03/24/01
"It is not the mountain we conquer but ourselves."-- - Sir Edmund Hillary
139-1121.
When last we left our adventurers, they were in varying stages of consciousness, in a stolen SolSec ship, careening towards the control tower with several grav-tanks in hot pursuit.
No one except Mitchell knows what's going on in the cockpit, or outside the ship - thanks to the lack of windows or open viewing ports. Mitchell takes a vector just barely to one side of the control tower, in an attempt to get the grav-tank gunners to hesitate. He scrapes off a few antennas, but does not collide with the tower. One of the tanks does clip the tower on the way by, but the tank's fine. The people in the tower are probably unhappy, but the tank's fine. Mitchell needs enough altitude to kick in the main drives, which means out of atmosphere. This makes it easy for the tanks, but the alternative is to strafe Sparta and that would be very bad. The tanks fire their fusion guns, hitting the ship twice, causing damage to the cargo and the crew. Oh-oh. Superheated plasma hits the side of the ship, sending incredibly hot air blasting through the ship. Everyone except for Mitchell takes damage to some extent. Mitchell isn't too concerned, except for structural integrity. Could be hard on the others, but Mitchell will be fine. Mitchell: <over the intercom> "Get out of the cargo bay!" Trevor and Malcolm are already up near the bridge, so just Megan has to be dragged out of the effected area.
One of the grav-tanks passes the ship, rotating its cannon backwards. Mitchell keeps trying to get out of the atmosphere. Another hit takes out the grav compensators and the ship's gravitic maneuver drives. Bugger. There's a moment of weightlessness, then the ship starts to fall back towards the planet from about 60,000 feet. Mitchell turns the ship so as to get some lift - 1:1.5 (about the glide ratio of an F4 Phantom). Nose down to pick up some speed, then readjust to get away from Sparta. The grav-tanks follow closely.
Mitchell calls Dr. Neil forward to the bridge. Mitchell: "Can you get into the control system?" Dr. Neil: "Surely I would think that would be a Naval skill. I know nothing about operating a ship." Mitchell: "No, it's not about flying the ship, it's about breaking into the override codes." Dr. Neil: "I can try." He sets about that while Mitchell tries to head for one of the frozen lakes nearby. Mitchell: "I'm hoping to be able to fire my main drives by the time we get to that lake." Dr. Neil: "Interesting." "Warning! Approaching ground....Warning! Pull up....Pull up...Pull up." Dr. Neil: "Wait, I think I've got it!" There are some noises aft, and the computer announces "Main drives ejected". Well, no one was expecting that! One of the grav-tanks is hit by the drive as it ejects, the other avoids the drive but crashes in the process.
Mitchell manages a controlled crash onto the lake, a couple of hard skips - just as poor Megan is starting to wake up - then a very hard hit and a long slide into whiteness. A few seconds of quiet, then loud POPS from the explosive bolts as the hatches are blown open and ramps extended. Mitchell goes back into the ship to check on his companions. Megan has a new lump on the side of her head to match the bruise on her jaw, but she's conscious. Mitchell scours the ship for a first aid kit and finds none. That would be too primitive! There is a field surgery and an emergency med-bot, but no autodoc. Mitchell follows the cartoon instructions for turning on the med-bot, and sets it to work on Malcolm first, since Malcolm is the only one with medical training. Malcolm is brought around, wondering how he got all those bruises, and why it's so cold. Malcolm: "I take it we're not on Sequoyah?" Mitchell: "Uh, no." Malcolm: "How far did we get?" Mitchell: "To the mountains outside Sparta." Malcolm: "According to what I've read, that's pretty inhospitable." Mitchell: "Yeah."
Mitchell goes in pursuit of emergency vac suits, and Malcolm sets the 'bot to work on Trevor, then on Gabrielle. The med-bot now needs to be resupplied. There is a field surgery kit to take along, and a weapons locker. The latter requires a SolSec ID to open, which Dr. Neil has. Several gauss pistols and a gauss rifle are found, as well as some tranq equipment.
