Editing Episode 403: Catalysts and Contraints

<em>Air Date: 29 Jun 2010</em><br />
<em>Present: Kim, Maer, Terri, Andy, and Bobby</em></p>
<p>&nbsp;</p>
<p><strong>Monday, 26 May 2521</strong><br />
  <strong>Peña Spaceport, Kerry </strong><br />
  <strong>Georgia (Huang Long) system</strong><br />
  <strong>1200hrs, local time</strong></p>
<p>Attending to business helps  us settle down after the events surrounding Shepherd’s Hope. We scare up parts,  passengers and cargo.  </p>
<p>Joshua and Nika discuss some  additions to our arms locker as well.  </p>
<p><strong>Joshua:</strong> Are  we buying mesh here, while we’re on Kerry?   If we can? We’ve got the money.   It runs 46 apiece. Buying three will cost 138.</p>
<p>Nika does the math and  realizes Joshua’s left himself out of that equation.</p>
<p><strong>Nika:</strong> You  still need mesh. Whether you have a weapon or not, you should wear mesh,  considering how often we’ve been shot at recently.<br />
  <strong>Joshua:</strong> I’ve  been shot at <em>once</em>.  (off her look)  Yes, Captain? Are you blinking your eyes at  me, Captain?<br />
  <strong>Nika:</strong> If you  insist on not wearing mesh, that’s your problem. Whatever.</p>
<p>Rina catches that last as  she’s passing through to engineering and calls over her shoulder.</p>
<p><strong>Rina:</strong> If you  end up dead, I’ll haunt your corpse.</p>
<p>We don’t linger long in Peña.  We find a job to take us to Newhope, a  pick-up of a first class passenger.  It’s  only a 40 hour hop and we leave on the evening of the 26th, making  it there in good time on the 28th.  </p>
<p>&nbsp;</p>
<p><strong>Wednesday, 28 May 2521</strong><br />
  <strong>Gibraltar spaceport, Newhope</strong><br />
  <strong>Georgia (Huang Long) system</strong><br />
  <strong>1030hrs, local time</strong></p>
<p>Newhope is a world caught in  the gravitational pull of three astral bodies: its homestar, protostar Murphy  and the gas giant Elphame.  As a result,  her oceans are gripped by extremely strong tides that have shaped the  landmasses terraformed on her.  Not many  survived the process and as a result, Newhope is a planet of archipelagoes, all  sheer cliffs and shallow terraced land shelves for the shore.  The largest of these is home to Gibraltar  Spaceport and serves as the planet capitol.   The natural forces also influence the weather, making it moody and rainy  but there are clear days where the sun manages to shine. The last time the crew  kissed dirt here, food riots were common, spawned by shortages caused by the  political upheaval in the Verse.  Things  are considerably calmer now and it isn’t long before Nika patches a call  through to Vladimir Byshek, our contact and notorious ‘fixer’. She puts the call  through on the bridge and Rina and Joshua stand off to the side to listen in.</p>
<p>Byshek’s Russian accent comes  through nice and clear over the speakers.</p>
<p><strong>Byshek:</strong> Earheart. Earheart.  Vhat job did you do  for me?<br />
  <strong>Nika:</strong> (leans  to Rina, whispers) What did we do again?<br />
  Rina: (whispers back) Lead  pipe. Meridian.<br />
  <strong>Nika:</strong> (smiling now) We took some lead pipe to Meridian … (waggles a so-so gesture)  …  took your friend Volker to Blue Sun … <br />
  <strong>Byshek:</strong> Well  … I hev job to Blue Sun if you’re looking.<br />
  <strong>Nika:</strong> I’d be  interested. Whaddya got?<br />
  <strong>Byshek:</strong> It’s, um, agricultural chemicals.<br />
  Rina: (murmuring to self)  Nitrate.  You can make explosives with  nitrate.</p>
<p>Nika leans away from the  camera pick up and silently waves her flattened palm in front of her throat: <em>No, no and hell no!</em></p>
<p><strong>Byshek:</strong> Is  for insecticide.  Nitro guanidine.<br />
  <strong>Rina:</strong> (to  Nika) Told ya.<br />
  <strong>Nika:</strong> Where’s it goin’? <br />
  <strong>Byshek:</strong> Highgate.<br />
  <strong>Nika:</strong> Well,  it’s in the direction we’re goin’ anyway.   What size are we lookin’ at?<br />
  <strong>Joshua:</strong> (softly to self) Guanidine? Highgate?<br />
  <strong>Byshek:</strong>  I can get you as much as you wish. Same  people as you worked with before. Song Jian. <br />
  <strong>Nika:</strong> I have  room for about 150 tons.<br />
  <strong>Byshek:</strong> Well,  here is story. Is bit more complicated. What range you hev on ship?<br />
  <strong>Nika:</strong> What <em>range</em>?<br />
  <strong>Byshek:</strong> Yes.  Can you get there without stopping.<br />
  <strong>Nika:</strong> At  present, no. But we can potentially modify to make that run if it needs to.<br />
