Major Ascott drops in just as Kray sits down, grabbing a tray of food and joining him at the empty table.
"Good job on the repair crew Lieutenant. I hear the job went smoothly."
Tossing all the different foods together he creates a sort of mash and starts to work it down quickly. Between bites he continues, "The reason I wanted to speak to you is this. I understand you want those fighters checked out and active, and I'm glad you are passionate about that, but at the moment they are not considered a priority. As such, I cannot spare any more engineers than I already have, and I would much prefer not having to worry about my sole pilot and my chief engineer to pull each other's hairs out. I've talked to Lu, and as far as she's concerned there is no problem between you two as long as you stay out of her way."
He shrugs as he chews a particular tough piece of meat.
"So do me a favor will you... Tie down that Ozzy temperament and cut her some slack. She'll come around once she's worked through some personal stuff. 115 years of sleep don't suddenly erase a personal loss that feels like just 4 weeks ago. Hanschel informed me your number 19 is good to go and in top shape. He's now working on the four spare jets. Take those out as soon as he is done, let Lu do her thing on the rest. She'll let you know once you can test those."
With the meat finally gone he gulps down some tea.
"Now, since you are the flyboy here, and I know little about those things... I'd like your personal opinion on the Hellcat."

    Kray listens  as he  scoops up  the 'desert' thing and tries to enjoy it. He remembers  having to get used to  Indian food  during war games when he was assigned to the INS Vikrant on a pilot exchange.

 ..Aye, Sir... But considerin' we don't know  where we are..and what's out 'ere, I'd Like ta have more the  one fighter ready...


 Holding up his spoon , pointing  in the general direction of the  Hangers,   The SGT  an I hadda work together  in that  Rhino?.. she did Good.. the folks who  did the real work did good.. if they have such things anymore..it should be noted on thier  record.

  ..As fer the Hellcats? They'er the Best we had, when we left earth.  But if we come up against somethin' out here... we gotta figure this?  1..... They can't be any worse off then us, as far as gear, 'cause they are out here..... 2....there is a Good chance they can outstrip anthin' we have..if they are older....and..accordin' ta what we learned in school..the  closer  ta the center of the  of that there..'big bang?'....Things are older...

 then he gets into it,...the last time  we flew them things for real..against real pilots?.... I found  out  we can out turn and out dive anythin' else the earth had..... Climbin' ? The Americans  and  British.. they can  out climb us.... as far as guns go..every one was about equal...not  real fond of the  missles  though... we went up fer trainin', Just out of Atmo?... they had drones fer as to practice on?... lots of folks didn't hit them.... They made me land when  i blew up the drone shuttle that was launching them...

 he grins,..sorta made history that day, I did.... Got reprimanded fer blowing  up a pricey bit of tech...but was awarded a citation, fer  figurin' out a way to win the game?

"Yes, I heard about that. It was actually one of the reasons Timochev wanted you on board. Personally I thought it a stupid move. Stuff like that ruins careers..." Ascott grins. "I've seen your file. You could have been a captain already, if not for stupid jokes like that. I don't like those jokes on my watch." His face turns stern. He pauses a moment to get his point across.

"We do not know if anything is out here. As big as the galaxy is, one should assume we are not alone. Who knows, we might be way out of our league here. Thats why they upgraded the Hellcats and made sure we had them. Like you said, its the best we have. Now, as for the void missiles... You have tried them in an atmosphere. You had the same judgement all the other pilots had... Worthless pieces of crap. Untill they actually used them for what they were designed for. Out here, in space. Tell you what, soon as Hanschel is done on the #20, i'll have him load up four missiles and send out some drones. Try em in space, see if you still think they suck. The other pilots all had to agree they were far better than they expected."

Ascott stood up and placed his tray on the cleaning cart. Straightening his jacket he looked Shadow in the eyes a long moment, leaning in on the table to emphasise his words.
"For the record Lieutenant, i'll let you in on a little secret. Lets not bullshit each other. I think you're a good guy. I do. But I advised command not to take you along. I consider you a liability because of your inquisitive nature. Curiosity kills cats and all that. Also I think you are reckless. Command told me to adjust, they trusted Timochev's judgement. He wanted you in, so you were in. The captain seems a fan of you too. He doesn't see any need to wake the other pilots yet, and he considers you suitable for the current tasks. And I'm sure out there, you are good. Your files show that much. Better than most if I am to believe it all. Still I think he's taking a gamble on you. I much prefer discipline. Don't prove to them I'm right, okay? Sometimes I prefer being wrong."

He makes his way to the door. In the door opening he turns around and looks at Kray again. His smile has returned now, along with a twinkle in his eyes.

