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Traveller T20: Tales of the Bray Keaven [Updated 12-20-05]
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<blockquote data-quote="Shadowdancer" data-source="post: 2751673" data-attributes="member: 515"><p><strong><p style="text-align: center"><span style="font-size: 15px">Chapter XXXI</span></p><p></strong></p><p><strong>Date: 225-993</strong></p><p><strong>Location: Aboard the <em>Bray Keaven</em>, in jump space between Aleif and Liar's Oath</strong></p><p></p><p>After everything is ready, Saro ends the anesthetic IV drip and injects the Vargr with a syringe of drug designed to counteract the anesthetic and bring a patient to consciousness a bit more quickly. The Vargr awakens relatively quickly and alter-nates between looking confused, defiant, and a little frightened.</p><p></p><p>A light is rigged to shine into the Vargr’s eyes and he is bound firmly to a chair with Vargas standing over him. Vargas stares at the bound captive for a moment to heighten the feeling of helplessness of the captive. He then dims the lights and leaves the light over the prisoner lit. Vargas maintains a posture over the seated prisoner, looking directly down at him. He addresses the Vargr in Irilitok.</p><p></p><p>“Well, as you can tell from the bandages on my shoulder, we are all having a very bad hair day. Now, let us look at the facts. First, you and your comrades stowed away on this ship in a clearly marked medical container. This violates the very sanctity of the entire medical profession. This certainly does not sit well with our ship’s medical staff.</p><p></p><p>“Then you attempted to murder us in our sleep by decompressing the ship. This crew finds that very irritating.</p><p></p><p>“You then attack us and proceed to shoot two of us, and that is what aggravates me the most. You put a hole in my vacc suit!</p><p></p><p>“Now, let us take a look at your situation. You are securely bound to a chair that is not bound to the deck, and that door leads to the vacuum of jump space. We, on the other hand, are in vacc suits and are securely tethered to the ship. In short, you are in no position to bargain and you must convince us as to why we should not open the hatch and watch you blow outside. Do I make my assessment of the situation perfectly clear?</p><p></p><p>“Now here is how it is going down. We will ask you questions and you will give us all the information we ask. If any of us feel that you are not being completely truthful or you start to balk at answering, there are two options. The first is a one–way chair ride into jump space; the other is to allow my associate to vent some of his anger on you with that blade he is sharpening. Your leader is far, far away and we are near. Remember that we will control your fate and you have much more to fear from us then your distant pack leader.</p><p></p><p>“Now, your companions were less than cooperative and they — well, shall we say they are in less than perfect condition? However, they gave us some information that I will cross check with your answers. As you can tell, I am proficient in your language and will be happy to clarify anything you do not fully understand.”</p><p></p><p>For the questioning, Vargas changes to Galanglic.</p><p></p><p>“First, let me introduce myself. I am Emile Vargas, adopted son of Gvourrdon and Racksha. I am Vargr in all but blood. I am a member of the <em>Bray Keaven </em> pack and associated with the Jarvis Nuuis pack.”</p><p></p><p style="text-align: center">-----</p><p></p><p>“Drek,” mutters Vasilii, “I thought we were running this mission to end that association, not publicize it.” Then he takes a breath. “Oh well, maybe he has a plan.”</p><p></p><p style="text-align: center">-----</p><p></p><p>“Who are you and what pack do you belong to?”</p><p></p><p>When the Vargr does not answer immediately, Vargas looks over to Swann and simply says, “We can do this with a velvet glove or iron fist. Do you still want to refrain from answering?”</p><p></p><p style="text-align: center">-----</p><p></p><p>At the appropriate times throughout the interrogation, Swann tries to look psychotically menacing and threatening, smiling at the Vargr, kissing the blade, talking to it softly, telling it to “be patient — you’ll drink his blood soon enough.”</p><p></p><p>At one point, Swann walks over to the Vargr and “tests” the blade by shaving some hair off the back of one of the sophont’s ears.</p><p></p><p style="text-align: center">-----</p><p></p><p>Watching Swann through the interrogation, Ian thinks to himself, “Man, he’s having too much fun,” as a half smile creeps across his face.</p><p></p><p style="text-align: center">-----</p><p></p><p>Martha monitors the situation from port engineering, a little concerned about Swann’s radical shift in behavior.</p><p></p><p style="text-align: center">-----</p><p></p><p>Vasilii, monitoring from his stateroom, flips through the Vilani mystery novels quickly. One seems to be a bit of poorly written trash about a Solomani plot to blow up starports while the other three appear to be quite good "whodunit" crime mysteries.