Traveller T20: Tales of the Bray Keaven [Updated 12-20-05]

[Shadowdancer]

So, any plans for what to do when you hit the big 5 digits?

Hadn't really thought about it. Hmmm, guess I better starting working on something.

 

[Shadowdancer]

*twitch*

<-- starting to feel withdrawl symptoms kicking in...

*twitch*

*twitch*

Sorry. Some end-of-the-year stuff at work kept me really busy this past week, and I didn't have time to compile an update. But I should be able to do one this weekend.

It's nice to know people care, and are looking forward to the updates.

 

[Shadowdancer]

Chapter XXI​

Date: 173-993

Location: Fonnein Oribital

Swann and Martha head to The Grotto ahead of Kevon’s dinner date. The Grotto is a fairly busy, low–lit place serving primarily authentic New Milan cuisine. As Swann and Martha settle in and place their orders, they spy Kevon arriving wearing his undress uniform. A moment later, Holly Clegg enters, dressed in an elegant black cocktail dress.

"Ah, Captain Holland! I’m pleased to meet you in person, and thank you for meeting me for dinner here. I do try to make it to The Grotto at least once when we dock here. You really must try the Tribeck Milanese."

Kevon greets Holly as cheerfully as she does him.

Holly keeps up a smooth light banter with Kevon as they are seated fairly close to Swann and Martha, peruse the menu, and place their orders. She is obviously quite experienced at placing people at ease, and the two talk about their backgrounds as well as various inconsequential goings on in the subsector for quite some time. Kevon does find out that Holly is in the employ of the Marquis of Souris, and has been for some five years.

-----​

Over the course of the meal, Martha tries rather hard to be inconspicuous and follow Swann’s lead.

Swann makes small talk with Martha, but tries to spot anyone who might have an interest in Holly and/or Kevon, and their conversation (besides himself and Martha, of course).

-----​

Once the entrees arrive, Holly Clegg finally gets down to business. "As I mentioned to you earlier, I do have a proposition for you. Actually, I have several.

"The Marquis occasionally needs a reliable ship and crew to handle matters for him. The Klenbrooke doesn’t make it to this part of the sector that often, and he is on the lookout for people that he can call on. Your ship and crew come highly recommended by Marquis Hallentien.* Depending on what the crew does with my other two propositions, he may want to have you on retainer. Being on retainer would involve being available to perform missions or transports for him — paid, of course — and receiving a fee of Cr50,000 a year just for being available.

"The second proposition is to transport three dTons of scientific equipment to Jakob Selby working on Alief within the next 90 days. We understand that the Bray Keaven has been given permission to transport non-military equipment to Alief, and Mr. Selby could use this equipment to help in his research in resolving Alief’s disappearing water problem. I can offer you Cr20,000 for the transport."

Looking levelly and intently at Kevon, Holly continues, "And, the third proposition is to purchase one of your transport cubes for a million credits."

-----​

Martha does her best to avoid choking on her meal has she overhears Holly’s million–credit offer. As far as she knows, she was successful, but she doesn’t know if anyone was watching. Swann is a bit smoother and also thinks that he is successful in maintaining a straight face.

Swann surveys the other restaurant patrons to see if he can spot anyone who has an interest in observing Kevon and Holly. He doesn’t notice anyone in the first half of the meal. However, after Holly’s pitch is made, he suspects that a middle–aged, portly man with a bookreader may be eavesdropping or at least observing the two captains. The man, seated two tables away from Kevon and Holly, doesn’t appear to actually reading the bookreader.

-----​

The lieutenant commander blinks twice, making sure he heard her clearly. "Umm, wow. Well, the third one is something that I definitely have to bring up to the rest of the crew," he says. "The second proposition is one that I’m certain we can agree on, and if the Marquis du Sentry recommends us to your patron, I think we would be remiss not to accept his gracious offer, should it come."

Pausing to down another polite bite of food — he took Holly up on her recommendation of the Tribeck Milanese, which is excellent — Kevon adds, "We have to move to a repair berth first thing in the morning, so can I give you an answer by noon?"

