Stella Maris: The End of the Beginning.
Someplace to die for, Stella Maris ( 0603 A867883-E Ri 704 Na G1V M0D ) is a garden planet, a golden oasis on the edge of forever. The down port is filled with traffic, millions of refugees have flooded into here, who in turn, those fit enough now serve in the Interstellar Brigades, like lines of army ants, file into waiting troop transports. High above, planetoid monitors, armored rock fortresses of tens of thousand of displacement tons, stand ready in orbit to defend against the depredations of the black ships. Stella Maris will not be as easily euthanized as Chiconautla was, as beautiful the landscape, the industry and spirit of the citizens, both new and old, speak in one constant monotone of rising volume: no pasaran! Forced into a corner, people here will defend what they have and no, they shall not pass, unless all that is perishes from the universe.
Here is also the final destination for the missiles carried in the mother, anti-matter to help defend this island of 733 million souls. Others, of the crew, take their leave, some to desert and maybe others to take their places. Onward now, into the Astron sector, a lawless land, where no great polities hold sway and the individual worlds vy for power. Here now the security teams will earn their keep, where naught is certain but the law of the firearm.
The intrepid adventurers stand on the tarmac of the starport, watching the beautiful sunset.
“Red sky at night, sailor’s delight.” Ty mentions the old old seafarer’s saying. Ty looks menacing with a Gauss Rifle in his hands, but when he gets to Stella Maris he’s a family man; such is the jigsaw puzzle of life. Carrying a new doll, anonymous type, configurable to any looks that the child could wish for and hair that can grow out from any styling disaster. In the other hand a packet of papers in a plastic envelope. Meeting a Vlazdhumecta woman on the tarmac, she has a five year old daughter in pigtails with her. Ty hands the doll to the girl’s mother and picks up the girl, kissing her; then showing her the packet of papers, says: “Here is one education from the University of Terrelay.” Handing it over.
“There’s a cred stick in there with 30,000 Terrelayne Creds on it as well as a couple of mid passages, sorry I couldn’t do more.”
“Tyrel, I wish things could have been different, if only….”
“Hush now, there’s nothing left to say.” Ty’s daughter pulling his plastic dogtags from his open collar, one last bit of fascination at her real father.
Forcing a smile, he takes the woman’s hand and glances at the other man out on the peripherary. “Time to go meet my daughter’s new father.” Walking away and maybe he can be seen wiping a tear away, forming at the corner of his eye.
Jimmy “Chicken” sauntering out for a bit of R&R, catches the scene and comments: “You know he’ll be back, this place has gotta be hell for him now.” Before wandering off. The nightlife is good here, a bit rowdy like any frontier area and just maybe forced or desperate, so different though than the dead world the adventurers have just left.
Comments
New journey map posted on the main page, not too long until reaching Nusemzar.
Jaq checks in with the local Scouts office. She’ll play things close, simply mentioning that she is with the UTREE group and checking for any updates to the info she had previously been briefed on. She will also do some quick checking on Mari’s brother and other stuff. She’ll also ask if anyone has heard of anything regarding Blue Darrians. Finally, she will leave behind a coded chip which includes all information gleened so far, including the info from TINU but NOT including her personal logs. These are addressed back to the Emperor.
Once she leaves the Scount office, she attends to some of the night life. Seeing the scene with Ty and hearing "Chicken"’s comments, she has some concern for the man’s well-being, which she immediately tries to extinguish in some of the local adult beverages.
Hey, Jaq’s back!
Going for some startown liberty?
Nobody knows the where abouts of Vladzic, though he is probably keeping a low profile after what happened. The blue Darrians are out and about, one can even catch a glimpse of them on the streets of Stella Maris’ capitol: Lacrimae (Pop 11 million). What type of establishment are you thinking about drowning some sorrows in?
Roll 2d, for encounter.
“Did someone mention the word Pub?” well Walt will be off to the pub! with the rest of the party, (or those that are going) “what time are we scheduled to leave?”
TINU will first report in to a repair shop and try to buy (if he is given some expenses) or use the good name of the mission in order to fix his radio and cooling units. TINU will then travel along with the crew (party) to wherever they choose – I will obviously not be drinking alcohol so I will be keeping my eyes open for any mischief and be listening in on other people’s conversations.
