The Marshall Cooperative (T20)

We didn't find Cassel, but we found a safehouse for some guys who know him. We manage to talk this Julius guy into not killing us; one of his men slips us some information on where Cas may be. On the way back to Uzdiki, we get jumped by some of Cade's crew who turns out not to be too loyal. Cade was also an Imperial Agent, and before he went unconscious he triggers a beacon that makes us super Wanted.

The pilot, Arthur, is relatively friendly but that may be in part because he can't escape, and we have guns. But we need to decide where to go, and what to do...because John Sage is now after us, according to Cade's note. And Cassel DeMessul has a big hairy secret that Sage wants badly.

Follow up:

January 24, 2010

Cade used to be a Trader and Scout, and a Traveller. He’s not particularly unlawful, and he’s not a criminal, doesn’t steal for fun, but he’s willing to make a couple bucks breaking the law if no one gets hurt.

Would we need something crazy like a vac tent? Sure, for 2k, it’s done. Sergey is carrying it.

We get dinner, then go meet Cade. Or, wait. Our car explodes. We’re ¾ block up from the tailors

Sergey goes for a fire extinguisher. Jose goes to grab the driver. Jack calls the fire department. Nelson didn’t see any incoming rounds, but there are security cameras around.

Nelson tries to pull the guy out and will suck up damage doing so. It’s really bright in there; the driver is smoked. Next round Sergey puts the door out and we realize that there’s nothing left in the front seat. (one lifeblood).

Nelson goes to find the best security camera that caught where the car was parked. It’s an all-night cash shop. He copies the footage. The driver hung around outside, had a smoke, chatted with a cabbie, then goes for an ice cream. About 8 minutes later, he comes back with an ice cream cone. While he’s gone, a guy cuts across the street and drops something, then “bends over in front of the limo” for 15 seconds. He looks Villani, middle-aged, dark hair, average height, and wearing a business suit. It’s possible that this bomb had a repulsor-drive sensor. We do have a view of the guy’s face.

This explosion was pretty big; we would have died if we were in the car.

Sergey fixes up on Nelson, or he would had Nelson not insulted him. The paramedics strap him down.

One of the cops comes to talk to Angel; she gives a statement. Her rented limo, we were standing around it, driver’s name, got blown up, etc…and then her phone rings. It’s Amaryllis; she wants to know who’s ok (newschopper overhead). While they talk, Jose continues to speak with the cops. Amaryllis suggests we go to the hospital to get Nelson.

The cop tells us not to go off-planet because they may need to talk to us. We beat feet before we get hassled too much by the paparazzi and head to the Our Lady of Unending Pain Hospital. At the hospital, they tell us Nelson’s staying overnight.

Dale shows up at the hospital, and he’ll drag Angel, Jose, and Jack to meet Cade. Amaryllis is there in the car waiting for us. Jack does a quick survey of the car, or would before Dale tells us that he’s secured the vehicle himself…and Jack rolls a 1 on the search. Amaryllis will get us a family van, armored, with a qualified driver.

And BTW, we pick up the cost of Jim’s funeral. We will hopefully be back for the funeral. Amaryllis will bail on us because she doesn’t really need to know where we’re going, although she kind of knows too much. We will have to stay in a hotel instead of our own places.

We head inside the club and get our table; we spot Cade, and get down to business.

He can wait. He needs to depart in a week. There’s nothing there, as far as we know, but there is a chance that there’s some opposition there. We don’t tell him for sure what’s there, but he asks if Cas DeMessul is there. We say he could be, but it’s a big galaxy.

See him in the morning, Bay 295 at the up-port. We let Sergey know that we’re taking off in the morning; should be fine.

Next morning we pick up our red bags and head out to meet Cade and his ship, Mary’s Best, a ship of the Wright Flock Corp. He doesn’t own the ship as far as we know. Cade greets us on the ramp with his crew members – Arthur, some kid who pilots (mixed human), two women Kinda (2nd in command) and Shoulda (engineer), and a short older guy, Ukin (gunner and steward). Sense Motive reveals nothing unusual.

We can tell Cade kind of enjoys ordering us around. We strap in and take off. Arthur takes us out at 3G’s…he’s a little aggressive. We hear a warning tone from the downport that we’re going too fast. Cade barks at Arthur.

We prep our red bag toys while in flight. No one stops to talk to us much. Cade points us at the refresher in case we want to help ourselves.

