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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Shadowdancer" data-source="post: 1297968" data-attributes="member: 515">Chapter IXDate: 111-993 to 112-993Place: Aboard the Bray Keaven, in jump space between Sentry and Alief. Argent wearily looks at Vargas for a moment, takes in the weary crew at a glance, and then speaks. "Look, it’s late. All of us are at least short, if not dangerously so, on sleep at this point. Given that the immediate danger has passed and we’re not going to be emerging from jump for another six or so days, why don’t we get some sleep after Soro gives us a quick examination?" Looking at Vargas, he continues. "Mr. Vargas, I do believe that you have the bridge watch. Wake me in 4 hours, and I’ll switch with you. We should be able to dispense with the bridge watch shortly while in jump, but I’d rather have someone keep an eye on things for a little while longer." Taking in the assembled crew, he adds, "I hope that it goes without saying that I expect that the fuel scoops and their contents remain sealed until we decide the proper course of action. We’ll meet again at 0800 tomorrow morning." With that, Argent seals the fuel scoops again and leads the crew up to their exams. -----Doc Soro quickly completes cursory exams of the crew. All show some signs of exhaustion, but no signs of contamination from the hemmorhagic agent. Those who were present when the fuel scoop area was opened show some minute quantities of Star Flower pollen on their persons, and Soro recommends long showers and a double cleaning of their clothing. With the exams completed, the crew heads off to a much needed night’s rest. -----Having gotten some rest lately, Vargas heads for his duty station on the bridge. The former Scout drops into the pilot’s seat and begins checking the systems’ logs for notable activity. While doing so, he thinks about how this mission was shaping up. Certainly not dull. He thinks about the comments regarding the Star Flower. He’d be all too happy to space the damned things but whoever said it was right — someone with long arms might come after them seeking retribution. Vargas wasn't frightened by the prospect of conflict, he just preferred to know more about who might be gunning for him. Checks complete, Vargas settles back to wait for Argent to relieve him. -----Assembling at 0800 in the lounge, the crew, some a little bleary eyed, begin the morning with a little more energy, if not having minds any more at ease than before. Shaking his head sadly at a couple of tardy arrivals, Argent begins. "I hope that you’ve all had a good night’s sleep. We’ve got six days before jump emergence, and I’d like to spend those days productively. We need to decide what to do with the Star Flower, if any maintenance/repairs will be done, and what we'll be doing to prepare for our arrival in Alief." With that, he glances around the room and waits for a response. Swann rubs a hand across his face and looks around the room before answering. "I think leaving the Star Flowers in the scoops, for now, is a good idea. I’ll check the filters every couple of days to clean them out, unless someone else wants the job. "I also like the idea of filming all of our activity with the plants. I’ve served on some ships where we might cut some corners when it came to some rules, regulations, and laws, but nothing that carried a death penalty. I like my life, and intend to keep on living it as long as possible. "But I also think it is important we try to discover who else was involved in the smuggling. It might have something to do with the explosives, or it might not. If nothing else, for our own safety, we need to try to find out. If those plants don’t end up going to their intended destination, and we just dump them into space without saying a word, anyone who knows about the plants might assume we kept them and sold them to someone else. So they might come looking for us in order to take the credits, or get revenge, or both. "I’m assuming there is some type of safe or strong box in the captain’s cabin — that would be a good place to keep the recordings." At this point, Martha looks up from her bagged Jok Moo (a sort of rice porridge), and replies. "There is the captain’s safe in the captain’s cabin. We’ll have to try and crack it though, because the old captain certainly didn’t give me the access codes." Swann nods, then starts talking again. "As for maintenance and repairs, I thought I’d take a look at the port turret and see if I could get that working before we reach Alief. The way things have been going, we might just need it." Martha brightens at this comment and responds, "Well, I think that between the two of us, we can get that port turret operational again. We can’t install the weapons while in jump space, but we can do everything to get that turret ready to receive the weapons. Installation and initial setup will still take about eight hours, though." Looking dejectedly at the limited range of Marine rations available for breakfast (the one thing he thought civvy street would have improved on Marine life), McConnell sighs and pours his Java into his Jok Moo, mixes it with a large amount of sugar, and speaks up. "Well, at this point I agree with Swann. Put the flowers back in the scoops. It seems to me that since the former Captain was smuggling them and that they are somewhat delicate that he probably picked them up at his last stop and that their intended destination was back at Sentry. Maybe the bomb was meant for Martha for not delivering them there? It seemed too crude and too easy to spot to be a military job. "Of course, if that’s true and there are survivors at Alief, then someone may be expecting a return payment of cash — if the Captain was a courier rather than a speculator. Either way, people who deal in this kind of stuff aren’t too worried about who they might have to kill to keep their business going, and it would be best to be alert both here and back at Sentry when we next make Realspace. "Perhaps also, Martha could you have a think over the next couple of days and give us a little more information about your last stop at Alief? Did the Captain have an opportunity to collect and stow the flowers there? Do you know who his usual contacts are or where he liked to hang out? Anything that might help us get a better picture of his likely activities would be good. "Of course, there are still plenty of other possibilities, and we’ve got the relief effort ahead of us first. As for the plague, it’s definitely real but probably not airborne. If it was airborne it would likely have been still hanging around in with the flowers — which were never depressurized and are connected to the life support system — and we would all be dying by now. "In the meantime, I’ll be glad to lend a hand with the cargo inventory. I’m not much good with technical engineering and maintenance, but I’m willing to pass tools and scrub filters if needs be." With that he starts shoveling his Jok Moo down, as if by eating it quickly he won’t have to taste it so much. After plodding over to the dispenser to get his third Marine ration, Darishun ambles over to Saro and suggests, "Doctor Saro? Perhaps it might be a good idea to train us in how to deal with a plague outbreak. I’ve had a little bit of training in biohazard procedures, but most of my time was spent on search and rescue." "That's a good idea, Darishun," Doc looks around at everyone, "but seeing as we are all very tired, let’s say tomorrow after lunchtime I’ll hold a quick class for everyone. Until then I suggest that everyone get as much rest as possible, allowing for your work schedule. I’d also like to examine every one at least every other day, just to stay on top of any Star Flower spores that might escape."</blockquote>

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