Editing Episode 407: Brisbane Ghosts

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'''1600hrs, local time'''<br><br><br>
 
'''1600hrs, local time'''<br><br><br>
  
We leave the L2 and head back to Highgate.  We arrive at Lorngaard late in the day to pick up our 2nd class passengers and cargo.  Our passengers are an old woman by name of Gertie Adler and her four grown sons, Earl, Sam, Tom, and Wes.  All are miner prospectors and the salt of the earth.  Gertie is an old woman who needs help up the stairs and she looks to angle for one of the first class suites, but Joshua politely informs her it would be an upgrade she’d have to pay for.  She’s not too pleased with the second class accommodations, but at least they’re on the same deck as the first class and there are no stairs to negotiate.  Well, she says, as long as someone is able to help her off and on the second class bunks, she’ll probably be all right.<br><br>
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We leave the L2 and head back to Highgate.  We arrive at Lorngaard late in the day to pick up our 2nd class passengers and cargo.  Our passengers are an old woman by name of Gertie Adler and her four grown sons, Earl, Sam, Tom, and Wes.  All are miner prospectors and the ssalt of the earth.  Gertie is an old woman who needs help up the stairs and she looks to angle for one of the first class suites, but Joshua politely informs her it would be an upgrade she’d have to pay for.  She’s not too pleased with the second class accommodations, but at least they’re on the same deck as the first class and there are no stairs to negotiate.  Well, she says, as long as someone is able to help her off and on the second class bunks, she’ll probably be all right.<br><br>
  
 
Oliver Dyson is travelling with us as well and takes up his first class suite and we gratefully take up his first class fee.<br><br>
 
Oliver Dyson is travelling with us as well and takes up his first class suite and we gratefully take up his first class fee.<br><br>
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We make good time to Meridian and kiss dirt at Meridian Spaceport, Meridian City—home to half a million people.  Ah, yes.  Meridian.  Home of many happy memories: rescuing doctors, getting kidnapped, getting shot.  Good times.  And then we get over our reminiscing and get back to work.  We have cargo and passengers to take care of.<br><br>
 
We make good time to Meridian and kiss dirt at Meridian Spaceport, Meridian City—home to half a million people.  Ah, yes.  Meridian.  Home of many happy memories: rescuing doctors, getting kidnapped, getting shot.  Good times.  And then we get over our reminiscing and get back to work.  We have cargo and passengers to take care of.<br><br>
  
As we settle on the tarmac, Kiera arranges to make the drug drop with Byshek’s client.  Rina declines to come along, remarking she’d likely leave a trail of bodies behind her. Joshua declines for other reasons.  Nika agrees to go with Kiera, just in case Kiera needs moral support… and an extra gun in her defense.  The gentlemen they go to meet are heavily armed and a bit disgruntled at our late arrival. However, they lighten up in tone when we show them we’re sweetening the deal with the extra batch of Flomoxipan we’d made aboard ''DePollo''. It’s a goodwill gesture on our part and one they weren’t expecting, though they seemed entirely prepared to extract compensation from us if necessary.  Luckily for us, they liked the extra drugs enough that it’s not necessary.<br><br>   
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As we settle on the tarmac, Kiera arranges to make the drug drop with Byshek’s client.  Rina declines to come along, remarking she’d likely leave a trail of bodies behind her. Joshua declines for other reasons.  Nika agrees to go with Kiera, just in case Kiera needs moral support… and an extra gun in her defense.  The gentlemen they go to meet are heavily armed and a bit disgruntled at our late arrival. However, they lighten up in tone when we show them we’re sweetening the deal with the extra batch of Flomoxipan we’d made aboard DePollo. It’s a goodwill gesture on our part and one they weren’t expecting, though they seemed entirely prepared to extract compensation from us if necessary.  Luckily for us, they liked the extra drugs enough that it’s not necessary.<br><br>   
  
 
They load up the drugs in their truck and tell us they’ll let Byshek know we came through with the goods.  Kiera halts their departure with a question: <br><br>
 
