Editing Those Who Stare In The Black, Game 20: The Start of Something New

<br>
''Game Date: 26 Jan 2014''<br>
''Present: Tabby, Chris, Sara, Paul, and Maer''<br><br><br><br>


'''Saturday, 11 Nov 2519'''<br>
'''Mid-Bulk Transport, ''Space Otter'''''<br>
'''Spaceport, Hera'''<br>
'''Georgia (Huang Long) system'''<br>
'''1200hrs, local time'''<br><br>

So we go through the hassle of getting inspected before being allowed to land. Verity pretty much despises the entire process, as she HATES having Feds on her baby. We keep our opinions behind our teeth, smille, and let the Feds do their job. <br><br>
 
We pass inspection.<br><br>
 
Verity lands us right quick, smooth as you please. As the dust settles, we're informed that we have stevedores waiting on the pad to offload our cargo and look! our on-going cargo is right there on the pad alongside, waiting for loading.<br><br>
 
How convenient. Could things be going right for us, for a change? <br><br>

Stone checks the Cortex for any important news he should be aware of on the ground or at our next destination. Nope. Nothing new. Might be things are going smooth. The lack of trouble on the ground and nothing going hot where we'll be flying later is a good sign.<br><br> 

We get word that it will take the better part of  the day to swap cargo in our cargo bay. Some of our oncoming cargo is labeled ''Fragile'' and has warning icons: ''No Open Flame, Geiger Counter, Confirm Seals, Contents Reactive''. There's a little bit of everything, actually. <br><br>

The Port assigns us a departure window. It's three days hence. <br><br>

'''Oksana:''' I don't know, Captain. That's just enough time for us to get into trouble.<br>
'''Stone:''' (soft laugh) I was just thinking that.<br><br>

We have some time to kill. <br><br>

Xiu spends it working on a targeting array for the Gat. She and Verity will have to integrate the Gat's controls with the ship's systems but oh, Xiu's got plans for this baby. Verity helps her with it. Even so, it will take about a month, a month and a half before the work is complete enough to test it.<br><br>

Stone works out the cargo space on reloading. Once everything's aboard, we'll only have about 30T of space left. Maybe he can find a way to fill that empty. <br><br>

Oksana takes the mule to a nearby clinic to offer her help as a doctor. Xiu tells her that the tool kit is under the front seat.<br><br>

While she's gone, Stone takes care of his network of contacts, maintaining relationships and ties, looking for jobs. He runs into attitude. People who never questioned his loyalties and neutrality are now asking questions about them. Some aren't questioning. Some are outright scoffing. Either there's a smear campaign aimed at Stone or some of his contacts don't like the fact he's working for Scrooge. Why?<br><br>

There is no telling at the moment. There isn't time to dig to the bottom of the matter, not when we have cargo space we need to fill. <br><br>

Stone concentrates working on his Alliance contacts instead, going through his covert channels. He finds a couple of Alliance agents looking for passage on the downlow. One is an agent and one is a representative. Stone lets them know that we have secure cabins should they choose to fly with us.<br><br>

They respond back that they will be taking 10 Tons with them. They will need secure storage for that cargo, some way to keep it from prying eyes. Stone assures them we have 10 Ton storage lockers that are secure enough for their needs.<br><br>


'''Tuesday, 14 Nov 2519'''<br>
It's Departure Day.<br><br> 

Oksana and Stone lower the lift and wait to greet our passengers. Despite being Alliance, they've booked Standard Passage. <br><br>

Mr. Smith is 5'-8", bald, thin, Caucasian. He wears a close-fitting jacket that is a cross between a cassock and a trench coat, and carries aboard an old-fashioned doctor's bag. Smith declines special lock up for his case.<br><br>

Mr. Murphy is 6'-3", is likewise Caucasion but unlike his fellow passenger, he's built like a tank and covered in muscle, with a full head of ginger/copper hair and muttonchops. He's dressed in the streamlined Core fashions as his partner, but has opted for something more suitable for business wear. He carries a professional briefcase.<br><br> 

Stone and Oksana greet them and invite them aboard. Oksana introduces herself as the ships steward and tells them that she will be happy to assist them during their flight. Please step this way. She will show them to their quarters. Smith is assigned Starboard 1, and Murphy is assigned Starboard 2. Starboard 3 is Oksana's quarters and Medbay takes up what would have been Starboard 4.  She points out the the galley and the lounge on the way and tells them of the dining schedule and amenities offered by both.<br><br> 

