Dhamras, Howotro
165-221 through 166-221
After a brief discussion, the group realized they needed more information before making any decisions. Once Thiel had scouted the lobby area of the building and reported it clear, the group took one of the elevators to the top floor. From there, they found stairs to the roof and scouted around.
The fifteen story building was taller than most of the surrounding buildings other than the massive hotel at the convention center, and from its roof they had a clear view of the city. They could see military vehicles and patrols around the convention center, and just outside of the cordon several burning police vehicles. Elsewhere in the city they could heard the sounds of combat, and see a number of grav gunships patrolling the skies. Jordan considered ways they could either rescue the hostages, or otherwise disrupt the coup. Harim argued that they didn't have the firepower to effectively do either of these things, and that their responsibilty was to get the "civilians" out of harm's way.
Not wanting to risk the streets, they decided to return to the basement and look for some kind of underground route out of the city. However, on entering the stairwell, they heard booted footsteps echoing up from below. They quickly went down two flights of stairs, and exited the stairwell while the troops were still well below them. Harim went to the nearest apartment and was prepared to knock, when he spotted an open door down the hall. He and Thiel quietly approached the door, but no one seemed to be home. The people living here had apparently simply grabbed a few things and run away when the trouble began. They quickly ushered the rest of the group into the apartment. Jordan, thinking about escape routes, found the elevators. He managed to force the doors open and after locating a service ladder within the elevator shaft, returned to the apartment. Searching through the apartment, they found nothing much of use, but "borrowed" some clothes so that the chef's assistants might pass as locals. Harim found that none of the men's clothes would fit him, and no one else tried.
After anxiously waiting for a while, they decided that no soldiers were about to kick in their door. Jordan sent his remote drone out the window to scout around. It was fully dark now, but the drone's infrared and low-light sensors would allow them to get a decent look at the situation. Peeking over the roof, the drone sighted two men looking over the northeast corner of the rooftop. They were apparently watching the convention center, although the drone didn't get close enough to see exactly what they were doing. Jordan then brought the drone below the roof level and scouted the perimeter of the building. Using the drone's thermal vision, they spotted a few people sneaking around, but the neighboring streets were mostly deserted. They spotted a vehicle parked at the southwest corner of the building, which on closer inspection seemed to be a police van. As the probe came around the southeast corner of the building, Jordan halted the drone. He had seen men in several of the windows on the 15th floor and didn't want to cross their field of view. The men seemed to be in uniform and were watching the convention center intently and in the dark didn't notice the drone floating silently near their window. Jordan then carefully piloted the drone up to the roof and cautiously approached the men stationed there.
One of the men was still staring over the edge, but the other was talking into a comm unit. Jordan slowly eased the drone closer hoping to overhear part of the conversation. They heard the man say, "... No. The signal is too weak. We'll have to set them on automatic," just before he started to pack up his things. Jordan studied their uniforms using a night vision mode for a moment before bring the drone back to the apartment. One of the men was wearing a police tactical uniform, while the other man seemed to be wearing the uniform of a mercenary or private security force.
The group considered contacting these men, thinking that working with the police might be the quickest way to safety, but Masuman warned the offworlders that the local police had a reputation for both corruption and brutality. His distrust convinced the others that they were better off avoiding them. At this time, Jordan, Thiel, Harim, and Henri all received a short, encrypted text message. It took some effort, but they were eventually able to decrypt the message. It was a terse note from MacKenzie, "Am nearby. City too hot. Can extract from outside of town." After some discussion, the group decided to make their way to the basement using the ladders in the elevator shaft. Henri had suggested avoiding the hard physical labor involved and just using the elevators themselves, but he was voted down by the more cautious members of the group.
They climbed down to the basement without incident, and considered their next move. Jordan suggested they commandeer the vehicle they had spotted earlier, but the others were not sure of the wisdom of that plan. Thiel, listening at the door to the lobby, heard men moving around and the group decided it was too dangerous to try to get past them and to the van. He quickly improvised a barricade that would slow anyone trying to force the door open.
Searching the basement, they found a small grate that seemed to lead to a sewer tunnel. Henri at first flatly refused to consider that route, but was eventually convinced there was no other viable option. Ironically, he and the other Marquis were the strongest of the group and were volunteered to pry the grate open. Even with their combined efforts, the grate was stubborn and the group winced at the grinding sound as they slowly dragged it open. After they dropped, one by one, into the tunnel, Henri had them all swear never to reveal that not only had he been forced to enter a sewer, he had actually performed physical labor in order to do so.
The sewer tunnel ran generally north-south, and they arbitrarily chose to head north. After about an hour of wandering and any number of twists and turns, they were unsure of their progress. Thiel located a ladder leading up to the street, he cautiously looked around and realized that they had drifted slightly to the west and were only halfway to the edge of the city. A few people suggested that they would make better time leaving the sewers and making their way along the streets, but the danger of the patrolling gunships convinced them to continue underground.
After another claustrophobic hour they came to a dead end. They backtracked slightly and found another exit. Thiel once again scouted ahead and found they had reached a deserted suburban neighborhood at the north end of town. The made a break for the cover of trees in a heavily wooded park. Jordan sent his drone ahead to check out their path. He found that the park ended at small ravine with a shallow creek running through it. There was a bridge about a 100 meters east of their position, but it seemed to be heavily guarded. An abandoned factory on the other side of the ravine made a convenient landmark, and they split into two groups in order to move more quietly. None of the offworlders had much experience with climbing muddy slopes, so the the ravine was difficult to cross, but after a few slips and slides they were all able to make it to the factory. Thiel contacted MacKenzie, who told them that they could come pick them up in about an hour, but that they need to move at least another kilometer away from the city before it would be safe to do so.
The group started following the roadway away from the factory, but ran for the cover of the trees when they spotted a gunship approaching. After the gunship passed, they decided to make their way through the forest, even if it was slower. After about an hour of stumbling through the dark, they found themselves at the edge of parking lot. They called MacKenzie who confirmed that the mercenaries were on their way. The shopping center seemed to be empty, but the group decided to wait at the edge of the woods. Soon the mercenaries' APC swooped into sight, and the exhausted refugees piled in.
MacKenzie has setup a camp at a recreational airfield well away from any of the major cities, and had had no incidents yet. He handed out spare uniforms to everyone, and pointed out the showers. While Harim was busy modelling his new military look, Henri set about burning his old clothes.
They watched news feeds and discussed the situation with the mercenaries. Apparently there had been an attempted military coup against the country's civilian government. The military officer corps included a large number of the country's old aristocracy. As the civilian government worked ever more closely with the Imperium, this aristocracy was gradually losing it power. Rallying various ultraconservative groups, they had staged a coup. They had taken a number of Imperial hostages in order to keep the Imperium from interfering until they had consolidated power, at which point they would release them as part of the negotiations. Things had gone badly from the start because they hadn't been able to seize the Imperial Governor as planned, which left them with less bargaining power than they hoped. Also, they had severely underestimated the effectiveness of the mercenaries and private security forces that the Imperial corporations had been hiring to defend their property. The latest news was that the coup had fractured into several factions, and there was chaotic fighting across the nation.
