004 - Sheddezar

[Tiglath]

Vee watches as Sara and Ana pass through the lounge. She smiles and nods as they pass, but keeps her mouth shut. When they are gone, she turns to Foix. "That was nice of you to apologize. You were right, though. I know things about running a starship. I know jack about doing much else."

Foix shrugs and smiles at Vee “I know nothing of starships and am learning about crew collectives. If there is an emergency on board I hereby waive my right to take a turn as pilot!”

He wanders back into the lounge and, listening to both Chu and Wen’s points, agrees “There seems to be no immediate rush to action Squee’s information - after all she travelled here from New Caledonia to act on it! Possession of our own G carrier would also make the task much easier”.

He continues “Unfortunately, I believe that Squee, having smuggled herself here, will be persona non grata on Shedezzar and so should not help us gather information directly”.

He addresses the dolphin “Squee, you are an entirely distinctive being here on Shedezzar and, with no authority to travel or remain on planet, I fear you will be arrested on sight if you leave this ship. Was there a plan to get you from the starport to the dive site?”

“There are things I don't understand about your mission here. Can you tell us all that you know of the plans for your original operation on this planet?”

Foix is beginning to suspect that the information we have has either too many holes or simply doesn’t add up – neither option is comfortable.

The crew also have a lead on redacted news feeds which may need further action from Pongo.

(OOC: I still need some help understanding the situation as presented to us by Squee who, on revival, reported that she was to be smuggled in for secrecy. Coming in cold from New Caledonia - how did she know?

There appear to be inconsistencies but a re-iteration may solve that!

Edited )

[ffilz]

Vee watches as Sara and Ana pass through the lounge. She smiles and nods as they pass, but keeps her mouth shut. When they are gone, she turns to Foix. "That was nice of you to apologize. You were right, though. I know things about running a starship. I know jack about doing much else."

Foix shrugs and smiles at Vee “I know nothing of starships and am learning about crew collectives. If there is an emergency on board I hereby waive my right to take a turn as pilot!”

He wanders back into the lounge and, listening to both Chu and Wen’s points, agrees “There seems to be no immediate rush to action Squee’s information - after all she travelled here from New Caledonia to act on it! Possession of our own G carrier would also make the task much easier”.

He continues “Unfortunately, I believe that Squee, having smuggled herself here, will be persona non grata on Shedezzar and so should not help us gather information directly”.

He addresses the dolphin “Squee, you are an entirely distinctive being here on Shedezzar and, with no authority to travel or remain on planet, I fear you will be arrested on sight if you leave this ship. Was there a plan to get you from the starport to the dive site?”

“There are things I don't understand about your mission here. Can you tell us all that you know of the plans for your original operation on this planet?”

Foix is beginning to suspect that the information we have has either too many holes or simply doesn’t add up – neither option is comfortable.

The crew also have a lead on redacted news feeds which may need further action from Pongo.

(OOC: I still need some help understanding the situation as presented to us by Squee who, on revival, reported that she was to be smuggled in for secrecy. Coming in cold from New Caledonia - how did she know?

There appear to be inconsistencies but a re-iteration may solve that!

Edited )

What isn't quite adding up for you? I may have failed to keep something consistent, or Squee may not have revealed something. If I understand what is confusing you, I can make sure there is no unintended confusion due to my goofs...

[Ramona]

What isn't quite adding up for you? I may have failed to keep something consistent, or Squee may not have revealed something. If I understand what is confusing you, I can make sure there is no unintended confusion due to my goofs...

I think the whole thing went sideways when you mentioned psychic ship stealing alien lizards and having no way to get to where the caves are that doesn’t involve getting a starahip near them. If there was an easy G-Carrier here or a quick one shot way to shield the ship. The problem is, as I see it, there exists a not insignificant risk of loosing the ship and no really viable options for covering our butts.

If there was a way to build a quick, make a check every 20 minutes to keep it running. The difficulty could increase with each check until the thing burns up.

[Tiglath]

(OOC: Never rule out my ability to utterly fail to comprehend matters!

Squee's knowledge of the covert / smuggling delivery seems odd taken with what I assume is a long transit time from New Caledonia.

