Rig picked up the oddly familiar Bugee.

"Now why in the hell would this be here?"

He took the time to search through the crate, curious to see if he could find any that looked "oddly familiar" to any of the other people onboard. Perhaps a Bugee with white hair and a long scar across the face? A red-headed Bugee in a slim shiny dress? A stoic navy captain with an air of danger around him?

Besides, Rig had worked in the merchant marines for his career long enough to know to double check unsecure cargo. Back in the day it was mostly to make sure someone wasn't skimming off the top but now he wanted to make sure there weren't any unexpected "additional" cargo someone slipped in. This was his first time smuggling and he was damned if he was going to be caught like a sucker this early in the game.

Rig continued to shift around until he got to the bottom and when he was satisfied there wasn't anything else unusual or "oddly familiar" with it he secured the lid properly and moved it into position.

Onyx tickled at the back of her mind as she walked away. How did she know her. Why was she so familiar?

Tepha went back to her quarters and pulled up a net search on that name. For all she knew it was a false name but maybe there was an easy explanation for why she looked familiar...

Silver had finished loading the cargo and it was up to Rig now. Tepha was handling the low passengers and Ledo was handling the high which meant nobody was needing her for the moment.

Silver popped up on her bed and slapped a homemade filter over the air intake. Then she pulled out a joint and a six-pack of beer from her stash and proceeded to get loaded and high. She hated liftoffs and being high and/or drunk off her ass always made the transition to zero-g much easier for her.

She put on some psychedelic music, popped the holoprojector to "screensaver mode" and relaxed on her bed. So far this was proving to be one of the best gigs of her life and she was going to enjoy it.

In reply to Gary 'Rig' Rigan (msg # 5):

None of the other Bugees bear a resemblance to Ledo or Tepha or Silver.  Rig just seems to be lucky.

A quick slush through the Bugees doesn't show any additional items.  Then Rig remembers the scale.

Every crate, box, bag, or bottle is weighed by Port Authority.  Checking the log, Rig sees the weight on this crate is...2998.8 pounds.  Close to 1.5 tons.

A quick weigh using the crane...2991.6 pounds.

---

Onyx Plages turns out not to be an alias.  But it's the alias this woman does have that is the reason Tepha recognized her.

According to Karin's cultural records nodes, Onyx Plages is an emigre from the Jone system.  Over the past five years, she's worked as a model.  And not just a random one.  For the past three years, she's been the spokes model for Izzaick's Cosmetics.  She's better known by her runway name Aje.

Onyx/Aje has appeared in countless ads for the cosmetic company.  A higher end brand, Izzaick's caters to high end customers.  Lipstick costs 220 creds a tube.

Onyx is under an exclusive contract with Izzaick's according to the articles.  Her estimated income is given as 1.2 million creds per annum.

Tepha studies the pictures closely.  Even without make up and camera tricks, there is no doubt.  Onyx is Aje.

---

There's a man with a shaky hand...
And he's stumblin' in the dark...

Owens Oson's feathery tenor moves into the last verse of Drag It Down.  Silver inhales on the doobie, trying to follow the dictates of the song.  Drag it down?  Can do.

The projector switches off it's current image.  The ceiling goes dark and then a message flashes on.  Rain Mode

At first, it stays dark.  Then a circle of muted blue light appears, spreads out, and is gone.  Another follows.  Then another.  Rain drops falling overhead.  Landing and dissipating. Plop. Plop. Plop plop plop.

The song changes.  The intro to The Shake Tones It's Always Night So Let's Always Bump begins.  More rain drops fall over head.  The storm is getting wilder.

tap...tap...taptiptaptaptaptaptaptaptip.  There's a high, soft sound coming through.  It's not part of the song.  At least not that Silver can recall.  And it's not in rhythm either.  It's like someone is tapping something on a sheet of thin metal.  And it's getting a little louder...and now it's starting to receed...

---

Ledo's comm vibrates.  He glances at the message.

Incoming from Starport Authority

Tiamat's Flight.  You have been scheduled for a departure window of 1039 AVD from Lane F8.  Please confirm that you will hit the mark.

