"Oh, you can be sure I will remind Shui that she forgot all about me the moment I was out of sight." Tylen responds to Yas in a deadpan voice.

Then he stands up and stretches his legs, before slinging the laser carbine carefully across his shoulder and striding across to his Quad.  "Do you think he will want us to meet him back at the port?" he asks idly.

The air/raft starts to lift, albeit a little unsteadily.  Ash manages to hold it though...

Profit Margin swings around and flies back towards the 'raft and its attendant security team at a much more leisurely pace.  The ship eventually comes to a halt just a couple of metres off the ground and about twenty metres from where Yas and Tylen wait.

Jago plays with the controls, and the garage opens, allowing the air/raft access through the upper hull.  Meanwhile the cargo ramp drops with a deafening screech, and the lower end hits the ground in a shower of displaced dirt and dust.

The freighter hovers there, and waits.

"Shui, Saskia... you can leave your posts now.  Go check that our friends are all home safely."

"You do that, Ty.  I'd say 'no' to that question," Yas states and get a few flashbacks to her days in the corps from the hovering boarding Jago evidently is planning on.  Showing off to Ash's date, no doubt.

"Let's roll out and head in, folks, in case those rednecks finds some courage in the form of booze and friends!"  She barks out her order and mounts her twheeler (it's a two wheeler, duh), ready to follow her own command.

Tylen grins, straddles his machine and guns the quad, up the ramp and onto The Margin. He brakes hard and turns away from the ramp once he is over the lip, making sure there is enough room for Yas.  Once the quad is clear, he dismounts and moves to the doorway, watching to make sure that the surrounding area remains clear.
This message had punctuation tweaked by the player at 11:27, Mon 19 Oct 2015.

"Wonderful," Shui replies. "Absolutely, Captain Lanza."  And she's up and jogging down the hallway, a thumb already on a holo-control for her dataglove, activating the internal com. + Attention Passengers, + the steward begins.  + While the situation has normalized, we request you remain in your cabins.  It should not be much longer. +

Better to let them know.

There's a rumble as something enters the Profit Margin, and as Shui hurries into cargo bay, she's delighted to see Tylen taking up a position at the top of the ramp.  From his stance, the situation is indeed without serious stress. "Mr. Orgesh!" she calls out as she approaches, slowing to a walk.  "Any injuries to report?"

Medical information first, as always.

Yas and Tylen are barely inside the hold before Jago seals the ramp with its normal screech.

Outside, the sir/raft climbs unsteadily to hover above the ship. then descends slowly into its storage, as Ash makes continuous corrections to counteract the destabilising effect of the disconnected grav module.  Jago does his best to hold the ship steady, so that Ash's job is made easier.

The air/raft drops into and settles into its cradle, where the docking clamps engage to lock it securely in place...

And then the main thrusters engage, accelerating the ship. even as the overhead hatch closes to seal the air/raft in a bubble of warmth and comfort.

"No injuries." Tylen grins across at Shui  "We hardly saw anything of the gunmen at all.  They took off into the wilds after a single warning shot." he continues.  He is just about to tease Shui about missing him out when send messages, when Yas comes flying up the ramp and it starts to close, forcing him to jump back into the hold proper.

"I suppose we had better get back to our proper stations" he says recognizing that Jago isn't liable to hang about out here.  "And we want to look professional when we drop the surveyor off." he adds finally.

Saskia starts toward the access hatch on the side of the air-raft, tools in hand, then forces herself to stop.  She raises her eyes from the chassis of the vehicle and looks at Ash and his passenger with a nervous smile.

"Welcome back.  Are you both all right?"  Then after a pause, and because it is probably the polite thing to do, she adds, "Captain Lanza sends his compliments and recommends that you go directly to Medical if you have any injuries."

The hand that isn't holding the tool box, meanwhile, is twitching as the Engineer strives to fight the urge to drop the conversation and start work.

"I'm not hurt." Ash's passenger confirms, in response to Saskia's query, "Just a bit shaken up.  Mostly I think I need a drink."  She holds out her hand, which is trembling, "See?"

And at that moment, Jago's voice comes over the speakers in the air/raft hangar and the cargo hold... "Ash, Tylen and Yas please come to the Bridge for debriefing.  At your earliest convenience, thanks.  Ash, please drop the surveyor off with Shui on the way past, or in the crew lounge if Shui is busy."

Alone on the Bridge, for the moment, Jago smiles happily.  He's flying his ship, and getting to show off a little.  A pity that the inertial dampers and deck plates mean that nobody else on Profit Margin will have noticed that he just put her through a victory roll.

He turns the nose back towards the port at a slightly more sedate pace than he had left it...

"Fantastic news, Mr. Orgesh," Shui replies.  "Criminals such as those can often be a cowardly breed; I'm pleased to hear nothing further transpired before our arrival."  One eyebrow rises as Jago gives orders. "I believe I can manage to look professional for our surveyor," she continues once their captain is finished.  "You, on the other hand, have a rather urgent briefing to attend."

