"No... Meyrink had orders to prevent anyone following us back, remember?" Annie sighed. "If only he wasn't a psychopath, it sounds like he was working for a less warlike faction." She sighed, walking around the circle again. "Valna... we need to talk to the captain."

Dizzy crossed her arms over her chest and nodded as Annabel pointed out the hole in Logan's theory regarding the Commander's loyalty.  She seemed oddly comfortable with the situation.  Of course, she'd already suspected that the Velna was a traitor, it had just been a matter of determining the magnitude of her betrayal in Dizzy's head.  Once it was revealed, she couldn't help but be grudgingly impressed.

"Yes, Logan.  Generally when one uncovers a plot of this magnitude, they are in danger.  If the people responsible even suspect that they're about to be outed, they'll put every iota of leverage they possess into keeping things hushed up.  And we're talking about the Great Houses here, so that's a lot of leverage.  Within the Hegemony, at any rate." Dizzy nodded a bit.

"I'm more worried about determining whether this third objective is unique to the Shackleton." she said, rubbing her chin, "They wouldn't want to risk multiple galactic powers pressing on our borders simultaneously, but what are the odds of us finding a galactic civilization of sufficient military might and inclination to spark such a battle?  If we're only one of a number of trojan horses, focusing on exploration while our homes are in danger would seem . . . irresponsible."

Luthar nods in agreement with Annie. "Our next mission then should be to get the Commander all fixed up, yes?  She should be able to answer our questions more directly, rather than us sitting here speculating." It made sense to him.  Get planetside, fix up the tech in the medical bay there and fix up the commander.  Straightforward and easy enough...right?

"Ahh. Of course." said Logan, lifting his goggles off his brow a few inches, then letting them snap back onto his head. "I uh- still don't quite understand why Meyrink was slain and not incapacitated to be revived for due processing..." he replied to his newly promoted friend, Grey.

The specialist's listened closely as Hargrieve speculated on the likelihood of the impact of their actions. Logan cleared his throat nervously and with eyes wide proposed, "Why would this tertiary even be accessible to the crew in the event of the Captain's incapacitation, unless it were Hegemony approved? If it were a true conspiracy One would think they would not issue such objectives in such an official fashion? Issuing it as a tertiary surely heightens the risk of it being discovered, by the sheer nature of our mission. If the Commander was engaged in treacherous activity, surely her orders would have no need to be included in such a file - rather it would most probably be delivered in person, or through a private encrypted channel?" his eyes were utterly voluminous by the end of his vocalised stream of thought.

Then, Logan nodded at Luthar's point.

"I agree, Lu... uh, sir." he acknowledged. "Salvage mission: planetside." Nodding over-enthusiastically.
This message was last edited by the player at 04:19, Mon 04 Mar 2013.

Dizzy actually cocked her head at Logan as he inquired once again as to Meyrink's state.  She was debating with herself if this was some kind of cultural emphasis on the "sanctity of life" on his part, or if he were simply being dense.  Still, better to give him an answer than to leave him wondering.

"It might have something to do with the fact that Janus was a genetically modified and highly trained espionage agent, and for all it's advanced technology this vessel doesn't have a proper brig.  I trust he'd be able to escape any improvised holding cell we slapped together for him." she leaned forward on the table a bit, "Or it might have something to do with the fact that the slimy sonovabitch disabled our internal comms, critically injured two of our crew, killed two more (including the daughter of one of the people at this table), and tried to leave us crippled in the dark unknown to starve and die.  He didn't make any pretense to surrender, the Acting Commander slayed him in the heat of battle, saving Dr. Reson in the process." she spread her hands out towards him.

"Does that sufficiently explain why we won't be opening ourselves to further sabotage and wasting valuable resources on a backstabbing murderer by keeping him aboard while we traipse about uncharted space for Gorum-knows-how-long?"

Zenner has been silently sitting and watching you all now, listening to what you have to say with grim consideration. Finally he speaks up again, his growling baritone resonating across the room.

"Meyrink was a Shivari agent sent here to keep these orders from being carried out. Star Commander Saris Valna is under House Revack, though that does not mean that House Revack is behind this."

"That said, he is a Shivari agent and if he were still alive, he would stop at nothing to complete his mission. He would sacrifice all of us, the ship and himself. That is the Way of the Shivari."

"The fact that they were sealed is not unusual; in the event that the Commander was killed or otherwise unable to continue, it would be my task to unseal the orders and carry them out."

