Thursday, 113-1114:
Finishing Some Things, Starting Others And Recovering
Following recovery and treatment after an ambush, Zimzod had slept off sedatives, Fesic spent the night in the autodoc and Aali had been under observation and treatment in hospital. When they woke, Mikah planned to speak to Station and Security administration asking for permission for the crew to arm themselves, for their own defense. Despite his vow not to leave the ship again on Lanth, Fesic would have to return to port offices to complete the work on his trading authorization. Jocelynn also had to go, with Mikah, to finish up at that office before they could go to a third office for her "In-System Trade Certification".
In hospital, Aali was told they would prefer she got up and moved about but didn't want her pushing too hard. They didn't want her stressing her wound seals. They told her the blood and other tests they'd been running looked good, and they expected to release her the next day. Aali also saw, while moving about, that Station Security had two guards on her hospital room. When she spoke with them, they were both solicitous and friendly. Willing to help Aali when she asked because she'd been a crime victim. Adding to security, Aali saw her room had been at the end of a cul-de sac passage and sealed off for her protection.
In his stateroom, Aiden was eagerly waiting for his new musical toy. Considering his options when it arrived, Aiden realized he'd not bought headphones to use it with. Calling UniverSound, he asked about medium to high rated headphones and was given a range of devices. What the shop offered were a range of in-ear and slim-thickness ear covering devices. Aiden ended up spending Cr 30 on headphones while the clerk checked on his already scheduled delivery. Seeing the instrument he'd already bought hadn't been shipped, the phones would be added to the parcel, saving Aiden a delivery fee. Aiden then sparked up a news channel and took notes from reports on the shooting on a datapad as he watched. He was mostly concerned about new security reactions and restrictions the crew could be put under.
Of course, shootings were fairly uncommon, if not rare in Lanth's high port. That meant news reports worked hard to get the details out to the public. Everyone was pleased that no other casualties had been reported, so there were no innocents outside their crew wounded. Since the officials hadn't updated them directly yet, Aiden learned at least two of the shooters were described as underemployed dock workers. The report also said the weapons used had been low-quality revolvers with standard six-round cylinders. Reportedly, security had recovered only 12 rounds per gunman so their ability to sustain fire had been limited. Of course, that hadn't limited their ability to cause serious wounds. Getting the jist of the news, Aiden then shifted to solo stent training and then shifted to watching entertainment vids.
When she'd dressed, Jocelynn had specifically put on the executive armor Aiden had bought her with the Marine label on the front and comment on the back. Colinne checked with Jocelynn to see if she needed help with anything but Jocelynn said she had to return to station offices to get her trading certifications. So, any other plans had to wait until she got back from that work. Hearing that, Colinne returned to her self-imposed schedule of Zhodani language studies in the morning and work on the intruder software in the afternoon. The work on the intruder package was a bit maddening, given the depth into which she had to dig. It had only been just over twenty days when Colinne had gotten the decompiler from Dame Gaurzurka, and some of the time since then had been spent dealing with other situations. Thanks to the program's complexity, Colinne was still working to dig into the code sections and map them.
Mikah checked on Fesic, helping him out of the autodoc since he had to join her and Jocelynn in station offices that morning. The treatment didn't heal him, but did advance his recovery. She scanned his arm and estimated he still had up to thirty days before his cast could come off. After Fesic ate and got his morning routine done, the three left for the offices. Fesic also took a few moments, during his breakfast, to call InstellArms. When they connected him to his concierge, he played up his wounds in hopes of sympathy, cost-reductions and possible relationship interest as he told her about the damage to his executive armor top. Those hearing him actually laughed when Fesic asked if there was some kind of warrantee on the damaged armor?
Fesic's concierge did her best to filter out the "dry tone" when she said there was no reason for a warrantee because she expected the armor had done what was it was designed to do. With eleven suits, including the gift from Aiden, Fesic chose only to buy a replacement top section. Just replacing what was damaged. The cost for that was Cr 1,000, and after he had the delivery set, Fesic grabbed his "walking stick" and was ready to leave for Station offices with the others. While Fesic spoke with his concierge, Mikah called Station Security to check and see if there had been a policy change to let her crew arm themselves for self-defense? Mikah was told no such change had been made. Not happy with that, Mikah said it was all on them in a warning tone while the operator simply completed the call without editorial comment.
Leaving the ship, the three saw the bay crew had also had a three-person security team added. Lucky for Fesic, that team didn't have advanced scanners to use on his cane. When one of the troopers gave the cane a look, Fesic held up his cast and said, "I was shot yesterday." in what Mikah felt was a whine. When Jocelynn asked, she was told they were not prepared to offer the crew a secure ride to their business destinations so she called for a portCab. That would cost them Cr 20, which Jocelynn paid. When the cab came, they got in and rode off as Jocelynn made it clear none of them should go walking anywhere, to aviod becoming targets again.
After cooking, cleaning up and doing some of his physical therapy, Rol connected with his concierge at InstellArms and ordered five ballistic-cloth shipsuits. Rol also asked about lower priced comms devices to use in situations where his gear could be stolen or damaged. The concierge said she could sell him the shipsuits and asked for more information on the comms idea. When Rol explained what he wanted, she said they had any number of unobtrusive devices to which they could port the software and settings used in his primary comms unit. Of course, there would be limits on what the cheaper unit could do, so there might be cut-offs where the more expensive comms Mikah had bought the crew had more processing or broadcast power. Or, more on-device memory. When Rol said he wanted a wrist-band type device, the concierge made sure to warn him that would cut him off if the device were worn under a vacc suit or any sealed suit, such as combat armor.
Rol made it clear he'd have his regular comms unit in that case, and only wanted the wrist unit in situations where he didn't want to have a visible comms device. Considering the Loca-Tag and language translation software loaded on his main comms, the 100-mile max. range wrist-band unit Rol bought cost him another Cr 500. They could also port all the settings and software from his main comms to the new unit for Cr 500, but he'd have to come to InstellArms and wait while the work was being done. That or be without comms while the work was done. The concierge also offered Rol the option to pay Cr 500 to have a tech come to their ship to do the work, so Rol could avoid the travel. Rol also agreed to pay Cr 2,000 each for five Ballistic-fabric shipsuits. After he placed that order, Rol turned to his communications training software, figuring he would do that until the tech arrived, and continue until it was time to eat. Along with his physical therapy.
Sekea had also been reassessing his gear after the shooting. While he felt he had more than enough sets of executive armor, he had no shipsuits at all. Ballistic-cloth or otherwise. Considering that, Sekea decided to order five ballistic-cloth shipsuits because he was ready to bet this wouldn't be the last attack. He also ordered seven regular shipsuits. Ironically, Sekea also spent some time considering the risks to his critical gear and was most concerned with protecting his ability to communicate in a fight or while on 'the bad side of the station'. Because of that, Sekea also called InstellArms and asked about protective shipsuits and an alternate comms device. What Sekea could not know was that his concierge had a "shared workspace" with the other concierges assigned to the crew. So, when Sekea started talking about the same sort of device Rol had just ordered, she was able to steer Sekea down the same road. And, charge him the same prices, meaning InstellArms would 'double-dip' on the technician's fee - for the sake of profit.
In her stateroom, Colinne also considered her wardrobe, both with the attack and the fact the crew would be canned up like spam in the ship potentially for months in the Sonthert system. Because of that, she ordered two ballistic-cloth shipsuits and five regular shipsuits. In his stateroom, Zimzod did what PT he could while being careful about his wound. He then did some personal stent practice before relaxing and letting his body heal. Given the number of executive armor suits he had, he chose not to replace the damaged top.
When the cab Jocelynn called arrived, it was an automated system without a driver. After she, Fesic and Mikah boarded, the automated system asked where they were going and Jocelynn said, "Crazy. Wanna come?" The humans giggled while the computer disposed of the meaningless answer and asked again. Jocelynn said they had to get to the certification office and sat back for the ride. With the cab rolling, Jocelynn sparked her comms up and called InstellArms, unaware that her crewmates were also doing the same or had done. Connected to her concierge, Jocelynn ordered a ballistic-cloth shipsuit for each of the ten executive armor suits she had.
When Jocelynn asked, she was told the shipsuits couldn't be modified to offer more protection over the chest. For that extra protection, she would have to wear a protective vest, which would be fully cloth-armor capable. And would also have a small effect on her ability to move freely. Jocelynn realized that would mean wearing a bullet-proof vest, which wasn't appropriate for day-to-day business. The ten suits cost her KCr 20. Done with what she wanted, Jocelynn asked if Mikah or Fesic wanted to order something? Since Fesic had called earlier, Mikah had them connect her with her concierge and ordered two new ballistic-cloth shipsuits, adding to the four she had.
