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You squint against the light of the late morning. You can tell that it’s cold out by the temperature of your uncovered face. You glance out the large picture window on the east side of the room, seeing an almost-blinding amount of snowfall. It looks like you’ll be snowed in at the resort for another couple of days. Not that you mind though, you’ve still got two months of leave.

Judging by the smell, there was a fire going in the fireplace last night. You close your eyes again, trying to get back to sleep. However, as you move, you realize that you are not alone in the large, comfortable bed.

The blanket moves just a little bit and you see long, black locks spill out. There is a yawn from under the covers next to you as the person sharing your bed adjusts herself a little bit. You can tell that she’s still completely asleep. Still, you wonder who could be sharing a bed with you.

As you trawl your memory for who it could be, you remember the last couple of weeks. You and Swanson had decided to travel together on leave from the Abraxis. First, the two of you went to Fargo, but you ended up not seeing anyone that you knew, even your father was out of the city for some reason. After that, you headed to a resort in Alaska. It was expensive, but what else were you going to spend your pay on, right? You had spent the past week or so enjoying the snow. Skiing, hiking, and even just standing out in it.

And suddenly it hits you. Last night, blizzard shut down the trams, stayed up late at the lounge, lots of drinks, ended up coming back to your room with…

With Ensign Linda Swanson, who is currently lying next to you, asleep. You grumble a little bit to yourself, not wanting to leave the warmth of the bed, but wanting to put a log in the fireplace to get some heat going.

Swanson mumbles something in her sleep as she rolls over. Her metal prosthetic, surprisingly warm for a piece of steel, brushes against you. Looking at your wristwatch, you see that it is a little after 11:00 in the morning. You figure that the resort staff probably have some kind of breakfast ready in the main area. You figure there are a few things you can do to start the day off.

>Panic.
>Wake Swanson up. See if she remembers any details about last night.
>Get out of bed and start a fire in the fireplace. It’s too damn cold in the room right now.
>Go downstairs and get some breakfast.
>Turn on the television. You’re curious what’s on the news.
>Write-in.

>>942504
>>Wake Swanson up. See if she remembers any details about last night.

>>942504
>>Wake Swanson up. See if she remembers any details about last night.
>>Get out of bed and start a fire in the fireplace. It’s too damn cold in the room right now.

>>942504
>Wake Swanson up. See if she remembers any details about last night.
>Get out of bed and start a fire in the fireplace. It’s too damn cold in the room right now.

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You roll over, groaning as you sit up. Yeah, you’re definitely hung over.

“Hey…” You hear Swanson’s voice as she squints at you, barely awake.

“Morning,” you reply. “You remember anything about last night? I can’t remember much beyond a certain point.”

She chuckles a little bit at that. “Yeah, you were dead to the world.” She sighs, sitting up. “I pretty much had to carry you back here.”

You feel yourself go just a little bit red in the face. “Did we…”

She raises an eyebrow at that, smirking. “If you don’t remember, I’m not going to tell you.” She says it in a sing-song voice.

“Fair enough,” you sigh. A shiver runs through you as the blanket falls off of your bare chest. “Hold up, I’m going to get a fire going.” You get out of the bed, seeing that you’re wearing plaid pajama pants, and walk over to the now cold fireplace. You toss a log in gently and start a small fire, which begins to warm the room almost instantly. You’re almost certain that there is some kind of high-tech warming system hooked up to the fireplace, but you can’t even begin to tell where it might be.

“Well at least I know what kind of liquor to keep you away from now,” Swanson continues as you sit back down on the bed. “Jaeger does not agree with your sensibilities.” Oh god, you were probably doing Jaeger-bombs last night. That’s never good to hear after the fact. You feel Swanson press against your back, leaning on you as she sighs contentedly. “Still, it feels nice to sleep… Next to someone,” she seems almost reluctant to say more.

>”You want some breakfast? I’m sure the staff have some ready.”
>”I didn’t make too much of a fool out of myself last night, did I?”
>”So are you enjoying leave so far?”
>Turn on the TV.
>Write-in.

Also, I have some errands to run, so it'll be a while before I can get back to post the next write-up.

