02/10/2019 - Alell (5)

Orbital Shenanigans

Drent is able to arrest their approach speed safely and establish the orbit requested by STC. However, despite all of their efforts, STC seems content to make them wait for permission to land.

Meanwhile the other shuttles, spurred on by Drent’s fast approach, have been thrusting hard to get to the moon. One of the shuttles, with Arisa on board, hits the atmosphere and spins off out of control. They receive a May-Day from Arisa, saying she has lost control of her shuttle and needs help.

Another, which is actually a small craft, is also unable to slow down in time but it ignores STC and instead makes a risky high-speed landing on the moon. The local law enforcing space station scrambles Pursuit Ships to intercept. There looks to be a battle in the atmosphere.

Meanwhile, two other shuttles arrive and establish safe orbits. One of them is an official military shuttle from the Arkon system. It must be Buzz Kennedy.

Alell Customs and Rules

When they finally receive permission to land, they are instructed to maintain their flight within a restricted corridor. The space dock on the moon’s surface is actually a very large, natural cave that has a high-tech, but small, space dock that is only visible once inside the cave. Drent is able to follow strict flight instructions and park in the correct docking bay.

Once they are docked, the automatic systems spray down the shuttle to decontaminate it. They also receive a long, boring list of conditions that they must accept before disembarking on Alell, a list they skip and approve without reading too much of.

They meet a customs official, who has them use their thumb prints to identify themselves. Drent and Cyrus are told that they must wear encounter suits / Vacc suits while on the moon, so as not to interfere with the bio-sphere. Del has an exemption due to having been an Officer in the Navy and Grant is exempt as his DNA is sufficiently pure.

They learn from the official that the ship that tried to land without authority and got into a shooting match crashed after an extended fight. There is now a hunt for the survivors.

They finally pass through customs, having to be decontaminated first. Both Drent and Cyrus smuggle their body pistols through, thanks in part to them having to wear vacc suits.

Local Culture

Once in the space port proper, they find that there are lots of quaint local stores, selling authentic ethnic carvings, hand cut from local trees. A lot of the inhabitants appear to be descended from South American / Peruvian ancestry.

They check out Vlen’s property address, but it is incomplete and the auto mapping system only determines it’s somewhere near the Town of Vaca Goya. They discover they need to travel on land and will have to get an expensive anti-grav Taxi in order to get there.

The taxi driver has a funny accent and tries to get them to visit places where he can be their guide - for extra credits. He then tells them about the ship that crashed near Vaca Goya and shows them a local News broadcast. There is outrage at the environmental damage.

Vaca Goya

When they arrive in Vaca Goya, they discover it is a small town that has the appearance of a tribal village, but still has all the mod cons once inside. It is a beautiful, picturesque place on the edge of a local lake.

They go to a local bar, where they get into the party atmosphere and are generous with their credits, winning over the locals and making friends. They deliberately do not ask about Vlen’s address at this stage, enjoying the drinks and wondering if they could take a vacation here.

However, the mood is broken by the arrival of Buzz Kennedy and three strong looking bodyguards wearing body armour. He immediately starts slagging off Grant and his friends, while being arrogant and blunt with the locals, demanding to know where the address he has is. The locals are not impressed and mess him around, suggesting several places. He leaves in a huff and will ask elsewhere.

Del and Grant then ask themselves about the same address. The bar keep is amused and tells them it’s up in the mountains beyond where the ship crashed. His son, Sajan, can escort them for the right price. He has played in the mountains since he was a boy. They will also need to buy Mister Sprays for protection.

Journey into the Mountains

They take the bar keep up on his offer and meet Sajan, who is small and skinny, only 14, but seems to know what he is doing. They are about the leave when Arisa turns up, saying hi to everyone and asking how they are doing. It is clear she intends to accompany them wherever they are going.

Arisa tells them she was able to get help from the authorities, who guided her shuttle down and helped her through customs. They did not require her to wear an environment suit. When ask why she said she didn’t have a ship, she said she borrowed the shuttle and messed up a bit, but she made it at last.

Sajan tells them he knows about a secret building in the mountains around where the address they have says, that must be where they want to go. He sets off leading them into through the jungle up the mountain side.

Avoiding Pursuit

About an hour into the journey, Drent and Del realise they are being followed and recognise one of their followers as Buzz Kennedy. They ask their guide if they can find a way to lose their pursuers. He can only suggest they follow a more dangerous path where the Chupacabra roam, dangerous local predators named after an old legend.

