Y2156.11.25 - SHIPSHAPE

[shaidar]

DJ

Normally DJ wouldn't worry about such gossip, but after the events with Chester he has an uneasy feeling. He decides that once he's finished at the warehouse he needs to head back to the rental to do his best to hide his pistols and ammo.

[atpollard]

Y2156.11.25:late morning Brulantfort: The Colony [DJ & Hol]
DJ & Hol:
At last it was DJ’s turn. Brom Yang was happy to help him store his supplies in the warehouse (since they were generally high value items) and rented a Modular Shipping Container where you could store them and attach your own lock. This provided the group with a 4 dTon (28 tonne) warehouse within the warehouse that was private, secure and away from prying eyes.

[I am a little fuzzy on the details of what you brought to town to sell. It has just been too long and I have been too distracted. The TRUCK holds 8 tonnes of cargo, so you have 8 tonnes from THIS list in your Storage Container:

MD parts (used) 1 tonne @ Cr 175,000 / tonne
STATEROOM parts (used) = 3 tonnes @ Cr 62,500 / tonne
Advanced Electronics (used) = 6 tonnes @ Cr 25,000 / tonne
Strong Acid = 11 tonnes @ Cr 15,000 / tonne
Strong Alkali = 2 tonnes @ Cr 3000 / tonne
Basic Electronics (used) = 2 tonnes @ Cr 2,500 / tonne

As DJ and Hol unloaded the truck into the container (Hol was waiting for Mick to return from his errand so they could head to the city), DJ started chatting with Brom about locating a used transport for purchase. Brom was certain that he could help you find something, but just needed a little guidance on your needs and budget. At one extreme, he could locate a wheeled personal transport (1 seat & 250 kg cargo) for as little as a few thousand Credits, and at the other extreme, a surplus Government Grav Transport (over a dozen seats and tonnes of cargo capacity) could run into six figures.

Starting with CAPACITY, the common sizes are:

• Micro: 1 seat & 250 kg cargo
• Mini: 2 seat & 500 kg cargo
• Crew: 4 seat & 1000 kg cargo
• Light Transport: 8 seat & 2000 kg cargo.

The common options are

• Wheeled (least expensive & serviced in most small communities: POP 500+),
• Tracked (faster Off-road & serviced in most villages: POP 1000+),
• Air Cushion (common along the water where they enjoy high speed over open water & serviced in towns: POP 5000+),
• Grav (advantages of flight & serviced in cities: POP 10,000+).

So what was DJ looking for (Capacity) and what sort of price range was he looking to spend? Brom can then ask around and let you know what is available.

[I will be updating character by character, starting with late-morning and then moving on to afternoon. I will try to get back into a more regular posting rhythem.]

[atpollard]

Y2156.11.25:noon Brulantfort: The Colony [Chester, DJ, Guy, Hol, Joe, Mick]
Chester joined DJ and Hol to help unload the truck. Joe rejoined the group just as the last of the load was being secured and approved of the additional security of a “Company Container” within Warehouse 25 as a place to deliver, store and draw goods from. Joe and Chester caught the tail end of DJ’s conversation with Brom about purchasing Transport.

As the group exited the Warehouse, Brom headed back to his office to deal with the next crisis and Mick and Guillaume Dubois wandered up. DJ recognized the former Ambassador (diplomatic troubleshooter) from the Highport and Downport where you and he had conducted business … “Guy” was what his friends called him, and DJ remembered him as a man with connections (and not always the Government sort).

DJ agreed that the group needed new COMMS and HANDCOMPS, but was concerned about Government harassment until the Corporate paperwork was resolved. Mick and Hol were set on entering Brulatfort (the domes) to shop for Comps. Chester was free to decide for himself and everyone was free to discuss things and make introductions.

Joe grabbed Brom as he was leaving to quickly inquire about acquiring an extra exoskeleton. With a smile and a wink. Brom replied “Now that is something specific enough that I can check into. Give me 24 hours to see what I can find for you.”

[Thumper]

Mick will head into the domes to organize their corporation.

