035-1107 Arunisiir Surface
Arriving at the Martin II to continue working on its jump drives and ruined engineering section, the Travellers (Anastasia, Cauldron, Deanna and Dr Parsifal) saw the civilian welder already working on repairing the damages hull and armour plates. They also spotted Purser Vaughn overseeing the daily unloading of supplies from a low-tech van: fresh food, cleaning supplies, lubricants etc. The van was from a local ship supply business: Aboukir’s General Products.
Anastasia was keen to speak to the popular marine Jen Laral: finding her near the vaults and (as usual) talking to fellow crewmates (who slip away when she is approached), Anastasia makes fairly open suggestions that, should Laral find herself out of the service, she should come to Drinax.
Vaughn came to Parsifal for a checkup, as invited. Anastasia, lingering outside, used her psionic ability to engender a sense of great trust in Parsifal, who then asked Vaughn to order a set of precursor drugs, off the books, which the party intended to use, later, to drug the ship occupants.
Later, Parsifal and Anastasia then visited Purser Vaughn in his office. Having taken psionic drugs to boost her ability, and rested since the previous engagement, Anastasia was successful in implanting the suggestion in Vaughn that he could trust Parsifal implicitly, and that he could talk to Parsifal about the GeDeCo conspiracy. Parsifal, pretending to be a GeDeCo agent with the codename “Wolf” who had been sent to check that the treaty was still intact, and that Vaughn was behaving as required.
Vaughn, who knew that at least one other GeDeCo agent was on the ship, but who had suspected Osha, was persuaded, and was eager to show that he was still holding up his side of the bargain.
Parsifal then persuaded the purser to show him what he now knew to be a fake treaty, noting his pin number when it was entered into the purser’s safe. Inspecting the treaty, it was a deeply convincing, high technology replica of a genuine Imperium Treaty, on the same (allegedly unforgeable) material and with the genetic-seal of the Emperor himself, as well as the signatures of the leading, trans-Rift, Aslan clans. It purported to yield all systems in the Trojan Reach more than six parsecs from the Imperium border to the Hierate for expansion, declaring them an Aslan sphere of interest.
That evening, the party spend a great deal of time trying to work out their plans, and whether they can achieve all of their goals: steal the contents of the Martin II; steal the contents of its secure vault; steal the ship; purloin the treaty; aid the Imperium ships in defeating the Irontooth and even seize that or another of Irontooth’s flotilla for themselves.
As they talk, Patrick Steward makes a rare intervention: “It is not my place to pass judgement on the profligate expenditure on ships, marines and soldiers which so regularly threatens the liquidity of your concern, despite the worry that I see engraved upon the face of Mistress Penelope at the end of each month. However, since you insist on maintaining such outgoings, it does seem a convenient source of ways to even any given fight, so to speak.”
The party then check and spot that they will, within days, have four ships next door in Acrid: the Mercifuge; the Never Talk To Strangers; the Phlebotomist; and the Grey Area, as well as excess crew, crew droids, marines, marine droids, and almost 150 soldiers.
The So Much For Subtlety spots that the Imperium ship Arshad has left her High Guard station and is burning fast away from the planet. Timaeus contacts Burghof, discovering that Captain Torsa, as senior officer, has ordered him to intercept an 800-ton tender linked to Hroal Irontooth that has jumped into the system. Without expressing his disapproval of this offer directly, Burghof asks the SMFS to replace him in the High Guard position, leading to the situation where the pirates are guarding the ship they wish to steal.
Sure enough, a Fast Armoured Scout ship, the Dancing Spider – also a member of Irontooth’s fleet – appears, burning in fast towards the planet. It sends a tight burst transmission to the starport, but since the So Much For Subtlety is burning from the starport at the time, they are able to intercept both it and the return message, which they hoped to decode soon.
The players then engaged the Dancing Spider, and despite her thick armour and high speed, Erik wrecked her manuevre drives with a single, lucky shot from the particle accelerator as soon as she entered long range [critical hit level three: manuevre drives; accumulated damage critical hit – manuevre drive; uncontrolled plummet to the ground]. The players were cheered that a total bounty of 400KCr could be claimed on the ship and her occupants.
036-1107 Arunisiir Surface
The next day, Parsifal found that the precursor chemicals had arrived for the neurotoxin that would hopefully knock out the crew of the Martin II when the time came. Anastasia had worked out the chemical sensors to disable on the filtration system, and Deanna had located the correct place to set the device. All that remained was for Cauldron to build and set the device, with the correct programming from Deanna on the conditions for it to be set off.
Sharyl, the Aslan marine, later tells the party that he was approached by Shinahei, eldest son of Lord Ekaft, a local Aslan baron amd a member of the Shino’hake clan. His father sees the position of the Aslan on Arunisiir as pathetic, and believes that his clan will send hundreds, or even thousands, of clan members to support him in a war to take full control of Arunisiir as part of the Hierate. The party have their own plans for Arunisiir involving Prince Hteilotorl. Deanna promises to send the message as requested, despite having no intention to do so.
Krrsh, listening to the party’s plotting, makes his own suggestion: “We can play the old rip-and-return scam. We can sell the ship to Oghman raiders or Theev pirates or whatever. Anyway, we sell it to some patsy and watch them get the blame. Then we steal it back. Claim the reward, no doubt.”
The party invited Captain Torsa to the SMFS for dinner, and he gladly attended, proving easily flattered, once more. “Captain Burghof tells me of reports from Exe that the filthy Aslan blackguard Irontooth has been seen lingering there in recent weeks. Damn’ee, sir, how I wish we could have at him. That’s my style, sir. Nothing would give me greater pleasure, sir. But duty calls upon me to deliver the cargo safely, so I must obey. Commander Jagad demands that we support the Arshad, but it won’t do, sir. I have me duty, sir. She wants me ship, I can tell it, sir. But I have friends at court at Tobia and she does not, so she can whistle for it.”
From Torsa also informs the party that Mari Jagad disapproves of wider ship’s access they have been granted and has lodged a formal objection in the ship’s log.
Finally, he shares the news that he intends to protect the damaged jump drive of the Martin II but restricting it to Jump-2 for the journey to Tyokh, travelling via Acrid, Exe and Tech World.
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