Thinking they wanted to get off planet as soon as possible, Thiel remembered the free trader captain Elena Voegeli had seemed willing to help them out before. He contacted her and asked if she would be able to pick them up. She agreed, but a few minutes later called back saying that she couldn't get clearance from the Navy to make an approach. Henri quickly made a call to Marquis Sringasa's office and diplomatically reminded them who had warned the Marquis about the current situation. Not long after that, Captain Voegeli called back saying, "It must be nice to have friends in high places..."
Six hours later, the group was back on the High Port and Harim was giving his first interview to the press. He managed to mention "delicious Iskendu beef" in nearly every answer.
Sunday, March 22, 2009
Thursday, March 19, 2009
Episode 12 - Coup
Howotro Highport
155-221 through 163-221
Following smuggling incident, the four men found themselves with some downtime. They had no contracts to fulfill and no pressing leads to investigate. Harim and Henri took this time to relax and enjoy their luxurious hotel suites and the Highport's extensive entertainment options. Meanwhile, Jordan studied and worked on his robotic projects. Thiel had heard a rumor - from the free trader, Elena Voegeli - that a man had been asking around about him. He spent his free time drifting through spacer bars and the seedy parts of the highport trying to find out what was going on. He discovered that an old enemy, Gorgi Tonis, had come and gone from Howotro while Thiel was way.
A couple of days later, Henri received an invitation from Alexander Moya. The chef had a business proposition and wanted to discuss it after a dinner at his restaurant. Moya explained that Dhamras, a city in the largest nation on Howotro, was hosting its annual Feast of Dhamras at the end of the week. This festival was a long standing tradition that celebrated everything and anything related to food. He had discovered that because of the troubles elsewhere on the planet there was an opportunity to rent a booth in the city's convention center for the three days of the Feast. Moya was looking for a partner in the venture, he would provide the culinary expertise and half of the capital, and proposed that Henri would provide some Iskendu beef and the other half of the costs. After briefly discussing the proposal with the others, Henri accepted the deal. He and Harim immediately started preparations including hiring a PR firm and coordinating with the Feast organizers. They learned during the week that Marquis Sringasa - the Imperial Governor of Howotro - was going to attend the Feast and Henri sent him a formal invitation to visit the booth. They also learned that MacKenzie was also going to be in a nearby city negotiating a contract, and invited him to come visit the booth as well.
Dhamras, Howotro
164-221 through 165-221
By the end of the week, all four of the men were eager for the Feast to begin and took a shuttle down to Dhamras early on the first day to oversee the final preparations. During the first day, the four men took turns watching the booth and talking to potential customers, although when Henri overheard Thiel's unique sales pitch, he volunteered to take his shifts as well. With his additional free time Thiel, acting on an inspiration from Jordan, rigged the kitchen vents to gently waft the delicious smell of the cooking beef towards the hallways with the highest traffic. While he was wandering through the convention center, Jordan noticed a particularly high concentration of heavily armed soldiers walking around. When he asked locals about this, they explained that it was unusual, but that the festival had it's roots in a historic victory and was very popular with the military.
During one of his shifts that Henri met a local named Masuman. Masuman was selling artisan cheeses from a tiny stall near the Iskendu booth. After tasting the Zhugean beef, he told Henri, "This is wonderful! You'll put my boss out of business!" He explained that he had been forced to sell his family's farm to an offworld corporation - Malcolm Foods - and to add insult to injury the only work he could find was tending the cattle for Malcolm Foods on the land he used to own. Jordan later visited the Malcolm booth and found their beef to be tough and bland - no competition for Iskendu at all - and that their cheeses were far inferior to the homemade ones Masuman was selling.
After the kitchens closed down, the party continued long into the night. While wandering from bar to bar, they noticed that the military presence was still unusually high. Following a hunch, Henri lead them to a higher class bar where he expected to find some politicos. He managed to locate and start a conversation with a local Senator. Senator Kapila seemed a little shocked after hearing about the number of soldiers patrolling the streets. He claimed that the military presence wasn't an issue, but the fact that he left as quickly as possible made his arguments unconvincing at best. Walking back to the hotel, Henri called Marquis Sringasa and explained what he had learned and what he suspected. Sringasa thanked him for the warning and said that he was scheduled to arrive in Dhamras the next afternoon, but that he would start an investigation as soon as possible.
The next morning, the group was tense and anxious as they helped setup the booth, but relaxed slightly as the day progressed and nothing bad happened. Jordan and Masuman, working with Iskendu beef, Masuman's cheese, and some fresh baked bread from local bakery, concocted what they declared to be "the best sandwich ever." Thiel, still worried about the situation, worked out the quickest routes out of the convention center and to their hotel suite. Later that afternoon, shortly after he was supposed to arrive in the city, Marquis Sringasa called from the highport. He began warning Henri that something was happening, but he was cut off in mid-sentence. They soon discovered that there was some kind of jammer blocking communications out of the city and even interfering with calls within the convention center. The crowd didn't immediately realize that anything was wrong, but began slowly building towards a panic. While Harim and Henri started securing the booth, Thiel and Jordan scouted the area.
They discovered that the military had cordoned off the whole campus surrounding the convention center. The crowd had begun to panic in earnest now, so Jordan collected Masuman and his son Prashad and quickly returned to the booth. Thiel tried scouting around outside the building, but realized that the soldiers were now herding the crowds back into the convention center. Rather than get caught up in the press, he forced the lock of a service door and found himself in the utility tunnels under the convention center. Feeling safe for the moment, Thiel hacked his communicator so that he was able to intercept a few of the military conversations. He picked up a message indicating that the troops were to start "gathering the Imperials." Realizing that meant him and his friends he contacted the group and warned them that they needed to get out as soon as possible. He found another door somewhat close to the booth and called the group, which now included Moya as well his assistants Wilhelmina and Maura.
Once the group was relatively safe in the utility tunnels, they searched and eventually found a small duct which seemed to lead away from the building. They began crawling through the duct and soon heard troops searching the tunnels they had just left, but felt somewhat confident that the duct they entered would be missed by a casual search.
The duct led to the basement of a nearby building. Thiel scouted around and realized that they were in a mixed use building just outside of the military cordon. Safe for the moment, they began to discuss their options.
155-221 through 163-221
Following smuggling incident, the four men found themselves with some downtime. They had no contracts to fulfill and no pressing leads to investigate. Harim and Henri took this time to relax and enjoy their luxurious hotel suites and the Highport's extensive entertainment options. Meanwhile, Jordan studied and worked on his robotic projects. Thiel had heard a rumor - from the free trader, Elena Voegeli - that a man had been asking around about him. He spent his free time drifting through spacer bars and the seedy parts of the highport trying to find out what was going on. He discovered that an old enemy, Gorgi Tonis, had come and gone from Howotro while Thiel was way.
A couple of days later, Henri received an invitation from Alexander Moya. The chef had a business proposition and wanted to discuss it after a dinner at his restaurant. Moya explained that Dhamras, a city in the largest nation on Howotro, was hosting its annual Feast of Dhamras at the end of the week. This festival was a long standing tradition that celebrated everything and anything related to food. He had discovered that because of the troubles elsewhere on the planet there was an opportunity to rent a booth in the city's convention center for the three days of the Feast. Moya was looking for a partner in the venture, he would provide the culinary expertise and half of the capital, and proposed that Henri would provide some Iskendu beef and the other half of the costs. After briefly discussing the proposal with the others, Henri accepted the deal. He and Harim immediately started preparations including hiring a PR firm and coordinating with the Feast organizers. They learned during the week that Marquis Sringasa - the Imperial Governor of Howotro - was going to attend the Feast and Henri sent him a formal invitation to visit the booth. They also learned that MacKenzie was also going to be in a nearby city negotiating a contract, and invited him to come visit the booth as well.