She shows them to their quarters and once she's made sure they have everything they need, she leaves them to unpack and settle in.<br><br>

Murphy, imposing though he is, is the corporate representative while Smith is the agent. Which makes sense, actually. Of the two, all eyes would immediately track Murphy thanks to his intimidating size. It would make it easier for Smith to slip away unnoticed, something a covert agent would need.<br><br> 

So says Oksana to Stone, once she's out of earshot of the passengers. She and Stone both agree to keep an eye on things for the duration of the trip.<br><br>

Meanwhile, Xiu and Verity are going through their preflight checks. Xiu finds a tweak to make our fuel consumption more efficient. Verity finds everything running the way she likes it.<br><br> 

Stone stays in the cargo bay, supervising the loading the passenger's cargo. Smith goes down and insists on helping. Stone doesn't argue but accepts the assistance.<br><br>

We take off. Damn, but Verity's hand is so sure on the yoke we can't even tell we're moving. Xiu has the engines spinning like a top and their song barely changes pitch as we burn atmo out of there. We file our flight plan and cargo manifest with the Feds on the ground and with the Alliance cruiser in orbit. Thanks to Xiu's tweaks and Verity's flying, we're sipping fuel and a journey that would normally take 2.5 weeks will only take 2.<br><br>

Goodbye Hera. Hello, Harvest. ETA 28 Nov 2519<br><br>

'''Day 1:'''<br>
The passengers elect to stay in their cabins for the first day. Oksana runs their meals to them and makes sure they're comfortable.<br><br>

'''Day 2:'''<br>
Smith and Murphy join us in the crew meals from the afternoon forward. Occasionally they ask to be escorted to the cargo bay to check on their cargo. Usually it's Smith doing the asking and the checking.<br><br>

Meanwhile, Xiu becomes inordinately interested in learning medicine and Oksana is happy to teach her. It's a big improvement over Xiu's initial loathing of the medbay when they first met. Back then, it was hard to get the woman to step foot inside at all. Now, Oksana is busy rigging a dummy for CPR and first aid. <br><br>

First aid isn't the only skill Xiu works on during the voyage. She teaches herself the art of tying cherry stems into knots with her tongue. She goes through nearly an entire two quart jar of maraschinos before she gets the hang of it. Oksana sighs over the nearly empty jar but consoles herself with the fact that she still has two quarts of juice. It's bound to come in handy in her cooking.<br><br>

Xiu moves from the med bay to the maraschinos to her other projects in turn, working on her mechanical otter and sweeping the ship for bugs. The first amuses the passengers when she demonstrates it at dinner. The second she wisely keeps under wraps, lest the passengers find out. <br><br>

They're Feds, after all.<br><br>

Verity keeps to herself as much as possible on the bridge. Were it not for the fact that a ladder goes directly from the bridge to her quarters, she'd have rigged up a hammock to sleep near the controls. As it is, Oksana regularly runs meals up to the pilot and fills her in on the goings-on she's missed while holed up on the bridge. Neither women discuss the possibility of Verity mixing with the passengers. They both know she hates the Feds.<br><br>

The hours and days and the stars fly by. Life settles into a routine. Oksana and Stone are the public face of the ship while tending the passengers. Xiu bounces from one project to another when she's not maintaining or working in the engine room. Verity plays hermit.<br><br>

'''Day 11:'''<br> 
Smith and Murphy walk in for dinner and Smith smells of solder. He's wearing blue gloves and he's stripping them off as he walks in.<br><br>

Too late. Xiu sees. She freaks. <br><br> 

'''Stone:''' (to Xiu) Relax. Relax, mei mei. Relax ….<br><br>

Stone takes her in hand in a flash. Oksana is a second behind him. Painfully aware of our Fed passengers, Oksana leans in and whispers the trigger phrase to put her asleep, while she fakes slapping a trank patch on the woman. Xiu goes limp. <br><br>

'''Oksana:''' Captain, if you will take her to her room, I will see she's made comfortable. (to the passengers) Please excuse me. <br><br>

Stone picks her up. Oksana follows him out as he carries Xiu to her quarters. Murphy ignores the ruckus and sits down to his dinner. Smith watches everything and sits down after Oksana and Stone leave with Xiu.<br><br>

Stone puts Xiu to bed and he and Oksana strap her lightly in—not tight enough that she can't leave if she needs to, but enough to keep her in bed if she starts to toss. <br><br>