Hours In Motion When InstellArms did arrive at the ship's berth, it wasn't just the technician Sekea and Rol expected. With the tech were others carrying boxes. One had a delivery for Dame Jocelynn and the rest were the crew's various orders from the day before. That included Sekea's chess set. Another had Mikah's laser pistol holsters. The tech asked for Sekea and Rol's comms, and they saw he'd brought a device to which he could connect many units. It let the tech work on both comms at once, while charging each man separately. As they'd been told, the process took an hour and the report provided also identified limits the copied software would suffer because the wrist-bands had less power and memory than their comms units.
When they checked the report, it said the Loca-Tag package would have a much smaller range when used with the wrist-bands. The maximum would be one to three miles at best. Rol was good with that because he didn't expect the band to be his "main workhorse". While those at the ship unpacked the deliveries, Mikah, Jocelynn and Fesic arrived at the certification office. Fesic approached one of the clerks, who asked "How can I offer you excellent service today?" in a voice and tone devoid of any emotion or energy. The clerk's face told them everything they needed. The speech was mandatory and rote, the worker had no reason to care and they would get what the process said they'd get. Nothing more. Fesic only had to complete some final forms then pay Cr 500 and he'd receive an authorized seal and be allowed to trade in-system.
While Jocelynn could stand at Fesic's shoulders and call the shots using his credentials to get them through the "administrative wall", she wanted her own credentials too. So, Jocelynn dove into the forms with Mikah helping. She wasn't surprised when the clerk she faced had exactly the same expression and tone as the one Fesic spoke to. As if their jobs sucked their souls out and held them hidden until the staff finished their day and returned to their real lives outside the offices. Jocelynn's forms demanded so much more time than Fesic's did however he stayed with them this time. Unlike their previous visit, where he'd wandered off in search of flea markets and salvage shops.
In hospital, Aali was encouraged to gently get up and move around. This would help the gas bubbles they couldn't prevent to migrate to the drains they would remove. That was planned for the next day, before they hoped to discharge her. One surprise was that her meals came with a gelatin which was "Lanthberry" flavored. Something Aali had no idea existed before receiving a small bowl of it with her meal. She was not impressed. Aali was offered the chance to ask for anything to be brought to her from her ship, or access to the hospital's entertainment suite. Choosing to let herself heal, Aali chose to just watch selections from the hospital entertainment channels.
Hoping the authorities would change minds, Aiden pulled out various items like his bullet-resistant trench coat and snub pistol to check. That way, he hoped to be ready when they got permission to go armed on the station. Aiden then spent an hour relaxing listening to music before he spent time doing individual stent work. Colinne had planned to switch from her Zhodani studies to her work on the intruder software but Sekea asked about stent practice. Setting aside her software work, Colinne asked who else wanted to do a group stent session? Rol and Zimzod joined them while Aiden had grabbed a package he'd received in the delivery and furtively scurried into his stateroom. There, Aiden unboxed the music instrument system and headphones, to begin reading the paperwork.
While Aiden read through the intro items and "first step" and "how to" notes, he found there were tutorials. Testing a few of those, Aiden was annoyed because the teaching vids were not really beginner oriented. They assumed he knew how to read music in some, or that he understood fretting in another. So, they were not really "beginner friendly". Getting started with the instrument, Aiden spent the rest of the afternoon playing with it. For the others on the ship, he thankfully did that in his stateroom and used the headphones. When the stent training broke up, Zimzod looked for on-network medical seminars to brush up on his skills while Colinne went back to working on the intruder software and Rol did more physical therapy.
During the afternoon, Aiden also placed an order for Cr 25 to be delivered the next day. When Jocelynn and Mikah finished the forms, Jocelynn called a portCab while Mikah went looking for another high-end restaurant. She made sure to look for one she'd not yet been to. While she looked, Mikah got curious about a number of Aslan-serving places listed. Choosing one named the Khu Feast (or “Feast of Five”) that seemed higher end, Mikah asked Jocelynn and Fesic if they wanted to visit the place with her? Both said yes and they took the portCab to the restaurant, with Jocelynn paying the Cr 20 to get there. Jocelynn also told Fesic she'd want his help after dinner, looking up trade brokers.
Exotic Tastes And Lessons While Rol cooked for those on the ship, Mikah, Fesic and Jocelynn showed up at the Aslan restaurant to the surprise of the staff and many there. At the first glance, what they could see of the compartments was a space decorated as much as an open savannah as possible. The staff they could see were a mix of male and female Aslan handling various tasks. As they moved into the space, and an Aslan woman approached them, it was obvious the males were bussing tables and moving furniture. The women all seemed to be handling tasks like managing payments and overseeing operations. Very few of the males were part of the wait staff, with the rest being females. And, looking out over the whole space, in an elevated position of honor, was what seemed to be an Aslan Lord.
They would learn, as they ordered their meals, that Aslan society was very strictly divided and Aslan males generally had little to know understanding of money and finances without a specialized education. Of course, when they arrived, what seemed to be one of the more senior Aslan women came to them and asked if they were possibly in the wrong place? That made sense since almost all those in the compartment were Aslan. Diners and staff all. Some few Humans were present, but only in the company of Aslan. When Mikah said they had chosen to come to that place, the female asked if she was certain? Mikah was, because she'd seen the menu and the meats and vegetables Aslan ate could be digested by Humans too.
Uncertain, the woman personally led them to a table and saw them seated. She also made it clear they had a specialized 'Human-friendly' menu for tourists. Beyond those dishes tested for human consumption, the rest were culturally Aslan food. After ordering and while they sat, the say most of the male Aslan working there were handling the lowest level jobs. Bussing, cleaning up, etc. No males even made an attempt to deal with payments. Not understanding how Aslan society worked, Jocelynn began to wonder if she could off-load the Aslan rifles they had to the males working there. When Jocelynn did try to get one of the males to talk, he demurred to one of the females and it became obvious they were in charge.
Fesic felt the peer pressure when Mikah and Jocelynn both ordered something that was properly Aslan, rather than something safe from the Human menu. Each also paid Cr 130 for their meals and drinks. While they ate, it was obvious they were still the center attraction for everyone in the compartment. Along with the apparent Aslan Lord sitting at the "head of the compartment", each of the other tables seemed to be dominated by one Aslan Male whose seat was elevated. When the Aslan female had seated them, she had tried to guide Fesic to the raised chair at their table before Mikah blocked that. She said she'd be in that seat because she was in charge. Despite that, the female tried to explain to Mikah the Aslan social customs and expectations. Mikah only made it clear she was in charge and even joked about getting Fesic a baby chair. The woman only shook her head in a very Human way and left them to their server.
During the meal, they learned the males working at the venue were essentially the bottom rung of society. Falling below that meant one would be expelled from Aslan society. These males had no hope of gaining any Honor in the eyes of their peers, or ever hoping to climb to any kind of social rank. Considering their situation, Jocelynn again thought of the rifles she had to sell and decided to mention them in the hearing of the five males they'd encountered. When she did, three of the males actually seemed to show an interest in her comment. While the interest was there, they didn't say anything to Jocelynn. Still, in what would be seen from an Aslan point of view as a surprising show of courage, two of the three stopped their tasks and moved to speak with the female who had seated Mikah's party.
While eating, they learned the place was owned by a very minor Aslan Clan, as most Aslan-owned properties were. Because of that, it was 'land' and had to be protected, which was why the one Aslan who appeared to be a lord was sitting watching the space. All land had to be protected by a male who would fight for it. Despite that, the female who had seated them was the actual manager "ruling" activities in the restaurant, because Aslan females handled and controlled all mercantile activities. And she was the senior-most female. When the two males bowed and spoke to her, she looked at them with a glare but listened. Then, she looked at Jocelynn and their table with a glare.
After apparently coming to a decision, she gave a audible huff that seemed to surprise everyone else in the compartment, as the scope of the dinner theater widened. The female then again stepped down from her post and approached their table with two of the males following subserviently. At a signal from the female, a chair was brought and she settled herself before addressing Jocelynn. Abruptly, she told Jocelynn, "Ealekheieaahaiw has told me you have given him a chance to earn honor." Her tone was disapproving and she gestured to one of the males when she mentioned his name. Fixing Jocelynn with her eyes, the woman asked, "What has Aslan Honor to do with Human interaction?" Unfamiliar with Aslan behavior, Jocelynn couldn't tell if the woman was angry or just annoyed?
