Acadie Day 3

[subaltari]

Agree to what... using the found money or using our own money?

[Thumper]

Found money

[Hvalreki]

Aziz 'Easy' Schmidt

Is there a way to find out when the Ship's Launch with the two deceased crew actually launched.

I am trying to figure out a few holes in my chronology of the Perfect Stranger's history. The craft arrived here with crew aboard. All the crew (plus launch) no crew (abandoned and salvaged like Marie Celeste)? So the missing crew must have some traceable footprint.

I am thinking that whoever disabled the ship (and presumably did for the crew), will be keen to know of any salvage crew like us coming aboard in case we uncover the who, what, when, where and why of the mystery. (Apart from the PS was acting as a spy craft and took info into data cache that was too secret or valuable and they got mugged off).

So, in short, we should be wary of too much interest in our comings and goings as we fix the ship and arrange trade deals.

The Launch departed about 10 hours before Pinkwater boarded the ship.

viewtopic.php?p=700585#p700585

As Easy worked throughout the day something was bothering him but he couldn't quite put his finger on it. Taking a break in the afternoon he recognizes a black van slow as it passed by, again. The missing data recorders prevent reviewing the sensor data other than in real time but he's almost certain he saw the same van this morning. And thinking back on it he's pretty sure he saw it idling nearby when they were on their way back from the Starport Authority office two days ago. He became an old soldier by paying attention to his hunches and his gut says the Perfect Stranger is under surveillance.

Spot surveillance 10+
+2 for military background, +1 High Intelligence =12 success

[Hvalreki]

Standard freight hauling is very easy to arrange in-game. Kind of automatic…just a matter of quantity requiring shipment at the moment. The speculative business normally takes a week of total work ;find the deal, negotiate the deal, deliver the goods, close, and load.

Once the Perfect Stranger files a destination they can check for available cargo and passengers (if desired).

Perfect Stranger has 8 passenger staterooms and 9 low berths.

[Hvalreki]

Yeah, that's a good point. Whoever disappeared the crew and/or took the data cores might be quite interested in our appearance. Nothing has happened and it's day 3 here, but this could be the calm before the storm. Acadie seems like it's in a state of rebellion from what we've heard, and Pinkwater is manning the Star port perimeter like it's an armed camp, so this place is inherently dangerous especially outside the fence. How well armed and armored can we go here? Inside the port and outside the port?

Acadie's liberal law level 3 is currently restricted. Pinkwater does not want armed citizens or travellers roaming about during the "unrest." The Travellers haven't tested the limits but so far you haven't seen anyone other than Pinkwater soldiers bearing arms.

[Thumper]

Ty will confer with the crew about filing a flight plan to Acadie late on Day 4 when we confirm Screwface is making good progress on the drive repairs for a Day 5 departure. That should give us a full day to conduct full ship trials and maybe a local test flight.

He’d also like to schedule life support refills and catering for after the repairs are complete. Trying to get the admin steps done so the ship is ready in case we decide to leave post-haste.

He would go to the office for these to give him an opportunity to rub shoulders with lower level people, and apply his Streetwise:

Streetwise: [2d6+1]=4+1=5 D Int

[subaltari]

He became an old soldier by paying attention to his hunches and his gut says the Perfect Stranger is under surveillance.

NOT good if we have members of The A-Team on both sides of this thing!

Gabe
If Easy shares his 'hunch' with Gabe, the latter looks bemused for a moment, then excited. "You was right, Colonel. Someone's innarested in us. And that don't look like a Pinkwater rig."

Gabe offers to run counter-surveillance on the (distinctive) black van. Or Easy can do it while Gabe stays on monitor duty with Screwface in the Engine Room. Gabe leaves this decision up to the Colonel!

[Spearmint]

Aziz 'Easy' Schmidt

Any surveillance team are just observers for someone else. A few goons in a spy van watching movements, daily routines, whom comes and goes. Not necessarily a problem unless they want to sabotage the refurb. But why delay us longer unless they haven't got everything they need. $100kcr being part of that.

Maybe we can fit a bug on the van? Watch the Watchers, listen in to their conversations. I do have a set of Audio & Visual bugs on me.

So how to place them? Need a little distraction? Bootylicious car-wash babes come to find. Just the thought makes his cigar tremble.

Despite a long military career, I don't have the reconnaissance skill on my list of abilities, though I suspect Forward Observer might be reconciled to covertly take some more info on the van and its occupants.

I think some proactive action needs doing, (planting our own spyware) before we do anything more direct.

Gabe, Ty, Piotr, Jacko. What do you think?"



Aziz 'Easy' Schmidt: using Forward Observer skill [2d6+1]=9+1=10

[Thumper]

Sure. I bet Gabe here can hitch something to the creeper van.

