Session 5 (28 April 2023)

Location: Lake Muuna in the eastern border region of the dictatorship of Vhenja on Merant (Far Home 1427), a low-tech, politically fragmented, Earth-like planet.

Date: 073-5600

Time: 1100

Travellers: Dr. Jaxxon Fomstep (what he lacks in bedside manner he makes up for in genius), Jacobe Kyman (a friendly guy who may keep some secrets), Erhardt Hecker (a veteran who knows the score)

As the sounds of fighting break out, Braxton bids you adieu and turns to get the medical supplies you've just delivered to the separatist fighters facing off against the Vhenjan army. You grab his arm, reminding him that you need him to confirm receipt of the package. He promises to place a phone call when he can. It's a bit of a pickle: Braxton's first priority is evidently to rush toward the combat, and if he doesn't make it through, who will make that call? On the other hand, do you want to escort a man into a war zone? You quickly find a reasonable middle ground: Braxton permits you to video him (from the neck down) in possession of the supplies as a form of proof that you fulfilled your end of the contract. Then he jumps into his truck and is away.

You climb aboard the seaplane and minutes later are aloft, banking in a wide circle over the columns of smoke rising from the forested area near the village of Muuna. You can see figures running and shooting amidst the trees. There are more explosions. You see no sign of the deadly gas Braxton alleged the government was using, but you don't stay around long either: soon you are heading east again over the mountains, back to Khertian airspace. The return journey is without incident.

Meanwhile, on the Dejah Thoris, other efforts are being made to earn much-needed revenue. Hecker's efforts to secure promising trade goods are frustrated, in part by the miserable low-tech communication networks on Merant. Everything is so slow! When Kyman returns from the delivery job, Hecker is eager to learn about its outcome, hoping that at least that effort paid off. Kyman paints a rather optimistic portrait of the whole affair, which Hecker seems to take with a grain of salt. The fact that you haven't been paid — yet — is a tad worrisome. Dr Fomstep joins the group and takes stock of the situation. He has spent some time analyzing data from the encounter with the entity on the Alexis (sessions 1 and 2) and has formulated several actionable hypotheses about how to engage the thing in future encounters. Not prepared to share these quite yet, he turns his formidable intellect to the problem at hand: raising money. He proposes the following: extracting certain naturally occurring organic molecules from plants on this garden world and using the ship's medical equipment to compound psychotropic party drugs to be sold on other worlds. A quick review of library data indicates the existence of likely species in nearby wilderness areas. After an animated discussion about the wisdom of breaking bad in this way, you decide it's worth taking the first steps — after all, there's no crime against gathering plants, is there? 

The next morning, you present a somewhat sanitized and abridged version of this plan to Captain Jarumi and secure her consent to use the air/raft. She reports in turn that payment for yesterday's delivery still hasn't been deposited in the ship's account.

Irked, you use the starport interface to hook into this world's primitive telephone network and place a call to Tyrella Watanabe. Apparently hesitant to talk over the phone, she agrees to meet at an abandoned factory to discuss the matter. You pile into the air/raft with your plant-collection gear and head off. At the rendezvous, Kyman maneuvers to speak with Watanabe in private, preferring to keep some of the details of the deal under wraps. Watanabe views the video recording of Braxton and agrees that it's convincing evidence; she'll do what she can. But her own report is not reassuring: the Timerckian separatists in Kherty have had no word from their comrades in Vhenja. She's doesn't represent the money in the organization and cannot herself authorize payment. She'll advocate in your favour, but Braxton's confirmation, or that of someone else close to him, remains key. In time, it seems likely that proof will emerge of your good faith in making the delivery... but how much time, exactly, is unclear.

Observing body language and facial expressions from a distance during this exchange, Fomstep remarks drily to Hecker, "We're not getting paid."

When Kyman returns to his shipmates in the air/raftt, he reports, "No problem. Now, let's go get those plants!"

Exotic flora on Merant
Credit: David Edwards

Next stop: a vast wilderness preserve several hours away. Between Kyman's expert orienteering, Fomstep's identification of the species, and Hecker's skilled collecting, you have no trouble filling numerous vials with rare samples. (Dr Fomstep will have a +3 bonus should he roll to concoct drugs in a future session.)

You still have several days left on Merant. How will you follow up on payment for the delivery? Will you actually break bad in the lab? What other revenue streams remain to be explored?

Date: 074-5600

Time: 2100