A disappointed look briefly flashes across the redhead’s face, but the cheerful expression returns and Holly replies, "Of course. Please discuss the offer with your crew and then call me on the Klenbrooke at noon."

The rest of the meal is spent in more polite talk. Overall, the food is excellent, and Kevon leaves pleasantly stuffed. Holly insists on picking up the rather substantial tab, and the two part company.

Swann and Martha leave a little after Kevon and trail the lieutenant commander back to the Bray Keaven.

------​

Back in the lounge, the crew gathers to hear about the meeting and discuss plans for tomorrow morning. Swann tells the others about the man he observed at the restaurant.

Swann reminds Kevon he needs to contact Sare No. 1 to set up a meeting, but suggests he have Aidan also talk to Sare No. 1 so the prospective buyer knows Aidan will be acting as Kevon’s representative.

For the morning meetings, Swann and Saro will accompany Aidan to meet with Sare No. 1 while Ian and Vargas accompany Kevon to meet with Sare No. 2. Since the latter could get nasty, Swann suggests to those going that they take weapons with good stopping power. He offers to loan Vargas the use of his magnum revolver and two speed loaders if Vargas wants them.

-----​

Swann arranges with Ian for the two of them to stay in contact via personal communicators during the meetings. If Sare No. 1 knows the proper password, Swann will say to Ian, "Tell Martha I’ll pick up my clothing later." (This is in case anyone is monitoring the conversation.)

If Sare No. 1 doesn’t know the password, Swann will say to Ian, "I don’t have my computer games yet."

If Sare No. 2 knows the proper password, Ian should say to Swann, "Tell Saro I’ll pick up his medical supplies later."

If Sare No. 2 doesn’t know the password, Ian should say to Swann, "I don't have my music discs yet."

​

-----​

"Personally, I think we take Ms. Clegg up on both of her offers," Kevon states plainly. "That, and graciously accept the retainer from her Marquis, should it come. I’m sure Mr. Silver can attest to the weight of ‘being recommended,’ and that sort of money for the retainer will certainly help the ship and crew.

"To the Sares, I say that we’ll tell them one cube didn’t survive contact with enemy combatants on the trip in, and they either take it or leave it."

Aidan says, "I agree with Kevon on this one. Yes, it is . . . changing part of the agreement with my patron, but your having a patron in this part of space is a very valuable thing.

"I think some research into the activities of the Marquis du Souris this evening would be an excellent idea, and I’d be happy to head back out into the station for some more research from someplace anonymous. Preferably escorted."

He grins. "If you’d like, I’d be more than happy to help with contact with the Marquis, having some knowledge of the foibles of the noble class."

"I’d be willing to accompany you during your research," Ian says. "Need to stretch the legs anyway."

"Glad to have you, Ian."

-----​

Swann looks at Aidan, a little surprised. "Can you do that? Sell one of the cubes to Ms. Clegg, I mean. I thought you were under orders to deliver one to a buyer here, and one to a buyer on Adukgin.

"If your patron won’t mind, it would be simpler and better all around to get rid of both cubes here. I just don’t want to have to worry about any assassins being dispatched by your patron who come looking for you. And for the rest of us."

"Orders are funny things in this business," Aidan says. "With the high risk to these things getting through, sometimes a judgement call needs to be made. Of course, I’ll certainly be mentioning this back to my patron. For certain remuneration, I would hope — either monetary or in influence. The information that another Marquis is willing to make a very substantial investment to acquire one of these is certainly valuable.

"Of course, doing it may also get me killed, but that’s a calculated risk. And my death would not be one that would take you all out in a blaze of glory or otherwise. Nobles are killed by much subtler means. If they are killed at all. There are other effective ways of ‘removing’ them. Witness myself.

"What I would like to make more certain of is that you all will not be killed in obtaining those million creds. Hence my interest in the Marquis’ umm, shall we say ‘market activities.’ "

-----​

"Personally, I’m all for either, so long as it gets these damn boxes out of here and gives us a little more peace," Martha says. "It seems everyone and their dog knows about these things, and I’d like our pictures to be pulled from whatever holovid these guys are watching, or whereever it is they are getting their information from.

