The average auditorium. Comfortable setting around a pedestal in front of a large screen. Usually where the captain adresses the crew.

<<<<< Shadow, Maxwell  from security

  Walking in , the pilot looks around, he takes his hat off , but hangs onto it, as he looks at the seating,  and wonders if there is a need to sit.

Blake enters, sits down at the front. "Hi Kray."

From:  Security

   Still Acting Captain Maxwell entered the room a minute or so later than Lt. Shadow.  She had taken the time to insure that the Security Section was secured and to alleviate some biologic back pressure.  She didn't take a seat, but stood at the front of the room, off to one side of the screen.

   Kray nodded to Blake, he motioned with his  hat to Jennifer,Finally got ta meet my Captain!... had a bit of a sit down... then we heard the Call....

 then he  looked ta  both  Jennifer and Blake as he add,..hope they wake up some bloody grounds crew, I wanna take my ship out... she has ta be as eager as me!

 he was still standing. his eyes  were shifting around abit, as if he didn't quite trust everything, just yet.

Addison made the short walk from Medical to the conference rooms, whistling softly to herself. The ship was a bit creepy with no one awake. She entered the conference room and gave a wave to Kray, the only person she knew, then sat down near the front of the room.

A bit shaky Troy walks in and sits down at the back. He is not feeling too well.

  The pilot waves to Addison with a grin, then Troy. When troy sat down, Shadow  said,..beter het some tucker soon... our Captain...gave me a bit of coffee and such...feel alot better now...we'll check out the rec Deck when this is  all over.

Over the next few minutes several more people came in. Most of them wore khaki uniforms, indicating they were bridge crew. There were about twenty-five of them. They sat down in silence, several of them just barely awake. Close on their heels ten men in green-gray uniforms. Marines by the looks of them, the rugged red-bearded Major Ascott leading them in. The soldier sat down on the second row while the Major took a spot on the stage, next to the screen. He gave a knowing nod to Jennifer. The last few wore coveralls, grey in colour, but distinctly different from the plain grey jumpsuits they had all found below their cryo pods. Not a single one of the fourty-nine people entering was a day over fourty. Most seemed to be in their twenties.

Lastly, following all the others in, was a large man. Potbellied, overweight and calculated in his movement, Captain Blake Dorn wore his khaki uniform proudly. The small crowd started some buzzing chatter, most of them, if not all, had never met their captain before.
While he had all the necessary insignia indicating he was a GNA navy captain, the most notably insignia was the double dolphin besides the british crown. He could be in space now, but Dorn was a submariner at heart.
He took his place behind the pedestal, waiting for the hall to fall silent again.

"Ladies and Gentlemen, at ease. Lets skip all the usual standing and saluting stuff and such, and lets get straight to the point..." He looked over the crowd a while, memorising faces.
"As most of you may know by now, our mission as it was intended has failed. Not only are we not in the Alpha Centauri system, but we are not even in the correct year." He held up a hand to indicate the ruckus in the hall should die down quickly. It did.
"The CS-8 Marco Polo has been sabotaged for as far as we can tell now. Thank goodness our ship AI had a contingency program, causing it to try and wake me. Although it failed, it did wake several others, who subsequently took matters into their own hands and managed to save the ship. For that, I commend them."
He gave a nod of recognition to Jennifer, then did the same in the direction of the others.
"Far as we can tell, we are in the year 2157. Meaning we have been woken up 115 years too late. Also, we have been travelling at near light speed for those 115 years, and as such have travelled nearly 110 lightyears further than planned.
We can safely assume that as far as earth is concerned, we are considered lost." Again there were murmers in the conference room. People started to whisper to others, debating the meaning of that announcement.

"However," Dorn continued, "Our mission was clear. Find a suitable planet, and establish a colony. This mission has not changed. The circumstances have changed, but the mission itself will go on as planned. We will find a new home, and meanwhile we will try to contact Earth and see what the heck we missed these past years. With any luck we can contact someone."