[shaidar]

DJ

"I realise that grav is likely out of my budget, but I'd like to know what I'm aiming for. I'm looking for personal transport, one or two seats, off-road capable, wheeled or grav. I guess my my budget is a few thousand. I know that'll easily cover something wheeled, but I don't know about grav. Then we need something to haul for the business, a Light Transport, wheeled or grav. Budget this time is up to 5 figures, but again grav could we way to much but I'd like to know our options. We can pay on cash."

Does Brulenford have a big enough population to service grav vehicles? It seems the second biggest city on the planet from the maps.
We've the 200k in cash from the parts delivery that DJ made at least readily available

[atpollard]

Does Brulenford have a big enough population to service grav vehicles?

Yes, Brulantfort and Ville d' Esploir are the two cities large enough to service Grav Vehicles. Just to clarify, That is MAJOR service (like annual maintenance or major damage after a crash). Routine maintenance can be done at any place with a population of over 1000 (smaller communities will not have a full time garage and will have to order parts on the weekly or monthly delivery for the local part-time home mechanic).

[shaidar]

DJ

DJ almost double-takes as he spots Guy "Mr Dubois? Long time no see. What brings you to this art of the world?"

OOC: Sorry, somehow I missed the second post.

[Eris]

Y2156.11.25:noon Brulantfort: The Colony [Chester, DJ, Guy, Hol, Joe, Mick]
Chester joined DJ and Hol to help unload the truck. Joe rejoined the group just as the last of the load was being secured and approved of the additional security of a “Company Container” within Warehouse 25 as a place to deliver, store and draw goods from. Joe and Chester caught the tail end of DJ’s conversation with Brom about purchasing Transport.

As the group exited the Warehouse, Brom headed back to his office to deal with the next crisis and Mick and Guillaume Dubois wandered up. DJ recognized the former Ambassador (diplomatic troubleshooter) from the Highport and Downport where you and he had conducted business … “Guy” was what his friends called him, and DJ remembered him as a man with connections (and not always the Government sort).

DJ agreed that the group needed new COMMS and HANDCOMPS, but was concerned about Government harassment until the Corporate paperwork was resolved. Mick and Hol were set on entering Brulatfort (the domes) to shop for Comps. Chester was free to decide for himself and everyone was free to discuss things and make introductions.

Joe grabbed Brom as he was leaving to quickly inquire about acquiring an extra exoskeleton. With a smile and a wink. Brom replied “Now that is something specific enough that I can check into. Give me 24 hours to see what I can find for you.”

Joe thanked Brom, "I'll be looking forward to what you find out."

To the others, Joe is sure to talk to them about the HVAC meeting he had and suggest that they are both a viable buyer for some of the equipment they are salvaging and as help in doing repairs to the ship.

[Kenjosephus]

Chester

Sorry, just got myself out from a hectic college week. Are my wife already made up her mind or can i still persuade her on what job she should take? Would recommend the Passenger Grav Shuttles if could.

[Thumper]

To the others, Joe is sure to talk to them about the HVAC meeting he had and suggest that they are both a viable buyer for some of the equipment they are salvaging and as help in doing repairs to the ship.

Mick responds with: “Sweet! That labor force will help! After Hol and I get the company registered, we’re going to the ship repair bot (factory show room or dealership…whichever he discovers is available) to see what options are available to us. I’m thinking used refurbished or last year’s models might be in order, if they can be found.”

[atpollard]

Y2156.11.25:early afternoon Brulantfort Domes [Hol, Mick …]
Following a brief reunion at Warehouse 25, Mick, Hol and anyone else interested in venturing INTO the Brulantfort Domes to record the Business and shop the High Tech (TL 11) Markets headed down the sintered main street that connected the Brulantfort Landing Port with the Brulantfort Dome Security Checkpoint.

Today the line and wait was longer than usual. It seemed like security might be tighter than usual. At least, until you got close enough to see that REALITY was still at work. In typical Beau egalitarianism, everyone waited in line as equals for processing. Then Human beings got involved and REALITY stuck its thumb in the eye of THEORY. The wealthy upper class (SOC 10+) were waved through with little more than a casual scan of their ID to record their passage - nobody wanted to risk a reprimand because someone complained to a Senior Minister at a dinner party about how they were treated. At the other extreme, the lowest of the low (SOC 4 and less) took their expected harassment with well practiced deference and engaged in that ancient and well practiced dance of palming a small bribe with their ID to cover buy a “warning” and no more, before being allowed to pass. As was ever, and shall ever remain the case, it is the people in the middle that bear the burden. The masses at SOC 6-8 were too respectable to risk a bribe that would seem more suspicious of serious criminal activity, and had too little influence to fear their complaints would be listened to, so the most thorough inspections (proving that Security was doing its job) fell on them.

