Luise wasn't bothered by the manager's request, though she wondered who could or would take precedence over her. Perhaps a Count? Then the person was standing next to her and talking to her!

"Oh, my! Siyeon! I could ask you the same question!" Luise answered. "I don't suppose you are giving a concert here at the bank, are you? No, didn't think so."

"I'm working on some financial issues. I have a ship now, and we're planning on heading out to the Foreven Sector to do some exploring. Probably won't be able to make the mortgage payments for awhile, so just trying to make sure we don't have any skip-tracers sent after us."

"If we can defer payments for two years, that'd be fairly safe. If we aren't back by then... well... you get the drift."

Roland looks into getting drop tanks and collapsible fuel tanks (aka fuel bladders). The former is expensive at 3.6MCr but the latter are only 36,000 for 2.

Delivery of the bladders (empty) can be done within the hour. For an extra 10,000Cr the drop tanks can be delivered and attached/installed overnight.

No problem empty, but once full of fuel, a lot of calculations will have to be redone.

There's several hours yet for Luise to decide whether they want to fill them up here or wait for somewhere down the line.


Harry can't find any cargo going to Foreven. Half the people he talks to don't even know where it is. It's not so much that 8 weeks is too long to wait but that the distance is sketchy at best.

"No, not a concert.", Siyeon answered with a smile. "I'm just looking to move some funds around, this bank manages one of my accounts."

She seemed to have a thought then, pausing. "You have a ship? Would you mind taking on a passenger? I need to get away for a while, the fans are relentless." She had been thinking of travelling somewhere far away for a while now, a vacation of sorts.

"I love them, certainly, but sometimes they love me back a little too much. I can cover the payments. I'll be your investor if you'll have me. Under the condition that I can come with you."

"I hope you have enough storage capacity.", she said with an impish smile. "I don't travel very light."

"If you want to get away from your fans for awhile," Luise replies, "you can't get much farther away than where we're going. Of course, I'm not talking about actual distance as much as social and cultural distance. At least, as far as I know."

"You certainly could have become a passenger on the Frumious Banersnatch without any strings attached, but if you feel comfortable covering our payments for the next two-plus years, that's more than acceptable to me!"

"And it's a pretty large ship, so there's plenty of room for your... stuff. Ha-ha. Are you sure you're going to be comfortable in small quarters? We don't really have any VIP or luxury space. You're welcome to convert some area of the ship into your personal quarters, though."

"Our current itinerary was a departure sometime tomorrow. I'm sure you could get something done by then! Not sure I could, but you could do it."

Luise wasn't really sure what was going to happen, but Siyeon's amazingly generous offer solved her biggest problem. She hadn't bothered calculating what eight jump-3 trips would come out to for a passenger because, frankly, she hadn't expected to be taking on any passengers.

This could work out well... very well, indeed.

"Hey, Valdivian just delivered my new shirt.  What do you think?  I'll be styling when we get to Foreven right?  I got half dozen just like this one," Gahler said, strolling onto the bridge of the Frumious Bandersnatch clad in an island print shirt that featured aquatic mammals.  "Anyone else stocking up for the trip or are you just gonna buy and wear whatever clothing they have out beyond the frontier?"
This message was last edited by the player at 17:33, Mon 13 Jan 2020.

"I'll wear whatever, generally a jumpsuit and jacket, not into 'styling' so much. . . . Maybe I'll give it a try!"

"You'd look good in a fish shirt.  Trust me," Gahler assured Harry as he ran his hand through own hair.  Grohlson had recently stopped shaving his head; now he looked like a new man.

When it was finally agreed by about half the crew that going exploring out in the Foreven Sector was what they wanted to do, those who were interested in continuing with the Trade Mission decided that maybe it was time to leave the ship and seek adventure elsewhere.

Kraig, IM and Exler all decided to do that as there was another far trader in the port looking for some 'less adventurous' crew.

Kraig had calculated out their shares and Luise approved them, so that much of the funds was dispersed to the departing crew members.

"Looks like we're losing Kraig, IM and Exler, going to miss my roommate. Ex was a trip!"

"I'd be looking for a roommate who doesn't spend all day licking himself and scratching up the furniture if I were you," Gahler said with a hearty laugh.

"Kraig is who I will miss.  My brother from another mother, so to speak."
This message was last edited by the player at 17:45, Mon 13 Jan 2020.

That was certainly unexpected! He'd joined Steve and Kraig and Gahler back on Lanth at the start of the war. A bit of urban warfare against the occupying Sword Worlders, a desperate flight out to the ship the others had been skip-tracing, the insane confluence of people and events out at the ship, the mad dash out of the system... he hadn't thought about it that way at the time, but those had been Fun Days!

