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

[R_Kane]

I played Dr. Saro during this timeframe and I just wanted to say that I remember that when Vargas' came out with his "Illuminazis" line I nearly choked on my Coke with laughter when I read it for the first time. And it still gives me a chuckle.

 

[vutpakdi]

Right. Request noted; I'll be sure to keep the cyber-ninja death weasels to myself.

Ooooh... Cyber-ninja death weasels from the Imperial Ministry of Justice! <scribble> <scribble>

Ironically, fears of someone yelling "Halt! Imperial Ministry of Justice!" *is* on the minds of at least some of the characters in the actual game at this time.

Ron

PS: I agree with R_Kane: The Illuminazis line was a great one.

 

[Shadowdancer]

While compiling the latest update, I discovered two items which were inadvertently left out of the previous chapter. I have edited that chapter to add them. The first is a single sentence, a reply Swann makes to Keith while trying to bluff about his previous career as a dancing fool.

The second is a hissy fit Vasilii had while retrieving his flak jacket and revolver prior to joining Martha in the engineering compartment.

You may or may not want to go back and read those addendums before preceding to the next chapter.

 

[Shadowdancer]

Chapter XXXVI​

Date: 174-993
Location: Aboard the Bray Keaven and inside the Stork & Sons repair yards

At the sound of the iris valve opening, Swann’s head turns toward the noise. When he sees the sydites come through, he realizes there is going to be trouble, and he recognizes the source of that trouble before the faux Sare de Salui appears. "Bad Crimps just keep turning up," he thinks.

Into his earpiece-mic unit, Swann barks, "Trouble. Office air lock." He holds his shotgun in his off hand as he draws his mag revolver. He targets the sydite with the SMG. After firing two shots, he adjusts to get as much cover as he can find beneath the ship and behind the repair cradle.

-----​

Out of the corner of his eye, Vasilii sees Egg flying through the door on the far monitor. He looks closer just in time to see the first sydite come through the door. "Frell it! I KNEW this was too good to be true!" he blurts out, checking the other monitors to see how the crew in the bay starts responding to the threat.

He then sees the other sydite, Sare No. 2, and the Vargr come through the door. His eyes set on the second sydite’s SMG. He turns and runs to the iris valve leading out of the engine room, yelling over his shoulder to Martha as he keys the door, "I’m hauling some guns out to them!" He jumps through the doorway as the iris finishes opening, and is gone.

-----​

Almost growling when she sees Sare No. 2’s party emerging from the airlock leading to the Stork & Sons office, Martha quickly activates the secondary gunnery controls on her display in port engineering and starts powering up the starboard turret. Calling upon the Bray Keaven’s auto-targeting software, she intends to bring the weapon to bear on the crate.

Tabbing the external speakers while the idling power plant and turret power up, Martha demands, "Drop the guns now, or no one gets the crate! This ship’s weapons are trained on that blasted piece of crap, and if any of her crew is wounded, I’ll take it out right now, AND NO ONE GETS IT! AT ALL!!! DO YOU UNDERSTAND ME?!?!?!" She lets some of the wear and strain of these most recent events carry in her voice.

-----​

Saro stands with Emile beside the cube, watching as Holly, Kevon, and Aidan conduct their exchange/flirtation. Rolling his eyes, he wonders if anyone else in the bay beside himself would just like to get this over with.

Suddenly from his earpiece–mic unit he hears Swann say, "Trouble. Office air lock."

Almost simultaneously, and very nearly drowning out Swann’s warning, Martha’s voice booms over the Bray Keaven’s external speakers: "Drop the guns now, or no one gets the crate! This ship’s weapons are trained on that blasted piece of crap, and if any of her crew is wounded, I’ll take it out right now, AND NO ONE GETS IT! AT ALL!!! DO YOU UNDERSTAND ME?!?!?!"

"You don't say," Saro thinks resignedly as two shots blast inside the repair bay. He drops into a crouch behind the cube, drawing his tranq pistol. As he draws his pistol a thought runs through his head. "Vasilii. Where is he? Given that he’s seriously wounded — probably directly in the line of fire."

Trying to maintain his cover as best as possible, Saro tries to locate Vasilii’s position in the bay, then remembers the Vilani remained onboard the ship.

-----​

"Frag it all to hell — TAKE COVER!" Ian shouts as he runs toward the ship for cover, pulling out his weapon. He fires a four–round burst from his gauss pistol at Sare de Salui No. 2 while in transit.

-----​

Vargas hits the deck as the effluent hits the fan, after which he claws for his auto pistol. Upon hearing Martha’s ‘announcement,’ he ignores the gun and starts a low crawl away from the cube and towards the ship. "Not the cube, the bad guys — they’re the one to point the lasers at," he mumbles to himself.

-----​

"Oh, frell," Kevon breathes as he sees Sare’s ‘grand entrance.’ He grabs Holly and pulls her to cover with him, even if only to keep an eye on her. Given the sudden change in events, the lieutenant commander can’t be sure she and her mates aren’t in on it. "And here I’d thought it’d be impolite to bring my laser with me to the trade," he adds without humor.

-----​

Aidan runs towards the ship to take cover. "Ms. Clegg!" he calls over his shoulder. "The second Sare de Salui appears to be making a claim on the cubes. May I suggest you take cover?"

-----​

Swann warns the others using his comm and then fires off two rounds with his magnum revolver at the SMG–carrying sydite. The first round strikes him squarely in the chest. The sydite staggers considerably, but doesn’t go down. The second round catches him in the leg, but doesn’t seem to have much of an effect.

Keith stares at Swann for a moment, looks at Sare No. 2’s party, and then comments, "Friends of yours?" before firing at the sydite armed with the shotgun. His shot misses.

-----​

The Vargr identifies the source of the fire, raises his pistol, and fires a burst at Swann. One round catches Swann in the left bicep. Luckily, the flak jacket catches most of the energy from the gauss pistol round.