The situation is a bit on the grim side. No engines, emergency vac suits with locator beacons (they'll have to disable those), no clue where they are, and no idea where to go. There are emergency survival gear and rations, all designed for cold weather (since they're for Polyphemus), and medical supplies. Everything high tech. The vac suits are taken, but will not be used until later, since the thermal suits will be great for now and have no beacons. They get out, finding the aft of the ship sticking out and flashing a big strobe. There's already aircraft headed this way, but not directly overhead yet. It's fairly rough terrain, pine trees and rocks, and about three feet of snow. The gear is divided up among the party.
Things have calmed down now, so Gabrielle's adrenaline level drops. She sits down as the party organizes to head off into the Black Forest. Fortunately, the events of the last few hours seem very distant. Malcolm: <to Dr. Neil> "What is our objective now?" Dr. Neil: "To survive." Malcolm: "We can wait for them to find us and take us back, we'll survive that way." Trevor: "But for how long afterwards is another question." Dr. Neil: "I don't think we should do that. I would suggest we circle around as far away from this ship as possible, then head back to Sparta. They won't expect that." Trevor: "I think pretty much anything we do right now could fall under that category." Dr. Neil: "This shouldn't be too bad. I've done some skiing." There are no skis, no lifts, and no runs, but oh well. They can fashion a toboggan for the gear. Malcolm, having wilderness survival, wants to get out of the area in case of avalanche as well. Malcolm notices Gabrielle's hand wound, and the bits of cranium imbedded in it. Malcolm: "Oh my. I'm going to have to abrade this; it's going to hurt, but I need you to not move." He gives her a bit of painkill, some broadband antibiotics, and it seems to be already starting to heal well. They salvage some fibre-optic cable from the ship to rope together, as a storm is on the way. As they leave they can hear aircraft and land vehicles getting closer.
A half hour into the hike, big flakes of snow start to fall, then a lot of snow and wind. The gear and toboggan are used to make a windbreak and shelter, and the party hunkers down. It's a nice blizzard, white out and all, with the group huddled in their ice cave. Megan: "Oh great, now we're going to be buried alive. What next?" Mitchell: "None of you are Bolivian soccer players are you?" Hungry? They have several days rations, that turn out to be more of those damned Nutri-loaf bars. Argh. Dr. Neil takes out a book and starts to read. It's Robinson Crusoe. How incredibly apropos. Everyone gets sleep.
After an undetermined number of hours, people wake up. There's no way of telling from inside if the blizzard has stopped, but it does seem quieter. Dr. Neil: "Why don't we find out what the reports say?" He takes out a radio from his suit (part of the emergency kit) and turns it on. The reports talk about "the most snow in a short period of time since the blizzard of '03." Literally feet of snow. There's the same old debate of whether or not they should have weather control, but that's for wimps. There's also an update on the search for the escaped convicts which has been suspended due to the weather, and some experts feel they would not have been able to survive. The convicts are armed and considered dangerous, so no one should approach them. Evidently the group is a bunch of psychotic mass murderers, and have committed crimes so heinous that they can't even be described over the radio.
After a longer sleep, everyone awakens. Megan is sweating like crazy, having turned the heat on her suit up too high and being lightly poached. The suit is vented. The rest has helped with everyone's healing process. It's been about 10 hours since the crash, and it's dark. Back to sleep.
140-1121.
The light streaming through the snow wakes everyone up. According to the radio, it's a Snow Day! All nonessential personnel should not come in to work while the clean up goes on. Most of Sparta is interconnected by rail and skywalk systems, as it's normally cold.
Malcolm digs out of the snow, at an angle. He's careful to look for avalanche prone layers, but it seems okay. It's really flipping bright up there! Good thing the survival suits come with goggles. It's light fluffy, powdered snow up to Trevor's waist - much higher for the shorter members of the party. They rotate who goes first between Trevor, Malcolm, and Mitchell, since that's the hardest job and they're the tallest. They don't have to worry about leaving tracks; they're leaving a veritable sled run.
