Following the Captain's briefing, Sidare met with her officers and NCO gun-captains in the gunnery direction chamber.

"I am Lieutenant Commander Sidare Dinsha, your new Gunnery Officer," Sidare said as she began her briefing.  "I look forward to working with each of you and learning how best we can use the Sharshana offensive and defensive systems to protect our fellow crewman and the citizens of the Imperium.  Our task is to defend the space between the stars and in doing so, ensure prosperity to billions of sophonts through trade and travel.  Your service to the Imperial Navy promotes peace and provides opportunity to all who reside within the Imperium.  I can't think of a more noble endeavor," Dinsha paused after the last sentence.

"Service as you know, requires sacrifice.  We risk our lives for our fellow citizens so that our shared endeavor may continue to bear the fruits of peace and prosperity.  Please know that I will never ask you to sacrifice anything I would not willingly give myself - up to and including my life." Another pause followed Sidare's somber ending.

"Let's not let it come to that though!" Dinsha quickly added with a smile, injecting a strong dose of levity into her speech.

"Provided we do our jobs and do them well, only the enemy shall forfeit their lives.  To ensure that we are able to perform the critical work of the Gunnery Department, today we will develop a plan for re-qualification and cross-training for all personnel along with an inspection program for all critical gunner systems.  Let us begin,"

08:32, Today: Sidare Dinsha rolled 7 using 2d6-2.  Gunnery CEI Check.

OOC: Ishakhi Kiikag Kimpasherki made a CEI Roll for Small Craft Ops during Space Trials, and rolled 8 using 2d6-1. (And this roll was most certainly not modified by Ishakhi's skill at Leadership.  Nope, no Sir!  Nuh-uh.  Didn't happen, and you can't prove nothing--'cuz I made sure the surveillance camera's were turned off....)

Mammady had thoroughly explored the ship before this exercise and in particular, he had checked all of the wiring and airducts, from inside where possible.  He had a mental map of everything, particularly things that might impact the running of the bridge but beyond that, sufficient to investigate, diagnose, report and repair any fuck ups he came across.  Who he reported to depended entirely on the nature and extent of the fuck up.

After the officer's meeting, Lt Tsetsegmaa calls in all the members of the Engineering and Technical teams into the worskhop, which is quickly filled and full. Having changed her dress uniform for a jumpsuit, she sits on a heavy machinery with Lt Kaouthrak at her side and is visibly enthusiastic. The meeting is video-recorded for those on the shift to watch later.

"I'm Lieutenant Iita Tsetsegmaa, your new chief engineer and I'm really excited about this mission and meeting all of you" states a smiling Iita, while her trademark archaic Anglic and turns of phrase are noticed. "We're going to do great things together ! Plus, this shakedown mission is putting us "techies" to the center stage - people will do what we tell them, so we'll be very busy, and the fine tuning of this ship relies on us. We shall make this ship Sharshana the best of the fleet!"

"a few words about me : my last position was ACE on the INS Zatsernem, another Ghalalk. I like to see myself as 'proficient in all things technical, expert in none'. I studied the range of engineering domain, and am holding only first degrees in M-Drive, J-Drive, Power, and Life support, plus side hobbies as electronics, robotics, and computers. This means that many of you have better certifications in specialties than me, plus some of you have been aboard more time than me, and that's fine, because my management style is "we're working together". If you're confident, if you're on my list of experts and experienced crew, then I rely on you, and don't wonder why I ask questions - it's not to second-guess you, it's to learn."

My office door is open at all times, be it to validate, submit a project, discuss an issue, arbitrate an argument - I believe in science, so everything can be solved using logic, method, trials, measurements and experiences. When I'm unavailable, lieutenant KaouthRAK here is the bridge engineer, and our ACE, and he also has a big list of diplomas !", Iita grins.

"Now to the specifics on the mission. We've got 24 hours to be ready to jump without any issue. Check every system three times; monitor continuously, even though the naval engineers did it... Then we'll have 20 days of shakedowns and trials, where we shall gather and analyze ample logs. During those 3 weeks, work in "overdrive mode" to get things rolling. After that, we shall patrol during 6 months, we'll leave the center stage and hopefully let the cruiser run itself.