Dhamras, Howotro
164-221 through 165-221
By the end of the week, all four of the men were eager for the Feast to begin and took a shuttle down to Dhamras early on the first day to oversee the final preparations. During the first day, the four men took turns watching the booth and talking to potential customers, although when Henri overheard Thiel's unique sales pitch, he volunteered to take his shifts as well. With his additional free time Thiel, acting on an inspiration from Jordan, rigged the kitchen vents to gently waft the delicious smell of the cooking beef towards the hallways with the highest traffic. While he was wandering through the convention center, Jordan noticed a particularly high concentration of heavily armed soldiers walking around. When he asked locals about this, they explained that it was unusual, but that the festival had it's roots in a historic victory and was very popular with the military.
During one of his shifts that Henri met a local named Masuman. Masuman was selling artisan cheeses from a tiny stall near the Iskendu booth. After tasting the Zhugean beef, he told Henri, "This is wonderful! You'll put my boss out of business!" He explained that he had been forced to sell his family's farm to an offworld corporation - Malcolm Foods - and to add insult to injury the only work he could find was tending the cattle for Malcolm Foods on the land he used to own. Jordan later visited the Malcolm booth and found their beef to be tough and bland - no competition for Iskendu at all - and that their cheeses were far inferior to the homemade ones Masuman was selling.
After the kitchens closed down, the party continued long into the night. While wandering from bar to bar, they noticed that the military presence was still unusually high. Following a hunch, Henri lead them to a higher class bar where he expected to find some politicos. He managed to locate and start a conversation with a local Senator. Senator Kapila seemed a little shocked after hearing about the number of soldiers patrolling the streets. He claimed that the military presence wasn't an issue, but the fact that he left as quickly as possible made his arguments unconvincing at best. Walking back to the hotel, Henri called Marquis Sringasa and explained what he had learned and what he suspected. Sringasa thanked him for the warning and said that he was scheduled to arrive in Dhamras the next afternoon, but that he would start an investigation as soon as possible.
The next morning, the group was tense and anxious as they helped setup the booth, but relaxed slightly as the day progressed and nothing bad happened. Jordan and Masuman, working with Iskendu beef, Masuman's cheese, and some fresh baked bread from local bakery, concocted what they declared to be "the best sandwich ever." Thiel, still worried about the situation, worked out the quickest routes out of the convention center and to their hotel suite. Later that afternoon, shortly after he was supposed to arrive in the city, Marquis Sringasa called from the highport. He began warning Henri that something was happening, but he was cut off in mid-sentence. They soon discovered that there was some kind of jammer blocking communications out of the city and even interfering with calls within the convention center. The crowd didn't immediately realize that anything was wrong, but began slowly building towards a panic. While Harim and Henri started securing the booth, Thiel and Jordan scouted the area.
They discovered that the military had cordoned off the whole campus surrounding the convention center. The crowd had begun to panic in earnest now, so Jordan collected Masuman and his son Prashad and quickly returned to the booth. Thiel tried scouting around outside the building, but realized that the soldiers were now herding the crowds back into the convention center. Rather than get caught up in the press, he forced the lock of a service door and found himself in the utility tunnels under the convention center. Feeling safe for the moment, Thiel hacked his communicator so that he was able to intercept a few of the military conversations. He picked up a message indicating that the troops were to start "gathering the Imperials." Realizing that meant him and his friends he contacted the group and warned them that they needed to get out as soon as possible. He found another door somewhat close to the booth and called the group, which now included Moya as well his assistants Wilhelmina and Maura.
Once the group was relatively safe in the utility tunnels, they searched and eventually found a small duct which seemed to lead away from the building. They began crawling through the duct and soon heard troops searching the tunnels they had just left, but felt somewhat confident that the duct they entered would be missed by a casual search.
The duct led to the basement of a nearby building. Thiel scouted around and realized that they were in a mixed use building just outside of the military cordon. Safe for the moment, they began to discuss their options.
Tuesday, March 17, 2009
Episode 11 - Return
In transit, Ushkager to Suukir
137-221 through 143-221
Under the supervision of Jordan and Thiel, Sister Ione’s inexperienced crew departed from Ushakger without any issues. The ship’s passengers consisted of a professional gambler on his way home to Suukir, Lord Kellea and his new wife returning from their honeymoon on Ushkager, three wealthy young women headed home to Howotro, and eight mercenaries commanded by Captain Harold MacKenzie.
Harim spent the first day of the journey recovering from his excesses on Ushkager. However, Penelope Mishina – daughter of Baron Mishina – and her two friends Marcia and Athena were much too intriguing for the Marquis to resist, and he was soon back to his normal socializing. Meanwhile, Raymond Kimber offered to teach anyone and everyone a few tips about card playing – as long as they played for real cash stakes. Thiel took him up on the offer and managed to not lose too much money.
Jordan and Henri were concerned at first about MacKenzie’s mercenaries, but they proved themselves friendlier and more open than the previous group of passengers. MacKenzie’s group had just completed a lucrative contract in the Carillian Assembly. After celebrating briefly on Ushkager, they were now following rumors of new contracts on Howotro.
Suukir Highport
144-221 through 146-221
Arriving at Suukir, the crew of Sister Ione offloaded Raymond Kimber and a small amount of cargo. On the ship’s previous pass through the system, Harim had contacted - by long range communications – a broker on the Suukir Highport. With this brokers help, the crew was able to quickly find another passenger and enough cargo to fill their holds. Not wanting to waste any time, they were on their way out of Suukir as soon as possible.
In transit, Suukir to Howotro
147-221 through 153-221
The jump from Suukir to Howotro was uneventful. The new passenger was a businessman looking to sell communications equipment on Howotro, but not a very interesting or effective salesman. Harim found the girls a little less giddy and a little less interested in spending time with him as they got closer to home. As the crew spent more time with the mercenaries, a feeling of mutual respect developed.
Howotro Highport
154-221
As Sister Ione approached the Howotro Highport, the traffic control officer recognized Jordan’s name, asked “Are you the Captain Ross? The one that served on the Endeavor?” He learned that his name had been on the news again for the last few days. Apparently, the Navy had agreed to lease a decommissioned frigate to the production company making the film about Jordan’s life. The frigate was to be refitted and would be used to stand in for the cruiser he had served on. After the cargo was unloaded, the businessman from Suukir approached the crew and thanked them for a pleasant trip and the fastest pass through customs he had ever experienced.
When Jordan and Thiel reported in to Sentinel Express Lines, Mr. Smith had some more interesting news. The company had begun the process of merging with Morrigan Drive Systems, Napoleon Technologies Corporation, and Baroness Keshiigma’s various shipping companies to form MKSN, a licensed imperial corporation. There were still a lot of details to be worked out and the consolidation would take months, but Smith indicated that as the process continued he would likely have more short term contracts for them. He also offered them full-time salaried employment, if they were interested.
