Damon F.P. arrived by Megabus from New York on Friday, 13 May 2011. He and I have been friends since high school, for almost 30 years. I’ve been Damon’s best man three times, and he created some of the first Player Characters for my “Vanished Lands” fantasy campaign setting.
Soon, more people from Josh’s gaming groups arrived, including Bob & Ginger and Robin. My groups were represented by Beruk A., Brian W., and Brian’s wife Beth. Despite overcast weather, the potluck barbeque was a success, with some Nerf sparring and badminton. The cookout included roast chicken, pork, and sausages, as well as good conversations about politics, religion, pets, and of course, games.
Everyone got along well, and I hope that this nongaming social gathering (the first in a few years among our groups) is just the beginning! Damon was drowsy from some medication, but Janice and I later watched the gnostic episode of Doctor Whowritten by Neil Gaiman.
On Sunday, after Janice made a pancake brunch, I took Damon to Central Square in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Unfortunately, our toilet stopped functioning properly. It’s the third time where we’ve had problems during visits — no heat during David I.S.‘s January visit, a leaky washer during my brother’s trip, and now this. Damon and I had lunch at Four Burgers before he returned to New York. Now I’m just waiting for our landlord to send a plumber….
After encountering robotic probes, regional warlords, and other horrors in an old battlefield and the Ghanki undersea station, a band of grifters and near-humans escaped to the Shepard 2 orbital city. It conducted a successful heist in the Lunar Free State and was involved in medical disasters in the Venusian colonies before returning to Earth…..
>>”Vortex” Team 2 (5b), crew of the Appomattox, as of spring 2011:
-“Gabriel Adams” [Paul J.]-male North American Terran near-human with telepathy, courier and pilot
-“Hector Chavez” [Beruk A.]-male Latin American Terran human, “burned” operative and communications expert
-“ARTHERR” [Greg D.C.]-Advanced Resonance Theoretical Heuristic Exploration and Research Robot created by megacorp Vimeco
-“Jasmine” [Sara F.] female Martian Felinoid (Synth, “Uplifted” tiger), former professional pit fighter
-“Dr. Richmond Garrett” [Dave S.C.]-male Southern American Terran human, space snake-oil salesman and social climber
-“Dr. Dieter Klein” [Rich L./absent]-male European Terran human, semi-retired physician, altruist and thrill seeker
-“Nero Bartholomew” [Non-Player Character]-male Terran human, former owner of the “Fortune’s Fool,” ship’s cook
“23 to 25 September 2194 A.D./C.E. or 0 Terran Galactic Era:” After hosting a night of gambling to gather leads on a faster-than-light (FTL) drive, the crew of the Appomattox follows up with its contacts and begins making heist plans.
Capt. Gabriel Adams maneuvers the yacht/smuggler in Earth orbit, and Hector Chavez asks his onetime handler Max for more information on magnate Feng Ruying [think Richard Branson]. ARTHERR recommends simply asking Feng for access to an FTL engine, but the robot’s more larcenous companions don’t think he’ll see the benefit “for all mankind.”
Jasmine is reluctant to be involved in more criminal activities, but “Dr. Richmond Garrett” is confident that his increasingly elaborate confidence schemes will work. The adventuring party had learned from Capt. Brandon Morgan about the Enlightened Flower, Feng’s experimental ship merging Terran technology with FTL systems from the Olvar (mammal-like arboreal aliens).
Gabriel, whose fixer Lilian Morrisey referred Capt. Morgan, notes that the Enlightened Flower is under construction at Feng’s private dock near Blackrock Station, in orbit opposite the Moon. Hector finds that although the inventor’s public record is exemplary, he is under investigation by the United Earth Authority (U.E.A.) for trying to obtain restricted extraterrestrial technology to corner the transportation market in the outer Sol system.
ARTHERR asserts that FTL technology should be freely available to humanity and looks for anarchist groups on Terran information networks. He finds several, including the Xox Memes, Shadow Orphans, Autonomist Alliance, and the Prometheans. Some include fellow rogue artificial intelligences (A.I.s).
