After escaping the initial blast of debris from Ptolomen station, those that made it on-board the Orishi spent some time exploring the ship.

It was a bulky beast of a thing that had obviously seen a lot of wear, but also seen a lot of upgrades.  All-in-all, though, it still had the unmistakeable feel of an industrial appliance.   Only the personal spaces--the modular quarters, the cockpit, the office, lounge and galley areas had any real personality.

The big, burly marine--Sergeant Shy--turned out to be a field medic.   He and Sheng-Xin located the cargo-bay med-station and stabilized the three with serious injuries.  They were laid out in pallets and blankets pulled from cargo-supply.

You're free to write-up whatever you like about exploring the ship, or whatever else you do before (or after, or alongside) this scene in the 02.00 open-thread.

Once the injured had been secured and stabilized, eventually, most everyone ended up in the galley on deck-1.

"So." Gilina, the tech-girl that  they'd helped on the flight-deck spoke up.  "We're two days from the nearest habitable planet.  three from the nearest jump-gate.  Without a ferromodulator, there's no guarantee the ship's impulse drive won't overload and leave us drifting.  So we're going to have to use the gate-system. 


"And you're all criminals." The blonde marine said, her expression neutral.  She looked horrible.  Already pale-skin was blotchy and she had dark bags under her eyes, moved with elaborate care.  She was either nursing one hell of a hangover or she was coming down off of combat-stims, possibly both.
This message was last edited by the player at 03:35, Wed 09 Feb 2022.

Baylee was feeling a bit high a she sauntered into Galley Deck. She spotted an assembly of people and the marine spoke up, "And? Who said I'm a criminal and why? Because I was in one of them cryo-pods? Fuck me. I don't know my story, don't go assuming it for me." She let her eyes roam around the ship and considered what she knew. "Seems this ship knows me. Accepts my command overrides. So, I'd guess I was part of its former crew. Considering it is rigged for smuggling, I guess I was a smuggler? Based on how I handled myself back in that scrap..." She grins at the marines, "I expect I was a mean smuggler. Doesn't mean I was some kind of murderer or rapist or thug. Definitely doesn't mean I am not human. It only means I took things people wanted to places some sovreignity didn't want em to go." She shrugs. "Ship called me Bai Ling-Li. The name feels odd though." She rolled her shoulders at the formality of the name. She licked her lips like something tasted wrong. "Seems that there were at least two others from the ship's former crew. Not sure who they are yet, just logic. The ship listed several unregistered entities, but we have three more folks that the list. I'm one."
This message was last updated by the GM at 08:44, Tue 18 May 2021.

"Lady." Sergeant Shy said, looking up from his exhausted crouch, both hands between his legs, head-down.  He looked better once he'd washed most of the blood off, but he looked emotionally spent, too.  "I don't care who you are or what you did.  We're off the Ptolomen.  We're alive. So, you know, as far as I'm concerned, you could be Kanka Sine, and I wouldn't give two shits.

"Are you mad?" the blonde asked with a hint of annoyance in her voice.  "Only the worst get sent to Vizier Colony.  The ones they want to make a statement with.  Bring 'em back for public viewing after they've broken."

"Corporal."  Shy said, his voice was tired but gained a slight edged. "Not our ship.  Not our rules."

"But we don't know shit about her.  She could be--"

"Karin!" Shy snapped.  "Button it. They didn't have to take us on-board.  We made a play.  We lost."



Things Introduced:

Kanka Sine
No clue.  But I'm sure they'll make an appearance later on down the road.  BTW, I"m totally okay with you throwing names of people, factions, places, things, historical incidents, etc. out there as loose hooks for future drama.

Vizier Colony
Also no idea...  But I figure that's where you were headed--once Ptolomen got the requisite number of transferees to ship you there in a full cargo.  No point sending only two or three people when you can send a full-batch of twenty or forty--and bill the originating government for the time-in-transit.

Marines
Sergeant Shy - Combat Medic, thick set thick black hair
"Karin" blonde female marine


This message was last edited by the player at 09:02, Tue 18 May 2021.

"You know that my lady Orija has a far greater measure of control over the ship than you have at the moment," Bek put in, voice soft and mild. The tall thin figure leaned against the wall in one of the corners, absent-mindedly fingering an earring and gazing unfocusedly into the air above the others' heads. "So that's something. And she threw your commander through a window, so now you know two things. But I'm sure that was a fluke-- it was a stressful situation, after all-- and that she'd be willing to discuss the current one with you in a calm, rational manner.

