"Please before we start, since we're not in a formal setting, simply my title Count will do fine, Lord, Highness and Excellency makes me feel like I should smiling for a camera somewhere."

Looks around at the group, "I notice that several of you still have friends out there, it might be best if we make sure they are here before getting too far along, I could have the security ask them to join us or if you want to get them yourselves, whichever you feel more comfortable with?"

With that said, he places Ms. Blue's card on the table, face down, showing her message to meet in the back room.

OOC: The Count is used to keeping track of hundreds of extras on a vid set, he had noticed that one or more of the people here had left their companions back in the bar.

In reply to Darrel Cromwell (msg # 15):

Shar elbowed her vargr companion gently, leaning in to inform him rather playfully, "Count Cromwell should look familiar, Vonon.  He's been in many vids, though that is all behind him now."

Vonon peers again at the Count, looking more closely.

"Oh, yeah, sure!" Vonon says with dawning recognition, "You're that guy...who was in that...thing...with the other guy...and that girl...what was her name?  Anyway, yeah, sure, I remember now! Several years back you did a tour with the Imperial Servicepersons Organization, right? You came to Cassandras Belt and did that great stage show."

Vonon taps the side of his head with a balled up fist, "Duh! That must be when you met Ikram; same time I did. Or, back then you might have known him as Captain Ikram Fahreed of the Imperial Twenty Second Marines. If I remember correctly, he said he was assigned to security for the ISO people."

Darrel looks around at the group, "I notice that several of you still have friends out there, it might be best if we make sure they are here before getting too far along, I could have the security ask them to join us or if you want to get them yourselves, whichever you feel more comfortable with?"

Vonon looks over at Sharik, then glances around the room.

"Nope. I think we're good, Count. All present or accounted for, Sir."

"Heh, we did a shoot there in the belt...rough times, but, it all worked out, the patrols there were very accommodating, perhaps you might be listed in the credits..."


The Count actually blushes, "Yes, yes...I've never considered my fame as given, and if there's any one thing that's truly counted...I hope that my vids have entertained and provided inspiration to the public."


"Honesty is a virtue, and so, sadly, I don't exactly recall something like that, although"....(he ponders), "I do recall a pleasant knight, showing me a speeder..saying something like," "Wait till you see my daughter glide this thing, it's angelic..."..leans back in his chair, looong pause....."Ahh, yes, I understand now, I congratulate on your success and your parents were very proud of you,"

After he personally fills everyone's glass, as he rounds the table, listening to the conversations...

OOC: Keeping in mind we have at least an hour before the "backroom"

Sits at the head of the table, points at Ms. Blue's card. "So, my idea is to get her to come to us. No surprises, we have the homefield advantage...."

Ponders how we have changed events....

"I might be paranoid, but, sometimes it pays to be cautious." glances towards the door, "Unless she's telepathic, there's no way she would have seen this coming..and I want her...unbalanced.

"Just because you're paranoid, does not mean that they are not out to get you." Walter muttered and then quickly covered his mouth as if he had uttered a foul word.

"Walter, you're absolutely correct, however, let's hope that's not the case, this time."

Still not quite happy with the sudden influx of strangers, Khea makes her way to the bar. It would be a shame to waste this opportunity as Count, as he apparently wants to be called, seems to be paying and Khea learned quickly back in the Hierate to exploit unsupervised males when there is an opportunity for it.

When she reaches the bar she pours herself a glass full of the first bottle she gets into her hands. While alcohol seems to work the same on Aslan and Humaniti the taste is a different matter, so any labels the Humaniti give their drinks are meaningless to her.

<Trokh> "Let the adventure begin" she silently says to herself before taking the first sip.