Steve draws us a map – mine shaft into a hill, domed structure 200 yards across, big building by the mine entrance, the landing pad (a big slab for huge system boats with loading equipment) is off the map, and there are a couple of roads.

The dome and building are dark; we can’t see into the mine. Cade figures he’s ok on the pad as long as he stays dark, gives us a radio frequency, and flushes us out the airlock.

We go near the sheds and find them at ambient temperature. First shed – both mandoor and service doors are closed. Mandoor is open, room is airless. The entrance is for maintenance; remnants of machinery. There is a system boat at the back of the shed and it’s newer than the mine. It’s not warm. We go to the ship itself; it’s registered for Uzdiki system (duh); we record the numbers.

The ship’s airlock shows green-amber for atmosphere (pressurized but stale) and red for power (no power). There is an access pad here. Nelson messes with it, and finds that the panel’s been damaged and hastily-repaired. There are extra wires behind the pad…somebody set up us the bomb. Looks like you only get one chance to open this panel. Not sure how much explosives…and whoever set it up never gets his password wrong, or they’re looking to kill someone.

We leave it alone. There is another system boat of different design; it is also not 400 years old. Someone has been at the door pad for this one too. This one wasn’t set up nearly as well and is likely dangerous to authorized and unauthorized users.

The maintenance area was trashed (probably looted during the fall).

Next shed: this was also looted. One system boat in here; we check it out, and the panel’s been tampered with again. There is an open ship cradle in the other bay. We note the third ship number.

The building is probably an ore processing facility, and the dome is likely the admin compound. We go to the dome first. The dome is not warm but has an airlock. The mandoor panel is dead; we can manually open the lock if we want. No bomb. We open the exterior door; the interior door is gone.

Inside we find that it’s been thoroughly looted; backup generators are gone, computers are rubble and the place has been ransacked.

Paperwork reveals this is Galalast Mine Co. #1; it was a tantalum mine. Papers are 450-475 years old. As we finish exploring, we find the vehicle door is wide open. We stroll out that and head for the ore processing facility.

There is no heat from the ore processing building, but there is some kind of scorching around the windows like it burned once. It is similarly trashed and looted; ore came in via rail, was dumped, separated, purified, packaged, and prepped for load. There used to be heavy machines in here and the hulk of a cargo carrier (no engine). Nearly everything electronic and motors that weren’t burned up is gone. Computer room was the recipient of percussive maintenance (probably with a bomb).

We head into the mine, carefully. Guns are not drawn. There are rails and room for vehicles. No door. Stone walls with occasional supports. 200’ in and we find a large gallery. Two airlock doors ahead, a tunnel with rails to the left and right. Half the room (to the right) is full of wrecked mining equipment and junk. We don’t see any cameras or whatever. The airlock doors are hot. Looking down the left hallway, there are other passages that we ignore. The other tunnel to the right has more connections. Going for the airlock doors, they have a slide panel and a hand crank. No security locks, just a standard airlock control. It looks like there is heat and air and pressure behind it.

We go into Door 1 and close the door behind us. The airlock works as normal. We close the outer door and open the inner door. There are lit electrical lamps on the walls and a long passage that goes into the distance. There are a couple of passages off to the side. We get the impression that this complex is huge (thousands of meters long).

This area has been cut with a machine. We figure that door number two probably connects in an H-pattern, and there are a lot of passages cut off the main two shafts. There are vac suit footprints in the dust (but everywhere).

Jack pops the seal on his suit; the air is fresh and moving…obviously not from 400 years old. There is a hum of equipment for blowing air. We head towards the sound of the fans, and make a map as we go. The first passage to the left has air handling equipment supplied by a big duct. We go straight forward. The two shafts continue being connected, and we find a larger area coming off shaft 1. There are spotlights and guys hiding behind mine carts.

They call out, “Stop right where you are!” Init!

Jose is first, and calls out, “Cas sent for us.”

Jack drops to a knee, but does not draw a weapon. Sergey and Angel delay. Nelson drops to a knee and looks behind us.

#1 yells, “Ain’t no Cas here!”

Jose: A friend of ours went missing, and someone gave us the coordinates for this mine.
#1 says, “Yeah, I can’t speak to that. There’s others that have to talk on that.”
Jose: Well we’ll speak to ‘em then. We don’t have any guns drawn now.
#1: Put your guns down and come here.

