The Wolf at the Door - Part 1

 

Where the Travellers get involved in a dangerous situation in the face of Vargr corsairs on a backwater world and have an opportunity to solve the mystery of Captain Bannerji and the Wolblutn.

This note is from our September 14th, 2014 session and was mostly written by Carl with edits and additional material provided by Kay and myself. Most of the photos are recreations... I forgot to get any shots during play.

Continued from: First Call at Zila.

Date: 194-1104 Imperial.

Location: Port Aramanx, Over the planet Aramamx in the Aramis Subsector.

Seeing Bannerji on the newscast was more than a little, but not a huge, surprise. Sam had speculated that Tukera/Akerut (and maybe others) were scamming the Imperium.

For the past two years the lmperium has been regulating the market price of lanthanum mined within the Imperial borders. The navy pushed for, and received, authorization to set the price of lanthanum at an artificially low level to hold down the cost of a major ship building program. Imported lanthanum was not regulated, for fear of imports drying up.

Locally mined lanthanum, allegedly brought in from out of the sector, is being sold for higher imported rate. The flight plan that Wolblutn filed took them into Vargr space and back. Bannerji's presence here seemed to support that.

More than before, we became interested in Capt. Bannerji.

The crew had spoken with Eneri Gillian some weeks past. He said he was a former partner of Bannerji who owes him money from a time when the both worked with Sternmetal. Eneri offered us a payoff for any information we could get about Bannerji. He gave us his card with an access code to a message service on Junidy where we could send word. We pondered whether to send our sighting. We decided to get a little more data before mailing anything off.

Bannerji, apparently working as part of the Sternmetal delegation, was attending a conference in the city of Tavanix. Aramanx is an agglomeration of nation-states in various stages of armed and unarmed competition. "Some of the nation states are at war, and the others are hanging back for fear of lighting up the subsector" - Kipenzi

Leon checked as completely as possible, and found no record of the Wolblutn entering this system or checking in at the spaceport. Hmmmmm, it is illegal to land a ship on Aramanx, but if you are playing fast and loose with Empire law...

Looking at each other, we probably all thought "been there, done that"

Computer and news feed research led us to learn that Sternmetal was funding at least one/some of the groups.

Found an obscure executive briefing newsletter:

Sternmetal Horizons, LIC, has recently (within the last decade) embarked upon a program of exploitation of Aramanx along ambitious lines. Deciding that a straight economic takeover of the planet would (given the complexities and variety of politics and political bodies on the world) involve too great an outlay of funds, Sternmetal has systematically invested in Lovrenyi, a smallish (population 37 million) industrialized nation, in the midst of the most heavily industrialized and settled continent. Sternmetal has introduced a small but well-equipped mercenary contingent to supplement indigenous Lovrenyi troops, with the plan of defeating the conventional armies of the major powers, thus enabling imposition of terms favorable for a wholesale infiltration of their economies by Sternmetal investment.

The Sternmetal plan did not quite work out as anticipated. Three brief and almost bloodless campaigns extended Lovrenyi influence considerably at the expense of several neighbors but their army became bogged down in a partisan war in the mountainous areas of Renitza, to the north of Lovrenyi. The slowdown in the timetable of conquest gave several other nations, possibly with the secret backing of some of Sternmetal’s competitors, time to hire their own mercenaries to act as deterrent forces. Many of these are still present.

Currently, the situation of Aramanx is one of watchful tension, particularly in the area around Lovrenyi.

The economic development conference that Captain Bannerji is attending is being held in Tavanix, a province capital of the Union of Senled, about 30 Kilometers from the border of the Republic of Lanax and about 50 from the border with Renitza, another nation. They are not currently at war but tension’s are high and there is martial law in the city.

Besides spotting Bannerji, we ran into our first real trading glitch. During the dance of cargo and cars that let us get the Baron off Zila unobserved, not all the cargo got where it was supposed to be. Our most valuable tonnage was in Oberlindes warehouse on Zila. Kipenzi: "That's 4 tons of radioactives, worth over 1.3 MCr."

