The captain's orders had specified that the Sharshana was to proceed to Mtensc via Sestos, and despite the fact that some of the crew might have preferred a stopover at a better-quality starport, the orders didn't leave room for that - not without a good justification, at least. The Mtensc rendezvous also effectively ensured that another stop along the way wasn't practical: the time taken for jump and refuelling would, all by itself, all but guarantee a late arrival with a third one added to the mix.

No matter. The jump went off without undue difficulties and the engineering and maintenance crew had an overflowing list of undue difficulties needing their attention. some things couldn't be fixed without a followup in the drydock, of course, but most of it was relatively minor and the needed parts were readily at hand.

The first order of business that was potentially tricky was the matter of medical examinations. Doctor Sauli had managed to put pretty much everyone on the schedule at some point during the week, thereby ensuring that the medical staff would be just as busy, and potentially wreaking mild havoc with everyone else's scheduling...



Dr. Sauli gets to play CEI-roulette as the first order of business during the jump: it's a standard CEI check for the crew's current capabilities: 2d6-1, and we'll see what happens.

Of course, if anyone objects to being given a routine examination, that could produce other complications...

This message was last edited by the GM at 11:45, Fri 07 Aug 2020.

For everyone else, if you'd like to outline what you're doing, whether as a matter of general routine, addressing specific issues, or arranging exercises for your poor, underworked departments, you can write that in too!

Lt Tsetsegmaa does what she can to be among the first to be checked by the doc. She fears that her health will deteriorate with time and stress, so she wants to have the green-light before fatigue takes its toll. She could always ask for stimulants later.

During the week-long travel, there is less to do than during the trials. She reminds Mammady Kaouthrak of his promise for a walk into the bowels of the ship, and dons  appropriate overalls to do so.

Also, she anticipates that the refuel at Sestos will be uneasy at it's class-D starport, so a gas-giant refuel would be relevant. We're still in the Zeng subsec, so no patrol required. [Plus, it's only a J-2 from Sestos to Mtensc, so we could refine half the fuel collected before the jump, and refine the other half during the jump. OOC I'd like to know if the rules allow for that]

Also, the supply ship at Mtensc can wait!
So focus on the wilderness refuel procedure. She has the team check and re-check the fuel scoops, pumps and storage. When it's all good, she informs the captain that it's ready for testing, and respectfully suggests that he does so instead of refueling at Sestos starport, and asks what his intention are (in that order).
This message was last edited by the player at 18:19, Mon 10 Aug 2020.

Jacqueline was noticeably nervous during the first Jump. This would be the first time working under the Captain's supervision, and if she screwed up in front of him she would all but die of embarrassment. The jump was routine, but there was always the chance for something to go wrong, and she was hugely relieved when she executed the jump successfully.

She busied herself with her calculations and research on their planetary destinations. She put off her physical as long as she dared; the shy Jacqueline found them embarrassing, even though she knew Doctor Sauli. Eventually she did go in for her physicals as she didn't want the Captain to find out and give her a reprimand.

While the Captain was adamant of making sure all the subordinates were getting to their physicals, his procedure kept getting postponed or delayed. There was always some important briefing, a critical report, or "chatting with the Admiralty" that needed to be accomplished resulting in him no-showing or rescheduling the appointment.

In the meantime in between standard operations he was pulling local news and media, where available, for the systems they were going to be patrolling. He was scanning through them looking for any high profile targets that were timely enough that might warrant a shifting of the navigation schedule.

Once the ship goes into Jump Hrolf locks the control panel down and spends the rest of the week working simulations.  He's one of the first for his physical out of boredom as well as one of the first to try out the physical exercise facilities.

He reaches out to Lt Tsetsegma and offers to work with her engineering team on the frontier refueling drills.  His own efforts will need to coordinate with those of the black gang.

Hrolf asked Jacqueline if she wanted to work out together in the ship's gym.

     Ishakhi is in one of the medical exam rooms, standing next to the exam table, wearing one of the yellow two-piece exam gowns, when Dr. Lassila steps through the automatic door.

     Ishakhi assumed a more upright stance,

     "Doctor." Ishakhi says, with a slight nod of his head.

