File: Swanson1.jpg (240 KB, 861x632)

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You lean against the railing, looking out over the city of Napoleon City, the newest Federal colony to be founded before the War started. You are currently on an overlook of the city, enjoying the view. Down along the main street, hundreds of people in Federal Military uniforms mingle amongst the townspeople. Several light cruisers hover lazily around the city’s starport, waiting for landing clearance, most likely. You sigh, reaching into your pocket for the pack of cigarettes you bought when you touched down. However, before you can fish a cigarette out and get your lighter, you feel a pair of hands on your shoulders, one heavier than the other.

“You really should quit, you know.” Linda leans up against you from behind, resting her head on your shoulder as her hands move down your arms.

“Yeah,” you reply simply. “Probably will once I get out of the Navy.” She chuckles at that.

“You sound a lot more optimistic than when I first met you,” you can practically hear her smile. Her hands find their resting place atop yours as she sighs contentedly.

“I guess so,” you reply simply. “Things are looking up. We’re winning the war, haven’t had a major incident since Volkmann took command, and now we even have two weeks’ shore leave…” You continue looking out over the city. “Plus, you know, I have a lot more waiting for me once this is all over beyond a pension.”

“You can be such a romantic sometimes, Allen.” Linda yawns a little bit before continuing. “You must’ve been a writer in a past life.”

You both chuckle. “Maybe,” you finally reply. Shifting your weight a little, you turn around as Linda steps back from you. “Anyway, let’s go find the others. We’ve lagged behind enough since we landed.”

--

You awaken with a groan, rolling over in your bunk and peering at the clock. Six hours isn’t much sleep, but it’ll just have to do. You sit up and look over at your desk as you get dressed. That model Oberon that Solfrid bought for you is still sitting there, half-assembled. You were doing so well with it until you hit a snag with the windows: they are just a little too big and you don’t have an X-Acto knife to trim them down.

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Walking down into the wardroom, you see that Tom is already working on breakfast. Interestingly enough, he seems to have repurposed Paul as a kind of kitchen assistant.

“Paul, start a timer for ten minutes. Oh, and get some eggs. The fresh ones, not the powdered.” He calls out to the little robot, who putters from the kitchen to the pantry.

“AFFIRMATIVE. ACQUIRING RESOURCES.”

You can’t help but stifle a chuckle. Tom notices you just as he pours something from a measuring cup into a skillet. “Morning, Captain.” He grins. “I’m making a full course breakfast. Pancakes, sausage, eggs. The whole nine yards.”

You raise an eyebrow. “Any occasion?”

He shrugs. “We’re gonna come out of FTL sometime today, so I figured I’d free up a little pantry space in case we find any luxury items on Mars.” He then motions to the seating arrangements. “Should be ready in about twenty minutes. Go ahead and take a seat.”

>Contact someone on your communicator while you wait.
>Watch TV while you wait.
>Wait quietly.
>Hang out at the serving window and talk some more with Tom.
>Write-in.

>>1318318
>>Watch TV while you wait.

>>1318318
>>Hang out at the serving window and talk some more with Tom.

>>1318318
>Hang out at the serving window and talk some more with Tom.
>"Since the time of ancient wet navy ships if you need to raise a man's spirits you give him good grub eh? Anything interesting news form the tube or grapevine?"

>>1318318
>>Hang out at the serving window and talk some more with Tom.

>>1318318
>Hang out at the serving window and talk some more with Tom.

Say hello to PAUL as well

You decide to stay at the serving window. “Heard anything interesting lately?” You yawn, still tired from sleep.

Tom shrugs. “Well, I saw on the news that there was a big strike going on at the Agatha Steelworks plants back on Earth.”

“Really?” You’ve heard the name of the company before, mainly because it was stamped on almost every piece of hull plating the Federal Navy used. “What caused that?”

Tom shakes his head. “Union politics, probably. Though if the whole company is going on strike, it’ll mean bad news for the shipyards on Venus.”

You nod. “That’s true. Don’t they make almost all of the hull plating for the Navy?”

“Over 60 percent of it,” Tom replies. “But other than that, the news has been pretty quiet lately. Looks like Leander’s calmed down a little since his big speech a couple weeks ago. I do remember hearing about some feud between two major Imperial clans though. Still, I’m not well versed in that stuff, so you’d probably have to ask Corrigan about that if you wanted to know more.” He frowns. “I did hear something interesting from an old military buddy of mine that I keep in touch with. Apparently the budget cuts that were scheduled to take place got cancelled.”