  <strong>Byshek:</strong> Thet  might be in your interest. I will be willing to pey … a expedited price … if  you can do it without stopping. Problem is, since Alliance pull out, there’ve  been … hm, vhat is word you use? … Privateers … working for Alliance, stopping  traffic going to Blue Sun.<br />
  <strong>Nika:</strong> Hm. Do  tell.<br />
  <strong>Byshek:</strong> And  much of the time, yeah, they maybe impose fee, they perheps search ship.  These chemical might be on their list of  prohibited item.<br />
  <strong>Nika:</strong> Mm-hm.<br />
  <strong>Byshek:</strong> Is  labeled insecticide but still … you know.   Alliance. <br />
  <strong>Nika:</strong> When  do you need it off the ground?<br />
  <strong>Byshek:</strong> Well  … I can arrange pick up in … four or five days?   If you can buy fuel tank if that’s what you need?<br />
  <strong>Nika:</strong> Yeah,  let me see what we can do.  I’ll have my  steward get in touch with you about the financials, to arrange for payment, and  I will let you know when we’re outfitted. <br />
  <strong>Rina:</strong> (in  undertone) Let’s hope he’s not expecting Christian to show up.<br />
  <strong>Nika:</strong> Oh and  by the way, Christian Edge is no longer our steward. We have a new steward on  board.<br />
  <strong>Byshek:</strong> I  don’t know who Christian is. <br />
  Johsua: (undertone) Well  there you go. Problem solved.<br />
  <strong>Byshek:</strong> You  bring crew to restaurant. We talk.<br />
  <strong>Nika:</strong> Okay.</p>
<p>Nika closes the call. At the  prospect of going to a restaurant, Rina perks up.</p>
<p><strong>Rina:</strong> (sweetly) Please, Captain. May I?  I  promise not to bite anyone.<br />
  <strong>Nika:</strong> How  much is it going to cost us to outfit with two fuel pods.<br />
  <strong>Joshua:</strong> The  last time we did this it was at this weird at-cost thing to swap things out.</p>
<p>Normal cost is 100 credits  per tank.  Getting two would cost us 200  credits, empty of fuel.</p>
<p><strong>Rina:</strong> One  tank gives us 120 hours extra.  Getting  two tanks gives us 240.<br />
  <strong>Nika:</strong> So  he’s willing to pay the expedited fee.<br />
  <strong>Joshua:</strong> To  get us to Blue Sun?  What’s the  timeframe?  I need to know.  We have 320 credits.  200 for the fuel pods brings us down to 120<br />
  <strong>Nika:</strong> (doing  the math in her head) We need 672 hours.   With pulse.<br />
  <strong>Joshua:</strong> Okay. But we’re going to need 300 and some hours of fuel at .21 times credits,  so that brings us down to 60.  but we’re  going to have to load up on food. So that brings us down to zero, so… Like…  (has to laugh) …<br />
  <strong>Nika:</strong> So  we’ll negotiate for half up front or he may pay us up front.<br />
  <strong>Joshua:</strong> I’m  not sure if he’s going to pay half-and-half on illegal expedited cargo, but  maybe I’m wrong.<br />
  <strong>Nika:</strong> Well  then, he can pay up front.</p>
<p>Josua runs through the  numbers again. The trip to Blue Sun will take 24 days. We’ll need 96 canned  food hours, not including extras so we’ll probably need another 20 for food.  Part of our expenses depend on whether we’re  taking on passengers at first class or not. Nika states our passenger will be  paying for that up front, to go to Blue Sun.   Yeah but if we’re taking on second class passengers, they’ll be eating  canned like the crew. given what we have on hand now, we’ll still need another  70 days worth.  Bottom line: the fuel  tanks and the extra food and the monthly maintenance and drugs for Joshua will  cost 609 credits of which we only have 312, putting us in the red for the  remaining 297.</p>
<p>We need to find a way to make  up the lack.  Is there a way to have  Kiera pay us for the cargo space she’s taking up?  That’s another 50 credits gained.  If she downgraded to second class food,  that’s credits saved.  Or we could go  meet Byshek and see what he’s willing to pay up front first before we start  taking privileges and credits away from our passenger.  Adding the cost to fill the fuel pods to our  operating expenses gives us a figure of 750 for our basement figure.  We can’t go lower than that and still do the  job for Byshek.  We’ll just have to see  if he’s willing to pay it.</p>
<p><strong>Arden:</strong> I  have distrustful feeling.<br />
  <strong>Nika:</strong> We’ve  dealt with this guy before. He dealt square with us.<br />
  <strong>Rina:</strong> He did  us well. He didn’t double cross us.<br />