Grinding his teeth, Sam decided to ask Oberlindes lines to ship it here at cargo rates, at their earliest opportunity. It turned out that Oberlindes (and Akerut for that matter) had no direct scheduled cargo runs between Aramanx and Zila. The main cargo route went through Carsten, adding another four weeks waiting for our cargo to catch up to us. Since the Skylark 2 is able to make a thee parsec jump, it would be considerably faster for us to go and pick up the cargo ourselves.

Leon made some calls and got an invitation for him and staff to the conference at Tavanix. Since his family is prominent in the weapons trade, he had no difficulty. We planned to observe and say little. Two open ears, two open eyes, one closed mouth each. Sam’s staying with the ship to trade. Leon, Kipenzi, Fig, Gvoudzon, and Medicus will go down to the planet as Leon Cruz and his “staff”. As usual, we have our button cams on, but there’s no relay to the ship so all we can do is record for later watching.

196-1104
We purchased atmospheric condensers, one each and a couple spares. The thin air on Aramanx is tough even for natives. Being summer in Tavanix, at its latitude there is about 12 hours of good daylight in an 18 hour day. The local weather was expected to be nice during the day but the nights could be cold. Good thing we would be staying indoors.

To reach the surface and get to Tavanix required a shuttle to planet side and a three hour train ride. The convention was in a large area that included a mall, the rail station, the convention center and several hotels.

Sam stayed at the orbital starport to arrange for sales of our cargo (at least the part that actually made it to Aramanx). He would also be getting Baron Feri’s 20 tons of office equipment to the right place and trying to find a buyer for our remaining 20 tons who would buy with a delayed delivery. "'Office equipment and records', at least that’s what he says, we never looked in the crates", Kipenzi. Of course, refueling and Life Support and new cargo would be taken care of too.

Arriving and checking into our hotel, we decided that since Fig and Kipenzi had met Bannerji we would be careful who looked around much. Leon, Medicus and Gvouzdon were the primary people who would go into the conference and mingle. Kipenzi and Fig would be there but hanging further back and on the periphery.

While traveling to Tavanix, we studied up on the area:

Senled: The Union of Senled, which occupies the north-western quarter of Bheroven, is one of the oldest and most powerful of the states on Aramanx, although it has recently fallen on hard times. An abortive coup staged nine years ago by dissidents (whom many believe were supported financially by Sternmetal Horizons) came very close to toppling the rather weak government of President Deneel Zarqod. In the wake of this coup, the nation suffered heavily; strikes, riots and a general economic upheaval were followed by repression and martial law, which were made more difficult by intermittent outbreaks of war or near-war with neighboring Lanax. The nation has thus far weathered the storm but is now close to the brink of collapse. Recent economic aid from Sternmetal Horizons (following the treaty with Lovrenyi) has begun to renovate the economy somewhat but inflation continues to run at something over 90% per year and martial law restrictions are still in effect. The military forces of Senled (26 divisions of infantry and several armor brigades) have been augmented by three regiments of mercenaries brought in from the Regina and Rhylanor subsectors. Of these, roughly two-thirds are deployed along the Lanaxian border, with the remainder in other border provinces or held in a central reserve around the capital.

Lanax: Long established as a rival to Senled, the Republic of Lanax has the strongest conventional military force on Aramanx and dominated Bheroven polities until the rise of Lovrenyi. Originally a representative democracy headed by an Administrative Council, which selected three triennially elected, co-equal heads of state, Lanax underwent a period of political upheaval some 70 years ago that ended in a major political reform. Although the outward forms of government remain as before, power is essentially vested strictly in members of the Klaven family, who dominate the elections in such a way as to return family members to at least two of the three seats of the triumvirate each term. The Council now serves as little more than a rubber stamp and the ‘republican’ forms of popular representation have been reduced to little more than a shadow of their former power.

