By the time the trio of marines had boarded, the  air was whisper thin, and even the most basic of exertions took a heavy toll.

Moments after the station AI went offline, there was a deep-set roaring,. Like the sound of a bass chord being struck and reverberating ad nauseum.  With a rumble and a roar, the outer doors of the  flight deck started to open, and the rear airlock irised close.

Almost immediately, the hiss and hum of the Orishi's atmospheric processors started filling in the hold with breathable air.  It smelled vaguely of brine, but it was breathable.

The lights outside the ship--visible only through a couple of tiny multi-layered reinforced-glass portals--had gone dark, the cavernous room lit only by three lines of blinking yellow and white lights, that blinked on and off in a pattern indicating the way to the exist--as if it were necessary.

Viper guided the Orishi out, using both thrusters and the after-market gravity boosters that were normally used for atmosphereic entry and exit.  But she needed every leverage she could get.  As it was, Assured Clear Distance wasn't assured.
This message was last edited by the player at 05:22, Wed 12 May 2021.

Silently, the Orishi glided out of the flight deck, even while parts of the station seemed to crumple.

It didn't explode in a fiery supernova.  Rather, it seemed to crumple in on itself for a moment, then the entire area seemed to become vaguely fuzzy, as the atmosphere within seeped out, taking dust and debris with it.  There was a momnetary flash of light, and an opaque metal shutter slammed down over the portals, blocking the view.
OOC: storm shields against excess radiation

"Warning."  A different voice, comptuer-generated, androgynous. "Brace for impact."

And the ship swayed momentarily.  There were a series of pings as some debris hit the Orishi, but Viper managed to keep the ship largely pointed away so that much of the smaller debris was burnt up by the Orishi's fiery plume.

After several tense minutes, the storm-shutters retracted.... leaving them alone with the hum of the Orishi's engines and systems as the ship arced away from where Ptolemen Station had once been...
This message was lightly edited by the player at 05:36, Wed 12 May 2021.

Karnell simply found a secure spot, and wedged himself in to ride out the takeoff and the inevitable blast from the station. It was not as bad as he had expected. And he also noted that someone else had escaped. Life Boat Four was probably little more than a scattered mess of particles by now. But Life Boat Five had made it out ahead of the Orishi. That might be Barrett... whatever he was up to. Karnell knew it sure as hell wasn't what Amin had been claiming.

Once the shutters retracted, he looked out at the devastation. A few seconds longer, and they would all have been right in the middle of it. Luck, it seemed, was on their side. For now.

He rose, and moved back to poke his head into the cockpit. "Where's the Extranet terminal on this junkheap?" He did not immediately explain why. It was doubtful he wanted to access an in flight entertainment package, however.

She wandered around the ship and felt comfort. Something about this boat was very comforting to her. She smiled as she walked the corridors and felt a thrum up her arm as she trailed it across the metallic walls. She passed ports and stared out into the black. Again, she felt comfortable. The shutter and jump of the boat as it made its hasty exit rolled beneath her feat easily. She barely broke her stride.

Unconsciously, she started to take stock of what was still around. The workers at the station had made pretty made some progress taking the thing apart, for sure, but how much. She found herself at a console and tried to activate it. She wondered if that handsome fella might be needed to hack in or if the ground crews had stripped out the security and AI already.

As the shipped smoothed out into even flight, her mind turned to supplies. What had been aboard the ship that wasn't taken out, had anything been hidden, and how long would it last them? She somehow doubted that it would be smooth sailing after this.

Baylee is looking through each room and checking computers for supplies aboard.

Viper turned the intercom on :
"People, this is... not your captain speaking! The name is Viper and I'm a pilot. Welcome to Viper Spacelanes' ship #1, "The Orishi". We thank the penal service for their hospitality, but it seems the hotel needs some renovation works to be operational again. Oh, and the Commander Amin did not want to get us out of cryo-sleep, because his first impulse was to let us scum die with the prison. Commander Amin, since you're aboard miraculously, let me tell you my first impulse is to kick you into space! The technician - Barret - didn't make it, but he had a heart...

Anyway, we scum do not want to stay around and be canned again, so as soon as the technicians and meself checked the jump drive, we'll jump to the nearest planet with the tiniest police, empty those who don't want to adventure into the illegal side, and take some contracts to repair the ship. Oops, I thought all loud again. Anyway - again - wow all my sentences start with anyway - I suggest we elect a captain through vote or through PPP. And be it a woman, for a change. Women are wiser, we don't think with our d*cks."

The pilot switched off the intercom and turned to Gilina, smiling. "'Remember I gave you a PPP to loan to one of your colleagues? Its name was 'Return'. Could you please get it back to me, dear?"

Then Maissa tried to locate the android AI Gilina had told her about.
This message was last edited by the player at 21:41, Mon 17 May 2021.

Baylee took to ladder to the second level, from which she could look out over much of the cargo bay.  The Orishi was a squat, portly thing, but Baylee could see that a lot of revisions had been made on it's insides.

The ship was a hauler--a large central cargo hold that rose two decks up, with a walkway terrace around the upper deck.  Hugely customizable, but a nightmare if they had to depressurize the cargo hold.  She also noted that there didn't seem to be any life-pods or life-boats.

But she could see reinforced struts and girders that made for obvious placements of modular walls and magnetic-locks.  That suggested that the Orishi was not a sovereign-owned ship. Worlds, nations and even mega-corporations tended to stick fairly close to stock specifications.  But, Baylee could see that this Scarab-class ship had had a handful of habitat modules jammed into the foreward end of the hold, and they didn't look new.

On the second level port-side, Baylee found what looked like an office--rather ostentatious use of space on a space-ship of this space.  The red light on the door indicated that it was locked, but as she approached, the light cycled to green.

The office was a fair size.  THe bulkhead of the room had been overlaid with a lighter, smoother finish.  It almost looked like a sort of wood.  The lighting was pleasantly diffused and there were decorative plants.  The big desk at one side appeared to be movable, and Baylee understood that this room probably doubled as a meeting place, a "boardroom" so to speak, for visitors.

"Bai Lin Li." a curiously-neutral voice called through speakers in the office.  "There are currently several unregistered autonomous entities on-board.  Do you wish to authorize access?"

So, now's the time where I need you to define what position Baylee held on the Orishi prior to her incarceration.

AEs are "autonomous Entities", a generic term because no assumption is made about biological/technological, nor sentience or sapience.  THis could apply to anything that's normally capable of mobility under it's own power.  So, a human, an android, a cat, a drone.

Karnell was still hanging on to his gun - damnit, he needed a holster, or at least a decent belt. He listened to Viper, as he leaned in the doorway of the cockpit. He raised his gun and pointed it at her, face cold and... no, he couldn't keep that up for more than a second. He gave a rather feral smile. "Sorry, hard to resist the temptation. I don't think I would be a good choice for captain. I'm not a people person. Besides, when things go wrong, I'd rather be the one yelling, than the one getting yelled at. My guess is that feisty psycho lady will be the one to demand control. That could be interesting, she seems entirely dedicated to getting everybody killed. Toodle-pip!"

He turned, having examined the ship layout on the panel by the door. A map! Now he had a reasonable idea where everything was.

He mades his way into the corridor, and followed it round to the office area. If there was an extranet terminal anywhere on board, it was a decent bet that was where it was located. And someone else had already found it - though why they would need to was a curious notion. Once again, he stopped in the doorway to the room, and gave a rather lopsided smile. "Fancy meeting you here. Do you come here often?" Before she could reply, he stepped into the room. "I have something I think you'll want to see. I got rather more from the station computers than Amin reckoned on. With a few minutes and a little patience, I might be able to reconstruct some of our recent history. The station database probably only holds information relating to our convictions and sentencing - but it is a good place to start rebuilding memories. I'm Karnell, by the way. Rayfe Karnell. Or so the database claimed. I had no time to read any more, alas. I thought getting onto the only ship available was more important. So..." He reached down and produced the data chip from its hiding place in his trouser leg. "It's all right here. I will need a few moments to crack it open. Once we have this information, we can search the extranet to see if there's anything else we should know."

