for the pick up.

TIME SKIP HERE, BUT OTHER THREAD IS STILL GOING...

With all the ship rearrangements done, it should have been a restful night, but everyone seemed to be on edge just a bit, even Yuri. What they were about to do the next day was potentially dangerous and, at the very least, stupidly illegal. It was still the right thing to do. Yuri couldn't help but wonder if other ships had been contacted to assist other refugees to get off planet. He hadn't looked into the politics of what was going on, but he found it strange that a general amnesty hadn't been declared to get the remaining Aslan off planet.

Then again, they were The Enemy. Killing them now meant you didn't have to fight them tomorrow.

He went through the motions of looking up various people that he thought might be 'cousins' and checking for any interesting art for sale. His limit for art was Dogs Playing Poker, so just about anything could get his attention.

He didn't want to give away his destination, though, so he didn't look up the specific location to see what was there. He'd spot that quickly enough when he got there.

He contacted one of the local aircar rental places and reserved an enclosed air/raft for the day. He made sure it had autopilot capabilities, so he could send it back on its own.

As it turned out, it was within walking distance (for him, anyway) and so he walked to the rental agency and picked up the air/raft. It looked more like a car than a raft! He then flew it back to the ship, and waited for Carmichael, Oscar and Anzha to join him after he commed them.

He'd dealt with getting the cargo loaded after they'd fixed up the forward corner of the cargo bay to accommodate 5 special guests. He tried making it a point NOT to mention the 'word', and not even think it. He simply wasn't familiar enough with this world to understand how invasive and controlling the authorities were. Loose lips sink ships was an old adage that he firmly believed in. That, and Never volunteer... for ANYTHING. Unless you had the luck of the devil with you.

Charly Kix, one of his buddies, had volunteered for the crappiest job imaginable to avoid having to do a job he thought was worse, and he'd wound up getting invited to the Governor's Ball and the after-party where he'd met his future wife, Dara.

Of course, that was the only time he knew of or had ever even heard of where that had happened.

He'd slept well for his efforts, though, and was waiting for Yuri's comm the next day.

As he climbed into the rental air/raft, he asked Yuri, "ETA?", wanting to know how comfortable he should get.

In reply to Carmichael (msg # 3):

Oscar joined Yuri at the air raft and waited quietly. He is huge and just stands there non-moving, the captains man!

At this point, Yuri wasn't sure if Bannacor was coming or not. It kind of made sense, since Bannacor was the only one of the crew that spoke Aslan, which would be helpful (though not absolutely necessary) if the Aslan didn't speak Anglish.

While he waite for Anzha and Bannacor, he went online and bought a translation program for Aslan, downloaded it to his wrist comm, and then installed it.

To be honest, he didn't think Anzha and Bannacor would be needed. He supposed it was because he'd been the one to do the talking to their contact. He didn't for a moment believe that he couldn't be conned, but he thought the contact was sincere.

In reply to Yuri Argonov (msg # 5):

"I can come along if you want me Yuri, or I can wait with the ship and continue to get ready for the Aslan. I got fresh meat for our guests so they can feel comfortable while they eat at least."

Anzha came out of the ship behind Bannacor wearing her everyday clothes: the grey slacks and jacket with the white blouse. She wore her stunner on a hip holster.  "I understand there is limited room in the air raft.  I'm happy to accompany, but if space is limited perhaps I should wait here to greet our guests?"

"Oh, the air/raft can handle 6 easily, Anzha" Yuri replies. "The concern was about shuttling our new guests back to the starport--couldn't have done it in one trip."

"You're here, Bannacor. Might as well go along for the joyride."

As soon as everyone was aboard, Yuri took the air/raft up to 100 feet and headed out of the starport. Outside, the starport, he took the craft up to 1000 feet. It was only at that point that he engaged the GPS locator and checked the map to see where he was going. He steered a course somewhat off of that.

One by one, he turned to his 'crew' and addressed each with a question.

