Stars Without Number: Scions of the Stars, Ex astris intellectus Options

[Buddha72]

Ravenna raises an eyebrow at the easy admission of having been abandoned by his former crew. She continues to aid the captain while speaking to the new arrival.

"Ravenna and I don't mean to be rude but is that a common occurrence?"

[Nemo157]

"A common occurrence? Thankfully, no. I'd only been flying with them a few days, bunch of superstitious shriekers but they promised a good payout to help them find the Saving Grace. Then when their spike drive failed they were all 'must be our punishment for working with a heathen' and dumped me here."

Stepping up to Ravenna's side of the sick man Iorund offers his arm, "Here, why don't I help get him to the medbay".

[Fenris]

Sereth eyes Iorund for a moment. Military men could go either way, and ex-military tended to be one extreme or the other. But Harken's situation didn't really favor in-action, and if Harken was going to be out of it for a while, they might actually need someone with a close familiarity with violence.

"I'm Sereth, and the poor, unfortunate soul you're helping to the med-bay is Harken, our captain. We're with the Terra Firma." Sereth follows the small group down towards the med-bay, nodding for Alice to follow, helping to situate Harken when they had to navigate the occasional step up or elevator. It said a lot to Sereth that the man was chivalrous to offer to help with their ill captain, considering that there was nothing in it for him. It might just have been the women, but he'd seen worse reactions in spacers to attractive women then to offer to help.

"We're actually refueling now to head out looking for the Saving Grace ourselves, and we seem to be down a crew member. It's not likely to be a long stint, but if you're interested, we could offer you a temporary spot on the crew?"

[Nemo157]

"Really? That would be amazing. I didn't really have anything planned since I was assuming I would be out for at least a few more weeks searching."

After a brief pause while carefully negotiating a tight bulkhead door Iorund turns back towards Sereth. "I presume you will need some sort of discussion about this amongst yourselves.... Tell you what, once we get Harken to the medbay I'll go wait in the bar; you guys can have a chance to finish your tour and chat about it, then come meet me there and I'll buy you all a round. It will be good to hear some news of what's happened in the last week at the least."

[Lain]

Alice raises a perfectly formed eyebrow behind her veil at her team’s quick acceptance of the stranger. Following behind Sereth her boots clicking on the metal floors she reflects on how open her team is and how its her job to protect her family and keep that innocence alive…

But just in case there is any chance of this guy going rogue she is prepared to drop a telekinetic shield in between him and the rest of her team.

Glad that Iorund realizes that they may want to talk a bit privately Alice smiles warmly.

“I think a private discussion is best, we’ll be along shortly, if only for the free beer”


Alice then looks once more at Harken and frowns

Hope he is going to be ok, its best to leave him I guess, but hate to do it. Get better quickly Harken

[JxJxA]

Iorund

While you were on the station, you did a little bit of digging. You know that the SOP for military ships is to allow their crew to have shore leave to give them a break from the monotonous drag of daily routine. The Saving Grace was no exception, and the station hosted the ship's crew for four days while the vessel refueled at Ismaar. Given the size of the station, the Sobek class cruiser needed to send its crew over in waves to keep from overwhelming the station's skeleton crew. There were a few snafus as people did not always report in on time. That issue usually raises a few red flags. Nevertheless, the ship did leave with a full crew complement.

When you see Ravenna, you catch the faint, sweet scent of incense. That perks your attention, and you notice that the woman's dress has more purpose than simply to blend with the rather eclectic nature of the group. You have heard tales of some psychics who follow a beneficent and ritualistic path to become vessels of healing, seeking balance between the physical and the spiritual within themselves so that they might translate their efforts into benefiting Humanity. They call themselves "iihkawa", a name that roughly translates to "companion."

[Buddha72]

With Iorund able assistance and then graceful departure she turns to the remainder of the crew.

"That was unexpected but hopefully the Captain will get the help he needs back at Waystation. I normally wouldn't hesitate to take help offered but I know this system is a little more unstable than others. Him being here was terribly convenient and looking for the Saving Grace as we are but I am inclined to give him a chance. I think between myself and Alice a saboteur would be hard pressed to keep his intentions hidden for long."

As she speaks, she runs her hands over her body quickly and efficiently laying the clothes back into their proper position and restoring her appearance to what it was when she exited the ship. It is done with out conscious thought and carries the familiar look of ritual that accompanies so many of her actions.

[Lain]

After ensuring Iorund is gone, and listening to Ravenna, Alice nods

“ I agree, though I’d rather not get into a position where we have to stop a potential aggressor”

“Sereth, do you think you can do some background checks on our possible new friend? I would feel better if we did some electronic research before we accept him at face value.”

