Funeral for a Friend: Gralyn RD 1835, 247-1125

[Aadam Zal]

"How is this being gone about? Its not one of those low berth bulk ships is it? Id recommend against it. Better to overload some freighters life support with stewards and medics than have a bunch of stiffs on touchdown... Can we disguise them as vacationers? Religious pilgrims?" Zal mutters to himself while entering notes on his comp.. Looking up local refugee stats and law.. Some history factoids...

[Keven]

Hardlin answers, "Kremmling. That ship you came in on? Its captain tried selling us some of our own merchandise. Stupid of him, but what can you expect?"

"From that pig?" Jiao shakes her head. "I'm surprised he remembers to breathe every two seconds."

Zharkova stiffles a giggle into her hand.

Jimi has been quiet, listening to what has been said, but watching GoGo, now with a slight break in the questions and answers, he leans forward and addresses his Captain.

"Captain, how do I, how do Ramona and I, fit into this?" Jimi asks quietly adding, "Until you tell me different, I still have a job as you're First Mate aboard Wanderfall, or are you firing me?"

Jimi continues "And, is this pitch some sort of pivot from what we've been doing these last few years or just a continuation with more official backing? You know, it does sound an awful lot like what we've been unofficially doing all along."

She smiles slighty, you can tell she's not in a good head space. "Jimi, you're family. So are you, Ramona. But I'm tired of spacing. Time for me to plant myself. Here is better than most. I don't want the Lotus, it killed Grey. But I have no objections to you coming up with it if the Maritime Commission grants your salvage claim. Likewise, Wanderfall killed my uncle, remember when it dropped into the Steelsheen on Grendal two years ago? It's 65 years old, parts are harder to come by for it, and if I let it, it'll kill me, too, and my family. I don't want that. Better I sell it off to someone I hate, or turn it into yard art or something." She sighs. "What I'm asking of you and Ramona is hard. I know it. It might get you killed. But you know how hard a time I have of trusting anyone. And it's time I stopped holding you back. You should have had your own ship under your feet at least a year ago, you're more than ready. So no, I'm not firing you. And yes, it'll be more of the same if you sign on, and with some unofficial official backing."

"Oh Jimi Jimi Jimi Jimi," Ramona says with a smile as she reaches over to pat his shoulder, "it's so much worse than that, Gogo's not firing you, she's promoting you."

Go-Go smiles at her. "You always could see right through me, Ramona. Yes, it's a promotion. "

The pale skinned, platinum blonde woman leans back in her chair and looks at the head of the table, "Sweet-pea, if you're talking about moving the number of people I think you're talking about moving you're going to need something substantially larger than anything than anything I recall in my aunt's company. I mean a dozen people here and there won't help you out to the extent you want to be helped out."

"How is this being gone about? Its not one of those low berth bulk ships is it? Id recommend against it. Better to overload some freighters life support with stewards and medics than have a bunch of stiffs on touchdown... Can we disguise them as vacationers? Religious pilgrims?" Zal mutters to himself while entering notes on his comp.. Looking up local refugee stats and law.. Some history factoids...

Hardlin says "We've found a couple hulls that have about a kiloton cargo space and decent jump performance. We prefer to 'hot bunk' the refugees. Set up bunks, dose the refugees down with fast drug, then jump out. We can 'hot bunk' 4,000 refugees safely in a kiloton of space, with the life support requirements of 75 people fully awake. We just have to watch the life support gear closely. We're modding up a couple hulls at the moment for the extra life support, should have a 25% surplus. They'll be done within the week." He takes another sip. "I take it you are all in for this?"

[joertexas]

Hardlin says "We've found a couple hulls that have about a kiloton cargo space and decent jump performance. We prefer to 'hot bunk' the refugees. Set up bunks, dose the refugees down with fast drug, then jump out. We can 'hot bunk' 4,000 refugees safely in a kiloton of space, with the life support requirements of 75 people fully awake. We just have to watch the life support gear closely. We're modding up a couple hulls at the moment for the extra life support, should have a 25% surplus. They'll be done within the week." He takes another sip. "I take it you are all in for this?"

"Holy Mother of Chrome," Jiao says under her breath as she studies her display. She looks up at Hardlin. "Are we at risk from enemy warships?"

[Ramona]

"Been in a freezer, not a pleasent experience, still feeling a little out of sorts. Stacking them in like cargo, interesting thought, feels like people smuggling."

