Tylen swings the turret slightly so the laser is lined up directly at the Crawler, although he leaves the systems settings on manual with a double tap system required  to firte the weapon.

""Oh, they should be aware they they are looking down the barrel of something." he says with a tight grin.  Even as he makes the comment, he is scanning for other potential targets in the area.

Ash's easy, if slightly deadpan, tone hints at the crooked smile and shrug that accompany his words, "Thank you, Ore Hound.  We're just making sure that the Profit Margin's systems are all in order, Jockram."  He adds as a non-explanation explanation, "The Captain believes that a low approach will be the most effective maneuver..."  To get his point across... is, of course, unspoken.

The navigator glances over at Jago before adding, "Besides, the ice dunes are quite pretty this time of year.  I love that bluish shade of off-white..." and he pushes the high speed visual sensor feeds to the crew and external comm link to the Ore Hound.  So, that everyone can see the local terrain whiz by in a high-speed blur.  Vertigo be damned.

That is before coming to an abrupt stop.  Then, he stops chattering and becomes all business once more.  And Ash focuses all of his attention on the sensor feeds.

Jockram laughs, "Sure... that's what he tells everybody else."

While Tylen keeps watch, Yas steps out onto the ice carrying the cargo.  The company man stays next to the vehicle, watching as the Security Chief approaches in her armoured suit.  The large carton she carries is marked as containing freeze-dried vacuum-sealed groat steaks - they had needed something to put the packs of Loxibac into when dividing the cargo up.

Fortunately the open top shows the true contents as she puts the package down in front of the man.

Once it is clear that this is just plain Trader Todd and not Lying Ludus Yas does her best to not appear too threatening.

"Here are your goods, a pleasure doing business with you." comes her voice over the speaker unit.  She made certain that the volume is for addressing individuals rather than crowds.

Slowly and carefully she reaches out a hand, palm up, so the guy won't have a coronary failure from her getting too close.

"Bet it's nippy without this suit, eh?" she probes in an attempt to break the ice, figuratively, even if she will be walking back again in a moment.

With clothing in-hand and certain items noted (to Shui unsurprised approval), the steward heads back toward the low berths.  She keeps her 'black bag' with her at all times, not knowing when it might prove necessary, and hoping it won't.  She'll likely require security personnel when their 'guest' awakens for his disembarkment (ie, booting off the islandship), but for now it's not necessary.  He won't be awake for a bit longer, and immediately following said waking, won't be any shape for gymnastics of any kind.

Ash continued to monitor the sensors.  There didn't appear to be anything really threatening out there.  Hell, there was barely any traffic really (by his 'Having lived next to the Jewell Imperial Naval shipyards' standards); and definitely nothing really close by to the ship.  "Skies are clear." he noted dutifully over the comm channel.  His tone was informational and his delivery rather deadpan, "Closest ground traffic is a convoy ... 15 klicks out.  Non-intersecting trajectory."

He glances at the system diagnostics.  "All systems reading green on my board.  Profit Margin ready for dust-off, Captain," the navigator reports, also over the crew channel, "once the Chief finishes the delivery."  And Yasmine is back on-board with the ramp is closed, of course.

Ash double-checked the route to the next drop-off point and updated the chronometer estimates on the overlay display of the main tactical screen.

The drop completes without difficulty, the company agent hands Yas a packet containing Imperial currency, and the ship lifts moments later.

The next two landings, at two widely spaced locations, are equally hitch-free.

The problems start with the fourth, and smallest, consignment - the one intended for the charitable organisation.  Jockram's surveillance shows only one vehicle on the landing field, plus a parked ship.  Thermal scans show that the vehicle's motor is running, but the ship is dead, at about the same temperature as the environment.

Jago takes a low pass over the field.  The vehicle is at one end of the cleared area, with the ship a good six hundred metres away.  As Profit Margin does its fly-by, a the ships computer identifies the other ship as a Marava class, a standard small trader similar in capabilities to the Margin.  The hull is broken open, and covered with a thick layer of ice.  It looks to have been there for several years, at least.

The ship circles back around towards the waiting vehicle, a small ground-car like model with tracks, and sensors report several warm spots on the ice nearby.  Each a little cooler than a human body...

There is no visual sign that anything is at any of the locations.

"What do you think, guys?  A surprise party for us, as well concealed as they can with this tech?  Wouldn't that be sweet?  Might still be innocents in the vehicle, though, just caught by the bad guys.  As I see it, we got two options.  Land here, expecting an ambush, of sorts, or ask them guys in the vehicle to relocate, blame it on bad landing site or something, or we....  All right, three options!  Last one would be to bugger outta here, but what fun is that?  Not an option, really, is it?" Yas says over the crew comms, having seen the feedback from the ground situation.