While Malcolm's up front he sees a big furry lump moving along in the snow on a vaguely intersecting route. It's not b'ar sized, thank God, just regular black bear sized. They stop briefly then hook up with the animal's trail as an aircraft passes overhead. They go the direction the bear came from, but then the bear starts to come back that way, quickly. The party positions themselves back to back, with walking sticks aimed out, and wait for the hulking furry thing to appear. The hulking, furry thing that walks on two feet and carries a rifle. Oh. Not a bear, just a big man in fur. Woodsman: "You're the ones that SolSec is looking for." A safety is clicked. Everyone tenses up. The woodsman relaxes and lowers his weapon. Woodsman: "Well, you'd better get out of here. It's not safe. Come on." Like there's another option? Man: "You're all over the news - pictures and everything. I don't know what you did to make SolSec that unhappy. I'm Thanos, the gamekeeper. You're lucky I found you." Mitchell: "And why is that?" Thanos: "Well, if the master or his bodyguards had run into you, you probably would have been shot on sight." Mitchell: "And who is your master?" Thanos: "Cyrus Diomedes." [Yes, as in the evil king of myth.] Mitchell: "So if the master would have had us shot on sight, why are you willing to help us?" Thanos: "I have my reasons. If you don't want my help..." Mitchell: "No one said that." Trevor: "We're just wondering why you were so stupid." Thanos: "Come. Quickly." They go, trying to keep up with the fit man in snowshoes.
Thanos leads the group to a two-story chalet. There's a large radiant stove in the middle of the lower room, so everyone gets out of the thermal suits. Much better! Thanos makes hot tea for everyone. It's a bit crowded and low tech, but better than being outside by a long shot. Thanos puts his .7mm gauss rifle on the rack above the door. A check on the weather report reveals that another wave of the "storm of the century" is on the way in a few hours. Trevor: "That should dampen the enthusiasm for the search." For the foofy off-world SolSec agents, but not the Krypteia. After a while Thanos brings out fresh mushroom and lichen soup and bread. Thanos: "You can sleep here until we figure out what to do with you." Gabrielle: "Thank you." Thanos brings down some fur skins for the party. Megan: "These look like they came off of real animals. They're doing great work with synthetics nowadays." No one corrects her. No one else has any problem wrapping up in bearskin. Some of them may even be happy about it. Gabrielle has dreams about being in a room with people around her talking. She can't tell who they are or what they're saying. Trevor sleeps like a rock, but Mitchell has bedded down on one and doesn't sleep well.
141-1121.
No one dies or disappears during the night, but Thanos isn't there when the party wakes up, and it's snowing again. He returns shortly thereafter with a couple of ex-bunnies. Thanos: "We're in luck - fresh meat!" Malcolm: "Want some help?" Thanos: "No thank you. I don't want you to disturb yourself; I'm used to it." He goes into the kitchen and sounds of chopping follow. Megan runs for the bathroom. Mitchell goes out on the front porch under the roof for a while to watch the snow fall.
Megan's in the bathroom a long time. The chopping is followed by sizzling and good smells. Mitchell returns to get coffee, then goes back out into the grey morning. He can't even see the city from there. No ship's deck to pace, but this will do for now. He's trying to decide if Dr. Neil purposely ejected the drive or not. Probably not. He's starting to wonder if the party isn't being used as lab rats in one of the good doctor's little experiments.
Almost everyone enjoys the rabbit. Thanos: "I have made arrangements with a friend of mine. He will take you in and hide you until we can get you off Polyphemus. He lives higher up in the mountains. Eat and rest. It is an arduous journey. Have any of you climbed a mountain before?" Malcolm: "It's been a while." Thanos: "Well perhaps we will be lucky and all of you will survive the journey." Trevor and Malcolm eat more rabbit. Thanos is able to resupply the med-bot for them.
Trevor: <to Thanos> "Do you have any maps of the mountains?" Thanos: "I have lived her all my life. I know the mountains well." Trevor: "That's very nice but aside from cracking your skull open and taking your brain with us, are there any maps of the mountains?" Thanos: "There may be some in the lodge, but I wouldn't suggest going there. There are servants there, and some I don't doubt will be working for the Krypteia, or SolSec." Malcolm: "Or both, depending on who's paying the best this week." Mitchell: "What sort of plan do you think you'll have for getting us off Polyphemus?" Thanos: "That is not for me to say." Mitchell: "How long a trip is it?" Thanos: "Two days. We could make it faster if we left the scrawny male [Dr. Neil] and the female [Megan] behind." Mitchell has a little chat with Megan about her dietary habits. Mitchell: "If we're going to stay alive, you have to eat what we have." Megan: "I am not going to eat anything that used to be alive." She'll eat the Nutri-loaf bars they have left rather than animals. Mitchell: "Fine, but eat whatever else you can."