"As for who's going to be shooting at us puddin', whole damn universe gone to hell in an handbag. Everyone's liable to be shooting at us if we're not watching our P's and Q's."

[Keven]

Hardlin says "We've found a couple hulls that have about a kiloton cargo space and decent jump performance. We prefer to 'hot bunk' the refugees. Set up bunks, dose the refugees down with fast drug, then jump out. We can 'hot bunk' 4,000 refugees safely in a kiloton of space, with the life support requirements of 75 people fully awake. We just have to watch the life support gear closely. We're modding up a couple hulls at the moment for the extra life support, should have a 25% surplus. They'll be done within the week." He takes another sip. "I take it you are all in for this?"

"Holy Mother of Chrome," Jiao says under her breath as she studies her display. She looks up at Hardlin. "Are we at risk from enemy warships?"

Stotts speaks up. "With Sollies running rampant, and some idiots trying to bring back the Reaver days, it's a good possibility. And not just the obvious enemies. The Assembly pissed a lot of people off back when Dalhreem took over, and now a lot of groups are trying to flood Assembly space to pick over the bones of what's left. Keep in mind that we're not saints here in the Union. We have an ulterior motive as well: survival. And those of my Directorate suspect there's more than meets the eye happening out there. We think somebody's getting ready for a big move. We're just not sure who that is." He smiles. "What was that old Sollie proverb? 'If you want a guarantee, you should have bought a toaster'?"

"Been in a freezer, not a pleasent experience, still feeling a little out of sorts. Stacking them in like cargo, interesting thought, feels like people smuggling."

"As for who's going to be shooting at us puddin', whole damn universe gone to hell in an handbag. Everyone's liable to be shooting at us if we're not watching our P's and Q's."

Stotts nods again. "Pretty much."

[Eris]

Jimi has been quiet, listening to what has been said, but watching GoGo, now with a slight break in the questions and answers, he leans forward and addresses his Captain.

"Captain, how do I, how do Ramona and I, fit into this?" Jimi asks quietly adding, "Until you tell me different, I still have a job as you're First Mate aboard Wanderfall, or are you firing me?"

Jimi continues "And, is this pitch some sort of pivot from what we've been doing these last few years or just a continuation with more official backing? You know, it does sound an awful lot like what we've been unofficially doing all along."

She smiles slighty, you can tell she's not in a good head space. "Jimi, you're family. So are you, Ramona. But I'm tired of spacing. Time for me to plant myself. Here is better than most. I don't want the Lotus, it killed Grey. But I have no objections to you coming up with it if the Maritime Commission grants your salvage claim. Likewise, Wanderfall killed my uncle, remember when it dropped into the Steelsheen on Grendal two years ago? It's 65 years old, parts are harder to come by for it, and if I let it, it'll kill me, too, and my family. I don't want that. Better I sell it off to someone I hate, or turn it into yard art or something." She sighs. "What I'm asking of you and Ramona is hard. I know it. It might get you killed. But you know how hard a time I have of trusting anyone. And it's time I stopped holding you back. You should have had your own ship under your feet at least a year ago, you're more than ready. So no, I'm not firing you. And yes, it'll be more of the same if you sign on, and with some unofficial official backing."

"Oh Jimi Jimi Jimi Jimi," Ramona says with a smile as she reaches over to pat his shoulder, "it's so much worse than that, Gogo's not firing you, she's promoting you."

Go-Go smiles at her. "You always could see right through me, Ramona. Yes, it's a promotion. "

"Oh, hell!" Jimi mutters then has a lopsided grin, "It is worse than firing me! You're going to make me Captain of some ship or other...one of these refugee ships Hardin is talking about?"

[Eris]

Hardlin says "We've found a couple hulls that have about a kiloton cargo space and decent jump performance. We prefer to 'hot bunk' the refugees. Set up bunks, dose the refugees down with fast drug, then jump out. We can 'hot bunk' 4,000 refugees safely in a kiloton of space, with the life support requirements of 75 people fully awake. We just have to watch the life support gear closely. We're modding up a couple hulls at the moment for the extra life support, should have a 25% surplus. They'll be done within the week." He takes another sip. "I take it you are all in for this?"

Jimi nods, "Yeah, I guess so. We've done the fast drug trick before and it works, at least, on a small scale and I don't see why it wouldn't scale up, but you've got some challenges.

