyone on the crew might have made the attempt.  Captain Lanza succeeded; for now, that is more than enough.

Yasmine should be proud that one of her students managed sufficiently in a stressful situation.

Corlan shakes his head, "No.  I'm not injured at all.  Except for my pride, of course, due to the inability to defend myself using any of the skills we were taught."

Jago continues into the ship, holding Corlan firmly by one arm.  Once inside, they find a place to sit on top of one of the smaller cargo containers, where they wait for Shui to check them over.

The would-be liberator of Zircon follows Yas' instructions carefully and promptly, and is soon laying face down with his hands clasped on the back of his neck.  Even so, he attempts to yell, "Independence for Zircon!"  Unfortunately, being positioned as he is does little to improve his ability to vocalise the sentiment, and it doesn't come out quite as forcefully as he had intended.

The voice on the comms replies to Ash, "Security will be there within a few... "

In the docking bay, a public address system howls to life, "ATTENTION!  ATTENTION!  THIS IS STARPORT SECURITY.  WE ARE ENTERING THE BAY, AND WE ARE ARMED.  THIS WAS YOUR ONLY WARNING."

"... seconds."

The airlock door slams open, and three security officers enter and fan out into the bay.  A fourth stands back in the doorway, covering them.  All four of them are wearing combat armour and carrying weapons which look like short, fat shotguns.  "Every one, stand down!  Now!"
This message was last edited by the GM at 13:28, Tue 21 Aug 2012.

"Seems it's your lucky day," Yas tells the guy on the ground with a deadpan voice, leaving it up to him to deduct whether or not she was serious or not, and if so why.  She sheaths her machete and holds her hands up - not as if at gunpoint but more as a placating gesture.

"He's all yours!" she calls out to the officers.

With a lower voice once more she continues "Oh, they got the fun guns out.  Best continue to co-operate."  After all, she would be in the general line of fire and who knows how good or bad shots they are.  "And kid, you're either brave and stupid or just plain old stupid, trying this.  Next time, plan ahead, hmm?"

Somehow she doubts he will appreciate her advice, but such is gratitude.  At least the situation resolved before anyone got hurt, she believes, apart from a bump on the head, but, well, he did kind of ask for it.  Soon she can check up on this and then it might prove to be true that this fellow was indeed lucky that port security showed up when they did.

"I understand, Mr. DeSant," Shui begins as she checks his body for suspicious bloodstains or holes in the clothing.  A shot was fired, after all, and ricochets do happen.  "But please consider, Ms. Crow would be the first to tell you that basic knowledge of self-defense is meaningless against a levelled pistol.  You did the correct thing in remaining calm - it likely kept yourself and Captain Lanza alive until someone else could deal with the man from a position of strength and surprise."F

rom outside, the blare of an amplified voice rumbles into the hold.  Shui refrains from rolling her eyes - they're just following their training, after all.

"Captain Lanza, your turn."  Assuming Corlan isn't suffering from a hitherto unknown bullet-wound - which has happened - Shui immediately turns to Jago and begins a similar examination of the captain.  "Hold still, please...Mr. DeSant, please remain seated are unless security - Profit Margin security - requests that you move."

She's not having outsiders burst in here and shove around people who could potentially slip into shock.  Or worse.
This message was last edited by the player at 15:26, Tue 21 Aug 2012.

As Ash watches the action unfold on the video screen, he purses his lips in tense anticipation.  And though, none of the crew or Corlan appears to be hurt.  The Margin's navigator is not about to relax just yet.

Of course, Ms. Crow's expressions and actions with the would-be hostage taker doesn't instill him with a warm and fuzzy feeling either.  Ash doesn't need to raise the gain on the external sensor feeds to be able to tell what she is saying.  Nor does he want that in background noise when he checks in with the Port Authority controller.  "Ah," Ash notes rather flatly in response to the update, "Thank you, Denotam Port Authority.  With uncanny timing, Port Security has arrived..."  He notes with nary an iota of irony, "and they appear to have things well in hand.  I do believe that they have saved a man's life today..."

He stays on the line to complete whatever reporting is necessary and to ensure that any paperwork is properly filed for the incident.  And while Ash isn't a stickler for paperwork or Denotam isn't known to be that strict of a bureaucracy, the thin navigator isn't taking any chances.  Since the war started tensions have been running high.  And it would not due to have anyone detained or to generate too many figurative waves with the authorities.

Tylen remains at the top of the ramp, just inside profit margin, lounging against a container but watching what is going on below.

There is a holstered revolver at his belt, but the weapon is properly inside its holster.  "Why don't you take Corlan and Jago through to the lounge for proper checks?  Then Yas and I can act as a filter if the security force need to speak with us.  It wouldn't surprise me if we have to wait here for a while and  take another 'popsicle' away with us.  So I don't suppose there will be a rush."

"Apologies, Mr. Orgesh, but with the security situation relatively contained, the first check is immedate," Shui replies in a mildly distracted fashion as she continues her medical survey.  "One weapon discharged.  Mr. DeSant or Captain Lanza may very well be injured and as yet unaware."  It's not a long survey - gunshot wounds tend to show - but she has two people to deal with.

"I have seen people stabbed several times in the chest continue to fight, and later tell me they thought the man had struck them with his fist." Her lips thin at the memory.  "I thought he just punched me": last words that would weigh in her memory forever.  "If there is a bullet-wound, I would find it now."

Saskia sits back, smiling.  "There.  Everything is running again."

Then she frowns, reaching out to make a minute adjustment to a set of three vertical sliders in the centre of the panel.  A moment later her satisfied smile is back.  Everything is still perfect, but now it's even more perfect.  "Ten minutes, and power generation will be at optimal level."

Profit Margin comes back to life, and resumes the normal chorus of soft whirrs, hums and whines, accompanied by the quiet whisper of the air systems and the gentle clicking of relays switching circuits in and out of action.

One of the Port Security officers starts to question Yas, while another retrieves the dropped weapon, and the remaining two lead the prisoner out to their waiting vehicle.  Once it becomes clear that Yas only witnessed the final seconds of the incident, the officer changes his line of questioning.  "Is there anybody here who witnessed the whole incident?  I'll need to speak to them."

