Leedor on Aramis, Part 1
Continued from: Prison Planet, Conclusion
Location: In jump space, en-route to Aramis in the Aramis Subsector.
Imperial Date: 113-1104
We had talked about the coins in the box for a while, since scanning and seeing that they were not worth anything even close to what we were paid for the delivery. Knowing that there was a small piece of plastic inside one of them was worrisome for us. We have straddled the lines of legal since day 1, but we did not want to get caught up in something we didn't understand. So...
Enter Slippery Sam
Penney, forger and manipulator extraordinaire. After some examination,
he was confident that he could open the box and reseal it undetected,
and proceeded to do just that. (Well, we hoped the closure would be
right; at least we could not tell it wasn't).
Inside the coin was, as we knew, a plastic sheet. The coin was NOT a
coin, but a two-piece coin simulant that unscrewed. Under super close
scrutiny the sheet in the coin revealed to be plans of the base and
security systems of the Naval Base at Rhylanor. Well pickle my protons,
this was a real possible predicament.
We talked it over for quite a while, weighing the pros and cons. We eventually decided that our best bet was to call the Navy as soon as we came out of jump space, meet them somewhere off Aramis. Checking the charts, we found that they had an orbital base over Aramis. We decided to tell them the whole story. "We contracted, got suspicious, opened the case and found the map... Oh, yes, Erkko Broussard is the person on the receiving end, you should talk to him."
119-1104
Once out of jump space in Aramis system, we contacted the Navy. We met
with Captain Sunita Dietz at the Aramis Imperial Naval Station. To our
surprise, and consternation, when we told her what we found she said "We
know. Just complete your delivery and take the payment. We have it in
hand." She did appear a little surprised at either our snooping, telling
the Navy, or both. A bit of relief for us, and likely some credit with
the Navy (We hope that we will never need it, but space is long and dark
and empty...) [and Keanou is a place we can end up in the worst way -
Kipenzi]
In port, berth 8 at Leedor Down on Aramis. Leedor is fully enclosed underground city. Aramis has an exotic corrosive atmosphere and is very nasty. Our ship goes through a really BIG airlock,and then gets hosed down with foam like a car wash before it’s lowered to where the berths are. The city grew out of mining facilities, and has expanded quite a bit since then. The city runs on Imperial time, independent of the exterior day/night cycle. They dim the lights to simulate a night time period.
Slidewalks are a people-transport device
intended to cut down on the number of vehicles required in the congested
corridors of Leedor. Most of them travel at about walking speed with a
few overhead high speed ones for burb to burb travel. The lower ones are
shut down sometimes at night for electric delivery vehicles to
transport large items.
There is an air tax here. They have to generate all the oxygen, and charge for it. We all got 2 week bracelets (the balance would be refunded on leaving). We figured this made us plenty safe even if we overstayed our normal 3-5 days for cargo and fueling. We also paid the hookup fee for our handheld computers, so they worked for local communications.
Open carry of weapons is OK here, but concealed with permit only. Fig
pondered and decided to apply for one for his calf-strapped crossbow. No
one else cared about it, just so we can have our guns.
Next to us in berth 7 was the March Harrier, a 400 ton Type R transport ship in port for annual maintenance.
Fig, Leon and Kipenzi walked out into town to deliver the package. Sam and Medicus stayed in the starport to supervise the fueling and start the cargo negotiations.
The person we were delivering
the coins to, Erkko Broussard, owns the Brnava Curiosities shop. When we
got there we found a Closed sign. Some family emergency according to
the sign. Down the walkway a little bit we noticed an electric vehicle
with a man who appeared to be watching the shop. Whether the shop, us or
just in general we were not sure. Leon looked up a home phone and
address for the owner.
Leon left a message that we
were in port, in Bay 8. We also had our handhelds. Almost immediately
we got a call back, and headed off to Plaza2 (upper strata residential
area). We handed over the box, said sorry for his family event, got our
check and headed to the bank.
