Grand High Tum-ti-tump of the Outrim Void

Theev to Salif

Admiral Slayed and the travellers arrived at Salif with their jump-3 and -4 capable ships. There they refueled and met with Tiznee Zazzle to tell her about the liberation of the captured pirates and the seized ships. She was delighted that they were safe and that they had been successful.

Salif to Space Station

Jumping next to the space station they found it as it had been left - powered down and running silent. There were no signs that anyone had been there since they left. However, as soon as they reached the cargo bay that held the two dozen planet-buster and bio-weapon torpedoes they were shocked to find them all gone, and the word "Thanks!" painted on one of the walls. 

With all power off there were no cameras or other clues as to who had taken them. A quick check confirmed that nothing else had been taken, and there was no damage other than the forced opening of the door to the cargo hold. Nitrane, Unter and Sparrow were philosophical. They had wanted to be rid of them from the start. Slayed on the other hand was worried. Where were they, who had them, and why did they want them?

Planning Repairs
There was nothing they could do so they got to work powering up the systems that had previously been brought to the station. The longer term plan was to bring the megafreighter to the station and use its enormous power plant to run the station until the one on the station could be repaired. In the meantime they would  use what power they had to start repairs anticipating the later power that would be available.

The party spent two weeks working through the plans with Goff. The power plant from the freighter would mean that they could power the smelter and refinery and start preparing raw materials for the manufacturing plant by using the ores collected by the mining drones. The priority therefore was to get as much manufacturing, smelting and refinery machinery repaired as possible.

Space Station to Theev

After setting things in motion the party took the Sorrowful Maiden and most of the crew back to Theev. There they met up with the trading crew who had made a decent profit, and with Jaggad who reported that she had been successful with hiring new crew.

With nothing else left to do they all boarded the megafreighter and headed to Drinax.

Theev to Drinax

The trip to Drinax was uneventful. The first stop was in deep space and they transferred the fuel from the bladder to the fuel tanks with no problems. Then to Torpol where they happened to meet a local system defense boat in orbit around the gas giant and with their highly regarded reputation it stayed for the week to protect them while all tanks were filled.

Arriving in Drinax near a distant gas giant the freighter started refueling while the three Harriers and the yacht, which was to be a gift to King Oleb, headed to the main planet. The Harrier with Slayed, Sparrow, Nitrane and Unter went on ahead and as they opened up the thrusters to top speed they opened comms and were asked whether then wanted the highport, lowport or palace. The lowport was new, but they asked for permission to land at the palace, which was granted.

Man Missing

As they were on approach to the palace a new voice came over the comms. It was Lady Hil, a close friend of the party. She sounded distressed, but trying to hide it, and asked if instead of landing they could help locate a missing person. In fact it was the King, who had just gone down with a broken grav belt. Various questions that the party had were answered - Lady Hil sometimes having to ask others near here - but in very little time the ship was over one of the old bombed cities of Drinax.

The pillars of the destroyed city resembled the fingers of a blackened corpse, reaching towards the skies above. There were thousands of them, rising from the wreckage below at random angles. The metal of the pillars made the place a huge field of lightning rods, and as the bolts jumped between the pillars it made scanning nearly impossible. It was apparent now why the Hawk Warriors who accompanied the King were having difficulty finding him.

The head of Olebs guard, Brie Tollar, was coordinating the search. With the party having seniority and in a ship that would be better equipped to find the King, she flew to the ship and boarded to assist them.

Nitrane did a sensor sweep and detected nothing. The size of the city and the atmospheric conditions made it too difficult. Sparrow considered the information they had - Oleb's path, the downward trajectory that he was last seen on, and other factors, and calculated that the King was most likely in a small area a few hundred metres long that he carefully piloted the ship into.

Being much closer to the surface - and with Sparrow constantly having to adjust and trim the Harrier in he winds - meant that Nitrane finally got a reading. A small beacon that belonged to the King.