You raise an eyebrow. “Did he say why? I was under the impression that the budget cuts were the military’s way of de-escalating after the War.”

“That’s what’s troubling.” Tom continues. “Not only were the cuts cancelled, but he was saying that they all got issued a bunch of brand new equipment right around the time Leander got appointed to his current position.”

“What do you make of it?” You grimace.

Tom turns toward Paul as he arrives with the eggs. “Thanks, little buddy.” He then goes over to the stove and begins scrambling said eggs. “It certainly seems like Leander’s gearing up for war.” He then shrugs, not looking back at you. “But it could also mean that he’s got friends in the arms industry who are putting pressure on him for the sake of making more money.” He turns back to you briefly. “Still, Leander doesn’t seem like the type to mess around with special interests like that.”

“True enough,” you reply.

Tom then leans over to the intercom and speaks into it. “Breakfast is almost ready. All hands come and get some grub in the wardroom.” He turns to you. “Alrighty then. Go ahead and have a seat and I’ll get this finished up.”

You sit near the corner of the room, next to Solfrid and Virgo, when the first plates of hot food arrive. Virgo is wearing his Council robes again, and he looks more tired than you’ve ever seen him. Cynthia speaks to Solfrid. “So I’ve noticed that you’re into human culture from the 20th century…” She frowns a little bit, as if liking for the right words. “Is that… A psirinean thing?”

Solfrid shrugs. “Kind of. Most of it is stuff from the initial cultural exchange missions that happened about fifty years ago. But our people have heard human radio signals and seen human television since you were broadcasting it.” She shrugs. “So some aspects of it just sort of stuck.”

>Join Cynthia and Solfrid’s conversation.
>Talk with Virgo.
>Ask Corrigan about the Imperial feud.
>Speak with another crew member. (specify)
>Remain silent.

>>1318659
>>Ask Corrigan about the Imperial feud.

>>1318659
>Join Cynthia and Solfrid’s conversation.
"Tell me [future space equivalent of bad bubblegum pop] isn't in the top 100's, please."
>Ask Corrigan about the Imperial feud.

>>1318659
>>Join Cynthia and Solfrid’s conversation.

>>1318659
> Talk with Virgo
Are they having lots of council sessions all of a sudden?

Aw yeeaa, Zap is in the house

>>1318659
>Join Cynthia and Solfrid’s conversation.

"Radicool."

>>1318659

>Join Cynthia and Solfrid’s conversation.

“You mentioned that your people intercepted human radio signals,” you say. “What kind of things have you heard?”

“Personally?” She raises an eyebrow. “I’ve only heard recent stuff. But I grew up watching and listening to the older recorded transmissions. Stuff like the Lone Ranger on the radio for example, or old TV shows that had been recorded. I think my people kind of watched that stuff for laughs originally…” She frowns. “A lot of older folks kind of look down on humans since they’re pretty new to interstellar travel.”

You nod. “So what is it about the 20th and 21st Centuries that your people like so much?”

“It’s just… Cool.” Solfrid shrugs, seemingly unable to explain her position. “I mean, look at how they used the limited technology they had. Not to mention the way they envisioned the future. It just seems a lot more interesting than the world we live in now.”

“I suppose I can see where you’re coming from,” Virgo interjects. “Human culture seems to change a lot more frequently than many others. In the time that I’ve been alive, the human race went from barely being able to safely put a man in orbit to being the most powerful species in the known galaxy.” He chuckles. “Not a lot of other races can say the same.”

Cynthia frowns. “Well the natural evolution of technology and culture are exponential like that. It all just sort of naturally builds off of previous developments.” She takes a large bite of food before continuing. “I mean, how much time passed between your peoples’ first spaceflight and their first interstellar flight?”

Virgo’s tone is deadpan as he replies. “A little under four thousand years.”

“Oh,” Cynthia says simply. “That’s… A really long time.”

Virgo nods. “I’ve always thought it might have something to do with humans having such short lifespans. Your people only life for around a hundred years, right?”

You nod. “If we’re lucky.”

Virgo continues, seemingly very interested now. “So it would make sense that human culture and science advances faster, seeing as a generation is a shorter period of time for you. What would take thulians a thousand years would only take humans a hundred, basically.” He crosses his arms.

>”That makes sense.”
>”I wouldn’t say that. There have been long periods in human history where we’ve actually regressed.”
>”I wasn’t aware that you had such an academic viewpoint on something like this.”
>Write-in.

>>1318819
>>”That makes sense.”

>>1318819
>”I wasn’t aware that you had such an academic viewpoint on something like this.”