TINU can get his radio and cooling units repaired on ship for free from the engineering section; they even have a 3D printer to make spares. IMTU TL 12+ societies are post scarcity for most minor stuff. TINU can also talk to Eve for a lot of basic robot stuff, Archie, the ship’s AI as well; with enough cash, like megacredits, he can get his body upgraded to a sleek android body like Eve’s if he wants, back in Terrelayne space though.
Walt also has a radio, a bluetooth earbud style radio as a short range comm, listed under common equipment, people do have some creds, they should list how much they are taking with, as well as other equipment, noting that combat armor, gauss rifles are military equipment and a no-no on city streets, anything beyond pistols and knives is frowned upon really, with most of the nicer establishments making one check their weapons at the door. Upscale establishments will also be jacket and tie type places to keep out the riff-raff.
So where do people want to go? There is everything from upscale nightclubs and casinos to a typical tavern to a downport dive. Any preference or just go with the flow?
Where the beer/beverages are cheap!
Sounds like one vote for ye olde downport dive.
If the Blue Darrians are back, then she will try to find an establishment where she might encounter them. She will watch for a good time before she decides to make any kind of approach, nice and cautious. Almost like a predator stalking prey.
[5+2 on the Encounter Roll]
Follow-up: Jack is wearing a standard flight suit, non-descript, with no insignia. She is wearing a single gauss pistol and a combat knife. No other weapons.
Dag is outfitted similarly to Jaq, and will tag along with her and Walt. He’ll use his Streetwise/Liaison skills to try and figure out the local black market, with a particular emphasis on pre-virus tech, if any exists here.
OK, it all sounds good; nothing for encounters for Jaq, the blue Darrians will probably be around the more divey part of startown anyways. They might also know of some pre-virus tech as well, Dag should roll for encounter, 2d. Walt and TINU should roll as well: 2d each.
Dag rolls:
Roll: 1d6
5
Roll: 1d6
2
for 7
+2 for skills?
(OOC don’t know how the encounter rolls work)
D6 – 1
D6 – 5
total 6
Walt will order a nip of scotch, and watch the ebb and flow of the proles in the pub
TINU rolls a 3 on 2d6 encounter roll. Sounds cool for repairs.
No encounters of note so far ( carousing is the skill ), though everyone has reached a dive-ish tavern that is suitable to most everyone’s desires, blue darrians and cheap drinks. It is called the cornerstone, map is under the map tab and my first image from my new pc using cs6 woo hoo. Though it compresses it to a square, so click the original image for a better view (no I didn’t misspell dining).
There is a group of Etropic/Blue Darrians or Nyadhel, at the table lower left, near the stairs to the basement.
Everyone roll again for encounter, 2d please. :)
Roll: d6
3
Roll: d6
3
6 for Dag
Montana heads down to the watering hole with Dag, Waltor and Jaq. He plunks down a hand full of credits at the bar, turns to his table mates and says “Let’s put a few drinks in you and hear, without the political filter, who you really all are.”
As the barkeep brings the drinks, Montana throws back his first shot, grimaces, wipes his mouth with the back of his hand and says, “I’ll go first… I am basically a south end of a north bound horse… with muscles and six pack.” He flashes a devilish grin.
“I used to be a Merchanter. Then I woke up and everything and everyone I cared about was long dead. Then UTREE and Terrelay trained me to be a shore Liaison and Orbital weapons observer. I really don’t know what I am, though I do know what I like. Scotch rocks, please. Make it a double.”
Jaq – 2d6 – 2+2=4
8 rolled
(assuming everyone is standing by the main bar, drinking rules are in effect and Walt’s scotch is Cr4, Dag’s double is Cr6)
A nyadhel woman appears at Dag’s elbow and smoothly asserts: “A big strong spacer like yourself I would think would go for something a little stronger like a Pan-Galactic Gargle Blaster, it’s like having your brains knocked out by a slice of lemon wrapped around a large gold brick.”