142-1121.
Thanos wakes everyone up in the middle of the f...ing night. Thanos: "We must leave now." He helps everyone get suited up and roped together, then off they go. Trevor gets a bit bruised up, and Gabrielle falls frequently enough that Thanos starts glaring at her like he'd like to cut the rope off in front of her. She ends up with a variety of bruises, scrapes, and abrasions, but nothing serious. They make it to the resting place for the night - it's a ledge about 4' deep, and Thanos hammers a spike into the cliff. Good thing everyone is completely exhausted.
143-1121.
No one falls off the mountain, but boy are they cranky when woken up. Trevor is motivated by the thought of the SolSec agent who is currently having his gonads regrown, who is also imagining what he will do when he gets his hands on Trevor's. Gabrielle and Trevor do much better on the climb. Gabrielle is motivated by Thanos' attitude from the day before.
They get well above the treeline to where nothing but desperate lichens grows, and there's a little house. Only humans would be that deranged. Thanos: "This is as far as I go. You need to go to the house." He leaves, moving very fast, even for him. The party goes the 600 metres to the little house, breathing heavily due to lack of oxygen. They make in to the cottage. No doorbell.
Malcolm knocks weakly on the door. It's opened by an attractive 30-something year old redheaded female. Female: "Come in." They enter, Dr. Neil stamping his feet and shivering. The blast of heat from the high-tech stove hits everyone. Female: "Please, sit down. I've been expecting you. Tea?" Malcolm: "Yes, please." Female: "I know just the thing - you're probably feeling the effects of the altitude." Mitchell: "Yes we are." She comes back with tea that makes everyone kind of tingly. The tea makes everyone feel better, but sleepy. The group nods off after food and drink. The female doesn't exchange names, but tells them "Some one will be by in a couple of days to take you."
145-1121.
A man shows up and greets the female in a very friendly manner. The party retreats politely outside to give them some privacy. After a time, or a couple of times, the woman emerges and motions the group back inside.
Man: "The easy part is behind you. Now comes the difficult part." Mitchell: "You have no clue, do you?" The man points to mountain. Man: "We go there." It's not K2, but a lot of up and down. Good grief. The good news is no one is up here in search aircraft. Why bother?
152-1121.
By the time the group makes it to their destination, they feel about 80 years old, but are much more familiar with mountain climbing and have acquired additional local clothing. No one has had a soft bed or a warm shower in weeks. Fortunately the dried food isn't recognizable as dead once living things so Megan will eat it. Even so, everyone loses weight.
Eventually they get to an area with actual trees, and another cabin. After food and rest, they are handed off again.
153-1121.
Thanos leaves the next morning. The new man looks at the group and says "The next part will be the hardest." Gabrielle: "Would you stop saying that!" The man smiles. Man: "This next part will be easier, it's down hill." They take a sort of big dogsled that carries most of the party at one time. They take turns walking. Megan has gotten to the point of not caring what the food is, as long as it's food. The whole mountain expedition has been a long blur of exhaustion, cold, and hunger.
160-1121.
After another week's travel, they meet up with a couple. They feed the group and chat amicably, but without using names or anything. They rest there. By this time the party is very fit, and has a lower combined body fat level as a group, than any one of them had before.
162-1121.
Up the next morning and on the move again. Down and into more trees, but still with snow. Eventually they get to a proper road. Mitchell: "What's this?" The man goes to the callbox and dials a number. They sit down and eat, and then a truck shows up. The couple wishes them well and leave. The party is led into a secret compartment behind a bunch of crates, and the truck leaves.
