Previous Entry: 05 - Rushdown - The Minami Man
Begin a Session
Rushdown has just completed a job for Minami to break up a gang who were holding one of their low-level execs hostage.
"You with Minami?" asks Rushdown.
"Yeah," says the man.
"Come on then. Let's get you home," says Rushdown.
"The name's Rahul."
The pair make their way back to the Rude Awakening. Rushdown hands Rahul off to a crewmember and instructs them to show him to his quarters for the trip. He heads to the bridge and tells the bridge crew to prepare for takeoff.
"Captain, we're grounded," says Hornet, the pilot, after a few minutes. "Flight control say we're to stay on the ground until further notice."
"We're receiving a call from Florian Angel," says Janus, the communications officer.
"I'll take it in my quarters," says Rushdown. He heads to his private room and the vidscreen switches on showing Florian's face.
"You didn't even bother taking out the security cameras, that's pretty ballsy," says Florian. "Still, impressive work."
"What, you want me to turn myself in?"
"Nah, if I'm right about your employer you'd be back on the street as soon as word got back to them so I figure we can save ourselves the paperwork. Just a warning, don't try any of that shit on the main strip, leave it in Southside."
"Understood."
"Oh, and by the way, the Ironsail raids have stopped so whatever you did actually worked. Seems like you can get the job done after all. We might have work for you, I'll send a courier to your office if anything comes up. And I actually mean it this time."
Make a Connection(Heart)—8 vs 6|4 Connection Florian Angel
"Look forward to it," replies Rushdown. The call ends and Rushdown heads back to the bridge. "Hornet, we should be cleared for takeoff now," he says. As he says that, a light on Hornet's console flicks from red to green.
"Taking us up," says Hornet.
Set a Course(Supply)—6 vs 6|2
During the journey, the ship detects an unknown lifeform aboard the ship. The crew hunt it down and it turns out just to be an energy leech - a known parasite that feeds off energy conduits. They throw it out of the airlock, but the search delays their return.
Momentum:8 → 6
They land in Minami City, Rushdown hands Rahul over to Minami and messages Gray that he's accomplished his mission.
A few days later, Gray tells Rushdown to meet him at the Minami. The arkship is the center of Minami City, having landed there over a century ago. It towers over the other buildings in the city, and still provides most of the power to the settlement. It is also the center of the Minami Clan's operations.
"We're going to meet Wynne Barrow," says Gray when they meet up. "Apparently they have another job for us."
"Why does she want us to come to the Minami? Usually it's Clan members only."
"She wouldn't say over comms. I get the idea it's something big."
When they arrive they are given visitor's badges and leave their sidearms at the reception desk. Security is tight, with armed guards on patrol throughout the interior of the ship. Wynne Barrow comes down and meets them in the lobby.
"Sorry for the secrecy. We're going to meet the Captain," she says.
Minami City is run by a clone of the original captain of the Minami. The ship is in biometric lockdown, so only the original captain can operate the ship, but he's long dead. So, the Minami Clan created clones who are able to get past the security systems.
Rushdown and Gray follow Wynne to the elevator and go up to the Captain's office. The door is flanked by two guards. Wynne flashes her ID and they stand aside to let the group pass.
The Captain is not what Rushdown expects. He's not wearing his trademark Minami captain's uniform, instead he's wearing a baggy T-shirt, shorts, and slippers. He's sitting on a sofa in front of a vidscreen playing some kind of game. "Sorry, I'm online, can't pause," he yells. After a few minutes, he finishes his game and comes over to the desk. "Take a seat," he says to his guests. "Do you want a drink or anything?"
"No, thank you, Captain," says Gray. "Can I just say, it's an honor to meet you."
The Captain laughs. "Everybody says that," he says. "So, what do you know about the political situation in the sector?"
"Ashitaba belongs to the Minami Clan, run by yourself. You have Tranquilo which the Angel brothers run and Gallows which is self governing, as well as a number of outlying settlements. We heard something about rebels, but that's not common knowledge," replies Gray.
"Ha! I don't run anything. I'm very much a prisoner; I'm here because I'm the only one who can work the computer and the original captain went and died before he could tell anyone the password. The Board make all the decisions. Now, what I'm about to tell you doesn't leave this room. The Minami didn't come here alone - it had a sister ship, the Miwako. The plan was for the Minami to make planetfall and settle a city while the Miwako found a nearby asteroid belt to mine ores and minerals to be sent down to the main colony. That is exactly what happened, for about 30 years. Then, one day, the Miwako simply flew away. Recently, someone was digging through old files and they found an old transmission from the day they left. It turns out they reported receiving a distress call and went to investigate."
"And you want us to find the Miwako?" asks Rushdown.
