Episode 1 : Rescue or Retrieval

[Gerrin]

The twin suns reflect from the nearby water through the wide window.
Wei Xuan settled back into the comfortable seat. He glanced around the busy offices of Talos Inc, watching the comings and goings as he waited for his meeting to start.
Several minutes later a short, droid ventured out from a large office and invited the young lawyer to follow it.
As he followed the machine he glanced out of the long window admiring the hustle and bustle of Rilloo, the main spaceport of the oceanic planet Dion.
He entered the office and smiled as he saw the older man sitting behind the desk, waiting for him.
Jonas Armiger, the senior Talos Inc representative for the system waited patiently and gestured for the young man to sit.
As Wei made himself comfortable, the older man slid a plastic chit across the table.
"Payment for a job well done. Five thousand credits as we agreed."
Wei smoothly pocketed the payment.
He smiled, "You said you had another job for my associates?"
Jonas nodded ,"A simple affair. We have lost contact with an agent. I need you and your associates to find him and return him if he's alive or retrieve a piece of tech that he currently has."
Jonas slides an info chip across the table.
"The information you need is on that chip. Payment will be ten thousand credits."
He paused, "Talk to your people and let me know if you are prepared to take the job."
He leans back, the droid reappears at Wei's elbow, the meeting apparently over.
Wei walks quickly out of the building, absently tapping the currency chit against his palm.

[Liaozhai]

Wei stood at the entrance of Talos Inc. and continued tapping the chit until it finished uploading the funds to his EoL account. He would hold it in escrow until all members of the crew were accounted for. He conducted a mental roll call of their available roster. With some of his associates attending to their own business in Rilloo, it was possible that only Tatiana, Udex, Dr. Yegorovich and perhaps one or two others would be available to find Armiger's missing agent.

Ten thousand credits was a considerable sum of money... more than Talos had ever given them for a job. Whatever this lost man was involved with had to be of great interest to Armiger's people. It wouldn't do to peruse such sensitive information in the middle of Rilloo's business district.

He quickly messaged the group chat:
"Payment received
TI's got a big job, missing person
Udex, are you still available to give me a ride back? I can meet you near Almedii Quay"

Wei had passed the quay on the way to his meeting. It seemed like a secluded enough place to do some reading on Armiger's man.

He sat on a polymer bench by the water and opened the file.

[Antman9]

Silas A. Corvus: Expert Technician (HP: 5) (AC: 13)
Actions: Pondering life, hopeful he might find a clue about his daughter

Silas stared at the decrepit-looking wide band transmitter on the workbench, My daughter is out there somewhere, his only thought. His home away from home now, an abandoned small scale custom ship factory, held the only memories he could stand to endure. During his college years Silas worked in the Tech department prepping wiring harnesses, communications units, and system controls for their luxury skiffs. Party ships for elites really. Years later it was retrofitted to manufacture sub-standard Spike Drive ships, then abandoned for good. “Ships” used loosely here, most barely survived their maiden voyage.

After the death of his wife, his home held nothing but sharp memories and ghosts. A year ago today, Sials’ only child, Eloise, left too. The Comm message, still on his dataslab, said “I have to get away dad. Mom is everywhere. I can’t stand it.” No word since.

As Silas’ thoughts drifted between the unknown status of his daughter and his late wife, a familiar chirp sounded from his dataslab. His cheeks tightened, and a teary twinkle came to his eyes. Wei! his mind informed him. Silas read the message and replied: “I’m in! When? Where?”

His heart began to pound. Another job, another opportunity to search for clues to Eloise’s trail.

