Brent nodded his head with a solemn look. "I agree with you." He brought up the local star map and displayed it holographically for the two of them to consider. "I say we had rim ward down the main. We can skip Donegal but the next three worlds in a row could have relic survivors given the favorable biosphere."
This message was last edited by the player at 00:57, Sun 17 Mar.

Joxe nods. "I agree. We can stop by Egg to refuel on the way back, and to deliver anyone who needs to return. After that, we can resupply and go."

Brent looked at the map further. "We can go down the main as far as Montezuma and then jump over to Lira and run up that main before jumping back toward Egg."

"I like that idea," Joxe replies. "Would we take anyone else with us, or we two go on our own?"

Brent thinks for a moment and then shrugged. "We could bring another long or we could rely on a couple of high-end AI robots like Edak to help out. Actually if we have modular robot brains then we could pair them with remotely piloted or small vehicles that we can carry. I think at the very least we need a higher end, armed air raft for exploring."

Joxe grins. "I never thought I'd have a shipyard at my beck and call." Her smile fades and she looks down, patting her still-flat abdomen. "Of course, I never thought I'd be in this situation at all. Everything and everyone I once knew is gone." She sniffs and begins to cry.

Brent pulled Joxe into his arms and stroked her hair and back soothingly. "You have friends and now family here in the future. We have a bright future ahead of us as we make our own little family and portion of the universe. All those you left behind will be in our memories and all that we do will be dedicated to them."

Joxe cries and sniffles for a few minutes, and then she finally lifts her head. "I love you, Brent. I know that you're right, but I will always miss what once was."

Brent gives her a gentle kiss on the cheek. "I love you too Joxe. I'm sorry that you lost all of your friends and family but I am so fortunate to have you on the past in my life." His hand rested on her stomach. "Not only that but you are carrying our new life and family. I cannot imagine being so lucky as to conceiving a child with you"

"Just wait until you have to change diapers," Joxe laughs. "I have new friends, and a new family."

328-1402 1200- Gorky System - ARG Shipyard

All of the humans aboard the ARG facility are sitting at lunch together in a dining room that overlooks the logistics ship's berth. Wanderer is in a nearby bay, being provisioned to Brent and Joxe's specifications. Edak sits with her new boss, who is giggling with Eleni over something.

Kevin Eason, who is being trained as the logistics ship's captain, with his wife Emii as his executive officer, looks across the table at Brent and Joxe. "Where will you two go when you leave here?"

Brent glanced over at Joxe and then replied. "We are thinking of heading down the main to the rim ward all the way to Montezuma. We want to stay away from Kiepes for now. We will focus on the worlds that are at least minimally habitable without much technology. We will be looking for survivors and infrastructure. With just the two of us even with robotic help our surveys will be necessarily minimal."

Kevin taps a command into the table's inset panel, and a holographic map comes to life over the table. "That's a long way from help. Not that I'm trying to discourage you, given that we really need to know what else might be waiting for us." Kevin chews his lip as he thinks. "You have fifty-four tons' cargo capacity, two turret-sized hardpoints, three light weapons auxiliary hardpoints that most people don't know about in the Beowulf's design specifications, plus living space and life support for up to ten people. I don't think we can spare anyone to accompany you," he smiles at Joxe, "not that I think you're considering it right now. I ask that you consider setting a deadline to communicate with us. If we don't hear from you, we will go looking along your last known travel route."

Emii nods. "You could take nav buoys, encoded and stealthed, of course, to give us updates on your mission."

"Which leads to my next question. What do you want to take with you?"

Brent nodded as Kevin spoke. "We figured that there wasn't anyone to spare for our mission. We hope to enlist a couple of artificial intelligences like Edak to help fill in the spaces and remotely operate equipment where it might be dangerous for any of us human or artificial to go. We might take a living quarters module with us along with plenty of remotes and spare parts and of course an upgrade and backup to our auto doc. The idea of taking buoys to communicate along the trail is a good one."

Kevin manipulates a virtual keyboard as Brent speaks. "The AIs we can send out will be more like the ship herself, capable but not sentient. Do you want any additional weapons, armor, or vehicles?"

"We have the laser turret and a missile launcher with a five-shot magazine," Joxe puts in. "These are all Imperial top-of-the-line, and brand new, not a couple of centuries old."

"What do you want in the small hardpoints," Kevin asks.

"Do we want to set the turrets up as triples? That might help a bit. As for the small hard points I would suggest a mix of lasers and fusion weapons that don't require ammunition. Still though it would be nice to have at least one grenade launcher." Brent considered. "Even largely but not completely autonomous AI will be very helpful in accomplishing routine or dangerous tasks."

(See the notes for turret weapons).

Kevin consults his display. "We can set you up with two eight-centimeter laser slash FGMP turrets and a grenade launcher turret. The lasers aren't for space combat, of course, but they are effective against personnel and light vehicles. The fusion guns use ammo, but they can punch anything except an Imperial battle tank. The turrets can carry ten rounds for the FGMPs and fifty grenades in the grenade launcher, and the lasers are tied into ship's power."

"For the AIs, do you want them to operate in a vehicle, or be robotic?"

Ken nods as weaponry is discussed. "The smaller turrets sound fine. We should have some spare missiles to use as mines. As for the AI's I think robotic would be best."

Kevin and Joxe help Brent to finalize their loadout list.

"It will take us two days to finish the robots, and to complete the loadout," Kevin says. "In the meantime, feel free to walk around and enjoy the facility."

Brent works hard with Joxe and the others to come up with a comprehensive list of equipment and weaponry to outfit the ship. He also works mainly with Joxe to come up with approaches to the different planets on their target list. Lastly though he does take time to walk through the facility and gardens with Joxe alone.

Joxe finds a secluded place in the gardens that was set up to offer some privacy. She takes advantage of it - and Brent - twice.

The provisioning proceeds without issues, and Wanderer is soon ready to fly. The group meets together for breakfast as Brent and Joxe prepare to depart.

Brent greatly enjoys the interlude as well as the technical challenges working with Joxe in the others to provision and ready the ship. As they meet for breakfast Brent outlines their plan to head down the main away from the main threat.

"I think that's a good idea," Kevin says. "We will follow you in a month or so. It will take us a while to work up the crew, and we're slower in jump than you."

"We will be sure to leave the message buoys behind us. Hopefully we can make contact as each of our initial targets should be marginally or better habitable even at a low technology level. I don't expect large, sophisticated populations but we can get the bootstrapping process started sooner than later. Once we can introduce modern medical technology and nutrition as well as physical safety the populations should start to increase rapidly."

The group wraps up a few last details, and then Brent and Joxe are free to depart.

339-1402 0900 - Egg System - Tala Orbit

Wanderer boosts at one gee, making her way toward Tala's hundred-diameters limit. Brent and Joxe had stopped at Tala Station to refuel, deliver messages, and update the powers-that-be on the situation in Gorky. The couple also took on fresh provisions for their journey.

After having so many people aboard, the ship seemed larger with just the two of them. The cargo bay had been modified to allow it to be occupied without wearing vacuum tight gear, giving them more open space than the crew or passenger areas provided. Most of the space was taken up with vehicles and supplies, but there was still room enough to help stave off claustrophobia.

"Here we go," Joxe says from  her station as the ship approaches the jump entrance point for their voyage to Bikar's mapped gas giant, a two-parsec jump. "Two minutes."