9. Interplanetary space en route to Earth

[Renekin Skywalker]

It should be noted that, as part of its recognition as an independent nation, Mars was made to agree to return to Earth certain pre-colonial artifacts. These included a number of probes of American, Russian and Chinese origins. Each would be brought to Earth under relative secrecy, alone or in bulk. Once on Earth, they would return to the nation of origin.

There are two reasons why secrecy was to be maintained. First, because the probes have significant historical value. Second, because the most recent ones contained a universal friend beacon that circumvented defense satellites. These satellites, it should be mentioned, are still in space. 

While more intelligent than they used to be, with the capacity to distinguish freighters from combat ships and WMDs, they would still be expected to respect the universal friend beacon.

To return to the point, the probes are being sent back in relative secrecy to ensure the universal friend beacon does not fall into he wrong hands.

So, having received their portion of the shipment, the Galaxy sets off from Mars.

[dakota]

With the Mars fiasco behind her, McKenna considered breaking into her last stashed bottle of vodka. She decided against it and decided to pay the hydroponics bay a visit to see if it had survived, and in what state.

[Renekin Skywalker]

In hydroponics!
McKenna found that not much had changed in the hydroponics, except that they looked like they had gone through a warm day or two (from the landing), and had since recovered and were missing the care and attention.

On the bridge!
Not long after the ship had broken Martian orbit and Foreman was still in the pilot's seat, Tawfeek had called Jessica up to the bridge.

“OK. We need to be on the quiet side,” he said, looking over the large, glowing navigation table. “That won’t be hard for the next day or two, but we will eventually come too close to some shipping lines for comfort.” He pointed to one spacelane that was flashing orange. (Such coloured ones often meant piracy was on the rise there.) “Stephens, I will need an anti-boarding plan from you, soon. And Foreman, I want you to designate a safe storage area on the bridge for a small firearm. McKenna and Mensk don’t need to know where any guns are, but I want them to know which doors to lock first.”

He paused, looking again at the map. “In the meantime, I’m going to make sure we never need any of it. Let’s hope we can handle a week alone, together.”

[Mierin]

Jessica nods at Tawfeek as she says, "I'll be working on it in my quarters if anyone needs me." She then heads to her quarters and starts drawing up plans to prevent boardings. As she does so, Jessica pours herself a small galss of scotch and sips it appreciatively before going back to the plans.

[dakota]

Scowling, McKenna started tending to the plants as best she could with her limited gardening skills. " I need to get a radio or something in here so it isn't so quiet and boring," she sputtered. She also took a basket to gather what was ready for harvest, though it didn't look like much after being planetside.

[Renekin Skywalker]

It dawns on me that I probably never explained what was in the hydroponics garden.

Anything included would need to fulfill, to some degree, the following:
Sturdy (hard to kill, very easy to grow)
not very resource intensive
good CO2-O2 filtering
healthy to eat (optionally), or certainly high-nutrient
does not grow very large.

So, we wouldn't find very delicate, tropical fruits in the garden.

Food plants would include things like carrots, potatoes (or sweet potatoes), beans (soy beans/edamame), and other sturdy ones. Tomatoes, and many kinds of fruit not so mcuh, since they need a lot of help to grow, and need assistance in pollination.
Non-food plants include hemp cannibis (the non-smokable kind), grasses, tall grasses, shrubs, etc.

At this point, McKenna has at least enough foods for a good veggie soup or stew... if she knows how to cook one, that is.

[Dome]

Foreman nods at the captain. Once alone he looks around the bridge for a spot to hide a weapon. His ideal placement would be directly under the flight control's as that way with a quick movement he can have it in his hand. He gets on his knees and begins looking underneath for a place to conceal a weapon.

[dice=20] perception[rand=0126975814179920432517097158349459589339388585700173670935330415178]

[Renekin Skywalker]

On the bridge
Foreman was so busy looking around, be conked his head on the console trying for a better look. Thankfully, nothing more was hurt than his pride.

Montage
…And so begins a daily montage of activity aboard the Galaxy. Trust me, this is wise, since Tawfeek has a twisty-bendy course planned, and an “I’ll get there when I get there.” ETA.

Tawfeek collaborated closely with Jessica, and helped Jessica and Foreman quietly add a hidden firearm storage compartment under his console.

