A New Hope

Jump-space between Byrni and Vorito
Hanz Waltz and Tipper, both recently of the Imperial Navy but now on the run, found themselves separately travelling to Vorito. Tipper had followed the instructions given to him by GeDeCo as he had been a spy for them for many years. Hanz was simply following a path of self-preservation having only very recently discovering that he had psionic abilities which would get him in deep trouble if he stayed in the navy. He had used those abilities to find out where Tipper had gone and had taken the same route.

Hanz had no idea whether or not he was on the same ship as Tipper, having bluffed his way onto the first ship to Vorito he could find. Tipper had no idea that Hanz had gone AWOL let alone followed him. It was therefore a surprise to both when on day 4 they bumped into each other in a corridor on the liner. There was an awkward silence broken with an "oh hi" and "I didn't know you were here". After that they didn't hang out, but nor did they obviously avoid each other.

Vorito
When the ship arrived at Vorito's enormous and brand-new spaceport they disembarked together and made their way to the main concourse. There was a person waiting for Tipper who nodded and took Tipper's bag with a "welcome Mr Tipper, please follow me". Tipper followed him to a cart which took him into the private areas of the spaceport. Hanz decided not to follow Tipper and instead started looking for somewhere to stay.

Vorito spaceport was only recently open for business and there were thousands of people visible. Advertising for accommodation , entertainment, tickets to far flung destination, and all manner of consumer goods were everywhere. This was no military installation but a temple to transportation and consumerism. The GeDeCo logo was everywhere too, reminding people of the immense financial might of the corporation.

Of the visitors, a great many were tourists who came just to see the new structure. Others were in transit, passing through to the planet below or other more distant destinations in this system or others. Still more people worked at the port in security, transportation, commercial or residential positions. A lot of people just stood or sit watching other people.

Hanz
Hanz picked a moderate hotel and booked in. Every few minutes an advert would appear on one of many holo-displays around the room. It seemed it was moderately priced as it was partially subsidised by advertising. Every time he silenced one it was just a matter of time until the next popped up. Adverts for entertainments, and feed were the main ones, but gambling was also advertised. Hanz looked thoughtful.

Tipper
Tipper on the other hand was taken deeper into the port through a number of checkpoints. At the first checkpoint he was given a card with his features but no name. At subsequent checkpoints this was scanned and he was handed to another person to took his bag and ushered him, on another form of transportation, deeper into the port.

Eventually Tipper found himself arriving at an executive residential area where four or five villas opened onto a lounge area with views one way out to space, and the other overlooking the vast interior of the station. The young lady who had brought him here opened the door to a villa and said it was his to use. She told him there was a liaison who could be reached via the communicator and that he could order anything he liked at the bar or cafe. His next appointment would be in a day or two but in the meantime he was free to come and go - his card would get him nearly anywhere - but that it was preferred if he didn't leave the spaceport. She then left, leaving him alone in this rather exclusive accommodation.

His first act was to send a message giving them Hanz's description and asking that they keep an eye on him from a distance. He also asked for a psi helmet. He was answered immediately with an acknowledgement, a comment that it was an unusual request, and that an answer would be forthcoming.

When the response came it was that worn psi helmets were available although internal prototype psi protectors were more difficult to get. When asked by the liaison if the two things - Hanz's description and the psi helmet - were linked Tipper said yes, and that he suspected Hanz of being a psionic. The liaison asked if he trusted Hanz or if he wanted GeDeCo to take care of him. Tipper answered that he had worked with Hanz for some time, trusted him and that he might be useful, but that he didn't like the idea of him getting into his head.

Hanz
Back in his far more basic accommodation Hanz considered his options. He wasn't sure what was happening to Tipper but he'd need to fend for himself anyway. He thought that perhaps he'd have a day or two before any news of his abrupt and unscheduled departure would be noticed, then a day or two after that while the military police worked out where he might have gone and sent people to follow him.

The first thing he did was find what jobs were being advertised. The system in the hotel was basic so he found a public terminal in a quiet part of the concourse. He looked for GeDeCo jobs, specifically security related, and applied for them. He had to give a location where he could be contacted in a day or two, and decided to stay in his room and lay low until he heard back. He practiced putting up psionic blocks and shields in his spare time.

Eventually, after existing on a diet of take away hawker dishes and passing the time practicing his psionic abilities, he got a response. At the appointed time he arrived at a large waiting area where there were dozens of other hopefuls and four doors leading interview rooms. He waited until his number was called and then went to where he was directed where two people were sitting waiting for him.

