3 MCr for Alwin, as his contribution comes from equity and not ship shares.

What Horace said. It sounds like we'll need more than just the ship itself as-is. Aside from outfitting it with extra equipment, will we need additional capitol for anything else? Will we need to hire any NPC crew?

There is enough talent with the characters so that no crew is required.
It's a smart and capable bunch.
Nothing more is needed.

Unless...

if you are thinking of going after the high end of the passenger market, you could use a very good steward.


Speaking of markets, the characters aren't the only people who can call in favors.  Sometimes, it's the other way around.

The Pelican class ships aren't going to compete with the cheaper or more efficient transports in the "normal" markets.  Everyone in the space business knows that.  They also know that the Pelicans earn their keep through their special ability:  delivering passengers and cargo, especially oddly sized cargo, directly to out of the way locations.   So when the Sales Office is writing up the paperwork to sell the Montauk, it makes some people... well, specifically the head of sales at New Avalon Starships.

Who owes a favor...

And the cargo hold of a Pelican class ship would be a great way to pay off that favor.  Just one, easy thing.   Not even a far trip.  Just a trip other ships can't take.

The head of sales tells the new owners:  "We can take another 1% off the price.  And get you some cash up front.  I know someone who needs a ship that can get a payload to a startup colony on St. Brendan's World.  But they're short of funds.  They can't pay market rates.  But... maybe for another point off... that's an equivalent value over 380 thousand credits... and what they can pay... it would be worth it. "

It had been a long and trying day, but they were down to brass tacks, the last details now being ironed out.

Einar Karvonen had never personally traded with such vast sums before, not first hand, and he watched as Horace tried his utmost to save them every hard earned credit as the sales documents were being finalized.

They had a ship, a home, this collection of associates that would soon be a crew. While they had not managed any spectacular deals, he felt they had traded hard and well. And more importantly he liked the ship, this tough old military Pelican, and he felt that it would be a good fit.

When things began to wind down a little, the adrenaline from dealing with millions of credits wearing thin, the offer of a mission to a Colony on St. Brendan's cropped up.

Nearly found hundred thousand credits was nothing to sneeze at, and that was without the payment itself.

"Where's it at and what's the cargo?" Einar asked in turn. It had been too long a day to deal overmuch with pleasantries.

"I don't know the details," the Head of Sales for New Avalon explains.  "You will have to work out the arrangements with.. them.  And part of the issue is, they cannot make this public.  Not that it's illegal... it's complicated.  You'll understand why.  It's a cargo of construction equipment and supplies, whatever they can ship, going to a startup colony- right now it's more of a research station- on St. Brendan's World.  There's a starport at the colony but it's a long ways from the research station with no way to ship heavy equipment.  On this end, the cargo is coming out of Nanton.  It's waiting in a warehouse, but it's stuck because the ships won't move.  The ships won't move because the port workers are on strike.  But that's the port, for maritime ships.  No one said anything about starships not moving.   You see, though, this is a trip most starships can't make.  They made the Pelicans for things like this."

"For another 1% savings, we may be able to arrange something.

From the back - and probably the Starship Sales Office - arrived a pretty young woman with long wavy red hair the light wind of the day was playing with. She was wearing a nice black dress and simple silver heels with only small earrings for jewelry. One way or another, she seemed to know perfectly where she wanted to go, and that seemed to be either the ship or the group of person standing in front of it, talking about their first trip.

She glanced at the head of sales for a second but quickly dismissed him, and spent a bit longer looking at those he was talking to. After a brief moment, she asked. "Sorry to disturb you, if I may? I was told the Montauk may have found a new owner. Or new owners at any rate. May I presume you are indeed those owners, or are maybe representing them?"

"Not that it's illegal... it's complicated."
</quote>

Einar nodded slowly. Complicated was a good word for it, and while it might not be smuggling outright, he suspected that certain people did not want the colony on St. Brendan's to thrive. Or, if they were lucky, it really might just be a niche job for a very specific kind of ship.

