Mission Day:  21

ECEI:          6
Morale:        7
Supplies:    66%


So far, so uneventful.

Relatively speaking, that is.

Sestos was a backwater system, and Mtensc is no different. If anything, it's even more of a backwater, with a tiny 'port town' population and not much else to recommend it. Nevertheless, the system acts as a strategic Jump-2 link between three different subsectors, giving it greater importance than its minimal population and nigh-nonexistent industry would imply.

It's important for another reason right now: it's the site of your scheduled rendezvous with the supply vessel INS Shuuursima Ki, a naval logistics ship. The bad news is that your last jump cut it a bit close and the Sharshana lingered in jump space more than half a day longer than average. The good news - if you can call it that - is that there is no immediate, annoyed hail from the supply ship calling you out for the slight mismatch in schedule.

Actually, there's no hail from the Shuuursima Ki at all, though the first-glance sensor readouts of the system, port, and traffic don't indicate anything unusual.

Maybe the Shuuursima Ki is also running a bit late?

[Command Bridge, INS Sharshana.  Sestos Star System.]

     Ishakhi had been getting his unit ready for the UNREP--Underway Replenishment--activities a full 26 hours before the announced drop from Jump Space.

     At the predicted time, Ishakhi is on the Command Bridge, supervising the two techs manning the sensor stations assigned to Near Space Traffic Control.  When data from the passive sensors assigned to Traffic Control start displaying data, just a few moments after the transition back into "normal" space, Ishakhi looks it over, and frowns.

     Ishakhi taps the comm-dot behind his right ear,

     "Traffic Control to Main Bridge.  Our passive sensors are reporting no traffic within our range.  Repeat, no space traffic within view of our short range passive sensors.  Requesting permission to go to full active sensors for Near Space Traffic Control.  To You."


OOC: "Shuuursima Ki"?  Two "S"s, three "U"s, and a silent "Q"!!  Now that's a f**ked-up Vilani name, if I ever heard one!  Which...y'know...nobody has ever heard the Vilani language, so...
This message was last edited by the player at 06:08, Mon 31 Aug 2020.

Hrolf looked back at the captain. "We have no hails from our unrep ship.  Request permission to go active sir to pulse the transponders."

At her station and surrounded by her papers and tablets, Jacqueline looked worried as she watched the Sharshana leave jump space. There was trouble caused by the time spent in jump space, and it was quite possible someone could blame the astrogator. But she'd done her job correctly... she picked up one of her tablets and began scrolling through her calculations, nervously double-checking them. Yes, she'd done her job correctly. So where was the supply ship? "It's conceivable the supply ship had issue with their jump" she said softly.

Mammady has a sudden thought and moves toward the comms station. "Let me check whether the issue is with our own comms systems". he says.

11:29, Today: Mammady Kaouthrak rolled 5 using 2d6.  Electronics (Comms) check. Oops

The Baron-Captain gave the nod to Kimpasherki.

"Permission granted. Let's see what's out there and see if anyone scatters before the might of the Imperium."

In reply to Baron Thenroy Reziilka (msg # 6):

     Back in the Command Bridge, Ishakhi nods in satisfaction after hearing the Captains' order.  Ishakhi take a short step forward, closer to his two Techs, then leans down between them,

     "Alright, Gentles, we are go for Active Sensors." Ishakhi says in a quiet, even tone,

     "Go ahead and fire up everything under our control.  Light up anything out there, within five-hundred kilometers, that has relative motion on it!  All the way down to the tiniest grain of dust!  I want vectors on everything out there--where it's coming from, where it's going to--even what it had for lunch!  Get me everything."

     "Now, please, Gentles," Ishakhi orders firmly, as he straightens back up, "Quickly and Professionally, if you please."

     Ishakhi then brings up his tablet, makes a few selections, then reaches up and, again, taps the comm-dot behind his right ear,

^{COMM START >>>} "Traffic Control One to Hanger Operations Crews.  You are now cleared to begin preparations for UNREP.  Repeating.  Hangar Operations Crews are cleared to begin preparing for UNREP operations.  Traffic Control One, out." ^{<<< COMM END}

Hrolf shook his head slowly and replied to Jacqueline. "Let's hope they are just lying doggo somewhere behind an asteroid playing a bit of a war game with us."

When the order was given to go active Hrolf readied himself at the control in case they flushed something out that required chasing.

The Sharshana's sensor systems go live, bringing in a stream of new data for the computers and crew to analyze, and while most of this relates to the local astrography, a few ships do appear more clearly on the monitors.

There are a couple of system defense boats, one X-boat, and two small freighters in the general area; another small freighter and a mercenary cruiser are detected somewhat further away but still within Mtensc's limit. One of then nearby freighters makes a small but noticeable course adjustment a few moments after the sensors go active, though this appears to be merely to avoid a too-close approach to the cruiser on its way to the jump limit.

It doesn't take too long for a hail to come in from the downport, welcoming the ship and making a routine inquiry as to its needs and intentions.

The X-boat sends a friendly 'salute' by comm, as do the system defense boats. So does the further tramp freighter that's just making its descent to the planet - apparently its captain is retired navy!

There's nothing overtly suspicious in any of this... but there's also no immediate sign of the supply ship. If it's hiding somewhere then you'll have to work the sensors and analyze the telemetry for a while or simply go looking, unless the downport or one of the other ships happens to have information. Conducting inspections, either as a pretext or an aside is, of course, always an option.

These approaches may also involve character and/or CEI checks, of course!
This message was last edited by the GM at 07:31, Thu 03 Sept 2020.

In reply to Gvoellaekh (msg # 9):

OOC:  A Question.  The first post, up there, does imply, but does not clearly state that we have hailed the Shuuursima Ki, upon our arrival in-system.  So, to be clear, have we called out to the Shuuursima Ki, or have we not?  Maybe she's running silent?  Hiding, for some reason, and without her active sensors, doesn't know we're even here, yet?
     Let's crank up the Power on this Pig, and give the Shuuursima Ki a system-wide Shout Out!  ^_^

With passive and trying to stay out of sight you may not have (unless you'd actually spotted it), but you'd certainly be doing so now with sensors going full active and both them and your transponder all but screaming your presence. It would be very unusual for a naval vessel not to respond with an IFF signal even if it's otherwise running silent.

Reziilka frowns when the report comes back that the Shuuursima Ki isn't waiting for them. He rubs the traces of stubble that had started to grow since his morning shave.

"The command report clearly said that we would be met here by the supply ship. Sensors, keep sweeping. Look for anything that might have missed our arrival but expand the sweep to also look for residual debris that might indicate a fight. Unlikely we'll detect something but it is worth a scan."