A couple of hours later, the truck pulls up to a stop and the back is opened. Driver: "Out, quickly." They are ushered out and into a real house. Woman: "Welcome, welcome." They are led into the basement, and to another hidden room. Woman: "I will come and see you later."
A few hours later the woman returns. Woman: "It should be safe for you to come out now. And I'm sure you'll want to get cleaned up." No kidding! Mitchell: "The women can go first." Damn straight. The shower is a Godsend, and Gabrielle emerges looking like her old self. Megan is next, and Gabrielle really notices the um, scent of the group. Fortunately with a high-tech shower there's no shortage of hot water. Megan eventually comes out, and the men are next. Mitchell is too tired to shave his beard, so he just trims and washes it.
The group can stay up in the house during the day, but have to go back down before the woman's husband returns from work. A man does come in to the little room later to take everyone's photo and thumbprint. They are later brought clothing and new ID with borrowed identities (from real people), but with their own first names (too risky to try to remember to answer to 'Lars' when your name is 'Bob') . They're told they are in Thermopoli. Man: "Tomorrow you will be taken to the port." That would be the starport.
163-1121.
They now have papers as certified cargo handlers, ID and all the normal stuff. Officially they are working for the cargo company, and have boarding passes as spacehands on a liner. The ship makes a regular loop from Polyphemus to Teucer, to Sequoyah, to Saxe, to Vantage, to Aquitaine, to Hamilcar, back to Vantage, then back to Polyphemus. They can get off at any one of the stops.
They report to the SS Lydia, a 25,000 ton passenger liner. They board the ship and go through orientation by an assistant purser, who is working on his martinet certification. And then the captain comes down and talks to the new employees. He struts back and forth with his chest puffed out and goes on about how "we run this ship in the Navy fashion.." Mitchell: <thinking> "Yeah right, we'll just see."
Dr. Neil has some how managed to disappear at about the time they boarded, and misses the lectures. Each person is assigned an experienced hand to mentor them. Malcolm gets a relaxed, big guy. Mitchell gets a jerk who just wants Mitchell to stay the hell out of his way. Gabrielle and Megan get moved up to wait staff (as they're attractive females), and get natty little blue uniforms. The assistant purser shows to check them out and adjust their giglines. No one hits him, although Megan comes close. Trevor just does the Joe Average routine and blends in. Mitchell decides to excel at the drills and everything and attracts the unwanted attention of the other new employees, who are upset over being made to look bad. There may be a blanket party later.
Gabrielle and Megan get a chance to talk with the other waitresses. The purser can't be bothered with running the staff, he's too busy schmoozinng the passengers. The assistant purser runs all the staff, and the females advise to "just get it over with", since he's not "that disgusting", and he can give bad write-ups. Megan doesn't say anything.
Malcolm has no problem fitting in with his 'partner', who lets Malcolm do most of the work once he proves himself to be competent. The ship is very high tech and gleaming. A lot of the work is really busy work; just a way to keep people employed.
After the lecture, Megan approaches Gabrielle. Megan: "Right. I say we invite the assistant purser to one of our cabins, beat the living shit out of him and make it clear to him just how things are going to be from now on." Gabrielle looks at her with wide eyes. Megan: "I am not going to let that fat asshole put his hand up my skirt again. I've gone through too much crap to put up with that. Are you with me?" She's had one of those life-changing experiences. Gabrielle agrees.
Mitchell has been trying to find out where Megan is, and he takes a lot of ribbing from his annoying minder. Mitchell and Malcolm go to the crew gym and set up the rock climbing wall with a cold weather setting. Now they're all buff and paranoid, just like the Krypteia.
Mitchell can find out where the women's cabins are from the other crew. The captain keeps the crew segregated, and doesn't want any funny business. He's not a proper Navy captain if he can't get any for himself. The male crew members, especially the younger ones, go on and on about the engineering officer with the large tracts of land (Barbara). Mitchell sends Megan an e-mail. She responds that everything is fine, and she can take care of herself, she's a big girl. "But thank you. Sir."
