It seems that having been out of touch for a while, no one has contacted you recently...
Harold continues to bug everyone on the ship about his new pink sheets and pillows.
Networking
Charismatic Reroll
+2 from Shepherd edge
Result: 7 + 2 = 9 (Success + 2 raises
1=Core, 2=Border, 3=Rim
+2 (2 raises on networking roll)
Result: 3 + 2 = 5
Freight (the items are being sold by one person to another person – you are just delivering them) : a lot takes 10*d10 tons of cargo space. Freight pays 8p per ton per week (you can Haggle over this, see below).
* 10 = 10 tons
Haggling: Persuasion roll
Charismatic Reroll
+2 from Shepherd edge
Result: 4 + 2 = 6
Derelict - Passenger Liner
Arabella returns from networking for work and announces the following job prospect.
"I learned that a salvage and rescue operation is about to depart to find a derelict Passenger liner. They need a cargo ship to transport essential supplies, food for any survivors, some small vessels used in the salvage, and a special ship that will create a video record for a documentary on the salvage and rescue mission. The cargo is only about a ton, but we'll be paid a daily fee for taking care of the cargo and operating the camera vessels. There's just one slight unpleasantness. The lead correspondent, who will be traveling with us, is Sterling Warwick. If you haven't heard of him, you are lucky; he's a vainglorious, pompous jerk who think's he's God's gift to the journalistic world. He'll be narrating the operation."
"The closest inhabited world is Paquin, which orbits the Heinlein protostar, which in turn orbits the Red Sun. Yes, that's right, the gypsy planet, which bills itself the happiest place in the 'Verse, but is in fact rife with con artists and criminals, so if we stop there, watch your wallets. Questions?"
So what i am hearing is that i cannot be throwing him overboard no matter how much he annoys us.
"Right. I'll work on a simulation of what it would be like to put him in the airlock, in case it helps with the effort."
"Well, I'm sure Arabella and I have some experience dealing with men who too highly of themselves. Maybe we should plan on how to not allow him in certain areas, like engineering...."
Your employer gets the needed cargo loaded, and fortunately Sterling won't be riding with you, the broadcast company he works for provides him with his own ship.
Bryce flies you to the location :
= 14, 2 Raises
You arrive at the location, and it is busy. There are multiple ships of all kinds and classes floating around the derelict ship, with small shuttles traveling between them.
You are hailed, and Arabella is asked for (since she made the deal). "This is captain Birk, head of this operation. It took you long enough to get here, we were ready to start filming a few days ago. And since Sterling happened to bring some of his own cameramen, you've lost that job. But we could still use the extra manpower, this job has turned out to be a lot bigger than we thought. Report to Kirby in the bridge of the derelict for your job assignments."
Overhearing from behind the bridge Harold shakes his head and mumbles to himself.
Shlepping cargo for another person, Gorram it
But he goes and suits up anyways, and slips his gunbelt around his hips.
After being told that the darling celebrity reporter would NOT be joining them, "Oh thank goodness. I'm not sure we could clean the stink out of the ship after he was here for this long.."
After arriving, "Well, if i'm waltzing around another derelict ship i'm not doing it unarmed this time..."
Arabella will arm herself as well, plus keeping her new flashlight/lantern positioned to make sure no dark shadows could hide anything nasty.
While she is not looking forward to work that required no intelligence or skill, she was very curious to know what happened to the liner and whether there were any survivors.
"Is there life support in the bridge or do we need suits? Let us know if we need any tools."
"We've managed to seal the hole in the side of the ship, so there's no need for spacesuits. If you have a small shuttle, you can use it to get from your ship to the liner - dock in its landing bay."
They may have plugged up the hole, but I will still be wearing a suit, as I want one available if the patch breaks.
When first hailed, and Arabella answers, you all hear "This is captain Birk, head of this operation. It took you long enough to get here, we were ready to start filming a few days ago. Report to Kirby in the bridge of the derelict to set up a meet with Sterling and work out a schedule."
As the comms click off, "Well, he sounds as sweet a bowl of peaches left out in the hot sun all day.."
You all get into a shuttle and head over to the derelict. After docking, you ask for directions to the bridge and eventually find your way there. There's a man sitting in the captain's chair surrounded by people asking him questions, and he's telling them what to do.
What do you do?
Harold stands back, and listens to the directions given, and lets Arabella talk as she is the one that found the job.
Arabella approaches the knot of people, expecting to find either the captain or the reporter. "We're here. Sorry for the delay. Navigating the Red Phoenix is tricky with all the protostars. Anyway, this is the crew of the Stargazer." She introduces herself and the rest of the crew.
"What do you need us to do first?"
You see a grizzled older man, with a little bit of a paunch sitting in the chair. After barking an order at someone standing right next to him, he waves his hand at the others around him, who immediately stop talking. He looks in your direction, looks you all up and down, and says "That's understandable, that part of space has given me some trouble before. So you're the film crew, eh? You look more like mercenaries to me, but as long as you can get the job done. I called Sterling when I was notified of your arrival, he got here just before you. STERLING! Oh, he's over there - go work things out with him," pointing in a certain direction. Looking, you see a handsome blond man waving his arms over his head.
What do you all do?
Daisy shrugs and starts walking toward Sterling.
Howard, follows along, waddling a bit because of the suit
I would rather look stupid than lose my life due to a breach in the hull.