He put in a series of requests to the system defense boats and local government.

"This is Captain Reziilka of the INS Sharshana. We were supposed to rendezvous with a naval supply ship in system. Has there been any records of a ship called the Shuuursima Ki? Has there been any recent signs of battle or pirate activity?"

Perhaps their pirate hunting would start a bit early. Reziilka was not one to let a pirate bloody the nose of the Imperium without swift and brutal reprisal.

"I don't think the Captain will be at all amused if that's what the supply ship did" Jacqueline said quietly to Hrolf. But what else could have happened to it?

The replies come fairly quickly from the patrol boats and traffic control: there certainly hasn't been any battle here for a long time, and no confirmed pirate attacks in the while either, although there was was one suspicious incident in the outer system a week ago. Apparently there was an attempted intercept of one ship by another, but the reporting ship jumped out to avoid contact and what was presumed to be the intercepting ship jumped out soon after that.

The reporting ship was a detached-duty scout, but it isn't clear where they jumped to, and there hasn't been enough time for word to come back from wherever that might be. No meaningful details on the intercepting vessel, although the Shuuursima Ki probably wouldn't have behaved like that. The logs and sensor traces are transmitted for analysis. If nothing else, intel will appreciate the extra data points.

In fact, the Shuuursima Ki hasn't put in any appearances as far as the system authorities are aware. After a few minutes of back-and-forth between people at the downport and between them and the Sharshana, it's confirmed that the Shuuursima Ki was scheduled to arrive a couple of days ago; the port surmises that it's probably just running late on its route.

The downport would struggle to resupply a cruiser on its own but its recreational services are available for leave if the Sharshana intends to wait, and in the meantime a robust presence conducting inspections would calm any nerves over the outsystem incident. If the captain would be willing to send a delegation to meet with the local authorities regarding the aquifer situation, well, that would be appreciated too...



We'll need a CEI check for the sensor sweep and confirming/analyzing the details provided by the starport.

Jacqueline's post makes her the most relevant officer for this task: 2d6 - 1.

Brilliant strategies from others may be able to assist that, but from this point on CEI assist attempts will be judged by formal naval standards...

This message was last edited by the GM at 22:55, Sat 05 Sept 2020.

Hrolf nodded to Jacqueline and returned her whisper.  "There are a lot of politics going on around our voyage.  It could be some faction at HQ or in the nobility messing with us to make us look bad.  It would be like that buoy that was sabotaged during our trials.  They could have the Shuuursima hide from us as an 'exercise' which has no upside as we are assumed to be able to find a simple logistics ship.  If we fail we look bad and will have trouble continuing the mission.  Or maybe they were deliberately delayed to slow us down and force our hand?  Or... misjumps do occasionally happen..." Hrolf let that thought trail off.

As the reports continued to roll in Hrolf speaks up.  "If the Shuuursima is exercising us by hiding or if they suffered some kind of causality we should use the small craft to aid our sensor sweep.  It would also aid us in conducting inspections and showing the flag sir."

Jacqueline began working on her console to execute the sweep. "We'll see what's out there, sir" she said evenly. Calm and efficient, that's what I want to project. If only I felt that way They'd been ordered to rendezvous with the supply ship, so there was no option but to wait for it. Hopefully, it would turn up sooner rather than later.

00:55, Today: Jacqueline Yune rolled 10 using 2d6-1.  Sensors.

[oups, wanted to post this in the OOC thread] :/



Well, I like learning things about the universe through playing :) How does one know that a ship has jumped?
Does it leave traces?
Can a ship simulate jumping, but in fact staying and hiding? :)
Can one analyze the jump traces and guess where the ship went, like in the Elite videogame? :)



an interesting choice for our captain... diplomacy or patrol? Diplomacy might prevent conflict and reduce future patrol needs... ;)
This message was last edited by the player at 17:59, Tue 08 Sept 2020.

The thought of sabotage was ever present on the mind of the Baron-Captain. As much as he seemed the zealot of the might of the Imperium as a noble he understood and respected the power games that were played under the scenes. Everyone thought they could do it better and stabbing a rival in the back ultimately would strengthen the Imperium. He wasn't aware of any rivals with that kind of influence but the problem with power is that there was always someone rising up wanting to claim it.

Sub-Lieutenant Standarsson, put together a sweep with the small craft. If this is a test I don't want to waste any time. We will run a patrol of the system and see if this is just another exercise.

In the meantime I expect the data of this potential pirate activity to be analyzed. If the pirates did cut and run I want to know what systems were their next jump. We might not catch them now but if they're heading to our patrol route we might be able to track them down later on.

If all else fails we will continue on without a resupply and log that the Shuuursima Ki failed to rendezvous and I will have command arrange another resupply during our patrol."

From his toneReziilka seemed more irritated than anything else. It was clear that he did not suspect that the supply ship had been captured or destroyed. It likely was just another test or a display of incompetence by the other crew. It is possible it was just an accident but that was why you held your crew to higher than expected standards so there was that buffer in case something did go wrong.

Hrolf nodded to the captain in acknowledgement of the order.  "Aye, aye Captain, I will work out a plan."  While not the most senior officer aboard by any means but granted authority by the captain Hrolf thought for a moment.  "Lt Yune, you have the touch for sensor data along with navigational expertise.  As part of the investigation can you pull up the sensor data we have from Mtensc Control on the suspicious ships and run it through the processing algorithms?  There may be data on the flight paths or other activities that we can glean that might help with our larger sweep or at least provide later information on where ever the targets of interest may have Jumped."

He turned back to his navigational display and motioned to Jacqueline.  "As well Lt Yune, perhaps you might provide some advice on the navigational complexities of a proper sensor sweep with the small craft.  Let me contact Lt Kimpasherki and see how he wants to proceed.  We can act as the hammer to his anvil so to speak on a sweep." 

Keying the comm Hrolf addressed Lt. Kimpasherki's specific comm device. "Lt Kimpasherki, I've been ordered by the captain to coordinate with you to work up a small craft.  Can you come to the bridge?  I have Lt Yune standing by as well to aid in the navigational plotting needed."

The Sharshana and its small craft sweep around Mtensc in formation, holding to it with such precision that the locals might well be forgiven for thinking that it was an parade or vid piece rather than a sensor operation!

What all of the data ultimately confirms for you is that the Shuuursima Ki is definitely not hiding anywhere near Mtensc, and probably not anywhere else in the system. Nor is there any sort of debris that would indicate the loss of a significant vessel.

All of this points to one conclusion: the Shuuursima Ki is late. Not yet worryingly late - getting a few days behind schedule does happen, sometimes even for good reasons - but it leaves you, for the moment, without a supply ship to rendezvous with!