The interview was short. It consisted of some basic questions about what he wanted to do, his previous employment, and about motivation and aspirations. He answered all questions honestly, including those about the end of his navy career, reasoning that honesty was the best approach and that if they were put off by anything he could always get a job somewhere else.

The interviewers thanked him and asked him to wait for a second call, which he agreed to and he returned back to his room to wait.

Tipper
Meanwhile back in the GeDeCo inner offices, Tipper attended his first meeting with his GeDeCo masters including Fae Borshune, the head of GeDoCo on Vorito. They thanked him for his excellent work over many years. He was due some leave time, they explained, but they had a new and urgent mission for him. Something that didn't require him to be under cover but which did take advantage of his skills.

While they got a team together he was welcome to stay in his current accommodation. The area was solely for his use and there would be no other residents in the other villas. He was also given funds on his card - essentially unlimited - to purchase whatever he wanted, including from GeDeCo stores. Finally his recommendation to watch Hanz Waltz was a good one, and that more would be forthcoming on that front later.

Hanz
The next interview turned out to be a very comprehensive medical examination. Multiple scans and tests that put the Imperial Navy to shame. His medical training helped him understand most of it but procedures were some were so advanced that he was unsure what they were looking for - or if they found it. He was advised that the next interview would be in a day or two, and thanked for his participation.

He continued to lay low, worried now that the Imperial Navy could have sent people to Vorito by now looking for him and Tipper.

A day later he was contacted about the next interview. When he arrived he found it to be offices and was ushered into a conference suite where a tall white haired mane, who had a military bearing and an eye patch, greeted him warmly and thanked him for coming. He was shown into a room with a conference room, the walls showing scenes of Vorito and on one mirrored wall was a drinks cabinet. Five people sat at the table and stood as he entered.  Offered a drink he asked for iced water. They then sat down.

Tipper
Unbeknownst to Hanz, Tipper was one of a number of people behind the mirror. His alert days earlier had resulted in Hanz being watched - a job made considerably easier by him not moving from his hotel room except to get food. This final interview would determine if Hanz would be assigned to the team, have an accident in an alley, or be handed to the imperial navy.

Hanz
The meeting started with the white haired military man introducing himself as Tychus Findlay. He didn't introduce the others but they didn't appear to be military - more corporate in appearance. Tychus outlined a proposal where Hanz would be hired on a probational basis. Not acting under cover but more a courier or GeDeCo operative, although it might be dangerous hence someone of his skills being needed. Tychus asked Hanz if that was acceptable to which Hanz agreed.

Tychus then elaborated more. The work would involve working in a team that would travel to a few systems nearby, collecting information as per mission parameters and, within three months, returning to Vorito. At that point his probation would be complete and an offer of more permanent employment might be forthcoming.

If Hanz agreed Tychus would put an offer on the table to indicate the level of compensation on offer for the three months. Hanz nodded and Tychus slipped over a piece of paper. On it was written 50,000Cr which was considerably over the going rate. Hanz agreed to the terms. Tychus produced an employment contract on a datapad and Hanz duly signed his agreement to the terms. 

Tychus then asked a question that had been suggested to him from the room behind the mirror - did Hanz know of any other people who might be suitable or interested in this type of work? Hanz suggested Tipper, describing him and suggesting he might still be in the station. Tychus took a note and thanked him. He would be contacted again in a few days while the team was put together.

Tipper
Behind the mirror Fae turned to Tipper and asked if he'd be happy with Hanz in his team, to which Tipper replied that he would.

Two days later
Hanz and Tipper separately arrived at the designated place. Hanz had an access card similar to Tipper's and had made his way to the briefing room not sure what to expect. Tipper came from his GeDeCo quarters via gravcart and was there when Hanz arrrived.

There were four in the room including Hanz and Tipper when Tychus arrived. He remarked that Hanz and Tipper knew each other, which would make things easier, and then proceeded to introduce the others and outline the mission.

Their mission was to locate and make contact with a group of nobles from Drinax who had been travelling through the subsectors of the Reach for some months. The team would be given a ship and whatever equipment they thought necessary, and would be given details about where these people had been seen most recently. They were not under cover, and the people they were looking for were in no way the enemies of GeDeCo, but they were making themselves hard to find hence the unusual situation of creating a special team to make contact.

