[OOC]
It seems like the action has slowed a bit and responses are a bit slower
than has been...so to put a real turn out there, and for the new guys to
jump in and respond to an official stimuli, I'll add this tidbit in. This
takes place on day 2, so everyone has time to do their tours, look at the
cargo, claim their room, etc.
[IC]
"About ready, Balou," Stu said, looking into the
fluttering display before him. The two were the only ones on the bridge
at that time. The Serena Dawn's computer had been calculating this
second jump since the ship hit FTL. There was more than credits riding
on this bet; there was bragging rights as well as the possibility of ending
up several days behind schedule. Stu had spent most of the travel time
feeding in calculations and massaging algorithms for the Dawn. If
he could jump across an extra wave in this twisted chasm called the void,
the trip would be cut down a day.
He hated to admit it to himself, but it wasn't really
impossible to guess that Stu was a bit nervous about this one. Yes, he
had made this second jump before. Most of the times it worked, sometimes
it didn't. Getting thrown several days behind schedule on this jump was
never fun to deal with. Especially when there were deadlines. But that's
what makes an Astronavigator's job exciting. There's always something you
can make a bit harder, if you really try. And making these coordinates
on a brand new Star Route didn't make it any easier. Well, he told himself.
It's going to be now or never, damn the torpedos.
Balou looked up from his center chair. "Good, Stu.
Let's hit it...Think we'll get this one?" The Captain knew the odds. You
win bets and lose bets, he knew. The key is to play the poker face all
the time; most of the time they'll bite. He knew this was a very tricky
jump but he wasn't about to step down from the Dawn's abilities.
Captains just don't do that. And the Serena Dawn had pulled
them out of tight spots before. She was a good ship.
Stu shrugged casually. "I think I've got this thing
figured out. We'll be coming up on the jump time in 30 seconds." Despite
his cool appearance, he studied his algorithms and calculations keenly
as they danced across the screen. Last chance to change it or back out.
It looked good.
"15 seconds, Balou. Locked in, she's gonna jump."
"Cross your fingers then, Stu, and the Dawn
may bring us in a few more creds."
[Die Roll: CS+4 (level 4 Astonavigator) -4CS (difficult jump) -2CS (new Star Route) : -2CS total : 83 (FAIL)]
The Serena Dawn shuttered
slightly, just barely. Balou leaned forward and watched the navigator expectantly.
"Well, what did we do?"
It would take a few minutes
to recalculate their position. He brought the ship out of FTL. If they
had misjumped, no sense in travelling further in some aimless direction
through the Void. "Tell you in a minute, Balou," he said, trying to catch
his bearings. The higher pitched hum of the Dawn's engines dropped
to a lower frequency.
Balou tapped a console on
the arm of his chair, turning on the comm to the entire ship. "We've just
made the jump, folks. We are out of FTL temporarily until we get our bearings.
I'll get right back with you on the details....have your creds ready."
Stu didn't like the look of
it. The charts were wrong. Definately not anywhere in the Star Route. But
maybe close enough to it to where there would still be no problem. Being
off of a tested star route was dangerous; even though ships entered this
warped plane of space, one random rock lying in your path could be deadly.
Making jumps like this was relatively safe, however. Most of the time,
if you misjumped the route completely, you ended up closeby. The ship's
computer was wildly trying to compute her location. Finally, the answer
appeared on screen....
"Shit," Stu said.
Balou frowned. "Does that
mean we made it?"
Stu shook his head, forcing
a breath of a laugh. "I wish... We missed it, Buck."
The Captain uttered a curse
under his breath. He didn't like eating crow. "How far out are we?"
[Die Roll: 1d8: 2]
Stu shrugged. "Not bad. Only
two days off. Coulda been a lot worse. We're sitting right next to the
route, too. We can jump right on again without any problems....Um, if there's
anything anyone forgot on Pale, we could pop in for it," he confessed.
Balou turned the comm on again.
"Okay, you explorers. Looks like this new Star Route gave us a bit more
trouble than we thought. A good attempt, though, you have to admit.
Balou waved the navigator
away. "Talk to Grynh and be sure we're ready to go FTL again. Get us on
the route, and get us to Volturnus."
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Referee's Notes:
If there is anything else you would like to say/do before entering
the Zebulon System, do so now. It is now Monday...We'll give the deadline
for this to Sunday midnight (I'll be out of town this weekend). But, as
always, if everyone is ready to go, I'll continue with the story. We're
about to really hit the road...er, star route, now...
It may be a good time to just carry on some RP conversation with the two newcomers, but hey, that's me speaking. Do what you want. It's YOUR game, after all. (Does that sound like some cheesy commercial or what?)
Happy adventuring!
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