Prelude to Justice

The Skylark’s crew escapes the growing chaos in Shionthy, traveling to Regina where Medicus discovers that his prosthetic arm is failing due to the radiation he received while on the Kesser. When they travel to Rhylanor to get the arm repaired they receive an unusual job offer.

This note is from our December 3, 2017 session and was mostly written by Kay with additional material provided by myself.

Since we are now scattered around the country, we used Teamspeak for voice communications and Roll20 online virtual tabletop to connect with each other. For the illustrations, I made the model in GIMP and Sketchup and I rendered it in Twilight Render.

Continued from Kesser’s Return - Part 3.

Imperial Date: 035-1107.

Location: The Shionthy System in the Regina Subsector.

On our way back to Achilles Station from the Kesser, still a day away on our four-day journey. The Armstrong is pushing the Kesser, two days behind us on the same vector.

Leon and Medicus seem to be deeply affected by what they had seen on the Armstrong. Leon especially seems to be more intense and Medicus looks out into the distance as if he is listening for unheard voices. Kipenzi, on the other hand, seems to be unaffected.

1600
Sam, doing his shift on the bridge of Skylark 2, is listening to comm broadcasts from Achilles when he picks up a speech from Senator Genevieve Shannan: “How did this (J7 Foundation) get a 75 MCr grant from the Shionthy Federal Science Foundation?” She describes the project as “An Abomination” and demands an investigation. The first of the dominoes to fall.

Soon after, we get a communication from J7 saying that the Skylark is to use the Stuttgart Dock to offload the hospital unit, so Sam needs to aim for that location. The Stuttgart Dock is part of the Stuttgart shipyard where the Kesser was built.

036-1107 0750
Medicus doing the morning shift on the Skylark’s bridge gets a direct communication: The Magellan (an Armstrong-Class heavy system defense boat) will be escorting us to Achilles. The reason given is so no one takes a shot at us.

0855
Magellan matches course with us as we decelerate towards the Stuttgart Dock.

1000
The Skylark moves into Bay 4 of the Stuttgart dock, with the large pressure doors closing in behind.

1010
While the dock is still pressurizing, law enforcement officers raid the J7 Foundation offices and begin downloading files and seizing documents.

It takes Sam and the Stuttgart dock bots just under two hours to off-load the J7 hospital unit.

1200
Unloaded and ready, we’re getting trouble with launch clearance – we Really want to go!

Sam finds out that they’re stalling. From talking with the belters when we were looking for the Annic Nova’s crew, he knows that we need Shionthy Commerce Commission Form 156: “A commercial vessel engaged in commerce”; if we have that form filed they can’t deny us clearance according to their own laws. Sam forges something quickly and sends it across.

1700
We finally get clearance and the doors open. As we leave Achilles Station we are surprised to see the Magellan is still stationed outside the dock doors. They let us pass and don’t follow.

037-1107 Noon
Arrive Styx Station.

Sam, who is always listening to the financial channels, tells us that there has just been a stock market crash on the Shionthy Exchange. The crash was led by the J7 corporations but also including other shipbuilding, finance and resource companies. Quixia Fuel and Gas Company (QFGC), based out of Socrates Station, is also badly hit, having lost one of their four tankers - the Whale.

037-1107 1600
We loaded the cargo that Sam had stored in a warehouse at Styx Station.

Looking at the manifest, Fig says, “We are carrying a ton of weapons grade plutonium???!!”

Sam replies, “It is cheap here. It is actually a lot less than that, most of the volume is shielding and packaging.”

“What could possibly go wrong?”

We have the news on a speaker and we are getting reports of riots on Achilles Station, the J7 Foundation offices are trashed.

Sam, at the controls of the Skylark makes a perfect takeoff, so there’s that.

038-1107 0000
We jump into Hyperspace for Roup, and we all breath a sigh of relief. And swallow sleeping pills, ‘cause we don’t want the nightmares.

“Wake up, it’s time for your watch.”

“I wasn’t asleep.”

040-1107 0600
The Armstrong and Kesser arrives at Achilles, if they are on schedule. They are someone else’s nightmare now.

045-1107 0058
Arrive in the Roup system, it’s 3.5 hours to the planet at 3G from where we came out of jump.

0430
We land on Roup and pay 40 credits for port fees per day.

Roup is 99% water, with small, overpopulated islands. Atmosphere is tainted with ozone down to the surface. Their main export is sea food, no surprise there. They are marked as an Amber Zone due to excessive law levels, it easy to get arrested there for trivial things.

We buy unrefined fuel at the port and refine it while Sam sells what we brought from Shionthy and buys more cargo, something to sell on Regina - our next stop.

053-1107 2000:

We take off from Roup. On our way out to safe jump distance we pass a friendly ship, The Viable Alternative, a 400-ton ship inbound at 1G after jumping in from Hefry.

054-1107 0000
Jump from Roup to Regina.

055-1107 another payday.