They load up the drugs in their truck and tell us they’ll let Byshek know we came through with the goods.  Kiera halts their departure with a question: <br><br>
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Meanwhile, our passengers disembark and take up their new life as lithium miners.  The goats are claimed by their recipients and it takes Rina and Arden working with Joshua and the new owners to herd the goats to their proper places.  Rina opines she’ll miss Bob—the goat undeniably had character.  Joshua warns her to check the atmo vents.  Nobody wants a repeat of what happened to Schrodinger. <br><br>
 
Meanwhile, our passengers disembark and take up their new life as lithium miners.  The goats are claimed by their recipients and it takes Rina and Arden working with Joshua and the new owners to herd the goats to their proper places.  Rina opines she’ll miss Bob—the goat undeniably had character.  Joshua warns her to check the atmo vents.  Nobody wants a repeat of what happened to Schrodinger. <br><br>
  
Once the passengers and the goats are taken care of and we get paid, Joshua enlists Rina to help him sell the salvage from ''DePollo''.  We’re aware that we have to raise the 25% value of the dropship that we owe Byshek as part of the salvage deal so we’re going to have to scare up either more credits or more cargo.<br><br>
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Once the passengers and the goats are taken care of and we get paid, Joshua enlists Rina to help him sell the salvage from DePollo.  We’re aware that we have to raise the 25% value of the dropship that we owe Byshek as part of the salvage deal so we’re going to have to scare up either more credits or more cargo.<br><br>
  
Meridian City is a large city with relatively everything it needs.  The sale of the medical supplies won’t net us as much here than if we’d sold it in the outlying areas like … oh, Brisbane, for instance.  We know Dr. Fong is setting up a hospital there and the supplies we have might be very welcome for his purposes, to say nothing of being lucrative for ours.<br><br>
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Meridian City is a large city with relatively everything it needs.  The sale of the medical supplies won’t net us as much here than if we’d sold it in the outlying areas like … oh, Brisbane, for instance.  We know Dr. Fong is setting up a hospital there and the supplies we have might be very welcome for his purposes, to say nothing of being lucrative for ours.<br>v
  
 
It quickly becomes obvious that we’re not likely to get a fair price for the non-medical salvage here, either.  We could either sell it off as a job-lot to a ship or salvage yard or we could throw open our salvage container and hold a garage-sale.  Either method isn’t going to get us much in the way of payment.  We could keep the salvage for now, augment it with cargo and/or passengers, and carry everything to another place where we might fetch a better price.  Brisbane is looking better and better.<br><br>
 
It quickly becomes obvious that we’re not likely to get a fair price for the non-medical salvage here, either.  We could either sell it off as a job-lot to a ship or salvage yard or we could throw open our salvage container and hold a garage-sale.  Either method isn’t going to get us much in the way of payment.  We could keep the salvage for now, augment it with cargo and/or passengers, and carry everything to another place where we might fetch a better price.  Brisbane is looking better and better.<br><br>
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Joshua flinches and instinctively takes evasive action. Combined with the treacherous weather outside, this causes us to pitch and yaw alarmingly.  Joshua realizes his mistake and starts correcting it.  Nika grabs the copilot’s yoke and tries to gain control. Rina’s aft in the engine room and the abrupt change in flight path and strain on the engines causes her to bark over the comms.<br><br>   
 
Joshua flinches and instinctively takes evasive action. Combined with the treacherous weather outside, this causes us to pitch and yaw alarmingly.  Joshua realizes his mistake and starts correcting it.  Nika grabs the copilot’s yoke and tries to gain control. Rina’s aft in the engine room and the abrupt change in flight path and strain on the engines causes her to bark over the comms.<br><br>   
  
Rina: ''Vernitieh vas!'' Nika, what are you doing?!<br>
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Rina: Vernitieh vas!  Nika, what are you doing?!<br>
 
Joshua: (to Nika) I’m not out of control.<br><br>  
 
Joshua: (to Nika) I’m not out of control.<br><br>  
  
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Rina: Are we crashing again?<br>
 