-----​

Sare No. 2 also fires a burst at Swann with this gauss pistol. Luckily, this burst misses.

-----​

Sydite No. 2 fires a burst from the SMG at Swann as well. His burst misses.

-----​

Sydite No. 1 starts hustling towards Swann and Keith while firing his shotgun at Swann, the most popular target of the day. His shot also misses.

-----​

Swann clenches his teeth against the pain in his arm and grunts a reply to Keith as he aims at the shotgun–weilding sydite. "More like disgruntled customers." He fires two more shots at the approaching sydite.

-----​

Aidan runs towards the repair cradle underneath the Bray Keaven’s bridge while warning Holly to take cover. Once partially behind part of the repair cradle, he puts his handcomp in what will hopefully be a safe spot, and draws his sword.

-----​

Ian yells a warning and runs towards the repair cradle underneath the bridge as well, firing off a burst at Sare No. 2 as he goes. At least one round hits Sare No. 2 in the side.

-----​

Kevon grabs Holly and drags her to the same spot as Ian and Aidan. Holly is pulling out her gauss pistol as she looks around in some confusion.

-----​

Ezra, looking rather startled, whirls around while unlimbering his shotgun. He raises it, points it towards Kevon, then — after a moment of confusion — drops to one knee to point it at Sare No. 2’s group.

-----​

Egg is moaning in a lump on the floor.

-----​

Aidan crouches down under the ship and heads underneath, trying for cover, to where Keith and Swann are.

-----​

Kevon stuffs the credit chit into an inside pocket on his undress uniform, then makes a break for cover under the port turret.

-----​

Ian tries to use any cover available as he targets Sare No. 2 for his next two shots. He squeezes off two more four–round bursts from his gauss pistol.

-----​

In case it needs to be used later against the raiders, Martha cues the computer to record the events witnessed by the security systems, particularly the activity outside. Martha also continues her power plant startup procedures. She is trying to hurry things along.

While Martha waits for the ship’s weapons to cycle up and point towards the cube, she considers for a moment clicking over to local comms and sending out an emergency call. Then, deciding that she’ll wait before taking such action, she begins to suit up in her vacc suit, "in the event of explosive decompression" (should everyone else die and her only option is to blow the doors leading out into space to get rid of these business suits with big guns) or in the more likely case that there’s a sudden need to evacuate the air within certain sections of the ship as a defense against boarders.

-----​

Vasilii continues running towards the bow of the ship to retrieve weapons. He makes it as far as the ship’s locker.

-----​

Outside in the repair berth, Swann makes his comment about disgruntled customers before firing at Sydite No. 1. His two shots strike the shotgun–carrying sydite in the lower right arm and upper right shoulder. Most of the energy from both seems to be absorbed by the flak jacket as the sydite keeps coming.

In reply to Swann, Keith quips, "That’s not comforting" before firing on the approaching sydite. Keith misses again.

-----​

The Vargr crouches and fires off another burst at Swann. Swann catches a round a little up from the last one. Luckily, Swann’s jacket dissipates most of the energy from the round — the hit stings but doesn’t penetrate.

-----​

Saro pops up from behind the cube and takes a pot shot at the Vargr. The shot misses.

-----​

Sare No. 2 yells, "Damn fools!" before firing another burst at Swann. A round from this burst catches Swann in the left shoulder, but amazingly Swann’s luck and the jacket mostly hold. The round results in a sharp pain, and what will probably be a nasty and painful bruise, but probably not significant penetration.

-----​

Aidan runs from repair cradle support to repair cradle support until he reaches Swann and Keith.

-----​

Ian fires on Sare No. 2 with his Marine gauss pistol. Both bursts catch the gaunt, unhappy looking Sare de Salui imposter squarely in the torso, and after the second burst, Sare No. 2 goes down.

-----​

Kevon runs for the repair cradle support underneath the port turret area and makes it without drawing any fire.

-----​

Holly fires on the sydite with the SMG. The burst catches the sydite very close to the spot where Swann’s shot hit him, and he goes down.

-----​

Ezra curses in frustration as he realizes his shotgun is pretty much useless at this range. He has the shotgun trained on the Vargr, but does not fire.

-----​

Vargas glances at Saro in time to see the Doctor pop up, fire off a shot, and then crouch again behind the cube.

-----​

Sydite No. 1 continues his hustle towards Swann and Keith’s position, firing as he comes at Swann. Hot lead peppers the area near Swann, but nothing hits hard enough to cause damage.

-----​

Egg continues moaning on the floor.

-----​

"Frell!" Swann snaps as lead whizzes around and past him, some of it striking him painfully. He knows one of the sydites is fast closing on his location. He sets his revolver down near Aidan and swings his shotgun into a shooting position. He pumps a round into the firing chamber, grimacing as pain arcs through his left arm and shoulder. "Come and get some, you ant-on-steroids-looking freak."

Swann holds his fire until the sydite gets within 3 meters, the closest effective range for the shotgun.

-----​

Aidan sees the revolver sitting next to him, but ignores it. "Sorry Swann, opting for a more direct approach." Aidan jumps out from behind the repair cradle to slash at the approaching sydite, yelling at the top of his lungs. "Eulaliaaaaaaaaaaa!"

-----​

Ian braces his pistol against some of the structure he’s using for cover and blast out two more four–round bursts at the Vargr, hoping it’ll improve his chance to nail the dog.

-----​

Seeing the Sydite before an already wounded Swann, Kevon charges from the flank and strikes with his cutlass.

-----​

Saro will continue to maintain cover behind the cube, taking shots as they present themselves.

-----​

Inside the Bray Keaven, Martha pushes the power plant warm-up procedure almost to the limit.

-----​

At the ship’s locker, Vasilii starts snatching up weapons.

