'Fallen Stars' play-by-post campaign

[FBHthelizardmage]

David leans back, looking over the material then goes to talk to Sam. "listen." he says. "I've been thinking, and maybe we should reconsider with this drive thing. I mean, the cats rather out of the bag now, even if they don't have proper information as to how to build it."

David looks at Sam considering. "How do you feel about patenting your invention Sam? After we're done with the whole destroying of the ambushers thing"

[MatthewC]

David leans back, looking over the material then goes to talk to Sam. "listen." he says. "I've been thinking, and maybe we should reconsider with this drive thing. I mean, the cats rather out of the bag now, even if they don't have proper information as to how to build it."

David looks at Sam considering. "How do you feel about patenting your invention Sam? After we're done with the whole destroying of the ambushers thing"

Sam pushes aside a viewscreen and sighs. "I know where your mind's aboot. You're thinkin' thoot with tha blackmail material available to you, we ken 'encourage' tha Tesla government ta honor sooch a patent rather then, say, look us all oop and throw away tha key. It would be a daring play I admit. Tha' main problem is thoot tha local star systems are dominated by thoot Confederation o' Horus, which if you notice has a warship parked in Tesla's spaceport root now.

"If we were ta poot sooch a plan into action, we would need ta hoove a better idea on who's running things oon Horus and some means o' convincing them tha cat's oot o' the bag and they should book the patent with their authority roother than seizing everything."

[FBHthelizardmage]

Sam pushes aside a viewscreen and sighs. "I know where your mind's aboot. You're thinkin' thoot with tha blackmail material available to you, we ken 'encourage' tha Tesla government ta honor sooch a patent rather then, say, look us all oop and throw away tha key. It would be a daring play I admit. Tha' main problem is thoot tha local star systems are dominated by thoot Confederation o' Horus, which if you notice has a warship parked in Tesla's spaceport root now.

"If we were ta poot sooch a plan into action, we would need ta hoove a better idea on who's running things oon Horus and some means o' convincing them tha cat's oot o' the bag and they should book the patent with their authority roother than seizing everything."

David considers. "I guess Patenting won't work yet..."

"But right now, we don't actually need to worry about the Confedracy until we go public. We need to somehow get the Teslan goverment to get recognize our claim on the tech and then remove Hollis Pharmapheuticals. We should either somehow remove them from the field... perhaps using the Teslan goverment or some element of it, or we have to cut them in after we've shown them we're not to be messed with."

[MatthewC]

David considers. "I guess Patenting won't work yet..."

"But right now, we don't actually need to worry about the Confedracy until we go public. We need to somehow get the Teslan goverment to get recognize our claim on the tech and then remove Hollis Pharmapheuticals. We should either somehow remove them from the field... perhaps using the Teslan goverment or some element of it, or we have to cut them in after we've shown them we're not to be messed with."

"Well, we ken discuss it later. Fer noo, get ta work." Sam hands David a list of things that need doing.

[Royal]

As the three get together, Mallory looks over the info that Andy picked up. "I f-f-figure we're l-looking at f-f-facing either t-the Second Chance or t-the C.A. Smith. I d-d-doubt th-they can g-g-get the Black Eagle, w-what with t-that ship b-being a g-g-government v-vessel... and if th-they do, w-well, it's military and m-m-much b-bigger than us, so if it d-d-does s-show up, we sh-should j-just run like h-h-hell, and n-never come b-b-back."

"If it's t-the Chance or t-the Smith, with s-s-surprise our odds are p-pretty g-good. T-the Chance is the l-l-larger of the t-two, but she's t-the s-s-same s-size as t-the Midnight Wind, and we h-handled her j-just f-f-fine." Mallory glares at Jason for a moment when she says this. "T-the Smith is s-smaller than t-the Chance, although s-still b-b-bigger t-than the Moonshadow. S-still, if t-they don't s-see us c-c-coming, we c-can hit t-their power plants b-before t-they know w-what's up."

"That's assuming they don't send both ships in after us," Jason says. "Also, we'll need to make sure that whoever shows up isn't just some ship coming into refuel at the local gas giant... that is what this system is mainly used for, after all, and I suspect the boss would feel bad about blowing up some unknowing starship crew who wandered in to the wrong place at the wrong time."

Jason pauses, a thoughtful look on his face, then continues. "The boss said something about sensors. I think we're gonna need two sets of sensors, one to mimic the Moonshadow, and the other to mimic the Wind. Perhaps the fake-Moonshadow should read like it's mostly powered down, and pretty much defenseless. Let's see how trigger-happy these guys are."

"Oh, and we should get up with David, find out the most likely point of entry for any ships coming in from Tesla, and position the real Moonshadow - guess we'll need to move the Wind, as well - in a spot where they are too likely to spot us at first, but we can still monitor both their ships and what happens to the decoys."

Both Mallory and Jason then look at Andy. Jason asks, "So what's your imput?"


Andy itches his head and tries to take it all in.

"I agree with Mal. If the Eagle is in cahoots, we cut our losses and run. End of story. If we're up against the Smith and Chance, we hit hard and fast."

Andy pauses and thinks for a bit.

"I might have an idea on how we could take advantage of a two on one situation, but I might need both your input on it."

Andy calls up a chart of the Ross 388 system.

"Back in my home planet, one of our major industries is scavenging the ancient arms warehouses scattered all over the planet. One of the major problems a scavenger runs into is a senarrio where there is a large amount of junk either outside of the warehouse or when one enters the warehouse. The reason for that is what we call "rust traps". "Rust traps" are things that look like usless junk, but are very cleverly homemade defense systems. A delapitated battle droid can vaper you with it's shoulder cannon thanks to the photocell you blocked which was carefully rigged in the droid's eye socket. A room full of bomb materials can totally go off just by you naturally disrupting the room's tempurature."

Andy points to the position of where the Wind is supposed to be.

"What I'm thinking of is this. We rig the Wind to be our own "rust trap". We fix the gun turrents and somehow hook them up to a remote unit here on the Shadow. Then we go off away say...here!"

Andy points at the next moon closest to the Wind.

"If and when we get that two for one deal, we got to hope they see the Wind. Once one of them gets close....POW!!"

Andy claps!

"We take one out with the remote unit while the Shadow takes out the other."

Andy looks at Jason and then at Mal.

"What do you guys think?"

[Perry Holley]

"What do you guys think?"Jason ponders Andy's proposal for a minute before responding.

"It's not a bad idea... although that puts whoever will be working on the Wind at risk. There's still one working turret on the Wind; I think Isa is the only other one besides Mallory and myself who knows how to work a gunnery turret. So you would need both a pilot and a gunner over there, because one shot is probably not going to do the job, even with surprise. They will probably be expecting for the Wind to be at least partly functional - we're here to repair it and get it sellable, after all."

"I'm not crazy about the idea of trying to operate the Wind's guns remotely. Even a few seconds delay in transmitting the fire commands will play havoc with targetting."

"I guess we should fly this by the boss, and see how he wants to play it..."

[MatthewC]

Jason ponders Andy's proposal for a minute before responding.

"It's not a bad idea... although that puts whoever will be working on the Wind at risk. There's still one working turret on the Wind; I think Isa is the only other one besides Mallory and myself who knows how to work a gunnery turret. So you would need both a pilot and a gunner over there, because one shot is probably not going to do the job, even with surprise. They will probably be expecting for the Wind to be at least partly functional - we're here to repair it and get it sellable, after all."

"I'm not crazy about the idea of trying to operate the Wind's guns remortely. Even a few seconds delay in transmitting the fire commands will play havoc with targetting."

"I guess we should fly this by the boss, and see how he wants to play it..."

Sam listens to the various options available. He looks rather alarmed when the possibility of facing two ships comes up. "Two? I didnae think o' thoot. It's proobably noot too likely; these guys are being asked ta bring their ship into a battle. Thoot's something a loot o' captains would nae consider fer any amount o' money. Still, we'd best be prepared."

He triggers a holographic display on the table. "Before we touched oof, I hood Jason pick up some flexible metal on tha quick like. In vacuum it will hardly take any pressure ta inflate it ta soomething tha size o' tha Moonshadow. Add a few touches ta get tha heat emissions and what else root, and we ken probably fool their sensors into thinking it is tha Moonshadow until they get oop close. In visual range, maybe.

"We ken park tha' balloon by tha Midnight Run and use it as a decoy. Even bounce a tightbeam radio transmission through so it seems look we're transmitting from there. That'll hoove tha advantage thoot if a ship shows oop in system and approaches even when we tell 'em ta leave oos be, we'll know they're tha bad guys."

He shuts off the display. "Thoot's goon ta be quite a piece o' work, though. Add it ta the time ta get the Midnight Run operable enough fer a fight, and we may end oop cooting quote close. Though o' course we doon't really know how long it will take out pursuers to arrive. We'll also be stretched pretty thin fer crew.

"Still, it's doable. If we get to work root now."

[FBHthelizardmage]

David spends the time practicing his combat piloting...
[Raising my piloting by one with XP perry]

[Royal]

Andy goes through everything gathered about Hollis and Mousaki. He also calls up any information on the possible captains of the suspected ships. While going through all the information, he hits the com button.

"Isa. Be a darling and get me all the info you obtained from Delvosh please? Thanks."

[Perry Holley]

Andy goes through everything gathered about Hollis and Mousaki. He also calls up any information on the possible captains of the suspected ships. While going through all the information, he hits the com button.

"Isa. Be a darling and get me all the info you obtained from Delvosh please? Thanks."After Isa gives the information in question to Andy, he spends some time going through it, looking for any nuggets of data that might prove useful. Nothing useful comes up regarding Hollis or Mousaki; it seems that Delvosh never dealt directly with them.

However, upon referencing the captains of the two ships in question, Andy does come across some info on William Tanner, captain of the C.A. Smith. It seems that Tanner was an 'independent contractor' during the war, hiring out his services of his ship and his crew to whichever side could pay. Delvosh's notes refer to him as being "gloriously amoral".

[Royal]

Andy hits the com button.

"Cap'n! We might be expecting the Smith to be the one on the ambush. Just giving you the head's up. By looking at Tanner's record, it looks like he's the kind who'd sell his grandma for a couple pieces of gold."

[MatthewC]

Andy hits the com button.

"Cap'n! We might be expecting the Smith to be the one on the ambush. Just giving you the head's up. By looking at Tanner's record, it looks like he's the kind who'd sell his grandma for a couple pieces of gold."

Sam struggles under a particularly heavy loop of cable. There's a pause while he puts it down before he can respond. "Thoot's the smaller ship. Good, good. Tha' Smith is a Newhon classed ship, so we ken expect thoot they'll try somewhat tricky ta get a win. We'll hoove ta be trickier."

[OOC: Okay, sorry, I couldn't think of any plan more brilliant than "we'll have to be trickier."]