It doesn't concern Virgo that these mammal apes will likely overtake his own species on the galactic scale?

>>1318819
>Write-in.
Well it changes faster, whether it advances or not is up for debate. Especially when talking about culture.

>>1318849
I don't think they think the same way. They seem to be happy enough with one planet.

>>1318851

I like this

>>1318851
Switching my vote to this.

>>1318851
This

“It certainly changes faster,” you agree. “But I wouldn’t say it always progresses…” You take a few seconds to eat more of your food before continuing. “Just look at the Dark Ages. Or more recently, the Resource Wars.”

“Resource Wars?” Solfrid raises an eyebrow. “What were those?”

You frown. “Right at the end of the 21st Century, the oilfields in Saudi Arabia and Russia ran dry. People started fighting over the remaining oil, and it spiraled into a 50-year period of global conflict.” You shrug. “The only thing that brought an end to it was the discovery of oil substitutes on other planets. That was what initially started humanity’s serious colonies.”

“I see,” Virgo nods. “So it wasn’t just a desire to colonize, but a matter of survival. I can see why humanity has been so successful.”

Tom is the next to speak up, calling over from his side of the table. “Well, for every success story, there are countless failures. The first dozen or so mining colonies on Mars ended up becoming ghost towns.” He grimaces. “Wasn’t until they perfected flash-terraforming that it became viable to have a large population there. Same goes for pretty much every planet without a breathable atmosphere.” He shudders a little bit. “But anyway, it seems like humanity may have reached its peak when it comes to this whole interstellar colonization business. Not much has changed in the last hundred years.”

“Not necessarily,” Cynthia says. “A hundred years ago, it would’ve taken a starship two months to make an FTL jump that would only take a week today.” She points up at the ceiling, toward the area where the bridge is. “Just look at the difference between our ship and a brand new one. A lot of things may seem the same, but any engineer worth their salt knows just how much advancement has taken place. Especially with exposure to other spacefaring civilizations.” She smiles. “In fact, I was just reading about how some Federal explorers managed to buy some technology from archaens. Apparently it’ll revolutionize starship design.”

“Doubtful,” Tom says dismissively. “What could they know that we haven’t already discovered?”

Solfrid frowns. “Well… The archaens have been around longer than most spacefaring species, and there are stories about their tech…” She shrugs. “Who knows?”

You are about to comment on the situation when an alarm sounds over the intercom. “Looks like we’ll be dropping out of FTL soon.” He stands up. “I’ll get everything ready upstairs.” With that, Tom leaves the wardroom.

You finish your food and stand up as well, taking your plate over to the kitchen area. Then, after making sure you aren’t needed anywhere, you head up to the bridge and sit in your chair. “How long until we exit FTL?”

Tom looks back at you. “A little less than ten minutes.” He leans back casually in his chair. “And then we’ll have about an hours’ flight until we get to Mars. Speaking of which, I know you want to get some upgrades done to the ship… But we don’t have quite enough cash for a refurb at the moment.” He frowns. “I was thinking, it might be good to stay near Mars for our next couple jobs, or at least stay in the Solar System. That way we don’t have another two-week FTL jump to make when we want to get that work done.”

>”Good idea. We’ll stick to the Solar System until we get refurbished.”
>”I don’t think that will be necessary.”
>”Actually, I think we’ll hold off on getting the ship refurbished right now.”
>Write-in.

>>1319115
>>”Good idea. We’ll stick to the Solar System until we get refurbished.”

>>1319115
>>”Good idea. We’ll stick to the Solar System until we get refurbished.”

>>1319113
>”Good idea. We’ll stick to the Solar System until we get refurbished.”
Not that anons are going to stick to it beyond this session. Just like last time when we said we wouldn't head back here untill we had enough cash.

>>1319115
>"Good idea. We’ll stick to the Solar System until we get refurbished.”


>>1319130
I think that is, in part, the point he is making. We obviously don't have the money for a full refit now, but a couple of jobs in the system should see us in the green.

I want a peek at this new Arachean design the QM is hinting at.

>>1319162
>I think that is, in part, the point he is making.
Yeah but we had already made that point to Cynthia on the last planet we were on. Didn't make a difference when we got to the notice board.

>>1319115
>”Good idea. We’ll stick to the Solar System until we get refurbished.”

>>1319115
>”Good idea. We’ll stick to the Solar System until we get refurbished.”

>>1319115
>>”Good idea. We’ll stick to the Solar System until we get refurbished.”

