[MH] Caribbean by Night

[Icelander]

The adventure inside the Dreamlands of the unconscious mind of Gwen Delvano finally came to an end yesterday. The PCs hewed their foes like wheat, but, when it came to getting answers, they acquired much less than they hoped. Less than I expected, actually, as the players spent most of their conversation with the Stranger / Wanderer / Man in Black wondering who he was and never really asked him any questions about the cult (The Keepers of the Last Hearth) or the awesomely powerful entities existing Outside (The Lords of the Last Waste).

The final fate of the Antarctic Space Nazis and their enemies, the ghouls and nightgaunts below the city of Unknown Kadath on the Plateau of Leng, was grim and anticlimatic. Using the cold-infused energy of the diamonds the PCs carried, 'Nonc' Morel collapsed ice tunnels on a warren of ghouls and a flight of nightgaunts. The collpase was monumental, literally billions of tons of ice shifted and sent concussive shockwaves powerful enough to break spars and rip sails to threads over a hundred yards away from the outer edges of the catastrophe. Any ASNs patrolling tunnels below Kadath was instantly destroyed and those on the surface experienced a powerful earthquake.

As the shockwave hit the PCs, they found themselves standing on a mosaic tile floor in a lushly appointed villa, full of potted plants and modern furniture, including a massive flat- screen TV and sound system playing Dion's The Wanderer. Large windows showed idyllic nature scenes, the view from a mountain retreat over a green valley full of beautiful, exotic birds, but the observant note that the windows were actually display screens.

A tall man wearing what appears to be contemporary Western clothes, i.e. black snakeskin cowboy boots, black jeans, black denim jacket, silk waistcoat with silver ornamental patterns, a black silk scarf and a black Stetson, comes walking in, bidding the PCs welcome in Spanish. As only one of the PCs speaks it fluently, some evidence of confusion must have shown on their faces, as the Man in Black begged their pardon, now in English.

Although, oddly, when the PCs discussed it afterward, Alice Talbot thinks his English had no accent, Lucien Lacoste heard a New Orleans Yat accent slightly flavored by a Western twang and both 'Nonc' Morel and Teddy Smith figure they heard an East Texan accent, though Smith would have said educated Houston businessman and Morel heard Piney Woods hill folk.

Upon closer inspection, the Dark Man looks remarkably like actor Ian McShane. The way the tilted black Stetson keeps one eye in shadow drives the players into a frenzy of speculation about Odin. He doesn't claim godhood, only that he is a memory, a thought, to some degree a fantasy. They can call him the Wanderer or Walter O'Dim if they want, or just the Man in Black, if they like Cash.

Alice Talbot asks him: "But what is your real name, stranger?"

And he tells her: "Stranger is a good name. I like that."

The Stranger tells the heroes that they share goals. The mind of Sybil, whom they know as Gwen Delvano, would be better unfractured. Then the Stranger interrogates the PCs about their weapons and how they plan to kill the Monster at the End of the Dream, which Sybil calls the Weaver. The Stranger seems surprised and impressed by the bloodsteel saber carried by Alice Talbot, but most of the other weaponry he deems quite inadequate, sufficient perhaps to destroy servitor beings bound to the Weaver's defence, but no good against the Harbinger of the Lords of the Last Waste.

The PCs are understandably reluctant to trust a dark and mysterious Stranger. However, testimony from Titi, a black cat of Ulthar, and some rolls against Literature and Theology (Comparative) convince the PCs to accept the Stranger's explanation that their Quest has arrived at a natural point for a Choice and a mysterious Mentor figure.

In his capacity as a mentor, the Stranger informs the PCs that the Weaver drains energy, all energy, on behalf of his masters, and that any powerful magic used against it might indeed tear its body, but would also strengthen the powers that he served, perhaps enough for them to open a way through. The use of the magical cold-infused diamonds has been strengthening the Weaver and using them against it would be counter-productive in the extreme.

Using abtruse thaumatological theory of Daath, the hidden sephirah, and the Empty Decan, the Stranger explains the theory of anti-energy, the Path of Non-Existence. To Lucien Lacoste, he puts it in simpler terms: "Instead of an explosion, think implosion."