Not sure what the problem was, Jocelynn admitted Aslan Honor had nothing to do with Humans, and said, "We just came into ownership of these rifles and I wanted to make certain we gave them into the proper hands." Nodding, the woman told Jocelynn, "You obviously do not understand the Aslan concept of honor." She continued, "Perhaps, the next time you involve yourself in affairs of Aslan honor, you should do some research to understand what you are doing. However..." Not realizing the pause meant she was still speaking, Jocelynn admitted, "I'm just a dumb Human." and the woman very bluntly agreed with her. She again told Jocelynn to do her research before there was a 'next time'.
When she then said she would "punish" the two males by letting them have the rifles, Jocelynn was even more confused. When Jocelynn asked, she was told the two males would be forced to find some way to make a statement to gain honor with their actions. They could not sit back and wait for a chance or for events to favor them. They had to find or "create" a situation where they could use their rifles to gain honor, and Jocelynn had obligated them by her actions. So, she said she would pay Jocelynn Cr 100 each for the two rifles which Jocelynn will bring back to the restaurant to present to the males.
Added to that, Jocelynn could see the "change in status" was immediate, because the woman now referred to the males as "Warriors". Jocelynn asked and was told the two had been promised weapons, and any male who legitimately had a weapon or been promised one was considered a warrior. But, they had to earn the honor to continue carrying those weapons or die trying. Stepping in to offer what she thought was a solution, Mikah suggested the two could earn honor by taking roles as body guards for her crew. The woman waved that away dismissively reminding her they had to find or create a way to make a statement. She said, "A warrior does not earn honor by waiting to be attacked. In Aslan society, a warrior had to have honor before they would be accepted to guard, or expected to give their life and honor to shield another. These males had no honor."
While they learned from the restaurant's Head Woman, the warrior who had been sitting in the Honored place of the Lord had risen and come to their table. Looming over them all, he asked the woman, "Why have these Humans meddled in the honor of the Fteirle?" Thanks to the comms translator software, the Humans heard a translation of "The People" and could only guess it was what the Aslan called themselves. Before anyone else could speak, Jocelynn did her best to explain that she'd made a social mistake thanks to her ignorance of Aslan custom. She didn't try to use the word Fteirle because she'd not ever heard it before and didn't want to stumble over it and make things worse. Jocelynn then admitted her crew had gained a cargo of the rifles and had been told they had a ceremonial use. Because of that, she'd hoped to open a door to trade and be sure they were properly handled.
Nodding, the warrior looked down at the two males who were bowing subserviently next to the table during the entire conversation. The rest of the compartment had gone dead silent. Even the cooks and staff were frozen and watching. Speaking in Trokh, the warrior solemnly said, "Ealekheieaahaiw and Hrakhouwaweioi, I will have two of my warriors to take positions in two of the station's reserve compartments. You may each take your rifles and try to defeat one each of the warriors." The warrior continued, "They will face you unaugmented, so you will be armed and they will not. If you survive, I will accept you into the Ehkeireayerl." Their translator software defined that as the concept of a low-grade military unit generally used as "first-wave" shock troops. The sort not ever expected to survive combat. With that, both the Senior Woman and Warrior left them to their meals. before she left, Jocelynn asked if they would be able to attend the test fights and was told they would not.
Mikah could only think to herself that was better than bussing tables with no hope at all. And that was the nut in the issue. They'd given the former drudges hope. Of course, the high odds were that neither of the males would survive the challenge before them, and would almost certainly be killed if the unit they joined was ever committed to combat. Mikah's point of view was that if, after Jocelynn had mentioned the rifles, they had not asked the senior woman, they wouldn't be in the situation. So, Mikah was good using the loop hole to slip out of any blame. Fesic pointed out that stepping up and asking for the rifles already put them a step up from the males who didn't ask, and Mikah agreed. Before they left, Jocelynn received the Cr 200 for the rifles and was told the Clan would send warriors with them to pick the rifles up from the ship instead of her having to return with them.
When the food had come, Mikah very much enjoyed her dish. Jocelynn felt she could take or leave her meal. It was OK, and she finished it off because it was food, but it had less flavor than she could have hoped for. Despite the fact Fesic liked the meal very much, and dug in with a hunger, he was mostly done when "something" triggered" his gut and he barfed the food all over a side of the table and on the floor. Given the Aslan social structure, two male Aslan moved over the clean the mess while they continued to be the center of attention in the place. Even worse, Fesic was now hungry again because his stomach was empty. Mikah just snapped at him that he could have a foil pack back at the ship. Jocelynn was concerned Fesic had somehow insulted the Aslan but they only reacted with what seemed to be a 'typical Human' shake of heads. In fact, the reaction had been so swift the Aslan must have had people waiting for just that sort of event.
From that point forward, the three were treated strictly "courteously" by the staff of the restaurant. It was almost as if they were now tolerated by a diplomatic rule. While things were cleaned up and Jocelynn and Mikah finished their meals, they were joined by a Male and his senior female from another table. Having signaled to the staff, chairs were brought for the pair and the Humans could see his chair was taller than hers. With very accented galanglic, suggesting he did not use the language often, he asked Fesic why he did not speak for the females at his table? Fesic answered, "You may not know this about humans, but we do not divide tasks and roles in the way you do. Pointing to Mikah, Fesic then said, "This is the person in charge of our group."
Turning to Mikah, the man asked, "How do you hold the alliance of your people?" and Mikah could only guess he meant loyalty. Mikah considered before answering, "Through leadership, friendship and the means of money." He nodded and said, "Ah, then they are your servants." Mikah quickly said, "No. No. We're mostly equals although my position is higher because I've been given honors by the Arch Duke that the rest of the crew have not." Hearing that, the female tugged on the man's robe and whispered something to him their comms didn't catch. Nodding, the man said, "Ah! Nobility. I have been told of this. Mikah agreed and explained, "We are a crew of nobility and I am the highest ranking noble in our crew."
Nodding, the man said, "This, I understand. Much like the hierarchy of my clan." He then asked, "How many battles have you fought in for your noble lord?" Mikah first made to estimate the number but then laughed and admitted she'd lost count. When she finally said, "Many. Very many." the man asked, "Do you only fight when commanded to or do you choose to fight for other causes?" Mikah answered, "We fight when we choose to, or need to defend ourselves." Nodding, he said he knew of Aslan units that fought for Imperial Lords and asked if they'd ever fought alongside one of those? Mikah said they'd not had the honor to fight alongside Aslan, but did have bodyguards at one time. The Male waved that off as if the word 'bodyguards' left a bad taste in his mouth. When he said, "Some day, you may have this honor." Mikah smiled and answered, "That would be a good day."
Moving to the events in the restaurant, he said, "We saw you offer two of those without honor a chance to distinguish themselves." Mikah nodded and apologized before explaining they hadn't realized it would violate Aslan cultural views. Mikah then added that she felt the two had proven they should have the chance simply by showing the courage to ask for it, despite likely facing death. Hearing that, the Aslan man smiled, which was a sight to see because neither Aslan or Vargr faces had evolved to smile the way Humans did. It was a gruesome habit the two races had learned from Humans for better or worse. the sight was even more gruesome thanks to bits of meat still caught in the man's teeth. A social nicety among Humans which had not made its way to the Aslan.
Speaking in an almost formal tone, the man said, "We appreciate the act even if you did not understand what it meant in our culture. Because of that, my aunt would like to speak." With that, he gestured to the woman who had come with him to their table. Rather than formal, the woman spoke in a business tone as she said, "I have researched you a bit. You are Lady Mikah Kirlim. Turning to the others, she said, "And you are Dame Jocelynn Guerrek and Sir Fesic Anfertirkåsmokt." She continued, "You are known, and I have come to understand that you have names." The way she said that suggested "having names" meant something in the Aslan culture it didn't mean to Humans.
The woman continued, "I am aware of those within our clan who would like a chance to gain honor. And their quest would be benefitted if I gave them weapons from the hands of people with names. Even Human names." She then asked if they had more of the rifles to sell and Mikah said they had four more. Nodding, the woman said she would pay Mikah Cr 1,000 for the remaining rifles. Smiling, Mikah said that sounded like a good deal, and Jocelynn said she'd rather the weapons went into the hands of those who would value and honor them. In Trokh, the Aslan Male said, "Instruments of honor should be given to those who will use them." as if pronouncing a maxim of the Universe.