File: Your ship's bridge looks (...).jpg (608 KB, 1280x972)

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“Good idea,” you say. “We’ll stick to the Solar System until we have the cash for a refurbishment.” Leaning forward in your chair, you gesture to the weapons console. “Are we going to need Corrigan up here when we exit FTL?”

“Probably not,” Tom shrugs. “Still, better safe than sorry.” He then leans over toward his intercom and presses the button. “Corrigan, we’re about to exit FTL, would you mind coming up here?”

A couple minutes later, Corrigan enters the bridge and sits down at her station. She and Tom go through a final checklist before the ship begins to shudder as it drops out of FTL.

Looking around, you find comfort in seeing the actual stars instead of the pale gray of FTL. Flipping on the intercom, you select engineering. “Cynthia. Everything good on your end?”

There is a moment of silence before you hear a frustrated grunt. “Looks like coolant pressure is fluctuating more than it should be… Probably the pump getting ready to give out.” She sighs, then mutters something you can’t make out. “It ought to be good until Mars, but when we get there we need to get a new one. The pressure shouldn’t be fluctuating like it is.”

“Right,” you nod, frowning. “Other than that, are we good for a sublight burn?”

“Yeah,” Cynthia replies. “All other systems look fine to me. Tell Tom to avoid accelerating too hard though. The patch I put on the oil lines should hold, but it’s not as strong as the line itself.”

“It won’t burst while we’re flying, right?” Your eyes go wide.

“Hasn’t burst yet.” You can practically hear her shrugging on the other end. “But honestly, the most it’ll do is start leaking. There isn’t enough pressure in the lubrication system to pop a patch like that.”

You sigh. “Okay then. Tom, you heard her. Let’s get moving.”

Tom nods, flipping a couple switches and grasping the controls. “Engaging sublight drives.” You feel the ship begin to accelerate before the inertial dampeners kick in and stabilize everything. “Should be arriving at Mars within the hour.” He swivels around to face you, yawning. “Good to be back in home waters.”

And that's gonna be it for tonight. I would've run later, but tonight's shitty weather seems to be affecting my internet. It went out four times this evening for about half an hour at a time. We'll run tomorrow at around the same time.

Mood music:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tOuj6att1UY

What kind of tech to you think the Archaens have?

>>1319354
ok see you then

>>1319354
primary buffer panels that NEVER fall off

Well since she said it was going to revolutionise starship design it probably isn't an engine or reactor. Umm, do we already have anti-gravity? I don't remember any descriptions of dealing with G-forces while maneuvering or landing. So some kind of materials thing I guess.

>>1319354
Doesn't our Space Elf crewmember have like, a compact sport railgun? Like wouldn't Tom cream his jeans over that?

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The dockworker hands you the cash for your delivery, signing off on the paperwork and returning to the office where he came from. You sigh, looking down at the wad of cash in your hand. 5,000 Standards. Combined with the 14,000 you made from Tom’s bodyguard job, you’ve made 19,000 from Thalos. Not a bad haul. Ultimately, it leaves you with 56,000 Standards at your disposal. Another ten thousand or so and you should have enough to finance a remodeling of your ship.

Pocketing the cash, you turn around and head up the cargo ramp. As much as you would like to head out on the town here at Olympus, you’re a little anxious about that warning that had been hidden in your ship’s code. At the very least, you don’t want anyone leaving the ship alone.

Arriving in the wardroom, you get a cup of coffee and turn the TV on. There is a Federal news show on talking about the upcoming Fleet Week celebrations on Earth.

“And of course we won’t be postponing something like Fleet Week,” a Federal Navy official. “Even with the recent security concerns, it would be a sign of weakness if anything was changed this close to the festivities.”

“But you do admit that there’s a possible security risk?” An anchor appears to be debating the official.

The rep frowns, crossing his arms. “There’s always some kind of security risk, ma’am. Our teams are the best in the galaxy. If anyone were actually planning something, they would sniff it out before it got anywhere.”

You grumble, changing the channel to what appears to be some sort of cartoon. Shrugging, you lean against the wall and start messing around with your communicator instead of watching the TV.

“Captain,” Tom gets your attention as he enters the room. “Cargo get offloaded?”

“Yeah,” you nod. “Just got paid.”

He crosses his arms. “Good. We have anything planned while we’re on Mars?”

>”May as well head to the customs office and see about some contracts.”
>”I don’t want to hang around here for too long. Let’s head somewhere else in the Solar System to get our next job.”
>”What’s the status of our passenger? I know he wanted to head to Earth, but he mentioned being fine with being dropped off on a nearby planet.”
>Write-in.

