The 'tussle' with the deck officer had been a pain the the ass: it wasn't exactly Frey's fault that he was the youngest, good-lookingest, best dressed Chief Medical Officer in the Sword Worlds. Wasn't exactly his fault that he looked like a MCR either, but it WAS tough sometimes to explain that what he was wearing was a VaccSuit. A really really nice VaccSuit. But things went ... "professionally"
"You know what? You are completely correct young man, and I'll tell you a secret: if you ever come to SickBay, you will FOR SURE be doing things my way, so let's do this your way for now."
Frey spoke aloud, knowing his collar pick-ups would hear the command syntax, "Anduril, execute command Reforge720. Release hood, extend face mask."
The suit complied with the commands: the self-sealing function pulled the entire outfit together against his skin and released a flexible polymer hood from his jacket collar, while the front of the collar seemed to 'grow' a glassteel faceplate. Frey pulled the hood up over his head to seal the suit completey.
On comms Frey asked, "Will this suffice Deck Officer?"
In short order, he was on his way to complete his Medical Readiness Inspection; didn't want to keep the Owner waiting.
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Glad to finally be underway, Zaeta is looking forward to wandering the ship and getting to know it better, but is called to the captain's quarters soon after they depart.
"I understand that you don't have any experience with a Vacc Suit."
"That is correct, but I did bring mine. It is just unused other than the compulsory drill, so I know how to put it on, and that's gotten me through many flights."
"Vacc suits are required for more than just paying lip service to the regulations. You *will* learn how to use yours while you are aboard my ship. I want you wearing it everywhere for the next two weeks, and then you will come and talk to me again, and if you do not know how to regulate your oxygen and what to do if the arm joints lock up, or how to get into it in less than a minute, or any other question that I ask you, you will *continue* to wear it for as long as you are incompetent. Am I understood?"
Part of Zaeta objected to being singled out about this, but she also admired the captain and that he was trying to watch out for the crew, and this was something that she should have learned long ago, so she resisted bristling and said
"Yes sir. Two weeks will be sufficient."
After being dismissed, she went and got out her vacc suit, read all of the regulations and instructions she had never bothered with, except perhaps briefly when she had first purchased it years ago for her first space tour, and then put it on. It was going to be unwieldy and not her favorite thing to wear constantly, but she wanted to earn the respect of the captain, not just try to get around his orders, so she decided she would just treat it as a fun game. This was her favorite thing to wear now, right? She sealed it up, figured out how to adjust the oxygen, although then she adjusted it right back since the default setting was the one that she needed, and set out to get to know the ship a little anyway. It was a stumbling start, walking around in the bulky thing, but she slowly got the hang of how to walk, and went to the mess to see if she could figure out how to eat while inside one of these. There was a way to do that, right? Was it that little straw? Oh, yeah, and that port there. Okay... this was going to be interesting.
Corellon soon learned that his previous service in both the scouts and the army has prepared him quite nicely for the position of second officer, leading the flight team. Highly skilled in astronavigation himself, his experience as a pilot and engineering also proved helpful - mostly so that he didn't appear incompetent in front of the crew assigned to him. And though he wasn't one to stand on ceremony, the discipline he'd learned in the Army before mustering out as a Lance Sergeant at least prepared him to deal with crew members who had difficulties in wrapping their minds about working together as a unit.
First Officer Johansdottir could be a hard-ass sometimes, but Cor was used to dealing with officers like that during his terms of service, and she seemed at least fair-minded for the most part. Running into Freyjason was a bit of a surprise, and Cor had to admit the doctor didn't look like he'd aged more than a year or two since he'd last seen him almost a decade earlier. Hell, those drugs certainly did their job, it seemed.
When Cor bumped into Zaeta in the lift just after finishing his shift, he grinned and nodded at the Legal Officer. "Getting in some suit time, I see. Let me know if you need any help. Those vacc suits can be a pain in the ass, but it'll also be your best friend in a ship-board emergency."
"I'd rather not get into an emergency at all, but I think I am getting the hang of it. Eating and er, relieving yourself, are the worst parts, but everything else is actually cool. You learn so much more about people with all of these heads-up displays, and you never get lost with the map, and I even found some text game that you can play in your down time. Disappears if you have to pay attention to something else, but seems to pop back up when the suit notices you are bored. ... I'm actually kind of starting to love it. It's like a hovercraft that you buy and then don't ever use other than driving to the office... when you read the manual and start discovering all of the extra features, you realize that you were just not getting the full experience before."