Oleb's Alive!
Landing very carefully, Sparrow put the travelers as close to the detected position as he dared. The party suited up and left the ship to search on foot. Soon they found the king, impaled on metal spikes in a small hollow. Hit breathing was laboured and Nitrane immediately knelt next to him and stabilised him as best she could with a medical kit.

‘Starcursed grav belt gave up on me,’ he muttered, ‘and I fell. I dropped my emergency medical supplies out there somewhere. Go fetch them, and I’ll make you a bloody Archduke of somewhere.’

The emergency medical pack turned out to contain a bottle of red wine.

‘Gah. I’m dying. That’s boring,’ muttered the king. ‘Listen, don’t let those vampires from the Scholar’s Tower get their claws into my carcass. I saw what they did to my boy Harrick. I don’t want to end up like the Duke of Albe, pulled out of stasis once a century to sign a form and take a dump. No, let me die. You, come up with some really good last worlds. I appoint thee Court Poet Extraordinary of Drinax, Bard of Sindal, and Grand High Tum-ti-tump of the Outrim Void.’ Oleb coughed up what appeared to be most of a lung. ‘Want to be Space Pope too, and absolve me of all my sins?’

As the wine – and the painkillers – took hold, he became less lucid, although it was hard to tell given Oleb’s usual sense of reality.

‘We can’t stay here. The Floating Palace... it’s a joke. A cage. A... stupid thing. We were dragons once. We will rule the stars again. I gave you a Letter of Marque when we started this campaign... of piracy. It’s still good. Bring back the Kingdom, and all will be forgiven.

‘Listen, listen lads, listen. Tell. Prince Harrick...no... he’s not right for it. Rao... she’ll be Queen, but she needs someone to... warn her... there’s too much of the Sindalian in her... warn her... no more...’

With that, Oleb lapsed into unconsciousness, and started to snore.

The party carefully took him into the ship and plugged him into the medical bay, which started injecting drugs and spraying his wounds with chemicals to disinfect and seal them.

To the palace
Taking off Sparrow headed the ship towards the palace, but as they got closer a flight of atmospheric flyers intercepted them and a voice came over the comms channel telling them to divert course to the main starport dock instead of the royal docks. The voice was Lord Wrax. He sounded worried. And there was gunfire audible in the background.

A coup had started.

To be continued.

Visiting old friends

To Palindrome
The journey to Palindrome was more or less event free. Arriving at a distant gas giant in the system, the shuttles would immediately head towards down to the planet, skim fuel, and then return to the freighter. The freighter meanwhile would be heading towards the gas giant - to reduce shuttle travel times - and then when it was nearly refueled it would head back to the 100 diameter jump limit so that once the fuel was refined it would be able to jump immediately.

The shuttles on the freighter were joined by other small craft and, in three shifts per day, they could fill the freighter in only four days. The work was exhausting for the pilots and the engineers manning the fuel purification plant, but it saved millions of credits as well as keeping them all away from prying eyes.

There were other ships that were encountered from time to time, but a megafreighter was a common sight in the Trojan Reach and it was not only enormous and slow but also clearly nonthreatening. The Harriers were prepped at all times to emerge to protect the freighter but were not needed.

Palindrome
When they arrived at Palindrome the freighter started its refueling routine while the party headed to the main planet in a Harrier to see Lady Yemar. She met them in her offices and was delighted not only that they were unharmed but also that they had been so overwhelmingly successful.

They told her about the preparations in the Wildeman base, the time in the space port waiting for the imperials, and then the brief battle that was ultimately very successful.

When it came to describing the ships that had been taken back from the imperial navy she became more somber. The presence of Admiral Darokyn and Hroal Irontooth's flagships interested her. Did that mean that there was a vacuum at the top levels of the pirate hierarchy? Slayed mentioned the same thought and that the imperial taskforce had perhaps been more successful than they had imagined.

Yemar reached over and typed something on her console, then asked the travellers what they would be doing next. They said that Theev was where they had agreed to take the freed prisoners, and then they would head to Drinax before heading to the space station in order to start repairs there.