Departing from the High Port isn't just a matter of undocking and vrooming away.  There's too much incoming and outgoing traffic.  To depart, a ship has to schedule a departure time.  The port directs the craft to predetermined location or Lane.  From there, the ship moves away from the port, at a predetermined acceleration rate, on a predetermined flight path until it reaches a predetermined distance from the station.  After that, it's  all wide open.

If a ship can't hit the scheduled departure, there's penalties.  Lots and lots of penalties.

1039 AVD...fifty minutes.  Ledo gauges the distance in his head.  With no trouble, taxing to Lane F8 should take twenty minutes.  Rig should be done with the tank by now.  Ten minutes to warm up the engines, get locked down, and nail down all safety protocol...

That's a twenty minute leeway.

Time to motor.

All of this is happening simultaneously.  Unbeknownst to Ledo,Rig will need an additional ten to fifteen minutes to move the last crate and finish inflating the tank if he does so by himself.  A mechanics/Int or Edu roll of 6+ or Int roll of 8+ can reduce that.  So can throwing another body on it.  You can stack the two options: a roll and another body.

The engine warm up/safety protocols are a rule I cribbed from an earlier rule set of Traveler.  I like it because it can add some tension.

The rule is:  you do the protocol, no worries.  No roll needed.

If you want to skip the protocols/you need to motor fast because they're firing on you and you're a sitting duck, you make an engineering roll, Int or Edu DM your choice.  If you hit 8+, no worries.  If you miss by 4, something minor will happen but you roll.  Miss it by more than 4, and you can get, but expect some larger complication.

I am springing this on you and it is outside Mongoose's rule set. So if you'd rather not use this rule, we can leave that aside.  Your call.  The lockdown/disconnecting from the fuel line/etc will still take that long.

Let me know if there are questions.  Thanks

Ledo stretched a bit, loosening up before slipping into the pilot's seat. The computer was going to do most of the work but it felt good slipping into the captain's seat. He had spent most of his career ordering other pilots to fly and it felt like slipping back through time into his twenty-something self as he took the controls and began the preflight check.

He tapped the comms.

"Hey Rig, is everything secure? Our departure window is in fifty."

Rig was staring at the display trying to figure out what it meant. The crate was light. That didn't seem like a big problem. It was light by seven pounds, give or take.

So why did it bother him? He chalked it up to his merchant marine background. Some employers would dock the workers pay if a crate was light. Given these were smuggled goods and everything was pure profit it probably wasn't that big of a deal. Or, most likely, Silver had grabbed a bunch and that was why the crate was light.

He went to log it but then corrected himself as he realized that would be a stupid thing to do, logging that your smuggled cargo was light. Instead he made a mental note to tell Ledo.

Just then the hold's comm barked out. Ledo was checking in to make sure everything was secure.

"Oh shit...sorry captain. One of the crates came in a seven pounds light so I was inspecting it. It's going to be another fifteen minutes before cargo is secure."

"That is cutting it really close. Can Silver help?"

"Yeah that would be great."

Silver was relaxing and listening to something tapping, gently rapping, rapping upon her chamber door when her comm squawked.

"Silver, Rig needs help in the cargo bay. Head down and give him a hand."

Silver just started giggling.

"No can dooooo Cap-a-rino."

There was a pause.

"What? Why?"

More giggling from Silver.

"Cuz I am liiiiiiitttt."

"What? Wait. What the hell Silver? It's been like fifteen minutes since I last saw you."

Silver didn't reply, she just giggled a bit more. For someone as jagged and rough as Silver to be giggling like a little schoolgirl was...deeply unsettling.

"We are going to have some serious discussions about proper protocols for..."

"Woah...chill out. It's alllllll goooood."

The comm just clicked off. Silver shrugged and went back to relaxing in style. The part of her mind that was still coherent made a note to check the ventilation system for the source of the tapping but her body and mind were comfortably numb and ready for take off.

Tepha was in her room checking the terminal when the comm buzzed.

"Tepha, Rig needs your help down in the hold ASAP. Get down there quick."

Tepha's head recoiled a bit in confusion. Cargo was Rig and Silver's job and besides she was busy researching more about Aje to find out why a high powered model would be flying low to Jone.

"Uhhh...are you sure? Isn't that normally Silver's job, honey?"

Tepha put a little bit of flirtation in her voice. She really didn't want to do manual labor and didn't hesitate to use some of the hooks to get out of it.