Removing the last screw from the cover panel of the transmitter, he peered in at the archaic components of the long forgotten tech. “Show me something new my friend,” he said…

[Faanku]

Atop the outer hull of the ship she now calls home, a young woman known only as Tatiana lies watching the twin suns begin to set, her hands clasped neatly in her lap and her head supported by some invisible force. Despite the industrial ambiance of the open-air starport, the mechanised coupling of refuelling motors, the distant static of low-band radio chatter and the silent hum of the ship's own powered-down spike drive, the reclining woman feels at peace, able to focus her thoughts and explore her powers as deftly as her first Dive at the Academy. She allows her eyes to close, enjoying the clarity of mind brought on by this reverie, until a sudden mental twitch brings her instantly back to herself; a psychic trick learned from her Uchitel as he attempted to coax precognitive abilities from the younger psion. She checks the comm at her wrist and sure enough notices a small light indicating a new message has arrived, to which she replies immediately with conditioned politeness.

"Of course I shall join you in this task. I am currently watching over the ship and am available at your earliest convenience."

Tatiana stands and makes her way to the edge of the hull, her thoughts now coming thick and fast. Often those missing do not wish to be found, though she chides herself for thinking the worst of a situation before she has all the facts. Wei Xuan is a good man who would not take work for the ill of humanity, something she is assured of despite only having known him a matter of weeks. The most emotional thought and the one she tries not to think, however is much more personal, evoking bittersweet memories of childhood; why has nobody come looking for me?

[personalpariah]

The little drone flitted about over the small city park, zooming between the handful of scraggly trees and slightly dilapidated playground equipment. Swooping underneath a slide and popping up into the sky for a moment, it spots the sleek grey gravcar sitting near the park entrance.

Buzzing in close to the gravcar, the little drone begins assessing the vehicle while orbiting around it.

>>RUN: COSMETIC ASSESSMENT SUBROUTINE
>>
>>PASSENGER SIDE DOOR PANEL REQUIRES COSMETIC REPAIR IN SECTION B:13
>>UNACCEPTABLE QUANTITIES OF INSECT DEBRIS ON FORWARD WINDSCREEN
>>MAINTENANCE REQUEST(S) SUCCESSFULLY ENTERED INTO QUEUE
>>
>>NOTIFICATION: UPDATE TO PINNED GROUP CHAT
>>RETURN DRONE: "TENGU" TO DOCK

Udex opens its rear storage compartment and guides the little drone into the designated docking station inside.

>>RUN: PARTY INTERACTION SUBROUTINE ALPHA-7
>>OPEN NOTIFICATION: PINNED GROUP CHAT
>>PERSONAL LOG: ATTEMPT TO USE COLLOQUIALISMS IN PARTY INTERACTIONS. YOU ARE NOT A "COLD MACHINE".

With Tengu docked successfully, Udex engaged its primary gravthrusters, pulled out of the park (at the recommended speed limit), and began navigating towards the pre-determined meeting spot with Wei. Udex thought intensely for a moment, focusing on how it was going to reply to the group chat. It finally settled on a simple, measured reply.

Wei: Request accepted. In route to Almedii Quay. ETA 5 minutes, 23 seconds.
Silas: Request for additional information pending.

The drive is quick. Traffic is horrible, but Udex has no issues navigating through it, though some motorists may have taken issue with Udex.

Spotting Wei, Udex pulls over and opens its street-side door. Little welcome lights flash on the floor, and Udex automatically adjusts the seat to Wei's preferred specifications. The dash navigation panel lights up, requesting a destination. Udex has found that some people find it easier to manually enter a destination rather than attempt to verbally describe where they want to go.

Attempting a colloquialism, Udex chimes through its internal speakers. "After this next commission we will no longer be poor as paint?"

[kalstone]

Nikolai Yegorovich

Nikolai drummed his fingers on the table in time with the thunderous bass of the nightclub. He sat with his back to the wall, scanning the crowd. He had just received notification of a new job, one that would probably take him offworld for quite some time. His stash was running low, and it needed to be topped off in a hurry. He was taking a risk by asking for a meeting here. He had no choice though. He was running out of time.

His foot started tapping on the floor. His contact was late. There were a hundred different reasons he could be late, but it wouldn't be a good one. Nikolai knew, it was never a good one. He started to stand. "Forget it," he mumbled, "I'll look somewhere ..."

Suddenly a hand grabbed his shoulder and pushed him back down into his seat. A large man sat down beside him. He was holding a laser pistol and aiming it Nikolai. Two more men stood in front of the table. "Dr. Yegorovich," said the large man. "We've been looking for you for a long time."