Then Sky Rig 1, exploring Ancient ruins on Victoria, salvaging the alien ship... just what constituted 'alien' these days? Then trading the Dust Runner for the Frumious Bandersnatch, which hadn't been called that, was 200 years old and had been stranded on the planet as a restaurant.

He couldn't actually say that he'd gotten close to the others over those 3 years of events, but he still called them friends and felt like they family. Of course, that's what a ship's crew did after a couple of jumps.

So he was sad to see Kraig and IM leave, even the morose Aslan, Exler.

"Okay, then. Foreven it is," he informed the others as he saw them. "Don't know what we're going to find out there, so I think maybe I should see about getting another biobed and stocking up on extra supplies."

"Hmmmm, time to do a little shopping I guess, then I get to break in a new roommate! Anyone interested in coming along?"

He shops for a case of cigars, and a case of brandy, 4 new coveralls, all in blue and two fish shirts and a pair of jeans and cowboy boots. A cowboy hat too!
This message was last edited by the player at 18:51, Mon 13 Jan 2020.

Day looked up at the departures board with a still expression. Scanning the lines again and again. However, there continued to be only a single convincing possibility among any of them. It may not be good, but she was out of options. Left high and dry, well beyond the reach of anything she could call useful. Better to take what was available than to wait for some better option that might never come along. At least, this way, she'd be making progress.

Shouldering her pack, Day started toward the Bandersnatch's dock. Fortune favors the bold.

In reply to Harry McStubbin (msg # 48):

"I'll go with you.  It will be good to get off the ship for a bit before a long journey."

Gahler grabbed his cred stick and few reusable shopping bags.  He'd stock up as well on some personal provisions for the trip.  Like those Merchant Joseph's Dark Chocolate Peanut Butter cups.  Assuming this starport had a Merchant Joseph grocery store.

Checking to make sure his cutlass was secure along with his combat armor, Forge headed to the port to check out the Bandersnatch . Seeing the two disembark, he stopped "Excuse me, are you hiring?" he asked.
This message was last edited by the player at 03:07, Tue 14 Jan 2020.

"Actually we are. Three positions just opened, want to meet the captain? She's out just now visiting the port, but if you wait patiently she should be back in no time."
This message was last edited by the player at 15:04, Tue 14 Jan 2020.

In reply to Luise Wechsler (msg # 40):

"Well, I don't really know where my albums are selling exactly. I know quite a few make it out of the sector though. But I'll be happy if I don't have to check for paparazzi every few seconds." She smiled.

"So you are expecting to be away for two years? How are the chances that it is going to be longer?", she asked, knowing that she might need to increase her reserve of a certain drug.

When the baroness mentioned the living space on board, Siyeon laughed. "No worries, I welcome the change. You can only be in so many top hotels before they get boring. And I have not always been this well off as I am now, it will be good to get back to my roots for a while." It sounded a bit strange to hear someone looking so young talk like that.

"Tomorrow it is then." And to the bank manager: "Take care of it. You heard us. I trust you will be discreet of course."

She shook the hand of the baroness to seal the deal. "I'll have my people bring my stuff onto the Frumious Bandersnatch."

In reply to 'Forge' Harris (msg # 51):

"We're on our way to do a little shopping, stocking things up for a long trip, we're on our way to the Foreven Sector. Looking for a job in security? Our security guy was one that we lost I think."
This message was last edited by the player at 15:54, Tue 14 Jan 2020.

"That sounds like a plan." he said looking at the two crew members. "I am 'Forge' Harris." he added, shaking hands with the other two. "I use to be the security officer abroad the Kizenski."

"I'm Harry McStubbin" he shakes Forge's hand, "pleased to meet you."
This message was last edited by the player at 13:29, Wed 15 Jan 2020.

"I'm Gahler Grohlson," Gahler said, introducing himself after Harry did.  "You look like you are ready to go with that combat armor and cutlass.  I bet you get good deals when you go shopping..." Gahler said with a sly grin.

He shops for a case of cigars, and a case of brandy, 4 new coveralls, all in blue and two fish shirts and two pairs of jeans and cowboy boots. A cowboy hat too!

After shopping, Harry suggests stopping for a drink on the way back to the ship "A nice cold beer to wash down the dust of the day perhaps?"

"That sounds good to me.  I'm gonna get something local, since local will be way far away in a just a few weeks," Gahler said.  This would be a big trip and into a region of space that was little explored.  At least by Imperials.

Harry nodded agreement.