Jasmine is wary upon learning that Feng has hired Systemes de Recuperation Executif Cie (SRE, or Exective Retrieval Systems Inc.), from whose warehouse in Kalam Spaceport in the Lunar Free State the group had stolen other parts for its ship. ARTHERR verifies that an FTL drive can be installed in the Appomattox.
Richmond finds that Brad Ogden of Transport Conglomerates is a rival to Feng and that the Ru’ulok (heavy-gravity reptilian aliens) are competing with the Olvar for influence on Terran trade. He invites Gorvek Beezo and “Rabak Porset” [Non-Player Character/Rich L.], two Ru’ulok he had gambled with, back to the Appomattox, but before they arrive, the ship receives containers from fixer “Ramon Sanchez” [Josh H./Greg D.C./N.P.C.]!
Unable to contain his curiosity, Gabriel begins circumventing the security on one of the containers, even though ARTHERR notes that they’re pressurized and climate-controlled. Hector scans and detects wood, cloth, and precious metals rather than the contraband tech he was expecting.
Underworld courier Gabriel opens one lid and finds a trove of paintings, sculpture, and books. ARTHERR cross-references art databases and finds that they’re from the Vatican museums but are not listed as lost. The robotic scout scans the other containers and finds similar artifacts, including priceless texts thought lost with the library of ancient Alexandria.
Richmond appraises the items, and Gabriel says that Ramon is underpaying for their transport to Epsilon Eridani. ARTHERR and Jasmine are unsure of why such relics would need to be smuggled out of the Sol system, but as the two Ru’ulok hail Hector, the group hastily closes the container and goes to meet them.
Dr. Garrett takes Gorvek and Rabak to the ship’s lounge, as ex-spy Hector scans them for hidden transmitters. Former wrestler Jasmine keeps an eye on the reptilian traders, who agree with ARTHERR that FTL technology should be freely shared with humanity, despite the U.E.A. and Kharvamid Alliance’s rules.
Gabriel orders Nero Bartholomew and Averki “Deep Dish” Dyashenko to prepare food and drinks for the Ru’ulok, who turn out to be carnivorous. They repeat their offer of information regarding an alien ship just outside the Sol system, saying that the worst the humans can expect are Gustrall (raptor-like, orange-furred alien) sentries.
Richmond says that he is considering Rabak’s mission among others, including the salvage of a derelict Terran vessel referred by Max. The snake-oil salesman and ARTHERR (resisting his Vimeco programming) boldly suggest that if an extrasolar FTL drive was somehow stolen, its plans could be leaked, covertly helping both the party and the Ru’ulok. Gorvek says he’ll consider the plan and try to contact friendly pilots.
After Gorvek and Rabak leave, Richmond and company shift their plans from getting close to Feng Ruying to steal the Enlightened Flower to hijacking an FTL drive from an underguarded Ru’ulok ship near Earth. Gabriel will pilot the Appomattox and move the nonaligned ship away from orbital stations. He buys pirate garb for the team.
Hector and ARTHERR intend to hack security systems and remove the engine, while Jasmine will look out for reinforcements. The tiger woman dyes her fur to resemble an Olvar. Richmond (who already looks like a young Col. Sanders) plans to bring fried chicken laced with sedatives from Dr. Dieter Klein, who has been visiting friends in the orbital cities.
ARTHERR contacts the brokers at Xox Memes as “Masters of Earthly Lubricated Information Network,” or MERLIN, to help distribute the FTL plans, in return for future help. Oceanic A.I. Gordon agrees.
Gorvek contacts the crew of the Appomattox with the names of two ships: the Star Shark (as translated from Ru’ulok) of Capt. Droata and the Red Manta of Capt. Dorno. Both of their crews are mostly on shore leave, but they are not yet aware of plans to take their engines. The would-be pirates head toward the Ru’ulok traderStar Shark….
After enduring xenophobic attacks on Earth, two alien explorers and their human allies were embroiled in megacorp intrigues in the Lemuria orbital city and the Lunar Free State. The group then visited the Mars Confederation and obtained a faster-than-light ship in the Asteroid Belt from the Olvar Star League….
