001: Unexpected Beginnings

[Coinich]

He turned the others. "Since we are new partners I'll introduce myself before we get started. My name is William 'silencer' Larsson from down around the Five Sisters originally."

The scientist stops playing with his plastifoam cup, and looks up – realizing the sudden silence-gap meant it was “his turn”. He quickly sits up and tugs on his audacious shirt in a vain attempt to straighten it. His demeanor makes a sudden transition - with a smile, breaking across his face. “Uh… yeah. Hi. I’m Lucius… or, rather… Doctor Lucius Metz. I am a roboticist. And, I was hired by Mr. Vincenzo to head the technology efforts at R.S.U.”

[ateno]

“Uh… yeah. Hi. I’m Lucius… or, rather… Doctor Lucius Metz. I am a roboticist. And, I was hired by Mr. Vincenzo to head the technology efforts at R.S.U.”

Arkar raises his empty cup towards Lucius, attempting to get attention and mouths "Hello". and smirks and smiles.

Arkar

[Tiglath]

The scientist stops playing with his plastifoam cup, and looks up – realizing the sudden silence-gap meant it was “his turn”. He quickly sits up and tugs on his audacious shirt in a vain attempt to straighten it. His demeanor makes a sudden transition - with a smile, breaking across his face. “Uh… yeah. Hi. I’m Lucius… or, rather… Doctor Lucius Metz. I am a roboticist. And, I was hired by Mr. Vincenzo to head the technology efforts at R.S.U.”

Garvin returns Lucius' smile with a friendly one of his own and says gently " 'Ullo Doc, since you're a bit more in the know why don't you tell us what's been goin' on and what the goals of the "technology efforts at R.S.U." are. Take yer time old son. Oh, an' assume we're all not as clever as you eh? Nice shirt by the way".

[Tiglath]

Something like this?

Nobody expects...

Cardinal Fang - fetch...the comfy chair!

[terrymixon]

I like the mission from Azhanti High Lightning where they have to take the rare Terran wine to the Emperor or something like that.

That would be unexpected for sure. This, though, will put you in a position that I’ll wager no other Travellers have been in. The world will go topsy turvy when I reveal the opening gambit tomorrow.

Something like this?

Did someone tell you? Dammit!

[terrymixon]

The scientist stops playing with his plastifoam cup, and looks up – realizing the sudden silence-gap meant it was “his turn”. He quickly sits up and tugs on his audacious shirt in a vain attempt to straighten it. His demeanor makes a sudden transition - with a smile, breaking across his face. “Uh… yeah. Hi. I’m Lucius… or, rather… Doctor Lucius Metz. I am a roboticist. And, I was hired by Mr. Vincenzo to head the technology efforts at R.S.U.”

Garvin returns Lucius' smile with a friendly one of his own and says gently " 'Ullo Doc, since you're a bit more in the know why don't you tell us what's been goin' on and what the goals of the "technology efforts at R.S.U." are. Take yer time old son. Oh, an' assume we're all not as clever as you eh? Nice shirt by the way".

“Doctor Metz is the perfect person to help get into the weeds of what was done, but I need to cover the overall situation first,” Treegarden said.

OOC:Overview post coming shortly.

[terrymixon]

“There are going to be aspects of this story that you are not cleared to know, and no amount of badgering me will get you the information you desire,” Treegarden said. “I promise that all the salient points that affect you will be passed along, though the context might be missing.”

She cleared her throat and took a drink of water from her glass. “Just short of a year ago, Mad Dog came to Glisten looking for someone to turn over—what is it you bounty hunters call a person or thing that you chase down? A target? A subject?—well, let’s just say someone or something of interest. After the nature of his inquiry became clear, my department contacted him, and his information was solid enough that I was dispatched with my ship to pick up the subject. His vessel was too badly damaged for repair and sold to the wreckers, so he accompanied me.”

Treegarden smiled a bit more warmly than she had before and shook her head. “The subject far exceeded his description, and we returned to Glisten, where he was offered remuneration. Or, I suppose you could say that he earned his bounty. A very large one. To wit, two billion credits. Only Mad Dog turned down our offer, wanting something different instead.”

She paused to allow any responses, but it quickly became apparent that she wasn’t going to answer any questions until she was done. This was just a moment where she knew that there would be some kind of response.