"If you'd like to stay, that is," Bek went on, attention and fingers suddenly snapping to the tattered remains of their ill-fitting prisoner's coverall. "If not, you're free to leave at any time. But please do leave your clothing behind if you go-- there seems to be a lack of spares aboard at the moment."

Rayfe Karnell came through the door at this point. His expression was grim - not the usual somewhat sardonically amused expression he had been wearing before, even in the midst of a gunfight. "Some of us are criminals. Some of us are more than likely just misunderstood. And I, it seems, am Rayfe Karnell. I came within a handfull of hearbeats of stealing quarter of a billion credits from the Unity Banking Cartel. I am from Gauda Prime, and sentenced to life, without parole, for a list of crimes so extensive that I wonder I ever had the time to do my day job. I was a systems analyst for the Cartel. And if anybody wants to know how I know all this..." He shrugged, dismissively. "I stole the database from the prison while everybody else was trying to shoot one another. I've cracked it, and it is currently open on a computer in the office on the upper deck. If you have no name to work with, it can search through facial recognition, as well. Anybody who wants a little clarity on their identity might do well to go and take a look."

He flopped down into a chair, and massaged his temples, with a grimace. "I'm getting a beast of a headache. Probably hibernation hangover, or something. And I am definitely not a member of the crew of this... fine ship. But I don't really have anywhere else to go right now."

Her eyes went wide-wide as saucers. She'd been in the galley before when she had been exploring, so her mind zipped to the bank of handheld tablets in a rack there. They were meant for entertainment purposes and surfing the web, so they'd suffice. She strode over to it as she threw her voice over her shoulder, "And only angels serve as marines in a private security army?"

She grabbed the tablet and powered it up. Her toes tapped an impatient, metallic tattoo on the floor a she watched the series of logos flash past. Finally, the thing powered up to a password input screen. She was just about to curse when the little lock icon opened and the thing booted to the GUI. She raised an eyebrow but shrugged. Guess her access included this thing. She quickly tracked down the file Rayfe spoke of and flicked through folders until she found one that matched. At least, the physical dimensions matched hers. The image associated to the file was barely recognizable it was so beaten, bruised, and bloody. She smirked at evidence of what she had already guessed of herself.

"Sure, I'll share. Bai Ling-Li, according to this, but something feels off about that." She scrolled down a bit and then read a few things, Her mouth moved into a soft smile, "A.K.A. Baylee. Apparently, the newsvids called me Baylee the Butcher. Fucking propaganda! Maybe?" For her part, she seemed slightly concerned there. "Born in the Xingxing Guo Jia Asteroid Belt in the Deux system. Hah, looks like my family were spacers. Fuck me, I got a mother and brother out there. Got their government names right there, but they feel wrong again." Baylee lips silently moved along to more reading. "Says I am a pirate, thief, smuggler, and war criminal... slated for life imprisonment before execution." She let the pad drop and then sighed heavily. It said almost nothing more than the bare minimum. She wanted to read about this place and these events now.

"Fuck me." Her shoulders sagged for the firs time since she woke up and she sluggishly fetched a couple more datapads from the rack to hand them out to others. "干! 干! 干!" She stopped as the foreign words shot out of her then continued handing out the datapads, "Oh, and it confirms that I served on this ship as quartermaster, before. Along with others..." She scrolled more on her own pad.
This message was last edited by the player at 02:36, Wed 26 May 2021.

"Baylee the Butcher?" Karnell raised a brow quizically. "You had your own nickname in the meda? My my! A celebrity. It's an honour to be incarcerated with you, it really is! And this is, presumably, your ship. Thank you for the lift. If you need someone to fine tune your systems, I'll take a look for you. Consider it payment. If I get my memory working, I will probably have a destination in mind. Until then..." He waved a hand dismissively. "My skills are at your disposal."

He did not know where he had to go. Something told him that a return to Gauda Prime was a move that bordered on the suicidally stupid. But it also told him that he had unfinished business there. But not now. Revenge was a dish best served cold. And like all meals, it was more enjoyable with compatriots who want to be there to enjoy the experience.