"So, Anzha, have you ever tried to read an Aslan before?" he asked. "Mostly, we're just looking for any hostility or signs of betrayal."

"I've got an Aslan translator on my comm now, Bannacor. Do you happen to know how accurate they are? I can't imagine it screwing up anything radical, but nuances and idioms can be tricky."

"Oscar and Carmichael... I'll drop below radar at some point, then change course to the destination. I'll drop to contour flying then, and drop you two off maybe half a mile from the estate. You do recon in the area and the estate. Mostly, you're looking for any sort of trap, either by the Aslan or by the authorities, in case our patron was setting us up."

"We'll maintain radio silence here, but you can report to us if you find anything. I'll acknowledge with just a single bip."

"Keep in mind two things as you go. Aslan hearing and sense of smell, so try to stay downwind. Death Squads--don't know if any are in the area, but you'd have a hard time explaining what you are doing out here... though you could say you're hunting Aslan for the bounty."

"Once I drop you off, I'll retrace the flight path, head back up to altitude, continuing course, stop at some point when it seems likely I've missed my destination, and then fly straight back to the estate. That should take about an hour. Is that going to be sufficient time for  you to do your recon?"

"Anyone have any questions or suggestions?"

"I don't recall having ever read an Aslan, hopefully the experience is not too jarring," Anzha replies, settling into the air raft for a long ride.  She took the opportunity early in the flight to meditate some and focus her mind, calming any anxiety or excitement.

"Sounds like a good plan to me," Carmichael answered.

"Planning's not me strong suit. I'm much better at getting the job done."

"Depending on what the terrain is like, that sounds like sufficient time."

"I think my concern is that whoever owns this estate, are they going to have guards there? It would be prudent to keep the Death Squads and bounty hunters at bay. Probably have alarms, too."

"The Aslan are going to feel kind of cramped up, even if they've only been there for a few days. Can't go out or risk being spotted by satellite."

In reply to Carmichael (msg # 10):

"Works for me too."

In reply to Oscar 'Grouch' Henson (msg # 11):

Bannacor gets in the shuttle in the back with Anzha. Grouch can ride in the middle and Carmichael up front with Yuri.

He settles back for the ride in the air raft, not sure how long it would take. He hoped Yuri knew where they were going!

Unless something happens to keep him from doing so, Yuri will follow the plan he already outlined. Once he was a few miles out from the starport, he took the air/raft up to a level where he could get a view of the surrounding terrain.

As he'd expected, the area around the estate was extensively wooden. It was about the only way Aslan could have remained hidden well enough to make it to the estate. Unless they were driven there.

"Okay, Oscar and Carmichael. We're coming up onto your drop point," Yuri said. "Does that small clearing look good for you?"

It was barely large enough to accommodate the air/raft, but the gravitic drive made it an easy landing.

"Half an hour. Once you give us the all clear, we'll land at the estate, and then have them let you in, so you don't need to storm it or sneak in. Watch out for traps and snares, the headhunters and possible security."

"If you get compromised by the headhunters, remember I'm here to look at some art. Tell us to bring it in if it's not safe."

"So, Oscar," Carmichael asks as he disembarks from the air/raft, "any preference for how you do recon? You want to stick together, or come at the estate from both sides?"

"The wall is mostly to keep out animals. Shouldn't be a problem scaling it if we have to. I'm more concerned about the security it may have. Sensors are going to get us more so than cameras. Besides, we aren't supposed to go in, just scout the perimeter."

"But as my old Sarge used to say, 'no plan survives contact with the enemy'. It's all well and good to expect them to react a certain way, but don't be surprised if they do something completely different. More precisely, be prepared for it when they do."

"I'm good either way--solo or tandem."

"I didn't see any one out on the golf course when we flew by, but it still seems to be maintained. Probably by robots. I'd say one of us take the south side and one of us circle around to the north, avoid the golf course over on the east altogether."