  <strong>Nika:</strong> If  you’d like to stay home, you’re more than welcome to, Arden.<br />
  <strong>Joshua:</strong> I’m  going to go find our passenger.</p>
<p>Meaning the first class  passenger we’v flown to Newhope to pick up.   Joshua finds him easily enough using the spaceport boards and arranges a  meet.  When he gets there he finds a old  gentleman of indeterminate age, white-haired and erect of bearing, with the  cultured speech and accent of the Core.   He’s dressed in fine traveler wear.   It’s not the couture tailoring one would normally find in the Core but  rather it’s more like high-end adventure wear. Sort of like a cross between  L.L.Bean and Ralph Lauren. And though he isn’t at all crass, the man  practically smells of cash. One thing looks out of place, however.  The gentleman is carrying a weathered old  canvas rucksack.  It looks like a  workman’s rucksack, perhaps to carry tools or materials in.  It’s seen some heavy use and it looks old,  probably dating from before the war.   Given the year is 2521, that would date it at least 15 years. </p>
<p>Interesting. Why would a man  made of money and dresses like it openly carry around a beat up canvas  haversack?  </p>
<p>Joshua duly notes it and  files it away and smiles and holds out his hand.</p>
<p><strong>Joshua:</strong> Excuse me but aren’t you the person looking for a ship out to Blue Sun? The  Summer’s <em>Gift</em>.<br />
  <strong>Man:</strong> Ah!  Summer’s <em>Gift</em>.<br />
  <strong>Joshua:</strong> My  name is Joshua Drake.<br />
  <strong>Man:</strong> Pleased  to meet you.</p>
<p>They shake hands and the man  looks Joshua up and down.</p>
<p><strong>Man:</strong> So… I  tried to do a little research on the <em>Summer’s  Gift</em>. Since that nasty little business in the Core there’s not much on the  Cortex anymore.  Tell me about your ship,  the <em>Gift</em>.</p>
<p>Joshua has to go through his  memory for what he’s been told of the <em>Gift</em>.  As he does, Joshua sizes up the  man and the question: is he looking for a rap  sheet on our girl? A carfax report? Or is he looking for a tale of sordid  adventure?  Joshua gets no indication and  so opts to tell the man the truth.</p>
<p><strong>Joshua:</strong> I  haven’t been on board the <em>Gift</em> for  its entire life span. I’ve only been—<br />
  <strong>Man:</strong> What  kind of ship?<br />
  <strong>Joshua:</strong> Kuiper class.<br />
  <strong>Man:</strong> (knows  it) Ah, Kuiper class. I guess I won’t expect much in accommodations but it’s  suitable for the trip.<br />
  <strong>Joshua:</strong> We  maintain a pretty solid first class cabin.<br />
  <strong>Man:</strong> A first  class cabin? Kuiper II?<br />
  <strong>Joshua:</strong> Kuiper II.<br />
  <strong>Man:</strong> (contemplating)  A Kuiper II.</p>
<p>There is a definite feeling  of being felt out, here, even though the man’s demeanor is cheerful and  professional.</p>
<p><strong>Man:</strong> Well,  that’s not bad. They’re pretty flexible ships. <br />
  <strong>Joshua:</strong> Yes,  they are.<br />
  <strong>Man:</strong> So you  can add fuel tanks to make it all the way out to Blue Sun?<br />
  <strong>Joshua:</strong> Yes.  In fact, we are in the process of getting the fuel tanks added on.<br />
  <strong>Man:</strong> I’ve  been hearing stories about pirates and such plying the lines between there.<br />
  <strong>Joshua:</strong> As  have I. I’ve heard the same stories when we arrived, on the Cortex.<br />
  <strong>Man:</strong> I have  nothing to hide so I’m not worried about inspections if we get stopped.  By either force on the border.  But you know, it’ll be dangerous out there.  Is it armed?<br />
  <strong>Joshua:</strong> Yes.  We have a cannon and a mounted machine gun.<br />
  <strong>Man:</strong> All  right. Have you travelled to Blue Sun before?</p>
<p>Oh boy, have we.</p>
<p><strong>Joshua:</strong> Yes  we have.<br />
  <strong>Man:</strong> I  haven’t been out there since before the War. It was a long time ago. I have to  say, things have changed much out here.<br />
  <strong>Joshua:</strong> (agreeing) Things have changed in the last six months, much less since the War.<br />
  <strong>Man:</strong> Yes.  My immediate goal is to get out to any of the  major planets in Blue Sun. Are you on a fixed schedule?<br />
  <strong>Joshua:</strong> We’re thinking about potentially picking up some cargo which would take us out  to Highgate.<br />
  <strong>Man:</strong> Highgate?  Actually, that’s a good place to start.<br />
