Posted by Commander Solark (Chief Operations Officer / 2nd Officer) in Outskirts of the market

Posted by Lieutenant Kate O’Neill (Chief of Security) in Outskirts of the market

Posted by Gamemaster Gamemaster (Gamemaster) in Outskirts of the market
Posted by… suppressed (1) by the Post Ghost! 👻

SNIP

Lissi gave Kate a reassuring smile and wink. Things would work out, they always did. Lissi took a step towards their informant. “We’ll let you decide. You can go, and make up whatever story you want to maintain your ability to remain safe here, or we can take you with us. You have skills that would be useful.” She smiled and nodded to let him know she was impressed and sincere. “I’m the Chief Engineer and I mean it when I say, you would be an amazing asset to us if you wanted to be.”

She knew she was probably out of line making the offer. But in all honesty, folks asked asylum of the Federation all the time. This could simply begin as that single step and move on from there. Between training on the ship and eventually the Academy once they were close enough to Earth to offer it, this guy could make some of her already graduated Cadets and Ensigns seem like children with tinkering toys. She offered her hand and smiled, “Care to see what you can do when you aren’t scavenging?”

Lissi
CE

Wiz’s eyes lit up. He opened his bag and showed her a modified tricorder that was as sensitive as a medical tricorder but did not need an additional hand held scanner.

GM

“Okay you might be out of a job,” she winked at Lissi looking at the device Wiz showed them. Kate didn’t know tech from a hill of beans. That was Lissi’s area of expertise but so far between the two of them, they had Wiz at least opening up. Kate could tell it was more of their equipment the team was searching for but that was about it so a little flattery didn’t hurt to further the burgeoning relationship. “What does it do?” Kate posed the question hoping that if he had to dumb it down for her, maybe Lissi could get some more info about it or it could open up the conversation between Lissi and Wiz. “Lissi here tech ‘splains things to me all the time. She is pretty amazing with the tech too but I haven’t ever seen anything like this before.”

Kate O’Neill

“O,” said Wiz, “those are the controls of some anti grav movers. The farmers and craftsmen here need to haul large amounts of produce, or wood or stone, for sculpture. I usually make those things less susceptible to dust and particles as it is much more dusty here on the planet.”

GM

Lissi smiled and took a few steps forward. “That’s an amazing use for it. Particulates are a problem on any planet or place that’s not clean like a sterile room. Even the floors of cargo bays and shuttle bays can mess up anti grav gear. So having a skill like you have, without formal training, is another sign of an amazing mind.” She held her hand out and smiled. “May I see it? I promise I will give it back. I’d love you to tell me more about the things you have found and repurposed. This was a tricorder, of some kind,” she laughed realizing as she got closer that it had been modified and not just reprogrammed.

Lissi
CE

Wiz swelled up with pride listening to the CE’s praises. He willingly gave it to Lissi. The modifications were good but were not as polished as the stuff repaired by Starfleet. The lack of proper Starfleet equipment would not give the final polished finish. However, the engineering was sound and the man (or boy) was good.

GM

“So you are stealing this to help the people in the community, scavenging this stuff to help the people in the community, or being forced to work for someone else and doing the best you can,” Kate asked moving the conversation from cordial to more business. “I am not trying to be rude or press but something is not adding up here. Our initial thought if I am honest was this was some smuggling or illegal outpost colony. The problem I am having is you are not....thankfully…turning this stuff into weapons so why were you so worried earlier? Your tinkering is brilliant at Lissi said. It is something that should be shared and not hidden.” Kate let her question remain open-ended.

Kate O’Neill COS

Wiz had just handed the item in question to Lissi. On hearing the word “steal”, his face paled and he fell to the floor on his butt. “I am doomed!” he half whispered.

GM

Lissi laughed then bit her lip. Sitting on her heels, she shook her head and touched the boy’s arm. “You aren’t doomed. Doomed would have been if you had turned this tricorder into a weapon and fired upon us. So please, don’t start borrowing dirt depth before it’s your time, alright? We aren’t going to bury you or lock you up. Just let us know how you are getting the stuff and why. That’s all we’ve been curious about since the beginning. Honest.” She stood back up and offered her hand. “Now come on. No more doom and gloom.” She leaned partway over and whispered to the boy, though she had no doubt Kate would hear. “Her bark is worse than her bite. And if you noticed, she isn’t exactly a diplomat. So come on,” she stood back up, still smiling and offering her hand. “Let’s get your story and see what we can do about maybe getting you the proper pieces and training to make a difference. How about that?”

She hoped the offer for help and training would resonate with the kid. Though she doubted he was that young, the facts on how he acted and reacted made her realize he was probably younger that she thought.

Lissi
CE