With a quick smile and a shooing motion, she sends Tylen on his way before heading toward the air raft.

Ash breathes a sigh of relief once he has touched down in the vehicle bay safely and the doors to outside begin to close.

His thin frame rocks slightly as he waves in greeting to Saskia and nods to her statements, "Thank you, Ms. Blake."  He scratches his head for a moment then apologizes rather sheepishly, "Sorry about the control regulator."  He knows that he hasn't brought the equipment in the same condition that he borrowed it.  And he can see that Saskia is ready with tools in hand, "She's all yours..."  He'd offer to help, for it is the least he can do... but, Jago's pronouncement comes over the PA system.

Ash taps his comm and vocalizes quietly, "++Roger that, Captain++"  He smiles lightly at what he perceives to be an attempt at levity by Helda, "I'll get you that drink personally, Ms. Marrtin."  Then he adds quickly, "But only after, Ms. Shui Tiesi - our medical officer - gives you the once over."  The lanky navigator motions to his passenger to accompany him, "I'll escort you to her ..." the a sheepish smile touches his lips, "then I, uh, have to go to a quick meeting."

"But," he promises as he starts to walk towards the access hatch, "I will get you that drink."

Yas and Tylen leave the hold and enter the Crew Lounge, heading for the Bridge, while Shui crosses the hold to the air/raft hangar, where she finds Ash about to lead a stranger out through the other door.  That stranger is, presumably, his passenger, Helda Marrtin.

The woman is carrying what looks like some sort of equipment case, gripping the handle very tightly.

Saskia is also in the hangar, preparing to start work on the 'raft.

Having boarded, Yas had hoped to get out of her suit - comfy as it is, it is not made for walking about in all the time, after all - but, no, Mr I-don't-want-to-endanger-the-passengers-but-then-I'll-do-it-anyway decides to summon them all straight up.

Watching Ty and Sushi makes her realise that Ty does indeed like Sushi, but also make her wish she will never have to witness the former eat the latter at the dinner table.  The thought makes her snort and chuckles all the way to the bridge whenever she glances at him.

"Fancy meeting you here.  You come here often?" she says to Ash as she waits for him to file onto the bridge before she crams herself in there with the full suit.  That way she can make sure she is the last to enter and the first to leave, after all, so she can get out of this suit and slip into something more comfortable.  As she thinks that, the whole Ty and Sushi idea have set her mind in motion and so she can only barely stop from burst out laughing as the phrase 'Ash to Ash, Lust to Lust' creeps into her mind.

She really needs to get out of this suit, clearly it is having an effect on her.  Yeah, that's got to be it, the suit.  Doing her best she tries not to think about anything further on suit, especially not in conjunction with birthdays.  Nope.

Tylen, Still carrying his laser Carbine strapped on his shoulder, follows Yas, but then ducks around her when she holds back.  Once on the bridge he will divest himself of the weapon and park it, temporarily, in his turret area.  Then he will lounge in one of the seats, one leg over the arm as he picks at something on  the knee of his trousers.  Glancing up, he sees, Yas just about able to cram herself through the door, and then unable to sit down comfortably - and his face cracks into his trademark grin.

Shui leads Helda Marrtin towards her quarters, which double as a small sick bay, while Yas, Tylen and Ash carry on to the Bridge.  As they enter Shui's room, the surveyor, still holding on to her equipment case, murmurs to Shui, "I was only joking about the drink, you know.  Honestly, I was.  I'm not some kind of addict."  She laughs nervously, "But if you have something to calm my nerves a bit, I'll take it."

Jago looks over his shoulder as his three crew members enter the Bridge.  He turns his seat to face them as they get settled (except Yas, whose armour is likely to break anything she sits on).  The skipper removes the unlit cigar from his mouth and gazes at it wistfully for a few seconds before he starts to speak.

"That was good work out there.  You managed to protect somebody, who had engaged our services, in a very tricky situation and with a minimum of gun-play on your part.  The person in question was also working for the local government, which can only enhance our reputation.  Well done, all of you."

Half turning the chair, he glances outside, where the starport can be seen as the ship slowly draws closer to it.  He hits a control on the panel, "I need you all to tell me, in your own words, what happened.  I'll be recording your statements, and giving a copy to the surveyor, so she can present it to her superiors."

Tylen grins and sits back waiting for Ash to tell the story.  After all, Tylen really didn't have much of a story to tell.  He hadn't even fired a shot.

"Don't worry, Ms. Marrtin," Shui reassures the woman.  "You've had something of a trying time, and not the norm for coming aboard the Profit Margin, I can assure you.  I suspect we can find you something to enjoy."  She has some wine, purchased recently for a possible soirée with Tylen; that should probably do.