>>”Vortex” Team 1 (5a), crew of the Blackbird, as of spring 2011:
-“Syzygy” [Brian W.]-Trinoid (trilateral amphibious alien) xenologist with an organic laboratory and a pet cat named “Mr. Sniffles”
-“Tela” [Sara F.]-female Tharian (winged reptilian humanoid alien) escapee from the Encegulans, engineer
-“Chris McKee” [Josh C.]-male North American Terran cyborg human sniper working for eugenics conspirators at Black Box Security Co.
-“Aughest-vor” [Jason E.R.]-male human from the Lemuria orbital city, onetime dilettante, solar-sail regatta pilot
-“Lt. Kevin Reese” [Bruce K.]-male Terran human, burned-out officer and explorer in the Interplanetary Patrol
-“Gombo Shisel” [Rich L.]-male Mongolian/Martian human, former horse rancher and wilderness survival expert
-“Dr. Bucket” [Non-Player Character]-United Earth Authority astromech robot assigned to the Blackbird
-Game dates: “8 to 14 September 2194 A.D./C.E. or 0 Galactic Era”
>>Scene 1: Eclipse Station
The Blackbird docks at a colony in orbit around Saturn’s moon Titan. The scout ship’s crew finds the docking terminal sparsely populated and goes to the Ringtown Diner to find out about local affairs and potential sellers of used military drop ships.
Syzygy drinks copious amounts of water and orders a full leg of lamb for his xenobiology lab. Tela enjoys a fish burger, kelp pie, and the lack of surprise from station inhabitants at seeing aliens. The Tharian engineer also talks to the jukebox/robotic cook.
Chris McKee orders a multicolor pizza and washes it down with Golden Rings ale. Lt. Kevin Reese sees a Ru’ulok (heavy-gravity reptilian alien) patron eating a real hamburger and asks an android waitress wearing 1950s style garb to bring him one, no matter the cost. Aughest-vor… also drinks a strong beer and notices a Chim (“Uplifted,” or genetically modified, chimpanzee) in mechanic’s coveralls.
Tela, wary of bounty hunters, throws a piece of Chris’ pizza at the Ru’ulok but hits the Chim! She and Syzygy duck under tables as the mechanic angrily confronts the armored alien. Aughest slips out to the Lucky Garden Casino down the hall, while Chris readies his holdout pistol. Lt. Reese pulls out his Interplanetary Patrol badge and persuades Faisal Batar to leave. Ralek, the Ru’ulok, thanks the officer and says he can be reached aboard the Bloody Drover (Bay 19).
Aughest-vor is accosted by the attractive Tanya Montana as he enters the smoke-filled gambling den. Giving his name as “Zach Urku,” the onetime playboy is guided to a back room, where he loses his first few hands at poker before his companions rejoin him. They are harangued by Rev. Winston outside a mall chapel, and Syzygy finds that the air in the casino is laced with euphoria-inducing drugs.
The explorers return to the Ringtown Diner in time to meet Dimitri Parvis, a cyborg mecha driver who offers them a Cheyenne-class drop ship for a few hundred thousand credits (which they obtained as part of the Tyche trade deal). They agree to meet metal-limbed Parvis on Titan for a test drive the next morning.
Pilot Aughest also contacts Amir Mukhtadi about a Tau Orca-class vessel. The Blackbird‘s crew plans to nest the Tiger Hawk Sandstorm modular ground-effect vehicle in its drop ship. Back at the Star League ship at Berth 13, Gombo Shisel and Dr. Bucket prepare the launch bay, play cards, and monitor communications (including news of the Venusian virus and ensuing civil unrest, casualties, and United Earth Authority quarantine [see Team 2 notes]).
Kevin returns to the Lucky Garden to spend an evening with Tanya and Galia, even though Syzygy has identified them as synthetic humanoids. Tela and Chris go to the shop of provisioner Hassan, who turns out to be the brother of Amir. The glider-winged extraterrestrial buys coffee and some goldfish as pets, while Agent Prometheus loads up on guns and ammunition.
Syzygy learns that a Trinoid “sharer” is at Arhus University, coinciding with Black Box Security Co.’s orders to Chris to report to Jamila Sahdai, an agent also in New Syria. They take the Blackbird down to Titan, leaving behind Kevin, who has to catch up on a redeye shuttle to Saturn’s frigid moon.