Jose looks at Angel wondering if it’s ok to volunteer us for an early death.

Angel asks Jack. He says they’ll unload on us.

Jose puts down his guns and grenades and boot knife; Jack follows suit as does everyone else. The spots go out, and they call us forward. We walk forward slowly and peacefully to avoid getting shot up. It looks like there is a small armory in here.

They don’t look like they want to shoot us, but they’re real nervous and probably scared enough to do it. The guy with the rifle (their leader) doesn’t look afraid; he’s not packing now but he’s got a pistol at his side. They left our weapons on the floor.

They drag us through a bewildering path of mine, enough so that we’re not sure where we are. It’s like they’re trying to get us lost; it’s working. We come to another airlock door; he opens it and ushers us in and through. He calls out for Julius, “Visitors!”

We walk into a large gallery (only a few casons) with temporary shelters. There are three or four emergency portable fusion reactors for power. This area is lit, nicer, and there are lots of people here. On a wooden table one dude has a computer; he’s making notes on a digipad (writing by hand).

Dude: Who’d you bring us today, Paulo?

They bring chairs; we sit. No one else other than the three pistoleros is pointing a gun at us.

Angel says we’re looking for someone. Julius asks, “Cassius DeMessul?” He says dude is on Uzdiki. He took a system boat…how long ago? He doesn’t say because he doesn’t want to.

Who’s interest do we represent?

A: I am Marquesa Angel. I worked with Sir DeMessul in TMC.
Dude: Ah, TMC. Alright. And who are these?
A: Employees of TMC (introduction). Now can you tell me why he left?
D: You haven’t told me your interest in him yet. Why should I tell you?
A: Some time ago on our mission to Gigakuuli, I got a Moot courier box from DeMessul. I was unable to ascertain what it held because it was damaged. I would like to find out what was inside. He also left us a series of clues directing us here.
D: Has he now?
A: That suggests he would like to speak with us.
D: Hm. Puts me in a poor position here. No one is supposed to know about this; it’s a safehouse.

Sergey looks around—adults, both men and women.
A: If it makes you feel better, you aren’t here on an official capacity.
D: I knew that, or you’d be dead already.
A: If you are worried about us reporting you here, we would have to disclose how we found it. And we want to avoid that.
D: Navy boat here? You have a lot of Navy boys here.
A: Their skills are useful. We hired a Far Trader that once worked with us.
D: So, did Cas tell you why he ran?
A: He did not.
D: So you showed up, hoping to be friendly and say hi?
A: We hoped to find him or some other message where to look. We did not know there was a safehouse here.
D: But he didn’t tell you why he ran.
Jose: It may have been in the box, but we couldn’t read it.
D: If Cas was here, what would you ask him?
Jose: We don’t know, but he wanted us here. If we found him, maybe we could help whatever he was doing…because he didn’t say.
D: You didn’t want to talk to his pretty girlfriend? You didn’t know she was here, did you?
A: We guessed they were together.
Jose: It’s surprising she’d have to disappeared considering she did so much service to people.

He insinuates she’s covering up for the sins of her father.

D: Cas tells me that he’s got a secret. Cas tells me that John Sage wants that secret. Cas tells me these facts. You know what I think? The fact that John Sage wants it, is reason enough to deny it to him. But you? You I don’t know what to do with. You work for TMC.
A: Yes.
D: You will pardon me if I say it smells like a corporate scheme to suck money out of planets without their own life?
A: I can see how you’d say that. But I disagree.
D: You don’t know yet, do you? Even we get news up here—but we all know what corps will do to Gigakuuli.
D: I don’t know what Cas has, but it’s something Sage wants awful bad. He’d kill all of us here to get it. And he’s got the cash and resources to do it.
D: I have two problems. One, you’ve been here. Two, I don’t know if I should tell you where Cas is. Cas tells me that if Sage gets his secret…
J: Can you get a note to Cas for us? If he wants us, he’ll find us.
D: We need to run a dish out past the mountain every couple weeks for news, so no. I met Cas through a FoaF.
A: Did he tell you his secret?
D: No, and I don’t want you to. But he said in five years, it could be Emperor John Sage. I don’t know if it’s a weapon, a new virus, I don’t know. And I don’t want to know.
J: is Constance trying to deny it to him?
D: She came with Cas, didn’t she? Seems unusual considering where she originally she came from. Her head’s in the clouds a bit; Humanity isn’t ready to accept the blind optimism she’s got. But she had her eyes opened and the way she hangs on Cas, he must have done it. He’s unusual—lazy nobleman, not a corporatist and willing to let the world go on around him. But something drove him from Uzdiki here and back. It worries me that he’s alone.
D: Do you want to be Emperor, little girl?
A: Not particularly.
D: You soldier boys want to be rich?
Jack, Nelson: Not as long as we got ammo.
Sergey: I make enough fixing these guys up.
Jose: Last time I could make some easy money, I did four years.