"Normally yes but Silver is...unavailable and if we don't get this cargo secure we're going to miss our launch window. That could put us hours behind schedule."

Tepha didn't respond. Logically she knew she should help but but she really didn't want to do it. The thought of manual labor was like a weight pressing her down in her comfortable liquid foam chair.

Ledo could sense her hesitation.

"I know, I know. This is our first launch though and I don't want to start it off on the wrong foot. I'll straighten things out with Silver so this doesn't happen again but chances are sometime down the road you're going to have to help with the cargo so you might as well learn now. Rig was a merchant marine for over a decade. He'll keep you safe and it'll be over before you know it. Please? For me?"

So Ledo was also willing to leverage their relationship. Tepha let out a sigh of defeat and just like that the weight was lifted. While she still dreaded it she moved swiftly through the Tia down to the cargo hold.

Rig looked up in surprise when he saw Tepha instead of Silver but time was too tight to ask pointless questions. He needed help and she was hear to help, presumably.

"Alright here's what I need you to do. I need you to watch the pump lines while the tank deflates. We're going to go at maximum speed so a kink in the line could rupture very quickly from the pressure. Go over where you can see the lines and watch them like a hawk. If they budge at all give me a shout and I'll shut it off. Then we can resecure the line and continue pumping."

Tepha let out a sigh of relief knowing she wouldn't have to actually touch anything.


Rig finished securing the cargo in the fuel storage compartments, resealed the tanks and then began the fuel pumping process. The inflatable tank was gigantic at the moment and he could not see all the fuel lines it was hooked up to. He had secured the lines to the decking with a temporary adhesive but the pressures he was about to pump at can cause a line to kick and break loose. If it kinked it could rupture dumping processed fuel all over the cargo hold. All Tepha had to do was make sure everything stayed secure...

OOC: Adding another person and making a mechanics check to speed things along
08:52, Today: Gary 'Rig' Rigan rolled 11 using 2d6+3.  +2 edu +1 mechanics.

vrrrrrrrrr

Ledo's communicator is going off again.

Incoming from Starport Authority

Second Notice

Tiamat's Flight.  You have been scheduled for a departure window of 1039 AVD from Lane F8.  Please confirm you will be able to hit the mark.

Ledo hadn't responded to Authority yet.  If he doesn't answer soon, they might bump them to another window.

The computer flips on auto protocols.  Bars and graphs flash across the command screen too fast to count.

Please provide access code Commander Ledo Typhin.  The computer wants him to confirm his voice and passcode before it will continue the protocol review.

---

Tepha proves to be useful.  She signals Rig once, and early enough he can literally kick the kink out of the line without having to shut down.  He covers the hidden cargo hatch, locks it, and steps back as the tank begins to push forward and over the hatch door.

Eight minutes.  Tepha came through.  Or Rig did.

The tank is finishing.  Rig dials down the fuel intake speed and shuts the valve.

Done and done.

Now comes Engine pre-check.  Rig needs to motor to engineering. Time to see if his patches will hold.

He'll need to feed his auth code into the computer to start up the pre-flight check list.

What was his code again?

---

Ba bum-bump
Bum-bum ba bum-bump
C'mon Girl
Don't act all shy
We're in the dark
You'll do just fine
Gimme a chance
To lose your mind
Ba bum-bump
Bum-bum ba bum-bump

The Shake Tones thump along.  Underneath, Silver can hear the thrum of the engines warming up.  Here we go.

Her doob is all used up.  She reaches for another beer.  Shit.  Stupid can was too slippery.  It went all gravitational and landed on the floor.  Had she opened this can yet?

No.  It still looks good.  No foam spraying all over the floor.  Beer. Precious beer.

But the can is a real downer.  When she reaches for it, it slides right away again, this time going under the bed.  She reaches down.

Hmm.  There's something there.  Something not can like.  It feels more...box like.

Did she put a box under her bed?

---

Tepha watches Rig finish up.  Easy peasy.

A small sound catches her attention and she happens to glance towards the other end of the hold.

A young girl in a baggy sweater is coming through the door that leads to the cabins.  Tepha saw her earlier.  One of the high passengers.  Was this one Ada?  Or Sylvia?

And shouldn't she be in her cabin?