'''Oksana:''' Captain. I think is should stay here. ''With'' my gun. Everything is ready in galley. All you need do is serve.<br><br>

Stone nods and adjusts the controls on the media console in Xiu's room. Click, clack, click, and a picture of the galley flickers onto the screen. It changes to a view of the lounge, then changes back.<br><br> 

'''Stone:''' You've got a live feed on the galley and the lounge.<br>
'''Oksana:''' Thank you. Everything's ready for you. Just serve.<br>
'''Stone:''' I'll get right on it.<br><br>

Stone serves dinner. Because we have passengers that need feeding … to say nothing of deflecting from Xiu. Stone makes the usual sort of dinner conversation with them. Verity makes a rare appearance to dinner and he verifies with Verity that we've still three day's flying before we reach Harvest. Talk turns to what Smith was doing in his quarters. <br><br>

'''Smith:''' I'm working on an electronic project.<br>
'''Stone:''' Soldering small electronics is fine, as long as it's not damaging anything in the cabin or on the ship.<br>

Oksana is able to listen on the entire conversation. Paranoia is practically a Russian genetic trait, being an engrained facet of their cultural history, and Oksana naturally follows suit. Electronics project? Soldering? In the cabin?  Whatever for? Why was he doing it on the downlow? Was Smith trying to access and override our ship's systems? <br><br>

Verity is thinking the very same thing.<br><br>

'''Verity:''' So what were you working on today?<br>
'''Smith:''' Work on a couple of circuit boards for a project we've stored in the hold.<br>
'''Verity:''' Hmm. (cuts a glance at Stone)<br>
'''Smith:''' So what happened to your engineer?<br>
'''Verity:''' She's not having a good day. <br><br>

Oksana's glad she's not at the table but with Xiu in her cabin … and has her gun. What if the Feds are here for Xiu? She quickly texts Stone a message on his private wrist comm. Stone glances at it and cribs his response from it. Thanks, Doctor.<br><br>

'''Stone:''' She has seizures sometimes and sometimes we have to trank her.<br>
'''Smith:''' Is it safe for her to be your engineer?<br>
'''Verity:''' It hasn't bothered her work or her upkeep of the ship. It's just a matter of overworking her mind.<br>
'''Smith:''' Oh, all right. Pass the seasonings please?<br><br>

We pass the salt, pepper, and whatnot in their little caddy. Smith immediately gives it to Murphy, who hasn't spoken a single word during the entire time. Odd. The man hasn't spoken that we can recall, not for the entire trip so far, and yet he is obviously keenly observing everything. <br><br>

It's kinda creepy, actually. <br><br>

Watching the feed on Xiu's console, Oksana wonders if Murphy has an eidetic memory. It would explain why the man doesn’t talk, as it would distract him from memorizing everything he sees, hears, smells, touches, and tastes. As such, he could be a walking video camera, recording everything. It would be a useful thing for a covert agent to have.<br><br>

As for passing the seasonings unasked to Murphy? Perhaps Smith is a Reader and read Murphy's intent without needing speech?<br><br>

Again, paranoid much?<br><br>

Dinner continues. Smith and Murphy don't linger after they've finished eating but go back to their cabins. Once they leave, Stone scans for bugs. Verity is right there with him. Everything seems fine. Verity looks up from the results in Stone's cabin, the screens on his security suite lighting her face with an eerie glow.<br><br>

'''Verity:''' I don't like this, Captain. Electronics project? Soldering? What the hell are they doing on our ship? '''To''' our ship?<br>
'''Stone:''' It's okay. The cabin circuitry does not connect to the command pathways.<br>
'''Verity:''' ''Yet''.<br>
'''Stone:''' At all. It's designed that way. Crew quarters it does, but not theirs.<br>
'''Verity:''' I'm still uncomfortable. With our luck? I don't like this.<br>
'''Stone:''' It sometimes happens that people will be working on their trips. This could be perfectly innocent.<br>
'''Verity''': (pointedly) Soldering in their rooms.<br>
'''Stone:''' This could be perfectly innocent.<br>
'''Verity:''' It's the Alliance. There is no way it could be innocent.<br><br> 

She goes back to the bridge, her expression dark, and scans everything she's got up there.<br><br>

Stone fixes up a plate of dinner for Xiu and Oksana and delivers it to Xiu's quarters. Xiu wakes after two hours to find Oksana standing guard. Oksana checks her vitals and apologizes.<br><br>