One, you're gonna need to get big ships like that in and out of danger zones around the worlds you're talking about really fast because they aren't going to be fighters. Those ships are going to be great big targets for Sollie raiders, pirates, reavers, and various Starwolves. They will need to move fast and they'll need escorts.

Second, then you're going to have to hightail it for here, with no delays or detours or you'll end up with a lot of passengers coming out of Fast without a way to keep them breathing. You'll want to know what you're going into with the big ships before you get there. You'll want to have feet on the ground and everything lined up before you bring the ships in.

So, IMO, you're going to need to send out smaller ships to survey your target worlds and the routes to and from them. You'll have to keep what's going on quiet, too, or you'll just attract wolves, so these survey ships are going to have to go under cover. Shuttling in diplomats to do the arranging and getting back here with info so you'll know when and where to send in the transport ships.

How am I doing so far? Jimi grins and sits back in his chair.

[Keven]

"Oh Jimi Jimi Jimi Jimi," Ramona says with a smile as she reaches over to pat his shoulder, "it's so much worse than that, Gogo's not firing you, she's promoting you."

Go-Go smiles at her. "You always could see right through me, Ramona. Yes, it's a promotion. "

"Oh, hell!" Jimi mutters then has a lopsided grin, "It is worse than firing me! You're going to make me Captain of some ship or other...one of these refugee ships Hardin is talking about?"

Stotts smiles. "Actually, the government of Gralyn is, for one refugee flight. And yes, we have a target already lined up."

Hardlin says "We've found a couple hulls that have about a kiloton cargo space and decent jump performance. We prefer to 'hot bunk' the refugees. Set up bunks, dose the refugees down with fast drug, then jump out. We can 'hot bunk' 4,000 refugees safely in a kiloton of space, with the life support requirements of 75 people fully awake. We just have to watch the life support gear closely. We're modding up a couple hulls at the moment for the extra life support, should have a 25% surplus. They'll be done within the week." He takes another sip. "I take it you are all in for this?"

Jimi nods, "Yeah, I guess so. We've done the fast drug trick before and it works, at least, on a small scale and I don't see why it wouldn't scale up, but you've got some challenges.

One, you're gonna need to get big ships like that in and out of danger zones around the worlds you're talking about really fast because they aren't going to be fighters. Those ships are going to be great big targets for Sollie raiders, pirates, reavers, and various Starwolves. They will need to move fast and they'll need escorts.

Second, then you're going to have to hightail it for here, with no delays or detours or you'll end up with a lot of passengers coming out of Fast without a way to keep them breathing. You'll want to know what you're going into with the big ships before you get there. You'll want to have feet on the ground and everything lined up before you bring the ships in.

So, IMO, you're going to need to send out smaller ships to survey your target worlds and the routes to and from them. You'll have to keep what's going on quiet, too, or you'll just attract wolves, so these survey ships are going to have to go under cover. Shuttling in diplomats to do the arranging and getting back here with info so you'll know when and where to send in the transport ships.

How am I doing so far? Jimi grins and sits back in his chair.

Stotts grins again. "Got it in one, Gospodin Woo. But before we go into specifics as to which system we need to pull refugees out of immediately, are you all on board with this?"

[joertexas]

Stotts grins again. "Got it in one, Gospodin Woo. But before we go into specifics as to which system we need to pull refugees out of immediately, are you all on board with this?"

"I must be out of my tiny little mind," Jiao mutters under her breath. She sighs and focuses on Stotts. "Yes. Hire me quickly, before I change my mind."

[Eris]

"Sure!" Jimi says with a shrug and a grin, "It appears Gogo wants me to do this and I've followed her orders for too long to stop now. And yes, it's a worthy cause and, not to be too crass, but what sort of pay are you offering us?"

[ottarrus]

Ivan looks around the table as everyone starts brainstorming before they've signed on for anything...
A sigh...

Okay from the discussion on the table right now, it looks like we're all getting into what you're referring to as 'Level 2 disclosures' here. The whole burn-before-reading, we'll-kill-you-if-you-talk SolSec doggerel, right? So let me answer that right now.
'I, Free Trader Second Officer Ivan Erwin, agree to keep confidential the information disclosed here under applicable understanding of common interstellar law. I further pledge that I will keep confidential said information for one standard year should I choose to not sign on for employment using or regarding that information.'
Did your recorders get all that, or do I have to repeat myself?

