Collace Homecoming

[Tiglath]

Is this Captain Lysal the one you believe is sending these assailants?

And you believe him to be a rather "blunt instrument"?

Would he launch a follow-up attack as soon as he hears of the failure? Can we use that to time our little excursion so we a likely to to pass it in transit and possibly encounter little or no resistance at our destination?

T'lia responds "Captain Carl Lysel carried the Avastan VDV assault troops to Collace in the SuSAG trader "Four Nine". The same vessel that carried your coup de main force to Avastan Down. However, Corporations don't do irony. I may have to prove my worth as temporary Intel Officer so here's my advice: with his assault troops KIA and their transport captured Lysel has no military options remaining to him even if he was in overall command. Even if he was briefed on the decapitation strike by the assassins he likely has no command or control over such assets and in any event he still comes up empty as those assets are expended. As to his psychology I would describe him as "basic" rather than "blunt". I suggest he will display no initiative or deviation from his Corporate SOP and respond predictably by transiting his trader from high orbit to a safe jump point and returning to report mission failure while abrogating any blame for the outcome".

The opposite is also true

Who stays to hold the Bartizan? Or do we let it fall and recapture it on return? That would displease them - arriving to an empty shell!

She replies "SuSAG may have some security guards at their holdings on Collace but no troops in hand who are effective enough to assault the Bartizan. In any event while The Magician's Gambit remains here none would be foolhardy enough to mount an attack on the Zhodani Ambassador's residence. This is doubly so should the Imperium commit forces to mirror overt Zhodani security here. Your fortress will remain garrisoned by rival super powers while you are away".

[shaidar]

Frank

"Do we know if Captain Lysal has already left the system? I'm wondering if there is anyway we can slow him down and leave before him, or at the very least we should try to minimise his lead."

[BackworldTraveller]

Frank

"Do we know if Captain Lysal has already left the system? I'm wondering if there is anyway we can slow him down and leave before him, or at the very least we should try to minimise his lead."

Or let him leave and then rush after him. He's going to take the shortest route so we know where he'll jump to relative to the planet. We could easily arrange to arrive ahead or behind the planet's track and then sneak in from an unexpected direction. Afterall, the planet's too poorly populated to have a 360 degree set of high-grade detectors and the defenders will be looking to guard the settlement not the empty spaces.

[Tiglath]

All

"Do we know if Captain Lysal has already left the system? I'm wondering if there is anyway we can slow him down and leave before him, or at the very least we should try to minimise his lead."

Or let him leave and then rush after him. He's going to take the shortest route so we know where he'll jump to relative to the planet. We could easily arrange to arrive ahead or behind the planet's track and then sneak in from an unexpected direction. Afterall, the planet's too poorly populated to have a 360 degree set of high-grade detectors and the defenders will be looking to guard the settlement not the empty spaces.

T'lia states "I have an asset in hand that could beat Lysel to his destination and ambush him as he emerges from jump. Alas, such an ambush so near to Collace under the noses of the Sector capital's fleet and their Imperial allies is too great a risk but in a quiet backwater like Tarsus... pirates are always a hazard".

She adds "A little comms work to monitor the "Four Nine's" escape vector and jump trajectory would confirm her destination. I don't believe civilian system traffic comms are encrypted for safety reasons but I am neither an astrogator nor a comms expert. Since you both have access to and operate orbital traffic control here at the Bartizan the information may already be available to us".

Skill check please: Astrogation, Admin (it's your system!), Computer or Comms should work here (as per the above).

[gurusql]

Kit

Kit will lend his hand having a few of these skills

Admin Skill (Admin-1 +2) [_2d6+2]=(4+5)=9+2=11
Computer (Computer-2 +2, Int B +1) [_2d6+3]=(5+5)=10+3=13

[Tiglath]

Kit

Kit determines that the SuSAG registered "Four Nine" has declared its detached small craft currently remaining at the Bartizan downport facility for scheduled maintenance and has logged an insystem flight path to a jump point vectored for Tarsus.