If she knew that was the plan at the start then her co conspirators must have been based there or are happy to conspire over vast interstellar distances. This plus the distance involved suggests that there seems to be no urgency to the mission - at least originally.

This option (Squee comes as cargo) makes whichever ship dropped her less relevant - they were innocently delivering cargo (containing a dolphin). So I may have missed something there!

However, if she woke up between New Caledonia and Shedezzar to arrange being smuggled in then she didn't tell us. This implicates the Ramos crew as her allies as they must have put her autodoc in the crate with her knowledge and consent as part of a plan?

Oh, and the ship stealing deep ones!!!

Although I noted that the customs men had an air/raft when they met the ship on landing ... )

[ffilz]

The local aliens certainly add a scare factor... Consider that if they are too much of a problem the Imperium would crack down on them (or would it, maybe the pull back from this region of space will make the Shedezar bolder....). Consider that while they have figured out a way to capture and use star ships, they ARE only TL 7... Or at least that's what's reported.

I'm going to assume some frank conversation and more sharing happens so Squee will open up more.

Ok, so more detail on how I came to be here. I was hired back on New Caledonia to help find and harvest the crystals here. Ronald McDuck explained the situation and gave me a reference to a discreet person who would assist me in setting up the autodoc in the shipping crate, getting me in, and sealing it up. The idea was to get me here with as little risk of discovery as possible. At least that part of their plan worked. I don't think the folks at this end were locals.

I think the local human nobility is responsible for shutting things down here. I'm not sure of the details of the arrangements here, but the various things I read before coming out this way sound like something fishy is going on here.

I was hired not just for my underwater abilities, but also for the psionic abilities I have. The idea was that I would be able to detect approach by the Shedezar so we could avoid them or protect ourselves.

I am intrigued by the crystals, but if you folks think it's better to abandon the idea, I'm not going to try and get them alone. I'd like to hear more about Ludgates and Bastinadi, but we may want to look other places also to get some reward for our efforts.

As to the ships, you're right, the ships involved in my journey had no idea what package they were carrying.

[Tiglath]

"Ana, I've been talking to Squee".

Foix will contact Ana and relay all on discrete comms after confirming she and Sara are free to "conference in" to the conversation.

Foix replies “Squee thank you for your candour you can, I’m sure, rely on the discretion of all of us”.

He continues “The local nobility may, quite justifiably, see themselves as preventing the initiation of a bloody corporate war against a minor sophont race. Squee, I assume the off world interests that hired you see great value in this resource owned by the Shedezar people. I also assume, due to the methods they have employed so far, that they plan no open and honest methods of accessing this market and, of course, that the Shedezar will fight to defend what is theirs. Why would they not?”

“Squee from what you say it seems that even if you do recover these crystals you have no ready market for them?”

He concludes “Ladies and Gentlemen we all have to ask ourselves if we really want to risk our ship and our persons on this venture?”

(OOC: Frank thank you for the above.

Of course Foix is a noble and may have a view on "off world interference" in their affairs …

I may be a tough audience but I'm still not really sold here!

The local aliens ... ARE only TL 7... Or at least that's what's reported.

Yay - they have access to all the guns and armour we do! Oh, and psionics …

NB Psi shields only mitigate assault by telepaths – they don’t stop any of the other fun stuff psionic folk can pull!)

[Ramona]

Before I respond is this before after Sara and Ana’s info gathering trip. I assume after? Does Pongo learn anything, do Vee and Wen pick up any rumors about what may be going on here from other freetraders? If it’s after let us know what if anything new we learn. Look back at ny posts for the info we were after.

I’ll be honest you had us right up to, ship stealing psychics and then the brakes went on.

We can deal with, pirates, haughty nobles, a torch and pitchfork weilding angry mob and even bureaucratic nincompoops but someone who can get in my head and l leave me higher and dryer than Gilligan, that’s a problem.

Squee might be able to help those in the water but the ship is an entirely different matter, I mean I don’t mind risking my own ass for some sparklies but the ship and everyone aboard it is another story.

[ffilz]

Before I respond is this before after Sara and Ana’s info gathering trip. I assume after? Does Pongo learn anything, do Vee and Wen pick up any rumors about what may be going on here from other freetraders? If it’s after let us know what if anything new we learn. Look back at ny posts for the info we were after.