"Sure, we'll talk to them at least. See what they have to say." he agreed. Nearly four hundred thousand credits was certainly worth a certain amount of complication in his book. As they waited for the various financial institutions to go through their checks, and the credits to be verified, he looked over at the pretty woman who had just entered.



"Word travels quick" he glanced to Wymp, Brooks and Brandle then back to her with a slight grumble to his words. "Who's askin?" he asked in turn, with the air of somebody trying to avoid being cornered by a telemarketer.

"I suppose it does indeed." After that, Florence opened her mouth with a grin, then grimaced slightly and sighed, her grin fading away. She probably considered saying something silly for a second but changed her mind. "My name is Florence, Florence Pearce."

She looked at the ship for a second, then back at the people in front of her. "I have recently graduated, and when he heard I wasn't yet sure what I wanted to do now, my grandpa insisted I serve some time aboard a ship." She didn't quite grimace at that but... It seemed obvious she wasn't all that enthused by the idea just yet. "As for why this ship..." She shrugged. "He served on her for a while. I guess he was feeling nostalgic or something when he 'suggested' it. She grimaced with obvious feelings. "If you know the Montauk's history and what kind of crew it had in the past, you can probably understand why saying 'no' wasn't exactly an option."

"As for what I can do for you," She paused, considering. "Well, I don't know what you yourselves can and cannot do obviously, but I should be able to handle administrative duties, interface with local authorities and stuff like that." As an afterthought, she added. "Oh and should you have to deal with Aliens, I should be able to take care of it."

"Buying a share or two, or just hired crew?" Horace asks. "How old are you?"
This message was last edited by the player at 15:36, Sat 23 Nov 2019.

"Buying shares!" A second woman with semi-dark skin and a bouncy gait rushed up behind Florence, having just caught up with her. "Buying shares." She repeated. It only took a few seconds to catch her breath, and she smiled at the men gathered around them. She had an eagerness in her eyes and an energy about her, and the way she placed her hand on Florence's arm suggested the two were familiar with each other.

Remembering herself, she extended her hand. "Sara Julis, I'm an author, anthropologist, and part-time electrician."

"Horace Wymp, broker, computer geek and medic, the pleasure is all mine I'm sure."

Florence opened her mouth to answer, but quickly closed it when Sarah arrived. While it seemed clear she knew the other woman, she seemed surprised by something. Once both Sarah and Horace have introduced themselves, she answered the second part of the man's question. "I'm twenty."

Sarah smiled at Florence and squeezed her arm, then turned toward Horace with a downright challenging grin.
"... and my age is none of your business." She cocked an eyebrow. "But you can ask me how many share's I've got-" Without even waiting for anyone to actually ask, she continued: "I've got four. I have a grant from my university to study how the peoples of the '100 are dealing with... well... all the recent news, and shit like that. No better way to do that, then to fly around and ask them myself, right? And it couldn't hurt to make some money on the side, you know?"

Sarah finally released Florence and pulled a datapad from her back pocket. "I've got all the paperwork here."

Einar could easily imagine scenes like the one before them occuring all over New Avalon. These were uncertain times, and safe passage or a steady job might mean more than it had used to.

The news that Florence's Grandfather had served on the Montauk raised an eyebrow.

"Really?" his tone suggested he was not entirely convinced.

"Well maybe you can educate us then Miss Pearce. What can you tell us about your Grandfather and his time on the Montauk?" Einar asked, and shifted in his seat to better face her and listen.

Einar also glanced over to how Horace was fairing with the other girl, coincidentally around the time she mentioned she had money.

"Well, yes, really." Florence shrugged. "The ship was used for Special Forces operations, its...her...ability to set down on any water surface made things a lot easier for those. As for the details..." The girl cocked an eyebrow. "I'm afraid I can't tell you much. As you can probably guess, it falls under the jurisdiction of the infamous 'I could tell you, but then I'd have to kill you.'" She paused, then added quickly. "Well not me obviously, I have no idea what operations were led from this ship, and even if I did, I doubt I could kill you... But my grandfather wasn't eager to kill me. Those kind of things tend to weight quite a bit at family reunions as you can imagine."