Gabrielle gets a message from Megan that the assistant purser has been invited to her cabin at 9:00 p.m.; Gabrielle should show up by 9:15 to help with the beating. Mitchell, on the other hand, has been sucking up to the officers to get better assignments, and it works - some of the officers like that. Including the luscious Barbara, who Mitchell actually looks in the eyes. Mitchell gets a call from Barbara to bring up some technical drawings, late in the evening. He's asked to wait while she finishes with the schematics, and offered coffee or a drink. Mitchell is very polite. Barbara makes polite chitchat while she works, inquiring as to whether Mitchell is married, which he's not, or if he has a girlfriend back on Polyphemus, which he really doesn't. Barbara: "You don't seem to fit in with the lower ranks. You're much too well-spoken. I'm curious as to why you're with them." Mitchell: "You have to start somewhere, ma'am." She suggests Mitchell take the exams to become an officer, and she'll even tutor him. She'll make arrangements with the captain, and Mitchell can come by after his next shift. Oh, and when they're off duty, he's to call her Barbara. She's looking forward to seeing him tomorrow.
At about 9:00, just as Gabrielle's getting off duty, the captain shows up. Captain: "Oh, you're one of the new people, aren't you?" Gabrielle: "Yes sir." The captain is incredibly friendly, and talkative, and frequently not really focusing on Gabrielle at all. He reminds her of an uncle. She can see the clock moving on the wall behind him as the man goes on, and on, and ON. It's 9:45 by the time she can get away from the kitchen.
Gabrielle rushes to Megan's cabin and taps on the door. Megan: <through the door> "Who is it?" Gabrielle: "Gabrielle." Megan cracks open the door, reaches out, yanks Gabrielle inside, and slams the door. Megan: "Where the hell have you been?! You were supposed to be here a half an hour ago!" Gabrielle: "I know. I'm sorry. The captain showed up and just kept talking and talking and never getting to any sort of point or end." Megan steps aside to reveal the assistant purser on the floor. He's buck naked and hog-tied, and his mouth is duct-taped shut. He's conscious and struggling, but a bit bruised. Megan: "Not even so much as a 'Shall we have a glass of wine' or a 'hello'. Just off with the clothes and 'I've got what you want right here'." Megan just sort of snapped. There's a mumbled plea for help from behind the tape as the purser looks up at Gabrielle. Gabrielle: "Um...Oh dear." Megan: "I've really screwed it up, haven't I?" Gabrielle: "No... I think everything's fine. Are you all right?" Megan: "Yeah. I've just lost a couple of buttons off my uniform." They find the buttons on the floor, and Gabrielle sends Megan off to get them sewn back on, or borrow a sewing kit. Gabrielle: "Take your time."
Megan leaves, shutting the door. Gabrielle uses a pillow to prop the purser up in a more comfortable position. He's still making noises through the large piece of duct tape over his mustache. Gabrielle: "Can you breathe all right?" He mumbles something. Gabrielle: "Shh. See, that's why I didn't take the duct tape off." Purser: "Mmmm?" Gabrielle: "I'll take the duct tape off in a minute. Now, I understand you're probably a bit confused right now. Megan's just had a rough couple of weeks. I'm sure she didn't mean to hurt you, but we wouldn't want there to be difficulties on the rest of the trip, now would we?" The purser shakes his head. Gabrielle: "I'm sure you're a very reasonable, intelligent man, and I think if we just forgot anything happened tonight, everyone would be happier." The purser nods in agreement.
Gabrielle looks around and finds some nail polish remover to use on the duct tape. She very carefully takes off the tape, making sure the sound dampers are on high. When the tape is removed, the assistant purser makes some really bad comments about Megan that make Gabrielle get angry, which causes an adrenaline spike. She picks the purser up by his shoulders, off the floor, and slams him onto the bunk, breaking it. Oops.
After taking several minutes to calm down, Gabrielle gets her blood to stop singing to her. The purser is looking up with really big eyes, and bruises on his shoulders from small, feminine hands. Gabrielle: "I'm sure you wouldn't want word to get out that two little waitresses put you in this position." Purser: "No." Gabrielle: "So like I said, I'm sure we can forget anything ever happened. It's all just a misunderstanding. Nothing serious. Would that be all right with you?" He nods. There's a tapping on the door. Megan: <from outside> "It's me. Unlock the door." Gabrielle: <to the purser> "Now, I'm going to untie you, and give you your clothes, okay?" The purser nods. Gabrielle unties him and steps outside.