Ledo hits the comms for the port authority as soon as Rig sends the signal the cargo is secure.

"Ahh-firmative port authority. 1039 AVD from Lane 8. Confirmed. We will be departing on schedule, please advise."

As the computer begs a prompt he clears his throat. Time to make sure all that money paid to Minix was well spent.

"Ledo Alvo Typhin. Passcode Strend Nova."

His favorite tour of duty and the class of ship he first served on. Not the most obscure passcode but not entirely obvious either.

Rig was a creature of habit. After years of serving on different vessels on in the Merchant Marines he had developed a complex algorithm that was both nigh impossible to break and impossible for him to forget by this point.

He just took the Jump Drive Serial number, multiplied it by the year the ship was built, subtracted the year when he first stepped on board, divided that by the number of different coffee flavors available from the ship's cafeteria and then converted that into hexadecimal and repeated it just halving it for the second part.

"Gary Rigan. Authorization Two-One-Zed-Echo-Echo-Charlie-Delta-One-Two-One-Zed-Eight-Seven-Seven-Six-Six-Eight-Niner."

The math wasn't hard and the system had worked for him so far.

Silver gave a shrug and pulled out the box. She didn't remember putting a box here but this was her room now so if there is a box it must now be her box.

Giving it a look over assuming it didn't look trapped or explosive she would open it up and check out her new property more thoroughly.

Tepha called out. The liftoff alert lights were starting to flash. She was on her way to the bridge when she spied a wayward passenger.

"Ms. Antwhite! Ms. Antwhite! Please go back to your cabin. We're about to lift off. It's not safe to be walking around and we'll be locking down the cabins shortly and you don't want to be caught out of your room."

Inwardly she cursed the woman for delaying Tepha and making her go out of the way. She was excited to see the first liftoff of the Tia and she'd be damned if some spoiled brat or trophy wife made her miss it.

And then the ship blows up...

Just kidding.

Codes are so noted.

---

"I'm so sorry.  I got turned around.  The cabin's are back this way then?"

The younger Antwhite...Ada.  That's right.  Tepha recalls now.  This one is Ada...seems flustered.  She points in the direction of engineering.  Is the ship really so big as to be confusing?

---

The protocol checks finish their cycles.  The board by Ledo's elbow lights up.

Next to each inspection point is a blue light, indicating the system is checking.

If the point is cleared, the light goes green.  The light going yellow indicates an issue, but one more along the lines of 'deferred maintenance'.  The ship can still fly.  But it is definitely something to put on the 'to do' list.

A red light is an uh oh.  Depending on the issue, the system may abort take off.  The captain or the pilot can override the shut down.

Thankfully Ledo sees no reds.  Yellows.  Wow.  That is a lot of yellows.

Most of them seem to have to do with the electrical.  Rig's patches are holding but may not all be up to code.

There's a yellow on ventilation.  A tickler indicates contaminant detected. The auto-doc is pulling samples.  But this is almost always a yellow light.  The diagnostic is probably picking up rat feces or a roach nest.  Mankind can't get away from it's critters.

There is one yellow on structural integrity.  A flip through indicates the outer seal on the air lock door isn't hitting right.  The inner door is okay.  So it's not an issue.  But fixing that seal will need to be a priority.

There's a yellow on the low berth diagnostic too.  The readout doesn't give much details.  Just 'system leakage'.

Ledo will need to okay the protocols 'as is' so the VR Pilot can move to next stages.

---

The Shake Tones end. The music cycles into Midnite Soldiers.  The Archaeologist.

Baby
I been shiftin' through the desert sands
Baby
I been searchin' for my promised lands

Silver's new box is rather plain looking.  Metal.  And pretty cold to the touch.  There's a simple latch on one end.  Nothing gimmicky about it on the outside. A long cord runs out the back end.  But that just seems to be a splice into the power grid.  Whatever this is, it's live.

Baby
You're so mean to leave me all alone

The inside of the box is cushioned with an indention in the middle.  Under the cushion is a cryo-suspension unit.  A smaller version of the machinery keeping your low berth passengers nice and crispy.

Sitting on top of it, nestled all safe and sound in the indentation of the cushion, is a glass tube with a human finger.  It's a man's finger.  Thick and muscular.  Small tuffs of hair rise up the bottom knuckle.  It's probably a ring finger.  But there's no ring.  Just the finger.