The Captain Baron Reziika does not want to be bothered with technical details, only with severe damages and breakdowns, but.I.am. So we have to look into those logs for patterns of growing and recurrent anomalies. Do not hesitate to communicate everything out of the line with your supervisor, who shouldn't hesitate to communicate with me. Also..."

Iita checks the transcription of the captain speech. "Never lie to me. Ever.... do not lie to me. I expect to know every technical aspect that happens on this ship, the good and the bad. I must have perfect intelligence on the capability of this ship to... be able to inform the bridge... If you screw up, you tell me - a fault confessed is half redressed. If something is broken, you tell me. If I am making a mistake, by all gods, tell me before lives are lost" - there is a passing gloom on her face, but she goes on : "While I expect you to obey and follow every order issued you are in your position because you are the best in your field. If you see a problem, you will say so..."

"Lastly," glows the chief engineer, "the captain issued a kind of engineering challenge to keep you geeks busy during your time off. You're going to like that : he's looking for a way to optimize the search for pirates ships, smugglers, and other never-do-wells. This is right in our field, as an improvement to the sensors, but be creative! Add psychology, tactics to the mechanics; find another data analysis algorithm; imagine cross-referencing things that were always decorelated, and every oblique idea you come up with - to flush the enemy out of where it did not expect to be found. That part is fun. But the captain is the impatient type, so start thinking now and submit your plans ASAP."

"Now, if you still have questions - when you have questions - send it to my address, and I'll set another briefing, or send a briefing video which I hope to do daily for the next three weeks. You're dismissed, keep up the good work, begin the stress test procedures."

After some handshaking and associating names and mug shot with real persons, Iita turns to Mammady. "So, how did I handle my first discourse. I want the truth, remember?" and she guffaws. "Oh and we need someone to inspect the life support facilities with Dr Lassila. It's always important for your health to be in good terms with the doc'", she added ironically. "When - if - we have some time, I'm looking forward to your guiding me into the deep bowels of the ship and showing what discrepancies you noticed."

She then goes to her Engineering station to start the stress tests programs and... rolls 8 using 2d6-1 ((6,3)) for the Engineer CEI, just average.
This message was last edited by the player at 10:00, Sun 09 Aug 2020.

Mammady grinned a full-toothed grin as he realised he liked the Chief Engineer.  She was utterly unlike him in almost every way but he saw that they could work together and in some ways, even where their skills overlapped, they even complimented one another.

"Your first discourse was pretty ******* awesome.  If you don't mind, I'll volunteer to join in with Dr Lassila and see if he sees anything I've missed or vice versa."

He may or may not have winked when he said, "And if we have time, I'll be happy to take you around the bowels of the ship."

Mammady finally returns to the bridge with all of his findings.
22:01, Today: Mammady Kaouthrak rolled 10 using 1d20-1.  Electronics  CEI roll.
22:03, Today: Mammady Kaouthrak rolled 6 using 2d6-1.  Uuurrrrmm 2d6-1.
EDIT --- URRMM

This message was last edited by the player at 21:04, Thu 30 July 2020.

Jacqueline observed the maneuvering exercises, since they had bearing on the ship's navigation systems. She worked on her tablets experimenting with different calculations based on the ship's position.

In reply to Jacqueline Yune (msg # 10):

Iita gives a call to Jacqueline Yune, and either leaves a message or the conversation goes like this :