She stared up at some nebulous space in the room and then looked around at the office. It must be talking to her, which made her Bai Ling-Li if she understood the language correctly. A slow smile crept across her face and she had a few wicked thoughts, which were interrupted by the arrival of the man from back in the control room. She opened her mouth to reply to him, but he kept talking. She frowned at the talking. It seemed to go in circles. She felt a tension grow in her stomach for a moment. But the stuff he was saying was important; he was just saying it in an annoying way. She briefly pondered if her annoyance at this style of communication was personal or universal. She shrugged and let the man go about his business. Access to that data would be useful and he seemed determined to do it by himself. What need for her to contribute breath or thought?

"Computer? How many unregistered autonomous entities on board the ship? How many registered entities? Name and rank of registered entities?"

Baylee was first mate/acting captain of her ship prior to capture. She never accepted full-captain after their old captain died.

"Where's the Extranet terminal on this junkheap?" one of the guys said.  One of the guys who'd gone into the control room with Amin.

Lincoln shrugged.  He didn't know the ship.    Presumably, there was a galley or a lougne or something.  If it was a long-hauler, then there'd be a few such terminal scatterd throughout.  Possibly even in the persona berths.

Then Viper's speech came across the intercoms.  Talk about choosing a captain.   Linbcoln shook his head.  That was putting the cart before the horse, wasn't it?

"Can we do this face-to-face?"  the heavy-set black man said.  "And maybe after we've got these guys stabilized.  I dont think any of us favor a remote blown airlock."
This message was last edited by the player at 03:42, Sat 15 May 2021.

Gilina nodded.  She'd passed on the pep to one of the other tech-crew who--presumably--was still in the cargo-hold.  So, Gilina left the cockpit to return to the cargo bay.
This message was last edited by the player at 04:07, Sat 15 May 2021.

Baylee & Rayfe
Deck 2: Office

Rayfe reached down and produced the data chip from its hiding place in his trouser leg. ... I will need a few moments to crack it open. Once we have this information, we can search the extranet to see if there's anything else we should know."

There was a terminal, and while the Orishi was in regular space it should have access to the galactic extranet.  Unfortunately, the nearest repeater hub in this backwater part of the galaxy was Zenda-Meier's Ptolomen Station.  And that station was no in millions of little pieces off exploring the galaxy in their own way...

So, Rayfe is, unfortunately, left with the "Searching..." while the local computer attempts to access the nearest Extranet Node.

For now, he's limited to the databanks on the Orishi.   And for that, he'll need to either hack the Orishi's systems (Beat Orishi's current system rank of +2.   You could just "take zero" for the success or wait for Baylee to acknowledge you as being allowed on-board, which'll grant you standard access.

Baylee
"Entry logs indicate the following..."  The ship's AI gave a breakdown of those who came aboard at the time of the conflict.

Baylee listened to the list of names and facts with a pensive look. She smiled wickedly at Rayfe then spoke, "Rayfe..<<List of PCS and the mechanics group>> Are granted passenger access to terminals and operations. The captain is dead. I'll be taking over as Captain so promote my access. Viper and Gilina, those in the cockpit, are new recruits. Viper gains rank as ship's pilot and associated accesses. Gilina is pilot's assistant along with associated accesses. Amin...<<List of station personnel and marines>> Are permitted entry to the vessel but no access to terminals or operations." She nodded and returned to rolling the name the computer had spit out around in her head. She slowly cleared the entrance to allow the door to close behind her. She then spoke to the computer again, "Computer. List current crew aboard the ship."

Viper stomach turned instantly to a frozen stone when the joker she later would know under the name of Rayfe Karnell aimed the barrel of his PPP on her forehead. Her mind started to race. The young woman had not lived enough to see her life parade before her eyes, so it didn't, but she told herself "gain time - tell him what he wants to hear - HE HAS A GUN - smile and ask him if he wouldn't want sex instead".

But before she opened her mouth, this crazy sonnova delivered a little speech, in which he claimed he wouldn't be a good captain (she recognized the obvious truth), he wasn't social (also obvious, also true), somebody was more psycho than himself (!!), toodle-pip. Well, this jerk was lucky she hadn't her pep back, because she'd have carved a fuming hole in his spine with it, as a preemptive strike.

Waiting for her gun, Maissa shut the cockpit door and looked into the controls of the terminals for a way to communicate with the AI.
This message was last edited by the player at 06:06, Wed 09 Feb 2022.

"Thanks," Karnell spoke with genuine gratitude, now he was allowed access. Sure, he was one hell of a mixed up cookie, but he still had good manners.

He sat down at the terminal, but very soon realised that they were nowhere near a hub. So that was frustrating. Still, he did have the prison database. He popped the chip into the reader, and set to work pulling up the data he had stolen from Ptolomen Station.

His own, first, of course. He wanted to at least know why he was a convict. he really hoped it was something decent. The idea of finding out he was a child killer or something... that did not appeal. He suspected that their new captain was likely to take pretty violent action in response to that sort of thing.

OOC: How much info can we get on ourselves from the database? Name, personal details, and convictions, and maybe any relevant medical details? It will have to suffice, for now, I guess!

Viper



Whatever she'd done, it must have been the right thing, as a couple of additional consoles lit up, granting her mote discrete access to ship's systems: full propulsion and navigation, sensors and comms, life-support and sanitation, even.

Which coincides with Baylee giving Viper Pilot access...

But still... what do you do to try to communicate further with the AI?

Viper spoke aloud "hello IA?". She looked into the cockpit screens and controls for a button to contact the IA; then looked into the ship's directory for the IA com' dialing code, and finally flipped through the flight procedures and maintenance logbooks for a mention of the AI. Even if she did not find the info she was looking for, learn new things about the ship, and where to find them, was not a waste of time.
This message was last edited by the player at 21:38, Mon 17 May 2021.

Viper
Stand By.  a curiously androgynous voice said through the comms. Registration tables corrupted.  Rebuilding.  Registration systems online.   Provisional registration accepted.

Then, after a pregnant pause, "Hello Maissa Haukea."

This would be the first time Viper would have heard that name since awakening.
This message was last edited by the player at 21:29, Mon 17 May 2021.

<sup><sub>*throb* We... Feel... Your... Pain... *throb*

*throb*  *throb*</sub></sup>

*throb*  *throb*

 *throb*  *throb*

The older man's first flicker of awareness came not from sound, or taste, or smell, or sight.

He felt the waves of stress, and fear, and pain, and death swirling around him, washing over him, focusing his awareness as if he had been physically slapped in the face.

Flashes of very recent memories.

Staggering aboard with the injured technician as the pain in his shoulder spiked toward the limits of his endurance...

The profoundly grateful look he shot toward Karnell when Amin was brought aboard, and toward Bek when the marines were brought aboard...

The barely-controlled tumble laying the injured technician down as the air thinned...

The white-hot spike of pain as he fell...

The surge of stress, and fear, and pain from the station, as those still stranded and aware faced their approaching deaths...

The spike of death as those lives were lost with the station's demise...

His mind, like the ship, heading into the black...

And... a still small voice...

^{_{:: Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for thou art with me; thy rod and thy staff they comfort me. ::}}

And... peace.

He opened his eyes.  How long had he been there?  Probably not long, judging by how relatively unchanged the scene before him was.

He tried to rise, and was pleasantly surprised to find the pain level of his shoulder to be significantly decreased.

^{_{:: Thank you, Sovereign Lord... ::}}

He took a deep breath, and rose to see to the injured...
This message was last edited by the player at 22:56, Tue 18 May 2021.

"Glad you made it," Bek said as the hatch shut behind the three Marines, their usual quiet voice seemingly unaffected by the thinness of the air. They'd started it closing again as soon as the other two had boosted Stumpy inside and started hauling themselves up afterwards, the trio not having moved quite fast enough to be satisfactory.

The ragged figure stepped back from the airlock as the two conscious Marines sank down beside their fallen comrade and gulped for breath, taking up a position far enough back that the Marines couldn't lunge before being shot but still close that Bek wouldn't need to raise their voice to be heard. When the impact warning sounded the ragged figure shifted slightly to take a handhold but otherwise remained still and quiet with pep-gun held steady on the duo while they recovered.

"One moment," Bek chided, stopping an attempt to rise with a gentle 'tsk' and minute waggle of the gun barrel. "We had a deal, did we not? Weapons first, then you can take your friend to the med-station whenever you like."

---

OOC: I can roll if desired (Command, I assume?) but Bek's prepared to wait them out if they don't comply. I'm hoping that between their injuries and the various skill demonstrations in the flight deck fight they'll be inclined to, though.

