Chapter 1, Part 2: Krenshawz

If you want to start at the beginning....

Rules for this referee-less, play by post game.

Chapter 1

Part 2

Krenshawz

Zernov closes his station down and glances to make sure the others log out of the workstations before leaving. These officers are making it easy now, I'm going to have to jump on slips before they turn into bigger problems. He rises and follows Perez and Herrera into the briefing room. He keys the table to display the local system, tagging key points of interest. Zernov pores himself and the commander a coffee. As Lera Chapman, aide to the Count, approaches he sets out another cup for her and heads to sit next to the commander's chair around the display.

Lero strides into the briefing. While he's always loved the captain's chair and the bridge, the briefing room is where he has always felt most comfortable. A fan of the chain of command, he nonetheless likes the more academic approach he has fostered in the briefing room. The bridge was tactics. The briefing room was strategy. He ensures he has a serious face on and looks at his command staff as we walks to the empty chair by the XO. He sees a cup of coffee. This XO is really trying. That's good. Lero sits down and takes a drink of the coffee. Tasty. We'll run out of this probably. Does the far side of Foreven even know what coffee is? "Let's see what we know and what we intend to do it. What we do here will set the tone for the upcoming systems. And we'll have some tougher nuts to crack than Krenshawz. Once we're docked, let's resupply. Herrera, you'll coordinate that effort. Do you know what their supply levels are?"

Rolling for supply levels: port class B, 8Dx1000
/r 8d6
8d6 = (1+6+6+1+2+5+2+2) = 25


Herrera pops up his tablet. "They've got 25k worth of supplies, sir. Plenty for us to re-stock."

"How much do we need to re-stock?"asks Lero.

Herrera looks back at his tablet. "Um, sir, we've consumed 2,250 tons so far."

"Very good. Restock 100%. We've got the line of credit. If they give us any trouble with that, let me or the XO know." The commander rubs his beard. "Now for shore leave. I want no more than 10% of the crew on shore leave at a time. But I'll want to rotate the crew so that everyone gets time. To help ensure that folks get shore leave often enough, passes start at two days. I figure we'll be in system around four days. I'll leave it to the officers to manage the details of the rotation. We're lucky here that Krenshawz has an up port. In that case, passes are only for the up port. Most of the time, we'll be visiting places with only a downport. We'll have to understand the local conditions to see how wide ranging the passes are then."

Lero looks at the XO. "XO, you're responsible for ensuring that the officers get shore leave as well." Lero drinks some of the coffee. He turns his attention to the Count. "Count, I'll defer to you in how you want to approach diplomacy. I'm sure each system will require a bit of, well, change to ensure we get the best results. Nonetheless, do you have any broad approaches you would like us to be aware of? Following that, anything specific to Krenshawz?"

The Count gets up from his chair and starts walking around the room. Hertwig is thinner and shorter than your average Aslan, so he always tries to compensate for it in small ways, like standing up while everyone is sitting down, or by wearing flashy, padded clothing to make him look more robust than he really is. "As you all know from the XO's reports, Krenshawz is a relatively frail economy, depending heavily on exports to subsist. Thus, it is no surprise that they rely on illegal substances to strengthen their economy. If we also consider that the local government has a very strong hierarchical structure and they cherish childish displays of power, we need to take extreme precautions when dealing with them. We can safely assume some of their local officials are easily offended by any breach in protocol and will not hesitate to retaliate if deemed necessary. If everyone agrees, I suggest we present the local leader with a token of our good will, while reinforcing the fact that we are equal or superior to them.” Hertwig goes back to his seat while signaling his aide to approach him. "Sublieutenant, please go to my chambers and get a couple of bottles from my personal wine reserve."
Hertwig then turns back to the Commander. ”Krenshawz use colors to denote rank inside their social structure, with black being used exclusively by high level officials. Commander, I believe you and I should wear full black outfits, with everyone else using dark brown or blue colors only. Everyone should avoid using light or bright colors in their outfits. Those are usually left for field workers and other blue-collar workers.” The Count turns around to the XO and continues his speech. ”I am aware of the restriction on weapons and armor, but I also know that high level officials are allowed to be escorted by armed guards for their protection. Let us use that as an excuse to bring in weapons with us. Any thoughts?” This is really new to me. I don’t like taking the direct approach. It leaves us open. Vulnerable. I don’t like to show my hand before I’ve had a chance to analyze them. I think I need to get used to this from now on.

Lt. Zernov has a few reports on display in the projection table. Mapped to the system key points of interest it's clear that coms chatter system wide has increased since The Deimos's arrival. Taking the arrival as a baseline, overall traffic is up 14% as the information of the ship's presence becomes widely known. Zernov adjusts the filters to remove media, civilian, and technical chatter, leaving just government, diplomacy, and military still shown. While government and diplomatic channels rise faster than the system average, military takes a sharp decline. "Tight Beams. Looks like the system defense boats here are going quiet, using ship to ship tight beams. It's slower but gives us less information. They are probably conferencing with their command at base. The scientist below had a fix on some of the ships before they went quiet, so if they move provocatively we'll know they've made some decisions about us. But for now, we're the big fish and the little ones are hiding out, watching from the brush. We definitely have everyone's attention."

Looking to Hertwig, Zernov says, "I like your idea of personal guard to keep us safe. I intend to stay armed unless ordered otherwise. Further, I would recommend we bring a small group of marines in soft armor. If they value childish displays of strength, they may also favor bullying someone who appears soft. I wouldn't want them to get the wrong idea about us." Zernov finishes with a grin.

Hertwig's comments about black struck Lero. Black, which Lero wore routinely, was legally required for him to wear on Dlan, his homeworld. Black was the sign of non-Virasans--the religious dictatorship that ruled with iron authority over his planet. Lero wore black because he served the Imperium in the Navy and, therefore, could not be a Virasan. Those who wore black on Dlan were less-than. Lero said, "XO keep a close watch those defense boats and the comms traffic. You and I will carry our service pistols, holstered of course. We'll have Colonel Gregory suit up and a fire-team of marines, dressed as the Count suggests. But we won't push our luck there. Right? If they throw a fit, we send them back--letting them know we don't need to do that."

Ensign Boyd's voice cut in. "Sir, communications incoming from the planet. Official government channel."

"Put them through."

"Aye, sir. Coming through."

"This is President Myrle Morrissy of the Republic of Krenshawz speaking. With whom do I have the pleasure of speaking from the mighty Imperium?" Her voice has a distinct accent to it. Still Ganglic, but with a bit of lengthening in the "a" vowels.

Lero thinks for a moment to introduce himself first--this was his ship and his mission after all. No, this is diplomacy first. I don't need to have my pride. Lead with the diplomat. He gestured to the Count.

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