</p><p></p><p>Remembering the Scout from the <em>Brown Bess </em> and his re–activation, Vasilii has a second read over the first one just to make sure he hasn’t happened on an actual Solomani plot. Looking over the novel again, Vasilii feels that, while it is possible that he could read parallels between the novel and various bits of information or evidence that he has seen, doing so will require truly Herculean efforts of conspiracy theory thinking. Not that he hasn’t done so in the not–too–distant past, but trying to transpose the events of the novel to the old <em>Brown Bess</em> Scout getting activated seems a bit much.</p><p></p><p>Not that there couldn’t be some sort of Solomani plot, though. Just not one that parallels the poorly written novel.</p><p></p><p style="text-align: center">-----</p><p></p><p>Kevon listens to the interrogation via the comms, his mind plotting strategies for early exit from jump space and other egress maneuvers to avoid conflict with whoever or whatever is waiting.</p><p></p><p style="text-align: center">-----</p><p></p><p>Saro does his best to compile the information and evidence that will be needed to file a complete report with the authorities when the <em>Bray Keaven</em> exits jump space. He wants to be fully prepared to file the report when they turn the Vargr captive and his companions’ bodies over to the (hopefully Imperial) officials.</p><p></p><p>During the “interview” Saro remains tense and becomes increasingly upset as things proceed. He remains silent while the others alternately question and threaten the Vargr. He decides he will only intercede if the threats are about to become real.</p><p></p><p style="text-align: center">-----</p><p></p><p>Between the language used, the visible threat of Swann sharpening his knife, and the fact that everyone but him is vacc–suited and tethered, the Vargr eventually settles into a state of sullen, if slightly defiant, cooperation.</p><p></p><p>“My name is Thulon, you carrion feeders! I run with the Oeskhoets pack, and the <em>Urroe</em> alone could take your ship without more than a scratch.”</p><p></p><p>“You claim to be a member of the Oeskhoets pack. Who is the current pack leader?”</p><p></p><p>“You don’t know that Dzuekskini is pack leader! Hah! You will before the pack rips the flesh off your bones.”</p><p></p><p style="text-align: center">-----</p><p></p><p>“Oh great. A zealot,” Swann thinks. “But at least he’s passionate enough to want to talk, to show his ‘superiority.’ ”</p><p></p><p style="text-align: center">-----</p><p></p><p>“Does your pack regularly engage in murder and piracy, or is this a special job aimed at this ship and crew?” Vargas asks. “Who hired your group or gave the orders to attack this ship and what cargo did you expect to find? What is so important about this particular cargo?”</p><p></p><p>“No one hired us! Stealing a prize from Jarvis alone would have been worth the sfik. Stealing one of his associate’s ships and the bay weapon is just the gravy off the steak. Your rust bucket will make an adequate addition to the fleet, and the bay weapon will sharpen Dzuekskini’s fangs considerably.”</p><p></p><p style="text-align: center">-----</p><p></p><p>Swann’s attention is immediately peaked by the mention of a bay weapon.</p><p></p><p style="text-align: center">-----</p><p></p><p>“Hah! You didn’t know what you were carrying, did you?” Thulon laughs in spite of the situation and then snorts. “Fools. I’ll offer you a simple deal. If you rendezvous with the <em>Urroe</em> and offload me and the bay weapon, we’ll let you go. Kill me, and the pack will hunt you down like the carrion feeders you are.”</p><p></p><p style="text-align: center">-----</p><p></p><p>Swann’s mind is racing. “I wonder what sort of bay weapon? And I wonder if we could install it in the time remaining? If his friends are waiting for us when we exit jump, a bay weapon could swing the fight in our favor. And they’d probably never expect it.</p><p></p><p>“No, it probably wouldn’t work. It’s probably too big to assemble in our cargo bay. And we probably don’t have the power. Unless Martha can make some temporary modifications, ‘borrowing’ power from other, unneeded systems. Hmmmm. I have to talk to Martha about this as soon as we get our of here.”</p><p></p><p style="text-align: center">-----</p><p></p><p>Vargas, Swann, and Ian feel that the Vargr is generally telling the truth, though possibly exaggerating at times. Saro isn’t so sure. Martha, monitoring from port engineering, can’t tell if the Vargr is telling the truth or not.</p><p></p><p style="text-align: center">-----</p><p></p><p>Vargas keys his comm link and requests any information on the <em>Urroe</em>.</p><p></p><p style="text-align: center">-----</p><p></p><p>“Got it Vargas, looking up <em>Urroe</em>.” Aidan dives in looking for <em>Urroe</em> as related to this sector. Aidan also checks some Navy sources on bay weapons small enough to fit into the cargo hold.</p><p></p><p style="text-align: center">-----</p><p></p><p>Martha pings Vargas on private comms. “Emile, ask him how he knew we were carrying this bay weapon thing. We didn’t advertise, and no ships came out of jump right after us. We’d only been there less than a day before they were approaching us. How’d they know?”