Noah's Brendan Research...
This message was last edited by the GM at 20:10, Mon 09 Dec 2019.

Einar posited that with the versatile light cycle, they should be able to start before the normal work day and under the cover of darkness. While it would be less usual, his logic was that there would be fewer people awake, and of those that were, they might be hesitant to try and notify others if they were sleeping.

Horace agreed with the captain about slipping out in darkness.

 Reggie spent his time, making sure the interior cameras functioned correctly. All interior locks, lockdowns, etc., functioned correctly. He would  activate the drone* if they had one*, to conduct exterior surveillance on the ship.

  When he had the time, Reg would find the Captain, to speak with him. “ Mr. Wymp, Just a few things to clarify. I think weapons should be stored in the ships locker with the only access being you, the EX and myself. We can’t chance  an accident with a hole in the exterior hull. Hard to do, but it can happen. Also, no weapons for any passengers, I assume. I am hoping to be able to afford a used fluoroscope, soon, to scan cargo and passenger luggage. untill then, it will be old school searches.”

 Once Reg was done, he  inquired.” Do you have any questions or tasks for me, at the present?”

"You sound squared away already. Weapons should be in the locker, Captain, myself, and you with access. Search away the passengers. Carry on Mister Gain, you have the gist of it. The rest okay Mister Gain?"
 
This message had punctuation tweaked by the player at 15:47, Tue 10 Dec 2019.

" I suppose I should call you Captain; it will take some getting used to this spacer  speak. My background is Corp Sec, as you know. I will keep an eye on the weapon installation for the ship. Mr.…Ahh,Captain.”

 Reg turned to go, but then paused, "one last thing, I am trying to get my hands on some sort of stun device. You, the EO and I should have one. I will keep you up to date.” He turned to go about his tasks."

"I'm the XO, Einar is Captain, Mister Wymp is fine for me. Or Horace. Get stun guns for everyone, we might need them someday Mister Gain."
This message was last edited by the player at 16:11, Tue 10 Dec 2019.

When they finally get ready, they fly to Nanton, landing before daylight, before the work Date begins.

On the major worlds, cities rival those of Earth.  Nanton is the industrial capital of the Governate of Western Ker Ys.  Its shape is easily seen at night, from the lights of the city.  It sprawls along the coast, surrounding the port, and tendrils follow the major transit lines inland.  But the crew has only moments to take in the view as the ship sets down just beyond Nanton harbor.  It is easier now, with the city quiet, because night and the Date’s off shift coincide today.  It would have been much harder in daylight, or during “business hours”, which would have meant carefully selecting an approach so as not to hit anything in the water.  With Alwin at the controls, they arrive in Nanton.

The ship has a noticeable roll when it's floating away from a dock.  Alwin consults the manual (actually, files in the ships computer.)  Pelicans will tend to do that when the cargo hold is empty and they are floating "light".  But the wings serve as outboard pontoons.  Like the outriggers on a traditional Polynesian boat, they keep the ship from rolling too far.

Water Landings, he observes, are a little trickier than standard landings.  They are not recommended for someone with only “Pilot 0”.

They’ve arrived at the most quiet possible time.  The ship floats up to the pier, turning around and lowering the ramp so that the cargo can be driven on.  The warehouse is there on the pier, not far, and everything looks deserted.

There is security, of course.  The Monsignor told everyone about that.  But it’s their security, and they are expecting you.  You aren’t stealing, just moving things quietly.

"Secure the lines and tie her off." Horace instructed upon reaching the dock. Hanging on tight for his life as the ship bobbed in the water like a cork. He didn't know how to swim.
This message was last edited by the player at 14:50, Fri 13 Dec 2019.

Horace moved deeper into the ship as they approached the pier, getting as far away from the water as he could. "Anyone here know how to swim? If there is, I'm ready to learn how to. I don't feel like drowning in port."

As she had said previously, Florence had left the ship for a couple of hours, time it took her to grab a small suitcase: apparently, she believed in travelling light. Or she didn't have much to begin with, but it wasn't the kind of impression she gave.

After that and while the rest of crew had worked on installing the weapons under Reginald's watchful eye, she had split her time between exploring the ship - taking full advantage of her slim build to access pretty much everything - and studying in her room.

In the morning of the loading, while awake it was perfectly clear that she'd like nothing more than to go back to sleep for at least a couple of hours. Despite that, she was standing near the hold, tablet displaying the manifest in hand, ready to check everything that reached the ship to make sure they had everything...and nothing else.

When Horace asked his question about swimming, she shook her head. "Not for this." It wasn't that she was inept: she wouldn't drown in a swimming pool after all. But those were definitely not the calm conditions of a swimming pool. "It probably wouldn't hurt to learn a bit more though..."

The water is calmer, and the ship stabilizes as it reaches the pier.  The "Auto-mooring" system turns on, anchoring the ship to the shore, and the ramp extends.

The Monsignor, who has been worriedly strapped to a seat ever since she realized that this was the first landing this crew has attempted on this ship, heads down to the ramp as soon as she is able to, so she can talk to whoever is at the warehouse, which is not far away.

Someone from the warehouse is already walking out to meet the ship.

It's all as per the Monsignor's arrangements, so far.  The person who comes to meet the ship is a property manager for the church, the one who handles the logistics for things like this.

He is a middle aged man, well dressed if a little plain looking, with that look that says he'd probably be bald except that he's had hair restoration treatment.  (It always seems to a little too thick on men of this age).

"We're not getting any loaders," he says.  "The port workers are on strike, and won't even come out for this... even if it's a starship and not a maritime ship.  They say a ship is a ship.  Technically we are breaking the strike."

