Gunnar Thunarssen "I have engineering under control so far."
Hiro acknowledges Gunnar's comment, and then begins to head boward, out of the engineering spaces, but stops before he gets to the door and turns back around.
"Do you like working for Octavia?..." Hiro asks, but then regrets his question "...I'm sorry. Don't answer that. I shouldn't be asking questions like that. It was rude."
Hiro takes a deep breath, then continues "It is just that I believe we will be in need of an engineer. I wanted to ask you before I mention it to Dev or Garrett. Would you be consider being an engineer on ship like this, or do you prefer your position with Octavia?"
Gunnar Thunarssen stops tinkering and looks up. "I really don't know much about Octavia. I'm a new hire of his. I have no long term contract. This seems to be a good ship. I'll let you discuss it with the others.""
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Over the next two days, ship routine begins as each does their own self assigned job.
Dev straightens up her stateroom to her liking, modifying location and color assignments. Relaxing and trying get the autobar recycle the wasted, once frozen booze and make a decent Vesper if not a Martini. She realizes she can set a alarm for the rear vehicle door to go off when opened, which gives her plenty of time to start a meal for the vacuum crew.
Spending her time trying to make a Vesper, she does find a 1/4 ton smuggling compartment behind the auto bar in a space above the chin gun and forward under the back wall of the auto bar. There is a pallet of 'Palladium' cigarettes, grown only on a small plot on Rijkwereld and only available to the ultra rich.
Gunnar spends a majority of his waking time refurbishing various parts of the auxiliary and main propulsion systems. The ship has sat for many years and could use a going over. Replacing a temp valve here and blade of the silage motivator there could keep you busy on this ship for a couple months. But it is fit to fly in vacuum and atmo.
Hiro realizes the vacuum bot is able to extend two small arms specialized for this ship to open the between deck access. and extend a third arm used to attach to go down the stairs. The engineering involved to design this bot for this ship alone is staggering.
Hiro and Garrett do the dig, mostly it is carefully taking away layers of rock and dirt and taking pictures. The first dig is what Garrett considers the lady of the group and finds evidence of fine silk and platinum fittings and looks like some sort of medical contraception that was sub-dermal and buried with her. Garrett takes pictures and reburies her.
The scout, however is a bit different. "It appears he only wore a body suit and small foot coverings, except for this on his upper arms near the shoulders. These are not recent burials, thousands of years, at least."
He shows then to you, [see pic], my equipment shows a slight energy reading that was blocked by the layer of earth. its similar to a frequency of maneuver drives. I'm taking them with me for further study.
After that Garrett is happy and willing to leave the rest for another day. After he writes his report.
Name the ship?
Decide how to deal with Octavia
Job offer for Gunnar
Gunnar knows where 1 one tone passenger hold is and Dev knows where a 1/4 ton waste space used for smuggling is. When you finally own up to each other, Gunnar knows there is still a 1/4 ton somewhere.
Fuel
Personal effects for Hiro (on 'old' ship), Dev (at starport), Gunnar (in bunk), Garrett (Octavia holding)
Plans for where to go afterward.
Attachments
armwing.jpg (28.74 KiB) Viewed 505 times
Last edited by ateno on Mon Jun 28, 2021 1:09 pm, edited 1 time in total.
Hiro just shakes his head; there is very little on this ship that makes sense to him.
Hiro and Garrett do the dig...
....lady of the group...fine silk and platinum fittings...some sort of medical contraception...sub-dermal...
...the scout...a body suit and small foot coverings...except for this on his upper arms near the shoulders...slight energy reading...
...these are not recent burials, thousands of years, at least...similar to a frequency of maneuver drives...
"Thousands of years?!" Hiro thinks for a moment "Can you refresh my memory what was going on in this the Empire thousands of years ago?"
Hiro WAS about to remind Garrett to get the serial number off the implanted medical devices, in an effort to identify the bodies, BUT with the graves being thousands of years old, there is not much point to that. Hiro is completely out of his league with ancient graves, weird technology and a list of mysteries too long for one data file in his computer. Hiro just turns and walks back onto the ship, deciding to concentrate on things under his control.
Gunnar said:
..This seems to be a good ship. I'll let you discuss it with the others.""
"I will do that as soon as possible." replies Hiro.
Hiro walks directly to find Dev. "What do you think about the idea of offering Dev a full time position as Ship's Engineer?"
Hiro listens to Dev's response carefully, and after giving it sufficient time for discussion, he brings up the next topic.
"How about we start making preparations for departure? I know we are all eager to get back to civilization, but perhaps we should fill our fuel tanks before heading back to Octavia's base. It may be give us more options, if things sour."