To this end, the Stranger allowed the PCs free access to an arsenal of weapons. AKs, RPKs and dart-shooting underwater assault rifles (APS), grenades and satchel charges of Semtex encased in a strangely Steampunk-looking cantraption with a simple adjustable timer. All the seemingly modern weapons were made of bronze instead of steel, with occult logographs engraved in it. Oh, and a wicked harpoon with a thin greyish thread attached, allegedly made from "impossible things". All the armaments are imbued with Non-Existence and the thread, if secured around the Weaver, should isolate It from the energies of this world and trap It Outside, on the other side of the tear in reality.

When the Stranger hears that the PCs have captured a Mi-gö/yeti/cold spirit wrapped in the physchic threads of the Weaver and are using it to find It, he gives them a black candle to use in a ritual to tuen that connection against the Weaver. As the PCs prepare for battle by linking their consciousnesses in a Battle Mind (a.k.a. Mental Voltron), the Stranger gives them little tokens he carves from willow wood as they perform the ritual, in the shape of triangles with eyes in them.

[Icelander]

Suddenly the PCs find themselves back on the Rocinante, in the midst of a hard-fought boarding action. Ghouls, nightgaunts and impossibly graceful Fair Folk knights in icy harness are fighting the sky pirates, with ice spiders gorging on blood that distends their clear abdomens. Somehow, the Rocinante is sailing on the surface of a subglacial lake, with ice above it and a web of frost strands extending from the ice cavern walls and ceiling into the water, where an unfathomable mass lurks and a shape courses along under the ship.

And there was a firefight. The Fair Folk knights and their ice spider mounts were inhumanly skilled and protected by powerful fey dweomers, but against steel rounds, pure iron slugs and the bloodsteel saber, their armour was no more help than normal ice and they were cut down like so much rabble. Ghouls are hard to kill, but once the PCs realized that anyone falling into the supercooled, pressurized liquid of the subglacial lake was not coming back unless protected by a major ritual (as the one the PC prepared with before going down there), they started just throwing them overboard.

As they fought, the PCs also performed feats of occult significance. 'Nonc' Morel and Lucien Lacoste used the black candle to "reverse the polarity" of the tendril-thread tying the yeti to the Weaver, draining back any energy that the Weaver had siphoned through the link and then using that energy to reel in the Weaver like a giant fish caught on a line. Surprised by this temerity, the Weaver broached the surface of the water momentarily, which was enough for Teddy Smith to hit It with a crystal harpoon fired from a swivel gun (and attached to an anchor chain).

Alice Talbot caught another tendril-thread, after dodging an attempt to grab her with it, and started metaphysically pulling on it using her bloodsteel saber and the obsidian athame she brought, so black it's like a fragment of the void. Starting a ritual chant in Latin, her voice changed and deepended until it sounded like a chorus of snarls and growls, speaking a language no living man had ever heard. She seemed taller, coldly and predatorily beautiful, surrounded by shadows that formed a definite suggestion of wings.

As the combined efforts of PCs pulling metaphysically and pirates pulling on the anchor chain prevented the Weaver from moving freely, Teddy Smith put another fiery crystal harpoon in it from the other swivel-gun and then manned the flak gun in the stern, which he'd improvised to fire the largest crystal harpoon created by the Dream-Quest ritual. As the Weaver, some uncanny combination of spider, octopus, dragon and whale, rose out of the water at the stern, Smith put his harpoon into Its gullet.

The Weaver hit the stern with enough force to lift the Rocinante's bow like it was a rowboat.* As the ship made like the Titannic, Alice Talbot started slashing at mandibles on the Weaver, 'Nonc' Morel grabbed the last harpoon they had, the bronze one given to them by the Weaver, and Lucien Lacoste grabbed an RPK with a bronze bayonet. Lacoste and Morel fell toward the Weaver's inhuman face**, with Lacoste autofiring as he fell.*** Morel stuck the harpoon into what he believed to be the Weaver's forehead and Lacoste jammed his bayonet through something like a lower lip and deep into the wood of the Rocinante's stern.

As the Weaver lashed out physically, psychically and mystically, Alice Talbot slid down its back, into the water, and jammed a satchel charge into one of the spinnerets at the rear of the Weaver's abdomen. Teddy Smith dived into the water to help 'Nonc' Morel wrap the mysterious grey thread around the Weaver. And Lucien Lacoste cut the maw of the Weaver open with his crystal axe (into which a shoggoth-spirit was bound) and threw a satchel charge into it.

