Notes from the GM: This chapter follows the HTML section entitled "Looking for Employment". In it, the characters meet for the first time. Two NPCs are present, Hendrix, who is the man who hired the characters for Beradoon Metals Engineering; and Simone, a quiet French woman behind the counter in the waiting room. Thanks go to Joakim Bergqwist who took it upon himself to organize the mailing list posts into chronological order for presentation in these chapters.

Chapter 1 — The Players Assemble in the Hanger Waiting Room

Looking at your chronograph, you noted that it was one hour until you were to show up at Dock 16 in the non-rotating section of the orbital complex, otherwise known as section N. Picking up your gear, you decide to head out early and see what you could find out about the job, ship and fellow new-hires. There would be others, wouldn't there? Heading down the corridor, you wondered again if this was such a good idea after all.

You arrived at Dock 16 after a brisk 30-minute trip. Like the other Docks, it was composed of a hanger with a small office / waiting room off to the side. The cargo doors leading into the hanger were sealed at the moment and the viewports were set to opaque, so you could not see inside. The digital sign on the wall outside the hanger had the now familiar Beradoon logo on it. Glancing to the office / waiting room, you saw another sign on the door to it. This one read "Beradoon Metals Engineering - Mineral Exploitation Group - Terminal Office". This must be the place. Taking a breath, you walk towards the door, which slides open as you near. Inside you see Flight Leader Hendrix in his BDE emblazoned flightsuit. Turning to face you, Hendrix walks over with powerful strides, the clomping of his magnetic boots echoing in the spartanly furnished room.

Hendrix: "Good to see you. You can put your gear over there until we're ready to board. "

Your Character:
Looking to your left, you see a series of empty areas behind cargo nets. Walking over to one, you deposit your gear and re-secure the net, leaving your gear to float lazily behind the netting. You walk over towards Hendrix who is looking out of one of the office viewports while checking screens of data on his data clipboard. Following Hendrix's gaze, you look out of a viewport at the craft in the hanger bay beyond. Painted in a bright orange and brown pattern is a worn looking Thorez-class courier bearing the Beradoon logo on the stubby tail section. The name of the craft is visible just below the cockpit on the side facing you-the Crystal Marble. Ground crew in bright blue and red coveralls emblazoned with the Beradoon logo scurry around the courier performing pre-flight checks and loading the last of the cargo.

Hendrix:
"We're running on time, so we should be ready to board in about twenty minutes. If there is anything you need to have stored give it to Simone, the girl behind the counter. She will put it into a secure case and give you the code card for it. Remember the conditions of your contract. There are some beverages and food in the vending machine in the corner-it's free, and a fresher through the door over there. You're free to talk with the others, but the mission briefing will not be given until we are underway. Please remain in the office, here, until we are ready to board. Now, if you will excuse me, I have to go and check on a few things before we launch."

With that, Hendrix excused himself and walked over to the access door leading to the hanger. Swiping a code card to open the door, he passed through into the hanger.

Jack:
Looking around he notes that he's the first in, so he may as well get a squeezer of tea while waiting for the 'others' to arrive. He turns his head stealthily around to make sure the young lady is not watching and coasts across the room like a schoolboy. Rubbing his bristly hair Jack makes a few choices from the autovender and drifts over near a wall and crosses his legs at the ankles, a study in relaxation. After a few contemplative slurps of tea he reaches into his jacket and produces a little grey Biosampler dressed in a parody of a legionnaires uniform, complete with kepi. Jack smiles and feeds the little construct some fruit bar. {"Hmmm, a Thorez. I hope we're not expected to do any distance in that little feller."}

Simone: 
Glancing up from her work, Simone, looks over at the extremely tall man by the wall. Seeing the little uniform on the Biosampler, she smiles and says:"[French] How cute, what's his name?"

OOC (What does Simone look like?):
Assuming that you are in the office to see her, Simone is a young women dressed in a one piece garment similar to coveralls. Other than the Beradoon logo, there is a single tag above her left breast that says Simone. Her brown hair is shoulder length, tied back into a pony tail that is anchored into the back of her clothes to prevent it from moving on its own in the zero-G. Wearing a trace of make-up, she smiles pleasantly at anyone that she makes eye contact with. She doesn't engage in conversation beyond a polite "hello" unless someone approaches the counter with gear to be stored. She is typing on something behind the counter that you cannot see for your current location.

Jack:
"[French] He's called "Blinky Bill" mademoiselle, he was at one time very dangerous but he is retired now. Aren't you little guy?" He smiles and coasts over to the counter and gently sets Bill down, assuming a quasi-drill sergeant voice, Jack raises an eyebrow and says, "Soldat Bill! Marche!" Bill sits there and says a little "Bloop!" (or some other non-descript Biosampler sound) Jack raises serious eyes to Simone, trying to hide a smile "He could have been a Général you know, I have never been able to emulate this kind of commitment à la Légion.