Gabrielle: "He's getting dressed now." Megan: <holding up a small box> "Sewing kit." Her buttons are on. Gabrielle: "Oh, good. I've ripped a seam." Megan: "I can fix that for you." The door opens and the purser comes dashing out with his pants partially on and his shirt hanging out, and rushes down the hallway with occasional frightened looks behind. Megan: "So what's the deal, are we screwed? Oh well, what's the worse he can do - have us kicked off at the first stop?" Gabrielle: "Oh no, I think the assistant purser understands that we just want to be left alone. We had a chat and there shouldn't be any trouble." They go into Megan's cabin. Gabrielle: "I'm sorry, but I think your bunk has been a bit, um, dented. I sort of sat him down on it a bit too hard." Megan: "Damn, that bastard must weigh over 250 pounds. No wonder it broke." Gabrielle: "I'm sure if you put in a request through him, it'll get fixed." Megan fixes Gabrielle's uniform for her while indulging in some girl talk. Megan: "I wish I could handle men the way you do." She wants some advice, about Mitchell. Megan: "He is a superior officer, but he's such a hunk." Oh dear. Gabrielle isn't sure if she can or should warn Megan against getting involved with Mitchell; after all, Gabrielle still believes Mitchell to have taken part in the murder of the SolSec agents on Vantage. Fortunately, Megan seems happy just to have some one to talk to and vent.
Some of the crew have leaped gaily to the conclusion that Mitchell and Malcolm are really, really good friends. That's not the case at all - Malcolm prefers blondes, and Mitchell prefers redheads. It was a doomed relationship from the start.
Mitchell goes to his tutoring lessons and Barbara (who hasn't heard about Mitchell's boyfriend) is out of uniform. She's just been working out, and wanted to make Mitchell feel more comfortable. She rubs his shoulders while he studies. Barbara doesn't want Mitchell to get stiff. In the neck. She likes the fact that Mitchell isn't intimidated by her like other crewmen are. She is brilliant, and that's not her opinion. She's from Tarsus, and regrets never going into the Navy. The male officers don't take her seriously, especially the ones from Polyphemus. Mitchell points out that it's not appropriate for her to fraternize with him while he's in his current position. Barbara: "We won't be in space forever, and what goes on off the ship is nobody's business." She's just letting Mitchell know she's interested. She's lonely, and likes Mitchell's company. She wants to get off this ship and into a better position. Barbara has the technical know how, but needs more leadership skills. Mitchell is willing to discretely give her a bit of advice, and work on his tests.
There's some tittering and asides circulating through the crew about the assistant purser. Malcolm isn't sure what exactly happened, but catches enough to find out that a couple of tough females messed him up. One of the rumors mentions something being 'ripped right off', but that's ridiculous. Gabrielle sees the assistant purser drop off and pick up some paperwork (which is pretty much all he does around the female staff now) and then run off - literally. One of the other females approaches Gabrielle. Blonde: "So, are you exclusive, or do you see other people?" Gabrielle: "Well, it's a new relationship. I'd rather not do anything to mess it up." Blonde: "I understand. If you change your mind..." Gabrielle: "Thank you." Gabrielle takes the first opportunity she gets to fill Megan in on the fact that the rest of the crew has decided they're a couple. Megan is nonplused about the males being misdirected. Megan: "After Polyphemus, fuck 'em. No offense." Good heavens. After being around her, Gabrielle can tell that Megan is still wound really tightly - they're still not safe, even here, and it's getting to all of them, but Megan maybe most of all.
Thanks, apparently, to the assistant purser, Megan and Gabrielle get the cush assignment to First Class duties. Dr. Neil is in first class, in an elegant suit with a beautifully red brocaded vest with a dragon on it. Dr. Neil: "Oh Miss! More champagne." Gabrielle delivers the champagne, and Dr. Neil tosses a couple of chips from the ship's casino onto her tray.