"Tomorrow, I’ll be accompanying the ship over to the shipyards. Heck, I can fly it myself for something this routine, if that frees some of you up to take care of the Sare Fan Club membership," Martha offers. "I imagine I’ll be pretty busy tomorrow with helping them out, and watching the ship, too, in the process."

-----​

Saro looks a little skeptical but agrees that if Aidan can safely sell the cube to Holly without future repercussions to the Keaven and its crew that a cool megacred would come in handy. As for her other two proposals, the cargo and the retainer, he agrees that both sound good and the crew should go for them.

-----​

"Are we settled, then, on the Clegg issue?" the lieutenant commander asks. "If so, I think we should contact her as soon as possible tomorrow morning to deliver the news."

-----​

Vasilii has been sitting with a focused look on his face, staring into space since the mention of the offer from Holly Clegg, his fingers folded in his lap, tapping his thumbs together as he's been thinking. When there is a brief lull in the conversation, he pipes up to voice his less–than–enthused reaction to the offer.

"Well, not to be a conspiracy theorist, but I’d like to point out that the last time we went for the ‘easy’ money, the ship got broken into, a couple of mines blew up on Swann and Ian, Martha’s thoughts were pretty rudely poked into, the cargo we were hoping to sell was stolen, and when the smoke cleared, the only thing we had left to call our own in the whole affair was the egg on our faces. We got taken, and pretty damn good at that, and all because somebody dangled a few credits in front of our noses.

"What I’m getting at is, Ms. Clegg’s offer is exactly what we’d want to hear: Big money up front, more money later in a retainer, and paying assignments as we go. But my gut’s telling me it’s a little too good to be true. And frankly, especially in the shape I’m in, I’m not in a mood to get shot at. KCr100 is a LOT easier to deliver on than a million. If anyone’s keeping tabs on votes, I vote to tell Ms. Clegg, ‘Thank you for your patronage, but we’re under contract.’

"Besides, why would a Marquis want a crew that could be bought that quickly?" he asks, raising an eyebrow at the group. "A crew that can be bought quickly, you send them only on the jobs that you wouldn’t send somebody you’d want to keep."

Swann smiles ruefully at Vasilii and says, "After what we've been through, I don’t think any of us expect this to be easy credits. But as long as we go into the arrangement with our guard up, and our sensors active, and with a good plan in place to protect ourselves, we should be OK. It’s at least something we should pursue further, with the understanding that if things don’t stay shiny, we walk away."

"To which I reply that we thought we had a good plan on Sentry, too," Vasilii reminds him. "And if things don’t stay shiny, I sincerely doubt we’ll be walking anywhere; we’ll more likely be dodging bullets. But you seem determined, so I guess we’re accepting her offer. But if this blows up in our faces, my paranoias will never let you live it down," he adds, shaking his head as he smiles.

"There are at least two reasons for us to make the deal with Ms. Clegg," Swann says. "First, we can use the credits. And it’s 10 times what the other buyer is offering. I thought you Merchant types were all in favor of supply and demand, selling to the highest bidder, and all that static."

Vasilii shrugs. "Well, when the offer’s credible, yes, definitely, but I don’t think it is in this case. That, and any prospect of guns has a way of greatly lowering the point of diminishing returns."

Swann continues. "Second, and more importantly, getting rid of the second cube now means we don’t have to go to Adukgin." At this point, he lowers his voice and leans closer to Vasilii. "And Adukgin is where the people who want Martha are at. Given what they did last time we crossed vectors with them, I’d rather not even jump into that system if we can avoid it."

Vasilii studies Swann for a moment. "Hmm. Good point, forgot about that."

Vargas raises a hand. "What if we have the lovely Miss Clegg drop a nice little deposit in escrow as a gesture of good faith, if not deep pockets?"

"A good idea Vargas, and also why I want to do a little research: trust but verify," Aidan says. "Matter of fact, I should head out now to do that."