Nikolai felt a familiar sick feeling in the pit of his stomach. "Evgeny," he said, trying to keep his voice from wavering. His laser pistol was back on the ship, not that it would have made much difference outnumbered three to one.

Evgeny spoke to the two standing men. "He's not a real doctor you know. He never finished the schooling. He was smart enough, believe me. But surgery takes more than smarts, right 'Dr.' Yegorovich? It takes hand-eye coordination. Sharp reflexes." He shrugged his shoulders. "Those he's a little short on, I'm afraid."

Nikolai started shaking. "Look, Evgeny ..."

"That's why you let the Pakhan's son die, right? That's why you killed him."

"I did everything I could! He was too ..."

Evgeny looked almost apologetic. "I believe you, Nikolai. But everything you could wasn't enough. That's why we're taking you to see the Pakhan." He grabbed Nikolai by the arm and pulled him up out of his seat. The two goons fell in to either side of him, each taking an arm and pushing him towards the back of the club.

Nikolai knew if they got him out of this club he was a dead man. He tried wrenching free, but they had his arms held too tightly. As they stepped out to cross the dance floor, though, a group of dancers bumped into them. One goon stumbled. He let go of Nikolai's arm as he fell. Nikolai took his chance. He wrenched free of the other goon and made a break for the front door, taking two great strides before stumbling over his own feet and falling to the floor.

I think I sprained my wrist, he thought after he landed. Fortunately, the large number of dancers on the floor was keeping him hidden. He crawled towards the front of the club, getting stepped on by dancers every few feet. Finally he was off the floor. He stood up and looked around. The flashing lights briefly illuminated Evgeny and his thugs. They had no idea where he was.

Nikolai ducked his head and ran out the front door. No one stopped him as he ducked out of sight into an alley. "Sloppy, Evgeny," he chuckled. "No backup?" He made his way back out onto the street, heading back to the ship. He was out of time, and his stash was low. He would have to do this mission dry, but he had been through worse. He checked behind him; no one was following. At least he wasn't putting his shipmates in danger. He didn't know how many more sins he could add to his tally.

[Liaozhai]

Udex's interior was perfectly comfortable, Wei noted with some satisfaction. He recalled a verse from the Old Master:

'The Way gives birth to them.
Virtue gives them nourishment.
Matter gives them shape.
Circumstance makes them whole.


Therefore:
No thing
Does not revere the Way and honor virtue.
Reverence of the Way and honoring virtue
Were not demanded of them,
But it is in their nature.'

Ubex's form was unconventional, yet it was of the universe and lived in harmony with its creatures. Wei noted subtle shifts in the way Ubex expressed itself depending on who it spoke to. It was truly a creature of courtesy, one whose example Wei wished to learn from.

He entered the name of the spaceport into the navigation panel. Krahva Port was an economical choice--a sea-based station too shallow for larger craft, but fairly removed from Rilloo proper. Buoys provided the necessary infrastructure for a mag highway that allowed gravcars to navigate the water, but it would be a bumpy ride.

"We'll still be poor, but the money would keep us going for a few more cycles. I've barely had a chance to look at the file. It's too soon for to say whether it is right for us to find this missing man. Let me send it to you. I'm curious to hear your judgement. Perhaps you or Mr. Corvus can find information about him that Mr. Armiger neglected to include in his dossier."

Messages from the team lit up his compad. They were eager, perhaps desperate, in some cases, for the work. 'The Way guides without interfering.' One way or another, they would find the right path.

He sent another message to the group chat:
Let's meet at the ship to discuss
We still need to celebrate the last job

[Gerrin]

As the group gathers in the ship they settle back to find out what information the Talos representative has for them.
Wei punches some buttons and a holographic swirl swarms up from the console.
Jonas Armiger appears in front of the crew.
"The task we have placed in front of you is a fairly simple one."
The hologram swirls and is replaced by another face.