She said that she had given orders to prepare her ship to take her to Theev, and that they should accompany her in the Harrier. They agreed and sent word to the freighter which would  arrive a day or two later. The early arrival gave a good chance to prepare the way.

To Theev
Arriving at Theev the party sent the code that allowed them to approach the planet and landed in a small hangar. The clam door closed above them and they exited to meet Yemar at her hangar.

After a quick discussion they decided to walk around Blacksand City while Yemar went to meet people she knew. They would then meet up for diner at the restaurant on the top floor of the Grand Hotel.

The contrast with their previous visit, when there had been the threat of an Imperial Navy taskforce arriving, was clear. Shops were open that had been shuttered, people seemed more cheerful, and there were more of them walking around and doing business. They took care of the trade goods that they had brought with them, and inquired about maintenance costs (which would  be astronomical) but generally took it easy and stretched their legs.

Dinner
That evening they dressed in their finest - Unter as bodyguard to Nitrane as usual - and headed to the Grand Hotel. There they were greeted and taken to a table some distance from the others where Lady Yemar and an elderly man with white hair were already seated. As they approached the man rose to greet them.

He introduced himself as Varuk Nirgal and welcomed them to Theev. His manners were impeccable and he was friendly and seemed to draw people into conversation with ease. The courses passed one after another - this was a very expensive meal - and talk turned to the raid on the Imperials and the freeing of the pirates.

Nirgal applauded the actions of the party and congratulated them. He admitted that he had become aware that there was a problem with so many pirate lords going missing, presumed deceased. He turned to Yemar and noted that not all was lost however and that perhaps for a while they would be less outwardly obvious. The hint was clear - no more loud brash pirate lords for the time being.

Lady Yemar broached the subject of the ships and Nirgal waved his hand and said that all repairs and maintenance would be taken care of by Theev as a thank you. He did caution that such a large fleet might be unwieldy and that the party might consider making donations of some of them to garner favours. He was clear that he did not mean himself.

Nirgal also noted that as they had done a great service to Theev they would be given certain rank and privilege on the planet. They would not be Pirate Lords, but a step below. Many of the opportunities and benefits without the responsibilities. This meant they were welcome to stay in the hotel that was set aside for the more senior members of the Theev ruling class. It also meant that they would be given bodyguards while on Theev - black widows - to accompany and protect them.

After dinner
As the mean ended Nirgal made his excuses and departed, escorted by a number of hulking minders who emerged from dark corners. Lady Yemar then breathed out a sign of relief. That was one of the two most powerful men on Theev - and had been before the pirate lords all disappeared too. His appreciation was genuine and they could not have expected a better result.

She asked what they wanted to do next, and the party and she talked for quite a long time discussing what to do with their fleet, where to go, and how they would approach the King.

As Slayed, Nitrane, Unter and Sparrow left, two black widows stepped up and walked with them, constantly scanning the area. This was different - in a good way. They seemed even more lethal up close. Arriving at the private hotel they noted that it made the Grand Hotel seem a little run down. They took up rooms and slept.

The fleet arrives
On the morning of the next day they received word that the freighter was en route from the jump limit and would dock at The Skull - the space station and shipyard - within two hours. They made their way up in a shuttle and saw that the arrival was expected.

A swarm of robots and shipyard workers took the ships out of the enormous cargo hold and they were distributed to different repair or docking stations depending on the needs. At every step they were kept informed via a terminal that was handed to them of the exact location and status of each. Another perk of having some standing now.

The first thing that they decided to do was send the mercenary cruiser out on a trading mission to Palindrome. They estimated that two round trips - about 8 weeks - would be sufficiently profitable and that the time would also be needed to find new crew members to man the freighter and to help repair the station. They badly needed engineers.

They arranged for fuel bladders to be installed in the freighter for 9000 tons of fuel - enough for another jump-3 which they would need for the next stage of their journey.