>>Scene 2: New Syria
Syzygy, Tela, Aughest, and Kevin go to Arhus University, where they find Solipsy in a laboratory filled with strange life forms. Syzygy and Solipsy embrace tentacles, sharing information, while the humans and Tharian cautiously explore the archives.
Meanwhile, Agent Prometheus goes to a nearby hydroponics farm, where he encounters two naked people emerging from hibernation chambers! They subdue him, and Sahdai replaces an implant in his skull just as Lt. Reese gets permission to scan the area using Solipsy’s equipment (in return for going to the neutral Oasis Station, about 40 parsecs from Sol, on behalf of the Kharvamid Alliance).
The adventuring party rushes next door, only to find Chris standing and with no recollection of being operated upon. Syzygy confirms that he has a new cybernetic implant, and Kevin and Aughest recommend that Chris have it removed.
>>Scene 3: Test drives and potential missions
Back at Eclipse Station, Lt. Reese reports to Lt. Yasmine Al-Ghuj and Capt. Garzan Cisneros, who tease him with surveillance images of him in his red and black Blackbird uniform (provided by Aughest) with Tanya and Galia. They ask the burned-out cop to remember that they need to earn the miners‘ respect.
Capt. Cisneros, commander of the U.E.V. Kindjal, also asks Kevin to bring supplies to Tiger Squadron, which is stationed at an observation post near Alpha Centauri. Since it’s only a few days’ detour from Oasis Station, the crew of the Blackbird eventually agrees to help.
The group meets with Parvis, and Aughest flies the Cheyenne-class drop ship. Tela finds it to be spaceworthy, and Chris and Kevin verify that the craft was once used by Jovian forces. Syzygy expresses concern that it is a warship rather than a scout vessel, but his companions claim that they’ll need to protect themselves when leaving the Blackbird.
After some haggling, Parvis sells the drop ship and includes weapons systems rather than allow the team to meet with competitor Amir Mukhtadi in New Quebec. He also recommends “Fingers in Shadow,” supposedly the best surgeon in the Saturnian colonies and a member of Capt. Robert Stone’s crew.
The wanderers go to the Lucky Garden, where they find Capt. Stone and an unsettling “octoparrot” on his shoulder. The cyborg pirate offers to have his doctor remove Chris’ implant in return for the Blackbird distributing a Terran videogame called “Defeat the Fleet” to extrasolar customers. After some consideration, the group declines in favor of finding another surgeon.
After taking possession of the drop ship, which Tela rechristens the “Dragonfly” [to be statted out], the crew of the Blackbird prepares for its first interstellar voyage. Syzygy synchronizes data with his lab and the ship’s computers, and Lt. Reese asks Capt. Cisneros for more information on Tiger Squadron.
Agent Prometheus, unsure of what’s in his head, loads the weapons locker and watches for Ru’ulok slavers. Aughest-vor… plots a course to Alpha Centauri, and Tela readies the REM faster-than-light drive….
Josh will be writing up his own notes as “Chris McKee.” Let me know if you have any questions, and I look forward to seeing some of you at the cross-group cookout in mid-May! -Gene
After encountering regional warlords, extraterrestrial probes, and other hazards around Karachi and Ghanki Station beneath the Arabian Sea, a band of grifters and near-humans escaped to the Shepard 2 orbital city. They conducted a successful heist in the Lunar Free State, then undertook an urgent medical mission to the Venus colonies….
>>”Vortex” Team 2 (5b), crew of the Appomattox, as of spring 2011:
-“Gabriel Adams” [Paul J.]-male North American Terran near-human with telepathy, courier and pilot
-“ARTHERR” [Greg D.C.]-Advanced Resonance Theoretical Heuristic Exploration and Research Robot created by megacorp Vimeco
-“Jasmine” [Sara F.] female Martian Felinoid (Synth, “Uplifted” tiger), former professional pit fighter
-“Dr. Richmond Garrett” [Dave S.C.]-male Southern American Terran human, space snake-oil salesman and social climber
-“Dr. Dieter Klein” [Rich L.]-male European Terran human, semi-retired physician, altruist and thrill seeker
-“Hector Chavez” [Beruk A./absent]-male Latin American Terran human, “burned” operative and communications expert
-“Nero Bartholomew” [Non-Player Character]-male Terran human, former owner of the “Fortune’s Fool,” ship’s cook
“22 to 23 September 2194 A.D./C.E. or 0 Galactic Era:” After returning to Earth, the crew of the Appomattox prepares to host a party and follow up on leads to faster-than-light (FTL) engines. Capt. Gabriel Adams handles docking with an orbital city and visiting ships.
