Trinity Universe: Dreams of Dragons

[Archer21]

Then:

"You know, you're more than welcome to bring someone with you to dinner tonight. I was just telling the chief that he should have dinner with Patricia and I tonight, Ms. Foxley. If you'd be available I'm sure Chief Randall would appreciate a familiar face at the table..."

Oddly enough, it's the hardened Legionnaire whose face flushes at Tom's sly grin.

Coughing into his hand, he lowers his eyes and mumbles something about Tom's healing and the fevers...

Still, the security chief does show up promptly for dinner, and having mostly overcome his earlier bout of shyness, regales the group with humorous stories from the life of a soldier. Tom and Trish, however, can't help but notice his bright green eyes sparking a little brighter when he looks at the young navigator.

Now:

His own question already asked, Randall waits patiently for answers to the Captain's question as well.

[ProfPotts]

Cargo Bay:

A split second later, he pops back in and exuberantly presses his lips to Mary's!  He smiles at her and says sincerely, "Thank you."

Hesitating for an unmeasurable increment of time, he dashes out again, partly to investigate the limits of their new freedom - still limited by piloting ability, of course - and partly to hide his colouring face.

The attractive African crewmember is, to say the least, stunned by Sean's sudden advance ::blink - although most of the other game players manage to burst out laughing at the Chief's antics...

The Gym:

"I'm sure you'd love to comment on this Hiro, you know, despite my fear of Abberants, I know you can't resist my Latino Charm."

The Nihonjin woman laughs,

"Hah! Don't flatter yourself - I prefer my men with backbones."

"In all seriousness, I'd like to know what this great news in, people in Sudamerica would love to know, and if I may speak for all aboard this ship, I'm sure they'd love to know."

Hiro pauses & turns,

"The people of Sudamerica may well have to wait a long time for your report. As for the people on board, I strongly doubt that you speak for them - unless the Captain's appointed you official newscaster or something & forgotten to tell the rest of us."

With that, she turns on her heel, & heads off.

Sick Bay:

Finally, when he is quite spent, she grabs hold of him by the collar and gives him an enormous facehugging snog....

The Doctor does his best to push Lila away, appear both shocked & outraged by her actions.

When she is quite done with him, Lila's eyes flick over his body in a critical assessment and she makes a little "Hmmh" sound and sashays out. She pauses at the door. "By the way doctor; I'll be in engineering, redesigning biotech. You know, so that I can help people. Oh and if you wanted the specs on that Nihonjin gear... all you had to do was ask... Goodbye doctor."

Flesch just glares at the woman in disgust as she leaves.

The next day Sean recieves an official complaint from Dr Flesch about Lila's conduct. The good Doctor cancels his request (in no uncertain terms) to have her transfered to the medical staff, & suggests that the Chief Engineer does something to try to ensure a more professional standard amongst his staff - rather than the adolsecent lack of respect shown by Lila. A copy of the complaint is also sent to Ran.

The Bynon's Dinner Party:

Foxley accepts the invitation, & listens in awe at the Security Chief's various tales of daring-do & humourus anecdotes. Over the course of the conversation it becomes obvious that the Navigator is from an old-money English family, & that she appears to have led a very sheltered life - first at a variety of exclusive private schools, & then studying with the ISRA (being something of a 'prodigy' she never had much chance to do anything else). The more 'earthy' jokes & comments completely pass her by, although she's the very picture of polite etiquette & smiles & laughs when everyone else does. It is noticed, however, that she tends to blush whenever she spots Randall looking at her... ::blush

The Meeting:

"Do we have enough food and supplies to get to the planet without a jump? If we do, I'd like to suggest that we conserve jump capability until we are at least close enough to the planet to better survey it."

Foxley nods,

"We have plenty of supplies for the moment, yes."

"Navigator Foxley, can you tell us how close we would have to be to determine whether there is actually life on the planet? Or how close we have to be to determine whether there's been any recent Aberrant activity?"

The Navigator thinks for a moment, then replies,

"Well, the closer the better, really. We now suspect the planet to be Class H, that is to say, a hot & arid desert planet with heavy gases & metal vapours in the atmosphere. Life is theoretically still a posibility - & it's certainly the only candidate in this system - but such life would need to have evolved to be both drought & radiation adapted. Both plant & animal life is possible under such conditions. We'll need to get much closer before we can determine if there's any surface water or not. If the worst come to the worst & we need to remain on the planet for some time, atmospheric filters shouldn't have any problems in compensating for the more toxic elements in the air."