</p><p></p><p>As Martha speaks, she also begins comparing the cargo’s displacement to known bay weapon configurations in her engineering journals, trying to determine if it truly could be a bay weapon, and if so, what sort it might be.</p><p></p><p style="text-align: center">-----</p><p></p><p>Vargas turns back to Thulon. “I remind you that your very continuation of life is totally dependent on your answers. I have a set of jump coordinates — your former associates indicated that this was rather important.”</p><p></p><p style="text-align: center">-----</p><p></p><p>Internally Swann winces. “He just let slip that the Vargr’s comrades are dead,” he thinks.</p><p></p><p style="text-align: center">-----</p><p></p><p>“Now they informed us that these were rendezvous points and that certain ships were there,” Vargas continues. “I need to know what the exact nature of those ships are and what their call sign is?”</p><p></p><p>Thulon does not answer. Vargas decides to try a different tack.</p><p></p><p>“So, you talk of sfik? Do you realize that you and your comrades stand to loose all of your sfik? What will your pack say when they learn that you and your companions were unable to take a ship from a sleeping crew? First, attacking a sleeping enemy is considered dishonorable in many societies, both Vargr and human. Then to be captured by a basically unarmed crew says little of your fighting ability.</p><p></p><p>“Now, you may ask how anybody will know about what happened on this ship since dead men do not talk? Unfortunately for you, we happen to be alive and I can assure you that the story will be broadcast upon emerging from jump space. So much for sfik.</p><p></p><p>“You now attempt to save your miserable hide by offering something that you cannot and probably will not produce. What in the name of sweet reason makes you think that we would trust you in any circumstance, let alone emerging from jump space into a nest of your pirate friends?”</p><p></p><p>In order to emphasize the next statement, Vargas requests that Martha lower the pressure in the cargolock enough to be uncomfortable, then return it to normal. After she does, Vargas then assumes a position of dominance over the captive and continues.</p><p></p><p>“Thulon, we need to discuss your immediate future. One of the crew would like to just space you. I, on the other hand, would like to put you in a vacc suit with a couple of hours of air and <em>then</em> dump you into jump space. I have been told that that would be uncivilized. Now, you need to give us some reason to keep you alive.</p><p></p><p>“You seem to place great store by the<em> Urroe</em>. Has it occurred to you that we would fight to the death in the defense of this ship including ramming the <em>Urroe</em> and destroying both vessels? That act would probably kill a lot of sophants and result in some probable reprisals against your kin.</p><p></p><p>“Now, maybe we can come to some reasonable solution to a fight upon our exit from jump space and our safe passage into the system. I suggest that you change your attitude very quickly or Swann may have to change it for you. Remember — your friends would not cooperate.”</p><p></p><p>Thulon listens to Vargas’ tirade and his brown eyes frequently dart towards Swann. He valiantly tries to keep his ears forward and a snarl on his face, but his ears keep on pointing back, flat against his skull. Eventually he snarls, “I’ve given enough reason for you to keep me alive. Your own miserable lives and the safety of your ship just for giving up a cargo that isn’t yours anyway. If you’re going to space me, space me. You probably have killed my packmates anyway, and I don’t see you letting me live. So, if you’re going to do something, do it and live with my packmates sucking the marrow from your bones. If not, agree to hand over the cargo and me, and you’ll live.”</p><p></p><p>“Ok Thulon, you do not appear to respond to reason, and I can see where you have the same trust in us as we have in you. I guess we will have to resort to Swann’s method of acquiring information. If you really want to be spaced, then so be.”</p><p></p><p>Vargas starts to turn from the captive, then stops. A wicked expression forms on his face. “Wait a minute. No, you will not be spaced. I just thought of the sfik that we will acquire with Jarvis if we deliver both his cargo and YOU into his hands. Swann, time to go to work. I still need the passwords and the details of a possible ambush.”</p><p></p><p>Vargas then turns away from Thulon and says, “He had such a nice fur coat.”</p><p></p><p>Swann’s smile becomes beatific as he brings his blade up close to his face. He then licks the flat of the blade. “It’s time, precious,” he whispers.</p><p></p><p>Thulon’s eye bulge a little as he becomes more fixated on the obviously psychotic Swann. “You mangy idiot! There are no frellin’ passwords and no ambush because you’re supposed to be dead. You’d know that if you talked to Leilfrsic and Vuhras! I’m a frellin’ gunner, you motherless, hairless cur! You killed the wrong Vargr!”</p><p></p><p>“Well, Thulon, you can be reasonable,” Vargas says. “I may actually believe you. As you can guess, Leilfrsic and Vuhras were not very cooperative. Now answer this question: How is it you know what we carry and who we are carrying it for?”