Meanwhile, Harim and Henri met with the Duke’s intelligence agents, Udar and Seska. The terrorist known as Steven Johnson had been tracked to the city of Shunquan, but had been killed in a firefight with the agents who tried to capture him. There was evidence that he had smuggled weapons onto the surface and had been training insurgents there. Meanwhile other agents had been dispatched to Droshas to track down James Weimar, another of the terrorists from Zhuge. They had not located the man as of their last report. The Duke had been convinced that Mr. Smith was involved with these terrorist, but had decided to hold off taking direct action until they uncovered more details about that connection and the organization that he was working with. The Marquises were encouraged to keep a low profile, but to continue gathering information.
Later that day, while the group was dining at the pub and explaining what they all had learned, Jordan received an urgent and somewhat cold message from Captain MacKenzie. The mercenary said that it was very important that they meet immediately. The group made their way quickly to the seedy bar where MacKenzie waited. He explained that 8 cases of his equipment - worth approximately one hundred twenty thousand credits - had gone missing. He had seen the cargo loaded on Sister Ione in Ushkager. His tone was serious and somewhat dangerous as he explained that he held the Captain of the ship – Jordan Ross, in this case – personally responsible for his missing cargo. Jordan managed, with the help of Marquis De Lyons’ diplomatic skills, to calm the angry mercenary down and explained that he would do everything in his power to find and return the missing equipment.
MacKenzie assigned his technical specialist, a tall quiet mercenary nicknamed Black Tom, to keep an eye on Jordan as well as aiding in the investigation. Reviewing the records and security footage at the warehouse revealed nothing suspicious. Examining the ship’s cargo logs revealed no record that the cargo had been on board, despite the fact that MacKenzie had the receipts – signed by Thiel on Ushkager – indicating that the crates had indeed been loaded. Suspecting that the logs had been doctored, Jordan and Black Tom managed to pull detailed records of every access to the computer since the cargo was loaded. Henri helped examine this data and pieced together enough info to deduce that the steward, Owen Korbo, had been responsible. He had done a good job of covering his tracks, but it became clear that he had edited the cargo logs.
In order to track down Korbo, Jordan ended up calling Sentinel to find a local address from his personal records. He ended up having to explain the situation to Mr. Smith, despite having wanted to hold off on that conversation until the issue was resolved. Smith provided the address of the hotel where Korbo stayed while on the Highport. Arriving at the hotel, Henri used a bit of charm and some cash to persuade the clerk into revealing the steward’s room number. By this time a number of MacKenzie’s mercenaries had converged on the hotel. Jordan, Thiel, and a pair of mercenaries went up to the room, while Henri, Harim, and a few more mercenaries waited in the bar and watched the lobby. Korbo was not in his room, and a brief search found nothing incriminating.
They decided to wait for the man to return. Thiel and a mercenary named Jones loitered in nearby passageways and watched the hotel’s back entrances. Harim and Jordan waited in the room, while Henri and Lieutenant Price – MacKenzie’s second in command – sat in the hotel bar discretely watching the lobby. Soon Jones spotted Korbo. The steward, oblivious to the many pairs of eyes following him, made his way up to his room and into the trap. He surrendered immediately, and revealed that he been approached by smugglers who offered him Cr.80000 to smuggle a small load of contraband to Howotro. The mercenaries’ equipment was the only cargo that he had an opportunity to replace. He had sold it on Ushkager for another Cr.80000, and doctored the cargo logs to hide the theft. He had known that the theft would be discovered quickly, but he had hoped that he would have had enough time to collect his payment and disappear before he was discovered. Jordan immediately confiscated the money the steward had already collected.
When pressed, Korbo revealed where and when he was supposed to receive payment. Jordan called MacKenzie, explained what had happened, and asked if Korbo’s Cr.160000 would compensate for the lost equipment. The mercenary quickly agreed and volunteered himself and his men to help obtain the remainder of the money. The meeting was set for a few hours later in a seedy bar. Henri and Lieutenant Price babysat Korbo, while MacKenzie, Harim, and Jordan quietly infiltrated the bar. Once again, Jones and Thiel loitered inconspicuously around the passageways near the bar watching for trouble.
Shortly before the designated meeting time, a group of men looking like local gangsters arrived. When Korbo arrived a few minutes later, he looked extremely nervous but the exchange went smoothly. Once the gangsters left the bar, Jordan quickly took the money away from the steward and gave it to MacKenzie. The mercenary thanked him for his efforts and seemed pleased with the way things had been resolved. When Jordan later reported to Mr. Smith, his employer was also pleased. Korbo was quietly fired and firmly encouraged to leave Howotro, but since the clients were happy and the authorities hadn’t been involved, there was no bad publicity for Sentinel lines.
137-221 through 143-221
Under the supervision of Jordan and Thiel, Sister Ione’s inexperienced crew departed from Ushakger without any issues. The ship’s passengers consisted of a professional gambler on his way home to Suukir, Lord Kellea and his new wife returning from their honeymoon on Ushkager, three wealthy young women headed home to Howotro, and eight mercenaries commanded by Captain Harold MacKenzie.
Harim spent the first day of the journey recovering from his excesses on Ushkager. However, Penelope Mishina – daughter of Baron Mishina – and her two friends Marcia and Athena were much too intriguing for the Marquis to resist, and he was soon back to his normal socializing. Meanwhile, Raymond Kimber offered to teach anyone and everyone a few tips about card playing – as long as they played for real cash stakes. Thiel took him up on the offer and managed to not lose too much money.
Jordan and Henri were concerned at first about MacKenzie’s mercenaries, but they proved themselves friendlier and more open than the previous group of passengers. MacKenzie’s group had just completed a lucrative contract in the Carillian Assembly. After celebrating briefly on Ushkager, they were now following rumors of new contracts on Howotro.
Suukir Highport
144-221 through 146-221
Arriving at Suukir, the crew of Sister Ione offloaded Raymond Kimber and a small amount of cargo. On the ship’s previous pass through the system, Harim had contacted - by long range communications – a broker on the Suukir Highport. With this brokers help, the crew was able to quickly find another passenger and enough cargo to fill their holds. Not wanting to waste any time, they were on their way out of Suukir as soon as possible.
In transit, Suukir to Howotro
147-221 through 153-221
The jump from Suukir to Howotro was uneventful. The new passenger was a businessman looking to sell communications equipment on Howotro, but not a very interesting or effective salesman. Harim found the girls a little less giddy and a little less interested in spending time with him as they got closer to home. As the crew spent more time with the mercenaries, a feeling of mutual respect developed.
Howotro Highport
154-221
As Sister Ione approached the Howotro Highport, the traffic control officer recognized Jordan’s name, asked “Are you the Captain Ross? The one that served on the Endeavor?” He learned that his name had been on the news again for the last few days. Apparently, the Navy had agreed to lease a decommissioned frigate to the production company making the film about Jordan’s life. The frigate was to be refitted and would be used to stand in for the cruiser he had served on. After the cargo was unloaded, the businessman from Suukir approached the crew and thanked them for a pleasant trip and the fastest pass through customs he had ever experienced.
When Jordan and Thiel reported in to Sentinel Express Lines, Mr. Smith had some more interesting news. The company had begun the process of merging with Morrigan Drive Systems, Napoleon Technologies Corporation, and Baroness Keshiigma’s various shipping companies to form MKSN, a licensed imperial corporation. There were still a lot of details to be worked out and the consolidation would take months, but Smith indicated that as the process continued he would likely have more short term contracts for them. He also offered them full-time salaried employment, if they were interested.