Simon Charmsworth.jpg (13.01 KiB) Viewed 1139 times

Our client's operative has lost contact while on an assignment to the planet Ahiri, in the system Nadwa.

Ahiri.jpg (372.8 KiB) Viewed 1139 times

He was in contact with the local inhabitants, a race by the name of the L'Hoi

L'Hoi.jpg (85.38 KiB) Viewed 1139 times

They are a fairly primitive species but are on the whole peace loving as far as we can tell.
They may or may not have information on the operative whereabouts.
The main contact for off worlders with the L'Hoi is their settlement P'Angarr

L'hoi village.jpg (191.48 KiB) Viewed 1139 times

We would suggest questioning the locals at some point.
One last point, The Black Albion, a pirate organisation seems to have an unhealthy interest in the L'Hoi and their planet.
We don't know what they are after but advise you to stay alert for any incursions from them while you are planetside.

[Faanku]

The red-haired psion watches this intently, her wide eyes betraying her barely disguised fascination with the alien world shown on the holofeed. As the message ends, she looks to each other crew member in turn, attempting to discern their own feelings on the strange location they seemed set to journey to, but also taking a moment to enjoy the sense of discordant unity she felt every time the ship was full.

Silas, the genius engineer who carried with him such grief that it threatened to overwhelm even her undeveloped telepathic abilities, was the main reason the ship on which they stood was even capable of flight. Given the man's vast and insightful knowledge of the world, Tatiana would be more surprised had he not made contact with the L'Hoi before.

Beside him sat Doctor Yegorovich, his knee bouncing up and down as he incessantly tapped his foot on the metal decking; clearly he had not taken his "medicine" in some time, and it was clear his focus was elsewhere. Yegorovich was reliable in his own strange way and utterly gifted medically, so long as your concern was not of a pharmaceutical nature. Their gazes meet and Tatiana offers a brief smile, which is only acknowledged by a distracted raising of the doctor's eyebrows, causing her to look to her left and to where a hovercar sits at rest.

Having grown up wealthy on Kham, Tatiana was no stranger to VI, but never before had she encountered one so personable and motivated outside of its assigned parameters. Udex strived constantly against its synthetic nature, and its plight was as endearing as it was captivating. Tatiana had spent several nights conversing with the machine, fielding existential questions about the nature of humanity that left her reeling; the depths of Udex's contemplations were nothing short of astounding.

And finally, the reason such an eccentric community was held together. Wei Xuan was an enigma to Tatiana, though ostensibly the simplest in his ambitions. The man claimed he sought nothing more than to set the world right, to "promote harmony between individuals," as the man himself had explained to her before. She owed much to Wei's generosity and more to his understanding, and looked forward for paying him back. It is to Wei himself as much as the gathered crew that her question is aimed.

"Are we to accept this task?" she asks, the question tinged with anticipation, before adding with a genuine smile. "And it is good to see you all here once more."

[Antman9]

Silas A. Corvus: Expert Technician (HP: 5) (AC: 13)
Action/Status: Eager to leave TerraFirma & see what these L’Hoi can teach him.

As Silas listened to the message from Jonas, his first thought was, Nothing is ever simple. And even when it is, there are always consequences…good, bad, inconsequential… His wife, ever fascinated with people and their myriad peculiarities, taught Silas many things he never would have thought of on his own. Such as reading tenor in a persons voice and making critical judgments on slight facial and body ticks. He would never be as good as Sam was, but it made him more aware of those he interacted with, if nothing else.

The L’Hoi people though, peaked his interest. He was always and ever eager to learn new things, especially with the more primitive people. They always taught you something new about life, about how things can be done without the influence of decades of progress and social norms interfering with creativity and growth. There is always something to be learned, from everything and everyone, even if just tiny bits here and there. It eventually adds up, he thought. Sam rarely voiced those kinds of thoughts, as they made most people uncomfortable. He never understood why, though he had postured many a theory, it was just easier, on him mostly, to keep them to himself.