Even if it wasn't intentional, you put on a good show at Mtensc. That will count toward mission visibility as long as nothing happens to spoil the impression!

"Of course, I'll do all I can" Jacqueline said to Hrolf when he asked for advice on how best to navigate the small craft for the sensor sweep. She took her tablets and moved to assist in the sensor sweep. When that was completed, she worked on analyzing the data on the suspicious ships, although she looked over at the Captain nervously once or twice; she wasn't at all certain she could find the information he was looking for.

Hrolf kept his eyes on the instruments as Jacqueline and the others worked busily.  After a long search he turned to the captain.  "Sir, it looks like the Shuuursima Ki is definitely late.  Shall we make course for the mainworld and do what resupply we can in the meantime?"

Captain Reziilka's mood grows darker as more and more evidence points towards incompetence as opposed to entanglement with enemies of the Imperium. They had a schedule to keep and he was not keen on suffering delays before their mission had even started!

"Sub Lieutenant Standarsson, lay in a course for the planet. We will put into orbit and take on whatever supplies they have on hand. I will meet with the local leaders as before to see if there is any additional information they can provide about threats in the local area."

His voice was harsh, practically barking out the commands as he rattled them off.

"Lieutenant Kimpasherki, we will likely need the utility craft for use in bringing up supplies from the planet. They won't have sufficient supplies in the port but we will take them from wherever we can within reason.

Lieutenant Tsetsegma, adjust your repairs accordingly. Put together a priority list of supplies. We need to know what is critical that we are missing versus standard regulations. No need to raise an alarm if we haven't been issued our allotment of bayonets but if there are reactor parts we need raise the alarm. If you can consider looking at alternative sources for the parts. Perhaps a part is also used in local industry and could be acquired there. Lieutenant Kaouthrak will assist the Chief Engineer in salvage and re-prioritization. Inventory the ship and identify what we can salvage internally and from where and still maintain combat readiness. If we have to pull back ups and redundancies to repair primary systems then so be it."

He paused and his tone lightened up a bit as he issued his final order.

"Sublieutenant Yune, I will be informing High Command of the Shuuursima Ki's failure to report. I will be requesting another supply ship be sent so review our route and inform me where and when I should make the request for supplies. I do not wish to delay the start of our patrol and would rather wait in the systems we have been dispatched to protect.

Commander Gvoellaekh, if anything of note happens I will be in my office. The bridge is yours."

With the orders given and command issued, Reziilka stood up, straightened his jacket and stormed off towards his quarters to get the Admiralty on the line.

The reply from Lieutenant Tsetsegma comes quickly, meaning she has given it a thought before. It comes as a video file and the other officers are in copy.

"Captain, our ship is designed for long range mission, and our supply is down only on average to 66%, after 3 weeks of travel. I recently ordered an inventory, and it turns out we're not missing strategic supplies nor parts. Meaning we could - theoretically - travel another 6 weeks without needing to resupply (except fuel, of course).

Mtensc is a backwater world with a population of 10,000 and a tech level of 8 and  little industry or economic activity" she recited. "Apart from the fuel, my opinion is that we'll waste our time looking for resupply here, and waste more time bringing it to and through the class-D starport.

Our best supply planet in the area, and I mean it in a "living on the land"/civilian/survivor mode, is Tuwayk. It looks like another backwater world, dry and hot, but

• it has a class-B starport for our repairs and maintenance
  On Tuwayk, 500 millions inhabitants live in climate-controlled cities with
• standard Imperial TL,
• biologic research centers,
• and the infrastructure is good.

So,

• good workers,
• large workforce,
• modern tech,
• friendly culture,
• democracy so maybe not much corruption...

They could produce what we need with our blueprints, were we to miss specific Naval spare parts.

The only issue with resupplying at Tuwayk may be political, as Tuwayk depends on Trin of Trin's Veil subsec."

Iita concluded with the usual humble reservations that she would welcome any complementary data and validation from the astrogation department, and did the required salutations.
This message was last edited by the player at 16:54, Wed 16 Sept 2020.

Gvoellaekh only had one point of concern, or at least only one point of concern that he chose to raise openly. "Sir. How long are you willing to wait for the Shuuursima Ki?"

     Back in the Command Bridge, supervising Traffic Control, Ishakhi reaches up to lightly tap the lightweight comm-headset snugged into his right ear,

     "Affirmative, Captain." Ishakhi replies, "Currently only the three Boats which are designed for exclusive use in fuel gathering and disbursement are ready to transport fuel.  Six Boats are configured for Materiel transport, and two are configured for Personnel transport.  Boat Eleven...Sir, Boat Eleven is still off the Flight List, and is currently being used as a test bed for a sensor enhancement project myself and the Chief Engineer are working on."

     "We sent a project proposal to your Inbox, Captain--but, now that I think about it, I don't recall that we placed any kind of priority flag on the file, so you may not have reviewed it, yet.  Sir."

     "I can reconfigure any of the remaining eight boats to also act as fuel carriers, if you wish to prioritize refueling over general resupply, but doing so will require about four hours of down-time per Boat.  And we really should keep at least one Boat for Personnel transport, just in case there is a need for someone to go down to the planet."

     Ishakhi pauses for a moment, considering the possibility of raising Captain the Baron's ire by offering an opinion--but quickly decides to do so, anyways...

     "Also, Captain, as the officer who usually has to move all our supplies around, I concur with the Chief Engineer's assessment concerning going to Planet Tuwayk for full resupply."

     "With the exception of fuel and consumable supplies, Planet Mtensc can't offer us anything like the kinds of parts and equipment we need.  Sir, the native manufacturing infrastructure on Mtensc--what there is of one--can't even provide replacement power packs for our vacc suits!  Just about everything we do need will be imported items, down there.  And while we do have some influence over price, with our Imperial Navy Fiat, anything other than fuel and edibles will still be high priced."

     "Respectfully, Captain, Chief Engineer Tsetsegma's suggestion about Planet Tuwayk is pretty solid.  Sir."

Hrolf looked up as the captain gave his order.  "Setting course for mainworld, aye sir."  Now that a decision was made Hrolf's fingers danced over the controls as he laid in a minimum time course to the planet at 6G burn.  If nothing else they would show the locals what a naval cruiser could manage.

