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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Shadowdancer" data-source="post: 1921253" data-attributes="member: 515">The crew of the Bray Keaven mostly rests during its first day in Sentry. -----Swann sets up the security systems before the crewmembers go to their staterooms. -----Saro checks that his patients are resting, looks over his list of medical supplies again, and then does a quick estimate of the costs to convert the improvised sickbay into a real one (albeit a small one). He estimates that it’ll probably cost around MCr2. Most of the costs will be due to the cost of acquiring and installing the various medical equipment required. -----On the bridge, Vargas alternates between cat napping and monitoring things. It's pretty quiet in the berth, but he does field a few calls. The first call is from a well–dressed gentleman in his 40s. The call arrives shortly after most of the crew turns in. "Good morning sir, my name Sare de Salui. May I speak to the captain about a package that he has for me?" "The Captain is asleep right now. Do you have a number where you may be reached?" "Of course. I’m staying at the Fonnein Orbital Hotel, room 112. Would you please ask him to call me at his earliest convenience?" "I will. I don’t know when he’ll be awake, though." "That’s quite alright. Thank you." -----Around midday, just as a dream involving a very attractive Darrian, an Aslan, and a Chirper is getting very interesting for Vargas, another call rouses him from the dream. This call is from a stern, gaunt looking man in his 40s: "I am Sare de Salui. Where is my package?" "Sir, I am unable to answer that at this time." "Don’t play games with me. Get me your captain." "He’s asleep, sir." "Wake him then." "No sir, I will not. I can have him call you when he wakes." "Don’t bother. I will contact him later." This man calls back three more times during the afternoon; each call runs about the same in style and tone. -----Finally, yet another party calls, this one just as Vargas is getting back to sleep from the gaunt man’s calls. This call is from a fairly pretty redhead in her 30s. "Hello there. I’d like to speak with your captain about an offer that I’d like to make him." "He’s asleep right now, may I take a message." "Of course. Please ask him to call Holly Clegg on the Klenbrooke please." "I will, thank you." Vargas does a quick check on the list of docked ships. The Klenbrooke is listed as a 300-dTon yacht that arrived this morning. -----Around 1800, the crew and Aidan gather for an evening meal, where a very groggy and rather grumpy Vargas relays the various calls that interrupted his catnaps. Aidan says, "Lovely, two Sare de Salui’s. Which on will know the pass code? Hmm, the redhead sounds like the most dangerous. May I recommend a call to the first gentleman who called. The one from the Fonnein Orbital Hotel. The second sounds likely to become violent." Swann looks up from his meal and smiles. "I volunteer to check out the dangerous redhead." Saro grunts in exasperation as the tale of the three callers is told. "As some wise man said once, ‘Nothing’s ever easy,’ " Saro says as he works his way through the dinner. Leaning back in his chair, he takes a long drink from his cup and muses out loud some more. "What we should do is set up a meeting in a public place — with all of them at the same time. Let them fight it out amongst themselves, instead of with us, for a change." Ian chuckles as the images flash through his mind. "Nice thought, Doc. Wish it could be so easy." Aidan grins and snorts. "Not a bad idea. But there is the pass code to distinguish them; ‘Fallen Whiskey’ as you may recall. Plus, the last character didn’t mention Sare de Salui. Still, the idea of having them all in one place has distinct attractions. But I still think it’s worth seeing if one of the first two, or worse, both of the first two, know the pass code." Swann says, "Before we get to planning any meetings, we need to decide what to do about repairs to the ship. And going hand in hand with that, what do we do with the cubes while the ship is being repaired. We need someplace safe and secure where we can leave them, especially the one destined for delivery elsewhere." Martha nods, somewhat concerned. "Agreed." "Well, don’t forget that getting a starship worked on is an expensive proposition," Vasilii says. "I’ve never actually looked into the prices for ship repairs and maintenance before, but I gather they can run into six figures. We may need to make the exchange to pay for the work on the ship. I’ll start working on selling the cargo after we’re done eating to see if we can avoid that prospect, but if the price goes that high, we may be in a bit of a spot, even if we make the exchange and it goes well. "As for the cubes. Hmm. Well, the repairs seem like they’re on the lower deck, and the maintenance would involve the upper drive rooms, but they’re not connected to the staterooms up here. Martha, would there be any reason for the repair or maintenance crews to be up here while they’re working? If not, why not move the cubes up here and keep them under guard?" "I can make sure there's no reason for them to come up here," Martha says, smiling. "I think that sounds like a good idea, though I agree also with taking care of this as quickly as we can. The less time they’re here, the less time we have to spend with intruders trying to penetrate ship’s security or walking through walls or something like that." Turning to Aidan, Swann says, "So I take it this Sare de Salui is your contact?" "Correct Mr. Swann. And the one and only correct Sare de Salui should know the pass code ‘Fallen Whiskey.’ Now, if both of them know it — well, there’s an interesting conundrum. I imagine only one of them will be willing to hand over the KCr150. As for hiding the cubes, why not the purloined letter trick? Stuff them into someone’s luggage. It would be handy to block the RF signal with some light shielding, but otherwise, if they are treated unremarkably . . . " -----Kevon keeps relatively quiet while the rest of the crew discusses the particulars of who to contact. Finally, he speaks up. "Personally, I think we need to at least return their calls before we attempt to decide on a course of action. We need not set meeting times, nor even admit that the devices are on board, in this initial contact. "We do, however, need to get a little insight into both of the ‘prospective clients.’ " -----Ian continues to eat and listen to the discussions. "I agree with Kevon. We should reply to the callers but provide no info. We need to check things out a bit before we proceed." -----Vasilii says, "Just a thought: do we tell either of our prospective clients that there’s another prospective client? Maybe check out their reactions? "But I agree with Kevon that we should at least return their calls. I could contact the yacht tomorrow and at least tell them something like, ‘We’re sure your offer is generous, but we’re under contractual obligations, blah-blah-blah, thank you for your patronage, etc." "Well, we don’t know what the redhead wants yet," Swann says. "Her offer may be unrelated to the cubes. We need to contact her and find out." "As for the other two," Vasilii says, "Mr. Congeniality is going to show up again sometime soon, so how about this: A couple of us could go to the hotel, maybe get a room, and wait there until Mr. Congeniality shows up back here. Someone here radios the group at the hotel, who pays a call on the first Mr. de Salui there, and we see who knows the pass phrase. If only one of them knows it, we’re golden. "If both or neither of them know it, we tell both of them we’ll get back to them to make the arrangements, we regroup back at the ship, and get the ship out of this docking berth. We can figure out where to go after that, maybe to one of the shipyards. "How does that sound? Good, bad, indifferent?" "That idea has some merit," Swann says. "We might want to put the ship in the shipyard for the overhaul and repairs first. Of course, if things go rimward, we’re stuck here with no escape. But I don’t think the Keaven’s in any shape to use for an escape anyway." Aidan looks around at the crew interestedly. "Perhaps a bit of computer exploration into these clients? How about checking the registry of that yacht while I poke around hotel registries and see if I can find out anything?" "It might be a good idea if you do your poking around in computers somewhereoff-ship — less traceable that way," Vargas says somewhat grumpily after yawning. "Good point Vargas. I’ll see what I can find in the way of anonymous access points." Aidan looks up access points on the station map to see where he can hook his comp into the network to do a little investigating. -----Martha spends the rest of the day making arrangements with local contractors, getting approval from Vasilii on the monetary aspects of it, and getting the work started on the ship. -----After the meal, Ian checks the ship’s status and checks with Swann to make sure the security systems are functioning properly with all cameras and sensors operational. Afterwards, he says, "Swann, you up for a stroll? I need to stretch my legs a bit. Just gonna go out and do a sweep around the ship and get a visual of the place. You game?" Swann says, "Yeah, I could use some new computer games. And I’ve always wanted to see what a yacht looks like." Ian carries his gauss pistol and Invisiknife. Swann takes his usual starport loadout plus his TL 13 laptop. He looks for a store selling computer games and buys one. Then he looks for a cafe where he can plug into the local computer net while having a drink. Swann sits with his back to a wall so no one can glance at the computer screen while walking past. Then he searches for information on the Klenbrooke, and Holly Clegg. When he finds out the ship’s docking berth, he recommends to Ian they walk past that berth on the way back to the Keaven. He also checks out the visitor information sites for things to do in the starport, as a cover. </blockquote>

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