Ironically, the translation their comms gave suggested that was meant as an insult. It suggested that they could not earn honor and should turn the weapons over. As the aunt transferred the Cr 1,000, both the male and female said something in Trokh that was translated into "It is well that we met." They then rose to go back to their table and Jocelynn said they were honored to meet the pair. As a parting shot in the spirit of how the Aslan viewed Humans, the male said he was certain the honor of meeting him was all theirs. The three were eventually offered desserts with the grudging respect of being brave enough to dine with the Aslan, but Mikah said "No" to desserts for everyone.
Still, they were a known quantity now, in that restaurant, and could expect to be allowed in to dine if they returned there. That meant that Clan Khtaeiyousta'aaah hlea'airl, who owned the place, knew and might speak their names. And, Clan Yoloaeakhhkaiyestiyseiei had forged a connection in buying the rifles. It was their warriors who would take delivery the next day. After the bill was paid and the three were outside the restaurant, Mikah smacked Fesic across the back of his head for throwing up. When he protested, "What? That was involuntary!" Mikah nearly snarled, "I don't care. You could have choked it down." in a tone that said she was accepting no excuses. This time, Mikah demanded Fesic pay the cab fare and they rode back to the ship.
Playing Out The Evening's Surprises After her dinner, Aali was doing stent practice when her doctor came to speak with her. He said he was pleased with her progress and their systems hadn't found any sign of infection or latent damaged tissue that wasn't healing. He said that he expected things to continue that way, and if they did, the team would remove the drains, sew up her last wounds and she could be released as early as the next evening. Pleased with that, Aali called the ship and ended up speaking to Rol, who she told the news. After that, she did more stent work before enjoying the hospital entertainment offerings and sleep.
After dinner, Aiden asked Sekea for more help in improving his navigation studies. But Sekea was looking into how to make a chess set using the set he'd bought as an example. He wondered if he could use gemstones he had from his home world to make material to use? Turning from that, Aiden asked about doing a group stent training. The stones Sekea had were a 'Carse Fire Tourmaline' and a translucent pale green Peridot. He saw he'd have to cut down blocks of the stones and would need the bulk gemstone stock to do it. Sadly, none of his resources let him lab-grow gemstones, much less those with the properties he wanted. So, he'd have to call a supplier for lab-grown stones and ask if they had ready stocks he could buy from? Or, if they could make him a stockpile?
Before he could place an order, Sekea had to figure out what volume of each stone he needed? The amount, from each stone-type was the same, because the "board" would be made from equal numbers of square-shaped tiles of the two stones. The material for the chess pieces would also be balanced since the pieces from each side would be made from the same amount of stone too. So, using a known volume, the amount of bulk lab-grown gemstone could be determined where each item had to be cut from a larger volume of the purchased stock. That allowed Sekea to call a gemstone provider and try to work out the costs he would face.
Since both the Fire Tourmaline and green Peridot variant were native to Carse, the suppliers he contacted didn't have large stocks of either. Very obviously, the price point on "actual and natural" gemstones was quite high, based on the willingness of the market to pay for novelty stone types. Because of that, the different conversations quickly shifted to lab-grown costs, as Sekea had intended. In the end, the gemstone sellers would commit to growing the amount of stone he would need over seven to ten days at a cost of KCr 10 per kilogram. A disagreement came where Sekea pretended he didn't need a full kilogram of each stone, due to his failure to look at the process he faced.
The suppliers said he'd need more than a kilogram of each stone type, to cut each item from the gross stock. Each cut chunk would be sculpted down to a tile or chess piece. A "15-gram pawn" would be carved from a 69 gram, "1.25 x 1 inch x 1 inch" block. And, where a standard chess set contained 16 pawns alone, the total came to 1,242 grams - or essentially 1.25 Kilograms of gemstone. Just for the pawns. The 64 tiles would be one inch by one inch by 1/3 of an inch. That would weigh a total of 1.3 kilograms when added to the stone that had to be cut away. The tiles could be shaped more precisely so less stone would be lost for them. The rest, from rooks to royalty, would demand even more. The suppliers were willing to hedge their math to three and a half kilograms. Half Peridot and half Fire Tourmaline. So, the estimate came to KCr 35.
When Aiden asked about stent practice, Colinne joined in and so did Jocelynn and Fesic, who'd returned from dinner. Fesic also zapped a foil pack because he'd lost his dinner and was hungry. Zimzod also joined in while Rol veged out and watched a comedy vid. When Mikah and the others arrived, they had with them the two warriors from Clan Khtaeiyousta'aaah hlea'airl. To the surprise of the others, Mikah escorted them to the cargo bay where she handed off the two rifles that clan had paid for. Mikah also told them warriors from Clan Yoloaeakhhkaiyestiyseiei would arrive the next day for the remaining rifles. The warriors received the two rifles with a solemn air, and then left to return to the restaurant. After that, and descriptions of what had happened at the restaurant, the evening wound down and the crew went to sleep.
Friday, 114-1114: The Best Defense Is A Good Interview Not surprised at all, Aali was woken early in the hospital as nurses and med-techs did their thing. Aali was told they expected to carry out some tests before removing the drains still implanted in her gut so they could sew her up. Then, if all went expected, they would discharge her to her ship's doctor late in the day. On the ship, Rol was first to wake and he cooked food for the others after his morning routine. By the time Mikah came out following her morning routine, she saw Rol was cooking and said all was right in the Universe. While she waited for food, Mikah watched the news and looked for additional coverage on the ambush investigation. Mikah and Rol were eating when Aiden joined them.
After eating, Aiden grabbed his practice sword and spent time working with their pell 'droid. Fesic woke and ate next, then went into his stateroom to look on-line for places on-station where he could walk in parks and other green spaces. When he found those places, Fesic worked to find live video showing the spaces and letting the sound wash over him "without" leaving the ship. In the lounge, Jocelynn was the next to leave her stateroom and took some of the breakfast leftovers. Given the amount still on the server, she realized there had to be others still asleep. After food, Jocelynn wanted to start researching brokers on station, but needed Fesic for that.
Not seeing him in the ship's common spaces, Jocelynn asked and was told he'd come out to eat. Hearing that, she went to knock on his stateroom door asking if he'd gone back to sleep or something? Jocelynn said she wanted to start researching brokers and needed his help. She also told him she planned to look into news outlets. When Fesic asked, Jocelynn suggested she wanted an outlet that wasn't the "top level" but could still get a message out so it would spread. When Fesic suggested TAS news, Jocelynn said she didn't want to use them and Fesic asked why not? He also said they were the largest and could spread anything the widest. He added that TAS had been the network they'd gone to when Rol did his interview on Rhylanor. Fesic agreed there were agencies that were just as powerful, like the Imperial News Network and others.
Jocelynn told Fesic she wasn't sure she wanted to use them to spread disinformation and he wasn't sure what she meant by that? Still, he reminded her that if she wanted to spread any information, she'd want someone with the widest reach. He also pointed out whatever agency she used had to push data into the furthest and most cut-off outposts. When he started talking about putting out 'disinformation' Jocelynn admitted she didn't even know if it would be disinformation. Nodding that off for the second, Fesic told her that if she was putting out fake news, she had to give it to them as if she absolutely believed it was correct and real. Fesic then said the question would be if they'd broadcast what she gave them or not? TAS would have to decide if it was of interest to their audiences? And, if any given report would bring people to vid-screens they were ignoring?
When Jocelynn said she felt they had to prioritize the sort of job boards mercenaries used, Fesic suggested she was wrong. He explained that 'the bounty' seemed to have been broadcast to "every" job and notice board. It was only the first attackers who had been mercenaries and they still had little information on who the newest attackers were. But, with simple revolvers, no armor and bad planning, Fesic didn't think they were mercenaries. So, they needed whatever Jocelynn planned to hit "everyone" instead of just the merc's. It would have to appear in every notice or chat board they could get it on. As they talked, they realized what would likely be best would be an interview claiming the bounty offered was a scam, and would only get those trying to collect killed.
As they talked, they knew the interview would have to look real, and have a draw that would demand not only an audience but also echo in the conversations people would have after watching it. To create "water-cooler" conversations that would help spread the word even more. Which meant some part of what was claimed had to be shocking or surprising too. The interview would also have to hook not only the local producers, but the producers for interstellar markets within the subsector and sector. Added to that, it had to be both real enough and revealing enough to get the attention of every idiot watching it. Because those idiots would be foolish or stupid enough to also consider finding and using weapons.