To be continued

Heading to battle

Number One
Arriving at Number One Admiral Slayed on the Frontier Trader headed to the spaceport while the rest of the fleet and the other travellers went to the gas giant. While the fleet scooped fuel and started purifying it Slayed inquired at the spaceport to see if there were any people who could be hired as crew. In particular he needed engineers but any stand out candidates would be welcome as the ships were all undermanned.

Finding three such people with appropriate references and the right outlook he hired them on the spot. With his ship refueled and with supplies in the cargo hold for the rest of the fleet, he too headed to the gas giant.

While around the gas giant the travellers quickly decided that the Lab Ship would slow them down too much. They had eight more jumps to do and without fuel scoops and with slow fuel processors refueling at gas giants would take too long. Not only that but the lab ship had no weapons or armour so would also be a liability should anything go wrong and a space battle ensue. Reluctantly they found a place to hide it on a small moon around the gas giant and cleared the computers before shutting it down and hoping it would be there when (or if) they returned.

After transferring the newly hired crew to the fleet and wishing the others well Slayed and the Frontier Trader jumped for Thebus where the routine would be repeated. Look for crew, refuel, take on supplies for the fleet, then meet the fleet at the gas giant before heading out two days ahead of the rest. This way they hoped to travel to Wildeman relatively unnoticed.

Thebus
While he officials and security forces on Number One were friendly enough, on Thebus Slayed was welcomed and given an escort to the station by a passing system defense boat. He was able to find nine suitable crew members and once they, the fuel and the supplies were on board he headed to the gas giant rendezvous.

Once there the travellers discussed their next few jumps and worked out that at the current rate of progress the mercenaries would be at Wildeman before them. It was decided that at around Torpol they would split the fleet and send the ships with longer jump range on ahead with some engineers to get the repairs started on the secret base.

Oghma
At Oghma Slayed found only three recruits, but among them was an engineer so he counted it a success. Meeting up with the fleet he transferred the new crew and jumped to Torpol.

Torpol
Arriving at Torpol the procedure was again repeated, this time resulting in only two crew, but one an exceptional pilot and the other an engineer. When Slayed met with the fleet the next stage of the operation was put into effect.

For the majority of the fleet the next system would be Blue, but the Far Scout would jump on to Arunisiir. Jaggad had reminded them that there was a Patrol Corvette hidden on that planet - one that had been downed by the party when they were trying to work out what to do with Jaggad's treasure ship. If they could repair the corvette then it might be a useful decoy for the attack on the convoy.

Slayed, Gobbo, a pilot and an engineer would man the Far Scout. With them would be First Officer Jaggad and three others as a second crew. If the patrol corvette was there and repairable Jaggad and her crew would stay to start the repairs. If it was not there they would just stay on the Far Scout which was heading to Wildeman.

The rest of the fleet would be on Arunisiir 10 days after the Far Scout. If the corvette were usable it and Goff;s ship would jump to Wildeman while the rest of the fleet took an extra jump to get there. The idea was to get as many people to Wildeman as possible to start repairs to the base so that the mercenaries and fleet would have somewhere  secure to stay while they waited for the convoy to arrive.

Blue - Fleet
With no ship heading to the planet itself (as Blue was not particularly friendly) the fleet scooped and purified fuel at a gas giant and then jumped for Arunisiir.

Arunisiir - Far Scout
The hidden corvette was on the other side of the planet from the space port in an area with no inhabitants. They managed to get there unseen (they assumed) and their luck was strong as the corvette was exactly where they had left it nearly a year earlier. It didn't look like anyone had been there at all.

Quickly they assessed the damage. They would need many spare parts but the Arunisiir space port had a scrapyard and so while Jaggad and the second crew got settled in the Far Scout went out towards the 100 diameter limit and then approached the space portas if they had just jumped in.

Quickly refueling and again taking on extra supplies they filled the cargo bay with spare parts. When they left they went out to give the impression they were going to the 100 diameter limit but instead took a wide arc back to the patrol corvette. There they unloaded the spare parts and supplies then left for Wildeman, leaving Jaggad and her three crew to repair the corvette. The corvette crew now had 8 days until the rest of the fleet arrived.

Repairing the Corvette
Jaggad and her crew drove a hard pace. The main damage sustained to the corvette was to armour, hull and manoeuvre drive. They first patched up the hull to make it spaceworthy. This didn't fix the hull entirely - it was still badly damaged - but it did mean that the ship could enter the vacuum of space and hold up in jumpspace if they needed to leave in a hurry.

