An Assassination on Regina
The crew of the Skylark witness an assassination and capture the assassins, but fail to discover why an eminent historian and archaeologist would be assassinated or what was the connection with the murder of Fig's Uncle Vlen.
This chapter is based on Carl's notes from our September 12, 2021 session. Since we are scattered around the country, we use Discord for voice communications and the Roll20 online virtual tabletop to connect with each other.
Continued from: Heading to Regina.
Location: On Regina in the Regina Subsector.
Date: 203-1110
It sounds like an offer we just cannot refuse.
Dancado is an Imperial Reserve, with some private residences. Technically, Dancado is the private property of the Duke of Regina, but a few respected families are permitted to lease land in the estate and live there.
Records show that the house at that address has been in Ujinka’s family for generations.
Air cars and flyers are restricted, so we will have to travel by ground car.
In the afternoon we went to the morgue to claim Backett's body. We got delivery to the Skylark scheduled for tomorrow morning.
Leon noticed some of the same people around the Skylark, through the day. Usually service crew outfits, but almost always someone. He got pictures of them and their 'company logos'.
We looked into the companies that may have been watching us but both were legitimate here at the port.
We went back to the Skylark and researched Professor Ujinka's recent activities.
Medicus remembered Ujinka as the person who developed the scanner for Ancient Artifacts now in use at ports of entry. We had tried to get one at one time but could not. She is an expert on the Ancients.
There is an Ancient site on the planet Inthe, six parsecs antispinward of Regina. This site is officially a state secret, although its existence is common knowledge among researchers and tourists. Ujinka and several of her colleagues fought a high profile legal battle with the Scout Service to have the Inthe site opened up to civilian researchers; the case dragged on for years until it was eventually resolved by the Archduke of Deneb himself, who sided with the Scouts. Relations between the University and the government were severely scarred by the whole affair, and Ujinka’s reputation suffered greatly. There were even allegations that she helped thieves break into the Inthe site to steal buried artifacts.
Ujinka has been offworld for three years on research of some kind. The University of Regina has several offworld dig sites, she was at one or more of them.
After we learned all we could, Fig called the professor. She was
shocked, and wanted to meet with us and discuss Uncle Vlen's business.
Tomorrow afternoon would work well.
We also notified the professor that we may be under observation, as a courtesy.
In the evening, Medicus stayed with the Skylark while the rest of us went barhopping for the gathering of rumors.
Listening around, we were told to not ask too many questions by one source, and that drug smuggling could make a bunch of money by another. Nothing useful this time.
204-1110
Fig checked on getting his drivers license renewed. He was from Regina and had an expired license. Renewal was easy, just an eye scan and a fee to pay. Everyone else would need to book time on a simulator before getting one and the first appointment they could get was five days out. We set up time for Leon, Sam and Kipenzi. They downloaded the study manual, and could test next week.
1000
We got a message from Inspector Norrin of the POC. Uncle Vlen's killer has been identified. Lots of suspects pulled in and a small time thug will be charged. POC can tie him to several other violent incidents and he has no alibi. They don't have the other two, but the shooter is in custody.
Our impression of Norrin is that he is a bureaucrat, and though he may have the right person that is probably not his main concern. He just wanted to check it off as finished.
Soon after, our taxi arrived. We had an AI driver reserved for the day and had them bill the ship's account for 450 credits. We shouldn't have problems with getting lost or driving badly. Fig was a little worried about the traffic in Credo, it has been years since he has driven in The City.
The Cryo capsule with Uncle Vlen arrived and Sam assigned it two tons of space in the cargo bay.
It was a nice ride out to Dancado once we got out of Credo. Fig pointed out the two tone trees, tuned for light from more than one sun. We got to the house/estate in a timely fashion. On the way we noticed an occasional glimpse of an aircar keeping pace with us, but at a goodly range. We talked with Leon about it at the Skylark, asked him to check the air traffic live feed.
Leon checked best he could, and there was not much information - just 'Official Vehicle, Law Enforcement', So the powers that be are not done with us yet after all.
The house had a multi-hectare garden, and a big fence. Automated security passed us in, and Kipenzi noticed several armed drones (SPECIAL PERMIT REQUIRED, and seldom seen in a private residence).
A robot opened and let us in the front door and escorted us to a lounge. Walking through the halls, it looked like a small freighter had dumped its cargo there. The lounge on the second floor overlooked a small lake and there were lots of holograms of planets on the walls.
We noticed security robots outside too. This place was well protected.
The Professor came in and greeted us.
She explained how she knew Uncle Vlen. Finding Ancient Sites is hit and miss. She believed that G-band wavelengths are sometimes affected by Ancient Sites, and has developed a detector. A dig on Beck's world is the current test area, and her assistant Juni is there now. Vlen said he might have a ship and funding, wonders if we have access to a ship. WE AGREE !!!!!
She had been mostly on Beck's World, with a conference on Deneb as a side trip.
The lights died, and she called for the robots, who did not come. Leon, back on the Skylark, lost his button cam feed from us. She looked out the window and said, "Hey, there's..."
The window shattered and there was a big hole in her chest. We hit the ground. Fig got out his bow.