"Now, I know we all have to let this terrible news sink in. I know I do. There is however the small matter of at least four thousand civilians on board. For now we will keep them in cryo untill we know what happened on board this ship, and what course of action we are to take next. Each of you has a task. You know this task, and as such I assume you will be able to carry out this task. I suggest you all go do so. I will invite each and every one of you to my quarters personally so we can have a talk, but I think you all understand that will take me a while. For now, go about your business, do what you can to get up to speed. Familiarise yourselves with your posts, then get some rest. As of 0800 tomorrow morning, I will be considering CS-8 Marco polo operational. Please be so kind as to deposit all your questions with Major Ascott. We will all speak soon. Thank you."

With that the burly man leaves the pedestal, and without looking back even once leaves the conference room. The red-bearded Major takes his place.
"As the captain said, we all know our assignments. The fact that we are in the wrong place and time is of no matter. Any questions?"

 Shadow raises his hand  , from the  aisle he stood in, to  the left of the pedestal,.. Major?.... LT Sj
hadow.  I did  Preflight on the Hellcats... they all seem ready to go? I sure would like to take my LAdy out for a shakedown..maybe   fly around the Marco to see if i can see any damage? it would save  the crew alot of  huntin' out there?

Ascott nodded in agreement.
"Decent idea Lt," he looked at a smaller asian woman on the front row. She stood and gave a small nod in Kray's direction. "Coordinate with tech-sergeant Kong-We here to get the birds up and running asap. Far as I can tell you are the only pilot awake for now, so I think you will be busy for the next few days. I know the captain wants to get on with our original mission, but my first concern is the safety of this ship."

   There is a nod from  the pilot,well. Sir? I won't be lying, I wanna  be  out there in that fighter, she how she feels ...but... since we don't  know what's out here..be a  dam' bonzr thin' to get our fighters up and ready?

 he adds,..um...Major...Sir.

 He turns to Tech-SDT Kong-We,..you let me know when yer  up  for a walk about the fighters, tech Sgt?.. We'll start with Mine..and   then get the others  ready  after   i  take a look around the ship.

Addison held up her hand and spoke without waiting to be acknowledged. "Medical is fully stocked and ready to see patients. Everyone should probably get checked out, cryo can have unforeseen effects, especially when you get an extra hundred years unexpectedly."

   Jenni keyed her link with the ship.  "Marco, as Acting Captain of the Marco Polo, I'm transferring all command functions to Blake Dorn effective immediately."  She breathed a sigh of relief at having just given her command to the person who was now able to exercise it.

   Detective Maxwell waited until Lt. Shadow and the Doc were finished, then stepped forward.  "I'm Lieutenant Jennifer Maxwell, former Acting Captain.  First, I'd like to put the people who were awakened with me in for commendations.  They did a hell of a job under very dangerous circumstances.  They saved everyone on the ship."

   She took a deep breath and continued.  The difficult part of the talk was done.  Now it was on to things she knew.  "Second, there is a dead body on the Bridge.  He was murdered by a gunshot to the head.  I've begun a preliminary investigation as to the identity of the victim, but I suspect that he was one of the saboteurs who had a falling out with his three co-conspirators.  I know which four pods they used, but the pod assignments file list the units as unassigned.  I'm still investigating this.  I'll keep you informed of the progress."

   "Third, your people can expect to get the shakes if they don't get something to eat and drink very soon.  I'll be working out of the Security Office, but I don't plan on being there much."  Jen smiled.  "It's a big ship for one cop to patrol, Sir."

    Shadow looks  at Maxwell as she finishes,..you need  any help?... let me know, I'm sorta good  a sneakng  around....and?..if you ahve any idea where they left the ship from, let me know, maybe i'll see something outside...who knows? there might be a drop ship out there they left, thinking no one would be alive to see it,

Seated with the other Marines, Sergeant Major Musashi remained quiet throughout the briefing. When the Major took the podium she used the opportunity to assess the other personnel, on the room, at least they were military so there'd be no need to contend with Civilian antics. Glancing at the Flyboy she appraised him; pitty she thought, any possibilities he may have were mooted by the bars on his shoulders. Still he's from Oz which is a major plus for him.
This message was last edited by the player at 06:50, Wed 15 Mar 2017.