'''Oksana:''' (softly) I'm sorry I had to put you under.<br>
'''Xiu:''' No, it made sense.<br>
'''Oksana:''' Still, I don't like doing it.<br>
'''Xiu:''' I don't like the fact he smelled like solder. Too many accidents happen with too many idiots working with a solder gun. It's a good way to end up melting things to the tabletop.<br>
'''Oksana:''' Or worse.<br><br>

Xiu remembers the blue gloves too—as they were what made her wig out—but she didn't like the solder smell for what it implied: the idea of an amateur working with materials in an area that is not prepped for such activity makes her cringe. It just offends her sense of the rightness of things. <br><br>

'''Xiu:''' We could move one of my portable carts into the lounge and have him work on it there.<br>
'''Stone:''' I believe he intends to work on it in his cabin for security reasons.<br>
'''Xiu:''' Even if he works on it in his room, it would be better than having him accidentally solder something to the table. Because that's not stainless steel.<br><br>

Stone leaves the ladies to their dinner and fetches one of Xiu's carts from the engine room, and wheels it over to Smith's quarters. It has tools, an emergency injury kit, a fire extinguisher, and whatever else Xiu generally feels better having her carts stocked with.<br><br>

Knock-knock. <br><br>

'''Stone:''' Our engineer has qualms about you doing soldering on the furniture, so she wanted make sure you had this cart so you'd have a proper work surface.<br>
'''Smith:''' Thank you.<br><br>

Smith steps aside and Stone wheels the cart in. Murphy is sitting off to one side and on the desk, there is a heat resistant flexible metal mat with some circuit boards and soldering iron, some parts. It looks like they've taken the proper precautions with the furnishings. Smith's bag lies open to one side on the desk. Stone can't see inside it from his current position but he makes no effort to pry. He's just here to drop off the cart and make a covert visual check of the control panels in the room—none appear to be tampered with. <br><br>

'''Stone:''' If you need anything else, let us know. We have an excellent machine shop.<br>
'''Smith:''' That we will. Thank you.<br><br>

Stone bids him welcome and makes a graceful exit.<br><br>

'''Day 11, a little later:'''<br>
Bedtime … for most. Xiu works on the Gat. She does great work and updates Verity on her progress via encrypted personal comms—not via the open in-ship channels.<br><br>

'''Day 12:'''<br>
Breakfast … Oksana makes Xiu's favorite breakfast and they talk tea, medicine, and equipment. They agree that only the Chinese and the Russians can do tea right. Caravan tea, blooming tea, the epic fail of tea balls versus allowing the tea to unfurl loose in the pot.<br><br> 

'''Oksana:''' And we've only two days before landfall.<br>
'''Xiu:''' Yay! I get to visit an orphanage.<br>
'''Oksana:''' (smiling) It would be nice to have an assistant. <br>
'''Xiu:''' It would be nice to get off the ship.<br>
'''Stone:''' (blinks at Xiu) All right, who are you and what have you done to our engineer? <br>
'''Xiu:''' Shut up.<br>
'''Stone:''' And it'll be nice if you get some sunlight—<br>
'''Xiu:''' Hey-hey-hey, let's not get crazy.<br>
'''Stone:''' (laughs)<br>
'''Xiu:''' I'll get in the mule. I'll ride in the mule. I'll get out of the mule. I'll go into the building. I'll come out of the building, I'll get in the mule, and we'll drive back.<br>
'''Stone:''' Maybe you can stop off for a nice dinner or lunch somewhere.<br>
'''Xiu:''' I'll pack my spoon and chopsticks.<br>
'''Oksana:''' (gently teasing) Because she's picky about "Where did this come from? Is this dirty? Is this clean? Has it been poisoned?"<br>
'''Xiu:''' Mostly "Has it been poisoned?" <br>
'''Oksana:''' Yes. <br>
'''Xiu:''' ''Everyone'' eats ''dirt''. It's the whole arsenic thing that worries me.<br>
'''Oksana:''' Yes. (laughs, looks at Stone) No, I think it's good for her.<br><br>

It's agreed. Xiu will go with Oksana on her next round dirtside. It's a major step out of Xiu's comfort zone, but the engineer wants to do it. <br><br>

Xiu lingers over breakfast until Smith and Murphy are through with their breakfast and back in their quarters before going to back to work on the Gat. The less they know of its existence, the better. <br><br>