>>942572
>>”I didn’t make too much of a fool out of myself last night, did I?”

>>942572
>>”I didn’t make too much of a fool out of myself last night, did I?”
>”So are you enjoying leave so far?”

>>942572
>>”I didn’t make too much of a fool out of myself last night, did I?”

>>942572
>u want sum breakfast?

>>942572
>”I didn’t make too much of a fool out of myself last night, did I?”
>”So are you enjoying leave so far?”

And I'm finally back from errands. Thank god.

I've tallied the votes and will start writing here in a couple of minutes. Not sure how late I'll run tonight on account of my errands kicking my ass, but I'll try to get to a suitable position before calling it a night regardless.

“I didn’t make too much of a fool of myself last night, right?” You grimace slightly, looking back at Swanson.

“Well, it certainly wasn’t a flattering display,” she giggles. “But you weren’t loud or belligerent.” She frowns a little bit, looking distant. “You didn’t seem to want anything to do with anyone after a certain point. At least until a couple of other guests got as drunk as you, then the three of you practically tore the lounge down.”

“Oh god…” You put a hand over your eyes, groaning. “So what’s the damage?”

“Just your collective dignity,” Swanson smiles. “And a stuffed moose head.” She leans in, giving you a peck on the cheek.

“A stuffed moose…” You shake your head. “You know what, never mind that.” You both just stay sitting like that, leaning on each other, for an unknown amount of time as the room heats up to comfortable levels. “So how has leave been for you so far?”

Swanson rests her head on your shoulder. “Better than I could’ve hoped,” she replies. “It’s nice, being able to get away from it all for a while.”

“Yeah,” you agree. “But we’ll be sucked back into it soon enough. This damn war doesn’t show any sign of stopping soon.”

“I know,” Swanson lets herself drop back onto the bed. “Still, it’s nice to dream of a world where we don’t have to fight.”

“A world where we don’t have to fight?” You raise an eyebrow at her. “I mean, it’d be nice, but do you think it’ll ever happen? People will always find something to fight over.”

Swanson frowns at you, raising her prosthetic and flicking your nose. “Not necessarily,” she begins. “There’s plenty of everything to go around when we’re not using it to kill each other.” She shrugs. “The only reason that we humans go to war is because people want control. It’s all because the people in charge see leadership as authority instead of a responsibility.”

“You sound like my political science professor,” you smirk.

“What can I say?” She smiles honestly. “I just call it like I see it.”

>”Do you want some breakfast? I’m pretty sure the staff made some.”
>Turn on the TV.
>Lay down with her for a little while longer.
>Write-in.

>>943259
>”Do you want some breakfast? I’m pretty sure the staff made some.”

>>943259
>>”Do you want some breakfast? I’m pretty sure the staff made some.”

>>943259
>”Do you want some breakfast? I’m pretty sure the staff made some.”

Get some salmon eggs benedict. And coffee spiked with a hair of the dog that bit you.

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“Do you want some breakfast?” You stretch as you speak. “I’m pretty sure the resort staff made some this morning.”

“That’d be wonderful,” Swanson replies. “Nothing fancy though. I’ll be fine with some bacon and scrambled eggs, if they have it.”

“Okay,” you nod. Getting up from the bed, you put on a white t-shirt and swap out your pajama pants for blue jeans. Then you yank your boots on and head out toward the common area.

The resort is a small place. A modest building with about fifty rooms and a common area in the middle. The main attraction isn’t the resort itself, but the unspoiled wilderness around it.

You descend the stairs and wind up in the common area. It is rustic, with wood paneling and old-style decorations that remind you more of a European hunting lodge than a hotel. You walk over to the area where two tables are set up as a kind of buffet, with platters of breakfast foods ready to be taken.

Looking over the various foodstuffs available, you take a couple slices of bacon for yourself, munching on them right there, then you fix a plate for Swanson.

Returning to the room, you see that she has turned the TV on, and is watching some old B-movie. Her eyes light up at the plate of food in your hands. Walking over to her, you hand the plate over, sitting next to her on the bed and looking at the TV. The movie is atrociously bad. Swanson raises an eyebrow at you. “Didn’t you get a plate for yourself too?”

