What follows here is a baseline attitude.   They can be swayed with your respective dice-rolls...


Watt Marshall
Requires 1 victory
The one-armed private was relatively new to the Bravo Brutes.  His loyalty isn't real strong.  He thinks the whole situation in the flight deck was stupid and pointless.   He's a soldier, though, and he followed orders.  He's primarily a combat engineer, and was part of the boarding party responsible for creating ingress & egress solutions (making doors & blowing shit up).


Corporal Bin Te "Bear" Nguyen
Requires 2 victories 
Bear is a relatively thin guy with a sweaty complexion.  Most likely from a low-G environment.  He's third-generation soldier and second-generation Zenda-Meier.  He's not particularly loyal to Shy, but he is loyal to Zenda-Meier.  His contract isn't over until it's over.  His duty, ultimately, is to return to Zenda Meier.  However, since he has no clue where he is right now, his best bet to meet his objective is to stick with his unit.

Corporal Karin Eaven
Requires 4 victories   
It doesn't take long to figure she's a zealot.  She's bought into the Zenda-Meier line about  "purity of the species" etc.  Bottom line is that she appears to simply enjoy killing.  She's not interested in joining up, and she's not interested in any further interaction with the crew here.   However, if Shy says to join up, she will.  She doesn't have to like her orders to follow them.

Sergeant Christopher Shy
Requires 3 victories   
He's a practical man.  Simple and direct.  According to him, Jax (the body in the control room) shot first.  What came from that was combat reactions.   He doesn't hold anyone responsible, but says that he can understand how their ongoing presence here might cause too many distractions or complications.  Some things can't be forgiven.  He is also inclined to seek a return to Zenda-Meier, where he'll make a report about what happened on Ptolomen station and--probably--be subject to disciplinary action.

In Fate parlance, this is a contest.

Normally, this would be done by rolling opposing rolls and whoever gets the higher roll would score a "victory".  Accumulate enough victories and you succeed.   And we can do it this way, if you prefer.

However, I suggest we do it like this:

Each marine has a set position.  If you do nothing, they'll stick together.   If you want to try to "convince them" to join up, you'll need to roll a series of skills to do so. These will be the formal "attacks".  They'll roll to defend.

You can roll up to four "attack" to "convince them" using whatever skills you like.  I'll want to know a bit of detail, though ("I roll Rapport to try to convince him that we're the best option available to him right now, and that Zenda-Meier thinks he's dead...")

You can roll to create an advantage, etc. as normal.  This doesn't affect your "attacks".

You can invoke your Aspects or the Aspects of those in the room.   Also, for this, you can spend a fate-point outright for one victory (which means you could actually just buy Marshall off with a fate-point).

I have pre-defined the marines' relevant defense stats (but I don't want to  reveal them) and pre-rolled four dice-roll defenses for each of them, which I've added in a GM-only comment with each marine below.

There's nothing that says you have to do this, nor have to go all the way through.   If you don't want one (like, say, Karin), there's no need to even bother.

Does this make sense?

Mostly.  HOWEVER...

There is a missing elephant in the room.  :o

What about Armin?

I suspect that he will have his own ideas about staying or departing.

I also suspect that the others may be significantly influenced by his decision...?  :)

Sorry, I prefer nearly always to stay IC when possible.

Baylee sits across the table from Watt and watches him. The files the system had on him glowed in her peripheral but that wasn't how Baylee operated. She worked with her senses and her instincts. So, she glanced at the amputated arm and spoke, "How's the arm healing? Infection?" She looks at Casks since he was the doc, "The doc treating you well?"

Baylee waits for Watt to answer then ploughs into the meat of the matter, "I want you to sign our charter. That would make you an official criminal. As opposed to working for ZM as an unofficial criminal. I can't promise luxury or ease, but you'll get an equal cut, a say, and freedom. And we'll see about getting you soemthing like a new arm. Now, ZM can probably promise you an arm or they might just fire you. Not sure. I'm not offering you the world, just a place in it. I won't betray you, leave you behind, or abandon you. Come what may. But, if you want off this ship, done. I won't hold you either."

She shrugs. That's the offer. "But, I also want to see what you got. You ready to show me what you can do?" There was no hint in her demeanor, nor a moment in her thoughts where she planned to treat him as weak or less for the lack of an arm.

Start there? Casks can play off Baylee's tactic if he wants. My Rapport is awful!
Bai Ling-Li rolled 0 using 4 Fudge dice.  Rapport. No bonuses so, no successes!
Bai Ling-Li rolled 2 using 4 Fudge dice.  Fight. +4. Not being cruel, but not holding back for his injury or health. She'll do what she can to push him as far as he can go.I have it in my mind, Baylee is actually a pretty great Fight instructor.

Sorry, I prefer nearly always to stay IC when possible.
I prefer to use abstracted mechanics for when we want a resolution that isn't played out.
I obviously misunderstood.  I didn't think you wanted to play this out.

Bai Ling-Li rolled 0 using 4 Fudge dice.  Rapport. No bonuses so, no successes!
Baylee rolled 4dF(+0) + Rapport(+0) for Result(+0) vs Marshall's Defense(+0)
Actually, you tied Marshall's Empathy defense.  A character with a +1 skill has a potential roll-range of -3 to +5.  You still could have succeeded!   Just because you're mediocre at a skill doesn't mean it's a fail all the time!

Marshall's not interested in fighting, and he's not convinced to join up.  It would mean reneging on a signed contract, and how much would you really trust him if he'd turned his back one employer already?  He's not a deserter.  Now, you guys triaged him and didn't space him, so he won't erven try to stand in your way for whatever you plan to do next.  But if you drop him on the next habitable rock, he'll be reporting back to ZM--provided there's even a ZM presence in this system.

As for fighting? he thinks you're completely bloody crazy to ask a guy who's had his arm severed hours before to go toe-to-toe with you.  'Cause, yeah, that's obviously a fair fight and a fair assessment of his skills.   If you force him to fight, he will defend himself, but if you don't push him to do so, he won't initiate.   With his blood-loss, mostly he wants to rest.

All of this can change if you care to push it further with additional rolls.
This message was last edited by the GM at 02:41, Fri 18 Feb 2022.

No, doing it like this is fine. I'll think IC, you can arbitrate just like that. As for rolls, I keep gettign Fate mixed up with Shadowrun because of how the dice pool sorta feels. Now worries. I knew I had a chance.

Baylee considers the responses, shrugs, and then doesn't push the contact. In fact, her face falls in disappointment as Marshall proves to be far less firce than she wants in a warrior. She'd probably call him a coward right to his face. She was an unarmed prisoner with swiss cheese memories against armed, trained marines and whopped their assess. "Please enemy soldier, I've been injured and lost blood. Don't kill me!" She won't offer him a place on the ship after those answers unless soemthign drastic happens. She'd dismiss him but keep him away from the other marines until she was done.

She'd just call for the next one unless Casks had anything to add or he rises in response to her taunts. Baylee's feelings on this type of thing are strong.

In reaction to Bear, she'd have a lot of sympathy for his loyalty. She likes it. But not to Zenda-Meier. Her line here would be something akin to 'loyalty to a tyrant is not loyalty. It is enslavement.' Again, she offerd freedom, equality, and comraderie only. She'd try to sell comraderie as real loyalty. Well, not 'sell' so much as explain what her feelings on comraderie were. Slightly different approach, here she will ask to spar first before talking. Perhaps, sparring will earn his respect as a military type.

13:00, Today: Bai Ling-Li rolled 1 using 4 Fudge dice.  Bear Fight. +4.
12:59, Today: Bai Ling-Li rolled -2 using 4 Fudge dice.  Bear rapport.
So, terrible Rapport but I was hoping for Casks to help with that. My astncronous timezone is probably not helping. Great on teh fight for the sparring. She might try to bank on that and play on his military history. What could he learn at Zm that she couldn't teach?

The older man declines to add anything until after the first interview ends and he is alone with Baylee.

"'用人不疑，疑人不用'."

"Captain, before proceeding to the next interview...  What types of people and skills are we looking for?"

"For example, you referred to me as 'the Doc'.  I have a healing ability, but I don't currently remember having any medical skills."

"An actual field medic could be useful... but there are tensions between the techs and the marines.  What is our priority?"

"Meanwhile, we are starting with the lowest ranks, and working our way up.  What are your thoughts about Armin?  Did he really need us to get off the station, or... did he have another reason for bringing us along?"

"IF we think that Armin could be of use to us, and IF for some reason he wants to stay aboard, and IF we want some number of the marines aboard, then Armin's choice might sway them..."

* Chinese proverb: "Employ someone, don't doubt.  Doubt someone, don't employ."
This message was last edited by the player at 22:46, Sat 19 Feb 2022.

Marshall thinks you're a bloody loon for wanting to fight him.  :)

As to Bear:

• Baylee rolled 4dF(+1) + Fight(+4) = Attack(+5) vs Bear's Defense(+2) = SUCCESS WITH STYLE
• • This is one success needed of two to convince him to join up
  • As a success-with-style, You get what you want and you get a bit more on top of that. So, let's call it a boost (a one-time Aspect) on a future roll.
  • You can apply this boost as a one-time +2 to the rolled Rapport roll if you wish.
  • You'd said "Perhaps, sparring will earn his respect as a military type.".   Would you care to put a label on that boost, so you can use it down the road?   I suggest something like Grudging Respect, though I don't think the "Grudging" serves you very well... so it's not right as is, yet.
• Baylee rolled 4dF(-2) + Rapport(+0) = Attack(-2) vs Bear's Defense(+3) = FAILED
• • To be fair, even with the boost, this won't succeed. So, probably better to hold onto that boost.

