"I suppose that makes you, technically, a stow away, Socket," Sol responded, "as we lifted off 5 days ago. We've heading for orbit around Kazikan in the Balloran system."

"Are you trying to tell me you've been asleep down here for 5 days?"

*Blink* *Blink*

The Ysoki gave a short nervous laugh.  "Ha.  Good one.  You had me for a second there.  Who put you up for this?  Was it Notch?  He knows I get sleepy when I work long hours and don't eat right.  I've asked for the proper nourishment on a long job, but will the employer step up?  No!  I've got 9 mouths to feed, I can't afford to bring my own snacks in."  He smacked his lips a couple of times.  He was feeling rather parched.  Could it have been 5 days?

"Do you have anything to eat?"  He asked trying to change the subject.

Sonaeu entered into the room just as the mechanic named Socket began his dialogue with the Solarian.   She moved quietly behind the Ysoki, intending for the stowaway to become aware of her presence only when she choose so.

The sound of the capacitor on her Voltaic Anchor Pistol charging certainly seemed louder to her than she expected.   "Let's go back to the question of why you are here again.  I think we need to revisit that."  When the other turned around he'd have no problem seeing the pistol in her hand.
This message was last edited by the player at 01:03, Sun 03 Mar 2019.

Socket turned around at the sound and new voice and saw a weapon pointed at him.  His eyes went wide and he instinctively put his hands up and dropped down to his knees.  Oh crap! He had preferred talking to Solsantharis.

"I'm here to fix the fan in the head.  Work Order #22748-1443c.  In my pocket.  It was reported glitchy.  The Phaque VII na1.7, is known for power surges and it was wired in wrong.  I traced it back and found it had a cross connection to the backup life support.  47 nodules flowing through a Byzggs II fuse-l and down goes the backup life support.  No one would even know it until the main life failed and the backup didn't kick in.  All because of poor engineering."

"Oh Holy All mother.  Why did I have to be an over achiever?  I should have left it alone and these pirates got what was coming to them.  Please watch over little Pip, and Twitch and Boom-Boom, Dagy, Moxi, Zanz, and the triplets.  It's not fair they should suffer because some lazy supervisor authorized a launch without all the green lights."

"Someone call the Captain and find out what he wants done with our stowaway."   Sonaeu says calmly, still eyeing Socket.

"Technically, I suppose Socket could be considered a stowaway," Sol said, "but he also has a case for us kidnapping him."

He smiled at Soneau's directive for 'someone' to call the captain. Did she mean him? Or was she thinking Socket was going to do that?

"Yes, by all means, call the Captain, Soneau. He would be the one to decide what to do with Socket."

"If the aiudara works, the Captain might send him back."

The captain goes to the cargo bay that has the aiudara set up there. Etheron and Shaneel have been getting it prepped.

Thranel and Hallista are on the bridge.

It'll be Shaneel the Technomancer who will activate it.

It predates the arrival of the Triune and the Drift engines.

When Captain Zenith gives the signal, Shaneel activates it.


Everyone seemed to be holding their breath... and then the shimmer of the screen disappears and you can see a picture... it should mean that the portal is open. You can people on the other side... people back on Castrovel. They, in turn, can apparently see you!

Just to be sure that it is a portal, the Captain has a small box that he throws at the picture. It lands on the floor on the other side.

"I do believe we have a portal home," he proclaims.

"That doesn't mean it'll work the farther out we go."

"Also, it takes a lot of energy. We'll keep this open for only 5 minutes this time."

In reply to StarMaster (msg # 37):

Sonaeu mentally pokes the Captain in regards to the stowaway that she currently has under arrest(?).

Revonoss eyes the portal and smiles when it works. Then makes a mental note to see Shaneel about it later and see if they can devise a device that can do it on a shorter distance and ponder a way to boost its strength so it would work longer. His drone hovers around it scanning the whole deal as he himself looks at the small box tossed through soaking up anything perceivable by all his means. He was only a spectator here after all and tried not to get in the way to much.

When the whole endeavor with the aiudara was under way, Culhayn entered the room to observe the tests. His attention was clearly called to the portal - he didn't imagine it before the mission, but now that they were deeper into space and in a course that would take them farther and farther away from Castrovel, he realized how much he would miss it... and how much of his technical skills, as well as his more secretive skills, were reliant on the infrastructure of a complex social system. This first mission out of the ship would be an interesting test on how well he could fare without one.
This message was last edited by the player at 19:03, Mon 04 Mar 2019.

Socket helpfully chimed in.  "I'll do it.  I've got to report this kidnapping and being held at gun point, which violates the safe work zone policy of the Federation of Uninsured Contractors!  Good luck getting any quality Contract work done in port again."

He gave a short lived smile and thankful nod to the man who seemed to be a lot more understanding of his situation than this hair trigger psycho pointing the gun at the Ysoki.  Socket stood up hoping she wouldn't add cold blooded murder to her list of crimes.  He hoped he was safe while there was a witness.

He would slowly raise his leg and see if she would let him take a step or stop him.  If he made it that far, he slowly made to take a second step toward the door in some slow motion terrified for his life move.