Her expression darkened. “Mad Dog wanted my ship. Not only that, he wanted an absolute laundry list of ridiculous upgrades, add-ons, and a few side benefits. Nevertheless, after a week or so of doing research, my superior noted that what he desired only came out to about one and a quarter billion credits and told him that he had a deal.”

It was apparent that she was gritting her teeth before she took another drink of water. “The ship in question started out life as a fast smuggler. A four-hundred-ton vessel with a hull designed for stealth and a jump drive that allows for stealth jumps where the burst of radiation on emergence is minimized. She has a maneuver drive rating of 5 and can jump two parsecs at a go. When my department acquired her, we performed some upgrades to improve her performance and to give her capabilities that extend beyond what most normal vessels have installed by default. I loved that ship.”

She sighed. “When the agreement was reached, the vessel was taken to the Navy shipyard in the Pluvis Belt. My department instructed the Navy to vacate one of the slips being used to upgrade one of their smaller vessels and to perform the work requested on the Lost & Found immediately. That involved tearing the hull apart to upgrade its armor and adding on new capabilities, as well as gutting the interior to change significant portions of its layout. My recommendation to you is to avoid the Navy for a while. Admiral Noster was livid, and he has a reputation as someone who never forgets a wrong done to him.

“While the refurbishment and upgrade were in progress, I accompanied Mad Dog to Vincennes in the Deneb Sector to acquire some high-tech robotics gear and computers. That is where we picked up Doctor Metz. He returned with us to perform the modifications and installations required. He left his employment there of his own free will, and Mad Dog hired him to perform all the work and continue performing upgrades once the ship was ready.”

She again looked around the room. “That work wrapped up a week ago, and the ship was moved here to Banfi starport—right down the main concourse, as a matter of fact—and you know what has happened since. Allow me to go over some of the restrictions that Mad Dog agreed to when the sale of the ship took place.

“Because of the advanced technology used in numerous systems—some of it tech level 16 because it was acquired from Vincennes, and a power plant that is arguably of even higher tech level, though we don’t know precisely where it came from since it was already installed aboard the ship when we acquired it—there were restrictions placed upon what could be done with it. The ship was transferred to your guild, but it may not be resold, abandoned, or even destroyed without severe financial penalties. You can’t even tell others some of the classified capabilities the vessel is capable of. The guild must hold onto it and keep it intact. As the old movie says, keep it secret, keep it safe. If not, a fine of two billion credits will be levied against the guild and all its officers. That would be you all.”

Her cool smile reappeared. “That’s the stick. The carrot is that you have an extravagantly valuable ship that has capabilities far beyond what any other bounty hunter has available to them and additional systems aboard the ship that no one else in your line of work can boast. Oh, and I should add that my director agreed to a cash deposit of twenty-five million credits into the guild coffers. I deposited it just prior to this meeting. That is your seed money. Shepherd it well because the yearly maintenance on that vessel—which will need to be done only at the Naval shipyards here at Glisten—comes out to 96,000 credits every month. If you run out of money, you might be forced to return the ship to us. Oh. I suppose I should mention that that is the only acceptable way for you to get rid of the boondoggle that Mad Dog has created. If you return the ship to my department, the arrangement will end on good terms even though you will not receive a single credit for the vessel.”

She took another drink of her water. “The guild that Mad Dog created is based here at Glisten, but it will be a recognized bounty hunting guild throughout the Third Imperium and likely beyond. It may not be dissolved so long as you possess the vessel as it is the owning entity. You, as its officers, remained bound to it while the ship is in your possession. I’m afraid that you will remain members of the guild whether you like it or not. You are responsible for it, and Mad Dog agreed to that in both his paperwork with us and the employment contract that you signed. The fine print will get you every time. I suppose the good news is you can decide how bounties work, what amount goes to the company, and what you keep for yourselves, as well as your monthly salaries. Those details are all in your hands.

“And the last thing that Mad Dog and my supervisor arranged for was for was that each founding member of the guild receive a membership in the Travelers Aid Society. That would normally be quite expensive, but considering the scale of the money that Mad Dog was willing to waste, it was literally a drop in the bucket. I believe that covers the general situation in which you find yourselves. Now, I’ll take questions about that before I leave you with Doctor Metz to go over the specifics of your new ship, which I suggest you do aboard her as even though I've had this room scanned for listening devices, one can never be too sure.”