“I don’t trust these people, this Jonas fella, but that is neither here not there in the greater scheme of things. This piece of tech could very well be something new, possibly even dangerous. Can’t say I wouldn’t give’er a peek under the hood if I had a chance, but…Let’s take it one step at a time. Pirates are predictable enough, in that they can’t be trusted and are unpredictable at the best of times. I’m in. My vote is yes, we accept.”

Silas gauged each crewmember one at a time, carefully weighing each face as best he could. Then popped open his dataslab to see what he could find on this Jonas man, his company Talos, and the L’Hoi people. The Pirates he wasn’t so interested in. Sure, he could learn something from them; he just wasn’t interested. Sometimes you pick and choose, and sometimes the knowledge picks you. His mind began to drift as the dataslab began returning information. The early progenitors of electron theory faced their share of setbacks, blind alleys, and ridicule. But they all had the same things in common; the sense to persevere even in the face of defeat, to accept whatever knowledge came their way from any available source no matter how insignificant, and above all to believe in themselves no matter what. It wasn’t always easy, and they were often wracked with self-doubt and inner demons. Knowledge, even the least obvious or insignificant, was still knowledge.

[Gerrin]

The dataslab begins to throw up the information Silas has requested.
The Talos corporation is listed as what seems to be a run of the mill merchant company. After a few more minutes of digging, Silas finds some interesting entries concerning the corporation.
The first seems to point to ancient artifacts being stolen from burial sites on several planets, although nothing concrete was proven.
Several others hint at the Talos corporation setting up rival corporations to take the fall for interplanetary weapon smuggling and slave trading.
Although once again nothing is proven. Just rumor and innuendo, most of it being spread by rival merchant companies.
The only information concerning the L'Hoi is a blurry picture of what looks like a village with several heads on spikes scattered along the path leading into it.

[kalstone]

Nikolai

Nikolai says, "I've worked for worse outfits than Talos. As long as they pay, I say we take it." It would get him off-world too. Maybe things would calm down by the time they returned. He starts to chuckle, then stops abruptly.

The Black Albion. Does he know them? He frowns and tries to think. It seems like the sort of outfit he should know. Do they want him dead? He can't remember. It must be bad when you lose track of all the people who want to kill you.

He searches his memory to see if he can think of anything about them.

[Antman9]

Silas A. Corvus: Expert Technician (HP: 5) (AC: 13)
Action/Status: Relays dataslab findings. Mumbles incoherently.

Silas relays his findings form the dataslab in a matter-of-fact tone. “I wonder if Talos is searching for something specific. Nothing substantiated of course, but sometimes there is a sliver truth even in a lie. Seems somewhat peculiar that an agent would go to a primitive society with a new piece of tech. What kind of assignment would warrant such assignment? Either way, something to keep in mind. There may be more to this.”

Silas stares at his dataslab and drifts off into thought…Natural resources would be one such reason, I’d wager, but not your ordinary kind. Something lucrative. He begins mumbling to himself, partially audible…”ancient tech…new element?... then trails off. Thoughts of his daughter surface again, taking him down dark and shrouded alleyways.

[personalpariah]

Udex: Integrated VI

Udex had parked near the cargo-bay doors of the custom Free Merchant class star ship. Its form factor was simply too large to explore most of the ship. Udex easily fits in the cargo hold, but it has chosen to maintain a level of vigilance outside of the ship. Udex busied itself with organizing some of the cargo containers and tools that were haphazardly scattered about the exterior of the ship. Causalities of the rushed nature of the previous mission.

Instead of attending the party meeting in body, Udex sent its drone inside to interact with the crew. The little Tengu hovered just outside of the circle of humans gathering and observing the holo-feed.

>>RUN: OBSERVATION MODULE || RESCUE / RETRIEVAL MISSION LOG
>>RUN: OPERATIONAL LOGISTICS SUBROUTINES
>>ANALYZE: RESCUE / RETRIEVAL MISSION LOG
>>
>>ALERT: PHYSICAL PARTY PROMPT
>>PERSONAL LOG: PARTY MEMBER TATIANA HAS ESTABLISHED HISTORY OF POSITIVE INTERACTIONS. CONTINUE EXPERIMENTATION WITH COLLOQUIALISMS.