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Cor laughs. "I wonder sometimes if the engineers that programmed those suits have a strange sense of humor. Use common sense and don't rely on those maps too much - they seem to play tricks on you sometimes. Or they do for me, at least! I admit though, I've played that text game myself. You're right, it's addictive. Pretty sure the engineers kept themselves entertained with it while putting the suits together and programming them. Just don't let Captain Aldonov catch you playing during your shift."
Leaning against the steel wall of the lift, he crosses his arms and cocks his head slightly. "So what brings you aboard the Skander, Zaeta? I figured you'd gone on to become a high-priced lawyer or something after my own little brush with the law way back when. I see you've still got a mind for the profession, what with your position as Legal Officer on the ship, but running into you here is a surprise." He pauses as an abashed look crosses his face, and he gives her a pained grin. "Uhh... boy, I hope it's not a sore spot. Sometimes I speak before thinking my words through. Sorry if I'm bringing up a sensitive topic, and don't hesitate to tell me to mind my own business if so."
Yup...still here...just reviewing my security force...lol
The status of the medbay was adequate if a little spartan; a lot could be done to give it its own bedside manner. Sword Worlders in general needed to be convinced receiving medical care was patriotic and thoughtful to their comrades. Doctor Freyjason would take care of that in short order.
Of more concern really was their decent into the boondocks of space. Spume was the last "real-tech" planet they would vist for many months. At a minimum, Frey wanted to make sure that he found at least one addtional 'acceptable' medkit while there. Visiting low-tech didn't have to mean treatments at low-tech, not if he could help it. The team deserved that. The reality of their itinerary meant they wouldn't see TL10+ again until Flammarion: just needed to make a good plan.
He also needed to consider the addition of basic normal med pharma, to both his vaccsuit AND to ship's stores. The reality of treatment without Fast & Slow drugs at a minimum was a concern. The medicine behind them wasn't an argument anyone should try to have with him, but the philosophy was a different matter. When the time came, he would need to discuss with the owner whether those were treatment options he wanted added to the ship's capacities; at a hospital, there would have been no question, this however was not that.
Crastor takes a tour of all of the engineering facilities and spends some time talking to each of the staff to see if there are any reported needs, issues or desires that he might track for the future.
"So what brings you aboard the Skander, Zaeta? I figured you'd gone on to become a high-priced lawyer or something after my own little brush with the law way back when. I see you've still got a mind for the profession, what with your position as Legal Officer on the ship, but running into you here is a surprise."
Oh, think nothing of it. It's just so long ago, it doesn't really matter. What was I back then? 20 or something? Fresh out of college, practically a child myself. I've learned a lot since then, visited a lot of planets, had a fulfilling but stressful career. This is my sort of retirement job... cushy advocate position on a trading vessel, am I right? Still get to use my brain, but don't really have to put myself out there as much. ... What brings you here?
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Cor laughs. "You and me both! Things sorta went sideways for me after that, my career at the university was pretty much over when I made an enemy of Professor Gunnarsson. He was a jerk, but boy could he pull strings there."
He shakes his head ruefully, then picks up the thread of his story. "Anyway, after that I did what most of the kids my age were doing. I joined the Army. Finished my two terms alive and with a very strong desire to see the stars - but preferably not thrown into any more battles! It'd been a dream of mine since I was a kid, you see. Finally got the chance in the Scout service to live out those dreams. Seeing new worlds, discovering strange species, recording data on which worlds might sustain colonists..." His smile fades then, and his tone is perhaps a little bitter, but not terribly angry. More... resigned, than anything else. "Well, anyway, the dream was too good to last. Got stabbed in the back by someone I admired and I jumped ship, so to speak. Just hope that bastard got what was coming to him. Anyway, here I am now. Never figured I'd be an officer on a cargo ship, but hey, at least I'll be visiting a few worlds new to me. It's better than fixing hovercars and heavy machinery on Gram, at least." He concludes with a wry grin.
Yup...still here...just reviewing my security force...lol
Well that's what I'm looking for - interactions with the crew. Give me a little bit of that, would you please? This is as much about the voyage as the destinations.
Crastor approached Kjell as he is looking at a screen and says, "Hello, I am Crastor. I understand you the Jump Chief on board. I wondered if you had a moment to discuss the Jump drives and what support you might need as we head out on a fairly long excursion."