He steepled his fingers and continued his exposition.

"This puts us in a difficult position. The Commander, by this, is a traitor to the Hegemony. At the most lenient, The Great Prince will have her Exiled and stripped of all rank, title and possession. At worst, she'll be made into an example."[Private to Annabel Grey; Dizzy Hargrieve; Lanik Greist; Maire Doiteain:  His face seems to sink at this as if perhaps her fate is something he personally is invested in.] He frowns.

"If we were to restore her to health, she would be Star Commander again, unless we decided to imprison her. It would be mutiny. As it stands now... she is... alive, but conveniently not carrying out treason. This is something else we should decide on, in the event of a Tribunal, we will be questioned and only overwhelming evidence that stood together one way or another will work in our favor. If it appears that any decision was the act of a few influentual individuals, it will look like we committed our own treason." He lets out a long weary sigh.


"As to the question of other ships, it's possible, but I think it unlikely. Someone sabotagued our navigation so we wound up in a different system. Why do that if there were many ships? Besides, the larger the conspiracy, the larger the chance of discovery. No, I think this ship was chosen for a reason. Consider this: The Chief of Engineering and the Primary Pilot were both killed along with a member of the Deck Crew. Aside from a security member and the Commander, no one else was directly attacked. Shivari agents are not indiscriminate.."

"We're in a very dangerous position, ladies and gentlemen."
This message was lightly edited by the player at 18:54, Mon 04 Mar 2013.

Logan was young. Some might even say green behind the ears. He hadn't been selected for this mission for his experience. It was known that he had basically scored off the charts in a range of aptitude tests. The young man's potential was vast. Logan had been plucked out of a beaureaucratic role on Haven. A role heavily doused in procedure, due process, forms and approvals.

Having been made to felt like somewhat of a fool, which he was mostly accustomed to, in having questioned why the accused was slain before put to tribunal, the young scientist replied to Hargrieve with a solemn, "Aye, ma'am."

Was it expected I would know about Shivari, traitors an all these political maneuvres? he thought to himself, further compounding his feelings of blame for his naiaivity.

He returned to fidgeting with his metatool, and keeping his mouth shut... for the time being.

Luthar didn't fully grasp everything Master Farhenra had said.  He knew what he meant by mutiny, but the commander up for treason because of a third order?

"Forgive my ignorance in this, after all I'm not but a shuttle pilot from a farming world out on the fringes, but what you are saying is we only really have three options?  A: Leave the Commander in her current stasis.  B: Heal her, then lock her up and take over command of the ship.  Or C: Wake the commander and stay behind her, and follow her command.

I know you didn't suggest C, but let's think about it.  Someone is pulling some massive strings here, putting that order up for the Commander, right?  And then there is someone else out there pulling even more massive strings by getting Meyrink on board, to prevent Commander Valna from following through with it.  I'm from a small, backwater planet. Simple life, simple duties, nothing this freaking crazy.

And now, faced with possible treason, and tribunals and things...I want to know why.  Why was Commander Valna given those orders.  Did she know what Meyrink was?  I still stand behind waking her, regardless of the outcome.  But whatever we do, we need to be all in agreement.  We cannot have someone who thinks we are making the wrong decision.  If one person falters, we are all screwed."

He took a deep breath and sat back.  An odd moment of...brilliance? On his part.  He wasn't sure where it came from, but he was glad he'd spoke it.

Logan gestured with an open palm at Luthar as he finished, and nodded emphatically.

"Exactly!" he smiled.

"My opinion? I signed up for this because it was a chance to explore the galaxy and uncover new technologies, histories and cultures." Annie shrugged, finally taking her seat again and pulling the hood of her red robe over her head, leaving her eyes in shadow. "Hang the politics. Wake the commander and let it weigh on her shoulders. Making decisions like this is her job. Keeping this ship alive is mine. When it comes to it, I'll advise her that we're not equipped to fight the kind of running battle that leading a hostile force home would require."

Lanik stands to address the table."As much as I would like to 'hang the politics', Mistress Grey, I doubt it would be a wise move. We chose to open the confidential orders and that makes their implementation, or lack of in any case, our collective responsibility. Whether we wake the Commander or not, none of us can just act as if this conference did not happen. As soon as we opened those orders, we all became linked to them."


"Even if we do wake the Commander, I expect each and every person in here has an opinion on the tertiary order and whether or not it should be followed. As a military man, any other day I would adhere to the chain of command and have known nothing about these orders. But, in the aftermath of what we now know, I say we keep the Commander under sedation. Or, if we do choose to wake her, that we keep her under lock and key - at least until we can get her side on all this."