I’ll be honest you had us right up to, ship stealing psychics and then the brakes went on.

We can deal with, pirates, haughty nobles, a torch and pitchfork weilding angry mob and even bureaucratic nincompoops but someone who can get in my head and l leave me higher and dryer than Gilligan, that’s a problem.

Squee might be able to help those in the water but the ship is an entirely different matter, I mean I don’t mind risking my own ass for some sparklies but the ship and everyone aboard it is another story.

I wasn't sure how much deeper Pongo is going. Yea, the psionic ship stealing may be a bit much On the other hand, I'm sure someone would like to know about that...

But let's cut to the chase and get some more investigation done, Pongo is pretty sure the back door he found is safe to explore to a further depth. He scans all the records of coming and going and does finally find a customs entry for a 1 ton cargo of medical gear on the a date with two digits swapped. Apparently someone either made an honest mistake in logging Squee's container in, or there was a deliberate error. In any case, that likely hid Squee's container from those trying to shut down the crystal hunting operation. He also finds indication that a Baron von Herzog may have been involved in the operation squashing. He holds an island 1000 km from the star port (no where near the target island).

During Wen and Vee's conversations with the one other Free Trader captain in port (Captain Frobsch of the Amazing, heading to Fogbound next), the captain shares that the locals seem awfully happy considering the hell hole this world is for humans. He thinks they may be drugged.

Squee will add that the idea of going and coming back with a G-Carrier sounds like a good idea since it would allow keeping the ship in orbit. On hearing about the possible drugging, Squee offers that she can verify that without an invasive probe if you think it worthwhile.

[Ramona]

What do Sara and I find out about location of “native” villages within the target area. We’re pulling up maps and charts of a whole whack of unconnected sites that “look” pretty. Does anything feel off in retrospect about Bodie of Tyler ... Travis??? I forget the gag names. We also look at sat images to see if there’s anything hinky going on.

Once we figure out the Baron rumor start a quick skim on him, nothing to draw a bunch of attention. Maybe Foix has heard of this guy.

[ffilz]

What do Sara and I find out about location of “native” villages within the target area. We’re pulling up maps and charts of a whole whack of unconnected sites that “look” pretty. Does anything feel off in retrospect about Bodie of Tyler ... Travis??? I forget the gag names. We also look at sat images to see if there’s anything hinky going on.

Once we figure out the Baron rumor start a quick skim on him, nothing to draw a bunch of attention. Maybe Foix has heard of this guy.

The island is remote so no Shedezar settlements nearby.

The dive shop folks seem genuine (that's who Bodie/Tyler/Travis is/are right?).

I'm not sure we established where Foix's stomping grounds were.

[Tiglath]

I’ll be honest you had us right up to, ship stealing psychics and then the brakes went on.

We can deal with, pirates, haughty nobles, a torch and pitchfork weilding angry mob and even bureaucratic nincompoops but someone who can get in my head and l leave me higher and dryer than Gilligan, that’s a problem.

Squee might be able to help those in the water but the ship is an entirely different matter, I mean I don’t mind risking my own ass for some sparklies but the ship and everyone aboard it is another story.[/ooc]

FWIW the above matches my position entirely!

[Tiglath]

I'm not sure we established where Foix's stomping grounds were.

Foix asks Squee to verify the drugged nature of the locals (Read Surface Thoughts(?)) on a random sort that Grimaud lures near to the ship for a selfie. Rather than displaying any antipathy he seems entirely at ease with using psionics as a tool to achieve an end.

(OOC: Foix's backstory is that he is local nobility - hence he served in the local (non Imperial) armed forces. So should have his holdings somewhere nearby(ish) - but see below.

He may well know the von Herzog family - if not the Baron personally. Maybe because Foix outranks socially him they didn’t talk much!

Background: Foix’s current situation regarding his lands and title is that he’s travelling incognito trying to discover more about the “series of accidents” that projected him into inheriting the lot! More will be revealed courtesy of Plot Hook Productions ... and a PM to the DM ).