Jacqueline looked thoughtful and tapped out several options on her tablets. "The naval base at Evet's World is only one jump away at J-4, but if we're moving further along on our patrol route, any ship they'd send would have to catch up to us. It's probably best to send word ahead to the base at Saguenay, sir; they are two jumps away at J-4, but we're moving towards them on our patrol route. Of course, it's all dependent on having a courier to send. We're well off the X-boat routes here. There aren't many options beyond that. Every other naval base, Trin for example, is further away and we can't be guaranteed an available supply ship without a naval base. There's a scout base at Nouakchat, but I doubt they'd be able to help us yet. There's supposed to be another resupply opportunity at Nouakchat, but that won't be for a couple of months, probably too late for this purpose." She called up a map, highlighting the Evet’s World, Nouakchat and Saguenay systems. She was about to continue, but looked up and hesitated a long moment. She did not want to do anything wrong in front of the captain, and was nervous about offering her opinion. Frankly, she'd just wait for the Ki to turn up, since it was probably just delayed, but she wasn't going to second-guess the captain. “I, I tend to concur on the desirability of moving to Tuwayk for resupply, Captain” she said softly, looking down at the floor. “There are no real facilities in this system, and there's been some complaints by the locals about the aquifer situation; they might not be happy with us taking too many supplies. ”

"We will give them a week. Enough time that if this is a simple case of delays or a bad jump then they should still be able to rendezvous. Beyond that it puts our patrol at risk and we will have to adjust our plans accordingly."




The Baron scowled and rubbed his chin before giving a nod.

"Noted. We will get an inventory from local depots just in case but if our Chief Engineer says there aren't any critical supplies missing then there is no need to drain the locals."

He paused, continuing to rub his chin before glancing upwards in thoughtful pose.

"If we are stuck waiting in system anyway we can at least assess the local aquifer situation. It isn't something the Navy should dirty its hands with but given this is a new crew we will classify it as a training exercise. At the very least it will keep the crew busy while we wait for our supply ship and disguise the fact that there is a disruption in the logistics chain."

[OOC : IIRC, we already were near the Mtensc planet. So a 6G acceleration would bring us to the starport in a few hours, not days]

After listening to the Captain's orders, Iita went again through the library data about Mtensc. Then she spoke to the computer :
"Computer, get ready to record the new episode of "STEFAN-DB : Shasharna's Techs and Engineers, Now Another Daily Briefing!""
The video was already nicknamed "Not Another Dumb Briefing" by the crew, as it was designed to be both informative and entertaining.
But the Chief Engineer changed her mind. "No, hold that. Open a channel to the captain-baron."

She then addressed the Baron Reziilka in person, or his answering avatar : "Captain, regarding how we could help to solve the water shortage on the planet ; according to the library, when the authorities petitioned the Duke of Zeng, he sent a small scientific team who conducted, or is still conducting, research into the situation and possible remedies. Sir, we could immediately work towards the implementation phase of their recommendations, if we could lay our hand on their report, or their preliminary conclusions."

She implied for the Baron to tell her who should communicate this request to the local government, then added :
"Excuse me, captain, could you please specify if by the week you want us to wait for the supply ship, you mean

• one week from now
• or one week from the moment she was supposed to arrive into the system, two days ago?"

"The Engineering Department would like to know the time allotted to a project before initiating it", she added.
This message was last edited by the player at 14:09, Thu 17 Sept 2020.

"One week starting now."

He seemed frustrated and for a second doubt seemed to flash across his face but it was quickly buried and he nodded as if re-affirming his answer to himself as much as to the rest of the crew.

Iita cursed. Typical male behavior : you try to be subtle, and they don't take the cue. You talk about two subjects, and they remember only one!

Now, the captain didn't explicitly forbid early contacts regarding the former scientific team research, did he? Who should the Chief Engineer request to ask for news about that team? The shy, reserved Astrogator, or the boasting pilot, whose main interest in visiting worlds seemed to be to explore every local pub?

And why not make her problem someone else's problem?

She pressed the call button to the captain again, and with an innocent face she asked :
"Thank you captain. Now... I'm not yet used to the 'who does what' with my new colleagues... and I would need your advice regarding etiquette. Could you please tell me who, among our officers, I should ask to convey the request of the previous scientific team's progresses?. This will require some diplomacy and ease of navigating through the labyrinth of the local hierarchy..."

Of course, she eventually meant him.
There.

The Sharshana moved into position in orbit of Mtensc, near to but not directly over the downport so as to facilitate launch transit without impeding local traffic - while, not coincidentally, also being well-positioned to scrutinize that local traffic.

The following day and a half is a mix of waiting for most, shore leave for a few, and diplomatic and scientific work for an equally scant number. The research team that had been dispatched by the duke in response to Mtesnc's petitions has been at work for some time, but with little more than token funding and a lack of direction hasn't been able to achieve much; the arrival of the Sharshana not only presents an opportunity for the local leadership to register further complaints about the situation, but for the team to make at least a modicum of progress; if they could find another suitable aquifer - ideally in the vicinity of the existing downport - then it would relieve much of the stress on the present one, but without high-quality sensor equipment it's a difficult task.

The Sharshana has high-quality sensor equipment and a recently-developed 'sensor net' protocol. Time to put those to the test. A thorough orbital lithoscan would be a lengthy process, and even a low-resolution map of Mtensc's current sub-surface conditions will take several days, but the Sharshana appears to have those to spare.

That operation is about half way done when a long-overdue (at least it feels long) jump-ripple is accompanied by the appearance of a transponder signal that you've all been waiting for: the Shuuursima Ki, just over two days late, but apparently none the worse for wear.

Whether this event is greeted with relief or by a captain's florid outburst remains to be seen, but it seems that you'll soon find out as the Shuuursima Ki signals the Sharshana, requesting communications.

Jacqueline filled her time with assisting on the scientific work, although it was hardly her area of expertise, and trying to wrangle a seat on one of the ships going down to the planet, either shore leave or as part of the diplomatic team. It was a terrible waste to come all this way and not set foot on the surface. When she received the signal that the Ki had come in, she tapped out an intercept course on one of her tablets and sent it to Hrolf, with an additional note that it was just advice. She was trying to help, not tell him how to do his job. She tried not to show how relieved she was that the Ki was here. "Well, that will save a lot of trouble."

The captain gives the nod to accept communication. Despite the frustration of dealing with a late ship in all fairness it hadn't been too late. Nothing beyond a bad jump and while the Baron would never admit it, a couple days delay was a lot easier to handle than fighting with the admiralty and coordinating another rendezvous.

Hrolf brought the ship smartly into orbit and set the anchor watch once they were stable.  He spent some time studying astrogation with whatever time Jacqueline could spare to check his calculations and scrounged shore leave when he could.

When the supply ship showed up Hrolf double timed it to the bridge.  He took over the watch from the senior petty officer in charge and quickly brought up the full controls.  Jacqueline's course recommendation brought a quick smile to his face and he flashed her a thumbs up.  Turning to the captain he asked. "Shall we intercept Captain?  I suggest that we make them rendezvous here since they are late."

