Speedy Delivery

Posted on Mon Feb 4th, 2019 @ 10:43am by Lieutenant Commander Mnhei'sahe Dox & Death & Baroness 2nd Class Schwein von Alcott

Mission: Earthly Visitation
Location: Earth Space Dock

Coordinating the delivery of an entire starship wasn't easy, but between Magnus and von Alcott, they had done it. Now they just needed a certain Romulan pilot to show up and they could sign the girl over. In the meantime though, standing at one of the civilian ports in Earth Spacedock, the burly Captain Magnus was getting a few strange looks as people passed the odd pair by. They certainly didn't dress like most people, being in their piratical finery, but they didn't mind. While they waited they chatted about the state of the galaxy's trade markets to seem less out of place, but they were definitely suspicious.

Across the room, the turbolift doors opened to reveal Lieutenant Mnhei'sahe Dox. Though today, she was Baroness fifth class of the Artan Family. And as per a loose recommendarion from her fellow Baroness and shipmate, Schwein, she was dressed for the part.

The anxious aviatrix was still adjusting the tight, high collared deep green military jacket, with tassled gold shoulder sideboards bouncing with each step. While the uniform was perfectly tailored to her measurements by the ships replicators, she felt extremely self conscious of how ostentatious the gold trim and brass buttons attracted every eye on deck.

But if she could wear the velour gold minidress of Commander Paris' era, then she could certainly wear this symbol of her new station.

As she walked across, she saw Schwein and Captain Magnus. Standing off to the side near Schwein was the tall, pale woman dressed all in black that Dox knew as the literal manifestation of Death itself. Schwein's constant companion and Dox's newest, and perhaps most unusal friend.

Since she knew that likely on your Schwein and herself could see Death there, she offered a slight smile to acknowledge her presence without drawing undue attention to her.

Stepping up, she assumed a military posture. "Baroness Von Alcott. Captain Magnus. It's a pleasure to finally meet you in person."

The battle scarred and gruff man that looked like he could wrestle a bear and win smiled like he wouldn't harm a kitten and extended a hand in greeting. "Please, the pleasure is mine. Any woman that can impress the Princess and become our missing Baroness has to be something special. I'd do anything to come and meet you in person. Besides, I still owed this one from the last bet we made."

Answering the handshake, Dox smiled as broadly as her anxiety would allow her to be.

"That's a private matter, you old codger..." Schwein blushed hard, glancing away.

Wrapping a beefy arm around the augmented human, Magnus pulled her in for a hug. "Oh come on. You're like my own daughter to me. I thought you'd stay a vir..."

He didn't get to finish the rest of that sentence as Schwein elbowed him in the gut, knocking the wind out of him and dropping him to his knees. "Yeah... Just... Like my... Daughter..."

The nervous knot in Dox's stomach loosened a bit more as it was clear that this meeting was going to be light years removed from a Starfleet meeting and a broader and more authentic smile cracked her plump cheeks.

"There you go... That's more like an Artan smile." Magnus got back to his feet, still rubbing his gut. "What say we head to your new ship, eh? That way we can sign everything over and you can get acquainted with the gal. It was hard finding a ship that fit the specifications, but I had a team of engineers modify the wings so they can be folded in so they shouldn't be any trouble for you."

As he was talking, Death wandered over to one of the vendors that looked like they had fallen asleep in their booth and without so much as batting an eyelash, pulled off one of her black gloves, tenderly stroked his sleeping cheek, and walked back to the group as she replaced her glove. In the meantime, the old man slumped over a bit more, now clearly dead.

Schwein was a bit startled because not only did she see what Death had done, she had felt it as well. "I um... My injuries are acting up again... So... I'm going to head to the nearest clinic. You two can take care of things ok without me, right?"

"Yeah... We'll be fine." Magnus was visibly worried now. He'd never seen the woman show even an ounce of weakness before so this was like seeing the sky falling for him.

As Schwein walked away, she bumped Death and hissed at her. Death on the other hand acted like it was no big deal. "What? His heart was going to fail in a few hours. I just made sure he passed in peace while he was asleep."