Draeing liberally on magical protections and assistence, the PCs somehow survived in a storm of ice shards, freezing water, psychic assaults and energy drains. Neither satchel charge exploded when it was supposed to, which was actually good, as it allowed PCs to get further away or into cover. Lacoste dragged a huge, black pirate gunner's mate up with one hand as he used his axe to climb the Rocinante's deck.

Then all sound and light and warmth vanished and the impossible air pocket that the Rocinante was sailing in seemed to realize that it shouldn't exist, as the water rushed up and the ice crashed down. Somehow, the dream maintained a small sphere of calm around the ship, long enough for the PCs to rescue pirates in the water using magical ropes and get themselves up on the Rocinante, as their faithful vessel headed for an enormous ice slide in the water, watched over by an impassive Emperor Penguin.

As the PCs all touched the Silver Key of their Dream-Quest ritual and the sands of the time they had ran dry, the Rocinante slid down the slide like a contact down a drain. The Lord of the Roads, the Opener of the Way, smokes his pipe and seems well content. Tekeli-li. Tekeli-li.

*Cue "We're gonna need a bigger boat".
**Teddy Smith's player declared that he was imagining the Weaver with the face of Leonard Nimoy and the voice of George Takei. Specifically, every mandible was the nose of Nimoy and the psychic screams of the Weaver were in the voice of Takei.
***Only Destiny Points prevented him from hitting all three of his fellow PCs, all in the line of fire.

[johndallman]

Originally Posted by Icelander

. . . likely they refer to It with a worshipful title coined in their esoteric ConLang, based on Ithkuil.

That's a good way to find out if someone really wants to be a cultist. If they are persistent enough to learn a language that weird, they're in.

[Icelander]

Originally Posted by johndallman

That's a good way to find out if someone really wants to be a cultist. If they are persistent enough to learn a language that weird, they're in.

Somewhat ironically, The Girl with the Kaleidoscope Eyes / Sybil / Gwen Delvano / (real name unknown) is the only member of the cult whom the PCs have encountered who seems to speak this Ithkuil-derived language.

The Man with the Unfortunate Look / Darkwalker (nobody calls him that) / Crash / Janus Eramus / Aquarius Love Dandelet-Tripplehorn, the other cult sorcerer who travelled with 'Gwen Delvano', seems to have studied it since 2013 or so, but is still incapable of actually conversing in it, let alone using it for magical purposes. After he had tried for several minutes to get a chant in Inthkuil-esque to work, he switched to Koine Greek. And 'Janus Eramus' isn't merely some dullard, he's got degrees in physics and philosophy from UC Berkeley, where he also read subjects as diverse as literature, linguistics and classical studies (where he learned Latin and Greek).

As for the Boy with the Birthday Smile / onelastmidnight1198' / Ronald E. Green, he seems to have been recruited online (on incel forums) and to believe he belongs to some apocalyptic cult devoted to humans opting out of procreation and life, but apparently knows very little about the rituals he helped with, let alone the mystical languages they are performed in. He recognizes a few Latin words, but Greek is like Greek to him and as for the Ithkuil-deriative, he can't tell if it's even a real language.

The PCs haven't found 'Igor' / "Not Ivan, maybe Boris or one of them Russian names" / (real name unknown), but given that there is doubt whether the taciturn driver, bodyguard and general handyman spoke English, it seems unlikely he spoke an esoteric ConLang which even brilliant people can't master in years of study.

[Icelander]

I've got a question about police procedure in Texas. The Galveston PD has arrested a female suspect, one 'Gwen Delvano', on a yacht moored at a private wharf in Galveston. The time is 23:59, December 28, 2018.

At the moment, she is a person of interest, as her credit card was used to rent an apartment where two or more male suspects appear to have been staying with her. Eventually, Ms. Delvano might be charged with an involvement in their crimes, which start with trespassing, vandalism, assault and kidnapping, and seem to connect to multiple murders, complete with creepy occult paraphernalia and full serial killer weirdness.