Crastor approached Kjell as he is looking at a screen and says, "Hello, I am Crastor. I understand you the Jump Chief on board. I wondered if you had a moment to discuss the Jump drives and what support you might need as we head out on a fairly long excursion."
Crastor approached Kjell as he is looking at a screen and says, "Hello, I am Crastor. I understand you the Jump Chief on board. I wondered if you had a moment to discuss the Jump drives and what support you might need as we head out on a fairly long excursion."
"Sir," says the Jump Chief, a trim dark-eyed man in his early thirties. "Everything is operating within tolerances. I've been keeping my eye on the cross-mix stabilizer. Skander's had a history with them and no one knows why. 'The Skander Curse,' you know. No problems since I took over and that's been five weeks now, but you never really know until you're in J-Space. I've got a few spares on board, just in case."
To young, ambitious Sword Worlders this is a good thing, as it gives less experienced crewmembers a chance to ship out with the near-legendary Magnus Sundstrom. Competition was indeed fierce but the quality of applicants lower than expected. Some were signed up only to be found unsuitable and dropped from the mission. Others quit after a few days – before even leaving port.
Spume/Darrian (Spinward Marches 0727) is is a small desert world with a thin tainted atmosphere. It lies in close orbit around a single M2 V red dwarf star. Spume was colonized for resources rather than comfort. All inhabitants live in Dryavis, a domed village from which mining machines are directed by remote systems. These machines sometimes refuel at a lake near the village. The Spume system contains a Darrian Confederation military base.
Although Darrian is famous for cutting edge technology, little of it is on display at Spume, where the Tech Level is 9.
Spume is a minor possession of the Darrian Confederation. Its only population is a small enclave around the starport and a few tiny prospecting or mining outposts. The world’s economy, such as it is, is based upon largely automated mineral extraction and income from the starport. This is more than would normally be expected, as Sword Worlds ships heading into Darrian space, and vice versa, usually go by way of Spume and Narsil.
The Darrian Confederation prefers to monitor traffic through Spume and discourages the use of gas giant refueling by maintaining patrols at all four of the system’s gas giants. Any ship attempting to bypass the starport is considered suspect and subject to an intensive board-and-search procedure. The Sword Worlds Confederation accepts this situation and encourages its captains to use the port openly in order to reduce tensions. Sometimes a Sword Worlds warship will be in the system on a ‘goodwill’ visit whose real purpose is to prevent an interstellar incident by ensuring Sword Worlds captains follow local procedures.
_____________________________________________________________________
Skander’s jump alarm sounds more or less on schedule (these things are never exact, due to the vagaries of Jump physics), giving the crew a little more than half an hour to assume their stations before the jump bubble collapes, depositing the merchant cruiser in the Spume system, two hundred kilometers from the starport.
”Welcome to Spume, Skander, this is traffic control requesting you come to 039 mark 2 and one-quarter G, then wait for instructions.”
”Spume Traffic Control, this is Skander Actual,” says Captain Aldonov. ”We will comply. Helm, take your course and speed from the port.”
A moment later, there is another message, this one from the Darrian task force currently patrolling the system. ”Greetings, Skander, this is Captain Telin Tels Geras of DSS Marilliar. I want to welcome you to the Darrian Confederation.” This polite greeting is met with amusement aboard Skander’s bridge because the Darrians are making sure all visitors know there are naval ships around, so that Skander will not cause an incident that could lead to the war the Darrians are obviously terrified of.
After a few hours of diplomatic niceties, the Spume authorities permit Skander to land, and Chief Pilot Yamada brings the big vessel in for a gentle landing just outside the domed city of Dryavis. Waiting for the ship is a cadre of inspectors. Since Skander is passing into the Darrian Confederation, customs checks need to be carried out. This process will take most of the rest of the day.
Most of the Darrians are polite and efficient, but one seems almost offended by the technology used by Skander’ engines, clucking about “country cousins” and “spit-and-duct-tape machinery.” Drive Hand Kolbjørn Helgesen has had enough of the loudmouth and is getting red-faced, clearly about to call the Darrian inspector out or knock him down.
What do you do?
Seeing the two crewmembers reaching their boiling point, Yuri steps in.
"Jannson! Ohnstad! Stand to! You let these nice young fellas do their job. If they are being difficult, you just say 'Yes Sir'! If they are acting the fool, you just say "Yes Sir'. If they are being the worst pain-in-the-a$$, sum b~#!!, wet-behind-the-ears, useless sacks of skin...what do you say??"