She is relatively attractive if one can get past her corpse like pallor:
While a quick situational analysis of the data by TINU might say she is a prostitute, Dag would call her a hostess, hired by the tavern to keep lonely spacer’s company and drink sales up; they both could be right though. Jaq would notice her resemblance to Mari, which tells something about the frontier: that a new people is in the process of coming into being from the intermarriage of the Pilgrim’s, Vlazdhumecta and Nyadhel; something that may not sit well with purists of Solomani, Darrian, Vilani, etc., stock. To Walt, being a frontiersman born and bred, this is old hat, Naryan being near by. Though to some it can be objectional…..
At a table close to the party, some spacers are carrying on a drunk conversation:
“Clearly pure Darrian blood is superior, growing up in the Confederation, this was self-evident.” Said a haughty looking Darrian spacer to a couple of Imperial norm fellow crew members as he stopped his monologue to drink another gulp of his Gargle Blaster. Obviously he didn’t care that he was attracting attention to his table by shouting over the house music at the downport dive bar, generally a symptom of too much strong intoxicant… “The Solomani halfcastes didn’t survive as well after the Maghiz, while those of us of pure Darrian blood, we prospered.” He continued to bellow.
“What about the Blues?” One of the other crew members interjected with a slightly mischievious grin, betraying his intent.
“GOBBLEDIGOOK!” The Darrian shouted, apolectically spraying wine from his mouth as he stood up. “FANTASY! A MYTH TO SCARE CHILDREN AROUND THE CAMPING LANTERNS!” His countenace now turning to a derisive sneer.
“I’ve heard different.” Now the other crew member spoke up, getting in on the game. He nodded their attention to a Nyadhel woman at Dag’s side (Blue being the derogatory slang for them) maybe her reasons for approaching the party were more than professional.
“A CHARADE!” The Darrian erupted, one could see veins standing out on his neck as he shouted. “PROBABLY DYED BLUE BY HER PIMP TO SCARE UP MORE BUSINESS AMONG THE OVERSENSITIVE SOFT BRAINS WHO WOULD BELIEVE THAT ANTI-DARRIAN MYTH!” Which with he almost took a step to grab the woman and the bartender nodding to security, the other crew members noticing this, grabbed their companion and sat him down again. The night’s entertainment may have included goading their crewmate, but not getting ejected from the establishment. All this was not lost on the woman though, at each turn when the Darrian howled, she winced visibly, and turning away she looked to the party standing by the bar. A wan smile with a certain sadness in her eyes, with sorrow for her own condition and the plight of her people. The bartender happy the situation had been diffused, went on drying his glasses and said not unsympathetically:
“Yeah, well, she’s somebody’s daughter…”
Walt rolls for encounter 6+1 = 7
mmm scotch!
Interesting… and raises an eyebrow, back to the informalities – Im ex military, worked my ass off for the Naryan Defence Force. strangely enough that ass i worked off, well i got shot in it!!! must of ruffled some feathers somewhere and then, i was retired without a pension, without so much as a thank you!!! i smelt a rat and kept in contact with a few ex-colleges it seems some mid to top level culling was being enacted. so i packed my stuff and got the F out of Dodge!!! one day i will return and get to the bottom of the conspiracy but for now i need coin to fund my investigation! another scotch?
to the blue woman: “I am very confused. How does scaring up business work in the prostitution business? (slightly louder) and how does a Darrian so pure and clever come to be drinking in such a place as this, maybe he is a half-breed. You wouldn’t happen to have a fiber-optic link would you?”
The last part is obviously intended as a joke. Robots have a weird sense of humor.
The Darrian spacer at the table stands up and yells at TINU: “Listen here tin man, you are buying a one way ticket to the scrap heap!” slamming his glass down on the table. While the blue woman gives TINU a look like she would slap his face if he had one that wouldn’t injure her hand.
(Just an fyi the encounter rolls so far have been: Dag-hostess, TINU-prostitute, Walt-brawl; so I am just goig with the flow, it is just all falling together.) ;)
to the blue woman: “I did not mean to offend, does your work not make you happy?”
To the darrian: “I believe that you are not fully able to function at the moment – undoubtedly I would win in a footrace or in bartering for a ticket to any sort of destination”
“Beats getting slaved out by mercs on a warworld as a kid, but if things were perfect, I wouldn’t be here. Holy crap!” She says to TINU ducking a gargle blaster glass thrown in their direction.