“I got a few slices of bacon while I was down there,” you reply. “I wasn’t all that hungry.” The movie catches your attention again. “What the heck are you watching?”

She chuckles. “Samurai Cop,” she says. You look at her with incredulity. “What? Bad movies are a guilty pleasure of mine.” The two of you both laugh for a little bit. “Anyway, are you sure you don’t want some?” She holds out a slice of bacon to you.

“No thanks,” you reply, shaking your head. “I’m fine, really.” She scoots up next to you, leaning against you as she enjoys her breakfast and terrible movie.

--------

You awaken with a small gasp, looking around. You are aboard the Bad Habit, laying against the part where the booth meets the wall. Someone has thrown a thin blanket over you as you slept.

“Sleep well?” You look over to see Cynthia reading the ship’s manual absently. She looks up at you. “You were talking in your sleep. Kept saying someone’s name, Linda.” She sits the book down, leaning back in her chair. “Someone you knew?”

>”An ex-girlfriend.”
>”Someone I knew from the Abraxis.”
>”The best welding technician in the Federal Navy.”
>”How long was I out?” (dodge the question)
>Write-in.

>>943513
>”Someone I knew from the Abraxis.”

>>943513
>>”Someone I knew from the Abraxis.”

>>943513
>”Someone I knew from the Abraxis.”
>”The best welding technician in the Federal Navy.”

>>943513
>”The best welding technician in the Federal Navy.”

>the part where the booth meets the wall
What is there only one booth on the whole ship or something?

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I'm gonna call it a night here. As much as I hate to do that, I'm just too tired to keep writing story updates right now. However, once I get rested up, I'll be able to start updating normally tomorrow afternoon.

Mood music:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FM2dD80JVZc

>>943553
There's one bench that runs the entire length of the wardroom. I mistyped and said booth. It's kind of like pic related.

>>943513
>”Someone I knew from the Abraxis.”
>”The best welding technician in the Federal Navy.”

>>943490
>Yes.

And leave it at that.

>>943513
Shit.

Next flashback we need to break up with Linda, or she'll die. That's how these things always go.

She doesn't deserve to die.

>>944170
Or maybe we don't play to the clichés and she survived the war? I'm hopeful

>>944261
For now my predictions were mostly correct, so I don't have much hope.

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“The best welding technician in the Federal Navy,” you say without hesitation. “Linda Swanson could spot-weld like it was an art.” You lean back, pulling the blanket off of yourself. “We served together aboard the Abraxis.”

“Oh,” Cynthia frowns, looking away. You figure that she’s still hesitant to talk with you about war stuff.

“So what are you reading about?” You point to the manual in her hands.

“I’m seeing where our red-haired intruder could’ve gotten in from.” She frowns. “I’ve narrowed it down to two possible entry points.”

“Let’s hear them,” you nod.

She brings the manual over to you, pointing to various parts of the schematic. “Either he got in through the equalization valve on the airlocks, or he got in through the auto pressure-venting system.”

“The what?” You raise an eyebrow.

She sighs, pointing to a small part of the diagram that she’s circled with a red pen. “This right here. It’s a vent that automatically opens to relieve excess pressure in the event that it rises above a certain point. The vent itself is about thirty inches wide, so he could’ve slipped through with some effort.” She frowns. “Though he would’ve needed a pressure suit of some kind… The vent is on the underside of the ship, near the base of the lower thrusters.”

“So there should be a discarded pressure suit laying around somewhere.” You cross your arms. “Find anything?”

“That’s the thing,” Cynthia says with a troubled expression. “I checked the bilge around where the vent system is… There was no sign of a discarded suit. Though a duct cover was removed, which is how I suspect he got into the ducts.”

>”Is it possible that he didn’t have a suit? You saw how his shoulder healed.”
>”How long was I asleep?”
>”It seems quiet. Where is everyone?”
>Write-in.

>>945093
>”Is it possible that he didn’t have a suit? You saw how his shoulder healed.”
>”By the way, it seems quiet. Where is everyone?”