"We’re not being bought, Mr. Kugiikishshi," the lieutenant commander counters, his voice taking on a sudden, but slight edge. "We’ve been recommended, and that’s a completely different animal in the realm of aristocracy. I don’t know what kind of experience you have with that world, but I’ve lived in it. As Mr. Silver says: trust but verify. I say we deal."

-----​

Kevon and Aidan call Sare de Salui No. 1 to set up a morning meeting. Sare de Salui No. 1 is as polite as ever, but Aidan does detect a growing impatience. A meeting is set up for the hotel restaurant at 0700 hours.

-----​

After the call to Sare de Salui No, 1, Aidan and Ian head out to do a little research. They go back to the Numoc Diner and order a couple of drinks and snacks while Aidan does his research into the Marquis of Souris using the public network.

The information that is available leaves a little to be desired but not surprising given that Fonnein is a bit out of the way and Souris is a bit far away, but it is enough for Aidan to piece together a sketch of the Marquis.

The Marquis of Souris is known for being one of the rare nobles that actually cares about the well–being of the common people, ardently loyal to the Imperium, and actively works to improve Imperial society. There are a number of others who question his sincerity, but Aidan has a suspicion that the sentiment is genuine. Given his convictions, the Marquis tends to be liked by commoners and disliked by most nobles who consider him entirely too plebeian. The Marquis of Souris also has the public reputation for being a man of his word.

Finally, there is an article that details a mercenary group rumored to be hired by the Marquis who rescued a group of scientists captured by pirates. The scientists (biologists and botanists) were working for a company owned by the Marquis.

-----​

Meanwhile, Vasilii arranges for the transfer and storage of the speculative cargo. Unfortunately, due to the arrival of a large freighter, the first available transfer is set for 0730 tomorrow morning.

The crew then turns in, some having a more restful night’s sleep than others.

After an early rise and a light breakfast, the two Sare fan club parties set out for the respective meetings while Martha readies the ship for its move and Vasilii frets.

*Hallentien is the Marquis of Sentry.

 

[Shadowdancer]

Chapter XXII​

Date: 174-993
Location: Fonnein Oribital

Aidan, Swann, and Saro head out for the meeting with Sare de Salui No. 1 at the hotel restaurant. As a precaution, Saro goes on ahead and gets a table a few minutes before the meeting time. Aidan and Swann then enter the hotel and make their way to the restaurant.

Saro settles himself in at a table and begins to surreptitiously watch the room for suspicious people. When Swann and Aidan arrive he watches the meeting with Sare and his companion out of the corner of his eye.

From the reception station, Aidan and Swann see Sare de Salui No. 1 sitting with an auburn–haired man in his 20s at a round table that could seat six. Swann and Aidan make their way over to the table where the two men rise and greet the Bray Keaven pair politely. The man in his 20s is introduced as Worrin Takashima, an aide.

After polite chit–chat while ordering breakfast, Aidan gets the feeling that Sare de Salui No. 1 is also of Noble birth.

After a brief wait, the breakfast arrives — certainly an improvement over the Marine ration breakfasts, thinks Swann. Once the waiter has withdrawn, Sare de Salui No. 1 finally brings up the cubes. "Of course, eventually, we must get down to the matter at hand."

Taking a small paper card from his jacket pocket, he opens it and hands the card over to Aidan before continuing. "I have been waiting for the arrival of my cube for quite some time, and I’m glad that you’ve been able to deliver it. As you can see, the card contains the identification numbers for both cubes that you should have. And, as for ‘Fallen Whiskey,’ I think that is a rather silly turn of words, don’t you?"

"Quite a silly turn of phrase indeed, correctly stated though," Aidan says. "Ah well, seems to always be the case, folks think it adds to the allure with something mysterious. Yes, I see the numbers match. Excellent. Well then, let us get down to arranging transfer."

-----​

On the morning of the meeting, Swann finds himself strangely nervous. He has an uneasy feeling that something is wrong, but he can’t figure out what it is. All the way to the hotel restaurant to meet Mr. de Salui, he feels uncomfortable. He looks around, but doesn’t see any obvious signs of danger, yet he still feels like something bad is going to happen. Since feelings like these have kept him alive in the past, Swann listens to them; today, he just can’t make out what they are telling him.