It was also obvious to both of them the interview would have to include members of the crew. Something they both knew Mikah would absolutely reject. Jocelynn's first thought was to tap Rol, since she'd been told he'd done a high-level interview with TAS in the past. When she comm'd Rol and asked if he'd consider doing an interview, he first joked, "Will they make sure to catch my good side?" The joke was perhaps too obscure because Jocelynn and Fesic had both joined the crew after Sir Brian had died, and didn't really know about his on-camera antics. Jocelynn told him she'd take part in the interview too.
Jocelynn then explained her plan to put out some kind of message claiming the Stepozhevaci bounty was fake, that there wasn't any money and that Stepozhevac didn't even exist anymore. Fesic suggested that could be the "Surprise". Because almost no one off Porozlo had even heard of the nation. TAS could also step in there, and boost their own reporting by backing that truth up. They also considered that file tape of the captured and shot would-be assassins from the local ambush could be shown in a cut-out as a "Don't let this happen to you' even though the crew of the Upgrade hadn't even been armed during the attack! They regretted not having video of the results of the attack in the Ghandi system, where an entire company of trained and equipped merc's had been hammered.
Outside saying, "This is stupid and you should not be stupid" and pushing the claim there was no money to pay would-be assassins, Jocelynn also wanted to push the fact that innocent people were dying, or being wounded. And, while that had been very true in the Ghandi system, there was little proof of that on Lanth. They also had to make sure no one hit them with a counter-point like getting hold of and using vid-footage of them killing Ghandi station security forces with their engines and blaming them. Switching tracks, Jocelynn said she felt Rol was the best 'media-bait' they had for an interview. Fesic pointed out the "real gold" they had were Mikah, Zimzod and Aiden, because they'd been aboard the Dawnstar Horizon. There were also rumors the INS Quasar Viper had actually been involved and they'd been aboard that ship too, even if "currently accepted" news reports said that wasn't possible.
They all knew that if they offered up at least one of those, and possible more or all, that any news agency would give them the terms they demanded. Especially since Mikah and Zimzod had been chased ever since Rhylanor, at the least. When Jocelynn said they could offer Rol because Mikah and the others wouldn't discuss the Dawnstar Horizon at all, Fesic suggested they could talk about aspects of the Horizon that were not sensitive. Giving answers that toed the company line, matching the reports put out by the Regina Planetary Navy. Those simply said the aging Suleiman Class Scout ship had been impressed into a fight with pirates in the Rech system by then acting Captain Lt. Commander Gadagush. And, that the unarmed scout ship had been destroyed in the fight, with her wreck having been claimed by the gas giant where the battle was fought.
Why they were bound for Regina could be said to be "none of the universe's business" when they encountered the damaged INS Tamesha Kargaa. Fesic continued that Mikah and Zimzod had been moved to the Kargaa to work aboard that ship while Aiden had been the Horizon's command pilot. If there were questions about other ships in the formation, they could simply say, "We don't know and didn't deal with other ships. Ask Regina Naval Command." They could even admit there had been "another ship", but say they'd never worked with that ship and couldn't recall what she was named or even what class ship she was? They could further claim they couldn't confirm if the possible ship was military or civilian? All innocent as you please. The objective would be to leave no space for starlight to shine between their comments and the Regina Naval reports.
Rol laughed and suggested they could tell the reporters to find Kyle van Ryddoth, and ask him since he'd been the master of the Horizon. So, he'd have dealt with all the ships involved. Not that doing so was a wise move, because of how Ryddoth had flipped on them during the interviews. But, Rol didn't know that. Considering, Jocelynn decided it was time to bring this in front of the whole crew and let everyone have their say about the plan. Since Aali hadn't been aboard the Horizon nor even yet been tracking the ship, she wasn't needed and they didn't have to connect some secretive comms for her to take part without spilling the beans to anyone in the hospital. When everyone was called to the lounge, Zimzod suggested they could call Station Security for help with the project.
Everyone looked at Zimzod, since the security forces of most stations they'd dealt with them hated them. But Zimzod pointed out they could recommend putting together a Public Service Announcement hitting the high notes. That people were being stupid and taking up arms, that there was actually no money behind the bounty, and that innocent people were being shot and killed. And, most important of all, that if they chose to pick up a weapon hoping to claim the fake bounty, they'd end up in cells or dead. That could be backed up by vid-tape of the bodies, wounded in hospital and captured crooks in cells. Regardless of how much they were liked or not, the security people had to see the value in a PSA that might cut down on attacks, injuries, deaths and general stupidity. And, if they got TAS involved in that for the "slice" of being able to blend that footage into their interview tapes, so much the better.
Not to mention, using station security data and reports would hammer home, "This IS Real!!" in a way their sit-and-chat could never do. Nodding, Jocelynn said that meant she had to connect to Station security to set up a meeting with them. Jocelynn also began realizing that, perhaps, TAS would be the best network to use, because the crew had cut deals with them before. While those awake talked, Sekea and Colinne were both asleep, but didn't have to be present because they'd not been part of any connection to the Horizon or Viper. So, they could sleep through this.
When they were asked if Zimzod, Aiden and Mikah wanted to take part Mikah admitted she felt they had to in this case. Jocelynn said she didn't "have to" be part of it but her presence would help guarantee interest in the interview. They all agreed to that because they wanted their message to get pushed out. After seeing the crew would be willing, Jocelynn said she wanted to talk to station security before anything else. She wanted to see what they could get from those offices and get an idea how much support they could count on. Especially since local security was more often against them instead of for them. When she called security, the operator listened to Jocelynn describe what she hoped for and then directed her to the Station Offices Public Relations team instead of the Security leadership.
When the call was transferred the person who answered introduced himself as Public Services officer Bicell Loger, and he didn't look pleased. Still, he professionally asked what they could do for her and Jocelynn explained pushing back on the bounty in the name of public safety. This surprised Loger, who expected some demand to protect her crew. He also started to nod because what Jocelynn suggested was a novel approach to the bounty issue. Mr. Loger told Jocelynn the station had been considering a PSA to stop people reaching for weapons but anything the administration did cost them money. They also didn't want to enflame the situation by calling attention to the bounty offer. But, he was impressed with the idea of a full news interview hitting the offer where it hurt most.
Claiming the money never existed, and pointing out the country Stepozhevac no longer existed was new. In fact, Loger admitted most members of the station staff had no idea Stepozhevac had even "been a place", or that it had ceased to exist. A quick check of past TAS news items from the Porozlo system showed it had, and helped Jocelynn's suggestion. Overhearing Jocelynn's conversation, Mikah asked to chime in and Jocelynn added her to the call. When Mikah tried to play the card that Stepozhevac had been related to Natoko, that made Mr. Loger very uncomfortable. Any link, based on news stories, between them was thin at best. And if they took that path, they would potentially be escalating the bounty claims to Imperial Treason! Since the public facts could not prove that, he wanted to steer clear of it.
Still, Mr. Loger was excited because Mikah, Zimzod and Aiden were willing to get in front of news cameras along with Rol. The question then became "what news outlet?" and it was clear Mr. Loger hoped for one of the few largest networks. For Mikah, there was no question and she suggested they approach TAS. She had none of the hangups Jocelynn did about disinformation, and the fact was this wasn't fake news. They were giving an interview based on the facts they knew and their understanding of the situation. And, there was really no evidence the money actually existed in the first place. So, they had to admit this would push up the needle on awareness the bounty existed. But it could also cast legitimate doubt on it in the minds of those who saw the interview. The big problem were the many who would not see the interview for one reason or another.
When Jocelynn agreed to go through TAS, Mr. Loger told them the station authority and system government had a relationship with all news media corporations. So, he said they should leave things in his hands to start with, and he would get things started. He could then bring in Mikah and the crew to move into negotiations and make it happen. The crew's limits and conditions could be brought up then. By the time that conversation ended, Sekea and Colinne had woken to enjoy the cold dead leftovers of breakfast, and the entire crew were available. The news surprised the others that Mikah and Zimzod might take part in a TAS interview. Colinne jumped into her Zhodani studies while Sekea read up on how to use his Artist's Factory to cut and shape the gemstone stock he'd ordered to make a chess set.