In reply to Carmichael (msg # 14):

"Up to you. I can go either way."

"Okay, then... we're about evenly matched," Carmichael replies to Oscar. "I think I might have a slight edge on recon, though, so I'll circle around to the north and you can approach from the south."

"Once we reach the wall, but stay out of sight of any cameras, circle around to the west and we'll meet in the middle... say, 100 yards out... and compare notes."

"Ready to head out when you are."

In reply to Carmichael (msg # 16):

Oscar nods and grunts, he ready then lopes out in the direction of the estate to do his assigned recon. He goes carefully around the wall unobserved after he reaches it and is not spotted. He notes where the cameras and guards are and any other sensors he sees. He meets Carmichael at the designated point, arriving first and waiting on the other.

Carmichael heads out in the opposite direction from Oscar. Having a longer distance to cover, it's no wonder Oscar has to wait for him to show up.

It takes him another few minutes to find Oscar amid the trees, which is a good thing, since it probably means others would have had a hard time finding him as well.

He gives Oscar an 'OK' signal as he approaches.

"Same here. The only cameras I saw were on the main gate. Probably some on the gate to the golf course, too," he compares notes with Oscar.

"I think I spotted a few sensors, but can't be sure. I didn't see any guards, not even at the gate, but it's automated. I didn't find any signs of the Death Squads being in the area, nor of anyone lying in wait to ambush us. But then, those'll probably be on the inside."

"There's actually a road to the estate, which is why there's a main gate and how  you get to it, but the canopy covers it pretty thoroughly, which is why it wasn't visible from the air. Nice drive in the day time, but it'd be pretty creepy at night."

"It all looks clear to me."

He wasn't sure if he was supposed to maintain radio silence, though that was probably only if there had been a problem.

He activated his comm: "Looks all clear to us. Come on in."

After that, he and Oscar head closer to the gate. Out here in the 'wilderness', there was plenty of room to spread out, which is why the main building wasn't all that large... maybe 20 rooms... needed some place to put the guests that came out to play golf... but the area inside the wall was rather sprawling... a lot of grassy space for the guests' vehicles to park. There'd be no problem with landing the Old Lady's Hope in the 'front yard'.

In reply to Carmichael (msg # 18):

"Landing on the golf course?" Bannacor asked Yuri.
This message was last edited by the player at 12:28, Wed 19 May 2021.

"No, land it inside the wall," Yuri replied. "Just leave enough room for the ship to land. Program the autopilot to return the air/raft to the rental agency. We'll activate it once the ship lands, but put a 10 minute delay on it, just in case."

Bannacor nods understanding. This ship confuses me. With the captain and the old lady both giving orders, who do we listen to?" he asks Yuri.

"You're kind of right on that account," Yuri said as Bannacor landed the air/raft in the courtyard off to the side.

"It depends on the function and the intent of orders. The Captain is responsible for the safety of the ship and its crew, so if his orders are about that, then he's the one you listen to. If Beto doesn't like that, she can always get a new captain that will kowtow to her."

"Once we're on a planet, or on  station at an orbital starport, and the orders involve business, then that's Beto's province."

"I realize that the two of them still haven't found the proper balance--that ever-shifting line that each shouldn't cross, but then, they haven't been together all that long. No matter how long they've known each other, the years alone change a person, not just what they've been through."

He turned then to Anzha.

"You've been awful quiet so far. Worried?"

"I don't know how your abilities work or what you can do, though I do realize that not all psions can do the same things, but can you get any sense of threat to us?"

"Bannacor can be explained as my pilot. You should probably be my assistant. Just for the purpose of picking up our guests, you understand."

After Anzha answered, he decided it was safe to exit.

The estate certainly didn't look deserted or abandoned, but then he hadn't expected it to be.

"Go ahead and set the autopilot for an hour delay. If we're not back in it by then, it won't matter one way or the other," he told Bannacor.