Admin Skill (Admin-1 +2) [_2d6+2]=(4+5)=9+2=11
Computer (Computer-2 +2, Int B +1) [_2d6+3]=(5+5)=10+3=13

Prizes won!

And go go Admin skill!

[shaidar]

Frank

"If we are to finish this with minimal collateral damage we need as much surprise as possible on Tarsus. I see no other option but for T'lia to contact her asset and have them intercept the Forty-Nine. Did they indicate an intended time of departure? "

Edit: PS, nice rolls!

[shaidar]

Frank

Not fond of lettin' Joe-dani, or anyone else, take over security, but if we seal the SEMC levels, leave some surprises, I see the sense in settin' the sides to watch each other.

"Jakob and Liv will be staying behind to look after our interests, and they can always call on 4DC and The Shore if they need some local help."

I just remembered this morning that Capt Domici is looking after our business interests following on from Leitz leaving the game and the SEMC acquiring some ships.

[Tiglath]

Frank

Not fond of lettin' Joe-dani, or anyone else, take over security, but if we seal the SEMC levels, leave some surprises, I see the sense in settin' the sides to watch each other.

"Jakob and Liv will be staying behind to look after our interests, and they can always call on 4DC and The Shore if they need some local help."

I just remembered this morning that Capt Domici is looking after our business interests following on from Leitz leaving the game and the SEMC acquiring some ships.

(OOC: Yes, absolutely right as above. A spot of GM fiat and the NPCs swapping chairs and we're sorted. With Jakob acting as "castellan" and Liv stepping back from the frontlines due to pregnancy the Bartizan will remain in safe hands while the unit deploys interstellar.

NB Your "taskable space assets" include:

400 ton "Fat" Trader
400 ton Patrol Cruiser (Corvette is more accurate)
200 ton Trader (this is part owned with Domici and The Shore interests so is best suited to less military tasks. e.g. recon, courier, etc).

Notwistanding the above T'lia also offers:

1000 ton Trader (capable of carrying SEMC plus small craft ["Gunship" Launch plus "new" 50t Cutter] can also conduct planetary surface landing on Tarsus)
Another asset unknown tasked to dealing with Four Nine.

In short quite the "Armada").

[Tiglath]

Frank

"If we are to finish this with minimal collateral damage we need as much surprise as possible on Tarsus. I see no other option but for T'lia to contact her asset and have them intercept the Forty-Nine. Did they indicate an intended time of departure? "

Kit is able to state that the Four Nine is moving from low to high orbit and will then travel insystem to a safe jump point to transition to Tarsus. This course is laid in and logged with orbital and system traffic control. The whole will take about five hours to execution of the jump.

[Tiglath]

Frank, Prerna and Jess

"If we are to finish this with minimal collateral damage we need as much surprise as possible on Tarsus. I see no other option but for T'lia to contact her asset and have them intercept the Forty-Nine. Did they indicate an intended time of departure? "

Kit is able to state that the Four Nine is moving from low to high orbit and will then travel insystem to a safe jump point to transition to Tarsus. This course is laid in and logged with orbital and system traffic control. The whole will take about five hours to execution of the jump.

T'lia states levelly "I have an asset that can intercept the Four Nine in the Tarsus system. The asset is both sensitive and covert and so can not be used in the Collace system. SOP for interceptions are to leave no survivors and stage the complete destruction of the target vessel as a pirate action. I have absolutely no hesitation about unleashing this asset on SuSAG employees - who incidentally used their association with you to facilitate the attack on your fortress. However..." she glances at Jess "I am aware that you may have... issues regarding such matters. Therefore I present my military appreciation and offer alternatives. In this case using your Imperial Type T for the same task. The vessel has the capacity for the mission but is inferior to my asset in both performance and crew quality and there is a correspondingly greater chance that they will be compromised or fail. Their potential failure could threaten the viability of our entire mission on Tarsus. Please let me know when you have made your decision. I will withdraw if you wish".

