You're right; Cherry's O3 which makes her a Navy Lieutenant. I guess Navy O1 is kinda a weird rank. Of course, you have Israel's weird one-fewer-rank-than-most system, but that's not really apparent at O3 level.

Penta, how annoying would it be for you to post an actual seating chart? It's not that Cherry's averse to shouting across the table, it'll just help me a little with the RP.

I'd have to figure out how to draw one first, and I have no idea how to do that, but after that, not too annoying.

You could just fully list the people.

Yeah, but what way would be illustrative enough?

Also, could we influence the seating position? Aquaman would want to sit as far as possible from the thaumaturgical instructor, while still ensuring a clear view of at least one of the elves . He's incorrigible, man. (Someone please describe him as incorrigible IC!)

That would encourage them to put him right next to one of the magic-users!:D

I'm not sure if you can call that cruel... probably for the magic user! Having some Ork grumble under his breath constantly about "damn spellslingers".... Not fun. So they actually have a seating plan, or is it a case of "just take a seat"?

They do, but I'm not really going to be picky about it.

Penta: As you can see, there is still about 20k nuyen left for me to spend to round up some odds and ends. I realised that I didn't really need so much resources, so I put some of the karma back into Cracking 1 and a 3/3 Fixer Contact if it is ok.

Rest of the crew: Eddie needs to be flexible in his job, so I built him accordingly. But that makes him a jack of many trades and master of Perception. I would say that he is a utility guy unless there is a lookout/spotter position for him to fill but Intel/Navigator would be fine.

So, I'm gonna wait until after DH posts, because he's presumably going to accept CO, and I want to do XO, so it seems good that I'll wait until after him.

I'm debating on purser. Doc Roger might haev a little too much on his plate as part of the intel team AND as Medical officer of the boat already.

Aquaman? "I'll be your pilot for the following trip, cos I'm the best damn pilot in the CAS." He's not an ambitious guy. He will not be standing up for CO, XO, or purser. He WILL be trying for engineering, and navigator. Also, pilot. Did I mention that?

Purser seriously takes maybe an IC hour to train, max, if your character knows basic HS Algebra. (It's basically a really quick introduction to basic accounting principles and to the software used, and an overview of dos and don'ts.) After the loan activates, it ICly requires no more than occasional updating of the records to be purser. The thing is that it requires absolute accuracy in those records, and a head for details. ICly, you really would be expected to account for every cent of money in and money out. That said, I would consider it done off-camera, and let you focus on the fun stuff of being the doc and one of the intel folks.

OOC purser (which we don't have yet, and don't strictly need, but it would be nice to have one to back me up) probably takes more initially because purely of the excel-fu required to set up usable sheets - one for a track of ship funds, one to track loan repayments (there's no interest because calculating that makes me want to cry), one to track plain money in/money out. (On the other hand? There's 1 karma available if you have the excel-fu to set up all three sheets and make them look good and be usable.) No, OOC purser and IC purser do not need to be the same person. No, my excel-fu is not good enough to set it up on my own. I just do not know Excel 2007 (or any version of Excel, really) well enough. After that, I'll do most of the data entry on my own, just relying on the OOC purser to keep backups and check my numbers.

Yes, I foresee excel being handy in this campaign. Not my intention going in (I was trying to avoid getting complex in any way, not wanting to scare people off), but I considered it this morning, and it strikes me as being helpful to track the money-handling that will matter in this campaign. Possibly also supply-tracking, on an OOC basis.

I would say he'd be excellent as an intel collector - I debate as to whether or not the UCAS would attempt a friendly debriefing. Really, toturi, up to you, it'd be something we'd RP off-thread (say via email or IM, PM is really suboptimal for RP) and then possibly post. It'd be for the character development. really. I don't foresee offering karma unless there's really good RP.

He'd also likely do well as a backup navigator, or perhaps primary.

I'll approve the cracking skill - I'd like info about the contact so I can RP him and stuff, but you don't need to provide that on-thread; numberswise he seems acceptable, I just would like more than a name and that he's a fixer.