Rayfe Karnell worked his way through all the data he found on himself, several times. Most of it was disturbing, and he found it hard to believe he could have done all the things he was supposedly guilty of doing. But the thing that stuck out the most was the list of his known, and suspected, co-conspirators. The woman... huge dark eyes, set in a deep brown skin, framed with midnight hair. She was beautiful. And from what the record showed, she had died under interrogation - before she had given him up.

Something burned in the deep recesses of his soul. He could not recall her voice, or her laugh. But there was a glowing, unrelenting spark. And it wanted revenge. Of that he was certain.

He returned the database to the index, and rose from the chair. He went out to find the others. He was very sure some of them would want to know all about this...

<<To: Galley, 2.01>>

He took one uncertain step... then another... then moved forward with increasing certainty.

Yet he felt something more than mere blind intuition this time.  There was the slightest, vaguest sense of... familiarity.

So it was that he beelined toward the cargo-bay med-station.

He looked over the available equipment and supplies with the vaguest sense of déjà vu, as if he had done this before.  But there was something missing... something else that felt like it was a part of this experience... something else that his intuition nudged him toward.

Without thinking, a word slowly came forth from his lips quietly, although he did not attach any meaning to it, or even contemplate why he said it.

"... A-...  Ashe..."

The name sounded familiar, so it must be her.
Maissa asked :
- where are you situated?
- what is the current airtight stauts? Is the ship airtight?
- what is the nearest planet?
- do you have a file about me? If yes, could you communicate it to me?
This message was last edited by the player at 22:07, Wed 19 Jan 2022.

"I am the Orishi.  I am where you are." The androgynous voice replied through the comm unit.  It then gave precise location in the way of galactic notation.  "Your seed identifies you as Maissa Haukea, prisoner ZM16-02157, Solari Baseline.  Your Cortical stack is not broadcasting.  No other information accessible."

The Orishi is currently airtight.  But we are experiencing several inefficiencies.  Remote units have been deployed to compensate and address.




Things introduced:

• Galactic Notation:  sort of like a GPS, but on a galactic scale, I guess?
• Seed the rice-grain sized implant that identifies you.
• Cortical Stack - the tech used to upload/download your personality...

"... A-...  Ashe..." Sheng-Xin said...

"Sheng-Xin.  Chang.  Hello."  A curiously androgynous voice sechoed from the small comm-unit near the tiny med-station.  "Do you require medical assistance?"

The older man pondered.

"I have just been awakened from stasis, and have significant memory gaps.  What capabilities do you have to identify possible causes and remedies?"

"What do you know or remember about me, besides my name?"

"There are also other injured aboard.  What capabilities do you have for identifying and treating physical injuries?"

Sheng-Xin & Ashe

Your name and biological baselines have been removed from the system.  You were present on-board the Orishi for travel to fifteen destination across a span of one-hundred and twenty galactic standard cycles.

This unit is equipped with a Level-5 Civilian Medical diagnostics suite. suitable for physical trauma and pharmacological maintenance.  This includes An Aramis Light Computer Tomography Scanner and Aramis Light Magnetic Resonance Imaging suite which may help identify trauma to the brain.  In addition, blood tests and sn Electroencephalograph may assist in identifying abnormalities.

The Orishi does not have baseline statistics for you on-file.  Any diagnostics would be imprecise.  If you suspect brain trauma, please seek medical attention at a Level-3 medical facility or better.


Which is to say... the Orishi is equipped with a hand-wavium medical unit.   It's a first-aid station, though, not a hospital or medical clinic.

The office was a fair size.

The bulkhead of the room had been overlaid with a lighter, smoother finish, so it looked a little less like a big metal box and almost more like a living space.    Almost like a sort of wood.

The lighting was pleasantly diffused and there were actual plants spaced throughout...

There's a large grey plasteel desk in the middle and a couple of low benches on either side.

After grasping the information he could, Karnell returned to the office and sat down. He looked rather worried. This was a change from his expression of somewhat sardonic superiority.

It was not an improvement.

Shortly on his heels, Gilina came in.  She'd found clothing that made her look almost presentable:  solid rough-weave pants and a thick vest that looked like it was probably original hide of something, not synthetic.   But it moved easily and was dark grey, nondescript. Almost like she was intentionally trying to fade into the background.

Gilina had wrapped her hand in bandages for the chemical burn she'd take aboard the Ptolomen.   In her hand, she had a tablet, and her own countenance was a mix of perplexity and distraction.  The look of someone who's min was working furiously on something else...

"Oh." She said, standing in the doorway.  She let her eyes flick over Rayfe for a moment, then, when noted his expression, "Oh.  Is it that bad?"

It had taken just about every ounce of control the spacer had to not be locked in a room somewhere naked and sweating with the pilot. She was still not sure if they'd be trying to beat each other bloody or elicit fluids far less red. Grunting darkly as she stepped into the room, she promised herself that was just a matter of time now. The invitation had been made and accepted and her blood was running dangerously hot now.

The sour feel in her stomach wouldn't go away until she did something about it.

Looking over the two present, she grunted and moved to the table to sit down, "Feck, I'd kill for some simple xifan or guobao. Hungry and horny are not great things to be at the same time." She looked to Rayfe with a diffuse irritable look on her face and raised her eyebrow in question, "What has your puss looking so sour?"
This message was lightly edited by the GM at 05:10, Thu 03 Feb 2022.

Karnell frowned some more. "I am not sure how bad it is, and that bothers me. I still feel like I have holes inside my head, and that annoys me as well. But my analysis of the data I looked at is decidedly peculiar." He considered what he had seen. "Someone - several someones - have tried to scrub the memory of this ship clean. The system is riddled with evidence of wiped disks, concealed trojans, some fairly unsubtle hacks, and probably physical hardware being yanked out as well. This ship is lucky it still has an operating system at all. I wouldn't even like to speculate exactly how much has been removed in one way or another. One thing that is gone, however, is the jump drive. All reference to it, any evidence it ever existed in the first place - gone. If your ship ever had a jump drive in the first place, it's been taken, and all evidence it was ever here has been wiped. Someone did a very professional job."

He rubbed his neck as he thought. "I had a look around the local network, though. There's no word out about Ptolomen station yet. We're ahead of the news, at least. When it hits, we may be in trouble, but for now, we're in the clear on that score. It might take a while for word to get out about it." Then he grimaced slightly. "I had a look into my own situation. Trying to jog some memories. I am still not sure what the truth is, but in this system? Someone has made mindscape flicks about me. Fiction, of course. But they seem to present me as some anti-establishment figure. Sticking it to the man, I believe the parlance goes. Using my expert criminal savvy to pull heists and thumb my nose to authority. It's complete nonsense. I am pretty sure I never did any such thing. But for some reason, ordinary people love that sort of thing. They get to live vicariously through my actions. If I could find whoever made them, I'd shove them out of an airlock. At the very least, I should have royalties."

OOC this meeting is happening during the 6 hours travel to K-Zino

Viper entered the room while Rayfe was stating She sat and wiggled during the rest of the speech. She carefully avoided the stare of the captain, but still blushed.

When the hacker seemed to have finished his report, Maissa raised her arm and immediately unloaded all she had off her (high) chest.

"Woah, thanks for the info, Rayfe. And thank you captain for accepting to organize the meeting", she simpered. "I thought we could introduce ourselves when we spea- when it's our turn to hold the mike [giggle]. But then we don't remember much do we, and some of our memories seem to have been tampered with, right. So may be, I start by introducing myself. Well, I don't remember much and my memories seem to have been tampered with..." (burst out laughing at her own joke. Quickly went on before being interrupted.). "Why don't we see the bright side of things? We could start anew. For example, we don't know who our lovers were, so maybe we'll start a relationship as the first time, with the same person as before, or with another person. Right?"

"Oh, my rap sheet? Robing a minister's yacht? Sounds like me, and I'd do it again any time. Drug use and prostitution? Guilty of using my feminine assets, your Honor!" (proud scan of the male audience, "yeah, you judge me?" stance)

"See, I'm not hiding anything. But ruling a drug cartel? That sounds so much like a regular work! Why would anybody want to heap big crimes on someone as insignificant as me?"

An instant breath intake, and she started again.