Walt quips in “Oh dear my good man it seems the beverages in this establishment are potent, and you seem to have dropped yours, please sit down and have another on us, and your gorgeous lady friend as well” followed quickly by “Now what is your poison?”
Walt seems like a real nice person. Roll 2d for the reaction table.
Walt rolls 6+4=10
Jaq immediately goes on guard. She sizes up the larger man and thinks for a minute, then decides that is it better not to say anything to him. She turns to the Nyadhel and says dryly, “Is this place always so welcoming?” Jaq isn’t really surprised. She’s been in a thousand dives like this. “My name is Jaq. You are the first Nyadhel I have met. I was beginning to think that your people didn’t really exist.”
While the Darrian spacer is responsive to Walt’s offer, club security isn’t and as soon as the spacer steps forward he is grabbed by security and ejected from the establishment, with a jerk of a thumb his companions get the boot as well, dejectedly following their drunk friend.
To Jaq, the woman says: "I’m Eva, and no we don’t exist, I am just dyed blue by my ‘pimp’, it has nothing to do with methemoglobinemia. Yeah, this place can be a real love in.
To Walt she says: “If you are still offering that drink, I’m dry.”
“Well sure, what would you like?” Walt then adds “I never like to see a lady go without!”
to his companions he says “MMM, that could of got ugly, suppose we watch our backs on the way back to the ship, Just in case! anyone packing?”
“Never believed that, Eva. Not for a second. And when I was growing up my mother would tell me stories about the Nyadhel… but not the same stories that others were told. She said that people just didn’t understand and that one day I would see for myself and she didn’t want me to be prejudiced, but to accept.” Jaq turns back and drains her drink and orders another. “So what brings you here?”
" A gin and tonic, a double," she says to Walt, “usually I don’t really drink, just watered down stuff, but today is hectic.”
To Jaq: “You do, babe, I’m here all night long.” with a smile and a wink.
Walt attracts the waiters attention “A Gin and Tonic – Double for the Lady please, and dont skimp on the shot!!!”
The bartender comes over and gets 8Cr from Walt. “A gin and tonic for the lady.”
Everyone roll 2d for under their int score.
4 which is under my int score (don’t know if this is for drinkers).
TINU can detect through his visual sensors that the Nyadhel (and upon closer examination, some scruffian) have watched the little confrontation near the bar, surreptitiously of course.
Montana rolls 7 (his INT is 8). Watches the Darrian Spacer closely…. was he packing any side arms? Rolls 10 (9 +1 streetwise). I am closely watching to make sure he doesn’t break free of the guards and come rushing back in. Throwing back another drink (and plunking down 10 credits), he says to the group “I was a space marine, just like my father and grand father… this firewater, and some …. well…. messy situations cost me my career…. losing the love of my life to a navy doctor didn’t help…. so you can say that I am looking for anything to take me away from those painful memories and these drinks are helping… barkeep… one more!”
plunks down another 10 credits.
Dag rolls
Roll: 1d6
6
Roll: 1d6
5
which, at 11, is equal to his “B” Int. So, just missing it, the second “double Scotch rocks, please” obviously didn’t help, lol!
I guess drinking rules are really in effect for Dag! lol
Montana doesn’t notice any sidearms on any of the spacers who just got the boot, that, their three to your five makes it unlikely they will be back, you can see them pour their friend into cab and take off as well. You do notice the same as TINU, that you have attracted the attention of the Nyadhel/Pilgrim group in the dark back corner of the joint, just glances, nothing too obvious. It is best to be somewhat wary, this isn’t the nicest part of town though. The bartender is happy with the 2cred tip from Montana, twice even; Eva takes note as well, a big spender is her favorite kind of guy.
i roll
6 + 3 = 9 which is over my Int
guess I’m intrigued by the dyed blue woman
Same as she is intrigued by Walt (as long as he keeps buying her drinks). She is a bit miffed at Dag though, he rolled her up and didn’t even say hi. lol
lol!