Shui examines the people who had been most involved in the drama, and finds that, miraculously, none of them has any more holes in them than they started the day with.  Corlan, in spite of opinions to the contrary, still seems a little disappointed that his name will not become a synonym for "killing machine" in any reputable encyclopaedia.  "I feel like a complete fool.  I saw him take the gun from his pocket, and I just... stood there.  And I kept just standing there as he grabbed hold of me."

Port Authority, meanwhile, explains to Ash, "Attention Profit Margin.  We are putting your departure clearance on hold until such time as Security has completed their investigation.  Once they authorise you to leave, you can call in to request clearance again."

Relieved, Shui settles back on her heels in front of both seated men, closing her eyes for an instant.  Then she cracks them open and looks up at Corlan; her face is serious as he explains his supposed foolishness, and for a moment her jaw tightens.  Then she sighs, reaching out to place a hand on his knee.

"Mr. DeSant," she begins in a measured tone. "You are not a trained soldier.  You have no experience dealing with men with guns, and a short week practicing basic self-defense is no substitute.  You were taken completely off-guard in a situation very much outside of your normal frame of reference, one in which you have no experience.  Anyone not trained and experienced would have reacted similarly, or worse."

Standing, she shifts back (not leans - shifts) to glance out the door, then back into the hold.  "Like any person placed in unfamiliar surroundings and faced with the unknown, your mind requires time to process.  You could have reacted, I suppose, but it would have been a hesitant, stuttering attempt."  Her voice lowers.  "An attempt that might well have gotten you killed, and possibly Captain Lanza as well.  Had I been there and tried to apply what Yasmine taught us -" here she stands on shaky ground, but the truth is the truth "- I would have performed much the same.  In order to react properly, instantly, you would have to live your life as if you fought in a war, some part of your mind always ready to react at the sight of a weapon, always watching, always on guard..."

Her voice trails off for a moment.  Then Shui blinks, a small smile appearing on her sharp features.

"It is a very different way to live.  And a difficult one.  And even with such training, bare hands against a pistol is likely a losing situation.  But listen.  Had you panicked out there, had you made the wrong move, said the wrong thing, it would have ended far worse than it did.  Instead, you held onto your control, curbed your emotions, and gave those in a position to act the chance to end this without bloodshed.  Mr. DeSant - Corlan - few people would have 'kept their cool' with the same aplomb as you, and because of that, we are here - no injuries to you or Jago, and your assailant captured rather than dead."

Once again Shui stares at the bulkhead, seeing through it into the past.  *click*  Life returns to her face and once again she smiles.  "I, for one, am very pleased and proud with my friends.  You and Captain Lanza kept everything under control, Mr. Orgesh kept the man under threat but held his fire, and Yasmine dealt with your assailant."
This message was last edited by the player at 18:53, Tue 28 Aug 2012.

"Acknowledged, Port Authority." Ash stated evenly and professionally.  He narrated the request from the controller for the edification of Saskia, since she was also on the bridge, "Standing down and delaying departure ... awaiting clearance from Port Security, pending further investigation."  After a pause, during which he started to place the ship's systems in standby mode, he asks the Port Authority controller, "Should all crew and passengers on the Profit Margin remain in situ?  Or do the Port Security protocols require evacuation of the ship?"  He adds the following fact, since it is now relevant, "We already have some low berth passengers secured in their tubes..."

Also, since he is uncertain of the required paperwork, Ash also ventures, "Also, besides the obligatory identification for the ship and crew, should we have sensor or other logged information as evidence ready for review?"  The navigator figures that anything to expedite the processing will likely be useful - but, doesn't want to seem too overtly eager.

"Is there anybody here who witnessed the whole incident?  I'll need to speak to them."

Yas nods.  "The captain was there, along with the passenger he grabbed.  Jago Lanza and Corlan...  Er, DeSant, yeah.  Respectively," she replies and motions towards the Margin.  "If you need anything else, let us know."

With that she hefts up the bag and starts towards the ship, motioning for the officer to follow.  "We might even have something recorded, I'll check."

She suspects Keryn might go wild over seeing some action as if it was some film, which perhaps will help her not getting too worried over it.  Almost like her holovids, she thinks, and chuckles.

"Hey, Ash, did you record any of this?" she calls over the comm to him.

Jago suffers Shui’s fussing without a word, lost for the moment in his own thoughts and letting his mind and body relax after the unconscious build-up of tension during the incident. When she has finished Jago climes to his feet and stretches the kinks out of his shoulders.

“You did well Corlan, kept a clear head, didn’t panic, what more could we ask, I’m sorry that me taking on those passengers has ended in you being placed in danger. ”

“That guy was just trying to rescue his brother, I don’t think he really would have hurt anyone, not intentionally at least, maybe if everything had gone pare shaped someone would have got injured, that’s why I had to move before the base security turned up and complicated things.”

“Any way, I’m off to have a word with the security people to see if there is any chance of rescuing him, If I can I’m going to offer him a low passage to Rangent with us, assuming you don’t object Corlan, after what he put you through.”

"I believe so, Chief." Ash quips dutifully into the commlink to Yasmine after he has muted the line to the Port Authority.  He's pretty sure that he started the recording on the external sensor feeds.  The Profit Margin's navigator starts to pull back as many of the different feeds that he could into single collate display, for ready access should they be necessary.  As he did so, Ash asks rather innocently, "Do you need a copy for your personal collections?  Or Port Security asking for them?"

He was, of course, still waiting on a response from the Denotam controller.  But with the actual personnel already here, it was likely he would get his answer from them.

It seems to him as though some of the audio gain algorithms that he and Saskia had been working on earlier might actually prove useful.  His lips curled up slightly at the thought as his fingers continued to work the dynamic displays.

Corlan sighs and his shoulders slump, "I know that it has all probably worked out for the best...  But, on the other hand, if we pass through Regina on our way along the Main, it would have been nice to tell my grandchildren how their grandfather fought off a dangerous attacker and saved the ship, rather than how he was captured and had to be rescued."

"I have no objection, Captain Lanza.  After all, he would present no danger if he were in a cryoberth."

Ash finds that he does, indeed have recordings of the incident, from two separate external sources, providing slightly different views of the action.  The sound, even with the work he and Saskia had done, is not great, but it is possible to hear  most of what was said once people started talking slowly and clearly, and with slightly raised voices.