-----​

Keith fires his shotgun again at the charging sydite. Amazingly, even at close range, the short astrogator misses.

-----​

The Vargr, taking a quick look around, apparently decides that discretion is the better part of valor, and runs into the airlock that leads to the office. While passing the first iris valve, his right paw reaches out and slaps at the controls.

-----​

Saro pops up and manages a shot at the retreating Vargr as he turns. The shot catches the Vargr in the left arm, but doesn’t seem to slow him down.

-----​

Ian fires twice at the Vargr. His first shot peppers the side of the repair berth, but the ex–Marine’s second shot strikes the Vargr square in the back as the Vargr is reaching out to slap at the iris valve controls.

-----​

Holly also fires at Vargr just as he enters the airlock. Her burst apparently arrives a split second after Ian’s, and completes the process of perforating the Vargr’s back. Ian and Holly see the Vargr collapse as the iris valve closes.

-----​

Vargas continues hugging the floor. "Got a spare weapon, Saro?" he asks, then remembers his own auto pistol.

-----​

Back by Swann and Keith’s position, Aidan and Kevon both charge the sydite with saber and cutlass drawn. Aidan reaches the sydite first, and swings. The sydite manages to duck, and Aidan doesn’t connect.

Kevon has better luck with his charge as the Navy cutlass connects with the sydite’s lower right arm. Unfortunately, the sydite’s flak jacket prevents any significant damage.

Swann, focussed on bringing his shotgun to bear on the closing sydite who has been peppering him, automatically fires as he gets the shotgun lined up. The buckshot catches the sydite in the torso, but the sydite’s long coat dissipates most of the spray.

Unfortunately for Aidan and Kevon, they catch part of the buckshot as well. Aidan catches a little on his left leg, but Kevon catches quite a bit all along his right side, leaving him in an astonishing amount of pain.

The sydite appears to be still focussed on Swann and fires his shotgun. Perhaps because of Swann’s shot, or because of having to deal with Aidan and Kevon, the sydite manages to pepper the underside of the Bray Keaven with buckshot but completely misses Swann and Keith, even at this close range.

Aidan swings again. Mightily. Kevon sidesteps behind the sydite, then attempts to hamstring the bastard.

"Holy drek!" Swann swears as he realizes he’s just shot Kevon and Aidan as well as the sydite. "What are those two crazy frells doing?"

Swann chambers another shotgun round, again grimacing as pain runs up and down his left arm. He holds his fire, however, not wishing to again shoot his compadres.

"Aidan! Kevon!" he yells. "Get away from him! You can’t do any good with those grote-stickers."

-----​

Vasilii says to himself as he continues to gather weapons from the ship’s locker, "When this gunfight is over, this crew really needs to sit down and have a long discussion about acceptable levels of personal safety."

-----​

Martha continues her course of action, praying under her breath to St. Elvis that the Bray can weather what she’s putting her through. She continues pushing the power plant warm-up procedure almost to the limit. She bypasses a number of safety protocols and estimates that she’s shaved a minute off the five–minute startup time. And, so far, she has managed to do so without causing any problems.

-----​

Ian flashes a big smile — crinkling his scarred head — and nods once at Holly as he steps out from behind cover, moving toward the iris valve the Vargr went through. "Nice shot!" he says, genuinely impressed. He runs toward the iris valve, planning to open the valve and make sure the Vargr is still down.

-----​

Having retrieved a laser carbine and power pack, Vasilii tosses a few things out of the way and then grabs a medkit. Vasilii then turns to start the run towards the starboard airlock.

-----​

Outside in the repair berth, Swann curses the folly of sword–wielding throwbacks and waits for a clear shot.

Keith mutters "You've got to be kidding" to Swann and waits as well.

-----​

Saro pokes his head up, sees that Aidan and Kevon are swinging away at the shotgun–armed sydite, and waits further developments.

-----​

Holly shakes her head and watches the proceedings warily. Vargas and Saro see Ezra shake his head and mutter something to Holly.

-----​

Vargas continues hugging the floor, but does pull out his auto pistol.

-----​

Aidan yells his warcry and circles so that he is between Swann and the sydite. Aidan swings at the sydite’s side and connects. The sydite’s armor manages to absorb most of the blow, but Aidan does see the sydite wince in pain and stagger.

At the same time, Kevon sets up for a hamstring slice from behind the sydite. When the sydite staggers, Kevon closes, goes to one knee and swings. The strike catches the sydite past his coat and bites deep into the sophont's legs. The sydite topples backwards and falls on Kevon, temporarily pinning him to the floor.

-----​

Vargas finally frees his pistol from the holster at the back of his belt, sighs heavily, and rises to a careful crouch, looking for threats. When he has a chance he’ll address Saro. "Well, that went well, don’t you think? What now, schlep the cube back inside or leave it here?"

-----​

Swann stares in disbelief as Kevon’s maneuver succeeds in bringing down the sydite. He then moves from behind his cover position and approaches the sydite quickly. When he reaches the fallen pair, he places the open end of the shotgun’s barrel against the sydite’s head and picks up the sydite’s own shotgun.

Aidan puts his blade across the sydite’s throat as he tries to pull him off Kevon.

"Kevon," Swann asks. "Are you OK? How about you, Aidan?"

"I’ll be fine as soon as you get this bastard off me!" Kevon growls.

After getting a response, Swann says over his comm unit. "Doc, we have wounded crew at my position."

"Yeah, somebody shot us," the lieutenant commander quips sourly.

-----​

Noticing what’s happened near Kevon, Vargas remarks to Saro, "I think they can use you over there. I’ll hang here." He then sits down on the cube, loosely cradling his pistol in his hands.

-----​

Saro watches as the two swordsmen cut down the aggressive sydite. He starts to reply to Vargas when Swann’s call comes over the comm. Saro stands up and gives the repair bay a quick once-over trying to visually gauge everyone’s condition.

