Utterly Mad

Roland McCall

The journey across the ship takes some time - even with the use of lifts and conveyors, it's a big ship. You finally arrive at Airlock 2, Deck 23, to find Snow and a small honor guard waiting.

"Reverend! Glad you could make it." Snow greets you with a warm smile. She's a deceptively young looking woman, who's age you've never clearly been able to established, and has served as Ship's Master since just before your arrival on the Iliad. Whatever her age and experience may be, her competence is indisputable - there are few places on the ship itself she doesn't know as well as the sound of her own voice, and she's obviously well traveled, being very versed in UTA protocol and much of the lore of the central UTA-controlled regions of space.

"You're just in time. The shuttle is just coming alongside for docking now." Her words are punctuated by a dull thud as the shuttle makes contact with the airlock.

---

Everyone Else

"Five minutes to docking." The announcement is no less grating than the first one, and it seems like the ship's pilot just loves to disturb the quietest of moments with these things.

Looking out the small viewports, you can catch the first glimpse of the Iliad as it looms ever closer. It towers over the shuttle, well over a kilometer long, and it's armoured hull bears the scars of many battles and adventures. The shuttle begins to slow, pitching upwards towards an airlock near the bridge, and you're gifted with a quick look down the bore of one of it's many port-side macrocannons. It's a pretty impressive sight.

"All hands, brace for docking." the pilot shouts again. A large jolt runs through the shuttle, punctuated by a loud clang, and followed by snapping sounds as the airlock's bolts seal, binding the shuttle to the side of the Iliad. You can hear a curse from somewhere in the crew cabin - apparently someone neglected to brace. Seconds later, there is a tremendous hissing noise as air fills the lock, the doors open, and the pressure equalizes between the two vessels.

---

Everyone

The airlock's outer door opens, and the honor guard steps forward into two neat lines.

"Captain on the deck!" Snow exclaims, and the guard brings their rifles up in a neat salute. "Gentlemen, welcome to the Iliad. I'm Angela Snow, Ship's Master under the previous Captain Hansen. It's been my duty to see to the day-to-day operation of this vessel, as well as provide what information I can to the Captain and his advisers."

She gestures to the man next to her. "This is Reverend McCall, Ship's Chaplain. Captain Hansen often referred to him as his conscience." As she speaks, several other crew members step forward to take your belongings on board. It's fairly obvious that none of them are too keen to grab Locke's enormous stack of heavy looking gear, but a sharp look from Master Snow causes them to relent, and begin hauling that as well.

"We're prepared to launch, but we should attend to the formalities of the Transfer of the Warrant before we do so, unless you're all keen on dragging the UTA bastard who's making an ass of himself on the bridge with us. He's got everything prepared - a signature or two, and he should be out of our hair. If any of you have any questions about the ship, what to expect on the Warrant itself, or anything else, ask them while we walk. These fuckers can smell weakness a half a sector away and won't hesitate to tack a dozen new conditions on it if they can."