"Do we want to go there at all? Do we need to, now that we have jump capability again? The abberants obviously had a reason for bringing us here, and it was hardly out of kindness. Do we want to risk the ship, crew and passengers' safety further, or should we just stay away until Navigator Foxley finds us the way home?"

Foxley flushes ::blush , but manages to answer,

"Thankyou for the vote of confidence, sir, but it's really not that simple. Even the best we have in the ISRA couldn't jump us home from this point in the universe - we're simply too far away from known space. We've been searching the local heavens for a recognisable pulsar or similar phenominum, but have come up empty so far - there's still hope, after all, there's a lot of sky out there, but the chances of us being within Psionic sensing range of known space are diminising all the time. As such, if we choose to just maintain our position then we will, sooner or later, run out of supplies & options. The planet we're heading for is our best chance, in the long term, for survival."

"As for aberrant activity in the area - I just can't tell for certain yet. There is significant Taint radiation on the planet, but high radiation levels are a common feature of a Class H - it's impossible, at this point, to say whether the local Taint is a product of aberrant energies or not."

[phoenix]

TO: Chief Medical Officer Anton Flesch

FROM: Chief Engineer Sean Vinge

SUBJECT: RE: [no subject]

Sean's avatar is a small, impeccably dressed man with both Brazilian influences and traits from Sean's own facial structure. In a clear and calm voice, he gives Sean's message, using body language to convey a mildly submissive attitude.

"Dr. Flesch, I received your message. I was not aware of any member of my staff prone to such flagrant disrespect, particularly for a man of your standing. Ms. Crenshaw will be informed of your complaint, and disciplined accordingly. Our files are still open to you, if you would like to choose an assistant from my team, you're welcome to. I assure you that the standard of discipline you have seen is not at all.. well, standard among my engineers.

Once again, I apologize for her conduct."

Message ends.

TO: Engineer Lila Crenshaw

FROM: Chief Engineer Sean Vinge

SUBJECT: You've made your point.

This time, when the message is played, the man is the same as seen by the doctor, but its carriage is quite different. It holds its hands behind its back, and its face seems to carry an undertone of annoyance and slight menace.

"All right, Lila, Dr. Flesch sent me a formal complaint about your conduct to him, complete with 'carbon copy' to Captain Ran himself. Pardon the cliché, but I hope you're happy.

"If you didn't want the job, you should have told me and I would have gotten you out of it. I'm not sure what prompted this fiasco, and from your profile and what little I've seen of you since we've joined the same crew, it won't help me to try to 'discipline' you. So let me just remind you that the Tesser is back up, and your special skills aren't much help anymore.

"Men like Dr. Flesch expect more respect from normal folks, Lila. And I've got no room or time for prima donnas.

"You'd do well to keep that in mind."

Message ends.

[Archer21]

As Foxley finishes her explanations, the security chief speaks. "Putting aside any long term goals, we were forced to this location, and basic measures should include changing our position. If the aberrants sent us here on purpose, it may be to meet others of their own. I think we should move from this position immediately. I do agree with Foxley about our destination, the planet does seem our best choice right now."

[Asbjørn]

"Agreed, Chief Simon. Definitely. But I don't quite follow your logic. If the aberrants sent us here on purpose, don't you think this planet we're heading for is the very destination they had in mind?"

[ezekiel]

Foxley accepts the invitation, & listens in awe at the Security Chief's various tales of daring-do & humourus anecdotes. Over the course of the conversation it becomes obvious that the Navigator is from an old-money English family, & that she appears to have led a very sheltered life - first at a variety of exclusive private schools, & then studying with the ISRA (being something of a 'prodigy' she never had much chance to do anything else). The more 'earthy' jokes & comments completely pass her by, although she's the very picture of polite etiquette & smiles & laughs when everyone else does. It is noticed, however, that she tends to blush whenever she spots Randall looking at her...

Over the course of the meal Simon and Foxley learn that Patricia Muñoz is a Spanish native and a botanist. Tom and Trish met at the Luna Qin embassy as she interned there for xenobotany (Thomas was assigned to the embassy with UN Xenorelations after a stint with the dolphins from the Lab of Oceanic studies.). The couple explain how their expertise allows for laxer quarantine rules in their quarters (nodding at the plants and flowers all over the room which they affectionately call "the jungle"). Neither of them seem to have suffered much from lack of money (Tom's father was a Jamaican ambassador, which Tom is quick to point out is far from the most prestigious of posts in the UN considering the size of the represented State, but it allowed him to travel quite a bit throughout his youth. Trish comes from a well off Spanish family which actually had the money to send her abroad and off-world.) giving them some points to relate to Foxley's upper-class upbringing but both are more than down-to-earth enough to enjoy even the rowdiest of Randall's jokes. Indeed Tom usually follows up on them with outrageous ones of his own!

end of background sharing...for now..

