In reply to Danica Moreau (msg #7):

Thera had been sitting back and listening in the initial stages. This was the only interview she'd sat on, and then only because of the Santander connection. Now she leaned forward.

"Mr Stern, I spent some time on Santander myself, and I appreciate what you say about life there. I think maybe our paths crossed at some point."
She watches him carefully for a reaction.

23:52, Today: Thera Santorini rolled 11 using 2d6. Check Nino Stern's reaction. (bare roll, no DMs for Street/Acting applied).

"I'm sure you'll appreciate that on a small ship, crew have to be multi-skilled, and everyone is responsible for security. What skills did you pick up that would make you a good choice for security, both here and on the Amber Ocean?"

Afterward, she chases a point that bothers her.
"Mr Stern, you have glowing words for the skipper and crew of the Amber Ocean. If you're so happy there, why are you looking for another post? I would have thought after they'd invested so much time and trouble getting you qualified as an engineer, you'd stay and repay a while?"

In reply to Thera Santorini (msg #8):

When Thera brings up her time on Santander, Stern nods definitively, "Yes, you did.  I remember you vaguely."  His tone is neutral and Thera senses that Stern doesn't want to out Thera's professional history on Santander as he doesn't know how much Thera may have told her new employers.

As the subject shifts to security, Stern becomes less guarded, "The most important is to recognize a dangerous situation before it develops and to calm the people down.  It also helps to be able to blend in and in space it helps to know what to do when the gravity goes out."

Thera's question about staying on Amber Ocean appears to trouble Stern somewhat.  He admits, "I wanted to stay there.  But the Captain convinced me that to move up I'd have to be willing to move on and take jobs on other ships."

Hayden nods in agreement with Dani and the others.

"I think we can find a place for you here Mr. Stern.  We have a number of candidates to review and we need to match the right person with the right job.  We'll give you call back as soon as possible." Marks says, finishing up the interview if the questions from both sides are done.

With Stern off the ship, Hayden moved right into deliberations on hiring.

"I think we would be well served hiring Aksina, Stern, Charpentier and Gadron.  I know there has been some disagreement on making an officer to Mr. Orcut.  For what we have been asked to do, his background and education could prove valuable; but not at the cost of disrupting our operations."

"With the candidates we have, if there's not unanimous agreement to bring him on, we won't do it.  So by show of hands, those who have serious reservations about Mr. Orcut, please make that known."

As Stern is leaving, Jack pulls himself an espresso, offers the others a drink or whatnot and sits just as Hayden is finishing his remarks.

"I can agree with everything you're saying, Captain," Jack says over his cup. "Stern, Charpentier and Gadron are all high on my list. Aksina I'm ambivalent about but her skills as a security officer are excellent and I see the wisdom in hiring her. As you all know, I think Orcut's skills are too valuable to not have aboard, but I will certainly accept whatever the decision is."

Jack does not raise his hand to eliminate Orcut.

Danica is still nursing her large tankard of whatever that glop is (it's bright red this time and smells faintly of bell peppers and tomatoes).  She nods to Jack, but does not partake of the sweet smelling coffee.  Dani quietly listens to both Jack and Hayden.

"Captain," she noted, "I believe all of those you named, including Mr. Cyril Orcut, are reasonable hires."  Dani looks at the others around the table, "I know that I voiced some concern about Mr. Orcut, but I don't believe those issues are show-stoppers with respect to hiring him."  A slightly bemused smile crosses her lips, as she continues, "In fact, I believe that Mr. Stern should be given the Chief Engineer's position and that potentially, his attitude - along with Mr. Charpentier's might rub off on Mr. Orcut."  Danica shrugs, "Or at least we should be so lucky." she adds.

"For the types of jobs that we are targeting" she notes more seriously, "both as our cover and as our actual missions - we are going to expect high morale and utmost discretion.  All of the candidates proposed have shown that they can uphold, that I believe.  Even Mr. Orcut, in his own way, displayed that trait in the interview.  I have no problems with hiring any or all of those you have listed, Captain."

Danica makes no move to eliminate Orcut from the pool.

Thera frowns. "I have reservations about Mr Orcut's loyalties, but I'm not sure I'd want to exercise the power of veto that Hayden's kindly offered me - at least, not if I'm alone..?"
She looks around to gauge the opinions of the others.

Jim takes Jack up on his offer to refill his mug.

"Thanks Jack," he replies and sits quietly till responding to Thera's query.

"No, you're not alone - man's trouble, mark my words," the Doc sounded quite adamant, but then he often did when stating his own opinions.

His tone changed as he continued, "But, I got no call to keep a qualified man from a job.  Seems healthy enough, just don't care for his attitude."