</p><p></p><p style="text-align: center">-----</p><p></p><p>“Hmm, I’d say this lot have a spy in Jarvis’ camp,” thinks Vasilii.</p><p></p><p style="text-align: center">-----</p><p></p><p>Vargas has been watching Thulon’s body language closely throughout the interview to determine the Vargr's veracity. He can see the look of fear in the captive. He thinks to himself, “I remember an old oriental proverb from ancient Terra that sometimes a strong enemy may become a stronger friend. Only the future can tell.”</p><p></p><p>Vargas keys his comm and asks, “Any more questions before we put our little furry captive back into lala land, and can we get any information on those two names he gave us?”</p><p></p><p>Swann pretends to be disappointed that he doesn’t get to cut on the Vargr.</p><p></p><p style="text-align: center">-----</p><p></p><p>“Anything you can get on what’s waiting when we come out of jump,” Vasilii suggests. “Is there a welcoming committee or were the hijackers meant to fly the ship in? If there is someone waiting, what their procedure would be, and what sort of ship are they in?”</p><p></p><p>“A bay weapon,” he thinks. “We are so screwed.”</p><p></p><p style="text-align: center">-----</p><p></p><p>Vargas keys his comm and says, “Good thinking, Vasilii.” He then directs his attention to the captive Vargr. “Thulon, what exactly was your plan? Were you to have a group board upon emergence or was your group to fly the ship to a predetermined point, and what are your procedures if you are to do the flying?”</p><p></p><p>Vargas continues to ask his questions, and Swann does his best to look disappointed at not being able to have fun. After a few moments, Thulon’s eyes narrow sharply, and his ears prick forward. Suddenly, the captured Vargr laughs. “Hah! You don’t bloody know a thing! You witless mongrels killed Leilfrsic and Vuhras, probably in the fight, and you don’t even have a scrap to gnaw upon!</p><p></p><p>“Go ahead. If you want to play the cowardly cur who is only strong enough to cut a bound wolf, go ahead. But, I think not. You’ll do nothing now.</p><p></p><p>“If you want to live after we arrive at Liar’s Oath, you’ll surrender to me. We’ll just take the bay weapon and leave your raggedy rust bucket.”</p><p></p><p style="text-align: center">-----</p><p></p><p>In port engineering, Martha checks what little she has on bay weapons in her files. It looks like there could be a number of bay weapons that would fit in the cargo hold. Bay weapons normally come in 50 dTon and 100 dTon displacements, so a 50 dTon bay weapon would fit in among the cargo. There may be some loss of volume efficiency, so perhaps a dismantled 50 dTon bay weapon would take up more that 50dTons if in shipping containers.</p><p></p><p>Martha does know that the<em> Bray Keaven </em> certainly couldn’t mount a 50dTon bay weapon, at least without major structural reinforcement. Even then, the <em>Bray Keaven</em>’s power plant would strain to just begin to warm up any sort of energy bay weapon, much less have enough power to fire the thing — about an order of magnitude more power would be required.</p><p></p><p style="text-align: center">-----</p><p></p><p>While monitoring from his stateroom, Aidan checks for information on the <em>Urroe</em>. He doesn’t come up with anything in the ship’s files, but that’s not too surprising since the ship doesn’t have anything like a listing of registered starships in the sector. Aidan also doesn’t have access to any criminal records.</p><p></p><p>However, given his previous experience with the family business, Aidan does know a bit about bay weapons. He knows that there are a number of 50 dTon sized bay weapons that would fit into the cargo hold: missile, particle accelerator, repulsor, plasma, fusion, and even the top-secret meson gun bay weapons.</p><p></p><p>Aidan also knows that bay weapons normally prohibited for installation on private or corporate vessels. Local governments may have them, but individuals, corporations, and even most StarMerc units are not allowed to possess them. The Imperial Navy doesn’t want internal competition.</p><p></p><p style="text-align: center">-----</p><p></p><p>Vargas listens to Thulon’s new–found courage and simply says, “At least you were partially right in that we did not know much. However, we now know a great deal thanks to you.”</p><p></p><p>Vargas then turns to Swann and says, “Swann, I am sorry to disappoint you but I don’t think our little captive will have much more to say. Besides, I want him in good shape when we turn him over to Jarvis’ pack.”</p><p></p><p>He then turns to Saro. “He is all yours, Doctor.”</p><p></p><p style="text-align: center">-----</p><p></p><p>Saro sedates the Vargr again, starts an IV drip, and moves him into the improvised sickbay. Ian helps Saro move the prisoner and makes sure he is secure.</p><p></p><p>Ian and Swann then restore the cargo that was in the port cargolock. “Damn, move it out, move it in, put it here, put it there. You’d think we was in the Marines or something!” Ian says with a chuckle.