Verity takes her breakfast up on the bridge. The less she sees of the Feds, the better.<br><br>

Stone checks his contacts, maintaining his relations, and always, always, always looking sharp for the lucrative jobs. <br><br>


'''Day 13:'''<br>
At 1400 hrs, ship's time, Stone and Oksana are paged by Smith. They show up at Smith's door and Smith lets them in. Door closed, Smith picks up a tablet and gets right to it.<br><br>

'''Smith:''' Judging by what you have said in the past, we should be nearing these coordinates here … (shows him coords on his tablet) … in the next few hours. Correct?<br>
'''Stone:''' Let me check with our navigator.<br>
'''Smith:''' Navigator? (gestures up at the bridge)<br>
'''Stone:''' She's our navigator and our pilot.<br><br>

Stone sends the coordinates to the bridge via his comm. Verity checks them against our course.<br><br>

'''Stone:''' (via comm) Are these coordinates on our route?<br>
'''Verity:''' Yes.<br>
'''Stone:''' And we'll be there in a couple of hours?<br>
'''Verity:''' About two and a half.<br>
'''Stone:''' Thank you. (to Smith) It'll be about two and a half hours before we reach those coordinates.<br>
'''Smith:''' Will we be able to stop to rendezvous with our contact there?<br>
'''Stone:''' Yes. That should not be a problem.<br>
'''Smith:''' Thank you.<br>
'''Oksana:''' Is there anything you need in the meantime?<br>
'''Smith:''' (thinks … ) No. Thank you, though.<br>
'''Oksana:''' You're welcome. <br><br>

Well, then. Meeting over, Stone and Oksana make their exit. The door closes behind them. Oksana walks until she's sure they're out of range before giving her captain a look: ''What the hell?''<br><br>

'''Stone:''' Even the Alliance will run their shady deals sometimes. So … this comes under the same category we would do for any other passenger.<br>
'''Oksana:''' And how well did it work the last time we did it?<br>
'''Stone:''' We haven't actually done that. (a beat) Yet. <br>
'''Oksana:''' Well, Marley came close.<br>
'''Stone:''' But this is definitely a prepare-for-the-worst situation.<br>
'''Oksana:''' I was afraid you'd say that. (sighs) Okay.<br><br>

It's not long before we see a large contact on our forward sensors. Stone tells rest of the crew the plan. We will rendezvous with the ship to offload our passengers and their cargo. <br><br>

'''Xiu:''' Is that what they said? Did they say they wanted to unload?<br>
'''Stone:''' That's my assumption. We will be ready, either way.<br>
'''Verity:''' What does their contract say? We're taking them where?<br>
'''Stone:''' Contract says we're taking them to Osiris.<br>
'''Verity:''' But we're not.<br>
'''Stone:''' We might not be. They just want to rendezvous with this other ship.<br><br>

We review the contract. It says that the passengers would fly with us on our route to Osiris.<br><br> 

'''Oksana:''' There is nothing in that language that says they will be there to step off onto the planet we are supposed to be on when we get there.<br>
'''Stone:''' Yes. It's shady but it's not illegal and it's not outside of purview.<br>
'''Verity:''' I just don't want to get to Osiris and then have someone ask me about where these people are.<br>
'''Stone:''' We rendezvoused with another ship per their instructions and then … (shrugs)<br>
'''Xiu:''' They're big boys. They can take care of themselves.<br>
'''Verity:''' They're ''Alliance''. They can screw us over.<br>
'''Stone:''' They can screw us over without leaving the ship.<br>
'''Verity:''' I know. <br><br>

Our cargo and passenger manifest were duly filed with the proper authorities before lift-off. The Alliance already knows what's on them. If we land on Osiris without the passengers and their cargo, there is nothing we can do to prevent the Alliance from arresting us for piracy: we killed the passengers, kicked the bodies out the airlock, and sold off their cargo en route. So runs Verity's and Oksana's thoughts, unvoiced though they are. Stone is attuned to his crew, nevertheless. He's already reset his private Black Box to record everything. At least when the Alliance claps us in irons, we'll have proof they can feel free to refute or cover up. <br><br>

Time passes. We get closer. The sensors resolve the blip. It's a Tohoku class ship. It's the biggest class the Alliance has. Three skyscraper towers rise from her broad platform, all lit up like Christmas. Soon enough we're close enough to read the ship's name blazoned on her hull. The ''IAV [[Those Who Stare In The Black, Game 20: The Start of Something New#HOW TO SPEAK JAPANESE|Shiroi Sakura]]''. <br><br> 