-----​

While waiting for Saro to arrive, Swann smiles down at Kevon and says, "I realize you Navy types aren’t used to fighting on firm ground, and at these ranges, so let me explain something to you. When you have two sophonts shooting shotguns at each other from close quarters, it’s generally not considered wise to jump in between them.

"Now lie still until Doc can check you over. You don’t want to make your injuries any worse."

"Sorry about that, Swann," Aidan says. " ‘Fraid our swashbuckling instincts took over, don’t you know. Nothing like a good old sword bashing to bring the blood up. Of course, the shotgun pellets did that, too," he adds wryly.

"Yeah, it’s amazing what constitutes ‘between’ nowadays," Kevon answers, favoring his buckshot side as he moves to a more comfortable position. "What did you do, saw that thing off to 12 inches?"

 

[Pyske]

Aidan sees the revolver sitting next to him, but ignores it. "Sorry Swann, opting for a more direct approach." Aidan jumps out from behind the repair cradle to slash at the approaching sydite, yelling at the top of his lungs. "Eulaliaaaaaaaaaaa!"

Someone smack that guy.

 

[Hawkshere]

Taking a look at those drive-in totals:

Four dead(?) bodies. Eleven pistol shots. Seventeen auto bursts fired. Eight shells of buckshot emptied. One gruesome hamstring. One awful ululation. One friendly fire incident. Gratuitous quips. Futile villianous admonishment. Revolver Fu. SMG Fu. Gauss Fu. Shotgun Fu. Cutlass Fu. Starship Repairman Fu. Fusion Reactor Fu. Drive-In Academy Award nominations for Swann Hellinic, as the designated hostile fire target, for Best Cursing, and for saying "Come and get some, you ant-on-steroids-looking freak" with a straight face; Kevon Holland, as the chivalrous ship captain, for Most Embarrassing Fight Finish; Ian McConnell, as the hardened ex-marine, for Most Effective Use of a Gauss Pistol; Vasilii Kugiikiishshi, as the crew paranoid, who says "When this gunfight is over, this crew really needs to sit down and have a long discussion about acceptable levels of personal safety"; and Egg for Best Emoting By An NPC.

Three and a half stars. Joe Bob says check it out.

 

[Shadowdancer]

Taking a look at those drive-in totals:

Four dead(?) bodies. Eleven pistol shots. Seventeen auto bursts fired. Eight shells of buckshot emptied. One gruesome hamstring. One awful ululation. One friendly fire incident. Gratuitous quips. Futile villianous admonishment. Revolver Fu. SMG Fu. Gauss Fu. Shotgun Fu. Cutlass Fu. Starship Repairman Fu. Fusion Reactor Fu. Drive-In Academy Award nominations for Swann Hellinic, as the designated hostile fire target, for Best Cursing, and for saying "Come and get some, you ant-on-steroids-looking freak" with a straight face; Kevon Holland, as the chivalrous ship captain, for Most Embarrassing Fight Finish; Ian McConnell, as the hardened ex-marine, for Most Effective Use of a Gauss Pistol; Vasilii Kugiikiishshi, as the crew paranoid, who says "When this gunfight is over, this crew really needs to sit down and have a long discussion about acceptable levels of personal safety"; and Egg for Best Emoting By An NPC.

Three and a half stars. Joe Bob says check it out.

roflmao.

Best. Response. Evar.

 

[Broccli_Head]

i love traveller combat. i could hear the thwip, thwip of the gauss pistols and the roar of the vargr thug going down. nice.

 

[Shadowdancer]

Chapter XXXVII​

Date: 174-993 and 175-993

Location: Aboard the Bray Keaven and inside the Stork & Sons repair yards

Inside the Bray Keaven, Martha continues her frantic attempts to get the power plant online, the turret powered up, and the lasers warmed up to fire.

-----​

Swann and Aidan reach the Sydite who is pinning Kevon to the repair berth floor. Swann picks up the dropped shotgun while Aidan pulls the Sydite off Kevon. The Sydite is unconscious and probably dying if not already dead.

-----​

Ian runs to the airlock and opens the iris valve. The Vargr is still sprawled on the floor making a terrible mess. After nudging the Vargr and receiving no response, Ian unceremoniously drags the Vargr’s body back into the repair berth, leaving a dark red trail.

Egg staggers to his feet, looks at Ian dragging the bloody Vargr and Sare No. 2’s bodies, screams something incoherent, and starts running towards the airlock.

"Egg! Stop!" Ian says. "We have a doctor that can take a care of your injuries! Set down here and rest a second while I get Doc Saro to come over and check you out."

Ian holsters his pistol, opens his arms in a friendly gesture, and attempts to get Egg to sit or lie down. Egg, his eyes wide, ducks under Ian’s arms and flies out of the berth.

-----​

Saro rushes over to examine his latest patients. He decides that Kevon is the most severely wounded and starts to apply temporary bandages to his numerous buckshot wounds. Unfortunately, Saro only has his portable medical set with him, so he lacks the full set of field dressings and medical slow drugs that he might otherwise have.

Luckily, within a minute or so, a breathless Vasilii arrives carrying the ship’s field medical kit from the ship’s locker (not Saro’s personal kit) along with a laser carbine and power pack, and Ian’s ACR. The kit still lacks any medical slow drug, but Saro at least has the supplies to field treat Kevon’s and Aidan’s wounds.

Swann says, "Hey Doc, I got hit a couple of times. Can you take a look at my left arm and shoulder?"

-----​

Holly, Keith, and Ezra confer a moment near Keith’s and Swann’s old position and then Holly comes over to watch Kevon and Aidan being treated. She bemusedly shakes her head down at the injured Naval Reserve officer and the lightly–peppered noble, and says cheerfully, "So, do you two always charge shotgun–wielding, four–armed wackos, or are you two just trying to impress me?"

