Sharik smiled slightly and chuckled.  She liked hanging in back and watching, it was always fun to see Darrel and Pablo together again with her.  The mirrorshades slipped back over her eyes, giving her both a particularly elegant look as well as making her expression that much more enigmatic and difficult to read.

Her eyes danced as her local sensor and library streams continued to spin.  Even though she didn't have as extensive a catalogue as the planetary network, Shar did have plenty of expert systems and the intellect program to harness them.  This wasn't the first time that she'd been dropped into a dicey situation without outside connections.  Besides, she still had Pablo and his comm in sight - and with his electronics, positioning and triangulation improved immensely with only a couple of metres of separation.

As she hung back to let the men handle the talking, Sharik simply kept alert - without looking too much like she was doing so.  A casual sort of body language that might be mistaken for boredom crept into stance as well as the set of her jaw and the way that she placed her hand on her hip.  If the administrative staff mistook her for a bodyguard, or something simpler like mere eye candy or an escort (which was probably more likely given her diminutive frame and well-maintained coiffure) that was perfectly fine with her.  The cosmopolitan operative had played that role before and knew how to affect such a demeanor.

But she also knew that there was a slim stunner in a custom shoulder holster under the tailored jacket as well.  Sharik might not physically imposing, but she knew that looks could be deceiving.

She waited for Darrel and Pablo to finish and then fell in line with them.  Like the ex-Marine, she perused the offerings of the nearest electronics boutique for a supplementary p-comm.  Shar chose a similar model to one the Pablo did to ensure compatibility; one that wrapped around her ear and had a short, thin boom for the mike that followed her jawline.  She made sure that it was fashionable and elegant enough to match her current outfit (well, and go with anything else that she owned - a girl had to have her standards).

As they proceeded towards the Grand Poobah's location, Pablo handed Darrel one of the new comms. There were enough of the devices in a bag for the rest of the team, when they met up again. If they turned out to be unnecessary, the could go in the ship's locker as spares. In Darrel's case, Pablo knew the noble wasn't particularly snobbish, and was perfectly capable of handling his own purchases, but still, at this point, appearances might be important.

He didn't know that much about Imperial nobility, but he'd watched Darrel's movies, and other popular Imperial media, and the stereotypical member of the nobility had minions to handle errands like fetching comms from local shops.

"So, when we get there, why don't I step in first? I don't think things are going to be violent, but if so, then we can deal with it, I guess. Anyway, I can announce the arrival of the very important Count Cromwell. Then Sharik, if you can do your "personal assistant" thing, and accompany the Count in after I announce him, it might help set the right tone for any subsequent discussions with the Grand Poobah or her people. What do you guys think?"

In reply to Pablo Esteban Ryzov (msg # 87):

Chuckling, "And I thought I was the diplomat, that sounds fine, I'm thinking the indignant stick up the conduit shaft Imperial noble, or maybe the unflappable charming dignitary...perhaps the latter?"

Kaengarr can find nothing on the manifest that he thinks could conceivably 'contraband', though, admittedly, he doesn't quite understand what all the cargo is... technically.

"Um, look, we just need to walk through the ship," the customs officer says. "Make an appearance."

"Yeah, what Gim said. There's probably not any contraband on your ship. We checked your registry. You are so far off the profile..."

"See... um, we were kind of told to find some contraband. The Baroness didn't actually come out and tell us to plant something, but she made a distinct hint along those lines."

"Yeah, we don't know what that is all about, but that's not the way we operate. We have respect for spacers. If you screw up, that's one thing, but you don't need any more grief from the brass."

______________________________________________________________________________

Pablo has no problem finding an electronics/communications shop, and he can buy a new comm for everyone, even get prepaid time--day, week, month, year--but to connect to the grid still requires an ID... all the crew's personal IDs have been blocked.

As the three of you then proceed to the Grand Poobah's office, Sharik spots the same man following them. He's pretty good at tailing you, but not as good as he thinks he is.

Once you get to the Grand Poobah's office, you are a bit surprised to find that it appears as an ordinary office, small with a small waiting room, and only 3 waiting chairs. There is a secretary there, and the main office is off to the right.

