213-1105: Theev Surface
On returning to the ROU So Much for Subtlety, disguised as the Capital Gains Tax, the party found a fairly-unphased Krrsh sporting a black eye with a cut above it, visible through the thinner fur around his eye. On talking to Sharyl it transpires that Krrsh tried to assert dominance over him in the pack, thinking he was an outsider. Sharyl was the spirit of equanimity. “He wished to assert dominance over me. Why would I be annoyed? I am three full spans taller than him! Inside his infuriating and unbearable exterior beats the heart of a warrior!”
Because Krrsh had openly challenged Sharyl, he had not committed any form of discourtesy or insult. The quarrel ended with the outcome of the fight.
Deanna and Timaeus did some more work to narrow down whether Miria had company in her hide-out, an abandoned Far Trader in the heart of the Scrapyard. It took over an hour, but they eventually identified four more members of the crew of the Mercifuge who appeared going in and out of the hulk in previous days.
At this point, Lady Penelope, Deanna, Eric and Tim took Sharyl, Boogie-Woogie the combat droid and the three Vespexers (Ilya, Phoebe and Volodymyr) into the Lower City, armoured and heavily armed with everything from laser carbines to an arc-field sword. They hired a grav-cart with space for a pair of cargo crates and brought that with them. While they looked fairly conspicuous walking down into the canyons, they did not attract a huge amount of interest. A heavily-armed and armoured snatch squad accompanied by a droid and a nine-foot-tall Aslan accompanied by the blatantly obvious means to transport dead bodies was not, it seems, a huge cause for alarm. At least not for anyone after they were past without incident.
The party stealthily infiltrated the abandoned Far Trader, climbing to the upper deck to avoid a vast pool of toxic chemicals. Spotting a trip-wire, they avoided that and then were almost surprised by one of the Mercifuge’s crew as he went to relieve himself into the toxic pool below. Timaeus swiftly and silently eviscerated him with his arc-sword.
All had gone well thus far, albeit with improvisation required. However, as the company closed in on the hatch from which the sound of voices came, Sharyl stood on a metal plate which clanged against the hull. The fight was on.
Sharyl rushed in, followed by Timaeus and then Volodymyr, with Phoebe staying in cover at the door but preventing anyone else gaining entry. Some practice in clearing rooms as a team would clearly be necessary before boarding a ship under fire.
The fight was brief but deadly, with Timaeus hit hard and Phoebe also taking damage when Miria opened up with the deafening sound and flashes of an LMG at close quarters. Nonetheless, the fight swiftly went the way of the better-armed and more-numerous attackers. When Miria saw this, she apologised to the absent Ferrik and set off an explosive charge stored in her cyber-arm, nearly killing Timaeus, who was last out of the room, having given up trying to persuade Deanna to try and hack into the arm.
Pouring the remains of Miria and her two dead crew-mates into one cargo pod, the party stuffed the two badly-injured survivors into the other and retreated to the So Much for Subtlety.
214-1105: Theev Surface
Offended that the crew had gone to kill people without inviting him, Louis Surov announced that he was leaving the ship. He expressed his frustration with the overall lack of violence, at least compared to the generally acceptable minimum standards for piracy and corsairing, and saw his exclusion from an activity that everyone knew that he would love as a deliberate insult. He is planning on investing his rewards from piracy into starting an amusement park business with his old Marine colleague who has a tunnelling machine. His friend will dig cave systems then Louis will populate them with droids made to appear like orcs and trolls that people can fight. [Louis’ player likes fights, dislikes reading, and headed off to DM a D&D campaign]
Having deposited the prisoners into two of the Harrier’s six cold berths, and the various body parts of the others into another, the party cleaned up and slept, while Timaeus got into the Autodoc to begin recovering from his wounds.
The next morning, most of the crew except Vi Lon, Krrsh, the droids and the recovering Timaeus went to debrief at Phoebe’s recommendation: a vegetarian bar and cafe in the Lower City run by Tuk, a K’Kree. The food was life-changingly good and they took more to go for lunch. The fact that Tuk – solitary and surrounded by carnivores – was clearly insane as K’kree go was not an issue.
That night, as Phoebe claimed the space in the Autodoc, Deanna, Penelope, Eric and Timaeus went to the Rose Pavilion to meet Admiral Darokyn. He expressed interest in the Harrier, suggesting in a round-about way that he knew that it was from Drinax, and wondering what Oleb – who had been uncharacteristically restrained of late – was up to.
After more discussion, Darokyn made the party an offer: he knew that they were inquiring after Ferrik and Miria. If they killed Ferrik then he would match Torpol’s 2MCr bounty. If all of Ferrik’s crew were to mysteriously die escaping arrest or tragically fail to recover from storage in a cold berth then he would match Clarke’s bounty as a bonus, for a total of 2.5MCr.
Deanna had brought Miria’s robotic pinky to dinner, and offered it to Darokyn as a goodwill gesture. He expressed how touched he was by such a thoughtful gift. He left the party to enjoy puddings having recommended the cheese and a particularly fine, 31-year old, Denebian port.
Before leaving the Rose Pavilion, the party were approached by Prince Gerhai, who introduced himself as heir to the Sindalian Empire and who enquired after the health of Oleb, his “Brother in Sindal”. Charming and suave, he talked a little about the importance of “hardening the Aslan frontier”. He then offered the party a third of a billion credits for the Harrier, expressing how fitting it would be for an heir to Sindal to travel in a Sindalian-designed ship. The party declined and he asked them to keep him in mind should they have a change of heart.
215-1105: Theev Surface
The next morning, Timaeus, Eric, Deanna and Lady Penelope, Vas and Goorp took the shuttle to the Highport to recce the Mercifuge. They saw it open and with technicians going in and out, running maintenance on it. They then returned, and the four party members went to Buchan’s Ordinance to buy (yet more) weaponry and grenades, then booked into Phenotype-A Clinic – a prestigious augmentation clinic in the Upper City, for procedures on 217-1105. Sharyl has also booked himself in for some augmentation work.
216-1105: Theev Highport (“The Skull”)
The next day – ahead of their various bookings for surgery at Phenotype-A – Eric, Timaeus, Lady Penelope and Deanna again took the short trip to the highport, this time checking in stunners, grenades, swords and bloody intent at the departure lounge: not even Theev allows potential hijackers to bring a light-sabre in carry-on luggage. As they arrived at the highport shuttle bay, they say Leff Roister – a member of Miria’s crew – waiting to board the shuttle down to the surface. And there we left for the night.
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