Since no one came out to greet them or threaten them, he walked up to the door. There wasn't any sign of a doorbell nor even a camera, just an old-fashioned doorknocker. It was consistent with the neo-pseudo-gothic revival architecture of the place. Not his taste--he preferred modern. But, he was here to 'buy an antique' so it was at least consistent with that.

He knocked on the door using the knocker. Generally, he though, no one would have made it this far without being seen, identified and greeted.

Anzha nearly jumped out of her skin when Yuri addressed her directly, then blushed a bit at her reaction.  "I don't have any precognitive ability, and I'm not accustomed to speaking about my talents publicly outside the Consulate; there is so much prejudice.  But I can scan for life and see how many are waiting for us.  Give me a minute," she says climbing out of the vehicle.  She closes her eyes to focus, but then opens them as she looks towards the estate proper.

---

18:45, Today: Anzha rolled 6 using 2d6.  Life Sense.  Difficulty is Easy with a +4, +1 for her Telepathy skill for an 11 total.  She will spend 3 points to go to 500 m and using the full minute to get a 360 degree sense.

In reply to Anzha (msg # 23):

You sense your crewmates outside the estate, making their way in. In the house you recognize 4 adult humans, two children and 5 alien minds you assume to be the Aslan. They seem excited.
This message was last edited by the GM at 11:55, Sat 22 May 2021.

"Eleven sophonts besides us; four human adults, two human children, five aliens I presume are the Aslan, I've never read them before, no baseline.  They are excited, however," she reports to Yuri.  "No others within a 500 m radius."  She stretches out her full height and then settles back down to a casual stance, ready to follow Yuri's lead.

When the door opens, Yuri introduces himself: "Hello. My name is Yuri Argonov. I called ahead. I apologize if I'm intruding, but I heard that you might have a certain antique item which might be for sale."

He'd used the code word that he and his contact had agreed on.

"Ah, yes, Mr. Argonov, we've been expecting you," the man who answered the door replied. "I'm Clade Hagan. Welcome to my estate. Come on in."

"Thank you. This is my assistant, Anzha, and my pilot Bannacor," Yuri responded as the three of them entered the house.

Once the door closed behind him, he relaxed. No one was holding a gun on them. His prior service had taught him to maintain the pretense for as long as he could.

"I don't suppose our unexpected passengers have any antiques?" he asked humorously. "I've got about a 20 minute window, which seems appropriate to conclude our arrangement."

With than, Hagan gestures to someone out of sight off to the left. Yuri hears a door open, and a few seconds later, five Aslan step into view.

"Hello. I am Yuri. I made the arrangements to give you passage to Iryao. Is there anything I need to know before I signal my ship to come pick us up?"

He looks to Bannacor to translate what he said in case the Aslan didn't speak Terranglic.

In reply to Yuri Argonov (msg # 26):

Not unexpectedly, the Aslan were armed to the teeth, including a couple of tactical weapons. On the other hand, they didn't look all that menacing, though the obvious leader had his gauss rifle at the ready.

"Why are you doing this? Why are you willing to help us? Why should we trust you?" the leader says in heavily-accented Terranglic.

"There are many answers to those questions," Yuri replies after thinking for a few moments.

"Not all Humans are that barbarically aggressive. Despite the 'war', most of us are willing to let bygones be bygones. What's done is done; we can't change that now. What we can do is learn from it and do our best to see that it doesn't happen again."

"We might be passive, but we still don't think hunting you Aslan down is a good thing. If it was up to me, I'd grant you all amnesty and let you leave Nora'a to go wherever you want."

"Mostly, though, I'd say it's because the ship's owner-on-board hopes that helping you get safely to Iryao will reflect favorably on her trade efforts there. She's a trader at heart."

"Now that I understand! She's looking for more territory!"

"Very well. We accept your offer!"

"We have two scouts just outside the gate. Would you please let them in?" Yuri then says to Clade.

