099-1106 – Hernon’s Claim
Having previously met with the Aslan Tiyaheio at his employers, Hernon Robotics and Electronics, the party (Timaeus, Parsifal, Erik and Deanna) had been invited to dinner for a less furtive discussion of what to do about Hteilotorl, the Aslan of the Iuwoi tribe whom they were to deliver to Tyokh.
Before attending, Anastasia researched the news coverage of the events on Arunisiir, finding two different versions of the story: one showed the Aslan Ihatei as a vast number of ruthless, well-equipped and murderous attackers. The other showed them as only a few dozen in number and with only a pair of ships as transport, with them being brutally suppressed by Planetside Security, a mercenary company which specialises in anti-Ihatei operations and who happened to be on Arunisiir at the right time.
The dinner was formal, in the Aslan style, despite the obviously limited means of their hosts. Tiyaheio introduced them to Prince Hteilotorl, who was gruff, reserved but not quite rude, and who played his role as the senior guest by asking civil question regarding the party, their ship and their activities (which the party chose wisely to be open and proud of). He also asked about Sharyl, and expressed reservations about the presence of an Outcast Aslan.
During the dinner, there was little discussion of Hteilotorl’s position or his doings on Arunisiir, but when the subject was briefly discussed it provoked an outburst from Tiyaheio’s daughter, who was loudly hushed.
The group came up with a plan amidst large amounts of cured, smoked, cooked and raw meats, clearly all chosen to be digestible for humans.
When they left, the group took care to scan their surroundings and swiftly noticed a microdrone, barely 5mm across, tracking them. They split up: the group that the drone followed going to a bar while the others procured mesh to build a Faraday Cage for Hteilotorl, to make it harder for other ships to spot him on scanners.
They met Mr Chang, the private investigator, staking out the dockside area of the colony. They were careful to be polite and unconcerned as he probed them for information and offered an increased bounty on the renegade Aslan he sought.
100-1106 – Hernon’s Claim
The next day, the party loaded their ship with cargo by way of cover, then left Hernon’s Claim with a reported destination of Acrid. Once out of range of the small downport’s limited sensors, however, they flew 1000km to Tarkus Mining Camp 4a, where they picked up Hteilotorl and casually ordered an Offworld Construction Master Robot and 8 Construction Drones at a reduced price of 2.34MCr for the lot.
107-1106 – Acrid
Arriving in Acrid system, the crew of the So Much for Subtlety saw the sight that every pirate in the Trojan Reach dreams of: an Imperium flotilla of four great treasure ships and their escort of four patrol cruisers, preparing to make the jump to Hilfer.
A PRQ System Defence Boat escorted the So Much for Subtlety in towards the Lowport, and Penelope, guiding the ship in, was advised to stick strictly to the weather-controlled approach vector to minimise the damage to the ship’s hull from the insidious atmosphere of nitric acid and ammonia.
While buying cargo and refuelling on Acrid, the party were contacted by Elisabet Zhong: a leader of the Consolidated Acrid Union of Mineworkers and Associated Workers (CAUMAW). She knew of them through their rescue of Vi Lon, and was aware that they were working for Drinax. She explained that PRQ had substantially worsened the situation of the the workers of Acrid, and that revolution was inevitable, but that success in that endeavour was not so assured. She asked the party to help. She seemed visibly baffled for a moment by their claim not to have any troops at their disposal, but was content that the response was otherwise largely positive.
108-1106 – Acrid
On the way out of the system, the party saw a massive Agri-ship preparing to unload its latest bounty at the GeDeCo-run highport.
116-1106 – Pillidia 6 – Pandora System
Arriving at the edge of the jump shadow of the Pillidia 6 gas giant, the So Much for Subtlety burned towards its fifth moon, performing calculations to work out the position of the moon when their photograph of Captain Envai’s Cavern was taken, and from that to deduce the orbit to insert the ship into for scouting out the surface.
118-1106 – Pillidia 6 Moon 5 Surface – Pandora System
After 36 hours of calculations and sensor scans, the group located the base entrance, hidden in a steep-sided canyon not far from the moon’s northern pole. Suiting up, the away party of Timaeus, Penelope, Erik and Deanna were joined by Hteilotorl, who was grateful for the chance to perhaps fight what he called “one last battle”.
Entering the base through a gap left when a turret had been stripped, the team found it cold and abandoned, its atmosphere gone and crates and boxes lying strewn around from when its previous occupants had left. Hearing a sound in the vast hangar area, the party investigated, finding a Troll-class military droid, its power flickering off and on, entering from the north-western edge of the hangar.
A single blast from its main weapon – an awesomely powerful Fusion Gun Man Portable 15 – depleted much of its remaining energy reserves after decades subsisting on a trickle feed from a few solar panels, but it pushed on, using its Stagger Laser Rifle and static maul weaponry to defend the lair from these new intruders. Stun carbines and ion grenades had little effect on the monster, which possessed the bulk of a full-grown rhino, but eventually, arc sword attacks and Gauss Rifle volleys carved through its 35 points of armour and whittled away the half of its structure points that were remaining after its long watch, and it collapsed to the ground. Timaeus had fallen to a blow from the robot’s immense static maul – another would have finished him – and the party retreated to their craft to lick their wounds and plan their next move.
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