Simone:
Blushing slightly. "[French] C'est vrais [that's true]. But you distract me from my work, Monsieur Lanigenn and I must assist this gentleman."

Anton: 
As he walk towards the counter desk he notices a fellow sitting by near one of the walls. {"Nice haircut. Probably an ex-milguy. What revolting outfit that little Biosamp has got."} As he approaches the counter he smiles at the girl, put out his autopistol from his jacket and lay it on the counter desk and says: "Simone, what a beautiful name! But, a beautiful name suites a beautiful girl! I have something here I would like to store. Is it possible?"

Simone:
"[French] Yes. Please remove the magazine and empty the chamber."

She produces a small metallic case while Anton unloads the autopistol. Once the autopistol is unloaded, Simone takes it and the magazine and puts them inside the case. Closing the case, she turns it so that the latches are facing Anton. "[French] Please put your palm print here please." Once Anton has placed his palm print on the datalogger, a small code card pops out of the side. Simone takes the code card and inserts it into a slot on the case. An audible click is heard as the case locks. Simone removes the code card and places it on the counter in front of Anton. She then takes the case by the handle and places it behind the counter. "[French] Please retain this code card. You will need it to open the case upon your return. There are about 17 minutes remaining before boarding. Help yourself to some refreshments and relax."
With that, her head turns back down and she begins to type again.

Anton:
After being chastised by Simone, Anton put the code card in his pocket and turns around in silence. Shrugging off the unpleasant feeling of having lost all chances of conquest. He instead turns his attention towards the others in the room.

Vladomir:
Loudly clanking steps precede the dark featured man as he enters. Looking rather uncomfortable, he clumsily stamps about and flings his arms out randomly to try to catch his balance. Waiting in line behind another man, Vladomir lets go of a small, secure case and watches in amazement as it just hangs in the air. Every now and then he gives it a small spin and a barely noticeable grin flashes through his sombre expression. Otherwise he waits patiently until the other man is finished. When he approaches the counter: Simone turns and smiles as he enters the office. He merely hands the case to Simone and shows a visa. Simone:"[French] Hello Mr. Druganov. Please place your palm print here." Simone takes down the information and stores the case without a word as well. Simone proceeds to put the case into a slightly larger metallic case similar to the one in which Anton's weapon was stored. Locking it the same way, she returns the code card to Vladomir. Vladomir nods curtly and almost goes off spinning as his boots nearly latch on to each other! But he manages to catch himself on the counter, and with a slight scowl at his feet, Vladomir clumsily clanks off to an empty corner and stands silently.

Jack:
Two guys come into the room and Jack looks up, when the first guy looks him over Jack nods to him and waves the Biosampler's paw. As the second guy comes in Jack makes an effort not to stare at his difficulties, no one likes a smart *rse. While they are distracted with Simone he gives them an appraising glance, taking in their build, stance and clothes. (OOC: can I get a description guys?) While Vladomir is "cheerfully" stowing his things, Jack sails over to Anton and engages his boots on the deck.
"[English] G'day! I'm Jack, Jack Van Lanigenn. Pleased ter' meet ya." (Extends to shake hand) and then the same to Vladomir if Anton speaks English, otherwise he tries Anton again in French. (If Vladomir shakes his hand, Jack won't shake but rather push down so Vladomir does not go flying off into the room.)

Anton: 
"[English] I'd be Anton Schneider. The pleasure's all mine!"Shaking the other's hand with a strong and firm grip.

As he see Jack moving to greet "the fellow with the hat" Anton slowly moves toward the vending machine, dressed in a new brown La Chappelle-Morrison suit his bodily features make him look a bit like the ancient emperor Napoleon Bonapartre. The short, well 5'7'' long body belongs to a stocky man of great strength and agility. His swiftly walks the room with an erected bearing that could have been taken from the Royal Prussian War Academy's "Instruction for the Cadets behaviour in major Ball halls". His brown-reddish hair and his small deep-set blue eyes make him look rather boyish and humourous even as he is in his late thirties.

Vladomir:
The man standing silently in the corner is of a fit, if average build. Dark hair and eyes are set into tanned, leathery skin and his face is framed in thick, dark brown hair and a trimmed beard and moustache. During various moments of arm flailing, a small bit of an ugly scar can be seen on his shoulder through his collar. He is wearing a nice but rather worn leather jacket and a wide brimmed leather hat, which at the moment floats just above his head for his amusement apparently.