Otherwise, spend that 20k nuyen soon (if you didn't redirect the BP/karma, I'm not sure) so I can close out your sheet and lock it down for play, please.

His contact was his ex-handler back in Yamatetsu who also went independent; recently he has been keeping a low profile in Boston (hence the street fixer Connections Rating of 3).

I will probably be spending the nuyen on miscellaneous gear. I just want to be sure I didn't miss out any essential equipment that he would have had. I wouldn't mind if you simply lump into Miscellaneous and if Eddie would reasonably have gotten a backpack to carry his gear in but I forgot to get him one, he actually has a backpack. Or else I would have to do the accounting

I've got a smaller version on that on my sheet. my last batch of nuyen is spent on odds and end as well and matrix games weapons and cyberware catalogs ect. I guess I better get to posting him up. You guys mind if I host it on my wiki and juts link?

Okay, about breakfast:

For my sanity, I'm not going to even try to RP all of the characters mentioned. Instead, I'll reply to particularly interesting posts, and otherwise provide brief character sketches of the instructor team below.

Walker quickly shows the meaning of "an officer and a gentleman", even more than Roberts. He seems to know a little about everything - it's easy to see why he's reached as high as he has: Sheer intelligence. He's fairly guarded when you try to talk shop with him - by his comments, this is his first meal of the day, which might explain why he isn't talking overly much.

Roberts is more relaxed than any of you have ever known him. He seems genuinely excited about what's to come, and versus Walker's focus on his food, he's happy to chat while eating (politely). He actually seems to have done the smart thing and had something small before everyone arrived, unlike his boss.

Ramirez is a big, burly guy. He's happy to talk about what he teaches, to give the less-experienced characters a hint into why someone would serve. He's a sports fan, too, especially of Urban Brawl.

Lynch is more of an intellectual - he'll discuss current events, fishing, sailing, boating...Combat Biking...Skydiving.

Benitez is a gearhead. Through and through. She isn't uncomfortable around her fellow servicemembers, or the runners, but she gravitates naturally towards seeking fellow geeks to talk geeky stuff with.

Grant...When you think of Grant, think of a classic fighter pilot. That is what this guy is. A jock in uniform. Despite the Captain's admonishment not to talk shop, he loves to talk about flying. However, respecting said admonition, he won't talk military flying. He flies a Cessna in his spare time. He'll happily talk about that. He also works on cars.

Vaccaro is seriously the intellectual of the group, something that may shock those with preconcieved notions about orks. He thoroughly enjoys the moment when those notions go running splat into the fact that this guy graduated from Princeton's Woodrow Wilson center of International Studies...After going through on an academic scholarship. Only when he decided not to do grad school did he choose Navy OCS. He knows a lot about the region, it quickly becomes apparent.

Esteban is a hermetic mage...A classic one in personality. He wears the brass beaver ring of an MIT&T graduate, and it shows in his personality. He'll talk current events, magic...baseball (he's a Red Sox fan)...Magic...Engineering...Magic.

Taylor is tall, charming, dashing...Physically fit...Unusual traits for a hacker, definitely not stereotype. However, he quickly shows himself to be just as much a geek as the other hackers aboard. He just happens to have social skills. A ring on one of his fingers marks him as a graduate of the UCAS Naval Academy at Annapolis, to knowledgable observers.
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I'm not going to make up a seating chart. If you aren't Salt, don't worry about where you sit - there's no seniority being enforced, for mil or runner, at this meal anyway. 9 instructors and 8 runners - Walker sits at the center of the left-hand side of the table, Salt and Roberts as indicated, and then it alternates on either side between runner and teacher, using the other side of the table to keep everyone clustered close for easy conversation and stuff movement. No shouting down the table necessary, really. Just presume that you guys are sprinkled throughout - far enough apart that the runners can't really stick to themselves without seeming odd, but close enough that everybody can converse.
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This next is unrelated to anything, but I want to include it on the thread anyway before I forget. A brief summary of what is publicly known about the current situation surrounding this whole mission:

