In reply to StarMaster (msg # 107):
[Aboard the Floating Palace, at the Royal Star Dock.  Planet Drinax.]

     "Of course, Lord Propenski." Varca responds to the former Admiral, "Thank you for your time and the information.  Our Vultan will join the search just as soon as we can launch."

     Varca just shrugs at Kira's response, "As you wish.  You and Theo--I mean--Captain-Lord McFarlane can settle who's Piloting between yourselves."

     Finally, Varca answers Zhouth via the open comm channel to the Crew, "Damn. I was hoping we could get a sample from the Admiral to analyze.  Plus, having him aboard would have given us more legitimacy."

     "Say--now that we're sitting right in the middle of a stardock that's theoretically full of air we think may be contaminated with a paranoia drug that only affects people who are genetically Drinaxi--maybe we can use Vultan's sensors to scan for it...?  Or, if not that, maybe we can capture a sample of the air, before we leave the Palace?"

     "And Zhouth--everybody!--I'm not saying we're gonna fire on anyone who just stumbles into our way.  But I am saying that if we encounter anyone who makes an effort to prevent us from searching for The King--I am prepared to light 'em up with our targeting scanners and warn 'em off.  Anybody refuses that...well, I'm prepared to use force to change their minds.  Remember, people, without Oleb to back us up, those letters he gave us--in secret--will be useless..."

Zhouth was still on private comms to the group. "Unless whoever takes over from him wants to recognize them instead, or issue new ones, or whatever else it is. They might also change the mission around. We're still okay even without them because we haven't actually done anything interstellar-illegal yet, but I don't like the idea of this place turning into a war zone, you know? Also, it might not still be floating by the time they're done fighting over it." There was a pause and then he continued, and this time one could hear the sly grin in his words. "I wouldn't be so worried if we were in the Extents, but you Drinaxi just don't know how to do proper leadership fights."

Aaron had been considering the issue for the whole 9-hour trip inward, second-guessing himself several times over. It wasn't until the ship had docked and just before everyone disembarked that he briefed Viridian and his away team.

"Unfortunately, we still can't 100% rule out the other possible causes--poison, disease, radiation, or psionics," Aaron explains, "the fact that Rachando doesn't seem to be affected is still our best indicator that only someone with the Drinaxi gene can be affected."

"And the best way to disperse it among the Palace population is through the ventilation system because everyone has to breathe. After crunching the numbers six ways to Sunday, the worse case scenario is that it only takes one part per million to affect someone."

"It does not appear to work instantaneously as the reports indicate a gradual escalation over weeks. This makes sense since any radical behavioral change would be quickly and easily noticed."

"All indications are that this isn't an amateur operation. So this drug will be contained in a pressurized container, probably a cylinder, possibly more than one. It probably has a timer set to release a bit of gas every other day, and run its course in 8-10 weeks."

"Given our ability to contain extremely high pressures, we should be looking for something about the size of 2-3 end-to-end fizzy cans. Expect misleading labeling if it even has any. It's most likely fastened to a ventilation duct with duraglue."

"Just keep in mind that removing it isn't going to turn everyone normal instantaneously. People won't get worse, but it'll probably take a week or two to wear off."

He further explains to Varca:

"Even if the Vultan's bio-scanners were that good, it could still take days if not weeks to isolate the drug... probably a virus... and even longer to workout an antidote and produce it in any quantity. That was never really an option... but you never can tell."

Given the news about the King as soon as they stepped off the ship, it was obviously clear that Aaron would have to join the search team in case they found an injured King that needed immediate medical treatment.

He gave ashrug and a nod to Viridian. It was his show now. Aaron headed right back into the ship.

"Kira!" Viridian exclaimed at her small mutiny. "There aren't any viewports to look out. How do you expect to spot the King any better than the others watching the viewscreen? Two heads are better than one--yeah-yeah, so I suppose 7 pairs of eyes are better than just two."