"Anyway, change of subject. While the jump drive is no more installed on the ship, we did jump, and the IA - Ashe - mentioned, - she's listening to us, so be careful with what you say, unlike me - tranverse jump?? Definitely not standard. Must be hyper-secret, cutting-edge tech. Izenit exciting? You should be as excited as I am!".

The Viper was on the edge on her seat, eyes wide open, ready to start a little dance. But she eased on her seat and brought a crumpled note from her cleavage.

"Anyway. Captain, you requested to know the ID sent by the... [points to the ceiling] her to the beacons. You're going to get very excited, believe me.
Though She had transponder codes for a handful of different ships names, IDs, allegiances, including some of Scylla and some of Paix...

1. The ship is currently flying the colors of the Pai-Huai clan Lin... but with a bar strike. 'Wonder what that means. Captain?

2. It's owners are declared as - listen - "the congregation of the HMyP - hermanas mercedarias y pobres (compassionate and poor sisters) - Save the Orphans branch"

OOC a subsect of a subsect of a large, benevolent, peaceful religion.

3. The captain's name is... Madre Lin Li-Ling. The non-PaiHuay crew consists of Rescued Orphans community

4. the reason for travel is "mining, salvage, commerce, praying for the poor, helping the poor"

"We're a benevolent charity group?"  Lincoln raised an eyebrow.  He held a metallic mug in his hand, and whatever it was, it smelled wonderful.  Sort of like coffee but with  thicker, more robust scent laden with overtones of chocolate and undertones of, well, tree-bark.  "Better than it could be."  he said approvingly.

After a moment, he glanced over at Maissa.  "You know, the whole head-of-the-cartel thing?  Yeah, that just screams patsy or scapegoat to me.  Like you went down for someone or something else."

In reply to Lincoln (msg # 34):

The pilot shrugged and her tone darkened : "You mean more than scapegoats, we're lambs to be sacrificed : Baylee, as pirate captain/butcheress was sentenced to death. So, ""justice done"", the prosecutions die off with our execution, and the well-connected, real, culprits can go on with their lives.

There are reasons one could consider starting a pirate life, and if I ain't already one, I would sign for it.

Either that, or Amin added the lines to our criminal record and was about to make us an offer we couldn't refuse.

Which bring us to another point : what are we going to do with him, and with the Marines, when we reach the asteroid?"

OOC : "a crack commando unit was sent to prison by a military court for a crime they didn't commit. These men AND WOMEN promptly escaped from a maximum-security PTOLEMON PRISON to the XGAB underground. Today, still wanted by the government, they survive as soldiers of fortune. If you have a problem... if no one else can help... and if you can find them... maybe you can hire... The ORISHI-Team."

She was just imagining her face buried in the rather pleasant mounds of the pilot when Rayfe finished his spiel. Blinking, she pulled her conscience away from the alluring vsions and frowned at Rayfe. Before she could speak, Viper added her thoughts. Listening politely was a task far beyond her hormone flooded brains at the moment and she found herself focusing more on various delectable bits of the woman instead. Eventually, she pried her vision away wholesale and focused on the table. Now was time to think, there's be time for other activities later.

Since introductions were in the conversation, She chimed in. "By the newcasts and records aboard, my name is Bai Ling-li. It's a PaiHuai name. PaoHuai are a local abhuman variants. About a hundred generations or so into being spacers and gypsies. Well, according to newfeeds, I was a half-breed. Mother PaiHuai father some unknown Paixois. Whatever they could do to cast me the villain." She chuckled darkly, "Well, as most of you have noticed, I am sure, I am definitely no saint. Butcheress? I'll believe it, from their point of view. Pirate for sure. It's a common profession for my people. And, I'd guess, from speech patterns and physiology, that I grew up in the Ihks-Gab. Sgalapeech is not my first language. I feel the dissonance in my thoughts listening to all of you." She shook her head then as even now she was working half in sgalap and half translating something else.

"I expect that means my old crew were mostly local as well. As well as the captain, whom I was not." Now she stopped and frowned. Something ached dully when she mentioned the captain. She knew it was important, but it slipped from her fingers as she grasped it. Her gaze now roamed around the room distantly as she searched for the meaning that seemed part of her yet eluded her. Still, some pieces of knowledge were filtering back slow as Scyllan glaciers.

"Anywho, I'm captain now. So call me Captain or Captain Baylee. Or, feck, just Baylee." Now some of the heat crept back into her voice and she smirked at Maissa. There'd be some more fun names later on. "I am not one for formalities or niceties. Anyway, that ID makes sense. PaiHuai are generally considered neutral in-system and religions are important here. I don't recall any particulars beyond what I read of the local beliefs, but that jives. Heh, charity. Well, we're in need of some." She pursed her lips and shifted her hips a bit to get more comfortable. "The cover holds and no one will question it on the roid. As for the folks aboard, I've got no hard feelings for any of them. We can't get too much more famous even after news of the break catches up. Warrants will be reissued, updated probably." She shrugs. "There's feck to be done about that. I've about a grox's worth of passed gas that I'm willing to give about it. We get to K-Zino, let anyone who wants off, off. Anyone who wants to stay, stay. IF you stay, you sign on as crew. I am sure we can locate a suitable charter or draft one. Priority for crew will be money, supplies, and repairs in that order. Yeah?"

She looked around for thoughts, comments, or additions.

Karnell spoke a little bleakly. "I think I do remember who my lover was, actually. And I have a feeling I need to do something about it. She died. I need to make sure those responsible join her."

It was a grim statement. But his expression suggested he was very much in earnest.

He pushed the idea aside for a while. "I'll call you captain, or Baylee, or whatever you want. I do not really have anywhere else to go right now. I'll get a change of clothes, sign your contract. I think you'll find me a useful addition to your crew. I'll get busy working on the database and the wider network. I can probably find information on everyone, really fill in those blanks we still have. And the whole transverse jump thing is gnawing at me. I can probably look into that, too. If the AI will permit it. Why the hells this ship would be fitted with experimental or secret tech is beyond me. No offence meant, Captain, but the Orishi is not exactly a cutting edge experimental vessel. But there's a reason for everything. All we have to do is hunt."

He stretched. His headache was easing, but he still felt like he could use a good shower, a large meal, and a decent night of sleep. "As for jobs, I'll go along with whatever you want to do. This is not the life I am used to, so I can't really suggest anything at this point. But I am serious about what I said - one day, I will be going back to the Unity. They took everything from me. I can't let that stand without a suitable response."

In the momentary silence following Karnell's concluding sentence, approaching footsteps could be heard and... smelled?

An aroma began to waft through the room, strongly beckoning those who might have missed a recent meal or two.

The older man entered, carrying a tray of... edibles.

To the eye, reheated rations were not overly impressive, though there seemed to be some unusual bits mixed in.

However, to the nose, a far more compelling tale was proclaimed...

The older man looked somewhat pleased, and somewhat thoughtful.

"Cooking without quite remembering how to cook was... interesting, but it seems that my instincts have not wholly deserted me.  We have much to be thankful for.  With a few herbs and spices that I managed to harvest from these plants, supplemented by some very limited supplies, and a wok... well, even the most humble fare can satisfy with proper care.  Please enjoy."

"I'm sorry for you loss", said Maissa, going for squeezing the hacker's shoulder, but halting the gesture before going too close to the madman.

When Chang came in, she jumped on her feet and applauded the display on the tray. "Yum yum!"

Karnell shot Viper a steady sort of look, judging whether or not she was serious. He reasoned that she probably was. "Thank you. I know she is dead. What I cannot remember is how, or who killed her. I am sure it was not my doing." The little girl was bent over the bloody corpse, weeping... No! Nobody was meant to get hurt!

He shook his head sharply, trying to stop from falling back into the bizarre vision he experienced when the ship had jumped.

"One other thing you might want to know," He gave a nod of thanks to the monkish man, and took food from the tray. He was ravenous. And had not appeciated how much, until the food appeared. "Amin is holding out on us. He said something when I carried him into the ship. Something about how he knew I was the right choice, or words to that effect. I was a... good pick. I am wondering... for what, exactly? There were plenty of prisoners in those cryo-tubes that he could have awoken. But he chose us, quite specifically. And when you put us all together, there's a great deal of criminal expertise. He went out of the way to get us off that station before it exploded. He did not need to. He had the codes. He could have just grabbed a shuttle and left us to die. Why did he need us alive?"

