"Honor?" Kaengarr echoed, both looking and sounding surprised. "What does that..." Then he let out a guffaw as he shook his head. "We're not clan-men, you know!"

In reply to Kaengarr Ruzokh (msg # 211):

Vonon scratches under his chin in thought, frowns, then also heads for the door.

"Well, until Mutt gets here, I'm going to go and change out of this ship's jumpsuit." Vonon gestures at himself, "I got all dirty, earlier, hooking up, then un-hooking those port connections."

  "You did!" Kaengarr acknowledged genially. "And if it was up to me they'd have still been unhooked when you got back, but it seems that someone made arrangements somewhere!" Then a sly tone crept into his words. "Your hard work isn't going unrewarded, though. There are some things for everyone in the mess."

  Somehow, despite having only a few free moments here and there whilst the ship was on lockdown, he'd managed to prepare and set out a multicultural assortment of handcrafted confectionery...
This message was last edited by the player at 03:17, Fri 12 Aug 2016.

The Count, having discussed group issues and watching the reactions, "I´ll be waiting for Mutt here, please stay in contact".

Kaengarr Ruzokh sets up a fine meal and Darrel assists as he waits for Mutt.
This message was last edited by the player at 01:07, Sun 14 Aug 2016.

Sam looked at Khea as she stormed out, but made no move to stop her.

Looking at Darrel she said "Want me to tag along with her and the Grunt to make sure they don't start any wars?"

"Well, I think they could handle themselves, but, it might be prudent to have a shadower in case of shadows."

  "Or someone who can explain that we're not a Hierate clan and don't think like they do? Kaengarr added slyly. "I doubt we males would be taken seriously if we said it!"
This message was lightly edited by the player at 07:57, Thu 18 Aug 2016.

Sam nodded briefly at Darrell "It wasn't them I was worried about, but the people they might encounter " she said, and then took off at a gentle jog to catch up Khea and Pablo, holding the cutlass at her side as she ran

As she caught sight of Khea and Pablo she whislted loudly "hey guys, wait up."When she was level with them she said "Mind if I tag along?"

The service engineers wouldn't have hooked up the base umbilical if Kaengaar didn't let them, but they used their communicators to contact the Count who had a loaner communicator by then.


So while half the team goes off to 'pout', the Count gets a call from Mutt. He's arranged to get off a bit early, and is wondering if now would be a good time to come by.

He shows up about ten minutes later, stopping outside to see how the repair crew is doing.

"Welcome to the Long Shot, I hope you're hungry, we haven't cooked for a guest yet...you'll be our virgin."

He brings Mutt aboard, and introduces everyone that he hasn't met yet (and/or not present).

He notifies non-present crew by comms that Mutt has arrived early.

The Count, has years of experience studying emotions and expressions...does he get anything from Mutt?
This message was last edited by the player at 22:04, Thu 18 Aug 2016.

The youthful operative watched with a slightly bemused expression as the company split up.  Though she made no physical gesture, towards him, Sharik made sure that she caught the eye of Pablo.  It was part quizzical (even if she suspected that she knew the answer), but mostly disapproving look of approval at his chosen path.  As the Count made no real attempt to stop the others, neither did Shar.  The crew were all consenting adults.  And perhaps the foray would give good information.

But the lithe dilettante wanted to hear what the previous owner of the Long Shot had to say.  So, she stuck around and helped to set up what turned out to be a relatively intimate table for the evening meal.  Though she didn't bother to change her clothes, Sharik did disappear for a few minutes before Mutt arrived to freshen up.

So, naturally, the vargr was early.  Which made Shar a few minutes fashionably late in greeting him.  Unphased by the timing, the diminutive socialite wafted into the common room with a smile on her face.  Her hair was up and her classically tailored jacket while open in front, draped well on her thin frame.

Sharik smirked slightly at Darrel's attempt at humor, their guest's name was 'Mutt' not 'Mutton' no matter how much the Count tried to push the sacrificial lamb motif.  All she could manage was "Hope you like roast groat, Mr. Talbek.  Enchanted to see you again ..." as her intro to the small chat of the evening.  She appeared to have plenty of training when it came to entertaining.  In her time (which she never was all that specific about), the effervescent Kaagira scion had been known to throw a memorable party or two.

Yet, since this was 'first impressions' gathering, Sharik made it a point to ensure that, first and foremost, everyone had a good time.  Quick with a quip and even quicker on the uptake no matter the topic of conversation, it seemed that she'd had had plenty of experience entertaining guests in the ritualistically informal formalized ritual that was the classic dinner party.

---

OOC:  One doesn't get Carouse/3 just being a wallflower...:D  It probably doesn't hurt to have Deception/3 and JoAT/3 either.