"In that case, Ghent and Taliesa... care to join me and Collyn as Rayjaynul leads us to the Life Support section? I've got a feeling we're going to need your particular methods of persuasion."

By now, though, he wasn't entirely convinced of the timely necessity of this excursion. On the other hand, they might not get another opportunity. If one of the factions managed to wrest control of the Palace from the others, the Vultan might not be allowed to land again.

He headed off in the direction Rayjaynul indicated.

Ever confused as one of the crew's oldest members, Rayjay can't help but feel he's been left out of the loop about something very important. Supposedly some drug or virus that makes people go crazy. Or specifically Drinaxi go crazy? Would that mean he was at risk or was already exposed? Looking around to make sure there weren't any to eavesdrop, Rayjay in no uncertain terms demands an explanation to be made.

"What in t'e seven hells are ya all talkin' 'bout? Clearly someone failed to share some need-to-know information, because we went from t'e King bein' missin' out in t'e Drinax wastes, to their bein' a contaminant in t'e air makin' people paranoid. So first and foremost, what's our source, can we trust it, and how should we approach t'e problem to reduce potential causalities? Ideally in t'at order please." Rayjay said falling back on his well-trained navy instincts on such matters, which was effectively to confirm the situation and or orders then proceed from there.
This message was last edited by the player at 18:04, Fri 05 May 2023.

In reply to Rayjaynul Brown (msg # 115):
OOC: Aaron clearly stated that he said all he said before Viridian's Team--including Rayjay--disembarked from the ship.  Thus, no eavesdropping.  Well, except for alla us...

---

     "Y'got it backwards, Rayjay," Varca says, "We suspected something was being added to the Palace air before we knew about The King being lost."

     "Aaron figured out that folks on the Palace were acting a little--off--and that the behaviour seemed to possibly be an outside influence.  Given several factors, we assumed the cause might be a drug.  And yes, Aaron also noted that the cases of extreme 'odd' behaviour were only happening to people with Drinaxi genetics.  Palacers and Vespexers alike.  And that the noted odd behaviour was mainly happening aboard the Floating Palace."

     "We weren't one-hundred-percent certain, Rayjay--everyone.  It was all a set of circumstantial evidence based on behavioral trends noted in the news and social media over the past six-to-eight weeks.  The speed at which social anxiety has risen in that short time is, itself, extremely suspicious...but it could also be totally normal."

     "We--Me, Aaron and Zhouth--kept quiet about it until we could get more data.  We did come up with a contingency plan, which we didn't choose to enact until the Kings disappearance--our plan assumed the 'contaminant' that is affecting people on the Palace is airborne and thus located somewhere in the Life Support equipment, below the Palace."

     "Now, with the King incommunicado and everyone else suspicious of us, it's doubtful we could convince anyone of our suspicions, so we gotta do the old 'take action and ask forgiveness later' thing."

     "Originally we'd planned to send Rejji out with Viridian--nobody would be suspicious of a Vespexer walking around the Palace with his suit sealed--but now, with The King possibly injured down on the planet's surface, both Rejji and I are needed for the search, down there.  Captain Theo is too publicly known not to attract attention--his father has already warned us that there are people watching for us, in order to grab us.  You, Rayjay, were born a Palacer but you haven't been here in years--we picked you up on Torpol, if you recall, as you were heading home--likely very few people have seen you in all that time."

     "So, now you have to be Viridian's guide down to the Underlinth, and as an obvious non-Vespexer..." Varca points at his red-orbed eyes, "...it would be suspicious if you wore a filter mask.  As Aaron just said, whatever is in the air--if anything--it takes a while to build up in your system and will dissipate with a little time."

     "You are the only one who can do this, Rayjaynul, so you've been Volunteered.  Suck It Up, Sailor, and go do what's gotta be done!  Think of it this way--if we find The King alive and we resolve an attempt to cause Civil Unrest--maybe The Damned King will Knight all of us!"