"My reasoning is this. As I said, we all have our own opinions over the orders. I would think it obvious that we are likely to disagree with each other. But before any such orders, the survival and cohesion of the ship and crew comes first. If the Commander were to resume leadership upon a course some would not advocate, then we would only be creating dissent amongst us. I wish to avoid that." Finished, Lanik sits back in his chair.

"Were we to wake the Commander and if it came to light she was planning on carrying out these Orders, I would be forced to relieve her of command following my Oaths to the Ranger Corps, the Shivari Order and the Hegemony. This order is nothing short of Treason against the House of Indaris and the Hegemony itself."

"I do not relish that option."

"Is it not possible, that we are jumping to conclusions?  What if the Commander wasn't planning on following that order?  Or are we assuming since Meyrink went...nuts, she intended to follow through?"  Luthar's head was starting to hurt.  Way to much thinking going on with probabilities and what ifs.  Just seemed easier to him to wake the commander and go from there, but if it ended up saving her in the long run, he figured that would be for the best.

"Enough."

He stands up in the cramped room and the weight of his command seems to be pressing heavily on his shoulders.

"If we cannot agree to take collective responsibility for waking the Commander, then we must continue what we were doing. Debating now is pointless and there is work to be done. Our ship is still not ready and our Primary and Secondary objectives remain uncompleted as well."

"I will take everything said here under advisement and I expect that none of you will repeat what was said in this room. This meeting is adjourned. Return to your stations and duties."

OOC: and I think with that, we'll have week two. If anyone has anything special they want to try to squeeze into the schedule, PM me about it.

----WEEK TWO----

It's been another rough week. Moral is low in general but a great deal of work has gotten done.

And here you are, just as before, sitting around the table with little sleep, few rations and the warmth of the ship pressing in on you.

Master Farhenra sat at the head of the table, befitting his acting status as Star Commander. He had a holo display in front of him, tracking his retinas so that as long as he was seated it would display the information he wanted in his peripheral vision no matter where he looked and such information was confidential.

Around the table sat what were now the senior members of the Crew.

Representing the engineering department, Voidmistress Annabel Grey sat at the opposite end of the long metal surface.

Representing the security department, Proven Warrior Desna Hargrieve sat to acting Star Commander Farhenra's left

Representing administration, Voidmaster Lanik Greist sat to the right of Zenner Farhenra

Representing the bridge, Astra Prime Samenus Donell, Astra Aloysius Logan and Astra Prime Luthar An'bhaird sat arranged around the table

Representing special departments, Mistress Maire Doiteain, Mistress Selana Venn and Master Justor Reson.

"Second week here and I've got mostly good news this time, ladies and gentlmen." He manages a small smile at this and continues, tapping some icons and bringing up a serious of technical displays.

"First and foremost, thanks to the tireless efforts of all of you, I am pleased to report the Shackleton is as a ready as she'll ever be outside of a full refit at a dry dock back on the Fangs. Everything is more or less as it was before the sabotage with our ship. Supplies are limited however, especially now so coordinate with Lanik if there are any other needs."

"Selana reports that Star Commander Valna and the Prince are prepped and their replacement limbs have been designed and tested in simulation. All we have to do is get them down to the planet. Donell has mapped out the system from our position and is ready for the full survey."

"We still have the survey of the system, geosurvey of the planet and pretech collection as well as fueling duties."

"Regarding the shuttle, we are somewhat behind on that." He does not look at Logan, but everyone knows it was his responsibility. "The computer systems are up and running but the flight efficiency is still hovering around 85 to 87%. We need to reach 94% to be in acceptable operating ranges. Miss Grey, if you could assist Logan at piecing the shuttle back together doublequick, it would be appreciated. We need it to take the patients to the surface."

"Any questions so far?"

Opening his mouth to speak Logan promptly decides the better of it, clomping it shut again. For a moment his cheek's capillaries are in engorged with blood.

Nothing in this trip had been what he had expected... and he had not had enough time to work through the clouds in his mind. Distracted wasn't the right word... it was clear his low morale had played a major impact in his week's work.

Luthar sat there for a moment, mulling things over in his head.  Slowly things processed.  He was brain dead for the most part.  He was numb.  This on going shift stuff was becoming...tiresome.  He watched Astra Logan as he was...basically berated by Master Farhenra.  Certainly he was correct, but seriously? Going about it that way seemed...harsh.  No point in saying anything, not now.  Might cause undue problems.