"Not like that young marine, Tamara, now she had the right attitude."

In reply to Dr. Jim D. Jones (msg #14):

Thera quietly wondered whether Tamara's attitude was the doctor's primary consideration. Those little feminine warning bells had jingled in Thera's head a couple of times since she'd met him. She wasn't interviewing him, though.

"So we're giving Orcut the benefit of the doubt, then? The only one I'd definitely veto is Miss Perfect, but it looks like that's unanimous," she grinned.

"Listen, like I said, I am in agreement with the Captain. If it's not unanimous then we don't hire Orcut. Thera, vote as you see fit; Doc, you too. I for one will not begrudge anyone their say - I just think the man has skills we'll wish we had at some point, that's all."

”I’d love to continue this discussion, but we have a lot of work ahead of us if we are going to depart the day after tomorrow." Hayden says, looking to move past the Orcut decision.

"I can’t be the only Spacer eager to lift after so many weeks on the ground.  Let’s make sure our cargo is loaded and secured.  Dupont will be arriving soon enough and we’ll need to focus on getting them squared away as well." Who knew how much shipboard experience the security team they would have onboard might poses, but the crew could find themselves coddling a bunch of first time travellers soon enough.

"Ultimately, the personnel situation will sort itself out.  Everyone, ourselves included, will be earning our paycheck every jump - make no mistake about that." Everyone here knew that Hayden had never been afraid to sack an underperforming crewmember or put a boot in the backside of travellers loafing on working passage.  These new hires were being given an opportunity to perform - to show the same professionalism that everyone around the table had already shown.  Nothing was guaranteed for them.

"New horizons await.” Hayden says, standing and giving the crew of the Gypsy Moth a nod of confidence.

In reply to Hayden Marks (msg #17):

Thera sits upright to look directly at Hayden, and she's not smiling.

"Well, with all due respect - captain - although I appreciate the importance of humping cargo aboard, I don't have to put my life in the hands of the cargo.

"I happen to think that choosing the right crew is a little more important. I mean, why don't we just draw straws for them? Sure, if our nervous gunner gets trigger-happy with a coastguard, or our cynical engineer gets it into his head not to rescue us because we "deserve everything we get", let's just sack them and start over!

"And I'd prefer to settle the matter by logical debate rather than veto. That system's a last resort for decision-shirkers."

Her flash of temper subsides a little.

"Most of my life I've not been in a position to choose my companions, and I've been shit on and used as a result. Now I'm finally able to choose who I work with, and I'm not about to get short-changed for the sake of a few pallets of stone.

"Now, I don't know how you ex-military types do it, but I'd like to think I can rely on the crewmember next to me, and this is where we decide who that crewmember will be."

Emotion is purely IC. :)

"Quite frankly, if you don't have the courage of your conviction to raise your hand, I'm not sure you are in a position to comment on decision-shirking." Hayden says, slowly, carefully and deliberately, before standing, and leaving the room.  He looked back exactly once to see if any hands were in the air.
This message was last edited by the player at 12:17, Thu 31 Mar 2011.

In reply to Hayden Marks (msg #19):

Thera scowled at his back. She wasn't about to be manipulated into a veto, yet she wasn't sure if she was being manipulated into not using a veto. If the mug of gloop had been in her hand rather than Danica's, the captain would be wearing it about now.
She owed Hayden, and he was one of the few men who hadn't abused her - yet - but that didn't mean she had to follow him like a lapdog.

She took a deep breath and looked round at the others.

"So, have we made a decision?"

Jack watched Hayden's back as he left the lounge then his gaze floated to Thera. He put down his cup and pulled out his hand-comp, making some notes with quick finger taps on the small glass slab.

"Well, the question seems to be have you made a decision... or Doc, have you? Regarding Orcut obviously."

Jack finished his notes and routed a data packet to the lounge's display for everyone to see:

Captain's recommendations:

Dagala Aksina (Security) experienced, versatile, necessary addition

Lance Charpentier (Gunner) turret experience trumps Padabig's ortillery experience

Nino Stern (Chief Engineer) loyal, diverse experience, hungry

Cyril Orcut (Engineer) most experienced, positioning as 2nd may alleviate some personality conflict

Prisa Gadron (Engineer) – good pinch hitter for a few other ship positions

Jack looked at Thera again. "You make some valid points and these are Hayden's recommendations, not final decisions. But we don't really have the luxury of debating this much longer - now's the time to say yea or nay. Otherwise I'd say these indeed are the final decisions."


EDIT: sorry, clipped Gadron in my original post :(
This message was last edited by the player at 21:09, Thu 31 Mar 2011.

