–Session 2–
–Add Thread: Discover meaning of the Clack Relic–
–Add Thread: Get on Mara’s Good side–
-Immersion: See something fragile, clearly and vividly-
Ep 2: Caelos 21st-Kelstar Station-Move away from figuring out Lysa’s Secret, combine nature
Chaos Factor: 4
Jax drops out of is bunk, landing on the floor beside mine, and I slide out as well, “Good morning,” we greet each other as I turn my back to him and don my flight suit. Turning around, I notice a delicate looking stained glass animal unicorn in his locker. “What’s that?” I ask.
“Treborn unicorn,” Jax laughs, “I used to have it on the desk, then Lysa saw it one day, and scowled about how much she hates those things. Why she left home. That’s why I moved it to my locker.”
“Got it! No unicorns for Lysa,” I nod.
“A’right, let’s get to work. I think Lysa mentioned two passengers,” Jax notes, “Cheapo’s too, but we have almost a full hold. Let’s do it!”
Q: Is Voss on the bridge? Unlikely Exceptional No (Pilot Effect 1)
“Let’s,” I nod, and we head out, him to the cargo bay to help the passengers with baggage and me to the bridge, taking seat in the astrogator’s chair. I flick on the sensors, and am dismayed to see the same sort of screen flicker I was getting on the Falco. “Old ships,” I mutter to myself as I begin doing a general systems check, everything short of firing up the engines.
Q: Any delay? Very Unlikely No
A short time later, Voss arrives on deck, “Passengers are boarded,” he notes, sitting beside me and taking the comms, “Attention, all passengers and personnel, please prepare for take off.” Then he switches to the radio, “Wayward Lark to Kelstar Station, RWC-0200-59015 requesting clearance to depart.”
“Kelstar Station to RWC-0200-59015. You are clear to launch.” comes the reply. Voss acknowledges the message, releases the vessel from the docking clamps and powers up the M-Drive. Then, he noses the ship away from the station, and for the first time in years, I get a good look at the exterior of the Falco from another ship as we depart.
“Get to work on our jump vectors to Mishindi Loom,” Voss notes.
-Astrogation Effect 13 taking 3 hours-Minor System Traffic- No Encounter-5 hours to Jump-
“Acknowledged,” I reply as I continue doing just that, taking my time as we have plenty before we are clear to jump.
Q: Does he wait for me to speak? 50/50 No
Having at least five hours before we need to jump, I take my time, but after thirty minutes, Voss asks, “Are you almost done?”
“There’s no hurry, is there captain? We can’t fire the jump engines until we get clear anyway,” I reply, continuing my work.
Q: Is he comfortable with me taking extra time? Likely Exceptional No
“I thought you knew what you were doing?” he scowls.
-Astrogation effect drops to 9 by taking 3 minutes instead-
I glance over at him, “I do. That’s why I prefer to take my time, when we have it, but I’ll work quickly if you’d like.” I then flush the numbers, restart and a few minutes later, “Path entered.”
Q: Is Voss pleased? Likely Yes
He pulls it up to check, as Mara joins us on the bridge at the engineering and sensors. I glance back at her, as Voss affirms, testing the trajectory simulation, “This looks right.”
“Better be right, or your wasting money and risking our lives,” Mara notes, sourly.
I lean back in the astrogator’s chair, check my nails, and then quietly observe the sensors while Mara is prewarming the jump drive. “So…should I just come back up here during second watch?” I ask Voss.
“Third watch,” chimes in Mara, “I go second.” I shrug, since it doesn’t make a lick of difference off world which watch one has. Day and night lose all meaning in the lanes.
Q: Does he release me? Unlikely No Q: Does he have me pilot? 50/50 Yes Q: Does he retire to his office? Likely No
“Take the helm. Get comfortable with how the Lark handles. It’s bigger than those CSS ships,” he commands.
“Yes, sir,” I reply and transfer pilot functions to my station. There is very little reason not to maneuver a bit as long as we keep heading towards the jump point, so I begin taking some evasive action, not that anybody on board can feel the shifts with the grav plates keeping the interior steady. Outside of atmosphere, it doesn’t matter what the ship is doing as far as people inside can tell. Then, reorienting the ship and opening the armor plates over the passenger lounge, I announce on the commms for the benefit of the single passenger who isn’t on ice.”And if you look outside the starboard window of the passenger lounge you can see Belt 802, rich in valuable minerals, crystals and gemstones.”