He was not yet sure about the older man. Sure, he had made decent food, but he just did not seem like a criminal type. Baylee was a self-confessed pirate, with the epithet Butcher thrown in for good measure. Maissa was a good pilot, and supposedly took a very expensive ship on an ill-fated joyride, to say nothing of her purported connection to the drug cartel. He himself had come within a whisker of commiting the largest bank heist in modern history. Their presence on a ship to a penal colony was perfectly understandable. But CSX... he seemed like a decent man. And yet, his files were redacted. As soon as he had leisure, Rayfe would break them open. If the man was a serial killer, they damn well needed to know that. Being stuck in a huge pressurised metal container, floating the vacuum of space, with a complete psychopath was not his idea of a decent vacation.
This message was last edited by the player at 23:52, Sun 06 Feb 2022.

In reply to Rayfe Karnell

Viper nodded with energy : "Captain, I suggest we throw Amin in the hold! Then he needs to be interrogated - not me! I'm not a torturer. But maybe we could all interrogate him.

But first, I suggest we bring all the other passengers in, an make a collective offer to join.
Eh, I'm even ready to leave some of the food for those who sign in, as a welcome gift!
And then they'll introduce themselves.", smiled Maissa, after having gobbled three portions.

"Gilina, will you join us, dear? We've got a mysterious jump drive to discover! And you could help us filtering the filth from the shaft (or a similar expression)"
This message was last edited by the player at 12:42, Mon 07 Feb 2022.

"Gilina, will you join us, dear? We've got a mysterious jump drive to discover! And you could help us filtering the filth from the shaft"

Gilina nodded, her look moderately pensive.   She winced momentarily and, reflexively, brought a hand to her ear.  Then.  "It works, Tika.  Come on up to the office..  I want you here with me."


"Yeah.  I've...  I've done a survey of the ship's status.  We've got some serious issues.   Commander Amin was convinced that the Orishi had hidden spaces in the bulkhead for smuggling.  While Lieutenant Jax looked for ways to bypass the biometric locks on the vault, we were doing a run and gun through the hardware.   A lot of the parts we removed are back in that cargo bay.   I mean, it's a miracle she's even space-worthy, and it's going to take a little bit to get her safe again.

No jump-drive.  I mean, there's no way.  I've worked on jump-tech.  Gates and cruiser-class installations.  The Orishi is maybe 40,000 square (feet). I've never heard of a transverse drive.   So, I guess that'll mean spending time with the colony library systems.  Zenda-Meier was a little narrow in it's research allowances.

"Anyway...  I'm part of this."  She glanced at Viper and Baylee and there was something guarded and defiant at the same time in her gaze.   "This is too interesting to walk away from.  And I...  well, I can't go back to Zenda-Meier.  There's reasons.  Things weren't great for me there.  So, as long as you don't put me into indentured servitude. .. She's a beautiful old girl and I want to stick around."

Now, I wanted to give you guys a heads up.  If you want me on-board, I'm going to need one other.   One of the sleepers--the girl with the blue hair and baby Mrrshan ears (cat ears)--she's really good with field systems.  Like, an intuit, even." 

Gilina pulled a small earpiece off of here ear.  It looked like a small wire that looped over and into the ear, but made of a slim semi-transparent fiber. "I don't know if she found em and got em working or if she made them from scrap, but we've got local comms if you want them.  pigybacks off the ship's internal comms."

"Between here, me and... Mr Karnell, was it?  I think we can patch the most serious issues.  If this colony has any serviceable parts, we can probably keep us from venting atmosphere on a hard burn or High-G turn."

[And that would be a cue to have Gothique arrive at the office.  Sorry it took so long.]

Gothique is absolutely thrilled that her new invention of sorts worked decides to head up to where Gilina is.  She actually skips the entire way there stopping at the door and checking on herself.  She is in the very plain coveralls that were found whish was much plainer than the outfit that her body was dressed in.  (See Pic)

Entering in she stops and turns to all there and for a moment you can see she did not expect so many but passes it off in a moment or two.  "Hi all. My name is Gothique!"  She says looking around and remembering what her 'best' friend mentioned about dropping all the likes she can from her vocabulary.  That itself was the toughest thing she needed to do but one she was going to attempt.  After her introduction she goes and stands beside Gilina.

Gilina nodded, and laid a light hand on Gothique's shoulder.  "I'll vouch for her.  But the rest...   They're all good at what they do, but... well, we were all working on the Orishi because Commander Amin pulled strings.  It was our last chance.  Criminals and fuck-ups.  Zenda-Meier has some... peculiar ideas about species purity, and most of us are a little more liberal than ZM likes.  They couldn't 86 us and they didn't want us infecting the ranks with our liberal ideas.  Just give us the shit jobs til the end of the contract.  As to the marines...  I don't know them.  At all."

I suggest that we pick one more Zenda-Meier Tech so we have them in the back-pocket as  necessary NPC if needed.   I'm gonna keep Bek & Spohr as "the backup muscle" of the group, but I've no problem if you want to keep two or three of the marines for that, too.

Baylee swallowed hard when the two techs arrived. There was only so much a girl's heart could take, really. Growling, she wrestled control of her emotions once more from he libido. There was an itch that was going to need scratching sooner rather than later or she was going to snap in a key moment, for sure.

She deliberately removed the hyper-cute, cat-eared girl from her vision and fixated on the ear bud Maissa was showing off. But focusing even a second on Maissa's ear meant noticing her neck, which led to her collarbone, then south. Baylee found herself shaking her head and growling again.

"Okay, yes, zhao cai mao and her wonderous inventions can stay. Let's see about getting everyone on coms then?" She addressed the last to Gothique while quite deliberately staring at her own fingers. She was trying desperately not to imagine them in all sorts of yummy places. "Okay, that's one. Plus Baldie. Two. If there's any other techies you wanna vouch for, bring em on. The marines... let me talk to them. That's my specialty. Get them up here."

She kept her eyes focused on her fingers. Dirty, short, ragged fingernails. Ball them into a fist, knock someone's teeth out, bloody fingernails. Her breathing slowly calmed down but now she was itching for a fight and she had an interesting idea. "OK, we got a plan for K-Zino, yeah? Get credits. Use credits for supplies: food, medicine, etc. Then, if needed, get more parts for the Orishi. Gilina, Maissa: will you two know what is NOT present and accounted for by the time we get there?  How long to put it all back... oh, and I'll see about remembering how to get into the fun parts of the ship."

Baylee was back to her more upright stance and her vision was still heated, but it was a different type now. Her breathing was heavy and she had a similar look to that as when she had thrown Amin through the reinforced window. "Pity Amin didn't die on the ship. Happy as heck to rectify that any time. I don't like that pathetic excuse for human dren one bit. But, imprisoned works for me as well. Let's see about those marines first though. Let's have them up here for now but we might retreat to the mess eventually for... hmm... trials?" She grinned like a wolf.

"I think I can help with that," Karnell spoke up. He pulled out the data pad used to interact with the main computer. "I already ran a complete diagnostic of the drive systems, and there's a list of what has been removed. I can easily extend that to cover all systems. It won't necessarily know about anything mechanical that was not linked to the main computer, but it should give us a clean list of everything that should be connected that isn't. I expect that the list is going to be long, I am afraid."

He then considered the new arrival. "Rayfe Karnell. Might I take a look at that coms device?" He extended his hand politely. New tech. He was right there when it came to interest in new tech! This person was going to be very much his cup of hot space fluid tea substitute.

So this is "Lesbians IN SPACE"? :D If Control had advertised it so, we wouldn't have dropouts!


"Hurrah!", said Maissa, who went for a high five with the named Gothique. "The more techies on a ship, the better the flight! I hope your wounded colleague will be grateful and join us, too. Are these your real ears?!", she wondered.


"Our captain his tired", whispered the pilot to Gilina and Gothique. "Or I haven't told her yet how poor my tech skills really are. She meant this as your job, G&G. You dismounted the ship." Maissa turned to the fierce Pai Huai, bowed slightly and joined her hands because... all etiquettes are similar, right?

There was a hint of sarcasm in her remarks. "Yes captain, we'll do a better work when the ship is surrounded by breathable air. Full repair and look for the transverse drive hidden in the spaces in the bulkhead, once-we-reach-a-workshop, yes."


