OOC: Lest we get bogged down in roleplaying the evening of 350 for Thera and Jack, since it is only two players of six, we'll parallel those events with the start of the interviews (hopefully Jack and Thera's evening won't go comepletly off the rails and require retcon).  Characters who are not participating in the interviews can be assumed to be buying ship's gear.

First candidate is Marie Menkin.  Picture and dossier are re-printed below for convenience.

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Name: Marie Menkin
Age: 26
Homeworld: Alsace
Credentials: spacecraft pilot, advanced comms training, advanced gunnery qualification, basic firearms quals, driver’s license, advanced damage control qualifications, basic EVA training
Background: Worked for Espiaux System Lines as a crewperson prior to joining the FRN.  She starred in a series of recruiting holos for the service, but resigned her commission as a Junior Lieutenant after her initial tour and returned to Alsace.
Notes: She was censured by the FRN for unjustified use of force while acting as gunnery officer on an SDB in the Alsace system.

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You are caught slightly by suprise when the Shipyard's gate security comms Gypsy Moth at 0730 to let you know a guest named Marie Menkin had arrived.  Fortunately, all the relevant group members are already onboard.

Five minutes later she arrives at the passenger airlock and requests access.

Assuming it's granted, and assuming you're starting the interviews in the passenger lounge at the big conference table, she enters the passenger lounge.  Your firt impressions of her are of a strikingly attractive, red-haired woman in her mid-twenties.  She is dressed in fashionable active wear, stands perhaps 170-175cm (5'7-9"), maybe weighs 55-60kg (120-130lbs), and is physically fit.  She carries an attache case in her left hand.  Your impressions of her reaction are that she is impressed by the decor and a bit nervous.
This message was last edited by the GM at 03:45, Thu 10 Feb 2011.

”Welcome Ms. Menkin, I’m Captain Hayden Marks.” Hayden said, extending a hand.

”These are my associates; First Officer Danica Moreau, Doctor Jim Jones, and Mr. Bertrand, Gunners Mate.  Our Second Officer and Stewardess won’t be joining us unfortunately, but you may have a chance to meet them later*.” ‘May’ being the operative word.  It all depended on the interview.

After introductions, Hayden continued.
”We are looking for additional crew for the Gypsy Moth and your name came up.  We’d like to find out a bit more about you, your professional qualifications, and if you’d be interested in signing on, assuming you are selected for a position." Hayden liked open ended questions, following up on key points and issues as needed.

"I'm certain that we'll have some other questions as well and that you'll hvae some questions for us." Hayden said, motioning to the other members of the crew, whom he expected wouldn't hesitate to chime in on any issue they wanted to know about.

"To start, please tell us about your shipboard service and experince.  I understand you were in the Free Republic Navy?" he asked.

---

*Let me know if anyone has issue with the not quite arbitrary rank structure that I just created at the start of the interview.  It’s mostly predicated on the CT Book 7 entries for Free Trader ranks and skill (1st Officer = Pilot-1, 2nd Officer = Navigation-1, etc.).  The point is to give a bit of Merchant flavor and context, not establish a hierarchy.  If I’ve mentioned anyone who is not present, let me know and I’ll edit the post.
This message was last edited by the player at 07:26, Thu 10 Feb 2011.

Dr. Jones, sitting on a lounge and looking a bit the worse for wear, had his eyes closed while rubbing the back of his neck and so wasn't paying attention as Ms. Menkin entered the room.  As Hayden welcomed her and performed introductions, he got to his feet and laid eyes on the candidate.

"You've got to be kidding..."

Jim's face and ears turned various shades of red and he failed to extend his hand.

"We've met. Last night when I went shopping... she was looking for new shoes."

Anger and frustration was evident in his clipped and terse voice, but mostly he sounded embarrassed.

In reply to Dr. Jim D. Jones (msg #3):

Marie looks non-plussed and a bit confused by Dr. Jones comments, but she quickly recovers her poise.  "Yes, I was in the Navy for four years and just got out about six weeks ago.  I was in a Public Affairs program to show the actual day-to-day Navy life to recruits for the first year and a half.  After that I was on the SDB Gargoyle here in the Alsace system as Gunnery and Admin officer.  I made Junior LT* before getting out."

* = Sublieutenant

She continues, "But before I joined the Navy I worked as a deck hand on the ESL Fat Trader Elder Pine.  We were on the Alsace-St. Croix-Espiaux run.  That's actually where I got my starship pilot's cert."

Marie asks directly, "What route does Gypsy Moth plan to work?"

