Ollie grins at Blake. "And a good thing too. I don't think I could bear much more of this anticipation!" he says before disappearing into the engine room for another final check of the systems.

By early morning the ship was ready to lift.

Working through the night, Lorain was able to download the software she needed. It wasn't like her dedicated portable unit but better than nothing if loaded onto a laptop or other portable computer.

She also ordered clothing and supplies from the Starport Chandler.

In reply to GM (msg # 578):

After working through the night and catching a few hours sleep, Lorain still looked like hell. Her recent ordeal might have had something to do with it!

"So what's the plan? Boost to orbit, then go for broke until we hit Jump? Ignore customs and so on? I'm game."

Naw, this isn't a gangbusters vid.  That would really attract attention too.  Besides, I want to scan the ship & make sure there's no <<ahem>> stowaways onboard.

Forgot the second part.  Blake will try scanning the ship for that purpose ...

Ken helped out where he could with the information gathering and shopping which turned out to be not much.  "No, we'll go out slowly on our existing flight plan.  That shouldn't attract much attention.  We'll wait a bit longer for clearance and then just go."  He pulled her aside.  "Take the owner's stateroom Lorain.  I'll bunk elsewhere.  You need to get some sleep.  Let us handle things unless we need to wake you."

In reply to Ken Jenkins (msg # 582):

Mariel thought for a second.

"We are going to have to face customs at some point before we make Jump. Either here at the starport, in orbit or on the moon. That's why a fake flight plan to the outer system might be best. Tough we don't have a gas giant or developed belt in this system."

In reply to Mariel Migaraa (msg # 583):

"I think we could do something on one of the outer planets. The Institute has a deep space array, we could arrange a supply run?" She sipped her coffee.

Linus pulled up a schematic of the system.

"Where's the array?" he asked.

Ken nodded.  "Yes, let's file a plan to the out system station.  We already have clearance and a flight plan to go to the Institute outpost on Qarant.  A deviation to another Institute station to transfer supplies and personnel should not go amiss."

Neva was silent as she was still waiting to hear back from Royce.  She didn't have much to add since it seemed most of the plans sounded logical and it didn't hurt to discuss different options.

In reply to Linus Spruance (msg # 585):

She pointed to the "empty" zone past the furthert planet from Alzenei's sun.

"Here, on a hollow asteroid in the Oort Cloud. It's automated so resupply is rare and often done by robot craft. When personnel visit it's actually quicker to perform a micro-Jump from in-system."

What exactly does this array do Professor ??  Blake wonders if it has recon or eavesdropping possibilities ...

In reply to Blake Renfield (msg # 589):

Flashing an uncertain smile, Lorain looked puzzled. "Um, something astrophysics related? Not my field, sorry!"

Ken stares at the chart of the system, thinking.  "We declare we are going to Jump out to the station and instead go to Qarant.  That way no one will object to our heading to the 100D limit."

Done & done.  He comms Mariel to start the course plotting & heads to the bridge to do some flight plan filing.

There was no efficient way to "scan" a ship for stowaways. Although many merchant ships did have card locks, intrusion and burglar alarms as well as cameras, such security measures tended to go by the wayside over time except for the bridge and other critical areas like secure storage and engineering.

Being refurbished within the last six months the Victoria's security systems were up to par. Nothing unusual was showing up. Once the ship was switched over to internal LS they could monitor oxygen and water use to pick up anomalies. Otherwise, the only real option to detect stowaways was to go through each compartment one at a time, using a thermal sensor to check for heat signatures behind bulkheads and in shipping containers.
This message was last edited by the GM at 00:26, Mon 10 Nov 2014.

Ken nods to Blake, "Thanks, standby Blake.  We'll give Neva's contact a few more hours and then go."

Since we have time, Blake will survey the ship, especially the cargo area & then fan out.  If anyone else is bored while waiting ...  He packs a pistol - just in case.  It's been very quiet around here lately.

Linus makes a big breakfast/brunch for everyone.

In the middle of eating the breakfast that Linus made, Neva gets her answer.

Her frown probably told anybody who was in the room with her the answer before she spoke out loud.

"It's a no go from Royce people.  I didn't think he could help but I thought it was worth a try.  From what I gather, the local law has jurisdiction and the travel restrictions are enforced by customs and immigration.  He doesn't have any influence on either of them.  If we could have waited longer, which I got the impression was days not hours, then he might be able to do something but even then it would be doubtful."

Neva's reply was short but polite.  She simply gave the code they used to use for "Thanks for trying and I never asked" and finished it with a "until next time" and then sent it off.

Ken listens silently to Neva before he sets down his knife and fork.  "Ok, good work Neva, at least we know."  He looked around.  "Enjoy the meal that Linus put together for us and be ready to Jump in 45 minutes.  We'll file a plan to microjump to the outer system post and instead go on directly to Qarant."

In reply to Ken Jenkins (msg # 598):

Using the ship's comm system, Lorain arranged for a transit order from the Institute.

"There. We have confirmation we are going to service the Deep Space Boundary Observatory. I think 45 minutes is fine."

Ken nodded, the crew having their orders.  Finishing his food he went through the ship to make sure things were secure and ready for space.  Not an engineer he could at least run through a checklist and lend a hand when he could.

After about half an hour he went back and found Lorain.  "I'm glad you are with us.  We all have a need to see this mystery to the end and foil Kalamanaru.  When this is over... I can cash in my shares in the ship if we still have it and you'll have your work.  We could settle down here and do field and academic work."

Ollie wolfs down the generous meal that Linus has provided before heading down to warm up the drives and do the last minute checks.

As he leaves he calls out "Alright, let's get this bird in the sky. Neva, join me when you've finished eating and we can put her through her paces."