As Jack floats over to him, Vladomir grabs his hat and sets it on his head firmly. Pursing his lips for a moment while the man extends his hand, he finally decides to take it and returns a firm, but short handshake. "Vladomir Pyotrovich Druganov." He then stands silently once more, looking at Jack with expressionless eyes.

Gunter:
I walk briskly to Simone's desk and hands over a small case. 'Bonjour Mademoiselle. Please store this for me. Could I have a receipt, please?'

Simone:
Simone processes the case in the same way as the others, giving Gunter a code card as his receipt.

Gunter:
As I walk to the vending machine and grab as much food and drink as socially acceptable, I try to check out the rest of work crew, again without seeming like some sort of weirdo. Free food and beverages? Damn, this job can't be that bad!

Anton:
At the vending machine he sees a guy munching some food. Walking up to him he says:" [French] Ahh found some food I see! Hmm.. Are they any good? I'm Anton Schneider by the way." (Extending his hand for shaking). 

Gunter:
Seizes Anton's hand and shakes it in a firm, but not strong grip (thousands of years of social evolution up till this point). Opens his mouth to respond, but is distracted with the knocking on the window.
Gunter: [French] I see we must go we must talk onboard, yes?"

Jack: 
Jack is floating just off the deck with his elbows on Simone's desk. He is very tall, almost seven foot but is also very skinny. He appears to be in his early forties and has the too-tanned look of someone who has had no choice as to where they sleep. You definitely would say he is not model material with his knobby cheekbones, stubby haircut and hollow cheeks, but he has smiling grey eyes with a few crows-feet at the corners that seem to indicate he smiles often. At present he is wearing a faded set of coveralls under a ship jacket and a faded cap bearing the patch "SV Botany Bay."

Karl: 
As the other members in the waiting area settle in and get to know each other another man enters the room. He is 6' tall with a muscular, athletic build. He is wearing nondescript, casual clothes and carrying a Legion issue duffel bag. Karl has short-cropped blonde hair and a well-trimmed goatee. He moves to Simone's desk with the ease of a person used to a zero-gee environment. In heavily accented french he says; " Here are my papers, mademoiselle. Will you need anything else? " After Simone dismisses him, he turns to stow his gear bag and sees Jack's uniformed biosampler. A big grin spreads across Karl's face, exposing white, horse-like teeth. " Pentapod ungeziefer! " exclaims the man with a loud laugh. " I think I have served with this little one."

Jack:
He swivels his head around at the sound of Karl's voice and a big smile lights up his face. "G'day mate! How are ya?! Don't tell me the Legion let you go?" Jack pulls himself onto the ground with his wrists and shakes Karl's hand in an enthusiastic grip. "When did you get off Aurore, Karl ? What'll the RIE do without us eh?!"

Karl:
Karl returns the tall man's handshake and replies; " I mustered out only a few months ago, and caught a transport coreward. That's when I fell into this job. I don't know about you, " winks Karl as he releases his friends hand. " but I think the Regiment will do fine with or with out me."

A bump against the Glass:
While everyone is chatting and milling about the waiting room, a loud noise sounds, grabbing everyone's attention, including Simone's.

Vladomir:
As the bump echoes through the room, Vladomir makes a quick ducking motion. But halfway through, one of his boots comes off the floor and his other three limbs go flailing about trying to catch his balance. When he finally does, his leather hat has been knocked loose and is slowly spinning about a meter above his reach. As the tech passes the window to retrieve his tool, Vladomir stares at him unblinking with cold eyes. He follows the tech with his gaze as the blushing man slips out of sight.

Anton: 
As Anton stretches his right arm to be able to shake the hand of the guy by the vending machine (Gunter). He hears the noise and instantly reacts, stiffens and makes a fast stiff movement with his left hand spilling most of the pineapple beer over his chin and the front of his suit. In a desperate attempt to flee the cold drink he takes one symbolic step back. Drying his chin with his right hand he spites out the words: [German] " God damn it! Spacers!!! Incompetent..." The words dies on his lips as he is aware of the others in the room. Rather embarrassed he retains a relaxed posture and turns his face again towards the guy by the vending machine (Gunter) and smiles...

Everyone looks toward the viewports on the office way facing the hanger. A large tool has floated away from one of the ground crew with a bit of speed and hit one of the viewports. The crewmember floats over rapidly to retrieve it, a sheepish look and red face visible to all.

Looking past the ground tech, two other crewmembers can be seen attaching large, insulated hoses to the underside of the Crystal Marble--fuel lines, most probably. Additionally, two similar lines can be seen already attached to another location. The main cargo doors in the top of the craft are beginning to close, indicating that loading must be completed. At the far wall of the hanger, two people wearing what looks like grey coveralls can be seen standing together.

Simone:
"[French] Imbecile! He's always trying to make me jump! I guess he didn't see all of you in here."