In general she seems bright, and eager.  She does not seem flustered or intimidated at facing a board of four hirers.  Her use of language tends towards the casual.
This message was last edited by the GM at 20:04, Thu 10 Feb 2011.

"No route; tramp trade.  Routes ultimately equalize supply and demand imbalances and without those imbalances, this is a boring, low profit business." Hayden said mater-of-factly.

"At this point, we are looking for assistance in the gunnery and engineering departments.  Tell us a bit more about your time on the Gargoyle." Hayden said.
This message was last edited by the player at 05:55, Fri 11 Feb 2011.

Bertrand seems to have completely changed from the day before. He is well-groomed, dressed in a clean and proper uniform complemented by a pair of dark sunglasses. He sits upright with the posture of a military officer, keeping his eyes fixed on Marie as she speaks.

Danica had spent the early portion of the morning meditating and working out in the passenger lounge and exercise room.  She expected the rest of the day to be quite busy with interviews, deliveries, orders and the sundry other preparations required for the Gypsy Moth to get underway in time.  So, the early morning she took upon herself to be for herself.

Danica went through her incredibly intricate set of stretching and flexibility exercises, as well as her various yoga and biofeedback routines.  It was an unusual and fairly esoteric mixture of very old and very new techniques.  In someways seemingly haphazardly strung together, but also with a strange refinement and flow to them.  Anyone who might have been watching them (for the full hour and half) might have been mildly amused at the sequence.

For Danica, though, the results were undeniable.  The sequence helped her to focus and concentrate.  It kept her reflexes sharp, but her hands steady.  It allowed her to anticipate things correctly and ensure that distractions were kept to a minimum, in most cases.  And it helped her to compartmentalize.  That last aspect had been key on her previous mission, the one that had allowed her to walk away from everything she had built up there and then helped to tear down in an instant.  The routine was part of what had kept her alive all that time.

---

The light in her mind's eye flooded her perceptions for a long moment.  And then Danica snapped back to the current reality.  The request at the passenger airlock coming to her attention.  She glanced at her dataglove and noted that Marie Menkin was early.

A slightly distant smile crossed Danica's lips as she rolled her shoulders and circled her neck in one final stretch.  Then she slipped on her dataglove and placed the earpiece to her comm in her left ear.  She pulled up the security camera feeds to the glove display and pinged the chime to the shipboard to ensure that the others knew that the first interviewee had arrived early.  Danica grabbed her towel and wiped the small beads of perspiration off her face, leaving the towel to then hang around her neck as she keyed in the code to the forward airlock and greeted their potential crewmate personally.

"Ms. Menkin, I presume." Danica intoned professionally, "Please, come in."  It was time to see what was driving the punctuality.  "It is not quite 0800," she noted off hand, as she lead Marie to the long table in the passenger lounge where the others were already gathering.  "So, please forgive our slight disarray"  With that Danica handed off Marie to Hayden, standing off, and then eventually taking the seat to his right.  She shook Marie's hand firmly when introduced, noting perfunctorily, "Please, to meet you, Ms. Menkin."

Danica was particularly interested in Marie's perceptions surrounding her FRN service and the circumstances of her censure; she shifted her weight forward in her chair causing the leathery surface to shift and creak slightly.  The towel was left behind her on the rear portion of the seat of the chair.  Marie's shipboard skills were quite compelling - what really remained was to determine what she wanted and if that was compatible with the mission and crew of the Gypsy Moth.  Danica turned her head slightly when the doctor spoke, but other than that, she made no reference that he had said anything of import.  She continued to let Hayden take the fore, watching what and how Marie said what she said carefully.
This message was last edited by the player at 08:09, Mon 14 Feb 2011.

Jim stared at Ms. Menkin as she blew off his remarks, his color deepening.  As she talked with Hayden, he got a better side profile of her face.

Crap, he thought, she wasn't the one whose shoes he had ruined the night before... he looked down to conceal his further embarrassment.  More proof -  her feet weren't anywhere near the size of that one's (that detail, at least, he could recall clearly).

As she responded to Hayden's queries, he perked up.

"You were in Navy recruiting holos?  Ah, sorry, probably why I took you for someone else - now that my eyes have adjusted I can see that you look nothing like her."

With elaborating whether that was good or bad, he wandered over to the galley, mumbling something about morning coffee and big feet.  He didn't seem overly interested in the interview, but after a moment reappeared with a steaming mug and leaned a shoulder against the galley wall, listening intently while nursing the dark brew.