[Horizon's Key] Job 01: Shakedown (Prologue)

"Well, I would like to know my pay. Right now i'd be happy if it was just pocket change." Eliot laughed slightly, then removed his hard hat and placed it in the duffel bag on the ground next to him.

"Pay is simple enough. You get paid a percentage of whate'r we make on a given job. But, between jobs, y'r room an' board are taken care of, 's long as ya do y'r part, so don' worry 'bout not bein' able t' buy any o' that."

Gem smirked a little and put her hands on her hips.

"Righ' now, though, th' only thing y'can do 'ere is think of th' Key as home f' th' time bein'...'cause, as it stands, we have no cargo t' haul yet. But it'd be a bit awkward to get somewhere an' need ya an' not have ya, so, in th' int'rest of you actually earnin' y'r way an' not bein' board outta y'r skull...what oth'r skills do ya 'ave?"

"I play guitar and trumpet and piano," Eliot said, "And mix cocktails when I get bored. Other than that, not much. Except medical."

"Thank ya very much Gem." Nicholai said before Gem headed out. Now to find a good room. Nicholai thought as he wandered the decks looking for a room. I guess here is good. Nicholai thought as he finally decided on a room.

Nicholai wandered up to the deck one to glance at the rooms there, as he wandered he noticed that the lights were dimmed and the rooms had been removed of their furniture. Guess I had better head back down then. Nicholai thought as he sighed.

Once Nicholai had returned to deck two he quickly decided on a room. It was near the middle of the ship. Shit, this is probably the farthest away from the armory as I can get, then again if somethin' goes down the first place someone's gonna try to take is the armory. Which is why I dun wanna be there when they do. Surprise them, or sumthin' like that.. the ID-SOL thought as he began to unpack, placing the few clothes he brought into the dresser. "Well, now that that's done, let's go find Ms. Kassi-oh-pea-uh and get to know 'er." Nicholai said as he began to wander the ship in search of Kassiopea.

The one Nicholai was looking for was herself looking around the ship, although for what, she did not exactly know. It was more to bide time more than to explore; she already had the deckplans downloaded into her brain. Already having chosen a room, Kassiopea wandered through the halls pondering things. Suddenly, as she rounded a corner, and still in a sort of daze from pondering hard enough, she nearly slammed into a large man whom she had never seen before. She also did not remember him from the crew roster, so meeting this complete stranger was startling. On guard, Kassiopea asked, "And who might you be?" Being completely untrained in fighting, Kassi knew that if push came to shove, she would have to run for it.

Nicholai looked down as he felt a small impact against his body. Below him was a small woman. "Who am I?" Nicholai asked his voice calm and flat, Now that I think about it I don't know what this Kassiopea person looks like. Nicholai thought before continuing. "The name's Nicholai, I've been hired as security personnel. Who might you be?" While the rather large ID-SOL spoke he crossed his arms.

Ah, Kassiopea thought, I thought she was hiring others, and his name is Nicholai. He looks trustworthy and not altogether prickly. She grinned a small grin and said, "My name is Kassiopea Zero Zero. I, of course, have a longer numerical extension to my name, but I highly doubt if you would want to hear that. Anyways, you can call me kassi if you wish, most people here do. I will be the pilot for this ship of Gem's. Glad to meet you, Nicholai."

Cipher said:

"I play guitar and trumpet and piano," Eliot said, "And mix cocktails when I get bored. Other than that, not much. Except medical."

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"Ah." Gem's head tilted a little as she thought that over for barely a moment before shrugging and smiling. "Well, then, ya can keep th' few of us entertained an' ya c'n never 'ave too many medical staff. Unless y'don't have room for them, then y'got too many...so, I guess you're in." She smiled, then glanced at her datapad...and noticed Lance's notice. She looked around the docking arm for him from where she stood...but no Nemo. Okay...better check w'th' station, she thought, then waved an arm toward the airlock.

"I think y're the last one for th' time bein'...so let's getcha settled."

"Kassi's good. Pleasure to meet ye'." Nicholai said as he extended his hand, which was large even for an ID-SOL, to shake the woman's hand. Dang, she's tiny. Nicholai thought. "So Miss Kassi, whatcha up to?" Nicholai asked with a warm smile.