>>945093
> where is everyone
Seems like a bit of a flaw not to have an alarm go off when the vent opens in a non over pressure situation. It is basically a mini airlock and when airlock doors start doing unexpected things you should worry.

>>945093
>”Is it possible that he didn’t have a suit? You saw how his shoulder healed.”

>>945187
I guess I didn't make it clear enough: The vent system activates whenever pressure rises even a little bit above normal. Normally it only opens for a few seconds at the most. It's like central heating in a house in that it sort of kicks on whenever it needs to.

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“Is it possible that he could’ve come aboard without a suit?” You adjust yourself in your seat, yawning a little bit. “I mean, you saw how quick his shoulder healed.”

Cynthia frowns. “I’m no medical expert,” she begins. “But there’s no healing from the kind of conditions that deep space can subject a body to. Cosmic radiation, extreme variations in temperature, lack of any pressure, to name a few things… I suppose it would be possible if he was able to regenerate from lethal injuries.” She grumbles, running a hand through her hair. “You know, when I signed on, I didn’t figure I’d be getting dragged into a science fiction story.”

“Sorry,” you shrug. “Anyway, where is everyone?” You look around the seemingly-deserted wardroom. “It’s quiet. I don’t even hear any punk rock coming from Solfrid’s room.”

“Tom went to get provisions right after you decided to take your little nap,” Cynthia replies. “Solfrid went with him, as did Virgo. Corrigan is in her room, I think. And our big, scary-looking passenger hasn’t left his stateroom since we arrived.”

“Strange,” you mutter.

“Everything about that guy is strange,” she grins sarcastically. “It wouldn’t surprise me if he’s some kind of killbot from the future.”

“You shouldn’t bad-mouth our passengers,” you chuckle. “At least not until they’ve left the ship.”

“Anyway,” Cynthia stretches. “I have some work to do on the coolant system. Our magnetic pump is running kind of strange. I think it’s a power-supply issue.”

“Nothing serious, right?”

Cynthia shrugs. “Maybe. I won’t know until I can get the pump apart and check it out thoroughly.”

She stands up, getting ready to head downstairs.

>Head up to your quarters and get some actual rest.
>Go out and look for cargo contracts.
>Explore the ship.
>Visit a crew member. (Cynthia or Corrigan?)
>Visit your passenger.
>Call someone on your communicator.
>Write-in.

>>945401
>Visit a crew member. (Corrigan)

>>945401
>>Go out and look for cargo contracts.

>>945401
>>Go out and look for cargo contracts.

>>945401
>Go out and look for cargo contracts.

>>945401
>Go out and look for cargo contracts.

You throw a jacket on, leaving the ship and heading to and upper level of McArthur Station, where you expect to find cargo contracts.

Making your way up to the market level is something of a hassle, as the elevators are situated on the other side of the hangars, and it appears to be some sort of rush hour. However, you get to the elevators and begin your journey up.

The market areas are rather spacious, with many stalls and other sections. You walk around, browsing some of the wares as you make your way to the nearest coffee house.

This one looks just as much like a dive bar as the one on Ganymede, only the decoration is decidedly more Middle Eastern, with Persian rugs and hookahs all around. You walk up to the bartender and get his attention. He nods and mumbles in another language as you ask for the list of cargo contracts.

>Lumber from TRITON to REZNOR’S PRIDE (****)
>Raw Osmium from TRITON to EARTH (***)
>Plant seeds from TRITON to NEW ALBANY (***)
>Books from TRITON to NEW BRASIL (**)
>Printing equipment from TRITON to NEW BRAZIL (*****)
>Kerosene from TRITON to NEW ALBANY (******)
>Industrial epoxy from TRITON to GANYMEDE (****)

>PASSENGER CONTRACTS AVALIBLE: 0

(Choose up to two)

I'm going to be out running errands for the next couple of hours.

>>945754
where are we going again?

>>945754
>>Plant seeds from TRITON to NEW ALBANY (***)

>>945754
> kerosene and plant seeds for new Albany

>>945754
>>Kerosene from TRITON to NEW ALBANY (******)
>Plant seeds from TRITON to NEW ALBANY (***)

>>945754
>Plant seeds from TRITON to NEW ALBANY (***)
>Kerosene from TRITON to NEW ALBANY (******)

>>945754
>Both new albany jobs
Might as well maximize our profits.