He'll wait for the reply.

Let me get some clarifications here. You, that is Outworld Partners, is asking us to crew an immigrant transport ship in the 1 k-ton range. Such a ship may or may not be legal under Gralyn law. So is it legal or not? Is it politically dangerous or not, and how so? Next could you more clearly state the mission you seek our service in. Lastly, what do we get out of it, besides standard pay rates in Imperial Credits?

[Aadam Zal]

"Fast druggin' them all sounds real squiffy, but if theres adequate med backup and monitoring, it should be ok. We can forge it into a dedicated crew and make it work, as long as we dont get pegged with a bunch of stiffs and o.d.s... Im in, i need work, but just want to make sure we wrangle these people right..."

[Ramona]

Ramona shrugs, "I've got a year of med school and was a combat medic during some pretty dark times, I'm in."

She leans forward and looks at Jiao, "I can assure you buttercup, you're not out of your mind. Me I'm not so sure of but you're probably fine. Crazy people don't worry about whether they're crazy."

[joertexas]

Ramona shrugs, "I've got a year of med school and was a combat medic during some pretty dark times, I'm in."

She leans forward and looks at Jiao, "I can assure you buttercup, you're not out of your mind. Me I'm not so sure of but you're probably fine. Crazy people don't worry about whether they're crazy."

"You've missed your calling as a motivational speaker," Jiao says with a smile.

[Keven]

Stotts grins again. "Got it in one, Gospodin Woo. But before we go into specifics as to which system we need to pull refugees out of immediately, are you all on board with this?"

"I must be out of my tiny little mind," Jiao mutters under her breath. She sighs and focuses on Stotts. "Yes. Hire me quickly, before I change my mind."

Stotts nods. "That's one."

"Sure!" Jimi says with a shrug and a grin, "It appears Gogo wants me to do this and I've followed her orders for too long to stop now. And yes, it's a worthy cause and, not to be too crass, but what sort of pay are you offering us?"

"Two."

Ivan looks around the table as everyone starts brainstorming before they've signed on for anything...
A sigh...

Okay from the discussion on the table right now, it looks like we're all getting into what you're referring to as 'Level 2 disclosures' here. The whole burn-before-reading, we'll-kill-you-if-you-talk SolSec doggerel, right? So let me answer that right now.
'I, Free Trader Second Officer Ivan Erwin, agree to keep confidential the information disclosed here under applicable understanding of common interstellar law. I further pledge that I will keep confidential said information for one standard year should I choose to not sign on for employment using or regarding that information.'
Did your recorders get all that, or do I have to repeat myself?

Zharkova chuckles some more. Stotts manages to look hurt as he smiles. "We're not the Solomani, Gospodin Irwin. We're not in the habit of shooting somebody just because they fly an nonregulation haircut. And we reserve the 'shoot before reveal' routine on higher classified information than this meeting will breach. And yes, the recorders caught your verbal contract."

Let me get some clarifications here. You, that is Outworld Partners, is asking us to crew an immigrant transport ship in the 1 k-ton range. Such a ship may or may not be legal under Gralyn law. So is it legal or not? Is it politically dangerous or not, and how so? Next could you more clearly state the mission you seek our service in. Lastly, what do we get out of it, besides standard pay rates in Imperial Credits?

Hardlin speaks up. "Outworld Partners aquired the ships legally. They are registered here at Gralyn in accordance with Gralyn maritime law. Politically dangerous? No. Physically dangerous? Maybe. Standard pay rates? On a mission of questionable difficulty? You jest. Outworld Partners LTD offers 30,000 piastres each for you as the command crew of one of the ships. Half in advance. That's about 30,000 reals upfront. Triple that if you take fire at the destination. The government of Gralyn will match that. Salaries are not an issue, not when you'll be handling 650 million piastres worth of hardware that we would very much appreciate you returning to us in reasonable shape. Imperial credits will get you talked about or robbed. Rintarnan piastres are the preferred currency out here in the Deep."

Stotts adds, "You'll also go on the payroll of the Second Directorate. That won't end at the end of the upcoming mission. You'll be 'stringers'. We just ask that you keep your eyes open, do data dumps when you can. And you'll get your green badges ('resident alien' status) when you're here on Gralyn. Plus, any certifications you'll need to trade in the Deep. All under Gralyn's umbrella as it were."