Rina: Are we crashing again?<br>
Joshua: (on all-ship) This is the pilot speaking.  ''We are okay''.<br>
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Joshua: (on all-ship) This is the pilot speaking.  We are okay.<br>
Kiera: (ditto) ''Define okay''.<br>
+
Kiera: (ditto) Define okay.<br>
Joshua: ''Not dead''.<br>
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Joshua: Not dead.<br>
 
Kiera: That’s good enough.<br><br>
 
Kiera: That’s good enough.<br><br>
  
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Joshua: That worked. I didn’t think it was going to work.<br>
 
Joshua: That worked. I didn’t think it was going to work.<br>
Nika: (warmly) ''Nicely done''.<br>
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Nika: (warmly) Nicely done.<br>
 
Joshua: Thank you.<br>
 
Joshua: Thank you.<br>
 
Nika: (slumping) Oh dear God …<br><br>
 
Nika: (slumping) Oh dear God …<br><br>
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Joshua: I’m really sorry.<br>
 
Joshua: I’m really sorry.<br>
Nika: Don’t tell me you’re sorry. ''I’m'' not the repair person.<br><br>
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Nika: Don’t tell me you’re sorry. I’m not the repair person.<br><br>
  
 
Hitting the button for the engine room comm, they can hear Rina turning the air blue aft.  They cut the channel and silence blesses the bridge.<br><br>
 
Hitting the button for the engine room comm, they can hear Rina turning the air blue aft.  They cut the channel and silence blesses the bridge.<br><br>
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Nothing attacks us from above.  We wait and still nothing happens.  We’re going to be okay.  We breathe a little better.  Outside, the lights of Brisbane twinkle through the darkening rain.  It’s a town of 20,000 and spread-out.  The lights are scattered from one end of our view to the other.  <br><br>
 
Nothing attacks us from above.  We wait and still nothing happens.  We’re going to be okay.  We breathe a little better.  Outside, the lights of Brisbane twinkle through the darkening rain.  It’s a town of 20,000 and spread-out.  The lights are scattered from one end of our view to the other.  <br><br>
  
  Aft, Kiera exits the entry hatch she’d braced herself in and steps foot inside her container again.  She jumps up and down, testing the ''Gift’''s grip on it.  Nothing untoward happens.  Satisfied, Kiera leaves her container for the bridge to see what’s going on.<br><br>
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  Aft, Kiera exits the entry hatch she’d braced herself in and steps foot inside her container again.  She jumps up and down, testing the Gift’s grip on it.  Nothing untoward happens.  Satisfied, Kiera leaves her container for the bridge to see what’s going on.<br><br>
  
 
Arden pries his fingers from the vinyl of the jumpseat in medbay, unbuckles his restraints and goes to check everyone for injuries.  He checks the bridge first.  Joshua looks around as the doctor steps in with Kiera right behind him.<br><br>
 
Arden pries his fingers from the vinyl of the jumpseat in medbay, unbuckles his restraints and goes to check everyone for injuries.  He checks the bridge first.  Joshua looks around as the doctor steps in with Kiera right behind him.<br><br>
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Kiera: Yeah, we’re sorry we took off a layer of asphalt off the place we landed.<br>
 
Kiera: Yeah, we’re sorry we took off a layer of asphalt off the place we landed.<br>
Joshua: (turning) It was ''smoother'' than that!<br>
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Joshua: (turning) It was smoother than that!<br>
 
Arden: That’s because we landed in the mud.<br><br>
 
Arden: That’s because we landed in the mud.<br><br>
  
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Nika: Okay. I’ll meet him at the hatch.<br><br>
 
Nika: Okay. I’ll meet him at the hatch.<br><br>
  
And sure enough, we see a jeep pull up under us and a man comes out in a duster and hat against the rain outside.  We lower the airlock stairs, he walks up them and steps inside the ''Gift'' where Nika’s waiting for him.  He  removes his hat and shakes the wet from it and looks around.<br><br>   
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And sure enough, we see a jeep pull up under us and a man comes out in a duster and hat against the rain outside.  We lower the airlock stairs, he walks up them and steps inside the Gift where Nika’s waiting for him.  He  removes his hat and shakes the wet from it and looks around.<br><br>   
  
 
Nika: Sheriff.<br>
 
Nika: Sheriff.<br>

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