Old enough to ship, Miss Julis, I wouldn't dare ask you." He answers Florence and turns to Sarah.
This message was last edited by the player at 17:52, Sat 23 Nov 2019.

"Anyone seen Reggie or Heather? I haven't seen hide nor hair of them."

Einar's expression was unchanged. It was hard to tell if he was just brusque by nature it truly skeptical of her story.

"Well, that's good to know..." he glanced back at the direction of the ship.

"I'm Einar Korvonen, Captain and that's Horace Wymp, XO...as of, maybe..." He glanced to a display in a nearby desk "An hour ago."

He took a deep breath and held it for half a moment before he continued. "It's a cool story, and I'll admit that I have a sort spot for families crewing ships together" he shrugged "Even if they skip a generation here and there"

"If you can show me some proof that your Grandfather served on the Montauk, we can find you a berth. And we'll likely have some work for you, maybe as an Admin Assistant, or something along those lines." He left the words hanging as if asking if that would work for her.

Florence frowned. She obviously started at the mention of Einar being the captain, but first she addressed the "proof". "I could mention a few places, and maybe some events it may or may not have been linked with, but that wouldn't tell you anything. Instead, I know there's a picture left in the ship's gallery, showing the old crew. Except for their blurry faces. I have a copy of that picture...but the faces are just fine."

"Admin assistant or something could work but..." She paused, then considering Einar for a long moment, she asked, clearly suspicious. "You're the captain?" She looked at the others for a second, clearly wondering if he was pulling her leg. Finally, squinting, she asked. "What kind of operations do you propose to lead?"

"He elected himself Captain and me XO. I didn't argue." Horace said with a grin. "As Administrative Assistant, you'll probably work for me. I'm the Broker and computer geek and medic and steward at the moment. Depending on the skills of the others. You got Admin skill?"
This message was last edited by the player at 18:43, Sat 23 Nov 2019.

A bit distractedly, Florence answered Horace. "In theory, yes, as well as a bit of law, psychology, bureaucracy, etc. And like I mentioned before, I can talk with Aliens just fine. For the most part anyway. In practice..." The young woman shrugged. "I can't say I have any experience outside of the confines of my school."

After a longer pause where she seemed to hesitate, she shook her head. "And I'm sorry but... You should have argued." She turned to Einar. "I'm not saying you don't have the skills for it. In fact, for all I know, you do. But internally, the captain is supposed to be the model for the crew. Externally, he is the public face of the ship and its crew. If you want to become pirates or start a 'protection' business, then you're fine. I guess, I can't say I have much experience there. But if you want to be regular traders, whatever it is you want to trade - and wherever you do - you need to inspire trust in the people who would want to do business with you, and be an example for the crew to insure smooth and efficient operations."

"And I'm sorry to say, you don't." She cocked an eyebrow, obviously wondering about something. "Unless you're in some kind of disguise?"

"Woof." Sarah grinned, responding to Florence's biting "assessment" of Einar.

"Well they say you shouldn't judge a book by its cover. I think he looks like a man who's comfortable in his own skin." Sarah shrugged. "When it comes to investments like this, I'd rather lean toward competence any day." She gestured at him. "And he reminds me of some of the people my father and I used to work with before I went back to school."

"He has the most money. We will have to clean him up a bit though. By the way, you're hired, if you want it. I like your skills and your moxie at standing before the captain at the moment. I think more than he should get a vote too. though I will support him even if he doesn't clean up and get a uniform of some kind. Welcome aboard partner." He shakes Sarah's hand and holds his hand out to Florence.
This message was last edited by the player at 19:38, Sat 23 Nov 2019.

Noah smiled at the young lady's comments regarding the ship's new Captain, but Brooks said nothing.  As a belter, he'd shipped out with far more Captains like Einar than the type Pearce was describing.  He wondered how many salty spacer's Miss Pearce had actually met and if that integer would break into double digits.
This message had punctuation tweaked by the player at 19:26, Sat 23 Nov 2019.