Jago steps onto the head of the ramp, just as Yas steps onto the foot of it, accompanied by Port Security, the officer is in the process of securing his own weapon.  Profit Margin's Chief of Security points out the Captain, which brings a friendly smile from the local cop, "Good morning, Captain.  I hope this unfortunate incident hasn't put you off visiting us in future.  This sort of thing really is extremely rare here."

He reaches up to activate a small recording device mounted on his helmet, "If you don't mind I need you to explain what happened here, please.  Start by stating your name for the record."

Tylen watches the meeting between Jago and Port Security from his usual position on the ramp.

And the Port Authority gets back to Ash at, "That would be up to Security.  I expect they'll want people to remain in the area while they conduct their investigation.  Things will go faster if they don't have to find people when they need to question them."

"Any recordings you have might be useful evidence, should Security decide they need them.  But, again, it would be their decision."

Sitting on the other side of the Bridge, at the back-up engineering station, Saskia makes a slight adjustment to the Jump grid power flow regulator...

Jago returns the smile as he moves down the ramp to meet the port security officer, and murmurs a little, “thanks Yasmin,” as he passes his own security chief on the way.

“Good day officer, thank you for your timely intervention. I am Captain Jago Lanza of the ‘Profit Margin’,” Jogo indicates the ship behind him without turning. “The man you have in custody grabbed one of my passengers and held him at gun point while demanding the release of another passenger who he claimed was his brother and a ‘political prisoner’. As it happens we do have two bounty hunters and their prisoners in our low births so I assume he was referring to one of them. You people were immediately informed and responded straight away meanwhile my security officer and I attempted to calm the man and contain the situation and thankfully he gave up when you and your men arrived.”

“We don’t want to press charges or anything, we just want to get away on schedule.”

Tylen continues to lounge at the top of the ramp, staying in his role of roustabout, as Jago goes to speak with the security men.  He is aware of the holstered revolver at his waist and the laser carbine stashed amongst the crates, and anyway -  Jago is better at talking than he is.

However, he keeps an eye on proceedings, ready to react if needs be.

"Of course." Ash responds to the Port Authority, "Since Port Security is here, I will correspond with them directly."

His eyes dart to the main tactical displays, where the Margin's navigator notes on the internal and external video feeds that Yasmine is escorting some of the security onto the ship - presumably for statements and witness interviews, "Apparently, I will need to make a statement.  Do you want me to terminate the connection?  Or will we be required to remain connected?"

"I'm afraid we need to clear the channel for other traffic, Profit Margin.  Please call back once you have verification from Security that you are cleared to leave."

Port Security continues to interview Jago, while Yas and Tylen loiter stand watch nearby.  The questions don't seem to include anything out of the ordinary - places, times, sequence of events... some of them repeated, but phrased differently.  The cop turns his head as Jago points out locations - where he stood, where Corlan stood with the attacker, where Yas stood, and Tylen...

Another run through, with some of the questions being asked for the third time, and rephrased again.

Then he wants to talk to Corlan, so the passenger is brought out, and answers the same sets of questions.  Finally Corlan is released to return to the ship, at which point the officer turns back to Jago, "I notice you have some external monitor systems which might cover the area where the incident occurred.  If you have any recordings of the incident, I'd like to see them please.  I may need to take copies away with me as evidence, for use when this comes to trial."

"Roger that, Denotam Port Authority." Ash nods as he responds to the port controller, "Thank you.  Profit Margin out."

The Margin's navigator busies himself with reviewing and collating the external video feeds that are available.  He readies guest account access, for connection to the ship's core and network, in case they want direct access or transfer.  He leaves the feeds in the main tactical displays - as they will likely need to be there eventually.

Taking a momentary break, Ash glances in Saskia's direction, giving her slight beleaguered smile.  "Dog and pony show..." the ex-scout mutters quietly under his breath.  He glances back at his console and the display with the internal feeds for the ship to see how close Yasmine and the Port Security officers are.

Corlan's interview is concluded, to the apparent satisfaction of the officer, so jago leads him into the ship.  Ash watches their progress towards the Bridge on the internal monitors.  It isn't exactly an unbroken stream of images, but it does give Ash and Saskia a few seconds' warning of their arrival.

Yas and Tylen remain on the ramp, which still stands open, awaiting the arrival of the remaining passengers.

Meanwhile Corlan makes his way back inside, giving Shui a smile as he passes her on his way back to the passenger lounge.

"Jago!  You're okay?  You didn't get hurt when he fired off a shot, or anything?" Saskia greets the captain enthusiastically, then adds, mostly for the benefit of the port cop, "That took some mivonks, facing off against an armed and desperate criminal like that.  It also took a lot of stupid.  Just don't do anything like that again.

"It worked out this time, but next time you might not be so lucky."

“Why thank you Saski,” Jago beams at the engineer, pleased at her concern but seeing any chance of getting custody of the prisoner slipping further and further away. Ah well, it was a nice notion but his playing down the threat that the man posed was swimming against the tide of everyone else building it up.

Jago leads the bas security man onto the bridge and introduces the Navigator.

“Did you get vids of any of that Ash? Port security would like to see them.”

There was still one card he had up his sleeve, though it wouldn’t win him any friends. Jago determines to see how things play out and use it as a last resort.

The security officer looks around the Bridge before commenting, "If you can provide unedited copies of them, we'll need to take them with us for review, and for use as evidence should the Prosecutor's Office decide that it needs to be taken to trial.  Additionally, if either of you witnessed the incident, even if it was only from here," he gestures towards the large viewports, "then I'll need to take statements from you."

At the head of the ramp, Yas shakes her head and favours Tylen with a grin, "Now you see why I hate to leave the ship.  I was only gone for about ten minutes and Jago suffered delusions of being some sort of action holovid hero."

Shui follows Corlan into the passenger lounge and puts a call in for Ash to unlock the passenger cabins.

Saskia shakes her head, "No.  Sorry.  I was sitting here the whole time, and too busy making sure the ship couldn't be used as a bomb to look out of the window.  So I didn't really see any of what happened.  All I know is what I heard the others saying to each other."  She looks at Ash, then back at the cop who gets a slightly sheepish smile.

Ash hmmms for a moment and then nods to the security officer, "Yes, sir. I believe that we have two different sensor feeds of interest.  Let me get them onto a wafer."  He busies himself loading the two video feeds onto a data wafer.  The Margin's navigator adds, "I was just checking the feeds to see what we had available when you came in."