  <strong>Joshua:</strong> We’ll  pick up the cargo in four to five days and once the launch with the cargo we’d  like to make as quick a trip as possible to Highgate of course. I believe  they’re going to be paying for expedited delivery.<br />
  <strong>Man:</strong> Oh,  that’s good. I’d be happy to get there as soon as possible.  But once you get there you don’t have any  initial plans?<br />
  <strong>Joshua:</strong> No.<br />
  <strong>Man:</strong> So it  might be possible to take a … trips to other planets?<br />
  <strong>Joshua:</strong> Yes.  That would certainly be possible if you’re interested.</p>
<p>The man pauses.</p>
<p><strong>Man:</strong> Well,  I’m not sure I can charter the whole ship for that but—or I’d want to unless I  had more information.  But the, um, … But  that’s good to know. You’re not on a fixed schedule.<br />
  <strong>Joshua:</strong> We’re not on a fixed schedule. We’d certainly be available depending on what  you’re doing.<br />
  <strong>Man:</strong> I  see.  And, ah, that’s… (trails off,  murmuring to self) … what else do I need to know?… I’m pretty flexible. I don’t  need to have fancy quarters but if you say you have first class … ?<br />
  <strong>Joshua:</strong> We  do.  We have first class.<br />
  <strong>Man:</strong> Having  to pay that would probably make it worth your while to take me there.<br />
  <strong>Joshua:</strong> Oh,  certainly.  That would be excellent.</p>
<p>Joshua’s intuition gives him  a nudge. Despite the man’s cheerfulness and professional manner, Joshua gets a  sense of something serious and sad is driving him in the background.  Joshua notes it and lets it slide. Now is not  the time to delve into it.</p>
<p><strong>Man:</strong> When I  came out to Newhope, I did exchange some of my credits for platinum. would you  prefer platinum or …?  Technically we’re  not allowed to use credits out here but if you wanted to stop at Boros or one  of the other planets so I could give you credits, it’s up to you.</p>
<p>With the dissolution of the  Cortex and the Alliance as we know it, credits are good only when used by a  credit-recognizing device. They will only work in places that have ties to the  Union of the Alliance.  Boros is one such  place and Hera in another. We could make credit transactions there but not  anywhere else in Georgia system.   Legally.  There may be places and  means of doing it illegally using bootleg machines that can recognize the credits  but one would have to hunt them down first.</p>
<p><strong>Joshua:</strong> It’s  obviously more convenient for us to have platinum but we would certainly—. <br />
  <strong>Man:</strong> Oh, I  have platinum.<br />
  <strong>Joshua:</strong> Then  we’d certainly be glad to take platinum.<br />
  <strong>Man:</strong> I can  give you half up front and half on arrival.<br />
  <strong>Joshua:</strong> That  seems reasonable. Actually very reasonable. It’s a100 credits a week for first  class, so it will be a four week journey.<br />
  <strong>Man:</strong> So 200  up front?<br />
  <strong>Joshua:</strong> 200  up front.<br />
  <strong>Man:</strong> Mind if  I take a look at the ship before I, ah …? <br />
  <strong>Joshua:</strong> (agreeing) Absolutely. Actually, you never gave me your name?<br />
  <strong>Man:</strong> Oh, I’m  sorry.  The name’s Dyson. Oliver Dyson.<br />
  <strong>Joshua:</strong> Oliver Dyson. Mr. Dyson, it’s a pleasure to meet you.<br />
  <strong>Dyson:</strong> Oliver’s  fine. Or Ollie. I’m going to be on a Kuiper class.  Ollie’s more suitable than Mr. Dyson.<br />
  <strong>Joshua:</strong> (chuckling) We’re fine with whatever level of service you’re looking for.<br />
  <strong>Dyson:</strong> We  used to have Kuiper I’s come to our worksites years ago. They were perfectly  reliable ships. Everybody’s got one, so…they deliver a lot of the raw materials  used in my business.<br />
  <strong>Joshua:</strong> And  what did you do?<br />
  <strong>Dyson:</strong> I was  a terraformer. Back in the early days.<br />
  <strong>Joshua:</strong> Oh.  Wow. Fantastic. Where did you terraform?<br />
  <strong>Dyson:</strong> I  assume you’ve been around a bit.  I did a  bunch of work in Red Sun and Kalidasa mostly, but I have been out here. One of  the moons of … ah, Daedalus.</p>
<p>Daedalus is the gas giant one  orbit inward from Newhope, in fact.</p>
<p><strong>Dyson:</strong> And I  did some of the small moons in Blue Sun.<br />
  <strong>Joshua:</strong> Fascinating.<br />
  <strong>Dyson:</strong> A lot  of terraforming work is actually ongoing.   People don’t realize this but, you know, there’s continuous work that  needs done.  Adjustments being made,  making sure methane levels aren’t too high …<br />
