Garda Vilis/Vilis (0308) Date: 252-1107 09:00
After a little more than a week on Garda Vilis, the crew find themselves back at the port, in one of the docking pits, where the ship sits, bathed in the glare of the floodlights spaced around the rim above them.
The female half of Profit Margin's crew had arrived back at the hotel the previous evening (if such a term means anything on a tidally locked world with no day-night cycle. Once there they had discovered a major development had occurred in their absence: Two days after their departure to explore (and, doubtless, tame) the wild frontier of Garda Vilis, Conrad had approached Jago and announced his intention to use a portion of his recently acquired bonus for the purchase of a High Passage ticket to Frenzie, where he intended to reenlist in the Navy and do his part in securing an Imperial victory in the current war.
Jago had, of course, expressed some concern over this, but Conrad would not be dissuaded. And so, rather than taking a well-earned rest, the captain had spent a large portion of his holiday attempting to recruit a new navigator, in between constant visits to the ship to check on progress with the refit and refurbishment.
Eventually, he had settled on one T. Azton "Ash" Tescali, who appeared to have all the necessary qualifications for the job, and didn't grate on Jago's nerves as much as several of the other applicants.
Now, the crew, including Ash Tescali and the not-yet-gone Conrad, survey the exterior of the ship. The new airlock, located on the port side, close to the bridge, is firmly closed (whatever the work crew have done to the ship, they have at least tried to maintain security). The lower edge of the hatch itself is some two metres above the ground, but there is a retractable ladder, extended from a second, smaller hatch, just below the airlock itself.
"The access ladder can be controlled from any computer terminal aboard the ship, if the user has been given security clearance." explains Mott Henaris, the project supervisor for the refit, smiling like a proud parent showing off holos of her new baby, "In fact, it can also be controlled, with proper clearance, from any remote computer capable of linking to the ship's systems."
She gestures towards the ladder, "We can go aboard now, and take a look at the work from inside. The security pad for opening the lock is on the right, there, just near the bottom, and easily reachable from the ladder. The code for it is in the documents you were given, Captain Lanza, and can be changed at any time."
"Incidentally, have you noticed that dreadful screeching sound every time you lower or raise the main ramp? I suppose you must have. It's hard to miss... We can take a look at that while you're here, if you like, and see if we can stop it."