Chapter Eight: Breakfast on the Queen

[BackworldTraveller]

Arnwulf
Arnwulf notices a picture-unit that Pranit has placed on the table and plugged in. It is cycling through old shots of the crew (and others related to the crew) in chronological order.
He easily recognises Archana, Nalani and Reven. Ngora is sometimes there - much younger.

Reven seems to have a Girlfriend in a couple of shots.

Archana is hugging someone. Jinga?

Ngora seems to be generally in shot with the same guy - Probably Jojo.

Nalani is always aloof, or holding a cat, but always stylishly dressed.

And the croupier from the Casino is lurking in the background of some shots.

[Bluetongue]

Arnwulf

So he flicks through the gallery of images.

The croupier fellow in some shots. If they are chronological then he might have a longer history with the ship. Could he be a crew member presumed dead? I point the guys face out to Reven and Nalani.

[SpinwardMarch]

Maggie

The events of the last day and-a-half are starting to take their toll. The headache is back.

[1d6]=2 [1d6]=2

She decides to stop for the day, take a break, then clean out her apartment.

When she sees Pranit, I have a list of basics to get the life support operational, but I must get my belongings. I will also need gear to start the cleaning, if that is possible.

She transmits the list to the Queen, and leaves for more food and the apartment.

[The Bindoner]

Nālani to Mark:

You have checked our thrusters? I was not able to reach them myself, but you have this drone, and your colleague with the raft.

Arnwulf

So he flicks through the gallery of images.

The croupier fellow in some shots. If they are chronological then he might have a longer history with the ship. Could he be a crew member presumed dead? I point the guys face out to Reven and Nalani.

When Mark Kassel finishes his survey and leaves Nālani passes through the commons and pauses to see what is the centre of attention. Ah! Old pictures. Ugh! Me in old fashioned fashion, nah?

Ah, but who is that...

[BackworldTraveller]

Nālani to Mark:

You have checked our thrusters? I was not able to reach them myself, but you have this drone, and your colleague with the raft.

Mark and his colleague have finished up on the outside and run through the main components Locks, Power, M-Drive, Compensators, artificial gravity, Life support, cargo handling. They find the majority of the crew taking their lunch-break and request permission to open the main cargo bay doors for checks - and the vehicle bay door.

[Stirling]

Tiberius

Sends a message to Indrani having heard breaking news of bomb on board. Politely requests details to be forwarded back.

[Bluetongue]

Arnwulf

I am thinking that as we had a bomb scare earlier and other issues with hidden cameras watching the ship, it might be good to demonstrate to those still viewing that we have beefed up security. So in an effort to put on a show and accompany Mr Kessel as he completes an interior inspection of the ship, Arnwulf will shadow him in his flak jacket and shouldering one of the accelerator rifles we received earlier.

Especially if he opens portals into the bay, then having some sense of diligent armed guards warding the ship would up the ante on any other scoundrels thinking they could sneak up on us with other sticky bombs.

Arnwulf Recon check [2d6+1]=8+1=9

edited post to include recon check

[cybersavant]

Arnwulf
So he flicks through the gallery of images.
The croupier fellow in some shots. If they are chronological then he might have a longer history with the ship. Could he be a crew member presumed dead? I point the guys face out to Reven and Nalani.

Reven Stiilpahth "This? That's Hebden. Why?"

[BackworldTraveller]

Indrani
Indrani's return to the ship is interrupted by the Taxi juddering to a halt just short of dock 13-12. It then edges forward in jolts as people with posters protesting "No New Heaven" mill about in the road. Looking around as they huddle about your vehicle, you see that Dock Security has finally appeared and have two officers guarding the entrance to that dock (13-12), and two more between the protest and dock 13-13, looking on. When they (eventually) realise that you aren't heading for 13-12, the protestors part and let the taxi progress to drop you off.

As she alights, she sees the reporter Ulrika Sekar of Sparks News sat on the bench, taking a rest.

[The Bindoner]

Mark and his colleague have finished up on the outside and run through the main components Locks, Power, M-Drive, Compensators, artificial gravity, Life support, cargo handling. They find the majority of the crew taking their lunch-break and request permission to open the main cargo bay doors for checks - and the vehicle bay door.

Nālani keeps company with Mark, interested in the survey and understanding first hand the problems that might be revealed. Of course, even though she has a good feeling about Mr Kassel, she is also recording the process and ensuring that nothing untoward happens

[joertexas]

Indrani
Indrani's return to the ship is interrupted by the Taxi juddering to a halt just short of dock 13-12. It then edges forward in jolts as people with posters protesting "No New Heaven" mill about in the road. Looking around as they huddle about your vehicle, you see that Dock Security has finally appeared and have two officers guarding the entrance to that dock (13-12), and two more between the protest and dock 13-13, looking on. When they (eventually) realise that you aren't heading for 13-12, the protestors part and let the taxi progress to drop you off.