Turning to the Inspection crew's leader, Yuri salutes and speaks.
"I am sorry for the miscommunication between my men and your team. They get a little out of sorts when dealing with inexperienced staff. How many weeks did you say you were on the job...Sir?"
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Zaeta wants to go take some shore leave and check up on the general spirits here, make sure people get their mail, and check on possible trades, but *first* she has to do her job. She dives into the pile of legal paperwork, being as careful as possible since she knew the Spume bureaucracy was very exacting.
Zaeta wants to go take some shore leave and check up on the general spirits here, make sure people get their mail, and check on possible trades, but *first* she has to do her job. She dives into the pile of legal paperwork, being as careful as possible since she knew the Spume bureaucracy was very exacting.
[dice=Legal Paperwork]2d6+1
Z's comm lights up as Frey messages her, "Hey 'old gurl' I know you're busy ... will you have a little time to go shopping later? Have a couple drinks? I seriously need at least 1 more medkit; even at TechTen it will be a good backup. Let me know?"
Zaeta responds to Frey's message.
>Hey Frey, don't know yet. Trying to get through this paperwork. I'll message you when done, but if it gets too late, feel free to go without me.<
"Copy that, will do."
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Which is possibly not worse than my having confused Erryll & Z's history for Frey & Z ... my bad :(
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Which is possibly not worse than my having confused Erryll & Z's history for Frey & Z ... my bad :(
Crastor moves to stand in front of the inspector and says, ”All our systems are well within regs. Let’s not mistake beauty for good operation and try to delay the inspection with systems that any good ship would be happy with.”
"I am sorry for the miscommunication between my men and your team. They get a little out of sorts when dealing with inexperienced staff. How many weeks did you say you were on the job...Sir?"
"Long enough to know my job, sir," says the inspector, a little red around the face but not backing down. "This container. Have your crew open it, please."
There is a bit of snickering at Yuri's words, a bit of grumbling at the ongoing inspection, but the threat of violence seems to have been headed off. Jannson and Ohnstad seem particularly sour, but do their jobs.
_________________________________________________________________
Crastor moves to stand in front of the inspector and says, ”All our systems are well within regs. Let’s not mistake beauty for good operation and try to delay the inspection with systems that any good ship would be happy with.”
The inspector seems a bit mollified, but only a bit. "Just doing our job, sir. I'm sure you understand. We have to go through the whole procedure."
Kolbjørn Helgesen doesn't seem at all mollified. He seems more agitated. "Nah. Nah. You tell 'im to watch his mouth or I'll knock is teeth in!"
Freyjason makes his way aft to Engineering, grabbing his medkit on the way
"Commander Sokolov, Chief Medical Officer Freyjason reporting; just wanted to make sure no one was injured in our inspection, yet, and also wanted to invite our guests to SickBay when they're ready."
Frey turns to the inspector and extends his hand
"The three Ts of space: Tech, Talent, and Tenacity. This crew has it all, and while the ship's tech might not be what we'd see on Capital or Terra, this crew has enough Talent & Tenacity to knock the chip right off a Solomani's shoulder. Please take my comm code, I will look forward to receiving you in Medical as soon as you are ready."
Yuri keys his comm and replies to Freyjason.
"Da Doc. I will shoo them your way once they are satisfied that we are not attempting to make off with the station's fittings!"
He looks again at the inspectors.
"Looks like the Doctor is waiting for you...are we done here?
"Please inform the doctor that we will attend to him when we are finished here."
Two hours later...
The inspectors arrive in Med Bay and begin inspecting the medical supplies. There are only two of them and they seem mostly interested in storage spaces where things might be hidden.
"Your manifest says you purchased pharmaceuticals on Narsil, Doctor. Where is the bill of lading for those?"
Freyjason smiles at the request, and taps the comm activator at his lapel
"Officer Zaeta, it's Doctor Frey. Could you please come to MedBay with a copy of the bill of lading for our Pharma purchase on Narsil? It has been requested by the Darrian Inspection team. My thanks!"
Frey turns back to the team from Darrian
"Our Legal Officer will bring that momentarily gentlemen."
Later...
Skander will be in port at Spume for only 48 hours. There is little prospect for significant trade there, although there are a few free traders that might have something interesting in their holds or perhaps you might find cargo to be transported. There is time for a little shore leave and on a voyage like this every opportunity to get out of the ship is a welcome one.