Meanwhile, Harim and Henri met with the Duke’s intelligence agents, Udar and Seska. The terrorist known as Steven Johnson had been tracked to the city of Shunquan, but had been killed in a firefight with the agents who tried to capture him. There was evidence that he had smuggled weapons onto the surface and had been training insurgents there. Meanwhile other agents had been dispatched to Droshas to track down James Weimar, another of the terrorists from Zhuge. They had not located the man as of their last report. The Duke had been convinced that Mr. Smith was involved with these terrorist, but had decided to hold off taking direct action until they uncovered more details about that connection and the organization that he was working with. The Marquises were encouraged to keep a low profile, but to continue gathering information.
Later that day, while the group was dining at the pub and explaining what they all had learned, Jordan received an urgent and somewhat cold message from Captain MacKenzie. The mercenary said that it was very important that they meet immediately. The group made their way quickly to the seedy bar where MacKenzie waited. He explained that 8 cases of his equipment - worth approximately one hundred twenty thousand credits - had gone missing. He had seen the cargo loaded on Sister Ione in Ushkager. His tone was serious and somewhat dangerous as he explained that he held the Captain of the ship – Jordan Ross, in this case – personally responsible for his missing cargo. Jordan managed, with the help of Marquis De Lyons’ diplomatic skills, to calm the angry mercenary down and explained that he would do everything in his power to find and return the missing equipment.
MacKenzie assigned his technical specialist, a tall quiet mercenary nicknamed Black Tom, to keep an eye on Jordan as well as aiding in the investigation. Reviewing the records and security footage at the warehouse revealed nothing suspicious. Examining the ship’s cargo logs revealed no record that the cargo had been on board, despite the fact that MacKenzie had the receipts – signed by Thiel on Ushkager – indicating that the crates had indeed been loaded. Suspecting that the logs had been doctored, Jordan and Black Tom managed to pull detailed records of every access to the computer since the cargo was loaded. Henri helped examine this data and pieced together enough info to deduce that the steward, Owen Korbo, had been responsible. He had done a good job of covering his tracks, but it became clear that he had edited the cargo logs.
In order to track down Korbo, Jordan ended up calling Sentinel to find a local address from his personal records. He ended up having to explain the situation to Mr. Smith, despite having wanted to hold off on that conversation until the issue was resolved. Smith provided the address of the hotel where Korbo stayed while on the Highport. Arriving at the hotel, Henri used a bit of charm and some cash to persuade the clerk into revealing the steward’s room number. By this time a number of MacKenzie’s mercenaries had converged on the hotel. Jordan, Thiel, and a pair of mercenaries went up to the room, while Henri, Harim, and a few more mercenaries waited in the bar and watched the lobby. Korbo was not in his room, and a brief search found nothing incriminating.
They decided to wait for the man to return. Thiel and a mercenary named Jones loitered in nearby passageways and watched the hotel’s back entrances. Harim and Jordan waited in the room, while Henri and Lieutenant Price – MacKenzie’s second in command – sat in the hotel bar discretely watching the lobby. Soon Jones spotted Korbo. The steward, oblivious to the many pairs of eyes following him, made his way up to his room and into the trap. He surrendered immediately, and revealed that he been approached by smugglers who offered him Cr.80000 to smuggle a small load of contraband to Howotro. The mercenaries’ equipment was the only cargo that he had an opportunity to replace. He had sold it on Ushkager for another Cr.80000, and doctored the cargo logs to hide the theft. He had known that the theft would be discovered quickly, but he had hoped that he would have had enough time to collect his payment and disappear before he was discovered. Jordan immediately confiscated the money the steward had already collected.
When pressed, Korbo revealed where and when he was supposed to receive payment. Jordan called MacKenzie, explained what had happened, and asked if Korbo’s Cr.160000 would compensate for the lost equipment. The mercenary quickly agreed and volunteered himself and his men to help obtain the remainder of the money. The meeting was set for a few hours later in a seedy bar. Henri and Lieutenant Price babysat Korbo, while MacKenzie, Harim, and Jordan quietly infiltrated the bar. Once again, Jones and Thiel loitered inconspicuously around the passageways near the bar watching for trouble.
Shortly before the designated meeting time, a group of men looking like local gangsters arrived. When Korbo arrived a few minutes later, he looked extremely nervous but the exchange went smoothly. Once the gangsters left the bar, Jordan quickly took the money away from the steward and gave it to MacKenzie. The mercenary thanked him for his efforts and seemed pleased with the way things had been resolved. When Jordan later reported to Mr. Smith, his employer was also pleased. Korbo was quietly fired and firmly encouraged to leave Howotro, but since the clients were happy and the authorities hadn’t been involved, there was no bad publicity for Sentinel lines.
Tuesday, March 10, 2009
Episode 10 - Delivery
In transit, Howotro to Suukir
119-221 through 125-221
Once the crew, passengers, and cargo had all been loaded aboard Sister Ione, Margot piloted the ship away from the Highport, while Jordan plotted the jump to Suukir, and Amos prepared the drives. While there were no incidents, Jordan was unimpressed by the young pilot’s competence. Following a power fluctuation during the activation of the jump drive, he was even less impressed by the engineer. After the ship had safely transitioned into jump space, he reviewed the engineering logs and determined that Amos was indeed at fault. Once he determined the problem, he showed the engineer what had gone wrong. Jordan’s mild reaction to the problem seemed to surprise Amos, who promised to be more careful in the future.
Most of the passengers avoided contacted with the crew. Their leader – Roger Steen - reminded Jordan of Marine officers he had met: he was polite but rigid and distant. Steen explained that they were independent contractors specializing in zero-g and vacuum construction projects. They were going to Ushkager to work on a new habitation dome. Thiel continued trying to get a feel for these contractors. He found about half of them seemed like regular blue collar workers, although a little quieter and more reserved than usual. The other half seemed more like professional killers posing as construction workers.
Also curious about the somewhat shady crewmembers, Thiel asked Korbo about Sentinel Express Lines’ hiring policies. He explained that Sentinel hired many young, inexperienced crewmembers and a handful of ex-Navy people to provide training and role models. Many of these kids washed out quickly, but those that survived the first year seemed to develop a strong loyalty to the company.
Suukir
125-221 through 127-221
After coming out of jump in the Suukir system, they soon discovered that the power fluctuation they experienced on entering jump had left them deep in the outer system. Even with Sister Ione’s powerful maneuver drives, they were at least 120 hours out from the starport. Scanning the system, they found a gas giant fairly close by – they could reach it, skim fuel from its atmosphere and be on their way in less than 60 hours. After the crew discussed their various options, Jordan presented them to their passengers: they could make their way to the Suukir starport, refuel there, and jump out to Ushkager safely but several days behind schedule, or they could make the jump on schedule using unrefined fuel from the gas giant and have a small but measurable chance of a misjump. Steen indicated that it was very important that they arrive on time, and was willing to take the risk.
The fuel skimming operation went smoothly, and as Margot piloted the ship under Thiel’s observation, Jordan worked closely with Amos making the jump preparations as carefully as possible. Sister Ione entered jump space without a hitch.
