(Post written by NotAFlyingToy, Tiko, Script and Vyral)Standing fast in front of his assembled crew (was three people really a crew?), Vincent May-Rose felt that much more like a captain. They had a pilot now - someone who could actually fly this bucket - and with a few more additions to the crew, they might be able to have a skeleton crew and turn a few profits. While having all of this super technology was a grand thing indeed, they needed to find a place to offload the weapons on the ship, pick up a few stragglers that would be willing to fly with them, and maybe some kind of tech expert. Or six.
He sure as shit didn't know how to fix it.
"Okay, here's where we are." Vincent said, propping a boot up onto a command console of the CIC. "Ptoro's a rough planet, so Vanora and I will be headed planetside, looking for a buyer or three. While we're out there, Jayden, Whisper, you guys will be doing interviews. Nab anyone you think looks their way around a ship this size and fish for interest. Discreetly, mind. I doubt the people that are looking for us are way the hell out here, but it's best to not rock the boat."
He turned to Vanora, cocking his head. "I'm giving Vanora and I a day. If we don't return by nightfall, something's gone wrong. If I don't check in periodically, something's gone wrong. If something happens, track us using the Tracers." He pointed to a flat disc attached to his gunbelt, a purchase he'd made when he began smuggling.
"Right. Any questions before we head out?"
1 hour later...
“We're going to have to purge the old AI entirely. The system is thoroughly corrupted, and even with repairs there's no telling that it will ever be stable enough. This will be better anyways. With a new AI we can better design the systems to run with a human pilot,” Whisper explained to Jayden.
It had been nearly an hour since Vincent and Vanora had departed and the pair had found their way to the hanger bay while they awaited the arrival of a prospective technician. The woman in question had come with an impressive array of references, as well as two years of experience on a Reverence S class vessel.
"Make sure you get one of those AIs that don't talk too much, I always feel uncomfortable having to have an extended conversation with a computer." Jayden replied from where he was perched on the wing of the Eclipse, his own ship - a single-person fighter designed for racing. The hangar of the Reverence was larger than most planetside buildings that he was used to, but largely empty. The vibrant blue-and-red Eclipse seemed dwarfed in the empty space.
The young pilot had his visor lowered and was tinkering with the back of the ship, schematics and blueprints flashing across his vision. "Who's this person we're hiring, again? I may or may not have been not listening when you told me the first time. As I recall it, I was making sure I didn't accidentally spill plasma on my legs at the time."
Beneath her heavy coat Malena was sweating. Being swathed in thick layers of clothing offered little advantage on Ptoro. The dusty platau on which the port was built was bathed in sunlight for most of the day and the ground beneath her feet radiated heat so vibrantly that her face, turned down to protect it from the rolling waves of sand and dirt, felt roasted. A group of similar folk were clustered around her, all wearing dirty but serviceable clothing and scanning the bulletins board with beedy eyes. Talk of a Revererence landing in such a backwater port spread fast, and everything from hopeful amatures to grizzled veterans had turned out hoping for a spot on the ship. Malena slipped into this catagory nicely.
Various messages flashed on the screens. The grime smeared across the glass made some difficult to read but there was an audible buzz when the words 'REVERENCE S' flashed p on the moniters. No-one had missed that, it seemed. Malena scanned the information quickly and squinted her eyes at another incoming swirl of sand. She couldn't believe her luck. Of all the things to find, the crew of the Reverence needed a techie. She flashed a reseme. Eager to get to the hanger way ahead of any competition she tugged her scarf up to protect her mouth and nose and set a steady pace.
She arrived at the designated hanger twenty minutes later. A gaggle of other potentials had gathered around the hangers bay doors and were staring in with a mixture of amazement and fear. For a lot of Ptoro's residents, this would be one of the largests ships they had seen. And likely, they would never see another Reverence cruiser in their lifetimes. At least, not if the peace held. Malena sifted through the crowd and spotted two people, a woman and a young man, crouched by the side of the Reverence's hanger. She made her way over to them, tugging her scarf down from her face and shaking out her hair. It needed a wash, badly, but the coating of grit managed to stay the otherwise greased-up look it had.
She asked, "Are either of you part of the crew?"
“Malena?” Whisper asked as she approached the woman, a hand offered in greeting. “I'm Whisper, and that's our pilot, Jayden,” she offered in introduction. There was a cleanliness to Whisper that contrasted sharply with Malena, and it left her looking rather out of place on Ptoro.
Jayden sat up straight, sliding his visor up and off with a relieved sigh, placing them down on the Eclipse's wing next to him. The surprisingly young man smiled down at Malena with a small wave of an oil-dirtied hand, "Howdy!" he said, swinging his legs over the edge of the wing to face the new arrival.
"That's me." She stuck out her hand and shook whispers firmly. By contrast to the prim and proper look of the ships woman, Malena felt grimey and more than a little repulsive. Wandering around Ptoro she blended in, but against the backdrop of a shiny new Reverence and its pristine crew she stuck out like a sore thumb. She dropped her hand to her side and shot the pilot a polite smile. He couldn't be more than a child. She turned her gaze back to Whisper. "So, what exactly are you paying me to do?"
Whisper's eyes studied Malena carefully as they grasped hands, and she maintained the contact for perhaps a moment longer than would be normal before she finally withdrew her hand. “The ship's AI was damaged and most of the systems are down. We've been limping on auto-control but we need to get the systems purged and a new AI installed. We're looking to get some hardware modifications done as well. I don't really trust these new AI systems, but as you know, these vessels are designed to be run exclusively off an AI. We can review the blue prints, but the plan is to get a proper cockpit installed, where a single human pilot can manage most of the ships systems with the assistance of an AI, rather than the other way around.”
Jayden nodded his head at Whisper's final sentence, "That's me. I'm good, but I can't sit at forty chairs at once. I'm not
that good."
"How long have I got?" the technition asked.
“As long as you need, and as many hands as you need,” Whisper replied.
"Good." She glanced at the ship again. "This won't be a quick fix." She turned back to Whisper. "Does my board come out of my payment?"
“We're prepared to stay in port for however long is necessary. Come, I'll show you to the CIC.” At the inquiry into board though, Whisper pursed her lips. It would be harder to keep Malena from snooping around the ship if she were staying here, but on the flip side, that would be difficult to prevent with her working on it, and at least this way, they could keep an eye on her. “If you require room and board for the duration, I'm sure my brother can arrange that. We have space.”
"Alright then. Show me the way."
Jayden glanced down at his hands, "I shouldn't wander around the upper decks in this state, so I guess I'll finish up here then catch up if you're still around." he said, lifting his hand in a casual salute before going back to his visor and ship.