"I'll be needing you for the next few days Lt. Shadow. Lt. Maxwell, I'll assign three marines to help you investigate. You can have Sgt. Patterson in the back there, Pvt. Ramirez and Pvt. LeBeau. They will report to you after this meeting. If you need, I can assign Germaine to you too." Ascott pauses...

"Excellent job you did, all of you. What I heard from M4RC0 we would have been dead if you people hadn't stepped up. That wont be forgotten.
Doctor Connolly, I will be sure to send each and every one of the crew by you as soon as possible. Even the captain, although he will most likely try to refuse."

  At Ascott's words, Shadow nodded,Aye Sir, I shouldn't be hard ta find.

  As the Major ticks off the folks  who will be working with Maxwell, she  grins,well.. ya still got a command..a wee one..but still?

   He watches  the ships clock, trying to piece together  what time of day it was. Not that it mattered, as of the moment they woke up? they are on Marco Time.

   Lt. Maxwell smiled.  "Thank you, Sir.  The help will be appreciated."  She stepped back to let any others have their chance with the Major.

Waiting a little longer for more questions Ascott finally decides he has waited long enough. Looking around the conference room once more he states:
"Lt. Maxwell, your primary task for now will be to investigate what the heck happened here. Use whatever resources needed, talk to whoever you need to talk to, find out who or what tried to sabotage and kill us. The men I mentioned are at your disposal. Everyone else is hereby ordered to ccorporate with her when required. Consider her the law on the ship for now." He looks around, seemingly looking for someone in particular.
"Ah, yes, Mr. Cornell. Excellent job on the reactor. M4RC0 tells me your expertise saved our asses. Would you mind sticking around at engineering for now to help get things up to speed? It would free up a lot of time for tech-sergeant Kong-We. You could coordinate with her and the graycoats over here," he gestured to the people in the gray coveralls, "and get them all up and running? I'm sure Sergeant-Major Musashi over there can assist you if needed. Both the Agri-decks and R&D wont be active just yet anyway, and I'd hate to see you twiddle your thumbs." He chuckles.
"Unless ofcourse the ship is in such a great shape that twiddling our thumbs is all we have to do. But i'm sure I can find decks to scrub then."
Some of the marines dare a laugh, immediately catching a deadly glare from the Major. He then motions for the young man at the far end of the first row to join him on stage. It's the dandy fellow that came in with Germaine.
"Mr. VanderBeek here has some words for you all. If you need me, just use the ships comms or find me in person. I'll be... everywhere for now I think."

"Thank you Major Ascott." He rests his weight casually on his black cane, waiting for the Major to step back.
"Good morning people. According to the ship clocks it is nearly 1300 hours. The recreational decks will not be opened for the public, you that is, untill the civilians start to wake up. Its no use pressurising and powering 12 decks without it being in staffed. The same will go for many other areas of the ship that are usually meant for the civilians. So for now, as chief morale officer, my task will be improving the morale by improving the food from the barracks, and getting us all some decent rooms. The military mess hall will be accessible by all untill otherwise noted, and we will have three meals a day there. The Major was so kind to assign me a few marines I can teach the art of preparing that food, so be patient with them..."
Some of the soldiers look at each other in shock. Cooking wasn't really part of their marine training. The only one with a remote smile was a marine with a french flag under his armpatch.
"For that much needed rest and drink when you are off duty, I have decided the officers bar will be open in the evenings." Ascott rejoins VanderBeek at the pedestal. He waits for him to finish up.
"After all, we all need some relaxation at times."

"Now, those of you without any other questions, you are dismissed. Those of you that do have them, stick around. Lets make this work people, and make me proud."