They also looked into setting up a base of operations on Theev, but when it looked like it would be about 5MCr per month for office space, protection, a hangar and storage facilities they decided against it. Perhaps Lady Yemar could receive messages on their behalf.

Departure
With the departure of the freighter set for eight weeks after it arrived, and with the mercenary cruiser busy trading, they decided that they could visit the space station in all the ships that were jump-3 or better, leaving some of them there to free up space on the freighter (now mostly full of fuel bladder) when they visited Drinax.

The fleet going to the space station would first stop at Salif and then jump to the station. This fleet consisted of the Sorrowful Maiden, Meatgrinder, the Far Scout and Fast Messenger, and the liner. It was this last one that would house the people left behind to start up the station again. When returning to Theev they'd just take the Sorrowful Maiden and Fast Messenger, leaving the others behind.

When they returned they would load up the freighter and head the most direct route - into empty hexes as they could refuel from the bladders - and take only three jumps to get to Drinax. There they would speak to the king and see what GeDeCo were up to.

To be continued.

Regrouping

Return to the hidden base
Arriving back at the Wildeman base after an in-system jump, the travellers worked out after some careful measuring that the freighter would just fit through the main doors and into the main hangar.

Once inside the prisoners disembarked and were welcomed into the newly renovated residential quarters. About a third of the freed prisoners had decided to join with Admiral Slayed and among these was a subdued Zheukvi the Corsair.

The remaining pirates showed their appreciation by swearing alliance and sharing the whereabouts of bases and safe planets. An arrangement was made whereby all those who didn't wish to join would be taken to Theev. Of Darokyn, Irontooth, Vallis or any of the other pirate lords there was no sign.

Plunder
The ships that had been captured by the Imperial Navy were removed from the freighter. Those that could be repaired were moved to the shipyard, but most of the ships were wrecks and were sent to the smelter and refinery. Some recognisable parts of the more significant wrecked ships, like those belonging to pirate lords, were kept.

Two of the repairable ships stood out. The first was Meatgrinder, a 1200 ton Aslan pocket warship which had been Hrol Irontooth's flagship. The second was Sorrowful Maiden, a 1000 ton destroyer escort which had been Admiral Darokyn's flagship. Whether that meant these two pirate lords were dead or captured, or on the run, the travellers did not know..

Among the other ships there was a mercenary cruiser, a gunship, a yacht, a 300 ton pirate carrier (with space for 10 light fighters, none of which remained), a salvage hauler that had also belonged to Admiral Darokyn and which the party were familiar, and more. Their fleet had doubled in size and more than doubled in capability.

Visitors
After two weeks a small sleek ship arrived at the asteroid and stopped there as if waiting for something. It didn't try to make contact and the occupants did not seem to be trying to find a way into the base. Eventually, after preparing the Harriers to rush out and confront the visitors should it be needed, Slayed opened a comms channel and asked what they wanted.

"We're here to speak to the Drinaxian delegate and to Admiral Slayed" they said. Slayed said to wait there and he would come out to see them. They agreed, and when the harrier was adjacent Slayed invited them to come over for a talk. The newcomers introduced themselves as Tipper and Hanz Waltz from GeDeCo. They had two pieces of information to impart from their masters.

The first piece was news was that the Imperial Navy taskforce had left Byrni and was en route to Oghma. They seem to have agreed upon Oghma as the main den of pirates and would teach the locals a lesson. They would then leave the reaches then head back to Imperial space.

The second was that GeDeCo had held up their end of the bargain that Lady Nitrane had unknowingly and unwittingly made in the Vorito vault. GeDeCo had started sending trade ships and support to Drinax to boost its position within the reaches. System Defense Boats were being given to Lord Wrax, and missile defense stations were being put in orbit.

They had also started clearing parts of the surface of toxicity and were working to help the Vespexers. Away from Drinax they had commenced negotiations to spread TL15 knowledge to lower tech worlds in the area in order to boost the general level within the reaches. Lastly offers had been made to the ruling elite within the area to send their children to the Scholar's Tower for the best education in the sector. This was a quite unsettling amount of effort on behalf of GeDeCo and the travellers didn't know what to do with the information.