Ms. Delvano has been apprehended on the yacht Penemue, where eccentric billionaire J.R. Kessler graciously allowed officers to come on board without a warrant and arrest her, once he was made aware that Ms. Delvano was sought by the authorities in the kidnapping of his employee, Alice Talbot. Security staff apparently discovered Ms. Delvano aboard the Penemue, unconscious, almost a day after Ms. Talbot's rescue from the kidnappers.

It is unknown how Ms. Delvano got there, but as Dr. Dao (ship's doctor) claims that she has been unresponsive since she was found, and she has evidence of both burns and blunt force trauma, she must clearly be taken to a hospital before she can be processed into holding, interrogated or otherwise meaningfully interacted with by law enforcement. Ms. Delvano recovered consciousness as officers attempted to move her and seems to be responsive, if confused and injured.

My question is, how will Ms. Delvano be transported to the hospital, how many officers will accompany her and how many of them will be assigned to guard her in the hospital?

Here in Iceland, it might be one car of two officers, with one of them going in the back of the ambulance with the EMTs and the person under arrest, the other driving the squad car to the hospital (most likely not making any special attempt to follow in convoy, just going to the same place).

In this case, while there is no direct evidence she is dangerous or even guilty of anything beyond knowing a kidnap/murder suspect, she is a person of interest in a case that involves six murders, a kidnapping, sacrificial knives and an ornate axe. As such, there are six officers and three cars on the scene as she is arrested.

Now, are all of them going to take her to the hospital or will one or two cars go do something more productive, like look for the other person of interest, a big scary, scarred freight-train-looking dude someone saw with the male suspect the night before the kidnapping?

Regardless of whether one, two or three squad cars roll to the hospital, will they drive in any kind of convoy or just take their own routes there?

And will one, two or more cops be assigned to stay by Ms. Delvano's side to make sure she is securely cuffed and doesn't try anything weird?

[Icelander]

It's been some 26 hours since Galveston PD responded to a report of shots fired in the historic Strand district, near a building adjoining Harborside Drive, with the shots being fired on the 23rd Street and/or a parking lot off it. Two arrest were made as a young woman, Alice Talbot, had apparently been drugged and kidnapped. Ms. Talbot was rescued, but made only a short statement before being allowed to rest.

In the course of their investigation, Galveston PD has discovered connections to six murders. The bodies were discovered in the Seawall Walmart in Galveston some 30 minutes before the shots fired report, with off-duty Reserve Deputies from the Jefferson County Sheriff's Office claiming to have followed a suspect from the Walmart to the Strand district, whereupon the shots were fired.*

The victims were apparently killed somewhere else, 12-18 hours before, and concealed in a back room of the Walmart. Five out of six bodies have been identified, three as employees of the Walmart, one as a tourist and one as a hotel employee from the Hotel Galvez. The sixth is a young woman who may also be a tourist, but the leading theory among the detectives is that she is a prostitute, despite her fingerprints not being in the system.

Now, I'm wondering how big the case has gotten in the just over a day since it started. Galveston PD has jurisdiction, but I'm guessing that the Galveston County Sheriff's Office would cooperate right from the start, as two of the victims lived outside the municipal area of Galveston proper and, in any case, the actual site of the murders might just as likely have been in their jurisdiction.

What about other law enforcement agencies?

Will the Texas Rangers get involved? Or the FBI, because there is evidence of kidnapping and it certainly looks serial killer-y?

How long does it take to set up a task force of multiple agencies?

Who else is involved after 26-27 hours, over the 27th and 28th of December 2018?

Edit: The Gulf Coast Violent Offender Task Force sounds like it ought to get involved. It's led by the US Marshals and I don't know how that works when there are no known suspects with active warrants, but from reading news stories, it sounds like the GCVOTF would coordinate any necessary manhunt, even if the more technical aspects of the homicide investigation might be in the hands of either the Galveston PD or alternatively an agency with more forensics resources, if six murders and a kidnapping results in state or federal agencies horning in on a local case.

*The role of the PCs, two of whom are the Reserve Deputies in question, will be minimized in the official reports, as their actions were questionable from a legal standpoint and might give a defence attorney ammunition to throw out important evidence. So, while the Galveston PD knows what happened, they'll falsify the paperwork to help them prosecute an apparent serial killer. As a defence attorney who among other things defends cops accused of malfeasace, I can attest that 'fixing' the paperwork to cover up mistakes or failure to obey protocol, while really a serious criminal act, is more or less standard practice.