I will be keeping an eye out similar to Montana. OOC who are the pilgrims?
The Pilgrims are the first wave of colonists of the frontier after the Vlazdhumecta thousands of years before. The timeline of their travels begins about 1500 years ago with the establishment of the Regency of Muirimi and continues through the colonization of Far Frontiers sector a thousand years ago. Basically the chaff of human society, or as it has been put ‘Linkhorns’, of those that do not fit in and driven from the center of human society. They are often called pirates, they live free without an overall authority and without any real cultural basis except their own as they are part Solomani, Vlazdhumecta, Imperial, Zho, Nyadhelim and whatever rusty nickles thrown into the human genepool. Generally the highest social unit they follow is the family, and like gangs the families vy for power, constantly rising and falling. Theirs is a meritocratic society, with the main driving philosophy being “do what thou will shall be the whole of the law.”
The expedition has had a few encounters with the space pilgrims or what are often derogatorily called: “scruffians”; first at Rockmine, in a salvage yard, then Later at Urlishsha where they destroyed a town named Gumrak in response to a bomb set off on the Loreli. It was at Gumrak that they captured Mari, sister of the leader of the Vladzic family corsair gang, she is now held in the brig on the Loreli and has been extensively interviewed by Jaq.
Jaq rolled a 6+1=7, well under her INT of A(10)
Jaq will keep the same eye on the Nyadhel and Pilgram group that they are keeping on our group for now. “Ah, I am flattered,” Jaq says with a hint of flatness that says she doesn’t really believe it but is trying to be polite and won’t admit it. She continues to watch the group for a while, then turns to Eva, “Friends of yours?”
“Those dirtbag smugglers? I know ‘em, if that’s whatcha mean.” Eva says, with just about as much saccharine fake friendliness one can stand without going into diabetic shock.
People should also keep an eye out for TINU period, as he is valuable, way moreso than a human for stealing purposes. I wouldn’t think anyone is going to come along and swipe Dag for his chassis, for example.
“Ahh gypo’s i see why there could be problems – at least we dont have children for them to steal!”
“maybe we should make a move! this banter is getting stale” Walt will start to survey the room, and prepare a safe route of egress.
Now why is it that I keep hearing strains of a song…
The sailors and pilots,
The soldiers and the law,
The pay offs and the rip offs,
And the things nobody saw.
No matter if it’s heroin, cocaine, or hash,
You’ve got to carry weapons
Cause you always carry cash.
There’s lots of shady characters,
Lots of dirty deals.
Ev’ry name’s an alias
In case somebody squeals.
It’s the lure of easy money,
It’s gotta very strong appeal.
Perhaps you’d understand it better
Standin’ in my shoes,
It’s the ultimate enticement,
It’s the smuggler’s blues,
Smuggler’s blues.
Standing at the bar, walt can see that not only is he near the door, but near outside seating tables, if they had to, the party could hop the railing and be lost in the crowd in a minute.
Eva, noticing the attention between the two groups, whispers to Jaq: “If you are looking to score, I can take you over, but you gotta hook me up, either that or ….” tapping her finger on the bar. Her face now serious, sharp like a knife cutting through all the previous saccharin trust, conspiratorial.
Does Jaq get the gist of what Eva is looking for as far as a “hook-up”?
“Actually, yes, now that you mention it, I am looking to score.” She turns to Dag, You guys wait here, k?"
Yes, Jaq can figure out that many prostitutes are drug addicts as well, hookup in this sense is to get drugs from Jaq, if Jaq is getting drugs, as per what Eva is thinking.
Eva takes Jaq to the table, where the lead Blue Darrian man looks at Eva and says with a wry smile: “Ryali, my favorite little customer, I thought you fixed before your shift, back so soon?” He seems maybe a bit too glib, like a dealer who is high. Ryali (Eva), corrects him on her name to his appartent eyeroll and amusement; then she explains Jaq is looking to score. He offers Jaq a seat at the table, assuming Jaq takes the offer and sits (Ryali pulls up a chair next to her) he then places a vial on the table in front of Jaq, inside of the vial is an iridescent beetle and a glass bead. This is what is appropriately called beetle juice, Jaq might have heard of it, Walt definitely knows of it being a local from a few worlds over; if one presses on the sides of the lid of the vial, mechanical action causes a plunger not unlike a french press to crush the beetle and glass bead together, mixing a blue icor of the beetle with a catalyst from the broken bead. This releases a gas which is inhaled from a small straw that protrudes from the lid, the vapor contains a tropane alkaloid, which acts as a stimulant, as well as containing a euphoric and mild hallucinogen; it is also quite addictive.
