Ash smiles slightly at the payment amount as Jago scrutinizes it.  "Nice." he quips lightly, "They use pretty paper at least."  Then he nods to the further instructions and takes the receipt in hand.

"Got it, Boss." the navigator confirms to the Captain, as he trots down the corridor making his way off of the bridge.

Once back in the cargo hold, he holds out the slip of paper to Barrat, "Mr. Haynes.  Captain Lanza expresses his gratitude to the Fellowship for doing business with us.  He also wishes you the best of luck."  He pauses for a moment to let the man peruse the receipt if he so desires, before continuing, "Lastly, the Captain also wanted me to tell you that we will be landing as close to your dome as possible.  And should be doing so within the next 10 minutes or so."

He motions towards the cockpit of the crawler.  "So, without further ado, Mr. Haynes," Ash notes amiably, "if your cargo is properly stowed..." and he glances towards Yas and the rear of the crawler, "you should likely make ready to disembark in short order..."

Shui nods as the captain's message comes through. + Of course, Captain Lanza.  That seems wise.  Thank you. +

"Well, Mr. Othati-Fenn," she briskly begins.  "Captain Lanza estimates no more than a half hour before you can leave us.  I can most certainly provide you with a packed lunch, if you would care to follow me to the galley once your legs feel strong enough.  It's good to move around as soon as you can after coldsleep; it helps prevent the cramps from settling in."

She gestures toward Tylen. "Gunnery Officer Orgesh will accompany us, of course."

"Don't worry, we'll make sure we've landed before you drive out," Yas chuckles as she wraps up the loading.  "And you can tell your friend you've been on a genuine space ship, travelling faster than this crawler ever could, and not using up a drop of fuel in the process.  Well, not your fuel, at least!"

"So, Ash, ever done something like this before?  Reminds me of one time in the corps, if less shooting," she asks the navigator.
This message was last edited by the player at 22:34, Mon 09 Dec 2013.

Tylen nods at Shui's comments but responds to Yas's comment to Ash.  "Sometimes a  shooting livens things up.  Just needs an excuse ..." he says with a grin, raising an eyebrow at Othati-Fenn.

His fingers are restless, like the often are, and he picks lightly at a minor ridjge on the stock of the shotgun.

Othati-Fenn stretches and flexes and winces and grumbles as cramps and assorted aches and pains make themselves known, and he follows Shui out through the hold and towards the galley.  As they pass through, he gives the group gathered around the crawler a curious look...

In the galley he waits under Tylen's watchful scrutiny while Shui prepares a snack for him, answering questions about preferences and allergies mostly with simple yes and no answers.  Suddenly he seems to build up a little nerve, and straightens himself up to ask, "Can you do me a favour?  Pass on an apology to the man I grabbed.  Tell him I'm sorry, and that it was nothing personal - I needed a hostage, and he was there.  It was just... business, I suppose.  If not him, it would have been somebody else.  But I'm sorry it had to be anybody."

Barrat Haynes looks into the back of the crawler, pocketing the receipt.  He tries to move one of the containers, then tries harder, sliding it a few centimetres.  After which he gives Yas an appreciative look, "That suit makes you stronger?  I've heard of those I think.  Wonder how much it would cost to import one for the Triumvirate.  But then I suppose it needs special training to use, doesn't it?" 

He swings the door closed, then climbs into the cab with a nod to Ash, "Thank you for your help."

Jago calls back to Saskia, "Keep an eye open, we're dropping now."  Then he activates the crew channel, "Here we go, people." and as an afterthought, "Brace for impact." and a laugh to follow up.

Profit Margin rolls and tips her nose towards the frozen surface of Rangent as the thrusters come to life...

Shui blinks in surprise at Othati-Fenn's apology.  He hadn't seemed the sort, choosing to otherwise blame everyone else for his difficulties.  This, however, might be a starting point for a new path, a burgeoning change in his outlook signifying a different route for his life.  She hopes so.

"I believe the word for which you search," she quietly states, "is 'mistake', not business.  If not, please pardon my presumption.  But whether or not that is the case, I do appreciate the apology, and I believe Mr. DeSant will as well.  Thank you, Mr. Othati-Fenn.  I will most certainly pass along your feelings on the matter, and assure Mr. DeSant that you did seem truly contrite."