"Don't just sit there Lieutenant, lets go. You want to be inquisitive? Lets go see hangar 4."

  Kray nods along with the  Major's  take on him...he has heard this  before. more times then not. But when push came to shove, he was picked for his skills.

  Aye, Sir....that curiosity is why they ...um..'suggested' my 'enrollment' to the special survival  group... some hated it.. I thought it was a bot o' fun!..but growing up is  Aussiland will do that!.

 he  sits  there  , finishing the coffee... his feelings were about broke even..he wasn't  slighted..but he didn't  feel fully accepted.

 Then the Major mentions  Hanger 4, he he all but  Jumps up,  , still... his up bringing forces him to  take his tray and Cup over to the   end of the serving  line and place them there.

  His  Half  smile, turning into a bit of a grin as he catches up to the Major,..This is better! Considering the earth that sent us out here is gone... i mean..even if folks are still around, they forgot all about us? Unless. Ya know..they 'ave some bloody 'rememberance day or all that?

 he Is quiet for a few steps, Looking at the Major as they walk,..fer all intent and purpose? We are..The Nation of Marco....

"Ohhhh sounds like a fun way to get a hundred year nap. I mean, the payout on that one has gotta be ridiculous. Were you counted as on the clock the whole time?" Colt asked, trying to add up the numbers in his head, but giving up quickly. "Now that you mention it, that should have been a dead giveaway. I'm not sure what other job on the ship would include those, but security should have been my first guess." Colt said with a laugh.

"I can drive just about anything with wheels and an engine. I'm real good at the not crashing part too. I got the highest score on the combat driving exam the proctors had seen. Sooooo, it's legit." Colt summed up, before going back to his food and looking to her for her response.

In reply to Colt Jordan (msg # 75):

   Jenni ate while Colt was talking.  "I never thought about that part.  Given that everyone military would have been getting not paid during the big nap, we all would be rich.  Prices would rise to meet the new economic status.  A cheeseburger would cost thousands of dollars, thousands more if you want fries with it.  And the civilians who were just along for the ride and not getting paid would be economic second class citizens.  But then..."

   Jen took a sip of coffee and continued.  "...  I don't really know.  Things like that are above my pay grade.  I'm a cop.  My world is black and white.  Find the bad guys.  Bust the bad guys."  She set her cup down.  "So, what are you going to do until we find a place to land?"

   Colt appeared to be lost in thought.  That was all right.  Jenni had quite a lot on her plate, physically and mentally.  As she ate, Jen considered the work involved for a handful of people to organize the equipment they had taken and to get off the ship.  She suddenly had a terrible thought, one affecting the entire mission.  The Security Officer hurriedly dumped the remainder of her meal into the recycler.

To: Medical 

Shuffling into the mess Lee foraged through the pantry grabbing several foods that appealed to her. Slumping into a chair she slowy savoured her selection.

Blake orders a full breakfast, with tea, bacon, hash browns and two fried eggs. Eat well, work hard, although Blake promises himself some time in the gym to make up for it sometime soon. Seeing Lee Jay, he heads over and says "Hi.", possibly stopping to chat before heading out the door to the bridge.

In reply to Blake Germaine (msg # 79):

Her mouth full of fooLee gave blake a friendly nod, then chinned towards an empty chair. Swallowing what she had been chewing then sipped at her brew. How goes the search
This message was last edited by the player at 12:06, Fri 07 Apr 2017.

"Well, we know where we are in space now, we're near Kepler-Waldberg 117. I've not found out much more about our hijackers recently. It's back on the top of the agenda though. How about you?"
This message was last edited by the player at 11:24, Fri 07 Apr 2017.

In reply to Blake Germaine (msg # 81):

Nothing much to talk about... Lee replies as she considers Blakes Statement. Seeing how we're effectively adrift we need to get an idea of what to do next. I've been considering the situation and think we'll have to consider working on solutions to scenarios which may eventuate.

<< From: Ship Security

Entering the mess hall in the barracks section of the ship was like stepping into another world. Perhaps that's why Lou insisted on it; trying to put the woman off balance. But if that was her goal... well, she wasn't entirely unsuccessful. As she gathered up her food Micaela wondered if the effect would have been more pronounced if it wasn't all half empty. Personnel moving all around her might have been even more intimidating, but without the distraction the operator was forced to see the space for what it was... a war machine.

Micaela was sufficiently unnerved that she didn't try to join any of the other small groups that had formed in the clinical space. And once she was seated she started speaking to the ship.

"Marco, what can you tell me about the crew that's currently awake? Verbal response only needs to be high level. The specifics you can transmit to my rig. In particular, I would like to better understand what information is available and unavailable to me given my clearance level."