Sharik glanced about for a moment, and it was only then that she noticed that Quinzella was not in the room.  Apparently, her assumption that her friend had been following her and covering her back was... well, unfounded.  With a slightly beleaguered sigh escaping her lips, the dark-haired dilettante tapped away furiously in her dataglove for a few seconds.  When she stopped typing, a brief text message was already spiraling outwards to Quinzella's digital drop address; it contained only a few simple letters:  ++ Q, pourquoi? ++

When the Count potentially, actually recalled her and regaled her with her father's praise, it was Sharik's turn to blush.  "He did not..." the thin brunette gasped, as she reddened slightly and then added playfully, "I don't doubt that my father made a reference to a biblical entity.  But, I suspect that it was not the heavenly host."  She fondly recalled (at least now, twenty years later) that her parents had referred to her as a hellion more than once.

A bemused expression crossed her lips as the Count started to describe the tactics he intended to use with respect to Ms. Blue; there were just so many ways to take the expression 'unbalanced' - especially with such an attractive young woman, like Ceruleanne.  The edge of her tumbler masked the smirk on her features as she nodded in agreement with Walter's conspiracy corollary and Darrel's rejoinder.  Shar motioned to the two gentelmen near her, Vonon and Ikram, for one of them to hand her one of the cards that the blue-haired woman had been handing out.  Sharik looked thoughtful as she flipped the card a couple of times between the long, thin fingers of her left hand.  She sent her digital assistant spiraling outward, searching at the speed of light with the keyword phrases, 'Ceruleanne Blue' and 'AcquireCorp'.  Shar figured that information, any information, was key.

The cosmopolitan brunette held up her tumbler and took a swallow to the Aslan female's toast.  If the translation software had gotten the gist right - and Sharik had suspected that it had given her limited knowledge of Trokh - the sentiment seemed quite appropriate.   "Here, here." she crowed in galanglic.

In reply to Darrel Cromwell (msg # 18):

Sam piped up at the pause in the slightly meandering conversation, leaning forward into the table so everyone could see her.

"So Count, am I correct to understand that you don't have a job offer or business proposal yourself for us?

But that your sole aim was to gather a group of relative strangers, most of whose skills are unknown to you, and only some of whose skills are known to each other, and assume that this Ceruleanne would come to us rather than just deal with any of the many other people she handed her card to who didn't try and side swipe her, and turn up at the meeting?"

Sam took a slug of beer "Just trying to be clear you understand, as I came to this room hoping for a job offer from yourself, and if that's not whats happening, then you'll need to sell me your plan and why I should go with it."

As she finished, Sam sat back, and took another slug, keeping her gaze firmly on the Count.

Walther looked up from his computer.
"For those that do not know me, I am Sir Walter Zeller. Former Merchant and Bureaucrat." he said with a bow to the others.

"We have all worked with each other in one form or another in the past, and from what I am lead to understand, we have a unique talent pool to offer. Rather than being parceled off one by one, if we are organized, we can offer our services at a better rate, if the offer is agreeable to everyone. Considering she was passing out cards to each of us, it might be that they are looking for warm bodies to fill their mission and it might not have a good survival rate." he said

"As for myself, I would be content to get a few people together and go in on a Far Merchant, as there is plenty of systems to trade in this sub-sector that can be reached with that type of vessel. If that is done, and things work out, I can pretty much guarantee you all that in a year from now, we will all be millionaires, having a very personal relationship with the inter-workings of trade and commerce in this area. I would much rather be stuck working on my own free trader than working on someone else's megacorp freighter. Its not the guy loading the cargo, its the guy that runs the company that makes the money. Now for some, running around in a merchant ship might seem boring but the Imperium runs on money and those at the top have lots of it." he added

"I would much rather sit behind a desk and work behind the scenes as that is what I am good at. I am not as young as I use to be and the last few years have not been kind to me, so running around exploring old ruins or chasing after pirates is at the bottom of my list of things to do in my old age. However, a merchant ship does need people to crew it and man the guns so they are less of a target. That is where you come in. While I can not speak for the Count, I believe that he wanted to hear her out and if it was not agreeable, form our own plan." Walter said, motioning towards the Count.

"If what I have seen so far is correct, I am less enamored about Ms. Ceruleanne Blue and AcquireCorp." he said, as he turned his computer around.

"AcquireCorp has two classified ads."