"No... I felt that..." Schwein hissed back, trying not to attract attention to herself as she walked away with the invisible woman at her side. Realizing the implications of what was just said, her eyes went wide.

Magnus, not able to hear any of that conversation, quickly turned his attention to Dox. "Shall we then?"

With her extremely acute Romulan hearing, however, Dox heard every word as she watched the two walk off. The extreme concern on her face was evident and she knew it. "Uh... yes. Sorry, yes."

Collecting herself and turning her attention to the Artan Captain, Dox continued. "Yes, absolutely Captain. Please, lead the way."

Motioning down the line of ports, Magnus began walking as he talked. "We had a few different models laying around, but with your proclivities that I've been told of, I thought a ship that was fast, agile, and yet still well armed would be best. Unfortunately, that limited it to a J type or the older runners with modifications. You being in the position you're in, I figured you'd also want some space and at least one or two luxuries as well, just in case. Which is why that kind of limited it to the J type. The old runners just aren't built for pleasantries."

Tapping the window, Magnus pointed out a small ship just outside not much bigger than a runabout that looked a bit like a flattened cigar for a central cockpit area with swept back wings bristling with guns, sensors, and a massive bank of engines on the back. It looked like it had tried to fly through the corona of a sun and skipped off a moon, but everything was in its place at least. "She's not much to look at, but we did the best we could. The wings will retract and collapse about two meters each if you have to park in a tight pace and the upper fins will fold flat. There's room for a crew of four as well."

Leaning forward, Dox put her hand against the glass looking at ship outside. "Even a basic j-type is a solid machine. Reliable and sturdy enough to be in continual production forever. There's a lot of mods here even beyond the weapons."

Her attention now fully focused, the life long pilot was mentally taking the small ship apart in her mind's eye. "Looks like... Inset nacelles added to boost warp capabilities beyond standard factory specs. At least 4 extra directional thrusters incorporated into the hull, aft and bow. Captain, I think she's beautiful."

Magnus chuckled softly and patted Dox on the back before unlocking the gangway and guiding her the rest of the way. "Yeah, you're a good one. We loaded her up with phasers instead of our usual plasma weapons. Figured you'd prefer that. She's also running the best reactor we could get. A Caitian model with a thorium overload control. Supposed to be impossible to breach. Still has the plasma torpedo launcher though. Prior owner rewired half the ship to get a Romulan one installed and it would have been too much hassle to convert it back." Unsealing the final hatch, he stepped aside so she could inspect the interior.

"I know my way around Romulan mods, so that's fantastic." Dox replied as she stepped past Captain Magnus.

Inside was a different story from the outside. Everything was pristine pale white and taupe panelling with obviously brand new consoles and control surfaces lined with what looked like amaranth wood here and there. The cockpit seated two but had two seats off to the side with monitoring stations. In the back there were crew bunks and a captain's cabin and even a small cargo area with several cargo crates already in it. Even the maintenance areas looked like they'd been recently replaced or spit polished.

Walking along the bulkheads, Dox ran her fingers across the panels with all the tenderness of a lover, taking in all the details. She still couldn't believe this was real and half expected to wake up at any moment. "This is... amazing, Captain. I don't have the words to say thank you but I will do everything I can to prove true this trust you're placing in me."

"Trust goes many ways, Baroness," the Captain of the Fleet said softly. "The Princess trusts you with her life and we trust you with the honor of the family. I assume you trust us as well just like your mother and all those refugees did all those years ago. I just ask that you continue to stand by the Princess's side and support her as long as you're able."

Looking up at the mountain of a man that dwarfed her considerably, Dox's expression was one of resolve. "You have my word, Captain, and you all have my support."

He smiled back at her like a father would to his daughter. "Then you have ours as well. This I swear."

Then her attention turned to the crates in the cargo area. "May I ask what her cargo is?"

"Well... When word got around that a new Baroness had been named and who she was... Some people felt like giving gifts." The giant of a man seemed a bit bashful all of a sudden, one hand rubbing the back of his neck like he was nervous. "Baroness Sienae Nei'rrh is Romulan herself and the leader of what she likes to call the Romulan Refugee Corps. Every last one of them... Ah... Almost everything in there is from them. You should look through it when you have time."