"As you all know, we're still some distance from the planet in this system which may support life. However, with Tess back & functional, it should now be possible to jump directly to that location from our present position - the jump systems are fully charged. The question is whether we want to do that or not. We still don't know if the planet does support any life, or not, & can't know the effects that a jump's psionic shockwave will have on any life that does reside on the planet. In addition, I've detected some evidence of Taint radiation on the planet. That could just be residual background levels which are natural for the area, or... well, I'm sure we all know what else that could indicate..."

"Speaking of Tess being back and functional, how was that accomplished? - Tom looks at Sean as he speaks - Is there any reason why you have chosen to change her avatar to the current chinese speaking one? - Turning back to Foxley - I'm not sure it would be wise to jump if it meant alienating the potential local lifeforms. Couldn't we compromise by jumping closer but not close enough to backlash the planet?"

"Do we want to go there at all? Do we need to, now that we have jump capability again? The abberants obviously had a reason for bringing us here, and it was hardly out of kindness. Do we want to risk the ship, crew and passengers' safety further, or should we just stay away until Navigator Foxley finds us the way home?"

"Isn't it equally possible that they have simply tried to destroy us and failed? This wouldn't be the first aberrant attempt of destroying leviathans...besides, even if it is a trap I'd like to know something of it instead of running away from figments of our imagination. If this taint Foxley is picking up isn't aberrant related then it might give us a great opportunity for research."

Tom looks at Dr. Flesch expecting him to pick up on this point.

Foxley nods,

"We have plenty of supplies for the moment, yes."

"Of course I may be biased on the subject...but we may want to help hydroponics set up extra space for fruit and vegetables. If we don't know how long before we can jump its best to plan ahead instead of waiting for when supplies run low. I'll try to see if we can't manage to replicate some glup as well. Not the best of foods but at least it'll keep us alive if worst comes to worst..."

[Archer21]

The Dinner Party:

Randall himself is quiet about his family life, only mentioning that his parents died some years ago, leaving him a substantial inheritance. He does enjoy conversations about Luna, though; explaining that he has a home in Lejanas that he visits whenever on leave. Very familiar with the Yinchon district and downside, he easily swaps stories about the area with Tom and Trish. Though not one for vacation spots, his earlier work in protection details have taken him to some suprising locales.

The Meeting:

"Agreed, Chief Simon. Definitely. But I don't quite follow your logic. If the aberrants sent us here on purpose, don't you think this planet we're heading for is the very destination they had in mind?"

"That does seem the strongest possibility sir, but we shouldn't make assumptions. They may have just been after the Leviathan itself, and only used the planet as a waypoint marker. Either way, until we can find a way home, gathering as much information about a planet we may need to use for survival seems like a good idea. According to Foxley, the only way to gather that information is to get closer to it."

[knave]

TO: Chief Engineer Sean Vinge

FROM: Engineer Lila Grace Crenshaw

SUBJECT: Re: You've made your point.

Lila's avatar is a perfect image of herself - access tube grubby, eyes puffy and red, and her voice slightly ragged and somewhat plaintive.

Go ahead. Fire me just to kiss that vain dickhead's ass. I don't give a sh*t anymore. I just want to go home.

... I spent twelve years of my life with no schooling but a set of Encylopedias and I get called stupid my some self aggrandising woman hater with a Nobel prize up his ass sideways because I'm not very good at subtlety. I'm an Engineer! I'm not f*cking supposed to be good at subtlety. I just wanted to help...

The display replays Sean's comment.

> So let me just remind you that the Tesser is back up, and your special skills aren't much help anymore.

Lila's avatar reappears, but now her voice takes on a note of bitter sarcasm.

Now that the engine's running who needs a mechanic you mean? That's pretty rich coming from you actually...

I don't feel like talking anymore... I've got things to do.

>>>Message ends.<<<

Lila wipes her eyes.

"Meph. Get me everything we have on board on those retroviruses that Flesch was using in Medbay. We'll show him who's stupid, won't we Meph."

The downcast demonic rabbit looks up and grins - it's incisors dripping from the severed finger it had been gnawing on. "Yes, oh Evil one!" it says eagerly as it breaks out a set of catburgler gear and tosses a large bag marked 'SWAG' over its shoulder.

[phoenix]

TO: Engineer Lila Crenshaw

FROM: Chief Engineer Sean Vinge

SUBJECT: Re: You've made your point.

The small, dark man looks impatient.