"Hur-hur," Mutt laughs at the Count's joke. At least, he hopes it was a joke.

"Always a pleasure to make new acquaintances," he replies to Sharik, "and nice to see you again, Ms. Kaagira."

"At the risk of causing, perhaps, a bit of indigestion, I wanted to report what I'd found out since you left. None of this, of course, is official. It's mostly scuttlebutt, and even the ones that said it aren't likely to remember it now."

"There are some things on a station like this that you simply can't hide. Too much of it has to be out in the open just to make it all work."

"As you surmised, the two station commanders are... friends... though I can't really define that any better than that. As the proverbial 'top dogs' of their respective commands, they naturally hang out together, compare notes, etc. The friendship does appear to be rather superficial."

"Base personnel are free to visit the starport any time they want, and they often do. Little in the way of recreation was ever installed in the base because it was felt it was redundant to do so with the starport so close."

"The sequence of events as I've been able to track down through the electronics is that the base sent out the 'stand and deliver' signal a bit ahead of the starport's. It only makes sense, as their sensors are a bit  better than ours. This was automated; no intelligent agency was involved."

"Your ship responded automatically as well. As near as I can tell, there should have been no reason not to do that. Our records show standard data for all of your crew members. Same for the ship. Standard update for the new owners was recorded."

"Then the alert was issued... by Kenzi. She did it personally. It wasn't delegated to someone else, it was automatically triggered by the system."

"Within seconds of the ship's transmission, Kenzi got a comm from the Baroness. The conversation wasn't recorded, but the comm was logged."

"It doesn't exactly prove anything, but it does point a finger."

"I'd say Kenzi was being prompted to act the way she did. It isn't that it was above  her authority to do so, but it was, to say the least, highly unusual."

"So I looked into the Baroness... more in-depth than I had before--I like to know who I'm working with... or might have to work with."

"I couldn't find anything in her records... at least not those that are public access. There weren't even any clues in the secure files that I could access. Fortunately, I know better than to stop there."

"I went to that old mostly-unreliable scuttlebutt. It's true that her career hasn't been very spectacular, and possibly that's because her stations have been rather boring. It's hard to make a name for yourself if nothing happens where you're at."

"But... more tellingly... it seems she's run into a glass ceiling... or perhaps a glass-eye ceiling might be more appropriate. Apparently, she's been passed over for promotions and choice assignments because she only has one good eye. Even though there are valid medical reasons for that, the higher-ups have trouble accepting that. Plus they feel it handicaps her, and that's not something they want to... encourage... in the chain of command."

"She apparently is aware of this, and holds some resentment."

"Let me ask you, Count: where were you around 10 years ago?"

"Well, that confirms our suspicions, the trick question is why? And how does it relate to a possible connection between her injury and us?"


"Hhhmm, doing movies, traveling, normal socializing...could you be more specific?"

"Well, I wouldn't say that her career was on the rise about ten years ago," Mutt replies, "but after the accident, things didn't seem to go well for her career-wise."

"There are occasional incidences that display her resentment, but mostly she's professional."

As the meal goes along, drinks served...the Count does his best to put Mutt at ease, small talk and whatnot, but eventually he broaches the main issues.

"Putting that aside for a moment, how long do you think it will be before we can sell our cargo and start making improvements on our ship, plus there's a problem we're having with our computer...maybe you know some experts that could look her over...but of course, we're talking very, very discrete work done."

Darrell continues to watch Mutt closely for any telltale signs of "ohhh, I've been here before"

"Have you heard from Falko recently, he had also mentioned that you keep your ears/eyes open for potential clients or jobs?"

"A job?" Mutt replies. "Oh, a job... I suppose that depends on what you are interested in... and what you feel you can handle."

"We've had a dozen nav beacons in system go off-line in the last month. If you'd like to investigate them, I can get you the coordinates of the six we haven't yet gotten around to repairing."

"We don't manufacture anything here, but Sternmetals has a load in storage for trans-shipment to Traneer. We also have an ambassador that needs to go there."

"We have six freighters headed for Cassandra that would like an escort. The captain's are all paranoid about recent pirate rumors around Cassandra."


"As for your computer, I can take a look at that."

"What kind of improvements are you looking at? If it's big stuff, we'll have to move your ship to a larger dock."


"As for your cargo, you can go ahead and sell it now... if you can find a buyer, of course. I changed the status from Restricted to Reserve. I still can't remove it completely. Only the Poobah can do that. I suspect your approach to her was... ill-advised. Trying to throw your title around outside the Imperium doesn't work very often. Oh, there are enough sycophants that will be impressed, even a few worlds in toto, but, as the song goes, 'that don't impress me much'."