"Can I help you?" the secretary asks, more as a reflex as she finally looks up to see who it is.

"Oh! Count Cromwell! I've seen all your pictures! Are you here to see Kenzi?"

  Kaengarr's ears, whiskers, and tail all twitched noticeably when the inspectors admitted that they'd been asked to plant something aboard ship, but the movement was somewhat masked by the small sidelong wave of his comm toward the ship; it took a split second longer for him to formulate a surprised-sounding response. "Does she often do this or are we special for some reason?"

  Shaking his head he spoke to the others around; Samantha and whomever else remained on board were no doubt hearing everything over their comms but he decided not to explicitly advertise their presence. "Vonon, keep at the cabling, please. Khea, why don't you join us for the walk-around?" He then waved the pair toward the nearest hatch. If they were willing to say anything more about the situation - or talk about the station in general - so much the better, but if they wanted to keep it quick and quiet he'd accept that too.
This message was last edited by the player at 10:11, Mon 16 May 2016.

Khea only nodded slightly with a low growl to Kaengarrs request and accompanied them silently.
Her first instinct though was to issue a challenge to the baroness champion or her directly if she prefers. But for now they might gain more insight about what is going on if she waited with that till the end of the walk-around.
Also, she had to consider that she now was again only part of a crew and thus it might not be her place to issue a challenge over a ship issue. Once she found the others she had to address the lack of a ships champion for those kind of things.

At this point, Darrel is perplexed...he's been a part of nobility "games" for years; the agendas, motivations, plots, personalities, etc...He found himself wondering was this whole thing an insult, a political statement, a diplomatic innuendo, perhaps even a simple prank?

But, all that aside, he had a captive audience of one and did what he did best, perform..."When I was given directions here, it's a shame they didn't mention that Kenzi had such a charming assistant..I would have brought something appropriate, (ponders) well my dear, I'll arrange for a signed collection of memorabilia delivered to you personally as soon as I conclude my business here (Makes a perceptual nod towards Sharik)."

Count Cromwell does a dramatic pause, "In fact, let's make this a special moment, if you allow it, let's together establish here and now, my 1st official Outpost fan club and I nominate you the president and foremost fan...I'd be honored if you accept this, Ms. ????"

OOC:Today: Darrel Cromwell rolled 13 using 2d6+5 with rolls of 2,6.  Persuade fan.

OOC: If she agrees, the below applies, if not ignore

"Stupendous, let's begin with an introductory video, if you'll lend me your comms for a second..."(I'm assuming there is a real time photo/video app on these units)

Using his years of experience behind the camera, Darrel takes a position that prominently displays the Grand Poobah's office (ensuring her title is shown), and begins filming....

"A heartfelt greetings to my beloved fans and friends on Outpost, this is Count Cromwell and I'm here with Ms.(insert name) at the Grand Poobah's office to inaugurate her as the President and Foremost fan of the 1st chapter of the official fan club. Given all the brouhaha the Grand Poobah Kenzi Muran has displayed in getting my attention, it was a close toss-up between them...but, after a difficult and lengthy debate...Ms. (insert name) is clearly the best choice."

After shaking her hand, hugging, selfies etc...Count Cromwell continues to roll, "And on top of that historic event, I've agreed to a meeting with Grand Poobah Kenzi Muran to discuss establishing a greater cooperation of Imperial culture and our valued friends along the frontier."

Seemingly inadvertently he hands the device to Sharik, "Let's make sure this gets out to everyone."

OK then, let's meet the greatness herself."

Sharik simply smiled and nodded in acquiescence to Pablo's plan.  She took a deep breath and her demeanor began to subtly shift.  Though personable and fairly good looking, the diminutive dilettante was not nearly as naturally suave as the Count.  And she knew that.

However, she was extremely experienced in dissembling and adopting certain affectations.  Even with the same clothing and accessories, once Shar's hair was pulled up with an innocuous (though suddenly quite fetching, now that it was more prominently displayed) pin from her belt and her posture adjusted to be a touch more erect (some might say, haughty), her thin frame appeared a fraction larger and woman seemed inches taller.  Her normally lilting contralto took on a tinge of light disengagement - a touch remote, quite business-like and utterly professional.  "I prefer the term, 'Personalized Executive Assistant', Mr. Ryzov." she intoned quietly, but insistently, "His Lordship demands the best, of course.  He is a busy man."