</p><p></p><p style="text-align: center">-----</p><p></p><p>Early in the afternoon, Kevon, Vasilii, Aidan, and Martha inspect what they can of the cargo. Most of the cargo is packed tightly enough that the containers are effectively inaccessible without moving other containers — and there is no room for that. However, at least part of the containers adjacent to the three cargolocks can be inspected.</p><p></p><p>Most of the containers that can be at least partly inspected don’t really yield any clues. The contents do appear to be non-mechanical in nature (like feed tubes and such), so the general opinion is that the bay weapon probably isn’t a missile bay, but then again all of the containers that were inspected just might happen to contain non-mechanical systems.</p><p></p><p>One container is of particular interest to Kevon and Martha. This container appears to contain generators for part of a magnetic bottle, but they can’t be sure.</p><p></p><p>Unfortunately, there isn’t a container that appears to be labeled “Bay Weapon Assembly Instructions, ACME Corporation.”</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="Shadowdancer, post: 2751673, member: 515"] [B][CENTER][SIZE=4]Chapter XXXI[/SIZE][/CENTER][/B] [B]Date: 225-993 Location: Aboard the [I]Bray Keaven[/I], in jump space between Aleif and Liar's Oath[/B] After everything is ready, Saro ends the anesthetic IV drip and injects the Vargr with a syringe of drug designed to counteract the anesthetic and bring a patient to consciousness a bit more quickly. The Vargr awakens relatively quickly and alter-nates between looking confused, defiant, and a little frightened. A light is rigged to shine into the Vargr’s eyes and he is bound firmly to a chair with Vargas standing over him. Vargas stares at the bound captive for a moment to heighten the feeling of helplessness of the captive. He then dims the lights and leaves the light over the prisoner lit. Vargas maintains a posture over the seated prisoner, looking directly down at him. He addresses the Vargr in Irilitok. “Well, as you can tell from the bandages on my shoulder, we are all having a very bad hair day. Now, let us look at the facts. First, you and your comrades stowed away on this ship in a clearly marked medical container. This violates the very sanctity of the entire medical profession. This certainly does not sit well with our ship’s medical staff. “Then you attempted to murder us in our sleep by decompressing the ship. This crew finds that very irritating. “You then attack us and proceed to shoot two of us, and that is what aggravates me the most. You put a hole in my vacc suit! “Now, let us take a look at your situation. You are securely bound to a chair that is not bound to the deck, and that door leads to the vacuum of jump space. We, on the other hand, are in vacc suits and are securely tethered to the ship. In short, you are in no position to bargain and you must convince us as to why we should not open the hatch and watch you blow outside. Do I make my assessment of the situation perfectly clear? “Now here is how it is going down. We will ask you questions and you will give us all the information we ask. If any of us feel that you are not being completely truthful or you start to balk at answering, there are two options. The first is a one–way chair ride into jump space; the other is to allow my associate to vent some of his anger on you with that blade he is sharpening. Your leader is far, far away and we are near. Remember that we will control your fate and you have much more to fear from us then your distant pack leader. “Now, your companions were less than cooperative and they — well, shall we say they are in less than perfect condition? However, they gave us some information that I will cross check with your answers. As you can tell, I am proficient in your language and will be happy to clarify anything you do not fully understand.” For the questioning, Vargas changes to Galanglic. “First, let me introduce myself. I am Emile Vargas, adopted son of Gvourrdon and Racksha. I am Vargr in all but blood. I am a member of the [I]Bray Keaven [/I] pack and associated with the Jarvis Nuuis pack.” [CENTER]-----[/CENTER] “Drek,” mutters Vasilii, “I thought we were running this mission to end that association, not publicize it.” Then he takes a breath. “Oh well, maybe he has a plan.” [CENTER]-----[/CENTER] “Who are you and what pack do you belong to?” When the Vargr does not answer immediately, Vargas looks over to Swann and simply says, “We can do this with a velvet glove or iron fist. Do you still want to refrain from answering?” [CENTER]-----[/CENTER] At the appropriate times throughout the interrogation, Swann tries to look psychotically menacing and threatening, smiling at the Vargr, kissing the blade, talking to it softly, telling it to “be patient — you’ll drink his blood soon enough.” At one point, Swann walks over to the Vargr and “tests” the blade by shaving some hair off the back of one of the sophont’s ears. [CENTER]-----[/CENTER] Watching Swann through the interrogation, Ian thinks to himself, “Man, he’s having too much fun,” as a half smile creeps across his face. [CENTER]-----[/CENTER] Martha monitors the situation from port engineering, a little concerned about Swann’s radical shift in behavior. [CENTER]-----[/CENTER] Vasilii, monitoring from his stateroom, flips through the