[FBHthelizardmage]

David takes a drink from his flask as he thinks. "can I take a look at the data?" after a moment (and getting the data) he contiues "If he's totally amoral, we could offer him a better deal, then blast him."

[Perry Holley]

And so begins the process of repairing the Midnight Wind for resale.

The first day involves moving the two vessels out of the way of the anticipated point of entry for any enemy starships approaching, as well as setting up both the decoys and the mines that Sam works up dring the initial preperations. The two ships are hooked up to each other, so that the crews can move back and forth as needed. As the 'day' ends (call it a day, if you like, although in space the term loses some of its meaning), the crew is busy getting tools and other equipment set up, and repairing the bay door entrance to the cargo area that Sam disabled when the crew of the Moonshadow boarded the Wind after it had been disabled by it's own EMP missile.

Next up is to get power up and running throughout the ship. While the hardware of the power plant was not damaged during the altercation between the two starships, various circuits, relays, and breakers throughout the Wind must all be replaced and tested... and there are a lot of them. Jason and Mallory prove to be a big help to Sam and Isa during this time; the ship is powered up after another two days (Sam had originally allocated three days for this part of the plan). No effort is made to get the life support up and running yet; if an enemy vessel does show up, the Wind will have to be depressurized anyways.

Following that is the task of repacing the bridge. This requires a lot of work, and it has to be meticulous. Sam had originally allocated 5 days for Isa and himself to do this; Jason and Mal prove to be of some help, as the bridge is up and running in 4 days instead.

After a week of hard work, the Midnight Wind is capable once again of flying, albeit without internal gravity, or any working guns to protect itself with.

Jason and Mal then break off to repair the Wind's single turret (no sense in bothering getting it up and running until the bridge was working), while Sam and Isa tackle the task of replacing the antigrav drive that was destroyed in the battle between the two ships. The factor of time weighs heavy on everyone's minds. If an enemy vessel left Tesla almost immediately after the Moonshadow did, then (assuming standard Anderson drive travel time), then it would arrive just a few hours shy of the 9th day. If it took perhaps a day or two for an agreement to be reached, then it would take conversely longer for that theoretical starship to arrive.

Just a couple of hours before the window of potential attack opens up, Mallory announces (with no small amount of pride) that the turret on the Wind is up and running, before heading back to the Moonshadow to man the guns there. Sam and Isa still have at least three days left to repair the antigrav drive. The ship can fly, and travel through Anderson space at this point, but would sell for less without a working antigrav drive, and will be much harder to maneuver in respect to a planet's or gas giant's gravity well.

At this point, a decision must be made. Does the crew wait until the drive is in place before leaving, risking a possible attack from another ship, or do the two ships leave, with Sam and Isa perhaps finishing the work while in Anderson space, but leaving at least one potential ship out there that might show up at a later time when the crew is not prepared for them?

[MatthewC]

At this point, a decision must be made. Does the crew wait until the drive is in place before leaving, risking a possible attack from another ship, or do the two ships leave, with Sam and Isa perhaps finishing the work while in Anderson space, but leaving at least one potential ship out there that might show up at a later time when the crew is not prepared for them?

"We cannae leave sooch an enemy behind oos, ta come after oos whenever they think prooper. If we're going to have this out, let's do it noo when we're prepared," Sam declares.

"We stay and fix the gravity."

[Perry Holley]

Time passes, as Sam and Isa continue to work on getting the new antigrav drive up to snuff. Sam keeps periodic check of the time as he keeps busy with is work. When will the enemy ship show up? Will it show up at all?

Finally, shortly after what would be the tenth 'day' of work on the Midnight Wind, alarms ring throughout both the Wind and the Moonshadow, as sensors on both vessels pick up on the unmistakable energies of something exiting Anderson space. After crewmembers scramble to get to their respective positions, David and Isa engage a passive scan (hoping this doesn't alert their enemies to their hidden position), to gain a target lock should it prove necessary.

The good news is that the planning and guessing on the part of our heroes seemed to be pretty much on target. The point of entry from Anderson space was pretty close to what had been expected. The readings are consistant with what would be expected of a Newhon-class ship. The real Moonshadow and Wind have apparently not yet been noticed by our new players in this drama, who instead seem to be heading toward the decoys that Sam had deployed, instead of the nearby gas giant.

The bad news is that it doesn't appear to be just one ship.

It doesn't even appear to be merely two ships.

Rather, impossible as it may seem, sensor reading indicate that there are no less than eight Newhon-class vessels, all in formation, flying toward the direction of the decoy signals.



[Note - unless someone wants to break radio-silence, the crews of the Wind and the Moonshadow cannot communicate with each other at the moment.

[FBHthelizardmage]

(don't we have directional laser links or something? ah well) David opens up internal comms around the shadow "Ok, I'm thinking this is a trick. Anyone got any plans on how to pull the real ships from the drones?"

[MatthewC]

Rather, impossible as it may seem, sensor reading indicate that there are no less than eight Newhon-class vessels, all in formation, flying toward the direction of the decoy signals.

Sam transmits to Isa and Andy on the internal suit coms. "It's soom kinda trick. No way they ken grab eight ships in this amoount of time, noot ta mention how they're all 'soomhow' tha same class. Looks like we're noot the only ones that ken be clever."

He starts working at his datapad. "Hold oon while I come oop with a few theories how they might be doon it. In the meantime, let's sit tight and see what hoopens when they hit my mines. With luck, tha fake ships willnae hoove enough substance fer tha mines' targetting locks ta grapple oon."

Sam adds, "Oh, and Andy, see if you ken help Isa keep an eye oot in tha other directions. If they anticipated oos, maybe they're all fakes and tha real ship is coming froom another direction."

[OOC: Does Sam have any theories, and what shape is our anti-grav in?]

[Perry Holley]

Sam transmits to Isa and Andy on the internal suit coms. "It's soom kinda trick. No way they ken grab eight ships in this amoount of time, noot ta mention how they're all 'soomhow' tha same class. Looks like we're noot the only ones that ken be clever."Isa studies the reading from the bridge monitor, and replies, "You are correct, Captain. The energy signature from the residual Anderson energies are consistant with one ship exiting, not eight."

He starts working at his datapad. "Hold oon while I come oop with a few theories how they might be doon it. In the meantime, let's sit tight and see what hoopens when they hit my mines. With luck, tha fake ships willnae hoove enough substance fer tha mines' targetting locks ta grapple oon."As the 'ships' enter into the path of the mines, the explosions begin. Four of the six mines explode; based off of the timing and placement of the explosions, and how the ships reacted (all in the same manner, as if mirror images of each other), Isa quickly crunches some numbers, and the sensor screen puts a red circle around one of the icons representing the enemy ship signatures. "That one is real; the others are false decoys."

"Your orders, Captain? Flee, cripple or kill?"

Sam adds, "Oh, and Andy, see if you ken help Isa keep an eye oot in tha other directions. If they anticipated oos, maybe they're all fakes and tha real ship is coming froom another direction."Andy can find no other readings for any other ships in the area.

[OOC: Does Sam have any theories, and what shape is our anti-grav in?]Sam's first guess is to think that they have some sort of anti-tracking device that refracts their ship's signal into multiple energy signatures for defensive purposes [i.e. think of the D&D "Mirror Image" spell].

The antigrav drive still needs about two days work.

[Perry Holley]

(don't we have directional laser links or something? ah well) David opens up internal comms around the shadow "Ok, I'm thinking this is a trick. Anyone got any plans on how to pull the real ships from the drones?"After the mines explode, a message from Mallory's turret comes in to the bridge for David, with one of the enemy ships sensor signature tagged: "T-t-that's one r-real, th-the others are f-f-fake."

At that point, Jason's voice is heard over the intercomm. "So what's the call, sir? Haul tail, try to take prisoners, or just blow them to atoms?"

[MatthewC]

As the 'ships' enter into the path of the mines, the explosions begin. Four of the six mines explode; based off of the timing and placement of the explosions, and how the ships reacted (all in the same manner, as if mirror images of each other), Isa quickly crunches some numbers, and the sensor screen puts a red circle around one of the icons representing the enemy ship signatures. "That one is real; the others are false decoys."

"Your orders, Captain? Flee, cripple or kill?"

"Attack, boot dinnae get fancy. Joost shoot at their center of mass so they canne ignore us. Tha Moonshadow will do tha heavy lifting o' taking them oot, with us as tha distraction," replies Sam.

About 20% of his mind is occupied wondering how to duplicate the sensory 'mirror image' effect on the Moonshadow. When the first shot is fired, his attention will be forcibly focused and it'll be 10%, tops.

[Royal]

"Damn!"

Andy buckles and ties himself down to the closest seat. He then braces for the worst.

[FBHthelizardmage]

After the mines explode, a message from Mallory's turret comes in to the bridge for David, with one of the enemy ships sensor signature tagged: "T-t-that's one r-real, th-the others are f-f-fake."

At that point, Jason's voice is heard over the intercomm. "So what's the call, sir? Haul tail, try to take prisoners, or just blow them to atoms?"

David runs a final system check on the engines preparing to begin evasive manoeuvres once they reveal their position. "Try take them prisoner for now, but if it looks like it's getting dodgy don't hesitate to flat line them."

To his surprise David finds himself smiling. "Fire at will."

[Perry Holley]

As the crews of the Moonshadow and Midnight Wind begin to prepare for attack, their Newhon-class target, while avoiding the explosings of the mines, continues toward the direction of the decoys signals of the fuax-Moonshadow and faux-Wind; David and Isa hold off on initiating active scans just yet, as their target apparently still does not know of their true location.

Twin laser energies erupt from the two turrets of the Newhon-class ship, targeting the decoys that Sam set up; predictably, both decoys are destroyed as a result, during this time, Jason, Mallory, and Isa all target the enemy vessel; neither Jason nor Mallory target specific systems, as that will require the use of more active sensor scanning.

All three laser turrets find their target. At that point, the Newhon-vessel begins to arc around toward the direction of the real Wind and Moonshadow; the bridges from both vehicles pick up the telltale signs of beind scanned by their enemy's active sensor sweep, and Davis and Isa return the favor, finally getting a more precise reading on their target.

The ship in question has taken a good half-dozen hits (it's not immediately clear which are from the mines, and which are from the laser turrets). Three of the hits left ugly scorings along the hull, but did not penetrate the ship's hull integrity. Two hits did penetrate, but it's not immediatly clear what was damaged inside the ship (i.e. cargo storage, sleeping quarters, other facilities, etc.). One of the hits definately did some damage to the part of the engines/drive, but it's not immediatly clear which of the drives was damaged as a result. Seemingly undaunted, the ship is heading toward the Wind and Moonshadow, presumably to attack.

[End round one. Let me know if there are any changes to the above-stated plans or not.]

[FBHthelizardmage]

David accelerates and begins to a series of fluttering butterfly evasions. "target their weapons and engines." he calls, just in case anyone has forgotten.