Stephen nodded. "Yes, once I leave here I'll return to Engineering and get a crew up to speed in the reactor. Happy to help. I already have a preliminary report on the reactor and the power flow through the ship available."

He looked around trying to decide who to trust, who he could speak with. Finally he decided the only people he would trust for now were those who dealt with the initial emergency. It was logic with holes in it, yes, but less holes than anything else he could come up with.

He approached Lt. Maxwell. "Ma'am, it's nice to put a face to the orders, and in a less critical situation. Dr. Stephen Cornell, may I have a word?"

  As Ascott, more or less , dismisses them. Shadow says to Maxwell,..I'm off to the Hangers again, 'Captain'... let me know  when the recDec is up....


 He smiles at Steve when he comes over,..hey,  Steve,  Make sure you get a cup of coffee inside you...been a rough 'morning' for us..eh?

  As he turns to leave , he walks over to Kong-We,... when yer   ready,  I'll be down the Hangers  for a bit  longer. Then i'll need a sleep , i think.But you make sure ya get a bit of tucker in ya , or at least somethin' ta drink..the shakes  will catch ya soon enough, if ya don't..

I will worry about me pilot. You just worry about yourself. Ill meet you on the hangar deck, bay one.
The asian woman hastily makes her way out. Presumably to go eat.

"I realise I'm a bit late, but what is my assigned task? Would I be helping survey the engines, or helping search through the ship's systems for the culprits?"

For now assist Lt. Maxwell where you can. Die up any information that might still be hidden in the AI. We wont start the engines till tomorrow at the soonest anyway.

  Shadow  nod to Kong-We as she leaves.  He will go up to the Officer's mess and see about starting up a coffee machine ( searching  for   coffee and sugar!)

  He will sit and have a cup,  when he's  done he' wash out the Cup and proceed to the Hanger Deck.



>>>>>>>>>>  Shadow to Hanger Dec.

In reply to Stephen Cornell (msg # 21):

   "Of course, Doctor Cornell."  Lt. Maxwell listened to what Doc Cornell had to say.  "You may have heard that cop coffee is terrible, but my machine hasn't degenerated that far, yet.  Stop by sometime for a cup."  She looked around to find her three assistants.  "Now if you will excuse me..."

Thank you Lt. Yes, I will have to come try the, er, cop coffee soon. Now, if you'll excuse me, I'm suppose to be getting some bright eyed sorts started in the reactor.

>>>>To Reactor

After everyone who wanted to had finished providing intel or comment the meeting broke up. Rising Lee left with the Marines, who hadn't been assigned to alternate duties, deciding it best to headed back to the Barracks.
This message was last edited by the player at 19:29, Wed 15 Mar 2017.

Almost the last to leave, Blake decides to head to engineering. The bridge is in use, so engineering is the logical place to investigate the ship's problems.

Troy goes to report to Lt. Maxwell.
Troy Patterson Ma'am. I was assigned to your detail. Where do you need me ma'am?
He looks pale, sweating and is shivering a bit. Still he manages to stand upright and salute properly.

In reply to Troy Patterson (msg # 31):

   Maxwell looked closely at Patterson.  "Your first assignment is to get something to eat and drink.  Your body is shutting down from lack of energy and hydration.  If the food and fluid don't help, report to Sick Bay.  Then say in three hours, report to me in the Security section.  I should have your quarters assignment sorted out by then.  After you get your area assigned, draw your initial uniform issue and get squared away.  There's got to be some kind of gym in the barracks.  I'll meet you there at 6 AM tomorrow.  Be ready to work out."

The meeting apparently over, Addison rose and started to head to medical, then noticed Troy's state. She pivoted on her heel and marched over to him, looking him up and down. She didn't bother disagreeing with Jennifer out loud, simply pointed toward the door with the sternest look she could muster. "Medical. Now."