At the restaurant, the meeting with Sare No. 1 and his aide, Takashima, seems to go well. They have the tracking numbers and the password. These seem to be the correct buyers. But Swann still feels uneasy. Maybe the problem isn’t here, but somewhere else? Time to make the call to Ian.

Swann looks at Aidan, then at the other two men. "Gentlemen. If you will excuse me. I need to make a call to our ship regarding a personal matter. I'm sorry."

"Certainly Swann, please go ahead," Aidan says.

Swann gets up from the table and walks to a quiet spot in the restaurant. He uses his personal communicator to call Ian. "This is Swann. I just remembered something. Tell Martha I’ll pick up my clothing later."

As he disconnects from talking to Ian, Swann suddenly realizes why he feels uneasy. "The ship!" he thinks. "We left the cubes on the ship with only Martha and Vasilii to guard them. And the cargo crews are going to be there any minute. The perfect opportunity for someone to come aboard and try to steal them."

Swann walks quickly back to the table and says to Aidan, "Mr. Silver. I’m terribly sorry. Martha is having a problem with the fuel processor again. I must return to the ship to help her and Vasilii. You will have to continue without me."

He turns to the other two men. "Mr. de Salui, Mr. Takashima. It was a pleasure to meet you both. I’m very sorry I have to leave. Good day, gentlemen."

-----​

"Thank you Mr. Hellinic, we’ll conclude our business and I’ll meet you back at the ship," Aidan says. Turning back to de Salui and Takashima, he goes into full Noble mode — not haughty, just very refined. "Now, Sare de Salui, I’d like to arrange for the transfer of the cube to you as soon as possible, but I pray you’ll understand that we’d like to handle the transaction securely. May I suggest a noon meeting at a public place? I am open to your suggestions, but perhaps the lobby of this hotel would be appropriate. And, of course, I must confer with the crew to ensure that an escort is arranged."

-----​

As he walks from the restaurant, Swann tries to catch Saro’s eye. When he does, Swann points at Saro, then points his index and middle fingers at his own eyes, then makes a gesture with his hand to take in the whole room.

-----​

Saro watches as Swann makes a call on his comm. Swann and Aidan don’t seem upset, but they could be putting on an act. Swann then hurries back to the table, says something to the group and heads towards the exit.

Saro sees Swann staring in his direction and tries to slowly look around to see what Swann is looking at. Seeing nothing he turns back to see Swann still looking intently towards him.

"What the hell is he looking at?" Saro thinks. "Oh hell, it's me!"

Swann proceeds to pantomime poking himself in the eyes and makes a circular motion with his finger.

"What the frell is this now? Now where is he going?"

Saro watches as Swann leaves, Aidan still sitting with Sare No. 1. He begins to get a little anxious wondering what Swann is up to. He continues looking around the room in an attempt to spot any trouble.

-----​

After leaving the restaurant, Swann calls the ship on his communicator as he heads rapidly in the direction of the Bray Keaven’s berth. "Vasilii, this is Swann. Our meeting went well, but I realized you and Martha might need some help supervising the cargo crews. Lock the ship tight, engage all of the security programs inside and out, and don’t let anyone inside the berth or onboard the ship until I get there. If the cargo crews arrive first, stall them. Arm yourself, and make sure Martha is as well."

With that, Swann disconnects and breaks into a run.

-----​

Sare de Salui No. 1 smiles grandly at Aidan and replies, "Of course. A noon exchange in the lobby of this hotel would be fine. I would suggest some sort of disguise for the transport cube though. A gray featureless cube is bound to attract some attention. Perhaps, some battered packing material around it, even old packing tape? Or, alternately, place the cube inside a larger shipping container?"

Continuing, he adds in a more serious, and somber, tone, "I would recommend that you do take care during the transport. Security at this facility is — adequate — but I would be wary during the transfer."