[MatthewC]

The ship in question has taken a good half-dozen hits (it's not immediately clear which are from the mines, and which are from the laser turrets). Three of the hits left ugly scorings along the hull, but did not penetrate the ship's hull integrity. Two hits did penetrate, but it's not immediatly clear what was damaged inside the ship (i.e. cargo storage, sleeping quarters, other facilities, etc.). One of the hits definately did some damage to the part of the engines/drive, but it's not immediatly clear which of the drives was damaged as a result. Seemingly undaunted, the ship is heading toward the Wind and Moonshadow, presumably to attack.

[End round one. Let me know if there are any changes to the above-stated plans or not.]

"Time ta goo off spec," mutters Sam. He hurriedly makes sure that the straps holding him to his acceleration pad in the engine compartment are tight and then coms Isa.

"Poor on the acceleration! Roosty n' I ken take it. I'll give ya all the extra power I ken." He begins fingering his com-pad, pushing the fusion reactor past its manufacturer-approved safety tolerances as the flow of hydrogen massively speeds up and the minature star in the ship's guts increases in intensity three-fold.

"Ram this ship oop their gullets. Make 'em turn away into tha Moonshadow's field o' fire if they woont ta avoid a crash."

[MatthewC]

"Poor on the acceleration! Roosty n' I ken take it. I'll give ya all the extra power I ken." He begins fingering his com-pad, pushing the fusion reactor past its manufacturer-approved safety tolerances as the flow of hydrogen massively speeds up and the minature star in the ship's guts increases in intensity three-fold.

"Ram this ship oop their gullets. Make 'em turn away into tha Moonshadow's field o' fire if they woont ta avoid a crash."

Despite the baravdo of his words, there's a nervous twist to Sam's gut. Too many G's too fast, and any of their insides could be paste. If only the grav system were-

Suddenly, the blinking power signatures of the Moonshadow's fusion generator's increased output spark a flash of inspiration in Starfall's mind. If he routes the power here and here, then the single repaired Sinclair-bar of the four making up the gravity generator's field dampener might just be able to generate a field big enough on its own to cover the whole Midnight Run.

He quickly types additional commands into the ship's systems. It won't last long, but it just might take them through the battle.

[Perry Holley]

As Sam fiddles with the antigrav drive he is able to get a very basic field around the ship. There's not enough power to spare or fine control to get onboard gravity back on the Midnight Wind; Isa, Sam and Andy are still functioning in effective weightlessness. What Sam is able to accomplish essentially shunts and redirects the g-forces that result from Isa's manuevering of the Wind against itself, neutralizing the negative effects for the most part. there's still some occasional queasiness for Andy, and to a lesser degree Sam, but for the immediate moment the Wind can manuever without turning Sam and Andy into potted meat.

As the Newhon-classed vessels turns around to face the Wind and the Moonshadow, Mallory, Jason, and Isa continue their barrage against their target. Their pilot is good; perhaps not quite as good as Jason, but pretty close. His evasive manuevers manage to avoid Jason's fire, and Mallory's shot only results in a glancing hit near the engines, possible hitting thier power plant, but probably not doing too much damage. However, in their attemps to avoid the Moonshadow, they fly squarely into the Wind's line of fire; one of Isa's shots hits thier bridge area pretty solidly, after which they seem to lose their manuevability, continuing in a straight line along the path they were lying before the bridge was hit.

At pretty much the same time as all this happens, laser beams arc from the Newhon-class vessel's turrets, one at the Moonshadow, the other at the Wind. David easily dodges out of the way of the incoming fire, but Isa is not so fortunate. The Wind takes a solid hit along its hull, although thankfully it does not penetrate into the ship; for the moment the Wind's hull integrity is still intact.

[End round two. Any changes to Sam's and David's orders?]

[FBHthelizardmage]

As Sam fiddles with the antigrav drive he is able to get a very basic field around the ship. There's not enough power to spare or fine control to get onboard gravity back on the Midnight Wind; Isa, Sam and Andy are still functioning in effective weightlessness. What Sam is able to accomplish essentially shunts and redirects the g-forces that result from Isa's manuevering of the Wind against itself, neutralizing the negative effects for the most part. there's still some occasional queasiness for Andy, and to a lesser degree Sam, but for the immediate moment the Wind can manuever without turning Sam and Andy into potted meat.

As the Newhon-classed vessels turns around to face the Wind and the Moonshadow, Mallory, Jason, and Isa continue their barrage against their target. Their pilot is good; perhaps not quite as good as Jason, but pretty close. His evasive manuevers manage to avoid Jason's fire, and Mallory's shot only results in a glancing hit near the engines, possible hitting thier power plant, but probably not doing too much damage. However, in their attemps to avoid the Moonshadow, they fly squarely into the Wind's line of fire; one of Isa's shots hits thier bridge area pretty solidly, after which they seem to lose their manuevability, continuing in a straight line along the path they were lying before the bridge was hit.

At pretty much the same time as all this happens, laser beams arc from the Newhon-class vessel's turrets, one at the Moonshadow, the other at the Wind. David easily dodges out of the way of the incoming fire, but Isa is not so fortunate. The Wind takes a solid hit along its hull, although thankfully it does not penetrate into the ship; for the moment the Wind's hull integrity is still intact.

[End round two. Any changes to Sam's and David's orders?]

David opens a hailing frequence to the other ship. "any of you sons of bitches that can here us over there. Stop shooting or we'll nail your engines and just leave you to drift." He keys the internals. "nail those turrets please."

He begins to move the ship so it's as much as possible out of the line of fire, but Jason and Mal can still shoot.

[MatthewC]

[End round two. Any changes to Sam's and David's orders?]

Sam studies the ship on his screen. "Isa darlin', I'm sending you some target areas. Noo that they're no longer rolling aboot and you ken get a cleaner shot, I want you ta target these patches o' hull. If you ken get one through, it should sever transfer lines and cut off their power without damaging their engines beyond repair."

[Perry Holley]

Mallory and Jason each target one of the enemy turrets, both hitting their respective targets with laser fire. Isa's targetting successfully penetrates the hull of the are that Sam had indicated, although there's no way to tell yet whether or not it had the desired result.

Finally, a transmission can be heard over the intercomms of both the Moonshadow and the Midnight Wind, presumably from the enemy vessel (perhaps indicating that they've gotten their bridge area back to a functional state). After a long stretch of static, a voice is finally heard:

"...surrender. Repeat, we surrender."

[MatthewC]

Mallory and Jason each target one of the enemy turrets, both hitting their respective targets with laser fire. Isa's targetting successfully penetrates the hull of the are that Sam had indicated, although there's no way to tell yet whether or not it had the desired result.

Finally, a transmission can be heard over the intercomms of both the Moonshadow and the Midnight Wind, presumably from the enemy vessel (perhaps indicating that they've gotten their bridge area back to a functional state). After a long stretch of static, a voice is finally heard:

"...surrender. Repeat, we surrender."

"Patch me through, Isa," orders Sam. Even as he speaks he throttles the engine back to a normal level of fusion and begins tumbling through free-fall, headed out of the engine room and to the bridge.

"This is Captain Starfall trasnmitting from the Midnight Run. You fookers power doon your engines, and we'll talk terms. You goot two minutes ta take account o' yourselves before we continue this conversation."

He cuts the transmission and opens a private channel to the Moonshadow. "Davie-boy, hoold fer tha moment and give me your stootus. We only took a minor shoot to the hull, and we're all okay. How are you all holding up? Took any hits?"

[FBHthelizardmage]

"No. We're good." David relaxes back in his seat then smiles. "holy crap Sam, if we salvage this ship to we're going to end up with a regular fleet."

[Perry Holley]

Sam hears Isa's voice over their intercomm. "Captain, sensors indicate that they are indeed powering down their engines."

[MatthewC]

Sam hears Isa's voice over their intercomm. "Captain, sensors indicate that they are indeed powering down their engines."

Sam nods, visual communication possible now that he's back on the bridge.

"Davie, you stay oon the comm while we toolk wit' these fellows. Pipe oop as necessary and prooper," says Sam.

He pauses a moment to think, then transmits to the enemy ship once more. "Attention oonidentified ship, this is Starfall again. You will, er, identify yourselves immediately and let me know who I'm speakin' to!"

[Perry Holley]

He pauses a moment to think, then transmits to the enemy ship once more. "Attention oonidentified ship, this is Starfall again. You will, er, identify yourselves immediately and let me know who I'm speakin' to!"After a pause, a static-crackled respose comes through. "This is Captain William Tanner of the C.A. Smith." Another pause, followed by what might be a sigh. "What are your conditions for our surrender?"

[MatthewC]

After a pause, a static-crackled respose comes through. "This is Captain William Tanner of the C.A. Smith." Another pause, followed by what might be a sigh. "What are your conditions for our surrender?"

"I want everybody oon board to get in a spacesuit and jump oot tha lock. Tha Moonshadow will take ya aboord one at a time and see prooperly secured, so be sure to bring plenty o' oxygen in tha suits. Then you and I will hoove a face-ta-face aboot where we go from here."

Sam pauses. "If you do this and doont' give me any trouble, ah pledge noot ta kill you or your crew, and you'll hoove an ooportunity to negotiate with me further. If noot, I'm noot risking tha lives of any of my crew in any boarding action. We'll joost shoot your ship apart until it's beyond repair, wait till any survivors hoove no choice boot ta abandon ship, and then pick you oop joost the same."

[Perry Holley]

"I want everybody oon board to get in a spacesuit and jump oot tha lock. Tha Moonshadow will take ya aboord one at a time and see prooperly secured, so be sure to bring plenty o' oxygen in tha suits. Then you and I will hoove a face-ta-face aboot where we go from here."

Sam pauses. "If you do this and doont' give me any trouble, ah pledge noot ta kill you or your crew, and you'll hoove an ooportunity to negotiate with me further. If noot, I'm noot risking tha lives of any of my crew in any boarding action. We'll joost shoot your ship apart until it's beyond repair, wait till any survivors hoove no choice boot ta abandon ship, and then pick you oop joost the same."[Apologies for the long delay]

The process is slow, but uneventful. Those onboard the Smith are taken over to the Moonshadow one at a time, checked for weapons, etc. Andy oversees this, using whatever measures he deems necessary for security purposes. Part of what takes so long is the sheer number of people who must be dealt with; no less than 23 people were aboard the Smith. For the purposes of holding the prisoners, there are 13 cryoberths on the Moonshadow, as well as 13 staterooms, six of which are currently in use by the crew of the Moonshadow. Assuming that 13 of the prisoners are held in the cryoberths, the remaining ten can be put in the staterooms, although some will have to double up (four being put in their own rooms, six being put in the remaing three rooms).

How they are divided up, and whatever security measures are decided upon, is up to the crew of the Moonshadow.

[FBHthelizardmage]

David suggests that all senior officers and crew be locked in cryo when we're not talking to them, and if possible, we secure some of the crew aboard the midnight wind.