"Your approach may have felt like she was caught between a rock and a hard place, so she fell back on her natural responses. Try the 'ordinary guy suffering under the burden of a title and responsibility that you don't want'."


"As for Falko, got a comm from him when you arrived in system... Otherwise, we might not be having this conversation. As it is, I'll catch some flack from the Poobah for... 'interfering', but I can smooth it over by just saying we're old friends. Most of her actions weren't through official channels, so she can't very well criticize me for my actions."

PM

Sir Walter sat back in a ripe sour mood from not being able to sell the cargo. Listening to Mutt as he described the situation that was occurring on outpost he held up a finger.

"Forgive me but I still feel that there is more going on under the surface. Your bosses history screams of spook, maybe even IBIS." Walter said.  "Mr. Talbek, have you ever been on this vessel before? Maybe under a different name as there are not many former system defense boats that are jump capable in and of themselves." he asked

ooc:If this has been covered, then forgive me.

"My boss's history?" Mutt responds to Walter. "As far as I know, the Grand Poobah doesn't have a history. She was born here. Kind of got stuck with the title."

"So you think she's a spy? And what's IBIS? Never heard of it before, though clearly I can infer it's some sort of espionage agency."

"And, no, I don't believe I've ever been on the Long Shot before... wait! Did you say 'system defense boat'?"

He glanced around him for a moment, then tapped at his comm.

"Well, I'll be damned! I guess I was on the ship... about sixty years ago, back when it was just an SDB named the White Heart. It sure doesn't look the same. I was her captain for awhile. But that was a long way from here."

"It was never hooked up to the shuttle while I was captain. We were in the system for a reason, and so had no need to be jump capable."

"Wow. The stories this ship can tell. So how did you come by it?"

The diminutive dilettante seemed slightly disappointed that Darrel didn't offer any more information about himself ten years ago.  She'd have loved to have known more about what had happened to him after the snafu concerning the two of them and Pablo.  But, he was right.  As far as she knew, there hadn't been Imperial Navy involvement directly in that affair.

"I was conscripted into the Imperial Navy for a tour." she noted off-hand, "but that was definitely more than a decade ago..."  Which by the looks of it, would have made Sharik something like eight years old when she joined - and in reality, her stint with the IN had started almost two decades ago.  But then looks could be deceiving as Mutt could surely attest to - as he let slip that it'd been sixty years since he'd last laid eyes on the hull that'd become the Long Shot.

Still, Shar didn't lose a beat and described her brief foray into the world of the Imperial Navy's public relations and diplomatic corps.  "Ultimately, it was decided that we part ways..." she concluded rather charitably.  Her discharge had been honorable, but only barely.  The only really good thing to come out of those lost years was that she'd met Vonon then.  Unfortunately, her old Vargr friend was not currently at the dinner party; that story of envoys, subterfuges, binge-drinking and barroom brawls always went better with him present to interject.

Still., Sharik continued to smile throughout the rest of the conversation.  When it turned to business, she still kept her tone light, but her words and attention seemed serious enough.  Odd jobs seems likely to be their specialty given he diverse backgrounds.  And Mutt did seem a perfect contact here, established and yet not too jaded and unwilling to help.  Her auburn hair bobbed and bounced as Shar nodded about potential job prospects.

"This ol' girl," she noted as she patted the nearest bulkhead to her, "was being used as by a prospector near Grendal.  He struck a better than decent lode of iridium and decided to cash out."  She looked about, as if surveying the ship, "She has apparently been around.  But, I suppose that is to expected when you are pushing one-hundred years old..."

"How long were you aboard?  There is a transponder ident still in the system that names you Captain..." Sharik prompted idly, giving Mutt a chance to divulge more.  But only if he wished to do so.

In reply to Sharik Kaagira (msg # 230):

Walter´s and Sharik´s comments made him think about the past, adding Mutt´s mention of events prompted him to check his database and feeds, full visual and audio.

After some reviewing, that is when things made a bit more sense, so, all things considered, Count Cromwell realized the fastest way to solve the group´s problems was to meet with the all the power people.

Through the channels, all of them, Count Cromwell sent out the message, he was to host a dinner at the finest (neutral) venue to meet everyone, meaning the Countess and the Poohab.

After being away for a bit, he turns to Mutt, "So, as she asked, it´s quite a ship...anything you want to mention?"   

"What do yo mean it has a transponder with my name on it?" he asked before the full import of what Sharik said sunk home.

"Strike that question. I not only don't want to know anything about it, but I never heard you say it."

"Ship's don't have more than one transponder because, technically, it's illegal. The reality, of course, is that hardly anyone ever looks for a second one... unless that ship has done something... illegal, or maybe just suspect. I'm sure the Long Shot doesn't fall into that category."