Edit: Upon reviewing Texas laws and the interpretation of the Texas Attorney General of those statues in a similar case, I've decided to allow at least one PC to hold the status of Reserve Deputy in more than on County Sheriff's Office simultaneously, as long as he receives no emolument for holding more than one office. PC Teddy Smith is thus a Reserve Deputy in the Jefferson County Sheriff's Office, where he belongs to the Fugitive Warrant Division and is a part-time firearms training officer for their SWAT, but also Reserve Deputy in the Marine Divisions of the Sheriff's Offices of neighbouring Chambers County and Galveston County.

This entails a minimum of 16 volunteer hours of work per month in Jefferson County and a minimum volunteer contribution of 20 hours in Galveston County and 16 hours in Chambers County. As Teddy Smith is a Workaholic who likes the water, boats and SAR work, he generally does as many volunteer shifts as he can during months while the Penemue is moored at Galveston, having exceeded 200 hours this December, 40 in Jefferson County, 72 in Chambers County and 88 in Galveston County (Kessler had no monster hunting work for him). The lack of emolument is not really of concern, Smith has worked as a security contractor for Kessler since the 1980s and was on full salary, invested in stock options, during the decades Smith was lost in the 'Bermuda Triangle'. Smith is a millionaire, easy, might even be a multi-millionaire.

Depending upon the desires of Lucien Lacoste's player, Lacoste is already a Reserve Deputy with the Fugitive Warrant Division in the Jefferson County Sheriff's Office, attached to SWAT as an instructor. Lacoste might also hold a position as a Reserve Deputy in at least the Galveston County Sheriff's Office, if not all three counties (Chambers, Galveston and Jefferson).

In that case, it would probably be an investigative position, as Lacoste is an experienced and capable homicide detective fairly recently retired from the New Orleans Police Department on medical grounds, after a shooting in which Lacoste was critically wounded and his partner killed. Two years later, Lacoste has recovered better than any doctor could predict and is accredited by the Texas Commission on Law Enforcement (TCOLE) as a peace officer in Texas. Given his skill set and experience, he's an asset to GCSO or CCSO if he was willing to volunteer for a couple of shifts per month, either in a teaching capacity or maybe following up on a few cold cases.

Of course, this has an impact on the current adventure, as it means that the PCs will most likely know any GCSO deputies involved in the case and if Lacoste volunteers there, he can try to insert himself into the investigation.

Edit: Lacoste will indeed, like Teddy Smith, volunteer as a Reserve Deputy for the Sheriff's Office of all three counties, Chambers, Galveston and Jefferson. The sheriffs in all three counties are either dimly aware of the supernatural threat and J.R. Kessler's role in funding rough men to protect humanity from it in secret, or, alternatively, they are merely so securely in Kessler's pocket that they allow his employees wide latitude even without such knowledge. It's probably a little from Column A, a little from Column B.

[Icelander]

If the PCs and the world do not suffer a horrible fate from Alice Talbot meddling with Things Man Was Not Meant to Know, and Galveston law enforcement decides to hail the PC Reserve Deputies as heroes rather than making them scapegoats for a shooting incident where at least three cops and one EMT were killed, the Monday after the action-packed weekend experienced by the PCs will be New Year's Eve 2018-2019.

Galveston is a touristy place, but I'm only aware of the summer season there. Are the holidays over Christmas and New Year's any kind of tourism draw at all for the island?

Does anyone have a description of what New Year's might be like on Galveston Island, or Southeast Texas and the Gulf Coast more generally? I've never been anywhere warmer than an Icelandic winter over the holiday season, so I'm used to between 20° F to 40° F weather and ideally snow. I can Google the temperature in Galveston on that night, but what does it mean, in terms of how locals and tourist celebrate the New Year?

Do Texans or Americans in general go out on New Year's or have dinner at home with extended families?

Obviously, the law enforcement community in my Galveston will still be in shock after the brutal tragedy of the 29th of December, 2018, and the deaths of Officers Sam H. Talley and Keontay Washington, as well as Sergeant Deputy Bob Higgins, EMT Anne Marie Roth and the wounding of Deputy Ana Esperza De La Cruz and EMT-Paramedic Hank Arnold.