She pauses for a second, wondering if she is being too nervous, mentally shakes her head

“we got lucky with Ezri, can’t count on everyone to work out”

Alice chuckles a little when she realizes she admitted that Ezri isn't all bad

[Fenris]

Sereth nods, partitioning away part of his attention to start sending out the communications he'd need, information requests to Re, mostly, even as he motioned out the way Iorund had gone.

"If we're looking for possible information on the ship or it's activities, the bar's probably the most likely place to start, given the size of this thing. Couldn't hurt to drum up some information before we take off, regardless of what comes back on Iorun."

As he walks, he works through the message in his head, mentally composing it before he reaches out with the internal electric buzz that was his sense of the cyberware within him, and tapped the station's systems to reach out across the stars.

<<@Lieutenant Vreetwi,Re offices, Waypoint Station [Sereth Stanson, Terra Firma]: I need information about a potential recruit.>> Sereth provided the man's name and ship, waiting to hear if there was any official word as he strolled towards their meeting.

[JxJxA]

Sereth

After a few minutes, you receive a reply over the FTL system. Ensign Jexon has sent a reply along with a data packet.

<<Consulate of Re, Waypoint Station: Message received, sending information regarding Iorund Värmodsun. Was attached to Freemerchant Dauntless. Authorized for S&R mission. Please provide him with this message to verify that you also are working in conjuction with Re.>>

The data packet gives you basic information on Iorund. Everything matches up with what you have seen and heard from him so far. Ensign Jexon also thought to provide information on you, your ship, and your crew so that you can give the information to Iorund and verify that you are also working for Re.

[Fenris]

Sereth gives a nod as they move down the hallway, and sends the information out to the rest of his crew.

<<@Terra Firma Crew [Sereth]: Looks like our erstwhile new companion checks out. Here's the info on his ship and mission, and a note we can pass over to him for the same. Any complaints about the idea? With Harkin out of commission for a bit, I'd feel safer with a verified person that's good with a gun.>>

[Lain]

Alice, looks down at her commlink, reading Sereth's message she grins ruefully at the idea of Re giving us the documents to prove our identity.

Verified? interesting.. not sure I would call this verified.. Oh well, can always shoot him into space if it doesn't work out I guess..

<<@Terra Firma Crew>>:ok

[Buddha72]

Ravenna sees the information scroll by her field of vision. She skims it then assigns it to her personal data stores for her to look over later when she had more time. She falls into an easy stride with the rest of the crew as they make their way back to Iorund

"While we're here I would prefer keep everyone linked through me. This place seems less.....organized then Waypoint. I am concerned things here are less civil and we need to ensure our safety as best we can. Does anyone object?"

She looks to each crew member to see if they agree while they walk.

[Lain]

Looking around, Alice keeps an eye out for people who seem slightly more interested in the team than they should, or interesting shops.
Alice nods her agreement with Ravenna, appreciating the request even though Ravenna knows Alice would agree anyway.

[Fenris]

With his eyes doing the same casual inspection as Alice's, Sereth nods.

"I'd agree. Definitely a far cry from the previous station, and I wouldn't be surprised if the crew considers it more like a ship than a station, with all the loyal territoriality that goes with it."

[JxJxA]

All

The sickbay is little more than a pair of expanded quarters, a row of cots, portable med devices, and staffed by a grand total of two Humans. The doctor is a portly, elderly gentleman who is missing his left ear and has a cybernetic leg. The nurse is a lanky and distressed looking woman. When they see you bringing Harken the nurse rushes over to help while the doctor covers his mouth.

"Why the shriek did you bring that infection vector on board? Haven't you ever heard of quarantine? You could infect the whole ship!"

"Too late now, Doc," answers Zax, moving Harken to a bed.

Doc shakes his head, grabs a face mask and a pair of disposable gloves. The nurse grabs a med scanner and runs it up and down the length of Harken's body. She frowns as she sees the result.

"Looks like food poisoning, but more severe," she says.

"He's waiting for a shuttle. Should we freeze him until then?" Zax asks.

"Probably a good idea," Doc answers while prodding Harken's body. "Our air scrubbers aren't that gre---oh, hell. Your breath smells like shit, son."

"We'll take it from here," says the nurse, giving you a reassuring smile. She politely shoos you away from the sickbay, hoping to spare you from the stream of curses and diatribe spouting from Doc as he discovers more "unsightly issues" with the sick Harken

As you leave the sickbay, you go your separate ways. Iorund heads to the bar, while the others are standing outside the sickbay.

Alice and Sereth

Most of the shops on this station deal in selling/exchanging asteroid ore for necessities. There is the odd stand that sells curios, but most of them seem to cater to lonely miners marooned in space. However, the stand owners are more than happy to have you look at their wares.

[Nemo157]

Making it back to the bar Iorund grabs another glass of moonshine and settles back into the armchair he was in before. Leaning back he takes a sip and relaxes before pulling out his compad and composing a message to his Re contact.

