302-1106 Drinax
The Diplomats started the session on Drinax, preparing the troops and flotilla to leave under the despairing eye of the young, female Aslan logistician Sum-Of-All-Hopes, who had been sent by senior Iuwoi females to ensure that the Drinaxians weren’t just going to get the Iuwoi-ko’s favourite son sentenced to execution (again).
They put aside some budget and despatched Vi Lon to Tech-World to continue her ascent to Mentat status with funds sufficient to have her gain a TL12 cognitive augmentation, and skill augments in Admin and Persuade.
Meanwhile, the Black Ops party headed from Tech-World via Acrid (where they acted as casually as possible) and Arunisiir to Bulhai Station in the Blue system.
286-1106 – Arunisiir
On Arunisiir, they received a mysterious message (which they shrugged and took at face value without particularly questioning the source). The message was anonymous, but claimed that Geraldo Antiquo, the PRQ Acrid Division Chief Maintenance Officer, was an agent for GeDeCo. The party sent this information to Basemath Mondrane, their spy-master, whom they had dispatched to Acrid to provide them with intelligence. They asked her, if it seemed true, to blackmail Antiquo into arranging for two of the PRQ System Defence Boats, including the heavy, 400 ton, D-Class monster, to be in docks for maintenance for the Drinaxian flotilla’s arrival.
293-1106 – Bulhai Station (Blue)
Arriving at Bulhai, they met with Tug Wilson’s contact at Carper Logistics to procure TL12 equipment for their troops. They decided to spend sufficiently to provide lavish amounts of equipment for both the Vespexers and the Tech-World droid platoons, boosting their CBAS and TL statistics considerably. They then had that equipment delivered to Clarke, in the next-door system, where the party had achieved Haven status.
They also met Gamaagin Kaashukiin, the Mistress of the Retribution mercenary cruiser, once more. She was intrigued by how they had defeated the Lamprey and the Seskehalen, and offered advice on how to fight using the So Much For Subtlety. She was clearly something of an enthusiast for naval warfare theory.
310-1106 – Clarke
On Clarke, both PC parties met up and were welcomed to perform military manuevres that might help see off any passing Oghman Raiders. And so the Vespexers and Droids were properly equipped and brought together to form the 1st Company (Drinaxian Light Infantry) for a few days of familiarisation ahead of their assault on Acrid.
On Clarke, the party had, for the first time, assembled virtually their entire strength: the flagship Harrier-class So Much For Subtlety; the Mercenary Class Lamprey, now renamed the Slightly Bent after her damaged state on being seized; the stealthy smuggler Shinkiro; the jump cutter Phlebotomist; the piratically converted far trader the Grey Area; the 400-ton Vulture-class salvager the Mercifuge which had to serve as improvised troop carrier; and the innocent-looking far trader the Lucky Lady.
On the ground, they had two platoons of highy-effective Vespexer light infantry, and three platoons of untested (but highly advanced) droid light infantry from Tech-World, making for a strong company of almost 200 soldiers.
The party also met their old acquaintance Keeper Maelos. He explained that The Progressive faction – of which he is now a leading member – want Harrick as Head Pyschopomp: he represents the summation of their religion (death, freezing, rebirth and anagithics). But to ensure they can do so, they need to weaken the Conservative faction. He told the Travellers that the Progressives suspect that a leading Conservative figure has been corruptly making money from his control of the sarcophagi for building purposes. If that is exposed, he was sure that the Progressives could win the necessary debate and extend the invitation to Harrick. Clarke would then rejoin the Kingdom of Drinax with its Prince as their ruler and religious head.
343-1106 – Acrid
The Mercifuge (disguised as the Steelgrinder, a regular habitue of Acrid), the Phlebotomist and the Lady Luck, carrying troops and their equipment, docked at Acrid lowport. The workers in control of the docks were able to infiltrate sufficient weapons through the docks for two sections of Vespexers to have pre-positioned armour and equipment in-place before the attack.
The other ships, under the command of their Commodore, Timaeus haut-Roth and the rest of the Diplomats, remained in orbit.
The next day, on 344-1106, one section of eight Vespexers assaulted the atmospherics-processing life support facility, deep in the heart of the Acrid complex. Simultaneously, explosives-expert Cauldron and the rest of the Black Ops party set off explosives at the Armoury facility, destroying the single entrance to that complex and cutting off the ability of the PRQ authorities to arm the Citizens’ Militia, and to distribute heavy weapons to their security forces.
Meanwhile, in the lowport docks, the rest of the Vespexers and Droids boiled out of the transports, quickly seizing the port facilities and making their way towards the lifts and missile launchers.
Wherever the Drinaxians went, they encountered bad luck: an alert sentry; a locked door slowing assaults; a guard who decided to make a stand and buy time for his comrades. Added to this, two weeks in confined, improvised barracks facilities on ill-suited haulers and a salvaging ship left the troops ill-prepared (with a -2 DM to all checks).
But, despite heavy losses, the key Atmospherics plant was taken, the armoury had been taken off the map and the central turbo-lift facilities were secured. Now, droids and Vespexers deployed in platoon strength to secure water-processing and the medical centre, while both missile launchers were secured within an hour of the coup’s beginning. The barracks were cut-off, and first the union cadre and then the revolutionary militia formed and made their way to the docks to be equipped. Throughout the city, isolated pockets of the on-duty platoon of security forces had been defeated in detail.
By now, the tide had turned against the PRQ forces, although fierce fighting – led by Glorious Empire mercenary Aslan, raged at the barracks checkpoints. The mercenaries sold their lives dearly, but the citizen militia and the remaining security forces (the latter having suffered losses) surrendered, and the city had fallen to the revolutionary council of Acrid and their Drinaxian backers.
The first act of the Acrid unions was to proclaim the Revolutionary Soviet of Acrid. Their next act, within minutes, was to apply for membership of, and protection from, the Kingdom of Drinax, as had been promised in advance. This was granted by the players in their role as plenipotentiaries of the Dragon Kingdom.
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