High Law and Low Justice, Part 5

[Radiating Gnome]

OOC:

In addition the Navy apparently expects you to do this deal in the system.
If you try this in a different system and get caught then you are on your own and facing Life for a breach of Imperial High Law. Not to say that the same wouldn't happen here of course...

OOC: So . . . what you're saying is that the Navy has released the suspects who know that the disc was recovered . . . and now they want us to try to sell it here in system, where it could ONLY be an imperial trap or the work of a bunch of criminals dumb enough to be in the running for a Darwin award? And given our demonstrated insistence on turning this over to the Navy, this would be a pretty transparent ruse.

What I'm hearing, basically, is that the Navy wants to dangle us out on a very dangerous limb just to see who kills us so they can hopefully use our murder to expose the conspirators. And then you hint that should we survive, somehow, we might be charged with treason?

If we want to make this work _at all_ I still think we need to make it obviously a rebellious act of a few crew members, and not a concerted act committed by the crew -- that's the only way I can see to make the ruse credible enough.

I get the feeling that I'm playing badly here. I mean, as I read Ruzz'koff, I think he would be happy to help the navy, and not at all willing to be used as such transparent bait, and downright resentful and suspicious about the officers asking him to do such a thing. At the same time, in meta game terms, this is the opportunity for adventure put in front of us -- it's either this or get back to the work of driving the school bus to the next system.

At this point, if Ruzz'koff were not retired, the only reason he would take this gig is if he thought it would help him find out who was behind the whole deal on the imperial side -- who is it that has it in for him? But now that he's retired, and he's a merchant captain of a sort, he isn't really a part of the imperial navy chessboard anymore . . . we have to assume he retired for a reason, and that sort of politics is probably a big part of it.

At this point, I think it's time to tell the Navy to find another piece of bait and move on. If it's important that the Navy have us do this thing, they're going to have to come up with a stronger inducement -- probably some sort of irresistable leverage. They're going to have to force it on us.

-rg

 

[DrZombie]

"Yeah, that would work if we're all good actors...." He sighs. "The k'Kree can't read human body language that well, but to fool other humans all the time?"

His face lights up. "What if I pulled a switcheroo on y'all, finding the disc before the rest and switching or copying it before it was found, and then went out looking for a buyer. You could come looking after me, trying to find me before I damage our good reputation with the Navy, and the good name of our ship. I mean, I only came on last trip, and after all I am a barbarian, good for nothing but stealing sheep, drinking and whoring, like that marine sergeant said a few months ago."
He grins at Tuan : "Remember him? They called him sarge strawberry after that"
"Anyway, we could go out on a piss tonight, as expected, and I could try to disappear. You'd notice I was gone tomorrow morning, and start carefully enquiering after my whereabouts, then go after me, taking care not to find me too soon, but trying not to find me too late either."

Ruzz'koff bares his teeth. "I prefer something a little more secure, I think.

"Whomever killed Antonesque, had the disc and discarded it into the trash knows that the imperials will have searched the ship and found the disc. If we still HAVE the disc, without any sort of explaination, it will be highly suspicious, and probably be enough to get us killed.

"What we need is a plausible way for us to possess the disc and be in a position to sell it. And, unfortunately, that is very problematic. I have already demonstrated a great deal of rigidity to our shadowy opponents -- were I to suddenly be willing to sell the secrets of the imperial navy, that would send up red flags that would make the most mentally retarded groundpounder suspicious.

"What we need to do is create the illusion of a split in the crew -- one or two crew members, probably Tuan and one other, who see the potential for a quick buck and who can be resistant to my military bearing and strict morality.

"I dislike the ruse, because it divides our strength, but it's the sort of situation that our shadowy enemies will believe, and will be likely to try to exploit. So long a we can come together and support each other when the time comes, this is the safer course.

"So what I'm suggesting is that we return to the ship and I go about the daily business of running the ship -- perhaps stomping around and showing a bit more of the tyrant. And Tuan and one other start to twitch and struggle under the strain, until Tuan reveals that he was able to make a copy of the disc, and Tuan and his ally start looking for a buyer as we make our next few stops.

