Session 1 - 6th August 2013

Year 1105

Characters:

• Hal Stryker - ex marines
• Hector Shackleton - ex scout
• Clyde Shelton - ex military intelligence

The capital of the Mora subsector (AA99AC7F) of the Spinward Marches is an unwelcoming place. Governed by the Guild Masters, visitors are severly restricted in the work they can do, and trade is tyrictly through the Merchant's Guild. Being 90% water, the majority of its inhabitants live under the sea in vast underwater cities, a design that escalated when industrial pollution tainted the atmosphere to such an extent that existance on the surface was impossible without filter masks.

It was into this environment that three intrepid men mustered out of their respective services. Sitting in the Gannymede bar, alone except for each other after former collegues had toasted health and wished well for the future, former marine Hal Stryker, ex-military intelligence Clyde Shelton, and retired scout Hector Shackleton turned to each other. None of them wished to remain on the planet, especially Hal who was born there and knew only too well the downsides of the place.

Some trouble with local hooligans (or street skutters) in the bar was quickly halted when Clyde Shelton shoved a glass that had been thrown at him in the face of one that made the mistake of threatening him. This drew the approval of a middle-aged scout commander, Bob Johnson. A very smartly turned out man, with an enthusiastic and infectuous smile, Bob mentioned to come to his office the next day to hear proposal that they may like to take up.

At Bob's office the trio were offered a job of scouting data on some dangerous systems which the Imperium scout data library had little accurate data on. Amber worlds would pay 75,000cr, Red worlds and Sword World systems 100,000cr, and Zhodani worlds 200,000cr. They were also introduced to Kelly Rogers, an overweight man in his early forties. A pleasant seeming chap with a very slight limp, he asked that, as part of the job the crew transport three tons of computer hardware to the Sunflower Corp on Grille. Seeing a chance to get off Mora and make some money using Hector's Type-S Scout Courier, Endurance, the group accepted.

Cargo was loaded, vital equipment purchased and a course was plotted to take the Endurance to Fornice (A354A87C) and then on to Grille (E4103357). A quick search of the scout library brought up the news that the atmosphere on Fornice, already thin, was starting to dissipate under the influence of solar winds, the molten core having cooled and solidifed causing the eradication of the magnetosphere. An extremely densly populated world, the people of Fornice were all trying to leave by whatever means necessary. Grille was revealed to be gthe sort of world Fornice will become, with just a trace atmosphere, mere thousands of inhabitants. As a way to make a little more money, the group decided to offer passage to pople on Fonice to take them off planet.

The trip to Fornice was trouble-free, and the crew quickly disembarked and uploaded an advert to the data stream offering passage off system to Maiz for up to four passengers for the price of 25,000cr each. Retiring to the Lithium Tavern to await customers, they were soon rewarded with the approach of two strange figures, dressed in black, one tall with greased back black hair who introduced himself as Bauchelain, and his companion, shorter in stature with a black moustache and neatly cut, short black hair, Kilavan. Something feeling emanating from both of these made the three ex servicemen feel extremely uncomfortable. Bauchelain seemed to be the spokesman, very polite but to the point. The deal to take them was quickly struck, although Bauchelain asked to see the ship first. Taken to the ship by Hal and Hector, Clyde stayed back in the bar and spotted a shifty person following them. This sneak hid whilst Bauchelain and Kilavan were shown the ship. After they had left the spy spoke to the mechanics working on the Endurance. Clyde paid some money over to the mechanics, who said he was asking about entrance hatches.

Strangely there were no other respondents to the advert, and the time came to leave. Whilst Hector was on the bridge making his checks, Hal and Clyde were about to escort the passengers on board when the mechanics from the day before pulled pistols and demanded the ship. A feel of violence was in the air, until Bauchelain made a dismissive wave of his hand and the three fell down, dead. Hal retrieved the pistols and everybody got on board as the craft took off. Before the Endurance could get out of the atmosphere a communications broadcast came through from the police asking the ship to return to port for questioning about the dead mechanics. In reply Hector shut dead the comms and sped out into space. Just as they were pulling out of orbit, two police cruisers came in pursuit. Fortunately these were the older, smaller and slower Python class ships, the force being overstretched by the sheer number of illegal transporting of people off world.

With the armed Pythons chasing, Hector quickly established the presence of an asteroid field and made for that, flying evasively to avoid any laser fire. Swooping behind an asteroid, the Endurance still had no luck in losing the pursuit, and a close call with a similar maneuveur on another asteroid forced the company to think of alternative plans. The comms link was switched on and permission granted for poilce from one of the Pythons to come on board, whilst the other flew back.

Four of the police came aboard the Endurance, and Bauchelain came out to deal with the problem. Sure enough, without any seeming action, four police fell down dead. Hal then decided to sneak aboard the docked Python and knocked then pilot unconscious, before transfering the dead bodies onto the police ship.Extracating themselves from the Python, Mr. Shackleton then made the jump to Grille.

A Brief Look at the Type S Scout Courier (courtesy of Freelance Traveller)

Docked in Orbital Starport

Approaching a Starport

Flying in space

Flying in atmosphere

The Bridge