Bear doesn't see ZM as a tyrant.  It's a paid employment thing for him.  But, he supposes that in your position, he might feel the same way.  Especially since you seem to be taking the "Brain-Freeze" real hard.  To him, he figures it's easy to cast yourself as the hero underdog when you feel that you've been wronged.


Convincing Bear needs two successes in this contest.  You've used two possible "attacks" on him but you have gained one success.   You're half-way there. You can cease at any time, or try to further convince him with two more "attacks".   You can also roll to create advantages (that won't affect the number of "attacks" you have remaining.

And yes, I do rather enjoy this abstraction if it.  I haven't played out such a contest, before.
This message was last edited by the GM at 04:39, Sun 20 Feb 2022.

I'll give Casks a chance to chime in on Bear before trying to press my advantage with him.

You're right, "grudging respect" isn't what she is looking for, so perhqaps something more like "That Girl's Got Chops" or soemthing similar.

Haha, if Baylee was a smarter type, she might try to convince him that there is little difference between working for ZM and her.

ZM - A chocolate covered turd. A veneer of legality over a shit center of dubious legality and terrible HR practices.

Her - Sour Candy. A little tough to deal with at first, but you grow to like it.

Guh, now she kind of wants to sapce the armless guy. Haha. Baylee really is a bit merciless.

As to Armin, Bayle is willing to let Casks take the lead on that as the theories he just shot across her bow kind of confuse her. *hand waves* "Yeah, sure, whatever. You ask him qquestions til you're happy." She doesn't even really think she can talk to the man without wanting to eviscerate him or, you know, throw him through a plate glass window.

She's much more focused on the personal dynamic between her and the hires. A real, honest comraderie. Thus why she'll hate fakers and that armless, coward $%^&*.

The older man regards Bear thoughtfully.

"You feel a sense of duty to Zenda-Meier, having signed a contract.  I can respect that."

"However, if you had not come aboard this ship, you already would not have been able to fulfill your contract.  You would have perished along with the station."

"I know that there are some who would also feel a sense of duty to someone who had saved their life."

"Nevertheless, we do not choose to constrain you in any way.  We chose to rescue you from the station freely, and to respect whatever choice you freely wish to make for the path before you."

"Therefore, you must examine your heart, and weigh whatever duties you may feel, and which path most calls to you."

"Do you feel called to fight for Zenda-Meier, and what they stand for?  Or do you feel called to fight for those who have suffered at the hand of Zenda-Meier, and who saved your life in spite of that?"

RPoL Dice Roller:

21:10, Today: Chang Sheng Xin rolled -1 using 4 Fudge dice.  Bear Empathy +5.
21:10, Today: Chang Sheng Xin rolled 3 using 4 Fudge dice.  Bear Rapport +4.

"No.  You are mistaken."  Bear considered for a long moment.  Then, "An unmanifested possibility does not release one from manifested obligations.  I have an obligation to fulfill my word and my bond, or my bond is worthless.  If you wish to lay claim that there is a life-debt, then I will serve with you--but not under you--until that debt is paid.  After that, my duty is to complete my tenure."

After another moment, his eyes narrowed and he drew a sleeve across his brow.   "We are told there is no cerebral functions in cryo-sleep.   Did you actually suffer?"
This message was last edited by the GM at 04:42, Mon 21 Feb 2022.

The older man met the question somberly.

"I refer not to our time asleep, but to our time awake."

"You are a man of duty, so it is probable that your memories are precious to you.  You remember the commitments that you have made, and those you are committed to.  You remember employers, friends, family.  You remember your life."

"We... do not.  We do not remember our lives."

"Your employer literally took those memories from us, and we suffer from that loss even now."

The older man sighed, and regarded Bear thoughtfully.

"I too respect duty, and word, and bond.  Therefore, the question is not what I wish to claim, but how you wish to respond to our present circumstances."

"How long does your current contract last?"

"Suppose that you returned to your employer to fulfill your bond.  While there, would you be willing to help preserve our lives, as we preserved yours?  For example, would you be willing to keep us informed regarding any threats to us?  Would you be willing to discreetly seek information about us that would help us piece together the memories that have been taken from us?  Would you be willing to discreetly seek information about how our actual memories can be recovered?"

Baylee leans back at the response from the marine and tries to understand this talk of manifests and oblivations. It irritated her but Casks seemed to have the matter in hand. Still, she felt no need to control her impulse to interject, "An honorable oath to a dishonorable patron... does that truly hold the honorable man or does it only hold the dogmatic man? But, I suppose, it is only my view the Zenda-Meier is dishonorable?"

She started to understand the discussion a bit more after phrasing it like that. It reminded her of something. Somethign that itched and wiggled in the fuzzy parts of her mind. Things that when she tried to focus on them, worked away from her. Perhaps, for the first time, she started to feel annoyance at the memory fog.

Something else the man had said landed finally and she suddenly spit back, "Just because we did not 'suffer' did not mean that it was okay. We felt nothing. We knew nothing. It was little different from death, probably. I don't make believe to know death. Then, to wake and not even have our memories? They took ME away from me. Am I even the person that was meant to be punished? Phah!"

"You did not die in cryo-sleep aboard the Ptolomen." Bear said, a small smirk playing across his lips and a twinkle appeared in his eyes. "Should you not serve the one who awakened you?"

He let it sit for half a second before continuing--interrupting any possible response. "I am grateful to be alive.  I am aware that my life is in your hands and that this audition may well decide my fate.  I wish you no ill-will.  I may aid you, even serve with you.  But I will not act against those I have bond with.  If I can walk the line between both, I have no issue.   If you cannot accept this...."  he nodded solemnly.  "I have made my peace with my God."

So, he's offering a compromise that allows him to not compromise his ideals.  You can take him up on it--which could mean taking him on as crew with these caveats, or could mean letting him go and he'll act as an ally when he can from ZM.  Or, you could take more drastic action.  He's still a NPC and a minor one at that.   So, if you wanna space him, it's an option...

The older man nodded thoughtfully, and regarded Baylee respectfully.

"'孙子曰：故用间。。。人君之宝也。'"

"Captain, I recommend releasing Corporal Bear to return to Zenda-Meier.  Serving there will allow him to dutifully serve both them and us, aiding us with information even more valuable than any service he could perform aboard the Orishi."

* "Sun Zi said: Hence the use of spies... It is the sovereign's most precious faculty."

Baylee rocked back in her seat and her arms folded under her chest. She was silent, still for a long moment then nodded suddenly toward Casks. She'd rather have a solid fighter in her corner, but a spy that fed her information was equally good. She looked to Casks first, "Only looking forward compromises your back." She turned her gaze to Bear and nodded, "A loyal, honorable warrior standing at my back is something I value pero do not have. Ying wei Bear here would bend to us, suo yi he is not the man to have at my back?" Baylee chuckled.

She then looked the amn straight in his eyes and nodded, "We will not stop you from leaving the ship when we dock and will not oppose you seeking to return to your contract. I will not require your service, pero I would appreciate what you can do for us. In return, should things go poorly for you, call us. You have an ally in me."

She raised an eyebrow at Casks to see if the monk approved. If he did, that was done and it was Karin's turn.

As soon as Bear leaves, Baylee would ask Casks to fetch Karin and to read her while escorting her.

The older man nodded his approval, and escorted Bear back on his way to pick up Karin.

"I will give you information on how best to contact us before you leave the ship."

"I am glad we found a path to walk along the line together."

He regarded him with gentle curiosity.

"You spoke of your God.  If you don't mind my asking...  Whom do you serve?"

CSX:
"You spoke of your God.  If you don't mind my asking...  Whom do you serve?"

Bear's countenance quickly became guarded.  "There is no name."  he said slowly, carefully choosing his words.  "It is too big to be defined by words.  The closer one gets to a definition the further away it gets.  Though often referred to as Hul.  I prefer simply Unity."

Hm.  There's something there.  We may develop a faction based around "Unity".  Don't know what looks like yet, but I want some logical, effective and attractive elements mixed with some scary ones, typical of extremists taking things too far....  Because in the dark between the stars, one finds whatever comfort one can... and there's nobody to reign you in...
This message was last edited by the GM at 05:17, Mon 28 Feb 2022.

Now there's no roll needed for Karin Eaven.

She's cold--almost emotionless. Seething might be a good word for her, but it's too tightly controlled, too narrowly focused.  She's got a mission and all of this is just a distraction, an annoyance.  There's actually a similar feeling, albeit without the veneer of relaxed goodwill that Lincoln Spohr gives off.

There's some concern about the medic, Sergeant Shy. but the emotions are... off.  Like a shade or two sideways from what respect or love or camaraderie should be.  This suggests a manipulative relationship--though CSX can't tell which way that goes:  Is Karin manipulating Shy or does Shy have her on a leash?   She doesn't seem to rail against it, doesn't hate it.  But the interplay between them is too complex, with too many layers.

It may take a bit, but eventually, it comes to CSX that Karin is, simply broken.   But she's lived with whatever it is for so long that the wounds have healed over and the scar tissue is her emotional flesh now.  She doesn't want to change, she can't envision change, she can't yearn for it and wouldn't know how to encompass it if it happened.

