Gestler’s Notes: Approaches to hiring on Tien Terra Beta

The current plan is to approach the planet, make contact with the local criminal elements, and sell goods in exchange for a fictional identity.  Under the fictional identity, we would dock as a normal (non-FTL) ship, and hire under the fiction of picking up crew for inter-system trade and general work.

The fiction is the problem.  Lady Zephyr also is a very generalized design – she lacks the massive cargo bay of a proper trade ship, the high-G thrusters of a high-speed courier, the equipment for a mining ship, etc.  And at the same time, why would an in-system exploration craft have a crew capacity of 64, or why would a passenger ship have a state-of-the-art manufactory complex?  Thus the first problem with a fiction is that Lady Zephyr no longer match any possible fiction.

Secondly, even if we could cause a fiction to be believed, there is no fiction that would require the crew we are intending on hiring.  Indeed, some positions are never required on ships.  Lady Zephyr wants to hire a linguist, as to help solve any language problems that may occur in the future (and will certainly occur with aliens).  However, if we pretend to be a slower-than-light ship, what use would we have for a linguist?

While in the short run, this plan is the safest, it will leave us weaker in the long run, and there may be discontent when the crew realizes they have been deceived.  I should talk to Dr. Tanaka concerning loyalty treatments.


An alternative plan would be to introduce ourselves openly as a FTL vessel, and openly hire as necessary for our travels.  We could stay in a randomly generated movement pattern, as to be impossible to hit, and use shuttlecraft to recruit from the space elevator station, rather than directly docking there.

This does, however, put us in considerable danger, as there will certainly be those who covet the FTL drive for themselves.  This is similar to the New Eden scenarios I drew up, save that in this case the locals are not pacifistic.  In addition to all the maneuvers and counter-maneuvers in the New Eden defensive plans, there are additional risks, as we would be recruiting, and may wind up recruiting agents of various interested parties.  We could vet the new crewmembers, but we are at a disadvantage relative to established intelligence agencies and criminal networks, due to lack of experience.

This would heavily complicate my role as security chief, but may be manageable – I will draw up plans for how to manage the loyalty of the crew.

This would leave us stronger in the long run, particularly as the crew settles down to be loyal to Lady Zephyr, giving up on their old allegiances.


The last option is to land via the criminal network’s fictional identity, dock, and take on normal crewmembers in accordance with our fiction.  Meanwhile, we identify the ideal crewmembers in the planetary population, kidnap them, and then bring them aboard.

Much as in the first scenario, the crewmembers will likely be outraged.  However, if we pick wisely, we could balance crewmember quality with willingness and pliability.  At the extreme, we could attempt to determine which potential crewmembers would be happy to be pressed into service on an exploratory ship capable of faster-than-light travel.

This has some immediate danger, particularly concerning our ability to quietly kidnap people and any sabotage they may attempt upon boarding the ship, but does leave us with a strong crew of non-infiltrators.  I would rather deal with a dissatisfied, rebellious crew than trained infiltrators.  However, Lady Zephyr is apparently receiving an education in ethics from Life Support Engineer Reiviki, and may decide against this plan for ethical reasons.

Report 2 on C-131 and Recommendations for Investigation

From close orbit there is still no sign of human life on the planet.  Indeed, there are no inorganic structures still visible to our sensors.  However, our sensors are not built to scan a planet, so this is not indicative.  Instead, our sensors are built to detect metal ships and engine signatures from a distance, as well as long-range communication.

Instead, it is more telling that we have not overheard any transmissions.  There are automated signals from several artificial satellites, but nothing that would indicate anyone is still alive.

Therefore, I surmise that if anyone is alive, they are alive on the planet, in structures sufficiently covered in the plant-life overgrowth as to not be visible.  One assumes that they are communicating via fiber-optic cables, rather than orbital relays, or even radio-wave transmissions.

The other possibility, as unbelievable as it may be, is that there are no humans surviving on the planet.  While one might question what might be capable of annihilating a civilization with space-faring technology and an industrial base sufficient to reach orbit (or an industrial base sufficient to terraform the planet), I am familiar with a number of scenarios capable of wiping out life on a planetary scale.

However, almost none of the theorized scenarios appear to have occurred here.  The survival of the fledgling artificial satellite system alone rules out a number of scenarios, including solar flares, nearby stellar or interstellar phenomenon.  Similarly, the profusion of plant life would rule out the destruction of the biosphere in any form.  There was no usage of nuclear explosives, high-atmosphere radiological dispersion, neutron bomb detonations, large-scale meteor impact, or chemical atmospheric poisoning.

The only existential dangers I can image would be some sort of biological agent introduced into the population, allowed to spread without symptoms, and then activated via some matter of biological clock, inducing morbidity in all cases.  Such an agent would almost certainly be of human design.   Obviously, such an agent would not affect the plant-life.

For such a reason, I would not recommend any excursions to the surface until this possibility can be ruled out.  Furthermore, if we do venture to the surface, which is against my professional recommendation both as a life support specialist and as a ship engineer, then we should stay in hermetically sealed suits the entire time, and undergo extreme disinfection procedures upon our return.  In the absence of proper equipment, I would recommend using the EVA suits: They are capable of enduring both a high-end chemical bath and heavy irradiation.  Again, while this is a possibility, I still do not recommend landing on the planet.

Instead, I would prefer to investigate by physically examining the various artificial satellites here in orbit.  I expect that at least some of them will be equipped for satellite imagery, and while memory is often limited due to minimize payload weight, we should be able to access some data that might shed light on the history of this planet.

By Susana Reiviki

Personnel File (OUTDATED): Zheng Hui

Given Name: Hui
Surname: Zheng
Chronological Age: 31 (No relativistic effects.)
Biological Age: 31 (No unusual measures taken.)
Gender: Male
Ethnicity: Tian Terra Beta
Found on: Tian Terra Alpha
[…]
Ship’s Notes(Private):
Scion of the illustrious Zheng family, possibly living in their shadow.  Certain character flaws appear to exist, particularly a degree of inattention and a worrisome lack of work ethic.  Both are a possible explanation for why, despite having the good reputation of the Zheng family, he has not gone incredibly far in life.
On the other hand, from our talks so far, he appears to be not at all put off by my nature – indeed he has been considerate and treats me as an equal to himself.

Furthermore he appears to be trustworthy (and believe the rest of the world is as trustworthy as himself), and, importantly, has a hunger for adventure to equal my own.  A stark improvement over Selim, who was beginning to wear on me after mere few days.

He does tend to be depressive, which I hope does not become a problem.  When wronged (I must admit to a bit of cruelty on my part) he reacted with hurt and sadness, rather than anger or vengefulness.  I’m not sure if this is a good thing or a bad thing, given his role as my captain.

All in all a good person, though possibly ineffective.  Better than an effective bad person, in my estimation, for the role of captain.  After all, effectiveness is more important in the rest of the crew, while a good heart is most important for the leader.  I look forward to hiring more crew, once I have shown Hui my capabilities.