D: What’s to say you don’t tell anyone I’m here?
Jose: Cas didn’t.
D: He’s got bigger problems than me.
D: So, I suppose we could all swear that you don’t tell anyone, or we could make it simple. If those I care about here turn up dead, you’ll get the same.
Jack: I respect that.
D: Paolo—can you escort our guests to the airlock?
Paulo: I can do that.

Julius: Don’t get any ideas you’re shutting down any criminals…we’re not doing drugs, or…
Jose: We don’t care what you’re doing here.

Paolo takes us more directly to our guns, down to the outside airlock, and tells us, “I don’t recommend you go near the system boats. They have what I loosely can call security devices.”
Angel: We already did and found the security.
Paolo: Who gives one chance? One?
Jose: A desperate man.

Paolo suggests their bomb guy isn’t too skilled.
Jack: I don’t suppose you could point us in the right direction of Cas.

Paolo looks around, then says, “I spoke with Cas while he was here. He won’t live if he doesn’t get help. You know where the Tash Mountains are? There is a cabin that the pig, John Sage, keeps. He doesn’t go there. I would look there.
Angel: Thank you.
P: Now go.

We seal up our vac suits and stroll out. What are we going to tell Cade? That the mines were trashed? If we head back now, it’s just a day trip. Angel will be in charge of telling Cade what we found, if anything.

We get to the ship, and they let us in. Cade’s waiting for us in the cargo bay with Shoulda and Kinda and Ukin.

Cade: We done?
Angel: We are.

Kinda, Shoulda, and Ukin draw and shoot Cade in the back. Init! He takes three solid hits to the back and hits the deck. They have gauss pistols.

Kinda draws a bead on the Marquesa, and calls out, “Surrender or die!”

Jose: 5’ step to the right, draw my gauss rifle, and unload on K. We’re not surrendering.

Jose drills Kinda and can’t drop her. Kinda feeds the Marquesa a heaping helping of hot metal.

Cade pulls into his tunic, pulls out a device, and manipulates it. It does not appear to be a grenade; we have never seen one like it before. Octagonal and has buttons.

Shoulda can’t shoot Jose because he’s hiding (although he did shoot her sister) so she drills Angel again.

Ukin figures that killing the Marquesa may not be the priority (who’s freaking out and pretty harmless) decides to drill Jack and hits for 11 stamina, 9 lifeblood. Sergey moves behind some cover and attempts to cauterize K’s sucking chest wound; she hits the deck like a sack of bricks. Jack moves to the left, hauls out his heavy ACR, and sprays a burst into S.

Angel: Keep one alive for questioning!
She moves behind cover next to Jose and begins a full-round action while peeking over the crates. Nelson moves behind cover, draws, and blows S away while taking cover. 37 full, 18 lifeblood. She’s been cut in half.

Nelson: I think you said surrender or die!

Kinda bleeds.

Jose: Readies to blow Ukin away.

Cade slumps over; we hear the klaxon for “Imperium member in distress” call.

Ukin moves to the door and slaps a button; he opens the door to the engine room. He’s pointing his gun kind of in our direction. Sergey moves to Cade and starts pulling out medical equipment. Jack rips a shot off at Ukin to waste him. He misses and a shot goes into the engine room…something just got shot. He misses with the second shot as well, but this time he hits the wall instead of the engines.

We hear the sub-light engines fire and the ship shudders. Arthur makes a smooth emergency takeoff, scraping the gear against the ground.

Angel uses Fright on Ukin, then starts moving towards the cabin.

Nelson: Burst fires on Ukin and drops him, then starts moving towards the vessel.

Steve mentions that we may need to modify the rules for burst and auto fire.