The older man listened with gentle interest and empathy.

"Thank you for sharing with me.  I appreciate your trust."

"I am needed by my captain now... but I would like to learn more of this, if you would ever like to share more with me."

"I will give you our contact information as soon as I am able.  Until then... 'Peace be unto you.' "

After escorting Bear, the older man escorts Karin to Baylee, gently reaching toward her with his empathic senses as he does so...

RPoL Dice Roller:

22:01, Today: Chang Sheng Xin rolled 2 using 4 Fudge dice.  Karin Empathy +5.

I already rolled before reading your message above... ;)

The older man escorts Karin in to see the Captain, giving her an aside in a neutral tone.

"'道不同，不相为谋。'"

^* "Those of different principles don’t work well together."

Baylee felt a speck of tension settled between her shoulders as Casks went to fetch the cold, female marine. The news on that one had not inspired her to think overmuch of Karin nor expect much of the interview. Still, she'd make the attempt. A life lived earnestly was a life lived well. So, as soon as the woman stepped in, Baylee moved to the open area where she had been sparring with Bear earlier.

"Let's see what you got. I'll show you what I can do." Nothing else was said or needed saying. Baylee spoke with her form after that.

10:15, Today: Bai Ling-Li rolled -1 using 4 Fudge dice.  Fight. +4. Karin. Total: 3.
10:30, Today: Bai Ling-Li rolled 0 using 4 Fudge dice.  Rapport +0. Total: 0. Trying to find common ground through violence. baylee will allow the fight to get aq bit more serious than it had with Bear but not too much more. She'll instruct Casks, secretly, to stop it if it gets too bad.

Baylee rolled 4dF(-1) + Fight(+4) == Fight(+3)
No Action specified: Assuming Attack.
Attack result: TIED. (success with a minor cost)
You need four success to convince her to join you.  This was first success, but it cost you something.  You were evenly matched.  Given that this wasn't really an attempt to do damage, I suggest that the cost be that halfway through the squaring off, Karin shifted tactics because she marked the fighting style, recognizing Baylee as a spacer and possibly more than just that.

She is unorthodox in her fighting style, tending to favor feints and misdirection.  Once she marked the nature of Baylee's fighting style, she changed to protect her core more, and depend on closer-in combat, more locks and throws than strikes.

Baylee rolled 4dF(+0) + Rapport(+0) == Rapport(+0).
No Action specified. Assuming Overcome of Karin's hostility.
Overcome result: Success 
This was a second of four successes.  You may continue or not as you wish.   Karin isn't convinced yet, but you've earned a cool respect.

Karin isn't slow, but she is methodical and contained.  She did't get angry and didn't appear to lose control of herself.

End Result, a Tie & A Success, means you're 2/4 successes in to convincing her to join, and she was the most difficult of the four of them.
This message was last edited by the player at 06:41, Sat 05 Mar 2022.

Sorry about not specifying what my rolls were meant as. Haha. But you got it.

Baylee has also formed a cool respect for the marine. After the sparring session, she'll straighten up, stretch a rather sore joint, then nod silently at the woman.

The rapport is Baylee, as a woman, trying to relate and respect another woman who made her career as a fighter. So, yeah, overcoming her reluctance to trust Baylee.

As she escorts Karin to the table, she'll offer water, tea, anything to take the edge off.

Then, she's going to ask Karin where she learned to fight and, more emphatically, where she learned to counter spacer techniques. She'll flat out admit she is impressed as most planet-side trained soldiers can't grasp the tactics. But, also, Baylee won't hide her malice either. Something like:

"That was some fucked up shit you did to that techie in the control room. But, susmaryosep, you fight like hell! I guess I get it, I did try to throw Armin through a plate glass window!" Deep belly laugh, "Feckin creep deserved it. I still have half a mind to bugger him with a rusty pipe. Pero, where in the systems did you fight spacers before? That last throw just about took my arm out of the socket! You ever try that move on (insert name of serg that I forgot)?"

But, though it is hard for me to do, Baylee is genuine in her compliments as well as her critiques.

Bai Ling-Li rolled 2 using 4 Fudge dice.  Empathy. Overcome? Trying to overcome Karin's reluctance to trust. To build a camaraderie with the woman. Honestly, Baylee begins to suspect the two are more alike that dissimilar.

I wanna get everyone in mind to always attach an action when making a roll.  Because there's usually a good chance I may come back and ask you to describe what the success or failure looks like.

If you're trying to effect change socially, it's going to be Rapport, Perform or Command.   Empathy is pretty much a passive pick-up.  Rapport is the "make nice, build trust" skill.  Perform is very about acknowledged artifice. Command has no real pretext of social mores.  It's social status, position, respect and force-of-personality all rolled into one.  So, yeah.  Still Rapport.  (If you want to tweak your character's skill-set, we can do that).


Oddly, Karin doesn't seem particularly upset about the current circumstances, though perhaps a little uncertain.  Baylee (and definitely Sheng-Xin!) could see the wheels turning behind her eyes.  She glanced at Sheng-Xin and then at Spohr, who'd remained quiet near the entry, grunted, then accepted water.

"Spent six months on a STL (slower-than-light) after the Dowager's Coup on Enolsis.  Captain made the call to cut gravity to maximize impulse thrust.  Low-Gs kept the ship running.  Flotilla-workers. I taught em group tactics; They taught me how to think in three-dimensions.  Most people don't even look up.

CSX might remember her comments after coming aboard (message #4 in <a href="https://www.rpol.net/display.cgi?gi=71796&ti=54">02.01: Blackout!</A>). This might give some other context to that situation.  Or, well, might not...

And Baylee, of all people, would know that heavier-G people who spend lengthy periods in low-G started to suffer some debilitating body changes that may be fine in space, but are horrible when returned to heavier gravity.

Shy is the current company sergeant, but also the medic of the group. She respects him, but it's clear that she thinks he's soft-hearted.  She sees herself as his cutting counterpart.  He understood the social politics side of things.  She doesn't really see that.   She is unabashedly who she is and is not "working towards being a better person."
This message was lightly edited by the GM at 04:57, Sat 12 Mar 2022.

Also, perhaps of interest--perhaps not--Karin didn't address what happened to Jax (the techie in the control room).  It might have been an oversight...
This message was last edited by the GM at 04:56, Sat 12 Mar 2022.

Baylee waits a moment then adds, "And Jax? Did he think to look up?" Baylee raised an eyebrow at the woman. An oversight or an intentional abstention, it was worth following up on. She almost added something about the man no 'deserving that' but few people deserved the bad things that happened. The universe was beyond caring if people deserved anything.

Bai Ling-Li rolled -1 using 4 Fudge dice.  Kowledge. Overcome? Trying to recall info about the conflict she referenced.

Baylee then smirks, "But you're still making a mistake. If you really understand 3d movements, then you understand that up is nonsense. There is no up. Up is what you want it to be. You planet-side types always make that mistake because you live your life from birth with a natural, felt reference point. You even orient your star maps in 2D. That's why tracking spacers is so hard for you all." Baylee frowned as the knowledge spilled out of her without experiences to reference. Bits and pieces of associated memories floated past though. Gazing out of a porthole through her own youthful image at a sun. The floating image of a woman behind her.

<orange>Come on, I had to reference Ender's Game here, right?</red>

Baylee will also be trying to trace Karin's form to look for the telltale signs of long exposure to low-Gs, "So, can you even go back planet-side for too long then? Hell, even that station and this ship bug me."

Karin shrugged, but it was slow, wary even. "If he's a surfacer, then, yeah, he's too busy trying to figure out which way is up rather than figure what's going on.  Up is whatever is beyond your head as measured from your core." 

"Look." Karin said after a moment.  "I don't trust you as far as I can throw you, but trust isn't the issue.  I've got no problem with you and I don't sess any reason to create a problem.

Karin does not show any signs of long exposure to low-g.   As a corporate miltiary unit, she probably has access to drug-therapies for heavier-G folks to stave off (or at least delay) degradation.  Similar drugs would, of course, exist for Low-G folks to adapt to higher-G environments.  And given Karin's horrible looking state after the flight deck combat, it's not a stretch to think that she might benefit from the use of all sorts of possible combat-cocktails.

From overhead, there a slight wind as the pressure in the local HVAC changed.  It sounded almost like a sigh laced with the sound of tinkling glass, like beads hung in the wind.

"Warning.  The presence of Foreign Autonomous Entities on-board prevents completion of the conversion process.  Cosines do not equate. Engine One and Engine Two are out of alignment.  Entanglement paradox encountered.  Shifting.  Stack three overload. Replacing stack three. Failure.  Rebalance process added to repair queue. Accessing cache fourteen. Access granted.  Audio interface going offline in twenty seconds.

Baylee was still eying the woman across from him when the intercom buzzed to life. Her eyes narrowed as she listened then a slow, steady, acidic string of syllables started to drip from her. As the noise of the announcement faded, she stood slowly from the interview table and looked around.

"What in the name of all that's holy is that supposed to mean Ashe? Is the ship about to blow apart or something? Do I need to find and reprimand any crew? Also, is anyone aboard ship qualified to affect this 'rebalance?'"

She looked at Casks to see what he thought of the situation then, sensing a shift in some things, looked with a raised eyebrow at Karin, "Thoughts?"