Would they cancel any planned New Year's celebrations connected to the Galveston PD and/or the Galveston County Sheriff's Office, or would the celebrations simply alter somewhat and also do duty as unofficial memorial events?

Is there anything else I should think about as Galveston in my campaign prepares to welcome 2019 in the midst of a massive, multi-agency investigation that sprawls to Dallas, California and South America?

[dcarson]

New Year's Eve parties are the normal thing in the US. New Year's day is spent with hangovers for the party types.

https://www.eventbrite.com/d/tx--gal...s-eve-parties/

The police will probably have more then normal on duty to catch the drunk drivers.

[Icelander]

Originally Posted by dcarson

New Year's Eve parties are the normal thing in the US. New Year's day is spent with hangovers for the party types.

https://www.eventbrite.com/d/tx--gal...s-eve-parties/

The police will probably have more then normal on duty to catch the drunk drivers.

In my campaign, from December the 27th to the 29th, 2018, something like twenty homicides have been committed in Galveston and another six or so are in critical condition after a shooting. Half of those homicides were suspects killed in the commission of a crime, but that still leaves ten people, mostly locals, one EMT ambulance driver and three of them cops, who were murdered in the last few days. And another officer and paramedic might still die.

Galveston proper is something over 50,000 people and Galveston County is almost exactly the population of Iceland, 335,000. When fourteen people died in an avalanche here twenty four years ago, it was a national tragedy that brought more or less everything to a standstill for weeks. I've seen annual balls and celebrations cancelled for much less weighty reasons and while the two avalanches of 1995 in Iceland were in January and October, I imagine that if one of them had occured two days before New Year's Eve, a lot of parties, especially those connected to public servants, would have been cancelled.

And if we consider just the city of Galveston and those of its citizens who were killed in the obscene murders of the 27th December and then the brutal attack on the night of the 29th December, the proportion is very similar to the number of victims on 9/11 in proportion to the population of New York City. Then again, the 17th of May, 2018 Santa Fe shooting occured earlier that year, within Galveston County, and was of equal magnitude.

On the other hand, Dallas 2016 was an even worse attack (though obviously in a much larger population and larger police department). I wonder if New Year's celebrations in Dallas had proceeded as scheduled if the attack had taken place in late December?

In short, what is New Year's Eve going to look like in Galveston after a tragedy like that?

[Icelander]