   Jen found the other two members of her unit, Pvt. Ramirez and Pvt. LeBeau.  She gave them almost the same instructions as she had to Sgt. Patterson.  "Your first assignment is to report to Sick Bay.  Then say in three hours, report to me in the Security section.  I should have your quarters assignments sorted out by then.  After you each get your area assigned, draw your initial uniform issue and get squared away.  There's got to be some kind of gym in the barracks.  The duty day is scheduled to begin at 8 AM.  I'll meet you at the gym at 6 AM tomorrow.  Be ready to work out."

   Jen answered their few questions as well as she could, then sent them on their way.  She had somewhere else to be as well.


To:  Captains Quarters

<<<<< from Flight Opps

 As the pair  walked in   Shadow  said,..so   Kelly is a Shelia!....better check through me list again..  don't  wanna  make the same mistake to thier  faces..eh?

"Oh I bet she'd find it hilarious," Timochev replied as walked in.
They were early, none of the other pilots had gathered yet, giving the Russian ample time to prepare his welcoming talk. He quickly checked if the pedestal microphones were on. Then he sat down and waited.
"I think its the only name one could be mistaking with."

  TGhere an embarrassed  Chuckle,  Well..   Well.. I blody well proved  that, didn't I?

   He walks around a bit,..second  time i've been in this room. The Captain had a get together  with some of the Unfrozen.. Be Nice to  see some pilots....which makes me ask...are there Pilots  for the  shuttles  and  Hippos and such... if so..are they Under yer  command too?..might be a thing we need ta do?..cross train folks....we know  someone flew the stolen Hippo out...so they had some training?

"Dropships and shuttles are the marines' cup of tea. They are commanded by Ascott's crew normally, most of the pilots they use are civilians I think. We all know how to fly them, they do not know how to fly fighters. So thats our primary task."

Soon a couple more people started to trickle in. One by one, each wearing the standard grey uniform, the pilots of the fighter group started to arrive. Most wore their personal flight jackets over their jumpsuits, keeping their individuality alive in a place far from home.
The fourth person to enter clearly showed Shadow the error he had made on Kelly Wallace.
She was indeed no bloke. At 5'3" she was short, with a well-trained physique, and the most beautifull eyes Kray had ever seen on a woman. She wore her hair short, blonde spikes that made you wonder what a pilot's helmet would do to the style. Either the hair would flatten, or more likely the spikes would pierce the helmet and render it useless judging by the amount of styling gel she had used to create it. She wore a standard 10mm pistol on her hip, the hilt decorated with silver wings. Her jacket indicated she had been part of the 377th reserves, a unit Shadow had never flown with, hardly even heared about. Stretching herself to counter cryo weariness she joined the other pilots on the front row seats.

The Swede came in nearly last.Kray immediately knew it was him, as he immediately showed why his callsign was 'Giant'. The man was huge. Bald, with clear scandinavian features including the cold blue eyes, he stood at nearly 7 feet tall. It was a miracle he even fit in a fighter cockpit. With a casual nod at most other pilots and a stomp on the shoulder of the Kongolese pilot he slumped into a seat, unscrewing a small thermos flask.

Last of the eighteen to enter was the Frenchman. He was also the strangest.
Sure, he wore a standard grey jumpsuit and had the mandatory 10MM pistol on his hip, but what stood out immediately was the old soft pirate hat on his head, and the pirate flag badges oin his worn leather jacket. His hair was far beyond standard issue lentgh, unkemp and braided at irregular intervals, an his moustache and goatee made him look like old Captain Blackbeard of the movies.

  Shadow was leaning against the wall his arms  crossed,  he wanted to see the folks as they walked in.

 he chuckled a bit to himself, he had hoped that there were a couple he might have saw before, but..he was wrong.

 These folks trained together, know each other, and Outside of Yuri.. he didn't know them at all..at least not the person...he looked over the sheets when everyone was still on ice,  saw some of the ratings  when they were posted for wargames..but in the end. He was the odd man here....then he shrugged, he had been transferred before.. he always managed to find some place to fit in... this was different though... there was no place to go from here.