Baylee has developed a bit of an affinity for Karin and plans to bring her into the crew right now. She also plans to reject the medic no matter what. Barring soemthing remarkable.

"It won't blow up." Karin said.  She remained pretty impassive.  "It went to pretty impressive lengths to preserve the scavs who'd gotten to it before we did.  It said it added it to the repair queue.  Sounds pretty standard to me, but then I'm not really the best judge.  It probably wouldn't hurt to get near an escape pod.  oh!"

Karin cocked her head to one side.  "That's right! The escape pods were ejected or stripped." She smiled and shrugged--but kept both hands on the table.  "Looks like we're fucked."

The Orishi has a lengthy repair queue and will require autonomous entity support.  But you are not in danger.  No crew or guests registered on-board are in immediate danger.

Karin rolled her eyes.  "Well, shit. You could have drawn that out a little bit longer."

Baylee smirked a bit sardonically at Karin then turned a slightly more withering eye on the ship's coms system. She knew that Ashe probably wasn't aware of her look, but giving it made her feel slightly calmer. She finally turned a much calmer look to Casks and raised an eyebrow at the medic.

Then she decided his vote here was moot. "Fine. You're hired or whatever the equivalent is. There'll be a charter once I get it drawn up to sign. You'll be expected to find some type of duty outside of fighting though. It's not like we have the luxury of anyone being dedicated to one profession here. All the techs will have to fight, probably, and the marines will need to help out around the place. So, what can you do other than hurl bodies through the air?"

Her resolve to keep only one of the marines was growing quickly though. They had a medic in Casks and she felt no need for a rival to her authority. She crossed her arms beneath her chest and smirked at Karin.

Karin raised an eyebrow.  "Hired? This was... Oh."

She cocked her head to one side then shrugged.  "I'm rated in infiltration and explosives.   Have a lot of years in EVA and trauma control.    Life is easier when you keep it simple.  Objectives and actions--nothing else matters.  More than anything, I'm an insurance policy. "

Baylee grinned and tapped her nose at the comment about being hired, "Oh, it was the other thing, too. We're about to make port, so I wanted to know who needs to be gone and who's gonna get invited to stay. But I also needed to know if I can trust folks. Dui a?" She paused and regarded the woman coldly for a bit then shrugged, "I can't trust you, but I don't mistrust you either. What you are about is right there to see and I can work with that. Susmaryosep, with this crew, I'ma need someone who can handle themselves."

Grinning now that her work had at least rewarded them a bit she sobered quickly, "Course, keep that to yourself for now. We got a few more of these things to go. What do you know about AMin?"

Not sure what I should roll for this. Rapport? Open? Trying to establish a thingy where me and Karin have "begrudging respect" or whatnot.

So, the Action is to Create An Advantage "Begrudged Respect"..

You have fought.  You could use Fight to represent this, sure.  But I suspect that, as a combination of physical fighting and tactical/strategy, you're probably better served by a Command roll.  I've pre-rolled her defense (if you choose to go with Command) so you'd need to roll Command[+1] (roll command target +1 or better).

In the way of Aspects if you succeed, you'll get create the Aspect with one free-invoke.  If you succeed with style, you'll get it with two free invokes.   The Aspect will continue to exist until something happens that triggers it's removal. Like, well, a loss-of-respect.

OOC: Can CSX assist Baylee's efforts/rolls?

Yes!

CSX has a Command(+2). Teamwork rules says you can add +1 to Baylee's roll.   You just gotta do something in the narrative to justify it.  And--if it goes really bad, you too will suffer the stress and consequences.

16:14, Today: Bai Ling-Li rolled 2 using 4 Fudge dice.  Command +2. Grudging Respect.

That's the base roll then for my described action above. IF Casks adds in something in the narrative, you can increase the roll.

As is, got a 4.

The older man nodded, regarding his newest crewmate thoughtfully.

"Did Amin really need us to get off the station, or... did he have another reason for bringing us along?  What do you think?"

"You pay me. I work for you." Karin shrugged.  "One changes, the other changes."

"As to Commander Amin.  He's got his own agenda.  Always has.  But he's had his pecker between the cheeks of... well, I don't know who.  Word is he was up for a transfer to a special projects division.  Stavros was pushing to get us attached, to get out of Ptolomen station. "

She gestured around her, at the ceiling and walls. "We lost three guys before we took this ship.  Amin didn't bat an eye.  It didn't matter.  If he wanted you, he's either got a niche to fill or a point to prove."

The older man considered her words.

"Please tell us about taking the ship.  What was the official motivation to do so?  Do you think there could have been other angles in play?"

Baylee grinned at the woman, that mercenary attitude suited her. It left room for more than it, but also less. Glancing between Casks and Karin though, she decided not to interrupt this and let the conversation play out. Though she had a suspicious mind, for sure, it was also far more a blunt instrument than the healer's. Baylee lacked subtlety on almost all levels. Best let the doc do the talking on this matter. Still, there was something worth saying, "I wouldn't get no ideas about a steady salary, di ga? Pero, you get your fair share of what comes through the door like everyone else. Ying wei more comes in, suo yi your share increases." Baylee shrugged at that. It was as ho0nest an offer as anyone could make given the circumstances.

Karin glanced at CSX, then nodded at Baylee, indicating that she wasn't upset about the arrangement.   It probably wasn't lost on her that she was getting on without being spaced.

"Motivation?" She echoed Sheng-Xin.   "Beyond my paygrade.   Command sent Stavros coordinates for an unauthorized burn vector.  Not uncommon outside the Atticus Rift.  Lot of smugglers use because the rift plays havok with sensors.  The whole damned area's rife with ghost stories.  Evidence of ancient tech.  It sends echoes back and half of them are just us.  But We get the word, we go.  But we found a ship, no.

Something changed as she talked... her manner of speaking, the cadence.  Not quite an accent, but a smoother drawl in her delivery.   "It was driftin'.  Power down and lights out.  Whole and unblemished, but not a sign of life.  Easy board.  Bear hacked the outer airlock. I stayed EVA with a pulse rifle to guide the umbilical if all clear.

Two by two, first wave shot down by MIRU turrets. Illegal.  Stav and BoyToy dropped.  Bear and Ox went in but the place was dead. System on lockdown, reactor cold.  No fight after the first breach.

Stav Figured the crew'd gone into the iron core.  So we linked up and made it to Virmeer.  Wasn't there three days before we told to drag it to Ptolomen.  No siege, no nothing.  That it's computer core holds something precious. And special projects was involved.

That's the Golden ticket. Easy money, better assignments, special dispensations.  See the galaxy, explore worlds and shoot brand new things.



--
As to the dialect change... I've no clue.  it just seemed to fit with the dialog I was giving her.  Maybe it'll be important down the road.  Right now, I've got nothing to hang on it.
This message was last updated by the player at 05:25, Tue 05 Apr 2022.

The older man absorbed both her words and emotions with interest, and nodded thoughtfully.

"What do you think of Amin and of Shy as potential recruits?  What do each of them bring to the table?  Pros and cons?"

Baylee raised her eyebrows as the description of the fight. She felt no need to add anything, but when Casks chimed in with his next question, she just folded her arms and let him do his things, for now.

"Not playing that game." Karin said carefully, enunciating every word.  "I don't know Amin.  He's command. I'm an enlisted contractor.  We don't exactly move in the same circles."

Shy.  He's a combat vet and a field medic.  You set him down, he'll find work.  But you're not making me responsible for whatever you choose to do next.

Baylee shrugged to Karin's response; it made sense as a position. While Baylee had not been looking for reasons to feel good about her decisions, it was nice to know Shy would be able to look after himself. As far as Amin went, she'd need to talk that out with the man himself as well as Casks and the rest of the crew. Most had opinions.

"Alright. Fair enough."

She hesitated then and considered the next move then sighed and nodded at Casks, "Next up is Shy then. Followed by Amin and the rest of that mob."

So, we can easily handwave the rest as far as I am concerned. Unless something incredible happens or has been planned, Shy's of no interest to Baylee. She wants no one who threatens her command. She views him that way.

As far as the remained of the faceless mob, that's our future PC pool, so just have them in the background or no? Whichever way you think works for the future.

Lastly, Amin is a relatively indifferent topic for Baylee. She doesn't like him but has no preference between spacing him, stranding him, or him being around and out of her way. As long as he gets that she is in command here, she got her grudge out of her system already.

Viper pushed the door, holding her can of paint. She felt her head spin, one of her withdrawal symptoms. She forced a smile: "Aye Captain. So has the crew grown?"

Baylee raised an eyebrow first at the pilot, then the can of paint, and finally at the question. "It has. Have you redecorated my ship?"

Gothique following on the tails of Maissa enters the room.  Still now was the time to be seen and not heard she is thinking so lets Maissa take the lead.

"oh this..." Maissa contemplated the can "...holds a lifeform we found in a cache. Gothique will find a lab to examine it. There are several caches aboard. Gothique, Gilina and I repaired some pipework and saved the ship from falling apart. More repairs needed. Repair droids broken. We do their job. for now. WHAT IS SHE DOING HERE?!"

Maissa pointed at Karin.

"What is she doing here, the murderess, seated arms-crossed at the table with a snug smile in her face, and not clapped in irons or corpse drifting in the void?"

Baylee's eyes never even flinched as it occured to her that some aboard didn't like Karin. She simply let her gaze slide to the female marine then switch back to the pilot. "Ying wei I offered her a spot on the crew." Baylee struggled to remember who had gotten murdered; probably something about the tech that got scragged in teh control room, right?

