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1104-342 -- 1104-343 -- 1104-344

Passengers on board this trip:

1104-343 06:00

Timing of events
First day in Jump space
6:00 - Start of day
6:30 - Morning Meeting
10:30 - Mikhel/Nicola meeting
12:00 - Mid-day office hours

The crew of the Pioneer starts their day

Mikhel does a bit of exercise, gets his coffee and granola (whatever Traveller substitute, even home-made), and heads for the Med Bay for the morning, as his usual routine. It is more important that he do this now, as there are now passengers. The crew should be used to this, as he has been doing it since Exocet.

Athena sat in the quiet cafeteria, enjoying her coffee - black, no milk, no sugar. It was normally easy to pick out those who spent the majority of their life in academics by how they took their coffee. The more years of study, the less they cared about the frills of coffee and the more they craved the simple, bitter, caffeinated drink. A habit she never broke nor intended to break.

The day after jump was like a reset for the ship. New crew settled in, whatever odd passengar they picked up was oriented, and the scientists that could afford it take a break from their research before going back to their experiments: unsecuring, unchaining, and unfreezing whatever was contained during jump.

And so Athena sat in the cafeteria, the accessible Captain of the ship, as she worked on the latest brainteaser sent among the scientists - was this one the work of Eleni? It was good, challenging - and waited to see what reached her first. Would it be her preference of some collaborative talk from her scientists? Guidance for the younger academics on board? An echo of her days of being mentor for the postdocs? Or would it be some necessary Captain duty that was best to get out of the way now, dealing with crew or passengers, before she got back to her own research? As Athena sipped her coffee, she prayed to the cosmos it would be the former.

"Good morning, Captain," Sultana said as he walked into the cafeteria. He was dressed again in the same formal-yet-plain uniform he'd worn to greet the passengers with yesterday. Apparently it was the closest he could come to 'Host' clothing. He moved over to the various devices to make sure they were all prepped and ready for anything reasonable the passengers might ask for. He had no experience at doing this job, but he'd been on the other side of it a few times, and was trying to guess at everything he was supposed to be doing.

"Lieutenant," replied Athena, her attention on the little screen before her. Greeting skipped, she went straight to the point of first concern. "What's this about a tour request? Unless they are someone of prestige with grand accolades for their work, and I do not recognize any of the names of these new passengers so I am doubtful of it, there are no tours. Unless you forgot to show them the way to the cafeteria," said Athena, waving her hand hold the coffee around her, before squinting back at the screen then looking at him, "I do not see reason to grant this request. You know the labs are off-limits. Unless one of the others wish to show their workstation, which would need my approval, but given this came from you, I am guessing not."

She got up, poured herself another cup of coffee, and turned to face him, asking, "And how is the new crew member working out so far? Any concerns I should note?"

Sultana continued to fiddle with settings for a moment. "That's what I figured you'd say. But they asked, I said I'd inquire, and I did. I'll let them know when I see them. I did inform them that the labs are off limits without an escort. I assume your security is up to date on the door locks? No old accounts or passwords still in the system?"

He turns to face her and leans back against the counter. "As for Nicola, she's got Crockett very ... upset, I guess is one way to put it. She's evasive about answering questions, and that's got his hackles up. He stopped short of claiming she's a direct danger to the ship - I'd have had him escort her off the ship before we left if he had. But with the questions raised, I didn't let her operate Comms. Dromah is more supportive of her. It's typical security stuff, a lot of gut feelings, not much hard evidence. But I tend to listen to their gut feelings - in trained security people, it's often instinct based on something they haven't consciously noticed yet."

He shrugs. "Maybe we'll find out what's going on, maybe we won't. She may get off at Torpol and we'll never see her again. Or she may stay, I don't know. I ran a scan of the boards, no obvious tampering or outgoing messages, so hopefully it's at least not a pirate plant. I've asked Dromah to stay with her for the time being."

"Oh, something I just thought of this morning - would you be willing to do a short Q&A with the passengers during Jump? It's an opportunity they won't get on any other passenger ship. One of the things we've got that's nearly unique. I won't mention it to them unless you're okay with it though. No need dangling it in front of them only to yank it away. Maybe do it as a Dinner and Drinks with the Captain kind of thing? Maybe one of your researchers, if any of them are sociable types."

Athena stared at Sultana for a moment before she sighed and pinched the bridge of her nose. "I thought I left all that behind with academia, but fine. It will be good practice, I suppose." With another wave of her hand, she gave the Lieutenant her attention again. "I will see who else is available. But do not set their expectations with a name like that. You can simply let them know I will be at dinner."