Mick and Hol watched the ballet play out with predictable precision. Unfortunately, Mick was just a little too respectable for a bribe (80% chance of success, but a 20% chance of arrest) and Hol was not quite respectable enough to just get waved through out of fear of who he knew (but his SOC typically gained him polite treatment).
Hol was waved through with simple confirmation of his papers and employment. As soon as he stepped up, Mick felt something was wrong. The reaction of the Security Guard changed to one of instant hostile suspicion … the man kept eyeing Mick’s Jacket. Keen situational awareness, Mick ‘felt’ even before he saw, two other security guards quietly moving closer.

“Get yer hands the hell off o’ me!” came a shout from the checkpoint in another line. Multiple Guards, some in body armor, converged on the commotion as a backwoods Hunter was being dragged to the ground by six Security agents. Mick used his ‘mindblank’ on his questioner and then said loudly “Thank you. So, I can go now?”

The Guard shook off the confusion, focused on the fight with the other man and waved Mick along. Mick and Hol caught a glimpse of two men in all Black Paramilitary Uniforms stun the struggling Hunter into unconsciousness. A Brulantfort Security Officer was arriving at the Checkpoint to receive an incident report and Mick and Hol overheard mention of ‘suspected New Dawn …’.

Hiding in the crowd for a moment as the ‘Prisoner’ was being dragged past, Hol heard one of the Black Paramilitary Men asking the semi-conscious Hunter “Tell us about Dr. Morin. Where is Ellie’s work? We know the New Dawn had contact with her.”

Mick removed his Jacket and Hat … today was not a good day to advertise being a hunter to gung-ho paranoid City Slickers. Today, Mick was a CPA. [he chuckled].

[atpollard]

Chester

Sorry, just got myself out from a hectic college week. Are my wife already made up her mind or can i still persuade her on what job she should take? Would recommend the Passenger Grav Shuttles if could.

No problem, Jump in wherever you would like.

RE: Your Wife, some clarification:

1. While you were IN the Marines and She was living in Ville d' Esploir, she worked as a part time Passenger Grav Shuttle Pilot. Since Ville d' Esploir is the Capital and largest city, it has the most shuttle flights and it has flights to EVERYWHERE what has a flight. That includes small communities that might have 2 flights per week, which is where someone like your wife would find regular part-time work.
2. In Brulantfort, which has fewer flights to fewer places, she applied for a part-time Grav pilot work. There is no work available at this moment, but she is on a waiting list.
3. Since there is no PILOT work available, and your wife wants to do SOMETHING to earn extra money, she took a temporary job at Warehouse 25 (That needs people to operate Exoskeleton Loaders and help Dispatching Truckers and Cargo ... similar to air-traffic control.)
4. YOU just told her about a new company that sells goods all over and might need a PILOT to fly their [your] CARGO all over the planet ... so that is a possible part-time job for your wife. I am merely suggesting that your wife could be a pilot for "The Company" and deliver their cargo. That helps get CHESTER more involved in the COMPANY/GROUP.
5. (A side benefit is that YOUR WIFE has COACC contacts from Her career that could loan the group a craft to move the Starship Power Plant from the BONEYARD to Ellie's Ship ... if your WIFE asks to borrow it and your WIFE [former COACC Pilot] flies it.)

[Thumper]

A Brulantfort Security Officer was arriving at the Checkpoint to receive an incident report and Mick and Hol overheard mention of ‘suspected New Dawn …’.

Hiding in the crowd for a moment as the ‘Prisoner’ was being dragged past, Hol heard one of the Black Paramilitary Men asking the semi-conscious Hunter “Tell us about Dr. Morin. Where is Ellie’s work? We know the New Dawn had contact with her.”