C'mon Baby Girl
Lemme dig your bones
C'mon Baby now
Lemme dig your bones

---

Power plant...is on line.  Rig gets a more detailed version of the electronics checklist than Ledo got.  He knows the patches he made.  They'll hold.  He can work on getting them above code during Jump time.  It'll definitely be something to do while they all sit on their thumbs for a week.

The computer finishes the pre-check on the Jump drive.  It's pretty solid.  Both the drive and the checklist.

If nothing else, this ship seems to have kick ass safety software.

The M Drive checks come up.  Mostly greens.  A few yellows, mostly items he hadn't had a chance to get to yet.  But nothing that should be a problem.

Or, to put it more accurately, the chances of going Boom are pretty low.

There's an odd tapping noise coming from somewhere.  But it stops.  Maybe a rat in the vents.  Shit.  Is there ever a ship anywhere that doesn't have a rat or two?

The computer flashes.  M Drive is all ready to juice.

From here, once Ledo a-ok's the protocols, Rig will need to watch the power levels.  If anything goes wrong, it will be due to a wild fluctuation burning out one of his patches.

Nah.  That won't happen.  The patches will hold.

Right?

Just to recap...

Ledo needs to OK the protocols or needs to abort the launch so you can fix them.  I'm sure we know what he'll do.  But you do have the option.

Rig can make me an engineering roll.

Silver is on her own.

And Tepha just needs to get Ms. Ada back to her room.  It's on the way to her cabin anyway.

What could wrong with any of that.

Right?

Ledo taps down the list, overriding each issue one by one. If they were red there would be a lot more steps but for yellow the system just wanted to make sure that the pilot saw it and was aware of it before moving on.

The M-Drive came online and those fast-as-hell combat thrusters were showing good fuel feeds. Ledo was tempted to hit the gas on their way out just to try it out but he wasn't a teenager anymore. While it would be exciting he was old enough to realize that showboating like that would be a great way to get into serious trouble.

While technically the autopilot could handle everything on its own, Ledo took the controls in "assisted manual". He had waited a long time for a ship like this and he wanted to get a feeling for how the Tia flew.

Silver started giggling. She didn't touch the finger but did bring it up close to her face as she stared at it.

"Is that what that noise is? Your four little friends looking for you?"

She giggled again, closed the lid and slid it back into place. Drunk and high wasn't a good state of mind to handle something like that so she figured she would handle it once she came back down.

Besides one of her favorite songs was up next on the playlist...

Rig decided now would be a good time to fire up the virtual engineer program that the ship was loaded with. It wasn't the most cutting edge but it was a pretty decent diagnostic system. If one of his patches was going to blow hopefully the computer would be able to register the sudden change in resistance and reroute power so instead of a giant catastrophe it was just a minor annoyance.

At least that was the plan.

"Come on baby. You know you love me. You might be wired to shit and a big waste of money but I will get you the care you deserve."

It was Rig's ritual. Like talking to an animal he kept his voice steady and smooth. He was smart enough to know that talking to a machine wouldn't keep it from blowing up in their face but he also figured it couldn't hurt and if he was going to die in space he'd like to know that he tried everything first.

Tepha smiled and shook her head.


"No that way is off limits. Here, let me escort you to your quarters. And please, if you need anything just ring us first. These rides can get a little bumpy and we don't want any accidents happening so please, let us know what you need and we'll help you out. Okay? Okay."

Tepha road that line between being hospitality helpful while also stressing that she shouldn't be wandering around.

Alright.  Let's get this show on the road.

Ada nods and at least seems embarassed.  She'll probably be a good girl the rest of the trip.

Tepha leads her to her door and accepts her thanks just as a loud THUNK rings out through the ship.

"Oh!  We must be undocking!"  With a last wave, Ada rushes inside to enjoy the sight.

Tepha makes it to the bridge just as...

---

Ledo was aware Tepha had joined him.  But at that moment that feeling of weight came into the steering levers.  That oddly satisfying feeling of resistance.  Like moving them actually moved rods and pinions and turned the nose of the ship around.  He knew it was just the computer adding resistance so the pilot had a tactile gauge to go by.

But most pilots would say it felt good.

Incoming from Starpoint Authority.