Vilani mystery novels quickly. One seems to be a bit of poorly written trash about a Solomani plot to blow up starports while the other three appear to be quite good "whodunit" crime mysteries. Remembering the Scout from the [I]Brown Bess [/I] and his re–activation, Vasilii has a second read over the first one just to make sure he hasn’t happened on an actual Solomani plot. Looking over the novel again, Vasilii feels that, while it is possible that he could read parallels between the novel and various bits of information or evidence that he has seen, doing so will require truly Herculean efforts of conspiracy theory thinking. Not that he hasn’t done so in the not–too–distant past, but trying to transpose the events of the novel to the old [I]Brown Bess[/I] Scout getting activated seems a bit much. Not that there couldn’t be some sort of Solomani plot, though. Just not one that parallels the poorly written novel. [CENTER]-----[/CENTER] Kevon listens to the interrogation via the comms, his mind plotting strategies for early exit from jump space and other egress maneuvers to avoid conflict with whoever or whatever is waiting. [CENTER]-----[/CENTER] Saro does his best to compile the information and evidence that will be needed to file a complete report with the authorities when the [I]Bray Keaven[/I] exits jump space. He wants to be fully prepared to file the report when they turn the Vargr captive and his companions’ bodies over to the (hopefully Imperial) officials. During the “interview” Saro remains tense and becomes increasingly upset as things proceed. He remains silent while the others alternately question and threaten the Vargr. He decides he will only intercede if the threats are about to become real. [CENTER]-----[/CENTER] Between the language used, the visible threat of Swann sharpening his knife, and the fact that everyone but him is vacc–suited and tethered, the Vargr eventually settles into a state of sullen, if slightly defiant, cooperation. “My name is Thulon, you carrion feeders! I run with the Oeskhoets pack, and the [I]Urroe[/I] alone could take your ship without more than a scratch.” “You claim to be a member of the Oeskhoets pack. Who is the current pack leader?” “You don’t know that Dzuekskini is pack leader! Hah! You will before the pack rips the flesh off your bones.” [CENTER]-----[/CENTER] “Oh great. A zealot,” Swann thinks. “But at least he’s passionate enough to want to talk, to show his ‘superiority.’ ” [CENTER]-----[/CENTER] “Does your pack regularly engage in murder and piracy, or is this a special job aimed at this ship and crew?” Vargas asks. “Who hired your group or gave the orders to attack this ship and what cargo did you expect to find? What is so important about this particular cargo?” “No one hired us! Stealing a prize from Jarvis alone would have been worth the sfik. Stealing one of his associate’s ships and the bay weapon is just the gravy off the steak. Your rust bucket will make an adequate addition to the fleet, and the bay weapon will sharpen Dzuekskini’s fangs considerably.” [CENTER]-----[/CENTER] Swann’s attention is immediately peaked by the mention of a bay weapon. [CENTER]-----[/CENTER] “Hah! You didn’t know what you were carrying, did you?” Thulon laughs in spite of the situation and then snorts. “Fools. I’ll offer you a simple deal. If you rendezvous with the [I]Urroe[/I] and offload me and the bay weapon, we’ll let you go. Kill me, and the pack will hunt you down like the carrion feeders you are.” [CENTER]-----[/CENTER] Swann’s mind is racing. “I wonder what sort of bay weapon? And I wonder if we could install it in the time remaining? If his friends are waiting for us when we exit jump, a bay weapon could swing the fight in our favor. And they’d probably never expect it. “No, it probably wouldn’t work. It’s probably too big to assemble in our cargo bay. And we probably don’t have the power. Unless Martha can make some temporary modifications, ‘borrowing’ power from other, unneeded systems. Hmmmm. I have to talk to Martha about this as soon as we get our of here.” [CENTER]-----[/CENTER] Vargas, Swann, and Ian feel that the Vargr is generally telling the truth, though possibly exaggerating at times. Saro isn’t so sure. Martha, monitoring from port engineering, can’t tell if the Vargr is telling the truth or not. [CENTER]-----[/CENTER] Vargas keys his comm link and requests any information on the [I]Urroe[/I]. [CENTER]-----[/CENTER] “Got it Vargas, looking up [I]Urroe[/I].” Aidan dives in looking for [I]Urroe[/I] as related to this sector. Aidan also checks some Navy sources on bay weapons small enough to fit into the cargo hold. [CENTER]-----[/CENTER] Martha pings Vargas on private comms. “Emile, ask him how he knew we were carrying this bay weapon thing. We didn’t advertise, and no ships came out of jump right after us. We’d only been there less than a day before they were approaching us. How’d they know?” As Martha speaks, she also begins comparing the cargo’s displacement to known bay weapon configurations in her engineering journals, trying to determine if it truly could be a bay weapon, and if so, what sort it might be. [CENTER]-----[/CENTER] Vargas turns back to Thulon. “I remind you that your very