ARTHERR reviews ship specifications and repaints himself again, this time as a Doric column in keeping with Nero Bartholomew’s ancient Roman-themed décor. Jasmine puts on a toga and greets arriving guests. The tiger woman asks for their weapons.
Dr. Richmond Garrett supervises Nero and Averki “Deep Dish” Dyashenko’s cooking and redressing of the yacht’s lounge for gambling, as in a Mississippi River boat. Retiree Dr. Dieter Klein invites former interns and looks forward to making new acquaintances.
Hector Chavez monitors communications and learns that the group’s involvement in treating the Venusian virus and investigating the subsequent stadium disaster has been in the Terran news. The party decides against inviting any officers from the United Earth Authority.
Among the guests is “Ramon Sanchez” [Josh H./Greg], the Lisbon-based “fixer” who had given the party its first mission, to an old battlefield north of Karachi. Ramon wears a long coat and sunglasses and brings two beefy aides, Hugo and Hernando.
Lillian Morrisey, an underworld contact of Gabriel, escorts Capt. Brandon Morgan, who claims to know of “easy pickings” near Earth. Hector’s onetime handler Max mentions a derelict ship at the edge of the Sol system. ARTHERR unobtrusively serves drinks.
Last but not least are two Ru’ulok (heavy-gravity reptilian aliens) offering humans work with the galactic Trade Guilds. Gorvek Beezo and “Rabak Porset” [Rich/N.P.C.] say there is another ship with extraterrestrial technology ripe for the picking. They and the other gamblers try various games, including roulette and baccarat, before settling on Texas Hold-’em poker. Jasmine deals the cards.
Capt. Morgan chats up Dr. Garrett, who determines that his fellow confidence artist is neither wealthy nor reputable. Dr. Klein is briefly intimidated by Hugo and Hernando, so he teams up with the Ru’ulok against Ramon. Capt. Adams telepathically contacts Richmond, and Dieter suspects that something is amiss.
Gorvek clumsily tries to make small talk with “Synth” Jasmine, whom has been instructed to take a 5% rake for the house. Hector helps keep watch for cheating. Brandon changes tack, flirting with Jasmine, confusing the former wrestler. Richmond successfully bluffs Brandon, causing him to be short-stacked.
Mr. Sanchez turns his attention to Dr. Garrett, who agrees to take a load of mysterious cargo to Epsilon Eridani. Gabriel asks the Ru’ulok about who invited them. Rabak replies that they had heard of the soiree from Lillian, and Gorvek finds that Gabriel is as altruistic as he is mercenary. Richmond tries to get the reptilian visitors drunk (“poker-faced”) by offering several toasts.
Ramon continues his winnings against Dieter, who bets against Gorvek. Gabriel pushes Brandon to the brink of being broke but is intimidated in turn by the Ru’ulok. Capt. Morgan briefly recovers at Dr. Klein’s expense, and Richmond presses his advantage over Gorvek.
Dieter and Brandon reluctantly take loans from Ramon, and Gorvek suggests that a Kharvamid Alliance ship would be easy prey, despite potential Gustrall (orange-furred, raptor-like alien) guards. He surprises the other card players with strong hands against Richmond and Dieter.
Gabriel offers to pay Brandon’s debt to Ramon in return for a favor, and the suave captain agrees. Dieter also has second thoughts about becoming indebted to the fastidious fixer. Ramon, satisfied with his winnings, departs with Hugo and Hernando. Gorvek and Rabak say that the alien ship can still be salvaged, if another crew doesn’t get there first.
Max says he’ll keep the group in mind for the derelict at the Sol system’s edge. Brandon and Lillian describe the Enlightened Flower, a vessel being refitted with an Olvar FTL drive in the private shipyard of one Feng Ruying. Brandon says he wants that ship’s central computer as a finder’s fee. Richmond says that the Appomattox‘s crew will begin planning a heist….