In transit, Suukir to Ushkager
127-221 through 133-221
Once they were under way, Harim tried to inspect the contractors’ cargo, but found that it was all locked down by extremely advanced security systems. He did not wish to arouse their suspicions by tampering with the equipment, and was forced to abandon his investigations. Meanwhile, Thiel began conversing with both Margot and Amos. He attempted to draw them out about their backgrounds by hinting at his own criminal past. Both of the young crew members remained fairly reticent, but Thiel pieced together enough clues to deduce that Margot’s father was a smuggler and that Amos had pirate connections.
Ushkager
134-221 through 136-221
The ship arrived at Ushkager without incident and Margot brought the ship down in a very smooth landing. While Thiel and Korbo oversaw the unloading of passengers and cargo, Harim dosed himself with enough stimulants to keep himself awake and partying for the 72 hours he was going to be on planet. He soon wandered off to immerse himself in the decadence of the resorts and casinos.
Thinking that the crowds of rich and powerful people vacationing on Ushkager would be perfect customers for the Iskendu beef, Henri began searching for a venue in which to demonstrate it. He soon found that one of the resorts had a regular cooking competition featuring celebrity chefs and exotic ingredients. After speaking with the producers of the show, he arranged for the Iskendu beef to be featured in an upcoming Kitchen Stadium competition.
Jordan worked on the ship making sure that everything was in order after their misadventure in Suukir, while Thiel made arrangements for passengers and cargo for the return trip. He was able to fill the ship fairly quickly, primarily because there were a large number of mercenaries looking for passage to Howotro. Neither Jordan nor Thiel had visited Ushkager before and, once their responsibilities had been fulfilled, they spent some time wandering from dome to dome and gawking at the vast array of entertainments available to them.
The Kitchen Stadium show featuring the Iskendu beef was scheduled for the last night before the ship was set to depart. Harim returned to the ship just in time to join the others on their way to the show. While riding the moving walkway connecting the starport to the resort domes, Jordan noticed a group of men just ahead of them that looked suspicious. After looking around, he also spotted a similar group of men behind them walking quickly towards them. Once he pointed out these men, the group decided to get off of the walkway. They vaulted the railing – Henri stumbling in the process – and ended up in a fairly deserted section of tunnel. The men boxing them in immediately vaulted the railing as well drawing pistols in the process.
While Henri recovered from his fall, Jordan fired his laser pistol at the largest of the attackers, but the rushed shot missed its target. Thiel drew his Gauss pistol and sprayed automatic fire in the direction of the men in front of him. He had only hoped to distract them and keep their heads down while closing to melee range, but got extraordinarily lucky and managed to hit two of them. Harim drew his blade and charged the man nearest him, but couldn’t quite close the distance before the man fired. The shot struck the Marquis in the leg and he crumpled to the floor.
Jordan and Henri fired on the wounded assailants and took them out of the fight. Meanwhile Thiel drew his cutlass and closed to melee range, the powered blade nearly severed the arm of his opponent. Seeing their companions cut down so quickly, the remaining men sprinted down the tunnel away from the combat. Jordan took one last shot at the fleeing men and dropped one more of them.
Other than the shock that had rendered him briefly unconscious, Harim’s wound wasn’t particularly serious and Jordan was able to quickly patch him up and get him on his feet. Several of the attackers - injured but not yet dead – were bound and given first aid. Jordan revived the least injured one and questioned him. The thugs had been sent by a woman named Miriam who seemed to be a minor crime boss operating around the starport. She had thought the group would have been an easy target for armed robbery, and the men she sent had not been prepared to face such dangerous targets. Having disarmed the thugs, the group left them to find their own way home and continued on to their show as if nothing had happened. Afterwards, they took a shuttle back to their ship rather than risk another attack. Deciding they had a schedule to keep and little to gain by pursuing this Miriam person, they prepared to depart Ushkager as quickly as possible.
119-221 through 125-221
Once the crew, passengers, and cargo had all been loaded aboard Sister Ione, Margot piloted the ship away from the Highport, while Jordan plotted the jump to Suukir, and Amos prepared the drives. While there were no incidents, Jordan was unimpressed by the young pilot’s competence. Following a power fluctuation during the activation of the jump drive, he was even less impressed by the engineer. After the ship had safely transitioned into jump space, he reviewed the engineering logs and determined that Amos was indeed at fault. Once he determined the problem, he showed the engineer what had gone wrong. Jordan’s mild reaction to the problem seemed to surprise Amos, who promised to be more careful in the future.
Most of the passengers avoided contacted with the crew. Their leader – Roger Steen - reminded Jordan of Marine officers he had met: he was polite but rigid and distant. Steen explained that they were independent contractors specializing in zero-g and vacuum construction projects. They were going to Ushkager to work on a new habitation dome. Thiel continued trying to get a feel for these contractors. He found about half of them seemed like regular blue collar workers, although a little quieter and more reserved than usual. The other half seemed more like professional killers posing as construction workers.
Also curious about the somewhat shady crewmembers, Thiel asked Korbo about Sentinel Express Lines’ hiring policies. He explained that Sentinel hired many young, inexperienced crewmembers and a handful of ex-Navy people to provide training and role models. Many of these kids washed out quickly, but those that survived the first year seemed to develop a strong loyalty to the company.
Suukir
125-221 through 127-221
After coming out of jump in the Suukir system, they soon discovered that the power fluctuation they experienced on entering jump had left them deep in the outer system. Even with Sister Ione’s powerful maneuver drives, they were at least 120 hours out from the starport. Scanning the system, they found a gas giant fairly close by – they could reach it, skim fuel from its atmosphere and be on their way in less than 60 hours. After the crew discussed their various options, Jordan presented them to their passengers: they could make their way to the Suukir starport, refuel there, and jump out to Ushkager safely but several days behind schedule, or they could make the jump on schedule using unrefined fuel from the gas giant and have a small but measurable chance of a misjump. Steen indicated that it was very important that they arrive on time, and was willing to take the risk.
The fuel skimming operation went smoothly, and as Margot piloted the ship under Thiel’s observation, Jordan worked closely with Amos making the jump preparations as carefully as possible. Sister Ione entered jump space without a hitch.
In transit, Suukir to Ushkager
127-221 through 133-221
Once they were under way, Harim tried to inspect the contractors’ cargo, but found that it was all locked down by extremely advanced security systems. He did not wish to arouse their suspicions by tampering with the equipment, and was forced to abandon his investigations. Meanwhile, Thiel began conversing with both Margot and Amos. He attempted to draw them out about their backgrounds by hinting at his own criminal past. Both of the young crew members remained fairly reticent, but Thiel pieced together enough clues to deduce that Margot’s father was a smuggler and that Amos had pirate connections.
Ushkager
134-221 through 136-221
The ship arrived at Ushkager without incident and Margot brought the ship down in a very smooth landing. While Thiel and Korbo oversaw the unloading of passengers and cargo, Harim dosed himself with enough stimulants to keep himself awake and partying for the 72 hours he was going to be on planet. He soon wandered off to immerse himself in the decadence of the resorts and casinos.
Thinking that the crowds of rich and powerful people vacationing on Ushkager would be perfect customers for the Iskendu beef, Henri began searching for a venue in which to demonstrate it. He soon found that one of the resorts had a regular cooking competition featuring celebrity chefs and exotic ingredients. After speaking with the producers of the show, he arranged for the Iskendu beef to be featured in an upcoming Kitchen Stadium competition.
