BoTH Chpt 25

==Blood on the Horizon - Chapter 25 -==
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===Captain to Sail the Ship on the Black Seas===
"So," a short brunette looked around at the bridge of the King Henry V. "I'm impressed that she's as well maintained as she is, and a bit in awe that you managed to get a Jumpship anywhere by yourself. But I don't recommend you do that again. There's some critical maintenance that you overlooked, and if it's not seen to, we won't be going anywhere in this ship. Luckily, I think I can make this work."
 
"So you accept?" I asked carefully, not wanting to stir up another rant like I had the first time she saw some of the systems.
 
"Yeah," she grinned. "I've wanted to be captain of a Jumpship for a long time. And as long as you're willing to hear me out when it comes to crew, I think we can work something out."
 
"Welcome aboard then, Ms. Frye," I shook her hand. "Do you have any recommendations on where to start looking for some crew?"
 
"I've got a few friends serving on a couple different ships," she paced as she thought out loud. "And there were a few people interested in your job posting that were on the Dropship inbound with me," she stopped pacing.
 
"I'll need a minimum of six crewmembers to get us from location to location," She met my eyes. "I'd like to get more than that so we can man the weapons as well, but the minimum will have to be six or so."
 
"Are you willing to take rookies?" I asked. " 'Cuz I can probably find you some people who don't know anything but who are plenty willing to learn."
"You find me three veteran spacers, and fill the rest with green crew, and I can work with that," Kaylee Frye grinned. "It'll take some time, but we'll have a good crew whipped up."
 
"Do you need to look over the contract again?" I asked. "Because I've got a copy of it here."
 
"Nah," She shook her head. "You seem like good people. So I'll trust you to have my back if I've got yours. 'Sides, you seem like you've had a rough go of it recently. I'm willing to give you a chance. So, what's the plan, Captain?"
 
"Well," I stroked my beard in thought. "I'm still hiring some folks, then we're gonna head over to New Syrtis for some of their medical care. So if you've got any friends who want to sign on, they could meet us there. After that," I shrugged. "It's whatever contract looks the most appealing."
 
"Aye aye, skipper," Kaylee smirked and gave a half salute. "I'll get to work getting her back into shape, don't worry about her anymore, she's my baby now."
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===Shoring up things before Shipping Off===
"Spacers," Sheppard chuckled as he listened to my story about hiring the Jumpship crew. "They're always an odd bunch, but if you get the right ones, they'll pull you out of fires you didn't know you were jumping into."
 
"Well, I'm just waiting on Peterson and his Fiancee to submit their revised contract so that I can sign it and we'll be on our way to New Syrtis," I tapped the table. "Unless you think we should do something else?"
 
"Aye," Sheppard leaned forward. "We've got to get our base rate/rank structure sorted out and start training together. We've got some good folks here, but until we put everything together we'll just be a bunch of disparate groups lumped in together. We've got to get at least a minimum of coordination between our 'mechs and infantry before we take any contracts."
 
He sighed. "I'd like to get some ASF support, but I guarantee that the pilots in this area are spoken for. So we'll have to pick them up as we go."
 
"So, training," I said after I was sure he was finished. "We already had the land that I bought set up for those purposes. And most of the people we've hired have already been set up with bunks there."
 
"Then I think it's time to see if we can get you roughed up a bit," Sheppard smirked. "Can't trust someone to lead unless you're sure they've been taught the right way."
 
"Fair enough," I finished my coffee. "I guess we should get to it then. Sweat now so we don't bleed later and all that."
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===Blind Eye===
November 15th, 3001
 
"Hull," Peterson said between bites of food. "I've been meaning to ask. What's up with your eye?"
 
"My left one?" I asked.
 
"Yeah, the pupil looks all weird and shit."
 
"Well, had an accident when I was 15, and the family couldn't really afford the good healthcare the League had to offer back then." I shrugged. "Gotta bunch of issues with it, I figure I can get it looked at and maybe fixed if we stop by Canopus. But until then, I just have to work around it."
 
"Fully blind?" Sheppard asked.
 
"Nah," I shook my head. "Just really messed up. I had a prescription for contact lenses given I don't have a natural one anymore, but I'm pretty sure it's long expired by now."
 
The group chuckled at my dark humor for a bit.
 
"So, does the story match up to the damage?" Erika Lamb gestured with her fork, her mouth half-full of the pulled pork she had been eating.
 
"Not really," I sighed. "Just your standard workplace accident where safety goggles or glasses would have prevented an injury."
 
"Did you not have any?" Peterson asked.
 
"No, I had glasses. But it was raining and getting towards dusk so I had them on the top of my head instead of in front of my eyes."
 
"Damn," Sheppard muttered. "Well, it explains why you're always triple checking those corners on the left. But it doesn't explain why you don't have issues with the 'Hammer. You should have issues with some of the info panels."
 
"So, y'all know how you've been enjoying the Star League Era Neurohelmets that I provided with the 'mechs?" I asked.
 
"Yeah," Peterson downed a glass of sweet tea. "You're letting us keep them after we leave."
 
"Well, turns out that they're not just lighter, they're also better at interpreting the information between the 'mech and your brain," I began my explanation. "So, when said neurohelmet interfaces with my brain, it actually uses the sensors to create the visual picture that I need to be able to acquire targets and fire properly."
 
"How'd you figure that out?" Peterson asked.
 
"Lots of time in the simulators," I shuddered. "I've got a few of the simulators on the Messenger if you'd like to take a run in them with me."
 
"You know what," the other officers looked at me. "Sure, we can run some simulations. Just letting you know in advance though, I haven't been able to turn the settings down on them at all. So the difficulty might be a bit harder than you think at first."
 
"Yeah, sure," Sheppard scoffed as he shared a glance with Erika, Peterson and the rest. "We'll see about that for ourselves."
 
"It's your choice," I smirked. "I warned you, after all."
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Chapter 25