How's them apples?

[ravenspoe]

“And the last thing that Mad Dog and my supervisor arranged for was for was that each founding member of the guild receive a membership in the Travelers Aid Society. That would normally be quite expensive, but considering the scale of the money that Mad Dog was willing to waste, it was literally a drop in the bucket. I believe that covers the general situation in which you find yourselves. Now, I’ll take questions about that before I leave you with Doctor Metz to go over the specifics of your new ship, which I suggest you do aboard her as even though I've had this room scanned for listening devices, one can never be too sure.”

Walter stands at the back of the crowd, hand on his chin, stroking his five O'clock shadow. His short-cropped hair, long black trenchcoat, and jackboots make him look like a villain from history's past or at least like some law enforcement stooge. He nods and gives a crooked smile to both Jaelah and Silencer to note his recognition of the two, but not knowing the others has him cautious. He listens to each beat of the conversation and even quietly mouths what has been said (not to be rude, but it is just how he remembers things). Walter stares at Metz; he reminds him of someone, but then shakes his head and realizes that he has had his share of crazies in the past, and Metz looks like he needs several cups of coffee and perhaps female companionship. He says in a low-pitched voice, "Shame what happened to Mad Dog. I did not like his methods, but I never question the hand that feeds me." He continues to listen again, trying to understand the situation he has gotten himself into. He eventually steps forward, scratching his lightly bearded face, " So we inherit a ship with a lot of stipulations and clauses, we are given membership in the TAS, which the cost is unrealistic for an old soldier like me, we have the fire-power of a small fleet under our feet, but what is the real catch lady?' "What are we going after?" Why include a cooky scientist, no disrespect meant Metz." "Something about this does not seem as easy as it looks or sounds, damn it, Mad Dog dies for this, don't tell me it's a milk run."

[Eris]

“And the last thing that Mad Dog and my supervisor arranged for was for was that each founding member of the guild receive a membership in the Travelers Aid Society. That would normally be quite expensive, but considering the scale of the money that Mad Dog was willing to waste, it was literally a drop in the bucket. I believe that covers the general situation in which you find yourselves. Now, I’ll take questions about that before I leave you with Doctor Metz to go over the specifics of your new ship, which I suggest you do aboard her as even though I've had this room scanned for listening devices, one can never be too sure.”

Walter stands at the back of the crowd, hand on his chin, stroking his five O'clock shadow. His short-cropped hair, long black trenchcoat, and jackboots make him look like a villain from history's past or at least like some law enforcement stooge. He nods and gives a crooked smile to both Jaelah and Silencer to note his recognition of the two, but not knowing the others has him cautious. He listens to each beat of the conversation and even quietly mouths what has been said (not to be rude, but it is just how he remembers things). Walter stares at Metz; he reminds him of someone, but then shakes his head and realizes that he has had his share of crazies in the past, and Metz looks like he needs several cups of coffee and perhaps female companionship. He says in a low-pitched voice, "Shame what happened to Mad Dog. I did not like his methods, but I never question the hand that feeds me." He continues to listen again, trying to understand the situation he has gotten himself into. He eventually steps forward, scratching his lightly bearded face, " So we inherit a ship with a lot of stipulations and clauses, we are given membership in the TAS, which the cost is unrealistic for an old soldier like me, we have the fire-power of a small fleet under our feet, but what is the real catch lady?' "What are we going after?" Why include a cooky scientist, no disrespect meant Metz." "Something about this does not seem as easy as it looks or sounds, damn it, Mad Dog dies for this, don't tell me it's a milk run."

"Walter's correct." Spicoli nods, "I smell a 10 day old fish, here."

"Do you have a highly dangerous and secret mission to drop on us and this ship of yours?" asks the quiet man, "Is that the un-spoken, so far, complication you have failed to mentioned?"

[terrymixon]

“And the last thing that Mad Dog and my supervisor arranged for was for was that each founding member of the guild receive a membership in the Travelers Aid Society. That would normally be quite expensive, but considering the scale of the money that Mad Dog was willing to waste, it was literally a drop in the bucket. I believe that covers the general situation in which you find yourselves. Now, I’ll take questions about that before I leave you with Doctor Metz to go over the specifics of your new ship, which I suggest you do aboard her as even though I've had this room scanned for listening devices, one can never be too sure.”