[In The Couple of Days Before the Arrival of the Shuuursima Ki]

     "It occurs to me, Chief Engineer," Ishakhi says to Iita, during one of their review meetings concerning converting a few Launches to assist sensor sweeps,

     "We might make some use of the aid request from the Duke's Science Team, on the planet, below.  Even in a low orbit, the Shasharna's densitometers won't be able to give high-definition readings for much more than a hundred meters-or-so beneath the surface.  Depending on the ground density, of course."

     "But, if we were to send the modified launches down to fly sensor sweeps in a low-altitude ground search pattern, then add that data to the results from the densitometer sweeps from the Shasharna, it might help to increase the depth accuracy." Ishakhi gives a non-committal shrug,

     "A little bit, maybe.  I don't see any down-side, here, plus it will assist us in refining the concept.  What do you think?"

Iita shook her head.

"That's very enthousiastic of you, but you have two factors to consider :

I chatted with the Duke's scientific mission people, and hydrogeology is very distinct - in use and goals - to our military mission. Hydro... - the study of aquifers - deals with chemistry, climatology, geology, microbiology ; soil, water, nature. As members of the Navy, on patrol, we basically deal with spaceships, in the void. It appears that apart from the search for specific molecules in the air, and establishing geological maps from orbit like a very expensive satellite, there are very few common points between those missions.

To assist the local planetology research with your boats implies lots of very different sensors settings. Reconfiguring the sensors for the search of aquifers is going to take ages, since we're not experts in that, so we'll waste time exploring this new field. The new sensor parameters would be valid only for Mtensc, since all those factors of climate, geology, etc. wildly differ from planet to planet.

Here comes the second factor : time. We're here only for a week at worse. At the end of the week, we might be ready to help, but also have to leave.

Then, after all those re-setting, rearranging, installing, uninstalling, we'll have to restart our own Sensor Enhancement Project from scratch.

It's just not worth it. The Sharshana is hardly the right ship for the job. Promising to lobby the Duke for the inhabitants would be more efficient and improve the Navy's reputation.

What some of your launches could do, is transport the scientists and their drilling machines to the places they want to study, and transport them and the core samples back."
This message was last edited by the player at 02:57, Sat 26 Sept 2020.

Captain Thenroy quickly finds himself face to face with a holographic representation of his counterpart from Shuuursima Ki, the aforementioned Commander Terrence Killorn.

"Captain, it's good to meet you," he began, greeting Thenroy with a formal salute. "Between one thing and another, I was starting to worry that we might miss our appointment! How has the Sharshana been treating you, sir?"

For all of the crispness of his uniform and precision of his movements, Commander Killorn certainly seemed to be taking the situation in stride!
This message was lightly edited by the GM at 11:58, Thu 24 Sept 2020.

To Hrolf the Baron tapped out a set of coordinates that put them at a jump point.

"Commander Killorn, let's not waste any more time as we are already behind schedule. We will rendezvous with you here on our way out of the system."

The Baron's displeasure was clear. He was curt and cold, not engaging in polite small talk like he would normally present. This mission wasn't just the shakedown run of the Sharshana but also of his command of a heavy cruiser and starting things off with a half week's delay had put him off. While it might not seem a huge deal after countless speeches about the might and importance of the Imperium to his crew the Baron didn't like being undermined, even if accidentally.

     "That I can, and will do, Herr Obergruppenführer!" Ishakhi replies cheerfully...then his eyes seem to narrow at something, and he frowns out of the vidcomm screen at Iita...

     "Um, I'm sorry, Chief Engineer, I was just trying to be amusing...stating your position in the language of your Ancestors." Ishakhi says with deepening chagrin, "Did I get that wrong, somehow?  Your Terran Ancestry is, um, something called Transyl-Vanian, is it not, Lieutenant Tsetsegma?"

If Commander Killorn thought anything untwoard of the Baron's response then he did a good job of keeping it to himself, and a poker game against him would be a very risky proposition...

"Not a problem, Captain. We'll meet you on the way and get you properly restocked," the holo-figure nodded, and winked out a moment later.


Comms didn't end there, of course; there was back and forth at lower levels as the flight officers on both ships worked out vectors and the logistics officers worked out the manifests for the transfer.

As the ships drew close, Thenroy received a quiet notification from Gvoellaekh that he'd managed to negotiate a bit of extra supply from Commander Killorn. Of course, this would add more time to the resupply operation, and would hardly be enough to keep the Sharshana from needing a second resupply during the mission, but it would give them a week or so of surplus.

And a +1 to effective CEI while the ship remains over-stocked!


The full operation would keep them in-system and linked together for several hours, and actually navigating into position for the UNREP system to link up and start working presented several nerve-wracking minutes of delicate maneuvering for the pilots of both ships. When the objects being maneuvered were five thousand and fifty thousand tons of free-floating metal and electronics, even a very minor miscalculation could prove disastrous.

Hrolf: We need Piloting/Capital from you. It's only standard difficulty (Average/8), though!
This message was last edited by the GM at 18:36, Sat 26 Sept 2020.

[In The Couple of Days Before the Arrival of the Shuuursima Ki]

In reply to Ishakhi Kiikag Kimpasherki (msg # 41):

Iita was disconcerted. Why was Ice Cube suddenly clowning around in the middle of a technical meeting? Or was the ex-fighter pilot starting a psychological seduction dance by showing interest in her ancestry, and blundering? She didn't know her genealogy, and didn't care.

She was confused and did not know how to answer. Her face must be looking like an idiot's.

"Your efforts of learning my ancestors' language and culture are much appreciated, lieutenant", she replied diplomaticaly. "We're busy right now, with you organizing the ballet of Launches and cutters to bring up the fuel from Mtensc Downport, and my engineers ensuring that the fuel we get is more refined than raw...".

Then she squinted and tried to smile like a cat, licking her lips. "Two can play the game", she thought.

"...but I do hope that when we leave at last this system, you would show me how you use your mother tongue... and in return I could practice my ancestors' tongue with you... Tsetsegma out".

She hung up. There. Take that, Mr. Ice Cube. May you turn over on your bed, sleeplessly, trying to guess if I just used double entendre on you.

But the joke was on her, because she felt aroused.
Iita tried to chase dirty images off her mind by getting back to the fuel purity indicators. The supply ship or something better arrive quickly.