Lanax is economically prosperous and the Klavens have reigned with a relatively loose hand in most areas of personal freedom. It is a fairly popular and stable regime (although by no means as well-loved as the first Klaven governments, in the years when the talented family provided badly needed leadership in the dark days of the Fourth Bheroven Wars). Now growing increasingly isolated diplomatically, the current government has quite correctly foreseen the threat posed by Lovrenyi and its growing alliance, and has taken action to offset the menace.

...and the city we will be visiting:

Tavanix: The frontier city of Tavanix (population 81,000) lies a scant 30 kilometers from the Lanaxian border (and is less than 50 kilometers from the border with Renitza/Lovrenyi). Capital of the province of Tavinira, the city (and the province) has passed back and forth between Lanax and Senled several times in the last three centuries and was once (about 90 years ago) briefly independent of both. By and large however, the people have considered themselves Senledian in culture and society throughout that period and welcomed their return to the Union at the close of the Fourth Bheroven War 66 years ago.

Since the most recent period of economic collapse, international tension, and martial law, Tavanix has managed better than many other parts of the country, a surprising situation considering the proximity of Lanax and the occasional frontier incidents that have characterized the past few years. In fact, it is that very proximity to danger which has helped the province and the city to stay afloat.

The threat of war is very real here and resistance to martial law edicts is far less than in other parts of the country. Heavy military recruitment for local forces and the stimulus of the military presence in the area have reduced unemployment and kept the economy somewhat better balanced than elsewhere.

After getting checked into the hotel and getting a bite to eat we headed to the conference center. Approaching the conference, we heard a small disturbance up ahead, and saw some police types detaining a Vargr. Gvouzdon reacted strongly to this, as he recognized the person.

Kfouzor, the Vargr, called to Gvouzdon for help. Kfouzor was an old friend of Gvouzdon from the Aegzaeng mercenary group they once worked for.

Kfouzor was detained by an almost surely biased officer who thinks Kfouzor is there to cause trouble. Concerns of spying and fomenting troubles were the officer's main theories.

Kfouzor says that Gvouzdon was right to leave the group when he did. The Aegzaeng went to the dogs (R R R ) shortly afterward, and Kfouzor wants free of ties to the group. He was hoping that information he has about a coming attack would get him asylum. He tells everyone who will listen that a raid is imminent. He said that Lanax people know things about Sternmetal and want to pressure the company.

The officer waved it off as more trouble making, and while Gvouzdon offered to take the troublesome Vargr off their hands, it was for naught. Gvouzdon and Kipenzi stayed with the officer and Kfouzor while the rest of us went inside.

Only a little ways into the conference, we heard several LOUD bangs, felt the building shake a little, and watched as parts of the ceiling fell down. Alarms sounded, people milled about and some screamed. Medicus was hit by a falling light while trying to keep Leon safe (yep, no good deed...)

We masked up as the atmosphere thinned out, and headed for the entry. Getting back together with our crew-mates was a high priority. Retracing our steps toward the entry, we heard a call for help. A man was pinned by some debris. Two dead lay near him.

It was Bannerji, of all things. We got him free and out of the building. The officer detaining Kfouzor had said "You all stay right here" and had gone off. "Right Here" is a pretty vague term, and we didn't plan to leave the planet today, so we all beat feet back to the hotel. It had also taken some considerable damage.

Bannerji recognized Kipenzi (who wouldn't?) and in a panicky voice told us that his ship was on planet about 100 or so kilometers away. If we got him there he would get us off with him. He was very concerned about being picked up by raiders. Sounded to us like Kfouzor was dead on in his assessment of the raid.

Medicus treated Bannerji and Fig bandaged Medicus' head. The others scrounged around rooms for whatever might make the walk (no cars now) to Bannerji's ship easier.

They found some camping gear, medical supplies, and some clothing that would be very helpful, and some packs to carry the load in.

IR goggles and a GPS were also goodies found. Some explosives too. :) :)

We got as much water as we could, and Medicus raided a couple room bars -- purely for medicinal purposes. We raided a vending machine. Nutrition be damned, at least it was food.

Leaving the hotel, the first thing we saw were three helicopters. Manned (dogged?) by Vargr, one of them turned its gun toward our general area, but exploded in midair before it fired any more shots. The other two headed off for better skies.