They then changed focus to the damaged (but not destroyed) manoeuvre drive. Repairing this would give them more thrust - useful for getting to the gas giant when the fleet arrived - and would also give manoeuverability if they got into a fight. Once this was done they quickly moved the ship to a nearby body of water and fulled the tanks. With fuel purifiers on they returned to their hiding spot and started work on the armour. This took, a while as there had been large holes in some places but they had enough spare part to fix the armour.

With the ship now ready to fly they spent the rest of the time repairing more of the hull until the rest of the fleet arrived. They didn't have enough spare parts or time to completely repair it but it would have to do. They also spent some time removing any traces of imperial navy insignia or colours to parts of the hull or armour that didn't need fixing.

To be continued...

Status:
Far Scout about to arrive in Wildeman.
Fleet about to arrive in Arunisiir at gas giant.
Patrol Corvette being repaired and preparing to meet fleet out at gas giant.

Planned:
Goff's ship and Patrol Corvette to jump to Wildeman to help repairs.
Remaining ships in fleet to jump to Pandora gas giant and then to Wildeman.

Meanwhile...

Byrni - Imperial Navy Flotilla
Meanwhile the navy characters were meeting with Captain Labat and Admiral Krond aboard the Eurisko somewhere above Byrni. Over the past few months they had performed their duties well and this was, if not a reward, then a sign that they were trusted enough with an important mission.

Commander Boris (Engineering), Petty Officer Tipper (Line/Crew) and Lance Sergeant Hanz Waltz (Star Marines) stood to attention as Krond outlined the mission that they were to be sent on. For the next three months they would jump around the Borderlands subsector hunting down rumours to find the location of the pirate planet. They would be under cover as simple merchants, flying the trade routes in a captured far trader called Dirty Beast.

To help with the disguise they would be given MCr 2.0 with which to buy supplies for the flotilla and also to cover expenses. It was made very clear that should they not have a full cargo hold of required goods on their return there would be consequences.

Ergo and Falcon
First stop was Ergo, where they refueled at the automated station. With nobody to talk to they jumped as quickly as possible to Falcon.

At Falcon they managed to find the types of cargo that the flotilla required, and in sufficient quantities to fill the hold. This good fortune meant that unless they were attacked by pirates they would not need to do any more trading for the rest of their mission.

In the space port they asked around and even joined gambling games to find out information. Something they learned was that not long before a group of nobles had visited and lorded it over everyone. Rumour had it that they were really pirates and were trying to steal locals to force them to repair their pirate base. They also learned that at Exe a pirate base had been destroyed by the Imperial Navy although it wasn't clear if the two rumours were linked.

Exe
Jumping next to Exe they talked to the crew manning the refueling depot as well as some passing ship crews and got into a card game or two. They didn't stay long - there were only a dozen or so people to talk to - and didn't learn any useful information. They jumped as soon as was possible to Acrid.

Acrid
Acrid was an entirely different kind of space port to those that they'd seen on this mission. A huge class A facility, it housed tens of thousands of locals and visitors. They decided to spend a couple of weeks following leads, speaking to people, and frequenting gambling houses in order to learn useful rumours.

It was here they learned more about a group of ships, including a treasure ship, that had suddenly had to leave. Originally the rumours had been that the small ships were from Drinax and that they had hijacked the treasure ship. More recently information had come to light that the ships were really just far traders with some superficial external disguises added to make them look more impressive than they really were. They were apparently from Oghma but pretending to be from Drinax. This last rumour was strong and they got it from a number of people.

In the middle of their stay on Acrid Tipper got a message. He'd worked for GeDeCo as a spy in the navy for a few years now and was not entirely surprised when he was told that his time in the navy would be up and that he needed to find a way to get down to Byrni on his return. From there the GeDeCo operatives on the planet would get him away.

Around this time Hanz started getting quite frustrated and stressed about the mission. He managed to keep things under control but he knew he could get quite excitable, but was confident it would not get any worse.

Just over two weeks after arriving in Acrid, and with a number of strong rumours to report, they jumped to Inurin.

Inurin
The low tech level and lack of modern space port meant that when arriving visitors would be bombarded with radio messages suggesting that the ship land at one or another of many cleared areas that was all that could be declared a space port on the planet. The characters decided to land at one that promised to have refined fuel, but on landing (very heavily) they learned that there were only 30 tons or refined fuel, and that they probably didn't trust the refined fuel to be clear of pollutants. They bought the fuel and went about processing it in their tanks anyway.