A moments pause, then she adds, "That's the optimistic view, any way.  The pessimistic is that these guys are all recently dead and rapidly cooling.  But that's no fun either, so let's stay positive, eh?"

"Tell them to move ten miles north, and we will be back in an half an hour." the ex scout offers.  "Then pop upstairs and watch from a distance." he says with a grin.

As he says that, however, he is setting his systems to monitor the six warmer 'blobs' and let him know if there are any changes or movement.

"Ash?  Can you get any detail on those warm patches?" he asks.  "I have my sensors locked onto them, but I am concentrating on signs of attack than detail."

That said, his scanners are still covering the rest of the area for potential threats, however until there are any tell tales, Tylen's attention is focussed on the immediate area.

"Already on it..." the Profit Margin's navigator chirps into the comm and the common crew channel, with respect to Tylen's request for more sensor information.  Ash tries a couple of different filters on the external sensor feeds and scans the entire electromagnetic spectrum for anything that might be helpful in giving better resolution to the developing situation.

He pushes the highest resolution feed to one of the side screens looking for any signs of life - movement, anything.  Hopefully, with his, Jago and Saskia's eyes all looking for any clues, they might see something more of use to help them make a decision.

Ultimately, Ash doesn't like the idea of either an ambush or a massacre.  Of course, the ex-squid, ex-scout has also learned that the Universe has never really catered to his whims either.  And it is unlikely to start now - so, both scenarios are quite possible.

Shui closes her eyes as she studies the telemetry through her dataglove.  She can't get access to all the feeds - they're encrypted for security reasons, obviously, and some are far more complex than her glove can handle - but she can watch footage while overseeing the defrosting of their guest.  And what she sees disturbs her.

It's quite possible the criminal organizations have struck back in order to maintain their grip upon the citizens.  Kill those who deal with the ones who defied them - a simple, brutal solution to the problem.  Maintain the fear, maintain the control.

Her head comes up.  + If those are people, + Shui begins over the com, + and I get down there quickly enough, there is a small chance of ressucitation.  Captain, I request that I be dropped off if you can determine it safe for the Profit Margin +

Jago takes Tylen's advice, and starts trying to contact the parked vehicle in an effort to move their rendezvous point.  Meanwhile Ash starts trying to get a little more information from the sensors...

After a few moments Jago reports that he's not getting any response from the vehicle crew, and that he's going to try get hold of the organisation they're supposed to work for, and see if they have any idea what's happening.

"This feels more and more like an am bush." tylen says over the com as he notices that the warm spots are are grouped in pairs and make up the corners of n equilateral triangle centred on the truck.

"Perhaps we should drop those waste tanks here ..." he suggests lightly
This message was lightly edited by the player at 20:09, Tue 01 Oct 2013.

+ Explosives? + Shui wonders over the com.  + Three corners are the best, easiest method to blow the ice under the truck.   Place the explosives beneath the ice. + She pauses.  + Logically, + the doctor finishes.

"Classic ambush pattern, concealed under camouflage, invisible to the naked eye.  Wait for us to come down with the ramp down or even land, then boom, from any of the three directions.  Whether they got to the charity guys or they actually are the 'charity' we have no idea, as in for all we know the charity is just a front.  Either way, this is a trap, one that anyone from this ball of ice would fall for, not having our level of equipment to see through the ruse." Yas reports over the comm.

"Here's a thought, how about you frying the ice around those paired dots, Ty?  No hitting them, merely draw a line around them, that'll send a clear message.  What's your orders, Jago?  And the delivery, a lost cause?"

“Good idea Yasmin, but I think we can go one better,” Jago says with a little chuckle as he toggles the comms switch.

“Jockram, that little stunt you pulled off warming the ice back at Davis City, do you think we could have a repeat here, there seems to be an ambush or something and we’d like to flush them out.”

On the general intercom he explains, “ I think we’ll have to abandon this drop for now, but I would like to know what happened here, specifically what happened to the crew of that truck.”

Ash remains quiet, simply keeping tabs on the ambushers (for he agrees with what the other crewmembers have said) and the relative positions of both the Profit Margin and the Ore Hound.

He purses his lips at the thought that the real charity members (if there ever was an actual charity, of course) might be dead or otherwise injured.  Quite possibly because of them.  Not generally what one signed up for when trying to help others.  But, possibly to be expected when you attempt cross bad men...

Jockram confirms that, yes, Ore Hound stands ready to use her laser to discourage attackers, on Jago's command.

The charity group, The Fellowship of the Golden Triumvirate, also respond to Jago's call.  They seem a little concerned that their "people" might have been captured, or worse.  Partly because they don't have "people" at the drop point, they have a "person", singular, in a snowcrawler, the description of which matches the one sitting on the ice.  If there are two people in the parked vehicle, then as far as the person on the comm is aware, only one of them represents the Golden Triumvirate.