Jordan worked on the ship making sure that everything was in order after their misadventure in Suukir, while Thiel made arrangements for passengers and cargo for the return trip. He was able to fill the ship fairly quickly, primarily because there were a large number of mercenaries looking for passage to Howotro. Neither Jordan nor Thiel had visited Ushkager before and, once their responsibilities had been fulfilled, they spent some time wandering from dome to dome and gawking at the vast array of entertainments available to them.
The Kitchen Stadium show featuring the Iskendu beef was scheduled for the last night before the ship was set to depart. Harim returned to the ship just in time to join the others on their way to the show. While riding the moving walkway connecting the starport to the resort domes, Jordan noticed a group of men just ahead of them that looked suspicious. After looking around, he also spotted a similar group of men behind them walking quickly towards them. Once he pointed out these men, the group decided to get off of the walkway. They vaulted the railing – Henri stumbling in the process – and ended up in a fairly deserted section of tunnel. The men boxing them in immediately vaulted the railing as well drawing pistols in the process.
While Henri recovered from his fall, Jordan fired his laser pistol at the largest of the attackers, but the rushed shot missed its target. Thiel drew his Gauss pistol and sprayed automatic fire in the direction of the men in front of him. He had only hoped to distract them and keep their heads down while closing to melee range, but got extraordinarily lucky and managed to hit two of them. Harim drew his blade and charged the man nearest him, but couldn’t quite close the distance before the man fired. The shot struck the Marquis in the leg and he crumpled to the floor.
Jordan and Henri fired on the wounded assailants and took them out of the fight. Meanwhile Thiel drew his cutlass and closed to melee range, the powered blade nearly severed the arm of his opponent. Seeing their companions cut down so quickly, the remaining men sprinted down the tunnel away from the combat. Jordan took one last shot at the fleeing men and dropped one more of them.
Other than the shock that had rendered him briefly unconscious, Harim’s wound wasn’t particularly serious and Jordan was able to quickly patch him up and get him on his feet. Several of the attackers - injured but not yet dead – were bound and given first aid. Jordan revived the least injured one and questioned him. The thugs had been sent by a woman named Miriam who seemed to be a minor crime boss operating around the starport. She had thought the group would have been an easy target for armed robbery, and the men she sent had not been prepared to face such dangerous targets. Having disarmed the thugs, the group left them to find their own way home and continued on to their show as if nothing had happened. Afterwards, they took a shuttle back to their ship rather than risk another attack. Deciding they had a schedule to keep and little to gain by pursuing this Miriam person, they prepared to depart Ushkager as quickly as possible.
Tuesday, March 3, 2009
Episode 9 - Diversions
Howotro High Port
113-221 through 118-221
After the “beef party”, Jordan received a call from Joshua Wallace – a holovid producer he had met some weeks ago – who wanted to get his approval for the script based on events from his life. The script was not entirely accurate, but seemed like it would make an entertaining show without embarrassing anyone. At the meeting, a young man named Sullivan Penn introduced himself saying, “Dude! I am, like so totally stoked to meet you, man!” Sully was slated to play a young Jordan Ross in the vid and wanted to meet and get a sense of the person behind the story. Despite his initial misgivings, Jordan finds the kid to be genuinely interested in his story and eager to learn about naval life, and arranges a tour of the naval base for him.
During this time, Henri received a call from Baroness Keshiigma inviting him to a dinner at her summer home. Apparently, her chef had just found a “wonderful new kind of beef,” and she was dying to share it with people who shared her refined tastes. She included Marquis Samadr and Captain Ross in her invitation, but somehow failed to mention Thiel. Henri was hesitant to accept the invitation, but the others convinced him based on their desire to get more information on the odious woman’s connections to Mr. Smith.
Thiel posed as Harim’s valet for the evening and went completely unnoticed by the Baroness. While the rest of the group met the Baroness’ other guests, he slipped quietly off to the servant’s lounge. Sir Arturo Wing, a small man with a large, white handlebar mustache, was introduced as the chief operations officer for Keshiigma charters. He was an ex-Navy commander who now manages crews, maintenance and other logistical concerns for the Baroness. Dame Maxene Morrigan, the chairwoman of Morrigan Drive Systems appeared to be a tough, no-nonsense business woman. Baron Bertrand Yaqub introduced himself as the CEO of Napoleon Technologies Corporation, but said little else.
The meal itself was decent but uninspired, but the Baroness raved about the superiority of this Iskendu beef and how difficult it was to find. After dinner, Morrigan explained that her company had recently expanded its operations to Howotro to take advantage of the high technology base and limited bureaucracy. She also invited everyone to the christening of the first ship constructed in Howotro using Morrigan drives. She and Jordan talked at some length about the performance characteristics of her company’s systems, boring Harim to tears in the process. Yaqub remained quiet, but did mention that the current piracy scare was good for his business, which consisted primarily of weapon and sensor systems for starships.
While the Marquises and the Captain mingled with the high-rollers, Thiel chatted with their drivers and other staff in the servant’s lounge hoping to gain some information about the Baroness’ business and connection to Mr. Smith. He learned very little of substance, but did manage to slip away unnoticed and prowl through the house, eventually determining that the Baroness did not have an office in the building. They returned to the highport that evening, but it was late and they called it an evening.
The next morning, Jordan received a message from Mr. Smith indicating that he’d like to meet with him the following day. Later that day, Jordan and Thiel attended the christening of the ship Morrigan had told them about. They discovered the ship was owned by Mr. Smith’s Sentinel Express Lines and was named Sister Ione. Harim and Henri had no interest in the ship and instead met with Duke's agents Udar and Seska relaying what the group had learned. The agents had spent some time crosschecking their records and believed Reiff had been operating for at least a dozen years as a mercenary and gun runner, almost always aiding revolutionaries and insurgents. Reiff had been very slippery and - prior to Zhuge - made few mistakes. The agents suspected that he received professional training in covert ops, probably by SolSec – the infamous Solomani intelligence agency - however they have had no evidence of SolSec operating in the area for close to 30 years. In the evening, Harim researched Sister Ione, trying in vain to determine the significance of the name.
The following morning, Jordan and Thiel went for their first face-to-face meeting with Mr. Smith. After some pleasantries, Mr. Smith offered Jordan a short term contract for a specific job. Sentinel Express Lines had accepted an urgent contract to haul a dozen passengers to Ushkager within 19 days, but the only ship he had in system was the new Sister Ione which had only a partial, inexperienced crew. He offered Jordan Cr12000 to captain the ship for this one mission, as well as a share of any profits made from cargo and passengers on the return trip provided the ship was back in Howotro within 40 days. He was also willing Thiel Cr6000 as a pilot for the trip. They told him they needed to consider the offer and would contact him later that day with their answer. The Marquises flatly refused to work for their passage, but agreed that Jordan should take the contract, both for the cash and as a means to get more information about Mr. Smith’s operations.
After accepting the contract, Jordan interviewed his new crew briefly. Margot Park was training to be a pilot and seemed pleasant enough, but was very young and inexperienced. Amos Charles - the engineer- was a big, surly man in his mid 20’s. He seemed almost as inexperienced as Margot but much less pleasant. The final member of the crew was Owen Korbo, a steward. Owen was portly man in his late 30’s that seemed very competent and helpful. Afterwards, Jordan inspected the ship and its technical specs very carefully. He discovered a number of elements that were unusual in civilian ships, including armor, wiring for military grade sensors and fire control, as well as cargo spaces to would be better suited for use as missile magazines. The ship was more reminiscent of a military transport than a traditional commercial ship.
