"I hope you're correct, Mr. Orgesh."  She sighs.  "My experience in the past is that places without serious weapon laws usually have much higher murder rates than those with the laws.  But there can be exceptions." The steward cocks her head at his description of the reasoning of the double rig.  It makes sense and, honestly, if one is going to carry one handgun, having another doesn't make it any worse in her eyes.

Festooned with weaponry might be excessive, of course....

Her dataglove blurps, and Shui holds it up.  "Apologies, Mr. Orgesh.  Duty calls."  Opening up her alerts, she checks to see who it might be and if they want a face-to-face, or via comm.

If the latter, she answers immediately.

Everything looks good so far.  Now there's just the business of making sure the linkages haven't burned out.  Or been shattered.

There are some one metre bars in the utility locker, intended for use as reinforcing braces.  She can use them to construct a support structure for the superconductor cable that will act as a makeshift lightning rod.  Saskia sets to work getting the rods out of storage and welding them together to create a framework.

Corlan is on the other end of the connection when Shui answers, "Miss Tiesi, I was wondering if I could go ashore for a little while?  I'm thinking of taking a walk across to the Port Authority building.  I've noticed that there is no tourist information being fed to the ship's computer, probably due to insufficient technological development here, and it's been my experience that worlds where tourist information is not available online often have brochures and pamphlets available in somewhere in the starport."

Ash answers the comm signal, which is audio only again - a man's voice.  "Do I have the honour of speaking to the captain?  Before Ash can reply, he continues, "I represent Farreach Trading, and my company would be interested in 'first refusal' on any speculative cargo you intend to offload here.  We can offer the best prices you can get locally, paid in Imperial Credits, of course."

Saskia drags a stack of metal rods outside the ship, where she starts using a portable laser welder to assemble them into a simple framework to support the  home made lightning rod that she intends to use to test the probe's conductivity.  The rods aremeant for use in rapid construction, and the welder makes short work of connecting them together...

Shui smiles into the pickup - he can't see her, but it does change her voice in subtle ways. + Mr. DeSant.  Of course you may go ashore.  However, I would reccomend that you bring a crewmember with you - security reasons, a strong reccomendation from our own Yasmine Crow.  Perhaps myself, or Mr. Orgesh, or Ms. Crow herself? +

She frowns.  + In fact, I could go ashore with you immediately, if my other tasks are complete. + They are, she thinks. + I have noted the lack of information myself, and really should be finding these things out for the crew and passengers.  Would that be acceptable, Mr. DeSant? +

"Not bad."  Saskia steps back and views her handy work.  The frame is a tripod, with a cable tied around it and running across the field to a steel storage bin.  Then she goes back into the ship, extends the probe to its full length, which places the tip about five centimetres from the top of the frame.

She activates a surge of current from the fusion plant and watches the result on the external monitors.

At the thought of being the Captain, Ash lets slight chuckle echo over the comm link.  "No.. no, no." he begs off, "I'm just the navigator of the Profit Margin.  The Captain is on another line."

He glances over at Jago, to see if the Captain wants to take the call immediately or not, but in any case, Ash hedges his bets, "I can see to it that the Captain contacts you as soon as possible, if you leave your name and contact information with me."  He starts to tap away on one of his dynamic displays.  "Farreach Trading, you say?" he prompts the respresentative on the other end of the line as he starts to jot the company name down into a blank document program.

"My name is Allain Desoto, I'm a seniot buyer for Farreach Trading.  I can be reached here, on... "  Information comes over the external comm system, contact details, and more promises of "the best prices" for speculative trade goods.

Current flows out along the probe, and jumps to the conductor rod.  There is a flash, and the steel bin jumps about a metre into the air, before clattering back down on the hard, concrete surface of the landing field, where it lays, smoking...

"Can you give me a few minutes to get ready?  I'm really not dressed for an excursion.  If not, I can make my own way over to the Port Authority.  From what I can see on the external views, the building is only a short distance away, and clearly marked." Corlan replies.