Once he agrees, he sends the OK signal to the ship.
This message was last edited by the player at 04:09, Wed 26 May 2021.

Anzha taps along on her compad at appropriate times, playing up the assistant part, as she scans the Aslan minds.

---

19:52, Today: Anzha rolled 5 using 2d6 +3 = 8.  Check for Telepathy.

I can edit this post once I have results of her scan.

In reply to Anzha (msg # 29):

There are 4 males and a female The leader appears old and the female is apparently his mate. She is not young either, they may be a family unit or there may be a family unit among them.

Anzha gave him the 'okay' signal, which meant she didn't detect anything hostile or duplicitous from the Aslan, so the scenario still seemed genuine.

A minute or so later, Carmichael and Oscar were escorted in.

"So, our ship will land outside in the courtyard," he explains to the others after introductions were made. "The plan is to land as close to the house as possible... hopefully not actually hitting the house."

"I'm thinking we should have some sort of cover between the front door... or whatever door we use... and the ship. Maybe I'm sounding paranoid, but I don't put it past the government to have orbital satellite surveillance over this area. However, they can't act if they can't see anything."

"The best I've been able to come up with is to turn on the sprinklers as if there's a malfunction and they go out under umbrellas, even if they are only makeshift umbrellas. We aren't supposed to be picking up any passengers here, just crew and possibly some artwork. That's my cover for being here."

The ship slowed while approaching the estate, and pinged Yuri

(if memory serves, the code is the following ;
- Yuri addresses to the captain : "everything OK"
- if Yuri addresses to Beto : "problem, come and save us"
- if Yuri addresses to Daphne : "everything is lost, call the army")

Once he got the ping from Beto, telling him the ship was on the way, he commed her back.

BEGIN COMMS->>>"Everything's okay. It wasn't the art I was looking for. These are nice people; you didn't need to send bodyguards with me. Though, I did appreciate the company. Saved me from talking to myself the whole trip."

"Oh! So, you're inbound? Damn. Couldn't wait for us to get back to the starport, huh? Well, we are most of the crew!"

"This is a big estate. Well, sure, it's out in the middle of nowhere, but that just means you don't have pesky neighbors wanting to borrow a cup of sugar... or your shotgun. Ha-ha. Lots of forest in the surrounding area. Didn't see any place to land when I was coming in, but the courtyard is big enough to handle the ship. Just make sure you avoid his prize rose garden!"

"Alright. See you in about ten. Yuri out."<<<-END COMMS

He winked at his host when he made the comment about the rose garden, which drew a laugh from him, so he didn't think there really were any prize roses out there.

He really wasn't the 'strong silent' type... it was just that he didn't usually have much to say. He wasn't one of those people that just talked to hear themselves talk. Or to fill an awkward silence... mostly cause it was never awkward for him. Silence was nice. Silence was his friend.

All this time of silence on his part, he'd been sizing up the other people in the room, particularly the Aslan. Unlike a lot of the people on Nora'a, he had nothing against Aslan. If you respected a person's strengths, then you compensated for their short-comings as needed. In a way, it was like caring for the elderly and the invalids.

He discounted Anzha as being any use in a fight, but her abilities just might give them an edge if it got that close. Bannacor was still a complete unknown to him, but he was pretty sure Yuri could hold his own. That left him and Oscar to carry the weight. As for the host and his people... it looked like the others would go whichever way the host went. So, that meant it was about why a fight broke out. If it was a personality clash, it could go either way. If it was because they thought Yuri and company wanted the reward--was there even a reward for turning in Aslan?--then they'd side with the Aslan. That would not be a good outcome no matter who won.

So, he and Oscar had done their best to 'look' bodyguard-ish.

When Yuri used the comm, Carmichael went over to the front door and looked out a window. He heard the sprinklers go off, so somebody had been paying attention.

A minute later, that same somebody came running up to the front door, opened it and rushed out, gesturing wildly at the sprinklers and going through the motions of pulling his hair out. He came back in a minute later, grabbed an umbrella from somewhere, and rushed out again, going from one sprinkler to the next.