Tiamat's Flight.  You are cleared to lift from dock.

Flight Path has been fed to your Systems.

On behalf of Karin HighPort Authority, we wish to thank you for your business.  We know you...

The ship begins to respond to Ledo's movements.

Per the flight plan, he eases backwards, down and at an angle of forty five degrees.  The station's hull slides across the view, getting further away.  Other ships still in dock.  The EVA crews in full suits scuttling over them and the station hull.  They all become more distant.

Then the nav-com flashes a course correction. Ledo can spin the ship around.

Slowly.  Very slowly.  The station falls from view.  At first to the left there is a growing, empty space.  But soon everything else falls away and there's only a sky filled with stars.

Tiamat's Flight is to proceed two parsecs straight ahead and then it can go where it will

...that's why we appreciate your business.

Did you know?  Karin Highport is rated number one in amenities in the Five Sisters quadrant.  That's right.  The next time you're in Karin, make sure to stop by and sample the finest in Imperium cuisine! Check out our many fine shops!  Tennis anyone?

Karin Highport has official sized courts with no waiting!  Real or virtual!  Our coaches are on hand to help your game!  That's why the next time you're at Karin Highport, make sure to...

---

...reserve your court time today!

The Highport's endless litany of advertisements beams down to Engineering as well.  Rig glances through the numbers.

<Gray>Line 12C...85%
Line 12U...43.2%

Rises along lines 202 to 207 by factors of 5.  Within parameters.

Line 12U...32.7%<Gray>

Why wasn't Line 12U holding a feed?

Rig switches the circuit to run along one of auxiliaries.  That fixes it.  The output to life support levels out.

Line 12U needs to be bumped to the head of the list.

But otherwise, the patches are holding.  The patches are holding just fine.

---

The hull is making that funny rocking motion that it always makes once acceleration starts.

Silver finishes another beer.  Overhead the projector has stopped the rain drops.  Now, little vines of various colored flowers are growing from the corners of the room, converging towards the center.

There's a noise of something outside.  Not the little tap tap taps from before. It sounds like footsteps.  But they stop and go back the way they came.  Then it's just the usual take off noises.

They are underway.

I'll let you handle any reactions you wish and then we'll get to the Jump point.  Let me know if there are any questions or concerns thus far.

Thanks

Ledo was grinning ear to ear as he took the controls. It was a nice easy first flight but that didn't take away the majesty of it for him. He had worked for the Empire for over two decades with little to show for it but some medals and a modest pension. This, this ship, this was what his life had been building towards. Everything else was just a prologue, a starting point for this chapter of his life.

Tepha could see the pride and joy in her boyfriend's face and she couldn't help but catch the same enthusiasm. A shiver of excitement passed over her as they left t he station behind. She had always flown with a passenger's vidscreen view but this, being on the bridge and hearing traffic control made it feel completely different. She was heady with the power. With a command they could change routes and go wherever in the universe they wanted to.

She walked over and hugged Ledo from behind, wrapping her arms around him and pressing herself against his shoulder. It was a magical moment and she was glad she could share it with someone special.

Rig let out a sigh of relief. He hated what Ledo had done, he still though the ship was a colossal waste of money compared to a nice new Far Trader but the Tia hadn't let him down. He would fix her, even if he had to replace every wire, every bolt, every transistor on the ship. He cursed Ledo a thousand times over the past week but what was done was done and he would be damned if he didn't make the best of it.

Silver strolled up into the cockpit and caught Ledo and Tepha kissing one another as the autopilot plotted them to their jump point. She held back some laughter and thought if she stayed quite and still if she would witness the captain "christening" his ship right then and there. The thought made her laugh out loud, breaking her stealthy approach.

Ledo jumped at the sudden noise. Silver was standing there...no swaying was a better description. Suddenly the magical moment had come to an end and his duties as captain and commander came roaring back into place. He reluctantly pushed Tepha away so he could stand up. The anger at Silver's behavior rising up like a tidal wave but years of command kept it in check. He would use every drop of that fury but he would do so strategically. He wouldn't be deploying it all in one explosive outburst but instead making Silver regret her poor choices over and over again.

"You. What the hell is wrong with you? Getting hammered before we're even off the ground? What would have happened if there was an emergency? That kind of behavior is unacceptable."