"A good point there, Socket," Sol responds to the Ysoki.

"I was done here anyway, so let's all go see the captain. If you feel you must report this incident to the Federation, I'm afraid we'd have to also report you to the Federation as having been sleeping on the job and/or stowing away on this ship."

"This ship is crewed only by Lashuntas. That's makes you a rather odd-man-out."

"We're on a mission... a quest, actually, so I'm afraid it's out of the question to take you back. If we encounter another ship, we could attempt to foist you off on them and they might take you back. Or they might not."

"Other than that, you are free to leave the ship whenever we make planetfall."

"Oh! I know! As I sign of good faith that you weren't intentionally stowing away, you could accompany us down to the planet Kazikan to explore the old temple there!"

Sol will lead the way with Socket behind him and Soneau behind Socket, still pointing her weapon at him.

The S-Team (Solantharis, Socket and Sonaeu) find the captain in the cargo bay just as the test with the aiudara is completed. Everyone seems happy, so it must have been a success, especially since you see two new people in the cargo bay that you don't think were on the crew. The ship may be large, but the crew certainly wasn't.

The Captain studies Socket for a moment after Solsantharis's explanation, his frown turning to a somewhat grim smile when he's done.

"I believe the normal term is 'supercargo' for anyone who isn't crew... or a stowaway," Zenith says. "That term includes passengers, which would cover independent contractors. While my orders didn't inform me of any such contractors, they also don't say I can't employ them."

"So, Mr. Socket... if you are willing to venture down to the planet with the scouting team, I think that would qualify you to be an independent contractor. Of course, if you come back, we could probably negotiate adding you to the crew roster if that was what you wanted."

"How does that sound?"

Assuming Socket agrees, Sonaeu holsters her weapon then finds somewhere out of the way to watch the preparations.

Also part of the S-Team a young, and short, Lashunta woman shows up in the cargo bay along with most of the rest of the crew to see the test.  She wares what is clearly an armored uniform with a patch stuck to it that includes the name Saia.

Watching the test with a keen interest she does not bother engaging the other crew members, but does listen to the captain's commentary about the supercargo, only then seeming to even notice the presence of the Ysoki.

"Oh... well... nicely played.  So, maybe, we forget about this kidnapping and you forget about the whole fell asleep on the job... thingie."  Socket commented to Sol as they walked.

"All Lashuntas?  Really?  Huh."  He listened to the comment about a quest and statement to leave when he wanted.  Anything that wasn't about him being thrown out of an airlock was sweet music to his ears.  "Good intentions would be not pointing that gun in my direction."  He muttered with Sonaeu at his back.

The meeting with the Captain was above and beyond the pessimistic scenarios that ran through his mind.  A giant weight had left his shoulders and he seemed more relaxed and happy that his life wasn't on the line for a minor mistake.

"Yes sir!"  Was his enthusiastic reply.

In the next cargo bay, the shuttle is being prepped. It has 6 seats.

"Okay, then, everyone," Captain Zenith announces, "That's two steps on our journey completed. Time to take the third."

"I'm sending the shuttle down to the planet with an exploration team to find out what they can about the temple."

"This first team will consist of Culhayn, Revonoss, Saia, Socket, Solsantharis and Sonaeu. Revenoss will be the designated pilot for this trip."

"You can leave when you are ready."
This message was last updated by the player at 14:20, Wed 14 Apr 2021.

Revonoss nods tosses up a mock salute and then heads to the bay to take the shuttles pre flight checklist through.

The ysoki whispered to Solsantharis, "What kind of mission is this?  I see Ms. No-sense-of-humor over there is armed.  I'm not.  Do you expect trouble down there?"

No mock salute for her the one Saia executes is a thing of precision, and long practice, done almost without thinking when the Captain finishes his briefing.  Turning in the direction of the shuttle she does toss a comment to the Ysoki on her way by, part answer, part taunt.

”There are plenty of weapons to go around, that wont be a problem if you are any good with them.”

"In a situation like this, it is always wise to anticipate trouble," Sol answered Socket. "This is the unknown. We have no idea what is down there."

"While it does seem unlikely that there could be anyone down there, that doesn't eliminate any thing. Robots, automated defenses, something in magical stasis, traps... all that is possible."

"Or there may be nothing. We certainly don't need weapons against nothing--it's the other possibilities that we need to take precautions against."

"And we do know there are monsters and mutated critters in the planet, from previous reports. It may be that we do not encounter anything, but so far we have every reason to be wary, and none not to to prepared."

Culhayin verifies his equipment, checking the charge of the batteries and the general state of everything.

"Well, guess that's as ready as I'll be."

While the others are doing pre-flight for the ship, Sonaeu returns to the armory long enough to retrieve several small arms and the grenade launcher that she'd set aside for herself.   Feeling properly prepared, she returns to the shuttle to distribute sidearms to those who didn't have them and wanted one.  Any spares will get left in the shuttle.

The Ysoki mouthed some mimic of Saia's comment before heading to find a weapon.

Socket hesitantly accepted a pistol from Sonaeu and quickly retreated away from her before she changed her mind.  He found a seat in the back of the shuttle and wondered what kind of a mess he had gotten himself into.