>>1320781
> customs office
Let's see if there is a good job to earth before we discharge our passenger. Although I doubt it, I imagine there is more competition in that leg.

Hopefully Leander has been too busy to put us on some potential spy shitlist so we won't get harassed by bureaucrats while deep in federation territory.

>>1320781
>”May as well head to the customs office and see about some contracts.”

But prioritise jobs that keep us within the solar system and take us closer to Earth so we can offload this guy.

>>1320781
>>”May as well head to the customs office and see about some contracts.”

>>1320781
>>”May as well head to the customs office and see about some contracts.”
>”What’s the status of our passenger? I know he wanted to head to Earth, but he mentioned being fine with being dropped off on a nearby planet.”

You shrug. “May as well head to the customs office. It’ll be good to get some jobs in while we’re here.”

“Right,” Tom nods. “You aren’t planning on going alone, right?”

“Of course not,” you reply. “That message we found in the code has me a little worried. Better safe than sorry.”

“I can agree with that,” Tom says with a frown. “After the month we’ve had, I wouldn’t take any chances. We’ve been lucky, but luck runs out eventually.”

You grimace, thinking back to all of the close calls you’ve had recently. Perhaps you’ve been a little bit too careless? Pocketing your communicator, you stretch tiredly. “By the way, if my calculations are correct, we’ve got around 56,000 Standards. How much would you say a total overhaul to the ship would be?”

Tom shrugs. “I wouldn’t say more than 80,000. I’d bet Allie would be willing to give us a discount though, assuming she’s got the proper facilities.”

“Think we should check with her while we’re here? We might already be able to afford it for all we know.” You raise an eyebrow.

Tom shrugs passively. “Up to you, sir. It really depends on how much time you plan on spending here. An overhaul would probably mean us being grounded for a while.”

You rub your eyes. “Makes sense.” You and Tom talk for a while longer before he mentions that he has to head down to the armory and do some maintenance on the weapons, so you leave him to it.

>Head out on Olympus with one of your crew. (specify)
>Head out alone.
>Stay in. It’s late and you can go in the morning.
>Meet with your passenger.
>Write-in.

>>1321048
>Meet with your passenger.

>>1321048
>>Meet with your passenger.

>>1321048
>Meet with your passenger.

>>1321048
> head out with Virgo
Huh, I thought we were heading to the customs office?

Also we have to visit Allie anyway to get a new coolant pump.

>>1321048
>>Meet with your passenger.

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You decide to head downstairs to the passenger quarters to meet with the guy you picked up on Thalos. Knocking on the door, you wait a solid five minutes before he opens it.

“Oh, sorry Captain.” He grins sheepishly. “I was listinin’ to music. Didn’t hear you knock at first.” Roy Tillman scratches his head, gesturing for you to enter the stateroom. You do, and find it impeccably clean, despite being home to an occupant for the past two weeks. You figure that Roy must be a clean freak.

You shrug. “It’s fine. You mentioned that you wanted to get to Earth, right?”

He nods. “Yeah. Company offices needed me back.” He raises an eyebrow. “That where we’re headed next?” He runs a hand over his chin and you notice that he seems almost-impossibly clean shaven. Almost anyone aboard a starship develops a stubble, it just isn’t easy to get a close shave with the hull vibrating like it does.

You frown. “Not sure yet. I remember you mentioning that you wouldn’t mind being let off somewhere close to Earth…”

However, Tillman’s eyes go wide at your suggestion. “Uh… That might not be such a doable thing around here.” He swallows nervously. “We’re on Mars, right? That’s not a great location for me… I’d rather jump ship wherever you land next, if that’s alright…” He crosses his arms defensively, eyes darting away from you.

You nod slowly. “Okay… So Mars is a no-go for you then. Noted.” Tillman smiles apologetically.

“Wish it weren’t the case, but there are just some places I shouldn’t go, you know?” He shrugs.

>”Why exactly does Mars make you so skittish?” (roll a 1d100)
>”Fair enough. Just felt like checking in.” (leave)
>Write-in.

>>1321216
>>”Fair enough. Just felt like checking in.” (leave)

>>1321216
>”Fair enough. Just felt like checking in.” (leave)

We're not paid to ask questions.

>>1321216
>>”Fair enough. Just felt like checking in.” (leave)

>>1321216
>”Fair enough. Just felt like checking in.” (leave)
Not like we aren't banned from a planet.