Carmichael had to admit it was a good show.

Someone else had produced umbrellas for the Aslan and for Yuri and company. He supposed it wasn't unreasonable for the estate to have a dozen or so umbrellas in inventory for the people for when the situation called for it, however seldom that might be. Given the size of the estate, he should have expected a certain amount of... 'overkill' for stocking the place.

He suddenly made the connection: the estate owners were helping the Aslan because they probably had a lucrative trade deal with the Aslan worlds. Not only was that the source of their wealth, but it explained why the Aslan trusted them.

In reply to Yuri Argonov (msg # 33):

Beto was confused. Why had a former agent like Yuri forgot the code? How could his sentences be decrypted? "you didn't need to send bodyguards with me. Though, I did appreciate the company. Saved me" - did he mean that the guards were useful? And what about the mention of "a cup of sugar" - was the ship suppose to drop... white powder? The drugs?

Well Yuri's general tone was one of satisfaction, so...

Better be sure : Khor'ruhn was sent to the loading bay airlock, ready for trouble.

Beto was at her position with the secondary communications desk . Well, comms be their defense, then. She recorded a message for to the local and planetary military forces, and also the naval base, telling them the ship had been hijacked by Aslan fugitives, and the updated position of the ship. The alarm message was programmed to be sent in 10 minutes, unless Beto or Barris countermanded it. (there was a countdown and a discreet reminder 20 seconds before the sending time).

"Daphne, land the ship in the courtyard as told. Don't you feel the space is bloody narrow for a ship our size? Do not hesitate to destroy turrets and dovecotes to position the ship in a ready-to-scramble state. Feel no pity towards the flowers.", said the woman who often wore dresses with printed floral motifs.

Daphne nodded to Beto. Her voice came a little huskily, after the looong monologue on the radio.

"With pleasure. I think Traffic Control gave up on us a while ago, or so I hope. Ahem! Well, see that awful parterre? Right there, the extremely pretentious one, faux Louis XXXVI? That's our LZ. Watch me burn those tulips in three, two, one..."

---

21:12, Today: Countess Daphne Arslan rolled 9 using 2d6+3.  Pilot roll.

In reply to Countess Daphne Arslan (msg # 36):

A nice soft landing, and the tulips didn't even get burnt!

Daphne looked at the readings, released the control column and looked at Beto.

"Too much time in the Diplo Corps, I suppose. I'm too nice for my own good," she shrugged.

"Solid flying, Countess", observed Baris from the command console, where he was monitoring several stations and the local comm traffic, "Give the word, we need to move hastefully, not simply speedily"

Bannacor picks up Aslan luggage to carry to the Little Old Lady  he says to the Aslan and heads quickly for the airlock door!
This message was last edited by the player at 14:58, Fri 11 June 2021.

Carmichael opens the door first to make sure the coast really is clear.

He gestures to Anzha and Bannacor to go first, then lets Yuri lead the Aslan out, making sure there's two people under each umbrella. Otherwise, any overhead observers might get a different count from those that came and those that are leaving.

He couldn't help wondering how Beto knew that there would be five Aslan? Isn't that why she sent four other people with Yuri?

Yuri went out huddled under an umbrella with one of the Aslan. They didn't have to run, but hustling made sense because of the sprinklers... kind of like dashing through the rain to get indoors.

Once they were all inside the ship's cargo bay, he addressed the Aslan again.

"As you no doubt noticed, we don't have a very big ship, plus we have several other paying passengers. Even they are doubled up... mostly, so I hope these accommodations are suitable for you."

For a moment, Baris' words transported Daphne to two decades before, the bridge of an Imperial vessel, the smell of recycled air and the background noise of clipped military tones...

"Aye-aye," she replied, snapping out of it, with a rueful smile. "Ready for take-off as soon as our new cargo is properly stowed."