  <strong>Joshua: </strong>I  imagine if you don’t keep track it eventually all falls off—<br />
  <strong>Dyson:</strong> And  eventually it all becomes paperwork and that’s what they had me doing for the  last twenty years. Up until I had a–Oh, I did want to ask you one thing ...<br />
  <strong>Joshua: </strong>Of  course.<br />
  <strong>Dyson:</strong> Do  you have anyone with any … medical certification on your ship?<br />
  <strong>Joshua:</strong>  Yes.   We do, in fact.  Can I inquire as  to the reason why, so I have some sort of idea?<br />
  <strong>Dyson:</strong> It’s  nothing to be ashamed of or worried about or contagious or anything. but I’ve  got a, um, it’s a little-known neurological disorder. Williamson’s Disease.  It’s pretty common amongst terraformers.   I’ve got tiny nitrogen bubbles in the bloodstream of my brain. Every now  and then they interfere.  I don’t become  hazardous. I become a little loopy.<br />
  <strong>Joshua:</strong> Our  doctor’s fantastic and obviously anything you tell him is kept in  confidentiality.<br />
  <strong>Dyson:</strong> I  don’t need anything special, other than somebody to make sure whether I’m okay  or die, but hopefully that won’t happen. <br />
  <strong>Joshua:</strong> I  hope not.  (regroups)  If you like, I can show you the ship.<br />
  <strong>Dyson:</strong>  I’d like to bring my bags along with me.<br />
  <strong>Joshua: </strong>Can  I help you carry one of those?</p>
<p>In addition to the rucksack,  Dyson has two other bags.  Joshua cannot  quite pin Dyson’s age down and so has to walk a fine line between his duties as  a ship’s steward and not to insulting the man’s pride with any implications of  infirmity.  For himself, Dyson appears to  be fairly independent and active.  Joshua  takes whatever bag or bags Dyson relinquishes and takes him to our ship. As  they approach, Dyson runs an eye over the <em>Gift</em>’s  lines and murmurs appreciatively.</p>
<p><strong>Dyson:</strong> Well,  this is not your standard Kuiper II. You’ve made some modifications.<br />
  <strong>Joshua:</strong> Our  engineer’s one of the best.<br />
  <strong>Dyson:</strong> Yeah.  The fuel lines exposed like that has got to be dangerous for you. You probably  have problems with that.</p>
<p>Oops.  You were saying, Joshua?</p>
<p><strong>Joshua:</strong> I’m  not the engineer so I suppose you co—<br />
  <strong>Dyson:</strong> Well…if  you had a good enough pilot I suppose you could protect them from wind shear  and such but I would put some reinforcement on there…<br />
  <strong>Joshua:</strong> You’re going to enjoy talking to our engineer, I think.<br />
  <strong>Dyson:</strong> These  Neubring thrusters …. how do they come off, do you know?<br />
  <strong>Joshua:</strong> No,  I certainly don’t. Our engineer will talk your ear off if let her.<br />
  <strong>Dyson:</strong> I  love talking to engineers.  I’m a bit of  an engineer myself.<br />
  <strong>Joshua:</strong> Come  aboard, I’ll show you around.</p>
<p>Up the airlock stairs they  go. Dyson’s taking everything in with a keen eye.</p>
<p><strong>Dyson: </strong>Interesting. <br />
  <strong>Joshua: </strong> If you want to set your stuff down here while  you walk around and decide where you want to stay, you can come back and get it  or you could hold  on to it, either way’s  fine with us.<br />
  <strong>Dyson:</strong> (pauses)  Yes, I’ll just leave them in the airlock.<br />
  <strong>Joshua:</strong> That’s fine.</p>
<p>Joshua leads the way to the  first class staterooms, showing him the high points along the way.  The Brigde, to introduce him to the  Captain.  Rina’s outside, hanging off the  bow and working on the forward sensor array and Kiera’s in the avionics bay  below Nika’s feet, handing the engineer tools through the access hatch.  Their informal back-and-forth over tools and  repairs makes a counterpoint to the more formal conversation between Captain,  Steward and Passenger. </p>
<p><strong>Joshua:</strong> Captain? I’d like to introduce you to our potential passenger, Oliver Dyson. <br />
  <strong>Dyson:</strong> Ollie  Dyson, Captain.<br />
  <strong>Nika:</strong> Dyson. <br />
  <strong>Dyson:</strong> (nodding)  Interesting ship you’ve got here. She ride well? You ever get any maneuvering  with those thrusters?<br />
  <strong>Nika:</strong> (easily) Well enough.<br />
  <strong>Dyson:</strong> Yeah?<br />
  <strong>Nika:</strong> Yeah.<br />
  <strong>Joshua:</strong> She’s modest.</p>
<p>Down past the deck plates,  Kiera calls out the hatch to Rina.</p>