How much more do we have to earn money until we can afford a better FTL engine?
I'm sure we might encounter rush jubs later on and I want to be ready.

I just got back from my errands, but I'm honestly too tired to continue right now. As much as I hate to do it, I'm going to have to take a break until tomorrow. On the bright side, tomorrow is Saturday, so I can run much earlier in the day and have far fewer distractions. Hopefully.

>>946963
Alright. See you then QM.

>>946149
With how large and centralized the FTL drive is on an Oberon, you'd have to completely overhaul and modernize the engineering areas to get a faster one. It's doable, but expensive.
You've already met a character who has the necessary tools and facilities to do it though.

Also, session will be starting in around 5 hours.

>>947853
Correction: Session will be in 7-ish hours. I misread the time.

You select both contracts bound for New Albany, figuring that you may as well maximize your profits. You check the boxes next to the contracts and fill out the paperwork, then hand the paper back to the bartender, who nods at you and puts the information in to a computer.

You get a glass of whiskey for the road, then leave the coffee shop, walking out into the market area. The crowds are starting to die down, and you figure that it must be one of those lulls in the middle of the day. Walking among the stalls, you don’t see much that catches your eye. You do purchase some 4-gauge shells for your new shotgun, they were on sale. As you go toward the elevators to head back to the ship, you hear a voice behind you, some distance away.

“Captain!” You look back to see Tom, Virgo, and Solfrid walking together. Tom waves to you, grinning widely. “Finally awake, I see.”

You walk over to the group, curious at what they’ve been shopping for. Tom and Virgo carry several paper bags, and Solfrid carries a couple of bags herself. “What have you guys been up to?” You cross your arms as you approach them.

“Getting some provisions mostly,” Tom nods. “And Solfrid wanted to get souvenirs.” He points a thumb at her.

“Here,” she exclaims, rooting around in one of the bags. “For you, Captain, as a thank-you for hiring me.” She holds out a small, cardboard box, obviously a model kit. Oh boy, you just know it’s never getting put together, you gave up on those things when you were probably fifteen.

However, as you take the box from her, looking at it, you don’t believe what you’re looking at. It’s a model kit for a Flight-1 Oberon. You didn’t even figure they made those. You look at it, eyes wide, then back to Solfrid.

“Do you like it?” She looks expectantly at you.

>”Where did you even find it?”
>”It’s awesome.”
>”It’s pretty neat. I don’t know if I’ll get around to putting it together though.”
>”I hate model kits. They’re too much trouble.”
>Write-in.

>>948262
>”It’s awesome.”
>”Where did you even find it?”

>>948262
>”Where did you even find it?”
>”It’s awesome.”
Even if we never get around to assembling it.

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“This is awesome,” you say, unable to keep a smile off of your face. “Thank you so much.” You weigh the box in your hands.

“I told you he’d like it,” Virgo says to Tom. “The Captain’s a little more sentimental than you give him credit for.” He grins. “Not fork it over.”

Tom grumbles at Virgo, passing a few standards to him. “Fine, you win.”

Solfrid seems to either not hear or not care about their conversation, smiling as you lift the lid off of the box and look at the contents. It has all the pieces necessary to make the model, plus instructions and the two bottles of paint that it needs. “I’m glad you like it!” She claps her hands together. “I figured that since most captains have something relating to their ship in their quarters, you might like to have a model of the Bad Habit.”

You chuckle. “Well, I’ll need to get some rust-colored paint if I want to make it an exact model of the Bad Habit. Still, I really like it.” You raise an eyebrow, putting the lid back on the box. “But where did you even find it?”

“There was this little shop full of decorations for starships,” she replies. “They had souvenirs too.” She pulls out a postcard with a photo of Neptune on it. You’ve heard of shops like that, hopefully she didn’t pay too much for the model.

“Oh yeah,” Tom speaks up. “I went ahead and restocked our fresh provisions. Mostly perishables like eggs, seeing as we go through a lot of that kind of stuff.” He frowns. “But the fridge has been running really loud lately. I think it may be about to go out.”

