Contract: The Don's Request
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PC CREW completed their test flight of the Kormoran. While flying you decided to express interest in Don Jose de Cordiliera's contract. After receiving instructions, the crew flew to the Lone Star Republic to land at a small landing pad near the Don's compound. The compound is walled, heavily guarded, and covered by a nearly invisible energy dome. After a short challenge at the gates you entered into a very pretty lawn bordered by groves of trees and flowers. This led up to a well kept old spanish styled villa.
You were guided to the Don's office and after a short wait he received you. The office is well furnished with comfortable seating, very well made furniture, and some antiquities throughout the room. He is well dressed with his salt and pepper hair and beard perfectly in place. After some brief pleasantries you learned that pirates were hitting his shipments with much higher frequency than random attacks would account for. Any time he would send ships out with escorts other shipments would be hit. He suspects there is a mole within his organization which is why he had turned outside help. While he is loathe to do so, he is in a position where he must offer a future favor rather than the one who will be owed a favor. Knowing the value of someone like The Don owing you a favor, Jerzac Scarlewe accepted the contract.
Immediately after the contract had been accepted and unable to be backed out of, Roquesta (Rocket) Strauss dropped the bombshell that KS Choi of SamTech has leverage on her and demanded she get the group to accept the Don's contract. The Don explained that Choi was once in an asset of his that could cause things to fall off the back of a truck. Sometime ago he broke ties and recently started his own rival organization. This might be a case of something his enemy wants would benefit him as well. Jerzac gave Tralia Lightfoot's SamTech key card to the Don as everyone in this conversation would like to get more information on Choi's doings.
Luckily unknown to everybody else, Zuri of House Du'Mansia decided to be a suicidal idiot. She decided to pocket one of the artifacts off a shelf. Later she put it back (maybe in a moment of second guessing or maybe there's some other plan going on).
As the conversation continued the Don told you there was only been one instance of one of his crews overpowering the attacking pirates. The only thing of note they could find on the pirate ship were a couple pieces of paper in the captains safe. They contained strange hieroglyphs that none of you could figure out. Zuri felt the slightest suggestion of something familiar about them but that was all. Since there were currently no leads based on the papers you decided to talk to the surviving crew of the Alexandro. Don Cordiliera called out to Mercedes to take you to them. When Pablo stepped in instead, a brief look of extreme grief crossed his face before apologizing to Pablo.
Pablo guided you on a long walk through the compound to more industrial looking buildings. You spoke with two men and a woman who had several recently healed scars. They told of the shipment that was from Titan to a warehouse in the Asteroid Belt (officially recorded in their flight logs as going to Mars). Part way there while they were in the ballistic section of their flight another ship came in ballistically on an intercept. They bombarded the transport ship until it was disabled and then boarded. What they didn't bargain on was the majority of the Alexandria crew having military training.
You recommended to Pablo that you act as surge transport capacity for the Don, both filling in for his manpower and ship shortage and act as bait.
Once you're back on the ship Rocket and Bash started to get in a fight about her being a corporate shill. rather than leaving well enough alone Zuri also joined in the argument. Jerzac calmly spent time microwaving popcorn (using his treasured microwave) and watching the show. Once weapons were drawn and Rocket armed her exocortex to stimulate the controller implant if she was killed, Jerzac stepped in and tried to defuse the situation and caught even Zuri off guard with his apparent masochism fetish when she held a knife to his crotch.
In the morning you got a call from Pablo with some very complicated approach instructions to fly into the compound to take possession of the shipment for your bait run. What followed was a very boring week on high alert as you went out to Titan (really a different warehouse in the asteroid belt) (total 11 days).
Since nothing happened you messaged back to Earth to pick up another contract. This one was similarly tense and boring. You did it yet again. This time during the journey you finally remembered about the briefcase from Hannah Boucher. Since you were in the ballistic section you sent Scotty out on a lifeline to open it. It dissolved into a swarm of nanobots that attacks Scotty (we will come back to this point next session to see if you have to pick up a new crew member before the next section of your journey). You did one more contract that was also quiet. You were starting to come to the conclusion that being bait for this was a pointless endeavor when you got a message across your ansible from R. Laga again.
Where are you.
-Cpt. R. Laga
We are picking up work in the Sol System to pay for repairs. We are on our way now.
-Cpt. Paguk
Our last conversation said you made repairs. What is going on.
-Cpt. R. Laga
We made enough repairs to fix our comm system and limp back to a maintenance yard. We needed money for those repairs.
-Cpt. Paguk
You know full well the money is available for repairs.
-Cpt. R. Laga
Report. To. The. Hole. Now.
-Cpt. R. Laga
Heading towards The Hole immediately.
-Cpt. Paguk
You told the Don that you felt these bait runs were not getting anywhere beyond a little bit of extra information for him to figure out who the mole is. You felt your time was more productive looking into the note and going to The Hole to see if anyone there had a clue given how frequently disreputable individuals go through there.