Things Sparking Cash And Trade As things broke up there, Jocelynn wanted Fesic to help her research cargo brokers. Jocelynn also knew the warriors from Clan Yoloaeakhhkaiyestiyseiei would arrive for the remaining rifles in their cargo bay. While the crew had experience with Aslan, most recently as bodyguards in the Ghandi system, these would be Aslan in their own cultural roles and ceremonial gear. When they did arrive, the process was very formal. Two female Aslan accompanied a group of males in armor and robes. A very unhappy team of Station management and security were there too, because the Aslan refused not to go unarmed and unarmored. That proved their crew were not the only people annoying station security.
After Fesic got Jocelynn through the admin-block, he still had to stay close because his authorization was needed from time to time, and confirmed by a thumb-print reader on the ship's console. In the end, Jocelynn had to sell the goods to cover their costs in the Ghandi system. Not just the Cr 4,620,000 (for the Radioactives), the Cr 176,000 (for the Crystals/Gems) and Cr 60,000 for the vehicles, she also had to pay off their expenses in Ghandi before they made any profit at all. And that was Cr 87,873. So, they had to hit a sales of Cr 4,943,873 before they'd earn any profit. Of course, Jocelynn was certain they'd gotten good deals on what they'd bought but it still meant they had to find anyone who wanted their cargoes on Lanth. If the radioactives didn't sell, she knew they'd be screwed.
Added to that, they were building up expenses on Lanth that they couldn't even buy speculative cargoes to sell and pay their bills. The bills they were paying on Lanth would hit their ship's accounts, and only be mitigated by any extra profits they made from "this" sale. The first broker they connected with was a Human broker named "Ya Foron". His advertising was slick, glossy and "space-y". The next was a Bwap named "Mie Ver-bwhep". The Bwap's advertising was blocky, unimaginative and formally exact. Which was exactly what they would have expected from a Bwap. The bulk of the Imperial bureaucratic government were staffed by Bwaps because of their affinity to exact correctness. The last broker, another Human whose ads were even more slick, "space-y" and out there, was named Elak Idpewa.
Where her choices were "Slick", "Super-slick" and "Exact", Jocelynn decided to go with exact, so she chose the Bwap. One negative of that was that the Bwap followed the rules exactly, so it viewed Fesic as the ship's trading officer and Jocelynn as his assistant. She couldn't even play the "Captain" card, because that paperwork hadn't been done yet. Confirming Fesic's credentials, the Bwap went straight to the point asking, "What is required?" Jocelynn sent over a list to the broker and said, "We need someone who can get us the best prices for these goods in a quick and efficient manner."
The list included: The Radioactives, for which they'd paid Cr 4,620,000 Crystals/Gems, for which they'd paid 176,000 The luxury vehicles, for which they'd paid Cr 60,000 She also included a list of items the ship or crew were selling, including: a large Fighting Knife with scabbard that had belonged to Emkir a plastic blade, flex-scabbard and plastic shin-scabbard with elastic straps that had belonged to Emkir a Light Assault Gun customized for Aiden with 12 EMPTY clips a Submachinegun that had been Mikah's a telescopic Targeting scope that had been Sekea's Laser Sights that had been Sekea's three Telescopic sights that had been Sekea's an infrared Telescopic sight that had been Colinne's a suit of Cloth Armor that had belonged to Emkir Sealed Combat Armor w/HUD that had belonged to Emkir A silver stylus used with datapads that will only work on modern datapads if modified, from the reign of Emperor Styryx A treated(unknown) leather-like document pouch from a shop posted to Capital in the reign of Emperor Styryx A five gold-plated buttons set from a Male Imperial Navy officer dress uniform from the reign of Emperor Styryx Terin's dark green and maroon Darrian styled suit that had been a gift from Duke Luis Terin's two Darrian style suits matching the main suit that had been gifts from Duke Luis Terin's generic Suit Terin's "dated" basic suit Terin's 2 sets of running footwear Terin's 1 set casual footwear Terin's 1 set dress footwear Terin's Hiking boots Zach's Nomadic style Robes from Jae Tellona 2 Ship's suits that had belonged to Emkir 2 ballistic cloth ship suits that had belonged to Emkir 2 Silver-grey Vilani day suits from Duke Luis that had belonged to Emkir One month's Civilian cloths that had belonged to Emkir a solemn Vilani style suit of ballistic resistant cloth that had belonged to Emkir a basic Tuxedo design w/variations of weave and fabric that had belonged to Emkir Silver-laced speedo-style underwear that had belonged to Emkir a Black bathing suit with a "starscape" silkscreened on" emblazoned with "Casino Royale, Denotam" that had belonged to Emkir Emkir's Nomadic Robes from Jae Tellona An Order of the March Defenders uniform that had belonged to Emkir An IISS Dress Uniform that had belonged to Emkir 4 Scout Undress Uniforms that had belonged to Emkir 4 Class A Uniforms that had belonged to Emkir a Cloth Armor suit A Vargr Language Translator 12 TL-B disposable vacc suits Line-of-site sight laser comm (10 mile range)
If the Bwap was surprised by that, it didn't show a reaction. It did show a reaction when Jocelynn told it they did not intend to look for cargo to carry when they left Lanth. Jocelynn knew they had to buy the food and water supplies they needed for the mission to Sonthert, but didn't want to talk to the Bwap about that. The better to keep their secrets such as they were. Unlike other brokers, the Bwap asked for a Cr 200 binder up front, so they couldn't suddenly change brokers on it. It then asked for their formal cargo manifest, so it had all the official data from Ghandi to work with. With Mie Ver-bwhep working on their cargo they cut the call.
Following the talk about the interview, Mikah read medical journals, Zimzod practiced against the pell 'droid and Rol continued his physical therapy. Aiden sat down to work on just what it was he did remember from his adventures on the Dawnstar Horizon so he could be sure not to reveal anything they didn't want to let out. Eventually, Rol set aside what he was doing and cooked the crew lunch. In the hospital, Aali's lunch had been delayed because they wheeled her to a procedure room to have the drains removed from her abdomen. This was done with local anesthesia, and she was eventually moved back to her room to further recover before being allowed to eat. With that, Aali looked forward to being told what time she would be discharged?
After lunch, Aiden pulled out one of his practice drones to play with for a couple of hours. He next logged into one of the ship entertainment system's video games until dinner. Colinne switched from her Zhodani studies to her work on the intruder package. Fesic spent the early part of the afternoon practicing with the pell 'droid and then worked to check on the ship's weapon systems. He did gear maintenance on the ship's guns and weapon systems until dinner. After the visit from the Aslan, Jocelynn decided she wanted to devote some hours to reading into Aslan society, culture and customs. Mikah decided to relax, watch vids and play video games. After Aiden got done with his drones, he joined in to play against her.
Rol pulled up files from the Sikaruu Kaadgiradish Foundation and started watching the series covering the Fourth Frontier War. That war, which was largely believed to have been triggered by mistake in the Quar system, was fought between 1082 and 1084. Rol had been eight years old at the time, and remembered learning little about it because the war didn't affect his homeworld. His chief memories were the fears Vargr fleets might cross into the Regina subsector and that Keng might be raided or attacked. Fears settled down as vargr raiding largely bogged down on border systems like Dentus, Heya and Kinorb, where Vargr shifted from attack to looting. Since Rol was watching the class in the ship's common area, Zimzod saw the one of the programs and sat in to watch with him.
As the time moved towards dinner, Mikah got a call from the hospital that they were preparing to release Aali into her care. Thanking them, Mikah asked and was told they were delivering Aali to the ship with a security escort. Happy for that, Mikah let the others know and planned to give Aali a full examination in their med-bay. She then went to the med-bay to prepare her gear. After the examination, Mikah planned to decide if Aali would spend the night in their autodoc or not? The handover was a simple thing when it happened and med-techs wheeled Aali into the ship's open cargo bay to transfer her to the crew's gravChair.
That done, Mikah brought Aali up to the med-bay and started a comprehensive examination of her wounds and the closed sites where Aali had had drains implanted. The work took all of half an hour with Mikah using her med-scanners and gear. The report said that Aali would heal up with little concern, but it would take time. Looking at their options, Mikah felt they could shave off some of that time by putting Aali into the autodoc for the night, at least. It was possible another night or two in the device would help but Mikah would decide that the next day. So, Mikah told Aali what she planned and hit her with a sedative before laying the engineer down in the doc. Mikah set the treatment for 12 hours.