"Now anyone can go to a Travelers Aid Society office and get the lottery numbers in their sub-sector without having to pay a 5% fee. As for Recoveries and Acquisitions, that is another word for Repo work and most people tend to shoot first when the repoman comes to get their ship." he said, looking to the others for their input.
This message was last edited by the player at 22:30, Thu 04 Sept 2014.

To Sharik, via text: **You and those two men quite ran off to a private room.  I saw the door close and a bouncer outside, I am still at the bar if you need me.  May I inquire as to the goings on of this private party?**

In reply to Darrel Cromwell (msg # 20):

Vonon crossed his arms and leaned back against the wall, near Sharik. He brought his right paw up to idly scratch under his chin with his thumb, as he listened to the Count plan, and the comments it initiated. His left ear twitched when he heard the faint buzzing from Shariks personal comm.

"Okay, I think I get it." Vonon interjected, "This Ms. Blue is some kind of Corporate Headhunter -- I've seen her like many times back on my homeworld. What you're suggesting, here, is that we Headhunt the Headhunter. That we offer her a cohesive group, more-or-less, that already agrees to work together. That cuts down on her interview time, which saves her some credits, and makes her look good to her bosses. I get that. It's actually a pretty good plan, for dealing with a Corporate Headhunter."

Vonon stops scratching his chin, and instead points at Walter.

"But I also agree with Sir Walter, there. More than likely whatever this AcquireCorp is looking to retrieve, they're looking for offworlders to do it for them. And, in my experience, that usually means that the corporation in question thinks there could be trouble, and they want cut-outs to do the job, so they can distance themselves if the operation drops into the sun."

"Oh, I don't mean to suggest that whatever it is they are doing is illegal, just that I agree with His Knightship -- repo men do get shot at, even though they are performing a perfectly legal job of reposession. Just saying."

Vonon twitched his ears, and curled his lips in the non-toothy smile that Vargr are capable of.

"Of course, off on another tangent, this AcquireCorp could be looking for crew to go salvage something. From the smell of it, there are certainly enough pilots in this room, and I gather the rest must be some kind of technicians. Even Sir Walter, there, says he's a bureaucrat, so he'd make a good administrator. The only one I can't pin down is you, Count. What's a High Noble, and an Actor, doing taking meetings with a two-credit recovery company like AcquireCorp? You know something we don't, or are you just out slumming?"

Listens to the interaction, and notes the issues at hand.

***Sighs***

"Much like my friend Walter, I'm at a certain point in my life where I needed to make a change, although the circumstances are different, the end result, I'm here and so are all of you."

Taps his and Walter's card (and anyone's that presented it with "Back room note").."I checked as we came here, although everyone in the club got a card,it was limited, it was very specific about this message. Understand?"

"I would like to meet Ms. Blue, as a group"

And, I agree with the views of several of you, as a group, we provide a spectrum of skills that would be hard to find if she, as a head-hunter, tried to establish a crew with a ship, understand?"



Count Cromwell pours himself a drink and downs it...

"No, I'm not here to be a patron nor am I slumming, I'm looking to help form a small group, with Walter's and your help, to establish, at least at this point, a small company based on a serviceable merchant ship..."
This message was last edited by the player at 02:40, Fri 05 Sept 2014.

The security company that Darrel calls says they'll have someone there in 15 minutes. Does he want 24/7 security? Long term or short term? Will one guard be sufficient?

In reply to StarMaster (msg # 28):

One person for the evening, with the option for long-term employment.

Sharik glanced down at her forearm for a brief moment, then tapped on her dataglove quickly, ++A meeting of minds++, in response to Quinzella's request for more information.   She really couldn't say more or less at the moment.

The dark-haired dilettante brought the tumbler of brandy to her lips once more to take a sip.  As she did so, Shar leaned forward and gave Vonon's leg a quick rap on the ankle under the table, where no one else could really see it.  Her raised eyebrow shot his way was followed by a slight shake of the head, following his 'slumming it' comment.  The Count didn't appear to be too slighted by her vargr companion's words, but Sharik knew her friend quite well.  She was pretty sure that the comment was more pack-mentality motivated.  She didn't want an Alpha pissing match to start this early.  Especially since they weren't exactly invited - though the Count didn't seem to mind that either.