TERRY: Apologies, but I'm breaking this up a bit as the wall o text is making it hard for me to grasp what is being said clearly. I'm also adding the dialog tags to turn text blue. Red is OOC, BTW. They are available at the top of the editor and when you reply to this post, you'll see them in use.

Walter stands at the back of the crowd, hand on his chin, stroking his five O'clock shadow. His short-cropped hair, long black trenchcoat, and jackboots make him look like a villain from history's past or at least like some law enforcement stooge. He nods and gives a crooked smile to both Jaelah and Silencer to note his recognition of the two, but not knowing the others has him cautious.

He listens to each beat of the conversation and even quietly mouths what has been said (not to be rude, but it is just how he remembers things). Walter stares at Metz; he reminds him of someone, but then shakes his head and realizes that he has had his share of crazies in the past, and Metz looks like he needs several cups of coffee and perhaps female companionship.

He says in a low-pitched voice, "Shame what happened to Mad Dog. I did not like his methods, but I never question the hand that feeds me."

He continues to listen again, trying to understand the situation he has gotten himself into. He eventually steps forward, scratching his lightly bearded face, "So we inherit a ship with a lot of stipulations and clauses, we are given membership in the TAS, which the cost is unrealistic for an old soldier like me, we have the fire-power of a small fleet under our feet, but what is the real catch lady? What are we going after? Why include a cooky scientist, no disrespect meant Metz. Something about this does not seem as easy as it looks or sounds, damn it, Mad Dog dies for this, don't tell me it's a milk run."

"Walter's correct." Spicoli nods, "I smell a 10 day old fish, here."

"Do you have a highly dangerous and secret mission to drop on us and this ship of yours?" asks the quiet man, "Is that the un-spoken, so far, complication you have failed to mentioned?"

"Ironically, no. There is no catch, and you now know the extent of your obligations. The payment to Mad Dog was for services previously rendered and our relationship will be concluded as soon as I see you to your ship.

"As far as Doctor Metz, he was caught up in this by being hired by Mad Dog. Good luck or bad, I suppose that depends on his point of view. Personally, I think he came out ahead and will be able to contribute to your operations in ways that you can't begin to imagine just yet.

"As for me and my department, I think the odds of you running across anything of interest to us is vanishingly small, so I doubt you will ever see me or anyone else from my department ever again, unless you decide to return the ship. Still, I suppose I should be proactive."

She pulls a card case out of her pocket, opens it, and extracts a creamy white card. "This card has my name and a communications code. The code will, in fact, connect you to members of my department on any class A starport inside the Imperium. If you chance across anything or anyone that is so far outside the norm that you imagine I or my associates would be interested, you are always welcome to call. Do not share the number and lock the card in your safe. If you interest someone enough to meet with you, they will want to see it. Not a copy, the actual card."

She set it on the table. "If there is nothing more, I will send a copy of the security report to you and we can depart for your ship. I don't know more than is in it, and we all have things to see to, you much more than I."

And then y'all can really start hashing things out and looking for the hidden gotcha I have to be concealing. Right?

[Eris]

"As for me and my department, I think the odds of you running across anything of interest to us is vanishingly small, so I doubt you will ever see me or anyone else from my department ever again, unless you decide to return the ship. Still, I suppose I should be proactive."[/dialog]

She pulls a card case out of her pocket, opens it, and extracts a creamy white card. "This card has my name and a communications code. The code will, in fact, connect you to members of my department on any class A starport inside the Imperium. If you chance across anything or anyone that is so far outside the norm that you imagine I or my associates would be interested, you are always welcome to call. Do not share the number and lock the card in your safe. If you interest someone enough to meet with you, they will want to see it. Not a copy, the actual card."

She set it on the table. "If there is nothing more, I will send a copy of the security report to you and we can depart for your ship. I don't know more than is in it, and we all have things to see to, you much more than I."

Spicoli looks around the table then reaches over and takes the card. He looks at it briefly, then slips into the inner pocket of his jacket and velcro's the pocket shut, "Once we are on our ship, I'll lay it out for everyone to examine before putting it into the safe. Is that acceptable to all of you?"