[Eris]

Aziz 'Easy' Schmidt

Any surveillance team are just observers for someone else. A few goons in a spy van watching movements, daily routines, whom comes and goes. Not necessarily a problem unless they want to sabotage the refurb. But why delay us longer unless they haven't got everything they need. $100kcr being part of that.

Maybe we can fit a bug on the van? Watch the Watchers, listen in to their conversations. I do have a set of Audio & Visual bugs on me.

So how to place them? Need a little distraction? Bootylicious car-wash babes come to find. Just the thought makes his cigar tremble.

Despite a long military career, I don't have the reconnaissance skill on my list of abilities, though I suspect Forward Observer might be reconciled to covertly take some more info on the van and its occupants.

I think some proactive action needs doing, (planting our own spyware) before we do anything more direct.

Gabe, Ty, Piotr, Jacko. What do you think?"

Jacko considers for a minute then says, "The only problem I see with the idea is getting caught doing it. Might be better to just observe, from a distance. Better for them, whoever them is, not to know we're keeping an eye on them. I'm worried enough though to say we shouldn't be going anywhere alone and I think being armed is called for."

"We don't want to rile up Pinkwater, but it appears they turned their back on whatever went down aboard Perfect Stranger, so they probably aren't all that diligent." Jacko rubs his fingers together, "Are any of us experienced with the art of greasing palms?"

"A bit of payola to a guard or two might get them to provide a distraction, maybe even look favorably on us being a bit better armed than the average bear around here." Jacko shrugs.

[Thumper]

Ty:
Oh ya! That shotgun microphone. We can listen to them out to about 1500 meters. Here, let me get that for you.

Shotgun Microphone (8) Cr300. Acquires sounds from a specific point up to very long (500 meters) range and reproduces them for listening or recording. Weighs 1500 grams.

Becky, can we use your voice recorder with this so we can have a record of anything they say that’s interesting?

[subaltari]

Sure. I bet Gabe here can hitch something to the creeper van.

"Yah, cause I'd make a piss-poor car wash babe," Gabe slides a glance at the only crewmember present who might fill that role. "But wouldn't I have to get that bug inside da van?"

Gabe agrees the shotgun mike & recorder, paired with video surveillance, seem to be the ideal option for now.

[Thumper]

"Yah, cause I'd make a piss-poor car wash babe,

Ty snorts his drink out his nose…and that hurts!!

[Hvalreki]

Sure. I bet Gabe here can hitch something to the creeper van.

"Yah, cause I'd make a piss-poor car wash babe," Gabe slides a glance at the only crewmember present who might fill that role. "But wouldn't I have to get that bug inside da van?"

Gabe agrees the shotgun mike & recorder, paired with video surveillance, seem to be the ideal option for now.

Becky side eyes Gabe without responding and he is smart enough to eventually break contact.

[Hvalreki]

Ty:
Oh ya! That shotgun microphone. We can listen to them out to about 1500 meters. Here, let me get that for you.

Shotgun Microphone (8) Cr300. Acquires sounds from a specific point up to very long (500 meters) range and reproduces them for listening or recording. Weighs 1500 grams.

Becky, can we use your voice recorder with this so we can have a record of anything they say that’s interesting?

You may have forgotten that the Perfect Stranger is a spy ship with a highly sophisticated suite of active and passive sensors. Without the data cores you can't record your findings, but you can try to detect signals by manning the systems room and targeting the van. It's very boring duty so maybe hour shifts.

If you want to plant a tracker that's a different story.

Travellers, Let me know what the rest of the crew is up to.

[Spearmint]

Yes, I think we forgot.

I certainly think we need 'eyes and ears' on the van and also obtain any interception of what they transmit and to whom.

Perhaps the npc characters can assume a rota of spy duty?

[subaltari]

Gabe has already established himself as the main candidate for crap duties. As long as someone shows him how to use the surveillance gear, he can pull 2, 4, or even 6-hour shifts.

Becky with her Electronics skill should be the one training us, and in charge of the rotation. Piotr and Gabe (with Fwd Obs and Tactics skills respectively) should prove to be alert and observant for decent periods of time.

[Thumper]

I’ve already established that Ty was going off ship to snoop around (unsuccessfully). But his Electronics-2 should have helped the crew decipher how to use and time the equipment. After he fails at obtaining HUMINT, he’d help with the surveillance. If the equipment permits, he’d tune into the van, try to monitor whomever the van is communicating with, and general surveillance of the port/planet and Pinkwater.

[subaltari]

I’ve already established that Ty was going off ship to snoop around (unsuccessfully).

Did Hvalreki already rule on what happened with the HUMINT roll? Assume nothing until the Ref says it bro!