She leaned in towards her canid companion, speaking softly with only a touch of authoritative insistence, "Play nice."  Sharik smirked slightly and then added quietly after a moment - and some of Darrel's explanation, "Even if the Count is looking to form a new 'pack' ..."  Which was a concession that Vonon might sort of be right.  Not that she wasn't necessarily amenable to the idea.

They could form a union or a free company as a potential bargaining chip for negotiating a deal.  Shar was pretty sure that she had seen Walter before as well in the high society circles.  But her search on his name was far less fruitful.  Still, he had been knighted for 'services rendered' or some such.  And even if he wasn't an administrator, the man looked the part.  Sharik wouldn't have been surprised if the man was a shrewd negotiator - or, like Darrel, just a really good actor.

Sharik leaned back in her chair, knowing that she was a true party crasher.  Of the seven people there, she was the only one that had not received a personalized card.  But she wasn't about to announce that.  Instead, the very youthful-looking socialite ran her fingers through her long hair for a moment, trying to look casual.  "What kind of merchant ship did you have in mind, M'lord?" she prompted, musing aloud, "And exactly what kind of 'jobs' does a merchant ship take besides trading?"  Her interest was piqued, she had enough ship skills that she could do a decent job on a mercantile trader doing all sorts of things.  Hell, she had done working passage as a junior steward just to get to Grendal.  But, that didn't mean that she wanted to keep travelling that way.

And from the looks of it, the Count wasn't exactly a merchant captain (though he was an undeniably handsome man).  And it didn't really sound like that was what he wanted to necessarily be - even if he was looking for a 'change'...

Walter did a few key strokes "With a Far Trader, we can cover most of the subsector at this end. The only problem would be heading coreward as there is it requires a jump 3 engine to get there directly. They can be reached by refueling at Coventry. It is a red zone but should not be a problem refueling at the gas giant if a bit of a long way to get there, just no social calls as I believe that it is a prison world." he said

"For the time being, since I believe that money might be a bit tight, hauling cargo and working our way up to more lucrative ones is an option. As for other missions, I understand that there might be some work but it might be over our heads until we are better equipped. For instance, in Tharrill, there is another planet that was inhabited over 200 years ago that a ship carrying artwork and museum pieces crashed. From what I understand, there was a plague that occurred at the time. Ah, here it is." he said, turning the computer. "If this headhunter does not pan out, here is the craft that I was thinking of along with the TAS information on the crash." Walter said, turning the computer to the group.



"Anatar (world)
Primary: Drathler, spectral class G0 V. ICN S4K0508G0V. Mass 1.04 standard. Stellar diameter 1.03 standard. Luminosity 1.21 standard.

Planetary System: Seven major bodies. One Inhabited world (Tharrill, IV), one potentially habitable world (Anatar, V). Two gas giants, two planetoid belts, one captured planet (Anatar, V), which fails to follow accepted planetary progression laws, in system.

V Anatar: Mean orbital radius, 194.48 million kilometers (1.3 AU). Period, 530.87 days ... No satellites ... Diameter, 11,509 kilometers. Density, 1.04. Mass, 0.697 standard. Mean surface gravity, 0.91 G. Rotation period: 18 hours, 28 minutes, 35 seconds. Axial Inclination, 16°5'5.0" Orbital eccentricity, .100 ... Albedo, .30 ... Surface atmospheric pressure, 1.5atm; composition, standard oxygen-nitrogen mix with viral taint. Requires filter mask to breathe atmosphere directly. Hydrographic percentage, 71%; composition, liquid water. Mean summer surface temperature (at apastron), 11°C. Mean winter surface temperature (at periastron), 9.5°C.

Remarks: Anatar, Tharrill's sister world, was settled by the Carrillian Assembly and was, with the exception of a considerably chillier climate, virtually equal in potential to Tharrill itself. Both colonies thrived until, about two centuries ago, disaster struck Anatar. The Red Plague of 922 was one of the most horrible catastrophes in human history.

