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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Shadowdancer" data-source="post: 2235270" data-attributes="member: 515">Chapter IDate: 202-993Location: Aboard the Bray Keaven, inside the Stork & Sons repair yards, on Fonnein Orbital After the repairs, refit, and upgrades are complete, the crew of the Bray Keaven meets for breakfast and to decide what to do next. The ship needs to vacate the Stork & Sons yard today and move to a regular berth. The Bray Keaven should be checking in at Sentry for any messages about Bromley-bound cargo by the 270th day of the year, but that's a good two months away. The subject of Aidan staying onboard also is discussed.   -----  Ian walks into the lounge with a spring in his step and a big grin plastered on his face. He is sporting a clean–shaven face, fresh haircut, and cleaned and pressed ship’s clothes. He stops by the drink dispenser and loads up on a big mug of Kevon’s lip–curling morning brew, then kicks back in a seat and glances at the rest of the crew in turn. "Good morning, guys. Guess R&R is over, time to get back to work, eh?" he says as he slurps from his mug.   -----  Vasilii begins to outline their options. Fonnein mainly exports frozen types of marine life (for food), and raw chemical solvents and catalysts, though there is a small and growing trade in live marine life (for pets and specialty dishes) and Fonnein Gray Crystals to the gourmet market. Vasilii broaches the subject of Sentry and crew’s salvage–right claim on the Oser. He’s not pushing for it, just raising it. If the group goes for that, he’ll start serious work on freight, passengers and speculative cargo for Sentry. If they want to go elsewhere in jump range, he’ll probably be comparing Kerin’s Tyr to Adukgin. Alief is red-zoned for present purposes; Miip is too poor to bother with.   ----- Ian doesn’t much care where he goes next. He’s just happy to have a place to sleep and people to work with that don’t rub him the wrong way. "Yeah," he thinks, "Civilian life was pretty damn crappy ’til I got hooked up with this bunch."  -----  Swann listens to Vasilii as he prepares himself a nice breakfast of scrambled ziga eggs, fried slices of shalap, toasted puur, pancakes covered in kamishgiirmu lar and some cinnamon khaakhi. Vasilii eyes all the bags from the fancy deli and has a thought. "Dr. Talbek. I know you’re something of the gourmet. I was just thinking that we might celebrate our windfall in the matter of those wretched cubes by getting some high passenger grade supplies aboard. What do you think? Would you like to pick something out, and put it on the ship’s tab? Does everybody like the idea?" Everyone voices approval.  -----Getting back to the business at hand, Swann says, "I think we should pursue a salvage claim on the Oser, but I think it can wait until we have to be back at Sentry in two months. We should try to make some more money and visit some other systems before going back. The Oser will still be there when we get back." "I can agree with that," Martha says, between sips of crimson Bitterstouts. "As far as our next destination," Swann continues, "I think Kerin’s Tyr might be our best choice for now. I don’t know how Martha might feel about going to Adukgin; that might uncover some unpleasant feelings she might not want to deal with right now." Martha looks a little nervous. "I’d rather not go to Adukgin, but I won’t rule it out if there’s a good profit there for us. I mean, one of you guys can stick close, in case they try to pop in and take me or something, right? Do you want me to compare the two as possibilities?" Vargas gently pats Martha's hand, looks softly into her eyes, and says, "Martha, I personally guarantee that if any of those goons attempts to annoy you in any way, shape, or form, they will rue the day they were born." Vargas then rubs the scar on his cheek; his expression changes to a steely stare and he states flatly, "No one hurts one of my friends and escapes unscathed. This, Martha, I promise you." "Although some merchant crewmen I met the other night were telling me about this great club at the Adukgin starport named Two Minnies," Swann said, smiling at Martha and giving her a playful wink. "I wouldn’t mind paying a visit, if we ever do go there." Martha laughs nervously at Swann’s jest, then quickly changes the subject. "Vasilii, you were asking about Mr. Silver. Personally, I don’t really like him, despite everything’s he’s done since his auspicious beginnings with us. If he pays his way, I think he knows enough now to be a good passenger and not screw with our security protocols again. But that’s about as far as I trust him, for now, anyway."  ----- When asked, Vasilii explains that he evaluates Aidan on three fronts: trouble/favors exchanged, trust, and usefulness. He thinks they’re about even for trouble/favors — Aidan foregoing his interest in the cubes bought forgiveness for being a nuisance in the Oser affair, and flashing his warrant after the Sare No. 2 gunfight was repaid by Vasilii getting him a good price on the electronics. As for trust, he was in a hole during the Oser business but clawed back level with the warrant. Thus does a Vilani Merchant keep score. As for usefulness, Aidan does seem to be very handy with computers, and he has an insight into the ways of less respectable Nobles that could be useful. So Vasilii would accept him aboard, if the terms were right.  ----- Swann doesn’t have a problem with Aidan staying with the ship. "I’m not sure what crew position he would fill, or even if he would want or need a salary, but he would be handy to have around, especially if we have any more dealings with Nobles. "Speaking of salaries, I think it would be nice if we all drew a small salary, just enough to cover our living expenses. Say Cr1,500 a month." "As a regular thing, you mean? Well, that’s certainly all right with me. So long as all the partners make the same arrangement. Do any of the business partners object to a regular disbursement from partnership funds to the owners?" Vasilii raises an eyebrow to Vargas, Martha, Ian and Saro. There are no objections.  ----- Returning to the Aidan Question, Vargas says, "Judging from the problems we have had in the past, I think it would be an excellent idea to retain Aidan aboard for the time being. However, I do urge extreme caution with him. While he did give valuable assistance to us in need, he has the capability of being a loose cannon. However, in the case of a vote, I would keep him aboard but under close watch for the time being."  ----- "If he’s very useful, we should hire him," Vasilii says. "If he’s slightly useful, we should give him formal working passage as a trainee. If he isn’t useful, he can buy middle passage and leave his damn weapons in the locker for a change. If we cut some irregular deal there’s always the potential for trouble with the Spacers’ Guild, and he’s a lawyer. "I’d hire him as a gunner and systems operator for Cr2,500 a month."  ----- After the initial event — the hijacking — Ian has slowly started warming up to the quirky guy. "At least he’s amusing." Swann smiles and says, "Amusing. That’s a good way to put it. Yes, he is amusing. And he does have his uses. It never hurts to have your own personal lawyer traveling with you. I have no problem with him staying on." "Heh. Our very own ship’s counsel," Kevon jokes between sips of coffee. "I say he’s welcome." "It looks like he’s staying," Vasilii says. "Are we going to hire him or offer working passage? I must admit I’d like to see his face if we offered him a contract as an unpaid trainee, but it might be less trouble with the guild to take him on as a gunner and computer consultant." "Well, hell. I was hoping to fill the needed gunner spot, but if his skill exceeds mine, it would be better for the ship and crew if he was in that position," Ian says with a dejected look on his face. "Sure, we can keep him on as a paid member of the crew for now. Let’s see how it goes for a bit." Vasilii looks puzzled. "Forgive my ignorance, but don’t we need two gunners to operate our two turrets? They're not in a, um, is ‘battery’ the term? I know Captain Holland is a competent gunner, but he would normally be busy flying the ship in a fight. At least, I presume so. So don’t we need two gunners to be properly operational?" He looks around the table, hoping somebody will clarify this, and adds, "And then there are those pop–up lasers we’ve just had installed. I’m not sure if they need gunnery skill." Swann looks at Vasilii with a puzzled expression, as if he were watching garibs fly out of the Vilani Merchant’s ears. "Vasilii, don’t you remember? I’m the ship’s gunner. "But you bring up a good point. There may be a need for the ship’s security officer to fire the pop-up lasers, if Kevon is busy flying the ship. And it’s not a bad idea to have other people capable of manning a turret if the designated crewmembers are unavailable." Vasilii gives Rusti a stern look. "Rusti, have you been putting stuff in my Zhou Khollat milk again to addle my brains?" He turns back to Swann. "Um, I think I’ll just shut up for a bit." -----Vargas states, "If the other partners wish to hire him as a crewman, I will not stand in the way. However, I stand by my earlier statement about him being a possible loose cannon and should be watched for the time being." -----Saro is fine with hiring Aidan on into whatever position(s) the crew feels is appropriate. He would like to suggest that they make it a provisional employment for a limited time, say three months, and then the crew can reassess at that point whether or not to make it a more permanent position. -----"Now, you all figure out a direction and point me there," Kevon says as he rises to leave. "I have some design work to finish before we launch."  ----- With Kevon out of the room, Vasilii again raises the matter of the Mariella Landing reward. "It’s not like Kevon’s job description includes suicidal rescues like that. He was perfectly entitled to refuse. In fact, I think he did refuse until us owners practically mutinied on him. Which, looking back, was probably illegal on our part. So anyway, I think he deserves a split of that million-credit bounty that’s sitting in the ship’s accounts. As a ‘mere’ employee, he hasn’t seen a credit of it."  "Well, it sounds fair. True, he is not one of the ‘regular’ crewmembers, so he probably should get a cut of the reward. What the actual amount should be is up for discussion," Ian says. Vargas turns to Vasilli and states, "You have a point about Kevon being entitled to some of the reward. I would say that his actions were nothing short of heroic even if they were under duress of a possible mutiny. I agree that a portion of the reward should be given to him. You are keeping the books; I, for one, will trust your judgement on the amount of the share." Vasilii is delighted to have a new finance puzzle to gnaw at. Some of the crew may fancy they hear the whirring of machinery going into high revs for a moment before he answers. "Well, I think the most appropriate operating practice is the 50-50 ship/crew split, for which there is ample precedent. The ship, or rather the ship’s accounts, takes 50 percent of the reward as the key enabler. The remainder is split between the sophs. Since most of us are operating partners in the ship, paying the ship’s accounts is an indirect way of paying ourselves. So we’ve had our shares. But for Kevon, I would suggest one-sixth of one-half. That is to say, about Cr83,334." Swann whistles. "Nice bonus. Some people could retire on that. But that should keep him happy for a while," he says, breaking into a smile. After some discussion, they agree to give Kevon a full share of the bounty.   ----- Vasilii starts passing out a detailed analysis of passenger and cargo movement through Fonnein. The report shows there is enough standard cargo around to get a full hold to all destinations. Profitability runs Sentry, Kerin’s Tyr, or Adukgin in descending order. He has a feeling that they wouldn’t leave Adukgin with a full hold. As for speculative goods, he suggests: <ol> <li data-xf-list-type="ol">Take all the chemical catalysts we can get</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ol">Take chemical solvents ahead of normal cargo</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ol">Spices are bad news for Kerin’s Tyr (an agricultural world). Otherwise they look about level with freight but riskier, so there’s no need for them with a full hold</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ol">Ignore the marine life</li> </ol>He includes a report with his detailed market analysis that covers global conditions on Fonnein, Sentry, Kerin’s Tyr and Adukgin, taking into account such factors as population, tech level, and trade classifications as well as expected availability of priority, hazardous, security, major, minor, and incidental freight cargoes and low passengers.  ----- Sitting at the breakfast table, after delivering his report, Vasilii says, "Of course, that’s just the speculative cargo that has been placed on the merchant exchange for general sale. If we settle on a specific destination, Miss Smythe and I can try to rustle up some goods chosen for that particular destination. But to do that we have to start offering money, so we need to know where we’re going." Martha nods. "That’s where we’ll probably find our real profit on this venture." "For example," Vasilii continues, "if we were going to Kerin’s Tyr, and any of the chemical concerns here make insecticides, they might be quite cheap here but fetch a very decent price at Kerin’s Tyr. If we knew we were going there we could seek some out, rather than just checking the public market. There’d be a good percentage on inorganic fertilizer too, but that stuff isn’t worth so much per ton. Mid-tech toys should do all right in the richer states, too, if we get some at a reasonable price here, as should well-chosen info-disks. "Anyhow, we’ll look into that when we have a decision." Martha replies, "Kerin’s Tyr sounds interesting. Perhaps we should check for some cargo on spec that might be ideal for there, and see if it will work out profitably?"  ----- Swann looks over Vasilii’s very detailed market analysis. "We have to get this guy a woman," he thinks, a brief smile crossing his lips. "He spent WAY too much time on this stuff." Vasilii wonders what Swann is thinking, as his eyes focus away from the market report. Swann rubs a hand across his face, and looks at Vasilii. "This is very — thorough. You’ve done a very good job, giving us lots of options. "It would be more profitable making a run back to Sentry, but I suspect that would be true from any system in the cluster. Sentry’s the biggest market, and has the highest population and tech level. Everything flows to it." "Always, Mr. Hellinic. Any purely commercial trader is going to do pairs of there-and-back trips between Sentry and any other system, with the second system chosen to suit the market on the day. Those are the facts of interstellar trading life." "But there are other markets out there," Swann says. "I say we go to Kerin’s Tyr first. Those farmers and ranchers need the wonderful products of the Third Emperium that we can bring them. And it’s one of the gateways into the cluster, so there are probably plenty of cargoes there waiting to be carried to Sentry."  ----- Vasilii gets distracted by the Beaker monkey at this point, and somehow neglects to answer that. Vasilii feeds Rusti a few Marine–issue breakfast biscuits (something had to happen with the last 0.5 dTon) then refocuses on the conversation.  ----- "As to the next destination, we may have a chance of salvage with the Oser, but I agree with the position that it can wait," Vargas says. "I agree with Martha that Kerin’s Tyr sounds good for some profit." ----- Blinking a bit, Vasilii says, "Right. Kerin’s Tyr. I’ll work with Miss Smythe on cargo for that particular destination." ----- Saro is glad to see that Vasilii is getting back to his old self and throwing himself into the work of running the merch side of the ship’s affairs. Vasilii is relieved to see that Saro isn’t frowning at him anymore. -----After the meeting, Vasilii collaborates with Martha on working manufacturers and middlemen to see if they can get the following at reasonable prices: <ul> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">Insecticides</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">TL–7 toys that can used at TL–5 or TL–6</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">info–disks to sell into the balkanized planet’s three higher–tech states</li> </ul> ----- Following the meeting Vargas talks to Saro about his limited training at the free clinic. "I really enjoyed the time I spent at the clinic and would like to learn more about emergency medicine. Saro, would you have any objections to continuing my training while we are in jump space. Maybe I would be able to assist as an EMT or the like when we have our next encounter. This last trip had so many injured and so little time. Another set of hands and eyes could make the difference in an emergency." -----At some point after the meeting, Swann approaches Ian in private. "Ian, that little firefight we had in the repair bay got me to thinking about that ACR you picked up back on Sentry. If you should have an occasion to actually use it, it could cause you some problems since you don’t have a permit for it. I might be able to help you obtain one. In fact, I might be able to ‘issue’ you one myself. If that’s not a problem for you? "I met a guy the other night, Eneri Shigulii. He owns an electronics shop in the starport, but he also buys and sells other items for a ‘discrete’ clientele. Your permit is probably going to take some special equipment and materials. I think he can connect us with the right people. Of course, it will be expensive. "What do you think? Should we go talk to Eneri?" "Hmm, good point," Ian says. "Yes, let’s see what we can do. Thanks." Swann says, "OK. Let's go see him after we move the ship to a regular berth." Swann studies Ian’s Class 4 weapon permit to see what would be needed to attempt a forgery of another permit — special paper, certain type of printer, special fonts, etc. He decides that forging the weapon permit would require getting special paper material which includes a smartchip (which can be read by a computer), a computer/reader to program the smartchip, and a special printer to do the printing. "Hopefully, we can find someone who can offer us a package deal," Swann thinks. </blockquote>

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