continuation of life is totally dependent on your answers. I have a set of jump coordinates — your former associates indicated that this was rather important.” [CENTER]-----[/CENTER] Internally Swann winces. “He just let slip that the Vargr’s comrades are dead,” he thinks. [CENTER]-----[/CENTER] “Now they informed us that these were rendezvous points and that certain ships were there,” Vargas continues. “I need to know what the exact nature of those ships are and what their call sign is?” Thulon does not answer. Vargas decides to try a different tack. “So, you talk of sfik? Do you realize that you and your comrades stand to loose all of your sfik? What will your pack say when they learn that you and your companions were unable to take a ship from a sleeping crew? First, attacking a sleeping enemy is considered dishonorable in many societies, both Vargr and human. Then to be captured by a basically unarmed crew says little of your fighting ability. “Now, you may ask how anybody will know about what happened on this ship since dead men do not talk? Unfortunately for you, we happen to be alive and I can assure you that the story will be broadcast upon emerging from jump space. So much for sfik. “You now attempt to save your miserable hide by offering something that you cannot and probably will not produce. What in the name of sweet reason makes you think that we would trust you in any circumstance, let alone emerging from jump space into a nest of your pirate friends?” In order to emphasize the next statement, Vargas requests that Martha lower the pressure in the cargolock enough to be uncomfortable, then return it to normal. After she does, Vargas then assumes a position of dominance over the captive and continues. “Thulon, we need to discuss your immediate future. One of the crew would like to just space you. I, on the other hand, would like to put you in a vacc suit with a couple of hours of air and [I]then[/I] dump you into jump space. I have been told that that would be uncivilized. Now, you need to give us some reason to keep you alive. “You seem to place great store by the[I] Urroe[/I]. Has it occurred to you that we would fight to the death in the defense of this ship including ramming the [I]Urroe[/I] and destroying both vessels? That act would probably kill a lot of sophants and result in some probable reprisals against your kin. “Now, maybe we can come to some reasonable solution to a fight upon our exit from jump space and our safe passage into the system. I suggest that you change your attitude very quickly or Swann may have to change it for you. Remember — your friends would not cooperate.” Thulon listens to Vargas’ tirade and his brown eyes frequently dart towards Swann. He valiantly tries to keep his ears forward and a snarl on his face, but his ears keep on pointing back, flat against his skull. Eventually he snarls, “I’ve given enough reason for you to keep me alive. Your own miserable lives and the safety of your ship just for giving up a cargo that isn’t yours anyway. If you’re going to space me, space me. You probably have killed my packmates anyway, and I don’t see you letting me live. So, if you’re going to do something, do it and live with my packmates sucking the marrow from your bones. If not, agree to hand over the cargo and me, and you’ll live.” “Ok Thulon, you do not appear to respond to reason, and I can see where you have the same trust in us as we have in you. I guess we will have to resort to Swann’s method of acquiring information. If you really want to be spaced, then so be.” Vargas starts to turn from the captive, then stops. A wicked expression forms on his face. “Wait a minute. No, you will not be spaced. I just thought of the sfik that we will acquire with Jarvis if we deliver both his cargo and YOU into his hands. Swann, time to go to work. I still need the passwords and the details of a possible ambush.” Vargas then turns away from Thulon and says, “He had such a nice fur coat.” Swann’s smile becomes beatific as he brings his blade up close to his face. He then licks the flat of the blade. “It’s time, precious,” he whispers. Thulon’s eye bulge a little as he becomes more fixated on the obviously psychotic Swann. “You mangy idiot! There are no frellin’ passwords and no ambush because you’re supposed to be dead. You’d know that if you talked to Leilfrsic and Vuhras! I’m a frellin’ gunner, you motherless, hairless cur! You killed the wrong Vargr!” “Well, Thulon, you can be reasonable,” Vargas says. “I may actually believe you. As you can guess, Leilfrsic and Vuhras were not very cooperative. Now answer this question: How is it you know what we carry and who we are carrying it for?” [CENTER]-----[/CENTER] “Hmm, I’d say this lot have a spy in Jarvis’ camp,” thinks Vasilii. [CENTER]-----[/CENTER] Vargas has been watching Thulon’s body language closely throughout the interview to determine the Vargr's veracity. He can see the look of fear in the captive. He thinks to himself, “I remember an old oriental proverb from ancient Terra that sometimes a strong enemy may become a stronger friend. Only the future can tell.” Vargas keys his comm and asks, “Any more questions before we put our little furry captive back into lala land, and can