Doc observed the interplay between Thera and Hayden, noticeably wincing at the phrase 'decision-shirking'.  Weighing Jack's synopsis, he realized he had been avoiding any decision that would mean depriving a fellow of a job, while covering his butt if things went south.

With years of elbow-to-elbow shipboard work experience, Jim took Thera's words to heart. And the Captain's words about earning one's paycheck. Heck, unless things went terribly wrong, his doctor skills would not be needed for most jumps and he could see himself working with the large, likeable young mister Stern. But, given his military background (and upbringing on a wealthy word), he just couldn't relate to the 'capitalist' motivations of the other candidate.

Glancing again at Orcut's brief, and looking at the upset Thera, he made a decision.

The Pathfinders had never put him in a position of having to make choices about anyone else's career - so it was with some discomfort that Jim raised his hand.

"Yes, I say we seek those Horizon's without Mr. Orcut."

Danica shifts her weight slightly, as she noted Thera's agitated state.  She edges her tankard slightly off to the side, away from Thera.  She remembers well the incident back on St. Croix with Bobby Fullerton and a certain young girl.  That thermos had caught the older boy square in the forehead.  Dani had noted the defiant look in Thera's eyes then, the same as now.  So, she purses her lips and notes the doctor's reaction to the incident as well.

Once Mr. Orcut is excised from the crew, Danica stands.  As she places her hands firmly on the table, Dani notes quietly to the others at the table, "Trust, ladies and gentlemen."  She looks at each of the crew in turn, "The Captain requires Trust - he has many things on his plate.  He wants all of us to pull our own weight - to trust his judgment as well as your own."  Her gaze settles on Thera, "Veto power is actually quite democratic.  It gives everyone a voice.  It gives even the single vote great power - power that Hayden wants us all to have and to wield responsibly.  T, if you honestly felt threatened by Mr. Orcut, you should have pulled the trigger on him yourself.  The Captain needs to be able to trust that you will when it counts."

"In any case, Mr. Orcut is trivial in the big scheme." Dani notes off-hand, "If he were truly incompatible, he'd be off the ship next week."  She sweeps her tankard from the table, and continues, "We just need to continue to work together."  Danica starts towards the elevator, "With all of the new crew coming, get ready to choose roommates.  Those decisions need to be made tonight.  I'm on the horn to everyone else on the list know that we have positions for them.  Hopefully, they'll accept."

She notes over her shoulder, "It promises to be a busy, busy day tomorrow, everyone."

In reply to Danica Moreau (msg #23):

Thera's flare is followed by a sulk. In her innermost thoughts, she recognises that Hayden's crew suggestions are reasonable and have something in common with her own, but no way will she give him the satisfaction of admitting it. Certainly not after he's put her on the spot.
She raises a brief smile for the doctor, and raises her hand.

"Thanks Jim, and for the record there are two vetos. Not that I think vetos are any substitute for well-discussed consensus...

"So, with Orcut out of the mix, do we travel with one less crew, or replace him - and if so, who with?" she asked, insistent on settling the crew situation in her own mind.

Jim listened to Danica and Thera.  He could see Danica's concern for the younger woman, and felt Danica was right, and yet she was also missing something.

He was used to making life and death decisions - and given he was alive and so were most of his past crewmates and patients, he felt confident in his ability to do so in such circumstances.  This deliberated process, however, gave him room for doubt.  Thera was right about consensus, but veto could also be a good approach when warranted.

He pondered this a moment, uncharacteristically biting his lower lip, before returning Thera's smile, if somewhat weakly.  His voice was calm and casual as he finally spoke up.

"Yes, veto power can be democratic - but, only if we all agreed to the process. However, in this instance, Hayden made a unilateral, non-democratic decision on the process. That belied the trust we put in him when we elected him to the titular role of Captain. I'd remind you, our mission has no true rank distinctions. I didn't vote for him to have arbitrary decision making powers for how the group makes decisions."

With bolstered confidence (probably of the CYA variety), he continued, "If anyone has a problem with a veto vote on this - I, for one, am perfectly willing to accept a simple vote."

Underlying this logic was the Doc's fear of being wrong - at least with being outvoted he could have the satisfaction of being able to say 'I told ya so'.  Instead he had committed an action that made him responsible - something he was less comfortable with.

"As to crewing, I can operate the power boards and handle Life Support as needed, Nino's got the M-Drive and Ms. Gadron has the Jump.  Things get tight, Ms. Aksina and Mr. Charpentier know enough of the basics to lend a hand."

He felt pretty confident he could do as good a job as Orcut in this regards, but less so if others had to fill in for him.