"As for murderer... there may be many things that the government accuses me of that are not true... pero I know for a fact that I have killed people. Ying wei it's part of the business, suo yi I don't hold it against her. A bit brutal, si a. Pero..." Baylee trailed off into a contemplative silence then shrugged, "Pero, she can handle herself in a fight and her loyalties are predictable."

Baylee's eyes then slowly moved down to the can and her neck started to flush slightly as she regarded the offending device and slowly let the words Viper had spoken about her ship settle gently into place. "Now, can you explain, pretty please with a cherry on top, why my ship was nearly falling apart and why there are strange creatures aboard it?" Baylee's face was stony calm as she asked the question but the flush creeping up her neck and her pupils spoke of contents under pressure.

It was during this brief pause that Viper - who was tensing to the point of shaking - jumped the three steps to Karin, seized the corporal's right arm with her left hand and let her weight hold it down; Viper's right fist turned into a accusing finger that she pointed 20 cm off the warrior's eyes.

"Now, psychopath killer, a fair warning : watch your six! 'cause we know you like to murder people here and there, but we ain't no feable stowaway! We got our eyes on you, and we'll shoot ya without blinkin' if ya let yo'self loose, like when you blowed up the tech Jax. Got it? This ain't your dirty gang anymore. No violence towards anyone of this crew and no murderin' us and our allies, and only who the capt'in tells you to kill..."

Eyes still locked with the trigger-happy soldier, Viper added, in a hush : "now Baylee may tell you to fight her or fick her, but it's an expression she has, okay? She does not speak sgalap as well as I does. For you it means only the fighting option is left, because I'm the only one she ficks and I fick with her. Capiche?"

Viper had left her pep in its holster. Adrenaline pumped up, she got ready to dodge or withstand the inevitable blow response from Karin; a savage headbutt or a left sucker punch.

OOC : Ling-Li, your question shall remain unanswered for the moment, I'm afraid!

Gothiques yes go wide and she stands off as far away from what is going on as possible.  Having not been talked to at this point she stays out of it and any that look see her in the corner with her ears back as if she either did something bad or was scared of what was unfolding in front of her.

The older man quietly observes these interactions with mundane and extraordinary senses, monitoring each person's reactions.  The more he knows about those aboard, the better he can serve them.

Into the ringing silence following the words of the pilot, he murmurs quietly to the Captain, repeating the observation he previously made when bringing Karin in for the interview...

"'道不同，不相为谋。'"

^* "Those of different principles don’t work well together."

Maissa leaves the initiative of the first blow to Karin; she's in full defense mode with a +2 bonus. However, she wants to stand her ground, so the defence mode does not mean she'll roll over and run; more that she intends to parry and deflect blows. Also, augment by her aspect "What's Life Without a Little Excitement?"

Viper had her eyes locked with the corporal's, trying to sense when the psycho killer would attack. The pilot did not expect to overcome the soldier - she expected to be beaten to a pulp. Thus, Maissa would feel a different pain than her withdrawal's.
Baylee would likely intervene to stop the massacre, and maybe the captain would be moved that her lover was jealous.

Viper jumped the three steps to Karin, seized the corporal's right arm with her left hand and let her weight hold it down; Viper's right fist turned into a accusing finger that she pointed 20 cm off the warrior's eyes.  "Now, psychopath killer, a fair warning : watch your six!... no murderin' us and our allies, and only who the capt'in tells you to kill..."

Karin didn't move at first.   She was trying to read the situation.   There was no way she was going to be the omega here, but she wasn't gunning for the alpha spot, either.

She let a slight smirk twitch into place.   "Marking territory, Yuvari?"  she asked, letting the amusement touch her voice. "Not my treasure-chest, not my treasure."

Then, even while their eyes were locked, Karin shifted her weight, adjusted her position slightly, so that her center of gravity was a few inches lower.   It actually increased the pressure that Viper was putting on her arm, but it shifted Viper's center of balance as well.  "Got it.  No murdering you in your sleep.

Karin locked eyes with Baylee, though, a vaguely inquisitive expression which read "what do you want here?"

--
Viper:  Karin rolled a Fight +7 to Create an Aspect: Positional Leverage.   You have the option of opposing.  If you do not, it'll be opposed by your Fight(+5 rank (defaulting to an assumed Fight(+3) + Full Defense(+2) + 4dF(+0) roll) action.   As it stands, Karin succeeded.  Your roll could change that.  And, since I'm talking mechanics, the Full Defense prevented this from being a Success with Style.
This message was last edited by the player at 09:35, Mon 02 May 2022.

Viper was instantly ignited by the sarcasm, and went to grab Karin by the collar.


"NIET! No murdering and no harmin' ANYONE of this crew, bitch!"
--
Viper is opposing the Positional Leverage by grabbing Karin with her right hand and getting closer. So if Karin wants to swing the pilot over, Viper would make that more difficult by being close (less leverage) and tied with Karin (less centrifugal force?). I roll for Fight(+5) because I do not see what else to add ;) Feel free to add modifiers to the result.
oops, that's a -3 on the dice, modified to +2

Baylee rocked back in her chair as the pilot and the merc confronted one another. There was definitely a smirk on her face; there was a pretty good chance she found this amusing. Viper's possessiveness was fun to see, but Baylee assumed that assulating the mercenary was a very poor choice of tactics. Maissa might be lovely to look at and above average in fitness as things went, but Karin could hold her own against baylee, and Baylee could have put the pilot over her knee three times already.

Her smirk faltered though as she noted the subtle change in position. This could be bad if it went on too much further. By now, Baylee felt her blood pumping. Her fingers gripped the table tightly enough to turn her knuckles white and her tongue darted out to lip dry lips. Her body, apparently, felt the need for fluids elsewhere. Grunting a bit, she leaved forward so the front legs of the chair clicked against the floor. If she didn't break this up, things would gt out of hand. Too bad, it was getting interesting.

She glanced at the point of contact between the two women again and barked a derisive laugh, "Well, let's leave start by suggesting that holding onto Karin like that might prove bad for your health." She shifted her vision to Karin, "dan shi putting her on her pretty pero over-stepping pwet would make me feel quite sour right now. I can't say for sure which of us would come out on top, pero whoever it was would be regretting it almost as much as the loser." Something in Baylee's eyes spoke to her relishing the thought of finding out who was who.

She shifted her gaze to AMissa as she slowly rose from the chair. "As for you, that sounded a LOT like giving orders aboard my ship. Ying wei your pretty and good in bed, suo yi don't ruin a good thing by pissing me off. Dui a?" She moved over to Maissa then and ran a finger down along her jawline possessively. Her fist then clenched and, if there had been hair to grab, would have knotted into it and jerked her head. "Now, we were just about to question Amin if your quite done marking your territory?" She gave the womana  look that promised the marking would be return.

Maissa still has her hair : Link back to this game

When her hair is grabbed and pulled, the pain made tears come to her eyes. Now that her plan to have Baylee intervene so-so "worked", the manipulator pilot took her hands off Karin and groaned "She's nowhere to be trusted, captain. Don't nourish a vi... a scorpion in your bosom; she can't help killing, it's in her nature. Things have to be told if we don't want to wake up one day with our throat slit"

Karin stepped back, without speaking, raised both hands in an apparent conciliatory gesture.
"Always have a choice."  Karin said after a moment.  "Don't always have a reason."

She regarded Viper, and seemed as if she was about to say more, but nodded once curtly.

--
Removed Any combat Aspects.

Spohr brought the Zenda-Meier Commander Armin Amin up from the chamber he'd been resting in.

The commander still looked like hell.  His black and red uniform was torn and rumpled, smeared with several different things, brushed against and spilled upon.   The jacket had been loosely buttoned together but the shirt underneath had been utterly removed.

He walked with a slow gait, a limping lope, favoring his right side.  He held one arm close to his side, over his midrift area.  The side of his face was purpling, but his eyes, at least, were sharp.

"Corporal." He said with a weary grimace.  "Are you to be my representative at this trial?"


--
OOC: I'm presuming that Chang Sheng-Xin had done some work on him...  But his injuries were pretty substantial, actually.  I've taken out the Concussion(+2) and downgraded the other injuries, but that leaves him still with Bruised Ribs(+2) and Massive Blood Loss(+4).

Commander Armin Amin:
<Green>Heartless Treasure Hunter, Former Ptolomen Station Commander,
Opinions: I Have Them, Bruised Ribs(+2), Massive Blood Loss(+4)</RED>
Key Skills: Command +4, Athletics 1, Fight 3

"Sir." Karin said in response.  She took a purely military "at ease" position.   But her eyes flicked to Baylee.

"Ah." Amin said. "I understand."

Amin stood tall and proud, though he winced slightly.  He regarded those in attendance and pursed his lips.  "Is this an execution, then?  I suppose no good deed goes unpunished."

The older man regarded the commander quietly as he entered and spoke, and turned to Baylee respectfully.

"允许发言，船长?"<sup>*

*</sup> "Permission to speak, Captain?"

As the situation between the two women diffused, and tried put her most charismatic smile on her face for Maissa. She was not a very soft woman though, in most ways, so she was unsure how the look made out. "I understand your feelings, pero we can discuss it more later. For now, I want a strong arm at my back. I want you as well... for many reasons."