 He sipped his coffee, nodded to the few who nodded to him, his half smile grew, as he knew they were wondering who the 9 hells he was...

After giving all the pilots a couple minutes to talk and joke around, Commander Timochev takes the stage.

"Ladies, gentlemen," he begins, his voice loud and commanding. "Your attention please."

"Welcome to 2157."

There was a sudden silence, the pilots shocked at that revelation.

"You heard me right... 2157. We slept for 115 years, give or take, and overshot Alpha Centauri by some sixty lightyears. In short, we are not where we planned to be, or when we planned to be there."

"How is this possible?" the frenchman cried out. Some of the others immediately chimed in.

"Ship security is working on that. For what I have heard, someone sabotaged the ship when we arrived at our original destination, and sent us on our way further into space. According to Major Ascott the only reason we are here now is because the AI woke random people to fix a problem with the fusion reactor."

"Incroyable! Quelle malaise!"

"The reactor problem has been fixed, amongst others by our replacement pilot Lieutenant Kray Shadow, RAAF." Timochev pointed in Shadow's direction. Eighteen heads turned to check him out. "Lieutenant Shadow was amongst the first to be woken up, and with some others managed to change the fusion reactor's waste collector batteries, preventing total destruction of this ship."

"But let us get to the matters at hand first. There will be more than enough time for questions. All contact with Earth has been lost. It has been lost for the past 27 years, the reason for this is unclear. At this time it is impossible to say if Terra is still there or not, but our mission remains unaltered. We are here to build a colony, and by god we will. This morning at 0900 CS-8 Marco Pilot fired up her engines and we are en route to the Keppler 118 system. Intelligence suggest several planets inside the habitation zone of their sun, and we are going to check them for a suitable colony location."

"Shouldn't we return to Terra and see what's going on there?" A dark skinned man inquired. Shadow suspected it was the Kongolese zulu.

"And do what exactly?" Timochev replied, a bit more sarcastic than he had intended. "We would need another 115 years to return there, and since we will not be able to activate the cryo pods again once opened, we will all be mighty old by the time we get there. Even our children will be old. No, our best bet is to find a good planet, build a colony, and hope we can re-establish contact with Terra, or other colonies."

"Our mission stands unaltered. We will find a location, build a colony, and our squadron of fighters is there to protect the people working hard to accomplish that. This means we will be doing patrols, more patrols, and likely, even more patrols... We can safely assume that if and when we encounter anything else besides us, it will most likely not be human."

"Rules of engagement are clear however. Unless we are attacked, we will not be using our weapons. We will not, I repeat, will not, provoke combat situations. If ever we encounter anything, we will not be the ones initiating a fight. Am I clear on that?"

As one the pilots replied with a yes sir. They all knew this, Timochev was only repeating what he had told them 115 years ago.

"Good. Now everyone can get some food, some drinks, and get settled in. Time is now 10.53. I expect to see all of you in our own squadron quarters at noon. Its connected to hangar bay one. Marco will upload the directions to your datapads. Save your questions till then."

     When  Yuri  said about the  reactor,  Shadow  gave a  slight  wave to the  others  with his Half  smile.

  The rest of the   meeting he listend, but watched the faces of the others, looking for  Pilots  he  think he might connect with.

At the mention of the reactor all the pilots at least acknowledge Kray. Several of them give him a thumbs up. The Frenchman eyes him suspiciously.

  As they began to  file out to eat and Get ready,  Kray  hangs  Back. Again taking stick of the   new squadron.

   he will, again nod, to those  who might give him a parting look. Otherwise, he doesn't interfere  with their   leaving, they know  each other, he would have to wait  to  get to know them.

looking back at Yuri , He  Grins.

  walking to the door, Shadow  turns  to Yuri,..i'm gonna   head  down to the  Mess, get something small ta  eat. see if anyone wants  ta chat with me? Gotta get to know me mates soon enough..eh?

   Unless Yuri has something for him, he'll head off....

>>>shadow Barracks.