Session 5b.15 for the crew of the Appomattox is scheduled for 2 May 2011. Neither “Vortex” team nor thePathfinder/Skype: “the Vanished Lands” telecom fantasy game will be meeting during the next two weekends because of family travel. The crew of the Blackbird will meet again on April 25, and the “Vanished Lands” should resume on May 1.
We also have some nongaming events coming up, including Waltham’s steampunk festival on May 7, The Mighty Thor, and the mid-May potluck! I look forward to seeing all of you after Passover and Easter, -Gene
After encountering regional warlords, extraterrestrial probes, and other hazards around Karachi and Ghanki Station beneath the Arabian Sea, a band of grifters and near-humans escaped to the Shepard 2 orbital city. They conducted a successful heist in the Lunar Free State, then undertook an urgent medical mission to the Venus colonies. ….
>>”Vortex” Team 2 (5b), crew of the Appomattox, as of spring 2011:
-“Gabriel Adams” [Paul J.]-male North American Terran near-human with telepathy, courier and pilot
-“Hector Chavez” [Beruk A.]-male Latin American Terran human, “burned” operative and communications expert
-“ARTHERR” [Greg D.C.]-Advanced Resonance Theoretical Heuristic Exploration and Research Robot created by megacorp Vimeco
-“Jasmine” [Sara F.] female Martian Felinoid (Synth, “Uplifted” tiger), former professional pit fighter
-“Dr. Richmond Garrett” [Dave S.C.]-male Southern American Terran human, space snake-oil salesman and social climber
-“Dr. Dieter Klein” [Rich L.]-male European Terran human, semi-retired physician, altruist and thrill seeker
-“Nero Bartholomew” [Non-Player Character]-male Terran human, former owner of the Fortune’s Fool, ship’s cook
“26 August to 21 September 2194 A.D./C.E. or 0 Galactic Era:” Aid workers struggle with a virus sweeping through the Venusian colonies. The crew of the Appomattox continues its investigation into the sabotage of Hephaestus Stadium, whose destruction killed thousands of workers who had gathered for treatment in the Kardikea orbital habitat.
Hector asks Gabriel to look for computer parts so that he can safely analyze a data storage unit obtained from the office of Orion Stefanov, chairman of the Venusian Finance Union (V.F.U.). The former secret agent explains to the runner that he doesn’t want to expose their ship’s systems to potential electronic countermeasures (ECM).
After defeating several layers of security and decrypting the information, Hector copies it and asks ARTHERR to help him analyze it. They find recordings of meetings of Stefanov and the V.F.U.’s Central Committee, which includes representatives of the 12 families and megacorporations that control Venus.
Stefanov had told the committee that thanks to his initiative, Dr. Richmond Garrett would be awarded the title of surgeon general and held responsible for the treatment of lower-ranking colonists. Nero Bartholomew, former tycoon and owner of the Fortune’s Fool, is confined to his cabin because of food-borne infection.
The recordings also confirm that the Central Committee ordered its security forces to withdraw shortly before the explosive decompression at Hephaestus Stadium, indicating foreknowledge. The United Earth Authority (U.E.A.) has been looking for such proof of Finance Union misdeeds.
ARTHERR is confused by evidence that Vimeco, the megacorp that created him, provided the robotic assassins at the stadium and engineered the virus to spread and kill more quickly. The exploration robot has been assisting with the distribution of medicine, some of which was also made by Vimeco.
Kardikean flight control tells the Appomattox to prepare to be boarded, because a warrant has been issued for Dr. Garrett’s arrest in connection with the sabotage, uncensored transmissions, and break-in at Chairman Stefanov’s office. Jasmine creates an improvised shield from a metal container door, and ARTHERR recommends herding the livestock that Dr. Dieter Klein tested toward the airlock as a diversion.
As guards arrive at the space dock with cutting tools, Richmond emerges from a long soak in the low-gravity sauna and wonders what all the fuss is about. Although the snake-oil salesman did accept the surgeon general post and recommend the use of Hephaestus Stadium, he didn’t participate in the daring infiltration of the Central Committee offices.