After a direct response in her earpiece, the woman finished her meal and headed to her quarters to partake in her military ordered R&R.

>> To: Nieves' quarters
This message was last edited by the player at 00:11, Wed 19 Apr 2017.

Major Tom dropped in his chair with a sigh, cursing the hunk of steel that was CS-8. The former SAS operative felt at home at most places, from the cold waters of the artic to the hot damp jungles of southern america, but he would never get used to being locked up in a hunk of steel. Not even one as huge as the Marco Polo.
Ales, a job was a job, and there was no way he would have turned down orders. Not 120 years ago, not today. So with another sigh he started up his desk console, pulling up personel files. He had just opened one when the buzzer on his door went off.

"Come in!"

The door slid open with a soft hiss, allowing Lee Jay Musashi to enter.
"Major, can I have a word with you?"

"Sure, have a seat," Ascott gestured at the chair in front of him. "What can I do for you?"

"You can get me reassigned," she stated bluntly. "My place is not in medical. I should be doing molecular research, not looking at foreign cells that for all I know could be a side effect of cryosleep."

The major looked at her, puzzled.
"I have no idea what you are talking about miss." he stated blankly.

"Genassi has me studying some cells he found in blood samples of some radiation victim..."

"His name is Patterson."

"Of Patterson then. Doc thinks its alien, and I'm inclined to agree, but medical research is not my thing. I have no idea what to do with living cells."

"You are a molecular engineers you say?"

"Yes!" she snapped at him, "Living multi-cell organisms are not my thing. Medical is not my place."

"So then kill those cells and study their molecules. Sheesh, how hard can that be to figure out." Ascott snarled. "Look, I don't want to be on this tub, you don't want to be in medical, tough luck. We have to do what we have to do. So get back to medical and assist Genassi where needed."

"But... I..." Musashi began a stammered reply.

"Now!" Ascott stood up and slammed his fist down on his desk. "Get out of my office!"

From:  Maxwell's Quarters

   Jen entered the mess hall.  The line was a bit long, what with everyone looking to have breakfast after the session at the gym.  The security officer waited her turn with the rest of the people.  She was rewarded for her patience with something resembling eggs, hash browns, sausage patties, and toast.  She helped herself to coffee and orange juice before sitting down at an empty table to begin eating.

Edit:

   Jenni had thought that someone might sit with her, but the black security jumpsuit had once again held people at a distance.  She finished her meal quickly, took the tray back to the collection area, and headed off to work.

To:  Security
This message was last edited by the player at 23:17, Mon 24 Apr 2017.

From: Medical facilities

Danny arrived in the Mess Hall around 7:20 or so, and saw lots of people moving about, for him this was good, because maybe he could meet some nice people here.

Danny was very good at starting conversations with people, in fact the way he started them was the best way there was, in fact it was so straight forward most people either avoided it, or hadn't used it since they were kids.

Danny however, was always able to pull it off.

Danny walks up to the serving area, and greets the people serving with the way he always does; "Hi, I'm Danny. It would be great to see you again, if your ever upset or want to be with a good friend, you can come see me" He adds a genuine smile at the end.

Like most people, the server thinks he's weird and gives him some food and lets him on his way

Danny is used to this, most people protect themselves from these things because it's not normal for humans, for some odd reason, to be able to walk up to eachother share kind words, and be friends for the rest of their lives, who every day make eachother want to live even if they were both limbless cripples who were allergic to oxygen.

Danny was the kind of person who could take more emotional pain than anyone else, and the way he normally recieved it? Rejection. It's not their faults, Danny was more evolved in the sense of caring and empathy.

He kept saying the same things but most people shot him down, or walked away eerily.


"There 's got to be somebody who will accept me" he said quietly, mostly for anyone who might be listening, not realy upset yet at all.


After a while Danny sat down at an empty table, all the other ones were full with a group of friends, some of the tables looked like they'd kick him if he looked funny at them.

"High school all over again..." he added for himself.

Danny started eating his food, all the while smiling at everyone he saw, waiting for someone who would sit down with him.

"Young master Chambers I believe?"

The voice was soft, soothing, belonging to a distinguished looking gentleman that carried himself with regal posture. As he sat down he gave a friendly nod to some others in the mess hall before introducing himself.

"Jan VanderBeek. Morale officer, cook, vagebond. Ship designer, makeshift soldier, comedian. That about sums up my qualifications I think. At the moment I run this place, that is untill I get the captain to get the rec-deck fully up and operational. When that happens we will return this messy mess to the soldiers. Us civilians have our own decks. Unfortunately he won't as of yet, too many people still asleep."