Kipenzi had been here off and on in her previous work, and had an evening planned out with Medicus, so she went back to the Skylark. After Keanou, Kipenzi felt that Medicus probably had a bad taste in his mouth about all of the personal demons he ended up slaying (literally) and decided he needed to have a REALLY NICE TIME at a little gem of a place she knew about. Her treat. Leon and Fig meandered about the more reasonable parts of the city. Leedor is not a big place, and the slidewalks made it easy to travel while looking all around. We kept our eyes out for 'that guy' from 'that truck' but we did not notice anything or anyone unusual.
Nasarikka has a Shipyard on the planet and there are Naval and Scout
bases as well. The Navy bases the 219th Imperial Cruiser Squadron here.
Areas of the city included:
- Wallside - upper middle class suburb.
- 3 Plazas, cleverly named Plaza 1, 2 and 3. Upper class residential and park area with controlled access.
- Mining District - Kipenzi warned us off going here, generally a slum area.
- Startown - The area nearest the star port where most businesses cater to spacers.
- The Business District - Again, wildly imaginative naming for the place you go to find businesses, banks, shops, etc.
- Marquis Palace - where the Marquis of Aramis, Leonard Bolden-Tukera, lives.
Leon led the way as he and Fig walked, and talked to folks of his
social level while Fig acted the attendant/batman. The Emperor's
birthday was the next day, and Leon got invited to some of the more
prestigious get-togethers. Fig... not so much. Leon did get them to a
nice - really nice -restaurant, and Fig learned a little about culture
that he had not known.
Fig and Leon got back to the ship about the time Medicus and Kipenzi were heading out for their big evening on the town.
Later that evening, there was a general communications interrupt for an
emergency. All TV sets and broadcasts were reporting on a drive failure
on a huge freighter coming in to planet. The incoming ship was The Mammoth
a 5000 Ton Hercules class freighter. Kipenzi was once the chief
engineer on one of these, and Fig had some cross-class experience on one
while in the Merchant Marine.
During the next
hour, continuous coverage is provided. Information is at first
fragmentary, but gradually the following data is confirmed: the ship
will not hit Leedor (to the considerable relief of everyone listening).
The crew has evacuated in the ship's pinnace and is safe. There is
insufficient time for salvage vessels to intercept, match velocity, and
effect a recovery. Finally, a naval vessel provides live pictures of the
spectacular crash of the vessel, already breaking up from the extreme
heat of reentry. Too bad there was no time to take off and try to
salvage it. Oh well...
Library Data:
- Pinnace: Small craft or boat of interplanetary (though not interstellar) capability. Approximate displacement: 40 tons.
Watching the video, we thought back to our entry into Querion's gas giant, glad that we made it out.
Akerut lines owned the Mammoth and it was based out of Natoko, one jump away.
Sometime about mid-morning, Kipenzi and Medicus made it back to the Skylark. Their really nice time out was somewhat dampened for Kipenzi – she had been having flashbacks – no one noticed. More on that next episode.
121-1104
More information about the Mammoth was coming out. The cargo was two Type-J Meson Guns massing about 1000 tons each.
They were bound for the shipyard here, for incorporation into two cruisers under construction at the shipyard.
Medicus finally woke up and did some digging into the company that owned it. Akerut lines, a subsidiary of Tukera, dealt mostly with cargo transport and trade within the Aramis sector, and some ways out into the Vargr expanse. They have had some customs irregularities in the past, but nothing untoward lately.
Us being us, we had to speculate on what might have happened:
- Zhodani sabotage to cripple a couple Empire ships.
- Corporate cover-up for badly made weapons.
- Third party intrusion - Ine-Givar? Some discontented employee?