Dinner eventually came and after that, Jocelynn got a buzz on her comms. When she answered, Jocelynn was very surprised to find it was a tech from the port's certification office! They told her that her paperwork had been processed. So, she could come, finish up the last forms, pay her fees and be certified to trade without Fesic! Despite the late hour, Jocelynn wanted to go right away, and asked if anyone else wanted to go with her? Mikah said she'd go even though she didn't have to this time. During the ride, after paying a Cr 10 portCab fee, they also talked about starting the process to change the ship's Captain from Mikah to Jocelynn.
When they finished up with Jocelynn's forms, they paid the Cr 500 and Jocelynn got her certification. After that, they asked about the steps to change command and were told they had to go to the Certification office to get that started. Grabbing a Cr 10 portCab ride back to the Certification office, they were riding when Jocelynn got a buzz on her comms. Answering, "Dame Guerrek," Jocelynn was surprised to see the caller was an Aslan female! The woman introduced herself as Hkuakhtiy'iyh Syokhiy, and said she worked for the Operating group Clan Yoloaeakhhkaiyestiyseiei in system. She said they had a cargo that could not be carried by a ship of their Clan. Hkuakhtiy'iyh asked what system the Upgrade would travel to next?
The question bothered Jocelynn because she had to decide how much she wanted to tell the Aslan? Jocelynn did say she was honored that the woman had called her, then asked for details on the cargo and where it had to be carried to? Looking to Jocelynn like she had a sour taste in her mouth and looking about herself before she spoke, the woman admitted, "It is dust." Not familiar with the term, Jocelynn could only ask, "Dust?" Groping for an understanding before the Aslan woman answered, Jocelynn asked, "You mean like...drugs?" and the woman simply said, "Yes."
Dust Spice: Harvested from the bark of the geki bush, dustspice is a euphoria-inducing spice used recreationally throughout Charted Space. In humans, the effect is similar to alcohol but in other species, notably the Aslan and Vargr, it is a particularly powerful euphoric. The most valuable dustspice in the Marches is harvested on Romar(Glisten subsector) but it can also be found on Keanou (Lanth subsector) and in other systems. Dust-spice from Keanou(Lanth) can be found sold at Rhylanor, Regina, Roup, Zivije, or Rethe for as much as Cr10,000 per kilogram. Aslan Spice Dens are anywhere large Aslan communities exist, as an inevitable consequence of a widespread consumption of dustspice. Not seedy places, they tend to be convivial restaurants and bars serving "dustspice enhanced" food. Their communal, non-clan nature have slowly increased the importance of spice dens into full blown unofficial meeting places, almost like a Human golf course. A male needing associates, or to discreetly get something from another clan would go to a dustspice den. Rather than asking where an Aslan would have a meeting, one could ask which spice den they frequent? The Dens compare to the cafés of the renaissance on ancient Terra and there are parallels. They're less prone to intellectual conversation unless about close quarters combat techniques, military tactics or epic poetry. They primarily cater to Aslan but the Credits of other species are worth the same, and they're far less affected by the spice. Female equivalents tend to be overshadowed by their rowdier counterparts, and are quiet, dignified places where deals can decide economic futures. Female dens have sophisticated tech, using automated staff and electronic systems at every possible opportunity. That is contrary to their male oriented counterparts where tech is generally shunned. Both have very good security and all weapons are taken on entry. Marked saying who owns it and locked up. Dens are surprisingly close to normal restaurants, if on the higher end. While dustspice covers many sins, including bad food, most dens pride themselves on their quality. They are usually staffed by a group of talented cooks and apprentices with a sizeable group of servers. Avoiding incidents and creating a friendly face, almost all spice dens have an Aslan Male 'Master of the room' sharing old war stories and the occasional 'homemade' drink to those who approach him.
While it was illegal to sell to Aslan and Vargr in many systems, the woman wasn't asking them to buy the cargo. She just wanted to know if the Upgrade could haul it for the Clan? When she was told they wanted the cargo moved coreward, to the worlds of the Glisten subsector, Jocelynn asked how soon they wanted this to happen? Hkuakhtiy'iyh said they wanted the cargo to be moved quickly and Jocelynn said she was honored they would call her but the Upgrade wasn't heading in that direction any time soon. Hkuakhtiy'iyh admitted she hoped a Human-operated ship would draw less notice carrying the cargo. Certainly less than an Aslan or Vargr ship. After that, there were pleasantries and the call ended.
While Jocelynn had to wonder at the motivations behind the offer, she was also pleased they were now getting attention from the Clan. They might even be able to hope for future deals when they crossed paths again. After that, the two arrived at the office and started the process late into the night. When they were done, the cost was Cr 300 and they were then told the station authorities would let them know what came next. Nodding, the two returned to the ship where Mikah had to set her clock for 7am, so she could be ready to care for Aali.
While they'd been gone, Colinne had worked on the intruder software until she needed a break, then relaxed. Sekea had switched back to reading the books he'd gotten from the True Crime museum. Zimzod had relaxed and Aiden spent his time reading. Fesic did gear maintenance on his teaching suit while Rol did more physical therapy. They were all asleep when Jocelynn and Mikah finally got back from the port offices.
Saturday, 115-1114: More Plans For Sonthert Thanks to her alarm and everyone else sleeping well, Mikah was the first to wake up and she did her morning routine before preparing to get Aali out of the autodoc. Aali was blissfully sleeping, thanks to a mix of exhaustion, recovery and drugs, and unaware of the lack of nurses and med-techs coming in for blood and to run tests early in the morning. Slowly, a soft but insistent chiming tone began invading her dreams and started growing louder. That soon led to waking and opening her eyes to see Mikah looking down at her through a clear pane. With that, memory came and Aali's empty stomach decided to add in to her sensations.
After Mikah helped Aali out of the autodoc, she did another full examination and was satisfied with the improvements she saw. Mikah would decide that night if Aali would get another treatment. She told Aali that the engineer would have to keep things light and not stress her wounds but still do some 'get up and walk' physical therapy. For the morning, Aali would have breakfast, do her physical therapy and then do stent practice. Checking and seeing Rol wasn't cooking, Mikah made her way to his stateroom to bang on his door and get him up and working.
Being woken by Mikah's pounding, Rol answered and asked what he could do for her? When Mikah told him to cook, Rol said he'd need a few minutes to prepare and would be out fast enough. He then closed the door to clean up and get dressed. After Rol had served the food and was eating his share, Fesic Jocelynn and Zimzod joined them in the lounge. While they chatted, Jocelynn told Fesic she had her certifications and he wouldn't be needed further. So, he could do what he wanted. Jocelynn did ask Fesic to look into meal-packs and rations along with drinkables for two months if he could. Fesic agreed to that and planned to do that after eating.
While Fesic started his search for supplies, Jocelynn saw neither Aiden or Sekea were awake so she couldn't talk about their fuel needs and time to scan while in-system. As Jocelynn remembered, Sekea, Aiden and others had discussed the amount of time they'd have to spend scooping fuel from gas giants in-system. Jocelynn also remembered hearing about a time when the ship had been damaged in the Regina system. They'd micro-jumped to Regina's outer-most gas giant and, thanks to the damage they could not make the jump back.
Because they could not tank up enough fuel for the normal-space systems, they'd worked with technicians at a local SDB base to create transfer plumbing and pumps. Those would push fuel from the jump system to the normal space tanks as needed. But that jury-rig had been removed when the ship had gotten back to Regina and been fully repaired. So, they "could" talk to the local shipyards in Lanth and see if the same system could be installed, but that would go against safety restrictions and be an up-hill fight. Not to mention, they might have to have someone watching the dials to make sure they didn't drain off too much of their jump fuel.
Speaking to Aali, because Mikah had pulled her out of the autodoc, Jocelynn said she and Aiden should visit the shipyards to see if they could have their fuel system modified? Of course, that would likely face a lot of resistance because it was seen as unsafe. Ship designers were against fuel transfer systems for a number of reasons from miscalculation to intentional failure to combat or damage caused failures. Because no one saw a need for that kind of transfer system, they expected to have to fight for what they were asking for.
When it came to who would monitor their fuel levels, Aali suggested it should be monitored from the bridge. Hearing that and now awake, Aiden suggested setting up a number of alarms but Zimzod asked if they really wanted to rely entirely on automation? Everyone else who was awake gave a resounding "No!" to that. Hedging Aiden's idea, Jocelynn suggested they could task one of the engineering androids to monitor fuel, but others still pushed for Human eyeballs to be assigned. Mikah said it should be the chief pilot's job. Especially because those on the bridge would only be handling flight and sensors during their time in the system. Aiden pushed that anyone could sit somewhere on the ship and watch the fuel gauges and Mikah agreed she could do that.