"Hi Lt Yune, this is chef engineer Tsetsegmaa - look, may I call you Jacqueline on the private calls? You may call me Iita...
So, here's the reason why I'm calling... You certainly do remember that during our briefing in BR3, the captain kinda challenged me, and I quote : "Lieutenant Tsetsegma, if you are concerned about being stranded, work with navigation to suggest an alternative patrol route that would avoid us from being too isolated too early. I agree that requiring a tug back to port would be a poor first showing for our ship and our own competency.. So I glanced at the map of the Zeng subsec, and I wondered why he planned to J-4 to Sestos, and arrive with empty tanks at a class-D starport of a desert planet! I'm feeling it makes more sense to J-3 to Timmer (C starport, scout base) then J-2 to Mtensc. Alternatively, J-2 to Oriryu and its B starport, then J-4 to Mtensc... mmh. Anyway, "suggesting patrol route" is your prerogative, and apparently the captain appreciates your input and knowledge (wink) in planning routes [and OOC he did even concede the trip after Mtensc is subject to change, and he forgot to stop by the most populous planet of the subsec...], so I let you take up the gauntlet... (smile) and run the route options to the Baron. As an Engineer, I just want to anchor the ship at - and not bypass - the best resources and equipment a system can provide. Thank you, cheers! Iita out"
This message was last edited by the player at 13:45, Fri 31 July 2020.

OOC: I'm going to do this a little bit in its own sequence since we have a lot going on in series and in parallel.

Hrolf settled into the pilot's seat on the bridge and smiled.  50,000 dtons of cruiser at his fingertips.  Certainly he'd not be able to take the ship on a joyride but as pilot this beautiful lady would sail like a debutante across a ball room.  He chuckled to himself, well, hopefully a lady and not a nasty bitch.  Ships had souls and personalities; Hrolf was enough of a romantic and a spacer to believe that deep in his bones even if he couldn't prove it.  As he experimented with the controls, testing the responsiveness through the holographic interface in the training mode he could feel the eagerness.  Yes, she would be a race horse, a thoroughbred although she might be balky at first.  They would get to know her and the crew and bring them all into a cohesive whole.  Now it would be up to him and the bridge crew, sensor operators and the accuracy with which it all had been tuned to see how they would do.

Leaning forward Hrolf looked at the plans for the initial run.  Low power maneuvering, small craft ops at the same time and then full thrust and tests of the navigational interface.  he smiled... and of course the standard marked range in which to maneuver.  Hrolf cracked his knuckles in eagerness and set about maneuvering.  The best thing to do would be to integrate the ship as a team in this exercise rather than cowboy it all by himself.  Engines, power and navigation... best to make it all work together.   And the small craft as well, perhaps they could make a thing of it...

"Lieutenant Kimpasherki, let's work together on the maneuvering trials.  Let me know where you want to launch and recover the small craft.  I can arrange things to give you good vectors for your follow on maneuvers and a stable course at the right time to make your recovery or mock combat passes if you wish."  Hrolf knew that arranging things in advance would enhance the performance of the ship and small craft without sacrificing too much training value.  Besides, there would be time later to mix things up and make them unpredictable after the crew and captain had settled down.

Thinking further Hrolf looked at the field of maneuver and shook his head.  He could manage a nimble Gazelle class escort almost with his eyes closed and certainly by the seat of his pants but a 50,000 ton cruiser was another matter entirely.  No, he'd need some help calculating a good course especially if he was coordinating with small craft ops.  "Lt. Une, Jacqueline if I may... can you help plot out a time and fuel efficient course through the trials field?"  He pulled up a holo of the near space zone and projected their way points into the tank. "We want to go here... and here... boost up to 25% power along this line, back down to 10% and then steadily up to 100% as we take these way points.  We'll also launch small craft here and here and recover along these lines.  Can you plot something out?"

Lastly Hrolf knew that no matter what he and Jacqueline did that without good coordination and cooperation with the M-drives it could all fail.  He pulled up the comms to speak to the bridge engineer. "Lt. Kaouthrak," he called the unusual looking but highly professional engineer.  "It looks like we have this drive profile..." He added the thrust and vectors to the holo tank display.  "We're starting to a steady ramp up to 25% thrust, back down again to 10% and then up to 100%, maybe even 105% if the captain and chief engineer want to push it.  Can you coordinate with the Chief and the black gang so that we respond smoothly?"

Once things were ready Hrolf took the ship out into the trials with the permission of the captain.

OOC: And the dice roll...

18:15, Today: Hrolf Standarsson rolled 3 using 2d6-1.  Flight test.

Not sure that any amount of coordination will help THAT roll... :(
This message was last edited by the player at 01:17, Sat 01 Aug 2020.

