GURPS March Harrier Session 12: Rushing to Jesedipere

Player Characters:

Everett de Clisson (Adam), Medic and Engineer

Ganidiirsi Ashran (Ben), Steward and Cargomaster

John Matrix (Nick), Broker and Captain

Sacha Bright (ChaoticNeutral), Pilot and First Officer

PCs Temporarily Run by the GM:

Gvoudzon, Vargr Gunner and Pilot

Significant NPCs:

Marc hault-Oberlindes, CEO, Oberlindes Lines

Arrlanroughl, VP, Oberlindes Lines

Gharukh, Vargr Cryptography Researcher

Vuzuege, Vargr Refugee Camp Leader

Sedge, Vargr Corsair Gang Leader

Aran Askkashkur, Aramis Subsector Head, Vemene, Tukera Lines

Roald Bulolo, Director of Operations, Aramis Subsector, Tukera Lines

Dhurgeng, Vargr Starship Captain, Kforuzeng

Leonard Bolden-Tukera, Marquis of Aramis

Jelika Chan, Vemene Agent

Dates: 

215-1106 to 250-1106

Worlds:

Aramanx/Aramis (Spinward Marches 3005)

Nasemin/Aramis (Spinward Marches 3003)

Yebab/Aramis (Spinward Marches 3002)

Jesedipere/Aramis (Spinward Marches 3001)

At Aramanx Highport, Gharukh went with Gvoudzon to fetch his brooch, then borrowed a computer to exploit a known backdoor in the brooch's security and decode the message inside.  The message was from Aran Ashkashkur, head of the Vemene, to someone in the Kforuzeng.  It indicated that Ashkashkur had two 1000-dton Type J Ling Standard Products meson guns for sale, which were being shipped to Lablon, where Ashkashkur would meet with Thane Dhurgeng of the Kforuzeng to exchange the meson guns for cash.

The crew met with Marc Oberlindes and Arrlanroughl, bringing along the contents of the brooch and the Tukera xmail archive that Gani had filched on Lewis.  The totality of the information seemed to indicate that Ashkashkur had stolen the meson guns from the Titan on Zila, put a fake cargo on the Mammoth, then had Jelika Chan sabotage the Mammoth and crash it into Aramis.  He had then sent the meson guns to either Lablon or Jesedipere.  Arrlanroughl argued that the messages indicating Jesedipere were more recent, and thus more likely to be the actual location of the meson guns.

Marc Oberlindes argued for a two-part strategy.  He would go to Lewis, where Roald Bulolo was meeting with the Marquis of Aramis, and reveal that the Ashkashkur had caused the crash of the Mammoth and try to blackmail Bulolo into ending the tradewar.  Meanwhile the March Harrier and Arrlanroughl would go to Jesedipere and try to collect evidence of the stolen meson guns, and preferably stop the sale.  He agreed to charter the March Harrier's entire cargo and passenger capacity for the mission.

The March Harrier fueled up and then double-jumped to Nasemin.  On Nasemin they quickly refueled from the ocean then jumped to Yebab.  They actually picked up a couple of middle passengers on Yebab, then jumped to Jesedipere.  On Jesedipere, Arrlanroughl and Sacha met with Vuzuege to try to recruit help from the Vargr refugees.  Vuzuege introduced them to Sedge, the leader of a corsair gang, who appeared willing to do whatever Arrlanroughl required in return for cash.

Meanwhile the rest of the crew talked to contacts at the starport to try to find the Tukera base, then took the launch up to find it from orbit.  It was a small site well away from the starport, with a landing pad, a control tower, several warehouses, and a quarters building for the staff.  Gani and Everett took an Air/Raft to the general vicinity, then snuck in closer using grav belts and camouflaged cybersuits.  They spied on the site for a while to observe movement patterns, then Gani flew up to the roof of a warehouse and then broke in through a service door.  There was nobody inside, so he spent some time looking at the various stacks of crates until he found a large lot of crates labeled as electronics equipment, which appeared to be about the right size for the meson guns.  He opened a few crates and found various electronics and fiber optic components, then went back out, apparently undiscovered.

Gani and Everett returned to the starport, when the crew came up with a plan.  Gani, supported by Gvoudzon, Sacha, and Gharukh in the two Air/Rafts, would keep an eye on the Tukera site.  Meanwhile the rest of the crew would stay at the starport and use their ship's sensors and contacts at the starport to watch for the arrival of Tukera or Kforuzeng ships.

A 400-dton Tukera Patrol Cruiser, the Black Saber, entered orbit over Jesedipere.  It sent a Ship's Boat down to the Tukera landing site.  From a distance, Gani observed a man he assumed was Aran Ashkashkur, a woman he thought was Jelika Chan, and six other armed men emerge from the craft.  Over the next day, the members of the group visited all of the buildings on the site.

Two days later, four Kforuzeng ships, two large transports and two corsairs, arrived in orbit over Jesedipere.  We stopped at that point.

GM's Notes:

At this point the players think they've figured out what's going on.  The question is whether they can get enough proof to stop the tradewar, and whether they can actually stop the transfer of the meson guns to the Kforuzeng.