As she alights, she sees the reporter Ulrika Sekar of Sparks News sat on the bench, taking a rest.

Indrani ignores her and heads for the bay entrance.

[BackworldTraveller]

Mark and his colleague have finished up on the outside and run through the main components Locks, Power, M-Drive, Compensators, artificial gravity, Life support, cargo handling. They find the majority of the crew taking their lunch-break and request permission to open the main cargo bay doors for checks - and the vehicle bay door.

Nālani keeps company with Mark, interested in the survey and understanding first hand the problems that might be revealed. Of course, even though she has a good feeling about Mr Kassel, she is also recording the process and ensuring that nothing untoward happens

Mark is checking seals and motors, filters and generators. His assistant is running backwards and forwards bringing tools and meters.

Eventually, Mark reaches a conclusion.

Well he notes

Your passenger deck is in need of a full life support refurb, but you knew that. The Low Berths likewise. The whole really needs a few hundred hours of maintenance and retuning as the last few years of neglect get ironed out, but your engineer has probably mentioned that too. Your inventory and actual stores are way out of whack - any customs guy is going to have a nightmare with so many under-represented items and nothing to fine you for. He smirks at his small witticism.

But what you really want to know is is she good to go. He pauses for dramatic effect.

Straight-line acceleration will be fine. There is a crack that probably reduces structural integrity by 10% - don't twist or turn excessively and you'll be fine. No Passengers and 28-Days certificate only. Come back with the fixes done and we'll issue a proper cert for the rest of the year

[BackworldTraveller]

Indrani
Indrani arrives to find the surveying party packed up and delivering the 28-day certificate to Pranit and Nalani. Anrwulf is part-installed in the laser turret. Maggie and Reven are not in sight.

[BackworldTraveller]

Maggie
Having packed her travelling gear and tidied the place, Maggie locks up her apartment and heads back to the port. Unlike Indrani's journey, her taxi stops at the entrance to the dock as a Dock Security Checkpoint has been erected. Maggie is asked her business on the dock and when she states that she is crew for the Queen is warned that there is a crowd outside the adjacent dock and they are blocking the corridor. The security guards state that she shouldn't take the taxi past 13-11 and offer her an escort for the last 800m. Fortunately, as an ex-Naval Officer, Maggie has less than the full 0.1 dTon baggage limit. But it is still more than can be carried 800m by one person in one journey.

[SpinwardMarch]

Maggie

She sighs, and nods at the security guards. Thank you. Yes, I will need assistance. I have all my travel gear packed here, and it is more than I can move alone in one trip. I would rather not make two trips if there are problems. She indicates the gear bags stowed in the taxi.

Und noch, was? Warum hier? Ach. She mutters to herself.

The whole day has been one prolonged headache, and it will be nice to stop moving for awhile, assuming she actually gets to the ship.

[BackworldTraveller]

Maggie
The approach of Maggie and her escort, loaded as she is, attracts the protestors attention. Rather than milling about they turn towards the approaching pair and start chanting slogans about "No Havenites"; "Lets us think for ourselves" and "Get off our Rock".

One of the three security guards by the dock-door follows the mob and "calms them" with the words "Come on, let them through".

On the far side of the crowd (about 50 strong) there appears to be a woman filming, with a camera drone hovering above her head.

[ateno]

Pranit forwards the certificate to the proper authorities.

When he is feeling better he continues the search.

[BackworldTraveller]

Pranit
Pranit spends much of the afternoon supervising the search from the comfort of a chair while it is actually carried out by various other members of the crew. While the trawl turns up some interesting items (e.g. a delivery note for 4kg Raisins used as a bookmark, one 9mm pistol bullet stuck in a grease patch under a galley cabinet, a Cr50 Gambling Chip from the Blue Monkey in a floor void) there are no signs of hidden compartments, secrets taped to the under side of draws, etc. The only items on the whole ship that seem completely out of place are the hexagonal rods/crystals in the Workshop - which don't seem to fit any of the machines aboard - and the memory chip and drinks bottle Reven found in Hebden's Vacc Suit.

If there is anything else physical hidden on the ship, it's small, and hidden so well that he can't find it. If Captain Celisse was smuggling, he was doing it blatantly and paying off the search teams.

Mark (the surveyor) has just gone over the ship with an ultrasound scanner. If you've missed anything, that might have picked it up. The data's in the report.

[ateno]

Pranit will post the repot on the ship daily log and mark for the Captains attention.

He will check where the Blue Monkey is and give the chit to the person that found it.


Are raisins a exotic/expensive food?

[BackworldTraveller]

Pranit will post the repot on the ship daily log and mark for the Captains attention.

He will check where the Blue Monkey is and give the chit to the person that found it.


Are raisins a exotic/expensive food?

You may want to talk to Nalani about the Blue Monkey! It would have been Maggie that found it.

Raisins