She then shifted her attention to Amin and chuckled darkly at his assumptions. "Ying wei I wanted you dead, suo yi you would be. Nothing you can do to stop it." She smacked her lips as if tasting something delicious. The reversal of roles was sweet. "No, we... er, Casks there, want to talk to you about some misaligned information we have noticed. I, ran huo, want to know what you did to my ship!"

She didn't like this talk of strange modification and drives on her ship. She could be quite overprotective at times. Grunting, she looked to Kairn, "Find a bunk and get settled. Avoid the other marines, for now." She then looked at Casks and jerked her head at Amin for the man to ask his questions. Trying to sooth ruffled feathers, she allowed Maissa to stay.

OOC: I am putting together a short lexicon for Baylee in her description. Hope it helps keep track of her idiosyncratic language. I'll try to keep it up to date.

The older man nods respectfully, and turns his attention to Amin.

"'Peace be unto you.'  I am thankful to see you up, and hope to heal you further as soon as possible."

"Please feel free to stand or sit, as you wish.  I know that your strength is limited."

"Please describe to us, from your perspective, our current circumstances, and the events that have brought us here together..."

"Please describe to us, from your perspective, our current circumstances, and the events that have brought us here together..."


Amin remained standing, his posture still stiff, still proud.   "We are in space, in a smuggler's ship known for acts of piracy across several sectors, stripped of weapons.  You appear to have taken control of the ship's systems and, as convicted criminals from a variety of worlds both in and outside the commonality, you are now trying to figure out what you need to do to cover your tracks and make good an escape.  An escape which, mind you, I facilitated."

"If it wasn't for Technician Barrett's insistence and my command codes, you wouldn't be here.   At best, you'd have been incinerated with the Ptolomen's reactor blast.  At worst, you'd have been ejected and floated endlessly in space until you burnt up in some planetary or solar orbit.

I can only assume that the attack that led to this was a result of someone trying to effect the release of some prisoner or another.  Certainly there was nothing else on the station worth it's willful destruction.  Perhaps someone was trying to free one of you.  But, really, there were over six hundred prisoners in cryo-sleep.  Presumably, most of the sixty-seven personnel survived.  Well, sixty-one, I suppose.


Zenda-Meier will send a crisis response team to try to locate and secure the station's data cores.  That will likely be able to tell them what happened and perhaps even why the Ptolomen was attacked.  But it's a diminishing possibility. But--and this is crucially important for your continued good health--you were not counted as crew.  You were cargo.  And in the wake of the destruction of the station, the cargo will be considered lost.

It is likely in your best interest to move on, perhaps assume new identities.   If you should return to your old lives, Zenda-Meier might be seen as being liable for failure to uphold their end of your incarceration contract.  That will draw attention from your local system authorities and Zenda-Meier itself.  To them, you are already dead."

My only regret is that Technician Barrett did not make it back after releasing the flight deck airlock.  "

Maissa, the petty criminal and daredevil nicknamed Viper, charged with major crimes - that she did not commit but warranted death - focused on the commander's word. She imagined gears working on her own mind. She decided to reveal nothing of what they had discovered, change the subject to Amin himself, and ask broad questions.

"Weren't you the head of the station? How come you did not see the attack coming? Surely you must have noticed one thing or the other about the attacker!"

Another last question made the way to her lips : "Why did you facilitate our escape?"

Amin laughed, wearily.  "I see." he said, then, speaking a little slower and a lot more patronizingly. "Commander is a rank, not a position.  Station commander was Captain Avaren Royce.  I was the equivalent of a watch commander, I suppose.  And the attack didn't happen on my watch.

I became aware of the attack when proximity alarms went off, and we were called to action stations.  The Ptolomen had limited defensive capabilities and the attackers, apparently, overwhelmed them."  He scoffed, this time, the laugh much more bitter, "I didn't even make it to C&C.   The attackers were well-armed and knew where to focus their fire."

"As to why I facilitated your escape."  his face remained impassive.  "Barrett insisted on releasing some of you.  And I had hopes, had plans for a possibility that might have involved your release.  You specifically?  Not so much.  I was reviewing potential candidates for... call it an early release program.  It's pointless now.  Way of the universe to force a change of plans.  I don't have the resources to move forward.  And you're out and awake.

"Stay hidden and I'm sure you'll all live long" his expression took on a bit of a smirk, "and fruitful lives."

The older man listens thoughtfully.

"What are your plans or goals now?"

"Seriously?" He gave Cheng Sheng-Xin a withering look.  "My goal is to survive.  Breathe, eat, hydrate, secure shelter, then secure the same for longer-term.  Once I figure out where you've taken me, perhaps I'll report to the nearest branch office, so as to preserve what little remains of my standing."

He shook his head, as if the question was inane, then "What are your plans, Nikrah?   Figuring out which of us to eat first?"

He looked around the room.  "Yes, I'm sure your societies wrongfully convicted each of you.  And you're not all murderers and con-men and thieves.  But, you think you're safe because I'm under guard?"

"Nikram don't exist." Karin said, her voice flat. "Old wives tales to scare children."

"Saw it with my own eyes." Amin said. "Barrett's arm was broken.  It took just a touch."

The older man met the withering look with gentle compassion.

"When I took his wounds and your wounds upon myself, did it truly seem like my heart's inclination was to eat you?"

"You mentioned hopes, and plans, and potential candidates, and early release, and lack of resources.  Is querying about such things so strange?"

He regarded Amin, and Karin, thoughtfully.

"Please describe to us, from your perspective, all that you know about Nikram."
This message was last edited by the player at 14:01, Mon 16 May 2022.

Baylee couldn't help but grin viciously at this comment, "Wrongfully convicted, maybe. Murderer and thief, for sure. Maybe we'll be safe when you fail at your goal?" She cracked her knuckles.

Then she ducked her head and smiled sheepishly at Casks who was trying to question the man.

All this going on....and it was way over any form of understanding or anything that she should put in for two cents.  Although so far only a few seemed to want to keep her save and although that was not uncommon it was something she really felt comfort in.

What was going on now though was something that she did not understand.  And it also kinda made her uncomfortable.  So staying stepped back with a review of escape avenues should it be necessary.
This message was last edited by the player at 04:31, Tue 17 May 2022.

"Well, then, you should feel very secure."  Amin retorted. "I have no plan.   If you wish to vent your anger at being incarcerated, then I am, I suppose, the highest-ranking representative of Zenda-Meier.  But ZM didn't arrest, try, or convict you.  We simply stored your physicality for transfer to a corporate-owned work colony."

"Though to be fair," he glanced at Sheng-Xin, "If Zenda-Meier had known you to be Nikrah, you wouldn't have been incarcerated.  Your kind has destroyed whole societies.  Heal at a touch, yes.  But no gift comes without a price.  And yours demands blood spilt for blood restored, flesh rent for flesh knit.  But don't tell me you didn't know this.  It's who you are."

--
OOC: I'm playing this such that Amin expected the "brain-fog" of coming out of cryo-sleep to be a temporary thing... like, it should have cleared up by now.  And since he's been in holding or recovering or whatever... He doesn't know that you still don't know who you are...

I regard him thoughtfully.

"Perhaps I confuse you by asking for information that seems obvious to you, but there is method to my madness."

"In short, I did not know this... or much of anything else."

"We actually have no idea whether or not we are all murderers and con-men and thieves, or anything else about ourselves.  We don't even remember our own names.  Beyond whatever minimal data we gleaned from the station, we have no clue."

"Since you expected me to know something about myself, that implies that our memory wipe was actually an accident of some type, rather than by design?  That is... interesting."

"Well then, that brings me to my next question: how can we go about recovering our lost memories?  Who would have such expertise?  How could fugitives access such expertise?"

"I asked about your plans and goals, and what you know of us, for a reason.  I need to know what alignment, if any, exists between your goals and ours.  And, speaking for myself, one goal is to regain the lost knowledge of just who exactly I am..."

Amin seemed honestly confused. "The Cryogenic sleep process is a proprietary process developed for Zenda-Meier.  I know the basics, but I'm not a cryogenics technician.   

His expression settled somewhat in a grimace of annoyance.  "Your section was damaged by debris.  Felt like a mass barrage.  The section above was on fire.  The one below... hull breach. Technician Barrett insisted on releasing some of you.  He'd assisted me in pursuing a project associated with progenitor mythology.  I... I had certain obligations to him.

"When you undergo the the process of cryogenic storage, the cortical stacks are implanted at a key point in your central nervous system."  It maps your brain, molecule by molecule, synapse by synapse.   It doesn't store your memories, as I understand it.  But it captures an exact state of your brain at the time of backup.  When you are brought out of cryo-sleep, the cortical stack remaps the brain to that state.

Without the backup, you'd all be raving lunatics by now.   Initial studies showed that ten standard cycles without the backup was enough to drive people irretrievably mad.  Some of you had been under for nearly 2000 cycles.

OOC: I'm using a "cycle" to be roughly the equivalent of a day, a 24-hour period.  So, a 2000 cycle period is about the same as five and a half years.

Contrary to popular conviction, Zenda-Meier is not in the business of torture.  Some of you, I'm sure, were to serve a predefined term on Vizier's colony.  Some of you were probably going to die there.  You weren't to be executed unless you became an immediate threat to Zenda-Meier staff or assets.   And as sleepers, you were never a threat.  You were just cargo.