Shaking her head slightly, and taking a sip of her third cup of coffee, she continued, "As for Nicola, I had assumed all those checks were done before she was brought to me. Whether she works Comms or with Mikhel does not matter to me, but I accepted her as crew so make use of her as crew. Unless there is hard evidence against her, removing her after I have already given my acceptance would go against my word and set a tone on this ship I do not like. This is my ship and my word is final. As I'm coming to trust you, and you've taken on other tasks already, make sure it does not happen again."

"And we are scientists, Lieutenant, not idiots. There are few things we guard more carefully than our own work. Security elsewhere may sometimes lax, a reason I hire crew such as you to help oversee that, but not when it concerns where the science is done. We have our priorities, after all."

"No offense intended, Captain. Just making sure all bases are covered. You don't normally carry passengers, I believe, so it's an area that might have slipped off your radar." Sultana gives an indecisive yes/no kind of shrug. "As for if the checks were done beforehand or not, you'd have to ask your Security officer. The whole thing was kind of dumped in my lap out of nowhere. As for evicting her if he had made a hard claim she was a danger, I suppose it's between you and him if you choose to overrule the advice of the Security you hire. That's entirely your decision to make, and if a similar situation comes up again, I'll be sure to pass it on to you. Anyways," and he gives a dismissive hand wave, "it's hypothetical right now, but I appreciate the clarification. Anything else for me at this time, Captain? I was thinking I'd see if I could set up a VR shuffleboard game or something for this afternoon." He rolls his eyes upwards. "Scintillating stuff to keep everyone from climbing the walls already."

"Carry on, Lieutenant. Let me know when you get dinner sorted," said Athena, dismissively as she walked back to sit down and finish her coffee.

Over ship comms (email/text) to Nicola, 'Good morning. Mikhel here. If you have a moment this morning, before our meeting before lunch, could you stop by the Med Bay to chat about what you'd like to do to assist the ship? That is, if you haven't already talked to Lt Sultana or someone else. Much appreciated.'

(enters cafeteria and sees Captain sitting alone...now that Mikhel has departed and Sultana is ????not sure) "Morning Captain....mind if I steal a moment of your time?" ...(and assuming a positve reply says).... I'm just your security person at moment...but there are some things on my mind as one of your current crew that I think we might discuss now we're finally in JUMP....I've made a list for you to consider and would like to leave it with you for consideration if that's OK? I've just sent it to your mobile comms and hope that helps....now if it's fine with you...I think it is time for my own morning coffee...I won't be disturbing you anymore on this discussion list until I hear you've convened a discussion session if that is your eventual wish... by your leave then...."

List reads as follows: Agenda (proposed) for discussions... For Captain to address.... Pioneer Operating Budget...

  1. The Pioneer is running an ongoing monthly deficit and appears to have been doing so for some time....Does she want help with it?
    1. If answer is 'YES' can we jointly understand how much debt she is in and to whom does she owe the debt?
    2. Ideas from group (if we are jointly trying to help her) on a plan to reduce the debt ....if this is, in fact, a potential issue for the ship? [d] Which crew member would Captain like to have look after the ship's accounts? -- Sultana can continue to do this or pass over to Crockett?
  2. SHIP SECURITY (not including current passengers or NICOLA)....[a] between here and Drinax
  3. Meals....who is preparing? #Contracts for Mikhel and Crockett, who for one, answered the adv't from GeDeCo but ended up on the Pioneer awaiting a shuttle service to the Marduk downport...Mikhel came aboard earlier...but did he actually have a contract for services ...or just an offer of transport to the GeDeCo meeting on Marduk in return for medic services?

After taking a moment to look over the list, Athena sends a meeting request for tomorrow morning to: Sultana, Mikhel, Crockett, and Eleni to discuss any current concerns freely. But today is for settling in and getting experiments going again.

Captain/Owner from Ship's Doctor.
This is an official communique.
Please be advised that as the Pioneer has changed roles from a private corporate venture to a Civil Passenger Carrier, different regulations are now applicable. To prevent any problems with Customs and Regulatory Agencies at upcoming ports of call, certain measures and policies will have to be actively followed and enforced. Marduk Highport may have overlooked the initial public health inspection for compliance with their requirements, but we shouldn't depend on other ports to be as lax.
As the Ship's Doctor, I have responsibilities to oversee the implementation of shipboard Public Health procedures and compliance with the Applicable HESS Public Health policies and Corporate Instructional Notices, among a multitude of other duites, including hygiene inspections and pottable water testing recording.
Actual regulations, and therefore responsibilities, will depend on Pioneer's Home Port Registration. I am willing to draw up and oversee Imperial Health and Safety Regulations and Standards, should you wish to implement and follow them.
As a minimum, we should ensure the Passenger Area, now occupied by current passengers, and the Galley (food preparation for passengers) are inspected and we have implemented appropriate procedures within them. All other parts of the ship, not impacting passenger safety, can be omitted from the majority of regulated inspections, at your discretion.
This should be decided upon at your earliest convenience to ensure timely inspections are completed prior to Docking at our next port. This will provide the ship with appropriate documentation for the authorities on meeting Customs personnel. It may aleviate independent inspections, or at least make those inspections prefunctory and limited.
For your consideration.
M. Dromah
Ship's Doctor