Ushering the woman to a chair, she moves to her refrigerator.  Pausing, she considers her 'guests'. "Ms.  Marrtin, are you familiar and comfortable with small animals?" she inquires, continuing to the cooler.  Removing the bottle, she cracks the seal and pours a glass of the white wine.

Crouching next to the air raft, Saskia used a cold light lanternto illuminate the interior of the service hatch.  She smiles -- Ash has done a reasonable job, considering that somebody had inserted a large calibre rifle round into the grav module.

At least he hasn't produced more mess than the bullet had already made.

Should be easy enough for her to replace the power regulator, reconnect everything, then run a quick diagnostic sequence to check that it's working properly, and that the repaired module is balanced properly with the others.

Jago listens quietly while his crew give their own brief accounts of the incident, interrupting only to clarify certain parts of the descriptions.  When the last statement has been recorded, he turn back to the controls and sets the ship on a slow descent towards the port.

"Right, we'll be landing shortly.  Stations, please, everybody." he instructs the trio.

Helda Marrtin shakes her head, "No, I mean it.  It was a joke... I don't drink.  If you have some kind of medication to ease my nerves, that'd be good."  Then her eyes narrow, and she clutches the case tightly as she regards Shui with something akin to suspicion, "What kind of small animals?"

In the air/raft hangar, Saskia continues to work on the vehicle.

Tylen grins and stretches before strolling casually across to his turret - clearly he isn't really expecting any trouble.  However, he is careful to ensure that his laser carbine is secure, and isn't going to get damaged should he need to move quickly.

Pausing a hairsbreadth from cracking the seal on the bottle, Shui eyes the other woman speculatively.  After a moment, she replaces said bottle and closes the fridge.  "I do not, as a habit, prescribe strong medication for an acute case of nerves.  While it can be serious, I find the best possible result to be a mild soporific, followed by some sleep.  As for small animals, I have a pair here.  One of them is less-than-social, but the other is completely harmless and known for projective empathic capabilities - that is to say, one of its defence mechanisms is to calm things around it."

She smiles.  "Possibly even more useful than the soporific.  But either way, I will need to do a quick examination of your vitals and chemistry before we proceed; I require a baseline for safe dosage and the like."

Ash had made his recorded statement short and sweet.  Well, as short as possible, given he was the primary witness (besides Helda, who wasn't part of the crew and so didn't count in this case).  And as sweet as possible, given the violence inherent in the situation.  He didn't try to embellish, but was a detailed as he could be.  The report was for posterity, after all.

He let out a big sigh of relief once the recorder was off.  Documentation wasn't necessarily his favorite activity.  And the adrenaline surge was starting to wear off, a touch of fatigue was creeping into his consciousness as the fight or flight instinct began to recede.

The lanky navigator plopped down into his seat and started to unlock his console.  But before he finished doing that, Ash swiveled to face Jago for a moment.  "Boss," he ventured tentatively, "do you mind if I check in on Ms. Marrtin first, for a moment?"  He let a touch of genuine concerned creep into his voice as he asked for permission to go and find the native surveyor.

Not that he didn't trust that she wasn't in good hands with Shui or anything like that; he simply felt that she was still his responsibility of sorts and that she'd been shot at on his watch.  And that seemed to weigh a bit on his mind.

"I'll just get out of this so I can fit in my seat, boss," Yas says and turns to leave, not waiting for him to respond.  It would be a waste of time, after all, and time is short at the moment.


Soon thereafter she is back on the bridge and enters her little cabin where she, with the door open as usual, activates everything to ready status.

"You have an animal that can make me feel better?   Sounds... weird.  Can I see it?" the surveyor looks around the room nervously, "Then I can decide if I want it anywhere near me."  Her grip on the instrument case tightens.

Profit Margin approaches the pad where it had previously landed, and Jago puts in a request for emergency landing clearance, which he receives in short order.  He nods absently at Ash's question, before adding, "Tell them we're back at the port, safe and sound, and that I'd like a word with her before she leaves the ship."

"Yas, Tylen.  There was some odd activity around here as I was bringing the ship out to you.  Looked like some sort of security alert.  It might have had nothing to do with us, but I'd sooner be safe than sorry.  I want you two to keep your eyes open for anything that looks like troop movement.  As well as watching the traffic, as usual."

And then, "I'm not going to drop the ramp, for added safety.  Miss Marrtin will have to leave via the port side airlock, when she's ready."

"Roger that, Captain." Ash notes as he pushes away from his console to stand and straightens the collar on his tunic for a moment.  As he leaves the bridge, the lanky navigator turns for a moment to face the Captain, "Thank you, sir.  I won't be more than a few moments."

He makes his way to the medical bay, which is the same as Shui's quarters, of course.  Knocking quietly on the door, he waits patiently as to not disturb the occupants (too much).  Obviously, he needs to relay instructions from the Captain at this point, but Ash also is concerned on a more personal level as well.  Ultimately, the local surveyor was his responsibility when he escorted her out on the air/raft.

Well, and maybe Ash still owes Helda a drink or something.