Thank you Alex for another wonderful update of the daring exploits of the crew of lunatics. Even though the gremlins decided to stay home for a change.

Tom Rux

> On 12/06/2020 9:47 AM Alex Goodwin <xxxxxx@multitel.com.au> wrote:
>
>
> FreeTrav has pointed out that I was bending a few things, but buggrit,
> all in service of a good yarn.
>
> ---
>
> Shortly after assuming the acting captaincy due to incapacity of
> Moustache, Nikki got thumped by a freaking-out passenger and was sent
> switchoff.
>
> Curly was thus the only non-incapacitated person aboard with a limited
> mate's ticket (Drake wasn't aboard, Moustache and Nikki also had one
> each but they weren't here right now, leave message after the beep),
> thus he assumed the office of captain.
>
> Now the players were worried.  It was outbound from PROCYON - weirdness
> was to be expected.  Two weird things in jumpspace, one streaming-smoke
> approach (which opened the game) - Procyon didn't result in warm and
> fuzzy feelings.
>
> Curly landed safely on Ys - was a bit of a surprise to the players to
> learn how master's and mate's tickets functioned (at least IMISWTU).
> Holding a _master_'s ticket permits you to command an
> appropriately-sized vessel (subject to additional endorsements) in your
> own right, while a _mate_'s ticket , should the holder end up in
> command, requires said holder to beat feet to the nearest D class port
> or better, then either repair or replace the master's ticket holder.
>
> Because MGT2 partitions starships into capital vessels (5k+ dton),
> starships (100 - 5000 dton) and small craft (< 100 dton), I followed
> that break up for the tickets, at least in the Terran Confederation.
>
> A limited master's ticket (otherwise unendorsed) permits the holder to
> command a _spaceship_ up to 5 kilodton (and an otherwise unendorsed
> limited mate's ticket permits the holder to stand watches aboard such
> ship).  Adding a starship endorsement to your ticket allows you to serve
> aboard a starship or spaceship in those capacities.  Big surprise, you
> need the corresponding mate's ticket to go for a given master's ticket.
>
> The TCN Naval Forces handle their own licensing - this is for civvy
> street.  Naval/scout tickets generally go straight across to their
> civilian counterparts - an active-duty naval officer holding an
> unlimited master's ticket suffers no bar from their ticket to command
> _any_ Terran-flagged starship or spaceship, civilian or military.
>
> Unlimited tickets remove the tonnage restriction and are comparatively
> rare in the 2128 TC - there's a few LASH tenders big enough, but IW2 has
> cramped their operations somewhat.  (The players really liked this bit
> of background - said it helped with the slice-of-life).
>
> Upon landing on Ys and recovering from the thumping, Nikki attempted to
> get her master's ticket and bombed out miserably.  While she was doing
> that, Curly had the bright idea to forge the still-switchoff Moustache's
> capacity so they could sod off.  Other PCs weren't too keen on that -
> they felt the downsides of getting rumbled were way too high.
>
> Nikki looked around to see if she could find anyone with a master's
> ticket to work their passage - instead, she found (to much player lulz)
> 4 dton of jump-drive-grade lanthanum available on spec.
>
> The second week of lookabout found the lot of lanthanum, and a recently
> arrived blow-in from Remulak that wanted to go to Terra (played by the
> late, great, John Banner) who had ticket, but no ship.  Captain H.G.
> Brandtner had heard of the _Paradise_'s previous exploits (such as
> landing on Procyon while trailing smoke) and thus was a little nervous,
> but beggars can't really be choosers.
>
> NIkki offloaded the previous cargo and found a hold-full of gubbins that
> needed to go to Terra.
>
> With everything loaded, fuel sorted out, docking fees paid, and a mix-up
> between Brandtner and Curly that had Wombat and Herr Sweep falling apart
> laughing sorted out, Herr Kapitan gave the order to lift.
>
> (Yes, looks like it was arriving at Ys).
>
> Entry into jump was routine, and nice and boring continued all the way
> to jump exit at Procyon.  Brandtner, Nikki and Curly were all on
> tenterhooks until Das Boot docked at Procyon's highport. 
>
> Refuelling (and Eddles grumbling about docking fees) later, jump
> outbound to Junction was also nice and boring.  Nothing showed up on
> sensors in either jump.
>
> Moustache finally came around under Bert's care on the jump to Terra,
> which (thanks to the extra prep that Nikki sold to Brandtner) was also
> boring and routine.
>
> To no one's great surprise, the Lunatics learned, shortly after
> emergence, that Phoenix Orbital was congested.  They ended up waiting 64
> hours for a spot to open up, before Curly rocked out boxcars on the
> approach and landed perfectly.  The smug git showed off the _Paradise_'s
> thrust vectoring capability by backing into the berth and landing
> perfectly flat - all the landing gear feet touched at exactly the same time.
>
> El Capitane met them at the berth, and relieved Brandtner of his
> temporary command (EC casting a "WTF?" look at Nikki, as this wasn't the
> captain who had taken the boat out from Phoenix Orbital).  H.G.
> gratefully disembarked, thanking Nikki for the boring trip.
>
> Moustache also disembarked, to head back to Moustache Ltd HQ (a
> hole-in-the-wall rented space in the lower-end commercial concourses of
> Phoenix Orbital ) and pick up The Work (the planetoid of paperwork
> thrown up by the Goofy Holler and its resulting discoveries) again.
>
> --
>  
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