"As for Octavia, I think being polite and professional is the proper approach. Octavia may close the deal without problems. Or he may try to rob and kill us. In any case, I trust your negotiation skills. I think you should conduct the negotiations, and I should follow your lead. What is your opinion?"
Dev finds there are many similarities emerging between how she and Hiro want things sorted. This is reassuring.
"Your fashion sense is obviously of the highest form, certainly superior to mine"replies Hiro, smiling, with a small glance to his own gunbelt. Hiro makes plans to secure the firearm in the ship's locker.
Fishing for a compliment?, she wonders. That's unexpected, and not something to which she'll respond right now. But she watches him secure the weapon, while she sucks on a drink bulb.
"I think the best way to express my thoughts would be: it would be best if my name doesn't show up on the official registry for this ship." ... "I think life would be simpler, if I go unnoticed, particularly from my sister, the Baroness Kenko Watanabe."
This is something on which Dev is at least moderately confident. "That shouldn't be a problem," she says, knowing both what needs to be done, and that their next encounter with Octavia would be the right time to begin this legal sleight-of-hand. It's the mention of his sister, however, that wins her over completely. "You're Kenki's brother?" A broad smile crosses her face, and she bursts out laughing. If she had been maintaining a calm reserve before, it is gone in that second, and there is a warmth and a joy inside her that she shows, unexpectedly.
Dev blushes at the vulnerability she has shown, but she is instantly more comfortable. If anything she is pleased she had not referred to his sister as "Kinky Kenki", as she was known in some of the circles Dev had been known to travel. The subsector is a small lace, after all.
"Now this tells me a lot," she says. "And I begin to see some of why you and I might be friends from this. I've met your sister, on a few occasions. I don't know her well, I admit, but she has a spectacular hair stylist. Someday, I'll tell you stories," she promises. "But it also tells me, Captain Watanabe, that you are more than you seem as well. You don't need to wear that uniform [jumpsuit], and yet you do. I'm not sure your fashion sense is quite as impoverished as you imply. I can tell we are going to be friends."
"And I suspect you are correct about our host; the line of ownership too should be able to be checked easily enough. Indeed, we can put an X-boat message out right away, if you want, to begin inquiries separate from Octavia. But you are right," she adds, in moment of confidence, "that we need to proceed cautiously.
Indeed, the circumstances of this asteroid are such that I think we can immediately gain some benefit, as we can discuss later on..."
Dev straightens up her stateroom to her liking, modifying location and color assignments.
she does find a 1/4 ton smuggling compartment behind the auto bar in a space above the chin gun and forward under the back wall of the auto bar. There is a pallet of 'Palladium' cigarettes, grown only on a small plot on Rijkwereld and only available to the ultra rich.
Dev looks at the Pallet, and wonders if the tobacco has gone off the same way the spices have. (She hasn't thrown them away yet; she will do so, but she's going to go through them to ensure nothing is hidden within. She's not going to let something being smuggled in saffron escape her notice). She takes a back, and seals the container up again.
When she finds the others, she lights a cigarette, and offers one to anyone else who wants one. "Found some of these," she says. "In a small smuggling compartment." She notes who takes one. She's not a smoker, but she wouldn't turn down a fine whiskey either.
"So I'm trying to get a handle on this asteroid. You've found controls, which means we should be able to extricate this ship from it. But the asteroid itself has a maneuver drive? That's something, and it means that it is of substantial value in itself. The fact that there are burials on it makes it even odder. And older than it should be. Have I got that right?
The question for me is why Octavia didn't mention this. He knew we'd find it. It's useful, and it gives us two options right away. Either we can try to jump with the asteroid; it would change our profile substantially, but I expect we could still get a jump-one out of it. The other possibility is to move the asteroid somewhere else in-system. That then gives us some leverage, if Octavia should want it returned. And my sense of Mr. Thunarssen's employer is such that leverage might be beneficial.
We need to go back -- I have far too many nice outfits simply to leave them behind -- But once we have sufficient fuel and have decided what to do with the asteroid, I think going back and seeing what Mr Octavia wishes from us might actually be the best plan.
If anyone shows Dev the bracelet, she will likely covet it, but there is no way she wants to desecrate a grave. The reason for her compunction may not be clear -- she is comfortable moving the asteroid and ensuring it not be found, or stealing the whole thing. Perhaps she mutters something about trained archaeologists, or perhaps about letting the dead lie in peace. Whichever she guages will not provoke follow-up questions.
"What do you think about the idea of offering Dev a full time position as Ship's Engineer?"