[MatthewC]

The process is slow, but uneventful. Those onboard the Smith are taken over to the Moonshadow one at a time, checked for weapons, etc. Andy oversees this, using whatever measures he deems necessary for security purposes. Part of what takes so long is the sheer number of people who must be dealt with; no less than 23 people were aboard the Smith. For the purposes of holding the prisoners, there are 13 cryoberths on the Moonshadow, as well as 13 staterooms, six of which are currently in use by the crew of the Moonshadow. Assuming that 13 of the prisoners are held in the cryoberths, the remaining ten can be put in the staterooms, although some will have to double up (four being put in their own rooms, six being put in the remaing three rooms).

I don't suppose Mousaki actually came in person to supervise, did he?

I thought there was a small chance he would, since we know he's been willing to undertake space voyages in other instances.

[Royal]

David suggests that all senior officers and crew be locked in cryo when we're not talking to them, and if possible, we secure some of the crew aboard the midnight wind.

Andy seconds the motion and suggests that the Smith's logs and 'banks be downloaded to their computers to compare stories. He also suggests that they get the prisoners to an inhabited planet as soon as possible.

[Perry Holley]

I don't suppose Mousaki actually came in person to supervise, did he?

I thought there was a small chance he would, since we know he's been willing to undertake space voyages in other instances.No, Mousaki isn't there.

Initial questioning reveals that, of the 23 prisoners, six were the crew of the Smith, three were employees of Hollis Pharmaceuticals, and the remaining 14 were mercs hired in case a boarding action was necessary to take over the Moonshadow and/or the Midnight Wind.

[FBHthelizardmage]

David finds out what capacity were the employees used in?

[Perry Holley]

One of the three Hollis employees was in charge of the operation, overseeing either a) the destruction of the Moonshadow and its crew or preferably (b) the retreival of the teraport, after the crew of the Moonshadow had been 'pacified'.

The other two are technicians, brought along in case the Moonshadow was damaged enough not to fly, so as to detach and remove the teraport.

[MatthewC]

Sam makes the transfer over to the Moonshadow to help secure the prisoners. (Leaving Isa on the Midnight Run with her finger on the turbo-laser trigger in case they left anyone on the other ship.) He asks David to keep Captain Tanner and the Hollis representative in their own personal cabins. The mercenaries should be stuck in the cryochambers, as they pose the greatest risk of a break-out.

For the rest, Sam will whip up some restraints bolted to the cabin walls that can't be removed unless one of the prisoners is willing to cut their own hand off (and Sam leaves them no sharp objects to attempt to do so). Remembering his own experience, he checks twice to make sure that a really strong prisoner can't break chain or the object its anchored to. He also asks Andy to prepare some sedatives that will keep them relatively docile for a week or so. Then he consults with Andy and David.

"This is a fine mess and partially my fault, I moost admit. I should hoove exercised a bit more patience in my testing. Ah, boot the lord knows all human creatures hoove oor weaknesses, and a certain impulsiveness with science is mine.

"Thoot being said, the question arises as to whoot ta do now. I think before we do anything else, we need ta consoolt with tha Hollis representative and Captain Tanner, in thoot order. It occurs ta me thoot we've been searching fer a partner ta help exploit me invention anyway. Hollis was noot that choice of our making, boot they do hoove certain features. Mousaki didnae roon ta tha Horus government and turn oover tha Teraport like a good little boy. Nor is Hollis Pharmaceuticals so high oop tha chain they can hold on ta the tech withoot fear and swipe anyone in their way. If we approach this root, we joost might strike a deal profitable ta all concerned. Them ta provide tha money and resources ta build more units, an' oos ta provide tha technical refinement, balls, brains, and a wee bit o' blackmail material thoot could be helpful in keeping tha Tesla high muckety-mooks in line."

Sam opens his hands to Andy and David. "Any thoots?"

(Perry: My idea is that the three PCs should first approach the Hollis representative to see how reasonable they might be about things. Then based on the results of that conversation, we can talk to Captain Tanner.)

[FBHthelizardmage]

David gets a thoughtful look. "you Sam have the mind of the businessman. I'm sure glad you're on our side. Let's give it a shot."

[Royal]

Andy leans up against the wall.

"It's your baby. If you feel that Mousaki can help you out then go for it. I do recommend coming up with a back door plan....just in case an "accident" occurs and we all go missing and such."

[MatthewC]

Andy leans up against the wall.

"It's your baby. If you feel that Mousaki can help you out then go for it. I do recommend coming up with a back door plan....just in case an "accident" occurs and we all go missing and such."

Sam grins at Andy. "See, whoot thoot sounds like to me ears is you 'volunteering' ta come oop with joost such a back-up plan fer us. I look forward to hearing aboot it."

He knocks a hand against a wall for emphasis. "Noo, let's go see tha moon in charge."

[Perry Holley]

Amanda Haynes sits in her quarters, held by whatever restraints Sam whipped up for the occasion. An attractive brunette woman, her expression indicates a resigned attitude; she does not beg, plead, or cojole, she simply awaits whatever fate is in store.

"What do you want?"

[MatthewC]

Amanda Haynes sits in her quarters, held by whatever restraints Sam whipped up for the occasion. An attractive brunette woman, her expression indicates a resigned attitude; she does not beg, plead, or cojole, she simply awaits whatever fate is in store.

"What do you want?"

Sam's attitude is relaxed. He's not doing any yelling. Yet.

"I woont to know hoo mooch authority you hoove. Are you someone it should be worth me time ta talk too? Were yoo prepared at all fer this contingency? Can any strike any deals on behalf of Hollis? Is it all o' Hollis you would be speaking for, or joost Johann and whatever fiefdom he's goot within the company?

"Let's be realistic. Root now we each ken torpedo tha plans o' that other. I'd look ta explore endin' tha mutual stand-off, pointing oor guns ootward, and making a boatload o' money. Together.

"Whoot do ya think aboot that?"

[Perry Holley]

Sam's attitude is relaxed. He's not doing any yelling. Yet.

"I woont to know hoo mooch authority you hoove. Are you someone it should be worth me time ta talk too? Were yoo prepared at all fer this contingency? Can any strike any deals on behalf of Hollis? Is it all o' Hollis you would be speaking for, or joost Johann and whatever fiefdom he's goot within the company?

"Let's be realistic. Root now we each ken torpedo tha plans o' that other. I'd look ta explore endin' tha mutual stand-off, pointing oor guns ootward, and making a boatload o' money. Together.

"Whoot do ya think aboot that?"There's a pause as she takes in everything Sam says. Finally she responds. "Hollis is like pretty much any other corp... there are always power struggles. Mousaki is well-placed, and his star is on the rise, but he's also made his share of enemies along the way."

"You can only trust Mousaki from a position of strength... and he always has a few extra aces up his sleeve. If you really want to make a deal with Hollis, and actually want to survive and profit from it, then you need to take Mousaki out of the way. If you want me for a partner and represenative inside Hollis, that works for me. I need allies, and you're obviously smart and capable. Moreso, the fact that you would be willing to play straight with me after everything that has just happened makes me inclined to trust you.

If you want to deal, I'm in."

[Royal]

There's a pause as she takes in everything Sam says. Finally she responds. "Hollis is like pretty much any other corp... there are always power struggles. Mousaki is well-placed, and his star is on the rise, but he's also made his share of enemies along the way."

"You can only trust Mousaki from a position of strength... and he always has a few extra aces up his sleeve. If you really want to make a deal with Hollis, and actually want to survive and profit from it, then you need to take Mousaki out of the way. If you want me for a partner and represenative inside Hollis, that works for me. I need allies, and you're obviously smart and capable. Moreso, the fact that you would be willing to play straight with me after everything that has just happened makes me inclined to trust you.

If you want to deal, I'm in."

"Kinda quick with the deal, aren't 'cha?"

Andy leans forward in his chair and his head in his hand. "Must mean two things. Either your a total novice in this area or you're setting us up as dead birds to be put on Mousaki's doorstep. And either way both of us look like fools."

Andy gets out of his chair and looks down at Amanda.

"'You can trust me!' doesn't cut it around here. We need cold hard substance, so if you got some, and I mean really good substance, you pretty much here for a laugh until we find a real good hard labor camp to drop you off at. They love when women visit the HL slams I've seen. Love it to death. So...either tell us what kind and how many of these so called "aces" he has up in his sleeve....or just sit there and look pretty. Choice is yours babe."

[Perry Holley]

"Kinda quick with the deal, aren't 'cha?""Don't have much choice, do I?"

Andy leans forward in his chair and his head in his hand. "Must mean two things. Either your a total novice in this area or you're setting us up as dead birds to be put on Mousaki's doorstep. And either way both of us look like fools."She winces a bit upon being declared a 'novice'. "Well, I'm sorry that I forgot to bring the documentation necessary to appease you. Given that I had all of about 24 hours to throw this operation together, and was led to believe that you people would be sitting ducks and unprepared for a surprise attack, I guess it somehow slipped my mind..."

Andy gets out of his chair and looks down at Amanda.

"'You can trust me!' doesn't cut it around here. We need cold hard substance, so if you got some, and I mean really good substance, you pretty much here for a laugh until we find a real good hard labor camp to drop you off at. They love when women visit the HL slams I've seen. Love it to death. So...either tell us what kind and how many of these so called "aces" he has up in his sleeve....or just sit there and look pretty. Choice is yours babe."Amanda lets Andy's words sink in a bit before responding.

"Mousaki has dirt on a lot of people... rumor is that he's hired a telepath in the past to get the good on various people, both inside and outside of Hollis. I'm pretty certain he has contacts in Tesla's underworld, but I don't know who, or why he has them. I do know that some of his enemies has disappeared in the past, or shown up dead from seeming random violent attacks from gang members."

"I gotta tell you, the guy's pretty sharp, as you've probably already figured out. Even if I didn't have a back-up plan in case everything went to pot with this operation, you can bet he does."

A slight pause, before continuing. "If you want a weakness to exploit, the closest thing I can think of is that little chippie he's acting as a sugar daddy to, a college girl by the name of Caitlin Sousa. Don't know if she actually means anything to him, though."

[MatthewC]

Sam has been... well, not ignoring the conversation. He seems to be taking it all on on some level. But it's painfully obvious that as soon as Amanda said Mousaki had to be taken 'out of the way', his mind went elsewhere. Feet crossed, leaning back in his chair, he seems to be staring off into space as accusation and counter-accusation fly. Now suddenly he speaks.

"A death trap."

Pause.

"I've noover built a death trap before, boot the design principles seem fairly oovious." He sounds vaguely excited.

