March Harrier Session 4: Anolas, a Charter, and a Bannerji Sighting

Player Characters:

Everett de Clisson (Adam), Medic and Engineer

Ganidiirsi Ashran (Ben), Steward and Cargomaster

John Matrix (Nick), Broker and Navigator

Sacha Bright (ChaoticNeutral), Temporary First Officer and Pilot

PCs Temporarily Run by the GM:

Gvoudzon, Vargr Gunner and Pilot

Dale Conan Wilder (Phil), Captain

Significant NPCs:

Randall Dorsainvil, First Officer of the March Harrier

Fenna Song, Captain of the Margin of Profit

Arrlanroughl, VP of Oberlindes Lines

Maddox Kader, lawyer on Zila

5 Anolas

Professor Lars Dagiran, University of Junidy

Lizab Diiringer, University of Junidy

Cai Calula, Chosen of Cratersea

Lana Calula, Cai's sister

Celia Bailee, Lana's surrogate mother

Thoren Soner, Cai's bodyguard

2 Human Terrorists

4 Llellewyloly Terrorists

Roet Bannerji, Captain of the Wolblutn

Anonymous Naval Intelligence source

Dates: 

131-1105 to 192-1105

Worlds:

Junidy/Aramis (Spinward Marches 3202)

Towers/Aramis (Spinward Marches 3103)

Nasemin/Aramis (Spinward Marches 3003)

Aramanx/Aramis (Spinward Marches 3005)

The March Harrier landed on Junidy, the highest-population world in the Aramis subsector.  They offloaded a major cargo and a low passenger.  There were a couple of xmails for them in the system.  One was from Randall to the captain, indicating that he and Captain Song were still imprisoned on Zila (as of the time of sending, several weeks ago) but their lawyer said they would have their trial soon and should be released.  The other was from Arrlanroughl to Sacha, indicating that a ship with drive parts had been sent to Zila to repair the Margin of Profit and asking whether he was planning to head back toward Zila to resume his job with Oberlindes Lines.  Sacha chose not to answer the xmail yet.

Gvoudzon still appeared unnaturally obsessed with the anolas, so the crew set about finding a buyer for the anolas to get them off the ship.  Posting them on the local electronic merchant boards got a bunch of instant low-bidder offers from bots.  Over the next couple of days, some better offers came in, from merchants and an exotic pet dealer and a University professor.  The offer from the professor asked to visit the University of Junidy South Continental Campus Psychology Building in person, so most of the crew boarded a crowded high-speed monorail and visited the campus.  They left Gvoudzon and the Anolas behind in the care of the captain.  When they met Professor Dagiran, he indicated that the psychology department would like to acquire the anolas to conduct non-invasive research, and offered KCr 50.  He also asked whether any crew members were exhibiting odd psychological symptoms and offered diagnosis and treatement.  The crew mentioned Gvoudzon's symptoms.  John was a bit concerned about high medical bills, but the professor assured the group that the cost of any treatment would be included in the purchase price for the anolas.  Everyone except Everett agreed to a quick examination, and the professor indicated that those examined only showed mild symptoms from exposure to the anolas.  The group came to an agreement, and the professor sent his grad student, Lizab Diiringer, back to the March Harrier with the crew to take a look at Gvoudzon and fetch the anolas.

John and Gani decided that the professor had taken their offer a bit too quickly, so decided to make up a fake counter offer to try to get more cash.  Lizab took a quick look at Gvoudzon and suggested that he go back to the University for treatment, as he was clearly afflicted with something.  She called the professor, then indicated that he would like them all to come back to the University so he could take a look at Gvoudzon and the anolas in person.  Lizab unfolded a high-tech pet carrier for the anolas, and they took another monorail ride.  After some negotiation, the price for the anolas was raised to KCr 80 and it was agreed that Gvoudzon would receive treatment.  Everett didn't trust the psychologists and again refused to participate, but the rest of the crew remained with Gvoudzon.

About week later, the captain called with exciting news: he'd found a very profitable charter, paying double standard rates for four high passengers and a large cargo all the way to Paya.  He asked that the crew hurry back to the ship as soon as possible.  The crew met with the professor again, who agreed that Gvoudzon could leave, and his recovery should eventually be complete after separation from the anolas, though a few more weeks of treatment would be preferred.  They headed back to the ship.

The custom was Cai Calula, a very rich young man from Paya in the Spinward-Rimward corner of the subsector.  The world had been hit by an asteroid a few decades previously, most of the population had died, and most of the survivors had been evacuated.  But a small group of eccentrics had remained and gained claim to the whole planet.  And the fees to allow recent construction of a Navy base and Oberlindes Lines subsector headquarters had made each of them very rich.  Cai was the new ruler of the Cratersea District and had been yachting around the system buying vehicles for his collection when his yacht broke down.  Rather than waiting for it to be repaired or taking a luxury liner home, he decided it would be fun to rough it on a Jump-1 freighter back to Paya.  His cargo consisted of several vehicles: a G-Carrier, a jet fighter plane, a ketch, and a couple of ATVs.  The crew loaded the G-Carrier and ATVs themselves, but needed some help from the starport workers to handle the airplane and boat.