The party asked what DeGeCo needed from then, and the answer was that the corporation needed nothing. Their plans for Drinax simply needed the agreement of a legally appointed representative.  The party then asked if it might be possible to get supplies and trade goods - about 50,000 tons would be sufficient. Tipper was bemused. What did they need that for? Why not ask for money? But he shrugged and said that if his GeDeCo superiors authorised that they they would most certainly want to know what it was for. The party paused at that.

Finally Tipper asked how he might get in touch with them in the future. The party said that if they needed to be reached then in addition the base at Wildeman they should try Drinax or Salif. Tipper and Hanz Waltz left.with a promise to ask about the trade goods, and to keep them informed.

Preparing to go to Theev
Spending a few more weeks at the base gave the party time to let things die down, repair the TL12 ships, and plan their next moves. The decided to leave a crew at the Wildeman base to keep it running and hopefully make some money by selling manufacturing goods. They would also start work on some system defense boats for Tech-World.

Also staying at the Wildeman base would be the Patrol Corvette for defense, the trading ships to take goods to and from the Wildeman spaceport, and a bug-class salvage hauler to move materials around.

Deciding that the refuelling costs of the freighter were prohibitive (9000 tons of refined fuel would cost 4.5MCr) a fuel processing plant was manufactured to handle 3000 tons of fuel per day. This 150 ton system was installed in the cargo hold of the freighter and connected to the fuel system so that once the shuttles returned with fuel from skimming a gas giant it could be purified relatively quickly. This approach would not only save money but also allow the freighter to avoid inquisitive people at space ports.

The remaining ships were loaded back into the freighter - this time more carefully - and everyone prepared to make the three jumps through Exocet and Borite to Palindrome, before going on to Theev.

To be continued.

For fools rush in where angels fear to tread

Settling in
The plans were made, roles practiced and equipment checked. They left the base and made their way to the Wildeman spaceport in the three Harriers, the Q-ship and the frontier trader.

Arriving at the port the Harriers went to their docking bay where they would be identified in the port computers as a medium sized freighter. The Q Ship and Frontier Trader arrived separately some hours apart and went to separate bays. Lady Nitrane and eleven other crew - the least piratey looking - were given security guard uniforms and access cards, and were left to look after the area around the docking ports that the arriving Imperial ships would be docked at. And they all waited.

The targets arrive
A couple of days later the convoy arrived. As Slayed had discovered from the memory chip on Vorito there was a megafreighter, a liner converted to a prisoner hulk, and two Gazelle-class escorts. Vitally, they were docking at the places that had been agreed with the assistant head of security who had, as soon as the convoy arrived, left on a chartered ship to destinations unknown.

Rather than attack as soon as the imperials arrived - the rationale being that on arriving at a new port they would be at maximum alert - the travellers waited for a further two days. Lady Nitrane reported back that she was starting to see half a dozen people at a time leaving the ships and estimated that there might be a dozen or so off the ships at any one time. Some of them looked to be marines, so that reduced the number they would have to overcome.

Trying to work out where the escorts were was proving difficult. It didn't appear that they were docked  but there was no way that the travellers had of locating them. With time being a factor Slayed decided that they must be close, and so the word was given that the Q-ship and frontier trader would leave separately and shortly thereafter the Harriers would come out in full stealth mode to engage the escorts.

The assault begins
The Q-ship left first, and 'flying casually' it tried to give the impression it was simply going through some last minute checks before heading to the 100 diameter limit. The frontier trader followed suit and then the Harriers came out hunting the closest escort, which was very close - at Short range.

The Harriers maneuvered for position and opened fire, at the same time blocking communications channels and attempting to get a sensor lock on the escort. The superior sensors and countermeasures suite of the Harriers, and the command module in one of them, made this relatively simple against the imperial navy vessel. Their superiority in maneuverability and electronic warfare saw the first Gazelle dispatched within a short amount of time without the Harriers even taking a hit.