>>1321264
but we are just not this one

>>1321216

>Hi five ban-bro! Different world, same problem. What are you wanted for here?

>>1321216
>”Fair enough. Just felt like checking in.” (leave)
"Thanks for keeping your room very clean."

“Fair enough,” you say. “Just wanted to check in with you.” You turn and exit the stateroom, bidding Tillman a farewell as you leave. Heading back upstairs, you get another cup of coffee.

Peering into the kitchen, you see Virgo cooking something. “Captain,” he greets you. “Just making something for myself. Want some food?”

“I’m good,” you reply simply. “I was actually just about to head out to the customs office, maybe stop by the parts store.” You shrug.

Virgo nods. “Want me to head with you?”

“Maybe,” you say. “Haven’t decided who I’m going with. I figure Cynthia might want to tag along if I head to the parts shop, but I’m also a little afraid she might end up convincing me to buy some expensive stuff.” You chuckle.

“That’s understandable. I heard her mention something about an engine upgrade that can boost FTL speeds.” He frowns. “Sounded expensive.”

You grimace. “Hopefully Allie doesn’t have anything that cool in stock.”

“What’s this about Allie?” You both look over to see Cynthia enter the room.

Virgo goes back to cooking, leaving you to explain. “Well… I was planning on heading out later to pick up some cargo contracts and maybe head to Allie’s shop.”

“Ah, okay.” Cynthia nods. “We should definitely see about getting a new coolant pump while we’re there. I took a look at our coolant earlier and saw slivers of metal from the inside of the pump floating around.”

“That’s not good,” Virgo says casually without turning around.

>Take Virgo along with you.
>Take Cynthia along with you.
>Take both of them along.
>Take someone else. (specify)

>>1321660
>Take both of them along.

>>1321660
>>Take both of them along.

>>1321660
>>Take both of them along.

>Take along the both of them

>>1321660
>Take both of them along.
Cynthia can buy stuff, Virgo can carry it!

File: Going to the space store..jpg (223 KB, 650x667)

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>>1321767
Indeed! Although given Cynthia and Allen's... prerogative to buy stuff I think he's more valuable as the voice of reason.

>>1321660
>>Take both of them along.

More Internet problems. Might not be able to post anymore tonight. Sorry.

File: 82c.png (186 KB, 680x357)

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>>1321925

>>1321660
>Take someone else. (specify)
The Robot.

>>1322556
>>1321660
Seconding this.

Sorry for the radio silence here guys. Internet is still down. Technicians are coming to fix it tomorrow morning.

>>1325564

That`s cool bro. Just, you know, make sure we bring that robutt!

“Well,” you frown. “We may as well all go then.”

Virgo raises an eyebrow at you as he deposits his food from the skillet onto a plate. “Will all of us be able to fit in the truck?”

You shrug. “You can ride in the bed, right? I doubt it’s illegal here.”

“It isn’t,” Cynthia nods. “I’ve seen people riding in truck beds here before.” She crosses her arms. “So when do we leave? It’s starting to get a little bit late.”

You nod at Virgo. “How about after you finish eating?”

Virgo shrugs, chuckling. “Fine by me. Shouldn’t take me too long.”

“Okay then,” you nod. “We’ll head out then.”

Cynthia nods, walking toward the exit. “I’ll go downstairs and get the truck squared away.”

“Alright,” you reply. “I’ll meet you down there in a minute.” You bid her and Virgo farewell and head up to your quarters. Throwing your old field jacket on, you frown as you realize it’s getting pretty ratty from all the abuse you go through.

Holstering your pistol, your hand brushes your rib and you gasp a little. It’s mostly healed, but it still aches every now and then. Thankfully, it seems that stuff Castro gave you is working.

Walking downstairs, you meet Virgo and Cynthia in the cargo hold. The truck is already running, so you just hop in. Cynthia has opted to drive today, and you don’t particularly mind. It’s nice to not have to drive with your achy ribs. As she turns out of the dockyards, Cynthia looks over at you.

“Where to first?”

>”The Customs Offices.”
>”Allie’s shop.”
>Somewhere else. (specify)

>>1329309
>”Allie’s shop.”
We can as well plan what to buy to know how much money we need before we return.

>>1329309
>>”Allie’s shop.”

>>1329309
>>”Allie’s shop.”

>>1329309
>>”Allie’s shop.”

File: Allie1.jpg (28 KB, 289x418)

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“May as well stop by Allie’s shop first,” you say simply. “It’ll be good to know how much cash we need to make.”