Chuckling to herself, she looks at the chronograph mounted in the wall.

Vladomir:
Vladomir gives a sidelong glance to Simon when she chuckles. Looking out the window at the ship, then back at Simone, he shakes his head and slowly crosses himself. Letting out a low sigh, Vladomir looks up at his hat, spinning out of reach. He looks at his boots, and again up at his hat. Pursing his lips Vladomir stands undecided, looking at his hat.

Simone:
"[French] It looks like preparations are going well. Boarding should start in about 8 minutes."

Vladomir:
Vladomir again looks sidelong at Simone, and back to the ship out the window. He then slowly rubs his eyes.

Jack:
Standing with his back to the window Jack spins his head around to locate the source of the noise and smiles at the idiot playing pranks. As he looks past the crewman to the Thorez, Jack notes the second set of fuel lines already attached. His eyes narrow and he says to Karl "That's funny, I wonder why there's 'nother set a lines? Whata'ya reckon Karl, has that little canoe gotta 'nother tank hidden somewhere? I can only think of one reason ta' have another power plant . . . "

Karl:
" I think maybe our little ship is more than it seems."

Sali:
As everyone is chatting, the corridor door opens and a tall, slim woman with a medium mahogany complexion enters the room. Dressed in a formal pants suit and white headwrap, the woman strides over to Simone with a lithe gait and engages her in rapid conversation in French.

Sali:
"Salut, I'm Sali, Sali d'Alpha. Here are my papers. I have nothing to store. When do we leave?"
Simone:
"Bonjour, Sali. You are the last one. We should be boarding momentarily."
Sali:
"Good. Is there a fresher? Zero-G always makes me queasy until I get used to it.”
Simone:
"There is one in the corner."
Sali:
"Thank you."

With that, Sali turns and rapidly walks towards the fresher. Opening the door, she disappears inside, closing the door behind her.

A few minutes after Sali's arrival, the door to the hanger opens and Hendrix strides back into the room with his ever present datalogger.

Hendrix:
"Simone, is everyone here?"
Simone:
"Yes. Mlle d'Alpha is in the fresher... zero-G sickness."

At that moment, Sali comes out of the fresher.

Sali:
"Yes, Simone is correct. But, I should be okay in a few minutes."

Hendrix:
"Good. Alright everybody. We are ready to board the Crystal Marble. Accommodations are a bit cramped, so some of you will have to share staterooms. Sali, you'll have the single stateroom. Jack and Karl, you'll have to share a double. Anton and Gunter, the same for you. And you, Vladomir, you won the coin toss and get the last stateroom all to yourself."

Sali:
Sali smiles a brilliant white smile and nodded, looking fairly pleased.

Hendrix:
"When we enter the hanger area, please proceed single file behind me to the air lock. Once inside and through the airlock, you'll see the staterooms with names on the doors. Stow your gear in your staterooms and then meet back in the passenger lounge. I'll be on the bridge during launch, but I'll come back down to brief you once we are underway. I recommend that everyone take a seat during the launch as the acceleration can take you by surprise if you are not used to it. The launch catapult will send us out of the hanger and then the thrusters will cut in once we are clear."

Hendrix:
"Now, please grab your gear and follow me."

Hendrix waits while everyone organizes themselves and grabs their gear. With everybody ready, Hendrix walks out towards the Crystal Marble and up the ramp into the airlock. Most of the ground crew are gone now and the few that are left are wearing rugged P-suits.

Vladomir:
Vladomir lets out a sigh when Hendrix calls for the boarding. Looking up at his hat, he slowly tries to push himself off the floor. But as he tries, he can't seem to release and push off at the same time. First he tries to jump and the boots stay attached to the floor. Then he releases them and drifts away from the floor so he can't find a surface to push from. Finally he manages to get back to the floor. Pursing his lips, he slips his feet from the boots and pushes towards his hat. Slowly drifting by he grins slightly as he manages to grab his hat. Putting it on his head, he seems to forget he's still moving and bumps into the ceiling with his head. With a surprised flinch and a frown, Vladomir pushes himself back down, sending him into a slow spin. When he reaches the floor, he manages to grab one of the boots with his hands, and using the boot like a handle, Vladomir pulls himself to the boots and slips his feet back into them.
As the group files out after Hendrix towards the ship, Vladomir tries to keep a good distance between him and the persons on either side of him. Keeping one hand on his hat, he clanks clumsily towards the ship.

Sali:
Nodding, Sali picked up her roll-on case, and fell in line behind the others, deliberately choosing a last place in line. Achieving this, she stopped to have a last word with Simone, with sly aside and smile: "Ah Sister, it is extraordinary how not even a minute produces some demarche, no?"

Simone:
"Yes, isn't it? Safe voyages to you all."