'''Xiu:''' I'm … gonna … golockmyselfinmyroomnowbye.<br>
'''Verity:''' I don't like this. I don't like this one bit.<br>
'''Oksana:''' I am sure it is for a good reason.<br><br>

IAV Shiroi Sakura hails us.<br><br>

'''IAV Shiroi Sakura:''' ''Space Otter'', this is ''IAV Shiroi Sakura''. Please dock at the landing bay, portside, third level.<br>
'''Stone:''' ''IAV Shiroi Sakura'', this is Captain Allyne Stone of ''Space Otter''. We copy. (cuts channel) Let's go.<br><br>

Verity docks us in that behemoth of a ship, nice as you please. Oksana has already made sure there is nothing incriminating in her medical files she needs to sanitize. She goes through the ship, double checking everything's in order. Stone goes down to see to our passengers and find them already packed and ready to be escorted to the cargo bay. <br><br>

'''Smith:''' Captain. (points to their bags) If we can load these onto your lower lift and drop them down that way?<br>
'''Stone:'''Go right ahead. That would be no problem.<br><br>

They ride the lift down and Stone helps them with their cargo. There is a huge crew waiting on the other side of the airlock ready to help with the unloading. Twenty minutes later, they get everything off. Once the transfer is finished, Stone stays Smith with a question.<br>

'''Stone:''' Is there anything in particular you want us to tell the inspectors crew we will run into on Osiris? Or were you never here?<br>
'''Smith:''' You should be all right. The crews will scan everything and they have your manifest. We'll hop off and you should have no problems landing at your next port.<br>
'''Stone:''' Okay. <br><br>

A hand shake. A nod. And it's sayonara Mr. Murphy and Mr. Smith. We receive permission to exit the bay. Verity wastes no time getting us out of the belly of the beast. Stone, Verity, and Oksana watch the Tohoku receding as we pull away. <br><br>

'''Stone:''' Make sure we haven't picked up anything.<br><br>

Verity checks our scanners. Xiu scans the ship with her hand helds. Nothing turns up. We look clean. Of course, Verity isn't entirely convinced. Once we're on the ground, we'll be able to make a more thorough sweep… like the outer hull, thankyouverymuch.<br><br>


'''Monday, 27 Nov 2519'''<br>
'''In orbit over Harvest'''<br>
'''Red Sun (Zhu Que) System'''<br><br>

We're less than a day out from Osiris at this point. <br><br>

'''Traffic Control:''' ''Space Otter'', continue to Berth 48-C. You are cleared to land. No scanning necessary.
'''Stone:''' Thank you. (cuts channel) <br><br>

So … no inspections? Nope. We get waived through. Looks like our Fed passengers put in the good word for us. <br><br>

Shiny.<br><br>

'''Stone:''' Yeah. I figured that was going to happen.<br><br>

We dock. We have some messages waiting for us. One is from the port authorities, stating we would have stevedores arriving in about three hours to unload our cargo. And lo, they show up when promised. <br><br> 

The second is from Scrooge. It has a little starfish icon and very short message: ''Tag alongs?'' <br><br>

Stone's reply: ''Tag alongs. Chat.'' [icon: trident]<br><br>

Stone tries to set up secure communications off ship at a place that specializes in security. There aren't many places like that available and none are found here. He has to make do with what he's got. Stone sends a burst transmission to Scrooge using a secure encryption key he's given to the businessman. In the transmission he tells Scrooge what he knows about our most interesting passengers.<br><br>

When the stevedores arrive to unload the cargo three hours later, we recognize the dock foreman with him. The name tag on his shirt says John Smith. The face on the man says Jacob Marley. Stone motions to him off to the side. Xiu sees him too and scampers off to find rubber bands and paper clips to shoot at him. Apparently she doesn't like him very much. Oksana stays the woman with a soft word.<br><br>

'''Oksana:''' Xiu. (shakes her head)<br>
'''Xiu:''' He deserves it.<br>
'''Oksana:''' There are better ways.<br>
'''Xiu:''' No, ''this'' is the better way. The ''fun'' way is me ''kneecapping'' him. (to self) Or shooting his eye out…<br><br>