"It's an interesting coonundrum. Portability and/or ease o' set-oop on site would seem to be tha basic constraints. Oh and a certain cleverness. Yoor noot goon ta get a man like thoot with simple explosives. I'd need ta do something inspired. You doont rig oop his vehicle to elecotrocute him. You let him be clever and borrow the neighbor's vehicle, and then that's the one thoot's poisoned. You doont try ta trick him into walking doon a dark alley. You allow him ta walk doon tha lit hallway and when he hits the switch oot tha end, thoot's the sonics thoot fry his brain. Or maybe joost dump him into a vat o' radioactive oatmeal-"

Sam shakes himself a bit, seeming to remember that other people are in the room. "Apologize ool around, I was joost brainstorming. Uh, fer a day's notice thoot was a good joob, Miss Haynes. Don't listen ta old sourpuss, you've naught to be ashamed of. Well, other than the murder attempt. Boot naught ta be ashamed of from a technical level."

He sits up, slamming feet on the floor. "Well! I see several alternatives. Noomber one, we enlist tha aid o' Captain Tanner and get him to cooperate in the pretense thoot he succeeded in killin' me and capturing my teraport. Tha positive side is thoot Mousaki will be quite primed ta believe thoot little scenario and we would hoove a good opportunity ta sucker him in. The negative side is thoot gives Tanner a big stinking oopertunity ta turn tha tables oon us, which he's goot every motivation ta do. Keepin' him oonder check could be quite tha task.

"Noomber two, we use tha teraport to go book ta Tesla ahead o' schedule. We slip past tha planetary sensor net and land in secret. Then we go in, kill or otherwise neutralize Johann before he knows we're there, slip book out, pretend ta return on normal schedule, and hoove ourselves tha perfect alibi. I goot ta confess, I like this one. There might even be time ta droop our prisoners oof on Anderson first. Tha tricky part would be tha landin' and takin' off without getting caught, which I would need ta consider further.

"Or option number three, which doesnae hoove immediate appeal, boot I mention fer completeness. We turn around, go back ta Tesla with tha Midnight Run via conventional drive, land, and bareface it oot with Mousaki, depending on oor wits and cleverness to create result."

The engineer/captain leans back. "I welcome your thoots."

[Perry Holley]

Amanda seems taken aback by Sam's monologue, clearly not quite certain what to make of him. "Umm... I'd go for option number two, if I had a choice."

"I don't think you can trust Mousaki at all at this point, and personally, from what I've seen, I trust Tanner even less..."

[Royal]

Amanda seems taken aback by Sam's monologue, clearly not quite certain what to make of him. "Umm... I'd go for option number two, if I had a choice."

"I don't think you can trust Mousaki at all at this point, and personally, from what I've seen, I trust Tanner even less..."

"I hate to say this, but I'm with her. Number two does sound good."

Andy looks down at Amanda again

"but let's have a cup of coffee with Tanner. Just to see if we're even stevens with the situation."

Andy then hits the telecom.

"Isa babe. Can you get us a handcom containing the Smith's logs from the time of liftoff from Tesla till when we attacked? Thanks."

[Perry Holley]

Andy then hits the telecom.

"Isa babe. Can you get us a handcom containing the Smith's logs from the time of liftoff from Tesla till when we attacked? Thanks."A few moments later, a small 'beep' is heard from Andy's handcomp. Isa's voice is heard over his commlink. "All the relevant files have been downloaded to your handcomp, Mr. Roosty." Andy, Sam, and David can now proceed with their discussion with Mr. Tanner.

[Royal]

A few moments later, a small 'beep' is heard from Andy's handcomp. Isa's voice is heard over his commlink. "All the relevant files have been downloaded to your handcomp, Mr. Roosty." Andy, Sam, and David can now proceed with their discussion with Mr. Tanner.

Andy looks over the files while Sam and Dave have a go at Tanner.

[FBHthelizardmage]

"I hate to say this, but I'm with her. Number two does sound good."

Andy looks down at Amanda again

"but let's have a cup of coffee with Tanner. Just to see if we're even stevens with the situation."

Andy then hits the telecom.

"Isa babe. Can you get us a handcom containing the Smith's logs from the time of liftoff from Tesla till when we attacked? Thanks."

"you should trust the advice of pretty ladies more." David turns his best heart melting smile on Amanda, "perhaps we could meet a bit later to discuss precisely what we're cutting one another in for at some length."

"It should be clear that I'll go for option two as well." he looks at the other to. "Do we even want to bother talking to this Tanner guy? He sounds like we should just dump him in cryo for the trip."

[MatthewC]

"It should be clear that I'll go for option two as well." he looks at the other to. "Do we even want to bother talking to this Tanner guy? He sounds like we should just dump him in cryo for the trip."

"Noo, noo, I did proomise Mr. Tanner an oopurtunity ta speak, and ah always keep me word," replies Sam.

He hustles David out the door before David can ask, 'Since when?'

Checking to make sure they are both armed, Sam looks into the room where Tanner is locked up.

[Perry Holley]

Tanner looks up as Sam pokes his head through the door. "I was wondering when you would show up," he says.

"Since you haven't spaced me yet, you obviously want something from me, so let's get down to it."

[MatthewC]

Tanner looks up as Sam pokes his head through the door. "I was wondering when you would show up," he says.

"Since you haven't spaced me yet, you obviously want something from me, so let's get down to it."

Sam responds gamely enough. "Ah woont information, of course. I've heard a tale froom that lady in the cabin doon that hall, and now I want ta here the story from you ta see if they match."

He spreads his hands out. "In ool honesty, preparing fer yer attoock took o' good chunk of me time, and I'm still puzzlin' oot in my head whoot I want ta do next. If you hoove anything tha say thoot'll make me view your disposition in a more favorable light, then by all means dazzle me."

[Perry Holley]

Sam responds gamely enough. "Ah woont information, of course. I've heard a tale froom that lady in the cabin doon that hall, and now I want ta here the story from you ta see if they match."

He spreads his hands out. "In ool honesty, preparing fer yer attoock took o' good chunk of me time, and I'm still puzzlin' oot in my head whoot I want ta do next. If you hoove anything tha say thoot'll make me view your disposition in a more favorable light, then by all means dazzle me.""Hurm..."

"Well, what do you want to hear? We got paid - half in advence, of course - by Hollis to act as transport, and to cripple or destroy your ship. They want your space drives... they wouldn't say exactly what for, but it doesn't take much guessing to figure out that you've made some sort of advances that they want for themselves. Course, they wanted you destroyed if they couldn't capture you, which indicates that they have some idea how what you got works, but would prefer to capture an actual working model to back up whatever they've learned."

"Mind you, I had plans for getting whatever you've got for myself, the drives if not your entire ship. It wouldn't have been easy... I suspect those hired mercs were as much to protect Haynes and her techies from my people as they were to 'pacify' your crew in case a boarding action was necessary. Of couse, mercs can be bought off, and even if they can't, well, I don't think I need to tell you what a good starship crew with the 'home-field advantage' can do to even a group of professional soldiers."

"so... let's deal. I've got a good ship with a good crew who knows their way around every planet in this sector, and I can do whatever dirty work you need. I figure you're on the cusp of something big... and I want in on it."

[Perry Holley]

Andy looks over the files while Sam and Dave have a go at Tanner.The logs for the Smith don't reveal any real surprises. It took off a day after the Moonshadow left Tesla, going quickly into Anderson space toward Ross 388. After an uneventful time in Anderson space, the logs show Smith attacking what it perceived to be the Moonshadow, and the combat that followed.

[FBHthelizardmage]

"Hurm..."

"Well, what do you want to hear? We got paid - half in advence, of course - by Hollis to act as transport, and to cripple or destroy your ship. They want your space drives... they wouldn't say exactly what for, but it doesn't take much guessing to figure out that you've made some sort of advances that they want for themselves. Course, they wanted you destroyed if they couldn't capture you, which indicates that they have some idea how what you got works, but would prefer to capture an actual working model to back up whatever they've learned."

"Mind you, I had plans for getting whatever you've got for myself, the drives if not your entire ship. It wouldn't have been easy... I suspect those hired mercs were as much to protect Haynes and her techies from my people as they were to 'pacify' your crew in case a boarding action was necessary. Of couse, mercs can be bought off, and even if they can't, well, I don't think I need to tell you what a good starship crew with the 'home-field advantage' can do to even a group of professional soldiers."

"so... let's deal. I've got a good ship with a good crew who knows their way around every planet in this sector, and I can do whatever dirty work you need. I figure you're on the cusp of something big... and I want in on it."

"That sounds like a sweet deal... but some questions..." David leans forward and smiles politely. "Do you think we were born yesterday? You just out and out said you were going to rip off your previous employer off! Why should we trust you?"

[Perry Holley]

"That sounds like a sweet deal... but some questions..." David leans forward and smiles politely. "Do you think we were born yesterday? You just out and out said you were going to rip off your previous employer off! Why should we trust you?""Well, my initial impression of your crew is that you're smart enough to use me as a resource while taking the precautions necessary to cover your butts," replies Tanner. "But perhaps I'm mistaken..."

[FBHthelizardmage]

"Well, my initial impression of your crew is that you're smart enough to use me as a resource while taking the precautions necessary to cover your butts," replies Tanner. "But perhaps I'm mistaken..."

"yeah, I guess we are. Our captain here likes to mess around with death traps... maybe we can make you and your crew collars with bombs on them." David smiles... looking for a moment very like Sam.

[Royal]

"yeah, I guess we are. Our captain here likes to mess around with death traps... maybe we can make you and your crew collars with bombs on them." David smiles... looking for a moment very like Sam.

"That's too cruel." Andy says as he starts to clean his guns. "Give them rigged chasity belts."

[MatthewC]

"Nah, thoot sorta thing isnae condooctive to building a good business relationship," says Sam after leting Andy and David bunt around the idea of bomb-filled bloomers.

He addresses Tanner directly. "You do seem a cunning sort, Captain Tanner, and I am lookin' towards big things in the near future. Frankly, we're goon ta need ships and men who know to run them and aren't interested in retirement."

Sam's voice gets scary intense. "Since tha war, interstellar society is dying oot. Trade decreasing year by year, less travel between systems, and even tha moost advanced trying hard to support themselves. A long night is cooming... boot we can change all thoot. With my invention, the galaxy is aboot ta open up before us. With reduced travel times, trade ken be profitable fer oos as it is for noo one else. New worlds, full of resources, ken be reached directly instead o' through circuitous system hops. It could be the second breath of mankind, and oos holdin' the oxygen tank."

He abruptly pulls back. "However we both noo I ken troost you only as far as it serves your own interest. So here's whoot I'm thinking. The lady across the hall is offering ta broker a deal with oos at Hollis if we take out Mousaki for her. I aim too take her oop on thoot. If you throw in, your ship ken be one of the first equipped with the new drive and you work with oos to set oop our new trading empire on tha sly. At thoot point we're taking a risk. You might decide ta head fer parts unknown and sell ta the highest bidder, noo matter who our precautions. Boot hell, we hoove ta take thoot sooner or later, and I get the feeling you're a man who would rather be toop dog in space than retired.