Jaq learns the dealer’s name is Zymox, from his and Ryali’s (Eva) interaction.
To Jaq he says nodding at the vial: “20 creds, but for someone such as you, the first one is free. See, my friend here has told me that you may be from the UTREE, no? Then I may have a business proposition for you.”
Jaq will take the vial and looks at it curiously. While doing so, she mentally goes over the known laws on this planet to determine how much possible trouble paying for an additional vial for Ryali/Eva. could get her into. Then she says, “Interesting. Go ahead.” Jaq is actually interested and has a proposition of her own of sorts. Jaq is forming a proposition of sorts herself, but will hold off while she hears what Zymox has to say.
“Drugs!!! the downfall of humanity! maybe we should leave before the authorities or these dealers make our stay difficult” “maybe we should retire to the ship or billets before this night ends in a cell”
“I thought I told you to wait by the bar,” Jaq says irratated. “Please go back over there and you can have no ideas about this. The business at hand is between myself and this fine gentleman.” Jaq pauses for a moment, then says, “If you are worried about it, then please do go on back to the ship.” Once Walt either goes back to the bar or back to the ship, Jaq will turn back to Zymox and say, “Please, continue.”
Buying another for Ryali? lol The chance of arrest is low here in startown, while beetle juice is illegal, law level 3 means one would have to roll 3- to run into police.
Zymox is pleased to hear in Jaq’s interest and proposes that they retreat to the basement for further discussion where they can have some more privacy. Jaq’s sixth sense would say she might want more muscle, like Walt, Dag and Montana along.
Here I should say a little more about Lacrimae, it is a multi-level city, named Lacrimae (Tears as in tear of the past) by Soloman/Imperial immigrants fleeing the virus and wars that engulfed charted space 200 years ago. Though there was an older city here before that and an Vlazdhumecta town before that and even ruins of an older reptilian culture before that. The enclosure and fortification of the city began in the late 1100’s after an attack by the Black Ships, with the current surface layer being the most recent and in many ways complacent as they have been able to ward off most heavier attacks. Here is a graphic of the city layout:
Each square is 3km on a side, which works out to about roughly a 25 km diameter circular footprint. Right now, the party is in a bar in the startown surrounding the circular starport building, the cornerstone being named for that it is on the corner of a rather large skyscraper. The walls of the city and deck, are made from a plasti-ferro-concrete type substance, very strong and about 30m thick on the upper deck and 60m thick on the sidewalls. The different levels also show to a very graphic picture of the different levels of social stratification of the city of 11 million souls.
TINU wonders if the ancient civilization of reptiles has anything to do with the Zerps and poses this question to the team at the bar. It uses its radio to scan the channels, searching for anything interesting – such as police channels or a report on pirates ect. TINU, noticing Walt walk over and back to the table that Jaq is on says (if he heard about the drugs), “I think it would be wise to split the payment, once before and once after the trade, if a large one is to be made – otherwise we may well find ourselves without a crew-member and some credits.”
Walt walks back to the table with the others, and sits back down, he then says in a low voice to those seated “Sorry am i missing something here? i didnt see the mention of drugs on the contract when i signed up… i could understand if it was medicinal and needed by the sick – but beetlejuice is a recreational and im uncomfortable in any dealings with such!”
maybe i will take another scotch and try to numb my morales
Jaq Looks at Zymox momentarily, weighing his offer. “I appreciate your offer of privacy, but let me talk to my team for a moment and I will make sure that we have no further interruptions from them. I wouldn’t want to leave them up here to drink the bar dry… You know spacers, I’d never be able to get them back to the ship, they’d be so drunk.” Jaq smiles reassuringly.