Jago stands, stretching, then bends from side to side a little, trying to work an annoying kink out of his spine.  Yas, meanwhile, replays the conversation with Covan Draik, rechecking the details.

"Perhaps I could accompany you both?" Tylen suggests, directing a wink towards Shui.

+ Absolutely, Mr. DeSant, + Shui assures him. + I should get changed myself.  It should only take a few minutes as well. + She fires a sidelong glance at Tylen, appraising him.  "If you wish, Mr. Orgesh," she finally states after a suitably dramatic pause.  "I'm sure we would both be pleased by the company."

A smile appears and vanishes.  "I really should change, though.  Despite any thoughts to the contrary, I will be prepared in no more than five minutes.  Shall I meet you at the ramp?"

Arrangements made, she hurries for her quarters, flicking a holoswitch as she does and sending a call to Jago.  + Captain Lanza - Mr. DeSant wishes to consult Port Authority in the hopes of finding information about the world.  Both myself and Mr. Orgesh will accompany him; it shouldn't take long. +

Tylen nods and heads to his own cabin.  Once there he quickly dons an unobtrusive variant of his security guard uniform and slots a single revolver into the formal looking holster.

Checking himself over in the mirror elicits a small grin. The semi-formal style allows him to meet Shui half way.  Her distaste when he suggested wearing his double-rig earlier had been obvious, even though she had covered it quickly.

Once at the ramp head he reverts to form and finds a suitable packing case to lounge against.

Jago's eyebrows rise a fraction on hearing Allain Desoto's request and he signals Ash that he doesn't want to talk to the man.

"Good job Ash, I don't want to commit to anything until I have a better idea of the situation here," he says when the navigator has cut the connection.


"Very well Miss Tiesi, but everyone takes comms of course, can you organise something for Mr DeSant please," he responds to Shui's call.


After a few minuets consideration he smiles and asks, "fancy a run ashore Ash, and a few drinks at the Saborian?"

Glancing at Jago and noting his gesticulating, Ash dutifully took down Desoto's contact information and quickly closed off the comm link.  "My pleasure, boss." the thin ex-Scout noted with an incline of his head, the logic was more than reasonable.  He pushed the information over to Jago's inbox.  You know, just in case, the Captain decided to he needed it for some reason.

Then the Profit Margin's navigator went back to the escaperoute calculations, busying himself while the Captain answered Shui's request for shore leave.

Looking up from the multiple data stream on his console, Ash almost did a double take when Jago suggested that he accompany him to the Saborian to meet with Covan Draik.  "Ah..." he stammered slightly, "I'd be delighted, Boss.  My shift should be over by then."  Apparently, Jago wasn't expecting too much trouble; otherwise, he wouldn't have asked one of the lesser qualified marksman of the group to join him.

The trial of the newly straightened probe appears to have been a success, and the only casualty is a steel storage bin which will never threaten innocent visitors to the port again...

Jago rejects the offer from Farreach Trading, at least until he has a better idea of what other organisations are working at the port, and what they have to offer.  In the mean time, it looks as though Ash will have to find his best outfit, as he seems to be Jago's companion of choice for the trip to the Saborian. 

Shui and Tylen get ready to go ashore, then meet Corlan in the cargo hold.  The ramp drops with its customary friendly screech, and the trio descend to stand on the cracked concrete of the port.  The air smells... like air.  A little denser than usual, but definitely no major concerns.

Corlan points towards a building, not too far distant.  "That's the PA office."  Even without his identification, the words "PORT AUTHORITY" emblazoned across the face of the structure in Anglic and Bilanidin might have been a clue.

There are people moving nearby, many look like crew and passengers from other ships - the wide variety of clothing styles and materials indicate an equally diverse array of sources.

The passers-by that might be locals are all clad in safety colour coveralls.  Most likely port employees.