"Fer the immediate future, we stash the rest o' your men back on your ship, minus a few important drive parts. You come with oos ta Tesla, under sooch security as we see fit. You help us take doon Mousaki. Then we're in business.

"Ken you honestly see yourself getting a better offer elsewhere?"

[Perry Holley]

"Ken you honestly see yourself getting a better offer elsewhere?""Not really," Tanner admits. "Better deal than I could have really hoped for, given the relative circumstances."

"I'd shake on it, but these restraints make that somewhat difficult..."

[MatthewC]

"Not really," Tanner admits. "Better deal than I could have really hoped for, given the relative circumstances."

"I'd shake on it, but these restraints make that somewhat difficult..."

"Is thoot a call fer a wee gesture ov troost I'm hearing? All right."

Sam points at Andy. "Mr. Roosty, talk a bit more with Captain Tanner here, then let him oot ov the cuffs. I'll get Ms. Haynes, and we'll hoove a talk in the galley to hammer oot details and percentages."

He nods to David. "Mr. Adams, please start thinking aboot the fine print on contracts and mutual assurances and sooch."

To Tanner, Sam adds, "And please, help oos keep out an eye on Ms. Haynes. She may be willing ta deal, boot we'd be foolish to fully troost her."

Sixty seconds later.

Sam walks back into Amanda Haynes' quarters/cell. He starts releasing her arm from the restraints.

"Ms. Haynes! I'd look ta take you oop on that offer. In additon, if you're agreeable, I think Mr. Tanner could be an asset in what we're looking to set oop. He does seem ta know this area of space, and no doot has a lot of experience operating on the sly- as we'll hoove ta do fer tha start. Still, please help oos keep an eye on Mr. Tanner.

"We'd be foolish to fully troost him."

[FBHthelizardmage]

David begins mentally drafting some contracts.

[Royal]

Adny tries to get as much juicey info from Tanner as possible.

[Perry Holley]

[Geez, I've really let this drag, haven't I?]



Repairs go as planned for the [i]Midnight Wind, with everything wrapped up and completed in a few days. Any repairs made on the C.A. Smith can also be done during this time. Whatever agreements made with Tanner and/or Haynes can be finalized at this time.

So what are the challenges with trying to land on Tesla without going through traffic control?Tesla has a few satellites up, but a skilled pilot/astrogator can probably work their way through woithout being noticed. However, that will most likely involve landing any ships away from the main starport at the capital city of Pae, which means there will be some travel time involved in getting to Pae and to Hollis Pharmacuticals as a result.

Which ships woulf be making the return trip to Tesla? There are now three to considewr, the Moonshadow, the Midnight Wind, and the C.A. Smith.Adny tries to get as much juicey info from Tanner as possible."Don't have that much for you, I'm afraid," replies Tanner. "Mousaki isn't the type to trust an outside contractor with any potentially damaging information. That said... I suspect that he and Hollis may well be involved in some drug trade on Tesla. Can't prove it, mind you, but I've noticed that increases in Nova showing up on Tesla seems to follow a schedule of Mousaki returing from one of his trips to other planets."

[Royal]

Andy takes everything down on his handcomp. He then points at Tanner. "Stay in your quarters till you're summoned. It won't take long, but better safe then sorry." He exits Tanner's quarters and heads to his office. Andy hits the com. "Captain. I need to see you in my office. I think I may have something." Andy then checks the invoices and inventory of the Troy run they did with Mousaki.

[FBHthelizardmage]

David heads to Amanda Haynes's room. He knocks and waits for her to open the door then smiles winningly. "good evening Miss Haynes... I was wondering if I could ask you a few more questions?"

[Perry Holley]

David heads to Amanda Haynes's room. He knocks and waits for her to open the door then smiles winningly. "good evening Miss Haynes... I was wondering if I could ask you a few more questions?""Well, I'm hardly in a position to refuse, aren't I?" she responds. "Fire away."

[FBHthelizardmage]

"Well, I'm hardly in a position to refuse, aren't I?" she responds. "Fire away."

David smiles, comes in and sits down, and sets a bottle of good brandy on the table. "Well, it's a lot easier for us if you don't refuse. Drink?"

He swiftly gets down to business. "I was wondering just what the proceedure was to turn over us and the shadow to your ex-boss? I mean, would you have just parked it in orbit or something?"

[Perry Holley]

He swiftly gets down to business. "I was wondering just what the proceedure was to turn over us and the shadow to your ex-boss? I mean, would you have just parked it in orbit or something?""Umm... there weren't any plans dealing with your return. Well, not returning with you alive, at least. There was an emphasis on not destroying your heads during any combat, so that they could be put in cryo, taken back to tesla, run a braintape scan, convert it to a computer file, and then find out what we could learn from there." Haynes pauses, sipping her drink, letting the words sink in.

"As for the Moonshadow, the emphasis was on capturing in one piece that new drive of yours. Capturing the ship in good enough condition to fly back would have been nice... Hollis has been itching to have their own ships... but not considered terribly likely, given your reputations for being tough in a fight. I know Mousaki would have preferred to have more than one ship in on the assault, but that wasn't in the cards, so we were hoping the surprise attack would do the trick."

[FBHthelizardmage]

"Umm... there weren't any plans dealing with your return. Well, not returning with you alive, at least. There was an emphasis on not destroying your heads during any combat, so that they could be put in cryo, taken back to tesla, run a braintape scan, convert it to a computer file, and then find out what we could learn from there." Haynes pauses, sipping her drink, letting the words sink in.

"As for the Moonshadow, the emphasis was on capturing in one piece that new drive of yours. Capturing the ship in good enough condition to fly back would have been nice... Hollis has been itching to have their own ships... but not considered terribly likely, given your reputations for being tough in a fight. I know Mousaki would have preferred to have more than one ship in on the assault, but that wasn't in the cards, so we were hoping the surprise attack would do the trick."

"humm... I see." David sips his drink. "It seems that it'd be easier to eliminate our problem if he came to a place of our choosing. I'm just wondering how to get him there..."

[MatthewC]

Repairs go as planned for the Midnight Wind, with everything wrapped up and completed in a few days. Any repairs made on the C.A. Smith can also be done during this time. Whatever agreements made with Tanner and/or Haynes can be finalized at this time.

Sounds good. The most important thing with Tanner is to get a sense for if he's enthused about the idea being a full-time agent for Hollis. (If a very independent one.)

Tesla has a few satellites up, but a skilled pilot/astrogator can probably work their way through woithout being noticed. However, that will most likely involve landing any ships away from the main starport at the capital city of Pae, which means there will be some travel time involved in getting to Pae and to Hollis Pharmacuticals as a result.

Two words:

Road Trip!

Which ships woulf be making the return trip to Tesla? There are now three to considewr, the Moonshadow, the Midnight Wind, and the C.A. Smith."Don't have that much for you, I'm afraid," replies Tanner. "Mousaki isn't the type to trust an outside contractor with any potentially damaging information. That said... I suspect that he and Hollis may well be involved in some drug trade on Tesla. Can't prove it, mind you, but I've noticed that increases in Nova showing up on Tesla seems to follow a schedule of Mousaki returing from one of his trips to other planets."

Here's the basic plan as I'm thinking.

The Smith "sits tight" in orbit. We have Isa start taking the Midnight WInd back towards Tesla on her own. Meanwhile we jump back to Tesla and, well, assassinate Mousaki. (Sam may have some soul-searching speechifying to do on that score a little later.)

We conclude the deal with Haynes and sneak back out to "escort" the Midnight RUn as it comes in. Hollis makes us a "better offer" and we being the Midnight Run into the partnership. David can weasel us out of committments to the government.

Then we jump back to the Smith and fix it up. Or not, depending on what kind of impression Tanner has made by that time.

[Perry Holley]

The Smith "sits tight" in orbit. We have Isa start taking the Midnight WInd back towards Tesla on her own. Meanwhile we jump back to Tesla and, well, assassinate Mousaki. (Sam may have some soul-searching speechifying to do on that score a little later.)

We conclude the deal with Haynes and sneak back out to "escort" the Midnight RUn as it comes in. Hollis makes us a "better offer" and we being the Midnight Run into the partnership. David can weasel us out of committments to the government.So you would be taking Haynes and Tanner with you on the Moonshadow, yes? Anyone else, like the technicians, the mercenaries, the other crewmembers of the Smith? Remember, you don't have room for all of them in the Moonshadow cryoberths, so some of them would probably have to be left behind in the Smiths cryosection.

[FBHthelizardmage]

(sorry I've not posted in ages, had mass stuff to organize for going back to school. I'll try to post a bit later)

[FBHthelizardmage]

So you would be taking Haynes and Tanner with you on the Moonshadow, yes? Anyone else, like the technicians, the mercenaries, the other crewmembers of the Smith? Remember, you don't have room for all of them in the Moonshadow cryoberths, so some of them would probably have to be left behind in the Smiths cryosection.

Who are the mercenary's paid by? We really don't want to leave many on the smith

[Perry Holley]

Who are the mercenary's paid by? We really don't want to leave many on the smithThe mercs were hired by Hollis Pharmacuticals.

The Moonshadow has 13 cryoberths, and the Smith has six - 19 total between the two vessels. Not counting Tanner and Haynes, you have 21 prisoners to deal with - five are Tanner's crew of the Smith, two are the technicians from Hollis Pharmaceuticals that Haynes brought along, and the remaining 14 are the mercs hired by Hollis. You could put all but two prisoners in cryo amongst the two ships, and take two ith you held as prisoners in the unused staterooms.

I would need to know which two are taken along in non-cryo, and how the prisoners being held in cryo are divided between the two ships, as that may prove important later. Once I have that info, we can proceed with the landing on Tesla.

[MatthewC]

The mercs were hired by Hollis Pharmacuticals.

The Moonshadow has 13 cryoberths, and the Smith has six - 19 total between the two vessels. Not counting Tanner and Haynes, you have 21 prisoners to deal with - five are Tanner's crew of the Smith, two are the technicians from Hollis Pharmaceuticals that Haynes brought along, and the remaining 14 are the mercs hired by Hollis. You could put all but two prisoners in cryo amongst the two ships, and take two ith you held as prisoners in the unused staterooms.

I would need to know which two are taken along in non-cryo, and how the prisoners being held in cryo are divided between the two ships, as that may prove important later. Once I have that info, we can proceed with the landing on Tesla.

Sam eyes Tanner speculatively as they sit across from each other, Sam's chair height adjusted to bring him to eye level with Tanner. He opens the bottle of scotch and with the grace of a born spacer fills two shot glasses, sliding one across to Tanner.

"To profitable ventures," toasts Sam before swallowing.

He continues. "So Captain, it seems we've two too many prisoners fer tha' cryochambers, noot counting Ms. Haynes and yourself, o' course. Settin' aside the possibility o' letting two breath vacuum, which I do, I see several options.

