Please don't post in this thread except for the "Dot and Delete" till character generation is completed.
Rain pours down on the small freighter, BD514, over dark ocean toward the city of Qabarat, which grows rapidly on the horizon. Though known as the Jewel of the Western Sea, little of the city sparkles in this weather. Qabarat lines the mouth of the Yaro River, which stretches past the city, into the foothills of the Stormshield Mountains beyond. Navigation beacons and the city’s traffic control AI direct BD514 to a landing pad at Ship’s End, the city’s bustling starport.
Whomever is piloting the ship will need to make a piloting check to land due to the harsh weather and poor visibility.
Maka's 6 arms were quite the boon when flying, levers, knobs, buttons, throttle. All responding perfectly and with precision as the pink hued skitter expertly navigates the harsh weather, bringing the ship down with nothing but the hum of the engine powering down
"Thank you for flying Maka express. Tips and appreciations can be donated appon exiting the craft" he announces with a silly grin he usually has
Makaleku doesn't even acknowledge the rain and poor visibility as he comes in extra hot. The crew braces themselves for the inevitable impact, and the few people huddled from the raiin and wind on the ground run for cover as the ship screams in... The stops and settles on the ground centered perfectly in the designated landing area as gentle as a feather falling. Some individuals on the ground stop and applaud.
As the landing permits are filed the crew is informed that Prat's Produce can be found a few miles from the starport on Sprik Street. Fortunately, the BD514 contains a vehicle called a Cargo Rig with a Hover trailer to make moving the 50-tons of fruit easier... and most importantly quicker.
"Maka, you blasted baker's boy, you warn me next time you're gonna pull a stunt like that!" The scruffy android picks up his hat from where it landed on the ground and dusts it off. "Gol-dang pilots, always actin' like they're finishing up some race." Unbuckling himself, C00K13 gets up and stretches. "I swear, every time I fly with you I get another grey hair, and ever' time you land it falls out."
"Well Cookie, perhaps next time, I can wait for you to start actually making food before I slam the reverse thrusters? May add some extra kick to your food?" he gives the android 6 finger guns
Marcellus smiles at the friendly exchange between Cookie and Maka, then unbuckles his seat belt and stands. He lifts his duffel bag onto the now vacant chair and retrieves his crystal ball. Using the glass orb as a focus to pierce the veil, the image that appears within it shows that Agatha and Royce have also arrived safely on Castrovel. He stows the focus back into his duffel bag, before starting to make his way off the ship.
"After we load the cargo, maybe stick around for an hour so Cookie can search for local spices for our meals for traveling to Akiton?"
Before stepping of the ship, Marcellus casts Mystic Armor, causing colorful intangible swallowtail butterflies to fly around him.
He then casts Detect Magic and sustains the spell while planet-side.
"Cookie, what did you put in that Yaro berry pudding you made last year for Shan's Life Celebration Day? That had quite a kick to it."
"You know, Mak, if you wanted to watch my tits bounce into my face you could have just asked," Vegoia adds with a chuckle. She breathes a sigh of relief as her unbuckled seatbelt slides across her bulk, followed by a grunt as she pushes herself up from the chair.
"Leave it to the Company to "Take it to the EJ" of accessibility and accommodation labor laws," she grumbles. She holds up a fist to her face and a flare of dark matter swirls out of it for a brief moment. "Gonna have to get those berries moving if we want time to shop for fresh produce...especially if we want that bonus to spend on it. Can't keep the client waiting."
She looks down at Makaleku.
"Wanna lift to the rig, Mak? I assume you plan on driving."
She lowers her arm to offer him a piggy-back ride on her broad shoulders.
Maka laughs "Have to show off now and then, can't have you think of replacing my friendly face with a casual flyer" he makes sure his suit and attire is neat and tidy before scrambling up and pointing forward "Onward, to business!"
While the ship landed, Dosheen-45 was at a computer, accessing the local infosphere. He selected a summary for the weather, traffic to Prat's Produce, and any news items that may impact their retrieval of the fifty tons of fruit. He listens to the playful conversation between his shipmates with a slight smile on his face. Hearing Maka say, "Onward, to business!" causes him to lurch from his chair.
"Wait isn't this...weren't we going to do this first?" Dosheen-45 says looking at Vegoia and the others. He holds up his hands for patience and exits the bridge. When he returns he is carrying a box about two feet long, and one foot wide and high, wrapped in golden iridescent paper.
"Captain, we hope you succeed in your next phase of life. This is a token of our appreciation. I do not know if we have sufficient time to help you move your possessions to your new domicile."