Fig and Medicus' prosthetic arms were shut down. Neither arm responded initially. EMP??? They kept trying to restart the arms, hoping they would reboot.
Sam looked for a weapon and moved toward the door. Kipenzi too. It sounded like a door slamming a bit off, somewhere downstairs and we were sure folks were headed our way. Fig finally got his arm started, and his little crossbow put together.
Kipenzi saw a man with a gauss pistol, who looked like a thug coming up the stairs. She waited behind a door, and recognized the thug from the TAS security footage. This was one of the men who were at the hotel when Vlen was shot. She slammed him with the door as he came through it, knocking him down - his gun went flying down the hall. Kipenzi leaped for the gun.
Sam yelled about the downed man, and ran to jump on him... sorta.
Kipenzi grabbed the gun, listened for any more intruders. There was at least one more downstairs.
Medicus's arm woke up.
The thug fought back with Sam, and got to his feet. There stood Kipenzi, with the gun pointed at him.
Sam, down against the wall, kicked the thug in the back of his knees, HARD. Down went he, cursing.
The second thug came out into the lobby downstairs, as Kipenzi turned to look downward, and went in pursuit. Medicus came down the hall and Tranqued him with the hand needle. First dose didn't keep him still, so Medicus punched him.
The second thug ran like a rabbit, regardless of the warnings of firing. Kipenzi fired and got his attention, then REALLY hit him with the second shot. He went down, bleeding quite a bit.
The first thug surrendered, saying he was a dead man anyway. Fig went to stabilize the second one (the Kipenzi-shot fellow).
The thug upstairs started talking, freely. The downstairs one stayed quiet. We restrained them as best we could.
Fig (with gun) and Sam talked upstairs, Kipenzi (gun) and Medicus talked downstairs.
They figure that failure is a death sentence to them. Sam promised them an off-planet trip if they talk.
The one who would talk to us was named Kinson and the other was Labre.
- Kinson has worked for Ven Yasha irregularly for fifteen years as a guard or legbreaker. In all that time, he has never met Ven Yasha directly – he was always hired by Ven Yasha’s aide, Harlen.
- Harlen contacted Kinson and Labre several weeks ago, and ordered them to keep an eye on some traveller called Backett. They were to watch over him and make sure he was not being followed.
- On the night Backett was murdered, he and Labre accompanied Harlen to the TAS Hostel, where they met Backett. Backett and Harlen seemed to know each other quite well. Labre and Kinson stood guard outside while Harlen talked with Backett.
- At one point, Kinson was sent out to purchase a considerable amount of the drug tusal. He has no idea why – Harlen never used the stuff. Kinson knew a dealer, Darrian Jak, and obtained the drug from him.
- Soon after Kinson returned, Harlen shot Backett, and they fled the scene. There was no sign of an argument beforehand.
- Harlen stole two items from Backett's room – a statuette, and a datatape.
- In their escape, they used a device that somehow suppressed electronic devices nearby. They just called it 'the gadget'; he doesn't know where it came from or how it works, but it was one of Harlen's most prized possessions. They used the gadget on this job, too, when they were sent to assassinate Professor Ujinka.
- He has no idea why they were sent to kill some old academic, but they were told to make it look like an accident and steal whatever they could from the house.
- He does not know where Harlen is based, or where the stolen items are. He contacted Harlen through a contact in Startown, a Llellewyoly named Exceedingly Discreet. The Dandelion operated out of a brokerage called Winter Shipping; the password for getting to see the Dandelion is 'seventeen tons of flax’ – just mention that at Winter Shipping, and they will let you in to see Exceedingly Discreet.
About the time we finished talking to the thugs, Leon was able to get in touch with us, and said we wanted to look around before contacting the police. Some were following us, but we hoped they didn't know intially.
They had a device like a small EMP, but it went back with the third thug.
Professor Ujinka had LOTS of stuff, but nothing that grabbed our interest when we searched the house.
Medicus put the thugs under sedation.
Sam found a datapad. Searching around, Kipenzi found the house power unit and restarted it. The house came back to life pretty quickly after that.
Continuing his search, Sam found the Professor's library and looked for an index or catalog once the computers came back up. He eventually found plans for building the Professor's scanner. He also tried to get info off the professors datapad, but could not get past the encryption.
Soon after that, the police arrived, probably called by the house system.
They were in civilian clothes (like detectives) we asked for and got their ID and it looked good. Leon told us that one of them was one of our watchers from the starport.
Learning that these are not (via Leon and talking) actually police, we stalled. The real police arrived, and had some heated discussion with our first responders over jurisdiction. Everyone seemed to be in law enforcement and the local police won the argument and took custody of the prisoners.
We told the police everything we learned. We still got a ride back to town with the police, talked more and eventually got back to the Skylark, about 9 PM with instructions to not leave the planet.
Sam and Leon looked at the blueprints Sam had grabbed, and learned that what he got was only part of the overall device
We were likely planet-bound for at least a month, so looked into taking some classes.
Continued in: On Regina - Part 3
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, Kesser's Return, Justice, Mission to Mithril, Outback, Skylark and the Pit, Last Flight of the Amuar and One Crowded Hour.
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