[Eris]

When the party rises to follow Teagarden, Spicoli will fall purposefully into the middle of the group. He will endeavor to stay in the middle all the way to where ever this ship is docked.

[terrymixon]

"As for me and my department, I think the odds of you running across anything of interest to us is vanishingly small, so I doubt you will ever see me or anyone else from my department ever again, unless you decide to return the ship. Still, I suppose I should be proactive."[/dialog]

She pulls a card case out of her pocket, opens it, and extracts a creamy white card. "This card has my name and a communications code. The code will, in fact, connect you to members of my department on any class A starport inside the Imperium. If you chance across anything or anyone that is so far outside the norm that you imagine I or my associates would be interested, you are always welcome to call. Do not share the number and lock the card in your safe. If you interest someone enough to meet with you, they will want to see it. Not a copy, the actual card."

She set it on the table. "If there is nothing more, I will send a copy of the security report to you and we can depart for your ship. I don't know more than is in it, and we all have things to see to, you much more than I."

Spicoli looks around the table then reaches over and takes the card. He looks at it briefly, then slips into the inner pocket of his jacket and velcro's the pocket shut, "Once we are on our ship, I'll lay it out for everyone to examine before putting it into the safe. Is that acceptable to all of you?"

She stood, pulled out her communicator, and requested a number to send the security report to. Once someone provides one, she will send it.

With a smile at Silencer, she finished her water and pocketed the glass. A handkerchief will allow her to wipe the handle on the pitcher. "You folks do seem determined, so I should be careful."

Treegarden walked to the door, opened it, and wiped its handle as well. Then she pocketed the handkerchief and leads you down the corridor for less than five minutes before stopping at a hatch leading to a bay. It is guarded by a fire team of Marines in full battle rattle. "Corporal, you are relieved. The owners are here to take possession."

One of the Marines saluted. "Thank you, Ma'am. We stand relieved. Let's go."

The Marines quickly depart, and she turns to you. "Doctor Metz has the security codes and the code to the two safes on the ship. One is in the ship's locker and the other in the captain's office. The latter has all the paperwork and your temporary TAS identification. You'll need to go to them to get the permanent IDs. Berthing is paid for a full week from today. I wish you all well and hope that we never meet again, or that it is under the unlikely circumstances that we are doing business because you found something or someone interesting."

She started to turn but stopped. "One last thing. I left some things in the captain's safe for someone you're about to meet. I hope he finds my gift useful. Tell him that if he ever wants to come back and see me, I'd love to hear how things are going for him." The last was accompanied by the only genuine smile you've seen on her. "I'd change the codes to everything, by the way. Mad Dog wasn't very imaginative when it came to that sort of thing, I'm afraid. His birthday was hardly difficult to figure out. Now, good day to you all."

Treegarden turned and walked away, quickly becoming lost in the crowd.

If you want an entry for her in the people and place, etc. thread, someone compile what you want her file to say and I'll keep it there for you. You bounty hunters have to maintain your own files.

You are now on your own and can dive deep into your paranoid fantasies that may or may not be true. I've added the deckplans to the thread about your ship and leave you to it.

[helvorn]

William was rather flabbergasted by it all but stayed quiet. He could tell that any questions would be deflected so he didn't bother pestering their fairy godmother. As they reached the hatch to the bay and she left William opened the hatch and stepped into the bay. "So lightning doesn't just strike once or twice but three times at least. For a start, does anybody know how to fly a magic carpet like this? I'm just a ground pounder."

[terrymixon]

William was rather flabbergasted by it all but stayed quiet. He could tell that any questions would be deflected so he didn't bother pestering their fairy godmother. As they reached the hatch to the bay and she left William opened the hatch and stepped into the bay. "So lightning doesn't just strike once or twice but three times at least. For a start, does anybody know how to fly a magic carpet like this? I'm just a ground pounder."

Told you you wouldn't see it coming.

The ship looks like the image at the top of the deck plans. Single deck, long and wide. Also dark green. Odd color choice, but perhaps it was meant to hide the ship on the ground when she was unloading smuggled cargo.

[joertexas]

The ship looks like the image at the top of the deck plans. Single deck, long and wide. Also dark green. Odd color choice, but perhaps it was meant to hide the ship on the ground when she was unloading smuggled cargo.