She slides her chair back and saunters over to the bar. She looks Walt in the eye with a critical look. “First off, you need to understand that things are not always what they seem,” she hisses quietly. “I know we didn’t get formally introduced. Perhaps now is a good time for me to fully introduce myself to you. I am Dame Jaq Nylora Yancy, Imperial Scout Service and Knight Commander of Honorable Order of the Emperor’s Guard. My mission as part of this expedition is to gather intelligence, a mission which can be sorely jeopardized by people running around crying about a little drug purchase. Fact of the matter is that it is the grease that eases certain wheels into action. If you have a problem with it, then Clamp your lips and wait until we are in private to ask. Understood? Otherwise, you can DT back to the ship.” Jaq’s eyes seem to be almost glowing with the intensity. She pauses and then softens somewhat. “Look, I don’t have any desire to end up in a body bag or worse because you are a little squeamish. That is why I told everyone to wait here. It gives you deniability and insulates you from repercussions on both sides.” She subtly indicates the man she has been talking to at the table. “Thanks to your little tirade, Walt, Zymox wants to take our conversation underground. This has just gotten rather a lot more dangerous and difficult than it had to be and now you guys are involved.” She looks back at the table and smiles, then turns back to the group for a moment. “If he insists, then we will all have to go down. You guys will be acting as my bodyguards. As such, I expect professionalism and silence in my dealings. Understood?”
chortle… "Squeamish??? listen lady im a professional soldier so im not squeamish! and if the fact im a law abiding citizen is a bother to you then so be it i am happy to remain on ship, when your shadier business is at hand, like you said you were negligent in informing us (me) of certain situations. though i suspect in the future if you take the time to explain a situation i will not “blunder in” and spoil it for you" yes i will have another scotch!!!
Zymox isn’t that concerned with Walt, he actually finds Walt’s attitude somewhat refreshing, it is good to know some soldiers are not just on the grift. He does want to conduct business away from other prying eyes, to prevent rip-offs, informants, etc.; it is pretty much standard operating procedure.
So Walt would like to know his official position on board ship (if any) if he is part of the security detachment (as i suspect he is) Walt would consider it vital that the rest of the crew brief him on any security threats (to Ship, Cargo, Personnel) i would also expect to be informed of any potential risks we may face while upon assignment etc, low level shenanigans are one thing but a run in with cartels, syndicates are another! It is with the security of the ship, crew and cargo i ask this? as always if this is not relevant please ignore and return to regular programming
time for scotch number 4
TINU has not yet downloaded the laws of this world so he waits to see what Dag will do.
Yes, Walt is part of the security detachment, which is little more than mercs being used as rent a cops, as it is not a military operation, but scientific. Jaq has her own bent on what she is doing, gathering intelligence, she is as she says, a scout for the Imperium. I can definitely see the point of both sides: in charater, Walt might be appalled at Jaq’s actions, and Jaq, would look at Walt as a yokel from a 3rd rate world. However, the expedition definitely needs both people, as Walt with his local knowledge would be the one to identify threats that can come from every direction and Jaq, with Imperial influence, can open the door to the Imperium’s vast resources, including the CrImp. That being said, the Imperium is not what it once was, so while still the largest power in charted space, it’s influence may be starting to fade a bit. The frontier is a roiling mix, much in the way of other colonial areas, one thing the black ship threat is doing inadvertantly is to provide impetus to bring about greater unity, something that the Imperium and others might not be so keen on.
IMO this is one reason traveller is so cool, a simple weird situation like buying drugs from an alien prostitute has brought out the interplay of regional politics between colonial and established powers, each with their own strengths and weaknesses as well as historical precedents.
(OOC, sorry to be absent the last couple: weekends are my heavy work period. Will catch up today and post a bit ;)
OOC: Just to say, Jaq is being rather grating at the moment but it is strickly a character thing. I don’t want there to be any hurt feelings.
BIC:
Jaq returns to the table to hear Zymox explain that it is refreshing to have an “honest” officer. She nods and signals to the group to follow and then agrees to go to the basement.
I will move to follow with the rest of the group when directed!
“well this will be fun!”
TINU will follow also. Given TINU has no weapons and costs a lot it places itself by the door ready for an escape if needed.