"I will Captain, thank you." As she answered, the wording seemed to indicate that this wasn't that time. There was also an almost cryptic quality to some of his words and tone that raised questions in her mind as well. But they we're questions that could wait, as she still had official business to attend to.

"So, what's the next step then, Captain?"

He pulled a datapad out of his breast pocket and pulled up the registration and owner transfer documentation before handing it to her. "The paperwork. If everything meets with your approval, the Federation needs documentation of registration to you and ownership transfer. If you could read them over and add your thumbprint in the needed places, we can file them and I can leave you to enjoy the ah... Sorry, my Romulan isn't the best... How do you pronounce that again?"

Taking the datapad, Dox began reading them quickly as she spoke. "She's the Khallianen. It means 'seeker'. It seemed... appropriate."

As she scanned through the pages, she nodded a few times, and pressed her thumb on the sensor pad where needed. "Done, Captain."

He then took the device back, pressed his own thumb to the sensor, and immediately filed the whole thing with the ESD port authority. "And all done. Any questions for me before I head out?"

"Baroness Von Alcott has been extremely helpful at getting me up to speed regarding my responsibilities." Then the red-headed Romulan paused for a brief moment to think. "This tribunal. How bad are we thinking this could get for Captain Telvan?"

That's when Magnus turned grim and all business. "As Captain of the Fleet I have to remain as objective as possible... But with four definitely supporting the Queen, six, supporting the Princess, both first class baronesses abstaining, and the other two undecided... It's looking like it's going to end in a very bad duel. It's probably going to be ship to ship combat as well, if the Queen holds true to her... Skill set."

For her part, Dox felt no need in the moment to try and show objectivity. "It seems to me that the Queens objective here stands in direct opposition to the most significant principal we're supposed to represent and fight for. Bodily autonomy is an individuals first freedom. If she wants to strip that from the Captain, force her into essentially breeding to solidify her own power, that is a massive affront to the concept of freedom."

"And that's the argument I think most are going with. Others want to go with family duty and all that, especially with no heir to the family. Even if Enalia tries to name a successor, there will be dissent for not following tradition and as long as her mother holds any power, she can't do that. She has to be recognized as Queen first." Taking a deep breath and letting it out, Magnus leaned against one of the bulkheads. "I was hoping to retire in a few years too, but if she wins, odds are good she'll name my daughter as her successor. No early retirement for me then..."

In some respects, Dox realized that this must be a lose/lose scenario for Captain Magnus. She also realized from his tone that the peaceful route was very likely the least likely course this would all take.

Placing a hand on the bulkhead, Dox replied. "I be sure that we're both as ready as we can be for the best and the worst, then." She tried to keep her tone positive, but there was a sadness in it as she realized that this was a lose/lose scenario for him is some respects. "I wish that there were better options, though. I'm sorry."

"This is a hard life that we live. Most choose to avoid it but those that do..." Magnus couldn't help but smile warmly, though with a hint of sadness. "There's the best freedom in that choice. Freedom to choose your own fate. Your own life and path. I've chosen to be one of the ones that help them make that happen. So has my daughter. By accepting your role, you have as well."

Sighing heavily, he went on. "Unfortunately, some don't see that that freedom applies to the royal family in that the Queen should get her way and force the Princess to give us an heir. They do have the freedom to support her though. Mostly because they feel they owe the old rule. Like Baroness Sienae Nei'rrh. She owes almost everything to the old Queen so she'll likely side with her. Your presence has given her pause though."

Standing up straight and stretching, the giant of a man yawned. "Ah, but I've said too much. Thank you for listening to the ramblings of an old man. If you'll excuse me, I'm going to go track down Schwein and make sure she's ok. You need anything, you let me know, ok?"

"I will, Captain. And thank you." Dox let the cryptic change of subject slide as her attention was also on Schwein's condition. The young Romulan pilot had every intention of following up on that as well, but would give Captain Magnus his time with her first.

And in the meantime, she had a brand new ship to discover. "You know how to find me if you need me."

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