"We ken keep two of them locked oop on board while we do our business, or we could joost drop the two o' your crew you troost the most back on the Smith awake and let them tend ta matters until we ken get back. With only two ta deal with, I expect the life support ken handle a few weeks without worry."

The engineer wipes the back of his hand across his face and grimaces. "Troost is a funny thing, isn't it? How mooch do you troost your crew? Oot of all of them, ken you find two who you ken say, 'Stay in the Smith and wait for me until I come back,' and hoove them follow thoot order? Rather than, say, taking tha ship fer themselves and leaving."

He leans back and looks at Tanner, trying to puzzle the other man out.

[Perry Holley]

The engineer wipes the back of his hand across his face and grimaces. "Troost is a funny thing, isn't it? How mooch do you troost your crew? Oot of all of them, ken you find two who you ken say, 'Stay in the Smith and wait for me until I come back,' and hoove them follow thoot order? Rather than, say, taking tha ship fer themselves and leaving."
Tanner muses over the question, stroking his beard as he does so. "Yes, there are two I think I can trust it that situation. Of course, by 'trust', I mean that neither of them could pilot a starship to save their lives."

"That said, it might be wise to put override controls on the bridge... and perhaps on the cryoberths, as well."

[MatthewC]

Tanner muses over the question, stroking his beard as he does so. "Yes, there are two I think I can trust it that situation. Of course, by 'trust', I mean that neither of them could pilot a starship to save their lives."

"That said, it might be wise to put override controls on the bridge... and perhaps on the cryoberths, as well."

There is a moment's silence.

"Yes, I ken do thoot," responds Sam. "I'll make sure thoot the ship is fixed oop nice and... troostworthy."

[MatthewC]

The next day, Sam heads over to the Smith with Captain Tanner.

"Joost show me aboot a bit, ta make sure all thoot needs it will be locked up," Sam comments in a curiously flat tone as they head out. The crossing is along a secured line between the ships.

Vacuum suits have several functions. They have to maintain a supply of air, even tempratures, and a constant one atmosphere of pressure around their occupants. They usually carry at least two separate tanks of air, in case something should happen to the first.

With a quiet beep, the 'spare' bottle in Tanner's suit goes online. Experienced spacer that he is, Tanner is immediately aware something is going wrong and begins tapping at the controls built into the chestplate of his suit. It's far too late, though, as the second bottle begins flooding the suit with something that is not the usual mixture of oxygen and nitrogen. Highly toxic, it renders Tanner unconscious in seconds.

Then the suit reaches phase II. Having inflated to over two atmospheres of pressure on the inside, a weakened seam in it bursts, letting all the air, toxic or not, flood into the vacuum.

Sam watches, disgusted. He's not a doctor and unsure if the sudden vaccum might wake Tanner before he suffocats. He hopes not.

"Wrong answer, Captain Tanner. If you ken noot find a single crewman you ken troost, then you dinnae know what troost is, and I canne troost you with my life. I hope you like my death troop. It's a first attempt," says Sam, to himself he supposes (and hopes).

He finds to his surprise that he's crying a bit, but he blinks the tears away and begins hauling in the corpse.

[Perry Holley]

As Sam hauls Tanner's corpse onboard the Smith, he finds Jason there, apparently giving a last once-over concerning the vessel. "Vacc suit rupture," he notes, stating the obvious, with a complete lack of surprise. "Nasty way to go... but I suppose it couldn't have happened to a nicer fellow."

There's something of an odd note in Jason's voice, although Sam can't quite identify it. Neither condemnation nor approval, but perhaps something else.

"Well, there's still the matter of what to do with the two extra prisoners. Do we choose two at random to stay aboard the Smith, or do we take them with us under guard when we return to Tesla?"

[MatthewC]

As Sam hauls Tanner's corpse onboard the Smith, he finds Jason there, apparently giving a last once-over concerning the vessel. "Vacc suit rupture," he notes, stating the obvious, with a complete lack of surprise. "Nasty way to go... but I suppose it couldn't have happened to a nicer fellow."

There's something of an odd note in Jason's voice, although Sam can't quite identify it. Neither condemnation nor approval, but perhaps something else.

"Well, there's still the matter of what to do with the two extra prisoners. Do we choose two at random to stay aboard the Smith, or do we take them with us under guard when we return to Tesla?"

Sam busies himself shucking his suit, not looking at Jason's eyes. "Oh, we dinnae hoove ta pick at random. I asked Captain Tanner ta choose two of his crew who he troosted ta stay with his ship. He gave me tha names ov a couple who don't know how ta fly a ship. So I'll joost rig oop a bit of this and that, and we'll leave them here. I'll pull the Anderson coil. They'll nae be goon anywhere withoot that."

He finally turns to face Jason. "Perhoops it's joost as well Tanner had his accident. He joost didnae seem ta understand thoot you hoove ta have mates you know you ken count on. Without people watching your back..." He glances at Tanner's corpse. "Sooner or later you're goon at hoove a blow-out and no one ta help."

Impulsively the engineer reaches out and pats Jason's arm. "Boot I think you get it, Jason-lad. And here's me pledge to you. Noo thoot you've taken us through a fight, noo more comments from me on... how you came ta join the crew. You're one of oos now."

Sam picks up a toolkit. "Let's get ta tha task at hand, shall we?"

[Perry Holley]

Sam picks up a toolkit. "Let's get ta tha task at hand, shall we?""Sure thing... captain."

All the last-minute preperations are taken care of, as the Moonshadow prepares for its return journey to Tesla.

[Any alterations/additions to the basic plan before we play this out? If so, let me know, preferably before Matthew and I head out to DragonCon for this weekend]

[FBHthelizardmage]

While his captain is committing murder, David is in the process of socializing (over a more extended period) with Ms. Haynes (and if possible seducing her!) while seeing if he can get a plan of what Hollis looks like. For instance, who exactly are their Targets enemies and Rivals? What are his areas of responsibility? And anything else she can think useful.

[Perry Holley]

While his captain is committing murder, David is in the process of socializing (over a more extended period) with Ms. Haynes (and if possible seducing her!)After a while, David does indeed in succeeding in getting Haynes between the sheets. Whether or not this is due to David's natural charm, or simply because she's desperately looking for a way to ingratiate herself with the crew of the Moonshadow, would be a matter of conjecture...

while seeing if he can get a plan of what Hollis looks like. For instance, who exactly are their Targets enemies and Rivals? What are his areas of responsibility? And anything else she can think useful."Well," she says, puffing on a cigarette after making the beast with two backs with David, "Hollis doesn't have that many friends on Tesla, or elsewhere for that matter, I suppose. There are various smaller companies who rely heavily on products that Hollis makes, I suppose they could count as allies."

"As for enemies... if Vector Enterprises disappeared from the galaxy tomorrow, I wouldn't shed any tears. They supported the new governemnt on Tesla when Hollis didn't, and as a result Vector's star has shone, whereas Hollis has waned ever since. The Teslan government is no friend of ours, although they haven't actively tried to shut us down - the loss of Hollis wouldn't cripple the Teslan economy, but it would definately hurt it." She takes a swig of bourbon. "Mind you, I've been saving up for an early retirement, just in case I'm wrong."

Taking another swig of bourbon, and continues. "Mousaki is primarily in charge with dealing with anything off-world, although he has his fingers in lots of other pies, as well. He's got the rep as the guy to go to when something is is perhaps out-of-bounds legally, and you need to get your hands dirty to make it work. Of course, nothing has ever been traced back to him that can be used against him. He's one of the fastest rising players in the firm."

[FBHthelizardmage]

After a while, David does indeed in succeeding in getting Haynes between the sheets. Whether or not this is due to David's natural charm, or simply because she's desperately looking for a way to ingratiate herself with the crew of the Moonshadow, would be a matter of conjecture...

"Well," she says, puffing on a cigarette after making the beast with two backs with David, "Hollis doesn't have that many friends on Tesla, or elsewhere for that matter, I suppose. There are various smaller companies who rely heavily on products that Hollis makes, I suppose they could count as allies."

"As for enemies... if Vector Enterprises disappeared from the galaxy tomorrow, I wouldn't shed any tears. They supported the new governemnt on Tesla when Hollis didn't, and as a result Vector's star has shone, whereas Hollis has waned ever since. The Teslan government is no friend of ours, although they haven't actively tried to shut us down - the loss of Hollis wouldn't cripple the Teslan economy, but it would definately hurt it." She takes a swig of bourbon. "Mind you, I've been saving up for an early retirement, just in case I'm wrong."

Taking another swig of bourbon, and continues. "Mousaki is primarily in charge with dealing with anything off-world, although he has his fingers in lots of other pies, as well. He's got the rep as the guy to go to when something is is perhaps out-of-bounds legally, and you need to get your hands dirty to make it work. Of course, nothing has ever been traced back to him that can be used against him. He's one of the fastest rising players in the firm."

David begins to massage her back. "So, he have any particular friends or enemies inside Hollis? He sounds like a guy who'd tred on toes"

[Perry Holley]

David begins to massage her back. "So, he have any particular friends or enemies inside Hollis? He sounds like a guy who'd tred on toes""Oh, definately. I can think of several people who would love to take him a notch or nine, if they think he's not going to be able to take them down with him." She rattles off some names, then continues. "That's the catch, of course. Even the people he stepped on while climbing the ladder upwards don't want to annoy him while he still has the abilty to retaliate. Anyone inside Hollis isn't going to openly act against him unless they're positive that he's going to go down for the count as a result, and not ever get back up."

[Perry Holley]

(sorry for the delay... I picked up a cold/flu bug at DragonCon, and it's seriously kicking my butt at the moment)

After all of the preparations are made, our stalwart :rolleyes: heroes (minus Isa) take the Moonshadow ahead to Tesla via Sam's new wonder-drive, while Isa pilots the Midnight Wind via Anderson space.

Tesla has various satellites orbiting the planet, but many were destroyed in the war, and there are still gaps that can be exploited. Isa plots a course that will evade the sensor web, while landing as closely as possible to the capital city of Pae. The target zone is a rocky outcropping near the settlement of Ammag, about a 100 kilometers southwest of Pae.

Using his piloting skills, David lands the Moonshadow at nighttime, to avoid visual sighting, using the thrusters at the last minute (after the ship is hidden by the outcropping) to land the vessel safely.

Now the question becomes how do our heroes get to Pae... it is, after all, a long walk.

[Perry Holley]

(the above post editied to clear up the mistake about the two prisoners not left in cryo aboard the Smith)

[FBHthelizardmage]

(sorry for the delay... I picked up a cold/flu bug at DragonCon, and it's seriously kicking my butt at the moment)

After all of the preparations are made, our stalwart heroes (minus Isa) take the Moonshadow ahead to Tesla via Sam's new wonder-drive, while Isa pilots the Midnight Wind via Anderson space.