He took a small nip of a cup of brew he had carried with him, savouring the taste.
"So, master Chambers, I take it Marco woke you up on a fluke like he did the other civilians. How would you like to make yourself usefull anyway even when there are only soldiers awake?"

-----> Medical

Drago followed the directions to the mess hall that Miss Connolly had given him, he had passed no one on his walk here and had began to wonder if there was anyone else in the barracks section. But as he got closer to the mess hall he could here the sounds of various conversations drifting down the hallway, turning and entering the mess hall he was glad to see several people in the room. He quickly acquired himself a drink and small try of food and looked for a place to sit and eat. Stopping at a table where a rather distiguished aristocratic looking gentleman and blonde gentleman were talking, "Good day gentlemen, would you mind if I joined you? I have never been much for eating alone. Conversation always makes a meal more palatable."

in response to JanVanderBeek msg #87:
"Id love to make myself useful, it would be great to have a job to pass the time" Danny replied to the regal man, with a smile, "Its great to know there are friendly people aboard this ship", Danny stuck out his hand for a handshake, "When can I start?"

in response to Dragoslav msg #88:
Danny saw the romanian man approaching him, he waved him to sit down and smiled,
"Hey buddy, ill trade ya a pudding for yer milk? Do we have a deal?" Danny joked joyfully, giving an aura of acceptance and caring. "Nah, im just kidding, i sold my pudding to Billy so he wouldnt beat me up in geography" Danny was having a graet time with this new friend, he kept talking with the man and then realised something, "I forgot to ask you, what's your name? Im Danny, guess I should've started with that", Danny keeps laffing with the guy long after hes done eating.

VanderBeek smiles.
"Well Danny, come and see me around ten, when most people have done with breakfast. I'll show you where I plan on having you work, if you are still interested afterwards.

Ever run a bar and grill?"

Hans enters the canteen,stomach growling and heads directly to the food.
After pileing on as much food as possible he scans the room and spots the gathering in the middle of the room.
"Room for another?"
He sits down heavily and starts tucking into his food.
While chomping down on a roll of bread he looks at Danny.
Swallowing his food he says
"Hey,uh...you're the guy from medical right? Thanks for your help with that guy,think his legs were gonna collapse under him"

Drago smiled "It is a pleasure to meet you Danny, I am Dragoslav Urzica, most just call me Drago."

"I'll leave you all to your conversation," Vanderbeek stated. As he stood up he dunked his last coffee, replaced the cup on a cleaning cart, and went back to his work behind the counter. Running the kitchen was a tough job, especially for a comedian like himself.

in response to Jan msg #90:

"Im not much of an outdoorsy, but Im good with cooking, as for the bar thing, I know how to make a few drinks, if i might say" Danny said cheerily, agreeing to meet the man later at 10 am.

in response to Hans msg #91:

"Absolutely, oh yeah great job jumping into action on the injured dude, did you manage to get his name? I wanted to check on him, maybe I'll do that after breakfast..." Danny said.

in response to Drago msg #92:

"Woah! Cool, Drago is a way cooler name than Danny"

he said with much emphasis on both names.

"Whenever I think of my name, I think of a little fat kid standing there crying to his mommy cause he dropped his puddinh", Danny said. After he realised how weird he was sounding, "um..." desperately trying to save his failed attempt, he said "When I think of Drago, I'm all like WOAH that guy's gotta sla dragons and ride a griffin amirite?", Danny then continued in a deep commanding voice: "GET BACK TO WEEDING, PEAZANT!!", Danny continues to mutter stupid stuff for a while, and the says "Im probably just hungry, I love talking with friends" said Danny.

That's just like Danny, assume the person you just met is your best friend, until they brutally attack you a few times then they are probs not liking you.

Danny eventually pulled the conversation from the crap pit, and actually had a good talk with the people sitting with him.


In a way, Danny was less mature then the fat kid he thinks of often, because he is very trusting.

Danny thought a few time these people were thinking he was more of a highschool outcast then a 28 year old man with 2 master degrees.

Oh well, I'll be as good as I can

Hans bread roll halfway through his gaping mouth raises his eyebrow at Danny then gives a sideglance to Drago.

He crams the last of the bread roll in his mouth and starts on the soup of the day,leek and potato.
"Yeah,he's fine,once we stopped the bleeding it's pretty much R and R for him for a few days,needs to get his blood back that he lost."
He speaks in between spoonfulls.
"His names O'Reilly,got his hand trapped in a weapon mechanism, I'm Hans by the way"
He reaches out a hand to shake to Danny and after a moment Drago as well.