<p><strong>Kiera:</strong> You  need help? Can I hold somethin’?<br />
  <strong>Rina:</strong> Sure.  You got anything in your container that can fix her?<br />
  <strong>Kiera:</strong> Nope.  But I can hold your tools while you work on that.</p>
<p>Back above, Dyson goes on.</p>
<p><strong>Dyson:</strong> It’s  like having wings on a brick. They don’t help much in the atmosphere. I guess  out in space it’s more useful.<br />
  <strong>Nika:</strong> There’s  no friction in space so it don’t really matter.<br />
  <strong>Dyson:</strong> That’s what I mean.  More useful in space  than in atmosphere. Oh, but don’t let me badmouth your ship. It looks  interesting. <br />
  <strong>Nika:</strong> She  gets us where we need to go.<br />
  <strong>Dyson:</strong> All  right. Okay.</p>
<p>And Joshua gets him out of  there for other parts of our girl.  Like  the passenger lounge and the galley. Arden’s there and follows them.</p>
<p><strong>Dyson:</strong> This  is quite nice. Not what I was expecting here. Kuiper classes were  like—agh—sweat lodges.  Locker  rooms.  They were awful.<br />
  Arden: That was what it was  like when we first got here.<br />
  <strong>Joshua: </strong>I  couldn’t live that way. Dr. Arden, Oliver Dyson.  This is our official ship’s doctor.<br />
  <strong>Dyson:</strong> You’re a doctor.  Not just a medic?<br />
  <strong>Arden:</strong> Yeah,  I’m a doctor.<br />
  <strong>Dyson:</strong> (puzzled) I’m trying to place the accent. It’s a … it’s ….<br />
  <strong>Arden:</strong> From  all over.  A small planet named Sophie.<br />
  <strong>Dyson:</strong> (going through memories) Sophie … Sophie …. I’m not familiar with it.<br />
  <strong>Joshua:</strong> Let me take you into  engineering.</p>
<p>That’s a walk of less than a  minute.  Joshua waves Dyson into the  engine room ahead of him. Dyson stands and takes it all in: engines, consoles,  thruster package.  Joshua lets Rina’s  work speak for itself.</p>
<p><strong>Joshua:</strong> As  you can see … <br />
  <strong>Dyson:</strong> (eyeing the thrusters) So, ah, what sort of transport you folks do here? <br />
  <strong>Joshua:</strong> Ah,  well, lately it’s been a little bit of this and a little bit of that.<br />
  <strong>Dyson:</strong> It’s  an open Verse. I understand that everybody’s got to make a living.<br />
  <strong>Joshua:</strong> For  the most part we’ve actually been … (breathes a laugh) … It’s been a long six  months.  For the most part, we prefer  simple cargo runs, whatever we can get aboveboard.  The turbo array’s been there for as long as  I’ve been aboard.  This is the way I was  when I got on board close to a year ago. I’ve only actually seen it used once  and that was escaping that Sheik back on Angel. (off Dyson’s look)  It turned out our passengers were former  slaves looking to get out of the business and the Sheik wasn’t interested in  letting them out of the business.<br />
  <strong>Arden:</strong> Slavery isn’t a business.</p>
<p>Arden’s followed them into  the engine room and Joshua nods at the doctor.</p>
<p><strong>Joshua:</strong> He’s  right of course. It’s not a business. But they were looking to get out of being  slaves, which is totally understandable.   It came in handy then.<br />
  <strong>Arden:</strong> Mostly we trade in supplies to and from the Rim and the Core.<br />
  <strong>Dyson:</strong> It  looks like you’ve seen a lot of use.<br />
  <strong>Joshua:</strong> Yes,  and Rina keeps her in good shape.<br />
  <strong>Arden:</strong> And  our pilot’s good.<br />
  <strong>Joshua:</strong> She’s damned good. And I don’t know where our engineer is, she’s probably  outside doing some work.  We have one  other additional passenger who has her own container. You’ll see and interact  with her during general mealtimes and such.<br />
  <strong>Dyson:</strong> I’d  like to take a look at the quarters and I’ll probably be all done.</p>
<p>Joshua leads Dyson back to  the first class staterooms, opens one and lets the man take a turn around in  it.</p>
<p><strong>Joshua:</strong> We  have two cabins, neither of which are in use so it’s up to you which one you  actually prefer.<br />
  <strong>Dyson:</strong> They  both look good.<br />
  <strong>Joshua:</strong> Since you’re in this one, I could set you up in this one.<br />
  <strong>Dyson:</strong> This  is fine.  Got your own bathroom.  Wasn’t expecting that.<br />
  <strong>Joshua:</strong> So,  are you on board?  Do you like it?<br />
  <strong>Dyson:</strong> I  think so.<br />