"Listen, god dammit, spare me the melodrama. Simple question, Lila: do you want to be an engineer, or 'currently unassigned'? Either way, you're going to be expected to conform to certain conventions, of the ship, but mostly of society in general. The only difference is: the engineers are my problem."

Message ends.

[knave]

TO: Chief Engineer Sean Vinge

FROM: Engineer Lila Crenshaw

SUBJECT: Re:Re: You've made your point.

Lila's avatar is a 'standard female avatar'

"I want to be an engineer."

Message ends.

[ProfPotts]

"... I'm not sure it would be wise to jump if it meant alienating the potential local lifeforms. Couldn't we compromise by jumping closer but not close enough to backlash the planet?"

Foxley thinks for a moment, then replies,

"There are too many unknown elements to be able to answer that accurately - if there is life at all on the planet, how psychically sensitive that life is, & whether I can even Navigate that far... It's... it's further than anything I've ever attempted, but I've been practicing & with Tess back on line... Well, I can't actually promise anything, but I'm willing to try if that's what the Captain wants."

"... If this taint Foxley is picking up isn't aberrant related then it might give us a great opportunity for research."

Tom looks at Dr. Flesch expecting him to pick up on this point.

Flesch just snorts & shakes his head,

"It seems that we know next to nothing right now. Until we get some actual facts I'm not prepared to comment."

"That does seem the strongest possibility sir, but we shouldn't make assumptions. They may have just been after the Leviathan itself, and only used the planet as a waypoint marker. Either way, until we can find a way home, gathering as much information about a planet we may need to use for survival seems like a good idea. According to Foxley, the only way to gather that information is to get closer to it."

Foxley nods,

"If we decide not to proceed further, then perhaps Engineering could rig up a probe of some kind? There's not a great deal more we can tell about the planet until we actually get some instrumentation into the astmosphere."

[phoenix]

Is there any reason why you have chosen to change her avatar to the current chinese speaking one?

Sean holds up his hands. "That wasn't us. I'm not sure why that is; I haven't spoken to her much since her return."

"If we decide not to proceed further, then perhaps Engineering could rig up a probe of some kind? There's not a great deal more we can tell about the planet until we actually get some instrumentation into the astmosphere."

Sean nods.

"I think we can arrange something, sir. Is there anything specific you'd like it to look at, other than atmospheric composition?".

[in a parallel yet OOC question, Prof, how do those in favor of going planetside plan to do so when all the hybrids have been canniballized? Is it possible for the ship to spare the necessary equipment?

Also, what's the best bet for gathering information about the planet on a relatively broad scale (such as deciding on a landing spot, looking at native life, etc.)? Are there telescopes on board capable of that, or would Foxley perform better with a simple ARES session?

[ProfPotts]

"I think we can arrange something, sir. Is there anything specific you'd like it to look at, other than atmospheric composition?"

Foxley nods,

"All the basics, really - weather patterns, temperatures, thermoraphic scans to see if there's any detectable life - that sort of thing."

[phoenix]

"All the basics, really - weather patterns, temperatures, thermoraphic scans to see if there's any detectable life - that sort of thing."

Sean nods thoughtfully.

"In that case, it might be wiser to jes' focus on reconstructing one o' the Scarabs in our hangar.. As ye probably heard, we took so many spare parts from them to restore the Kai Xing's generators right after the attack that some of them are mostly just hybrid-shaped-objects at this point, and none of them are shipshape right now." He shrugs.

"We can get two or three back in shape in a couple of days. So even if you do decide to try to jump, Captain, we have at least that long to wait no matter what." He nods respectfully to Ran.

"Once we do, it might be easier to send a small crew to look at possible landing sites while the rest of us stay in the high grass. A ship would be more effective than any probe, with the right equipment."

[Asbjørn]

Leaning forward with a thoughtful expression on his face, Ran says

"Us being brought here was not an accident. The image of this solar system was clear in Tobias' and Tess' minds before the jump. Wether it was to drop us in the lap of other abberants I do not know, but I have no doubts that they wanted us to be here. If the intention was merely to use the system as a waypoint marker, I know I would have picked a system without a life-supporting planet."

Turning his eyes on Foxley, Ran pauses a few seconds as he seems to study her intently before he continues

"In an ideal universe we would have set course for home, but since circumstances force us there is no reason to let destiny wait. As soon as the fighters are ready, and all defence systems are as ready and functioning as they will get, we jump closer, and see how much we can learn from a probe-scan. If it still looks relatively safe, we send a team down to investigate."

Is there any reason why you have chosen to change her avatar to the current chinese speaking one?

Sean holds up his hands. "That wasn't us. I'm not sure why that is; I haven't spoken to her much since her return."