"Fast druggin' them all sounds real squiffy, but if theres adequate med backup and monitoring, it should be ok. We can forge it into a dedicated crew and make it work, as long as we dont get pegged with a bunch of stiffs and o.d.s... Im in, i need work, but just want to make sure we wrangle these people right..."

Hardlin says, "Not for a 1 week jump. Shouldn't be a problem. The med techs tell me they go under for 60 days. And the pak that the GDF's medical department came up with is almost idiot-proof. A self-seeking needle with a half liter bottle attached, saline and glucose, enough energy for a normal person for a day, with the fast drug mixed in with the payload. Strap it to a refugee's arm, strap them in their bunk, apply the monitor pad, turn it on. It automatically hooks them into the med computer and flashes them the drip. Fast and efficient. Even a Sollie could figure it out."

Ramona shrugs, "I've got a year of med school and was a combat medic during some pretty dark times, I'm in."

Stotts nods. "We noticed that. That, and Gospa Hiromashu's recommendation got you the interview."

She leans forward and looks at Jiao, "I can assure you buttercup, you're not out of your mind. Me I'm not so sure of but you're probably fine. Crazy people don't worry about whether they're crazy."

"You've missed your calling as a motivational speaker," Jiao says with a smile.

Hardlin says, "Okay, looks like we're all in here. Excellent." He flicks a touchpad on his screen, and the holoprojector kicks on. "Here we go with Level 2. You five are now the command crew of Occam's Razor, one of three 1800 dton Dakar class freighters assigned to the mission, with three GDF Avenger-class escorts attending. You'll be packing some additional supplies here and meet up with some GDF and former Carrillian Peacekeepers on the ground at a refugee camp." Ramona's heart skips a beat. They're sending her back to LANIXOHN! "Our latest dispatch says there are 5,000 refugees at the camp."

[Ramona]

Ramona raises an eyebrow, "What's your latest intell on Lanixhon? Last time I was there it was an unmitigated shit hole populated by lunatics with guns and homeless people driven from their homes by a war they didn't want."

"The up-port is a ring shaped razor blade nightmare of debris and the three down-ports used to be regional airports someone dropped a hydrogen cracker into. They've got one hell of a nightlife though, snipers, mortar fire and guys with grenades."

[Keven]

Ramona raises an eyebrow, "What's your latest intell on Lanixhon? Last time I was there it was an unmitigated shit hole populated by lunatics with guns and homeless people driven from their homes by a war they didn't want."

"The up-port is a ring shaped razor blade nightmare of debris and the three down-ports used to be regional airports someone dropped a hydrogen cracker into. They've got one hell of a nightlife though, snipers, mortar fire and guys with grenades."

Stotts shrugs. "it's a mess. Before they blew the up port, there were 17 sovereign nations there. Now there are 6, including Malandar, the Carrillian affiliate. Malandar has shrunk a bit the last year, they've had something like 15% of their territory captured by the Hulan Collective." (Ramona remembers the Hulans. A Stalinist type state wanting to take over the world. The Malandars were at least somewhat civilised) He flicks his commplate. "Exports dropped of course with the loss of the main starport and the three spaceports. Technology's taken rather a bit of a hit too; they're practically back to prespace techs from being one of the most advanced worlds in Carrillian space. Fortunately for them, Chin didn't bother shooting them up. The Peacekeeper base was already destroyed, so was the spacecraft assembly facilities. We've got a few people there on the ground trying to help out the Malandars. Some of the supplies you will be carrying will help support them." He looks up. "One of the reasons why we chose to use Dakar class freighters is their jump range and cargo space. Another is, they can land on the surface, none of this sitting fat dumb and happy in orbit ready to soak up a missile. They're pretty tough, and the three that OP came up with so far are the pre-Raid Tech 14 version of the original Tech 12 design, built to be nearly idiot-proof. Probably reverse engineered from the Tech 12 Caledonian design; the Carrillians used to like to do that kind of thing, then make the design even better. This info is about 2 weeks old, brought in by a high jump courier. The leftover Peacekeepers and GDF personnel will keep the bad guys off you while you unload and pack up your refugees. The Avengers will keep commerce raiders off you while you're insystem. Second Directorate thinks the Hulans have outside help. If you can confirm or deny that, bonuses around. Just don't get your asses shot off trying to make sure of it."