"Oh no, boring trials again!" thought the repeat offender. "Captain", she jumped in, "We'd like to hear the witnesses before they could be intimidated." Maissa turned to G&G : "Tell us more about ZM, and remind me why the Marines and you were gunning in the dock instead of escaping together?"

With this she turns to Gilly and smiles happily when the news was given that she looks like she was going to remain in the group.  Then a second later she jumps and give the captain a hug as she is overjoyed! "Thank you very much.  You hear that Gilly we will be working together and that will be like epically awesome!  If there is anything at all I can do for you Captain do not hesitate to ask. I will happily do it!"  She says to the group and mainly the captain.  She then looks at the person holding up her hand and one can tell by her face she is trying to figure out what is going on before it registers to her that this person is holding up her hand for a hug as well and unless stopped she goes and gives one.

She also respond to the question the hugged individual has on if they are real even as her ears twitch, "Yes they are real.  So is the tail."  She says spinning around and showing but only partly as they had to rip a hole in the coveralls for it to be out.

(OOC - Sorry the person that made this commission was still learning on how to do tails)




At least this one she knew how to handle as she takes the hand shake as was taught by her adoptive father.  And on top of that she learned the name.  "Nice to meet you as well.  If there is anything at all I can do for you let me know."

She then spins to face Maissa who she did not recall giving her name.  "And you are?"  She does not do the same for Bai as in her head right now her name is Captain.

"Tell us more about ZM, and remind me why the Marines and you were gunning in the dock instead of escaping together?"

"They are--were--a Tactical Response group." Gilina said, obviously choosing her words.   "They brought the Orishi in.   There's... history between me and Corporal Eaven.  Like, bad history.    I'd put her out an airlock if I had the chance."

When the alarms went off, we set about securing everything.   But when the reactor countdown started, Shy and his thugs tried to space us from the flight-deck.  Jax was in the control room...  He was trying to... I saw what Karin did to him.  She didn't even blink.

We were trying to make it into the Orishi, but they started firing on us!   If you guys hadn't bust into the flight deck, well, I don't know who'd be on-board the Orishi now.

So, I guess that means Jax was the body in the control room that Baylee ended up throwing through the window.... Heh.

"So many names", thought Viper, and she sighed.

She remembered the scene between two of the Marines :


So, "Sergeant Shy" (thick set thick black hair) was a Combat Medic. Well that is very useful, and comes with ethics!
"corporal Karin" (blonde female wounded), was a marine, maybe too much distancing herself with criminals to be recruited by "the Butcheress".

Maissa blinked when she connected with Gilina's retelling.
"So, the sergeant Shy, the doctor, was the one who tried to vacuum you, the tech team?"

Feeling that Gilina was withholding information for fear of something, Maissa cuddled the tech. "Now darling, don't be afraid, you're among friends, you're free to do whatever you want. You are not the defendant at your trial. Do not try to hide bad aspects, this isn't a diplomatic cocktail! Now, what is the reputation of Shy's gang?
Where's Corporal Eaven now?
What was Jax trying to do?"

Baylee's eye were dilated and moved loosely in her head as the mao nu wrapped enthusiastic arms around her. The war in her hear to stay in control was lost and her mind had gone into full retreat. Afterwards, the captain stoof in a listless mass for several long moments. Her jaw was slack and her eyes unfocused.

Finally, just as it was seeming the captain might have permanently checked out from reality, she shook visibly and her eyes fixated on food. Moving almost dreamily, she helped herself to the excellent smelling meddly. Just as the first taste was hitting her tongue she seemed to snap back to her usual self just in time for Gothique to spin and wave her tail laden rump around. The nondescript overalls were not enough to hide the qualities therein. This time, though, Baylee rolled her eyes dramatically. She pointed hr spoon at Maissa, "There is an awful big bill coming your way as soon as this blasted meeting is done. I hope you got the credits to pay." The captain then ate her food grumpily whiel muttering rather rapidly and darkly in something to fast and muttered to understand, but her roaming eyes and general posture made it obvious the captain was tense.

At the mention of names and Maissa's musings about the marines, though, she perked up. Talk fo violence seemed to catch her attention. "Oh, she just had to be a Karin, eh? Maldita shuta! Biao zi! She don't keep her trap shut, I'll put my fist where the sun don't shine. And NOT in the fun way, either." She shewed some food thoughtfully the shrugged, "Still, if the puta can fight, she's welcome to sign the charter. Gotta work on that..." Back to eating. The sating of one physical need, though, seemed to have calmed her down mostly. "Oh, call me Baylee. Seems the trend currently. But Captain works as well." The last had a bit of a lascivious grin added.

The older man chewed quietly and observed as the group ate and discussed.  He focused upon Gilina as she began sharing with carefully chosen words...

Gothique was a disappointed and hope she did not upset the lady that would not give her name even after answering about her ears and even giving the bonus of tail information.  But for now she should listen and see what she can learn.

For now she learned the Captains name and felt mildly silly thinking her name was Captain but also being granted permission to keep calling her that made her feel good.  "Yes Captain Baylee.  If you need me for anything Captain feel free to call."  She says before moving back to Gilina where she leans in to Gilina, "Are we allowed to eat?"  She asks trying to keep the drool out of her mouth from showing lest it be mistaken as foam and maybe rabies.  "Or would you be able to save me some stuff if you want me to get back to work."

Gilina stopped for a moment and regarded Gothique.    She flicked a glance at the captain, then said. "Ask the man with the food."  But she motioned for Gothique to help herself anyway.

Gilina took a moment then offered Viper a small sad smile.  "It's ancient history.   Involving a boy who wanted off planet.  He stowed away and I couldn't jettison enough mass to keep him alive before the atmo ran out.  She pulled the trigger.  She's always pulling the trigger.  She's looking out for nobody but herself."

"This charter." she said after a moment.  "It's equal part, equal say?"

Establishing that there's tension, but not needing this to be a central key element--unless any of you want it to be so.

The older man immediately reached for an empty plate, and invited her over with a warm and gentle smile.

"Please, eat and be welcome, Gothique.  I am Sheng-Xin.  It is a pleasure to meet you."

It seemed that something within her perky youthful innocence struck a chord within the older man, for there was a slight touch of almost paternal fondness in his glance as he passed the plate to her...

Chewing a bit more sedately, Baylee raised an eyebrow at the provocative promise once more given. She wasn't sure how to take the rather excitement inducing comment, but assumed, for now, that it was vaguely innocent.

She had her target, after all.

She was mid-chew when she asked if she could eat and made to swallow to answer when the monk did that for her. Shrugging, she took another mouthful and considered the other question. Then, abruptly, she answered, "Bu dui a! Weighted say and weighted shares. Captain carries more risk and responsibility. Individual crew is never picked out and vilified, it's the captain. No one's looking to you to make decisions, the look to me. Equal? No. Pero fair, yes. It matters of combat, I get executive power. In decisions about targets or work, I get double votes. When it comes to loot, I get a double share. There would be, of course, articles for proper removal of captain from power and appointment of officers. But officers is a matter for larger crews than what we got. Pero, officers get larger shares based on their ranks."

There was generally more to a charter, but they served well in keeping order aboard ships out of port for long periods of time. She rather deliberately left off the traditional punishments for mutiny or insubordination: spacing and flogging respectively. Most the rest was covered by reductions in share.

She waggled her spoon at Gilina, "Ships are not democracies. Or tyrannies. A group this small can be more flexible than that." Baylee spoke with the confidence not of someone who had thought through all the matters involved but knew via received wisdom and experience. However, as her ramble about these things slowed down, she blinked at the others and then shrugged and dug her spoon into the food, "least, that's what makes sense to my mind. Not like I got the muscle to enforce my demands. We can talk it all over once we know who's looking to sign."

"Ooh, Gilina, that's terrible!" exclaimed Maissa, and she gave a quick hug to the tech.

OOC : this is in fact a attempt to manipulate Gilina through the latter's emotions. CSX could sense that Maissa's show of empathy lacks sincerity! :)

"Who did that? Who was this monster? Corporal Eaven? Is she aboard this ship?"

"And I lost the drift in this traumatic tale.. Shy is the chief of this disreputable gang? They do ZM's dirty work? Jax was with them?"

The art of cross-interrogation, asking the same questions with different words, was a skill Maissa had experienced on the side of the suspect, and picked up.
This message was last edited by the player at 19:00, Thu 10 Feb 2022.