He glances down at his display and pushes Shui's call over to console that Saskia is at - since she appears to be finished with her eyewitness statement and since the engineer has already opened up the ship (or at least he thought that she had).  Ash locks his console and pushes back from the displays; then he stands, turns and hands the data wafer to the main officer.  Leaning on his console, the thin ex-Scout starts by giving his full name, homeworld affiliation and then Imperial Naval and Scout identity codes.  He is also ready and willing to relay ship's information - such as the Margin's transponder ID, trading license, &c. on request.  As for his statement, he says simply, "I'm afraid that I was not looking out the portholes either."  A slight shrug accompanies his statement, and he continues, "I was trying to monitor the internal and external sensor feeds as well as keeping the rest of the crew and the Port Authority appraised of the situation as it developed by relaying information, such as your ETA to the docking bay, between the two parties."

Trying to be helpful, he adds, "I am sure that the controller I was talking with logged the call.  I terminated that connection no more than a minute or two ago..."

The officer accepts the copies of recordings and nods, "Thank you.  I'll take this and enter it as evidence.  Somebody will review it, and you should have a decision within the hour regarding whether, or not, you can request launch clearance again."

"If it's as clear-cut as it seems, then there should be no further delay for you."

He slips the datawafer into a transparent bag and seals it, "If there's some discrepancy in what the recordings show, compared to the statements I've taken, then you might be held here pending further investigation, just to help clarify the matter.  That might extend to include any resulting trial as well."

He smiles, "Otherwise you'll be able to check the trial records on the public net next time you're in the system.  The name of the ship will be included in the case designation, so you should be able to find the record easily enough."

"Thank you, Officer." Ash states simply and directly when given the probable timeline on the investigation, "We will await contact from Port Security personnel on the matter."  He taps into his wrist computer some notes to ensure that he remembers what the officer has said about the timing and procedures.

Then, he waits quietly and attentively for the officers to complete their investigation.  Ash doesn't try to rush them or disturb them only speaking if and when addressed.  Otherwise, he continues to lean on his console, shifting his weight every so often to prevent his feet from falling asleep and still trying to look casual.  Of course, whether he succeeds in looking casual is an entirely different matter.

With little else to do at the moment, Tylen loiters at the top of the ramp, keeping an eye on the loading bay and awaiting any other disturbances.

"Well, I'll leave you to it then." the security officer says, cheerfully, "I'll get back to the station, log in the evidence, and get the prisoner processed.  It's been fairly quiet lately, so he should be up for trial within the next standard day or two."

"As I said, I expect you'll hear shortly about your exit permit.

He nods to Ash and Saskia, then turns back to Jago, waiting for the Captain to show him out... 

Shui starts letting the passengers know that their cabins are now unlocked.

Meanwhile, Yas and Tylen are standing watch at the head of the ramp.  There are more passengers due, according to Jago's posted schedule.  And the friendly port has turned out to be mildly dangerous, though that now seems to be under control.  Still, it doesn't hurt to be careful...

The thin ex-Scout nods and thanks the security personnel once more before they leave.  Then Ash continues to wait, leaning on his console until the bridge is clear of their guests before his expression lightens and he lets his guard down.  The Margin's navigator glances towards her engineer and he runs his fingers through his short cropped hair for a moment.  "Well, that went reasonably well, I guess." he ventures.

Ash cracks a smile, then quips rather deadpan, "I was surprised the officer let that remark about using the Profit Margin as a bomb go by so easily."  He's about seventy percent sure that Saskia was joking there.  But just in case, he asks, "Do we need to run any more on-board diagnostics?"  Given that they won't launch for, at least, another hour he figures, "We appear to have plenty of time..."

“It’s a shame you have to go through all that paper work and a trial and everything when we are not going to press charges,” Jago says to the officer as he escorts him down the ramp, “It seemed to me that he is just a rather naive and misguided young man and I’d like to give him a second chance. If you are in agreement, and the young man is willing, I’ll give him a free passage off this station when we leave and you can just chalk the incident up to a successfully resolved domestic.”

Tylen just rolls his eyes at Yas, behind the back of both the Captain and the security man.

One after another, Shui moves from cabin to cabin, offering words of reassurance and explanation.  Yes, there was an incident.  No, nobody was hurt.  Nothing will cause problems with their travel plans, and certainly there isn't any looming danger in the future.

Yes, there are videos of the incident in question, but they'll have to take any requests for those to the security chief, Ms. Crow.

She is not yet aware that the captain plans to bring his and Corlan's assailant aboard.

The port cop steps off the bottom of the ramp, and turns to face Jago, still within earshot of Yas and Tylen.  He's back on his ground now.  "The thing is, it isn't really up to me now.  The call will have been logged, both on our system and on that of the Port Authority.  This... Othati-Fenn... is on record as having committed a crime on the station."

"While I wouldn't mind simply turning him over to you, my superiors will expect the matter to be handled through official channels.  If you want to discuss it with my CO, I'd be happy to give you his contact details."

Ash and Saskia, meanwhile, start running through the checklists again, just to ensure that everything has been reactivated in preparation for departure...

Of all the passengers, Corlan is the only one who doesn't seem even remotely concerned about the incident.  The others want, mostly, details of what happened, and assurances that everything is back to normal.  Corlan, however, just seems to want a little peace and quiet.  He heads into his cabin, even as the other passengers are moving out into the lounge to talk about the unexpected events, and deluge Shui with questions...

Ash hums quietly to himself as he works through the pre-flight checklist to keep busy.  Taking a brief break in the engaging action of running the core diagnostics another time, the navigator glances over in Saskia's direction.   "Ms. Blake," he ventures, "thank you for your help with the ship lock down.  You obviously know the protocols for the Margin a bit better than I do."  Likely he could have muddled through; but, given all of the festivities, Ash is definitely grateful for the help.

He adds simply, with his crooked, self-deprecating smile in tow, "I'm very glad you were here."  Realizing that he is probably getting a little too maudlin for the Margin's engineer and her straight-forward sensibilities, Ash stops speaking and turns back to his console and the pre-flight checks.  But he still continues to hum.