"I think we need to decide on our priorities.  We need to refuel, but that's not too much of an issue.  The Commander and Prince need to be repaired...err healed.  What do we want to focus on?  Refueling and scanning of the planet can be done while the Commander and Prince are being worked on."

A tired and pallid Lanik, his uniform stained with the detritus of the repair work, raised his head to answer the young pilot. "I think it best that we concentrate on refueling the ship first. I have no doubt that this system might harbor more dangers for us, and given our weakened state I think it prudent that we should pack enough fuel to permit retreat if necessary."

"While I have no experience with pretech equipment, I think collecting those pretech items we have found and sorting them will be the next most important task. We might find something to make our lives easier."

"Additionally, while the immediate repair concerns have diverted me from my standard responsibilities as head of administration, I would you all to know that I'll be compiling a full supply manifest over the next week. I'll be needing the cooperation of all the departments to make that happen. That's all."

Lanik resumed his slouched seating pose, most uncharacteristic of the typically upright quartermaster.

"I'd like to devote as many resources to repairing the shuttle as possible. If we can get it done in a couple of days we can send it down to the planet and free up the Shackleton to refuel and begin the full system survey."
This message was last updated by the player at 20:46, Fri 22 Mar 2013.

Maire, looking slightly haggard but otherwise not noticeably affected by this weeks events, sat placidly in her seat. She didn't even know why she was here, in all truth, considering that she really couldn't help all that much. But it was good to be doing something else, at the least. She covered a cough with her hand before leaning back in her seat, gazing at the table absentmindedly as she tried to think of what to do.

"Master Farhenra," Logan meekly inquired in a moment of quiet. "Did you say you wanted to take the patients puh-puh-... planetside? Wouldn't that be putting them at risk of further attacks from drones, or, or whatever else is out there we haven't 100% surveyed?"

"Well, Commander Farhenra, as you suggest, the shuttle should take priority. I'll help in anyway I can.  Then, we can refuel to drill out if needed.  Everyone in agreement?" Luthar spoke after a bit of contemplation.  He didn't mean to sound pushy, but he wanted to move on with things, and working on the shuttle was something he knew he'd enjoy, because after all, he's the one that damn near had it destroyed.

"It is a risk we will have to take. Voidmistress Grey will be more careful with the defenses on the planet, but thus far, there's been no sign of life. Just automated defenses and corpses."

"Yes, Master." Logan says with a nod towards his commanding officer.

Pushing his chair back, Logan stands and faces Fahrenra.

"If that will be all, sir, I'd like to get back to work so we can get planetside." he inquires.

The next dew weeks pass quickly. There is little enough food until the shuttle is repaired and then the autohydroponics are discovered in the facility on the surface and along with pretech objects being recovered they bring up food and water, careful to avoid contamination by the microbes.

Both Commander Valna and Prince Aesgar are treated by the Pretch Surgical Unit and much of their body is repaired and replaced by cybernetics where it cannot be repaired. For the most part, the cybernetic replacements are internal organs (intestines, liver, trachea, lower spinal column, spinal cord) but Arik Aesgar's body from the waist down had to be replaced after a rupture in his bowls had caused his legs to go septic. It was unfortunately, not an anatomically perfect replacement but it provided superior mobility, agility and allowed him to expel waste when needed.

Valna had lost all her fingers on her right hand and they had been replaced with near perfect replicas which worked quite as well as the old ones.

Both Arik and Valna bare a white patch of regrown skin tissue over the left side of their necks from jaw to collarbone and over their throat where the skana blade at nearly taken their lives.

Both had several other scars as well from the fight against the Shivari assassin.


Much of the surveying had been completed as well, the ship had massive stores of data regarding the planet, it's facilities, pretech recovered there as well as the system and refueling had been completed as well.

At this point, several of the crew have just docked with the Shackleton via the shuttle and are moving the last of the supplies and artifacts into storage...

Valna did not awaken after her surgery and she is still in a coma on the Shackleton. Arik has been given her quarters to recover as a man of noble birth.

OOC: all tasks are completed and it is expected that you will jump out of the system soon. Most everyone is going over some last minute checks. Farhenra is on the Bridge and most of you are at your stations or coming aboard from the shuttle.

OOC 2: This is being reposted because it's still relevant
This message was last edited by the GM at 02:27, Sat 28 Dec 2013.