Olly nods in agreement.

You'll need Olly to keep the engines running.  We know how she runs.

Scratches his head, then

She needs overhaul and how much have I to spend on spares?

Ken smiles without teeth. "I'm glad you are staying aboard with us Olly.  Put together a cost of what is needed."  He turned to Lorain.  "Do you think we can get the Institute to fund an overhaul of their ship to bring her up to standards?"

As Blake lay sunbathing beside the pool at his hotel, his comms started chiming.

He had just enough time to get showered and take a grav taxi to the Institute.

The vehicle pulled up and he realised he would be a few minutes late as he searched for the conference room.

In reply to Ken Jenkins (msg # 10):

"Well, I did have some pull with the board on who got offered what position!

"With all the stuff we brought back, I don't know if I will be able to get into the field soon. But it's clear to the Institute that more support will be needed to make sure our expeditions are safe. So that's where you'll come in.

"People are worried about the war. We're just hearing about it now, but it seems it's really happening. Not just border skirmishing but a massive Zhodani invasion. Thing are peaceful but tense, we're an Imperial ally and there have been clashes with Zhodani client states so no one knows what could happen."

She tapped her palm comp screen a few times.

"Olly, sorry, I don't know offhand what your budget will be. Probably, you can charge it to the operating fund of Cr1500000."

Giving Ken a big toothy grin Olly pulls out a Paw Panel* and begins to make a list.  A long, long list of all the goodies he can think of.

Mmmmm, humans have budget, Olly can spend,

* Like a personal computer, but with a more Vargr vibe.

Blake arrives a trifle late but is all ears upon hearing about a shooting war with the Zho's starting.  A good sector reference star atlas would make a good buy right about now.

Flaming Zho's, I get a decent job & will be recalled to duty. he grumbles.  Maybe he can get an education exemption ??  Something to ask Lorain about afterwards ...

He also makes a note to speak with Ollie about parts, tools, maintenance schedules,& a cup holder at the pilot's seat.  A scout & his coffee should never be kilometers apart.  He also makes an effort to recall the stateroom decor situation. Stuffy academics probably would want something conducive to contemplation ...  Vilani opera music in the background ??  Maybe Neva would be some help here.

Post meeting, Blake has a talk with Lorain about detached scout duty requirements.  He will also ask whom he can talk to at the university about projects that would require supply runs.  Time to make a list of who / what / when / where to pass along to the captain.

Ken grins.  "Well, thank you for seeing that we got the shot at crewing up the ship Loraine. This is a great opportunity for all of us."  His face fell a bit although he was expecting the news of her decision to stay planetside.  "It's a shame that you'll be tied up with academics but there is no one more qualified than you to put together a coherent story from what we found.  Is there a plan to go back to the site on Miryan and do more examination?  That might be a job for some minions."

At the news of the war he frowns.  "I hope the war doesn't spill over this far.  Still, it certainly will make things chancy for everyone.  We'll want to arm the ship for sure."  He thinks for a moment.  "That Kalamaru will surely be mad as hell at us for swooping in and not only getting the treasure but taking the ship from him as well.  Let's hope he died in the native attack on Miryan but I doubt we'll be so lucky.  Even so, we'll all want to be extra careful in case he decides to take revenge on us."

Ken's eyes widen at the discussion of a budget.  "Ahhh... that's very generous Lorain.  I'm sure we will use it wisely."  He glances at Olly at this last and winks at the Vargr.

"Oh, how is your father doing Lorain?  Have the treatments been successful?"

In reply to Ken Jenkins (msg # 17):

"Dad is out of surgery and recovering nicely!

"The ship will need an overhaul, no telling when that was last performed. The ship's been armed for protection, I don't know what with."

"I'm glad your dad is doing better.  It sounds like we got him out of there just in time." He nodded as she spoke of the ship.  "The Vargr, Olly is a good engineer.  We'll see that the ship is in good shape.  I'm glad they are arming her what with the tension and war."

He paused.  "If you've got some free time, how about a cup of coffee?  I'd like to hear how things are going with you in the academic side.  I'd sure the scientific world is in turmoil."

Neva nodded in agreement at the "hope your dad is doing better line" and then got thoughtful for a moment.

"Now that I have creds, I'll have to go and see what I might want to learn next and get some new clothes.  Didn't think I'd ever hear myself say that.  Is there any positions on the ship that could use back up?  Perhaps that would be a good place to start.  I know that I'm hired for security but that isn't always a 24/7 thing."

