Allister Mac

The Story So Far...
Allister Mac served as right-hand man to Captain Conklin aboard the Blue Sun corporate contract vessel Ataraxia. He lived through the Unification War but joined neither side, even though he ended up briefly as a prisoner of war of both sides at different points during the conflict. Blue Sun was instrumental in getting a negotiated release for the crew each time. Ataraxia is a legitimate Kepler Class science vessel, transporting mostly scientific/medical supplies and classified research between various Blue Sun facilities among the Core and Border worlds. Allister himself has never visited the Rim for any reason. His main duties included cargo data encryption (results from the experiments they often transported), inventory and route scheduling, and profit efficiency modeling; all very by-the-numbers. It was these skills that kept their employer happy and profitable and earned Allister the Captain's trust. Together they ensured Ataraxia's place as one of the premiere Blue Sun contract boats.

By then, in confidence, Conklin confessed to Allister that he'd been secretly lining up "side jobs" along their contracted routes in the hopes of earning enough extra coin to someday buy out of his contract with Blue Sun and own the vessel outright. Unfortunately, his efforts so far only managed to scrape together some very meager savings. So he approached Allister and asked for his help, "you bein' so shénqí(magical) with numbers and all…", to assist in managing their clandestine side-business more profitably and earn them both a path to independence. Allister agreed to the partnership, as long as the Captain promised to keep them both out of harms way.

To his word Captain Conklin deftly handled whatever "entanglements" they sometimes encountered on the Border worlds, that is until he had the misfortune to be in the wrong bar at the wrong time and ended up the sole fatality of a U-Day Anniversary brawl between some ne'er-do-well ex-Browncoats and several overly intoxicated Alliance supporters. An innocent bystander, Conklin caught the only bullet to fly before the Browncoats bolted away. The rest of Ataraxia's small crew, who'd foolishly taken part in the brawl (on both sides), were promptly detained and arrested. As fate would have it, it just happened to be Allister's turn to stay aboard the ship during that particular planetfall.

So now, thanks to Blue Sun's inscrutable bureaucratic personnel policies, Allister Mac suddenly finds himself promoted to replacement Captain of the Ataraxia and obliged to somehow fulfill all their remaining contracts. Faced now with the daunting task of finding the right crew and appeasing his corporate bosses, Allister also commits himself to somehow fulfilling the dream of his late Captain, and friend, to eventually call the Ataraxia his "home" in the 'Verse.

A "Gift" from Blue Sun . . .
And just who is this mysterious new First Mate and Mechanic, known as "J9", that Blue Sun has conveniently sent to assist Allister in getting the Ataraxia ready for her next flight?

She certainly seems competent enough around the engines, but she conducts herself less like a First Mate and more like a true Captain. Is Blue Sun already having second thoughts about assigning command to Allister?

J9 's friendly enough for sure and seems genuinely happy with her new assignment, but her "take charge" attitude has Allister 's head spinning, and she doggedly pressures him to begin recruiting a new crew immediately. There's still time to spare in the schedule, so what's her rush?

What are her true orders from Blue Sun? . . . undefined