061-1107 0506
Out of jump in the Regina system. This jump took longer than normal, but was within parameters.

061-1107 2238
We arrive at Credo High Station, in orbit around Regina.

There are lots of aliens here, not just the Amendi who are native to Regina, or the Vargr who are 10% of the population here, but Aslan, Llellewyloly, Bwaps, what looks like a small heard of K'kree and a couple of Hivers from the far side of the Imperium. Regina being the Capital of the Spinward Marches Sector, everyone comes here.

Regina is one of the four habitable moons of a gas giant and the sky is spectacular. The world sits right in the middle of the system’s life zone and the climate is excellent.

Leon sent a message to his family informing them about the Markelson Drive. We also informed the Imperial Navy about it.

Kipenzi and Medicus bought psionic shield helmets. At 40,000 credits apiece, they are expensive, but we figure they are worth it if we needed them.

Medicus and Kipenzi hit the firing ranges to try to get better than bad. Medicus doesn’t get better, but finds out that his shooting isn’t accurate and notices a slight tremor in his arm. He gets it checked out and discovered that he has a failing molecular circuit. The tech asked, “Have you been exposed to any unusual radiation lately?”.

So – the Kesser isn’t finished with us yet. He has to go to Rhylanor to get it fixed – TL15 – Regina doesn’t have the parts and it would take half a year to get them delivered.

Fig: “Happy I never went on that ship”.

We spend 3 weeks at Regina. Kipenzi gets better with a slug pistol; Medicus buys more armor - a flak jacket; Sam gets better at shooting; Leon gets better with zero gee and vacc suits.

078-1107 0600
Take off from Regina to bound for Yori.

079-1107 0000
Jump to Yori.

085-1107
Another payday in Jump.

086-1107 0507
Arrive at Yori system. Another long jump.

092-1107
Cargo loaded, we jump for Keanu.

095-1107
Another payday, and nothing to spend it on, as we’re in jump.

099-1107 0245
Arrive in the Keanu system for a gas-n-go. It’s 4 days to the nearest gas giant at 3G.

0538
While on sensor duty Sam picks up an asteroid about 5.2 km diameter outbound in a hyperbolic orbit, so it will never return. It looks mostly crystalline, ice, it would take 3 hours to match course and land on it. We discuss it, and decide not to use it for refueling. We could easily lose our cargo in the maneuver since it would involve unloading the cargo bay to melt the ice for fuel. Easier to go to the gas giant.

103-1107 2231
Arrive at gas giant, for refueling; 3 hours to refuel; 3 days to refine fuel and travel out.

108-1107 0000
Jump for Fulacin.

114-1107 1057
We arrive in the Fulacin system.

1500
On the ground at Fulacin Down, a very spacious class-A starport. The port and the rest of the planet is now owned by Spinward DevCorp instead of MagnetoDynamics who owned it the last time we were though there.

Looking up Spinward DevCorp, we find that it also owns La’Belle, Weiss, Tacaxeb, and Pawaza. Spinward DevCorp or SDC is an Imperial company based in Spinward Marches and involved in colony-proving and world development.

There are some Imperial Navy ships parked on the flightline.

Medicus and Kipenzi check into Traveller Aid Services, no new info, and no new rumors at the bars.

115-1107
Payday.

121-1107 2359
We jump for Rhylanor.

128-1107 1005
Arrive in the Rhylanor system.



1340
On the ground at Rhylanor Down. We tell the Imperial Navy about our experiences with the J7 Foundation and the Markelson Drive.

Kipenzi noted that Dr. Markelson was working at the university of Rhylanor while he was perfecting his “drive” and the system was too complex for him to create himself , especially as the “drives” had an autodoc system he wasn’t an expert on. So someone else had to put those poor souls into the pods. So maybe we could ask the university about him. Also, Vanejen is only one jump away – with Research Station Gamma – where they did psionic research. We know that Imperial Research Stations are all used for top secret tech research.

Medicus makes an appointment for his arm on 132 at 1300.

130-1107 0153
In other news: There is a large fire at Kirgashii Shipyard , two battlecruisers were seriously damaged.

Later, after everyone is up
We figure that if the energy from Beta space is screwing up Medicus’s arm, it probably did a number on the Skylark 2 as well, because we brought Dr. Russell on board and she was loaded with it. So Fig needs to make an appointment with a shipyard to check out the Skylark and update maintenance. We will be here for a while.

On ship’s comm, Leon gets a call: blank screen and the voice is masked. Offer of a reward for services, meet at an apartment complex, and a 500-credit transfer fee in advance. Complete discretion needed. Leon responds with: crew must be consulted, then he notifies us.

The apartment complex is in the a luxury area. Local law level allows concealed carry hand weapons and shotguns, so we will go armed, since this feels a bit like a trap.