They follow this more dangerous path, but things don’t go well, a Chupacabra attacks Cyrus and its claws cut through his vacc suit and wound him. They are able to drive it off with their Mister sprays, though Grant hits himself in the face with his.

They move on swiftly and rest once they get over a ridge. Cyrus treats his wounds and notices a message from Dirk from the Liberator. It says the Scout Ship he was asked to watch, The Alahir, has moved into orbit around the moon they are on. Also, it has two other ships with it that are large and have stealth, which means they are difficult to detect.

Cyrus sends a message instructing Dirk to bring Liberator towards the Moon just in case, but it won’t transmit as there is no reception here.

Arisa overhears their conversation and there is an argument when she asks what they are talking about. Del is rude and tells her to mind her own business but Arisa refuses to be put off and argues back until Drent suggests they work together to get to Vlen’s address, which they do.

Cabin in the Jungle

Sajan guides them to the building and they see it has been carved from the local rock and is not obvious until you are close to it. It is also covered in lots of vines and creepers, suggesting it’s been a few years since Vlen last came here.

Del uses a machete that Sajan gives him, but it takes a while. Arisa makes a sarcastic comment, but when Del suggests she try, she points out he volunteered and he should man up.

Finally the vines are cleared and Grant is able to open the door using Vlen’s PDA. They enter the Lodge carefully, seeing it is a large single room filled with junk, with a collection of weapons on display on the wall, a computer and various boxes and cupboards in a very untidy state.

Vlen’s Secrets

Cyrus waits outside, while Drent, Dell, Grant and Arisa go in and start searching around. Drent investigates the weapons, which look expensive and nice. He then finds a cupboard with more, including a powerful looking Plasma Rifle and then an even more powerful looking FGMP, which has a radiation warning on it.

Del investigates an expensive and high tech computer in one corner. It is impressive and has a lot of files detailing Vlen’s travels, which appear to be wide spread. He met all sorts of people and never seemed to be short of money. There are also a large number of encrypted files and some sort of surveillance program running that is monitoring local transmissions and searching for key words.

Cyrus is able to contact Dirk on the Liberator by signing up to the local communications network in the cabin, telling Dirk to bring the Liberator to Alell. He then speaks to Orac, who is annoyed at being disturbed, but agrees to back up the whole of Vlen’s computer on the Liberator for future investigation.

Grant finds a box with money and IDs in it. It seems Vlen had a number of other identities. Significantly, he discovers one of them is Ven Yasha – the man who apparently killed Vlen!

Brotherly Hate

Buzz Kennedy emerges from the jungle, accompanied by his three bodyguards, all of them pointing body pistols at Cyrus. Sajan runs off.

Grant comes out to talk to Buzz and an extended argument develops, in which Buzz says their father is corrupt and a criminal. Del suggests Grant is the most honourable person he knows, but Buzz is not impressed.

Hearing the dispute outside, Drent hides. He uses his psionic ability to sense danger, only to discover that the real danger appears to be above them – somehow.

Drent then discovers Arisa has been searching around and claims she has found the will and is keeping it – it’s now her bargaining chip to keep her at the table. She has also found a trap door in the floor, which Drent is able to open. Arisa goes down it.

Buzz has now moved to the doorway of the cabin. Del meanwhile has taken the FGMP and points it at Buzz. He says the gun is so powerful it may kill them all if he fires it.

Meanwhile, Buzz’s three bodyguards, who are still outside the cabin, are suddenly shot at from the jungle. Buzz and Cyrus step inside the cabin and Cyrus closes the door.

Down the Trapdoor

When Drent follows Arisa down the trapdoor, Buzz appears to be torn between too many options and seems to jump to a sudden decision, he decides to follow Drent. Del trips him up and his falls down the trapdoor, injuring his arm.

Under the trapdoor is a tunnel going down, with ladder rungs on the wall. When Drent climbs down them, he discovers a hidden underground space dock, with an interesting looking modified scout ship parked in the bay.

Arisa at his point says she has seen enough and draws a gun on Drent, telling him she is not Vlen’s wife, but a Federation Security Agent. She then activates a hidden comms device grafted into her head, calling out the phrase “Tora! Tora! Tora!”

Dirk then signals Cyrus, telling him that the three ships in orbit the Liberator is tracking are now moving in from orbit. They also seem to be launching smaller craft. Liberator is not yet in range to intervene.

End of Episode Five