Continuing a bit more seriously, she asks, "So, care to explain to me what just happened?"

"He," Kevon answers, indicating the fallen Sare No. 2, "was the impostor we mentioned over the comms, the one who was trying to get the cargo we had for a legitimate buyer. I guess he didn’t want to wait for our meeting.

"And that Sydite goon wasn’t paying attention to me, so I knew that I could eventually hamstring him," he adds with a wry smile. "It worked for me on Tarantella IV."

"Well Ma’am, all in a days work of course. It’s good to have a chance to swash the old buckle every once in a while. Of course, if a good impression comes out of it, well then so much the better." Aidan grins, clearly still quite high on adrenaline, but quite in control.

-----​

A couple of minutes later, Martha’s power–up efforts finally bear fruit, and she swings the now–live starboard turret to point at the cube. The lasers are powered up and ready to fire.

Once she realizes that there is no longer a threat, Martha powers down the systems and goes outside to help with the ensuing chaos.

-----​

About the same time, the large cargo door leading to the high port corridor and the access door leading to the next repair berth both suddenly slide open revealing at least five variously–armed sophonts wearing SPA combat armor in each opening. A booming voice rings out: "This is Starport Authority Security. Drop all weapons and place your hands on your head immediately."

Everyone in the berth complies.

After a few minutes, the crew of the Bray Keaven and Holly’s trio manage to convince the tactical response team that they aren’t an immediate threat. A SPA medical response team arrives to check on Sare No. 2’s party. All are dead from their wounds.

A few minutes later, a Lt. Wuajel arrives to interview everyone involved. Lt. Wuajel of the StarPort Authority carefully interviews the Bray Keaven crew, Holly’s crew, Aidan, and Egg Stork over the course of the next few hours. The interviews are conducted separately, and a few people are interviewed more than once to corroborate relevant bits.


Lt. Wuajel seems rather tired and a little strung out, probably because he and his team were finishing investigating the Markov’s Daughter incident when they found out about the gunfight in the Stork & Son’s repair berth.

​

-----​

Swann says to Lt. Wuajel, "This man here," indicating the faux Sare, "tried to pass himself off as the recipient of a cargo we were contracted to deliver. Fortunately we were able to determine he was an imposter, and delivered the cargo to the intended recipient.

"However, during our dealings with him, this man threatened us on several occasions. When he showed up unannounced and uninvited, with his Sydite thugs, and interrupted our business transaction with Ms. Clegg and her crewmen, I figured he meant to make good on those threats. Especially since one of the Sydites threw poor Egg into the repair berth ahead of their entrance. I thought they had killed the lad.

"I believe I was the first person to see them when they entered the berth. They already had their weapons drawn. I fired at them first, but only because I believed they meant to make good on their threats and kill all of us, and because I believed they had already killed Egg."

After Swann gives his first statement, Lt. Wuajel's dark face darkens even more and he dangerously asks, "So, you admit to firing first? I hope that your actions are justified by the others’ statements and any evidence we can collect."

-----​

After interviewing Swann, Lt. Wuajel decides to interview Martha (the interviews seem to be conducted in a somewhat random or at least arbitrary order).

Martha respectfully answers Lt. Wuajel's questions, though she does tend to be brief in her responses, until she gets upset.

When asked about the firefight, she points at Sare-Two. "That man and his crew came in and started shooting. I panicked and tried to start up the ship’s weapons to threaten him into stopping his idiocy, because I was inside. I forgot that the weapons were cold, and because I was panicking, I just kept on going, hoping it would be enough to stop the fight — but it wasn’t."

Martha looks over at the dead bodies. "I hate this. I really wish he’d just left us alone, instead of trying to kill us like he did. By St. Elvis, I wish I knew why. Do you know who these guys are?"

When asked about Sare-Two, Martha starts to become agitated. "Don’t ask me! I don’t know! I thought you were the detective. All I know is this guy’s been harassing us over some damn cargo that isn’t even his, pretending to be the real client, and he’s willing to even kill to get it. You know, security sucks up here. Have you even asked Stork & Sons how creeps like this can get in here with those weapons?"


Martha buttons up a lot after that.

Lt. Wuajel’s expression starts out rather hard, but softens once he sees that Martha becomes fairly upset. He does dryly comment that, "I hope that you do realize that if you had fired the ship’s lasers while inside the repair berth, it would have probably seriously hurt everyone nearby as well as possibly caused significant damage to the station and anyone in the corridor beyond?"


After interviewing Martha, a SPA tech is sent with Martha to retrieve relevant camera imagery from the Bray Keaven’s computer along with comm call records.

​

-----​

"Yes sir, Lieutenant. This is how the situation unfolded," Ian says. "I was standing over by the large berth doors when I see Egg here being pushed through the office door and fall in a heap to the floor, looking very much to be dead or close too it. Behind him stepped through two large Sydites brandishing weapons, with the other two behind them, also with weapons. Almost immediately I heard shots fired so I ran to the ship for cover and commenced to defend myself, ship and crew.


"This person," gesturing toward Sare No. 2’s body, "posed as our business contact, attempting to trick us into completing our business with him instead of the legitimate contact. During our meeting with him and all communications, he was very threatening, so our defensive instincts were quick to respond when he dropped in unexpectedly."

Ian’s interview with Lt. Wuajel goes smoothly, and Ian feels that the SPA lieutenant is keeping an open mind about the circumstances of the firefight. Ian isn’t able to gauge lieutenant’s reactions to the rest of the Bray Keaven crew because the interviews are conducted out of earshot.

​

-----​

Vasilii walks up and extends a hand to Lt. Wuajel: "Lieutenant, I don’t know if you remember me. My name’s Vasilii Kugiikiishshi, I’m the ship’s cargo super and de facto purser. We spoke earlier."


