Urien, Dawappa, Lindsey, Eirene, Kesperziaiepr, Mahan
The Royal Hangar
The Lord-Admiral levels himself like a weapon at Urien, looking down at him - down the bridge of his nose, in fact, "I know this is the first taste of real power you've had in your life, Captain, but I would suggest humble caution." His face relaxes. A smirk when he mentions the rank. But then it vanishes. There is no more ire or fury. This is the calm, collected expression of a disappointed instructor who has faced every excuse a young officer-cadet can come up with for broken regulations. Aimed squarely at Urien, "A good ship like this will take you far, if you elect to go rogue and cast aside the King. You'll beat the salvage team to the crash by at least a week."
And then, his voice lowered, calmed, "In a nest of vipers, the wise man does not rush to find scorpions. You should know. Captain."
"As to who should lead this crew, Ms. Kovačević? And for others who will bother to listen: I would recommend Mr. Mahan. He's a dab pilot. Has the savvy needed of a First Lieutenant. He'll likely see captaincy when this is done. But, that's something for you lot to sort out. Not me." He claps a hand on Mahan's shoulder, leaning close to his ear.
He steps away from Mahan after a few moments, "As to your operations, I have been instructed you are to consider Drinax and Asim safe harbors. Though do not expect to be lauded openly for any piracy or black market dealings you have conducted elsewhere. And kindly do not bring Imperial pirate hunters to our doorstep, if it can be helped. But we are to act against hostilities in the system." As the music draws closer, he finally takes notice, "So. Lets be quick about this tour, then, so you can be on your way."
He takes you from front to back, in quick order, and starting on the lower deck.
The cargo bay is subdivided by internal partitions, and isn't the most efficiently designed. It suffers from a low ceiling, and you can see the scoring and damage to floor panels where statues and busts had been removed, as well as the reliefs of important Drinaxian figures peering down from the walls in various states of disrepair and recovery. Were it fully restored, it could likely be quite an imposing first impression of coming aboard the vessel for guests and diplomats.
The engineering spaces are split between two more-or-less identical spaces, flanking the cargo bay, with a portion of both M- and J-drives in each. One helpful point he offers is that, per recovered documentation, it was common for the cargo space between the two engineering spaces to be used as an impromptu maintenance bay or to be converted into workshops by some crews. One might even use one of the multi-function consoles in engineering as an emergency piloting station.
Ahead of that he is quick to point out the magazine for the ventral turret's missile launcher, the low berths that were historically used for spare crew. And, of course, the lengthy hall that makes a large portion of the ship's length and ends in the physical installation of the sensors, and the cargo scoop airlock.
Even as he walks you through the ship you can see crates and boxes. Footlockers. Paneling that is clearly out of place but quickly installed for the sake of appearance as much as operational safety.
The whole of this tour is capped with the bridge - the front-most portion of the second deck.
In many ways, the bridge sums up the rest of the vessel. It is the area that retains most of the spirit of what must have been the original design, largely due to the brass fittings and gilding having been scavenged from elsewhere on the vessel. Preference was clearly given to those items in immediate view, with those fittings that could not be replaced with properly decorative items moved to corners of the bridge or covered by discreet decorative drapes to disguise, the ugly, plain, and functional nature of the secondary fittings.
A railed walkway, with brass stanchions to hold when caught mid-pace by a violent maneuver. A gloriously upholstered chair with dark-oak paneled consoles to work from sits at the center of the upper bridge. There is even a receptacle on one side of the command chair for the ship's sword. Though it currently sits empty.
The remainder of the bridge has stations around the lower part of the bridge, where the acting captain might observe and inspire from above. The majority of the shipboard functions can be controlled from the bridge, the Lord-Admiral explains, with local controls present mostly as backups. The exception is the engineering section, which was typically manned by drive hands, while the head engineering officer would normally be found on the bridge commanding the operation remotely. All the consoles on the bridge, including the captain's chair, can be configured to carry out any role - piloting, astrogation, sensors, engineering, or gunnery.
The traditional positions have the pilot and navigator facing forward, with the gunners sat to and facing to each side behind the navigator and pilot, and the engineering console at the aft port side of the bridge near the iris valve entryway from the crew quarters.
Finally there's the command office - intended for use by the ship's captain or the officer of the watch - to handle sensitive administrative tasks without interruption or oversight of other crewmembers. Its been plundered of much of its paneling and fittings, which have been used to replace worn-out or missing items elsewhere. Some original fittings remain, but the office is an ugly mess of mixed components, and might be considered something of an embarrassment with how quickly the Lord-Admiral glosses over it.
When it is concluded, the Lord-Admiral once more leads you all in the direction of the cargo bay, "With that being said, I shall now leave you all to it. Best of luck to the lot of you. I'm sure there are great things ahead for this, yet."
And finally, the source of the music is revealed for those who follow the Lord-Admiral to the cargo bay. The music still plays but it is beginning to wind down, and you can see three long and ponderous air/rafts have come to park several meters from the ramp. A small collection of humanoids in various dress move about, setting up tables and unfolding sun-covers even while inside the hangar. And seeming to orchestrate it all, it is easy to spot a Bwap bedecked in a myriad of jewelry, and a positively extravagantly colored kaftan.
Lindsey can recognize "friend Rachando" easily enough, seeing as she has had to deal with him ferrying her from the Hierate to Drinax so recently.
Upon noticing the crew, the muddy-colored Bwap seems to jump with excitement, throwing hands up and giving a croaked, heavily accented Galanglic, "Greetings! Friend Rachando I am! Excited for new business partners, to make!" And he starts to quickly waddle his way to the foot of the cargo ramp.