"Wise words, Sare. Hmmm, in the nature of elegant diversion, perhaps I shall wrap it as a present for you. Something understated will make people see it as a silly gift, but not spend much attention on it. Rest assured, the package shall be well guarded."

At this moment a waitress wanders by. Sare de Salui No. 1 motions her over and softly says, "Oh, would you please put that gentleman’s breakfast on my tab also?" He indicates Saro.

With a wink, Sare de Salui No. 1 resumes a light conversation with Aidan as they finish their morning meal.

Aidan grins wryly back at Sare de Salui and raises his coffee mug in salute. He murmurs "Help these days," then proceeds to gossip lightly about the court until the end of the meal.

-----​

Over at his table, Saro continues to watch Aidan and Sare No. 1, and is a little perplexed when Sare No. 1 motions the waitress over. Other than that, the good doctor doesn’t notice anything worthy of note excet the ridiculously skinny, shorthaired brunette who walks in just as Aidan and Sare No. 1 are finishing their meals.

Saro is a little surprised that his bill has been paid, but understands and smiles sheepishly as Aidan comes over after breakfast so they can walk back together to the Bray Keaven’s berth. The walk back to the berth is uneventful.

 

[Shadowdancer]

Kevon, Ian, and Vargas head out for the meeting with Sare de Salui No. 2 at Alaphar’s Cafe. Vargas gets ahead of Kevon and Ian a bit, enters the cafe, and gets a seat at the bar. Kevon and Ian then enter and, not seeing Sare de Salui No. 2, get a table for three.

Ian scans the cafe, looking for anyone taking interest in their presence while they wait for the arrival of Sare de Salui No. 2, taking note of Vargas’ location. "So Kevon, shall we order some breakfast?" Ian orders a large coffee and the day’s special.

About 15 minutes after the designated meeting time, Sare de Salui No. 2 enters the cafe looking as irritated as usual. He strides over to the table, sits down, and with a scowl, says, "OK, I’m here. Now, you will walk with me back to your ship and hand over the cube. I have your payment. Out of the goodness in my heart, I am willing to pay you a bonus, but less than you would get if you took my offer yesterday."

-----​

From his vantagepoint at the bar and looking out the café’s window, Vargas can see the two muscular sydites (who previously accompanied Sare No. 2) standing across the corridor from the cafe.

-----​

Kevon politely asks, "And, do you have the identification numbers and the pass phrase?"

Without missing a beat or batting an eye, Sare de Salui No. 2 reaches into his pocket and hands over a small plastic flimsy. On the card are two ID strings that are almost identical to the ones that Aidan provided — but not quite. Sare de Salui No. 2 then looks Kevon in the eye and says, "Phallic Mickey."

-----​

Upon hearing the man utter the incorrect pass phrase, Ian closely watches his reaction during Kevon’s upcoming reply, and is prepared to take immediate action if necessary.

-----​

The lieutenant commander smiles slightly. "It is a silly pass phrase, isn’t it?" he says through a chuckle. "OK, I think we should be able to do business. Unfortunately, due to some prior commitments that cannot be avoided, we won’t be able to deliver the item to you until 1300. Your continued patience is greatly appreciated."

-----​

Ian attempts to suppress any outward expression of his surprise at Kevon’s reply. He also is still trying to read Sare de Salui No. 2’s reaction.

-----​

"So, we will meet you at 1300 with the cargo in a discreet container in the Rose Garden — a nice, public place with lots of people and no need for goons or guns," Kevon continues. "You will be there with your payment, with or without the ‘bonus,’ as you desire. Agreed?"


Before Sare No. 2 can answer, the lieutenant commander politely adds, "Please remember that my former statement still stands. I insist on absolute security in this transaction; any hint otherwise nullifies any agreement we make here or in the future."



Sare No. 2’s eyes narrow suspiciously for a moment, and then he says, "Good. I see that you’ve finally come to your senses. I will be there with my two assistants at 1300. Yes, I’m bringing them so that you don’t rob me and so that I have someone to carry the container. They will be unarmed," he finishes without a trace of irony.