The heavy-set black man took his turn at the console, calling up the holographic display of his file.  "Theft of a star-ship, destruction of a Trillium Crystal mining installation... I... sold a small moon to a Tvorak ambassador on the basis that it was colonized by hermaphroditic mushrooms?  Oh.  The mushrooms weren't sentient." 

"I was imprisoned on bond by the Tvorak for 'diplomatic crimes.'  after I refused to answer for my... I don't know what a Tungwal is."

Lincoln sounded confused.  "This... this doesn't sound like me.  I mean, I don't feel like the kind of guy who would sell out a are of non-sapient mushrooms.  I don't even know what a Tvorak is--"

The holographic display was briefly eclipsed by a hulking creature with six limbs and a couple of antennae.  The appendages appeared to moves randomly around a spherical mass.  It was sort o a cross between a spider and a squid.

"Okay.  So, look.   We--the tech guys and... and even the security guys...  we're all employees.   We're not military, no matter how Zenda Meier ran things.   I hired on contract for a set term, right?"  Gilna said, glancing at the remains of the marines.   The big bear of the medic nodded, his face pinched and sour.

"I've got a year to go before my option to renew comes up again.  We're not beholden to ZM.  And... And we get paid to the end of our contract in the event of an act of fate.'  Well, I sure as Hesh consider this an act of fate!  But it means... I don't--I don't care who you were.  We--all of us--we have no obligation to do anything to you guys.  Okay?"

She raised a hand, but it wasn't clear if she was trying to beckon or fend off Baylee and the others.   "Marsh and I, we were stripping the Orishi.  Most of the components are still in the ship.  She's space-worthy, but we can probably put her back together.  Mostly."

Maissa appears behind Gilina and lays her hand on Gilina's shoulder. The pilot then addresses whoever seems the most menacing towards Gilina, and gives them a dirty look. She then enounces with a controlled tension in her words :

"Don't worry Gilina; we're all in the same boat... and I won't stand anyone do you harm... just give me my ppp back to put my gun where my mouth is!"

Baylee arches an eyebrow at Rayfe then chuckles, "Well, it says I was a pirate and a war criminal. Not sure what war; doesn't say. I expect... well, based on what I have observed so far, perhaps it ain't far off, eh?" She chuckled somewhat cheerfully then turns as the others make their points. She raises an eyebrow at the list of stuff Lincoln rattles off then adds a slowly climbing whistle, "Guess I am small potatoes. Oof!"

The tech and the other employees grab her attention and she smiles at Gilina, "Oi, I already promoted you, xiaojie. No complaints from me about you... or your friends. As long as you stay in line. Ta ma de pingyong de ren."

She then winks at Maissa and looks at the others. Her hand settled rather conspicuously on her own pep. Baylee tasted her own name mentally a few times then felt a comfort in it.

Maissa listened to the exchanges and connected the dots.
"Oh, you accessed your rap sheet? I'd like to know mine."

@Control : please specify your additions to Maissa's already extensive criminal record (see private msg of May 26th) :)

Lincoln didn't move from his location.  He scrolled through dozens of  files with images until he came across Viper's likeness.  "Looks sort of like you."  He opined.  "Woah, though.   I'm small fry compared to..."

Lincoln went quiet for a moment as he read.  There appeared to an enormous list of charges on file.  "Surrendered to Zenda-Meier by the Holman Alliance of Independent Worlds for destabilizing the planetary economy of Sarius through the establishment of the Ghost Memory Syndicate--a drug cartel?  You're still wanted on decency violations on... six planets and for the theft of--"  Lincoln laughed.  "the Sarian Prime Minister's personal yacht."


Introduced:
Ghost Memory Syndicate - some sort of drug cartel thing...  prostitution and drugs are always fun.  And the idea of something innocuous to one species being a stimulant/aphrodisiac to another fascinates me...   (Viper might have been involved with the GMS, but  the head of the syndicate?  Can you say patsy?  I knew you could.)

Karnell gave a rather wry snort of laughter. "Now that sounds like my sort of crime. I would take my hat off to you, young lady - except I am not wearing one." He frowned and rubbed his forehead again.

"It just occured to me that some of us are dealing with memory loss... I presume there is some complex medical term for it, but for now, I'll just call it hibernation amnesia. I presume these lapses will slowly correct themselves in time, but it wouldn't be a bad idea for someone with a little medical knowledge to investigate that. I'd hate to come up short at an important point in the future, especially given how many law enforcement agencies are going to be hunting for us as soon as they realise we are now at large."