Jacqueline seemed a little startled, but she recovered quickly. "Oh yes, of course Lieutenant Standarsson, I can plot that." she responded shyly. She scurried over to the holo display Hrolf had called up and began marking the ideal routes on the holo. "I just hope it helps."

Mammady looked at the vectors and contacted Iita, "Lieutenant Tsetsegma.  Kaouthrak here.  Drives will be taking power up to 25, down to ten then up again to 100 (105 if the Captain wants it.)"

Then he looked over to Jacqueline as she began marking in the routes.  He smiled, clearly impressed and asked.  "So where do we need to be for the first jump?"

Hrolf smiled at Jacqueline's start of surprise but moved aside and rotated the display in the holotank for better access for the shy navigator.  "Thanks Jacqueline, I've never been one for the gory details of navigation, just the basics at the Academy is about it." He watches her work out of the corner of his eyes as he does his own preparations.  "Even if something this straightforward isn't productive it will be good practice later for us to work together."

"Oh! I haven't worked that out just yet, sir." Jacqueline said deferentially to Kaothrak.

Jacqueline shifted her gaze down and away from Hrolf, but she smiled softly at his words. "You're welcome, Lieutenant Standarsson. Navigation appealed to me right away at the Academy... it brought together two of my interests, mathematics and visiting new worlds. I know it's not everyone's cup of tea, though. Was piloting the same way for you?"

"We're both flight branch, we'll be working together a lot I imagine." she added. "It's a good start, I hope."

Colonel continued to wander around the ship while the space trials were going on, at least pretending to be gathering intel, when, in reality, he was still trying to find his office. Make that an office.

Finally! There was no name on the door, it wasn't locked, and it didn't seem to be otherwise occupied. It also wasn't very big.

"This will do just fine," he said to himself.

He made a mental note of the room number... 2 (deck 2), 2 (starboard side), 2 (amidships), 8 (section 8), 13 (room number). That last explained why no one wanted to use the room.

He then made sure he could find his way to the room again and went looking for an engineer... or maintenance... or whatever passed for such on a Naval ship this large. He finally found a CPO hurrying along a corridor and stopped him for a second.

"Chief Petty Officer Farnsworth! Just the person I was looking for!" he said to the man. "When you get a chance, I need you to put a sign up on the door of this office...222813. It needs to read: INTEL OPS--NO ADMITTANCE. I'll also need a desk, a chair and a computer moved into the office."

"If you manage to accomplish this formidable task by the end of the day, I'll see that you get a commendation to your department head. Yes, yes, I know... perhaps it won't amount to anything, but, then again, you never know who's going to be reading your record, do we?"

In reply to Hrolf Standarsson (msg # 12):

     In the Command Bridge, in the aft part of the Forward Section of the ship, Ishakhi is standing behind two Small Craft Ops crewmen who are seated at technical stations, monitoring all activity within the 200-kilometer Near Space Traffic Control Zone around the INS Sharshana.  He has a lightweight comm-headset with HUD monocle--in front of his right eye--resting on his head, and an electronic tablet in his left hand.

     As some of the days operations will be Battle Simulations, Ishakhi is wearing a standard ship's Working Dress uniform--his fancy dagger hanging from the belt at his left hip.

     The comm speaker for the Command Bridge activates with a message...


     With an ironic grin, Ishakhi reaches up and taps the comm plugged into his right ear,

^{COMM START>>>} "Thank you, Mister Standarsson," Ishakhi responds with just a hint of amusement in his voice, "On behalf of myself and the rest of the Small Craft Operations department, we appreciate your offer to make things easier for us, during these trials.  However, I fear that, once the Captain saw any such skewed results from such efforts, he would toss us both out the nearest airlock..."

     Ishakhi gives a short, quiet chuckle, then continues,

     "Not to worry, Mister Standarsson, the majority of our scheduled operations will take place while the Sharshana is maintaining a non-mobile position.  We won't get to emergency Boat launches and recoveries until later in the evolution.  And the very last element of our operation will be emergency launches and recoveries while underway."