He turns and gestures to Sare No. 2. "Well, as Fate would seem to have it, this is one of the gentlemen I spoke of earlier with you. We’ve been having to deal with him ever since we put into port."


As he gestures to the two Sydites and the Vargr, he says, "His Sydite companions have been following him around, at least ever since we’ve been dealing with him. The Vargr is a new wrinkle to the equation, haven’t seen him before."


Turning back to Lt. Wuajel, Vasilii continues. "Well, I guess to start from the beginning: For some while our ship has been in need of engine and system maintenance, and, as you can see," gestures to the underside of the bridge, "no small amount of repairs. We looked into getting the work done at Sentry, but found the costs a bit on the pricey side, especially for the funds we had available at the time. We had heard that repairs and maintenance were generally cheaper here at Fonnein, and opted to try our luck here.


"Since we were headed here anyway, we looked for cargoes that were also headed this way, and we contracted for several, including one to deliver a small cargo to a named recipient here at Fonnein, with payment upon delivery.


"At any rate, once we arrived here in port, this man," gesturing to Sare No. 2 again, "attempted to pass himself off as the intended recipient of the delivery.


"However, he implied that we should do business ONLY with him at the price HE wanted to set — which was much less than what was contracted for — otherwise, if I recall the quote correctly, ‘things would go badly for us.’ But his impersonation of the intended recipient was also considerably flawed, and we knew almost immediately that he was an impostor, and a potentially violent one at that since his Sydite thugs were always with him.


"Well, we had a contract to honor, so to avoid a confrontation, we tried to put off this man as long as possible, at least until we could deliver the cargo to the man we felt certain was the actual recipient, which we did this morning, and after that, we felt he wouldn’t have much of a reason to bother us anymore.


"At least, that was the idea. We had suspected that he MIGHT still try something, even if we no longer had the cargo he was interested in, but didn’t think it likely. But until he made his move, well — you can’t preemptively arrest someone, so we hoped for the best and tried to plan for the worst.


"So, fast forward to a few minutes ago. In the process of selling one of our remaining cargoes to Captain Klegg here, it would seem our ‘friend’ got a little impatient and made good on his threat. If we hadn’t been out in the berth selling our cargo, I suppose we could have just locked all the outside hatches on the ship and told him to get lost, but they walked into the berth from there," gesturing toward the airlock, "and started shooting, at least before I knew what was going on.


"As for my part, I'm not much of a shot, and I knew a couple of our people who are better shots than I am were out here in the berth without guns, so I ran to our ship’s locker, grabbed the medkit and what guns I could, and by the time I got it all out here, the shooting was over. You and your men showed up a couple minutes after that."

​

-----​

After interviewing Holly, Lt. Wuajel decides to interview Aidan.


"Certainly, Lieutenant, the gentleman over there," points at Sare No. 2, "came in, interrupting our business with this fine lady," points at Holly. "His minions fired at us, so naturally we sought to defend ourselves. Unfortunately, I really don’t know who the gentleman is, but he’s been following us and being most unpleasant."


Holly apparently mentioned the cube, and the frequent references to "cargo transfer" haven’t gone unnoticed. Lt. Wuajel walks Aidan over to the cube to inspect it for himself. When Aidan mentions that he does have an Imperial Warrant for the cube, Lt. Wuajel looks quite surprised and a little skeptical, and comments, "Really? I’d like to see it then." The SPA lieutenant then sends one of his armed patrollers to escort Aidan to retrieve the warrant.


When Aidan returns with the warrant, Lt. Wuajel examines it carefully and then passes his handcomp over the warrant (to read the embedded chip) before commenting, "Well, here is something that you don’t see very often here in the back beyond. Your warrant certifies as being legitimate, and I apologize, Mr. Silver, for my skepticism about the authenticity of the warrant and the safety of your cargo."

The rest of the interviews go relatively smoothly.

​

-----​

"Well you see El Tee, I was moving cargo with the Doctor when the detritus hit the oscillator," Vargas says. "I did the stop, drop and stay until it was over. Those guys came in shooting and everyone here basically defended themselves. That guy over there," indicates faux Sare, "had an anger management problem from the first we met him. I guess he lost it looking at all this. His loss I guess. Anything else I can help you with?"

​

-----​

Saro says, "We have previously had dealings with him," indicating Sare No. 2, "when he identified himself as a buyer for some cargo we had under contract. We also had a second person that identified himself as the same buyer. Confirmation measures revealed that he," again indicating Sare No. 2, "was impersonating the legitimate buyer, so we conducted our transaction with the legitimate party and attempted to avoid the impersonator.

"We were conducting other business here with Ms. Clegg and her party when he burst in with his thugs, weapons drawn. They had already incapacitated Mr. Egg on their way in.

"I was helping move the cargo for Ms. Clegg into the bay when the action started. When the gunfire started, I dropped behind the crate and managed to get off a couple rounds of tranq darts, to no great avail I’m afraid. If I were a better shot perhaps they would still be alive.

"If I could have prevented the loss of life, I’d be happier, but then again I’m not overly upset that it was the brigands and thugs who perished rather than their intended victims."

-----​

Kevon, indicating Sare No. 2, says, "This gentleman was attempting to impersonate Mr. Sare de Salui, a gentleman with whom we had legitimate business with. We determined that this Sare was attempting to illegally receive our cargo, and made numerous threats against us the previous day.

"While conducting business with Captain Clegg and her crew, the Sare imposter barged in with his goons and one of the repair yard workers, who we determined was unconscious, brandishing their weapons. I heard a shot as I dragged Ms. Clegg to safety, then moved to help my shipmates against our attackers."

After interviewing Kevon, Lt. Wuajel does apologize to Kevon. "Commander, I’m sorry that I was unable to take your call earlier. I realize that if I had been able to do so, this scene might have been averted or at least we would have been able to respond sooner."