Nicodemus approached Yuri and the Aslan as they came aboard. With a curt nod, he activated the translator module on his laptop. The canned greeting was not what Nic  had expected, but it fit what little he knew of the Aslan. The instructions from his research still swirled around in his head. The text was still visible on the laptop's screen, reading it is vital that the Aslan are not greeted by any specific medical personnel, they may assume that person to be the owner of medical services and any Aslan that perform these services, themselves, could take it as a challenge.
In clipped, obviously machine generated Aslan, the laptop gave its message to the passengers. "Welcome, honored guests. The medical facilities aboard this vessel will be made available for private use upon request. Medical personnel aboard are honor bound to maintain the confidentiality of all medical proceedings. Please inform any crew member of your wish to utilize any of these services."
After the laptop fell silent, Nicodemus nodded once, shut the laptop, and returned to the med bay.

In reply to Nicodemus Trask (msg # 44):

"We speak Anglic for your convenience. Thank you for trying." the obvious older leader of the Aslan says to you.
This message was last edited by the GM at 15:18, Sat 12 June 2021.

Nicodemus points at the laptop, "not my words."
With a grimace, he admits, "My knowledge of Aslani is, regrettably, abysmal. I can only hope the machine adequately expressed the situation without creating an incident. Had a Vargr at one of my previous posts attempt to perform his own appendectomy, it would've been impressive if he hadn't tried to use his teeth."

In reply to Nicodemus Trask (msg # 46):

The Aslan show their teeth in what appears to be a smile or laugh.

Beto checked that everyone had gone up the ramp - the Aslan, but most of all the crew. She then checked the airlock was sealed, and called Lady Arslan

"Get us out of here, it should distract the other passengers. Standard trajectory to 100D. I know you like the limelight, but don't make us look suspect!", she smiled.

She then looked for Bannacor and whispered to him "are the Aslan locked in their cabin? From the outside? Are they armed?"

In reply to Beto Arark (msg # 48):

"No, they are not locked in, and they're always armed with teeth and claws. They have no modern weapons we saw."

"Well I would have locked them to prevent them from roaming and be discovered, or some other passenger might discover them. But you're our translator and our steward, so responsible for their behavior. That's how it goes with our crew : everybody is responsible, and the cows are well-guarded", said Beto while postoponing the alarm message, every other hour until the jump.

[To Nerull : please tell if there's a problem until we jump. Beto Arark rolled 8 using 2d6+2.  astrogation.]
This message was last edited by the player at 05:01, Wed 16 June 2021.

Daphne smiled, fingers running through the controls.

"Aye-aye ma'am" she said mechanically, as if the was still in the Navy, and pulled the colum towards her. For the first seconds, the lift was so smooth it was barely noticeable, until the background quickly faded from dark blue to black speckled with unblinking stars. Daphne sat back with a satisfied air.

"For a ship her age, the Old Lady handles remarkably well," she said, self-effacingly. "She must have been an impressive Young Lady, back in her time. I'm quite pleased to be working with her, truth be told." She flashed a smile at Beto. "Excellent catch, Mrs. Arark."

---

22:09, Today: Countess Daphne Arslan rolled 14 using 2d6+3.  Piloting.
This message was last edited by the player at 21:13, Tue 15 June 2021.

"Straight and strady, XO", murmurred the Captain, once their extra passengers were aboard, "Once we're in the void, I will make myself known to them, see if my reputation might prise anything out without undermining Mister Bannacor's authority"

In reply to Countess Daphne Arslan (msg # 51):

Daphne takes off without burning the tulips too. Great job! Your course was set by Beto and you spend four hours heading to the jump point!

Once the Hope's course was set for the jump point, the Captain called his crew together. At his station, he was calm and steady, though he worn a slight smile and the continued energy from his rejuvenationn was clear, "Solid work, everyone. You kept your heads and kept to the plan, and from all accounts we avoided any unwanted attention and have opened up what Ms Beto would call, 'an opportunity'."