Richmond stalls for time, allowing his companions to send the incriminating data to their contacts — Gabriel to fixer Lillian Morrisey, Hector to onetime handler Max, and ARTHERR to Capt. Amelia Saviola of U.E.V. Sphinx, the U.E.A. destroyer maintaining the medical quarantine of Venus. Hector also contacts Lady Lykhova, a member of the Central Committee and a potential rival or successor to Stefanov.
By surrendering to Stefanov and Lykhova, Richmond avoids a shootout on the Appomattox and guarantees himself a show trial. He and ARTHERR are taken to a holding area as news drones surround their yacht and the courtroom. People across the Venusian colonies tune in to see the Terran spies prosecuted and executed for their crimes during the plague.
Ever wily, Richmond privately tells Orion that he has evidence that security officer Kiril Shatalin was involved in the sabotage and that a doctor at Morningstar Consortium was conducting corporate espionage with Xi Labs, interfering with early treatment of the illness. Dr. Garrett offers up the two patsies during his trial, narrowly escaping execution, and returns to his ship.
Capt. Saviola thanks ARTHERR and the rest of “MarSoupAiL” (shell company Mars Soup Aid Lenders Ltd.) for the data, which she says the U.E.A. legislature will use against Stefanov. She orders “Capt. Doug McDonnell” [Erik B.L./N.P.C.] of the aid vessel Parsifal to see whether the Appomattox can be cleared to leave Venus space.
The Interstellar Patrol veteran tries to telepathically scan for clues that the crew knows more than it has told the U.E.A., but he is blocked by defiant Gabriel and Richmond. After a thorough disinfection of the galley and cabins by Averki “Deep Dish” Dyashenko, Capt. McDonnell clears the Appomattox to return to Earth.
The relieved crew spends the journey reviewing the ship for potential improvements. The adventurers discuss their leads on obtaining faster-than-light (FTL) engines. Hector’s friend Max had mentioned an abandoned alien ship at the edge of the Sol system, but it could take months to reach with conventional Terran technology.
In return for profitable information about Venus, Lillian has referred a man named Brandon Morgan, who knows of a lightly defended FTL vessel near Earth. She also previously told Gabriel about Rabak Porset, a Ru’ulok (heavy-gravity reptilian alien) offering drives and privateering work through the galactic Trade Guilds.
ARTHERR contacts Adm. Wei Sihong, whom he had given dangerous samples retrieved from a battlefield north of Karachi and in Ghanki Station. The probe droid asks the U.E.A. for containment units that can maintain extreme temperatures. Dr. Klein asks for a proper medical bay, and engineer Hector notes that the Appomattox doesn’t yet have any weaponry.
Gabriel customizes some of the passenger cabins for smuggling, and Richmond buys gambling equipment to redecorate the yacht’s lounge with a riverboat casino theme (in contrast to Nero’s ancient Roman-styled crew cabins). Dr. Garrett and Deep Dish also study astrogation.
Once in Earth orbit, Gabriel invites several of the party’s contacts, such as fixer “Ramon Sanchez” [Josh H./N.P.C.] to meet and discuss potential missions in the Appomattox‘s new lounge. Hector familiarizes himself with ship systems, especially communications and ECM. ARTHERR experiments with the grappling unit and supervises the installation of the containment units. Doctors Garrett and Klein keep a low profile and stay aboard.
Jasmine takes Deep Dish planetside for sightseeing. They go to a subtropical park, where they atavistically hunt and devour a deer. The tiger woman politely declines the reptile man’s overtures, noting that she has a mate Darsil but she knows a female Synth named Ruby. Jasmine also tells Deep Dish of her dream of a homeworld for their people, free of human oppression.
Back at the Appomattox, the crew weighs its options for an FTL drive and prepares to receive its gear and guests….
Please note that “Vortex” Team 2 will play again next Monday, April 11, and Team 1 won’t convene again until April 25 (sorry, Bruce). Rich, I hope you’ll be able to meet the remaining gamers soon! In the meantime, everyone should R.S.V.P. to the May 14 cross-group cookout invitation by next week. Take it easy, -Gene
Gene's Worlds 