Ran smiles at this exchange and turns to Sean.

"The tesser chose that avatar for herself after I convinced her to return to her duties. I am not yet certain why, but I believe it is related to her sense of duty and her impression of what I expect from her. My communication with her was on a more basic level than words, and my own mental pictures and way of thinking seems to have had an influence on her."

[ezekiel]

Wether it was to drop us in the lap of other abberants I do not know, but I have no doubts that they wanted us to be here. If the intention was merely to use the system as a waypoint marker, I know I would have picked a system without a life-supporting planet."

"You're right, that isn't too comforting a thought..."

Sean holds up his hands. "That wasn't us. I'm not sure why that is; I haven't spoken to her much since her return."

"The tesser chose that avatar for herself after I convinced her to return to her duties. I am not yet certain why, but I believe it is related to her sense of duty and her impression of what I expect from her. My communication with her was on a more basic level than words, and my own mental pictures and way of thinking seems to have had an influence on her."

Tom frowns and scratches at his chin while thinking

"I see..."

[Archer21]

Chief Simon coughs slightly. "Captain, now that the decision has been made to visit the planet, may I be excused to return to my duties? If we are going to get closer to that planet soon, I'll need to speed up some of the gunner training I've got on the schedule."

[ezekiel]

"Before we adjourne this meeting...Mr. Vinge, would you mind if I took an engineer or two off of your hands? Tensions can be high this far away from home and I'd like to set up the lounge so the crew can at least cool off a bit. I'll also need help to set up a counsellor's office for those who'd like to see me in a private more "professional" setting. - Tom quotes professional with his hands, not seeming to care too much for the word - I'd like to speak with someone about Tess as well if that's possible...so if you'd like to kill two birds with one stone and assign me someone who'd like to talk about Tessers while we get the Tiki bar going, I certainly won't be complaining..."

Tom gives the engineer a smile making him wonder if he knows about the Flesch - Crenshaw incident...

[phoenix]

"Before we adjourne this meeting...Mr. Vinge, would you mind if I took an engineer or two off of your hands? Tensions can be high this far away from home and I'd like to set up the lounge so the crew can at least cool off a bit. I'll also need help to set up a counsellor's office for those who'd like to see me in a private more "professional" setting. - Tom quotes professional with his hands, not seeming to care too much for the word - I'd like to speak with someone about Tess as well if that's possible...so if you'd like to kill two birds with one stone and assign me someone who'd like to talk about Tessers while we get the Tiki bar going, I certainly won't be complaining..."

Sean cocks an eyebrow at him. "Merciful Zeus, man, have you seen our lounge? How do they cool off where you come from?

"As for an office.." He shrugs. "No problem, I suppose. We're not short of space in the slightest, I'm sad to say..

"Sounds like a good plan to me, but I'm not quite clear why you need engineers - what exactly are you planning to do that ordinary crewmembers can't take care of?

"I can just give you the codes to talk to Lila Crenshaw, our resident SI expert, as a matter of fact."

[ezekiel]

"Sounds like a good plan to me, but I'm not quite clear why you need engineers - what exactly are you planning to do that ordinary crewmembers can't take care of?

"Where I'm from I was taught "Never do the lighting yourself, you'll just burn down the house." From lighting, false vistas, sound and fire control..I don't think just anyone can help me with that. Of course Trish and others will probably help me as well, so not to worry, I won't burn out your engineers.. ::wink "

[phoenix]

"Where I'm from I was taught "Never do the lighting yourself, you'll just burn down the house." From lighting, false vistas, sound and fire control..I don't think just anyone can help me with that. Of course Trish and others will probably help me as well, so not to worry, I won't burn out your engineers.. "

Sean laughs, relenting. "Sage advice. My shift starts in just shy of an hour; I'll troll for a volunteer then. Sorry, but I really don't want to attempt to spare more than one right now. That should be enough to supervise."

[ezekiel]

Sean laughs, relenting. "Sage advice. My shift starts in just shy of an hour; I'll troll for a volunteer then. Sorry, but I really don't want to attempt to spare more than one right now. That should be enough to supervise."

"More than enough, thank you Mr...lieutenant?...Vinge...I'll contact Ms. Crenshaw once you've sent me the codes."

Tom waits for the captain to call off the meeting then heads towards his quarters.

[Asbjørn]

"Right."

Acting Captain Ran stands and gives a short bow to the assembly.

"That will be all, then. Keep me posted on your progress. Dismissed."

As the officers file out of the meeting room, Ran puts a hand on Tom's shoulder.