Once the port security man is clear of the ship, Tylen comments  "Better put this away before they come back." as he walks across to where he concealed the laser carbine.  "I'll be back shortly." he adds to Yas as he leaves to store the weapon securely.

As soon as he has done so, he returns to the ramp to resume duties, armed only with his revolver.

Shui parries, deflects, and answers the questions as best she can, just short of popping up a display from her dataglove and giving the home movie (she doesn't, that's Yasmine's decision).  She does, however, stress that Captain Lanza, Mr. Orgesh, and Mr. DeSant kept a dangerous situation under control, Mr. Tescali did a fine job keeping communications running, and Ms. Crowe dealt with the man - non-lethally - when she returned.

Also, she makes tea and coffee for everyone, as well as a cocoa for Yasmine and some small sandwiches on a platter.

Finally finished, she begs off further discussion.  "Excuse me, but as the medical officer I have urgent business."  Checking her dataglove for messages - none - she sends one out to the crew.

~ A small snack is prepared in the lounge.  If someone can see to the passengers for fifteen minutes, I have urgent business with Mr. DeSant. ~

He has had enough time to sit and mope, she judges, marching down the corridor with a small tray in-hand, carrying a tea and a sandwich for the older man.  Arriving at his door, she pauses for a quick wave to the returning Tylen before keying the chime.

"Mr. DeSant?  May I enter?"

“OK,” Jago says brightly once the officer has explained the position, “it was just a thought, and I don’t want to get involved with anything that might further delay our departure. But please let your superior know, I’m still open to suggestions if he wants to contact me. ”

“Thanks again for your help,” Jago adds, as he shakes the port cop’s hand and watches a while as the man moves off. Climbing the ramp and seeing Tylen and Yas at the top, the Captain feels the need to explain himself a little.

“That guy was to incompetent to be a proper terrorist and I have a lot of sympathy for a guy just trying to save his brother from the regime that has his subjugated homeland. I wouldn’t want to get involved in all that, but I would offer the guy a free ride in one of the empty low births so he can ‘stay in the picture’.”

Corlan opens the door, steps aside and gestures for Shui to enter.  He's wearing no shoes, socks or jacket, and explains, "I was just about to take a short rest before we launch."  The wall display is showing a view of the docking bay.  Judging by what Shui remembers of the layout, it's the area behind the ship.

"I have it set up, ready for departure.  I like to take a last look at the place we're leaving.  On the way in, I set it to show the view ahead.  One of your predecessors showed me how to set it so that the view remains stable, even as the ship turns around its axis."

"Was there something I can help you with?"

Before Saskia can answer, Ash's console chimes, and the comms panel lights up to show a female face - probably in her early forties, with short blonde hair.  The image is fuzzy and distorted, as if taken from an odd angle, and the range keeps shifting slightly.  Occasionally there are parts of what looks to be the station visible in the background.  Probably a call using some sort of portable vidphone, while on the move.

"Hello, Is that the Profit Margin? Darien!"  the view changes, showing a section of floor and a pair of expensive-looking shoes, "Come back here this instant, young man!"  Then the woman's face is back, "Hello?"

"I can certainly speak to my CO for you." the security officer assures Jago, "I'll call in on the way back, but he'll probably at least want to see the evidence before he makes a decision.  If he's not tied up with something else, and things don't look too complicated, he might be able to reach a decision before you leave."

"I will say though, terrorist or not, Othati-Fenn has broken several local laws here today.  I really can't say what the CO will decide when I put in your request."

He takes his leave, and heads out of the docking bay.

When Tylen returns, Yas relaxes a little, "At least there's one good side to starting your morning with a hostage situation - the day can only get better, right?"

She shoulders her bag, "I'm just going to put this in my quarters, and I'll be back in a minute."

Ash startles a bit and then gets a quizzical look on his face when an external comm line is initiated.   His gaze turns from Saskia with a quiet apology, "Uh... Sorry.  I guess I need to take that."

When he taps the line open and is greeted by the rather abrupt video and audio barrage, the Profit Margin's navigator has to try and suppress an expression of bemusement - it is fairly obvious that he is questioning whether picking up the line was the right thing to do.  Ash takes a moment to clear his throat and ensure that the woman on the other end has stopped speaking before he answers, "Yes, Ma'am.  This is the Profit Margin.  Navigator Tescali at your service.  Um ... How can I help you?"

Grinning at the sudden arrival of extra work for Ash, Saskia stands up and stretches, stifling a yawn.  She walks over to the navigator, rests a hand on the back of his chair and leans down to say quietly, "I'm going back to Engineering to make sure my babies are behaving.  Have fun with your new friend."

The engineer straightens up, staying out of range of the video pickup, and studies the woman's face for a few seconds, before turning to leave.

"Mr. DeSant," Shui begins, studying her guest.  That's how she thinks of Corlan - a guest in her house, in their house, if a long-term one, and due all the courtesies a guest can garner.  "If you'd like to talk about what happened, I am available."  She tries a small smile, lets it wobble a little before dropping it.  "It was a...difficult situation.  I admit to having been quite fearful, myself."

"It might assist both of us if we discussed it."  She sighs, dropping her gaze to rub her eyes. "Were you one of the crew, I would insist.  It is part of my job, after all, though it would not be the reason for my insistance.  But you are not, and I am here not to fulfill any employment requirements, but because I feel for you.  And am concerned about your well-being." 

"Oh great." the woman's expression doesn't give the impression that anything is great, "Now I have to admit to a navigator, of all people, that I'm lost in my own city."  There are other voices clamouring in the background.  Childrens' voices.  "My name is Marita Doyle, I've booked three cabins with you. but I got turned around and can't remember which docking bay I'm supposed to be looking for.  I'm outside... er... ah... 107 at the moment.  I tried asking for help, but the only... er... person, I guess, who's around is about a metre tall, with wings and bug eyes, and apparently doesn't speak Anglic.  Can you help me?"

"If you two don't stop fighting, so help me, I'm going to see if it wants any slaves, and sell you to it!" 

Corlan nods thoughtfully, "I see."  He drops down to sit on the edge of the bed, and continues, looking at the wall somewhere behind Shui, "Would you mind if we left it until later?  I'm really not in the mood to talk about it now.  I was, as I said, about to lay down for a while.  I'm feeling a bit exhausted by all the... excitement."

