The Crew

After interviewing many applicants here on Cresta (including three "engineers" rejected by Chief Engineer Scott Grok as not competent), the Blue Pelican's crew looks like this:

Captain / Owner, Cargo Master, Navigator --

     Jonas Elza Macbeth     8 9 8 C E 7    (age -- 45 standard)

        Navigation - 4    Broker - 3    Pilot - 2    Ship's Boat - 2    Trader - 2
        Legal - 2   Administrative - 2   Bribery - 2   Computer - 1   Leader - 1
        Streetwise - 1    Liaison - 1

1st Officer / co-Owner, Purser, Medic

    

     Kara Lou Macbeth      6 9 7 9 8 4     (age -- 37 standard)

        Liason - 3   Medical - 2    First Aid - 2   Steward - 2   Ship's Boat - 1 
        Ship's Guns - 1    Jack-o-Trades - 1   Computer - 1   Carousing - 1
        Bribery - 1    Pistol - 1   Blade - 1

 

2nd Officer / Pilot

     Rosamund "Roz" Kizimi     C 9 8 B 8 7   (age -- 31 standard)

        Pilot - 3   Ship's Boat - 2   Navigation - 1   Computer - 1
        Communications - 1    Vacc Suit - 1   Survival - 1   Pistol - 1

 3rd Officer /  Chief Engineer

     Scott Grok          8 A 8 B 7 3       (age -- 34 standard)

        Engineering - 3   Graviotics - 2   Mechanical - 2   Electronics - 1
        Ship's Guns - 1    Vacc Suit - 1   Carousing - 1    Brawling - 1
        Streetwise - 1

  

4th Officer /  2nd Engineer

 

     Tamara "Tammy" Quinn    7 6 A 9 6 6   (age -- 26 )                        Engineering - 3    Computer - 1    Grav Craft - 1    Ground Craft - 1    
        Navigation - 1   Vacc Suit - 1    Recon - 1    Survival - 1     Shotgun - 1

 

 Steward

     Astrid Fonk       B 8 7 7 6 5      (age -- 29 standard)

        Steward - 2    First Aid - 2    Ship's Guns - 2    Streetwise - 2    

        Pistol - 2   Blade - 2    Cutlass - 2    Stealth - 1   Vacc Suit - 1

Steward

     Bo Nukkels       6 B 8 7 5 6      (age -- 24 standard)

        Steward - 2    Gambling - 2    Ship's Guns - 1     Carousing - 1

        Streetwise - 1    Blade - 1    Brawling - 1

The Ship

Cresta -- C-768 988-C / Gateway Sector / Gamma Quadrant / Beckann Subsector

We have arrived and have established our ownership of our 300-ton Far Trader . . . but have also been advised that it is "occupied".

Arriving to evict the tenant and take possession of the ship we found that it was in great shape . . . and the "tenant" turned out to be the ship's former Chief Engineer, Steve Grok.  He stayed while the rest of the crew left to sign onto other vessels after the change of ownership was announced.

He said he had been with the ship for over four and a half years . . . and when everyone left he figured that he finally had enough time to fix a lot of "little niggles" that had bothered him but which couldn't be done while the ship was active.

He then gave Kara Lou and me a guided tour of our new home.

Basically she was a "stretched" Dione class Far Trader with a Jump-2 capability.  There were the Captain's and five more crew quarters as well as six double-occupancy passenger staterooms and eight low berths (plus one emergency medical low berth).  The Captain's cabin was over-sized and would be perfect for Kara Lou and me.

She had 95 tons of cargo capacity and could carry 66 tons of fuel (but the cargo hold is also plumbed for collapsible and demountable fuel tanks in the event that multiple jumps are planned).  In addition, she was streamlined with fuel scoops and facilities for refining unrefined fuel.  She was equipped with two hard points which had sandcasters and pulse lasers (primarily for defense and to discourage bandits on more primitive worlds).

There is one ship's vehicle, an air/raft.

On the negative side, her exterior design has a rather ungainly appearance . . . even though it is painted a rather lovely "ocean reef blue" color . . . which perhaps explains why Kara Lou suggested naming her the "Blue Pelican".

On the interior, everything was immaculate.  A quick glance and raised eyebrow to Kara Lou got a smiling nod . . . so I asked Scott Grok if he'd like to sign on as Chief Engineer.

He said yes, on one condition.  He wanted a veto on any additional Engineers.  He wanted to check them out not just read their credentials.  If he didn't feel that they were capable of treating the ship properly, he didn't want them as crew.

I had no problem with this, so we now not only have a ship but had now begun recruiting a crew.

"The Deal"

Well here am I, Captain Jonas Elza Macbeth,  in my mid-forties and I'm starting a whole new life.

I'm a "free trader", a merchant who plys the starways.  I've spent my whole life in the Imperium and now I'm leaving it forever thanks to the "deal" that my wife, Kara Lou and I have worked out with our former employers.

Forgive me but I need to be a bit circumspect with names and details.  We discovered absolute proof that a certain highly-connected person had committed something that would result in rather extreme punishment if brought to the authorities.

However this individual was near-and-dear to someone very high up in power . . . so we contacted them first and eventually a "deal" was worked out.

We would keep quiet and leave the Imperium to travel deep into the wilds of the Gateway Sector (near where some relatives of Kara Lou lived).  And there we would stay, never to return to the Imperium or reveal what we know.

The "carrot" . . . we would be provided a healthy "retirement" benefit and transportation to our destination, Cresta, where we would take possession of a 300-ton jump 2 merchant ship.  She was an older Tech-11 "Dione" class Far Trader, but in good shape with no mortgage to worry about.

We jumped at the idea . . . and we are almost there.