His smile broadened, fully formed for a moment, and then faded, "We've a taut time ahead, and then a throw of the dice when we reach Iryao. We need to juggle our two sets of passengers, the first from knowing the second exist and the second to sweeten to entry into the Hierate"

He focused his attention on Bannacor and Trask, "Question them, carefully, and find out what you can of the situation at our destination. Will they be welcome? Who rules there, and who commands at their Clan Base. Will we need to contend with their navy's attention? Does our ship's past warrant attention, or caution?"

He nodded once, then his eyes swept the rest, "Keep our other passengers uncurious. We've them and cargo to deliver and an entry to plan. Anything else we need to know from either's records... Let's dig a little more"

Yuri will hobnob with the regular passengers from time to time during the trip, bring up the subject of art if none of them do, and then explain that the odd departure was his fault. He'd heard a rumor that the Bennington estate had an interesting piece of art that he was interested in... if it didn't cost too much. He'd simply mistimed the round trip, and he wasn't going to make it back in time for the scheduled departure time. Well, he and the rest of the crew. Some of them wanted do a bit of sight-seeing, while Grouch had gone along as his bodyguard, though he tried to tell him it wasn't need.

No, he didn't find the art he was looking for. Turned out that it wasn't the Bennington Estate any more. Someone else had bought it. After old man Bennington had died, the entire contents of the estate, including the flowers and the estate itself, had been auctioned off. Maybe if he came back that way, he'd try to look up the auction and see who bought the painting and for how much. That way, he'd know if he could even afford it.

That was his story and he was sticking to it.

In between hobnobbing with the regular passengers, he'd spend a bit of time with the Aslan. There was no reason for the regular passengers to go into the cargo bay, and the Aslan had the run of the cargo bay such as it was, so there really wasn't any reason for them to go into the rest of the ship. He and Bannacor tried to keep it that way by entertaining the Aslan as best they could, asking about themselves, where they were going, what they were going to do... not trying to get any secrets out of them, and Yuri was also learning Aslan. His version of entertainment was screwing up the language now and then, like using the old trope 'you have a big yellow pencil' when he was trying to compliment one of them.

In that way, the week in Jump-space passed quickly enough, hopefully without any incidents.

In reply to Yuri Argonov (msg # 55):

The Aslan were good natured despite their circumstances, they were going home! They talked and joked with Yuri and Bannacor and tried to pass the time. They even told stories! The old man was indeed an ancient warrior and he could tell the tales!

[Took me only 10 days to think of an answer to that! :) ]

Beto mulled this statement in her head. Then she squinted her eyes and said ironically :
"Yes yes, master diplomat Countess Daphne Arslan, I can spot the flattery and the subtle and manipulative double speak in your words. The Old Lady is well, she was impressive when she was young... 'wondering if you really speak about the ship or about its majority stockholder?!"

She grumbled : "Truth is, both the ship and me are old bones past their date of efficacy. Yes, 40 years ago when she was build, I was known as "powerhouse Beto" and the ship bore the latest technology; but we were reunited a few weeks ago after 32 years each on our side, and I doubt the tenants invested in her, not to mention the damage 6 years as an Aslan bandits lair did on her. Me? I should be retiring and live with my daughter, helping her raising my grandchild. I guess Greed brought me here... no I don't guess : Greed - thanks to a Navy pension to tight to mention - catapulted me on this chair, that's for sure".

The old ex-commander bent over to the pilot and whispered : "Truth be told, Lady Arslan, I am also quite pleased to be working with you. I consider you as my other daughter, Gemmie's elder sister."

She came behind the pilot's chair and put her hands on the shoulders of the former fighter pilot : "Daphne, you are gifted, full of qualities and potential. You'll do great things... if the Big Bad Aslan doesn't eat you!".

Beto limped back to her position, did not look back and pretended to focus on the jump calculations.