"Certainly we will need an engineer. And Dev sure brightens up the place, singing all the time. I have no objections, as long as he'd be working for us and not as an agent for Octavia."
If she gets a chance while they are eating, she asks Dev what kind of books he likes to read. This is not to embarrass him -- she wants to know, and will lay some stock in his answer.
"As for Octavia, I think being polite and professional is the proper approach. Octavia may close the deal without problems. Or he may try to rob and kill us. In any case, I trust your negotiation skills. I think you should conduct the negotiations, and I should follow your lead. What is your opinion?"
"I agree, though I think we don't need to rush, and having as much negotiating power as we can is advisable. Once we know we can be free of this asteroid, or we are confident we can take it with us, then I think we can dismiss our escort and make a rendez vous in a few weeks. This ship still needs a lot of work."
She says the last sentence as if she were making light of it all. But it does. "Meanwhile, we should be able to begin enquiries about the shi['s registration from here, if you can get me an antenna to the surface of the asteroid. I'd like to know as much as we can before any negotiations begin."
Gunnar spends a majority of his waking time refurbishing various parts of the auxiliary and main propulsion systems. The ship has sat for many years and could use a going over. Replacing a temp valve here and blade of the silage motivator there could keep you busy on this ship for a couple months. But it is fit to fly in vacuum and atmo.
Gunnar Thunarssen spends most of his time down in engineering working on the ship; often even eating there in between 'jobs'.
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Garrett will spend the next day cataloging his work and samples, but" Several thousand years ago, some of the worlds of Koninkrijk were not even colonized. History says the advanced civilizations of the capital sector headed to the colony worlds to explore and found humans like themselves, then began raising everyone."
He shrugs.
"Now as a trained archeologist, I have found evidence of a civilization that well predates the empire that lived in this area, others in my field agree. The couple and the retainers below I believe are examples of that. The vacuum and lack of weather has preserved them very well. The problem is that they are a bit of a outlier in respect to dating. Very young. Now I want to spend time with my work. I appreciate the time you have allowed me to do this, if you need a hand standing a watch or a engineering shift, let me know.
Dev, though the cigarettes are double packed they are not quite stale. You could humidify them, if you had some fresh bread, pack it in there with them. Then you think. maybe you could do the same with the saffron
There is no maneuver drive for the asteroid, only open/close/hold for 15 minutes for the crust of the asteroid and a force field
Hiro: The asteroid is to big to attach for a maneuvering, much less a jump. With a long application of a burn and well attached hitch you might be able to influence the trajectory.
All of you know that Tillgang is one jump away, it is the local licensing center. You might not have to jury rig a antenna. If you open the asteroid and wait for a LOS to the space port, you can sent a message to Tillgang, You might have to wait 3 weeks before waiting for a reply though.
The ship is ready to go and most of the mysteries have been found, is it time to head back to the planet?
Last edited by ateno on Wed Jun 30, 2021 6:11 pm, edited 2 times in total.
KoboldStew wrote: ↑Wed Jun 30, 2021 5:55 pm"What should we do with the graves, Garrett? Do we leave them? Do you digitize what you uncover and then leave the finds in situ?"
"We leave them, I have gathered samples of everything that I uncovered and pictures. Archeologists, well, good archeologists don't want to disturb them unless there is vital data we can gather in the lab. I took the one most interesting finds. I will author a report and submit it to my peers for review."
"So we can get the ship out of this asteroid shell. Is our ride out still lingering about? If not, is there benefit in repositioning the asteroid as some sort of leverage? Or perhaps I should just make us some drinks?"
Dev said:
"You're Kenki's brother?" A broad smile crosses her face, and she bursts out laughing. If she had been maintaining a calm reserve before, it is gone in that second, and there is a warmth and a joy inside her that she shows, unexpectedly.
Hiro is hesitant to acknowledge it, but after a pause he quietly respond "Yes, she is my sister."
Dev Continued:
"Now this tells me a lot," she says. "And I begin to see some of why you and I might be friends from this. I've met your sister, on a few occasions. I don't know her well, I admit, but she has a spectacular hair stylist. Someday, I'll tell you stories," she promises.
"Perhaps you do not know my sister as well as you think. But that is not surprising since I was unaware of her true nature until quite recently. It seems her desire to inherit the family title is strong enough motivation to justify deception and fratricide." Hiro drains his drinks, pours another glass of wine, offers to refills Dev's glass, then sits again.
Dev continued:
"But it also tells me, Captain Watanabe, that you are more than you seem as well. You don't need to wear that uniform [jumpsuit], and yet you do. I'm not sure your fashion sense is quite as impoverished as you imply. I can tell we are going to be friends."