Once the order had been given to rendezvous with the replenishment ship Hrolf set to his duty.  As a naval warship and especially a cruiser tasked as scout and eyes and ears of the fleet it would not do to make a slow or worse yet sloppy approach.  Instead Hrolf brought the Sharshana around almost on her hind legs with an immediate and radical 6G maneuver.  The cruiser might not be the smaller escorts with which he was familiar but the Sharshana had long legs and the heart of a racer.  Feeling the entire ship vibrate under him Hrolf patted the control console as the maneuver drives rapidly poured on 6G's of acceleration until the rear of the ship glowed brightly enough to be seen from the planet. "Good girl, let's show them that you are back and you have it like no other vessel in the Fleet."

Hrolf maneuvered precisely and radically in a consummate display of piloting and performance by the hulking cruiser that would have put even the most crack destroyer to shame.  The Sharshana came about like a racing yacht and ran down the slower Shuuursima Ki with frightening speed.  As they approached Hrolf timed things to a second to bring the Sharshana alongside the target with the precision of a laser and the sweet touch of a lover's caress.

As the replenishment continued Hrolf maintained the Sharshana alongside as though the enormous warship were riding on rails.  Each slight adjustment was made almost before it was required showing a dexterity that might have surprised an observer given that the great lady had been rebuilt almost from the keel up.  When the last lines and connections were cast away Hrolf looked up to the captain.  "Permission to disengage sir.  Request permission to play the Imperial Navy March over the intercom and broadcast to the Shuuursima Ki as we breakaway sir.  Let's do it with style sir!"

Hrolf paused with his hands on the controls waiting for permission...

12:57, Today: Hrolf Standarsson rolled 13 using 2d6+3.  Piloting. +2 more for Greyhound for 15!

The Captain-Baron narrowed his eyes at Hrolf and shook his head.

"Permission denied."

He locked Hrolf with a stern glare, paralyzing him with that stare. Then a flicker of a smile formed on the corner of Reziilka's lip and a soft chuckle was heard.

"Broadcast it on general frequencies. Let's give a reminder to everyone in system that the Imperium is always watching."

With a flick of his hand he signaled for Hrolf to have his fun.

Hrolf stared at the captain a bit shocked at the response.  When the captain cracked a slight smile and amplified Hrolf's request he smiled himself.  "Aye, aye sir!"

He turned to the communications rating stationed nearby.  "You heard the captain Petty Officer Vuezd.  Broadcast the March!"

As the comms rating set up the broadcast Hrolf brought the Sharshana away from the Shuuursima Ki.  He moved slowly at first to avoid damage to the other ship but he slowly increased acceleration until they were fully clear.  At the prescribed point Hrolf again set the ship to full boost and peeled away from the Shuuursima Ki smartly on a course back to the main world.  "Maneuver complete Captain, course plotted to take us back into high orbit around the main world."

About an hour and a half into the supply transfer, the Shuuursima Ki reports - and the Sharshana itself detects a moment later - a sensor contact. Something is heading toward the docked ships on a vector that will bring it, at the very least, uncomfortably close...

Jacqueline calculated the rendezvous and was already preparing early work on their jump out of the system. She covered her mouth with her hand to stifle her giggle at Hrolf showed off and played the Imperial Navy March. Boys did love their vehicles. And he did do a very good job piloting, he had the right to show off. She frowned at the sensor screen as the new contact was picked up. "Whoever that is, I guess they don't mind making close friends with the navy."

Finally something was happening that would take the Baron's attention off the slipped schedule and possibly provide them a chance to actually use the weapons their ship bristled with.

"Sublieutenant Hrolf, ping that bogey with an active scan. Let them know we know they're there.

Lieutenant Commander Dinsha, wake your crews up and start preparing a firing solution. No need to bother with a warning shot, if they're not listening and they're not paying attention then that is on them.

Sublieutenant Yune, would you do the honors of opening up a channel with the incoming ship."

The Baron-Captain steepled his fingers and leaned forward in a thoughtful posture with a bit of eagerness in his eyes. Nothing demonstrated the power of the Imperium like turning another ship into a cloud of expanding debris.

Hrolf nodded.  "Pulse bogey with active scan aye sir,"  He fiddled with his console and then turned to the cluster of sensor operators huddled on the port side of the bridge.  "Petty Officer Jek, I've transmitted target cueing data although I'm sure you already have a target solution from the passive scan.  Go active and with the sensors for a scan and query them directly with an IFF pulse, let them know we are here."

The individual in question sat up and nodded as well.  She was a dark skinned woman of Solomani descent whose uniform showed the three chevrons of a first class petty officer.  "Roger that Lieutenant, we're on it." Even as she spoke her hands were flying over the holographic console and a sudden cascade of information came through the sensors as the active scanning took effect.  "Target locked and solution passed to fire control sir." All of this took no more than a few seconds as the well trained crew did their duties with skill and alacrity.

"Yes sir, Captain" Jacqueline replied automatically, and attempted to open a channel with the other ship. She fidgeted a little uncomfortably; the Captain's reaction was rather unnecessarily aggressive. There really shouldn't be anything out here that could threaten a heavy cruiser. But it wasn't her place to question orders.

     Leaning down to look over the shoulder of one of the two Ratings currently manning the Flight Traffic Control screens, back in the Command Bridge, Ishakhi frowns and mumbles to himself...

     "What the frack...?"

     Straightening back up, Ishakhi lightly touches the tech on his shoulder,

     "Isaacson, get me some kind of ID on just what that farging thing is!  Macocoa," Ishakhi says to the woman Traffic Control Tech sitting next to Isaacson, "I don't like the look of that fools vector.  Run the numbers and confirm if he's got enough time and room to slow down to docking speed, before he gets here--or if he's gonna plaster himself all over the Captain's shiny new paint job.  And...what Boat is that?  Number Three?  It looks like they're going to come close to the flightpath of this thing...Okay, order Boat Three to kill all forward motion, and hold station right there, until further notice."

     Ishakhi steps a little to the side of Isaacson, and presses a couple of buttons on the control console, opening the standard Traffic Control channel in use in this region, then taps the micro-headset in his right ear,

     "Calling small craft approaching Imperial Cruiser our vector Two-Seven-Three Mark One-Nine-Two.  Repeat.  This is Imperial Navy Cruiser Shasharna calling craft on our approach vector Two-Seven-Three Mark One-Nine-Two.  Identify yourself immediately, your Transponder is not broadcasting.  Repeating.  Identify yourself, your Transponder is not broadcasting."

     "You are ordered to activate your transponder, change course to port, on your vector Three-Five-Zero Mark Zero-Nine-Nine and shut down your engines.  Repeat.  Unknown Craft, you must activate your transponder, come about to your vector Three-Five-Zero Mark Zero-Nine-Nine and shut down your engines."

     "If you do not comply immediately you will be..." Ishakhi glances aside, at a repeater screen on the other side of the Command Bridge, "Correction.  You are being targeted!  Comply immediately, or you will be fired upon.  Comply immediately!"