Mikhel thinks to himself, if we don't dodge the galley inspections, we are going to have to sort out that 'burnt engine grease smell' thing in the galley. Otherwise, we'll end up having to rip out the galley to the bulkheads to get recertified to carry passengers. Bad words.

1104-343 09:30

To all Crew and Passengers.
Hope this note finds everyone in good health.
As you all know, Torpol is our next port of call. The local star is Yellow-White, and not too uncomfortable for most Humans/Vargr eyes. Air is thin, so some individuals with respiratory issues may need supplemental air supply in strenuous conditions. Gravity will be approximately half of Human/Vargr normal. This will help with exertion/breathing issues, somewhat. Torpol has not issued any Health Advisories, so if everyone is up to date on the standard vaccine regimen, there should be no problems. All Pioneer Crew, with two exceptions are fully up to date with their vaccines, but passengers may wish to see me at their convenience, however at least two days prior to arrival if they need updating.
For those of you with a choice, thank you for choosing the Pioneer as your carrier for this voyage.

To Crew. Potentially to the passengers, if the Captain wishes.
Entertainment While in Jump.
People have skills. They might be interested in sharing. We could all learn something about each other. I want to experience new things, to see if I like them. Perhaps you do, too? It may alleviate the drearyness of being confined in a tin can for a week.
During Jump, after the evening meal, an hour or so is set aside for a sophont to make a presentation. This could be on any subject or involve any talent. It may be by personal choice, or request.
If a challenge is desired, Credits could be involved to create a pool. If a pool is created, moneys could go completely to the winner, or a portion to the Ship's Fund and to the winner, at Captain's discretion.
Suggestion is a Cr5 entry fee for participation. Could be more, if all participants mutually agree. Each available night of Jump (Now 5, for this trip), a participant presents something. All participants assign a ranking to each presentation, without restriction, except every presenter can only be ranked once, and has to be given some ranking. In this instance, 1-5, if we have five presenters. The best performance is ranked highest, the worst, the lowest. A participant is free to give themselves the highest rating, as it is the aggregate score over the number of presentations that will decide the winner. In the event of a tie, the pool is split, or the winners decide how to bestow the money. Not that I will win, but any money won by me will go to Doctors Without Borders. BTW, as this is my idea, I will participate, and I volunteer to present tonight. "Stories of a Combat Medic." It will be PG, not R rated, nor discuss medical issues except in passing, and without names.
Also, if desired, the other participants, and any audience in attendance, will be offered an opportunity to ask questions. The presenting participant can choose to answer, or not, but will state a "Cost" to answer the question. The "Cost" is completely up to the presenting participant, and the questioner can choose not to pay, but must pay the full stated amount before the presenter answers. The money collected for questions will be held by the Captain. The individual presenters choose where the Cost money goes: into their pocket, into the prize pool, or anywhere else desired. In my case, it will likely be to DWB, but might go into the pool, if the entertainment over Jump is very good.
If all the passengers wish to make a presentation, and any of the Crew also wishes to present, I will defer, or flip for the privilege.
Mostly, I would like to see presentations from a few of our passengers, but I'll take what comes.
For the Captain's, and Crew's, consideration.

"You anticipated me, Medic Dromah. I was working up a draft of a very similar idea already. I'd intended on volunteering myself as well, to give a demonstration of the sword. I will perform some displays. There will be a couple training swords in the room, and anyone may use them to attack me at any time. Your safety is completely guaranteed if you wish to try." - Sir Lt Sultana

1104-343 10:30

Nicola waits outside the med lab as Mikhel spends some time with Vellueo Goalnouk. Vellueo came in to ask about what precautions he should take over his two week stay on Torpol given the much higher water level than he is accustomed to. Mikhel takes some notes and says he will give a full recommendation in the morning for a routine that covers Vargr physiology adjustments. When Vellueo departs, Nicola enters and closes the door.

(Nicola)"Hello Doctor. I do have my full medical scan scheduled with you at mid-day. You wanted to talk with me beforehand?"