With Ash occupied by business, Saskia takes her leave, and makes her way back to Engineering.

Yas returns to the head of the ramp, minus her bag.  She does have her two favourite toys with her though - the .50 and .357 revolvers are strapped to her hips.  "You can take a break if you want, I can cover this." she comments to Tylen, "Besides, Jago 'Action' Lanza is out there, so there won't be any trouble."

Jago is, indeed, still outside the ship.  Alone, now that Port Security have left.  Well, alone except for the one bullet which was fired during the incident, and which is still somewhere in the docking bay...

His expression doesn't change, nor do his eyes leave the video display, but Ash does raise a hand outside of the video lens' view and wiggles some fingers 'good-bye' in response to Saskia's excusing herself from the Bridge.

Then Ash's fingers glide over his console, as Marita introduces herself.  He pulls up the passenger manifest and verifies the name.  With a rather passive, distant demeanor, the thin ex-Scout notes professionally, "Of course, I can help you, Ms. Doyle."  He access the public maps of the station, pushing them to ancillary display.  "The Profit Margin is located at Docking Bay 94." he narrates, "From what I can see, Bay 107, where you are, is almost directly above us on the next level up.  The nearest public access point between the two levels is..."  Ash pauses for a moment, as he glances down at his console and the station map, "a set of elevators.  Facing Bay 107, they should be about 50 metres to your right.  Down the main corridor..."

There is another pause, as Ash hopes that Marita can see them - or at least signs that point towards them.  "Ms. Doyle?" he prompts, "Can you see them?"

As he waits for Marita's response, Ash forwards a quick text message to Shui, ++Inbound passengers.  Marita Doyle with two children.  Three adjoining staterooms.  ETA: 8 minutes++

Then the Margin's navigator continues, "Once on the lower level you should be able to get to us at Docking Bay 94 by doubling back on the lower level.  Hopefully, there will be additional signs."  As an afterthought, Ash adds, "Oh, will you or your children require assistance when boarding, Ma'am?"

One of his eyebrows raises as he also asks primarily as a courtesy - the woman is obviously preoccupied and just a tiny bit frazzled, "And would you like me to stay on the line with you, Ms. Doyle?"

"Nothing I can't do from here." Tylen responds  "But I think Shui said she had made drinks and snacks, so I'll go see what I can scrounge." he adds with a grin.

Back in the lounge he grabs his own coffee, the cocoa for Yas and, after checking Shui isn't around to see the way he treats hes snacks, he grabs a a handful of sandwiches to take back and share with Yas.

"Look what I found." he says with a grin as he returns to the hold and puts the sandwiches and drinks down on top of a convenient packing case.

Jago watches the cop move out of the hanger bay and stands, lost in thought until, with a sudden shrug, and a quietly mumbled, “hey ho”, he turns back to his beloved Profit Margin and continues his pre-flight inspection.

Is it annoyance?  No, Shui decides, hopefully correctly.  It's shame.  But now comes the tricky part: to push, or not to push.  The doctor studies him for a long moment, struggling to properly assess the man before her.  Men, she decides, are hard.  Sometimes when they say they don't want to talk, they do.  Sometimes they don't, but once pressed, find themselves spilling it out.  And sometimes...well, sometimes they truly don't.

But that's rare, in her estimation.

"You are certainly strong enough not to look at me," she quietly states, without a trace of irony or sarcasm.  "Corlan...I would have to be blind.  I am not.  If you truly are exhausted -" not a yawn, not a droop of the eyelids from the moment they began this conversation "- I will leave you for the moment, but...are we not friends?"

With a sigh, she leans against the doorframe and spares him the weight of her gaze, studying the cabin. "Three times I ask; more would be rude.  Please.  Speak to me.  Or let me speak to you, and you can jump in when you desire.  If ever."
This message was last edited by the player at 16:01, Wed 03 Oct 2012.

"No, I can't see the elevators.  Are you... oh, wait, there they are!  Tricky to spot from this angle.  No wonder we missed them."  Marita Doyle sounds very relieved, at least for a moment, and then, "Selnia!  Put that down, this instant!"

Her attention comes back to Ash, "One level down, then follow the numbers back along.  Thank you.  Boarding should be no problem, but you might want to warn your people to have a couple of sturdy cages and some groat prods handy.  We'll be there shortly."

Yas accepts the cocoa from Tylen, with a grateful smile, and claims some of the sandwiches.  She opens one up, and peers at the contents, "Looks okay.  You gotta watch Sushi - I've noticed her trying to slip healthy food into the snacks sometimes.  Nothing that a few minutes frying won't fix, but it's the start of a slippery slope."

Corlan slumps a little, then straightens up again, now looking directly at Shui, "I will be happy to talk to you about this morning's events, and any other topic you might wish to discuss, Miss Tiesi.  But, as I said; not right now.  I'm feeling extremely tired and in need of a short rest.  I was going to take a brief nap, recording the departure in case I sleep through it."

"After I have had a rest, and the opportunity to set my thoughts in order, then we can talk, by all means, for as long as you like."

Jago circles the ship, continuing his interrupted inspection.  It's a complicated task.  The hull looks smooth and unbroken, even from a short distance, but close up there are hundreds of small pits in the surface - sensor windows, thermal emission vents, emergency induction ports, openings for comms antennae, maintenance access panels, fuel line connections...

Saskia could probably tell the Captain exactly what each of them is for.  The most important thing about the holes, though, is that none of them appear to have ragged edges, or show other indications of being a result of damage.

Saskia, herself, is in Engineering again.  Last minute checks and preflight adjustments are important...

"Understood, Ma'am." Ash responds dutifully and without missing a beat, the Profit Margin's navigator adds, "By the way, the cages will come with a surcharge.  I believe that the Captain has already pre-authorized their use."  The deadpan litany continues as he glances down and for all intents and purposes on the video link appears to be tapping away busily on his console, "And upon arrival, you will have to sign some liability release forms with respect to damages or injuries incurred from the crew using any portable, industrial-grade livestock coercive devices at your behest.  Actually, those are standard issue to the crew."  He offers as a belated explanation, "We've felt the need to have them present from prior experiences..."

When he looks back up and makes eye contact with Marita over the video link, Ash smiles pleasantly, if a bit distantly, "We'll be ready for you when you arrive in a few minutes, Ms. Doyle."  The thin ex-Scout stays on the line, waiting for the party on the other end to terminate the connection.