Rumor has it that, during the evacuation, a starship carrying a large shipment of valuable paintings, sculpture and other priceless pieces from the Planetary Museum crash landed somewhere in the wilderness northwest of the capital city. Two expeditions have visited the world in hopes of locating and salvaging the lost artwork; both of them contracted the Red Plague - two survivors came back from the first expedition and none from the second. This has caused fresh consideration of the problem and has led to the theory that the virus can be absorbed through exposed skin as well as through the lungs. No one has been willing to test this assumption, however, by another visit to Anatar."
This message was last edited by the player at 03:21, Sun 07 Sept 2014.

Count Cromwell turns and gives a deep look at Sharik and her questions, ponders, "No more My Lords, please Count is fine...one of the reasons I'm here, there's a group that has "congealed" around me over the last couple of years."

Swirls his drink, "All I hear everyday; Title, and titles and titles...hangers-on, groupies, press agents, this, that and whatnot...I'm no longer my own person but, just a face, with strings attached...and so, I'm cutting the strings."

Everyone can tell (maybe, he's a excellent actor), he's upset...the Count points at the card, "I am unsure of her offer, but, I am completely sure, my next course of action here, since I know Walter who is a stand-up guy, is to get our own thing going...Beyond that, well, let's see what the future brings, I would be thrilled to have you all join along."

Khea puts down her glass after having sampled several drinks from the bar and decided that Humaniti have a very different taste for their drinks than Aslan and addresses the group from across the room.

"You are starting to sound like an Ihatei who tries to attract followers with promises of glory and territory.

We hardly know each other including if we are even able to staff a ship with the persons gathered here or if we have three pilots and no navigators. So I find you are a bit premature when you already make plans to buy a ship and decide what to do with it"

She pauses a moment to let the words settle in.
"But I agree that presenting us as a group will give us a stronger position during the upcoming negotiation. And assuming this will be a proper interview we will know more about each other when it is done and also what we are intending to do in the future in the case we sign on. Then we can make plans based on facts instead of desires"

"I agree, but, if we are skilled enough, then our desires turn into facts."

Pauses..shift/modulating to Aslan; "I am not a kitten nor some crazed warrior...I respect what you mean, but, I'm here for just serious business, which, I'm sure you understand."

Salutes everyone around the table with his glass, "Trust me, even though I don't know each of you closely, well, a couple of you...whatever we're lacking, it can be found...Nothing starts off easy, and if it did, where's the challenge?"

Puts his glass on the table, and looks around at the assembled group, gives them each a smile.

"With that said, Ms. Blue should be here shortly, let's welcome her united, as a group."

"Ow! Hey, watch..." Vonon suddenly hissed, hopping on one leg.



"What'd I say? What'd I say?" Vonon pouted, in a lower voice, while standing on one foot and rubbing the ankle of the other.

After a few moments, though, he put down his foot, and leaned in to read the computer screen Sir Walter had turned towards all of them.

"A old A2 Trader? The weapons on that aren't much better than popguns, and the armor is thin as paper, but, yeah, it's got good cargo space. Hmm, twenty years old? Y'never know, though, in that much time, previous owners can make all kinds of modifications. Could actually be kinda sweet."

Vonon read some more, "A treasure hunt? I like it..." reading, "...screwing with the Carrillian Assembly? Oh, I really like it..." more reading, "...viral contaminants? The Red Plague!?" Vonon looks up from the screen, "I am not liking that." he said glumly.

Walther surveyed the group. "Which is why I had suggested that we were not quite ready for it. If we wanted to do try locating the ship, we would want someone with lots of medical knowledge, maybe even a lab ship and staff to make sure that it does not spread any further. No use finding the artworks only to die in less than 48 hours by something that seems to be still lingering around since 922, let alone if the vessel is in a billion pieces, none bigger than a 10 millimeter socket head." he said.