He then looked pointedly at some of the non-convicts in the room. "It might also be a very good time for some of those with functional memories to mention anything important about us that we have clearly forgotten. I won't be very happy, and I think our pirate there will be similarly unhappy, if we find people witholding important facts, given the circumstances." He gave a polite nod in Baylee's direction. "And if she doesn't shoot you for lying to us, I am fairly certain I will. I have no clue whether or not I am a violent man, usually, but I am under considerable strain - and this headache is not doing anything for my patience."

It hadn't occurred to her that the techs and muscle might know things about them. She turned her eyes upon the marines slowly while a finger slid across her temple. The various fun things possible slowly drew a smile on her face, but it shattered into a frown much more quickly and she shook her head, "Aye, information, but if I am not bleeding or dying or give a very explicit invitation, no one better touch me. Especially no that quack who was patching people up earlier." She grimaced at that but absently cracked her knuckles.

She panned her eyes around the group gathered here and tried to think about what was meant to happen next. "Well, I've set myself up as captain. I think we are also already heading for the nearest settlement. We needs supplies. So, I'd guess the first thing is searching the bloody ship for anything edible. Water recycling ought to keep us hydrated..." She hesitated there and then looked at the techs, "But making sure that system and other life support is operational is priority. We don't need that konking out halfway to wherever."

She shifted her gaze to Maissa, "And what is the closest settlement, assuming you've had a chance to look over the starcharts?"

In reply to Bai Ling-Li (msg # 16):

"Aye, captain butcheress.
We're three days from the nearest jump-gate.  Unfortunately, the tech disabled the jump-drive before strip-down.  Without a ferromodulator, there's no guarantee the ship's drive won't overload and leave us drifting.  So we're going to have to use the gate-system."
This message was last edited by the player at 11:28, Fri 28 Jan 2022.

"Okay, then."  the bear of a medic said. "If that's settled, and you're not going to throw us out of an airlock, then maybe now would be a good time for us to get some rest, see what kind of vids or holos this thing has on it's database, and--"

Then, abruptly, the lights went out.

A little strip of track lighting around the upper edges of the room, where the wall met the ceiling, let up a garish orange color.  It wasn't much, but it was enough to see by.  Mostly.

More ominous, though, was that the ambient sound that accompanied any spacefaring vessel was gone.   There was no low-level hum of the engine, no buzz of electronics. Pure silence...
This message was lightly edited by the player at 00:30, Mon 21 June 2021.

"Everybody stay quiet, you still have air for a time, so breathe slowly", the young pilot ordered. She called : "Ashe? Gilina? Do you have a torchlight?"
This message was last edited by the player at 20:49, Mon 21 June 2021.

Baylee Looked up at the orange lighting and then panned her vision to Maissa. Nothing about her was panicking. Despite that she knew this was a serious problem, something in her comfortable. Her datafile said she had grown up on a ship, so maybe that was it? OR perhaps she had spent some time on crippled ship in wars and pirate raids? Either way, she was calm.

She nodded briskly to Maissa, impressed at the woman's own calm, and then turned to scan over the assembled mob of folks for those not prepared to be calm. Those who were mechanically inclined would see what could be done about the ship. The rest needed to stay calm and out of the way. "Aye, let's see about bunks then. Those who can help Maissa, do so. Everyone else, follow me to the living quarters." She put what she hoped was a sound of command in her voice as she half-barked the suggestion that was more a command. If she could get them to focus on her for leadership, things would go more smoothly.

Karnell was on his feet in a flash. His weapon drawn, his eyes alert. It was not panic he was exuding - just the sort of instant reaction to danger that one might expect from experience. He might not recall it personally, but he had, until fairly recently, been a hunted man. That tends to give one swift reflexes, and a fight or flight response.

"Emergency lights are on. We have power, of a sort. Show me the power source, or generator, or whatever you call it on this ship. I might be able to trace the fault, if that's what just died on us."

"don't worry about Rayfe's gun", Maissa hissed with a heavy sarcasm. "He likes to pull it off his pants four times a day and polish the cannon... but it doesn't shoot."

"Now... your attention please. I have heard - but not met - the AI named Ashe, would be in the form of a humanoid droid. Who saw it last, and where? It's running on batteries, so it's unaffected by the power shutdown".
This message was last edited by the player at 03:22, Thu 15 July 2021.