  <strong>Joshua:</strong> I’ll  get your bags. You can pay half up front and then we’ll get you settled in.  Mealtimes are regular.  I’m a pretty good  cook.</p>
<p>Dyson stops Joshua’s progress  out the door.</p>
<p><strong>Dyson:</strong> Drake. Is it Drake?<br />
  <strong>Joshua:</strong> You  can call Joshua if you like. Or Drake. Whichever you prefer.  Whatever makes you comfortable.<br />
  <strong>Dyson:</strong> So,  what are you called?<br />
  <strong>Joshua:</strong> Joshua, usually.<br />
  <strong>Dyson:</strong> Joshua.  Listen. We’re out here in the  Border.  Probably out in the Rim.  However you look at it.<br />
  <strong>Joshua:</strong> Yeah?<br />
  <strong>Dyson:</strong> My  interest is getting out to Blue Sun.<br />
  <strong>Joshua:</strong> Okay.<br />
  <strong>Dyson:</strong> Possibly travelling a bit there.<br />
  <strong>Joshua:</strong> Sure.<br />
  <strong>Dyson:</strong>  If your business is … not 100% legal, that’s  okay with me. <br />
  <strong>Joshua:</strong> Okay.  So is that it?<br />
  <strong>Dyson:</strong>  If you’re going to put me in danger, I’d just  like to know. If there’s more danger than just travelling to Blue Sun on its  own.<br />
  <strong>Joshua:</strong> Okay,  look. The cargo we’re thinking of taking, we haven’t met with the person yet.  If we’re picking up a cargo that would put us in danger of pirates or Alliance  or whatever it happens to be, we will let you know.  <br />
  <strong>Dyson:</strong> The  other thing would be is, well, I expect it’s your ship but I’m spending 400  platinum here.  I want to feel  comfortable walking about below decks, checking out engineering, that sort of  stuff.  I don’t want to be crammed in my  quarters 24/7 for four weeks.<br />
  <strong>Joshua:</strong> Well, no. We certainly don’t expect you to be crammed into your quarters. For  the most part, we don’t have any problem with you pretty much wandering the  ship.  The bridge is the Captain’s  territory, engineering is the engineer’s territory. You’re welcome to take it  up with them to wander in there.  I don’t  think any of them will have a problem with it. <br />
  <strong>Dyson:</strong> I’m  not saying I’m hanging out there by myself. But if you’re going to be one of  those crews where <em>‘This door’s locked’</em> and <em>‘That’s where we keep sections of  our…whatever’</em>, I don’t want to be on that ship. <br />
  <strong>Joshua:</strong> The  only thing we keep locked on this ship is the weapons locker.</p>
<p>Arden sticks his head in.</p>
<p><strong>Arden:</strong> We  did have some cats in the air conditioning ducts once, but we’ve no skeletons  in our closet.<br />
  <strong>Joshua:</strong> (to  Arden, annoyed) Why am I keeping you around? (to Dyson) Upon occasion the  engineering and bridge are locked but that is not an all-the-time  situation.  In short, you’re welcome to  wander around.<br />
  <strong>Dyson:</strong> If I  get restless, I don’t want to be nuisance to your crew.  But if that’s going to be an issue, talk to  your Captain? Talk to your engineer? <br />
  <strong>Joshua:</strong> It’s  not going to be an issue. You’re not going to be a nuisance to them. I can  pretty much tell. I know people pretty well. You’re not going to be a nuisance  to them.  I’m, actually to be honest, if  you’re an engineer I’m more concerned about some of my crew being a nuisance to  you.<br />
  <strong>Dyson:</strong> I  don’t mind to talk.<br />
  <strong>Joshua:</strong> If  you have any problems, that’s my job. So make sure if you have anything that  you need, I want you to come to me.<br />
  <strong>Dyson:</strong> Sure.<br />
  <strong>Arden:</strong> What’s your job? To cause problems?<br />
  <strong>Joshua:</strong> (shut up Arden!) It’s to solve problems.</p>
<p>Arden steps inside.</p>
<p><strong>Arden:</strong> Anyhow, if you’re going to be a passenger on our ship I’ll want to schedule a  med exam for you.<br />
  <strong>Dyson:</strong> Probably a good idea.<br />
  <strong>Arden:</strong> Before we leave, so I can lay in any medical supplies I might need.<br />
  <strong>Dyson:</strong> Of  course. <br />
  <strong>Joshua:</strong> I’ll  let the two of you get to that then.<br />
  <strong>Dyson:</strong> All  right.</p>
<p>Joshua ducks out to get the  man’s bags.</p>
<p>Meanwhile back on the bridge,  Nika quits her chair and sticks her head below the deck plates into avionics  for a word with Rina.</p>
<p><strong>Nika:</strong> (jerks  thumb aft) Oh, this oughta be entertaining.<br />
  <strong>Kiera:</strong> (well, duh!) Why?<br />
  <strong>Rina:</strong> (agreeing) I heard that, Cap’n.</p>
<p>No joke.</p>