Q: Does this amuse Mara? Unlikely No Q: Voss? Likely Yes
I hear Mara snort, but glancing over at Voss, I can tell…nothing. I shrug and maintain the ship’s current orientation. I always like it better when there is something interesting outside a window when the armor is retracted.
-Discussion: Antagonist-
Voss looks from me to Mara, and then back to me, announcing “You need to learn to get along with Mara.”
-Persuade Effect 0-
I glance from him to her, she’s looking at us, confused. “Hey, I’m sorry your friend left the crew,” I shrug. “I’m sure he was a good guy, and I’ll try to fill his shoes.”
Q: Does he attitude towards me reset? 50/50 Yes
She sighs, looks from me, to Voss, then back to me, “It’s alright. I saw your calculations. Their solid. Three minutes? Real solid.” She sighs. “It ain’t your fault he left us. And Voss is right. He couldn’t run a route that fast. Not that solid. Maybe you’re worth it.”
I offer a half smile, “Time will tell.” She nods agreement, and repeats the phrase.
-Engineering Effect 10-
A short time later, we are clear to jump, I shutter the lounge windows and announce, “Preparing to jump!” then start counting down as Mara fires up the engines, and soon, we are in the warp!
Scene 2: Wayward Lark, 21st through 26th-
Immersion: Feel something in the environment, stone-
-Ship event-false Sensor readings, 2nd day in Warp, while Nise and Lysa are chatting in the mess hall, Mara is on watch, and both Arlen and Jax are asleep in their quarters-discussion topic, recent scene-
Ep2: Wayward Lark: Caelos 23rd
Chaos Factor: 4
“So, tell me what happened up on the bridge?” Lysa insists as I turn the geode she showed me just a few minutes before over again in my hand.
“I was taking my time, running the jump route, nice and slowly, double and triple checking, when Voss insists I run it faster. So…I did. It takes most people an hour to run a solid jump calculation, but it only takes a few minutes if you know your stuff. I know my stuff,” I shrug.
“How did Mara react?” Lysa eagerly urges.
“She…agreed I did it right. Which is about the most I think I’ll ever get out of her,” I shrug.
Lysa laughs, “That’s true!”
Suddenly, my comm beeps and I answer Mara’s call, “Get up here. I’m getting some strange sensor readings, like we are coming out of warp early,” Mara warns.
Q: Does Lysa come with? 50/50 No
I pass Lysa back her rock, “Gotta go!” I shrug. She smiles and wishes me luck before I retiring back to her own quarters, where she can often be found whenever Mara isn’t there.
-Electronics (Sensor) Effect 0-
Arriving on the bridge, Mara is in the pilot’s seat, so I take my usual spot in the astrogator’s and pull up the sensor readings. Carefully studying them, I point out, “False reading. It’s that flicker…it reads that we are coming out in two hours…counts down thirty seconds, then resets…we’re steady, but the sensor is way off.” Then I smirk at her, “Falco had the same glitch. It’s…terrifying.”
Q: Is Mara impressed? Likely No
Mara studies me, “Are you sure?” I point to the feed on her monitor, and she watches for several minutes, then nods, “Alright. I’ll call you up here if I get any other strange readings.”
I nod, “Alright. In that case, I’ll leave you to it.” Then I retreat from the bridge, and knock on Lysa’s door, “Wanna hang out a bit more?”
Q: Does Lysa want to chat some more? Likely Yes
“Sure! I’ll come back out,” she agrees, and soon joins me back in the mess, where she gets me talking about my time at the University on Espinosa, then I talk about Pikwaro, and my time with Apfi. Then she even gets me talking about how Jax and I met at my little sister’s wedding. “So, you know Jax from before? Did you two…hook up?” she asks eagerly.
Q: Did we? Very Unlikely No Q: Did I hook up with his brother? Unlikely No
“No!” I blush, “I only hung out with him for a few hours after my sister’s wedding! I’m not usually that kind of girl,” I protest.
“Not usually?” Lysa pries, raising an eyebrow.