"We should also assume that there may be new watchers/killers in the next group of passengers -- this plan needs to be laid out before we return to the ship, and we should not break character until all of the cards are played out -- we'll need to have a code word or phrase that any of us can say to call the whole thing off. The passengers should see the split in the crew, the tension and the stress. And they should overhear Tuan and his conspirator talking about the disc. At the same time, we need to protect Tuan and his conspirator very carefully -- a killer, the same or a different one, may try to kill Tuan and take the new disc.

"What do you think?"

-rg

 

[Wilphe]

OOC: So . . . what you're saying is that the Navy has released the suspects who know that the disc was recovered .

Does anyone KNOW that it was recovered apart from the crew?
They know the Marines were looking for something, but I don't think anyone ever said what they were looking for or why.
The killer(s) of course knows what they were looking for and can expect that it was found but they don't know for sure.

And then you hint that should we survive, somehow, we might be charged with treason?

Here it would only happen if things go very badly wrong and the Navy decide to treat you as a deniable asset. But it's a lot MORE likely that something bad would happen in a system several jumps away from the Coronel where no one knows what you are up to.

I get the feeling that I'm playing badly here.

He's your character now, not mine. Anyway, I'd be cautious too.

Or I could be providing a implausible plot that the PCs aren't willing to bite on, that's possible too. That doesn't bother me, I don't want people to feel obliged to take plot hooks just because they are there. We've already got plot waiting at Bleue Mer, this was just an incident on the road.

At this point, I think it's time to tell the Navy to find another piece of bait and move on. If it's important that the Navy have us do this thing, they're going to have to come up with a stronger inducement -- probably some sort of irresistable leverage. They're going to have to force it on us.

Then see how badly they want it. At the moment they aren't offering you anything except the chance to make a lot of money off the K'kree (I'd expect hundreds of thousands of credits to begin with). However that little negotiation is better done IC.

 

[Radiating Gnome]

The killer(s) of course knows what they were looking for and can expect that it was found but they don't know for sure.

Since the killers and their allies are the ones we're worried about, this is exactly the problem I'm trying to get my head around. As I understand it, the plan is for us to sell to the killer or his buyer the disc -- and since the killer wasn't able to make his delivery, we need to assume that the buyer ALSO knows that the disc was more than likely found by the marines.

Or I could be providing a implausible plot that the PCs aren't willing to bite on, that's possible too. That doesn't bother me, I don't want people to feel obliged to take plot hooks just because they are there. We've already got plot waiting at Bleue Mer, this was just an incident on the road.

Then see how badly they want it. At the moment they aren't offering you anything except the chance to make a lot of money off the K'kree (I'd expect hundreds of thousands of credits to begin with). However that little negotiation is better done IC.

I'm inclined to let this one drop and move on to the next chapter. The more they're likely to "want it" the less I think we should take it. I mean . . . from where Ruzz'koff is sitting, he's doing what he wants to do. He's out of the navy, he's doing the free trader thing, and the more he screws around with this political/military espionage stuff the more he's screwing up that plan -- and that's his retirement, that ship, those people, that cargo. Ruzz'koff is going to vote for leaving this mess behind and moving on.

I also struggle with not having more players chiming in on this, and feeling like the decision is mine for some reason. I mean, as I understand the party culture, Ruzz'koff's "captaincy" is a convenience for the passengers and public, and he doesn't really hold any true position over the other members of the crew. But Dr Z and I are the only ones chiming in here, and everyone still seems to be waiting for me to make a decision. And, since I'm the newest player to the game and the least familiar with the setting, the campaign history, and so on, it's a problem not having the other voices here.
-rg

 

[Wilphe]

Ruzz'koff relates his less-than-stellar enthusiasm for the proposed mission to the Lieutenant who accepts it stoiclly "Understood Captain, good luck and please don't mention this to anyone, thank you."


You now have 60dt of various types of animals in low passage crates to load aboard for the run to Bleue Mer. Passengers will be the Administrator and his party and two Pharmacorp employees: A local vet named Toled Omslaw and an animal handler named Elizabeth Shaw.

Anything you want to do before you leave?

OOC:
[sblock]For those unfamilar with these events, or who are in need of a refresher (which I think is most of us) they can be found here:
http://www.enworld.org/showthread.php?t=65776

Also:
On page 3 of this thread and page 9 of the current OOC thread[/sblock]

 

[DrZombie]

[sblock=for wilphe only]
When the rest of the crew has left the room, Gwydion presses redial.

