It would appear that my scheme has successfully deflected attention away from the FTL drive room, albeit at the cost of more conflict among the crew. Or, rather, the intensification of conflict between the first mate and the rest of the crew.
Mr. Landerson both convinced the engineers to not open up the FTL room, and also managed to erase their frustration at being thwarted (and, hopefully, future schemes) by enraging both of them with a series of near-threats.
This worked out further in my favor (or not) by both of the engineers making their way to petition the captain just in time to overhear Mr. Landerson (not entirely sober) explain in very rude terms his thoughts on the captaincy, and Captain Zheng’s leadership style in particular. Consequently, they found themselves siding with the captain against Mr. Landerson, and, after Mr. Landerson left, telling him as much.
This has left Mr. Landerson even more of a pariah, in the eyes of most of the crew (the pilot, reclusive as always, has still remained uninvolved). Whether this is a good thing or not, I am not sure.
I have, after discussing the matter with Captain Zheng, decided to increase the power of the engine by a full unit (albeit in increments). The aliens, it would appear, measure their engine speeds in terms of doubling. What this says about their concept of speed is, perhaps, somewhat worrisome. Following that line of thought, why would Telivoni be the first contact they have had with humans? I’m fairly cautious with the FTL drive, but wouldn’t a daring alien explorer have been able to cross the galaxy in a matter of mere years? And wouldn’t they be curious about terraformed worlds, or our drive signatures, or, even, our occasional calls out to the void?
Well, perhaps we will find some answers once we venture into alien space. In the meantime, I hope that this new planet provides some degree of distraction from our internal disputes.
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