C00K13 scratches his chin at Marcellus' question. "Well, I was checking one of them baking forums and someone with the handle '3hug5bette4than1' recommended using some honey that them Formians sell with some . Turns out in the Lashunta it can have psycheedelic properties if not handled properly, but 'mongst us non-natives, it just sort of amplifies yer senses, lets you taste and smell things you wouldn't normally." The android pauses for a bit while buckling on their gunbelt. "Really made that berry flavor pop. Pretty sure I tasted the sound a' th' color purple that day."
With a grunt of appreciation and farewell, C00K13 shoves a knapsack filled with individually packaged wraps from the previous night's dinner "Just in case," he adds before moving up next to Vegoia and Mak.
"Make sure you let'em give the berries a once over before you take that cargo," he suggests, pointing at Mak. "He's got a better nose for'em than I do."
"We don't want bad berries, and they spoil very quickly. From freezer to freezer, can have them stay open for long, bad for berries" the skitter agrees
"I know we've not ventured together as a group for long, but you've been as good a group as any... and provided the best grub I've ever ventured forth with. Good Luck travelling the Drift".
The group then begins to discuss who might be the next captain as they prepare the Cargo Rig, and Hovercraft for the journey to Prats Produce.
Makaleku jumps into the drivers seat.
Finally, the group is ready to head for the shop knowing that wasting time only cuts into the time they have to complete the delivery... before the fruit spoils.
The inside of the grocery exudes a cleanliness that is minimalistic, but not sterile. Rows of shelves and friendly aisle displays present a wide variety of well-organized foodstuffs for purchase. Dozens of people—mostly lashuntas—go about their daily errands, selecting food and making (sometimes telepathic) conversation. Small, bright screens scattered
about the store use flashy ads to announce the day’s best deals and upcoming specials. To the right of the entrance, automated check-out lines supervised by a middle-aged lashunta woman, tally up customer purchases.
While the ship landed, Dosheen-45 was at a computer, accessing the local infosphere. He selected a summary for the weather, traffic to Prat's Produce, and any news items that may impact their retrieval of the fifty tons of fruit. He listens to the playful conversation between his shipmates with a slight smile on his face. Hearing Maka say, "Onward, to business!" causes him to lurch from his chair.
"Wait isn't this...weren't we going to do this first?" Dosheen-45 says looking at Vegoia and the others. He holds up his hands for patience and exits the bridge. When he returns he is carrying a box about two feet long, and one foot wide and high, wrapped in golden iridescent paper.
"Captain, we hope you succeed in your next phase of life. This is a token of our appreciation. I do not know if we have sufficient time to help you move your possessions to your new domicile."
Vegoia's eyes widen in shock as she opens the box and sees the model ship and its holograms.
"You...you got this made just for our little corporate cargo-hauler?! Gods...that's...that's beautiful! Thank you! Thank you! I'll do my best to be a captain worthy of this, even if the ship's technically not ours."
She's a little teary-eyed as she sets it down on her chair before marching out to the cargo rig and depositing Makaleku in the driver's seat.
The check-out supervisor, Needa Prat(female Korasha Lashunta), she points the PCs to the general manager’s office in the rear of the building.
An older, stocky Lashunta wearing blue coveralls sits behind a wooden desk covered in papers. He taps furiously on a datapad while grumbling to himself. His most notable apparent injuries or prosthetics feature is a missing left antenna and a thin scar that begins at his forehead and zigzags back along his scalp. He looks up, tosses the tablet aside, and asks in a polite but agitated voice, "What can I do for you?”
While the ship landed, Dosheen-45 was at a computer, accessing the local infosphere. He selected a summary for the weather, traffic to Prat's Produce, and any news items that may impact their retrieval of the fifty tons of fruit. He listens to the playful conversation between his shipmates with a slight smile on his face. Hearing Maka say, "Onward, to business!" causes him to lurch from his chair.
"Wait isn't this...weren't we going to do this first?" Dosheen-45 says looking at Vegoia and the others. He holds up his hands for patience and exits the bridge. When he returns he is carrying a box about two feet long, and one foot wide and high, wrapped in golden iridescent paper.
"Captain, we hope you succeed in your next phase of life. This is a token of our appreciation. I do not know if we have sufficient time to help you move your possessions to your new domicile."
Vegoia's eyes widen in shock as she opens the box and sees the model ship and its holograms.
"You...you got this made just for our little corporate cargo-hauler?! Gods...that's...that's beautiful! Thank you! Thank you! I'll do my best to be a captain worthy of this, even if the ship's technically not ours."
She's a little teary-eyed as she sets it down on her chair before marching out to the cargo rig and depositing Makaleku in the driver's seat.