From a previous description of Hiro's clothing he wore to the Train to the Stars, under his Vacc Suit:
he dresses in a fresh casual outfit, dark brown pants, cream tunic shirt with embroidery on the hem, and a brown, cream and rust sash. Retrieving his gun & sword belt, he dons it along with his boots, adds his pocket items and checks his appearance in the mirror
Hiro brightens, glad that the topic as turned away from his sister, turned to a topic a little less grim. "Oh, I was referring to my gun belt, my habit to go about armed whenever feasible, to have my sword, pistol and a few other items always on me. It is a habit that I developed over the last few years of 'colorful' life experiences. Though I do my best to dress smartly, it is the gunbelt that seems to garner the most comments. Pardon me, but I mistook your comment about the pistol clashing with your attire was a comment on my habit of being armed, and my response was my own little attempt at humor at my own expense. I hope I haven't offended you with my misunderstanding."
Gunnar said:
Gunnar Thunarssen spends most of his time down in engineering working on the ship; often even eating there in between 'jobs'.
As the food completes it's preparations, Hiro will set the table and call Garrett and Gunnar to the common room for a meal. After everyone has arrived, Hiro will raise a glass to Gunnar, saying "after discussions with Dev, I would like to offer you the position of Chief Engineer. Do you accept?"
Dev said:
"And I suspect you are correct about our host; the line of ownership too should be able to be checked easily enough. Indeed, we can put an X-boat message out right away, if you want, to begin inquiries separate from Octavia. But you are right," she adds, in moment of confidence, "that we need to proceed cautiously.
Hiro nods in agreement.
Indeed, the circumstances of this asteroid are such that I think we can immediately gain some benefit, as we can discuss later on..."
Dev said:
"Found some of these," she says. "In a small smuggling compartment."
Hiro declines the cigarette politely.
You've found controls, which means we should be able to extricate this ship from it.
"Yes."
Dev said:
But the asteroid itself has a maneuver drive? That's something, and it means that it is of substantial value in itself. The fact that there are burials on it makes it even odder. And older than it should be. Have I got that right?
GM said:
There is no maneuver drive for the asteroid, only open/close/hold for 15 minutes for the crust of the asteroid and a force field
"No I don't believe the asteroid has either a maneuver drive or jump drive. And it is so large it would be a challenge for The Train to the Stars to move it in tow, and impossible to jump with it. Which leaves yet another set of questions: who built the asteroid? Where? How did they get it here? And who knows about it beyond Octavia?" says Hiro
Dev said:
The other possibility is to move the asteroid somewhere else in-system. That then gives us some leverage, if Octavia should want it returned. And my sense of Mr. Thunarssen's employer is such that leverage might be beneficial.
We need to go back -- I have far too many nice outfits simply to leave them behind -- But once we have sufficient fuel and have decided what to do with the asteroid, I think going back and seeing what Mr Octavia wishes from us might actually be the best plan.He might, after all, just be a weird man.":
"I agree about moving the asteroid into a different, stable, low probability of detection orbit, would be desirable, but I don't see how to accomplish it. How about you, Gunnar? Any Ideas" After listening and responding, Hiro continues "I certainly need to return to Octavia base, to recover personal possessions, as well as finalizing the Title documents for the ship. I am unsure if he is just a 'weird man' or not, but I think polite, professional but cautious stance is justified with Octavia."
Dev asked:
"So we can get the ship out of this asteroid shell. Is our ride out still lingering about? If not, is there benefit in repositioning the asteroid as some sort of leverage? Or perhaps I should just make us some drinks?"
"I believe he returned to base.
Finally, Hiro asks "Are we all in agreement, to depart the asteroid, scooping fuel to refuel, then return to Octavia's base to tie up loose ends?"
As the food completes it's preparations, Hiro will set the table and call Garrett and Gunnar to the common room for a meal. After everyone has arrived, Hiro will raise a glass to Gunnar, saying "after discussions with Dev, I would like to offer you the position of Chief Engineer. Do you accept?"
Gunnar Thunarssen"I have no long-term ties to Octavia. I accept under the condition that he releases me from service."
"I agree about moving the asteroid into a different, stable, low probability of detection orbit, would be desirable, but I don't see how to accomplish it. How about you, Gunnar? Any Ideas" After listening and responding, Hiro continues "I certainly need to return to Octavia base, to recover personal possessions, as well as finalizing the Title documents for the ship. I am unsure if he is just a 'weird man' or not, but I think polite, professional but cautious stance is justified with Octavia."