"We're all grateful to have you aboard, sir. Thank you for your assistance so far. I'm wondering... with your background in psychology, what is it particularly about the Tessers that interests you? The field of sentience and the various forms it takes is one I am very interested in - as I'm sure you can imagine - and if we could reach a deeper understanding of the ship's functions through sharing our thoughts and impressions on the matter, we would all gain from it. Don't you agree?"

[Archer21]

As the meeting ends, Randall quickly exits the room. Opening the security channel, he explains the need to increase training for new gunners, and asks them to scour the ship for anyone with past experience manning similar weapons, then send them to him at his office in two hours.

That done, he contacts Hiro, leader of the Nippon VARG squad. "Hiro, meet me in the gym as soon as you can. I need to discuss something with you. Simon out."

Walking briskly, Randall arrives at the gym ahead of Hiro, and runs through a quick series of warmup exercises and stretches before she arrives.

[ezekiel]

"We're all grateful to have you aboard, sir

Tom's Jamaican accent seems thicker as he responds in mock indignation...

"Sir? Please Captain, that makes me sound an like old man...Call me Tom, Thomas if you need some formality..."Bynon-my-man" if you feel the groove, though that will probably have to wait 'til I've finished with the lounge. ::wink "

Thank you for your assistance so far.

"Its my pleasure captain."

with your background in psychology, what is it particularly about the Tessers that interests you? The field of sentience and the various forms it takes is one I am very interested in - as I'm sure you can imagine - and if we could reach a deeper understanding of the ship's functions through sharing our thoughts and impressions on the matter, we would all gain from it. Don't you agree?"

"Xeno-psychology...I've worked with dolphins, octopi and whales; I've studied what reports were available on chromatics and I've lived for three years in close proximity to the Luna Qin Embassy. The Tessers are just that, another non-human form of sentience...I agree wholeheartedly that we should share our thoughts on the subject and I'm looking forward to talking with Ms. Crenshaw also."

"Tell me, what really happened to Tess? What did you say to her and how? What intrigues me is why she chose to change her avatar. Now, I don't think there's any cause for concern...We know so little about the Tessers that this may simply be the first step in the Tesser's evolution as a sentient being; breaking away from the programming if you will. - Thomas shrugs -Another reason might be more practical. You are the captain now. It's possible that from Tess's view she needs to communicate with you most effectively and just chose an avatar to fit that need. Depending on what you said she may be emulating you, some kind of hero worship...or she may be trying to please you out of gratitude. It could be something else or a combination of factors...really I can't tell based on what little information I have. With your permission I'd like to look into the matter and maybe get to know the new Tess."

[knave]

{right... I've waited and waited to try to fit a way to get a word in edgewise... so presuming that Lila has been told that Thomas wanted to see her and has been invited in, and heard the last bit of conversation as she came in.}

Lila Crenshaw nods a greeting to all those present and runs a hand through her spikey inch-long auburn hair (which she has been letting grow).

{Presumably there will be some introductions - she is an engineer who spends most of her life in the access tubes and labs after alll}

"Captain, Professor/Doctor/Mr{ - whichever is printed in his file} Bynon. It strikes me that everyone's theories about Tess's new avatar could be solved easily enough without resorting to psychology. We could just ask her."

[ezekiel]

Considering the Flesch incident I don't think you would've been invited to the meeting, but as you implied you could've been waiting outside and come in as the others were filing out. In his file its probably Dr. Thomas Bynon. I'll add it to the file! You know, I expected the other players to put up their files as well (ahem..hint, hint!) Subtle, isn't it?

"Captain, Professor/Doctor/Mr{ - whichever is printed in his file} Bynon. It strikes me that everyone's theories about Tess's new avatar could be solved easily enough without resorting to psychology. We could just ask her."

"Ah, Ms. Crenshaw! Pleased to meet you, call me Tom."

Thomas isn't at all what Lila would have expected in a doctor. Indeed he looks more like a rastafarian with his green, yellow and black beads in his hair and unbuttoned short-sleeved shirt. The contrast with Dr. Flesch is striking to say the least...

"You're right of course. I just wanted to have permission first since there's always a risk that she'll retreat back to her shell. - Tom looks at Ran - a risk we may as well learn of now instead of during an emergency..."

[Asbjørn]

"Tell me, what really happened to Tess? What did you say to her and how? What intrigues me is why she chose to change her avatar. Now, I don't think there's any cause for concern...We know so little about the Tessers that this may simply be the first step in the Tesser's evolution as a sentient being; breaking away from the programming if you will. - Thomas shrugs -Another reason might be more practical. You are the captain now. It's possible that from Tess's view she needs to communicate with you most effectively and just chose an avatar to fit that need. Depending on what you said she may be emulating you, some kind of hero worship...or she may be trying to please you out of gratitude. It could be something else or a combination of factors...really I can't tell based on what little information I have. With your permission I'd like to look into the matter and maybe get to know the new Tess."