Mick removed his Jacket and Hat … today was not a good day to advertise being a hunter to gung-ho paranoid City Slickers. Today, Mick was a CPA. [he chuckled].

Mick-
After rejoining Hol, Mick asks: ”Huh, this lunatic asylum keeps getting nuttier and nuttier everytime I visit. Chester shows up in camp, rumors of an attack on the Colony, now this. And that bit you said about Dr. Morin? You said you inherited her registered property…the ship site…her house. So the blockheads know she owned land there.

But they only sent Chester to spook around there. We need to make sure he reports no activity at that site. A report of anybody there likely will bring these goons down on us in their genocide of New Dawn remnants.

Hol, what do you think of using Ellie’s mailbox in the Colony as Omni Enterprises’ address? Seems that’s likely to draw the attention of this blockhead goon squad. Shall I make a call to the others to see if a similar front can be had?

Chester has a family home in the Colony. Perhaps we set up a P.O. Box for mail delivery and their home as the corporation’s office address”? Could be a way of generating trust between Chester and the rest of us.

Whatever we do, I have a growing and gnawing sense of urgency to get the ship fixed quickly. Quickly as possible. Things are happening here that Ain’t making sense.”

When filing the business recording, Mick will list the business codes for each of the skillsets and experience of those who comprise the corporation: Remote communications facility repairs, trade brokering, goods shipping and trading, aircraft repair and operation, space craft repair and operation, recovery and salvage operations, mineral speculation (terrestrial and space), watercraft repair and operation, transport vehicle repair and operation, outdoors adventure guiding.

He intends to cast as wide a net as possible for two reasons: 1) just about any activity we conceivably will engage in will be covered in our corporate license. These blockheads are very legalistic…so we will be authorized in such a wide range of business activities we might stay out of trouble. 2) burying space stuff amongst a lot of other items, so it doesn’t seem like we’ll do spaceship stuff amongst so many other activities. He can explain that this is the group that formed into a company after the Arctic Comm Relay job. We each brought disparate and wide ranging talents and backgrounds to the job, which was why we were successful when other groups so visibly were not. He’ll explain that he and his partners plan to conduct vigorous trade while between these lucrative rapid response jobs that benefit Beau society so greatly. As rapid response “fixers” they’ll need to acquire a range of vehicles, craft, electronics, chemicals, repair bots, and other equipment that might not make sense for other companies. But they are a unique start-up.

[gurusql]

Hol

Hol hangs with Mick, "I would suggest making the address in town and just having it be a shadow location that we camera up so that if we somehow draw attention we get them on video or at the very least we know they visited because they disabled the camera."

[Thumper]

Mick to Hol-
”ya got any suggestions on where that might be done? I don’t know this city well.”

[atpollard]

Y2156.11.25:early afternoon Brulantfort: The Colony [Tut]

Tut: "Lot of stuff goes on there."

Sam: “Oh, you don’t know the half of it. William and I are running Supercomputers … I mean, like real Starship Supercomputers, running software that I’ve never seen before. Out of some rinky-dink local Data Center! All for some secret research project that nobody is allowed to talk about.” he chuckled “Which is not really a problem for me … cause I just keep the hardware serviced.” His voice dropped to a whisper “Mark is working on some really ‘freaky-teaky’ technology in the back where nobody except him is allowed to go. I caught a glimpse of it once … I don’t WANT to know what it is!”

Sam Anderson (Age 22):
Below average (2-5) END; Average (6-8) SR,DEX; Above average (9-C) INT, EDU, SOC.
Skills: Electronics-1, Computer-0

[atpollard]

Y2156.11.25:early afternoon Brulantfort: The Colony [Chester, DJ, Guy & Joe]
The cargo secured and the Truck refueled, an unexpected gathering of old and new friends finds themselves gathered together outside Warehouse 25 at Lunch Time. Rather than continue conversations and reunions in the street, the group walked over to the Diner [Building 12] where y’all took over a quiet table in the back.