Throughout 2071 and 2072, tensions with Aztlan have been at a fever pitch over a whole host of issues. The UCAS is basically not-really-on-speaking-terms with the Azzies, and the CAS is officially at war with em (see the split of Texas, the Ochre Line around Austin, etc), so there's an incentive to move against em. Subtly, because there's *no way in hell* the UCAS on its own would want to take on Aztlan/Aztechnology in open war. They'd possibly win, especially with CAS support, but it would likely be Pyrrhic. At the same time, the UCAS has been unpleasantly surprised by numerous small things taking place in the OPAREA, most especially the heating up of tensions between Aztlan and Amazonia (See Ghost Cartels for an example. Yes, Tempo and the related events happened as depicted.).

That said, this campaign is not strictly "beat on the Azzies", though they are a major geopolitical factor. After breakfast, I can have Walker do a quick briefing/speech (in BitW I did it out on the dock due to character questions, but this group is different (which is great) and it never came up there), laying out certain things to the runners before inprocessing and the start of training. In part it lays out the situation, in part it lays out terms and conditions...I'll probably have to rewrite it heavily, but I can still do it if you guys think we've left important things unaddressed.

Sure that works. I may pester you for more details re the contact, but that works for now.

Not at all. Heck, if you guys want to set up a wiki just for this campaign and put all the character sheets there, I'm not opposed. It just has to stay up.

I think my one for fields of fire my old merc game is still up. So I'll likely just re-claim it.

I'm bored of waiting for DH; I'll post in a few hours when I'm home, but assume that Cherry's XO-ness comes after Salt's CO-ness.

By the way, I left Cherry's conversational engagement intentionally vague. Feel free to talk to her etc. I'd rather talk to players than NPCs (no offense, NPCs. We love you, too).

I should've mentioned after my first post, Aquaman's obvious cyberarm has a cybergun and a light pistol in a cyberholster, when asked to check weapons should he hand over the arm (it's modular) or just the gun? I think it would be more of a conversation starter if he gave up the arm, just to emphasise that his cyberarm was originally meant to be a prosthesis for a lost arm, rather than just another augmentation with Capacity slots.

At least sharky only has to hand over the gun in his slide and the combat knife in his leg holster. He has an other blade in thelarge summgling compartmen in his leg but he'll keep that if he can. It goes with his survival kit in there as his last ditch equipment.

I think they'd let you keep the arm.

Ooops. I'll just say that Jackson was playing a joke.

It's okay, I'll deal with it in my next post. (I'd really like to see more than Cherry and Aquaman posting before I do...)

Ordinarily, I would probably prefer you guys let me call for rolls unless they're obvious, but the way you did it was fine, Xahn.

Sorry Penta, thought you'd been waiting for just DH, I'll get somethign in.

I'd like it if DH popped up sooner rather than later, but while the whole group is at breakfast, I'm not too worried about post order, because nobody yet has specific roles to play.

It'll be after breakfast when people start to get roles to play.

(That said: I've only heard from Minchandre about your quarters. If you guys want quarters gifts or the like, talk to me privately, I can't come up with it on my own. You guys know your characters better than I do, even if the UCAS may well know them better than they know themselves.)

Just a quick babble:

Because of how we handled the missing folks (and how I'm handling the reserve list generally) I feel it might be good for me to lay out how I plan on handling new folks:

From when you guys boarded the boat, there'll be nobody else coming aboard in Miami. However, Edana and I are working on her possible character, which will go through the same ringer you all did in regards to chargen. (I promise you that.) Grinder also responded to me that he's interested (unlike the other people who didn't appear, he logs on to DS regularly, so I didn't have to particularly hunt for him), so his character too will go on the reserve list.

ICly, these characters will be going through training on-land and off-camera - it can be lengthened for either character if they aren't finished by the time you guys exit Cape May.