we get any information on those two names he gave us?” Swann pretends to be disappointed that he doesn’t get to cut on the Vargr. [CENTER]-----[/CENTER] “Anything you can get on what’s waiting when we come out of jump,” Vasilii suggests. “Is there a welcoming committee or were the hijackers meant to fly the ship in? If there is someone waiting, what their procedure would be, and what sort of ship are they in?” “A bay weapon,” he thinks. “We are so screwed.” [CENTER]-----[/CENTER] Vargas keys his comm and says, “Good thinking, Vasilii.” He then directs his attention to the captive Vargr. “Thulon, what exactly was your plan? Were you to have a group board upon emergence or was your group to fly the ship to a predetermined point, and what are your procedures if you are to do the flying?” Vargas continues to ask his questions, and Swann does his best to look disappointed at not being able to have fun. After a few moments, Thulon’s eyes narrow sharply, and his ears prick forward. Suddenly, the captured Vargr laughs. “Hah! You don’t bloody know a thing! You witless mongrels killed Leilfrsic and Vuhras, probably in the fight, and you don’t even have a scrap to gnaw upon! “Go ahead. If you want to play the cowardly cur who is only strong enough to cut a bound wolf, go ahead. But, I think not. You’ll do nothing now. “If you want to live after we arrive at Liar’s Oath, you’ll surrender to me. We’ll just take the bay weapon and leave your raggedy rust bucket.” [CENTER]-----[/CENTER] In port engineering, Martha checks what little she has on bay weapons in her files. It looks like there could be a number of bay weapons that would fit in the cargo hold. Bay weapons normally come in 50 dTon and 100 dTon displacements, so a 50 dTon bay weapon would fit in among the cargo. There may be some loss of volume efficiency, so perhaps a dismantled 50 dTon bay weapon would take up more that 50dTons if in shipping containers. Martha does know that the[I] Bray Keaven [/I] certainly couldn’t mount a 50dTon bay weapon, at least without major structural reinforcement. Even then, the [I]Bray Keaven[/I]’s power plant would strain to just begin to warm up any sort of energy bay weapon, much less have enough power to fire the thing — about an order of magnitude more power would be required. [CENTER]-----[/CENTER] While monitoring from his stateroom, Aidan checks for information on the [I]Urroe[/I]. He doesn’t come up with anything in the ship’s files, but that’s not too surprising since the ship doesn’t have anything like a listing of registered starships in the sector. Aidan also doesn’t have access to any criminal records. However, given his previous experience with the family business, Aidan does know a bit about bay weapons. He knows that there are a number of 50 dTon sized bay weapons that would fit into the cargo hold: missile, particle accelerator, repulsor, plasma, fusion, and even the top-secret meson gun bay weapons. Aidan also knows that bay weapons normally prohibited for installation on private or corporate vessels. Local governments may have them, but individuals, corporations, and even most StarMerc units are not allowed to possess them. The Imperial Navy doesn’t want internal competition. [CENTER]-----[/CENTER] Vargas listens to Thulon’s new–found courage and simply says, “At least you were partially right in that we did not know much. However, we now know a great deal thanks to you.” Vargas then turns to Swann and says, “Swann, I am sorry to disappoint you but I don’t think our little captive will have much more to say. Besides, I want him in good shape when we turn him over to Jarvis’ pack.” He then turns to Saro. “He is all yours, Doctor.” [CENTER]-----[/CENTER] Saro sedates the Vargr again, starts an IV drip, and moves him into the improvised sickbay. Ian helps Saro move the prisoner and makes sure he is secure. Ian and Swann then restore the cargo that was in the port cargolock. “Damn, move it out, move it in, put it here, put it there. You’d think we was in the Marines or something!” Ian says with a chuckle. [CENTER]-----[/CENTER] Early in the afternoon, Kevon, Vasilii, Aidan, and Martha inspect what they can of the cargo. Most of the cargo is packed tightly enough that the containers are effectively inaccessible without moving other containers — and there is no room for that. However, at least part of the containers adjacent to the three cargolocks can be inspected. Most of the containers that can be at least partly inspected don’t really yield any clues. The contents do appear to be non-mechanical in nature (like feed tubes and such), so the general opinion is that the bay weapon probably isn’t a missile bay, but then again all of the containers that were inspected just might happen to contain non-mechanical systems. One container is of particular interest to Kevon and Martha. This container appears to contain generators for part of a magnetic bottle, but they can’t be sure. Unfortunately, there isn’t a container that appears to be labeled “Bay Weapon Assembly Instructions, ACME Corporation.” [/QUOTE]
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Traveller T20: Tales of the Bray Keaven [Updated 12-20-05]
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