"Given all of the excitement today, you couldn’t have known that this would turn so serious," Kevon replies in consolation. "Compared to the collision, this was a minor issue."

-----​

Finally, several hours after the firefight, Lt. Wuajel seems relatively satisfied that the crew of the Bray Keaven and Holly’s trio were acting in reasonable self-defense. That Kevon, Vargas, Martha, Saro, and Vasilii helped in the Marellia’s Landing rescue obviously has some effect on his decision. The SPA investigative team finally decamps with a warning for no one involved to leave the station until cleared by Lt. Wuajel’s superiors — probably tomorrow morning.

-----​

Egg Stork seems relatively traumatized, but Clay Stork does profusely thank the Bray Keaven crew for saving his brother.

-----​

Holly, Keith, and Ezra finally get a chance to load the cube onto their small, collapsible handcart and prepare to depart. To both Kevon and Aidan, Holly says, "I think, given what happened to day, we should defer any dinner or dancing to another time? Perhaps we’ll communicate tomorrow?"

Kevon smiles a wry smile. "Yeah, I’m being weighted down at the moment," he quips. "It’ll probably slow me down too much. I’ll call you tomorrow."

After he plays the gentleman and escorts Holly to the door, Kevon limps back to his cutlass and retrieves it, casually checking the inside pocket of his undress uniform for the credit chit before heading back to his quarters and placing it securely in the ship’s safe when no one else is watching. Kevon spends the rest of the evening relaxing and healing, moving as little as possible.

-----​

Ian gathers up his gauss pistol, ACR and clips. Before entering the ship, he walks over to Aidan. "So, you still have the credit chit Holly handed you?" he asks, looking intently at the Noble for a couple of seconds. Then, as if a light bulb turned on, his expression changes.

"Oh, yeah, nevermind! You handed it back to Kevon just before the shooting started," Ian says, shaking his head and rubbing his eyes. "Too frellin’ many distractions for the gray matter to keep it all straight! Sorry for the confusion."

He then walks toward the ship shaking his head and muttering to himself. He heads to his cabin to get himself and his weapons cleaned up — not necessarily in that order — and stow his ACR and ammo. Once this is done, he heads to the lounge for a drink and a bite to eat.

-----​

Swann watches Lt. Wuajel and his team leave the repair berth, taking the weapons of the faux Saro et al as evidence. "Damn," he thinks. "I really wanted one of those gauss pistols as a memento to add to my collection."

Swann collects his weapons and returns to the ship. After Saro has checked and treated his wounds, he returns to his cabin and cleans his revolver and shotgun. "Yeah, Swann, you’ve done a hell of a job of finding a new career — one that’s nice and safe, and doesn’t involve frequent gunplay," he thinks, shaking his head ruefully as he cleans the firearms. "You’ve been part of this crew for less than three months, and you’ve already managed to get yourself shot three times. Being legit is more dangerous than being a criminal."

He starts to carefully undress himself so he can shower, taking care to move his left arm as little as possible. "Maybe I shouldn't have been so quick to fire. Maybe the faux Sare just wanted to talk, or try to outbid Ms. Clegg for the cube. Maybe we could’ve reasoned with him. Maybe."

Swann stops his internal debate as he closes his eyes and lets the scene inside the repair berth play over in his mind. "No, don’t start second–guessing yourself," he thinks. "Your instincts have kept you alive this long. Those Sydites meant business, the way they were throwing Egg around. People like Sare don’t have Sydites around unless they mean to use them to harm others. They came in with their weapons out, and probably wouldn’t have hesitated to use them to take the cube. No, it’s better to shoot first and ask questions later in those situations.

"I would have lied to the Lieutenant about who fired first if I knew I could have counted on that Keith character to back my story. But I think Lt. Wuajel bought the self–defense angle after talking to everyone else. Oh well, we’ll just have to see how this all plays out."

With that, Swann takes a shower, puts on some clean clothes, and then heads to the lounge to get something to eat.

-----​

Saro approaches all the injured crewmembers and offer them some options. (Yes, he even offers Vasilii options and not simply knock him out cold.)

He can give them a dose of Medical Slow Drug, in which case they will be knocked unconscious for approximately 24 hours while their body undergoes a fairly significant amount of healing. However, if in the highly unlikely case (yeah right) that they become injured again during the week following the treatment, any additional applications of Med Slow Drug are more likely to injure them than heal them.

Alternately, Saro can oversee their long–term care. By following (stress added for Vasilii’s benefit) his instructions and restricting themselves to complete bed rest, or at the very least, a light activity level, Saro estimates that the two most wounded crew members, Kevon and Vasilii, would likely be fully healed within two weeks.

After they decide which course to take, Saro will act in accordance with their wishes.

Other than administering to the injured, Saro once again takes stock of his medical supplies, compiling a list of needs and desires.

He also asks Martha to meet with him at some time in the near future when there is a quiet moment in order to go through some more relaxation exercises and instruction. For some odd reason, Saro feels that would be appropriate, for himself included.

-----​

After things calm down, Martha tries to talk to Saro about her panic response, and tries to calm down. Later on that evening, she practices the breathing and meditation techniques she learned from the Doc, and tries to figure out what to do the next time. For all her 23 years of age, she doesn't have the combat experience that the other crewmembers have. Her reaction under pressure concerns her greatly, and she tries to figure out how to better handle these things in the future.

-----​

Kevon takes Saro up on his offer for the slow drug.

-----​

Swann listens to Saro’s offer as he eats sautéed grote tips, onions, and ’shrooms over couscous with steamed broccoli. "I believe I’ll go for the slow drug, Doc," he says. "I could use a nice, long nap. Besides, then I’ll be able to help Martha with the ship’s repairs.