[ottarrus]

Ramona raises an eyebrow, "What's your latest intell on Lanixhon? Last time I was there it was an unmitigated shit hole populated by lunatics with guns and homeless people driven from their homes by a war they didn't want."

"The up-port is a ring shaped razor blade nightmare of debris and the three down-ports used to be regional airports someone dropped a hydrogen cracker into. They've got one hell of a nightlife though, snipers, mortar fire and guys with grenades."

Stotts shrugs. "it's a mess. Before they blew the up port, there were 17 sovereign nations there. Now there are 6, including Malandar, the Carrillian affiliate. Malandar has shrunk a bit the last year, they've had something like 15% of their territory captured by the Hulan Collective." (Ramona remembers the Hulans. A Stalinist type state wanting to take over the world. The Malandars were at least somewhat civilised) He flicks his commplate. "Exports dropped of course with the loss of the main starport and the three spaceports. Technology's taken rather a bit of a hit too; they're practically back to prespace techs from being one of the most advanced worlds in Carrillian space. Fortunately for them, Chin didn't bother shooting them up. The Peacekeeper base was already destroyed, so was the spacecraft assembly facilities. We've got a few people there on the ground trying to help out the Malandars. Some of the supplies you will be carrying will help support them." He looks up. "One of the reasons why we chose to use Dakar class freighters is their jump range and cargo space. Another is, they can land on the surface, none of this sitting fat dumb and happy in orbit ready to soak up a missile. They're pretty tough, and the three that OP came up with so far are the pre-Raid Tech 14 version of the original Tech 12 design, built to be nearly idiot-proof. Probably reverse engineered from the Tech 12 Caledonian design; the Carrillians used to like to do that kind of thing, then make the design even better. This info is about 2 weeks old, brought in by a high jump courier. The leftover Peacekeepers and GDF personnel will keep the bad guys off you while you unload and pack up your refugees. The Avengers will keep commerce raiders off you while you're insystem. Second Directorate thinks the Hulans have outside help. If you can confirm or deny that, bonuses around. Just don't get your asses shot off trying to make sure of it."

Well, I'm in. I don't have the 'Jayne's Merchant Ships of the Deep' immediately to hand, but if memory serves the Dakaar-class only bears three turrets, two of which are rigged for 'casters. While I appreciate your GDF's efforts, is there a possiblity of getting the ship up-gunned? Even if you rig the turrets to fire in batteries, two or three more triple laser turrets could be a real game changer if we run across a Sollie patrol squadron on a 'kill it if it moves' mission.
And like every else here, I'd be a lot more comfortable with the incusion of at least one other medic to help with that many refugees aboard.

From there, Ivan starts looking up Lanixohn, it's politics etc. He realizes that the information is old, and that the thumbnail that Stotts just gave us is more accurate. But his background as a belter has taught him to know the job fully and to do it right the first time.

/ooc Why do I have the lyrics of 'All She Wants To Do Is Dance' in my head? 'Wild eyed pistol-wavers that ain't afraid to die'....

[Ramona]

"Ah shit," Ramona mutters pulling her hair into a pair of pigtails before letting it go, "Hulan, I really dislike those guys."

"I'm going to need to replace a lot of battery operated toys sweet pea, so unless you're going to be spotting me some kit I'd really like to do some shopping. I'll be honest I really don't have a head for this kind of starship organizational stuff and I lost everything when commadore douche nozzel vaporized my home town." Ramona sighs, "Literally everything from the shirt on my back to my underwear is borrowed at the moment."

"Now if you want to talk about securing a DZ, breaching a starship hull or nuking the site from orbit, I'm your girl."

[Keven]

Ramona raises an eyebrow, "What's your latest intell on Lanixhon? Last time I was there it was an unmitigated shit hole populated by lunatics with guns and homeless people driven from their homes by a war they didn't want."

"The up-port is a ring shaped razor blade nightmare of debris and the three down-ports used to be regional airports someone dropped a hydrogen cracker into. They've got one hell of a nightlife though, snipers, mortar fire and guys with grenades."

