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.