Having given the inspection party no significant troubles, you are given a 12-hour liberty pass to go ‘ashore’ and have some fun. There is a limit to how much of that is to be had in a small collection of domed buildings with a population of less than 400 but the port has a couple of bars that serve overpriced but acceptable drinks. Sword Worlds ships are not uncommon on Spume and Sword Worlds money is as readily accepted as any other.
What do you do with your time?
Zaeta takes the documentation to the MedBay, then finishes up her own paperwork in time to get a little shore leave.
She follows up with the mail, surprised that a 5 ton container was needed for a population less than 400. It must have been collecting there for a while.
She makes sure it gets delivered, picking up her 25,000 credit payment, and then makes sure the mining and survey equipment (freight) is delivered for 32,000.
As she accompanies the deliveries, she inquires about any outgoing mail or freight as well. She then sends a message to the independent trading ships asking what their prices were at this port, and if they had any luxury items. Any were okay, but she offers the example of exotic pets, since that was her particular specialty.
After putting out all of her feelers, she decides she had time to meet Frey after all, so she messages him on her commlink
>Hey Frey, where are you? I just got done with my stuff, or at least until I hear back from someone. Did you find a watering hole?<
If she hears back from him, she goes to hang out wherever he is, otherwise she just looks around for a convenient place to grab a meal and listen to the local gossip... see if there is anything that she can do or say that will improve the reputation of the Sword Worlds.
"I didn't just study medicine Z ... of course I did! To be honest, actually might not be a bad place for me to try to find some pharma for us either. Let's go have a drink!"
Frey adjusts his jackets and triggers a cleaning cycle while they comm
"See you at the 'lock, I'll be right there."
"So what's your poison!?"
Oh, I just want a decent purified water, honestly. I'm mostly here to people watch and to see if we can pick up on any rumors that will benefit our trading or the sword worlds in general. If we have a chance even just to save someone's cat, I mean... as long as they know Sword Worlders did it, maybe we can slowly start changing attitudes. And of course, on this world where it seems poor and the population doesn't have a lot of options besides hard labor, the more we can relate to them rather than being distant and snobbish, the better... you know? ... Want to play cards?
She pulls up a search on her comm to see if there are any local card games they could learn. If not, they just play the one they always play: Spaceduck. Frey usually won, but it had a good mix of luck and skill, so she always had a chance.
Of course.
Oh, I just want a decent purified water, honestly. I'm mostly here to people watch and to see if we can pick up on any rumors that will benefit our trading or the sword worlds in general. If we have a chance even just to save someone's cat, I mean... as long as they know Sword Worlders did it, maybe we can slowly start changing attitudes. And of course, on this world where it seems poor and the population doesn't have a lot of options besides hard labor, the more we can relate to them rather than being distant and snobbish, the better... you know? ... Want to play cards?
She pulls up a search on her comm to see if there are any local card games they could learn. If not, they just play the one they always play: Spaceduck. Frey usually won, but it had a good mix of luck and skill, so she always had a chance.
"There's actually never anything wrong with seeming a little normal either; I'll see if they have some coffee I can spike a little. Something tells me this may not be the pharma market I need, seems like they wouldn't have spare meds. Will you let me know if you hear back from that free trader though?"
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Crastor goes out to some seedy bars to find out what the soldiers have to say about their jobs.
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"You know ... if we could get 3 or 4 locals to pass through this game, we would have talked to 1% of the population here. That happens to be statistically significant. Let's carouse a little my friend."
Gather rumours from locals re Darrian Military & Technology
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Cor finishes up his inspection of the Flight team with a few reminders of maintaining both vigilance and respect with regard to the Darrian Confederation ships.
With that finished, he heads out for his shore leave. Corellon wonders at the apparent skittishness of the Confederation especially given some of the reports he's heard from others of the crew. He figures to mingle with some of the other officers that have had recent experiences with the Darrians here in the Spume system. Maybe even with some of the Confederation officers that are willing to talk.
Yeah, let's actually invite some of the military types; maybe we'll pick up something as we play.
As they play and talk to people, she works on persuading some of the military types to talk about their lives and their jobs with various seemingly innocent questions.
Intelligence can be gained from General Observation (Streetwise), Starport Records (Admin), Collation and Analysis (Investigate) and other actions (various).