[ffilz]

Here's a google slide thing I made for the ship with provisional cabins labeled. People can edit with the following link and of course rearrange as they wish. I put our two G named gentlemen in the steward cabin on the passenger deck.https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/ ... sp=sharing I figure the meeting was taking place in the passenger lounge since it's bigger so Ana and Foix would go down and forward to reach Sara and Vee's cabin.

BTW, on cabin assignments, I wouldn't get too settled on them. Buzz hasn't actually showed up at the ship yet. Last we heard, he is sitting in a bar wondering if a ship will show up to get him off world... I don't think anyone actually engaged him. I've sent a PMs to Keven. If something happens before lift, he's in, otherwise, he's out.

[joertexas]

BTW, on cabin assignments, I wouldn't get too settled on them. Buzz hasn't actually showed up at the ship yet. Last we heard, he is sitting in a bar wondering if a ship will show up to get him off world... I don't think anyone actually engaged him. I've sent a PMs to Keven. If something happens before lift, he's in, otherwise, he's out.

Vee can go get him...

[Ramona]

"Ana, I've been talking to Squee".

Foix will contact Ana and relay all on discrete comms after confirming she and Sara are free to "conference in" to the conversation.

Foix replies “Squee thank you for your candour you can, I’m sure, rely on the discretion of all of us”.

He continues “The local nobility may, quite justifiably, see themselves as preventing the initiation of a bloody corporate war against a minor sophont race. Squee, I assume the off world interests that hired you see great value in this resource owned by the Shedezar people. I also assume, due to the methods they have employed so far, that they plan no open and honest methods of accessing this market and, of course, that the Shedezar will fight to defend what is theirs. Why would they not?”

“Squee from what you say it seems that even if you do recover these crystals you have no ready market for them?”

He concludes “Ladies and Gentlemen we all have to ask ourselves if we really want to risk our ship and our persons on this venture?”

At the evening meeting Ana presents her findings with Sara, both of whom look a little parboiled, “Okay, 1 - I’m from a desert world where 30 to 40 degrees during the day is pretty normal but this place is facking oppressive at sea level, imagine 10 people in parkas trying to have sex in a 5 person sweat lodge and you’re getting close and 2 - there is definitely something off about the people here, I mean Taylor had bod you could ... point is no one is that happy no matter how big of an endorphin high they’re on.”

“We went through all the charts and sat imagery we could find, the natives don’t have a town within a few hundred klicks of the site and his lordship is well over a thousand, any locals there are going to be few and far between. So I’d like to gather some intel before we rush off and spend a million credits on a truck.”

She tosses a local topography map up the wall display, “The caves of mystery is in this chain here,” Ana points to a bunch of dots on the map, “this lagoon specifically,” she twists her hand expertly and the display changes from an overhead map to a full 3d render, “there are these big limestone spires all around the area. I’d still like to do a 1 to 2 hour recon and sample recovery but I’d also like to put Foix up on one of these spires to set up a passive sensor web. Leave it, let it monitor the area while we’re off having our samples analyzed . When we come back we ping the web on approach and download what ever it recorded.”

“Between Pongo, Andy and I we should be able to whip up some kind of a solar powered network capable of watching the lagoon inside of our launch window.”

[ffilz]

I'm not sure we established where Foix's stomping grounds were.

Foix asks Squee to verify the drugged nature of the locals (Read Surface Thoughts(?)) on a random sort that Grimaud lures near to the ship for a selfie. Rather than displaying any antipathy he seems entirely at ease with using psionics as a tool to achieve an end.

Are we still wanting to do this?

BTW, a G-Carrier is Mcr 1, so not sure what Kcr 20 "truck" Ana is referring to...

[lenusmars]

Here's a google slide thing I made for the ship with provisional cabins labeled. People can edit with the following link and of course rearrange as they wish. I put our two G named gentlemen in the steward cabin on the passenger deck.https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/ ... sp=sharing I figure the meeting was taking place in the passenger lounge since it's bigger so Ana and Foix would go down and forward to reach Sara and Vee's cabin.