     Ishakhi grins to himself,

     "No need to stress until then.  Just fly this beast, and try not to scuff the Captain's shiny new paint job, yes?  Kimpasherki, Out." ^{<<<COMM END}

---

---

[After The Trials: Shuttle Bay]

     Ishakhi shuts down his tablet with a flourishing swipe, and looks up at the assembled members of his department.

     "Alright then.  I think that covers it, People.  Over-all, this was an adequate performance by us.  But only an adequate performance!  So we can congratulate ourselves for doing our jobs properly, but nobody gets a pat on the back--got it?"

     "Now, some of it wasn't on us!  We knew going into this that Boat Eleven was going to be declared an Engineering Casualty--that's why I included having to work around the shortage into the Op.  And while we all know that it's alright to enjoy doing our jobs--performing barrel-rolls in the aft 'sensor shadow' does not mean we can't see you!  Michaelson!"

     "It was a Vernier malfunction, I swear!" a dark-haired male Pilot in the group called back with a chuckle.

     A woman with short, blonde hair and almost coffee-dark skin, wearing an Engineering working uniform--Michaelson's Flight Engineer, Saana Columbo--turned a scornful look towards the pilot,

     "Oh!" Saana indignantly growled in response--causing everyone assembled to burst into laughter.

     "Enough, already." Ishakhi calls out, "You all know what you need to work on.  I expect improvements."

     Ishakhi gave a nod of his head, "That is all.  Department!  Dismissed."

     Ishakhi starts to turn away, but pauses to turn back and call out one last thing,

     "Improvements, people, or I cut off the Ice Cream Ration!" Ishakhi called out in a bad impersonation of Captain Reziilka.

     There was good natured griping behind him, as Ishakhi headed for his office.

     Ishakhi was just reaching for the door control, when someone spoke up, behind him.

     "Uh, excuse me?  Sir?  Have you got a moment?"

     Ishakhi turned around to see one of the enlisted ratings from his department--Able Spacehand Leiji Matsumoto.  One of the few crewmen who was shorter than Ishaki's own 169 centimeters, being only 160 centimeters.*

     Matsumoto ancestry was from Earth--from someplace on the Asian continent, as Ishakhi recalled--and despite his people colonizing out here, behind the claw, centuries ago, Matsumoto still very much looked the part.  Matsumoto had also arrived onboard just barely in time to make the launch, and he'd obviously been somewhere where he'd gotten a lot of sun, because the Spacehand was, at the moment, darker even than Ishakhi.

     "Yes, Able Spacehand Matsumoto, of course." Ishakhi responded, "What is it you need?"

     "Well, Sir, I need some advice." Matsumoto said, "I, uh, I...well, you might know that I was on leave--on my homeworld of Beaxon--that's a waterworld at the Rimward end of Gulf Subsector?--just before I was ordered to report aboard the Sharshana... ? And, well, Sir, there were some...things...happening back home that just--they just didn't seem right.  And I heard through scuttlebutt that we might be swinging by Beaxon...and what with the Captain being an Imperial Baron and all...I thought, maybe..."

     Matsumoto dropped his gaze to the deck, as he slowly stopped speaking.

     "It's okay Matsumoto--Leiji!" Ishaki said, prompting the man, "Go on.  You thought maybe, what?"

     "Well, that's just it, Sir!  I don't know how to approach the Captain about this!  I was hoping you could tell me how I should do it...?"

     Ishakhi thought for a moment, before answering,

     "Well, Leiji, in interstellar naval service, it is never a bad idea to do what you've done--ask your Department Chief.  Or, if for some reason you feel uncomfortable about that, you can always go straight to the Executive Officer--it's his job to work with the Crew and help them with their problems..."

     Ishakhi again pauses with a thoughtful look,

     "But, in this case....." Ishakhi continues after a moment, "I think I know the exact person you should talk to.  Come with me, Spacehand Matsumoto, we're going to go talk with a Spook..."


* = That's 5-foot-6, and 5-foot-3, respectively, ya non-metric meatheads....

