Lost in Space - Summary 2 and 3

Leaving Menorb Soundtrack: The Animals. We gotta get out of this place. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q3mgapAcVdU

The first weeks of 1200 offered quite a bit of activity for several of the temps of Most Reliable. First of all, on 023-1200, Capt (ret.) Connor Drake and James Grayfield were approached at Joe’s StarBar by Roscoe Biggs, a retired IISS scout currently working for Most Reliable. He bought the gentlemen a round, and referring to their semi-celebrity status, he wondered if they’d mind doing a job for Most Reliable. “You know, the Imperial Consul, Sirius Kostroma, will be visiting Menorb and Tissem” (the largest settlement with 200 million inhabitants). “He’ll be having a personal retinue and all, but he needs some local liaisons besides the embassy staff. It will bring you a good Cr 500 per week and a Cr 1,500 bonus upon the Consul leaving the system”.

Consul Sirius Costroma did arrive next day in a shuttle from the Imperial cruiser Admiral Garnier. He was escorted by his aide, six Imperial marines, and he was met by the embassy staff led by His Excellency Vared-Nar Gersen and his aide Nicholas Rostinar in full regalia in one of the old abandoned hangars at the starport. As the reception got under way, a drone-delivered incapacitating nerve gas attack temporarily knocked out most of the attendants, while snipers engaged and killed the marines. The Consul is was abducted by unidentified individuals using bodyscramblers, but since Drake, Grayfield, Drozd, Nicholas Rostinar and Riva Carollo were standing far from the actual attack, they were only mildly affected by the gas, and they took up the chase for the missing Consul.  

The trail led the intrepid pursuers to the dreaded Arcology 33, one of the most notorious high-rise multi-block developments in Tissem with an estimated 125,000 inhabitants. Even the Civil Guard is hesitant to enter this particular arcology, and local rule is actually in the hands of various guilds that regulate the affairs of the habitat. The entrances are guarded bu the Guild of Seraphim, and they did let the heroes enter Arcology 33 without too much of a hassle. The interior of the arcology was reminiscent of an overcrowded hot bazaar with all kinds of scents, sounds and sights, and the five outsiders were soon approached by representatives of the Vargr Connector Guild, guides and liaisons that were willing to sell information regarding recent activities in the arcology. Fortunately Nicholas Rostinar had a credit line, so according to the Vargr Connector Guild, the Sons of Salomon Sect had entered Arcology 33 shortly before Drake and friends, and they were escorting a captive up to their areas in one of the towers of the arcology.

A member of the Vargr Connector Guild.

The heroes started climbing up the many stairs of the arcology, and after some time they found themselves on the mold- and pollen-ridden floors of the Guild of Hydroponics. Respirators donned, an encounter with the initially friendly hydrofarmer Ernst led to bloodshed as Nicolas Rostinar met a horrible fate as recycling in one of the quickslime pools. Drake, Drozd, Grayfiels and Carollo ran away from the scene, and ended up on the estate of former Imperial Marine Varna Dael, a genuinely friendly hydrofarmer who told the heroes that the Sons of Salomon received a high-tech shipment some two weeks ago. Oddly enough, the Salomon Complex had been completely sealed off. But there was another way, namely by navigating the The Forbidden Zone, a series of levels drenched in toxic chemicals from an industrial accident 50 years ago. Various nasty critters inhabited the floors, both Knitknats and a family of Meemaws. These crafty predators stalked the heroes, but the beasts were eventually killed off.

After several hours, the heroes found their way to a narrow ventilator shaft that lead into the Solomon Complex, a series of very floors at the top of one out of four towers. A frightful shootout with the Sons of Salomon ensued, and Consul Costroma narrowly avoided being sacrificed. The heroes managed to contact the Admiral Garnier for extraction. The thankful Consul Costroma was greatful and compensated the heroes economically while Most Reliable offered the little group a new employment opportunity that would finally get them off Menorb.

On board the Aspera. Soundtrack: Devo. (I can’t get no) Satisfaction. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jadvt7CbH1o

Captain Connor Drake, James Grayfield, Drozd, Riva Carollo were now joined by their old compatriots Tricky Rouge, Dr. Glazhütte-Limburg and the quite hefty Baron Fulford, now suffering from an overstretched groin that had affected his hormone levels in a strange way. The group was also introduced to Captain Baron Harry Ma, a retired navy officer who would be working with them, and SchwarSchwar MichMachklantfansåful2 jr. III, also known as FirFar for short, an administrator of the 12th order, 5th Adjunct to Unimatrix 2, who also claimed to be Drake’s father (!)

The new assignment for Most Reliable consisted of a four-week survey of the Belos Belt in the Alell system on board the 9,000 ton survey vessel Aspera captained by Salome Riva, a former passenger liner captain. The crew of 42 consisted of one-third formed IISS personnel, one-third former spacers, and one-third “others”, mainly belters. The Aspera left on 030-1200, and after a fairly uneventful week in hyperspace, the ship entered the Belos Belt. The heroes had spent their time being quite occupied chasing spacer spyders, a type of vermin occasionally found on starships while listening to Drake pestering Drozd about how many breasts female Vargr actually have.