Captain: Augustus 'Gus' Starr (b. March 27, 1963; Houston, Texas). Retired USN Captain of the USS Bonhomme Richard, former USN SEAL officer.
First Mate: Brandon McBride (b. 1957, Beaumont, TX). Former Chief Warrant Officer from USCG (served 1976-2006).
Chief Steward: Jean-Michel Alexandre, Kessler's right-hand-man, been with him since 1986. A stern, dangerous-looking Haitian who seems more bodyguard than domestic servant. Served in the French Foreign Legion for some time in the 70s and 80s.
Executive Secretary: Mary Marchant. For all intents and purposes, Ms. Marchant is in charge of anything she wants to be. While she makes no attempt to dictate what to do to her employer, as such decisions are usually an imprecise and arbitrary matter anyway, Ms. Marchant sees that anything which is needed is done, generally in such an efficient and organised manner that Kessler rarely has to think about his billions of dollars in holdings and investments, as Ms. Marchant is quite capable of dealing with his hordes of lawyers, accountants and other professionals on his behalf. Mr. Marchant is a regal woman in middle age, with an authoritative and confident manner rescued from brusqueness by a slight Texas lilt in her accent. As far as anyone knows, she has been with Kessler since she was young and he trusts her implicitly with anything and everything.
Chief Engineer: Teryn Gilbert.
Chef: Eugenia "Aunty Genie" Seraphine. Dominiquais (Commonwealth of Domincia) obeah woman, who is equally capable at whipping up callaloo and curative elixirs. In her fifties, has worked for Kessler since she was a girl and treats him with fond familiarity mixed with an exasperating tendency to exaggerate his frailty and protect his health, whether he likes it or not.
First Steward: Ramon Alejo Reyes Jr.; retired Chief Culinary Specialist (CS7/E-7) from the US Navy who served two Presidents in the White House, between 2004-2012. Born in Manila with US citizenship (his father was a former USN steward as well), now in his early forties. Eagerly snapped up by a recruiter for Kessler when he retired from his Navy career in 2012. Unflappable, efficient, professional and unobtrusive at all times, Reyes is almost inhumanly good at his job and is reputed to be pulling in a salary only marginally lower than the Captain, which nearly all the crew agree he is well worth, as his organisational ability and uncanny attention to detail make keeping up billionaire standards of living aboard the Penemue that much easier. Reyes is a devout Roman Catholic and a genuinely kind man.
Head of Security: Guillaume Armant (b. 1965, Paris, France). Former Gendarmerie officer who was in the GSPR between 1995-2007 and worked as a security consultant between 2007-2012.
Bosun: Clifford 'Cliff' Payne (b. 1965, San Antonio). USCG (1985-2005), retired as MCPO (E-9).
Engineer: Carlos Camacho.
Medical officer: Dr. Dao Van Sang.
Librarian: Alfred L. Lapointe (b. September 14, 1965, DRC/Congo), an English and History graduate of UT Austin. Expert on Shakespearean dramaturgy, John Dee and the occult underground of Elizabethan London. Looks like Ernest Thomas.
Armourer: George 'Baz' Bannerman (b. September 12, 1962, Durban, South Africa). Former 22 SAS (1982-1992), son of Edward 'Ned' Bannerman, former head of Kessler's personal security.
Sous chef: Cosimo LaRocca (b. 1986, New Orleans). Classically trained chef, who might walk into a head chef position on any luxury yacht or even have an excellent chance at re-starting his promising restaurant career, but owes Kessler an unspecified debt. Considers Aunty Genie an amateur in culinary matters and resents her authority, but must admit that she is a gifted amateur. Is also terrified of her and therefore complains to the crew and guests, never to her face.
Crew chef: Dale Johnson (b. 1975; Houston, TX). Former SEAL who lost both legs. Not a haute cuisine chef, but a good fry cook and excellent barbecue man. Main duties are perimeter security, allowed in the kitchen only on sufferance by Aunty Genie. Mostly cooks for the night shift or when an away team needs a meal at odd hours.
Senior Deck Crew: Cord 'Boats' McCall (b. March 18, 1978; Port Aransa, TX). US Navy from 2002-2011, retired as E-7, Chief Boatswain's Mate (BMC). McCall grew up the son of a charter captain for saltwater fishing and worked on his boat since he was old enough to splice a line. He's capable, stoic and unflappable. If he has hobbies or interests, other than the sea, weather, naval yarns and ensuring that Penemue is run absolutely flawlessly, he has managed to conceal such weaknesses adroitly from everyone.
Nurse: Astrid Andersson. Kessler's private nurse. Indecently young and devastatingly attractive, which must surely be wasted on the old reprobate. Aunty Genie keeps trying to convince Kessler to replace her with one of her many nieces or cousins from back home, who'd not only take better care of his health, but would also be much better for the state of his immortal soul, being well-brought up girls who'd never dream of flirting so shamelessly with a man of his advanced age.
Janitor: Lazaro Calderon (b. 1956; Miami, FL).
Interior Crew: Ophelia Agnes Goddard (b. 1998, Domincia). Niece of Aunty Genie. Trusted with cleaning alchemical gear.
Deck hands (4): Names needed. Might double as security, in which case they'll be recruited from the Coast Guard, Navy or another branch of the military where operators might learn boating, small unit tactics, waterborne assault, etc.
Interior crew (3): Names needed. Will almost certainly also handle personal security.

Aside from the interior and deck crew members I haven't named, I'm also missing several characters for roles I know I need, but haven't fleshed out.

There are two technical types who are not marine engineers. One is responsible for all communication and sensor hardware and the other is the sysadmin aboard.

I had thought that the sysadmin was a young genius whose lack of social graces was excused because he could somehow find ways to keep computers working (some of the time) despite the interference from ritual magicians and various supernatural phenomena.

No idea about the communication and sensor tech, except that he probably has a more conventional background, is a little older and a lot more professional.