Jaelah, who had silently lifted her hand when asked about receiving the data dump, steps aboard the ship. She speaks to the group as they board. "Before anyone touches anything, I would like to look around. I refuse to believe that our benefactor left no trace of his intentions." She walks though the entire ship from bridge to stern bulkhead, using her hand scanner to search for DNA or anything else interesting.

+ Investigator-4 = 11

[terrymixon]

The ship looks like the image at the top of the deck plans. Single deck, long and wide. Also dark green. Odd color choice, but perhaps it was meant to hide the ship on the ground when she was unloading smuggled cargo.

Jaelah, who had silently lifted her hand when asked about receiving the data dump, steps aboard the ship. She speaks to the group as they board. "Before anyone touches anything, I would like to look around. I refuse to believe that our benefactor left no trace of his intentions." She walks though the entire ship from bridge to stern bulkhead, using her hand scanner to search for DNA or anything else interesting.

+ Investigator-4 = 11

I tweaked the airlock after I uploaded the file, so to force the cache to refresh and see the actual layout in the airlock, hit CTL+F5. That forces the image to reload.

Assuming that Doctor Metz opens the single airlock with the code only he and Aster Treegarden have at the moment, and you climb up, I'll use that first investigation roll to reveal something about the airlock itself. It has a built-in booby trap system. You can see laser optics and a few nozzles that looks suspiciously like those from a flamethrower. There may be other systems that are not immediately visible.

Thankfully, the systems do not seem to be active or you might have received an extremely warm welcome.

The door to the ship's locker is in fact locked and the airlock is suspiciously free of forensic traces, but the door at the other end of the airlock opens to reveals a man. He is youngish and dressed very oddly.



He smiles at you. "Good afternoon, everyone. Welcome aboard the Lost & Found. My name is Roscoe, and I am at your service."

[joertexas]

He smiles at you. "Good afternoon, everyone. Welcome aboard the Lost & Found. My name is Roscoe and I am at your service."

"I am Jealah Shugilamar, one of this ship's new owners, as of a few minutes ago. May I come aboard?"

OOG: Assuming an affirmative response is received:

"I wish to walk the ship from the bridge aft, into every compartment. Can you facilitate that for me?"

[terrymixon]

He smiles at you. "Good afternoon, everyone. Welcome aboard the Lost & Found. My name is Roscoe and I am at your service."

"I am Jealah Shugilamar, one of this ship's new owners, as of a few minutes ago. May I come aboard?"

OOG: Assuming an affirmative response is received:

"I wish to walk the ship from the bridge aft, into every compartment. Can you facilitate that for me?"

"Of course, Madam Shugilamar. If you will follow me?"

He will lead you through the iris door directly adjacent to the airlock. It leads to a very cramped bridge with four stations. There is a door leading to the other half of the compartment. The viewports in the ceiling seem to have been bisected by the wall ahead of you, likely providing a view (or at least part of one) to both sides.

"This is the bridge, and the door to our right leads to the captain's office and briefing room. The door at the front of the bridge leads to the ship's sensors."

You can save your next roll. The bridge is just as strangely clean as the airlock.

[Coinich]

As they reached the hatch to the bay and she left William opened the hatch and stepped into the bay. "So lightning doesn't just strike once or twice but three times at least. For a start, does anybody know how to fly a magic carpet like this? I'm just a ground pounder."

A big grin comes across Metz's face, as he gets some excitement in his step. "Oh, the ship is already fully crewed. You are our distinguished passengers, and don't need to lift a finger. The crew is at your service."

She speaks to the group as they board. "Before anyone touches anything, I would like to look around. I refuse to believe that our benefactor left no trace of his intentions." She walks though the entire ship from bridge to stern bulkhead, using her hand scanner to search for DNA or anything else interesting.

As the group gets to the airlock of the ship, Metz pipes-up again, "Uh... Jealah, was it? Yeah, I can assure you the ship is constantly being scanned for anything out of the ordinary. You don't need to search the entire ship... unless, of course, that's your way, and you feel you have to. Then, go ahead. But rest assured, you are all in good hands."

""Of course, Madam Shugilamar. If you will follow me?"

Metz watches Jealah, and Roscoe, almost with an air of admiration, as Roscoe begins to show her the ship. Speaking to nobody in particular, "Ahhh... a truly remarkable work of art. Just stunning. It never gets old."