"Technically we are not," the Monsignor says.  "They explicitly said closed to marine traffic."

"Well they say this is close enough."

"Do we have anyone, then?" she asks.

"Only us, and a lot to load... construction equipment.  And I hope we can do it quickly, before overly observant people see a ship getting loaded."

The property manager seems nervous.

Horace starts to load the ship, carrying what he could. He could load wheeled vehicles too.
This message was last edited by the player at 12:26, Mon 16 Dec 2019.

Florence went to meet the property manager while everyone else started to go fetch the cargo they were going to transport. As she walked though, it was quite obvious she was a bit distracted by something given the way she looked towards the horizon - even if she couldn't see it at all of course.

Still, when she reached the man, she nodded in his direction. "Good morning." She paused there for a time, valiantly trying to repress a yawn. She finally lost that battle then shook her head. "Sorry about that. Can you send me your manifest so I can check everything that comes on board please?"

 Reggie walked down the ship’s ramp and stopped off to the side to scan the immediate area. He wore a jacked and his usual hat, with pants and boots. The jacket concealed something that was not for the casual observation. A compact sub gun on a shoulder holster that allowed the weapon to hang barrel down,at his side.


 When he heard that they where the ones to have to load the cargo, he frowned. He was not trusting by inclination and training, and the Property manager being nervous just made Reggie that more hypersensitive.” Well, I guess I am muscle to help load the cargo. I would rather be in a vantage point with binoculars to observe the area for potential trouble. But this crap is not going to load itself.”

 Before Reggie asked where they wanted him, He had to do a certain thing. He walked over to the property manager, and smiled to the man. " You seem ill at ease, Sir. This there any particular reason?"

"The port is on strike Mr. Gains. We're scabs, he's afraid we'll be seen and violence will follow."

“Perhaps, Mr. Wymp, perhaps. But I am not a trusting sort by nature.” He headed over to assist with the loading.

"Good, you'll help keep us alive longer that way. I tend to trust too much." He helped load any wheeled vehicles first so that the load would be balanced and not tail heavy. Lashing everything into place so the load would not shift too.
This message was last edited by the player at 16:18, Wed 18 Dec 2019.

Alwin did his part to assist in the loading of the cargo.  He was eager to begin this new venture, but he had enough experience with previous crews so that his demeanor only showed a basic professionalism, and a desire to handle the task at hand both quickly and efficiently.

"That's it exactly," says the property manager.  "No one is going to organize a mob to break down the gate here.  There might be complaints, lots of complains, but on the official end, that's it.  But on the unofficial end, there's no telling what angry young people absolutely certain of their cause might do.  If there's trouble, though, we don't hurt anyone.  The faster this goes the less chance for trouble.  I'm sure there were a few people watching for strike breakers over the night, maybe they planted a sensor or two.  But it would take them some time to get here.  I can't say how much time, though."


Moving the dump trucks proves... interesting.  They are not the typical cheap, manually operated machines.  They are brand new robotic dump trucks, with that fresh from the factory new robot smell.  And that fresh from the factory neutral yet cheery and creepily enthusiastic robot voice.



Meanwhile, Florence looks over the cargo manifest.  In addition to the heavy equipment there is quite a list!  Apparently the church agency behind this wasn't going to waste the opportunity, so the dump trucks are stacked with freight in their beds, and the other vehicles are carrying what they can.  It's all kinds of things, crammed into boxes.  Toys, hardware, seeds, towels, medical supplies, socks, tools, hot sauce, paint, a little of this, a little of that.  Unlike the robotic trucks it doesn't look new or factory packed.  Just Stuff, loaded into boxes.  On the other hand, they seemed to be prepared to move it quickly- almost everything is either in or on a vehicle, or positioned so it can be quickly moved on dollies.
This message was last edited by the GM at 02:03, Thu 19 Dec 2019.

"This is excellent, it should load quickly, lets get it on board!" After the dump trucks are loaded the smaller stuff comes next!

 Reggie did his part, in helping load the cargo. But he would pause every once in a while to look around, to take the measure of the surrounding area, as best he could. Training and experience  was second nature, in this matter.

"Signs of trouble Mister Gain? Or is all clear yet?"

Einar had seemed on edge during their pre-flight check, and as their cooperatively purchased Pelican got underway on its first voyage under their ownership. He paced a bit, watched the read out closely and look all about as if he was able to see through the hull and deck plating to the components beneath.

As the minutes passed he relaxed a bit, but behaved much like a concerned parent might as they  proceeded to Nanton.

After they had touched down, and Einar had staggered along with the rest of them with the vessel pitching gently under their feet. He declined to comment much on just how explicitly they were violating the strike, in spirit or in practice, but proceeded directly to the cargo and sized up the load in hopes of getting a feel for a timeline.

The trucks prove far more advanced than anything he had ever personally handled, but he endeavored to get them loaded in good time, and to maximize the space for the cargo that would come next.

As he passed some of the rest of the crew, he slowed to hear Reggie's response.

Landing the Albatross is somewhat obvious.  No doubt, anyone awake and looking out over Nanton harbor (and any camera) would have seen it.
But would they have cared, that is the issue.

There is no immediate reaction anywhere to what's going on, and everyone can take advantage of the lack of attention to load the cargo, some of which is self loading.

Something on the property manager's person beeps.

"Ohhh, they're calling," he says, answering his phone.  Although he walks away a snippet of the conversation can be overhead.  He's playing dumb.


"Oh yes, I know, but you know how it is, this is the time they gave me..."
"It's just some church stuff.  Church materials.  Not commercial cargo, so it's not really..."
"No, nothing like that..."