“Not usually,” I affirm with a shrug. “What about you? Have you slept with him? I mean, it’s him, Arlen or that Sternhard fellow?”
Q: Has she? Very Unlikely Exceptional No Q: Does she say way? Very Unlikely Exceptional No Q: Has she slept with one of the others? Very Unlikely No
“No way!” Lysa protests. “I don’t sleep with crewmates!”
“What about passengers? Any torrid, week long romances in the warp? A little…above and beyond from the ship’s steward?” I wink at her.
Q: Has she? Very Unlikely No Q: Is she angry at my questions? Unlikely No
“No!” Lysa protests, blushing, “I don’t do that! Treborn really don’t…sleep around like that.”
-Persuade Effect 1-
“Right! So…I hear Treborn are all about family. What are you doing so far from home? Jax told me unicorns chased you away,” I suggest.
Lysa, considering all of the stories I told her, sighs, and explains, “I was asked to leave.”
“What?” I look at her incredulously, “Asked to leave your homeworld? How does that happen?”
Q: Will she explain? Very Unlikely No
She looks away, sorrow an pain across her face, “Excuse me,” she says, getting up to go.
-Persuade Effect -1-
“No, wait! I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to upset you,” I plead as she retreats to her room, closing the door behind her. I knock a couple of times, but there is no answer. I hear her sobbing, but the door is locked. Sighing, I retreat to my own quarters, where Jax is asleep on the top bunk. I undress, and climb onto my own cot, and curling up to sleep for the rest of second watch.
-Adjust Thread to “learn why Lysa was banished”-
-Scene 3-27th-Entering the Mishindi’s Loom-
-Immersion-Touch something bumpy in the environment-2nd watch-
Ep 2: Scene 3: Caelos 27th-Exiting Warp to Mishindi’s Loom-2nd Watch-PC Negative Trap Peace
Chaos Factor: 4
We fall out of warp nearly a day away from Mishindi Six, Voss is in the pilot seat with Mara and I also at our stations, just in case something strange happens. And it does. The ship bucks and bumps as we come out of warp. It almost feels like atmospheric turbulence. I look at Voss, raising an eyebrow, “Is that normal for this ship?”
Mara looks at me in alarm, “No, that’s not normal.” Voss furrows his brow and I realize out ship has lost all forward momentum. The turbulence has stopped, and we are seemingly halfway between warp and real space.
“Alright, that’s odd,” I confess as Mara quickly begins shifting power back to the jump drive.
Q: Does Voss issue a command? Very Likely No (Astrogation DC 8, Effect 1) (Pilot DC 8 Effect 3)
I look to Voss, who’s brow is furrowed as he puzzles through the situation. I begin rechecking our telemetry, and nudge the course slightly, then fire the maneuver drive and pop us free of the “bubble”, guiding us towards the planet.
Q: Is Voss pleased? Likely No
Voss looks to me, “I would have had us free in a moment. Don’t fire the engines when you aren’t the pilot.”
“Sorry,” I reply, chastened, “I saw a way free, and took it.”
“This isn’t your ship. You follow orders,” he asserts.
“Yes, Captain,” I reply, falling back against my chair, withdrawing my hands from my station as the captain enters the path towards Mishindi Six for fuel skim.
-Electronic (Sensors) DC 10 Effect-3- (Mara Effect-1)
Moments later, I start a sensor sweep of the area behind our ship, to try and figure out what happened and whether there are any residual energy traces, but I can’t get any useful data from the tools. Mara then announces, “Sensors can’t pick up any signs of an anomaly.”
“Then is was something to do with the warp bubble itself. Make sure you check of the jump drive. The course was clear. There’s nothing here that should have interfered, so it had to be mechanical failure,” Voss observes. Mara agrees and heads down towards engineering.
-Persuade Effect -4-
“Do you want a hand?” I offer.
She glances at me, shakes her head, and replies, “I’ll get Jax if I need someone.” I nod and collapse back into my seat.
Q: Am I dismissed? Likely Exceptional Yes
“You’re no longer needed on the bridge. Your watch starts in three hours,” Voss says curtly.
I nod, then suggest, “I don’t think I did anything wrong. The calculations were solid, and I got us free. If you didn’t want us to do anything you should have said something.”