While the Harriers engaged the escorts the Q Ship and Frontier Trader closed up to the prison ship and megafreighter respectively. The Q Ship, with Sparrow at the controls, was expertly positioned and the forced linkage apparatus and breaching tube got the mercenaries on board in the blink of an eye. Commanded by Unter in the command module of the third Harrier they took over one deck astonishingly quickly, leaving unprepared marines and crew dead in their trail.

The Frontier Trader was slower to position itself, and with fewer pieces of technology to get on board the mercenaries had to blast their way in using more conventional means. The vast scale of the ship also meant that while they had advantages in terms of numbers, they took many minutes just to take the first deck.

Back on the liner the mercenaries had ruthlessly killed all opposition and taken up positions protecting the bridge, engineering and airlocks, leaving a somewhat happy but bemused collection of prisoners. All were out of their cells as the mercenaries had cleared the ship room by room of the imperials. The ship was in uproar.

The Harriers, having dispatched the first escort were by now locked in a battle with the second. Again their superiority was telling and near the end the Gazelle made a break for it. Unable to match the  harriers, and with sensors and communications completely blocked, it stood no chance. Once it was destroyed one Harrier paused to ensure all on board were dead by shooting bodies as they floated free in the wreckage, while the other two sped to the megafreighter to offload the marines which had been kept in reserve.

With no more combat in space, all attention turned to the interior of the larger ships. Sparrow entered the prisoner ship where he was bombarded with questions, but in a commanding tone told everyone to be patient while the ship was readied to leave. Reaching the bridge however he was unable to break into the computer and sent a message to Slayed to that effect.

On the megafreighter the going was a lot slower, partly because of the scale of the ship, and partly because there was more of a fight put up by the defenders. However in the end it was confirmed to be cleared and the assault phase of the day was complete.

Preparing to leave
The two large ships now presented a new challenge: what to do with them. It was clearly not an option to free all the prisoners into the Wildeman spaceport, nor would many of the ships in the huge cargo deck of the megafreighter be spaceworthy - at a glance most had serious damage - so they two large imperial ships had to be flown away.

Sparrow had experience flying capital ships, so he would pilot that. It needed dozens of engineers though so a call was sent out to the freed pirates asking if any would be willing to crew the other ship. Enough stepped forward and they made their way into the Q Ship and then over to the freighter to start powering up the enormous engines.

The liner was easier to handle and Slayed was easily able to get into the computer. A small crew, under Slayed, set about bringing power up and, when the manoeuvre drives were available, the command to disengage from the docking arm was given and the ship pulled away slightly from the spaceport.

Lady Nitrane brought all the fake security guards on board the megafreighter, doing her best to block the controls of the docking airlock to the station, but it wasn't long before a huge crashing and banging was heard on the other side. Rather than let the scene play out - possibly causing problems on the station - the decision was made to put a dozen marines on the inner side of the airlock and quickly open it, grab or shoot whoever was there, and then slam it shut again. This worked well and the navy crew who had been at the wrong place at the wrong time were taken care of.

Leaving
With the two large ships now powered up the command came to leave the highport. Not wanting to give away the position of the base the fleet headed to the 100 diameter limit and then jumped to the gas giant closest to their base. This would add a few days to the journey but would hopefully mean an arrival far from any watchers.

During the jump Slayed spoke at length to the pirates on the liner. Many of them voiced a desire to join with him, their previous captains being either dead, captured or missing. The ones did not want to join still vowed to support him and his crew but wanted either a quieter life, or had other things in mind. Of the more than 300 prisoners freed, over a hundred would stay with him.

On the megafreighter, Sparrow spent a considerable about of time looking through the captured ships in the cavernous cargo bay. There were over thirty ships - some in terrible state and were clearly unusable, but others looked to be fully operational.

To be continued.