"Jago, I've fixed the probe.  No permanent damage," except for some minor port property, "and everything looks to be working fine." Saskia reports in.

"I'm just going to tidy up out here," and hide the evidence, "and as long as you have nothing else that needs doing urgently then I'm going to go off duty for an hour or so.  Probably take a look about.  See what they have here in the way of things to do."

+ Of course, Captain Lanza. +  Snagging a comm for Corlan, Shui heads for the ramp.  Once there, she frowns momentarily at the sight of Tylen's single pistol.  Because of her comments?  She'll have to rein in a touch in the future; she doesn't want him to feel uncomfortable.

At the same time, it's nice to see he made an effort.

"Mr. Orgesh, Mr. DeSant."  She's dressed in her customary tan pencil skirt, dark shirt, and tan jacket. "A comm, Mr. DeSant."  She winces as the ramp drops. "I realize it's only...a short distance," Shui continues, noting the position of the Port Authority office, "but captain's orders."

Handing Corlan the comm, she links arms with both men, automatically positioning herself on Tylen's left, Corlan's right.  "Shall we?"

The trio make their way across to the building.  It is an older style structure, built of concrete, steel and glass.  On many worlds it would probably be considered old fashioned, but here it is very likely state of the art.

They reach the glass doors, and stop... they don't appear to be functioning.  Perhaps the Port Authority is closed.  Then a man in spacer coveralls comes out of the building, manually pushing the door open to do so.  He nods a friendly greeting to Shui, Tylen and Corlan as he passes them.

Inside the building, the atrium is almost empty.  There are a few people about, mostly standing or walking in small groups, talking quietly among themselves for the most part.  Several large monitor screens are fixed to one wall, displaying traffic information and news in low resolution monochrome characters.  None of it seems any different from what they had been able to find out aboard Profit Margin.

"Look out for some kind of information point." Corlan suggests, "That would probably be the best place to find out about tourist spots, and the like."

Surprisingly enough, there are no running gunfights in the atrium.  Not even any fisticuffs...

Saskia starts tidying up.  Her repairs, and the subsequent tests have proven successful.  She dutifully stands the storage bin upright again, idly glancing at the contents.  Opening the lid, she finds that it contains sheets of printed paper fastened together in small groups, apparently local news and advertising.  A lot of them are charred, but she manages to find one group that is still readable, and haul it out.

Jago considers his options, as he realises that, if he goes ashore with Ash, and Shui and Tylen are already groundside... that leaves Yas and Saskia in charge of the ship...

"Excellent," Jago beams at his navigator, "I'm thinking of just a light lunch in what sounds like a reasonable hotel, with perhaps a little fact finding thrown in, a fairly pleasant occasion I hope."

"Yasmin," he goes on, turning his attention to the com link, "I'll be going ashore around 13.30 and I'd like you here to hold the fort, can you organise your activities around that, I'll only be a couple of hours?"

Tylen nods his greeting to the spacer who inadvertently shows them how the doors work  and mutters "Quaint ..." under his breath.

It has been quite a wile since he has seen doors like those on a star-port.  However, he still checks the place and people over in the way that security men do all over the place, because that is his job.  He doesn't make a big thing of it, just looks, remembers and learns as he goes.

He is not surprised, of course, that there are no gun fights  or even street fights - he was brought up on a world where many people went armed, and hardly anyone ever died. Still, he did look to see what weapons were in sight amongst the visitors to the space port.  Staff were a different matter, and wouldn't actually tell him a lot about the outside world.

"Real quiet ..." he comments to his companions  "I had thought it would be busier."

There is an information point.  A circular structure, about two metres tall, with several shelves running around the circumference.  The shelves are filled with leaflets and brochures, and on top of the structure is a slowly revolving sign which reads, "VISITOR INFORMATION" in the usual Anglic and Bilanidin.  The booklets provide an overview of local areas of natural beauty (beaches, hiking trails, lakes and rivers), sites of interest (government buildings, museums, art galleries), public transport information, and details of local customs and etiquette.

