The Voyage of the Joyous Venture
Part
1
Interview day; what have we
got that they haven't; truth and rumours regarding Komiko; last trips home; nice
ship – shame about the gravitron sink
Andi, Miho Takamura, Antonio and Robert Smith-M'Butu all arrive at Trilon HQ at Triton to interview for jobs advertised under TI&A/ES0308204. In all cases except Robert there are clearly people present who are better qualified for the jobs. Nevertheless all four are offered the jobs and, as far as they can tell, are the first choice of candidate.
The crew meet Komiko Jones who is their direct line manager. She is taking a holiday from her job as a Trilon executive to pursue an interest in the Ancients sites in the galaxy. The vessel to be used on the ship is renamed the Joyous Venture and the four main crew are given leave until 5th October.
Speculation Komiko, from information discovered by Andi, appears to have seriously upset another Trilon executive by sleeping with her husband and the "holiday" appears to be in some sense an enforced one. Observing the rather quirky nature of the crew and the service history of the craft one might speculate that it is a holiday from which she is not intended to return. On the other hand there must be cheaper and less convoluted ways to get rid of an opponent - Komiko herself has a reputation for such behaviour so it may be that the "holiday" story is some sort of bluff.
Wednesday 23rd September -
Monday 5th October
All four crew return to their previous place of work or to see their families (in some cases both).
Antonio visits his mother and observes he is being followed by Komiko Jones' bodyguard, Sangiv Singh. Since Antonio is semi-on the run from Kurita he allows Sangiv to continue following him. At the end of his stay Antonio is attacked at the space port by two Kurita agents and only rescued at the last minute by Sangiv who kills them.
Andi returns to Thisbe where she digs up what information she can on Komiko Jones. It is worth noting that she was unable to find any information on Komiko that was more than a couple of years old. She is also vaguely threatened by her ex-husband, Roland, though this is not unusual behaviour for him.
Robert returns to work where he is contacted by unidentified parties who offer him a lot of money in return for information about the nature of the expedition Komiko has hired him for. Robert turns down the money but agrees to pass on information if they can put him in touch with members of the Kafer species. They say they will get back to him.
Miho visits her family on Earth. While there she is contacted by "Maria" who she forms the impression is an Italian or Spanish woman based off-world. Maria warns her against Komiko without providing any further details. Miho also contacts Komiko asking if she has access to the papers Felix Holsten was unsuccessfully trying to get published. These papers arrive within hours suggesting that Komiko was already in possession of the material. She also discovers that Robert's father, Charles, did most of the original surveying of the Ancients site on Bheekhu.
Monday 5th October
The crew board the Joyous Venture for the first time. It is decided that Komiko, Andi, Antonio, Robert and Miho will all have cabins while Sangiv, who is also on the voyage, will have one of the berths off the main communal area.
Antonio Falchi needs new non-Kurita issue clothing. Komiko lends him her credit card. He then checks out the ship with his sub-cranial interface and is impressed by its E-War capabilities.
Andi arrives as Komiko inspects the armoury. Its contents include: 3 large (Traylor 57 9mm police special with dual mag facility) and 3 small (Giscard FM5-15 5mm) pistols, 2 serious assault rifles (Jaschonek Fabrikant SK-19 9mm BP with integral grenade launcher), 1 man-portable plasma rifle (Jaschonek Fabrikant A-9) and 6 (naff) work overalls with big pockets for armour plates.
The interior of the space ship is roughly:
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Downstairs: Engineering |
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Upstairs: Flight Deck |
Vac suits are assigned as follows:
Komiko gives Robert permission to bring Clarence on board on condition he is kept restrained. Clarence will not fit inside Robert's Vac Suit so Robert resolves to construct some sort of portable cat box for him.
The visit to Bheekhu is discussed and it is noted that the Ancients site is part of a Holy Site and is difficult to see.
Jump out is uneventful.