"By the way," he asks. "Is tonight the night Tukera is taking you and the others out to dinner to say ‘Thanks’ for the crew’s heroics this morning? If it is, better hold off on giving me the drug until you get back. I wouldn’t want to be caught sleeping on duty," he says with a smile, giving Saro a good–natured wink and slap on the back.

The Doctor informs him the thank–you dinner has not yet be scheduled.

-----​

Saro places Swann, Kevon, Aidan, and Vasilii carefully in their bunks and then injects each with Medical Slow to speed their healing. After the injured folks are out, Martha approaches Saro about her panic response. Some impromptu counseling follows, and Martha practices her relaxation exercises under Saro’s watchful eye.

-----​

The evening passes quietly, if not completely restfully for the uninjured members of the crew.

-----​

The next day is fairly quiet for the crew. Some press types show up to interview the crew about the incident, but are politely turned away by a couple of SPA security troopers on temporary loan from Lt. Wuajel. Vargas arranges for the speculative cargo to be offloaded and sent to the storage warehouse under his and Ian's watchful (and armed) eyes.

-----​

Around midday, Vargas takes a call from Lt. Wuajel. "Good day, Mr. Vargas. My superiors have cleared you and your crewmates of any blame for yesterday’s fight in the Stork & Sons yard. So, you are free to leave the system if you like. For the duration of your stay, please try to refrain from any other incidents."

-----​

Around 1500 hours, one of the security troopers brings in a cream colored, paper envelope (real paper is extremely expensive) addressed to Lt. Commander Kevon Holland in an elegantly flowing hand and gives it to Ian. The envelope smells very faintly of a flowery perfume. Ian regards the envelope interestedly, but saves the opening for Kevon.

-----​

That evening, Kevon, Swann, Aidan, and Vasilii awake quiet groggy and sore, but certainly better off than they were before. The Medical Slow drug has had a significantly beneficial effect for all though not everyone is fully healed yet.

-----​

When Kevon emerges from his stateroom and goes to the lounge for a belated dinner, Ian, with most of the crew present, hands Kevon the envelope with a bemused and curious look on his scarred face. A little puzzled, Kevon opens the envelope before Vasilii can decide whether or not to shout, "No don’t open it! It’ll have Alief Hemorrhagic Virus spores!"

Inside, there is a single sheet of lightly perfumed paper that reads:

Dear Kevon,


I’m very sorry that you and your crew sold the cube to us. I would have liked working with you and your crew. The Marquis of Souris is very particular about those he has on retainer, and other candidates have failed lesser tests of trust. I do hope that our paths will cross again so that we may have dinner, but I and the Klenbrooke need to be on our way to deliver this cube to its proper recipient.


Sincerely,
Holly


A slight frown crosses the pilot’s features for a moment. "Bugger," he mutters, and he wads up the letter and envelope and tosses them into the waste before storming off to his temporary cabin.

As he walks back, still trying to shake the after-effects of the slow drug, Kevon curses himself inwardly for failing to see the warning signs of a test. "Father will have my ass if he hears of this," the lieutenant commander thinks, knowing full well that the two marquis will talk — resulting in the likely termination of their contract with their current patron.

A loss of sponsorship. A loss of Noble patronage. Because Kevon allowed himself to be swayed by the "common" concerns of maintenance and repair. No, he should have seen this coming. This was a failure on the grand scale.

"Serves me right, I suppose — thinking with my dick," he growls as he locks the cabin door behind him. Things will have to change if he wishes to fulfill his goal of meeting and surpassing his father’s rank.

-----​

Checking through the communications log, Kevon notes a message from the sector Bureau of Naval Education. "Hmm, I wonder what BUNED wants with me?" he ponders as he opens the message.

ROUTINE FLASH TRAFFIC
IMPERIAL COURIER XBOAT 151N64CX93AF
166–993 1443LST

TO: LCDR HOLLAND, KEVON, IMPERIAL NAVY RESERVE
FROM: BUREAU OF NAVAL EDUCATION, 17TH SECTOR FLEET
SUBJECT: NAVAL ARCHITECT CERTIFICATION

1. AS PER ATTACHMENT (1), LCDR KEVON FREDERICH HOLLAND, IMPERIAL NAVY RESERVE IS HEREBY CERTIFIED AS A CLASS I NAVAL ARCHITECT, WITH ALL RIGHTS, RESPONSIBILITIES, AND PRIVILEGES PERTAINING THERETO.
   [*]LCDR HOLLAND IS GRANTED IMPERIAL LICENSE TO DESIGN SMALL CRAFT AND STARSHIPS OF 400 TONS OR LESS. THIS LICENSE IS VALID FOR THE LENGTH OF LCDR HOLLAND’S SERVICE, INCLUDING ACTIVE DUTY, RESERVE, OR RETIRED STATUS.
   [*]SHOULD LCDR HOLLAND OTHERWISE HONORABLY DETATCH FROM THE IMPERIAL ARMED FORCES OR MERCHANT MARINE; THE LICENSE WILL BE RENEWABLE AS PER IMPERIAL BUREAUCRATIC CODE CXIX, SECTION D.
   

SIGNED,
ANTONIUS R. E. INGERSOLL
COMMODORE, IMPERIAL NAVY
CHIEF OF EDUCATION, 17TH SECTOR FLEET

"Small consolation," Kevon mumbles.

-----​

So ends another Tale of the Bray Keaven

 

[Pyske]

I’m very sorry that you and your crew sold the cube to us. I would have liked working with you and your crew. The Marquis of Souris is very particular about those he has on retainer, and other candidates have failed lesser tests of trust. I do hope that our paths will cross again so that we may have dinner, but I and the Klenbrooke need to be on our way to deliver this cube to its proper recipient.

Ouch. Nicely done, Ron. One of those losses that feels like it was fair to the PCs, and not just the luck of the dice. Very well run.