[Tiglath]

All (from the E P L Thread)

Trying to summarize what we're doing to prepare for departure to Tarsus.

1. Gather a cargo (or some other cover) for a recon team, with Prerna, T'Lia, and others unnamed to land on Tarsus.
2. Intercept the Four Nine.
3. Recruit a team for Klaus.
4. Ready the patrol cruiser for a "training exercise" in Tarsus system.
5. Load everyone else on the 1000dt transport Erica East is providing.

Please edit this as needed.

As per 1. above A working favour from The Shore in conjunction with Domici interests on Tarsus will allow flight plans from orbit to be logged to facilitate direct delivery of machine parts, speciality agric spares and offworld vehicles and vittals to various farms. This is entirely regular for Tarsus where the big farms are "big" and therefore have logistics to scale.

As per 2. see IC post above

As per 3. In hand

As per 4. See 2 but effectively "Done" - with plenty of notice your crew can easily pull this off.

As per 5. Consider this also "Done" - it's well within your wheelhouse.

Merchant_Class_Ships,_Traveller_supplement.jpg (27.5 KiB) Viewed 566 times

The vessel is a 1000 dton Triad Class trader (the "triangular" one on the left).

To any who served on Inchin it looks kinda familiar...

[The Bindoner]

While we're recruiting -

We budgeted for: 5 for Klaus, 4 for Cav Troop (we've got empty seats) and 2/3 crew (for the new Firefly - no CA needed).

[dongriffiths]

Klaus goes over to Jess.

"Sorry if I'm disrupting your system Quartermaster, I was led to believe that ship security would be a major part of my teams role and the SMGs are perfect for that, Low recoil, low velocity but packing a significant punch. All of the team will be competent with regular rifles as well. Is there any chance our armourer could work out what's different about these other rounds?"

He hands her a special magazine.

[Tiglath]

All (but kinda Frank and Jess)

While we're recruiting -

We budgeted for: 5 for Klaus, 4 for Cav Troop (we've got empty seats) and 2/3 crew (for the new Firefly - no CA needed).

Jess After a successful last mission and a recent attack which apparently resulted in 100% fatalities to the aggressors SEMC stock is definitely on the up.

Medium to Long Service professional soldiers and mercs apply for the advertised positions.

These will be primary skill 2 / secondary skill 1 with solid (Veteran) morale (Striker ~9/10) or feel free to generate away/delegate to fill posts!

Meanwhile Jakob takes advantage of the recruitment surge to recruit a "Security Platoon" for the Bartizan. This constitutes younger soldiers who he will counsel and nurture mercilessly beast until they resemble "Mahrines" who have been through old skool "Basic". The recruitment process involves traditional recruitment methods and a number of "referrals" from Collace PD and "locals" from downspire and those who have "climbed" from "below". These last two cohorts form a cadre of brutally determined candidates. Jakob purchases a "Smokey Bear Hat" and starts with a Company sized unit of candidates for his Platoon...

Frank receives two propositions over his breakfast briefing:

Nukkin' Futz Media offer 5MCr to "embed" two reporters with SEMC to harvest both "combat footage" and "sentient interest issues". The company is politically neutral, produces distinctly average journalistic content and would qualify (if that were an appropriate term) in Collace parlance as a media resource for "Lads". There are obvious downsides to media intrusion but the (near sector wide) "free advertising" would be a significant bonus and a business asset.

Lady Hildegarde von Blingin' (who Voss describes as "Collace... ahem... nobility") offers 2MCr apiece to purchase Second Lieutenant commissions in the SEMC for family members. The wily old dowager also offers access to the family right of "Warranted Transfer" useable for (as per Voss' deadpan "the young un's luggage and that"). "Warranted Transfer" is an "ancient right" in District 268 (Voss: "She pronounced a comma after "ancient", sir"). This allows the nobility to send small amounts of cargo in the equivalent of a "diplomatic bag" respected by most if not all Starport authorities within the District and quite possibly into the Imperium.