     Ishakhi reaches out and switches to the Bridge comm channel,

     "Bridge, this is Space Traffic Control.  Approaching Bogey has been ordered to Identify, as well as to alter course and shut down engines.  It's a small sensor reading, Bridge, but it's big enough to be an Improvised Space Weapon, or even a Capital Missile running silent.  Approaching from that vector, recommend you open fire and destroy at one-hundred kilometers, if Bogey does not comply with orders, by then.  Space Traffic Control, over to you."

The situation goes from routine to interesting on short notice, prompting much scrambling on the bridge and other command stations to assess and deal with the unknown contact.

The initial sensor sweep determines that it appears to be a mid-mass spaceship, around four hundred dtons, still some distance away and coasting on a flight path that will eventually bring it into orbit around Mtensc, albeit only after passing very close by the Sharshana and Shuuursima Ki.

Despite coasting into orbit rather than coming in under thrust and decelerating for a landing, it does appear to have power. There's no sign of active weapons or active sensors, but there's also no sign of an active transponder - it doesn't even respond to the Sharshana's override codes, suggesting that the transponder has been completely disabled - and attempts to open communications are likewise met with... nothing.

The vectors and especially the fact that the Sharshana is docked makes it difficult for gunnery to line up a good shot at the thing with its beams, but its missile batteries should easily be able to arc a salvo toward it if necessary.

In reply to Gvoellaekh (msg # 53):

     A thought occurs to Ishakhi, as he's watching the screens,

     "Macocoa...is that Bogey headed for us, or is it going to miss?" Ishakhi quietly asks the woman sitting at the controls, "And if it isn't coming right at us, just where is it headed?  Get me an answer, ASAP."

     Ishakhi double taps his micro-headset,

     "Space Traffic Control to Hangar Control, Kimpasherki speaking.  Prepare to scramble the Ready Boats--tell the Flight Crews to buckle up.  Also, standby to ready the Marine Launch for flight.  Over to you."

OOC: GM, you want I should make one'a them DUI or DEI or DCI rolls for my people, or what?

The Baron keyed down to the hangar bay.

"Lieutenant Kimpasherki, prepare a marine launch for immediate departure."

He turned to address his XO sitting nearby.

"Commander have our marines prepare a boarding action. If this is a smuggling ship with bad luck or a freighter in need of assistance they'll get to the bottom of it. And if it is an attack hopefully they can neutralize the threat before we have to resort to our missiles."

While he delivered the commands in a clear tone there was a slight hesitation as he punched up the orders. If the ship was indeed a giant explosive it was entirely possible he was sending their only unit of marines to a gruesome and fiery death.

The Baron-Captain gave a shrug after a few seconds pause and punched in the order. At least theirs would be a quick death and one in service to the Imperium and its citizens.

In reply to Baron Thenroy Reziilka (msg # 55):

     Ishakhi winced at the Captain's command, also thinking that the Marines were being sent blindly into a potentially dangerous situation...but, Orders were Orders.

     Or, were they...?

     Ishakhi keyed his headset comm,

     "Aye, Captain.  Small Craft Operations initiating mission, now."

     Switching comm-channels to Hangar Bay Control,

     "Flight Control to Hangar Control. Scramble the Ready Boat.  Repeat.  Scramble Ready Boat. Mission is to proceed towards Bogey-One for reconnaissance.  Boat to perform close visual inspection of Bogey-One, in preparation for Marine Boarding Action.  If fired upon, or observe any preparation for hostile activity by Bogey-One, report hostility immediately and return to Ship."

     "Launch Ready Boat immediately.  Over to you."

     Again switching comm-channels, this time to the Marine Commander,

     "Small Craft Operations to Marine Command.  We have a GO for Boarding Action against unknown vessel, designation Bogey-One.  Repeat.  We have a GO for Boarding Action against unknown vessel, designation Bogey-One.  Unknown if Bogey-One is hostile or requires assistance.  Be ready for anything, and proceed with caution."

     "Marine Launch is already being prepped, and will be ready for launch by the time your Marines are aboard.  Ship's Boat Five is already enroute for recon.  Marine Launch should contact Boat Five on tactical channel seventeen, after launch.  Over to you."

Several tense minutes pass as a launch with a squad of the ship's marines aboard departs and heads for the unresponsive ship on an intercept course; vector-matching being more challenging than a simple fly-by, the ship's boat that's preceding it will get a look well before it does.

There's still no response from the incoming ship in the meantime, nor does the sensor sweep pick up anything out of the ordinary. The partial densitometer reading suggests that the mass distribution is more or less as-expected for a small merchant vessel; the profile suggests a fat trader, and its energy signatures are more or less normal save for the literal radio silence.



As the boat's path begins to cross that of the ship, the pilot reports in. "Sharshana, we have the target on visual." There is a pause, lasting perhaps ten seconds at most, but undoubtedly feeling far longer.

Then the pilot speaks again, sounding ever so slightly puzzled, or at least uncertain. "It... appears to be a naval decoy drone, sir."

Captain Reziilka cocked his head to the side in confusion, acting as if he had misheard what the marines had reported or it just hadn't processed yet.

"Pilot, confirm if it is showing proper naval registration. I need to know if this is some game the Admirals are playing or if this is a prelude to some other attack. See if you can interface with it and bring it on board. We can have the tech teams find out where it came from and what it's doing here.

In the meantime I want a full sensor sweep starting with the sector of space opposite the direction of the drone and focusing on the star port and any nearby jump points. If this isn't a test then someone wanted all of our attention focused on this sector of space for a reason."

Orders flowed out from Reziilka like water and he soon had every station jumping to figure out what was happening.

<orange>OOC: Translation, the captain is giving you a blank check so if there is a check you want to make go right ahead.</orange.

Rolf shook his head when it was reported that the ship was a decoy.  Without word from the captain Hrolf turned to the sensor operators.  "Full scan immediate area, spaceport and Jump limit.  Then I want a focused sweep back down the path of the drone.  Also bring up the entire sensor trace on the drone to see if we can backtrack it that way."

While the sensor operators got to work Hrolf pulled up the common command codes for drones of this type and began to work to get into the command protocols to see if he could take over.

Jacqueline looked a little embarrassed when the contact turned out to be a drone. She had been worried, but it was all for nothing. She started trying to see if she could trace the drone's possible trajectory back towards its source. "Who has access to naval decoys besides us?" she wondered aloud.

In reply to Jacqueline Yune (msg # 60):

     Ishakhi quickly steps from one screen to another, in the part of the Command Bridge that his department is using for Space Traffic Control.  At each display he checks, and double checks the readings that are duplicates of what the Main Bridge is getting.