So far, at least, there doesn't seem to be any hostile action.  Though as Profit Margin circles around again one of the warm spots on the ice moves a little, as if trying to keep track of the ship.

Still nothing is visible in the visual portion of the EM spectrum.

"So we have two scenarios, people.  Scenario one, hostage situation.  Scenario two, collaborator and all hostile.  In the first case, our duty is to try to retrieve the hostage with no harm coming to them, in the second to neutralise the threat.  My suggestion is to let Jockram heat up our would be ambushers and, when they have had enough, then drop me down to give them a chance surrender or commit one last mistake." Yas suggests over the comms in her suit, checking over her weaponry.  "If they have a hostage then a personal presence will help us, and the hostage.  If they are all hostile, it is doubtful that they have anything much that can affect this suit that we cannot spot and intercept before they can put it to use."

Then she chuckles and adds, "And if we have a collaborator playing hostage, well, then we simply wait and watch for them to slip up or not, but I suggest we in either case do not let them leave without either tracking them, should they not head 'home', or wait until they can get another representative or two out, to ensure things go to where they should.  Mind you, that's just my suggestion, nothing more.  Just feels as if we are going to do this, heck, then we might as well do it properly."

“I think I’ll put her down and send you in to check out the snow mobile Yasmin, if you’re up for it,” Jago says, he’s holding the comms open for the crew but including Jockram who he address next.

“Could you warm up the site for us please Jockram, though I wont be landing in the middle there. Ash, can you pick me a good landing spot next to the snow crawler, not behind it, that’s to obvious and they may have buried a mine there, those people in the snow might just be a ploy to make us land the other side of the wagon.”

“I think those people are alive right now Shui, one of them moved a little as we passed over but we may still need your skills if things kick off.”

“Right, lets do it,” the Captain says as he brings the Profit Margin round for one more circuit.

“There’s seems to be some sort of ambush here,” he says over the passenger intercom, ”so I’m going to put down off to one side rather than in the middle but first, Jockram, in the Ore Hound, is going to warm things up a bit for us. I’m feeding the visuals through to your screens if you’re interested.”

"Do you want me up here with the main laser and sand casters, or down there supporting Yas with the Las carbine?" Tylen asks laconically.

"Maybe we ought to get Yas a grav belt?"" he says with a chuckle in his voice.  "She would make an impressive drop trooper ..."

Saskia's status report is cool and professional, spoken calmy and clearly, "All systems in the green, Jago.  Drive and weapons have full power.  Thrusters at maximum efficiency."

An additional comment is less professional and accompanied by a broad grin, "Frell!  I should have thought of it sooner.  If we'd filled a sand cannister with forty or fifty kilos of sewage we could have fired it at a target from a couple of kilometres range.  Which would scare you more?  Having a load of sewage dropped on you, or thinking you were dealing with the sort of farbotz maniacs who'd design a weapon to fling barrels of dren at people from kilometres away?"

"Aye, aye, Captain." Ash notes simply when the request for a good landing site is made.  Almost immediately, an altered course begins to take shape as the change in coordinates in input.  It ripples a bit as the Profit Margin's navigator compensates for local weather conditions and the ship's orientation upon approach in the atmosphere.  Within seconds the route has stabilized and Ash announces dutifully, "Course correction plotted.  Proceed at your discretion, Boss."

Ash shrugs to Saskia's question, though he knows it is semi-rhetorical.  "Both are equally nasty at the endpoints." the thin ex-Scout notes, "And completely scary for different reasons.  The frozen drop probably gives better dispersal and will be frozen upon impact.  "  He purses his lips for a moment before continuing, "The barrel will be much more concentrated and much more liquid at the target..."  A bit of a pained grimace accompanies that last statement.

"No problem, boss," Yas reports over the crew comm, doubting she will face much problems, especially not after the warm-up by Jockram and his crew.  "I think the main laser will quickly discourage anyone, plus you wouldn't be risk getting hurt, it'll give me more freedom, Ty.  Oh, and I have done a few drops, so yeah, why don't you all save up for a grav belt for me, eh?"

"Sassy, you always had a way with things like no one else," she chuckles to the inventive engineer of Profit Margin.

"Ready when you are, boss," she reports, prepared to drop and set out with a moments notice.

Shui winces as the reports flow in.  She needs to be in two places at once, and that's just not possible.  + Captain Lanza, I realize you are swamped at the moment, but I may need to deputize one of our passengers. + Eneris, most likely.  She studies the readouts. + Our lower berth 'passenger' is set to awaken; the process has begun, and I cannot simply shut it down.  However, the situation outside may warrent a medical officer, and I think you agree we cannot leave Mr. Othati-Fenn to wander the ship unsupervised. +

+ Do I have permission to contact Mr. Armusezash for assistance, what with the remainder of the crew rather busy at the moment? +