Tesla has various satellites orbiting the planet, but many were destroyed in the war, and there are still gaps that can be exploited. Isa plots a course that will evade the sensor web, while landing as closely as possible to the capital city of Pae. The target zone is a rocky outcropping near the settlement of Ammag, about a 100 kilometers southwest of Pae.

Using his piloting skills, David lands the Moonshadow at nighttime, to avoid visual sighting, using the thrusters at the last minute (after the ship is hidden by the outcropping) to land the vessel safely.

Now the question becomes how do our heroes get to Pae... it is, after all, a long walk.

David activates the ships sensors and looks for any radio transmissions, or thermal sources near by that might have a vehicle

[Perry Holley]

David activates the ships sensors and looks for any radio transmissions, or thermal sources near by that might have a vehicleAssuming that David did so before landing (the outcropping that the Moonshadow is hidden in would reduce the effective range of the sensors considerably), there's only a few radio tranmissions from Ammag, mostly of the commercial radio variety, and none of them noteworthy. There are probably vehicles in the settlement of Ammag; the sensors don't pick up any outside the settlement in the immediate area, but then, it's late at night (only a couple of hours until dawn), so that's not terribly surprising, given the hour and the desolate area.

[Royal]

David activates the ships sensors and looks for any radio transmissions, or thermal sources near by that might have a vehicle

"We cashing or bagging?" Andy asks while using a terminal to find any connections in Ammag as well as checking news reports.

[MatthewC]

"We cashing or bagging?" Andy asks while using a terminal to find any connections in Ammag as well as checking news reports.

"We're sure nae goon ta get far oon foot. Let's hoof it ta Ammag and see whoot kind of vehicle we ken get our hands on," replies Sam.

[OOC: He is ignoring the question because he failed his 'comprehend slang' roll to understand what the hell Andy just asked.]

[Royal]

"Cool. Need someone to hotwire?" Andy looks up.

[MatthewC]

"Cool. Need someone to hotwire?" Andy looks up.

"If we ken find some ooper-class twit who willnae miss it then yea. If noot, we'll try renting somewhat honestly," replies Sam.

[Perry Holley]

Dawn breaks as our heroes approach the settlement of Ammag. It appears to primarily be a farming community, perhaps with a population of a couple of thousand or so. Some small amenities for travelers can be seen, most notably a traveler's inn just off the main road (which leads out of Ammag and heads toward the dirction of the capital city of Pae). A large number of people are already up and about, as one might expect from a farming community.

Just a bit away from the town proper, there's a fenced-off area that seems to be a mixture of used car lot, tool supply, and junkyard. An old man has just opened up the front gate, and flipped the sign on the front from 'CLOSED' to 'OPEN'.

[FBHthelizardmage]

David approches the used vehicle lot, and begins inspecting them. "hey Sam..." he mutters "which of these looks the best to you, being an engineer?"

Only after getting a reply to this does he consult the old man.

[MatthewC]

David approches the used vehicle lot, and begins inspecting them. "hey Sam..." he mutters "which of these looks the best to you, being an engineer?"

Sam looks around doubtfully. "I'd hoove ta open them oop ta tell. A nice paint joob means noothin'. Tell you whoot, try ta get me an hour in his garage as part of the deal, and I'll make sure thoot whootever you pick runs fine."

[FBHthelizardmage]

David walks up to the manager. "I say friend, how many of these vehicles are for hire?" he asks, with a broad smile at the man.

[Perry Holley]

David walks up to the manager. "I say friend, how many of these vehicles are for hire?" he asks, with a broad smile at the man."You looking to buy?" the old man asks. "Because, no offense, I'm not looking to rent to strangers who have just wandered into town."

"That said... yeah, they're pretty much all for sale. How many people are you needing to move? I've got a cycle with a sidecar if it's a two-man job. I've got an ATV that can carry six, plus a fair amount of gear. If you've got cash to blow, I've got a hovercraft that's a little sluggish, but drivable. There's some other options, as well," as he point to a variety of other ground vehicles. He then rattles off prices; with the exception of the hovercraft, which is understandably the most expensive item he has, the rest of the vehicles are easily within the range of the crew's available funds... given that these are used vehicles, the prices are relatively cheap.

"Oh, and tell your friend that he's welcome to poke around into anything he's looking to buy. Everything I sell will work... but he wants to look around for some spare parts or extra equipment to soup up what he's looking at, as long as he's willing to spend the time and the elbow grease, I'd be curious to see if he can back up his talk about how good he is."

[FBHthelizardmage]

"you've got uncommonly good hearing." David strokes his chin. "an ATV sounds good." David narrows his eyes. Don't they have an ATV? "if my friend can poke around and find one he likes of course."

[Perry Holley]

"you've got uncommonly good hearing." "Cybernetics can be a wonderul thing," the old man replies.

Don't they have an ATV?One was acquired after the initial combat with the Midnight Wind, but it was sold off to raise up some funds for the crew.

[FBHthelizardmage]

"alright then, my friend here will need to poke around until he finds something he likes. then we'll buy." David sighs slightly

[Royal]

Andy pokes around the junkyard for a lark. He then thinks about hitting the checking the inn for general information.

[Perry Holley]

Andy pokes around the junkyard for a lark. He then thinks about hitting the checking the inn for general information.As he makes his way to the inn, Andy can smell fresh food being cooked in the diner adjoining the inn.

Asking around, he finds out that there is a bus that travels to and from Pae on a bi-weekly schedule. The next one is due in tomorrow.

As Andy is poking around, he notices that he is being followed... a thin, mousy-looking guy, who has been keeping his distance, but he's definately trailing Andy, it seems.

[MatthewC]

Sam does a quick inspection of the ground vehicles, trying to find one that's in reasonable shape (or quickly fixable) and not too expensive.

[Perry Holley]

Sam does a quick inspection of the ground vehicles, trying to find one that's in reasonable shape (or quickly fixable) and not too expensive.There are a few different ground vehicles that would suit Sam's purpose that are affordable enough. They're all in working condition, although Sam suspects that he can fine-tune any of them into better performance, given a little time.

There's also a surprising array of extra and additional parts available, ranging from a fuel-boost accelerator to a variable-gravity guage for the engine, that with a little extra effort (and money) could tweak whichever vehicle Sam chooses into getting a little extra 'oomph'.

In any case, Sam finds a vehicle he likes, and makes whatever modifications he wishes, at which point David can pay the old man (the price being, all things considered, fairly reasonable).

[FBHthelizardmage]

"Where's Andy gone?" asks David.

[Royal]

As he makes his way to the inn, Andy can smell fresh food being cooked in the diner adjoining the inn.

Asking around, he finds out that there is a bus that travels to and from Pae on a bi-weekly schedule. The next one is due in tomorrow.

As Andy is poking around, he notices that he is being followed... a thin, mousy-looking guy, who has been keeping his distance, but he's definately trailing Andy, it seems.

Andy enters the diner and asks for the restroom. As soon as he's directed he enters and find a stall. Sitting in the stall, Andy makes sure he's locked and loaded. He puts his guns back into his holsters and slowly opens the restroom door.

[Perry Holley]

Andy enters the diner and asks for the restroom. As soon as he's directed he enters and find a stall. Sitting in the stall, Andy makes sure he's locked and loaded. He puts his guns back into his holsters and slowly opens the restroom door.The bathroom is empty. Whoever it was apparently decided that they didn't need to get that close.

"Where's Andy gone?" asks David."I think he went into the town to get some grub," replies Jason. "Don't know where Mallory has went off to, though," he notes, and Jason realizes that Mal isn't anyuwhere in sight.

"Oh, and we've got someone watching us," Jason adds. "Just past that diner over there." Where Jason indicates, David sees a skinny man in glasses who is watching the activities at the junkyard, all the while trying not to be too conspicuous.

[FBHthelizardmage]

David steps behind one of the vehicles, out of view of the water and calls Mal up on his communicator.

[Perry Holley]

David steps behind one of the vehicles, out of view of the water and calls Mal up on his communicator.After a moment, Mal's voice comes through on David's commlink. "You've s-s-spotted our b-bogey? I'm ab-b-bout th-thirty m-meters b-behind h-h-him." A pause. "I d-d-don't th-think h-h-he's armed."

[FBHthelizardmage]

After a moment, Mal's voice comes through on David's commlink. "You've s-s-spotted our b-bogey? I'm ab-b-bout th-thirty m-meters b-behind h-h-him." A pause. "I d-d-don't th-think h-h-he's armed."

"yeah, I spotted him... could you tell us before you do this kinda thing? I was worried." David smiles... then realizes she'll miss it on the phone and says. "what's your read on him? If he's a cop, I don't want to kidnap him or anything."

[Royal]

"yeah, I spotted him... could you tell us before you do this kinda thing? I was worried." David smiles... then realizes she'll miss it on the phone and says. "what's your read on him? If he's a cop, I don't want to kidnap him or anything."

Andy opens his com. "He's not a cop. If he was, you wouldn't have noticed him. He may have seen us land."

[FBHthelizardmage]

Andy opens his com. "He's not a cop. If he was, you wouldn't have noticed him. He may have seen us land."

"ok... I'm going to chat to him. Mal. Back me up if this goes sideways." David waits to see if anyone thinks this is a bad idea before begining to walk over to the same side of the street the man is on, faning disintrest in him and seeming more intrested in the shops.

[Perry Holley]

"ok... I'm going to chat to him. Mal. Back me up if this goes sideways." David waits to see if anyone thinks this is a bad idea before begining to walk over to the same side of the street the man is on, faning disintrest in him and seeming more intrested in the shops.As David approaches, the man turns to him, and asks in a nervous voice, "Err... excuse me... do you, I mean, errr..." his voice trails off momentarily before continuing. "You're new in town, aren't you? I was wondering if you might have seen a short fellow around... a heavyworlder." He gives a description which pretty much matches Sam. "If you've seen him, I've, err, got a message waiting for him..."

[MatthewC]

Sam is currently up to his elbows in engine grease, installing an emergency super-accelerator into a ground vehicle.

Alas his blissful ignorance seems unlikely to last long....

[FBHthelizardmage]

As David approaches, the man turns to him, and asks in a nervous voice, "Err... excuse me... do you, I mean, errr..." his voice trails off momentarily before continuing. "You're new in town, aren't you? I was wondering if you might have seen a short fellow around... a heavyworlder." He gives a description which pretty much matches Sam. "If you've seen him, I've, err, got a message waiting for him..."

"What kind of a message friend?" David asks in a friendly tone. "I can probabbly direct you to him..."

[Perry Holley]

"What kind of a message friend?" David asks in a friendly tone. "I can probabbly direct you to him...""Err, I really don't know. It's encrypted, you see. In any case, I'm only supposed to let him have a crack at decoding it..."

[Royal]

Andy walks out of the inn.

"Where you coming from? Who gave you the message?"