     After a few moments, Ishakhi stops, straightens up, and taps his micro-headset, opening a channel to the Main Bridge.

     "CAPT...! *ahem* Captain," Ishakhi begins excitedly, but quickly gains control of himself, "This is Space Traffic Control."

     "We're getting a visual feed from our Boat now, Sir, and can confirm that Bogey-One is what looks to be a standard Imperial Navy Decoy Drone.  But Sir...we can visually see that it's a Drone, but all our other sensors are still telling us it's a comm-dead Fat Trader."

     "Uh...doesn't that mean that, right now, the Decoy Drone is actively spoofing our sensors?  Sir?"

System traffic (such as it is) has remained more or less normal throughout the event. No one else is inclined to fly in close, and if anyone is behaving suspiciously, they're doing so in a thoroughly non-suspicious fashion.

Astrogation traces the likely flight path back to the jump limit...

If it originated from somewhere near the jump limit, it probably wasn't far off from where the Shuuursima Ki arrived, and at the speed it was coasting, it most likely started moving about then too.

Hrolf did the math on the course of the decoy drone. "Captain, the only other Imperial Navy ship in the system is the Shuuursima Ki and this is an IN drone.  The course would indicate that it could have been launched from the Shuuursima Ki when she jump in."

In reply to Gvoellaekh (msg # 62):

     As Ishakhi watched, a number on one of the displays fluttered, then changed value.

     Frowning, Ishakhi opened a channel to Boat Five,

     "Space Traffic Control to Boat Five.  Run a radar sweep of Bogey-One again, please.  Repeat.  Run another radar sweep of Bogey-One." Ishakhi asked.

     "Radar sweep Bogey-One.  Affirmative." Boat Five responded--and just a few seconds later, data streamed in.

     The results of the computer's analysis made his frown deepen.

     ~~Captain Killjoy is going to have me eviscerated!  Publicly!~~ Ishakhi thought to himself, as he reopened the channel to the Bridge.

     "Space Traffic Control to Bridge.  Ah...Captain, we...just got a...sensor update, from the...from Boat Five.  And...the Computer...the Computer is now giving a ninety-percent certainty that Bogey-One is a...that it is a...a standard Imperial Naval Target Drone."

     "It's...uh...it's completely harmless, Sir.  In fact, the Computer is reclassifying it as...as a space navigation hazard, now...Sir.  Computer recommends we either destroy it, or tow it out of the orbital approach lanes."

     "Sooo...I recommend we stand down the Marines--oh!--unless you'd like to take this opportunity to let the Marines practice a boarding action?  Before we blast that drone out of existence?"

The Baron went back to his chair and slumped down. It seemed more and more likely this was just a training exercise and not a chance to display the glory of the Imperium by reducing some poor sod to slowly glowing slag.

"Bridge to Lieutenant Kimpasherki. If possible retrieve the drone otherwise issue the recall order."

He switched back to their channel with the Shuuursima Ki that had remained open in case an emergency order needed to be given during the resupply.

"Commander Killorn, is there a reason your ship launched a targeting drone and set it on an intercept course during a resupply? I'm assuming you did so under orders but I would like to see who authorized such an exercise. I would hope the Admiraltiy has more confidence in us than to waste time on a trick that likely wouldn't even fool a junior officer."

"Correct, Captain. To test readiness and response." Commander Killorn didn't sound the least bit surprised or the least bit troubled by Thenroy's words. "Our orders came from Admiral Sardusa at Saguenay. They include this exercise and a delivery to the Nouakchat scout base in a couple of months. Nothing else in Gulf-Central and no drones at Nouakchat."


In response to Thenroy's request, Gvoellaekh reports that, "Admiral Sardusa, Vilani female, age 62, is one of several who oversee the logistics chain in the spinward side of Gulf and the trailing edge of Trin's Veil. Not known to have any political allegiances (or unprofessional attitudes) that would encourage sabotaging the Sharshana's shakedown cruise. Saguenay's proximity to Trin is unlikely to be a factor since there are good relations between the two Dukes."

"It's possible that the idea for a drone test originated with someone else and the admiral simply signed off on it as part of the orders since it was within reason, but there's no way to determine that without contacting Saguenay naval base, if not the admiral herself."
This message was last edited by the GM at 02:00, Wed 14 Oct 2020.

Jacqueline pulled up one of her tablets and buried herself in her work, hoping it would keep the others from seeing how mortified she looked. What she thought was a serious incident was just a standard training exercise; she felt like a fool. "I, I just hope we reacted well enough."

Captain Thenroy gave a nod at his XO as he reported what they knew. It seemed likely this was just another training exercise and not deliberate sabotage. Still he would be much happier when they reached their patrol zone and were done with these little tests.

"Confirmed Commander Killorn. Let me know if you require any additional information when filing your report. Reziilka out."

With an irritated flick he shut the comms down and scowled at the panel as if he could stare daggers through it to Killorn across the vastness of space.

"Let's be done with this place. Tell the cargo crews to finish the transfer as quickly as possible. Once we have the fuel necessary for a jump we will leave. The Imperium needs us to patrol and we have already been delayed for too long on silly matters."

It wasn't quite clear who he was speaking to. Perhaps he was just speaking to himself or possibly to Gvoellaekh next to him. His mood was clearly foul in either case. Thenroy did not react to his competency being questioned with "surprise tests" well, especially when he had considered expending ammunition or even performing an emergency decoupling that would have endangered his ship and crew. All for the sake of a test straight out of the academy...

Hrolf sighed in agreement with the captain.  "Lt. Yune, let's get the course and Jump vector plotted in advance so that we can depart as quickly as possible."

Jacqueline nodded and started tapping out a route. Jacqueline usually experimented with routes at most time and had many options prepared, but she was a little behind after the excitement over the decoy drone. "Um, understood, I'm on it Lieutenant Standarsson."

The Sharshana, now more than fully restocked, is made ready for departure. Some crew need to be fetched from planetside; even as the planetary survey data is finalized and sent to the research team down on the surface, routine information-sharing with the Shuuursima Ki has given the intelligence staff fresh work to do.

It has been determined that Beaxon shall be the first world visited on the patrol schedule. A troubled place by all accounts, and nothing that you've learned during Mtensc operations has contradicted that assessment.

You'll have a week in jump to prepare for whatever situation awaits you there...

In reply to Gvoellaekh (msg # 71):

OOC: some intelligence concerning Beaxon was passed to Ishakhi--who then passed it on to our Intelligence Officer--who then just...passed.
     But the effort was made to pass on the data...

The Intelligence Event roll was increased accordingly... and there may be other consequences!