"Good afternoon, Lt. Seems like the scouts are needed again. Get me the disc this evening, and a partial copy with some of the good bits to make 'em want more. Get one of your men to pick a fight with me later this evening. I'll punch him, and a few other navy types can grab me to pull me off of him. Have one of 'em slip the discs in my vest. I'll make the deal tomorrow or the day after.. Just make sure they don't gun us down when we leave."

OOC : he'll try not to drink too much tonight, watering the local plants and walking around and 'forgetting' his beer somewhere.
[/sblock]

Gwydion gets ready for a good night out after beeing cooped up in the ship with the passengers for way too long. Since the planet seems a little dull, he'll head out for the downport and see what the local spacebars and floating poker and dice games are like.
"C'mon you guys, let's go and have some decent food, and a lot more decent drinks. First round 's on me"

 

[Wilphe]

Tuan and Saanath take Gwydion up on his offer, though Ktarle and Trelene prefer somewhere slightly higher class than you typical dives. Besides they really want to look at somebody else after 10 days in space, not that you three are especially uncomely or something.

Gwydion:
[sblock] The Lt is somewhat suprised to get your call, but eagerly takes you up on the offer. "Okay, we'll find you, but stay inside the X-T line*, the local fuzz don't like any trouble at all and have a zero-tolerance for boisterous spacers - even bar room brawls are too heavy for them, and we've had a devil of a job getting our own people out of custody. If you stay port side then local security are mellow."
[/sblock]

It's another anonymous port dive, there are places like this all over charted space and when you come right down to it none of them are especial or remarkable. You've been in three already tonight and the only thing you've noticed that might stick with you about them is that are all cramped and packed. Standing in the corner, or to be exact, huddled up together in the space they can find under a stairwell, you note three naval NCOs, though it's too dim and crowded to mark out rank tabs. The smaller of them gives you a brief but significant look and heads unsteadily though the crowd towards you, apparently heading towards the toilet behind you.
As he gets close he seems to stumble and looks like he is falling over, his drink sloshing in his hand.

Ruzz'koff:
[sblock]Your 3rd Officer is going behind your back, is this with your implicit approval or nay?
Also, as you don't want anything to do with this, do you want a solo vignette whilst Gwydion does his thing?
You do have an associate aboard one of the Coronel's escorts.
http://www.enworld.org/showpost.php?p=2877625&postcount=176[/sblock]

Tuan:
[sblock]You have a contact on planet, want to look them up?
http://www.enworld.org/showpost.php?p=2877625&postcount=176[/sblock]

OOC:
* X-T Line - A port is Imperial Territory, not planetary (kinda like a RW Embassy). The Extraterritorality (X-T) line marks the boundary between the two.

 

[Radiating Gnome]

Ruzz'koff:
[sblock]Your 3rd Officer is going behind your back, is this with your implicit approval or nay?
Also, as you don't want anything to do with this, do you want a solo vignette whilst Gwydion does his thing?
You do have an associate aboard one of the Coronel's escorts.
http://www.enworld.org/showpost.php?p=2877625&postcount=176[/sblock]

My answer:

[sblock]
Ruzz'koff isn't really aware that he's up to this -- they had talked about the possibility of trying this, and then Ruzz'koff had decided to let the idea drop. So he doesn't know. For the time being, I think he's going to stay put on the ship, probably catch up on some of the sleep that he's been missing for the past several days. His one potential imperial contact doesn't sound too promising, and he's pretty much exhausted, and happy to be a simple ship captain for a few hours.

[/sblock]

 

[DrZombie]

The smaller of them gives you a brief but significant look and heads unsteadily though the crowd towards you, apparently heading towards the toilet behind you.
As he gets close he seems to stumble and looks like he is falling over, his drink sloshing in his hand.

"Watch where you're spilling that drink, navy boy." Gwydion rumbles at the drunk navy. "You spill it on me and you can take your teeth back to the ship in a paper bag."

 

[Wilphe]

Ruzz'koff:
ZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZ

Gwydion:
The man bleerily focus on you and looks up into you eyes,
"Are you a scout or a speedbump? hat are doing blocking the way to the toilets anyway. You enforcing an interdiction to protect the developing culture in the U-Bend or what?", he points to the spilled drink on the floor, "I just bought that, you gonna buy me another or what you savage?"