"On the other hand, if that had been the transponder code that had been transmitted to the base, I doubt if you'd have been in this current situation. Although, I'm sure I would have been notified asked if that was my ship. Not sure the registry would have agreed with that. On the other hand, the ship is clearly an SDB... albeit an older model... with jump shuttle attached. Even that makes sense, since the SDB can't normally make jumps on its own."

"A prospector, huh? If I didn't know better..." his voice trails off.

"Ah, well. It has certainly gotten around."

Sharik continued to smile cordially, as Talbek admonished them for being to explicit.  She knew it to be true and admitted as much - to herself as well as their guest.  "Forgive me, Mutt." she soothed, "I must have mispoken... did I say 'transponder'?  I meant 'transcripted'....  The on-board records had some outdated references in the core to previous Captain named Mutt - but I am sure that is a common nickname."

"As you say," she reiterated clearly, "It is illegal to have more than one transponder code.  It is as bad, if not worse, than a false set of fingerprints..."  She let that hang for bit as she pondered other (related) matters.

To her, the admonishment was enough confirmation that they were on the right track - at least, that was how she would have interpreted it; apparently, you could take the operative out of spying, but the spying never really left the operative.  Shar thought to herself for a moment just how fickle Ifni was.  The diminutive socialite had sought to escape this world over a decade ago when she retired from active service.  But, somehow it never really seemed to work out that way; she suspected her subconscious was at least partly to blame.  It wouldn't be the first time.  She learned to trust her instincts.  And they'd served her pretty well; they'd kept her alive so far.

"Obviously," she continued, shifting tracks back their ship - the coverted SDB, "This 'boat' has seen plenty of miles.  I have a particular respect and loyalty for such things.  Building long-standing relations is so very important.  Wouldn't you agree?"  She smiled playfully, "In this ever-shifting universe, what better and more lasting currency can there be?"  She definitely would prefer to count Mutt as a friend; it made little sense to want him to be an enemy.  Material resources came and went with alarming regularity it seemed to the cosmopolitan dilettante; so, friends needed to be held onto tightly.

"It does seem to beg the question about what to about the Baroness Elgin." Sharik pondered aloud, allowing some free-association brainstorming to poke through (and, of course, she could always blame it on the Sylean brandy talking), "Perhaps she has a history with the ship as well..."  It could explain the fact that she knew of their specific arrival in-system, as the ship would have broadcast its presence and identity immediately upon their transition from j-Space.  "And one with less pleasant memories. presumably..." she concluded.  Though the exact circumstances could only contemplate what they might be.  An experimentally fast courier what the Long Shot could be, could have been used for almost anything above or below board.  And as such, almost anything could have gone wrong.

Listening to the conversation, at the mention of the core Sir Walter reached over to the computer and located a file.

"Captain Talbek, does any of these vessels or officers jog your memory? Like Captain Casey Blackwood, former captain of this vessel? Captain Karak Zor of the free trader Star Gypsy, Captain Lucky Seven of the long range explorer Widdershins, Captain Rayne Phyre of the far trader Scamp, or Captain Tequila Mockingbird of the long distance voyageur Starseeker?" he asked.

"History with the ship? The Baroness?" Mutt repeats Shar's words. "I suppose that's always possible, but that... kind of... boggles the mind. That would almost imply that she has a grudge against the ship itself. How peculiar."

"I know we tend to refer to ships as female, though I have no idea where that comes from, but attributing some sort of personality to it... isn't that a type of anthropomorphism? I suppose, if you had the complete itinerary of the ship over the last 50 years, and the Baroness's, you might be able to find a correlation. That just seems really farfetched."

"She'd know from your transponder who the current owner and captain was, probably even the crew. I'd think it'd more likely be one of you that... um, raised her ire."

"Could any of your relatives have done something to one of her relatives?"

Walter then asked his question.

The mention of Casey Blackwood brings a slight smile to his face, but at the mention of Karak Zor, he practically winces. He manages to suppress it for the rest of the names.

"Of course I know Casey. I've worked on the ship before when it was hers. Still can't believe she finally made the big score. Probably means I'll never see her again. No reason for her to travel to the this dustball."

"Can't say as the other names are familiar to me. I sure don't remember every ship that put into port here... not unless there was something special about it or its crew. If all they needed was refuel and resupply, no reason for me to have got involved. They could have stopped over, refueled, restocked and lifted off again all while I was sleeping."

"Now, wait a minute... the name Widdershins seems to ring a bell. Uhhh... nope. Don't got it. Sounds familiar, but can't place it. Might have passed through here, and I saw the name in the logs. If I'd been busy with another ship, I wouldn't have paid much attention to it."