Gilina nodded.   "It was a small lander.  Didn't have enough O2 for three."  She accepted Viper's embrace and her jaw tightened, but she didn't cry.  She wouldn't let them see her lose composure.  "You can't break natural laws."



--
The surviving marines:

• Sergeant Shy is the lead of the Bravo Brutes. Or, was.
• Corporal Karin Eaven, the blond
• Unnamed guy with a severed arm (rank, name undefined)
• Unnamed guy (rank, name undefined)

Jax was a technician, part of Gilina's group.  He was apparently using the control room equipment to try to hack the encryption on the Orishi's systems, when the marines entered.  Gilina said that Karin Eaven shot him.  Took half of his head off, in fact.

Viper: Noted.  Thanks for the side note to CSX!

Rayfe shrugged at the terms being outlined for the contract. "Honestly? I do not really mind what the contract says. Just so long as you don't kick me out an airlock. Money... I can get that easily enough. The Unity Banking Cartel is just about the most secure financial institution around, and I could break that. Others should be like taking candy from a baby. Seriously, if we need capital to get this ship fixed up, I'd be happy to find some. I need somewhere to stay, and something to do. I can't really go back to my old life, and I've never been out and about in the way some of you clearly have. And I've got plenty of other strings to my bow. I'm not just a systems expert. You'll find I can carry my weight."

He ate some more food. He only had one current objective in life, and he had work to do before he could get on with it. For now, a crew with similar problems, who needed his skills, was the best he could probably hope for. It was not going to be comfortable. He was resigned to that. On Gauda Prime, he was an Alpha Grade. A highly privileged group, the Alphas. He had a comfortable life. He had a very good apartment. He had a good salary. He had access to very luxurious facilities.

The only thing he didn't have was freedom. Now he had that in abundance, and pretty much nothing else. He was not unaware of the irony of his situation.
This message was last edited by the player at 01:51, Fri 11 Feb 2022.

"Ughhh!!!" Baylee groaned audibly as the last of the food she'd taken was finally packed away somewhere in her lither form, "Fuck all the stars in the void! I am sick to fuck of talking. Ok, I'll work on writing a charter and send it around for you all to make your mark. Later. While we are on K-Zino. Anyone who doesn't make their mark gets left on the roid. Hao a?"

She tossed her empty food storage device onto the table and looked around to see if that point was settled. She then pointed a long finger at Sheng Xin, "Ok, so, ship's cook and, probably, medical officer? Hao le." Her finger shifted to Maissa, "Pilot, dui a? Pero, maybe, first officer? Yeah?" She jabbed the finger at Gilina then Gothique, "Ship's mechanics. Keep the old girl space-worthy? Mabuti naman. Pero, you can run the charter past the rest of the techies types once I send it out. Ying wei they don't sign on, suo yi I don't need their gago names." She grinned at that. She then looked to Rayfe, "Ship's CTO? And no targeting large financial institutions! Susmaryosep! Don't bring that heat down on us. Tian a. Pakshet. Keep it small. I am obviously unconcerned with legality, just getting in over our heads. We just got our freedom returned, let's not overreach and lose it, dui a?"

She then surveyed the gathered group and nodded. It wasn't a bad little start of a decent crew, but she needed some more dedicated heavies. Maissa and Rayfe might be able to handle a fight, but that was different from teh mentality of someone who chose violence as their path. She stood and pointed at Maissa again then waggled her finger to come closer, "We're going to go talk to the damned marines then... we're going to have a more private conversation. Come along... uhm, please?" Best not to push that too much. Interpersonal stuff could ruin a crew as easily as it glued it together. She looked around at everyone once more as she moved toward the rest of the ship, "anything else? Oh, once on K-Zino, make money how you know how. Just, like, try running it past me first? I don't want to be a dictator, pero you bring the heat down on my ship and I'll cut your glands off and feed them to space sharks. You'll wish that I'd spaced you."

Baylee is going to find the marines to talk to them.

As soon as this is said she smiles and turns and not even needing to say a word.



"A pleasure to meet you Sheng-Xin and thank-you for sharing."

She is almost moved to tears as she grabs something to eat and was about to down it when Gilly is saddened by something she is discussing.  At that moment she is more torn about her friend vs the food she has in front of her, as her friend is someone in need and that causes her to put the food down.  But then one of the other females starts to comfort her and that gets her back to position one which is the food.

As the topic starts jumping around she just stays silent as she does not know how to react to it all.  That and there was food.  Food that she seems to very cautiously divide in two and only eating one pile.  The other other which she was thinking of saving for later if needed or for someone more in need.

The older man nodded in response at his proposed duties, and then drew nearer as the Captain prepared to depart.

"Captain, I am quite... perceptive at sensing emotion, including deception.  Do you wish me to observe the marines as you converse with them?"

Baylee looked at the man and nodded then hesitated, "Chang, I ever... I mean EVER... catch you reading me. The words will be sharp, but not as sharp as the knife. Ting dong? Understand?"

A second later she was all smiles again and motioned him to follow. She cared not one whit how he interacted wiht others, that was for them to define, but she would define how she would be treated. The idea of anyone else inside her head or heart gave her visions of violent delights.

The older man nodded solemnly.

"我明白了，舰长^*.  Therefore, let me give you a full disclosure..."

"Even across a crowded room, you are still aware of voices raised, and whether they are glad, or sad, or mad."

"However, there is a difference between passively having such awareness and actively striving to eavesdrop."

"Please rest assured that as long as I serve aboard, I only intend to use whatever humble abilities I possess in the service of this ship, and of the Captain commanding her."

^* "I understand, Captain."

Rayfe gave a rather wry smile. "I am in no hurry to end up back in a prison, you can be sure of that. A few credits here, a few credits there. It soon mounts up, and we are a lot less likely to draw attention to ourselves. But right now, my focus has to be on the ship, and the crew. I'll keep working on the missing parts in our memories. They will come back on ther own, sooner or later, but it won't be long before we are declared as galactic fugitives. I think we need to be firing on all engines before that happens, if we want to have any chance of staying ahead of the curve."

Maissa followed Ling-li, but as soon as they turned a corner [EDIT : AND NOBODY COULD SEE THEM], she grabbed the arm of the Pai Huai preceding her - a thin arm, but muscular and solid. When the slender woman turned and faced Maissa close, Maissa realized she was 5cm taller [yes, on Sarius they use the metric system]. The pilot was distracted by the spicy perfume of her captain, so Maissa first stared right at the hair to keep focused.

She spoke in a low voice : "Pardon my gesture, Cap... if I may... I beg you to listen... I've thought a little... Consider that Marines gang; they committed crimes together, maybe for years. They're knit so tightly that it's a kernel hard to break. If you meet them all at once, they're going to look up to their sergeant to tell'hem what to do."

Maissa replaced her hands. She now had one hand on Baylee's left arm and the other holding the Butcheress' forearm.

"Now, this sergeant... so focused on his group's survival that he'd sacrifice all techies instead of trying to rescue everybody. 'Not a good addition to our crew, and if the four Marines joined us, he'll set up a coup and we'll become the prisoners of our prisoners."

Maissa now stared intensely in Baylees dark eyes.

"The Karin is a cold-blooded, trigger-happy, killer. Why head-shoot a technician when you could just tell him to get away from the controls? A fast shooter like this 'd bring 1000s problems to... your crew. Then, the other Marines - two unknowns. If we separate them from their leaders, they may join us and not slit our throats in our sleep."

The brunette underlined her words by caressing the throat of her co-escapee.

"If I may suggest... let's bring the Marines one by one before the crew - starting with Karin, then the subordinates, and ending with the Sergent. We screen the candidates, question them, make them our offer, and everyone can veto them, especially Gilina. Wasn't it that way in the charter anyway?"

Maissa got her face closer and spoke in hushed tones

"We've got to keep them separated, unable to communicate, unable to know what we did with the others. This bad girl witness'd the efficiency of the method in so many police stations... Tell me, is there a better way to weave our group together than having us be the judges and jury and take decisions as a team?"

She softly kissed the lips of Bai Ling-Li.

"Mmm... of course there are other ways to come together... I could sleep with every member of the crew, even with Karnell-the-Pervert... Or push zhao cai mao in his arms. What do you thing?", she joked, blinking.
This message was last edited by the player at 22:37, Sun 13 Feb 2022.