"Nicola, thank you very much for dropping by. A few things have come up that may interest you. It depends on what you'd like to do, and whether we can fit you into the tasks. So, I'll blast out the options, and we can see if any of it tickles your fancy." Mikhel pulls up a document on his monitor, adjusting it for Nicola's viewing. He will indicate the patient consultation seat near the desk.
"First option was the Comms Officer, but really that is a part-time job. It might fit in with another or two to make a full-time position.
Second is Cruise Director. That is more of a full-time job, but might mesh well with Comms Officer. We'll have to look at overlap, because the jobs may be exclusive due to workload and scheduling demands.
Third is Medical Assistant. I've posted the Ship's Doctors Duties and Responsibilities, so you can look them over at your convenience. With a 400T ship, there are lots of spaces that need inspection, and sometimes treatments. Help with that would be very greatly appreciated, if we have more passengers on a regular basis. We will benefit from Lab restrictions, places the Scientists don't want us, and we don't want to go.
Fourth and Fifth are the same jobs, but providing assistance to two different people. The job title is the same, the jobs will likely be almost entirely different.
Fourth: Sir Sultana needs a Butler/Valet. This will have to be discussed with him for his needs, but someone to escort him and take notes, manage his daily schedule (or look like that is what you are doing), run errands to places he shouldn't have to go as an Imperial Knight. He will know what that looks like, and if you are interested in that, I will broach the subject with him to see if he is willing to take you on in that capacity. It will be up to you both to negotiate need and remuneration.
Fifth: Captain, and more importantly, Scientist Solis needs an Executive Assistant. This will be an Admin heavy position, requiring managing the person deftly, as much as managing information, setting up documents and schedules for her approval, and being a (insert common term for industrious rodent here).
Thoughts? Anything in the list appeal to you?"

(Nicola)Takes a moment to think.

(Nicola)"Thank you Doctor, Mikhel. This is nicer than I thought it would be after Crockett's reaction yesterday. I do not want to be a valet or an attache. I also want to thank you for trusting me with the idea of giving me access to the Captain like that.

"I do not think that Crockett or Sultana would appreciate having me in those positions. If I work too directly with you it might cause the same issues.

"I will do the Comms Officer job when we get to Torpol because that is what we agreed to previously. I will do my best to be a convivial person with the other passengers.

"The real question is do you want me to let them think I am just another passenger, or that I am part of the crew? I could pass on any information I learn to you, so you can tell the Captain. It might be easier to listen and gather intelligence for you if they do not think I am officially on the ship as anything other than a passenger."

"Nicola, to be honest, there are security concerns. However, I started this, and I am trying to be as neutral as possible. My approach is different. There will be security concerns until we can do background checks on you. However, we will endeavour to mitigate the risk until we do the checks, you don't work out in a position, or you decide you'd like to do something else, elsewhere."

"As for how you intereact with anyone on the ship, you are crew on the Captain's orders. As of now you are the Comms Officer. Your duties are negligable, until we get to Torpol."
"That being said, you could collect any messages produced during Jump, and prep a burst package for transmission upon break-out. I personally will have a handfull of messages that I would like transmitted ASAP. So, I will send them to you before break-out. Check with other crew and passengers for any similar requirements. I can think of, at least, one passenger that will desire reservations with planetary hotels. It could be that the Entertainer would like to contact booking agents, if she is looking at a change in her tour dates."

"Please consider having discussions with any and all the crew to see if you can find something that works for you. And any odd jobs you can do to assist the ship is all to the good for continued employment, should you choose to travel onward with us."

"Mikhel shuts off the screen, and stands. "Thank you for your patience and time. I'll see you at noon for your appointment. Unless there are medical issues you wish to bring to my attention, it should just be a calibration scan with the MediScanner, to ensure there are no anomalies that might be concerning. If you are healthy, it will only be a baseline recording." Mikhel ushers Nicola to the door.

To Sir Lt Sultana from Mikhel
Sorry about jumping on your idea. I personally would like to see a fencing demo. I was actually thinking of you doing a reading of some of your writing. I was prepared to immediately defer to you. We will have a few jumps to trade talents, so all good.
I could use lessons on longer blades, as all my training and experience is with bayonettes and knives. So, I'm not likely to take you on with blades, if I have a choice.
- Mikhel

Mikhel considers a blade fight with the LT. Yup. Ten paces. Him with his foil, me with my bayonette. And if he twitched, I zap him with my Stunner.

Just remember. You're the gentleman, LT. I'm just a guttersnipe.

"No apologies necessary, Dromah. I appreciate the assistance in coming up with ideas. I'm a bit out of my comfort zone with this job, so I'll take all the help I can get. The thought to read some of my writings is also a good one. I'll consider it if we're running low on other entertainment."