"What happened?"

Ran shrugs and says

"I'm sure you could say more about the actual processes, but my understanding is this: Tess has a very strong sense of duty. I'm not sure, but I would not be surprised if that is the core of her programming, so to speak. When she was overpowered in the attack she failed her duties, and failed us. She retreated for fear that she might fail us again."

Seeing Lila enter as the other officers are leaving, Ran nods to her before he continues.

"As for what I said... I first tried a careful and comforting approach. I told her nobody expected her to have done better, and that we had failed her in not being able to protect her. She wouldn't listen to that. In fact, she almost was a little upset that I was apologizing to her. That clearly didn't match her image of The Captain."

"After giving her - and myself - a small break, I tried another approach. I told her that everybody fails now and then, and that if she didn't come back to work she'd be failing us again. The first thing you do when you fall of a horse is to get back on it, in a way."

"How I said it is a bit more difficult to explain. You must understand that Tess' avatar is purely an artificial image and has nothing to do with how she really is. Behind that front is a sentience that is alien to us, despite the fact that we've made her. To communicate with her without going through the usual channel of her avatar, I had to rely on almost purely emotional telepathy. The conversation - if that is the proper word - was a series of emotional impressions, and it took me some time to sort through and analyze them."

"Captain, Professor/Doctor/Mr{ - whichever is printed in his file} Bynon. It strikes me that everyone's theories about Tess's new avatar could be solved easily enough without resorting to psychology. We could just ask her."

"You're right of course. I just wanted to have permission first since there's always a risk that she'll retreat back to her shell. - Tom looks at Ran - a risk we may as well learn of now instead of during an emergency..."

"And the permission is granted, of course. For you, and anyone else aboard. I don't think there's a risk she'll pull away from us again unless something equally traumatic happens. In fact, I think she'll be more than happy to assist in any way she can. On the other hand, I don't think psychological analysis is entirely out of place here. Tess may be able to explain why she changed her avatar, but there might also be thoughts and processes behind that act that she doesn't understand."

[ProfPotts]

"Hiro, meet me in the gym as soon as you can. I need to discuss something with you. Simon out."

The response from the Nihonjin pilot is a simple, "Sir."

A while later, the door to the gym slides open & Hiro enters, wearing her ship uniform, but also carrying a sports bag over her shoulder. Walking over to the Chief she stands to attention, hands clasped behind her back,

"Reporting as ordered, Sir."

[As for everyone else - what are you guys all doing? I know some are in the middle of a conversation, which is cool, but the others? It's a big ship, after all... ::wink ]

[ezekiel]

You must understand that Tess' avatar is purely an artificial image and has nothing to do with how she really is. Behind that front is a sentience that is alien to us, despite the fact that we've made her.

Tom nods and smiles

"Yes, that's not that different from dealing with the Qin actually."

"And the permission is granted, of course. For you, and anyone else aboard. I don't think there's a risk she'll pull away from us again unless something equally traumatic happens. In fact, I think she'll be more than happy to assist in any way she can. On the other hand, I don't think psychological analysis is entirely out of place here. Tess may be able to explain why she changed her avatar, but there might also be thoughts and processes behind that act that she doesn't understand."

"Thank you captain...well there's no sense in waiting...Tess, are you listening?"

(if there's no connection to the tesser in the briefing room Tom will step into the hallway)

[phoenix]

[sean is either part of said conversation, or moving towards Engineering to start his shift. I haven't been keeping track of time.]

[Archer21]

Slowly lowering himself from his final chin-up, Chief Simon looks at Hiro with a grave expression.

"At ease."

He smiles very slightly.

"First, I wanted to thank and commend you in person for your fine job during the battle with the Aberrant. Please extend my appreciation to the rest of your team as well."

The smile disappears, replaced by a crease in his forehead. Whether he's worried or simply thinking is difficult to tell.

"I hear you've been beating up on poor reporters...not that I mind, you understand. I'm not fond of them myself, especially ones that smuggle weapons and drugs aboard my ship. At any rate, tales of your hand to hand prowess have gotten around. If you're anywhere near as good as I hear, I'd like to ask a favor of you."

His eyes are serious now, and his voice lowers. "Since my injuries have healed, I've had no chance to determine how extensive the damage was. I need to see if I'm still in good fighting condition. I would be...grateful...if you would consent to spar with me. I prefer to keep this match, and it's results, private."