Yas looks up from where she studies the information about the proposed meeting, "No problem Jago.  All looks safe enough.  Seems legit."  The gunnery chief smiles at her captain.  And the hotel is close enough that I could shoot it from here, without too much collateral damage.

Saskia continues tidying up outside, cutting her framework into separate rods, disconnecting the superconductor, etc...

Shui nods in agreement to Tylen's assessment.  "Perhaps it is the presence of the military?" she inquires.  After all the information lockdown demonstrates there's something amiss.  Fortunately, they make the short trip without incident, and once inside find a wealth of information.  His comment about the doors makes her smile, a slightly wistful expression.  She wonders what he would think of her parents' house, with its similar portals and sliding windows.

She's out of touch with such things herself, after so many years away.

"Well, Mr. DeSant," she cheerfully begins upon finding the information point and its brochures.  "It appears we have discovered the secrets of the world.  And all in hardcopy."  Immediately, Shui begins claiming leaflets.  Not all of them, but enough to give her some actual reading material for a short time.

It appears she won't have to buy any souveniers from this world; the pamphlets will do just fine.

Tylen allows the other two to collect a selection of leaflets.  He stand quietly, smiling and occasionally pointing out one that they have missed, because he thinks might interest him.

However, he stays alert and aware of his surroundings,  Although he will take his time to look around - perhaps looking to see if there is another information point that might contain a different sort of information, of if there is a basic map of the starport displayed on a wall.

It only takes Tylen a few moments to spot the map.  A large, colourful image of the port and its adjacent "startown", including the perimeter fence and access roads, mounted on the wall and lit from behind, above a series of devices which are also fixed to the wall.

A closer examination of the devices reveals that they may be for communication - a small keypad and smaller display, both part of a box structure, plus a second piece attached to the first by a length of cable.  The whole device is enclosed by a smoothly curved transparent shell which looks as though it might be designed to partly surround the head and upper torso of a user, and provide some privacy.

Yas suddenly seems to have an afterthought, "Jago... don't forget to take comms and some kind of weapon with you.  Weapons look to be expected here, and you need to be able to call for backup, in the event that somebody decides to test how well you can use yours.  I'll keep the 'raft prepped while you're ashore, just in case you need an emergency extraction."  The smile that follows is dripping with sweetness...
This message had punctuation tweaked by the GM at 14:54, Sun 14 Dec 2014.

Not even looking up from his display, where the numbers from the intermediate astrogation calculations continue to stream by, Ash answers for both himself and the captain when Yas makes her security recommendations known.  "We won't forget, Chief." he reassures her, repeating for his own personal edification, "Comms and weapons.  Standby with emergency extraction."

Even if Ash is not the most accurate of marksman or the most violent of people, he appears to have no intention of being caught unarmed in a relatively lawless area like this one.  The lanky ex-Scout rubs his right knee absentmindedly as his focus remains on the datastreams before him.

Corlan works his way through the display of pamphlets with ruthless efficiency, rapidly picking out one of each, without actually checking to see what they are.  Plenty of that later, when he is safely aboard the ship and has is fellow passengers to discuss Phlume's tourist attractions with.

Which leaves him with just one more question, "Miss Tiesi, do you know how long we are likely to be here?"

Tylen, meanwhile, is standing a little way off and studying the map of the port. 

Yas nods her head absently at Ash's response.  Crew can be, automatically, expected to follow her instructions.  Jago is the one who might give her trouble.  Still with Tylen and Sushi out there already, and no emergency calls from them, it's entirely possible that the situation here is not that bad...

Saskia is almost finished with her work, and the subsequent clean up.  Two men in what look like they could be some sort of security uniforms nod to her as they pass the ship.

Tylen studies the map for a few moments then moves back to the others.