"Can't be worse than 'Tales of Blood, Sweat and Tears.'"

1104-343 13:00

Nothing out of the ordinary on Nicola's MediScan? All within "Acceptable Human Deviations"? Mikhel will ensure the Med Bay is on internal record under password and coded. This is Mikhel's SOP for legal/HR reasons. He erases the recordings if there are no problems. It is something he has done in the past, to prevent any possibility of an impropriety claim being made against him. As SOP, it isn't foremost in his mind. He is concentrating on the patient. If anything floats through his mind about the patient, he focuses harder on the task, and thinks of Amanda's eyes.

1104-343 15:30

Nicola stops to see Mikhel, checking around the ship, finding him in his stateroom, she knocks and enters as he opens the door. A quick glance around she moves to the small table and sits. Then she empties her pockets and several credit chips scatter across the table.

(Nicola)" I took your advice Mikhel, or would you prefer Doctor? I spent a few hours with the passengers. We talked about where they are going, where they have been, I spend a bit of time playing cards with them," nods to the pile of chips "and I have a couple of things to report."

"I told them that the ship had taken me onboard temporarily and that I was leaving at Torpol. Trying to blend in with them as someone who is only part of the group for a short time. It did seem to break the ice more with Silas. He is interesting. He is feeling very guilty about losing his ship. Or was it his? I will have to look up the details on what a detached scout is responsible for. Time of war and all that. Velleneu {yes she mispronounced that} " seems young and happy, I know he has lots of questions for you. I do not think he has seen a human doctor that cared about Vargr before. Shantina lost a double or nothing bet so she agree to sing at the Captain's mess tomorrow evening.

Nicola pauses and smiles at Mikhel "I told you I was good at talking with people"

"One last thing, Yellon is here for the Captain. Apparently she is not supposed to be on ou.. this ship. She was supposed to be getting information on research ships to send out messages to them. She is part of some science organization and they have a big conference coming up. They will all be meeting up at Marduk sometime in the next few months, I did not want to seem too interested in details. I could see she thinks this is a chance to get a big name to show up if she can convince the Captain to appear. I can try for more tomorrow, if you think I did a good job. She smiles at Mikhel.

"Only Mikhel. Please. I'm from a pretty humble background, and titles make me wary" Mikhel smiles.

"I'm going to sound like a broken recording device, but 'Wow!' You continue to impress me. I'm so glad you are on the team. I'm hoping you Are on the Pioneer team, and not someone else's." Mikhel thinks there is a recommendation to the Imperial SophInt Team here, somewhere. Do I know of any Outrim Void contacts? Next Imperial Fleet that we pass, I've got to bend someone's ear from NavInt. "Remind me never to gamble with you, too." Nod to the tabletop, and the chips. "I'm not clear on the Detached Scout/Ship thing. If you want to help him, mention the idea of a Marduk Station Security Report and number. If he has that, it will go good with any report he will inevitably have to write. You could mention that people on the Pioneer are witnesses to the mayhem, and could provide witness statements directly. Maybe even something 'official', signed by the ship's captain. That would help, a lot, I'd think."

"M. Goalnouk is welcome to anything I can do for him. It may sound strange coming from a Marine Medic, but I only joined the Imperial Marines because they would pay my way out of Belt-9. I would have nearly sold my soul to get out of that system. Then, when I got to the Academy, I found out I could be a Medic in the support role, and didn't have to shoot sophonts. So, you'll find my approach to people a bit different than most crusty Marines. If you have a moment, look up the Code of Ledriasda. I try to go by that in everything I do. It has a lot to do with why I let you on the ship, and my passionate participation in Doctor's Without Borders. You could look them up, too, if you don't know what they are all about." Mikhel pauses for Nicola to jot down a note or two.

"I'm looking forward to hearing Shantina sing. I hope she can inspire a bit of appreciation for jazz, cause I can do without it, mostly. Yellon is a cypher, at the moment, as I didn't find anything before leaving the station. Any info you can gather for the Captain would be very appreciated. Do Not Dig for it, though. Casual only. But, if you get an organization name, or any suggestion of an organization that we can use to piece things together, that would be nice. I don't know the Captain's personal feelings, but I'm in no hurry to go back to Marduk any time soon. Let me have a word with the Captain, and I will see if she wants you to report directly to her for the M. Yellon situation. That could be how she'd want to take that."

"Thank you very much for this. Is there anything you need?"

(Nicola)"Thank you Mikhel. I will retire for the evening and in the morning see what I can find before the Captain's Dinner. I suppose the second night of a Jump is the appropriate time."