Hrolf smiled at Jacqueline, pleased to see the shy navigator starting to come out of her shell.  It was hard with a new ship and crew, far from old friends and shipmates and then with a captain who seemed half mad... well, Hrolf himself was glad for a friendly face although he maintained a quite stoic exterior.  "If you're good at math then by all means navigation is the way to go.  And as for visiting new worlds, well I won't argue with that.  It's one of the big reasons I joined as well." His tone was easy as the normally intense pilot seemed to relax a bit around his fellow officer.  "Piloting... it was a natural sort of thing for me really.  It's not an intellectual thing for me like astrogation might be but more just what I do.  I've always loved speed and excitement and tales of space, my ancestors were famous explorers going back to pre-space days on Terra herself.  Piloting just happened for me... like breathing the air."  As Hrolf talked about piloting she could see some of his reserve cracking with his enthusiasm.

He chuckled heartily.  "Well, I'm looking forward to seeing what we can do together with this grand old lady.  It's definitely a good start and I'm very pleased to be working with you..." he paused... "May I call you Jacqueline... at least informally of course."

“I’ve seen a lot of new worlds already, but the Imperium is so big even if I stayed in the navy until I was old and grey, I’d still only see a corner of it.”

She nodded when he talked about his ancestors. "Oh! You're a Swordie, aren't you? I can tell” she said enthusiastically, raising her gaze to look Hrolf in the eyes.

"My ancestors never did anything like this. I don’t know that my father was very happy with my choice. But you have to do what you love, I think” she admitted reluctantly, dropping her gaze again. “I’m sure being a pilot is exciting. I might have liked to fly, but it would make me too nervous”

“Pleased to be working with you too, sir. She’s a good ship” Jacqueline said warmly, before timidly hedging with “Or so I’m told. I’m not an engineer.”
She smiled softly again. "Um, yes, you can call me Jacqueline. If you'd like to"

Hrolf nodded, sharing Jacqueline's enthusiasm although naturally more restrained from his upbringing and heritage.  "What do they say, 1,000 worlds, a hundred subsectors alone?  You'd need an Imperial sized pile of anagathics to even travel extensively Behind the Claw here in Deneb, Trojan Reaches and Spinward Marches let alone the Core worlds on the other side of the Reft."

He shrugged a bit at the mention of his ancestors not in apathy but rather a standard reaction.  "My grandparents were refugees from the Sword Worlds.  They were fleeing one of the internal quarrels and settled on the Imperial side of the line in the Five Sisters subsector.  There already was a community there so I was raised in a pretty traditional manner."  He chuckled; "Was it my burly, handsome looks that gave me away?"

Hrolf met her eyes directly.  "It's not about what your ancestors did although that is worth honoring but about what you want to do.  I think my family would have preferred that I stay and help with the farm and family business but the military, even the Imperial military is a honorable profession.  My father gave me his blessing although my mother was worried of course." He paused and then continued.  "But you have to do what you like, be true to yourself or you will rot from the inside."  Hrolf chuckled again.  "There I am, too serious once more..."

Smiling a bit as he poked a bit of fun at himself Hrolf continued to answer her question.  "Piloting... even on the bridge of a ship like this it is freedom.  A man or woman can stand on their own and what they do has significance.  Yes... I love piloting."  It was apparent that underneath the stoic exterior he truly loved what he did.

He shrugged again at the mention of the ship.  "She's got heart, she took a beating and survived.  She's eager, look at the way she responds to the throttle... No, I think she's got heart and character." 

Hrolf's smiled deepened for a moment.  "Well I would much like to call you Jacqueline then.  It's a pretty name and suits you well.  And please call me Hrolf if you would."

Mammady waited until the ship was in position and there was time for him to leave the bridge.  "Captain Sir, may I leave the bridge please?"

He waited until he had permission before leaving the bridge and travelling through the air ducts, exploring the ship more thoroughly, hunting down any rats in the system.  Rats were better company than standard human couples at the beginning of the mating season.