Pitot tubes, pitot tubes, Jago is positive that he’s checked them, but can’t remember actually doing so. The first time he’d done a pre-flight on his own it had taken hours, checking and double checking everything against an eighty seven page list from the back of the manual, he’d become much faster as he’d grown more familiar with the ship, and he’d introduced his own little short cuts like checking things out of sequence be because of their physical proximity and skipping over pages at a time as he’d learned them by heart until the check list was firmly imprinted in his mind and he no longer needed to carry a clipboard. Still, hostage negotiations mid-way through did rather throw a man’s concentration and no matter sure he was that he’d inspected the pitot tubes for ‘corrosion, blockage bending or other physical damage’, he would have to start the whole process from scratch certain in the knowledge that if by chance, he overlooked just one of the pencil sized hollow tubes, Murphy’s Law dictated that it was sure to be corroded, blocked, bent and otherwise damaged.

With a little smile Jago heads back to the start point to begin over.

For a long moment, Shui studies Corlan.  She's not hurt by his rebuff - well, a little, but she understands - and does not seek to penetrate his thoughts.  Instead, she examines his physical issues: his skin colour, his respiration, his fingers.  Finally she nods.

"Very well, Mr. DeSant."  It could have been icy, but isn't.  Instead, she continues to speak quietly and softly.  "I will hold you to that.  For now, I only insist that if you feel anything odd - a racing pulse that will not stop, a pain somewhere, dizziness - you page me immediately.  I will be asking the same of the captain...who likely requires a full examination in any case."  She doesn't bother mentioning Yasmine or Tylen, knowing darned well they'll be fine after the excitement.

She pauses at the door.  "I hope your rest is undisturbed, Corlan.  And that we will see you at the dinner meal."

Then out, and checking her messages and schedule.  Abruptly her knees weaken slightly, and Shui slumps against the wall for a moment.  Closing her eyes, she rolls her head back until it makes contact with the cold bulkhead and lets out a shuddering sigh.

Close.  Too close.  With the danger past, the reaction hits.  How close had they been to losing someone dear to her?

How close to losing herself, in a different way?

Clenching a fist, she seizes control and straightens.  Back to the messages.  Back to duty.

Tylen grins as Yas comments on the sandwich, and heaves himself up onto a packing case.  Sitting on the edge of the case his feet drum lightly against the side as he enjoys his coffee and sandwich.

"I suppose we had better see who we are expecting." he comments as he sends a message on the crew channels asking for information about passengers and when they are expected.

When Tylen's request comes up over the crew channel, Ash glances up from his console.  Since he is waiting for a response from Ms. Doyle, the Profit Margin's navigator updates the passenger manifest list with the statuses that he knows about:  that passengers Dav Sedric and Jaena Daws are already aboard and that Marita Doyle and en route with two children.  Dutifully, he bothers to update the statuses of the long-term passengers, such as Corlan or Keryn as 'OnBoard' for completeness, though Ash figures that the rest of the crew already know about them and their presence on the Margin.

That done, Ash turns his attention back to the external comm link.

"We're just getting into...  Will you two behave?  We're getting into the elevators now.  Thank you for your help.  I'll call if I get lost again." and the connection goes dead, allowing Ash to return to his self-imposed duty of updating the rest of the crew on the current locations of the passengers, present and impending.  Marita Doyle had sounded more and more distracted over the course of the brief conversation.

Jago, meanwhile continues his walk-round of the ship, skipping nimbly aside at one point, as a vent under the Engineering section suddenly produces a jet of vapour.  Not that he's ever in any danger, the vent is part of the pressure regulation sub-system for the coolant pumps.

Yas and Tylen are enjoying their well-earned break, which they spend, naturally, still on duty.  A reply from Ash indicates that there is a woman, Marita Doyle, expected to arrive shortly, accompanied by two children.  This will fill out the passenger manifest for this trip.  Yas groans at the thought of kids aboard the Margin, remembering the last one and her nightmares, transmitted to the rest of the ship, while she slept, via her latent (and uncontrolled) psionic abilities...

Shui comes out of the passenger section, and sees the whole of Profit Margin's security force guarding the head of the ramp, as if expecting trouble.

Saskia looks around her domain, noting nothing but green indicators everywhere, and reaöises there isn't really anything she can do here but wait.

Outside the ship, the pedestrian door of the docking bay opens, admitting a lot of yelling and shrieking, followed by a harassed-looking woman and two children, a boy and a girl of about eight or ten years of age.  The woman is pushing a baggage trolley, laden down with assorted suitcases, bags, and a large, plush... creature... whose hide is an improbable combination of colours.  The childrens argument stops suddenly as they see Profit Margin.  The boy looks bored, but the girl's eyes are round as she asks, in hushed, awe-struck tones, "Is that the ship that's taking us to Daddy?"

"Of course it is, Vacc-head."

"Mom!  Darien called me a Vacc-head again!  Stop it, Vargr Breath!"

The brief moment of peace had been beautiful...

"Ah, Mr. Orgesh." Shui pads up beside the standing man, and offers a small bow to Yasmine.  "Ms. Crow.  Once again, my heartfelt thanks to you both for dealing with the unpleasantness -" a small pat on the arm for Tylen at this point "- and ensuring the continued health of our captain and passenger."

And their assailant, but she doesn't say that to the two.  They might - incorrectly - think she's being sarcastic.

Something blips on her dataglove and she examines the message from Ash as the noises increase in the docking bay.  "Well.  I suppose that would be our final passengers."  To her credit, Shui doesn't falter in the slightest at the sight of a family complete with exciteable small children.  The only sign of her displeasure is a small sigh; she had wanted a moment with Tylen and Yasmine, just to relax and try to shed some of her own tension.

But the steward is still on duty.

"Excuse me." 

With quick steps, Shui marches down the gangplank and onto the 'tarmac' (so to speak), continuing her pace toward the beleagured woman and her children. "Ms. Doyle?  Shui Tiesi, Ship's Doctor and Steward.  Allow me to assist you."

Goodness knows the woman needs the help.