Ken thought about things. "You could help out Olly in engineering.  There is always plenty of detail work to be done that requires a quick mind and hands."

Olly gives a sharp cough

<Blue>If the female promises not to break anything, Olly can find work for her in the engine room.  Start by inventory of new parts on our shopping list!
This message was last edited by the GM at 20:28, Fri 09 Aug 2013.

In reply to Oliver Oliphant Oksasaellllozae (msg # 22):

Neva looked over at Ollie and finally nodded.  "Can't promise not to break something but I can promise not to purposefully break something and I will do my best NOT to break something.  I will then start to learn about how to be engineer."

Neva wasn't afraid of getting dirty.  Hell, she had been dirty before at least this time it would be for a better cause.

"I'd love to get a cup of coffee some time. You got 2 weeks for refit, you can't be busy the whole time?"

She sighed.

"It's not the academic or scientific world that's in turmoil. It's the economic world that's been shaken. Stocks took a plunge when the news hit although they're recovered a bit. Trade is down because shipping costs are up, and interstellar tourism is way down."

Ken chuckled.  "I'll never be too busy to get a cup of coffee with you.  We've shared too much over the last few weeks."  His face grew more serious as Lorain continued.  "War, even the rumor of war is a nasty thing.  Even if the Imperial and Zho forces aren't fighting down here you can bet some of our neighbors will use the uncertainty as a chance to settle old scores.  You should be safe here.  As for us," he grew thoughtful, "the increase in uncertainty and shipping costs will make it easier for us to turn a profit.  We'll be more willing to run those risks and go places that might be off limits to the bigger operators."

Blake will follow Ollie about toting the toolboxes & such, doing any maintenance he can. Watching the overhaul progress & generally sticking his nose in everywhere.

Stuff has to be bolted down or it flies all over during re-entry turbulence.  And I got the scars to prove it.  Wink wink, nod nod to the workers.  He chats with them for a couple minutes & moves along.  Inside, outside, up, down & all-around.    Blake starts learning all of the nooks, ducts, crannies of the ship.

He also takes time to do some shopping to fill his personal gear list.  Trades carbines.  And enjoys life dirtside ...

In reply to Blake Renfield (msg # 26):

Neva was like Ollie's shadow whenever she could be.  She didn't mind getting dirty and actually was having a pretty good time.  She did take some time out to order new clothes and equipment and reading material.  It was a good start.

Linus settled in, finding a place to stay and beginning to build a collection of cookbooks - if he was to be steward, he'd make sure that everyone ate well!

A ship & first class chow !!  I salute you, Chef Linus.

If you ever need a taste tester, just comm me.

Speaking from experience, good chow is the heart of a ship.

034-1108

The crew relaxed for a couple weeks.

They had a chance to explore Alnezei, a pleasant TL 12 world, and the capital of the Free Suns, an Imperial client state far beyond the frontier. Perhaps war was coming, but they had a ship! A chance to trade for wealth! The maintenance went well, apparently, the ship had its annual overhaul not to far in the past. Time to hit the spacelanes in search of trade...

Linus will ensure that the galley gets refurbished and is well supplied both with food and with kitchen gadgets.

He'd better also check that the computer is as good as we can afford and has all the relevant programs (remembering his second hat!).

Ken will buy clothing, armor and weapons for himself as well as the rest of the crew.  He'll see that the ship's locker is well stocked with supplies and basic weapons.  He will get a nice hand comp to use in learning a few new skills.

As well he will take Loraine out for coffee and maybe dinner as promised.
This message was last edited by the player at 07:59, Mon 12 Aug 2013.

In reply to Ken Jenkins (msg # 33):

Walker replaced his entire kit [*3], and bought some lifestyle stuff.  A new pipe, music, books to read, a couple of cases of port, sherry, and a two cases of whiskey.  He also purchased some brown sauce [HP Brown sauce/steak sauce type stuff], as well as requisitioned training materials on medicine, piloting, and astrogation, for future studying.

He also went shopping for an autodoc.

Neva isn't used to spending money so she buys what she considers normal:

more clothing including shoes
computer good enough to run engineering programs on
engineering manuals and various books and music
engineering kit for her
new weapons and ammo
new armor

The rest of the money is saved for that rainy day.
This message was last edited by the player at 23:47, Sun 11 Aug 2013.