“I would like to see Capital someday. And Terra; I’d just love to see the homeworld, but I’m quite certain I’ll never reach it.” Jacqueline said wistfully as she looked down at the starmap on one of her tablets.
“I’m from the Lunion subsector. I’ve visited the Five Sisters, but I never got to see the Sword Worlds” she said, scrolling through the starmap. “I’ve always been curious about what it’s like outside the Imperium.”
Jacqueline blushed and looked down at her feet at Hrofl’s joke about his handsome looks. “Something like that.”
“I’ll take over the family business when my father is gone. I’m not sure it really suits me, but I’m the only child, so it’s my duty. But that’s still a long way away. I’m glad your father approved.” she said. “Do you keep in touch with your family? I, I hope I’m not prying” she added hesitantly, but uncharacteristically for her didn’t break eye contact.
She nodded, smiling softly. “I can understand that. That feeling of freedom must be quite nice. And it’s okay to be serious. It’s been a while since I had a talk like this.”
“Yes, I heard the ship was tough. Hopefully, we won’t have to test that. That’s the funny part about a warship; the less you have to use it, the better things are. Ideally, the gunnery staff won’t have to do anything at all, but you and I will still have to earn our pay.”
“I, I think I’d like that. Hrolf” she said, trying out the use of his name. Her friends back home called her Jackie, but she liked how Hrolf said her name was pretty and suited her.

Hrolf nodded as he fiddled with the controls.  As they spoke he brought up a large holomap showing the coreward extents of the Third Imperium which included Capital as well as Terra and parts of the Solomani Confederacy. "I have heard Capital is something to see but if I had a choice between the two I would visit Terra.  My ancestors came directly from there and from ethnic colonies on generation ships during the Interstellar Wars with the Vilani Imperium.  It would mean a lot to me to see the old lands that shaped our culture."

He fiddled with the controls again, enjoying the quiet discussion. "I've never been to the Sword Worlds either.  My family were exiled and with the current tensions..." Hrolf shrugged.  "I would love to travel there and see our origins.  I have cousins apparently that I would like to see.  It is hard to think that they might be facing off against Imperial forces.  One does one's duty though."

Hrolf noted her blush but said nothing.  He found the quiet but intense astrogator interesting and attractive although his culture tended to be rather circumspect in their interactions.  "I got a lot of teasing in school and in Naval training because of the stereotypes and my accent.  The Sword Worlds have been an enemy for decades or more and it's hard for some to shake that off.  Loyalty is terribly important among my people.  Once we made our home in Imperial territory our clan and hearth were pledged to the Imperium."

He nodded approvingly as she spoke of her duty to her family.  "What does your family do?  I can understand the need to be faithful to what is required.  There is honor in standing true.  I am a younger son so the family land and business are well taken care of as it is.  I could find my own landholding and start a family in that way or make my own way in the Navy.  Both are well accepted."  He met her eyes, not pressing but enjoying the more intense contact.  "No, you are not prying.  My family is important.  I write my family weekly at least.  My mother and sisters worry of course and my father enjoys tales of different worlds.  Writing is soothing and drives away homesickness.  The land and kin are very important even for a wanderer like myself." Hrolf cocked his head.  "Do you communicate with your family as well?  They must think about you often as their only child."

Hrolf chuckled softly again, surprising himself how much he opened up to his fellow officer.  "Not so much freedom on a ship like this with a captain who is so hard core but still it is good.  My last ship was a Gazelle class close escort only 400 tons.  We had a small, tight wardroom and a lot of individual freedom." He shrugged again suppressing the regret.  "We take our service as we are ordered in the Navy."  He smiled slightly, emotions showing just a bit more.  "I don't think I can recall having a conversation like this.  We... that is my culture... we don't open up much."

At the mention of the ship and mission Hrolf grew more serious.  "We will certainly be tested both of us.  A good entering vector will make for a better Jump and a good Jump will give a good exit vector and an easier job as pilot.  I'm glad we can talk and cooperate... in our jobs..." Hrolf added the last as a hurried afterthought.

"Jacqueline then... it is an old Terran name and honorable."