The menace in her voice was purely on corporate-level, implying that anything said around her would be fodder for later litigation or dealing in the boardroom and nothing inherently violent.  Sharik's tone made is sound like that was beneath her (and by extension, the Count and the rest of the crew).

She turned to regard Darrel for a moment, brushing a microscopic piece of lint from the man's lapel.  "I believe that honey attracts more bees.  But all bees can sting..."  Obviously, she'd cast her vote, even it if had caveats.  Naturally, they would have to play it by ear - as the disposition of the enemy was unknown (and, seemingly, bordering on hostile really given the preemptive block); still, she wasn't going to be the one escalating the tension.

Sharik kept a position that was extremely precise - apparent to the trained eye of anyone specifically watching for it - distance between herself and Darrel (and Pablo when he was in range).  The auburn-haired ex-operative had had plenty of experience in body guarding and security - despite her size and the demeanor that she'd chosen to take on.

She couldn't help but be amused by Count Cromwell's suave nature; as she dutifully took the device from him when it was handed to her.  Her training allowed her to simply raise an eyebrow, which peeked out over the rims of her mirrorshades as the man spoke at length about a party that was being concocted on the fly.  Her other set of fingers worked furiously upon the touch screen of her dataglove as she input various parameters and started her virtual aide collating and crunching some rough numbers concerning various aspects of what was being said.

All the while, thin, cosmopolitan socialite turned assistant made sure that she continued to watch for the Grand Poobah and her staff members carefully as well as for any reactions to anything that was being said.  Either the woman and her people were really big fans.  Or they were expert dissemblers.  And Shar wanted to know which it was and as quickly as possible.

The secretary, Alanna Brandon, taps her console and says, "Count Cromwell is here to see you."

If there are any replies, no one can hear them... but then you realize it's because the secretary is wearing a Bluetooth earbud, so she's hearing it even if you aren't.

"Go right in," Alanna tells the count, indicating the other door.


As the Count and his entourage open the door and begin to enter the office beyond, the woman in there is speaking on her comm.

"He's here. No, right now! He just walked in the door! That's easy for you to say!"

She seems to hang up and then turns to the Count.

"Please, come in! Sit down! Now, what can I do for you?"

Pablo had smiled at Sharik's comment, but made no reply. He stood quietly a couple of steps behind and to the left after they'd entered the reception area, but when the door to the inner office opened, he was the first one through.

Holding out an arm to arrest Darrel's progress, he looked over the room, in a fairly leisurely way, then stepped aside. "Clear, my lord." Then he vacated the doorway, letting Darrel and Sharik enter, before moving back out into the reception area, and taking up station by the door, where he could see the doorway out into the corridor.

He kept his expression suitably blank yet forbidding, and mentally settled in for what was likely to be quite the little chat behind the closed office door.

Count Cromwell stands just inside the doorway for a second, then enters, he maintains a passive posture but has a stern visage...

As the Count and his entourage open the door and begin to enter the office beyond, the woman in there is speaking on her comm.

"He's here. No, right now! He just walked in the door! That's easy for you to say!"

She seems to hang up and then turns to the Count.

"Please, come in! Sit down! Now, what can I do for you?"

He strides towards the desk, placing his fists on the desk and leans over, gets just inside her personal space,
"Mrs(?)Muran, as I was approaching this planet, I was planning on have a welcome pleasant social meeting with you, but...since I and my staff were shunted off to some disused, filthy, unservicable docking bay without communications...ON YOUR SPECIFIC INSTRUCTIONS (not shouting, but a definitely pissed off timbre of voice) I suppose what you can do for me is answer, why I shouldn't be contacting the Imperial authorities and have you charged with the attempted assassination of an Imperial noble!?!"

Kenzi blinked at the Count's diatribe for a moment as she processed his words. Then her slightly worried look turned to one of righteous fury. She stood up from behind her desk, either forcing the Count to back up or to bump heads with her.