That evening, Medicus went out to party hearty (propriety prevents
speaking at length, but DEBAUCHERY comes to mind), but Kipenzi was a
little under the alcohol front still, so she and Fig went to dinner and a
local theater while Leon went to the Marquis residence for the formal
partying. Sam stayed to mind the ship.
 |
| 23rd and Quartz |
Back in the port, Kipenzi and Fig learned that the Wolblutn was in Bay 4, just an air door away from us, so they went to visit. He was grateful, and offered to take them to dinner the next day at the Traveler's Aid Society. He seemed more concerned with his vacation paperwork than anything else. A little strange, considering there was 1000 Cr in the wallet, but they figured it takes all kinds.
Looking up the Wolblutn later, they learned it is a small freighter with no particular history or profile.
122-1104
More news on the Mammoth: the mishap is blamed on Jelika Chan, the chief engineer. We could not find any information about Jelika on the computer.
Absent any reason to leave, and still looking for cargo, another day of seeing the city with Kipenzi as tour guide. The Museum of Aramis had a lot to recommend it, so off the three (Fig, Kipenzi and Leon) went. One prime interest area at the museum was a display on the planets of the Aramis sector. It never hurts to learn a little more about where you might be going someday. We paid close attention to the worlds on the Captain’s itinerary from the day before.
- Pysadi - Religious dictatorship, low tech.
- Pavane - Empty world, failed mining operations.
- Junidy -Most populated world in the subsector. Has a Scout Base.
- Carsten - Lawless world. Radioactives mined there.
- Zila -Agricultural world known for its fine wines.
- Jesedipere - Backwater world on the border of Vargr Extents.
- Nasemin - Water world with giant tides and lots of weather. Also known for an aquatic predator, the Byssal, and excising the gland in which an anti-inflammation drug is concentrated.
- Aramanx - Balkanized. Currently in a civil war.
-
Scangen - A nice garden world in the Vargr extents, but it’s a 3-jump
away from any other planet. The Captain's itinerary would have to have
him changing ships once on the Vargr side of the border.
All of the other worlds on his route have one thing in common. None of them are vacation spots.
Fig and Leon heard a little disturbance from near the entry. They saw a Vargr arguing with a museum employee about wanting "his" brooch back. The museum person said it was purchased and now museum property, and had security throw the Vargr out. Kipenzi came up just as that happened and went to the door, but the Vargr was nowhere to be seen by this time. She said there was something familiar about the Vargr.
We walked through the area of the museum that might house a brooch, but nothing jumped out at us. It seemed unusual that someone clearly not a local would have sold a brooch (or maybe not) to a museum, but we couldn't make any sense of it.
We all three went to TAS for the dinner with Capt Bannerji, but he was a no-show. We had a nice dinner, used 80% of his credit chip and left the rest as a tip. When we called to wish him well, we learned that the Wolblutn had departed last night. The ship left very soon after we returned the wallet. Mysterious.
Walking back to the Skylark we heard another disturbance, down an alleyway this time. Looking a little we saw a Vargr being pummeled by two large humans. It turned out to be 'that' Vargr, but neither of them were 'that guy' from 'that truck'.
 |
| The Alley |
There is no way to sugar coat this: Kipenzi freaked out, drew her Gauss Pistol and charged at them. Fig and Leon followed, yelling "We're in a CITY!!! Don't shoot here" Fortunately, the two had only clubs available at the moment, and backed off. They left a well-beaten Vargr behind.
This Vargr was from Kipenzi's work time before Skylark, and the short version was that he saved her life and ship, and she owes him. We did the basics of first aid and got him back to Medicus and the sick bay on the Skylark.
This will be an interesting story to
hear. None of us have talked a lot about our past, beyond Fig lamenting
his lost arm. [Except for finding out about Medicus’s early formative
years in a prison planet run by the inmates, and his mother’s death at
the hands of pirates, who are now on a countdown to their own ‘final
destination’. - Kipenzi]
Now we should learn something about Kipenzi version 1.0.
But that is a tale for another day.
Continued in: Leedor on Aramis, Part 2
See Also: Dramatis Personæ, Skylark 2, Campaign Starts, The 2nd Adventure, The Chamax Plague, Horde, Shadows, Research Station Gamma, Twilight's Peak, Prison Planet.
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