She inclines her head to the side, studying him for a long moment.  "And I hope that events proceed in a more fortuitous manner for you, and that you find what you seek in life."  Or what he needs, she reflects; sometimes they are not one and the same.

"Oh yeah, this baby makes you a lot stronger.  So strong, in fact, that without proper training you might end up breaking your own arm or tear up this crawler like it was paper.  Sort of like handling eggs with thin shell, if you ever done that.  A moment distraction, and splash!  Or crunch, be it a head or a wall.  Stands up to small arms fire, though, and a bit upward.  Learnt to use it in the corps, without hurting anyone in the process," Yas explains, happy to be talking shop about something she enjoys, actively demonstrating the crushing of eggs and skulls alike on imaginary targets.  "Costs a cute credit, though, but it's worth it, doubles as a space suit as well.  I'm as safe as a seedspitter on a ship in this."

The ship rolls and drops groundward.  Oh, frelling great!  He thinks he's piloting a dropship!

Saskia quickly pulls the radar onto the central display, and adds an altitude warning, just in case.  Then she double-checks the arrangement of system monitors around it.

"Still clear.  Power is stable.  Would now be a bad time to tell you I'm going to take a break?"

Ash shakes his head to Yasmine's query.  "Hate to admit it," the thin navigator readily concedes, "I've never given to charity before."  He smiles slightly sheepishly towards Barrat, before continuing, "But then, I never knew that it could be so ... engaging."  He shrugs slightly.

Then he gives a casual salute to Barrat, "It's been a pleasure to do business with you, Mr. Haynes."  Ash shows genuine concern for a moment, "Be careful out there.  As you are well aware, dealing directly with us will not win you friends in certain circles."

Still, the ex-Scout gives the crawler driver a 'thumbs-up' and pats the door.  "Farewell!"

Yas gives Ash an incredulous glance and then laughs.

"Ha!  I meant a drop.  Quick landing, getting this crawler off and then blast off right away," she explains, grinning from ear to ear.

"Yeah, so perhaps not talk too much about this, except in private among good friends, eh?  Perhaps once your grandkids can live in a less, uh, unfriendly world then you can tell them of your adventure."  She has no idea why she goes off on a tangent like that, but it is perhaps a nice thought that somewhere someone will remember the Margin fondly, beyond the crew.

She extends a hand towards him, saying "Don't worry, I won't even squeeze, just shake it up and down a bit."

In reply to Ash Tescali (msg # 132):

Tylen smiles wanly at Othai-Fenn's half hearted apology.  He really doesn't have Shui's sense that the man means anything by it at all.  It won't be remembered the next time the thug needs a hostage to get his own way.

It doesn't matter how prettily they speak.  A thug is still a thug.
This message was last edited by the player at 12:26, Sun 15 Dec 2013.

Ash shrugs to Yas and her chuckle.  "Everything is timing critical in the Imperial Navy." he notes to her, his gaze slightly distant as he recalls some of his time there.  Then the thin navigator refocuses, "Less so, with the Scout Service.  Or at least, there is less coordination between individuals since you spend so much time alone.  Some timing is still critical there, too..."

He quietly starts to make his way to stand in front of the crawler in preparation to help direct Barrat in backing the vehicle down the cargo ramp and off the ship.  Once they land, of course.  But, from what he can tell from the way the inertial dampers are compensating - it will likely be soon.  The Captain appears to have started his final descent...

"No break's Saskia, you'll need to hold it."

Profit Margin drops fast, entering the atmosphere at high speed. but still well within the hull's tolerances.  Jago pulls the nose up, and the ship pulls into a more horizontal trajectory, covering distance while still descending.

Barrat Haynes sits in the crawler, waiting for the signal to depart.  "Well, it's been nice meeting you.  Thanks for your help.  There are people that will be very grateful for the medicine.  Even if they never find out all the details, the Triumvirate will see that they know that help was delivered by a starship called Profit Margin."

A low frequency vibration  produced by air friction against the hull gradually reaches the point where it becomes audible, then stops as Jago makes some vector adjustments.  The ship slows, and drops lower.  Now only a couple of hundred metres above the ice, Profit Margin continues on at just barely subsonic speed...