Kassi shrugged, "Nothing really, I just wanted to get a feel for the ship. That's all." Kassi gave Nicholai a genuine smile as she shook his hand. This guy's massive! But he is kind. I think we'll get along nicely. "Since I've never seen you aboard, I can assume that you were just hired, much like I was?"

"Righto, Captain." Eliot picked up his duffel bag and straightened the lapels of his jacket, then stepped onto the bridge between the station and the Key.

"Pretty much. Mind if I tag along? I ain't got nuthin' better to do." Nicholai. Nicholai paused for a sec, "You're a spacer ain't ya?" Nicholai asked.

"Yes, Nicholai, I am. I was aboard the first ship to make contact with your race. It was an honor to be among those so meet your race before any other. Being able to integrate into your society has been a positive boon to us, as data seekers, as we are able to experience first hand what your culture is really like." Kassi said all this while absently stroking her diatom structure on her cheek. "Where did you come from, Mr. Nicholai?"

"Uhh...that's good." Nicholai said as Kassi spoke of integration, boons, and data. "I'm from Neplesia. You been there?" Nicholai asked as he motioned for Kassi to walk with him while they talked. "You know, I can't say I have ever met a freespacer before..." Nicholai walked slowly so that Kassi could keep up, and he wasn't exactly in a big hurry to get anywhere anyway.

As she crossed back to the Habitation Module of the Key for the fortieth time that day (or hundredth, she was getting a little too used to the normally stomach-nudging twist of moving from null gravity to normal gravity time after time), Gem made a mental list of what she needed to do. Her handling of the crew thing had been rather messy, and the entire thing could have been simpler...plus there were several things she had forgotten or not had time to tell or show her new employees. Well, her datapad hadn't buzzed in a while, so this Eliot guy might be the last one. May as well call a crew meeting once he got settled in...

Gem showed Eliot around the port side of deck two after giving a brief look at the darkened deck one and noting to him why the deck was dark ("Nothin' there yet. Still need to do a li'l shoppin' to stock up."), and were heading to the connecting passage between the mess hall and rec room when they met up with Kassi and Nicholai.

"Hey, ah see you've met now. Well, this 'ere's Eliot. 'e's gonna handle th' cargo, when we get some." She smiled and turned to Eliot, motioning to Kassi and Nicholai. "She's Kass'opea, our pilot, an' this's Nicholai, chief o' secur'ty. An' now, they're y'r new shipmates."

"Nicholai, Kassieopiea... I'll just call you Kassi for simplicity's sake." Eliot nodded. "Eliot Steele, head box stacker of Pisces Station. Of course, that job isn't your usual cardboard box job." He laughed slightly at his usual in-joke.

"Anyhow, i'll also be serving as the crew's Medic and Engineer when the time comes around to do so, so you can find me just about anywhere on the ship."

Gem glanced at Eliot when he added that he was an engineer too. He hadn't mentioned that earlier...

Kassi started to follow Nicholai, but they were immediately accosted by Gem and another man. Another addition to the crew, no doubt. "A pleasure seeing you again so soon." As Elliot was introduced, Kassi nodded to him in turn, "Well met, Elliot Steele; I am the pilot of this vessel, Kassiopea Zero Zero. And yes, you may call me Kassi if you wish."

"Thanks, makes my job a bit easier." Eliot nodded, then caught Gem's facial expression.

"Oh, I forgot about that one, didn't I? Yeah, I worked on the vehicles when they went offline. I have a little tech skill with ship equipment, so I guess I could fix something if it gets broken."

Gem thought for a moment. It was something she needed, but the comparison didn't sound right. If it came down to it, she could cover engineering as long as they didn't meet up with any serious trouble. And she wasn't planning on doing that sort of business yet...

"Well, there isn' much th' same about a ship engine if y'r comparin' it to anoth'r vehicle. Th' basic idea's th' same, but not the specifics...Show me what you know b'for y'go fix'n things, and we'll figure that out," she said, looking interested but still a bit cautious about the idea.