Slayed stepped forward, addressing Henshaw by rank and asking her to follow him in to a conference room where they would have a little chat. She did so and as Slayed took up a position at the head of the table, he motioned for Henshaw to sit next to him. Nitrane sat next to Henshaw, as if to give suppose, while Unter and Sparrow stood either side of the door.
As Slayed started talking about the explosion on the ship, his conversation with Mechanic Talis about her boyfriend Falmer and his 'new beginnings' Henshaw buried her head in her hands and put her head on the table, shoulders heaving. Through the sobs they could head faintly "you have to help me".
Helshaw looked up, tears streaming down her face. She told the travellers that her daughter was in danger, and that she would tell them everything if they promised to keep her daughter safe. When the party agreed that they knew people who can help her, she looked relieved, and told her tale.
Some months ago people representing Hrol Irontooth, the Aslan pirate, found Henshaw's daughter at her boarding school on Cyan and threatened to kill the daughter if Henshaw did not perform a task for the pirate. She agreed very reluctantly, and only because her daughter was the only important thing in her life. The task was to help the treasure ship jump into Hrol Irontooth's ambush.
The ship left Pax Rulin and on board were two others that worked for the pirate: Felmar and Salvesdes. The former a member of the pirate's crew, and the latter somehow involved, although Henshaw did not know how.
The plan was for the three onboard to lay low until Arunisiir. At that point the convoy that the treasure ship was part of was going to jump to Tech-World next. Unknown to the captain, Henshaw would calculate jump coordinates for Exe and Felmar would enter them directly into the jump drives just before the jump. If it worked the treasure ship would jump on its own to exactly where Irontooth was waiting and could pick over it at his leisure.
Things did not go to plan. Felmar was discovered trying to input the coordinates directly into the drive and instead tried to make the ship misjump by tampering with the fuel injection. This caused the explosion that damaged the drives and the treasure ship had to do an emergency landing back on Arunisiir. The convoy went on its way but one escort stayed behind to protect the treasure ship while a repair ship was sent for.
Henshaw could not admit to any involvement, as any failure would mean the death of her daughter as well as a court-martial. Salvesdes, who had only been involved as some kind of protection now took charge and changed the plan to have him install the jump coordinates into the astrogation computer on the bridge as the ship was preparing to jump.
The travellers listed to the story and exchanged glances. They had discovered the cause of the explosion, but they would need to act - or prevent others from acting - if they wanted the ship for themselves.
It was agreed that Henshaw would not return to the ship - she was fearful that Salvesdes would find out that she'd told someone, and so a crew member was assigned to shadow her as she stayed in the hotel. Henshaw would then board one of the Harriers closer to departure time.
In the meantime the party considered what to do in order to be able to hijack the treasure ship and take it for themselves. Slayed considered the crew he'd spoken to and thought some might be amenable to signing up with the Drinaxians, either because they'd expressed some disquiet about the navy, or had shown some interest in working for him in the future. These included O'Leary and Ilin, as well as Mechanic Talis.
Lady Nitrane devised a plan to have most of the crew on shore by arranging another huge party, this time with essentially unlimited tab (25,000 Cr). It would be held the following night. Sparrow kept up his relationship with the technician who could open the doors and trigger the atmosphere protections to get the ships off planet. And Unter would devise plans for taking out the marines on duty and taking over the ship if it turned out that there were hostiles on board.
The following day was the day that the heist would take place. Henshaw was brought to the Harriers, The party was arranged and advertised to all the crew. The individuals that Slayed had spoken to would be arriving shortly after the start of the party to see if they were interested in joining the travellers immediately, and Captain Torsa was invited to a meeting on his ship to discuss findings about the investigation. Tranquillisers were mentioned but also shooting.
To crew the ship, Slayed would take Sparrow and Goff on board, supposedly to help explain the investigation outcomes. The rest of the crew would consist of the navy crew that had decided to join with Slayed.
SITUATION:
- The captain is arriving now. Slayed, Goff and Sparrow are waiting at the bottom of the ramp to the ship. Lady Nitrane is at the top of the ramp.
- All 'newly hired' crew are on board the treasure ship and are preparing for what is about to happen.
- The Harriers are prepped and ready to leave, just needing to start up.
- Unter is ready in the cargo bay of one Harrier with half a dozen marines. It is hoped they are not needed.
- The party is in full swing, and it is expected that nearly all crew are there, however it is unknown how many are on the treasure ship at this time in addition to those arranged.
To be continued.
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