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.