Session 13 (7 July 2023)

Location: On board the Dejah Thoris berthed at the highport in orbit around Dal Hallen (Far Home 1428)

Date: 091-5600

Travellers: Sasha Danlami, Torka Jax, Griff Kodiak, Ada Windsor

It's a good day to be a Traveller. You've just been paid your monthly wages. Even better, due to your excellent work on the Cha Qu job, Captain Jarumi has thrown in a performance bonus worth 0.5% of the take — that's another Cr3500 in your pockets. Like most spacers after a rich haul, you're ready to party. But first, there's some work to do. 

Jarumi calls a meeting. She's dressed to the nines, on her way to a dreary high-society function that she can't get out of, so she keeps it short. Thanks to you, the far trader's books are now in the black, but it's no time to slack off. After all, that derelict mining ship, worth millions, is still out there. You'll need to gear up and plan the job in a way that doesn't arouse suspicions about what you're up to, lest a crew of scurvy scavs gets there before you do. She leaves it to you to select your next port of call and to arrange cargo and passengers. One last thing: she's learned that someone's been asking questions about the Dejah Thoris and its crew. She's not sure who or why, but she's worried and would like to get away from Dal Hallen without delay.

Once she's jetted off in a grav limo, you get down to planning. First up, you wonder what to do about that Line Thing you released from containment at the Cha Qu site. Does it pose a world-ending threat? Will the imminent nuclear detonations in the region solve the problem? Uncertain, you decide the best course of action is to provide an anonymous but credible tip to the military authorities about this potentially dangerous xenofauna or construct. Due to your prowess with comms and computers, not to mention your military experience, you're able to craft a message that is designed to get the attention of serious people while concealing your own hand in making and sending it.

Yaghisisan Kutatás, PI

Next up: what's the deal with this person sniffing around? Jax learns that his mother's been contacted by someone pretending to be an old friend and subjected to subtle questioning. Fortunately, Sylvinia Jax proved more than a match for her interrogator and let nothing slip. Windsor gleans additional information from communications asking about the ship's itinerary and passenger accommodations. You deduce that you're dealing with a local private investigator named Yaghisian Kutatás. Your own sleuthing reveals that he has a reputation for competence and efficiency; rumour has it that his bioengineered eyes allow him to see things others can't. It seems his investigations began after a ship arrived from Merant bearing a diplomatic courrier pouch for the Vhenjan consul here. You put two and two together, concluding that the Vhenjan government has employed him to figure out what you're up to and what kind of threat you pose. Since you're heading further away from that source of trouble, you figure Kutatás can't do much harm by reporting on your Dal Hallen activities.

Finally: where is your next port of call? You settle on Pel Avena: it has a class-B starport and it's kind of in the opposite direction of where you ultimately wish to go. What better way to dissimulate your true intentions? Although Pel Avena does not usually attract many passengers, the local situation on Dal Hallen works in your favour: many well-off humans are anxious to get off-world while the government scientists play with atomic bombs in an effort to relieve seismic tension along the planet's major fault lines. As a result of this heightened demand, you're able to charge considerably more than the normal rate for high, middle, and low passage tickets. To maximize your capacity, you purchase a number of pre-fabricated shelters and install them in the cargo bay. In this way, you're able to accommodate 18 middle passengers and 20 high passengers. You decide you're even willing to take some pets (for a modest surcharge, of course). It's shaping up to be another profitable run, even taking into account the cost of the shelters and the extra life support. It remains to be seen how easy it will be to manage three dozen entitled rich people cooped up on a small ship for a week. Chances are some of the crew, at least, are going to have to spend the transit time managing interpersonal relations, smoothing egos and ruffled feathers, breaking up fights, etc. After all, to allow chaos to spread unchecked aboard a starship would be a dereliction of duty (and create legal liabilities) for any captain. 

Cargo bay on the Dejah Thoris

Your last night at the Dal Hallen highport is spent carousing in the station's best drinking establishments. Griff and Sasha manage to remain just sober enough to make sure Torka and Ada make it back to the ship. It's a well-deserved piss-up after a few stressful days.

Next stop: the vacuum ice worldlet of Pel Avena (Far Home 1528).

Image credits: Cargo hold by GrafxBOX via Artstation.com; Yaghisian Kutatás image from a YouTube video made using an AI.