Moving on Voss notes "Master Duran asked if you would consider a business meeting or comm call. He sent a rather nice comfort pack to Lady Polly upon hearing of "the recent disruption to her home"... ah... I see "generous flowers and restoratives". He also personally sent you hearty congratulations on behalf of himself and Colonel Skeet and an apparently "floral but rather smooth" Sword World schnapps. He states it is both a "collectable investment" and also very drinkable and offered you that dilemma. Coincident with that arrival Colonel Skeet also sent you... um... a "very personal dance" with a certain "Stormee" at an entirely discrete Upspire Venue". Voss coughs diplomatically and then adds "I believe this appears to be a transferable asset. Maybe something for the raffle at the local dignitaries' luncheon, sir? There was an accompanying comm message but Colonel Skeet was apparently either in the upper atmosphere or very drunk - or both. The only coherent parts of the message referred to his personal best wishes and membership of the "orbital high club" and him attempting "re-entry". Voss doesn't even twitch.

[shaidar]

Frank

"Thank you Voss. While Colonel Skeet is generous in all his gifts, I think perhaps I should forego the private dance for my own safety or Polly might give me a fan dance that will be the end of me. I shall think about what to do with such an gift, maybe it's time the SEMC implemented regular performance reviews with this as a prize to get things going in the right direction." he smiles "Can you contact Master Duran, thank him from me for the gifts he sent both Polly and I, and tell him that I'm happy to discuss business either on comms or in person whichever is most convenient for him. As for the media offer and Lady Hildegarde, I think I'll have to discuss these with the officers, see what they think. Can you tell Lady Hildegarde that we are giving serious consideration to her offer and ask if she might send us the resume's of those she's looking to enroll with us."

It's probably quicker that we discuss the media and Lady Hildegarde offers OOC in logistics thread

[Tiglath]

Frank

Frank gets a tight beam vid call from Duran who, after appropriate greetings and introduction, cuts to "I understand that Lady Hildegarde von Blingin' is interested in purchasing commissions with SEMC for a fee and access to her "luggage arrangements" is also on the table. Obviously this is an asset that The Shore find... intriguing. Although sadly 4DC can not offer commissions to these prospective candidates we would be willing to help shoulder any small burden involved for access to the... transport arrangements on a quid pro quo basis. For example we have a current need for such a service and for the duration of your current deployment we would loan an AFV, some other specialist vehicle or indeed one of our operatives in compensation". He reaches for a decanter and much to his chagrin finds it to be empty. He then adds "Or maybe two of our operatives... I of course will wait upon your due consideration of the matter but if this is acceptable then let me know in which area we might be able to assist you".

[BackworldTraveller]

Freya notes the Colonel's concern at the breach of security.

With two possibilities - active spy or passive bugs she decides to tackle the first option first. Heading down to the "EW room", she quietly pulls up the records for the morning - and then hones in on the short period between the two messages.

Any radio transmission in that period will be of interest. Possibly hidden amongst many, but a list of "possibles" will be a start...And a triangulation on each will help.

[Tiglath]

Freya notes the Colonel's concern at the breach of security.

Any radio transmission in that period will be of interest.

Freya can't find anything obviously awry. Comms traffic seems to contain nothing that would raise eyebrows.

She reasons that this doesn't rule out some Imp Standard sensors and comms devices that could intercept such communications but then reasons that the "sledgehammers and walnuts" argument applies. Utilizing such gear to gather low grade Intel and then to immediately expose the same thereby compromising the source might seem both counter intuitive and productive.

[BackworldTraveller]

Freya notes the Colonel's concern at the breach of security.

Any radio transmission in that period will be of interest.

Freya can't find anything obviously awry. Comms traffic seems to contain nothing that would raise eyebrows.

She reasons that this doesn't rule out some Imp Standard sensors and comms devices that could intercept such communications but then reasons that the "sledgehammers and walnuts" argument applies. Utilizing such gear to gather low grade Intel and then to immediately expose the same thereby compromising the source might seem both counter intuitive and productive.

Freya realises that proving a negative may be tricky!