Stotts shrugs. "it's a mess. Before they blew the up port, there were 17 sovereign nations there. Now there are 6, including Malandar, the Carrillian affiliate. Malandar has shrunk a bit the last year, they've had something like 15% of their territory captured by the Hulan Collective." (Ramona remembers the Hulans. A Stalinist type state wanting to take over the world. The Malandars were at least somewhat civilised) He flicks his commplate. "Exports dropped of course with the loss of the main starport and the three spaceports. Technology's taken rather a bit of a hit too; they're practically back to prespace techs from being one of the most advanced worlds in Carrillian space. Fortunately for them, Chin didn't bother shooting them up. The Peacekeeper base was already destroyed, so was the spacecraft assembly facilities. We've got a few people there on the ground trying to help out the Malandars. Some of the supplies you will be carrying will help support them." He looks up. "One of the reasons why we chose to use Dakar class freighters is their jump range and cargo space. Another is, they can land on the surface, none of this sitting fat dumb and happy in orbit ready to soak up a missile. They're pretty tough, and the three that OP came up with so far are the pre-Raid Tech 14 version of the original Tech 12 design, built to be nearly idiot-proof. Probably reverse engineered from the Tech 12 Caledonian design; the Carrillians used to like to do that kind of thing, then make the design even better. This info is about 2 weeks old, brought in by a high jump courier. The leftover Peacekeepers and GDF personnel will keep the bad guys off you while you unload and pack up your refugees. The Avengers will keep commerce raiders off you while you're insystem. Second Directorate thinks the Hulans have outside help. If you can confirm or deny that, bonuses around. Just don't get your asses shot off trying to make sure of it."

Well, I'm in. I don't have the 'Jayne's Merchant Ships of the Deep' immediately to hand, but if memory serves the Dakaar-class only bears three turrets, two of which are rigged for 'casters. While I appreciate your GDF's efforts, is there a possiblity of getting the ship up-gunned? Even if you rig the turrets to fire in batteries, two or three more triple laser turrets could be a real game changer if we run across a Sollie patrol squadron on a 'kill it if it moves' mission.
And like every else here, I'd be a lot more comfortable with the incusion of at least one other medic to help with that many refugees aboard.

Stott shrugs. "The stock Caledonian design had six turrets, four dedicated defensive turrets firing sand casters, and two offensive turrets, delivered unfilled for the owner to indulge themselves." He grins evilly. "THESE knockoffs have ten turrets. Four defensive, six offensive. Remember me telling you the Carrillians loved pirating designs then improving on them? They cut a sandcaster out of each of the defensive turrets, and replaced them with autocannons, so you'll have some ground support. In space, they run automatically off the ship's defense software. And those six offensive turrets? We managed to rewire them into two batteries. They're only dual turrets, though." His grin takes on an colder aspect. "Dual plasma guns. We told you we'd appreciate getting these ships back."

From there, Ivan starts looking up Lanixohn, it's politics etc. He realizes that the information is old, and that the thumbnail that Stotts just gave us is more accurate. But his background as a belter has taught him to know the job fully and to do it right the first time.

Noted, I'll fill you in as the info becomes available to you.

/ooc Why do I have the lyrics of 'All She Wants To Do Is Dance' in my head? 'Wild eyed pistol-wavers that ain't afraid to die'....

Heheheheh

"Ah shit," Ramona mutters pulling her hair into a pair of pigtails before letting it go, "Hulan, I really dislike those guys."

"I'm going to need to replace a lot of battery operated toys sweet pea, so unless you're going to be spotting me some kit I'd really like to do some shopping. I'll be honest I really don't have a head for this kind of starship organizational stuff and I lost everything when commadore douche nozzel vaporized my home town." Ramona sighs, "Literally everything from the shirt on my back to my underwear is borrowed at the moment."

"Now if you want to talk about securing a DZ, breaching a starship hull or nuking the site from orbit, I'm your girl."

Stotts nods. "I'm sure I can get you some decent toys, if you don't mind GDF fatigues and guns. Probably not what you're used to. Won't have time to fit you for powered armor, though, even if we can dig you up a spare suit." You know it takes about 45 hours or so to properly fit power armor to its wearer. You're a bit surprised an obvious spook knows that. "Anybody else need weapons and such, just let Gospodin Hardlin know, he'll get it to my office, we'll see what we can do. Just remember this. Weapons have a nasty habit of making you think you're three meters tall and covered with fur. No offense meant, Gospodin Irwin. There will be situations in life where johnwayning it will get you killed faster than Dulinor's chances for the Galactic Peace Prize. We'd rather keep the casualty counts as low as possible, if you please."