Meanwhile, Stone and Marley talk, shaking hands like men doing business.<br><br>

'''Marley:''' Captain. Thank you for getting our shipment here. My men will get everything unloaded. (in undertone) Any problems with the cargo?<br>
'''Stone:''' None that we know of. <br>
'''Xiu:'''(to self) Well, we didn't blow up …<br>	
'''Marley:''' Very well. Good. (in official voice) I'll have my men inspect the cases and haul them off. It will take … a while. Obviously. But we'll get that taken care of. I have some paperwork for you to sign.<br><br>

He produces papers on a clipboard, hands them to Stone. Stone goes through them easily, making sure that any messages Marley might be slipping him cannot be seen by others or by the ship's cameras. He finds a message. <br><br>

It says: ''Meeting on Schedule.''<br>
Stone writes: ''Possible Alliance surveillance added.''<br><br>

Stone signs on the lines as usual and hands the clipboard back. Marley is watching the entire time, gives the message a split-second glance, and beams at Stone.<br><br>

'''Marley:''' Very good. Thank you.<br><br>

Marley walks off to supervise the offloading of the cargo. He is a dock foreman, after all. Two hours or so into the offloading, Marley finds Stone for a word. He has the papers on the clipboard and starts going through the pages as he speaks.<br><br>

'''Marley:''' Just got an update to the manifest. I wanted to let you know that I had the older paperwork. Would you take a look at this to make sure it matches up with what you have?<br>
'''Stone:''' Sure. (takes the clipboard)<br>
'''Marley:''' There's a slight difference from the first one. A couple of things in different order.<br><br>

Marley turns the paperwork to the right page and there's a little sticky flag pointing to the item in question. Pulling it off, he reveals his message: ''What the hell were they carrying?''<br><br>

Stone acts like he's looking over and signing off on it. He writes: ''Ten tons of cargo, cryogenic chamber or homeostasis pod, working on circuit boards in their cabin,  possible cybernetic communication.''<br><br>

Stone hands the clipboard back to Marley with a smile and Marley reads the note as if checking the signature. <br><br>

'''Marley:''' Oh, I see. Hold on…This is not ours. <br><br>

Marley scratches something off the list and writes in its place: ''De Nile Xport Box'' He hands it back to Stone with a shrug.<br><br>

'''Marley:''' Interesting cargo but that one wasn't ours, unfortunately. Would've liked to have seen what was in there. Well, anyways. (claps hands and rubs them) We'll get the rest of the cargo off.<br>
'''Stone:''' I'll check our electronic records. Would you like me to shoot you a copy?<br>
'''Marley:''' Please.<br><br>

It takes four hours but everything gets offloaded. Marley doesn't talk to Stone again during that time. But Stone is busy tidying up our cargo records to show the transactions, loading and off loading of our cargo and so forth. He also investigates our internal security feeds, downloading them off his covert black box to hide the fact that he's accessed the feeds. <br><br>

Later that evening, Stone is notified that our outgoing cargo will arrive tomorrow for loading. Excellent. The less time we're on the ground, the less we'll be paying out in port fees, saving our profit margin. We are in the business of making money, after all.<br><br>


'''Tuesday, 28 Nov 2519'''<br>
Verity spends the day checking the ship for bugs and other unwanted tagalongs the Feds might have infested our ship with. She goes over the ship's computer and related systems with a fine toothed comb. Damned Feds. Who knows what they did to her baby? The ship appears fine, everything appears okay. Verity is not 100% convinced. She may never be convinced.<br><br>

Oksana makes sure everything aboard is ship shape in galley and med bay before taking off to find the nearest clinic she can offer her skills to. She takes Xiu with her as an assistant, turning the trip into an instructive opportunity for the young woman. Xiu is excited at the prospect of a field trip. Oksana alerts the Captain of her trip offship and gathers Xiu.<br><br>

'''Oksana:''' (to Stone) I will take my gun and comms. If I can't shoot my way out, I will call for help.<br>
'''Xiu:''' ''We.'' <br>
'''Oksana:''' ''We'' will call for help. (to Xiu) You do not get gun. You get comm.<br>
'''Xiu:''' I get guns. (pats her medical kit bag) I get ''my'' guns. <br> 
'''Oksana:''' All right. Keep them out of sight.<br><br>

To be honest, it's hard to tell Xiu's guns from her tools. They look remarkably alike. In Xiu's hands, anything has the potential to be a weapon. <br><br>