Medicus and Kipenzi come back from the university with zilch concerning Dr. Markelson. Too many people deny having ever known him. Leon clues them in on the job offer. We don’t know who these people are. We’ve been nosing around Markelson; maybe someone doesn’t want that and it’s a trap. Or we may find out more about Markelson if we go. Or it could be anything else. We’ve made enemies... and friends.

131-1107 1100
Our appointment with mystery person. Leon goes first, and gets set up at the end of the corridor for tactical support if we need it. Medicus and Kipenzi, wearing their ballistic cloth, button cams/comms, and gauss pistol for Kip, tranq syringe in finger for Medicus. Sam and Fig are back at the ship, in case this is the diversion and there’s an attack on the ship. Paranoia – it’s how we roll.

Medicus & Kipenzi show up at door, apartment 1007, at the appointed time and knock.

The door opens automatically. Looking in, there’s a conference table, with a bar area, a bartender droid, and a hologram projector on the table. We go in and sit down and the projector comes on and shows us 4 people, 3 men and one woman, with indistinct voices and blurred figures. One of them apologizes for the security, but they need utter discretion. Sam actually recognizes one of the figures as the boss of a small fleet of freighters. San thinks we can trust him; he has a good rep.

The room darkens and we see a recorded scene that shows a man dressed as a typical imperial businessman being savagely beaten by several large and well-dressed men. When the businessman can no longer resist, a fourth man appears and whips the poor unfortunate captive whilst ignoring his pleas for mercy. The fourth man is richly dressed. Finally the businessman is thrown onto the floor and the fourth man drives over him in a very expensive-looking ground car.

“ The man you saw being beaten was “Horace Surrabeck” a well-respected merchant and former Imperial civil servant in the Colonial Office. He leaves a widow and a teenage son. The man who administered the whipping was Lord Julius Maolivir. He is the brother of the current leader of Icetina. The holovid was taken by the lord’s own servant, and was recently smuggled off-planet.”

“We have approached the Icetina police force, but they are very conservative when the royal family is concerned, and the resulting investigation was brief and ineffective. Whilst Lord Julius is guilty of murder and other Imperial High Crimes, it is not possible to bring him before justice in the normal manner. The Imperium cannot intervene directly against the brother of a loyal planetary leader. A forcible extraction would trigger a diplomatic incident as well as a possible confrontation with Icetina military forces.”

“We find this situation unacceptable, no one should be above the law, and more importantly Horace was our friend. So we ask you to lure Lord Julius offworld so that we can have him arrested. Force is unacceptable, and discretion is an obvious requirement. If things go wrong, Lord Julius’s reach is considerable.”

“We offer 2 million credits”, and they can give two of the Travellers membership in the Travellers Aid Society.

“You came highly regarded by an associate of ours. We will give 250,000 credits in advance for the operation.”

A panel opens on the chest of the bartender it pulls out an envelope and gives it to Kipenzi.

Inside the envelope is 250 KCr in cash and a printout containing publicly available information on Icetina.

Icetina B5245A9-7 N Ni Lanth Subsector

Icetina is a barely habitable world with a modest industrialized society on the Spinward Main. Its B class port supports Jump-1 trade along the main as well as housing an Imperial Naval Base. Icetina has a population of 300,000 engaged mostly in light industry and service industries to support on-planet and port demand. Exports are limited to service industries, agricultural products and a limited number of TL7 manufactured goods. Imports include high tech systems.The complexity and slowness of the legal system (due to all the old un-repealed laws still on the books) as well as a minor territorial dispute with Ivendo has prompted the Travellers Aid Society to post Icetina as an Amber Zone.

Icetina has a police force reinforced by a para-military royal protection unit. Space defenses include 2 SDBs and a small flight of 10 fighters which forms the elite unit in Icetina’s small military.

The Imperial Naval Base, acts as a supply base for patrol elements of the 18th Fleet. A number of armed fleet couriers and a handful of patrol vessels will always be in-system, and Icetina can request their assistance as necessary.

Lord Julius Maolivir is the brother of Angela Maolivir, the current ruler of Icetina. He is 37 years old, and married with one son. He lives in a guarded villa on the outskirts of the Capital City. He and his family are guarded by members of the royal protection unit.

He has a reputation for being ruthless in business, and liking the luxuries that power brings. Given the traditional nature of Icetina society, he has remained faithful to his wife, and there are no reports of mistresses or extra-marital affairs.

He has recently acquired an unarmed Type K safari ship from a joint owned business venture.

He likes luxuries, and just bought a Type K safari ship. It’s the same type of ship as the old Skylark One, but is specialized to carry live animals instead of freight.

Continued in Justice - Part 1.

See Also: Dramatis Personæ, Skylark 2, Campaign Starts, The 2nd Adventure, The Chamax Plague, Horde, Shadows, Research Station Gamma, Twilight's Peak, Prison Planet, Leedor on Aramis, First Call at Zilla, Trade War, The Bloodwell, ANNIC NOVA, The Kinunir and Kesser's Return.