IY6026.349
SAFCO is onboard the Fortunate Sun, in the Samson Mining Spaceport on Uetonah.
Barney and Silvonius Janks introduce their new passenger (Jinx) to the rest of the crew. The youngster is impressed by the crew. They cautiously welcome him onboard. Lucky and Fardt recognize him from the Tavern earlier that evening.
The crew continues working on various plans before their planned departure in the morning.
Still having remote access to the Samson network, Caliban and Barney use Caliban’s tablet to plant information in the system – information they hope the incoming mercenaries will find. Caliban is easily able to get it in there. He makes an Admin-4 roll to insert the data in such a way that it is sure to be found by the mercs, but for it to seem like they just happened upon it. Caliban makes the roll easily.
Examples of the false info:
== Memorandum == Date: IY6026.285 To: Sergeant G. Gottfried From: R. Deckels, CFO Subject: Expected mercenary casualty statistics Your 26% estimate of mercenary casualties during the rebel elimination operation have been determined to be too low. Due to financial budget limitations, please take steps to ensure the casualty rate is no less than 78%. A performance bonus will be issued if the rate is 86% or higher. Suggested strategies: Place trusted personnel in charge of artillery assets to maximize friendly fire incidents once primary objectives have been achieved. Use regions known to have high natural predator populations for mercenary excursion and reconnaissance. Issue any and all items that have marked for disposal due to failed inspection, or items which are currently due for repair before return to service. Thank you for your understanding and cooperation during this time. Richard Deckels CFO
== Memorandum == Date: IY6026.293 To: R. Deckels, CFO From: Mitch McDonna, LLP Subject: Mercenary Insurance PoliciesHello Richard, In response to your inquiry, yes, there are no legal issues regarding independently insuring contracted workers without their consent, and being the recipient of any beneficiary funds. Attached is a form which is pre-filled out where all you should need to do is simply fill in relevant employee/contractor information, and beneficiary information for each one. Sincerely, Mitch McDonna, LLP
They plant several more horrible things in the system then log out.
While they do that, the rest of the crew looks over the star map and discusses next steps. They need to get to Prometheus. Silvonius has agreed to take Jinx to Listo, which is on the way. With a max of Jump-2, their only possible initial destinations are a return to Overon (a friendly and well known world) or AT-201, a Red Zone world interdicted for unknown reasons (not a good choice). The choice is easy, but what from there?
They consult the computer’s library program to supplement their own knowledge. From Overon they can get on the main Jump-2 trade route to Ridley, or a Jump-2 to Antebaron (which will still allow them to make the next jump). Ridley, according to Flint, is the garden world home of Ridley Consortium of Mining Planets (RCMP), and is known to be unwelcoming to random visits, it being the home/retreat for company execs. Antebaron is an industrial world and home planet of the Crabs, crustacean-like sophonts adapted to the planet’s corrosive atmosphere. There is a sizeable underground human habitat there. A good place to go for trade.
Next Day…
The crew wakes to find Fardt preparing breakfast with an enthusiastic Jinx helping him. Fardt is training him as a steward! Jinx is impressed to find out that Fardt is a qualified pilot as well!
During breakfast the crew chats. Lucky diplomatically inquires about Jinx’s apparent psionic ability, demonstrated at the dice table the night before in the Tavern. Jinx is unaware of any powers. He says he’s just lucky – always has been! Like when he ran from the big guy last night and a broomstick luckily fell and tripped his pursuer, allowing him to escape a beating!
The crew finds more cargo to purchase. 5 tons of machine tools. Caliban negotiates an insanely low price for them – hey are almost sure to make a killing by selling them elsewhere. Silvonius is out of money, but SAFCO has plenty. He agrees to transport their cargo for 15% of the profits on those goods. They purchase the parts and they load up.
Caliban takes one more chance to interview and record dock workers about the Pachyderms. As he’s doing this, Barney notices some cargo that looks quite different than the rest in the dock. It looks military. Calling Flint over, he inquires. The packing boxes do indeed look like they are for military gear, with military markings. He looks at some numbers on the outside of the crate, makes an Education roll, and realizes the crate contains Battle Dress! Obviously in preparation for the mercenaries attacking the Sophont Liberation Front. A few guys in Battle Dress with heavy weapons would wipe them out!
As the rest of the crew takes notice, a worker walks up to the box, taps some numbers or text into his tablet, and leaves. Another person driving a cargo mover picks up the crate. Caliban logs into the network on his tablet, finds that particular crate in recent arrivals. Barney has him change the storage location from wherever the controller had entered to the spot their crates of machine tools had been.
The cargo mover driver stops, takes second look at his screen, scratches his head and shrugs, and puts the battle dress crate where they want — near the Favorite Son’s cargo ramp. Caliban give a pachyderm a granola bar, makes a liaison roll, and the creature pushes the crate onboard. The creature lumbers off.
NOW it is time to get the hell off this planet. Roger fires up the maneuver drive and the ship rises into the air. From his seat, Flint sees the cargo controller looking frantically for that box as the ship leaves the spaceport…
End of Session
IY6026.350
Elapsed time: 458 game days (1 year 83 days)
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