"As for three pilots and no navigator, I am sure that many of us can pilot and navigate a craft. Even thought I left the merchants twelve years ago, I have made sure to keep my dues paid and credentials up to date in flight, navigation and engineering. While I am not healthy enough to lift a J-327 Fuel router by myself, like I use to, I can make sure that the part is installed right. There are other jobs on a vessel beside the pilot. Some of you are gunners, which will come in handy if there are any problems. Others are rather handy with a blaster. I am not." he informed the group.

Khea snaps back
Aslan "I know by now that you Humaniti like to reference everything to the animals on your planets, but I do not appreciate being compared to your non sentient pets like you wouldn't appreciate it when I compare Humaniti to Stii"

"Well you need to work on your sale pitch, Count, because I'm not sold yet. I'm happy to present as a group to this" She checked her card again "Ceruleanne, but your offer is as vague as hers is so far. However, hers appears to have more promise of turning into something that pays at the moment - and I need hard cash, not vague plans."

Sam swigs from her beer and realising its empty places it on the table "I will avail myself of your offer of a refill though" she said, getting up and heading to the bar.

As she poured a drink, she talked back over her shoulder.

"If we are gonna offer ourselves as a team, perhaps we should spend the rest of the time getting an idea of who does what? I'm a pretty good shuttle pilot, a decent security crew member and can handle a bridge post if needed. But what do a retired actor, a bureaucrat and the rest of these folks have to offer a team?"

Sharik watched the others banter with a quiet, bemused expression on her face.  She seemed particularly interested in the exchange between the woman that she had seen from the TAS offices, a woman that she might one day get to know as Samantha, but was also keenly aware of the slightly sniping words that passed between the Aslan female and the Count.

It seemed to her that presenting a consolidated block to prospective employers had little downside; so, she said so.  "Count Cromwell, doesn't seem to be attempting to contractually bind any of us for these negotiations." she offered into the conversation, "Only to help ensure that an equitable and consistent deal, if any, might be reached for everyone."  She seemed to be speaking in generalities, but of course some of Samantha's points were being addressed - if indirectly.  "I for one," Shar noted off-hand, as a sort of vote of confidence, and with a glance towards Walter - who once again seemed very familiar and had already displayed his fair share of efficient administration acumen, "am more than willing to given the Count and his companion the benefit of the doubt."

Of course, her tone was still light.  Sharik seemed to feel that this was all a game; she leaned back in her chair again, holding her tumbler up to join in the Count's toasting salute.

After a moment's pause, the raven-haired cosmopolitonite smiled rather distantly, but turned her head to address Samantha's query about skills more directly - even if she hadn't been called out like Walter or Darrel.  "Usefulness depends on the job, Miss..." Shar insisted rather pointedly, "Though a ship has been mentioned, the jobs to which that conveyance will convey us to dictates the required skill set.  Besides reputation, contacts and the exacting ability to efficiently navigate any red tape all have their rightful place in any business venture."  She hadn't meant to leap to their defense necessarily, for they seemed fully capable on their own; but, Sharik didn't care for the underlying implications in the other woman's statement.

Still, it didn't serve anyone for her to be 'against' anyone, she shifted gears and introduced herself.  "I am Dame Shana Kaagira-Mepede" the thin brunette noted simply with slight bow of the head to Samantha, then also to all of the others assembled, "And have service time in both the IISS and IN; so, I think that I can find my way around a ship's bridge and am a fair astrogator."  Her tone wasn't defensive, but more matter-of-fact.  Still Sharik readily conceded, "But, I actually haven't worked consistently on ship's crew for over a decade."  The brown-haired dilettante shrugged slightly and a gentle smile crossed her lips, "Haven't needed to.  But, that still hasn't stopped me from travelling ... as a general 'consultant' in a lot of areas."  And she seemed completely earnest about that.  For some reason, though, she neglected any mention about the partying and grav cycle racing for the time being.  Instead, she inclined her head in deference towards Darrel, "Or from being on the look out for interesting prospects ..."
This message was last edited by the player at 22:29, Mon 08 Sept 2014.