On to Acrid

With Lady Nitrane and Admiral Slayed on the treasure ship the fleet jumped to Acrid.

On the first day they were given a tour of the ship and familiarised themselves with the layout and personalities on board. On the following days Slayed kept circulating around the treasure ship, and as the days passed the response from his appearance changed from surprise, to cautious deference, to expectation, to happiness. Admiral Slayed was the officer they wished they had, with a carefully considered compliment here, a quip there, and stern consternation when required.

Meanwhile Lady Nitrane was spending all of First Officer Jagad's off-duty time in the company of the other woman, but when the first officer was on duty Nitrane wandered around the ship and was able to find something to occupy her by going to the med-bay and performing the duties of the on-board doctor.

Over the next few days the following encounters took place:

• Captain Torsa - On the first day Torsa mentioned that the vault could only be opened in the right location (for this trip it being the Byrni system) and with the right key (using the DNA of the captain). Over dinner Slayed tried to get the captain to open up about the contents of the vault, and while he was rebuffed the response was more of a deferral than an outright refusal.

• First Officer Jagad - Lady Nitrane spent a lot of time with the First Officer, gleaning much information about the composition of the crew and when the crew joined the treasure ship. The reason for the questioning was the communications burst sent from the treasure ship to the pirate ship that buzzed low over the spaceport on Arunisiir which Jagad investigated but ultimately decided it could be anybody on board.

• Second Officer Halbinar - Harried and overworked, Halbinar deals with ship logistics in concert with the cargo chief. Slayed and Nitrane made his acquaintance on Arunisiir and kept up polite relations on board. Halbinar seems to get space sick but tries to hide it.

• Astrogator Osha - The blue-skinned astrogator was alarmed to see the two travellers aboard the treasure ship, and has been her usual nervous self the whole journey. Whenever she sees Slayed or Nitrane she stammers and flaps her hands nervously and leaves.

• Cargo Chief Niven - Stocky and foul-mouthed. Slayed spoke with the cargo chief  and learned that the ship was carrying Dust spice as well as advanced electronics and advanced machine parts. Niven could not divulge the contents of the vault though.

• Marine Commander Harc -Paranoid and always seen in battle dress holding a pistol. As the ship entered its sixth day in jumpspace Harc visited the med-bay and asked Nitrane to help tend to his cybernetics which need constant attention. She was very successful and Harc grateful. He almost smiled.

• Marine Salvesdes - this marine was on duty a few times when the travellers visited the treasure ship on Arunisiir, and escorted Unter when Nitrane had dinner with the captain. During the jump Salvesdes has been seen around the ship in his role as security guard.

• Crewman O'Leary and Crewman Ilin - These two are troublemakers, and were first seen on Arunisiir in the bar. On the ship they tend to be located wherever gambling is taking place. They are clearly dislikes by all the officers, and seem resigned to leaving the ship at the first naval base they come to.

• Chief Engineer (acting) Polo - She is not happy being the acting Chief Engineer, and lets people know it the first opportunity she has. Very superstitious, she has routines on board that are very strange - going down corridors on one side, only entering a room that's lit, and so on. Other than that she's nice company.

Other crew members have been met but not really talked to much. They are faces seen around the place, and have been introduced, but have not yet had anything much to do with the travellers:

• Tactical Officer Grimsbold - A veteran naval officer and close friend of Plot Smith. She regularly butts heads with Commander Harc.

• Launch Pilot Hanshaw - A middle aged woman who talks lovingly about her child, a girl in a boarding school on the planet Cyan. Seems more the carousing sort than a strait-laced naval crew member.

• Assistant Astrogator Ven Laffit - a young man on his first tour of duty. Firmly believes in the superiority of the Imperium and advocates all out war with the Aslan. 

• Lead Pilot Smith - an older man, on the verge of retirement. Brags that he knows many pirate ships by their sensor signature, having been to the Trojan Reaches many times.

• Co-Pilot Ashen - Comes from deep in the Imperium and has a strange accent and customer. Off duty he wears bizarre garments made of tattered silk rage which he claims are the height of fashion on Capital.

• Purser Vaughan - grey bureaucrat caring only about paperwork and protocol - and as such is Captain Torsa's right-hand marionette. Cold and unsympathetic Vaughan seems to have been against the idea of asking the Drinaxians to accompany the treasure ship to Byrni.

Arriving on Acrid after a week, the treasure ship and the Harriers landed and were  put into the one large hangar away from the caustic (and acrid) atmosphere of the planet. The captain, seemingly pleased at progress, let the crew have shore leave, with a rotation of crew to guard the ship and perform maintenance, cleaning and do on.

On Acrid, Slayed had a conversation with:

• Mechanic Talis - Seen in a bar crying her eyes out, which was different to the sharp and efficient mechanic on board the treasure ship. She was in a relationship with Mechanic Felmar who died in the explosion that downed the ship. Once back in port she broke down and happened to be seen by Slayed, who put a fatherly arm around her and let her cry out her tears. Gently questioning her it became clear that Felmar had talked about a 'new beginning' for both of them where they'd be rich and free, but he refused to explain the plan. Felmar spent a lot of time talking to Launch Pilot Henshaw and Marine Salvesdes. After she dried her eyes she gave Slayed a big hug and thanked him for his sympathy.

Once back together the party talked about possible approaches to getting into the vault. Nitrane came up with scheme after scheme that involved somehow gassing or tranquillising the crew (although with no means of doing so). Sparrow was more interested in maybe tricking the vault to stay open after it was suppose to be closed, but that would mean any treasure in there now would be gone.

The relationship between Felmar, Henshaw and Salvesdes was discussed as being a possible lead, but as they were just sitting around in the Harrier drinking nothing was done.

To be continued.