"I don't know much about Octavia, but be careful in how you deal with him. From what i've observed in the last few days, crossing him doesn't seem smart; but i don't know what your arrangement with him is, either."
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I think we should chart a course, then, first to refuel and then to return to Octavia. We'll be careful, and above book." She nods to Hiro -- "where we can".
Gunnar said:
"I have no long-term ties to Octavia. I accept under the condition that he releases me from service."
Hiro raises a glass of wine to Gunnar.
Gunnar also said:
"I don't know much about Octavia, but be careful in how you deal with him. From what i've observed in the last few days, crossing him doesn't seem smart; but i don't know what your arrangement with him is, either."
Hiro nods "I think we are in agreement that Octavia deserves caution."
He continues "Part of my suspicion is borne from that lack of a formal arrangement. I came to his base with the intent to sell my craft, exchanging it for another. Instead I am sent off to this enigma..." Hiro gestures to the ship around him and the asteroid on the view screen "..with assurances that a equitable deal can be worked out. It has all been very mysterious."
"I think we need to deal with Octavia in a professional manner, avoiding any provocation so that he is not given justification to act against us, but I trust Dev with all of the details of the negotiation; I will abide by her decisions. But, never less, I think it would be prudent to make preparations to protect our interests, including the possibility of violence used against us."
Dev said:
"Glad to hear it, Gunnar. Welcome aboard.
I think we should chart a course, then, first to refuel and then to return to Octavia. We'll be careful, and above book." She nods to Hiro -- "where we can".
Booting up the bridge seems to be a fairly easy endeavor.
The center forward seat has a 190 degree angle up, down, left and right.
Garrett is leaving the 'theater seats" due to he volunteered to open the asteroid door.
About a minute later Garrett comes over the radio. "Ok, i'm back in, get underway."
Hiro puts it in 1/8 low thrust and begins to head out of the asteroid.
A red light goes off on the board and in engineering, Its a warning that you are getting underway with less than 20 percent of fuel and Gunnar can over ride it.
Heading out into space, you turn on the passive sensors and the world you arrived less than a week ago is 'behind' and 'below' to port.
there are no nearby ship emitting and you pick up the safety transmission of the starport, which is a telling you where to call if you want to land.
You charts show no gas giant in the system, but you know the planet below is just short of 80% liquids.
As you get closer. There is some activity at the starport, at this time is your decision, report to the starport and fuel up there or head somewhere else and fuel up in most of a day. Also you never decided on changing the name.
The center forward seat has a 190 degree angle up, down, left and right.
I assume you mean from the center forward seat one has a 190 degree field of view in both the horizontal and the vertical, correct?
Hiro puts it in 1/8 low thrust and begins to head out of the asteroid.
A red light goes off on the board and in engineering, Its a warning that you are getting underway with less than 20 percent of fuel and Gunnar can over ride it.
"Gunnar, how many hours do we have on current fuel stores?" asks Hiro over the intercomm.
Once Garrett is safely back onboard, Hiro asks him to take the sensor station on the bridge.
There is some activity at the starport,
"Garrett, can you determine what that activity near the starport is, using passive sensor s only? It may be best not to draw attention to ourselves." Hiro gives Garrett time to do his analysis and report.
... time is your decision, report to the starport and fuel up there or head somewhere else and fuel up in most of a day.
"Dev, what do you think? Do we continue or plan for wilderness refueling, head to the starport and buy fuel, or just head directly to Octavia's base without refueling? My vote would be for wilderness refueling." Hiro then adds "Garrett? Gunnar? Do you have any input about refueling operations?"
"Dev, what do you think? Do we continue or plan for wilderness refueling, head to the starport and buy fuel, or just head directly to Octavia's base without refueling? My vote would be for wilderness refueling." Hiro then adds "Garrett? Gunnar? Do you have any input about refueling operations?"
"Yes, use the scoops," Dev says. "I can use the time. Once we're refuelled, I think we'll head to the starport, where I've got a meeting. Then we can return to Octavia."
As for that meeting: Dev has some familiarity with the law, but she also knows that money can buy good lawyers. She wants to send out feelers, during the process of returning to planet and refuelling, to the major law offices in system. She wants to know who Octavia's lawyer is, and find someone to represent her who she feels is better. Her legal background should help with securing someone.
She also knows enough to make some shell- and limited-liability-companies, trade them for other shell companies that have been sitting idle and so predate her arrival in system, and other obfuscations. This she can do on her own, with at least one in her name, one in Hiro's, and one they own jointly.
Then, she sets up a meeting, the one she has already mentioned to Hiro. She pays a retainer, and asks the lawyer to run trace on the Train to the Stars and its legal status