Generally speaking, you'll get new people during Shore Periods, as I outlined a few posts ago - there's not a feasible way to deliver people while you're underway that I can think of. Any further new people after Cape May will also undergo training ICly, but also off-camera (unless there's a group larger than 2 or 3, in which case I might establish a thread for the newbies).

So, Aquaman should know: being an arrogant pilot is the last way to get into Cherry's good graces

EDIT: Also, I can't wait until the first time Malachi refers to Zion within Cherry's earshot. Is the good man Twelve Tribes, by any chance?

Yeah, I think he most likely fits twelve tribes better then the other followings. Though in 60 years from now there's probably a few other followings now too.

Sorry I haven't posted in a while, was a little overwhelmed Penta's big post. I'll have an IC post up tonight.

But he is the best! Pilot Watercraft 6 (+2 Ship)! And that's just his skill dice!

Aquaman's as good a Pilot as Jolly Roger is a Hacker. Hacking 6(9)+2 exploit >.>

Well, he's certainly never met anyone better! Maybe he just doesn't keep the right company...

Okay...I knew this was gonna happen.

Fazzamar, the player behind Nik Koslov (the mage) has dropped out due to RL commitments.

I'll tell you guys what I told him: He'll have to make a new character, as I'll be writing Koslov out in a way that makes it difficult for a return to be justified (no, not killing him off), but besides that point he is completely, totally welcome back should he want to return in the future.

Edana or Grinder: If either of you want to swap out your current characters to fill the party's lack of a magic-user, talk to me.
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With that said, I'd like everybody to post at least once in the election/breakgast thread before I move things on. Currently, I think we're most notably waiting on Digital Heroin.

Failing that, I'll move the storyline on on Monday.

I am alive, despite the rumors... and balls for losing our mage... hope the commitments are of the good kind, and if not, Fazzamar, that all works out.

I'm working up a post as I type this... in my head... to transcribe into the text file I have next to me...

Yay. Thanks DH.

Sorry about the delay... things are still a bit out of whack... and damn I am looking forward to September... well, the later half... the first half is my training sail (well, workups), a perfect bookend to five seagoing years which have included three sets of workups and, amusingly enough, an anti-piracy deployment. When I get back from Mexico in September, I finally get a shore posting, with an actual schedule. Until then, because of the workups, things are gonna be a bit rough.

We can work around that. I'll contact you by PM later with my ideas on how.

Save during the worst of work-up times I should be able to scam a here-and-there moment of online time. More if I get slotted into the position I think I might be. But I do have to catch up in PM/e-mail about training and such for Salt as well.

So are we likely to encounter you out there IC? You'll have to catch me, omae, I'm the best damn pilot in the CAS! (I'm gonna keep telling myself that, despite knowing nothing about either the Navy or the area that will become the CAS in SR)

Just keeping in practice, Eddie is taking note of what is happening, who said what to who, who sat where, what and how many much each person ate, anything that he can see, smell, hear, taste,...

If Penta wants Eddie to roll Perception, it is best that you do it yourself so I don't know how many hits Eddie gets. Eddie has 16 dice as base without adding in specific gear enhancements.

Well, they do let me man the helm on occasion... which, given my narcolepsy, is kind of scary... but there is no feeling like being the man who is steering a near five thousand tonne warship through maneuvers at 30 knots... odd thing is, helms and throttleman are secondary duties, usually handled by engineering types (electrical and systems engineers)...

Helm with narcolepsy...Yeah okay I'm terrified now.

That is odd. I would really figure that there would be a dedicated helm on a vessel of that size.

Don't worry, I'm on amphetaminish drugs to counter the narcolepsy... heh....

It's really not that bad... I get tired, I doze off if I'm doing nothing at all, but otherwise I am fully functional awareness-wise.



It seems so, but it is not entirely hard to operate the helm. I've seen ten year old kids do it, though not at anywhere near 30 knots. The key, though, it listening to the navigator/officer of the watch, and promptly responding to orders. In tight waters, you need to be reacting the moment he calls out a helm order.

Betameth?