The look on Teddy's face says it all, he is visibly angry! Livid!"Varca, tell me why I shouldn't space you? I'm the fucking captain of the ship! I usually defer to you out of respect, I no longer have any! You've endangered my ship and you did not inform me!" He says with a raised voice!

"Getting real tired of your shit," adds Kira, glowering at Varca.

Teddy storms back aboard the Vultan! When he passes Ingrid, he asks her softly, "coming dearest?" he takes her hand, slumped a bit, and walks aboard. Suddenly feeling very tired.

     Varca accepts the criticism of both people.

     First turning a blank stare towards Kira, Varca makes a vague gesture aft and down, and in an almost deadpan, says,

     "The airlock is down that way, Crewman.  Feel free to express your fatigue of my command by leaving at any time.  You can collect any monies owed you after the King is located."

     Varca then turns to Theo,

     "You are absolutely right, Theo." Varca says, bowing his head in apology, "You should have been read into this immediately.  All I can offer in apology is that we only had suspicions about all this.  We had no proof of any of it. And, as long as the ship was floating at the edge of the jump limit, we were in no danger."

     "It was my decision to keep you in the dark.  In the back of my head I was thinking that, with everyone on the Palace acting like they were, then even if we did find some proof of what we suspected, we wouldn't be believed, and then might be called upon to take unauthorized action to try and end whatever was going on."

     "And if it came to that kind of activity, I wanted the majority of the Crew--and you, especially--to have a plausible deniability to what I'd have probably done."

     "I am deeply sorry."

"I wouldn't trust you to 'command' a garbage scow" growls Kira. "But I like the rest of the crew. An interesting bunch. So just stay the hell away from me and we'll go find the King."
This message was last edited by the player at 21:21, Fri 05 May 2023.

"I'll think about it Varca, I'll think about it. All aboard that are coming aboard. Good luck finding the poison." He climbs the ramp into Vultan without looking back.

Kira follows Teddy into the Vultan and heads to her quarters to change into her normal ship attire, a comfortable green Cloth jumpsuit and white sneakers.
This message was last edited by the player at 20:29, Fri 05 May 2023.

"Yes Varca, I'm not senile... yet. And t'ere's nothin' to suck up, waste flows down t'e pipes after all. Just sayin' t'is 'ole conversation came out t'e black and sounds as crazy as a Vespexer wit'out 'is mask."

"To t'at end, wit'out clear understandin', mistakes could 'ave been made. But now we know not to damage t'e vessel no matter w'at and not to wear masks in public. Close confines 'owever might be wise given pressurized concentrations wit'in a closed fluid volume, as in air in a closed maintenance room."

"So, time to accessorize, heh-heheh." He said with his usual chuckle, feeling a great deal more at ease knowing just what he's getting into.

OOC: Just out of curiosity, do we even have any filter masks?

"Filter masks, a torch, anything else? I guess we'll be unarmed, what if we get arrested and questioned?"

"Actually, you can carry wit'in t'e Palace, so long as it's a suitably showy sword and not drawn of course." He said indicating his own rapier. "As for if we get caught, if tellin' t'em we got lost on our tour to Drinax's surface doesn't work, t'en maybe t'e trut' t'at a paranoid Vespexer asked us to make sure t'e life support wasn't poisoned might work heh-heheh." He chuckled heartily.

     Varca heaves a deep sigh, then turns towards Kira,

     "Wrong.  This is not a pleasure cruise, and I am not an Activities Director.  I am the Mission Commander.  Captain McFarlane is in charge of ship operations.  You are just a Recent Hire.  We are both the Boss of you.  There will not be any of that 'you go your way, I go mine' silliness aboard Vultan."

     "If you cannot accept the command structure aboard this vessel then leave.  I'm very serious about this, Cik O'Neill.  Agree to obey the command structure or get off the ship.  Whatever you decide, it will not be held against you, either personally or professionally."