The Art of War

While Slayed talked to the assistant chief of security, Lady Nitrane looked for starport executives in the better restaurants and cafes on the station. After a few hours she found two who were talking to each other but didn't approach them. Instead she watched closely to see what they liked and then returned to the ship.

Unter had been going through possible scenarios and tactics with the tactician from the mercenary company. They had identified a number of places where they would have advantages, and some where they would be at a disadvantage. Assuming nothing, they then considered how they might initiate the assault on the ships.

If the convoy ships were docked only briefly while they refueled and then withdrew to take up an orbital position there would need to be a ship-to-ship boarding action taking place on the prisoner ship and freighter while the Harriers took care of the Gazelles. If the ships were docked then they could approach either by ship or via the docking port itself.

With the addition of the Patrol Corvette to their fleet Unter also considered using it to trick the Imperials. One approach considered would be to pretend to have captured a pirate ship and crew and ask the convoy captain to come and take possession of them. That would take some crew and marines from the ships, and also give an opportunity to eliminate them in a smaller group.

The Patrol Corvette deception might work but it might also be destined to fail even before contact was made. The transponder had not been changed, so it reported the ship as the one that may be known to be missing on Arunisiir. Also, if someone like Jaggad were to pretend to be crew - having the correct Imperial codes and passes - her defection may have been reported to the fleet already.

Lastly, it might be suspicious if the convoy captain was approached to take pirate prisoners if the purpose of the convoy were not known. In the end it was decided that the deception using the Patrol Corvette might have more chance of failing than succeeding, as well as splitting the combat resources too thinly.

The party determined then that the approach to assaulting the convoy would be as follows:

• The Q-Ship and Frontier Trader would be in either a waiting pattern or just emerging from the station.
• The Harriers would ambush the Gazelles, aiming to disable one within a couple of rounds with concentrated fire, then focusing on the other. They would be docked in a hangar (with the occupants of the hangar recorded in the highport computers as being a small freighter or other innocuous ship).
• The Q-Ship, which looked like a tramp Aslan freighter, would dart in and engage the liner with the pirate prisoners, using its forced linkage apparatus and breaching tube to gain access. 30 mercenaries would be on this ship.
• The Frontier Trader would approach the megafreighter and disgorge its marines to forcibly gain entry to that ship via the bridge and the engineering decks. 20 mercenaries would be on this ship
• Once the marines were off the ships they would assist the Harriers if needed.
• The Harrier with the Command Module would coordinate the on-board action, and if necessary the 22 additional marines held in reserve would be deployed to one or the other ship as needed.

If things went well, it might be possible to take the liner and megafreighter as captured ships - the non-military crew, if any, could be forced to assist.

If things went badly then whichever ships remained would flee, taking as many people as possible and jumping away.

Slayed reported back the outcome of his long discussions and meetings with the assistant chief of security. The Imperial ships would be sent to the docking facilities most advantageous to the party plans. The system defense boats and local security guards would be located elsewhere. Alerts and alarms would be disabled for the duration and comms would be blocked. In addition up to 12 of the travellers crew could be taken on as temporary security guards, with uniforms, passes and comms gear so that they would be the ones to react to any contact by the imperials.

In exchange for this the assistant only needed 9 MCr, which was considerably less than his initial asking price, but still acceptable. He would keep 6 MCr and the rest would be used for bribes, to hire hackers, and so on. It seemed that he had only needed a small push to turn against his employers, and as a bonus had set things up so that his superior would take the blame while he, reportedly, would die in a successful effort to repel the pirates after everything had completed.

With the plans in place, it was now a matter of sending the ship back to the base and picking up the assault forces, who had been training in the enormous hangar for the past three weeks.

To be continued.

Preparations

First arrivals
Slayed  and the Far Scout arrived at Wildeman first. Gobbo retrieved his ship and they stocked up before headed to the hidden base to start preparations to get it operational.

Entering the base via the hatch that Gobbo had found previously, they worked their way through to the main outer doors. After opening them they moved their ships inside and closed the doors behind them.