Q: Does this piss him off? Likely Exceptional No
“This is a crewed vessel, not a solitary ship. Three pilots on the bridge, three stations that can fire the engines. Tell us what you are doing. Run all the scans you need, calculate courses, but engines…we all need to know who is firing them, when and why. That’s all,” Voss explains.
I nod, “Yes. You’re right. Old habits.”
“Fix’em. Or I can’t use you,” he replies.
“Understood,” I nod, then get up, and head to the mess hall.
-No encounter-who’s where? Jax in his bunk, Arlen and Mara are working, Lysa looking for me!-
“What happened? I saw Mara run down to engineering, and our passenger was a little freaked out,” Lysa asks.
“We aren’t sure. The warp bubble didn’t collapse cleanly. It was…very strange. Mara is checking the jump drive. Perhaps there was some sort of power flux,” I suggest.
“Does she need help?” Lysa asks.
I shake my head, “Not from us. Did she take Jax with her?”
Lysa shakes her head, “Not that I saw, unless he was already down there waiting for her.”
“Let’s go talk to our passenger. I’ll explain what happened if they have any questions,” I offer.
“Yes, thank you! That would be good!” Lysa eagerly agrees, and I follow her up to the passenger deck.
(generate passenger)
There is a slim young woman of Prime descent with her head nearly shaved sitting in the lounge with a book in her hand. She closes and sets it down as Lysa and I enter, “Did you find out what happened? I’ve never felt a ship do that before?” she asks then glances at me expectantly.
“This is our astrogator, Nise Kalil. She can explain what happened,” Lysa defers to me as I step forward and smile.
“You’ve been through a lot of jumps?” I ask the young woman.
She nods, “Navy. Yes. This felt like we were skimming for fuel, not coming out of warp.”
I grin, “yeah, that’s exactly what it felt like. The warp bubble didn’t collapse properly, so we had to fire off the m-drive to pop free. Weirdest thing I’ve ever seen in awhile,” I shrug. “So what’s your name?”
“Crewman Zaida, of the RWN Assegai,” she offers immediately.
-Persuasion Rolled a 6- (Navy Event…life event…travel/move)
“Nise Kalil, as Lysa already said. Formerly of the CSS, now astrogator and backup pilot here. So…what’s the navy like?” I ask with an eager grin as I sit down while Lysa pours the three of us some coffee. the three of us are soon talking and I learn that she’s actually in the middle of a transfer, having originally been on the crew of the Akokim, but that she is being considered for promotion to Able Spacehand. We chat for a bit, but eventually I excuse myself and she returns to her book.
“She’s a good kid,” Lysa tells me when we return to the crew mess, “I’m glad she got a state room to herself on this trip. She says they bunk four to a room on her ship!”
I shudder, “Navy efficiency, I guess. Bad enough sharing a room with one other person.”
“Yeah, but at least you have Jax!” she laughs.
“Why? What’s wrong with Mara?” I ask.
Q: Will she say? 50/50
Lysa sighs, “Nothing! I just thought you and Jax were friends.”
“His older brother is friends with my brother in law. But Jax is alright. We get along pretty well, so…yeah. As far as roommates go, he is pretty good.” I agree with a shrug and a smile.
-Topic Rewards-
We then talk about being on Voss’s crew, and she points out that at the end of the year, Voss often awards bonuses if he can, depending on how profitable the ship has been. I grin on hearing this. Not that I’m hurting for money, but a bonus is always nice! We continue chatting until third watch begins, and I assume my station on the bridge while she retires to bed.
-Encounter Ship Requesting Assistance with Repairs-(generate ship and captain-70 years old!)
-Immersion-Sense of elation-(check where everyone is at the start of the scene)
Ep 2: Scene 4: Caelos 28th-Mishindi 6-The Distress Call
Chaos Factor: 4-Altered increase in activity
“All hands, report to the bridge,” Voss’s voice comes through the crew deck intercom.
I climb out of my bunk and pull on my jumpsuit, meeting Jax and Mara in the mess area as they are coming up from engineering. Mara is still wiping grease from her hands as Jax looks at me quizically, “What’s up?”