Around the corner there were four Ursine beings, clearly mercenaries. Bannerji shouted at them "Senlid has fallen. Your contract is over. I am with Sternmetal. Come with us!"

His ship, he told us, was just across the border to the northeast, in Renitza. It was near a mining camp. (Lanthanum mining? We wondered.)

Heading out of town for the east and hopefully safety.

A little way out of town, we heard a helicopter flying nearer. We hit the ground, seeking cover where we could. The helicopter moved away shortly afterward. We stepped up our pace.

After a couple hours we found a small homestead/farm/whatever. Medicus approached to try and buy food or anything useful. They chased him away at shotgun point.

Relatively easy going in the open areas, as we skirted the forested parts. Just after crossing a stream and getting into the woods for the night, we heard noise from behind.

The noise was actually one of the Ursine mercenaries being shot. The shot, fortunately, was ineffective at the range, and as we took cover behind a large rock we looked and saw six figures approaching. Armed with laser rifles (we assumed then, confirmed later) they were firing as they came.

One of the mercenaries took a serious hit in the first volley, and we returned fire. Of course by that I mean they (the mercenaries) returned fire. Without them we would likely have been captured or killed.

The firefight took only a few minutes, as most do. It ended with 6 defunct robots and we recovered one surviving laser rifle that we could use. One of the mercenaries was hurt badly, and Medicus immediately began tending him. A large rock that we sheltered behind prevented more injuries on our side.

WHY WHY WHY are robots chasing us ????
They were not combat robots, just general purpose ones with rifles.
A puzzle to ponder on, perhaps never to solve.

After the fight ended, Kfouzor and Gvouzdon went out to check on the 'enemy', and found that only 5 were fully disabled. The last one got off a couple shots before being finished off. Fortunately, no serious injuries for the Vargr.

We got 4 power packs to go with the laser rifle to show for it.

Kipenzi and Leon went to check out the nearby forest, but we decided to camp near the rock that had helped save us. The stream was fresh and clear.

In the evening Kfouzor recounted some of his history since Gvouzdon left the group. The biggest news is that they are building a large warship, the Ozarr, at great expense. The ship is being built to house a large meson gun, which is strange because Kfouzorr has no idea where the Kforureng could get one.

They are also in great need of money to complete the ship, which is why they hired out a battalion to Lanax.

He also says that the party is likely to be a target of considerable interest. Not only is the hapless Bannerji a Sternmetal representative and thus of interest as a hostage… Kfouzorr, as a deserter, will also be quite a drawing card. Most importantly of all, Gvoudzon is in danger from his former colleagues. Kfouzorr does not know why but the brooch Gvoudzon stole when he fled the band is wanted very badly and the Kforuzeng will do anything to get it – and Gvoudzon – back. At least one of the Kforuzeng entering the convention center must recognize Gvoudzon’s lingering scent; the detachment contains a number of Vargr who know him well. Knowing the rewards that have been promised for his return, Kfouzorr is sure that a pursuit will be mounted.

Upon hearing this, Kipensi said "So, like, we might want to pick up the pace of getting out of Dodge."

Hmmm, two meson guns are missing (presumed by most to have been destroyed, but we never really bought into that) and now the Vargr are buying one.

The Vargr group has run short of cash to finish the construction and were selling mercenary services to help pay for it.

After an uneventful, but fully guarded, sleeping time we recovered chips from the robots. We hoped to learn who sold them, who bought them, and maybe WTF for they came after us. According to Gvouzdon and Kfouzor the Kforuzeng don't use robots, they would have come themselves.

197-1104, Morning.
Questions still are out there. Many many of them deal with Bannerji.

Can we trust him? .....NO, almost positively NO.

So we knew we had to be careful approaching his ship, and mindful that he may very well have nuked a mining vessel in Patinir belt.

It is never good to condemn without more evidence, but none of us were leaning toward BFF status with him.

Continued in The Wolf at the Door, Conclusion.

 

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.