"I said 'sit down', Count Asshat!" she snarls back at him.

"This isn't the Imperium, and out here we have no use for fancy titles and arrogance! Putting your ship in a seldom used outlying bay was merely a precaution. I had it on good authority that your ship might be carrying contraband, which could easily have been something dangerous. That hardly counts as an assassination attempt."

"Your ship hasn't been denied power, fuel or air, nor have you or any of your crew been quarantined. However, until this matter is cleared up, certain restrictions have been instituted."

She glares back at him, not backing down an inch.

Darrell was ready to go toe-to-toe, his righteous fury boiled up and then it...fizzled... "Count Asshat?"a subdued clearing of throat covering a laugh..."Count Asshat?"The ridiculousness of a Grand Poohba calling him "Count Asshat." He couldn't help himself, he started with a few stifled laughs, but then they quickly were fully out in the open.

After wiping the tears from his eyes, "Ahh, that's brilliant...hhmmm, Count Ass...Ahhh, anyways..." Takes a deep breath, his immediate anger is dissipated, but, the circumstances still didn't make sense.

"Fancy titles aside, Grand Poobah, given that there has been only 1 ship from Grendal a week ago, and if your vaunted intelligence services did their homework...I didn't even own the ship for a week prior to jump...so, unless you use psychics, someone is playing us both for fools. And, of these protocols...not informing the Imperial authorities that I arrived because of suspected contraband..really? That simple explanation isn't going to fly."
This message was last edited by the player at 12:40, Tue 24 May 2016.

Sharik continued to watch the woman in Outpost's highest administrative position with an impassive expression.  Her fingers continued to tap away at the touch screen on her dataglove.  Though it was fairly obvious that she wasn't transcribing the conversation (the glove was of a sufficient technological fit that it was likely doing so automatically), it was rather apparent that the auburn-haired assistant was annotating whatever stream was being generated.  And Shar was taking a fair few annotations.

"Since we are here," Sharik noted cordially after clearing her throat softly.  She stood just off to the side and behind the Count as if in a ready position of an attentive servant, "perhaps you would like to conduct the personnel interview concerning the matter yourself, Ms. Muran?"  It was just a slight probe to see how much Kenzi wanted to get her own hands dirty here - even if the 'asshat' remark made her view of the group reasonably apparent.

The cosmopolitan socialites's attitude was in fairly stark contrast to the Count's attempt at casual levity; Sharik was merely being professional - as any assistant to an important and well-known celebrity would need to be.  The diminutive brunette wasn't overly conspicuous, but simply exuded a business-like aura.  "Also Ms. Muran," she continued, her tone taking a more vaguely distant timbre, "will you be so kind as to accompany us on the required inspection?  Since you called for it personally, I presume that you have a marked interest in the results and would want to act immediately on any findings..."  She quirked an eyebrow which lifted itself just above the edge of shades which covered her eyes and added without skipping a beat, "with any legal proceedings that would be necessitated by such findings..."  Which, of course, potentially tied in with what the Count was alluding to with respect to any falsehoods being perpetrated.

And while at this advanced technological level having physical proximity was not a guarantee that you could suss out any real or perceived malfeasance, it did have its own advantages.  Often, it never hurt to keep any potential enemies (or allies) close ...

Besides, what else did the group have to do?  Their ship was on unofficial (if effective for the moment) quarantine until the matter was resolved.

"I'm under no obligation to inform the Imperial Embassy or the Imperial Base Commander that you are here," the Grand Poobah. "That's your own responsibility. I concede that this would have occurred automatically if your communications protocol had been cleared. But it wasn't. Those are the breaks."

"You aren't in the Imperium. Things out here don't always work the way they do in the Imperium."

She then turns to Sharik.

"Just what 'personnel' do you think I should be interviewing?"

"And you are mistaken. I did not call for an inspection of your ship. I notified the Starport Authority, and they dispatched an inspection team. They should already be there."

"It's the first time I've heard of anyone... um, doing that," the one called Gim replied to Kaengarr. "I couldn't say if the Baroness has ever done that before, though if she has, it hasn't been bandied about."