"Every stack configuration is unique." Amin said, he slowed down a little, letting a shadow of doubt rise in his voice.   "It is possible, I suppose, that copies could have been sent off-station.  But you'd had to have been very very special cases."

Okay, there is an obvious course of action available based on what I've provided so far...  If you come up with it via straight roleplaying, we'll run with it.  Otherwise, you're welcome to attempt a Tech(+4) roll to overcome the intellectual hoops you need to jump through to get there.
This message was last edited by the player at 09:38, Fri 27 May 2022.

The techno-babble passed far over Maissa's head. And since CSX had spilled the bean...

"We are... free to pursue any opportunities, under the condition that it brings loads of money fast, because this ship needs repair, quickly. You wanted to gather a group which included a fierce warrior - Bai Ling -; the best pilot of the gal - of the station - myself; a healer; a genius handygirl; a genius hacker; a con-man - THE con-man; ... Now you've got them. The Fabulous Team. What was your project? I heard "progenitor mythology", which is interesting, but too long-term. We can't go on a wild goose chase on this ship...". She stopped before mentioning the IA's strange capabilities.
This message was last edited by the player at 04:59, Thu 09 June 2022.

Baylee continued to listen with a slightly bemused and often confused expression. The conversation was progressing beyond her limited technical knowledge. Whatever was a Progenitor Myth? And the only thing she could think to add, Viper beat her to. Thus, she remained silent and watched. Some of this might make more sense as things went on. They certainly did need to be about the business of banking currency or favors. In her estimation, IKSGAB could run on favors if you knew what you were doing. She frowned internally at the bite of knowledge that seemed to float free of context. She knew it was her experience, she knew the knowledge felt true, but couldn't tell you why. She grunted in annoyance and glared at Amin.

"I...  There are avenues open to us." Amin said slowly, a thought swirling behind his eyes.  "But it is rather dependent on you not ending me."

"The penal control market has allowed Zenda-Meier to gain penetration to markets traditionally closed.  More than that, it gained them access to unexpected markets.  To the point where they've developed a rapid-contact division for new acquisitions. 

There's a colony down there, presumably.  There must be something profitable.  If there's a branch office here, we should be able to find out if your stack imprints were backed-up off-station.   If they don't have a branch office, then opening negotiations to establish a branch would allow for a corporate influx of investment....  which often includes a handsome retainer fee....

The business-babble passed far over Maissa's head. She replayed Amin's statement several times in her mind before grasping at a single part :

"Opening a new branch? You want us to become" - she choked on the word - "jailers?!"

Gothique herself was listening...or was she.  I mean there was a butterfly or something that ran across her field of vision and totally made her lose her thought.  But not enough for her not to hear the techno-jargon and trigger something in her brain.

(OOC - Hopefully did this right


19:10, Today: Gothique rolled 1 using 4 Fudge dice.  Tech +5.)

Honestly though in greater scheme of things she is not sure she would want her memory back.  After all she is happy now and what if before there were horrible memories.  Still she babbles while working it out in her head while moving her finger like she is writing or drawing on an imaginary board,

"Ok so if that happened and that went there then that might have went there but not before there.  If that is the case them maybe...."

"Oh, Hesh, no." Amin turned to face Viper, but he still kept Baylee in sight.   "The penal colony is but one of Zenda Meier's ventures, and a small one at that.  But it has been a profitable venture that has allowed us to create positive relations with new species, new peoples."

"What I'm suggesting," Amin said, "Is that we seek to establish an outpost.  I can facilitate that.  There is a New Ventures Protocol that allows for strong financial backing for any officer in good standing--which I am--to facilitate the establishment of relations with new species, new systems."

"It will require access to ansible communication and galactic coordinates.  So, there's a risk that, should you be identified, Zenda-Meier will know where you are.  But that's only if you're actually seen and recognized."

There was a calculating fire in Amin's eyes, noticable even despite his battered and bruised state.  He seemed to relish this idea he had. "What we'll need is someone who's very good at convincing people.  And you've got one on board.  Call up Jericho and I can brief him on what he needs to know.  My presence there will lend authority to Zenda-Meier's intention."
He's referencing Jericho, so I can bring him in...

"If we do this, there's no going back."  Amin cautioned.  "It will take time for the administration to figure this is a ruse.  But by the time ZM bureacracy figures it out, we'll all be several jumps away.  and we might actually have a chance at one of the biggest scores in galactic history..."

The older man considered thoughtfully.

"Suppose that we pursued this path.  Would that give us the needed access to determine if our stack imprints were backed-up off-station?"

"If the data was backed up off-station, it would be a solid path to it." Amin said.  "I don't know where we are.  But if there's a FarComm set-up, I can run the checks, to find out.  Once the news corps find out about Ptolomen Station, they'll be mining everything they can about it.  One more inquiry in a hurricane of inquiries. "

"You've got one of the best hackers on-board.  If his skills are intact, getting in and getting the information without tracebacks should be child's-play."
Which'll give me something to do with Rayfe off-camera...

Karin crossed her arms, her face carefully neutral.  She glanced at Gothique with undisguised uncertainty, then shook her head.

"It's a con."  She said to Baylee.  "Nobody turns their back on years of service just like that.  You're not telling the whole story."

"Of course I'm not."  Amin shot back. "If I told them everything I know, I'd lose my utility."

"The truth is, I'd been planning a break from my employer for some time.   Two cycles I spent on Ptolomen, while my ship was being refitted. I've been using my commission and my contacts to work towards a special project. My commission was the most expeditious path.  But it's all pointless if I'm useless to you, isn't it?" He said, sardonically.

"So.  What if I can do this for you... Help me broker an outpost, and in return I will track down your cortical stack imprints?" Amin turned to Baylee.  "and get us both the credits you need to give you some breathing room, so we can both go on to whatever's next.  Would that be a worthwhile transaction?"

In reply to Chang Sheng Xin (msg # 81):

The older man continued regarding Amin thoughtfully as he spoke, focusing his empathic senses...

RPoL Dice Roller:

21:06, Today: Chang Sheng Xin rolled 1 using 4 Fudge dice.  Empathy +5.

Attempting to discern Amin's emotions as he speaks, specifically the trustworthiness and/or deceptiveness of his statements and proposals...  Empathy (+5) + Fudge Dice (+1) = +6 :)

Maissa was standing off the wall. She thought so hard about what Amin exposed that she felt her gray matter was swelling in a tight cranium. If this was all a ruse from Amin to get them back into jail, it was too elaborate and too much depending on factors - first of, Baylee's trust - so either Amin's plans were more than half true, or he was the biggest con-man of the galaxy...

She had to cross-examine his statement, however.

"First, if you're refering to the Orishi as your ship, you have to defend your claim.", she threw a line there - to know more about their mysterious transport. "Second, you mentioned a special project. We may be interested, but we'll need more info about it."
This message was last edited by the player at 20:44, Sat 18 June 2022.

"My ship is The Sargathan."  Amin said.  "She should be out of drydock in less than a twenty rots.  At which point I would have re-assumed my command.  I might still, when I return to Zenda-Meier."

You might have played a part.  I'd have offered your freedom, and a contract.  But without the details I had stored on Ptolomen Station, there is no plan, no project, no contract.  It will take me cycles to rebuild that information.

"As for all of you.   Once the plans for a Zenda-Meier outpost falls through--and it will; I'll make sure of it--nobody is going to look for you.   You're already dead cargo, lost in the destruction of Ptolomen Station. 


--

I'm really looking for an angle to bring Jericho into the scene.  Nothing sucks more than waiting for a game to allow you an entry-point.

Right now, Amin is offering a straight deal: back him on a play to initiate outpost talks with K-Zino, and he'll facilitate a search for your cortical stack backups.  At the moment, that's all he's offering.

rots = rotation  = days
cycles = roughly years
This message was last edited by the player at 18:17, Thu 16 June 2022.

Ever watch a cat watch and listen while the 'adults' or humans are talking....this actually describes what Gothique looks like this conversation going well over her head.  Her eyes and whole head turning to whomever is talking.  In her mind this really does not affect her so after a couple of moments she finds a seat....or really a piece of floor and sits down pulling out parts from her pocket to start tinkering.  On what she is not sure.

Baylee listened and saw the others in the room swaying. She turned her strange gaze on the former-commander and left it there for a minute. She only visibly relaxed once he made it clear he was not claiming her ship. Anyone who did that was going to find themselves on the rough end of a severe beating. She licked her lips and sighed at the salty taste.

Finally, she shrugged, "I am less interested in the contents of my stack than I am in NOT having one, truth to tell. Call it the gypsy in me, pero I don't like ways to track me or hold me down. Whoever I was before, it's changed now. Dui a? There's no going back on that. Life only moves forward." She smirked at Amin.

"Ran huo, scurry on them, be about this plan. Let's see what this rock gots in store for us, eh?" She looked around a the others to see their thoughts.

Maissa may have forgotten her memory, but she knew she was experiencing withdrawal symptoms. Some included : the brain just stopping to record information. The body knows it has been listening, but the brain can't remember a thing that was said.

However, experiencing blanks also meant that sometimes the brain was focused, and after rehashing info in the subconscient, it suddenly turned flashes of intelligence - inter-legare-rei - linking things together. She turned to address Amin.

"Commander... you stated that only the cortical stacks of the most important prisoners would be backed-up by Zenda-Meier. Now you're telling us that our stacks might be backed-up on a ZM outpost on K-Zino. But you're not even sure this outpost exists, since you envision the possibility of founding one...