Rayfe sighed, and looked at the pilot with a very level gaze. "Just for the record, the allegations made in the media about my sexual proclivities are entirely false. Fabrications designed to further discredit me. I would prefer it if people did not bring up that issue while we are on the same crew. A modicum of tact and respect helps everyone get along together. We've all got a dark past, but I'm a white collar criminal, not a sexual predator."

He did not sound angry. That would imply a loss of control, and he put a great deal of effort into maintaining his composure. But at some point, he was going to find out who started the rumours about his private life, and introduce them intimately to an arc welder.

Still confused at what just happened it does not really matter as Gothique has food available and no one has taken it away.  Actually as no one has commented on the separation of her food she does her best to sneak some of it in her pocket so she can either use it later for herself or if someone in need.  She is not greedy about it and it is the survivor in her from her time in the orphanage or on the street.  Heck even her mentor took time to break her of the habit.

Once she is no longer feeling like death and having her small nest egg prepared she turns and looks at Gilly being the only person she really knows there especially with others leaving.   "Gilly is there anything you want me to do right now?   Or any of you as I have to pay for being allowed to stay."  She says genuinely.  "Or is there anything you want to know about me to aid in trusting as I don't mind.  I don't hide anything."

"Kid." the heavy-set man leaned back, plopping one of the bowls in his own lap.  "There are three factions here:  Gilly and the Zenda-Meier techs, a handful of Zenda-Meier marines who were trying to kill them, and us--everyone else.  And we all woke up about that long ago from a long-sleep.  Most of us don't even remember our names. "


OOC: Gothique was one of the cryo-sleep folks, just in case it wasn't clear.  So, her memory is also torn linen at this time.

"We're probably going to do some very ugly things in a little bit.  Surely, the ones who are going to suffer probably deserve it.   But you probably don't need to be there for it. "

"Now, you're cute as hell and you remind me of someone I should probably remember. But I don't.  So, maybe you tell us.  What do you bring to the table?" He took a spoonful then apparently liking the taste, glanced over at Sheng-Xin and nodded appreciably.

"That's not fair." Gilina said. "She's already brought the internal comms online.  From scraps!, no less."

When the voice speaks to her she actually jumps a bit freaked out but calms down right away, "I think I can fix things as Gilly said I did up these comm thingees.  I was going to name them something like the comm and Go or the portable comm dumpster or small transmission device or STD for short.  But everyone looked at me oddly so I left it."  She says even now working on something in her hand.  Actually working on another comm to keep her hands busy as not to fidget.

"I think I might be more useful when my thinking process returns to normal.  But my head is a bit scrambled still.  But you also say ugly things.  I am not sure what that means either..." She starts to add before like a butterfly flying by her brain transitions to something else "Oh we discovered I am able to do some skills like opening safes.  I am not the best at it but have some ability."  She says as she finishes the one little comm and offers it to the person talking to her so she can show at least one thing she can do.

Then she realizes she forgot the most important thing as she holds out her hand, "Oh and as you likely heard I am Gothique."

"I think we'll be spending some time together, Gothique," Karnell mused. "If you are as good at everything else as you are with the comms, you might even be able to teach me a thing or two. And that is a pretty rare admission, so treasure it. You likely won't hear it again."

He rose, and finished up his remaining food. "I'd better change clothes, and get back to work. Gothique, when you get any new ideas, let me know please? I'd be very interested in whatever you want to try. I'll be at the computer, as usual." His smile was rather wry. "I am not sure if I will find very much under the name Gothique on the prison database, but I can search using many different parameters. And facial recognition." He held up the hand held pad, and took a quick photo of the perky tech-kitty. "If I find anything, I will let you know."

Gothique looks confused for a second, "I think you would need to spend all the time with me if you want to be there when I get ideas.  I usually get them in a sort of spur of the moment and then work.  But that said I will make sure to try to let you know when the inspiration occurs.  Or if Gilly is watching she can likely inform."  She smiles.

When it comes to to the picture Gothique actually instinctively poses with a peace sign before responding, "Awesome sauce.  Just let me know what I did as that would be nice if it is listed."  At which point if he does not stop her she goes in for a hug of thank you.  She then goes back to sitting waiting to see when and where her next project will be.

Rayfe was hugged, suddenly. He seemed a little taken aback, then gently patted the girl on her shoulder. "Yes, well. Nobody on this ship is going to be defined by their past, I think. We should consider the future." Despite the fact he was very much living in the past himself. but he was prepared to judge everyone on their own merits. And having a technical savant around was more than he had anticipated. Whatever had she done? She seemed very upbeat and perky. It must have been something awful...

He went back to the main computer terminal, and checked on how it was doing. He had things to check...

Firstly, he started a comprehensive diagnostic, trying to identify all the parts of the ship that should be there, but were not. What had been removed? What needed replacing?

Then he turned to other matters, as that was running. Chang Shen Xin's identity and criminal record was buried deeply in the prison database somewhere, he felt sure. It was encrypted, but for Karnell, encryption was rather a fun thing. He did so love breaking down someone else's code.

And then, Gothique. A name he was reasonably sure her parents had not given her. Well, she was ahead of the game. They would all need new names, sooner or later. He was confident he could create very realistic identities for them all - with time. And not from here. He needed access to systems that were not available. But for now, he would try to find out who the cheerful tech girl was. That was a start!

OOC:

OK, three more rolls done. Results:

22:17, Today: Rayfe Karnell rolled 1 using 4 Fudge dice.  Computer Systems roll. Final result: 6 shifts

22:16, Today: Rayfe Karnell rolled 0 using 4 Fudge dice.  Computer systems roll. Final result: 5 shifts

22:16, Today: Rayfe Karnell rolled 1 using 4 Fudge dice.  Computer Systems roll. Final result: 6 shifts

The first is for the ship diagnostic.

The second, to crack open the encrypted files on CSX.

The third, to burrow into the database and try to find out who, or indeed what, Gothique is.
This message was last edited by the player at 22:23, Sun 13 Feb 2022.

Moved to 02.04: Hallway Interlude (Baylee & Viper) to preserve location continuity.  --GM
This message was last edited by the GM at 04:37, Mon 14 Feb 2022.

"All right."  Spohr said finally.  The bowl he'd been eating from was empty.  sparkling, even.  The man ate quickly.   "So, we go talk to the--what did you call them--Bravo Brutes."  We gotta show them that there's a power-structure in play already and that if they don't get in-line, they'll be on the wrong side of the board.  Or the wrong-side of an airlock."

He shrugged and looked up at Baylee who's attention was wavering  "I suggest we give them a hour or two to let 'em stew.  Then you question them with wo you want.  But I suggest Bek and I be there too.  To show them that muscle is welcome but not desperately needed."
This message was last edited by the player at 04:28, Wed 16 Feb 2022.

A good thrity minutes after she stalked out, Baylee returns with her clothes altered and her attitude much more relaxed, "Enough talk! Spohr, Casks: you're doing the interviews with me." Looking around, she saw some doing what she had said and others holding up the walls.

Growling a bit, she looked at Gilina and Gothique, "A short list of the repairs needed and what materials we have and don't have aboard. Go, do, now. Uh, please and thank you."

Looking around, she grunted then spoke again, "Clear the room if you ain't be Casks or Spojr. We're doing the interviews here. Spohr, go get the marine with the limb missing."

Without hesitation Gothique stands up, "Yes Captain!"  But does not move until Gilly gets up but does her best to salute and not in a mocking means but just trying to please her Captain!

The older man blinks at his new nickname, and nods.

"Captain...  Do you prefer me to merely observe?  Or do you wish me to contribute as and when it would be useful?"

Baylee allows her edges to soften a touch as people hop to follow directions and smiles at Casks, "I hope that I can trust both your expertise as well as your discretion. So, contribute as you feel the need. Whether that be advising me or doing your own thing."

A sharped Baylee scanned the rest of the room, "That goes the same for all members of the crew. Contribute what you can where you can. Talk me to me freely. Take your own initiative. The only time I want you to hesitate and see me out is when it affects us all in an emergent way or my ship." She smiles then seeks to arrange herself for the incoming marines.

The older man returns her smile with a meaningful look and a slight bow.

"'天生我材必有用。'  It is a privilege to serve, Captain."


The older man nods thoughtfully.

"'有缘千里来相会。'"

Two different Chinese proverbs:
^*"I was born to be useful."
^**"Fate brings people together from far apart."