“No idea,” I reply as the the three of us enter the bridge, where Voss is talking to someone over the comms while Lysa is sitting in the astrogator’s chair beside him, clutching a cup of tea, a worried look on her face. On seeing me enter the deck, she gets up to free my chair for me. I shake my head to let her remain seated for now.
Voss looks up at Mara, “Just received a distress call from the Grey Gamal. Their M Drive is damaged and they are in a rapidly deteriorating orbit around Mishindi 6. I want you, Jax and Nise suited up. Grab your tools, and see if you can’t help them save that ship.” Turning to Lysa, “We might have to evacuate their crew and passengers. Power up the other state rooms.”
With a mixture of excitement over and fear, I quickly head below and start suiting up. Soon, three of us are checking over each other’s vacc suits before stepping into the airlock as Voss pulls alongside the crippled vessel.
-Voss Pilot Effect 1-
We are soon docked to the Gray Gamal, and the airlock opens between our two vessels. Inside, an ancient, dark skinned woman, gaunt with sad eyes, awaits us. Two old men and a much younger woman, suited up for EVA, stand beside her. “Captain Ashura!” beams Mara, eyes alight. “We’re here to help!”
“Thank you. I trust one of you is an…experienced…engineer?” Captain Ashura asks as the young woman behind her bristles.
“Yea, that’s me!” Mara replies, “What’s going on?”
Q: Was it jump turbulence? Likely Yes
The young woman interjects, “We hit some sort of turbulence coming out of warp, and when we fired the M drive to break free, we came out wrong,” she glances askew at the older of the two men, then sighs, “but we need help making the repairs. I need someone who knows what they are doing on the outside while I work on the inside, and two extra sets of hands.”
Mara nods, “I’m Mara. I’m your girl. This is Jax. He’s good at EVA and handy with tools. And…that’s Nise.”
I give her a puzzled look then turn back to the young woman, “Use me where you need me.”
“I’m Tabira. That’s Taji and Kobe. Taji, you and Kobe take Mara and…Jax, to do the exterior repairs. Nise, come with me!” We all nod agreement and I follow Tabira into the ship’s engineering bay.
(d10=10 hours worth of Work, d10 or 6 hours to do it in. DC 8 to complete the repairs, Team One must fix the outside, team 2 must fix the inside. If both teams succeed, it cuts the time in half. Each team has a prime roller (Mara and Tabira) with others attempting DC 6 support tasks to add effect to the roll)
(Mara’s teams netted negative effects, so I rule that as no gain, giving her a straight roll, she fails by 1)
(Nise passes her assist by 3, and Tabira passes by three as well, Net positive of 2 for both teams)
“All clear. How’s it coming?” Tabira asks as she and I finish he interior repairs, replacing parts of the drive that had been burnt out fighting to free the ship from the warp.
“Not good!” reports, Mara. “We can’t the thruster shielding to hold together.
“I’m coming out!” I transmit, and Tabira follows.
“Why?” Mara asks, but I don’t answer as we head out through the airlock and go upside with the others. Leaving, I notice that Ashura, Lysa, and another of her crewmen are already evacuating passengers onto the Wayward Lark.
-Intelligence Effect 1-
Outside, I see Mishindi 6 looming below us. Tabira shakes her head, “Alright, pack in. Evac to the Lark.”
-Persuade Effect 0-
I interrupt, “Do you have enough cable? Bind our ships together, then get inside the Lark. I have a plan!” I quickly return to the Gray Gamal’s airlock, then transfer over to the Lark.
-Persuade with Boon (because otherwise, Ashira loses her ship) Effect 1-
“Captains! I think we can save the ship,” I announce as I enter the bridge, and Voss and Ashura both look up at me. “We need to bind the ships together, then spin so the Lark is planetside. Tabira mentioned the steering thrusters still work, so that’s all we need from the Gamal for this to work. Then we’ll use the Lark’s M Drive to nudge us so that the Mishindi 6’s gravity flings us free. Then we can get back to repairs.” I explain as I slide into the astrogator’s chair to start plotting the course.
“Yes!” Ashira exclaims, looking over to Voss. He nods, and begins issuing orders to make sure that Mara and Tabira are doing their part already.