...
Vegoia smiles as they hand off the package and watch the captain open it. She claps them on the shoulder.
"Thanks for keeping this motley crew of misfits afloat, Cap. You've left big boots for me to fill, metaphorically, but I'll do my best to live up to that. You're lucky...you made it to retirement, even with EJ Corp shaving off every cred they could get away with."
Once they've said their goodbyes, she marches to the cargo rig and deposits Makaleku in the driver's seat. As they arrive in Mr. Prat's office, she waves and her own antennae waggle reflexively.
"Mr. Prat, right? Name's Vegoia, we're the crew from EJ Corp. How are ya doing today?"
One set of hands behind his back, 1 set in his pockets and another set across the back of his head, the skitter walks through the store. Finally standing behind the new capt'n. Their first deal with a new ship captain. What a rush. He sure hopes it's a new beginning for all of them now
Dosheen-45 peeks inside the office and thinks it might be too crowded if they all go inside. "I'll be right outside the office Captain Vegoia," the android says quietly. He stands next to the door. His eyes scan the ceiling above the aisles for obvious cameras and not-so-obvious ones. When a shopper passes him, he greets them with a slight bow of his head and "Good day."
Marcellus, accustomed to standing a few paces behind the captain when they are off-ship for business transactions, keeps a few paces behind the ship's new captain, Captain Vegoia Reisora, as he keeps her appraised of any particular magic auras he senses, that are not emanating from members of their own crew.
"Ah yes. You've come for the Yaro Berries". He holds out his hand. "I'm Runo Prat".
He then picks up the roughly discarded datapad and attempts to first scan his thumb across the pad... then with a growl picks up a scrap of paper from his desktop and tries to enter some digits into the datapad.
"Dang nothing is ever easy. This stupid device was working fine yesterday and now I seem to be locked out. Neither my thumb print nor my password bypass seems to work... and now I'm locked out for 24 hours. We could log the shipment manually... but that would take most of the day. I've reached out to a local computer company and they're supposed to be sending someone out... but you know how reliable they can be".
He then stands up and looks over Vegoia's shoulder at the others. "And it would be today of course. This is my last shipment before I turn the reigns of the company over to Needa... and of course I don't collect my credits till the deal is finished... EJ Company policy you know".
"I guess I could show you the back door and you can start loading up... but I'm not supposed to let anything go until it's signed off with this dumb program".
About that time the bell over the door opens and another individual enters the shop.
"Oddly enough, some of us are a great deal more reliable than the standing expectation ... may I see that?"
A young man walks in, and he bristles with energy. Energy energy, a lot of energy, social energy too. A wavefront of it. Anyone's best guess would be he's Prismeni, but differnet somehow than others.
He takes the datapad, looks at it, looks at Prat, looks at it again, and closes his eyes. It shimmers. He hands it back to the man with a smile. A curt smile.
Prat looks up, "What did you do?"
"I'm almost sure you don't mean the part about racing across the city ... I cleaned the glass." Now his smile is quite genuine, if a touch mocking. "With your thumbprint confirming biometrics, you account should actually unlock itself, why don't we give that a try, yes?"
To the assembled the young man says, "Hi, I'm N'than. This should be settled in a jiff, sorry about that. Where are you all headed? Need a systems check before you shove off? Seems a great deal of my day just freed up ..."
@ Nathan
The energetic new arrival brushes past everyone with abandon... but it seems that his quick fix wasn't really so quick, as the warning device is locked out flashes red with a warning buzzer.
It will take a Computer Check with a bonus available from Runo's thumbprint and a hackers toolkit... as it's obvious to both you and any others trained in computers that someone has hacked this datapad. An Engineering check to open the back of the datapad and try to do thing this way would also work... but the DC is higher and there is no bonus from the thumb scanning.
Runo Speaks "It was working fine yesterday and seems to almost never malfunction. I did have it on the infoweb most of the day yesterday sending out some overdue collection scripts".
"Interesting. I would say, working fine yesterday until someone wanted you locked out of it. Give me just a minute ..."
N'than pulls out a toolkit, frowns, and begins to work.
"Let's have you add that thumbprint to this again sir."
"Hey! That's further than I was able to get. I still don't seem to be able to log on however".
"Let's keep at it then."
Silently, the young man prays, thinking, why would the All Code have chosen me, and set me to this if I wasn't up to the task. He thinks back to "the incident" when Triune appeared to him, and he was Chosen, and he Became ... yet in this moment, it all seems for naught.
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N'than is struggling a bit with overcoming the firewall breathes a sigh of relief as Runo runs his thumb across the access pad and the datapad beeps three times then the infamous... Enter a new password Script appears.