Cynthia nods. “Sounds good to me.” Turning onto the road leading to that part of town, you notice fewer people out on the streets than last time you were here. It doesn’t take you long to arrive at Allie’s parts store, which appears to be in slightly better condition than it was last time you visited. You notice that the front lot has been cleaned up a little bit, and she has a nicer sign above the main doors.

The three of you walk into the shop and find an unfamiliar face at the counter. A burly guy with a crew cut and a scar along the side of his face squints at all of you. “Howdy,” he grunts after a couple seconds. “Looking for some parts?”

You nod, a little bit taken aback. “Yeah… This is still Allie’s shop, right?”

The man raises an eyebrow. “Yeah, why?”

Cynthia is the next to speak up, walking up to the counter as she does. “Can we speak to her then?”

He scratches the back of his neck, reaching down to his belt and producing a walkie-talkie. “Hey, boss. Got some visitors asking for you by name…” A reply buzzes over the walkie, too low for you to discern. “Yeah. Okay, I’ll tell them.” He puts the walkie back on his belt and points over his shoulder with his thumb. “She’s out back. You can cut through the storage area. Just, you know, don’t steal anything.”

“Right,” you nod. The three of you begin moving through the parts warehouse and soon find a large set of open garage doors. Walking out into what appears to be a landing area for a starship, you are astonished when you look over to one corner of the lot. There is a large hydraulic jig for hoisting starships up and keeping them stable. Currently, a small vessel, a bit newer than yours, sits in the jig while three or four people weld on it. Walking up to the whole setup, you see one of the welders look over their shoulder and climb down from the rigging.

Removing her helmet, Allie walks up to the three of you with a big grin on her face. “Allen, Cynthia, good to see you again!” She then turns to Virgo. “And I don’t think we’ve met. I’m Allie, the owner of East Olympus Repurposed Supply and Starship Repair!” Sticking her hand out, she shakes hands with Virgo.

“Hi, I’m Virgo.” He nods with a small grin. “I work with Captain Starwind.”

She nods, then turns back to you. “So what brings you here, Captain?”

>”I’ve got a coolant pump that needs replaced.”
>”I wanted to get the Bad Habit overhauled sometime soon. What would the price be for something like that?”
>”I found some parts for that old starfighter you’re restoring.”
>"You've certainly done well for yourself."
>”What exactly is this?” (ask about the starship jig)
>Write-in.

>>1329552
>”I’ve got a coolant pump that needs replaced.”
>”I wanted to get the Bad Habit overhauled sometime soon. What would the price be for something like that?”
>”I found some parts for that old starfighter you’re restoring.”

>>1329552
>>”I’ve got a coolant pump that needs replaced.”
>”I found some parts for that old starfighter you’re restoring.”

>>1329552
>”I’ve got a coolant pump that needs replaced.”
>”I wanted to get the Bad Habit overhauled sometime soon. What would the price be for something like that?”
>”I found some parts for that old starfighter you’re restoring.”

>>1329552
> I've got a coolant pump that needs replacing.
And
>I find parts for that old starfighter you're restoring
Did we?I don't remember

>>1329552
>”I’ve got a coolant pump that needs replaced.”
>”I wanted to get the Bad Habit overhauled sometime soon. What would the price be for something like that?”
>”I found some parts for that old starfighter you’re restoring.”
>"You've certainly done well for yourself."

>>1329552
>”I’ve got a coolant pump that needs replaced.”
>”I wanted to get the Bad Habit overhauled sometime soon. What would the price be for something like that?”
>”I found some parts for that old starfighter you’re restoring.”
Finish all the business talk by saying: "But how are you."

“Well I need to get a new coolant pump,” you say. “Ours is shot.”

Allie nods. “Okay. I’ve got some thorium reactor coolant pumps in stock. Since you’ve got a discount here, a new coolant pump will only cost 3,000 as opposed to the usual price of 8,000.” She shrugs. “Well, that and the fact that I don’t sell a lot of them, so it’s good to get rid of them anyway to free up some inventory space.” She crosses her arms. “And the pump comes with all the necessary piping, since that will likely be worn-out as well.”

“Duly noted.” You nod. “Also, I was thinking that I’d like to get the Bad Habit overhauled at some point. Could you give me a price for something like that?”

Allie frowns thoughtfully. “Well… For an Oberon I, I’d want to give it an engine upgrade, obviously… Doing that would necessitate lengthening the hull amidships to balance it out… So with that, we’d have to restructure the interior some as well…” She shrugs. “A low estimate would be 50,000. But if we ran into any snags or you wanted to add stuff, it could get all the way up to 70,000.”