Othati-Fenn nods glumly.  "I assume that I am to be deposited somewhere far from my brother and his captors - it's what I'd do in the same circumstances.  Just one question.  Can I also assume that I will be delivered somewhere where I won't freeze to death?"  He gestures towards his clothes, more suited to the regulated climate aboard a ship or a space station, "This is all I have to wear.  Didn't exactly come aboard with any luggage."

"Saskia, remember when I said you'd have to hold it?  That doesn't include the contents of the sewage tanks.  We'll be passing over the gang's dome in a couple of minutes, get ready to leave our friends a token of our respect."
This message was last edited by the GM at 10:49, Sun 15 Dec 2013.

"Oy, don't forget to video the whole septic tank dumping!  Good for feedback for the next time, as well as a warm memory of this welcoming paradise!" Yas says over the crew comm, making sure that their visitor doesn't hear it.  No need to cause undue offence with him, after all.

"Always more interesting when there's multiple people and wills involved in manoeuvres," Yas tells Ash with a bleak grin.

"Mr. Othati-Fenn, I will personally see to it that you are placed somewhere within shelter where you have opportunities, like the local spaceport."  Shui offers him a sympathetic frown.  "I am sorry, though, for your situation with your brother.  Indeed, to the best of my knowledge he is nowhere in the vicinity."

The doctor knows all about the loss of family, regardless of who they might have been.

She takes a long moment to consider, then sits down in the nearby chair.  "Mr. Othati-Fenn, I realize your situation is quite difficult at the moment.  You have no supplies, and I am uncertain as to whether or not you have access to your bank account.  I am willing to loan you a certain amount of money, sufficient to see to your needs for a period of time or to purchase a ticket to another planet."

Loan is a ridiculous word, given the circumstances; Shui cannot see him ever paying her back.  Whether or not he cared to do so, locating her might be an issue.  And she prefers it that way, given her past.

But it's also the word that might break past his pride on the matter.

She's aware of Tylen's thoughts on the matter of Othati-Fenn - they almost radiate off him - but having been given a second chance of her own, Shui is loathe to simply abandon the man to chance's vicious sense of humor.
This message was last edited by the player at 14:54, Mon 16 Dec 2013.

Saskia grins to herself then answers the captain, "It's already organised Jago.  Just need to double-tap that handy control I'm just setting up on your panel."  The joy of dynamic configurable control systems -- reorganise a layout to suit your own preferences or, if you have the override codes, add a new control to another panel so that the operator can take charge of that function.

Touch sensitive surfaces, holographic virtual interfaces and layout saving had revolutionised control panel design about half a millennium  ago, and now they're going to let Jago deliver a surprise package to some people who, to be honest, probably aren't really any more pleasant than the little gift they're about to get.

"Dren's ready to hit the fan at your discretion, Captain mine."

"Thank you, Saskia."  Jago notes the position of the new control on his panel, a yellow disk off to the right hand side, surrounded by a circle of inward pointing red arrows, all blinking to make sure he notices.  "The smiley face is a nice touch."

And on the crew channel, "Don't worry, I'm monitoring it with the sensor arrays, full visual spectrum.  You'll all get a chance to see it later.  Coming up on the target in... five... four... "

Profit Margin swings in a wide curve, less than a hundred metres off the ice and slows...

"... three... two... "

... and almost comes to a complete halt...

"... one... and done."

... before accelerating away from the dome at maximum thrust.

The soon to be released prisoner slumps a little as Shui explains that he won't be anywhere near his brother when he disembarks.  "So much for my plans for a daring rescue."  He seems about to say something else, but the offer of money makes him shut his mouth again.  He looks at Shui, then at Tylen, and back to Shui again.  "You do realise I won't be in a position to find you and pay you back?"  Another look at Tylen, "And I mean that in the sense of repaying the money."

Tylen stands and watches passively.   If Shui wants to try and help the guy, that is her choice.  Tylen will be much happier when the man is ashore and The Margin is well away from this dump.

The Profit Margin's navigator offers a slightly shrug and nods ruefully to the Security Chief when she makes her observation about the potential logistical nightmare involved with coordinating events.