Udex broke the drone's semi-trance like concentration on data analysis and piped a greeting to Tatiana through tinny drone speakers. "It pleases this one to see you happy and healthy as a clam. Perhaps we will have time to exchange historical records after the mission briefing?"

Zipping back into an orbit around the party, Udex chimes in after Silas, "Silas, your skepticism appears to be warranted. Visual records provided indicate that the native species designated as L'Hoi are not of a peaceful nature. Observe the display of craniums on bits of wood outside their territory. It is unlikely that the Talos Corp or The Black Albion pirates would be interested in trade with such a species. Exploitation is most likely." Pausing for a moment, Udex continues, "In the execution of our mission, we must endeavor not to poke any bears. Provided we have the correct resources and approach vector, this mission appears to be difficult but plausible. There may be additional insight to be had via investigation into the life of the primary target: Jonas Armiger."

OOC: Udex is going to attempt to pull as much personal information as it can on Jonas Armiger. Social media activity, criminal records, etc.
If a roll is required: Program Skill Check: [3d6c1+1] = 9+1 = 10

[Gerrin]

Nikolai remembers The Black Albion as one of the many amateur pirate groups picking off the weak and unwary.
In recent months several instances of Black Albion activity have been making the rounds in the drinking establishments of the neighboring systems.
Their more recent exploits have been more brazen hijackings, assassinations and plundering.
Rumor has it that a new leader has emerged from within the ranks of the group.

[Gerrin]

Udex scours for information on Jonas but apart from official Talos corporate information there is not a scrap of information on him.
It's as if he doesn't exist.

[Faanku]

Tatiana nods in response to the drone's question, smiling at its attempted aphorisms. "I shall endeavour to keep up with you, Udex. Though in regards to the L'Hoi, I am inclined to withhold judgement until we have more information." There is a brief flash of mischief in her eyes as she throws an adage of her own to the machine. "One should not judge a book by its cover, after all."

With everyone seemingly lost in their own private investigation already, Tatiana's gaze falls expectantly to Wei.

[kalstone]

Nikolai says, "The Black Albion are nothing to worry about. Strictly small timers." He frowns a bit and continues, "Of course, they supposedly have some new leader. It may be he is more ambitious than his predecessors. Kidnapping a Talos operative would be a big step up."

[personalpariah]

"It appears that the moniker of Jonas Armiger is likely an alias. If it is not an alias, then his cyber obfuscation subroutines are quite extensive. Other possibilities include him being a non-native to the advanced systems in this sector, and has not had time to establish a data trail."

>>NOTIFICATION: COLLOQUIALISM DETECTED
>>PERSONAL LOG: INTERACTIONS WITH PARTY MEMBER TATIANA CONTINUE TO TREND TOWARDS THE POSITIVE
>>OPEN CALENDAR: SCHEDULE HISTORICAL RECORD SYNC WITH TATIANA
>>STATUS OF ANALYSIS (RESCUE / RETRIEVAL MISSION LOG): ONGOING

"It occurs to this one that our mission puts Sector 0607 directly into our path. Its primary planet of Husadiq as has an invasive and toxic atmosphere. Perhaps there is a chance for additional profit to be had in the form of trade. Any outposts in this system would likely desire and benefit from atmosphere scrubbers and/or oxygen supplies."

[lordgrimli]

Lloyd has been leaning in the doorway, catching up on the job at hand.

"This Jonas fellow's been paying us, right? There are plenty of reasons not to trust a man but I don't feel any bad vibe off him. I've met his type before and more often than not the guys at his level are are just doing a job, just like us. There's no grand plan to make the universe an evil place, you know?"

As far as the temperament of the natives, that could be handled when they got there. Violent or not, they seemed primitive like the report said, and primitive could be easily solved with the tech of the ship.

He liked the idea of some trade profit. Just like his shipping days. Although thinking that made him chuckle, since those shipping days weren't even a year behind him. "Good idea, someone want to stroll down to the market and try to strike a deal?"