"Ah... Many thanks. here is the 40 credits I owe for your service". he pulls out a credstick and transfers the money from his datapad to your company.
He then asks for your papers and scans in the cargo manifest. "Please be careful. This shipment is my retirement fund".
He then turns to the delivery crew. "Captain Reisora is it? Keep your eye out on the way to Ship's End. I've heard people talk of goblins out there, but I didn't think much of it. If the tech is right and they're the ones who hacked my files as well...I don't know what they're up to, but it's criminal, that's for sure. I'll need you to come by and sign when you're all loaded up and sign over possesion of the berries to your care. ".
He takes them out back to the warehouse and points out the cargo. There are 50-tons of Yaro berries packed into 50-lb crates.
"Let me know when your loaded up and I'll come and see you off".
"Goblins. Great. But I guess it's back to the grind" he goes back to the loader, gets into the driver seat
"Time is money"
Marcellus eyes the 50-lb crates, ponders the the fastest way he can help move them, knowing that working in tandem with someone to move each crate will be more efficient than each of the crew moving a crate by themselves, "We'll load them faster if we work in pairs, and not strain our backs as badly by doing so. Cookie, mind pairing up with me?"
"Captain, we can request on demand labor from numerous companies and freelancers. Are we willing to spend some credits to leave sooner?"
"That is an excellent idea Marcelllus," Dosheen-45 says. "I suggest we pair according to our lifting abilities. A stronger back with a...less robust one."
"Sure think Marcel," C00K13 drawls, before hollering out a challenge to the group. "The pair that gets the least crates loaded is on dishes duty till we make our delivery!"
"Ah yes. You've come for the Yaro Berries". He holds out his hand. "I'm Runo Prat".
He then picks up the roughly discarded datapad and attempts to first scan his thumb across the pad... then with a growl picks up a scrap of paper from his desktop and tries to enter some digits into the datapad.
"Dang nothing is ever easy. This stupid device was working fine yesterday and now I seem to be locked out. Neither my thumb print nor my password bypass seems to work... and now I'm locked out for 24 hours. We could log the shipment manually... but that would take most of the day. I've reached out to a local computer company and they're supposed to be sending someone out... but you know how reliable they can be".
He then stands up and looks over Vegoia's shoulder at the others. "And it would be today of course. This is my last shipment before I turn the reigns of the company over to Needa... and of course I don't collect my credits till the deal is finished... EJ Company policy you know".
"I guess I could show you the back door and you can start loading up... but I'm not supposed to let anything go until it's signed off with this dumb program".
N'than is struggling a bit with overcoming the firewall breathes a sigh of relief as Runo runs his thumb across the access pad and the datapad beeps three times then the infamous... Enter a new password Script appears.
"Ah... Many thanks. here is the 40 credits I owe for your service". he pulls out a credstick and transfers the money from his datapad to your company.
He then asks for your papers and scans in the cargo manifest."Please be careful. This shipment is my retirement fund".
He then turns to the delivery crew. "Captain Reisora is it? Keep your eye out on the way to Ship's End. I've heard people talk of goblins out there, but I didn't think much of it. If the tech is right and they're the ones who hacked my files as well...I don't know what they're up to, but it's criminal, that's for sure. I'll need you to come by and sign when you're all loaded up and sign over possesion of the berries to your care. ".
He takes them out back to the warehouse and points out the cargo. There are 50-tons of Yaro berries packed into 50-lb crates.
"Let me know when your loaded up and I'll come and see you off".
"Please, call me Vegoia, I really don't like acknowledging my last name," she adds. When he mentions he's retiring, she blinks a bit and smiles, "Oh, you too, huh? We just saw off our vessel's retiring captain when we landed! Now, I know we've got to make sure this shipment goes smoothly."
Vegoia folds her arms and nods.
"Yeah, "company policy," to run stuff on the thinnest of margins and let us here on the bottom sort out the details and bear the fallout. We'll do our best to make sure this goes smoothly for you. We won't let you down!"
She gives Prat a thumbs-up as she rejoins the crew.
"Captain, we can request on demand labor from numerous companies and freelancers. Are we willing to spend some credits to leave sooner?"
Vegoia's brow furrows pensively.
"It's an efficient idea, Dosh. I just don't know how much "wiggle room" EJ Corp gives us in hiring temps," she says. If we're not careful the Company could probably use it to screw us." She thinks on the contract specifics that'd allow them to get away with this.