The heavy landing had damaged the manoeuvre drive - not enough to disable it, but it would turn out to be less responsible that usual and difficult to use. Boris found some parts in a scrapyard and got to work. A couple of days later he decided he'd done as much as he could. The repairs were rudimentary but should hold although he wasn't very happy with his work.

Tipper went to talk to people around the port and the nearby town while Boris was repairing the drive. Hanz decided he could not contribute much to the rumour-gathering and with the ship just being in a field he stood guard. It was here that he started hearing voices.

As the locals came out to look at the ship - some to just gawk and others to try to sell goods or services - Hanz started imagining that he could hear their thoughts. At first he assumed they were saying these things out loud, but as time went on he realised that their mouths were not moving and the thoughts seemed to be more inward, reflective or self-narrative in nature, and not something you would say to someone else.

Eventually he shouted at people to just leave him alone and he went into the ship. That night he was sure he could hear Tipper thinking about going AWOL and jumping ship once they got to Byrni, but he said nothing.

IN the town Tipper had some success talking with the locals. They argued that Oghma and Tyr were the two planets mentioned as possible pirate planets. He also heard rumours about pirates and the navy having battles in the night sky above the planet. Many people had seen the lights above them and they had confirmed this with some navy ships that landed.

En route to Ergo
After powering up the thrusters and very shakily leaving the planet they got to the jumping point and jumped to Ergo. During this jump Hanz thought he might do some research into what he had been experiencing. The things he was experiencing were getting worse, which was making him stress out - which in turn made them worse still. Taking a few days to really get to grips with the problem he came to the only inescapable conclusion; he had psionic powers.

Sitting in his stateroom he tried to broadcast thoughts. "Bring me a drink!", then "I need a drink", "where's my drink" and so on until Tipper who, somewhat amazed, understood what was happening took a glass of water into Hanz's room and threw it in his face saying "here it is!". Nobody talked of this event again.

Ergo again, then Byrni
They refuelled at the station in Ergo and jumped to Byrni.  Hanz trying his psionics more and more confidently but coming to a realisation that he'd be in big trouble if anyone in the navy found out about his powers.

Hanz decided that he'd not say anything about the thoughts he'd picked up from Boris (not really confident that the drives were fixed) and Tipper (still planning to go AWOL). Instead he would try to block his thoughts. From Tipper's point of view there was some mental straining and then a period of complete mental silence, followed with "well that seemed to work.".

Arriving in Byrni they docked with the Eurisko and reported immediately to Krond. He was delighted with what they'd discovered and declared that it was the final nail in the coffin for Oghma who had been protecting pirates for far too long. The three of them were given a week's shore leave as a reward.

Making decisions

Down on Byrni Tipper went through the motions of having a good time drinking and relaxing but was in reality waiting impatiently to be contacted and whisked away from the navy. Hanz was considering his options too. He was confident that he might be able to hide his powers now so was just taking it easy. Boris was relaxing by the pool unaware that the other two had things on their minds. It was Boris who heard a few days into their sojourn that the flotilla would be leaving about a week and a half after they reported back. It would be heading to Oghma.

Eventually Tipper was contacted by a hotel employee who made himself known as a GeDeCo operative and handed him a ticket to Vorito and a new set of identity papers. Hurriedly returning to his room Tipper pocketed his money and most personal possessions and left without saying anything. 

Later, when Hanz couldn't find Tipper, he remembered that he had picked up thoughts from Tipper about going AWOL. He quickly concluded that if that happened he himself might be questioned about Tipper's activities, and that might lead to him being uncovered as a psionic. 

Deciding he should at least find out where Tipper had gone he remembered seeing someone talking to Tipper in the hotel lobby. He searched for that person and, using his mind as well as his eyes, found him nearby. Rather than approaching he took a seat in the lobby and tried to tune into the other man's thoughts. With some effort he eventually heard the man wonder if Tipper;s ship to Vorito had left yet.

Rushing to his room he grabbed what possessions he had and made his way to the space port. He found a ship leaving for Vorito in the next hour and bought a ticket, persuading the person at the counter, with some psionic help, that he had the right papers to travel. He boarded with only minutes to spare..

Back at the hotel Boris was entirely unaware of what the other two were doing and lay back near the pool with a drink in his hand. He thought things had gone rather well and congratulated himself. What could possibly go wrong now.

To be continued... maybe.