<p>In med bay Arden is surprised  to find that the man in front of him is in remarkably good shape for someone  his apparent age.  Arden sees the signs  of rejuv treatments. Dyson tells him about his Williamson’s Disease and Arden  assures him he’s familiar with it.  He  ran into it with the terraformers on Perdido Station. They talk as Arden  examines Dyson.</p>
<p><strong>Dyson:</strong> It  doesn’t hit me very often but every now and then those nitrogen bubbles pop  into my brain and I get a little loopy.<br />
  <strong>Arden:</strong> I’ve  dealt with people before with this syndrome.<br />
  <strong>Dyson:</strong> Well,  I’m past obviously the initial stage.  I  haven’t been in that situation for a while.   But it’s permanent and it’s potentially life-threatening and the doctors  back in Liann Jiun say it’s not operable. Getting the nitrogen out of the  brain’s blood vessels is apparently beyond the technology of the Verse right  now.  And I’ve seen the best in the  Alliance.<br />
  <strong>Arden:</strong> You  say you go a little loopy. What do you mean by that? Do you wander around and  do things?<br />
  <strong>Dyson:</strong> No.  It’s like nitrogen narcosis. I get a little … like drunk.<br />
  <strong>Arden:</strong> You  wander around and do things? Like try to take control of the ship?<br />
  <strong>Dyson:</strong> I don  ‘t think I’d get to that stage. I’ll probably get dizzy and silly.<br />
  <strong>Arden:</strong> Okay.<br />
  <strong>Dyson:</strong> If it  looks like it’s going to pull me under, I don’t want to be resuscitated.<br />
  <strong>Arden:</strong> You  want a DNR.</p>
<p>DNR = Do Not Resuscitate  order.</p>
<p><strong>Dyson:</strong> Yes.<br />
  <strong>Arden:</strong> I’ll  draw up the forms so you can sign it.<br />
  <strong>Dyson:</strong> All  right.  It’s on my health chip.<br />
  <strong>Arden:</strong> Is  it? Okay.</p>
<p>Arden enters a note into his  data pad.</p>
<p><strong>Arden:</strong> What  kind of terraformer were you?  What was  your specialty in terraforming?<br />
  <strong>Dyson:</strong>  What is there that I haven’t done? I’ve  driven trains, I’ve done shuttle runs. I was mining, I was doing beam control,  gravity control.  Gravitics.  Weather operations.  Then the War came and they put me in a combat  engineering squad.  I stood my time  there. Six years. And then when I got out, they decided younger people were  better suited to the work I was doing, pushed me up into management and I’ve  been there ever since. It pays good, but I miss getting my hands dirty.<br />
  <strong>Arden:</strong> Where  do you call home?<br />
  <strong>Dyson:</strong> I’ve  been living in Liann Jiun most recently.</p>
<p>Quite a life story.</p>
<p><strong>Arden:</strong> Well  if there’s anything you need or have a concern about, consider my door open. If  there’s anything I can do? <br />
  <strong>Dyson:</strong> I  don’t think I should be a problem.<br />
  <strong>Arden:</strong> And  when you leave you can take your medical records with you.<br />
  <strong>Dyson:</strong> Oh,  very good.  Ah, I forget that out here on  the Rim people are concerned about these sort of things. Live in the Core long  enough you just assume everybody’s had everything.<br />
  <strong>Arden:</strong> (grinning) That’s why I did my residency in the Core.<br />
  <strong>Dyson:</strong> Ah, I  thought I detected a bit of that accent.</p>
<p>Outside, Rina drops her tool  for the second time in the past hour.</p>
<p><strong>Rina:</strong> <em>Yebani v’rot!</em>  (asks Kira) Would you go down and –no better  yet, I’ll get it.<br />
  <strong>Kiera:</strong> No,  that’s all right. I’ll go fetch it.<br />
  <strong>Rina:</strong> Thanks.</p>
<p>When Kiera retrieves it 20  feet below, Rina calls down to her.</p>
<p><strong>Rina:</strong> Toss  it up to me.<br />
  <strong>Kiera:</strong> Oh  yeah and watch me hit somethin’. I don’ think so.<br />
  <strong>Rina:</strong> (grinning) ‘Ow, my eye!’</p>
<p>Laughter all around.  Kiera comes back up and hands it through the  hatch.  </p>
<p><strong>Rina:</strong> (disappointed)  Aw.  It got nicked.  Oh well, I’ll grind it down.</p>
<br>
<br>

Jump to:<br>
[[Episode 403: Catalysts and Constraints - Part Two | '''Part 2''']]<br>
[[Episode 403: Catalysts and Constraints - Part Three | '''Part 3''']]<br>
[[Episode 403: Catalysts and Constraints - Part Four | '''Part 4''']]<br>


Go back to: [[Episode 402: Shepherd's Hope | '''Shepherd's Hope''']] | Go forward to: '''''[[Episode 404: Crucible]]'''''<br>

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