A treacherous attack. Soundtrack: The Datsuns. What would I know? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GDs2LY5lA4s&index=4&list=RDna6IjLfV6rw

On 044-1200, Captain Riva picked up a standard automated distress call from a small merchant carrier, the Smiling Medusa, a 200 ton Far Trader. Besides standard distress information (location and time, in this case some ten hours ago), a recorded male voice claimed that the Smiling Medusa had been hit by an asteroid that had damaged the drive and the power plant as well as inflicting several casualties. Captain Riva was of course obliged by law to deal with the distress call, and a library check revealed that the Smiling Medusa was registered on Feri, unarmed, and that the captain and owner was someone named Taar Valens.

The Moondancer

However, Riva was careful, and she ordered part of the security detail to board the Moondancer, a standard ship’s boat, to investigate the distress signal. The signal did not at all emanate from a stricken starship, but from a beacon, and as the heroes tried to turn the Moondancer around to avoid an ambush, several missiles were fired by a previously unnoticed ship that seemed to appear out of nowhere. Four nukes were heading towards the Aspera, while two missiles streaked towards Moondancer. Harry Ma pulled a full six gees as he flew precariously close to the craggy and wobbling asteroid, while Tricky Rouge ran navigational sensors at full to avoid the stony outcroppings of the asteroid. Yet, the missiles were closing fast, and Drake had opened up an airlock to see if he could get a shot at a missile with his laser carbine, while Grayfield opened the cargo doors to throw out random stuff in a desperate attempt to fool the missile sensors. The erratic maneuvers and a six gee acceleration made this more than a little difficult, but Drake managed to damage one of the missiles. The other one exploded with full force as the proximity fuse was activated, and the Moondancer was riddled with splinters. Although the heroic crew miraculously avoided injuries, their vessel was badly damaged.

Drake hanging on for dear life as the missile explodes.

Repairs against the clock. Soundtrack: David Bowie and Queen. Under pressure. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a01QQZyl-_I

The crew was now fighting against the clock as system after system on board the Moondancer went offline. However, though teamwork, stubbornness and sheer luck, most of the systems were repairable, and power, gravity and pressure could be reactivated some six hours later before the small vessel suffered from a catastrophic failure. As the crew finally could start using at least elementary sensors again, the wreckage of the Aspera was revealed, and recorded telemetry showed that the missiles were fired by a 400 ton SDB, although with a jump signature and what seemed to be a physically much larger triangular profile. Also, a significant amount of fuel had leaked out from the Moondancer, and the crew had the choice of trying to reach the abandoned Depot A99 or the interdicted planetoid Keitha. It was decided to try A99.

A99 was used as a depot some 300 years ago, when the Imperium was running a disastrous mining operation in the Belos Belt. The main base was destroyed in a freak accident caused by a Dr. Rotko Rath, a particle physicist who apparently lost his mind after an unspecified grueling experience in the Belt. The depot was evacuated in utmost haste, again for unspecified reasons, and it had not been used since. It consisted of a landing pad with magnetic anchors, a living and work module, and two big storage modules, and it was indeed quite empty. The heroes had to set a course towards Keitha in the Deus Volt, which was the new name of the ship’s boat.

The Gulag of Keitha. Soundtrack: Thunderstruck. AC/DC https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v2AC41dglnM

As it turned out, Keitha was the main prison for criminals and political prisoners serving particularly long sentences under the auspices of the ZEP, the Alell secret police, something the heroes did not know. They established contact with some form of control, but as they approached Keitha Station, they realized that the station was quite decrepit, with graffiti and micrometeorite impacts adorning the walls of the station. The unofficial leader of the penal colony, a charismatic individual referring to himself as DÊRÊK, welcomed the crew, but tried to surround them with his minions in the dingy mission control. Drake tried to negotiate with the inmates, but once Grayfield resorted to his “gun diplomacy”, all hell broke loose. Several crew members were hit by slugs, and they retreated to the Deus Volt, spacing three inmates that had infiltrated the small ship in the process. The empty tanks of the Deus Volt were partially filled with water from the fire extinguishing system, and the ship blasted off in utmost hast. This time the crew had enough fuel to reach an ice asteroid for refueling.

Mission Control of the Keitha Penal Colony.

A long trip to Alell. Soundtrack: Breathing. Kate Bush. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VzlofSthVwc

With full tanks, the crew of the Deus Volt/Moondancer could plot a course towards Alell. The journey back took a week, and although rations were scarce, the crew managed to take their battered boat to Alell Prime. They docked at the orbital starport on 055-1200, where emergency technicians, the civil guard, ZEP, and Imperial embassy staff waited for them.