Mitchell invites Megan to meet in the gym later. Just Megan, not Gabrielle. A bit later, the captain comes through with a guest. Yes, he's showing Dr. Neil the ship. Captain: "And this is the engine room..." Dr. Neil: "My this looks like hot sweaty work." This is as he passes by Mitchell, Malcolm and Trevor.
Megan assumes that Mitchell meant her to bring Gabrielle to the meet, so she tells her about it. Megan: "We're meeting the boys on the exercise deck in the morning. 6:00 AM." They show up there at the appointed time, at the gym. Megan goes to work out on the climbing machine, set to expert. Mitchell: "So have the two of you seen Dr. Neil?" Gabrielle: "Yes, he's in first class." Megan: "Doctor Neil always lands on his feet." Malcolm: "He didn't land on his feet for the last month." They go off to the juice bar for a private chat. Others in the gym watch the foursome and muse on the waste. Sigh.
The party needs to decide where to get off the ship. Mitchell: "Vantage would be a place where we can find information. And since we left Vantage we've been running. I'm tired of running." Maybe he should challenge the Ephor to a rock climbing test? Mitchell: "Do either of you have a choice of where to go?" Malcolm: <to Gabrielle> "What about Aquitaine? You're from there aren't you? Don't you have resources, family and friends there who could help?" Gabrielle: "Not a great deal." Megan: "What exactly did you do on Aquitaine, any way?" Gabrielle: "As little as possible." Megan: "Sounds perfect. Can I get a job doing that? And I want to know how come Dr. Neil is a first class passenger and we're working stiffs? He did tip me well though." She got $100 Solars and Gabrielle got $150. Gabrielle: "I don't think getting off at the first stop would be safe." There's a 4-5 day layover on Teucer, which is average. Mitchell wants to get back to Vantage where his pardon and other stuff is. Gabrielle wants to get back to Vantage where her boyfriend is. Speaking of Marco, is he worried about Gabrielle? Ticked off?
Malcolm: <to Gabrielle> "Are you okay?" Gabrielle: Yes, I'm fine." Malcolm: "Any problems?" Gabrielle: "No." Mitchell asks the same questions. Mitchell: "I heard there were some problems with the a. purser." Megan: "No problem." Mitchell: "Are you sure?" Megan: "Yes. He tried to get fresh, but we've come to an understanding." You could say that. Megan: "I'm tired of getting my butt pinched, and having passengers try to stuff money down my tunic. I'll tell you one thing, I'm going to really appreciate waitresses more. And I'll be a better tipper. One thing about Dr. Neil, he does tip well." Mitchell: "And you don't have to worry about your thighs any more." Megan: "So I'm looking all right? I don't look fat or anything?" She shows off her tight rump, making all the heterosexual males even more annoyed at the waste. Megan has always been rather elfin, but now she's really buff; she wishes she hadn't gotten so, well, flat, but she had fewer curves than Gabrielle to begin with. Mitchell: "Malcolm and I come up here every day to work out. If you and Gabrielle want to join us..." Megan: "Sure. <to Mitchell> And sometimes at night I go up to the observation deck. No one goes up there any more. It's quiet and peaceful, and the view is great." Mitchell: "Okay." Megan: "Well, I need to get back to work. I'll see you later." She gives Mitchell's hand a little squeeze as she goes. Mitchell is still thinking of her as a junior officer, even though neither one of them is in the Navy any more.
164 to 170 - 1121.
In the week to Teucer, Mitchell gets three certifications and is singled out for praise by the Captain. That blanket party is looking better and better. If only he wasn't so damn buff. And his boyfriend would probably get in on the fight. Besides, there are a lot of rumors about just exactly what happened to the purser, and the male crew members are concerned that if they tried something against Mitchell, the two lesbians would take exception, and that would be really dangerous.
Gabrielle sees Dr. Neil again in First Class. Dr. Neil: "Since you have contact with the rest of the party, pass these on." He passes her about 2500 Solars in chips to share. Gabrielle is concerned about her physical reactions and wants to talk to Dr. Neil, in private, but there's not really any chance to do that before Teucer; she's going to have to wait. Mitchell is going for "Able Spacehand" rating, which means a boost in pay.
Next stop: Teucer.