Meanwhile, Thiel worked with the crew and passengers preparing the ship for its first trip. He worked well with both Margot and Amos, and developed a feeling that they too had slightly shady backgrounds. However, his attempts to strike up casual conversations with the passengers were coldly rebuffed, leaving him with a very bad feeling about the men.
While Jordan and Thiel were hard at work preparing the ship, the Marquises spent their time readying themselves for a dream vacation to Ushkager, one of the most decadent and hedonistic systems in the sector.
113-221 through 118-221
After the “beef party”, Jordan received a call from Joshua Wallace – a holovid producer he had met some weeks ago – who wanted to get his approval for the script based on events from his life. The script was not entirely accurate, but seemed like it would make an entertaining show without embarrassing anyone. At the meeting, a young man named Sullivan Penn introduced himself saying, “Dude! I am, like so totally stoked to meet you, man!” Sully was slated to play a young Jordan Ross in the vid and wanted to meet and get a sense of the person behind the story. Despite his initial misgivings, Jordan finds the kid to be genuinely interested in his story and eager to learn about naval life, and arranges a tour of the naval base for him.
During this time, Henri received a call from Baroness Keshiigma inviting him to a dinner at her summer home. Apparently, her chef had just found a “wonderful new kind of beef,” and she was dying to share it with people who shared her refined tastes. She included Marquis Samadr and Captain Ross in her invitation, but somehow failed to mention Thiel. Henri was hesitant to accept the invitation, but the others convinced him based on their desire to get more information on the odious woman’s connections to Mr. Smith.
Thiel posed as Harim’s valet for the evening and went completely unnoticed by the Baroness. While the rest of the group met the Baroness’ other guests, he slipped quietly off to the servant’s lounge. Sir Arturo Wing, a small man with a large, white handlebar mustache, was introduced as the chief operations officer for Keshiigma charters. He was an ex-Navy commander who now manages crews, maintenance and other logistical concerns for the Baroness. Dame Maxene Morrigan, the chairwoman of Morrigan Drive Systems appeared to be a tough, no-nonsense business woman. Baron Bertrand Yaqub introduced himself as the CEO of Napoleon Technologies Corporation, but said little else.
The meal itself was decent but uninspired, but the Baroness raved about the superiority of this Iskendu beef and how difficult it was to find. After dinner, Morrigan explained that her company had recently expanded its operations to Howotro to take advantage of the high technology base and limited bureaucracy. She also invited everyone to the christening of the first ship constructed in Howotro using Morrigan drives. She and Jordan talked at some length about the performance characteristics of her company’s systems, boring Harim to tears in the process. Yaqub remained quiet, but did mention that the current piracy scare was good for his business, which consisted primarily of weapon and sensor systems for starships.
While the Marquises and the Captain mingled with the high-rollers, Thiel chatted with their drivers and other staff in the servant’s lounge hoping to gain some information about the Baroness’ business and connection to Mr. Smith. He learned very little of substance, but did manage to slip away unnoticed and prowl through the house, eventually determining that the Baroness did not have an office in the building. They returned to the highport that evening, but it was late and they called it an evening.
The next morning, Jordan received a message from Mr. Smith indicating that he’d like to meet with him the following day. Later that day, Jordan and Thiel attended the christening of the ship Morrigan had told them about. They discovered the ship was owned by Mr. Smith’s Sentinel Express Lines and was named Sister Ione. Harim and Henri had no interest in the ship and instead met with Duke's agents Udar and Seska relaying what the group had learned. The agents had spent some time crosschecking their records and believed Reiff had been operating for at least a dozen years as a mercenary and gun runner, almost always aiding revolutionaries and insurgents. Reiff had been very slippery and - prior to Zhuge - made few mistakes. The agents suspected that he received professional training in covert ops, probably by SolSec – the infamous Solomani intelligence agency - however they have had no evidence of SolSec operating in the area for close to 30 years. In the evening, Harim researched Sister Ione, trying in vain to determine the significance of the name.
The following morning, Jordan and Thiel went for their first face-to-face meeting with Mr. Smith. After some pleasantries, Mr. Smith offered Jordan a short term contract for a specific job. Sentinel Express Lines had accepted an urgent contract to haul a dozen passengers to Ushkager within 19 days, but the only ship he had in system was the new Sister Ione which had only a partial, inexperienced crew. He offered Jordan Cr12000 to captain the ship for this one mission, as well as a share of any profits made from cargo and passengers on the return trip provided the ship was back in Howotro within 40 days. He was also willing Thiel Cr6000 as a pilot for the trip. They told him they needed to consider the offer and would contact him later that day with their answer. The Marquises flatly refused to work for their passage, but agreed that Jordan should take the contract, both for the cash and as a means to get more information about Mr. Smith’s operations.
After accepting the contract, Jordan interviewed his new crew briefly. Margot Park was training to be a pilot and seemed pleasant enough, but was very young and inexperienced. Amos Charles - the engineer- was a big, surly man in his mid 20’s. He seemed almost as inexperienced as Margot but much less pleasant. The final member of the crew was Owen Korbo, a steward. Owen was portly man in his late 30’s that seemed very competent and helpful. Afterwards, Jordan inspected the ship and its technical specs very carefully. He discovered a number of elements that were unusual in civilian ships, including armor, wiring for military grade sensors and fire control, as well as cargo spaces to would be better suited for use as missile magazines. The ship was more reminiscent of a military transport than a traditional commercial ship.
Meanwhile, Thiel worked with the crew and passengers preparing the ship for its first trip. He worked well with both Margot and Amos, and developed a feeling that they too had slightly shady backgrounds. However, his attempts to strike up casual conversations with the passengers were coldly rebuffed, leaving him with a very bad feeling about the men.
While Jordan and Thiel were hard at work preparing the ship, the Marquises spent their time readying themselves for a dream vacation to Ushkager, one of the most decadent and hedonistic systems in the sector.
Monday, March 2, 2009
Ushkager
Ushkager 2517 A100410-E Ht Ni Va 512
Trade Codes:
High Tech, Non-Industrial, Vacuum
Summary:
Despite the fact that Ushkager has no heavy industries, it has one of the highest quality starports in the sector. At one point, Ushkager was on a trade route connecting Carill to the Third Imperium, but as the Imperium grew the trade routes shifted leaving the system behind. The UDC (Ushkager Development Corporation) kept the colony alive by buying up facilities as other companies failed or pulled out and turning them into elaborate casinos and decadent entertainment complexes. Today Ushkager is primarily a playground for the idle rich and a hunting ground for those that prey on them.
Trade Codes:
High Tech, Non-Industrial, Vacuum
Summary:
Despite the fact that Ushkager has no heavy industries, it has one of the highest quality starports in the sector. At one point, Ushkager was on a trade route connecting Carill to the Third Imperium, but as the Imperium grew the trade routes shifted leaving the system behind. The UDC (Ushkager Development Corporation) kept the colony alive by buying up facilities as other companies failed or pulled out and turning them into elaborate casinos and decadent entertainment complexes. Today Ushkager is primarily a playground for the idle rich and a hunting ground for those that prey on them.
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