BTW, on cabin assignments, I wouldn't get too settled on them. Buzz hasn't actually showed up at the ship yet. Last we heard, he is sitting in a bar wondering if a ship will show up to get him off world... I don't think anyone actually engaged him. I've sent a PMs to Keven. If something happens before lift, he's in, otherwise, he's out.

Not settled! The nice thing about the slides is that we can move the tags around pretty easily.

I've been really interested in the fluid sense of time and space that's been happening as we play. I'm used to pretty explicit scene-setting so it's an experience.

[Eris]

I can’t help dig in, it’s the way my brain functions, I have to make sense of everything not fantastical, cars fly, ships travel faster than light, cool, drug 50 million people, whoah... hold on a sec.
Ana is happier with this information. I’ll post more significantly after work.

I didn't think drugged population, I thought psi-oped population. No?

IAC, I have two thoughts:

1. There are folks that do recreational diving here, so Ana and Sara can certainly go on a diving excursion whether they are looking for "certain crystals" or not.

2. Is Squee being aboard Mazie Star a problem for the locals? He wasn't on our passenger manifest, but did we account for those in low berths to the local authorities? If we didn't have to, then well, that autodoc was pretty much the same as a low berth would have been, right? If we "unfreeze" Squee, which is virtually what we did, then couldn't we announce that to the local Starport Authority here and he could come and go just like anybody else? Again, he wouldn't be looking for "certain crystals", but there's no reason he couldn't go diving for fun before continuing with us to our next destination.

3. Okay, 3 points. Andy is all for letting Sara, Ana and anyone else have a dive, but not run an operation to try to recover the psi-stones. Wen is all for research, then leave, and maybe come back better prepared or maybe not come back at all if it seems too risky.

[Tiglath]

Foix will task Grimaud with asking a relaxed and amenable local to come close to the ship under the pretext of taking pictures with the ship as background.

He will then discretely approach Squee and ask “Can you use your gifts to check over the local taking pictures with Grimaud? They should be close enough. The people here appear as if drugged but, when you reach out to touch their minds, can you feel the taint of another’s influence?”

(OOC: He seems well informed …).

At the evening briefing he replies with an easy smile “I always knew you’d put me on a pedestal Ana - I just hadn’t imagined several hundred metres of stack rock”.

Foix seems happy enough to support the ship “avionics check” combined with a dive recon option.

(OOC: If Squee is going to attract “red flags” from the locals she’s better staying aboard especially if we’re in recon / fact finding mode. If we go off into the wilds on the ship she can come out to play and support the divers.

If money's tight I suppose our passive sensor package might have to be limited by budget to some time lapse imagine capture. Maybe we can rig it to surge it’s coverage with an increased IR return or something similar?

Bugetwise Foix and Grimaud will contribute 20KCr a head).

[Ramona]

I didn't think drugged population, I thought psi-oped population. No?

To psi-op 55 million people you’d need a a pretty significant number of psi’s in relatively close proximity, I don’t think you could do it at range without an ability to see or know your target.

IAC, I have two thoughts:

1. There are folks that do recreational diving here, so Ana and Sara can certainly go on a diving excursion whether they are looking for "certain crystals" or not.

2. Is Squee being aboard Mazie Star a problem for the locals? He wasn't on our passenger manifest, but did we account for those in low berths to the local authorities? If we didn't have to, then well, that autodoc was pretty much the same as a low berth would have been, right? If we "unfreeze" Squee, which is virtually what we did, then couldn't we announce that to the local Starport Authority here and he could come and go just like anybody else? Again, he wouldn't be looking for "certain crystals", but there's no reason he couldn't go diving for fun before continuing with us to our next destination.

3. Okay, 3 points. Andy is all for letting Sara, Ana and anyone else have a dive, but not run an operation to try to recover the psi-stones. Wen is all for research, then leave, and maybe come back better prepared or maybe not come back at all if it seems too risky.

We’re not talking about recovering a container full of them we’re talking about getting a shopping bag with a couple handfuls to see if the story pans out or is a load of crap and while we’re doing that setting up something to monitor the area for when and if we return. We don’t even need to touch down, drop us, finish your road test come back and use the cargo crane to pick us up. What I’m saying is do we really want to spend a million credits, we don’t have, on a rumour or should we spend an hour or two checking it out?