BTW that Imperium distress call means “imperial agent is in danger, calling all law enforcement civilian and military”.

Jose moves up to open a door. Sergey prepares to drug Cade, but notices that his heart’s not beating, so he starts CPR.

We make reflex saves because the ship lurches and banks. Sergey falls over so he has to stop CPR. Angel moves to K; K is barely alive. She can’t stabilize K. Sergey runs up to the bridge doors.

Jose runs back to the cargo hold after standing up. Ukin bleeds. Sergey resumes CPR. Jack opens the bridge doors. Arthur is shouting, “I don’t know what’s going on, they’re shooting at us. Plus-light in ten seconds!” He’s got his hands up, and driving with his feet. Apparently he’s telling the Marines not to shoot him.

Angel uses a medpack on Kinda to stabilize her.

Nelson looks out the right window; another Far Trader has fired missiles at us. Unfortunately, the gunnery station is upstairs (or downstairs). Jose, as a trained gunner, goes for the anti-missile station (the Sandcaster). Sergey slaps the paddles onto Cade to bring him around. Jack opens the hatch for the missile turret and prepares to climb.

Before Angel goes, Arthur slams us into light speed. There is a bright flash; those of us in the cargo bay notice the engine room door slam and a bright flash.

The pilot flies out of his seat and most of us lose our footing. Jose does not.

Nelson: Were we out of the gravity well?
Arthur: You don’t have to be. Seems like we got out of this ok. Do you hear that?

There is a very loud noise coming from the engine room.

Arthur wants to know who’s in charge, and asks for permission to exit light speed. He pushes the lever and it doesn’t. It doesn’t work, so he asks us who’s wearing vac suits. Sergey, Angel, and Jose drag Cade and K out of the cargo bay.

The drive section is depressurized, and we need to shut it off. We drag Kinda and Ukin out of Cargo one, and Nelson presses the Big Red Button to shut the engine off. Arthur starts playing with the controls until the engine depressurizes, and he hits the E-stop on the jump drive. We are safely in deep space. Arthur checks it out, and officially surrenders.

Was he with Kinda, Shoulda, and Ukin?

Cade is barely alive; Sergey needs to give him surgery. We figure we can low berth him. Ukin and Kinda are stable; we disarm them and low berth ‘em.

In Engineering, there is a hole in the jump drive and in the hull. He fixes the hull ok, but the hyperdrive is going to be screwed up.

Arthur does not know where we are.

Sergey looks at the octagonal disc that Cade was using. None of us recognize it. Nelson plugs it into his hand comp, and it freezes. The antivirus thing flickers, then goes away…he opens the folder that it brings up. The note reads, “If you are reading this, John Sage has moved. He is coming for you now; you are not safe from the law. You are not safe from privateers. You must find a way to return the technology so that the Empire may benefit. Cade Mastigan, Imperial Intelligence. I am sorry to have deceived you, but it was determined that an agent needed to be sent with the first mission, and I was chosen. Love and Puppy Kisses, Cade.”

He never really knew the crew, did he? If he got the job four weeks ago, he should have known his crew. Apparently he really *wasn’t* a new ship captain, was he?

Arthur has some answers. It turns out that the ship’s been repossessed by the bank.

Angel accepts his surrender, and asks if he can figure out where we are. He says he probably can, but he’s not completely sure.

He was at the employment agency; it turns out Cade hired all of them. He’s only known them a few days.

We mention that Cade was a friend of ours, and apparently Cade kicked over an ants nest. Arthur says that on the sensors just before we hit lightspeed, ships were deploying from the military up-port.

This ship is Jump 1, and there may be a hole in the jump drive after a bullet flew into the engine room. The Sandcaster may not work either.

Arthur can possibly fix the engine. We shut off the Imperium beacon. Jack tries to figure out where we are. We are probably a few days out from Uzdiki at sub-light speed.

Jose sits in the captain’s chair. Arthur is aghast at the holes in the hyperdrive. There is a cable or conduit or something that’s cut in half. They fix a few things that look to be wrong and hope that the jump drive is working. It looks ok…

In the cargo bays, Nelson looks. They are mostly full of empty crates; some of them are full of rocks and junk.

Arthur figures that he’s in it with us now because he’s our pilot (some of the rest of us can fly too), and there is a question how much we tell him because he may not want to know all of it.

Steve needs to give us XP’s for tonight next week.