McKenna makes yummy stew!

By day 3, Tawfeek gave anyone interested rotating shifts in different parts of the ship, predominately engineering, the bridge, and meals in the galley.

Periodically, the montage shows Tawfeek somehow managing to lock himself on the other side of the door from Jessica as they prepared the boarding drill, as well as different people working the bridge or the pots and pans, or the controls in engineering (you know, same angled shot, just with different people).

Other things like card games, and horizontal laps around the cargo hold, and Jessica working on her weapons, made their way in. Tawfeek even had a movie night in the living room of his quarters.

By day 5, Tawfeek had run a “boarding preparedness drill” with the crew, explaining likely boarding points, where they should be, if something did happen, and what matters and what doesn’t. He referred a lot to Jessica. He made it crystal clear that the first goal is sealing and stations. Getting a weapon is always second to keeping boarders at bay in the first place.

On Day 7, it was a quiet, tense day, since they were now closest to the dreaded orange space lane. Tawfeek had Jessica, and himself, walk armed at all times (one pistol, one blade), and Foreman’s weapon (a loaner from Jessica’s stash; ceramic mid-SDC pistol) was stored and ready for use at a moment’s notice.

And so the montage ends...

On the bridge
Foreman, being on the bridge, got a flashy-flashy from the long-range sensors. Something was up ahead, that looked ship-like. It was their first artificial contact since they left Martian orbit.

In McKenna's quarters
Mckenna's off-duty, so she could be sleeping, or writing in her diary about how nothing exciting has happened, or that Tawfeek's been oblique about the use of weapons on the ship.

In Jessica's armoury
it being her downtime too, I suspect she finally has some time to work on the ion pistol again.

[dakota]

McKenna came to with a start, and realized it was from her book striking her in the face she had been reading to fall asleep. since leaving Mars everyone else had seemed to be a little edgy to her, making for a long week. She set her book on the nightstand and turned out the light before rolling over to sleep.

[Dome]

Flip is sitting back thinking if time is going to fly by again or if he will have a chance to talk to MJ and try to sort out what almost happened, but didn't, maybe could've given time to talk and try and see where they stand when the flashy thing on the ships dash starts to...well flash. He thinks, 'damn here we go again.'

As he leans in and tries to determine whats making things go flashly he says outloud, "please don't be any more bread loaves."

[dice=100](20)Sensory Equipment 45%[rand=19164089637071373425462037346558340649711687021557456756853481494]

[Renekin Skywalker]

On the bridge!

Nope no bread loaves. Or, if it is, it's a very large spaceship-shaped breadloaf - incidentally, baked to match the density of a spaceship - floating there.

More likely, given the readings he's seeing, it actually is a spaceship just floating there. 6 hours away.

In McKenna's quarters

The monitor on her desk (used for everything from personal Youtubing (but, you know, in a future way) to e-mails and webcamming when the system is freed up) starts flashing that she has a message.

[Mierin]

Jess quietly works on her pistols, studying the ion pistol she got at the beginning of the trip.

[dakota]

"You've got to be kidding." McKenna groaned before rolling out of bed and going over to her desk. With a yawn, she clicked open the message.

[Renekin Skywalker]

In Jessica's Armoury

The ion gun was proving to be a weird spiral of difficulty. Eacht ime she found out about a system, it raised questions about others, including ones she had already looked at. It was like the pistol was made out of gossamer.

In fact, it was all becoming very, very strange when she noticed a weird engraving on the interior casing.

(need perception or something...)


In McKenna's quarters

Mckenna's parents had sent her an e-mail. First time in the month or so since she had left (or, depending on how Daks wanted her parents, in a week or so). Mostly, they were checking in, and wanting to know how she was. They were worried when they heard about a cargo ship nearly crashing on Mars, and how there was a major crime-ring busted there, and how she seemed to have been too clsoe for their comfort. They were trying not to say it, but her parents didn't like McKenna being in such a dangerous business.

[dakota]

McKenna chuckled as she read the email. " Mom's worried about me, and Dad's worried I might be involved and how it might affect his image," she grumbled as she saved the message so she could reply when she woke up. shutting off the monitor, she crawled back under the covers, hoping to get back to sleep.