Arabella responds to the captain, saying, "We've encountered reavers when dealing with derelict ships, so we came prepared for trouble."
She heads over to Sterling and introduces herself and the team. "We're prepared to film, provide supplies, whatever you need. Have any survivors been located? Do you know the reason for the ship to be in this state?"
A little ret-con : the guy in the captain's seat says "Reavers? I thought the Alliance had wiped all of them out."
Sterling says to the group "I'm Sterling Warwick, but you already knew that" flashing an obviously-well-practiced smile. "It appears that a small meteor crashed into the ship. The holes it made were small, but it penetrated all the way thru the ship, exposing all the decks to vacuum. They've all been fixed now, there's been air in here for a couple of weeks with no problems, so space suits are not needed," giving Harold a quick glance. "So, you're prepared to film, eh? Where are your cameras? Don't tell me you didn't bring them with you. Now there'll be more delays if you have to go back to your ship to get it. No, wait..." and he turns to one of his employees "Hey, Rick - don't we still have that video camera from my first documentary?" Rick nods his head yes. "Ok, we can use that old clunker for today for close-up shots of the ship, with me doing voice-over."
Anything anyone wants to say or do before you start filming?
To the captain's statement, Arabella just shakes her head. "Not as of a month or so ago. I'm not sure how they'd know when they got them all. Reavers fly around the rim. Lots of places to hide."
"We came over on a small explorer vessel with exterior mounted cameras so we can use that. Tell us where to point the camera and we'll make it happen.:
She gives a communications officer the team's comm link frequency.
Sterling says "Ummm...I think there might have been a mis-communication somewhere. Sure we'll need some exterior shots, but this documentary is mostly about me going thru the ship, explaining the results of the damage, how it was fixed, and how the salvage process works. After all, I *am* the star, you know. So...you don't have any indoor cameras?"
Harold sighs, and slowly waddles his way back to our ship to remove the suit.
Miserable, Vain, and entirely dislikeable.
Once he is done putting his suit away properly he quickly comms.
+++Do we need anything from the ship while I am here?+++
As Harold heads back to take the bulky suit off, daisy thinks "Ah, that's a good idea." and goes to do the same.
After hearing his comm, "Well, do we have cameras somewhere?"
Daisy freshens up quickly and does a quick search.
"Well, it appears we had no cameras at all anyway!"
She heads back to help whoever is wielding the camera, maybe helping with any extra microphone... if not, just staying back out of the action and general sight of the 'celebrity.'
"You're the boss. Tell us what you want us to do."
Rewind, rewind, rewind...
"As per our agreement, here are the cameras you'll need for the job. My last crew of cameramen suddenly quit for no reason whatsoever, that's why you were hired for this job. Don't worry, you'll pick things up as you go, with my expert guidance," flashing that well-rehearsed smile again, mostly at the ladies.
He spends the next hour showing you all what each button does on the cameras, how to zoom in and out, etc. A lot of the cameras functions are automated, like auto-focus and turning on a mounted light if there's not enough ambient light, etc.
Daisy puts on her best acting face to be attentive while trying not to puke on the guy...
Harold stumps back after divesting himself of his suit, in time to hear his last comments.
Remember not to throw this pompus arse out the airlock.
He then picks up the camera, and starts it up.
Arabella has all her weapons with her and is wearing her armored duster. If asked, she just explains that experience on other salvage jobs turned into fights so she wants to be prepared for the worst. If it occurs to the reporter that if he ticks her off sufficiently, Arabella is capable of demonstrating her anger in a variety of ways, so much the better.
Arabella assumes the role of director, but she mostly leaves it up to Sterling to decide what and where to film. She keeps an eye out for things Sterling may miss however and tries to use her moxie to make the documentary as good as possible.
When shooting begins, Sterling insists on a grand entrance scene, walking in slow motion as if he's attending a red carpet event. He frequently checks himself in a pocket mirror, making sure every strand of hair is perfectly in place and adjusting his outfit to showcase his self-proclaimed "flawless" physique. His obsession with his appearance is matched only by his constant asking for praise and adulation from the film crew (that's all of you).
After the entrance scene, he suggests that you go to interview Captain Burk, who's in charge of the recovery. During the interview, he constantly interjects his own experiences, opinions, and anecdotes, seemingly convinced that his insights are far more valuable than those of anyone else. This frustrates the Captain and leaves you to sift through the footage to salvage usable content.
He suggests several other interviews, acting the same way with everyone he talks to. Then he suggests traveling to the site of the impact to show the damage. Here he delivers a lengthy monologue about his own experiences and insights, making it clear that he believes he is the true star of the show instead of the wreck and its recovery.
In-between takes, he is constantly having his makeup artist touch him up, and he's made it clear that he insists on having a different outfit for every scene. Since it would slow things down to constantly go back to his ship to change, he requires those PC's who are not working the camera at the moment to carry several outfits each.
During filming, he constantly interrupts Arabella and the cameraperson with unsolicited advice on camera angles, lighting, and his preferred profile. His obsession with his own performance leads to an excessive number of retakes. He often insists on retaking scenes where his facial expressions, tone, or posture don't meet his standards, even if it means reshooting four or five times.
Keep smiling. We're getting paid so whatever he wants he gets. We can throw darts at his picture later.