Ash holds on to the one of the cargo lashes along the back wall of the hold as he feels the increased deceleration.  He nods to Barrat and gives casual salute, it does feel to help others and it be recognized for it in the right circles.  Then he takes a deep breath and braces himself slightly as Jago begins his countdown.  It's primarily superstition, but he braces himself even if the inertial dampers will do their job correctly.

He merely offers a simplified explanation to Haynes, "Another intermediate drop, I suspect."  His tone barely betrays that there may be more to it, before a slight smile creeps onto his lips and he adds, "Your stop will be next, I believe."  He gives the Triumvirate's representative a thumbs-up with his free hand.

"Oooh, lookitdat!  Dome of Icky Stuff, a new landmark on this planet!" Yas suddenly calls out, having routed the video feed into her suit to be able to watch it real-time.  Nothing like being there, after all.

Unlike Ash she does a little jig of sort in her armoured suit and claps her hands together once.

"Space-nuts 3, Meanies 0!" she referees, "first we turn 'em down, then we turn 'em wet 'n runnin' and now we give them a fresh coat o' paint!  Hoo Rah!"  She punches the air with a metal fist.

"Coming up on Mister Haynes' stop now." Jago announces a few minutes later, "Approximately twenty kilometres due south of where we picked him up."

The ship slows and descends again, and then the cargo hatch screeches and begins to open while Profit Margin is still a good twenty metres off the deck.  Landing gear extends, and the ship touches down on a broad expanse of ice somewhere between Nowhere and No Place.

Barrat Haynes starts the crawler and starts to back it, slowly, out of the hold...

And jago is back on the crew channel, "Thought you might like to hear this."  There is a click, a hiss, and a low whine, and Jockram's voice replaces Jago's.

"Jago, I've been monitoring comm chatter.  Couple of minutes ago there was a broadcast from that dome you just painted, telling their people what you did to it, and offering an 'increased reward' for anybody who can shoot down the Margin.  Then another station started rebroadcasting it, but with added commentary that the syndicate got what they deserved at last, and somebody did to them what they've been doing to honest businesses for years.  Now there are seven, no, eight different stations broadcasting their own versions of that message.  One of them even added music and a laugh track.  You might have made it difficult for the thugs to get themselves taken seriously down there for a while."

Tylen smiles grimly as he hears the recordings from the  ground stations, although he still says nothing as he watches Shui and their final 'guest'.

"Of course I realize this," Shui quietly replies.  "Nevertheless."  The doctor cocks an eyebrow at their resuscitated prisoner/visitor.  "I would think that two thousand credits would be sufficient for room, board, a ship's ticket and basic necessities in this place, would it not?"


Her gaze remains steady on the man throughout this question.

Watching through her lowered face plate as the crawler rolls out, Yas make sure it is clear of the ramp before starting to close it up, giving Barney or whatever his name was one last wave.

"Yeah, well, they finally smell like they behave then," she says over the comms with the grin that is audible and claps her hand together, even if that perhaps does not translate all that well over the audio.  "Hey, maybe we should take that reward?  I'll go down there and collect it, I'm dressed for it!  Oh wait, never mind, I don't want to make it smell."

Revenge is a dish best served smelly, perhaps.  Smelly and frozen.  Like a really cheap and nasty chocolate frosting.

"Now then, what about our other... guest?  I assume he's off next?" she asks over the crew comm and starts off towards where Tylen stands to see if he needs help with taking out the trash.  The face plate lifts up again now that the ramp is up.

"Hey, Ty.  Having fun?"

Ash waves farewell to Barrat Haynes once more and gives him any aid required in guiding the crawler out of the hold.  Only once that duty is discharged does he give the announcement over the comm channel more than a passing thought.  He shrugs slightly to no one in particular, seems that Jago and the rest of the crew want to make an impression - something that frozen poo to a dome is sure to do.

With the security chief in her armoured exoskeleton getting ready to escort Edrin off the ship, Ash figures that he is most needed on the bridge.  So, he quietly pads back to the co-pilot's console, nodding to Saskia and the Captain along the way.

And even though it is one the security feeds, the thin navigator of the Profit Margin gives his personal account of events, "Mr. Haynes and his crawler are away.  Ms. Crow is getting ready to escort Mr. Othati-Fenn off of the ship."  He adds a bit of commentary, "Likely we should land before she opens the airlock..."