     Varca acknowledges Theo with a silent nod, as the Captain heads deeper into the ship, then turns back to Kira,

     "But you will need to decide now, as we will be lifting off in a few minutes."


OOC: "Cik" = Sindalian word meaning "Honored Miss"; "Tuan" = "Honored Sir"

Ghent looked up at the scene between Kira and Varca, and then looked towards Taliesa. He had been meaning to get to know the merc better, but so far the opportunity hadn’t presented itself. He raised an eyebrow and nodded towards the storm brewing between the two, somewhat interested in what was going to happen between them. He sighed, wishing he could stick around to see the fallout, though he imagined that Varca would pull rank and that would be the end of that, but he had to wonder what that might mean for the future.

He moved his bulky frame and headed towards the others.
This message was last edited by the player at 22:49, Sun 07 May 2023.

In reply to Theodore McFarlane (msg # 119):

Ingrid followed Teddy back aboard the Vultan, now looking rather out of place as she'd worn her favorite pink ball gown to meet the King.

When Ingrid got aboard the ship, Teddy turned and wrapped his arms around her in a hug and kissed her, "you look absolutely stunning dear, the king would have loved you! Get changed and look after the engines sweetheart. Time to find the king."

Ingrid kissed back. "Thank you Teddy, that's sweet" she said, teasing "The King had beautiful women to sit on his lap, he wouldn't take you seriously without one."
Then she grew serious. "I hope we can find the King... I'm Tizonian, I know how difficult it can be to lose a ruler. I'll take care of the engines and the Vultan, don't you worry."

"Well, this isn't going very well. All of the palace bigwigs are suddenly silent-treatmenting us, and that's after Scholar Voha's big lecture about how we're standing in the way of change that's mostly about not changing anything!" Zhouth sounded uncharacteristically annoyed as he barged onto the bridge, hands waving about like angry snakes, to make that announcement. Then he stopped and shrugged while letting out a minute but exasperated sigh. "So, okay, we're doing this entirely on our own, and I'm sure that we'll get to watch the palace plunge from the sky right about the point that we find him. At least that will rid Oleb of all those meddlesome priests, right?"

In reply to Zhouth (msg # 132):
[Aboard Vultan, Launching from the Floating Palace.  Planet Drinax.]

     "I tried to tell you." Varca says, turning from where he's standing on the Captains Walk to look at Zhouth, "I lived among them for decades--I learned how to be an arrogant ass from them!"

     "It's just that--the Palacers have never before exhibited so much collective idiocy, as they seem to be doing, right now.  There has to be something behind that.  Let's hope Viridian and his Team can find something of that nature and eliminate it from the equation."

     Varca gives Zhouth a sardonic grin, then calls out to everyone on the Bridge,

     "Okay, everyone--same plan, different location!  We're going to go see The King and that means we dress to impress, except this time it's not High Fashion it's Combat Protection.  Everybody with Raider Suits, suit up!  If you haven't been assigned a Raider suit, put on your Vacc Suit.  And if you don't have a Vacc Suit--there's a few Emergency Vacc Suits in the Ship's Locker."

     "Everyone be in a suit by the time we get to the Night Pillars!"

     "Zhouth, you and I should get suited up then head down to the Countermeasures Suites."

     "The Bridge is yours, Cap'n Theo!  As always!" Varca gives Theo a thumbs up, then heads off to change into his Raider Suit, then to Portside Countermeasures.

Teddy spends a few minutes donning his suit, trying to give Ingrid plenty of room to put hers on. "See you on the surface dear!" he says, kissing her on top of the head, he heads for the bridge.

Zhouth put on a wan grin, although there was a certain worried weariness that there that it usually lacked. "I don't think it's entirely down to the gas, if there even is gas, nor will turning it off if it's there stop them from doing what they're doing right now or undo the things that they already have."

Nevertheless, he turned away and headed off to get suited up for their expedition to the surface.