-Astrogation DC 8, effect 2, plus the 1 from intelligence will give effect 3 to the pilot check-
“Course is ready,” I announce as Voss orders everyone inside after they’ve secured the two ships to each other as best as possible. Mara soon joins us on the bridge, along with Kobe, Taji and the young Vossian from their crew that was helping evac passengers. Lysa is undoubtedly keeping passengers calm while Jax is in engineering.
“Ashura? Are you ready?” Voss transmits, and we receive an affirmative from her and Tabira, both on board the Gamal. “Let’s spin our way out of this mess on 3….2…1”
I open the bridge shield so I can watch as Mishindi 6 comes into view on our side, and then disappears once more as we slide beneath the larger Fat Trader. I close the shield, and turn my attention back to the sensors. “Alright captain, stabilize in 3…2…1”
“Stabilze!” announces Voss and the ships stop their spin, though the only way to know that from inside the ship is from our monitors.
“Adjust 0.25 degrees…and…fire when ready,” I tell Voss after he stabilizes our trajectory.
“Full power,” Voss commands, and I hear the engines rev as Mara monitors the powerplant.
-Engineering Effect -4-
“We can’t do this!” Mara announces in frustration, “Our drive cannot hire an extra four hundred tons!”
–Make the pilot test at -1 net effect- Q: Does he go for it? Very Likely No
I look at Voss. He is expressionless. “Power it down,” he commands.
“What’s going on?” I hear Ashura over the comms a few seconds later.
“Our engine can’t handle it. Evacuate the ship,” Voss commands.
-New course, Effect 2-Persuasion Effect 1-
I look at him, and then back to Mara, “We can save both ships!” And I quickly begin plotting another course, “Nose us in, here!” I send another route to the pilot seat, where we dive through the upper atmosphere and slingshot out, on a riskier path, but one which requires almost no power.
Voss studies the plan, then transmits, “Get back on station. Plan B.” He then nudges our course slightly, and moments later, “3-2-1, fire.”
-Pilot Effect 3, plus my Effect 2 total effect 5-
We are soon diving through the upper atmosphere and then slinging out the other side as expected. Clear of Mishindi 6, we judge a course to the Loom while Ashura expresses her gratitude through the comms and her crew on the bridge with us are high fiving in victory.
Q: Does he commend me? 50/50 No
“Let’s get the ships uncoupled. We still need to refuel,” Voss notes. “Mara, check our systems for damage. Jax, check our airlock and make sure this little stunt didn’t damage anything. Nise, help the Gamal’s crew unlash the cables.” He then transmits to Lysa that she should move the Gamal’s passengers back to the larger ship.
–
Q: Does Ashura thank me? Very Likely Yes Q: Do her crew? Likely Yes
As I work alongside Tabira and her crewmates, Kobe expresses his gratitude, “When you get to the Loom, look me up. I’m going to take you Anaterea’s! The finest place in all of Accra!”
“It’s a date!” I laugh.
“Oh, I didn’t realize you liked older men,” Taji chimes in, “Perhaps I had best chaperone, lest he charm you too much.”
“Oh, um…I didn’t mean it like that,” I blush, though none can see it as we are in our suits, unwrapping the two ships.
“Don’t worry, I’ll be along as well,” Tabira adds, laughingly “Not going to leave our rescuer without rescue.”
“Wow! Really? Kobe’s old enough to be my father. I really wasn’t…” I start, but am interrupted.
“Kobe is like the tarobuo siren. A woman doesn’t know she’s in trouble until he’s wrapped her in his snare and she does not wish to escape,” Taji explains over Kobe’s protests of on innocence.
“Alrighty then, well. Thank you for the warnings, and I guess we’ll just have to all go together then, to keep me safe,” I agree.
Inside the ship, Captain Ashura looks me up and down, “So…Nise Kalil. Your captain says he only just hired you from the CSS. You are an incredible astrogator. When your two month trial is done, please allow me to make a better offer.”
Tabira grins, “Yeah, she’s what we need. No offence, Taji.”
“None taken. I’ll just take over your job, kid,” he grins at her while she scowls. “Then maybe we won’t lose our thrusters to a bit of turbulence.”
“Thank you for the offer. I will let you know if I decide I might be willing to leave the Lark,” I grin. Then we part company, as I return to my ship, glad to have saved both vessels.