"Well if it were that simple we'd send our own people. Now, here's where the trouble begins. The person who found that old file was...my brother. The Clan creates batches of us clones, so they can still access the ship's computer if something happens to the acting Captain. Anyway, he managed to escape the city somehow, possibly working with the rebels. They want to find the Miwako hoping to dig up old dirt they can use to reveal the Clan's lies and undermine their authority enough to start a proper rebellion in Minami City. Your job is to find the Miwako and secure any sensitive information it may hold."
Rushdown takes out his black iron blade. Captain Finn's eyes widen. "Knife!" he yells. "Guards!" Two guards burst through the doors, guns raised. They point them at Rushdown. He holds his hands up, still gripping the blade with his thumb.
"I was just going to swear an iron vow, I wasn't planning on using it," he says.
"Ah. I see. Of course," says Captain Finn, picking himself up from the floor behind the desk. "False alarm, back to your stations," he says to the guards.
Everybody returns to their seats.
"I vow to discover the fate of the Miwako and recover any valuable information still available," says Rushdown.
Swear an Iron Vow(Heart)—6 vs 6|2 Momentum:6 → 7 06 - Find the fate of the Miwako and recover any surviving intel bonds +1 (1/10)
"The only lead we have to go on is these logs," says Rushdown, "Can we get access to them?"
"Sure, you can access them from my terminal," says Captain Finn. Rushdown goes to the other side of the desk and starts looking for information on the Miwako.
Gather Information(Wits)—9 vs 7|1 Momentum:7 → 9 06 - Find the fate of the Miwako and recover any surviving intel +1 (1/10)
Rushdown looks through the files for a few minutes and finds the transmission from the day the Miwako went missing. "This has the coordinates the distress call originated from - it's probably our best bet at picking up the trail. How long ago was all this, anyway?"
"In the Minami calendar it's the year 184 After Landfall, and the Miwako went missing after about 30 years of service, so approximately 150 years," replies the Captain.
"One hell of a cold case," mutters Gray. "It could be halfway across the galaxy by now, or worse."
"Or it could be right under our noses. We won't know until we look," says Rushdown. "Anything else we should know, Captain?"
"If you come across my brother on your travels, we'd appreciate it if you could bring him back alive. Hefty bonus and all that."
"Understood," says Rushdown.
The meeting over, Wynne Barrow escorts them back down to the lobby.
"He's quite different in person," says Gray.
"He's had extensive media training, he knows how to act in front of a camera," replies Wynne. "Anyway, I expect you have a lot to do so I'll let you get on with it."
The two Red Suns exchange their visitor badges for their handguns and head back to Gray's office. They scan the guns to see if Minami planted anything on the them but they're clean.
"This job may take you outside the sector," says Gray, "So it's time to let you in on a little secret. HQ has a vested interest in this operation; there's a small navy on standby one sector over. I can't have you taking part in inter-sector operations in a corvette, there's too much that can go wrong, so I'm going to call in a bigger ship for you. The Rude Awakening will assume your patrol duties while you're on this mission, but it'll take a while for the new ship to get here. Go and check out these coordinates, then report back."
"Why give me the new ship? Why not just have its existing captain pursue the Miwako?"
"You were requested personally by Takamaki, we can hardly let you patrol Gallows and Tranquilo in a corvette while an operation of this scale is being carried out in the sector."
"Who will take over captaincy of the Rude Awakening?"
"Any preference?"
"I'd give it to Murphy."
"That can be arranged. But don't say anything until you get back from this mission."
"Understood."
Rushdown returns to the Rude Awakening and prepares for departure. Once the crew is aboard and at their stations, they set off into the unknown.
06 -Expedition to distress coordinates
Undertake an Expedition(Wits)—7 vs 9|6 06 -Expedition to distress coordinates +1 (2/10)
Spaceborne Peril(36)Intruder or stowaway creates trouble
"Sir, trouble in the crew quarters," says Murphy, the security officer.
"What kind of trouble?" replies Rushdown.
"Seems like we have some kind of intruder - two security officers are wounded but they've been cornered in the locker room. They're armed."
"I'll deal with this. Tell your men to stay in cover until I get there."
Rushdown heads to the crew quarters. There are signs of a struggle and blaster fire. "They're in there," says a young crewmember, indicating toward the locker room.
"You in there," calls Rushdown, "This is the captain speaking. You picked the wrong ship to hitch a ride on - we're armed to the teeth and trained to kill. You're surrounded and outnumbered."
Secure an Advantage(Iron)—6 vs 10|10match
"Oh, I'm on the right ship alright. You're the space scum working for the fake Minami Clan. Don't think you can scare me, I have a bomb. If you try anything I'll blow a hole in the hull," comes a woman's voice from the other side of the doorway.
End a Session Momentum:9 → 10
Next Entry: 07 - Rushdown - The Spider