<span class="bbc_u">The Castille</span>Lounge<br/><br/>Captain Shaan, formerly a Colonial navy officer, hero in the latest war, sat in the lounge sofa, sipping a stout and wishing that he were not going back out there.  After death comes silence, and it is without form or meaning to the Castille, but Shaan, it's captain, cared still.<br/><br/>Shaan had watched his last crew die, some by his hands, and he hated to go back there, out to that cursed ship again.  At the time, Shaan had felt only rage. In the weeks that followed, he felt sorrow, the dull constant ache of missing his friends, even those that had turned against him out of space-sickness or posession by those damned ghosts. It was an ache that had receded somewhat over the last few days, but it would never completely disappear.<br/><em><br/>Collegia debts.. great. Just what I need, Shaan thought bitterly. A big greedy guild of mobsters watching over me, giving me orders... Great. Just great. How the fuck did I get into this mess.</em><br/><br/>The Captain gazed into his tankard, and the dark brew reflected his facial features back at him, distorting his features so that he appeared nearly as ghastly as the damned ghosts of that damned ship. Shaan rubbed a hand over his face, feeling several days' stubble. Ever since he'd left the service, he kept forgetting to shave. His mouth tightened and he ran the hand through his unruly dark hair. For the past ten years he'd kept it cut short in approved military fashion, but now, it was almost shaggy... . but then again . . . what difference did it make?<br/><br/>Captain Shaan looked up at Sarah as she entered the Lounge, and appreciated her slender, yet curvaceous body. He tried to connect with her green eyes, and gave her a slight nod, greeting her. He then shifted his eyes to Odessa as she filed in, estimated her to be very slender and agile, hard to see her shapes. His eyes then shifted again this time towards Francis, a big thirsty man, perhaps the biggest man ever seen on the Castille. Shaan nodded at him as well, approving his arrival with a smile. Shaan then got up onto his feet and started before the voluptuous Salonika had entered.<br/><br/><strong>“I'm sorry about the mess around here, but I've been alone the last few weeks, and had my hands full  bringing Castille back to port.” </strong>Shaan gulped the last of his stout and placed the empty tankard on the sticky table. He got onto his feet, reach for the wall and flipped the intercom switch so that Salonika could hear.<br/><br/><strong>“I've been paid to bring some stuff back from the fringe, from a ghost-ship to be exact, and i've already lost over a dozen good people trying to get it done. Some to mutiny, some to the fucking ghosts, some to space-sickness, they just got mad and had to be put down.”</strong>It was obvious that he didn't like this mission, maybe that was his flaw as a leader. Showing too much emotion about this.<br/><br/><strong>“Doctor Salonika,”</strong>he then continued, speaking straight into the microphone,<strong> “make sure to check up on the crew as quickly as possible. You need to establish their files, so you can find changes and notice anomalies on their health later on. You'll have the spare key to the weapons locker, so if anything happens, make sure to unlock it, and arm yourself.”</strong>He then looked at the mechanic,<strong>“Sarah, I'll give you free hands on the ship, and see if you can fix the water supplies. We've been leaking down in the storage the last few days.”</strong>He then looked past Sarah, at the pilot, trying to get a good look at her face,<strong>“Odessa, get comfortable on the bridge. I know she looks bad, but you'll be surprised at her agility and speed. I'll put you as second in command. I guess you have some experience from ships like this?” </strong>He then finally looked at Francis,<strong> “Francis, you're the only hired hand it seems, make yourself useful, where ever needed. I trust you have experience and can get around.”</strong><br/><br/>With that, he looked at the crew,<strong>“If you are having second thoughts about getting this done, get the fuck off my ship and try getting your money back from the Collegia. If you're staying, get your asses down to the doc for an exam.”</strong>He flipped off the intercom.