@ Vegoia
Your contract doesn't specify how you get the job done, only the when, where and amount involved. You do think you could hire additional labor (This might also take a few hours to gather the help). which would cut into your profits... but it might be cheaper to find another hovercart... Perhaps Prat has one you could rent or borrow.
"Might be quicker...and cheaper to find an additional hovercart," Vegoia adds. She walks back into the office to speak with him. "Hey, Mr. Prat? By any chance, you got a spare hovercart we could borrow to speed things up? Could slide you a few credits for the trouble..."
Sure thing. There's an old one in the back that just needs a little PM to get it working Again. I won't need it in retirement... so if you can fix it it's yours...
"Thanks, Mr. Prat!" Vegoia replies with another thumb's up. She goes back to the crew. "Prat's got a spare hovercart we can keep if we can get it working. Which of you's got the repair kit again?"
"I'm good behind a wheel, not underneath it" he laughs from his steering spot. Also, being the smallest, he would not be any help with the others, a skew case will only damage the berries more
"I think our repair kit is in the hovercraft or cargo rig," Dosheen-45 says. He searches for a repair kit.
As Cookie and Marcellus are loading their first crate onto the hovercraft, he quietly asks Cookie, "You planning on using throw-away paper plates for our meals if we lose the bet?"
To the assembled the young man says, "Hi, I'm N'than. This should be settled in a jiff, sorry about that. Where are you all headed? Need a systems check before you shove off? Seems a great deal of my day just freed up ..."
"I'm not sure if we need a system check, as our ship was running smoothly to get us here. We could use a hand, if you're free, helping us load up our cargo, if you're not against working up a honest day's worth of sweat."
Marcellus then asks the new captain, "Would him helping us load the cargo be a way for The Company to screw us, Vegoia?"
Vegoia shakes her head.
"No, we've got some leeway with that."
Then she turns to the newcomer.
"What's your name, IT guy?"
"Still N'than, Captain-Person ... and yours? Nice to meet you."
C00K13 takes a second to wipe his brow. "Maka was tellin' me 'bout a new recipe he found for a bread-bowl, and I think I got just the stew to go in it. Figure no need to do dishes if we kin eat'em at the same time, I just like seein' a little competition. Gets the spirit goin', y'know?" The cook grins and puts his hat back on his head. "What with us bein' on schedule, I figure we put in some extra effort, that'll give me some time to get somethin' good for the trip."
Maka will move the trailer back and forth to help with loading so that those lifting have less to cover and less time holding the heavy crates
Marcellus turns his face away from the other team so they do not see his smile in response to Cookie's whisper about his bread-bowl plan.
As he turns his face back he whispers, "Mild or extra-spicy stew?"
Memories of sampling Ameiko's usually delicious experimental spicy dishes brings a bittersweet smile to his face and whispers to Cookie, "I wonder if Ameiko ever thought up a bread-bowl.". He then continues in a non-whisper, "The two of you would have had fun coming up with spicy dishes to see who could make the other's eyes water from the heat first." It then occured to him he had never seen the 'old man's eyes ever become wet, aside from rainy weather and when he was getting sprayed in the face by one of Tarika's friends' young children with 'water pistols' at Jatembe Park. "Are androids capable of the eye-watering biological response, I think are the correct words, that eating spicy food typically causes in most people?"
Even after knowing him for over two years, he is still learning about the 'future' from his friendship with Cookie.
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"Still N'than, Captain-Person ... and yours? Nice to meet you."
Vegoia spits in the palm of her fingerless glove and extends it out to N'than.
"Vegoia. Welcome to the team, N'than!"
C00K13 takes a second to wipe his brow. "Maka was tellin' me 'bout a new recipe he found for a bread-bowl, and I think I got just the stew to go in it. Figure no need to do dishes if we kin eat'em at the same time, I just like seein' a little competition. Gets the spirit goin', y'know?" The cook grins and puts his hat back on his head. "What with us bein' on schedule, I figure we put in some extra effort, that'll give me some time to get somethin' good for the trip."
After shaking hands with N'than (assuming he doesn't object to its unsanitariness), Vegoia's antennae perk up at C00K13's words
"Don't know about you boys but that's all the motivation I need!" she says as she starts hauling and lifting crates to move things along. C00K13 could make even R2Es into meals just as good as some of the delicacies she'd sampled growing up.
"I think our repair kit is in the hovercraft or cargo rig," Dosheen-45 says. He searches for a repair kit.
[dice=Crafting (repair action)]1d20+6
Dosheen is able to patch up the cart to at least get it functional for now. Wire and tape make it work... but it doesn't fold up right. Using makeshift tools keeps this from being a permanent repair. (You'll need a repair kit for that).