The two inspectors walk through the ship, basically from one end to the other. They ask to look in the cargo bays when they are identified, but they don't enter. Then they take the lift up to the main cargo deck and look through those doors. Then they take the lift up to the main deck. They ask what are behind the various doors, but they don't ask to look inside any of them. As near as Kaengarr can tell, they aren't even taking any notes.

When they get to the bridge, Gim turns to his partner, and says, "I didn't spot any contraband. Did you, Nall?"

"Nope, not a thing. Must have been a bad tip. It happens," Nall replies.

"We'll file our report with the Captain. That's all we can do. After that, it's out of our hands."

Sam follows the inspectors as they move round the ship on the internal sensors/cameras.

She'll also do a sweep to see if they are using any recording or transmitting devices as they move around.

Apart from that she monitors Comms and the ship and surrounding area generally to see if anything is happening at all.

ooc

08:35, Today: Samantha Kilgore rolled 8 using 2d6+2 ((3,3))

Are there Sensors you can check the ship internally with? Are there CCTV type cameras internally?

Khea follows the inspectors around to make sure that they do not place anything in the ship. After they are finished she also curses herself for not bringing a recording device along to tape their confirmation that no contraband was found.

"I would appreciate it if I could have a copy of that report.

Pablo continued to stand at parade rest outside the Grand Poobah's office. He had complete confidence in Darrel and Sharik. If they wanted someone shot, they could tell him.

He did keep a careful eye out for the guy Sharik had seen following them. It wasn't yet clear what his angle was.
This message was last edited by the player at 22:47, Wed 01 June 2016.

Given the size and nature of the ship, it would be odd not to have internal security cameras. Yes, there is a camera at the end of each hallway, but none in any of the rooms, though one on the auxiliary bridge and one in engineering. So Sam has no trouble following the inspection tour.

Comms are still 'disconnected' from the starbase, but otherwise comms and sensors pick up nothing around the ship.

The only recording device the inspectors have is their comms.

Khea likewise can use her comm to record the inspectors' result, and they automatically give you a copy of their report.

In reply to Kenzi Muran (msg # 100):

OOC: Trying to figure out if she´s lying, anything strange in her behavior, or basically...is something in her manner weird...hard to explain...but, having worked in similiar circumstances...just trying to get a good read of things.

18:21, Today: Darrel Cromwell rolled 9 using 2d6 with rolls of 4,5.  figure things out +/-? straight roll.

  Kaengarr calmly thanked the pair and casts a quick eye over the report to assure himself that there was nothing requiring immediate followup, but between the odd choice of berth, the lack of communications, and this... something unpleasant was in the offing and simply leaving wasn't an option. What were they caught up in?

  Once the inspectors had left and he had a moment to call together the few that had remained at or returned to the Long Shot, he did so - albeit with one eye on the external monitors in case anyone else came creeping around.

  "Someone wants an excuse to arrest us," he rumbled darkly, ears, whiskers, and tail flicking with controlled tension. "But I don't know why. Maybe it's to do with the ship - it's probably to do with the ship - but there was at least one other escapade on Grendal before we met that no one wanted to talk about. Could that be coming back to haunt us? Other personal issues or enemies that could be catching up to us here?"

Not getting any answers from his sister as to why his trading license was suspended, Sir Walter headed back to the Long Shot to let the crew know that there was a problem in unloading the cargo.

[back to vessel]

Gnashing her teeth Khea immediately makes a backup of the report on her computer.
"No matter why, we better prepare ourselves for other attempts to take us and the ship."
She turns back to her computer and queries her library software for all Aslan holdings on Outpost and checkt the alliance ties of the clan present. In her current state it is very unlikely that any clan, even her own would offer any kind of hospitality but one can never know.
"Do you know if anyone else has clan on this planet? Otherwise we all have to call on the Imperium for shelter."

  Kaengarr let out an amused snort. "Only by chance. We're nowhere near Gaerr space. Samantha's naval connections, though..." He turned to regard her thoughtfully. "We've got a naval base right here. The spaceport leader isn't afraid of us, but she might think twice about antagonizing them."
This message was lightly edited by the player at 16:39, Sun 05 June 2016.