Tylen smiles as Shui touches his arm and half winks at the doctor, but is interrupted by the unruly family that makes its way into the loading area.  "Corlan and Eneris are going to love that ..." he comments to Yas when he realises that they are the remaining passengers.  "And we had better let Saskia know, so that she can lock everything right down." he finishes with a grimace.

Yas follows Shui down the ramp, still holding half a mug of cocoa in one hand.  The other, the empty one, hovers not-quite-too-close to one of her revolvers.  Marita Doyle looks at Shui, then at Yas, "Good morning.  Yes, I'd be grateful for the help.  Thank you."

The children now know who Shui is, so their attention is directed to Yas.  The boy demands, "Who are you?  Are you here to carry the bags?  Don't they have anybody strong to do it?"

The Security Chief takes a sip of her drink, and replies with a question of her own, "Want to see how hard I can punch?"

He moves away to stand behind his mother, while his sister smiles at Yas and Shui, "My name is Selnia.  I want to see how hard you can punch Darien."  She reaches out a hand in greeting.  "He's my brother.  He's horrible."

The last part was probably unnecessary.

Shui offers another little bow to the mother, moves to assist with the cart.  "Of course, Ms. Doyle."  She raises an eyebrow at Darian's challange to the Security Chief - not the wisest choice, but he is a boy, after all - then shoots a heavy-lidded stare at Yasmine when the woman replies.

Of course she cows the boy with ridiculous ease; the woman used to maintain control over squads of adrenaline-hyped marines with nothing more than her tone of voice.

"Selnia," she repeats, nodding her head and taking the girl's hand in turn. "Then you must call me Shui.  This is Security Chief Yasmine Crow."  A smile brightens her visage.  "Our hand to hand instructor.  Apologies, but we can't have her hitting your brother; I fear he would break."

Another smile at the mother defuses any possibility of this being taken seriously.

"As for myself, I am sufficiently strong to push a cart about."  And she is; Shui isn't on the same level as Yasmine, but would surprise the average man with her wiry tenacity.  "The uniformed man at the top of the gangplank is another of the crew, Mr. Tylen Orgesh."  There's a distinct presence of firearms and laser weapons at the moment; hopefully it won't cause a problem.

"It is my distinct pleasure to welcome you -" even Darian, whom she sees will be a handful "- aboard.  I'm certain Captain Lanza will only be too glad to meet you."

That part is stretching the truth, but in the interests of good humor all around....

Having coincidentally stopped out of sight behind a landing strut at the approach of passengers, Jago hears Shui’s words and smiles, he would like to meet them, but on his own terms.

Marita Doyle sighs, "A pity.  I sometimes think a good punch or three might calm him down."  She's smiling, though her son probably can't see it from where he's standing.  She nods to everybody present, as they're introduced.

This does not, naturally, include Jago, who's trying to keep a low (narrow?) profile.

"The cart belongs to the port, so I'm not sure if it's allowed off the dock, but the bags shouldn't be too heavy.  There's just a lot of them.  They're still within the weight allowance though."

"Mister Pig should go first, so he won't get left behind." declares Selnia, indicating the plush creature, which bears no real resemblance to any sort of porcine life form.

Ash sits whistling a little Jewellian ditty as he taps away at his navigator's console.  The displays are all green and he seems satisfied as he scrolls though the various datastreams and displays.

Noticing that Marita Doyle has arrived with her children in tow and having completed the bulk of the checklist (for the third time), Ash begins his all ship hail.  It covers the basic pleasantries, "Good Morning, everyone and welcome aboard the Profit Margin..." as well as well as introductions, "... I'm Ash Tescali and I'll be your navigator on this trip..."  Plus all of the normal security and emergency procedures, "...Please remember to secure and stow all loose items when not in use.  Should there be a loss of gravity...".  The long-term passengers, as well as the crew, have heard the spiel uncountable times before (and even a few times from the new navigator himself) - though Ash's voice keeps an even tone and does not seem to flag as he goes through the items.

Watching the internal sensor feeds from his position on the bridge, Ash knows when Ms. Doyle and the children are all well into the cargo bay.  His voice keeps even, professional and quite calm, as he adds to the general announcement.  "Oh, and one last safety tip:  the Captain has authorized that security personnel be issued stun-sticks.  For your own safety, please approach the crew from the left side, as they generally crossdraw the groat prods.  Feel free to contact any of our crew with further questions about the new regulation."  He reiterates with a touch of emphasis, "Though remember to approach them on the left."

The Profit Margin's navigator continues without missing a beat, "Still pending is the request for having tranquilizer darts as the standard active on-board sidearm payload."  And apologetic tinge enters his voice as Ash adds as an apparent afterthought, "Sorry, Dr. Tiesi."

"Perhaps an exercise regime, Ms. Doyle?"  Shui offers a smile to the obviously caring woman.  "I have a set every morning shipboard -" morning being a politeness aboard the ship, but a necessary one "- and would be happy to carry out a class in the cargo hold.  It might help work off some energy."
And hyperactivity.

"I'm sure we can handle the bags," she notes, pushing the cart to the ramp and beginning the transfer.  She waves off the question of the weight allowence, basing it on her own difficult in pushing the cart.  "As for Mr. Pig..." That one does go first, Shui holding it up for a moment to examine it with a critical eye.  "Let's make sure he gets aboard immediately." A smile and a nod follow, and she brings 'him' up with a bag.  The bag becomes his seat within the hold, and Shui heads down for the rest.

"Mr. Orgesh, perhaps you might bestir yourself to assist me playing porter?" There's amusement in the tone.

The amusement fades at Ash's announcement, and Shui cocks an eyebrow at her dataglove.  "We're starting to sound like a police state.  But I suspect Ms. Crow will continue to object to the tranquilizer suggestion." The steward levels a reassuring smile toward the passengers. "Small changes to our security have come about as the result of unrest at recent ports."  Including this one, but she's not about to mention that.  It'll come up in discussion with the other passengers, in any case.

After closing the general commline, Ash waits for another few moment.  As he waits, he hums a few more bars of 'Danny Boy'.  He then reopens the general line with the slight crackle of static.   Ash adds with a certain flourish, "Oh, by the way, those last two security announcements were for the benefit of our under twelve passengers..."  Another pause for effect, and the Profit Margin's navigator reinforces the fact that he can apparently see their reactions in real time, "A special request from their mother.  Welcome aboard, Darien and Selnia Doyle."