     "Relax, Lieutenant." the Doctor says, smiling, as he looks at the tablet he's holding, "No need for Vilani formality with your Doctor."

     Ishakhi silently nods acknowledgement, but his stance doesn't relax.

     "I suppose it will be no surprise to an ex-fighter pilot like you, that you are in excellent health, you've ranked in the top twenty percentile in all physical and cognitive tests.  You are, of course, certified for duty."

     "But, before you go, I'd like to record a few observations about your old injuries, if I may?"

     Ishakhi stiffens slightly, "Is that really necessary, Doctor?  Can't you get the information you need from scans?"

     "Of course most of the data needed has been scanned, but we're also recording personal observations, as well as your comments.  So, shirt off, please, Lieutenant."

     The Doctor watches as Ishakhi reaches behind himself to unfasten the adhering strips, and then pulls the exam top forward, over his shoulders and down his arms--watching carefully for any sign of hesitation or pain, as Ishakhi removes the garment.  Once off, Ishakhi tosses the garment top onto the exam table, and then faces Dr. Lassila.

     The Doctor looks Ishakhi over, noting that the skin of his left arm, from shoulder to elbow, as well as all the skin on the left side of his torso, shoulder to waist, front and back, is almost a whole shade paler than the rest of his skin--though the sparse body hair appears to be of an even density, across his chest and back.

     "Any pain?  Muscle aches?  Differences in skin condition between your original dermis or the cloned tissue?" the Doctor asks.

     "No.  Not since the original procedure."

     "Any issues with maintaining muscle mass?  Do the muscles develop at the same rate, when you exercise?"

     "No problems with either."

     "And, I see you still haven't replaced your left nipple, Lieutenant.  Is there a reason for that?"

     "After my Vampire exploded, the procedure I underwent on the hospital ship focused solely on replacing the damaged tissues--only what was needed for functionality was replaced.  And on a man..."

     Ishakhi smiles for the first time since the Doctor entered,

     "...Nipples aren't very functional."

     "But, after all these years, you could have had cosmetic surgery?  It would be a simple enough procedure, surely?"

     "It's not an issue, Doctor.  It doesn't bother me." Ishakhi shrugs, "Are we finished, now?"

     Ishakhi reaches for the exam tunic...

Before the end of the jump, Mammady turned up at Lt Tsetsegema's door and leads her down into the bowels of the ship including the ridiculously cramped spaces around the J Drive and even, if she was ready to follow, into the airducts.  He showed her the quickest ways around the ship and pointed out the various places one could get into and out of the airducts without being seen by any of the sensors.

In the quietest (for which read noisiest) place he could find, namely the very centre of the life support system, he explained how this would be useful in the event the vessel was ever boarded.  If that happened, it might well be that it would be for the two of them, plus Colonel BS, to restore order and proper control to the ship, preferably without letting anyone know how they'd done it.  A reputation for magical abilities could never go amiss.

In reply to Mammady Kaouthrak (msg # 8):

Iita brushes the speckles of rust off her overalls. She's tired, bruised by bumping on the airducts where the three-foot-tall Suerrat had walked with ease, and is also perspiring thanks to the heat produced by the life-support systems. However, she's also beaming with pleasure.

"Barack allahou fik, MaHmmady", she ventures over the noise. "This is exactly what I wanted : an inside knowledge of the ship! You said you've been onboard Sharshana for 8 years? I spent most of my life in stations and ships, so I'm not claustrophobic... but now I'm lost..." She changes the subject, as she points and waves : "Look how we can see behind the scene, here... Look at this pipe, how rusted and twisted and unhinged it is... leaking... and that dirty cable shielding eaten away by rats. Nothing serious I hope, but nobody cleaned here since AGES."

"Oh forget the magic and the secrets ! Those passageways info have to be shared with the Colonel, and his most trusted agents, and the Marines commander and his crew - they could turn this into an impregnable molehill! The XO and even the captain, if they are interested. PLUS - security going both ways - if an alien, a lifeform, or a saboteur breaches in and hides, we know where to flush it out! All those concerned with security might want to establish plans..."