<<@Ensign Josh, Re offices, Tefnut, Wosriwi [Iorund]: You know how that crew I was helping up and left me out here? Well another crew claiming to be on the S&R mission just turned up. They're a man down and looking for some help, just thought I better check that they're on the up-and-up before I go heading into deep space with them.>>

Attaching the names he'd learned of the crew along with their ship's designation Iorund leaned back even further into his chair as he starts thinking back over the encounter. Recognising Ravenna as being of the iihkawa he knew there should be no real issues with her, unless she has completely abandoned her faith she would be taking no part in any foul deeds. Sereth on the other hand, he looked like someone who could handle himself at least a bit, and he was awfully quick to offer a space on the crew. Could just be that he wants a hand to protect the fine ladies. That Alice is certainly a fine dresser, even if that means she looks like she's almost ready to head to a ball while exploring a rusty old space station. And then there’s the unknown piloting their ship out for refuelling, could be some sort of psychopath.

[JxJxA]

Iorund

It takes Ensign Veker Josh a handful of minutes to reply, given the distance between Ibraheim and Wosriwi. When your commlink alerts you to his message, you notice a datapacket attached to it.

<<Re offices-Anubis Division, Tefnut, Wosriwi: Message received, sending information regarding Terra Firma and crew. Only ship authorized for S&R mission that meets description. Please provide them with this message to verify that you also are working in conjunction with Re. Please contact consulate at Waypoint Station in future for faster reply.>>

The datapacket gives basic information that matches well with the names and faces of the people you just met. The datapacket also includes information on you so that you can verify your own involvement. Clearly they are used to dealing with these sorts of things...

[JxJxA]

All

With your respective errands complete, you reach the station's bar. For the newcomers, it is an entirely underwhelming experience. Crates and kegs make up walls and booths, and glasses filled with nameless freespacer hooch. For Iorund, it is simply more of the same. Few others are at the bar, telling more about the station's current crew complement than about the bar's actually ability to attract customers. Few are on board, and those that are on the station are still working.

Iorund has selected a booth in the corner. It is close enough to the bartender to catch their eye for service, but also out of the line of sight for most other patrons---if there were any...

[Lain]

Stepping into the bar, Alice looks around

ugh, what a filthy hovel, like damn near every small station

Noticing Iorund, Alice touches Sereth lightly on the shoulder and nods over to Iorund heading in his direction

I'm not drinking here, I don't trust it, keep an eye out for danger

[Fenris]

Fair enough, Lady. It isn't exactly as grand as our last port, is it?

Turning to move over to Iorund's booth, Sereth waits until the two women have seated themselves before he takes his own seat. It's obvious he'd rather be pulling out chairs, but one must deal with one's reality. A mental flick sends the confirmation packet he received over to the waiting man.

"Well, I think we've both gotten such assurances as can be had from others. Are you interested in signing up? For the duration of the mission, at least."

[Buddha72]

Ravenna sits serenely, her body relaxed and her hands lightly resting on her lap. She feels the delicate tendrils of psionic energy holding all their minds connected. The thrill of using this much of her gift rests easy on her spirit. It was rare she got to use her gifts so freely. Most places had restrictions on her kind and she had to walk a fine line to keep people at ease. She looked over their newest addition and let an open smile settle on her features.

[Nemo157]

Standing up as the others approach Iorund greets them warmly, "Welcome, welcome; grab yourselves a round on me."

Making himself comfortable again he replies to Sereth's data packet with his corresponding confirmation. "Yes, Re was helpful enough to confirm that you're working on the search and rescue. As to whether I am interested, darn sure I am. When the best alternative is spending a few days or weeks looking for other work or transport at Waypoint, I'll gladly help you on this S&R. You lot seem like fine folk as well, should be much more enjoyable to work with than my last crew."

Taking a sip from his glass Iorund eyed Sereth discreetly, he really does seem quite protective of them, good to see that chivalry isn't completely a dead quality.

[Lain]

Looking at her team briefly before commenting,
" I would suggest the best place to start is to talk about how far we have gotten and share information so we don't work the same place twice."
Alice pauses a second, pulling on her sleeve, smoothing out the wrinkles unconsciously.
"We just got into the area so don't have much to go on, tha'ts why we are starting here, to see if we can get any information and avoid areas that are already searched."
Pausing because she doesn't want to seem to be grilling Iorund,
"What areas did your previous crew search, and do you have any information that you may have gathered while you were here that can help speed the search?"

[Buddha72]

Ravenna take s small sip from her glass after it arrives. She is careful to have some but to make sure not to over do it. Her exposure to spirits and the like have been limited.

"How far had you gotten in your search? We had thought to ask around the station to see what we could learn but if you've already inquired there is no reason to waste our time doing so again unless you encountered significant resistance."