“Noted,” you reply. The entire group begins walking and you walk with them.

“I also took stock of all our new irons,” he says. You know ‘irons’ is slang for the rifles in the back room. “We’ve got exactly 100 collectively. 25 per-crate, not the twenty we estimated. And I may have a buyer lined up at our next destination. Old buddy from the Marines.”

>”Tell me more about this buyer.”
>”How much is a fridge going to run us?”
>”Anything else come up while I was asleep?”
>”Any recommendations about where we should go after New Albany?”
>Write-in.

>>948408
>”How much is a fridge going to run us?”

>>948408
>>”How much is a fridge going to run us?”

>>948408
>>”How much is a fridge going to run us?”
>”Anything else come up while I was asleep?”

>>948408
>”Any recommendations about where we should go after New Albany?”
Reznor's Pride?

>>948408
>>”How much is a fridge going to run us?”

>>948408
>”Anything else come up while I was asleep?”
>”Any recommendations about where we should go after New Albany?”

>>948408
>”How much is a fridge going to run us?”
>”Anything else come up while I was asleep?”

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“So how much is a new fridge going to run us?” You cross your arms.

Tom frowns. “Anywhere from 5,000 to 10,000 Standards,” he says. “Though we may be able to find a used one for cheaper if we look in the right places.”

“That’s expensive,” you reply.

He shrugs. “Well the fridge isn’t going to un-break itself when it goes, sir. We’ll have to get a new one eventually.”

“Fine,” you relent. For the next couple of minutes, you are silent while the rest of the group talks to each other. Then a thought crosses your mind and you speak up. “Anything else happen while I was asleep?”

Tom sighs. “Not much,” he says. “I mean, I went around with Cynthia and looked at the ducts. We were looking for rats,” he shoots you a sly look. Clearly he means that the two of them were looking for where your intruder may have come in.

“She told me about the auto-venting system,” you reply. “You think our rats could’ve gotten in through there?”

“It’s the only place they could have gotten in,” he frowns. “Anyway, that issue is sorted out now. Other than that, we’ve decided that the electronics we found could be used to modernize the sensor radome, which would give us a greater sensor range.”

“How long would that take?”

“Maybe a couple of hours,” Tom replies. “But Cynthia has to rig up the new sensors before we can install them.”

>”So do you have anything else to get while we’re out?”
>”I think we should limit our time here. It’d be good to get to New Albany as soon as possible.”
>”Where would you recommend we go after New Albany?”
>Write-in.

>>948659
>>”I think we should limit our time here. It’d be good to get to New Albany as soon as possible.”
>>”Where would you recommend we go after New Albany?”

>>948659
>"Lets rig the sensors up then and finish any other business here before that's done. We should probably limit our time here. It’d be good to get to New Albany as soon as possible.”

>>948659
>>”I think we should limit our time here. It’d be good to get to New Albany as soon as possible.”
>”Where would you recommend we go after New Albany?”

>>948667
Oh and I assume the installation (apart from the rigging) can be done in transit?

>>948659
>>”Where would you recommend we go after New Albany?”

>>948659
>”I think we should limit our time here. It’d be good to get to New Albany as soon as possible.”
>”Where would you recommend we go after New Albany?”

Hey guys. I'm really sorry to call it early again, but I'm definitely sick and I think it's been coming on over the past couple of days. Hopefully I can get some decent rest and post more consistently over the next couple of days.

Again, I'm really fucking sorry about this, but I just can't concentrate long enough to make a decent story post.

>>949483
Well I hope you get better soon. Thanks for the thread!

>>949483
Health before entertainment, buddy. Get some rest, get well and come back stronger than before.

>>949483
Dang, and I just caught up on the the archive too. Good luck healing it off. Btw I gave a +1 to the archived threads. Kinda weird how most of them were 1-2 only.

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So I'm feeling much better and I plan on running today. Should I use this thread or just start a new one?

>>958681
Just keeping using this one.

>>958681
This thread is 5 days old, make a new one.

>>958681
New

New thread:
>>959360
>>959360
>>959360