We skim our fuel, and then head towards the Loom while the crew of the Grey Gamal is free to finish its repairs without six’s gravity pulling them towards their doom.
-Immersion-Sidekick to Sidekick Question-
-No special event-Vignette, Nise is on watch, Mara is studying, Lysa is sleeping, Jax listening to music, Arlen writing letters-
-Crew Stress-all cool-
Ep 2: Scene 5: Inbound to the Loom (Navea 1st)
Chaos Factor: 4-Expected Scene
I am alone on the bridge, monitoring the ship’s various systems and listening for radio traffic. Arlen is in his office, behind me, door closed. Jax was laying down with his music when I left our room, and I saw Mara with book in the mess hall, which likely means that Lysa is in her bunk, asleep with the lights out.
Suddenly, on the ship’s channel, I hear Mara ask Arlen, “Arlen, can you explain Creative Concession to me?”
Arlen transmits back, “Hitting the books again? A creative concession is where one party makes a small sacrifice that really entices the other party to close the deal. Like when we offer to pick up direct from a factory by landing near their facility, so they save a lot of money transporting goods to the starport for pick up. It doesn’t matter to me where I land, but it’s huge for them and it lets them cut the costs for me in return.”
“Thanks, boss,” Mara cuts out, and the ship’s channel goes quiet again.
-No Encounter inbound-
Time ticks slowly by as I sing along quietly with the music I have running on the bridge. It’s a little lower tempo than what I prefer, but powerful enough that I don’t drift off during the boredom. If I were alone on a ship, I’d be dancing, reading a book or even taking a nap while I wait to close on a destination, but on a crewed vessel, I have to at least try to stay awake and pay attention.
Q: Can I raise anyone on comms? 50/50 Yes (generate person and ship)
Eventually, I decide to open up a general channel, “This is RWC-0200-59015 Wayward Lark. Anyone else there up for a chat? Over.”
“This RWC-0200-92980 Golden Egret. Who’s yapping?” comes a woman’s voice with a RimCon accent.
“This is Nise Kalil, astrogator. Inbound or outbound?” I ask eagerly.
(d6)
“Greta Hanwelt, inbound from Baraka’s Reach. Eager to wheel and deal!” comes the reply.
“We’re coming in from Kelstar Station. Same as you. This is my first merchant flight. How do you handle the boredom of a long watch?” I ask.
“Oh, I normally don’t. I’ve just got the comms for a few minutes while the pilot is taking care of business, you know,” Greta giggles.
“How old are you?” I ask, then regret the intrusiveness of the question.
“Twenty. I’m new to the space lanes as well,” comes the reply.
“First crew then?” I ask excitedly.
“Yeah, it’s not what I expected. I’m learning a lot though. But not as fast as the captain would like,” comes the reply.
“I hear you there. I’m not used to the teamwork. Trying to coordinate with other people when I know what I want the ship to do,” I explain.
“So…you actually know how to fly a ship?” asks Greta.
“Eight years CSS. First time as part of a merchant crew. Very different from being alone on a survey ship,” I explain.
Q: Does she continue? 50/50 Yes
“Oh! Wow,” she replies, “So, not a newbie like me, at all!”
(topic-rewards)
“No, not at all,” I explain.
“So, why did you leave the CSS? Is it for the money?” Greta asks.
“Nah, it just gets lonely on a ship by yourself, and as you can tell, sometimes, I feel like chatting with someone,” I explain.
“I hear you. Hey, do you know anything about profit shares? My contract says something about profit shares after successful runs…” Greta asks and while I don’t know much about the topic, we talk for quite a bit about what skills she might want to develop in order to boost her wages and ensure steady work.
Q: Does she stay on for the rest of my watch? 50/50 No d6X10 minutes
We talk for another half hour until she signs off, “Pilot’s signaling me to wrap it up and clear the channel. Glad talking to you,” Greta says.
-Reaction Neutral-
“Yeah, hit me up when we’re on the ground. We can get some drinks or something,” I invite. She gives a noncommittal reply, so I’m not sure what to make of it. But at least I had something to do for part of my watch.
Posts From a Long Winded Gamer 
Leave a comment