Lost in her thoughts, Iita unconsciously reaches out to pet the back of the neck of the Suerrat...
This message was last edited by the player at 19:46, Tue 11 Aug 2020.

Mammady shakes his head.  "No, not the Marines.  The colonel yes but this works best when it's not widely known.  It's not as impregnable as it seems and even if it was, it could become a death trap if it was ever widely known that people were using them in this way.  We should invite the Colonel but if he thinks we should invite the Marines, then let's leave it to him."

                                      *******

Later, Mammady reports to sick bay for his medical, saying, "Doctor, I believe I am a perfectly healthy specimen of Suerrat manhood but I understand that the Captain Baron wishes us all to report, so here I am."

A week in jump gave the Gunnery Department time to remediate a number of issues and engage in some sim training as well.  Dinsha wasn't a task master on these matters however and made sure that gun-crews were able to rest during the transit.  There was nothing to shoot at in jump space and now was the time to keep her teams occupied, but not overworked.  Once they returned to normal space, her crews would be on watch and she needed them fresh and ready for action.

"good point, MaHmmady. But if we do it seriously, and install here a bypass of your bridge control panel - and mine - all in secret, we risk being court-martial-ed when (and not if) it's discovered by our excellent teams. On one hand, the captain should know about this last-refuge control center. OTOH, the captain and his secrets would be the prime target of enemy psionics... We'll let CSO Sun advise us. I suggest you bring him here when he has got time, and afterwards we'll arrange a meeting between the three of us"
This message was last edited by the player at 12:13, Thu 13 Aug 2020.

In reply to Hrolf Standarsson (msg # 6):

Sure, if you like, as long as you can stand me making a fool out of myself. There's no way I can keep up with you"
This message was last edited by the player at 07:14, Thu 13 Aug 2020.

Hrolf shook his head slowly.  "It's not a matter of keeping up with me or anyone else Jacqueline but keeping up with yourself.  It's more... ákvörðun... as my mother would say... determination."  Still he pauses for a moment and considers.  "We can work out early, before breakfast and have the officer's gym to ourselves I think.  We can work blades as well if you like.  They have a nice selection of training weapons in the armory we can utilize."

The Captain-Baron, despite early on appearing to rule with an iron first, shows a considerable amount of latitude in the direction the department heads towards their group. The impression is that as long as the ship is performing optimally he doesn't really care how an officer runs their department.

That being said he does try to take the time every now and then to meet one-on-one with his senior officers to address any complaints they might have.

OOC: Feel free to shoot me a PM if you want to have a private chat with the captain.

"I'll give it a try, see you there" Jacqueline said with a smile, but squeaked "Oh no, I'm not swordfighting you." That definitely wouldn't be a fair contest!

Hrolf chuckled.  "We can just work out then Jacqueline, maybe sparring later."  He glanced at the chronometer.  "Are you free around 2100?  The gym should be more open then."

"I am free then, I'll be there. I can't promise anything impressive, but I'll do my best."
This message was last edited by the player at 08:24, Mon 07 Sept 2020.

Hrolf smiled slightly.  "I'll see you at the gym then, 2100."  With that matter settled Hrolf turned back to the business of working through some of the astrogration simulations that he'd started to study.

As Dr. Sauli has not responded or logged in for a while...


Medical exams were rarely something that anyone looked forward to - unless it gave them an out from some even less desirable duty - but if they were a necessary evil, they were at least conducted efficiently on the Sharshana. No one was going to be calling the record books, but the medical staff had acclimated themselves to the ship and facilities very quickly, and the rest of the crew benefitted from that.

If being out of the exam and back to regular duties could be construed as a benefit, anyway!


CEI result: 10.

If someone wants to have something unexpected turn up during their exam, message me about it. Otherwise it can be assumed that you got a more-or-less clean bill of health, existing issues notwithstanding.

Hrolf's examination went smoothly.  He did bring up the extensive regeneration treatment he'd undergone in his first tour of duty following a serious fighter craft accident.  He'd been fully repaired in a naval hospital but bore significant scars around his upper torso.