“I’d choose Terra too. My ancestors are Solomani. There’s so much history there. History is another interest of mine” Jacqueline said, studying the systems around Sol on the map with interest.
She nodded slightly when he said one does one’s duty, even though he had family on the other side. “Yes, you have to do your duty even when it’s difficult” she said quietly. Memories of Feri gnawed at her, but she didn’t want to think about it now.
“I’m sorry your classmates were so shallow. It’s stupid to hold someone’s origin against them. I suppose the wars have been going on so long people forget that we’re the ones who started it all by encroaching on their territory” she said sympathetically.
“It’s good to hear you keep in touch with your family. I’m sure they’ll enjoy information about other planets, I know I always did. My father writes me often… he’s very interested the career of his only daughter. Of course, it’s a lot harder from this distance” she said. “I joined up with an old friend who encouraged me to join the Navy… but as it turned out, we’ve barely seen each other since the academy” she added with a touch what could have been regret or bitterness. “It’s good to have someone to talk to again… stop me if I’m being too chatty” she said, self-conscious.
“I admire the captain. He has drive, ambition, and presence. I think we’ll go far with him in command” she said with some enthusiasm. They were all things she herself didn’t have half as much of.
“I’ll do everything I can to make your job easy, Hrolf” Jacqueline said seriously, then felt confident enough to attempt a joke. “So if I cause you any trouble, it’s just incompetence, not malice.”

"History?  It's an overwhelming subject when you add the Vilani and all the Minor races let alone the Joes and the nonhumans." Hrolf raised an eyebrow. "I find just the little around us and that of the Sword Worlds enough for me." He quieted down as she spoke softly of duty.  There was something there, probably her family but Hrolf wasn't one by nature or custom to pry especially with a woman, even a fellow officer.

He shook his head.  "We were all children, shallow... it passed. And of course my ancestors were probably overly touchy and proud as well." At the mention of family Hrolf brightened. "The best duty is that of family."

Hrolf shrugged at her comment.  "I've made some friends along the way at each of my ships but nothing memorable.  Don't worry about being too chatty.  I enjoy the talk although I'm not the most talkative myself.  Keep it coming."  He smiled at the end.

"The captain?  He seems driven, maybe a bit too hard assed but I'd expect him to mellow as he gets used to the command.  He seems the type to succeed or crash and burn, let's hope the former."  Hrolf smiled again, his bright blue eyes lighting up. "I'll take the help Jacqueline.  I can't think of a better partner.  And don't worry about things; we'll muddle through especially if we stick together."

Jacqueline turned her gaze to Hrolf, amused. "Okay, if you want to get specific Solomani and Third Imperium history in particular. Vilani history is too long and too samey to be interesting to me. I'd be interested in hearing what you know of history sometime"

"Family's the most important duty. The best duty would be less stressful, I think"

"I suppose everyone's entitled to a few stupid mistakes as a child. I probably did embarrassing things back then myself" she added with a little shrug. "You make friends easier than I do; that's a good skill to have."

"The Captain will be successful" she said confidently. "It may help that it's part of our job to make him so."
Jacqueline smiled shyly. "Very kind of you to say, Hrolf."

Hrolf shared an amused glance with Jacqueline.  "I was too busy misbehaving to listen to too many of my lessons; there was too much to do on the farm and too many ways to get into trouble.  I did pick up a good bit despite my best efforts on the Sword Worlds and what my people went through.  And surprisingly..." He shook his head.  "The folks in the Daryen, even though they are enemies of the Sword Worlds; I found their history fascinating as well."  He shrugged, restraining his enthusiasm.  "I'd be glad to compare notes as I am sure the Imperial versions of what we both learned are somewhat different from the traditional histories passed down through my family."

He cocked his head slightly.  "I've always been outgoing.  It got me in a lot of trouble growing up but it's helped in the Navy.  I've had to work at it though as a lot of people find my accent and looks to be threatening at times."   he clearly did not feel persecuted though.

 Hrolf nodded; "If the ship and captain succeed then we do as well.  One of the strongest pulls within the navy for me is the camaraderie and teamwork.  Not all ships and crews have it but no successful ship lacks it.  If nothing else we can work together in our little section to build our teams and each other into part of that team."

Hrolf tapped the controls.  "Let's meet up tonight in the gym and we can talk and work out if you're free."