'''Oksana:''' Could be drill. Could be nine millimeter. Could be both. (laughs) Xiu could drill you and then she could drill you.<br><br>

There's nothing but good-natured teasing in her comment. Oksana is rather pleased at the progress Xiu has made of late. The young woman seems to be coming out of her shell. In fact, Xiu does rather well outside the comfort zone of her ship and she makes herself useful at the clinic. Xiu treats minor burns and lacerations, takes notes for Oksana's records, and so forth. When they run out of things for her to do as Oksana's assistant, she turns her restless mind to the medical equipment. A lot of it is old and needs repair. Xiu breaks out her kit and starts fixing things up.<br><br>

Oksana talks shop with the docs as she treats patients, asks about trending illnesses, and inquiring offhand about local events, trying to get a pulse reading on the area. She doesn't find anything unusual. Things are pretty much what she expects to find. Nevertheless, she makes her observations and asks her questions and squirrels it all away for her records later. She also offers to share medical knowledge and information with the clinic staff from her own database of medical periodicals, newsletters, and journals. <br><br>

Oksana and Xiu spend the day at the clinic and return to the Otter toward evening. On the walk back, Xiu speculates on a method by which we could share records from our ship and medbay with all the clinics and places we visit, then starts dissecting the problems inherent with the idea. Incompatible systems and equipment, security concerns and access … The woman goes a mile a minute and it makes the walk back fly by.<br><br>

When the crew gathers in the lounge for dinner that night, Xiu tells them all about her day at the clinic.<br><br>

'''Xiu:''' I was helpful. And I didn't cause any more injuries than I healed.<br>
'''Oksana:''' She was absolutely ''wonderful''.  You know, Captain, not only did she treat people, she fixed their machines. I think that would be, if not lucrative side business, it is definitely good … (speaking carefully) … PR. It might be useful in … making contacts and  … connections. <br>
'''Stone:''' (considering it) That's interesting.<br> 
'''Xiu:''' Just leave my name out of it. I have no name. (to self) The Woman With No Name. Isn't that a movie somewhere …? And their feng shui was all wrong. We'd have to fix that. They had mirrors by the doors. <br>
'''Oksana:''' Well, geomancy does not come cheap. They did not have much money.<br><br>

The talk turns from geomancy and the placement of things … to the things that the Feds might have done while they were aboard our ship. Verity is still concerned that they've done something behind our backs. Everything on our girl looks all right but …. Is there possibly something we might have missed? <br><br>

'''Xiu:''' Do you wanna analyze everything the left behind?<br>
'''Stone:''' They supposedly left nothing behind.<br>
'''Xiu:''' On the cart there's bound to be residues of what he was working on.<br>
'''Oksana:''' I could run toxicology on it. <br>
'''Stone:''' It's unlikely they would have been working with anything other than metal on it.<br>
'''Oksana:''' I'm going to swab it down for DNA anyway. <br>
'''Stone:''' Okay.<br><br>

Xiu and Oksana go over every inch of that cart, bringing everything they've got to bear on it. Okana is a fair hand at collecting forensic evidence and analyzes anything she finds using the med bay equipment. Oksana also goes over the Feds' cabins, swabbing down all the surfaces they might have touched, including the bathroom fixtures, and collecting their bed linens for sloughed off DNA—hairs, flakes of skin, and so on. Analyzing the evidence collected would give them something to do on the voyage to Osiris.<br><br>

Their departure is set and they take off for Osiris late in the evening of the 28th. It's a two week trip to Osiris from Harvest but with Xiu's skill in the engine room and Verity's acumen in astrogation, we might be able to shave off a day or two. <br><br>

Goodbye Harvest, Hello Osiris. We'll kiss dirt in about two weeks. We take off, with cargo and prospects and the hope that things finally seem to be looking up. With a little luck, we can keep it that way.<br><br>

<br><br>
==='''''HOW TO SPEAK JAPANESE'''''===
'''Shiroi sakura''' =''' 白い桜 '''= Shee-'''roh'ee''' sah-'''koo'''-rah = White Cherry Blossom [http://translate.google.com/?hl=en#en/ja/White%20Cherry%20Blossom Sound clip]



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Go to [[Those Who Stare In The Black, Season One: Purpose And Place|'''Season One: Purpose And Place''']] | [[Those_Who_Stare_In_The_Black:_Timeline|'''Timeline''']] | [[Those_Who_Stare_In_The_Black#Index|'''Those Who Stare In The Black''']]<br>