The work in the base would take a lot of time and manpower, and performing the repairs in vacc suits, while possible, would slow things down. That meant the first priority was getting the hull airtight in preparation for pressurisation. The engineers got to work while a survey of the base was made to identify what materials would be needed.

Second group
A few days later Goff's ship and the Patrol Corvette arrived at the base and were taken in to the docking hangar. The engineers that arrived got to work and the power supply was quickly brought up to a usable condition, albeit using fuel from portable drums. The basic systems and fuel tanks were next to be repaired, which finally meant people could inhabit the base without sealed vacc suits.

Mining activities had commenced with Gobbo starting to get some of the drones operational. While there were no facilities to turn the ores into anything useful, there was plenty of space for storing what they mined.

The last group
Finally the rest of the ships arrived and everyone was reunited. By now a number of primary systems were operating but not completely repaired. Each partially working system needed to be watched which took engineers away from other repairs. With a much larger contingent of engineers and mechanics it decided that the smelter, refinery and manufacturing plants should be repaired to provide at least some of the materials needed to repair the base.The downside was that some people would be needed to run them.

With the mercenaries due to arrive within a week, Slayed took the opportunity to return to the highport with Gobbo to get more supplies. They stayed at the highport until the mercenaries arrived, meeting with the commanding officer in a secluded bar to discuss moving the newly arrived forces to the base.

Mercenaries arrive
By the time the mercenaries arrived at the base the hull, power, basic systems, fuel tanks, residential areas a fuel refinery were all completely repaired, requiring no engineer oversight. The smelter, refinery and manufacturing plant were nearly complete and work was being started on the biosphere, computers, bridge, sensors and common areas.

With Gobbo's ship ferrying supplies to the base they had to be careful that nobody was following to find out what was happening with all that material. They seemed to still be undiscovered.

Reconnaissance
Shortly after the mercenaries arrived and their ships too taken into the base (leaving still an enormous amount of space for more) the party, with a mercenary tactical specialist, went once more to the Wildeman highport. Only one more trip after this would be possible, so they needed to put in motion some plan to make the security forces on the highport look the other way when things started to get exciting.

Lady Nitrane uncovered the organisational structure of the highport. There were departments for security, starship traffic control, maintenance, hospitality, trade, administration, construction and more. The ones that the travellers decided to work on were security and starship operations.

Unter and the mercenary quickly determined that there would be tactical advantage if the Imperial ships could be somehow made to dock at certain docking ports. These would provide cover for the mercenaries and suitable lines of approach.

Lady Nitrane thought that it might be possible to meet some of the higher ranking officials if she went to the better class of restaurants and cafes, and armed with their biographies and pictures she started hunting,

Slayed decided to ask Gobbo if he knew anyone well enough to approach them. He thought for a moment and came up with two names. One in the security department and the other in administration. Choosing the security officer Slayed called and asked if it would be possible to meet with the head of department, and was successful.

When Slayed arrived at the place instructed he was met by the second in command and told that the department head was away for a week or more down on the planet and would not be available. If he, the second in command could help he'd be happy to.

An offer too good to refuse?
Slayed decided that honesty (to a point) mixed with bluntness. He said that he had a difficult problem he needed solving, which was that he needed to have the security people to turn a blind eye, and point all their guns another way, so that Slayed could obtain the cargo from a ship that would be arriving some time in the future.

The assistant blinked but immediately looked thoughtful. Slayed considered what he'd asked for and from a large number of credit chips selected one that denoted 10,000 Cr and casually, and very obviously, pushed it across the table and said "I saw you drop this". The assistant picked it up, looked at it, and without saying a thing put it in his pocket.

Seeming to come to a decision the assistant asked if Slayed was staying at the highport and then said that they should meet in an hour. He stood up and opened the door, saying in a slightly louder the name of a hotel and that he hoped he would enjoy his stay.

Meeting concluded Slayed made his way to the hotel and booked a room.

To be continued.

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