[Umoja]

Simon, still trying to maintain his obnoxious confidence is in his room organizing his news report to date. The footage of him avoiding an Abberant in a vaccum is going to be wild back in Sudamerica, if he ever gets back to Sudamerica. He's also been writting alot in Chinese, mostly for practice, since he fears forgetting the writting since it took years to just get to this point.

[ProfPotts]

(if there's no connection to the tesser in the briefing room Tom will step into the hallway)

[Tess is just about everywhere... Maybe not one to spend too long thinking about... ::devil ]

"Thank you captain...well there's no sense in waiting...Tess, are you listening?"

The conference room table's holo-display flashes into life as a two-foot tall image of Tess appears standing in the middle of the table. She's the same pretty Chinese girl, but is now dressed in a Kai Xing uniform (although it's one without rank insignia). She bows low, first to Ran, & then to Tom, then says, in Chinese,

"At your service, Sir."

In the gym...

"At ease."

Hiro's stance widens slightly, but that's about it.

"First, I wanted to thank and commend you in person for your fine job during the battle with the Aberrant. Please extend my appreciation to the rest of your team as well."

"Thank you, Sir, I'll do that. They're a good team."

"I hear you've been beating up on poor reporters...not that I mind, you understand. I'm not fond of them myself, especially ones that smuggle weapons and drugs aboard my ship. At any rate, tales of your hand to hand prowess have gotten around. If you're anywhere near as good as I hear, I'd like to ask a favor of you."

The Nihonjin woman's expression becomes slightly quizical,

"Sir?"

"Since my injuries have healed, I've had no chance to determine how extensive the damage was. I need to see if I'm still in good fighting condition. I would be...grateful...if you would consent to spar with me. I prefer to keep this match, and it's results, private."

The VARG pilot fails to prevent a broad smile spreading across her face,

"It'd be an honour, Sir. I've always wanted to try my hand against a Legionnaire, & they say that you're one of the best, Sir. I just hope that my performance doesn't disappoint you. Reporters are one thing - it's practically a crime to not beat them up - but I doubt my own skills can match yours... Outside of a VARG that is, Sir..."

She bows &, with the Chief's permission, heads into the nearby locker room to change. Soon enough she emerges in her tight-fitting athletic gear, warms-up with a few stretches & practice punches & kicks, takes her position opposite Randal on the mat, bows again, then assumes a karate stance...

[Archer21]

While Hiro changes, the security chief strips out of his uniform jacket and boots, then removes his standard on-duty equipment. The pile of weapons and gadgets stacked next to his boots is impressive.

Returning Hiro's bow politely, Randall stands relaxed, feet slightly apart and hands at his sides. If not for the fact that he just asked her to spar, Hiro might assume he was simply waiting to start a conversation.

He winks at her. "Go ahead."

[ProfPotts]

Hiro begins by circling the Chief cautiously, then starts things off with a rather defensive jab-punch...

[Archer21]

Hiro begins by circling the Chief cautiously, then starts things off with a rather defensive jab-punch...

Moving his head, Randall tries to slip the punch and let it pass by. Simultaneously, he steps forward with his right leg, planting his foot directly behind Hiro's heel and then sweeping his leg back, trying to trip her up.

[ezekiel]

The conference room table's holo-display flashes into life as a two-foot tall image of Tess appears standing in the middle of the table. She's the same pretty Chinese girl, but is now dressed in a Kai Xing uniform (although it's one without rank insignia). She bows low, first to Ran, & then to Tom, then says, in Chinese,

"At your service, Sir."

Tom gives Ran a brief glance before addressing the Tesser

"Hello Tess, how are you feeling today? [...] Your systems are all working fine? [...] Could you tell me why you chose to change your avatar?"

[knave]

Lila waits for Tess to finish with Tom's reply but is obviously lost in thought. Eventually she burst out with "Tess... Do you think that we were brought to this star system? And if so... do you have any idea as to why?"

[Umoja]

Alexander runs into his and Simon's quarters. "Simon! Simon!" He yells as he runs into the room, and frantically gets together all of his formal recording equipment. "Good footage! Their is about to be a fight between that Japanese girl that beat the crap out of you!" He grabs all of his stuff, and runs out rapidly putting it all together.

Simon, who was busy putting together his report, catches on only when he hears the name of the Japanese girl. He stands up, and quickly closes the program he's working on, switching his recording software up. He starts to run down the hall as well, hoping to get there before all of the action is over. The last part of what Yi said finally registers. "Wait a second, Yi! No one beat the crap out of Simon Bolivar Mendez."