Wednesday Post Please respond by Fri evening
You have all arrived at the boarding dock of the Keruuchan, an 800Ton subsidized liner owned and operated by HiranuCorp. It's a relatively new looking vessel, though somewhat smaller that you'd expect for this many passengers (more than 100 of you wait in the loading area), given the vast cargo areas you see being loaded currently. Looks like a lot of your fellows are headed for the low berths.
Based on the large, commemorative boarding cards they hold, most of the people around you seem to be participants in the HiranuVision contest, and most of these seem to be young Luriani (perhaps young enough for ths to be their first off-Daramm trip). Those of you who visited Red Tide earlier in the day recognize a surprising number of faces from the lounge, and those who went to McAllister see each other rather quickly.
In fact, more than a few of the passengers begin looking Saanath's way, trying to determine if it really was him speaking to the cop on the giant holovid near the boarding area. There is no audio except for a talking head in the corner explaining that this bystander had escaped injury, and had been able to provide police with a good decription of the Aslan's attack.
Finally Deriun Fenri steps up to a podium and addresses the crowd. He's a small man slightly deeper-than-expected voice and a personality that exudes well practiced friendliness. "Welcome, all of you, to the next great chapter of your life. After two weeks aboard the Keruuchan, you will arrive in Dukh just as the 68th quadrennial Mercantile Council gets undreway. Riches, excitement, and a rewarding career await potentially every single one of you! [applause, mostly from the younger set].
"Right now, we'd like everyone to step over to the staging area over there for some pictures and videos, and when we are though with those, we can hand out your room assignments and cuise itineraries."
There are a few complaints about the pictures, although they are squelched whn company representatives show them that accepting the boarding card served as permission to use a winner's likeness in Hiranucorp promotional material.
After everyone is arranged on the platforms (offworlders on the sides and in the back), Deriun stands in front of the crowd and gives an interview to HiranuVision consumer affairs reporter. "Hiranucorp was concerned that too few opportunites for local Daramiyyans to attend this important Council. We felt compelled to do our part to remedy the situation, and because of it, 100 of our fellow citizens get a chance at this historic opportunity. Now people ranging from some of the best and brightest graduates of Gateway University to a former Vice Preident of a Makhidkarun get the chance to join the greatest companies in the domain, or to perhaps strike out on their own with backing from those companies." The camera has panned across the assembled passengers as he speaks, but seems to finger on the as et unmentioned non-Daramiyyans. So, he adds, in an almost apologetic way, "Note also that Hiranucorp is proud to adhere to the Emporer's equal opportunity regulations, and have therefore extended the same opportunities to twenty very lucky off-worlders. We wish them good luck at the council as well."
The interview continues for several more minutes, and people are starting to get a bit impatient. A few whisper about thier worries regarding low passage, more than a few just want to get things going
OOC: Sorry - power outage last night. Wanted to post this much at least, more to come.