-----​

Ian feels that Sare No. 2 doesn’t trust Kevon about proceeding with the transfer as smoothly as he says, and he also feels that Sare No. 2 is scheming something regarding the transfer.

-----​

Sare No. 2 then abruptly gets up. The gaunt man turns away for a moment as if to leave and then turns back to say, "Don’t try anything funny. It would be ‘unfortunate’ if we can’t conclude this successfully." Sare No. 2 then stomps off.

-----​

From his vantagepoint, Vargas sees Sare No. 2 join up with the two sydites and head off in the morning crowds.

-----​

Ian flips on his comm unit and calls Swann. "Swann, I don’t have my music discs yet."

-----​

The three crewmembers then quickly finish their breakfasts and head back to the Bray Keaven.

 

[Shadowdancer]

Vasilii and Martha watch the two Sare fan club trios head out with some trepidation. But they do have to get the ship prepped for the pickup of the speculative cargoes (and Aidan’s parts, and the Marine rations, missiles, and life support supplies) and the move to the Stork & Sons’ yard.

-----​

Martha goes to port engineering to finish preparing engineering for the Stork & Sons yardworkers — putting things away, locking her favorite tools, tidying things, etc. She takes the time to pull out her snub pistol and load it with tranq ammo. There's about to be a lot of new people in her ship, and she remembers the last time that happened. Who knows how many intruders will attempt to work their way into engineering?

Martha continues to prep the ship for the engineers, and insures that all security protocols are set and being followed.

-----​

Vasilii puts the cubes in the port engine room next to the power plant, along with Kevon’s suppression device. He says to Martha, "We can move them to the upper deck after everyone’s back and we’re ready to leave the berth, but for now, I’d like to make them as difficult to detect as possible."

He then takes bridge watch in preparation for the cargo handlers to arrive in 15 minutes. He is concerned since 0730 is the only time available prior to the ship’s move; he considers canceling the cargo transfer as it would leave Martha alone on the ship and him alone to watch the cargo handlers. He is wearing his vacc suit; his snub pistol is in a holster loaded with HE rounds, and his magnum revolver rests on the console in front of him.

Because of his misgivings, especially after Swann’s call, the paranoid Vilani merchant hurriedly cancels the morning cargo transfer, incurring a Cr200 cancellation fee. The transfer can still be set up for a later time (after the ship move). Then he makes sure the anti-hijack security program is running, and all external ship doors and hatches are locked. He also locks the door to the berth. Once the doors are locked and he’s back inside the ship, Vasilii starts depressurizing the landing berth to a few notches just below the threshold where the inside door will open.

-----​

Swann arrives at the Bray Keaven’s berth at a dead run to find that the berth looks pretty much as he left it. The only thing of note that the ex–Belter notices is the same scruffy-looking man who was in darkly-stained purple coveralls he and Ian saw observing the berth the first evening that the pair took a stroll. The man is still in darkly-stained coveralls (green this time) and he appears to be casually working on something behind a wall panel. When he sees Swann watching him, the man smiles briefly, gives Swann a wink, and then goes back to the panel.

After some negotiation, Swann convinces Vasilii to repressurize the berth enough so he can open the berth airlock and board the Bray Keaven.

-----​

While waiting for Vasilii to repressurize the docking berth, Swann gets a call from Ian. After hearing the arranged code phrase, he laughs and says, "Then someone is going to be left out of this dance."

 

[Pyske]

So, at what point do you prefer that we go from "waiting patiently" to "making puppy dog eyes"?

 

[Hawkshere]

The hell with that! I say we go straight to "mewling pitiously"...

 

[Shadowdancer]

I'm sorry I haven't updated this week yet. I was having some problems posting because of the site change-overs, and had to wait until I figured those out. I should be posting an update later tonight (Thurs. evening or Fri. morning).

It is nice to know that people are awaiting the updates each week.

 

[velShandru]

It is nice to know that people are awaiting the updates each week.

Would you believe some of us actually plan our week around it? No? How 'bout we wait with worm-ey breath then?