[Waitress] Gloria
[Short Order Cook] Earl

Once someone had vouched for the general trustworthiness of everyone enough for those gathered to let down at least some of their guard, the obvious question for all was “What brings you to ‘The Colony’?” … it was an opportunity for old friends to catch up and for new acquaintances to make important decisions about what to share …

[ateno]

Sam: “Oh, you don’t know the half of it. William and I are running Supercomputers … I mean, like real Starship Supercomputers, running software that I’ve never seen before. Out of some rinky-dink local Data Center! All for some secret research project that nobody is allowed to talk about.” he chuckled “Which is not really a problem for me … cause I just keep the hardware serviced.” His voice dropped to a whisper “Mark is working on some really ‘freaky-teaky’ technology in the back where nobody except him is allowed to go. I caught a glimpse of it once … I don’t WANT to know what it is!”

Whisper
"[Light chuckle] "Yeah, I can imagine! Sounds like Mark's got his hands full with whatever that is. Must be something wild if it made you not want to know more. What did you see, anyway? Bet it was some crazy futuristic gizmo. Just between us, right?"

Tut pays for Sams meal.

Tut is trying to validate his feelings and encourages him to share without feeling judged or worried. I will keep my tone light and nonchalant, like we are just swapping stories rather than digging for secrets.

Liaison [2d6+1]=8+1=9

Tut

[atpollard]

Y2156.11.25:late afternoon Brulantfort Domes [Hol, Mick]

Hol led Mick to the home Tut had rented in District 1. Mick felt immediately more relaxed in the Blue Collar (SOC 0-5) Community - these were “ordinary people” to Mick. When Mick explained that he was shifting priorities …

1. Register Company
2. Locate Handcomps & Comms
3. Research Repair Bots

… Hol briefly mentioned the Lawyer he knew in District 1 that had handled his Aunt’s business charter and estate. In the meantime, Tut’s house offered a place to work on the project and a place to stay for the night: rent was paid through the end of the month.

Mick dedicated the afternoon to “crossing tees and dotting i’s”. While not what Mick considered “fun”, he had suffered through enough paperwork like this to complete everything perfectly. By early evening, Hol took Mick on a tour of the local ‘Food Carts’ that served as Kitchens for most of the local residents and, by the time supper was over, a chime on the Handcomp indicated that your paperwork had been accepted and your company was now ACTIVE. It would be listed on the next regular update published on 2156:11:28.

Mick ADMIN Roll = [9] +3 = 12 … high success.

[ex-Navy] Holbrook 'Hol' Lavanchy (Age 22) [98C-8A9]:
Below average (2-5) none; Average (6-8) DEX, INT; Above average (9-C) STR, END, EDU, SOC.

[ex-Hunter] Mick Hogan (Age 34) [BC9-965]:
Below average (2-5) SOC; Average (6-8) EDU; Above average (9-C) STR, DEX, END, INT.

[atpollard]

Y2156.11.25:afternoon Brulantfort: The Colony [Tut]

Tut: "What did you see, anyway? Bet it was some crazy futuristic gizmo. Just between us, right?"

Sam: [leaned closer] “At the University in Ville d’ Espoir, I worked on advanced Tech 11 Massively Parallel CPU circuits and Optical Memory … I’m talking about Model 5 fib military Supercomputer tech. I saw people working on the Next Generation Tech 12 Model 6 fib technology that would be pushing the limits of High Autonomy AI and approaching the capability of an actual human crewman.” [long pause] “This wasn’t anything like that. This was circuitry like an artificial brain. Some sort of synthetic synapse.” Sam shook his head “I ain’t never seen nothing like that before. William once told me that Mark said that there would be no more need to Program Machines … they would learn just like people do, only faster!” He took a long drink from a beer. “I don’t know for sure, but I think that’s what Mark is working on back there.” Sam chuckled. “I once had a AI Theory Professor that talked about Self-Aware AI … he said it was some sort of theoretical goal, but it was technologically impossible. It was the AI version of ‘Perpetual Motion’. I don’t know about all that theoretical stuff, but it sure is funny that I go from one teacher saying it is impossible to maybe working for someone trying to build one. Weird, huh?”

Sam Anderson (Age 22):
Below average (2-5) END; Average (6-8) SR,DEX; Above average (9-C) INT, EDU, SOC.
Skills: Electronics-1, Computer-0

William Bautista (Age 30):
Below average (2-5) STR, SOC; Average (6-8) DEX, END, INT; Above average (9-C) EDU.