"I would add, while Nino seems a nice enough and motivated fella, and I'm all for giving him a position, calling him Chief Engineer might be a bit over the top - how about we call him Lead Engineer and leave Chief Engineer case we run across someone more experienced at a future port?"

In reply to Dr. Jim D. Jones (msg #25):

Thera nodded supportively at Jim's comments about the decision making and titular posts. She looked around as he suggested a vote, but didn't expect anyone to make any changes. She'd voiced an objection and maybe that was enough to keep Hayden's feet on the ground for now. If not, she could always raise hell later.
She nodded again at the doctor's suggestion to avoid using the term Chief Engineer, then stopped.
"Do we need to give anyone a title at all, now Orcut's out?" she asked.

Jim shrugged.

"I think the captain also had in mind encouraging the young Mr. Stern with a title.  Given her mature attitude, can't see any real harm with Ms. Gadron having other skills and expecting her tour to be temporary."

He left unsaid that he thought Doctor trumped any rank.

Smiling, he added, "Besides, I'm pretty sure captain tight-pants doesn't intend to pay any more for a title..."

"I would think titles are only necessary to promote and protect our cover and as a buffer for outsiders. It would be a shame if we couldn't speak to each other, um... naturally because of something as amorphous as a rank or title." Jack winks at Thera as he rises to place his cup in the auto-serviette.

He starts going to work on his hand-comp. "I think we can assume we'll make this jump with the four people on the display," Jack says, watching Orcut's name fade into nothing on the monitor. "If we discover a gap or overlap we'll reevaluate at Espiaux, as Danica just implied."

Jack turns and heads in the direction of the bridge. "But with or without titles, a ship - any ship - is not really a democracy," he says over his shoulder as he disappears up the corridor. "But perhaps we could think of this one as a very, ah, charismatic dictatorship."
This message was last edited by the player at 19:38, Fri 01 Apr 2011.

Mis-interpreting Jack's statement, Jim came to the Captain's defense, in his typically awkward fashion.

"Hayden's not being any kind of dictator - far from it, allowing his own preferences to be overturned without even a majority. But, heck, I served my 20 years and paid my dues. Crew is cover - we are all equal partners in this and equally have our patriotic butts on the line."

He looked a challenge to anyone to dispute him.

"Just don't like him going off and making decisions about, uh, how we make, uh, decisions, is all."

If his last statement was clumsy, his next one was voiced with even less conviction, "We're not military anymore.  Pathfinders aren't paying our salaries."

Though they might as well be, but Jim preferred to cling to the illusion that his destiny was in his own hands and the Pathfinders weren't pulling the strings of his life anymore. He further failed to make the connection that if that were truly the case, then he would be just hired crew and Hayden would be his commanding officer as Captain of the ship for their 'employers'.

Truth is, Jim wouldn't want to be captain - having to do all the paperwork and be friendly to outsiders all the time. He certainly didn't complain about Hayden handling the interviews, filling the holds or putting discussions in motion. And space knows, he wouldn't want to be the one to call and turn down any of the candidates.

Jim was used to putting in his two cents and being ignored by command personnel, even in the less formal Pathfinders - if Hayden had made crew selection he would have just gone along with it. Instead he had been given the chance to make a determining decision, though he had feared trampling anyone else's rights and had now gotten himself into more responsibilities.

"At any rate - I'm looking forward to finding out what happened to the Consul.  Oh, and as to roomies - I'm cool with who-ever - just so they know I snore and work odd hours."

Walking back into the room, Hayden held two generic merchant Captains insignia in his hand.  He placed them on the table.

”Someone else gets to heard cats, Hayden says.  ”If I wanted these kinds of headaches, I wouldn’t have retired from Ozawa.”

”I’ll be in the number six stateroom working on the Dupont paperwork if anyone needs me.”

In reply to Hayden Marks (msg #30):

Thera stared at the insignia in bewilderment. She looked round at the others.
"Well, perhaps it's fortunate that didn't happen during an emergency!" she said, simply.

"I've probably got something for that...", Doc started before Thera chimed in.

Jim looked at the items Hayden had placed on the table, it taking him a bit to recognize what they were.

Shrugging, he looked around and said, "Well, I don't blame him - hiring is for the birds.  Looks like someone needs inform Jack the democracy has to elect a new Captain."

"Or do we?  I mean, as long as we are all designated signaturees.  We know where we're going and we know what we're about.  It's not like we are a big commercial liner or fleet ship or anything."

As long as he didn't have to deal with screenwork - Jim hated filling forms.  He looked a clinical eye at Hayden to make sure he hadn't fallen ill.

And wondered what the man had against felines...