While waiting clearance for takeoff, the March Harrier received a radio call that their cargo had been selected for customs search.  None of them liked the idea, but messing with the Starport Authority sounded like a bad idea, so the captain indicated they should cooperate.  Six uniformed starport workers, two Human and four Llellewyloly, came on board and five of them headed for the cargo hold.  A bit later, one of them indicated that some unspecified illegal powder had been found on board the G-Carrier and that the ship would not be allowed to leave.  The captain protested and asked for details, as one of the other "customs workers" began a radio transmission that the Llellewyloly of Junidy had been oppressed for far too long and were going to blow up this starship in protest.  Gani heard the transmission and shot the terrorist with his gyroc pistol, and a fight was on.  The fight lasted only a few seconds, with Gani (with gyroc pistol and morph axe), Captain Wilder (unarmed), and Cai's bodyguard Thoren (with some kind of large black pistol) taking down all six terrorists (armed with low-tech handguns and a bomb they didn't have time to set off).  John and Sacha reached the cargo hold just as the fight ended, and Gvoudzon never even realized what was happening until it was over.  Captain Wilder called Starport Security to report the attack and several Starport Authority police came on board to take the surviving terrorists.  They interrogated the crew for a few hours and it was determined that the crew had done nothing wrong and was free to go.  Thoren tried to figure out if the terrorists had targeted his employer in particular.

The March Harrier and their passengers jumped for Towers.  They made a quick turnaround to replenish supplies then jumped for Nasemin.  After another quick turnaround they made a double-jump through the interdicted Zykoca system for Aramanx.  On the way to Aramanx, Celia, Cai's sister's unspecified associate, confided a problem to Gani.  Her job was to be Lana's surrogate mother and carry Lana's artificially-implanted embryos to term.  However, Cai wouldn't leave her alone, and Cai was rich and powerful and used to getting his way.  Lana wanted the crew to find a way to keep Cai away from her on the small ship.  Gani talked to Everett, and they suggested putting Celia in a low berth and claiming there had been a medical emergency threatening her health.  Everett put her under, then Gani and Everett explained to Cai and Lana that Celia had been suffering from acute gravity sickness and had been transferred to a low berth to preserve her health and that of the baby.  Cai and Lana seemed to buy the story.

After over a month cooped up on the ship, the crew exited into the relatively open spaces of Aramanx Highport and headed for the Worldview bar.  While there, John noticed one of the local news videos discussing a protest against offworld interests in the nation of Senled, The protests were apparently triggered by the visit of a group from the megacorporation Sternmetal Horizons LIC.  The crew was not particular interested in local politics, but the interesting part of the video was that one member of the Sternmetal group was Captain Bannerji of the Wolblutn.  John pointed out the video to his crewmates, who agreed that was definitely Bannerji.  The crew mentioned the sighting to the captain, who said he'd discussed Bannerji with a contact in Naval Intelligence, and that it would be great to talk to him and figure out what was going on and if he was indeed linked to the nuclear missile attack in Patinir.  The crew asked if the Navy had any resources to help, but the captain said there was no Navy base in the area and his contact was on his own and would appreciate the crew's help.

Everett, Gani, John, Sacha, and Gvoudzon took a shuttle down to Seniek, the capital of Senled.  Weapons were not allowed on the shuttle, so they decided not to risk bringing any, but would look for weapons planetside in case there was trouble.  After landing in Seniek, Sacha (the most streetwise of the crew) found a gun store, where it was made clear that (some) guns were legal for citizens but foreigners weren't allowed to possess any weapons.  The gun owner also pointed out a place where citizens who had lost their identification documents could get replacements.  Sacha headed over to the shady passport photo store and paid a king's ransom in local money (which was not very much in Imperial credits) for a fake ID.  Then, armed with the ID, he headed back to the gun store to load up before looking for Bannerji.

We stopped at that point, with the group considering what kind of low-tech gear they wanted to buy.

GM's Notes:

The crew were pretty lucky with the anolas.  Gvoudzon, as the one spending the most time with them, got penalties to his rolls to resist their mysterious effects, and temporarily lost several points of IQ, reverting to a childlike state.  The rest of the crew made their (hidden) rolls and so were able to deal with the situation fairly effectively.  Their attempt to raise the purchase price after a deal had already been made was a bit sketchy, but apparently Professor Dagiran wanted the anolas enough to comply.

The Llellewyloly-separatist terrorists were not particularly effective, and the crew (plus their passenger's bodyguard) were highly suspicious, so the fight was pretty one-sided.