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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Shadowdancer" data-source="post: 1625948" data-attributes="member: 515">Chapter IDate: 162-993Location: Docking bay, Sentry Downport Vasilii bustles into the berth’s office for the morning meeting wearing his best suit, smiling broadly with a sheaf of documents in his hand. Bidding each person a "Good Morning," he sits down in a comfortable chair and orders breakfast. "Ah, I love Sentry. No dust masks, weather problems, or weird animals to worry about!" he says to Saro. "I enjoy these arcologies, so much better than living out in the open air." "Well Vasilii, I was born and raised in Edenelt so I’m partial to natural atmospheres," Saro replies. "There is nothing like the smell of air purified by a natural ecosystem. Call me strange." He smiles. When the meeting starts, Vasilii waits for his turn with only a slight impatience. Once he is recognized, he plows into his subject with enthusiasm. "As you can see," he states as he hands each crewmember one of the pages he brought with him, "our little ‘adventure’ turned a comfortable profit. Given it was our first venture together, I think we should be fairly well pleased. If you’ll look at your copy, I’ll explain our status." Each sheet has the same info, basically a ledger of credits and upcoming debits. The highlights are as follows: Total Available Funds: Cr606,000Management Reserve (MR): Cr18,000Total Funds: Cr624,000 Ship Refitting: Cr54,000Ship Repairs: Cr230,000Weapons Restocking: Cr30,000On-going Maintenance: Cr16,846Projected Expenditures: Cr330,846 Available Balance: Cr275,154 plus MR. "I’ve set aside 10 percent of our first profit, the Bromlian silver, as a management reserve and will continue to do so with any other speculative profits. We can use it as necessary but it’s only sound business practice to have a reserve fund for emergencies." While Vasilii proceeds to explain the details of the group’s financial status Saro seems impressed. Martha nods absently as Vasilii expands on the finances. "We’ll be able to take care of you soon, baby," she thinks as she looks in the general direction of the ship. Though she can’t see it through the walls, Martha still feels a sense of connection to the far trader. Vasilii continues. "If we want to pursue more profit-making ventures we should determine our options. Bulk cargo is a mainstay of the commerce trade, and should be pursued. Once we have a destination, we can solicit passengers if we choose and even indulge in a little speculative trade goods. "I’ve considered looking into acquiring the mail contract for Alief. I know it’s a Red Zone, but our unique dispensation puts us in a prime situation. Mail charters are lucrative, but would require us to stay close to this section of space." Vasilii looks to the others for any input. "Good job, Vasilii. Thanks for the bookkeeping efforts," Ian says. Swann looks around the room at the others, rubs a hand across his face and says, "A mail charter for Alief sounds like a good idea. We’re going to have to stay primarily in this cluster already because of our contract to haul at least two cargoes a year for the Bromlians, so we might as well visit more often and make some credits. "I’ve been doing some searching on the computer nets while I was convalescing the past few weeks. Well, that is, when I wasn’t playing ‘WizWar (TM)’ against Ian. Anyway, I discovered that Fonnein Orbital over in system 069-526 has a good reputation for doing maintenance on far traders. The shipyard there specializes in it. Can our engines make one more Jump 2? If so, maybe we should go there to have the annual maintenance done on the engines." Vasilii looks just a little uncomfortable when Swann mentions Fonnein Orbital. "Mr. Hellinic is correct, there is a shipyard there that specializes in far trader types. The rumor is that they can upgrade a ship to near military specifications, although I’ve never actually seen their work." Clearing his throat, Vasilii continues. "I grew up on Estorr in Kleister Beta and have passed through Fonnein a couple of times. Fonnein Orbital is a busy place, if a bit small. However, due to certain things I’d rather not get into I would prefer to stay away from Estorr at this time. It’s possible that I could meet some people at Fonnein that I’d rather not bump into." Vasilii looks extremely uncomfortable to reveal this information. Fidgeting a little, he continues in a slight rush. "If we decide to head there, I can look for some cargo for that destination. I’m sure we could find some items that might net us a few credits as well." Saro laughs good-naturedly and pats Vasilii in the back. "I suggest we do not go to Fonnein then. Perhaps we can inquire about services here. I’m no expert but it seems like there are facilities here. "I think the mail contract is a wonderful idea. We should approach the proper authorities about it. "I would also like this opportunity to explain my motivations, not to sway anyone but to explain why I feel so strongly about staying with all of you." Saro’s words draw Martha’s attention. She smiles at the man, thankful for his assistance in finding the Scout counselor, and in the confidentiality in which he handled her request. "Profits are nice but I do this for the opportunity to experience different things, to see new places and meet new people. If I can earn a living doing that then I am a happy man. As such I am willing to forego my cabin and bunk with someone so we can take passengers. Since I don't have any useful ship skills and my medical know-how could easily be replaced by someone with knowledge of first aid during normal operation of a ship, I volunteer to look after the passengers in flight." Martha’s head bobs almost imperceptibly, as she laughs inwardly at Saro’s statement. "He can keep the passengers. Give me the engine room any day of the week, and twice in jumpspace." She listens silently to the rest of the doctor’s words, feeling a sense of pride in how he describes the crew in general. Still, she isn’t proud of how she faired with the sensors, and makes a mental note to pick up some texts and testing software to help her enhance her skills in that area. "Another request is that since I believe in enjoying life," Saro says. "We should get good supplies. We probably should vote on it though. "Last thing — I wish Marcus was still here to listen to this. When we first reached Alief an event left a bad taste in my mouth and I would like to talk about it. The sale of drugs to the Lingdonslanders was something that I failed to understand. The way I saw it we made a profit from selling medications which did not belong to us and information that was freely available. Now, after spending all of this time with all of you, I have no doubts about anyone’s character. People who put life and limb on the line for the benefit of a population they do not belong to and have no association with? That is rare and commendable. I am immensely proud of being in a crew with all of you." Swann quickly interjects: "Doc, you can be my wheelman any time." "I also noted how those profits were used to finance the excursion to KGL, but at the time it was most confusing to me," the Doctor continues. "It is in the past but perhaps the next time we could hold a vote on matters like that. Yes, we needed to act quickly then but a vote usually won’t take more than a few minutes." Swann says, "I agree. If this is going to be a joint venture, then we all need to have an equal say when possible. Sure, some of us have more expertise in certain areas, and the others will need to defer to that expertise when necessary. But if something affects all of us, we all should have a say in the decision." "Now to get back to what we should do," Saro says. "Speculative trading sounds great to me but I am pretty much open to any legal and non-unethically exploitative strategy. I am sure Vasilii can turn a profit from anything so as long as he is here I feel content." As Saro ends his comments, Martha chimes in. "I’d like to give some consideration to the annual maintenance that Vasilii mentioned. The Bray Keavan has probably one more good jump in her, if I nurse the engines, but after that we’re risking a misjump every time we power up the grid." She pauses. "After that, though, we should probably see what’s available here, as it will probably dictate what our best options will be." </blockquote>

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