That decided, Jocelynn told Aiden and Aali to visit the shipyards to discuss that. Jocelynn said she'd review the time they expected to spend in Sonthert and make decisions on how much they had to stockpile in the cargo bay. Then, they would also have a "full crew sit down" to discuss things before they left for Sonthert. Acting on a sudden thought, Aiden asked if they wanted to look into buying sensor sat's they could drop in places. Those would gather data while they were refueling and possibly save them time looking into each of their target worlds.
As a reminder, they went over the list of target bodies on their list as researched by Sekea when he was read into the "Project": 1) Mynbou - Surface and local orbital space 2) Ajoit Moon 1 - Surface and local orbital space 3) Ajoit Moon 3 - Surface and local orbital space 4) Ajoit Moon 4 - Surface and local orbital space 5) Ajoit Moon 6 - Surface and local orbital space 6) Oseaan Orbital space - if desired 7) Laurasia Orbital space - if desired The other question was how long it would take to survey each of those bodies and the space around them to figure out if anything was there? Jocelynn admitted the idea of sensor sats was a good one and told Aiden not to worry about it when he worried how much those would cost? Jocelynn reminded Aiden they could afford to buy more than one small warship with their ship's funds, so a few small satellites wouldn't cost too much at all.
More familiar with military satellites, Jocelynn suggested they look into satellites they could leave in the atmospheres of target bodies, but Mikah reminded her they wouldn't be putting sat's "in" any atmosphere. Jocelynn nodded as Mikah pointed out any sat's they buy and deploy will orbit planets and not get any closer. Rol suggested they talk to InstellArms about buying satellites and Jocelynn snarked, "If they can sell it to us, they will". Jocelynn agreed they still should check with the megacorp and delegated the job to Rol. She called on Aiden, again teaming him with Rol even though she'd teamed him with Aali to visit the shipyards.
Before they asked anyone outside about satellites, Rol then asked if they wanted to look down on a target planet or generally search both the planet and orbital neighborhood? Where Aiden's only strong feeling was to retreat to the expenses, it was pointed out worlds like Oseaan and Laurasia would have nothing on their surfaces. So, if they largely considered "down-looking" sensor packages, it was pointed out there was a case to be made for "area sensing" systems too.
When Aiden suggested they consider a mix of systems, it was Rol's turn to consider the costs. Fesic commented that the lost base could have been down on a world or on some broken rock in an orbit instead. Agreeing with that, Rol suggested he and Aiden call InstellArms the next morning. Jocelynn told them to worry about what they needed and ignore the cost. She said they'd deal with that after they knew what was available. With that, the conversations went on until lunch time.
When Fesic came back to Jocelynn with his findings on meals and drinkables the information was surprising to all. He had looked into 'Meals-Ready-To-Eat' flat pack rations. Those were entirely dehydrated meals which were also packed with nutritional and health supplements. Fesic found a container of one dTon of cargo space would hold 7,200 meals! That meant they would have enough for the entire crew to spend just over 266 and one half days on station! Where it came to fluids, they could store enough plain water to service the crew for 777 days! That meant three dTons of MRE's would last them to the end of one dTon of stored water. Of course, that meant they'd have to look into flavoring mixes, water-carbonization systems and more, but those together should fit in less than a dTon of cargo space too.
Because much of what led them to Sonthert happened before she was part of the crew, Jocelynn asked if the base they were looking for was an actual Military base or some Chivalric Order facility? They told Jocelynn Aali found a fob that had a computer storage crystal in it. It had a list of White Star Order facilities listing a based on one of the system's outer worlds. At the time, Emkir said the base could have supported up to two and a half squadrons of ships. Where a squadron would have up to three "divisions" with two ships each, that could have meant up to six ships per squadron. That meant two and a half squadrons could have meant fifteen or sixteen ships.
What the crew hoped for was to find remnants of a base and anything that may have been left or survived. In vacuum, devices that were even 300 years old might have survived. So, they were on a treasure hunt for any remnants left behind after the Psionic Suppression Wars. Again, according to Sekea's review of what the crew had learned, Mynbou was the favorite target, but could easily have an asteroidal rock in orbit where a base could have been hidden. Of course, that begged the question why the Order would have had to hide the base if they did?
Since Fesic had been a scout and pilot, his opinion was that they should start with Mynbou, for no other reason than to not argue with Sekea. After that, he suggested they could make a micro-jump to Ajoit to scoop fuel and then search the area around that gas giant. From there, they could start making micro-jumps to their other targets as they liked. There was no reason to do one of the remaining bodies before the other, but he agreed they should leave Oseaan and Laurasia for last. Still, there could be a rock orbiting one of those if they found nothing elsewhere in the system.
While they discussed the plan, Sekea made the recommendation they announce their arrival in the system, just in case. Mikah not only agreed, but said they had to. That was because no matter where any ships of the interdiction fleet might be in the Sonthert system, they would detect the Upgrade's arrival. Broadcasting their arrival, credentials and permissions on an open channel would make sure the data was "out there". In that case, any ships close to where they emerge will know who they are. And those ships at a distance, or in other parts of the system, would get the word at light speed. Just following the energy burst announcing their arrival.
Done with that discussion, Jocelynn jumped on the station net looking for sources of MRE's and stored water that could be managed from the cargo bay. Mikah suggested Jocelynn look into things to pass the time, because they'd likely spend quite some time in the Sonthert system. Jocelynn nodded and told the others to submit lists to her of what they wanted, or to come shopping with her. At the same time, they had talked about satellites and Jocelynn checked what was in the cargo bay other than the things they planned to sell. Those were: the sand cannister rack(loaded with 12 rounds) One spare sand round (which couldn't fit in the rack) the weapons lockers they installed the cargo sealer The pell 'droid Zimzod and Sekea's cases of Iced Berry Cider the Zhodani Command combat armor the Emergency shelter 2 Ice cutters A Portable Fusion plant and an LSP Autodoc
If they sold all the speculative cargo lots in Lanth, that gave them 41.8 dTons of space to fill with supplies. She also had to work with Mikah to decide if they wanted to sell the autodoc or swap it for the one in the med-bay? Based on Fesic's report, Jocelynn was considering buying two tons of MRE's and two dTons of water storage. She would have to add flavorings and things like water carbonizers to make sure they didn't get bored of just plain water. She would also have to consider space for any bulky entertainment items they bought as well as any satellites they found and had to store aboard. So, the space wasn't "Free", it was just not yet spoken for.
Mikah and Sekea started checking on the station net to see what there was to do for fun? While they did that, Mikah's comms buzzed. Checking, she saw it was the port and answered. A tech told Mikah they were reminding her the rental on their berth was ending and asked if they were leaving or extending their stay? Mikah admitted they had to extend the stay and was told the coming week would cost them Cr 7,000. Mikah was surprised, because that was Cr 3,000 less than the first week, and she agreed to pay the port. That meant they were paid until the 22nd day of the year.
Thanks to her time in the autodoc, Aali already felt a noticeable improvement in the pain and difficulty she had walking. Still, the wounds let her know she still had a good deal of healing ahead of her. Rol reached out to the station PR contact he had to see how the interview discussions were going? Mr. Loger was still organizing what he had before calling Rol back, but TAS was very excited. They said they wanted to have a meeting including every crew member who planned to participate so they could set out the discussions and any rules or limitations. Rol said they'd have a crew meeting and he'd call the man back.
Aiden helped Aali into the gravChair and they went off to make contacts at the shipyards to see what they could find out? Fesic decided to spark up the gunnery training package they'd installed and practice his skills. Zimzod decided to join him in that. Colinne switched from her Zhodani classes to ripping into the intruder software. Mikah and Sekea eventually found an aquarium in the city of Victoria that advertised mega-fauna species on display! When she and Sekea said they were going there, Fesic and Zimzod decided they could do their gunnery later. Especially when Fesic's cast came off. So, they called a portCab to the shuttleport to book flights downwell.
Saturday, 115-1114: Afternoon Where everyone is at the end of the session: Mikah, Sekea, Fesic and Zimzod: Heading to the Shuttleport for a flight downwell to visit a megafauna aquarium Aali and Aiden: Leaving to meet with shipyard reps and ask about the fuel plumbing changes Colinne: In her stateroom working on disassembling the intruder software Jocelynn: In the ship's lounge, researching systems to flavor water after researching MRE's Rol: In the ship's lounge, just off the line with the Port PR rep
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