If we were the most important prisoners - whose stacks were backed-up -, you would know much more about us. You'd know things about Chang Sheng Xin that you seemed to ignore, for example. And you wouldn't have plans for us as your employees, because we would be too famous or too related to crime mobs of galactic importance....

You described the Ptolemen station as a "stopping point". Somewhere to stock "cargo" until a full-batch of twenty or forty could be transported out. I understand the reasoning behind cortical stacks being transported along with the bodies. But I do not understand the need to "backup the backups" at every stopping point, as there may be several of those steps.

So our stacks were in the station, with our bodies. If there were backups, they would  not be stored on some asteroid of dubious reputation... So the backups were on Ptolemen, and were destroyed with it.

The more I think about it, the more I believe the cheapest way to back-up stacks and minimize storage costs, would be to store the backups at the places where our bodies were first put in cryo. Thus, if the stacks are lost during the journey, a copy is sent from the departure point.

Speaking about back-ups... In your latest statement you claim you will re-assume the command of a ship. Which means you commanded it before and your cabin is waiting for you. May I assume that an officer as intelligent as you did hid and leave a backup of his projects on the Sargathan? Or somewhere around? How long is it in dry docks? The less time possible of course : a ship in the docks is an expense, not a profit. Let's say 180 rots [days] at most. You did not loose cycles [years] of information; at most you lost half a cycle of it."

Maissa put her hands behind her back and began to walk into circles, as she had seen it done in so many interrogation rooms where she had been grilled.

"Commander, I find many inconsistencies in your statements.", she parroted. "While some of them may be caused by your trauma, it is a fortunate coincidence that you seem to have an answer to all our problems. We have lost our memories - a backup happens to be near. We're broke - you provide us with a martingale under a layer of business-babble so thick that I stop being hungry."

The pilot stopped walking and went back to lock her eyes with the commander. "I feel you are lying through your teeth. I think you tell us what we want to hear because you fear for your life. Even if your dreams of starting your own Z-M franchise sound true, there is a strong possibility that you just hand us over if - when - the opportunity arises."

She turned to face Baylee, but still talked to Amin, her anger mounting. "Yet we have told you that we're currently not bloodthirsty murderers...". Maissa cast a quick glance at Karin: "...most of us anyway."

She then addressed her new(?) mistress. "Captain, I recommend the utmost distrust over everything that the prisoner says and attempts, and that we pursue our own goals, not his."

"Viper out", she concluded.

Being unaware of how an ansible works, or how data is stored shouldn't preclude you from making all the erroneous assumptions you wish. Amin sighed, as if talking to a particularly obtuse child.  "You've escaped a Zenda-Meier penal station and you've stolen a ship rightfully claimed as salvage by Zenda-Meier.  Trust me or not, your options are limited."

Amin turned to face Baylee. "There are a half dozen ways this could fail. No FarComm ansible, no ZM branch or no administration representative willing to establish one.   Paint me as the architect of your misery, if you like.  But I don't have an answer to our plight.  I have a potential plan.  A possibility."  Amin included himself among those affected.  "Do you have anything better?"

--
I think this might have to become One of Amin's Aspects: I Have A Plan...
This message was last edited by the player at 04:20, Sun 26 June 2022.

What impressions does CSX get from his Empathy?  Is Amin being truthful, is he lying through his teeth, or somewhere in between?
This message was last edited by the GM at 02:54, Sun 19 June 2022.

I do not wish to hold this up any further.  Therefore, there is no indication that he's lying about anything.
This message was last edited by the GM at 05:02, Sun 19 June 2022.

The older man nods thoughtfully.

"Captain... I do not sense any deception from him..."

Baylee rocketed up out of her chair as Amin addressed her. She'd listened to Maissa summarize the situation with a twist to her mouth and a frown on her face. She'd followed less than half of it, but the gist seemed to be Amin was a snake, liar, and fiend. Perhaps not in that particular order. She'd already made that conclusion.

She glanced at Amin as he added his bit but remained focused on Amin, "Unlike most of the rest here, ranhuo I don't care about having a plan. Mayhap that's a poor choice of lifestyles, pero that ship's already in space. Now, the others seem to be all for a plan. Well, Casks is. Maissa seems to want me to space you and see what happens..." She glanced at each named to check their status on her conclusion. She looked back at Karin and chuckled. She suspected the marine gave about as many shits as her. "Ranhuo... work with Amin. Try to do this thing you want. Make sure we get paid for it. PERO! Pero, if I get even the slightest whiff of a smell I don't like, we'll be revisiting the 'me kicking your ass' discussion. And it might end decidedly in cold-blooded murder. I'll accept no threats to MY ship or my freedom. Ting dao a?"

She sniffed loudly and looked at Amin, "Mind him well, Casks. I like you so far, pero don't piss me off, eh?" With that she glanced once more at Maissa with maybe a variety of confused different heats then stalked out of the room.

After Amin had exposed how little Maissa knew, and mixed, about ansibles, stacks and backups; the young brune had her dreams of being a great detective fall into pieces. She was also disappointed that Amin knew so little about them, and wasn't the mastermind behind the trumped-up charges. The commander, it seemed, hadn't been  planning the biggest stickup of the galaxy with them in mind... All her assumptions were just incorrect.

"Why didn't you say so, Amin?", she sulked. "We happen to have info about the system, that AshHHH..." - she bit her tongue - "Our AI... our database... whatever. Even though the ship hasn't been in the system since 5.6 cycles (Link back to this game) the info was updated after two arns [hours] and we just have to ask..."

The pilot tilted her head to the ceiling and asked aloud "Ashe? One: is there a Farcomm ansible on K-Zino? Two: is there a Zenda-Meier outpost on K-Zino?"
This message was last edited by the player at 12:31, Sun 26 June 2022.

"Stand By."    The AI spoke, this time through a wall-mounted speaker unit.  Then, "Handshaking....  Connected."

"There are records of a tight-beam pulsed transmission system compatible with commonality ansible operations, using local jump-gates.  Access requires approval by senior colony representatives." Ashe said after a moment.  Then, "The name Zenda-Meier is listed on one business entity active on Colonial records."


--
K-Zino Aspects:
A Den For Never-Do-Wells
No Such Thing As A Free Lunch.
People Can Multiply Their Wealth Or Lose It All.

"Well, that makes things easier and more difficult."  Amin said.  "No need for a hard-pitch, but no chance of the prospecting bonus.  But... if there's only one business entity, it might not have any real presence other than a log in the colony registry.  And if that's the case, I...  I may be able to do some things."

Amin fretted, then seemed to be resigned to the situation. "But you understand, of course, that there will be consequences.  There will come a time when I may ask you a favor.  And I'll want you to remember that both that I freed you from cryo-sleep and helped you on your way."

He isn't seeking an agreement.  It's just a statement of fact.  He might ask a favor.  You might shoot him in the face.

"Now, I need a convincing actor.  Male. Bring Up Jericho.  He's pretty and seems smart enough.  I'll need to brief him on his role." He said.  "and this one."  he nodded at Chang Sheng-Xin. "I want him nearby in case things go very very badly."
This message was lightly edited by the player at 06:13, Sun 26 June 2022.

Okay... That should set the groundwork.

I don't know what role, precisely Jericho is going to play, yet.  But I figure we can wing it.

Casks and Jericho.
Please roll vs Investigate:+1 to Create-an-Advantage: Well-Briefed By Commander Amin

Jericho has been laying on his bunk, perusing the juiciest tidbits from the database (which he stole a copy of from Rayfe, while the two of them were drinking and swapping stories).  Alex has been processing the whole thing, and showing him the bits that make the most interesting stories.

So when the intercom in his room dings, and he's asked to come upstairs, he wanders up distractedly, and enters the room looking a bit rumpled and slovenly, yawning as he sits down.  His hangover is mostly gone, but the tail end tickles the back of his brain with buzzing fingers.

He makes a good effort to listen to Commander Amin, and he absolutely looks like he's listening, but his mind is wandering.

By the end of the briefing, he understands fully - that he is to help set up a Zenda-Meier branch on K-Zino, after investigating... the branch they already have?

Well, when he gets there it will be clear, he's sure.



23:38, Today: Jericho rolled -2 using 4 Fudge dice.  Investigate (1) +1.

The older man listens carefully to Amin's briefing.

Gathering information about new circumstances and new locations and new peoples seems... familiar, as if it was something he was used to doing, as if it was something he had skill and aptitude for.

He could observe Amin with both mundane and extraordinary senses to catch nuances others would miss.

And yet... the specifics of those skills were forgotten, and he felt that he had been a bit better at this in the past, when his natural gifts were supplemented by his remembered skills.

And, in the back of his mind, an unsettling question took shape, even as he listened.

Even if their previous memories were backup up successfully... even if they could obtain them... even if they could also obtain the expertise to restore them... what then?  How likely would it be that the old memories could be successfully integrated with the new ones?  Would it not be likelier that the old memories would replace the new ones, and that they all would have to choose which portion of their lives to discard?

RPoL Dice Roller:

13:49, Today: Chang Sheng Xin rolled -1 using 4 Fudge dice.  Investigate +3.

After the briefing, the older man takes advantage of the time remaining before arrival to spend time bonding a bit with Bear, and briefing him how to contact us after he returns to his duties with Zenda-Meier...