“Alright,” you frown. While it is probably necessary to get your ship’s speed up to a respectable rating, and you’d end up with a virtually-new ship, it’s still a lot of money. “Oh, and I almost forgot…” You grin. “I found some VL-28 parts in my travels. An engine and maneuvering unit. Almost brand new.”

Her eyes widen. “No way. Could you tell if it was the ST model or not?”

You shrug. “I wouldn’t know.”

She still looks excited. “That’s great regardless. Tell you what. I’ll give you the coolant pump, plus a 10,000 discount on the overhaul, for those parts.”

You raise an eyebrow. “So I’d be getting the pump for free, plus a big discount once we overhaul?”

She nods. “VL-28 engine parts are tough to find. You almost always need to special order the aftermarket stuff. They’re worth it.”

>”Deal.” (trade the fighter parts for a coolant pump and a discount)
>”Actually, could I just have cash for them instead?”
>write-in.

>>1329805
>>”Deal.” (trade the fighter parts for a coolant pump and a discount)

>>1329805
>”Deal.” (trade the fighter parts for a coolant pump and a discount)
Eh.

>>1329805
>”Deal.” (trade the fighter parts for a coolant pump and a discount)

>>1329805
>”Deal.” (trade the fighter parts for a coolant pump and a discount)

“Deal,” you say. “You can come and pick the parts up whenever you feel like it.”

“Thanks,” she smiles. “So anyway, what have you all been up to?”

You grin a little bit, while Cynthia almost scowls. “We’ve been keeping pretty busy,” you say. “Just got back from Virgo’s home planet actually.”

“Really,” she nods. “That’s Thalos, right? I watched a documentary about it a while back.”

Virgo chuckles. “The documentaries usually aren’t very accurate.”

You frown, raising an eyebrow. “So what have you been up to?”

Allie gestures to the ship in the jig. “Well, ever since I got that money and got my certs as a starship mechanic, a lot more work has been coming in. It started out with large part orders and whatnot, but now we have a full ship hoist so that we can do body work, refurbishments, the whole lot.”

“That’s good to hear,” Cynthia smiles. “This place sure has changed since we were here last.”

“Yeah,” Allie nods. “The jig and associated equipment was probably the biggest change, but I’ll be making payments on it for the next five years easily. Still, it’s worth it for the business it brings in.” She points to the welders working up on the ship. “And with the extra cash and work we were getting, I decided to hire some help.” She sighs contentedly. “It’s not much compared to some of the more well-established shops, but it’s a good start. Better than most people trying to break into the business, that’s for sure.”

>”Well it was good seeing you again. We’ll probably stop by soon.” (leave)
>”Have you heard from your brother since we last spoke?”
>”You seem to be running a pretty big operation now. You wouldn’t happen to be needing a transport crew anytime soon, would you?”
>Write-in.

>>1330149
>>>”Have you heard from your brother since we last spoke?”
>>”You seem to be running a pretty big operation now. You wouldn’t happen to be needing a transport crew anytime soon, would you?”

>>1330149
>”Have you heard from your brother since we last spoke?”
>”You seem to be running a pretty big operation now. You wouldn’t happen to be needing a transport crew anytime soon, would you?”

>>1330149
>”Well it was good seeing you again. We’ll probably stop by soon.” (leave)

>>1330149
>”Well it was good seeing you again. We’ll probably stop by soon.” (leave)
>”Have you heard from your brother since we last spoke?”
>”You seem to be running a pretty big operation now. You wouldn’t happen to be needing a transport crew anytime soon, would you?”

>>1330149
>”Have you heard from your brother since we last spoke?”

>>1330149
ded

>>1330149
>”Have you heard from your brother since we last spoke?”
>”You seem to be running a pretty big operation now. You wouldn’t happen to be needing a transport crew anytime soon, would you?”

>>1330149
>>”Have you heard from your brother since we last spoke?”
>>”You seem to be running a pretty big operation now. You wouldn’t happen to be needing a transport crew anytime soon, would you?”

My apologies guys. This has been a very bad week for me so far. Between the internet problems, getting dragged away from my computer until 2:00 AM last night, and now having a blown head gasket on my car, I think it would be best to call the thread here and hope for a better situation when I run next. I'll post the new thread on this coming Thursday as usual.

Again, sorry for not being able to run consistently this thread.

>>1333361
It's hard dealing with the qm curse.

>>1333361

No worries, sorry I wasn't here to post but thanks for the run

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>>1343875
>>1343875
>>1343875