Into the Unknown.

Running into the cockpit, Captain Garreth Noir starts turning off frantically and sending off transponder response codes to be accepted before the point of no return ….

With a flash, and an electronic thundering feedback, the Jumpgate activates.

It is just moments before the gate opens, revealing the spinning swirling hole out of this universe ….

The swirling vortex leading out of our universe

The ship, responding to Noir’s prodding, and caught in the vortex, leaps forward, plunging headlong out of our universe and into the creepy swirling sameness of hyperspace.

The swirling haunting shapes of hyperspace

Garreth ensures the programming of the journey is secure and accurate in the autopilot, each nav-beacon carefully vetted and most backed up with a second for safety.  He sets an alarm to alert him should one of the beacons contact be lost, and another to warn of arrival at the destination jump-gate.  Then he locks down the autopilot, and moves to get some rest, to recover from the recent excitement ….  He has some concerns as to what might happen if the shipment that has been opened is not what it’s meant to be ….

At that moment the Earth Forces passenger, damn his stubborn hide too the …  ahem ….  he intrudes rudely and insists on checking the other cargo.

No, I won’t have it disturbed.  Now leave me and this horrible headache alone!

The lieutenant is not going to give up.  Damn military types …

Fine!  Just leave me be!!  I want it all returned to exactly as it was.

He finds his bunk, locking his cabin door and turning out the lights.  If they would just leave me in peace!!!  2 more days of this all the way through hyperspace!

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Back in the cargo hold the passengers start to work on the cargo, spending hours emptying the crate that their stowaway was on board, only to find it is full of hundreds, maybe thousands of Narn Military Uniforms, all used.

They set to work on the crate that is listed as food supplies.  A good day later they are satisfied that it does indeed contain food stuffs and supplies.  On to the crate of construction tools.

Ohhh oh …..  the best part of a day later they have established that the whole crate contains professional grade explosives.  No detonation equipment, but still ….

Repacking quickly, they head up forward, meeting Garreth answering the alarm of arrival.

“we need to turn around!”

Garreth groans – “No, I have deliveries to make, and you are one of those deliveries.  besides the gate is activating.”

The “No Strings Attached” rides the pressurewave through the opening gate into realspace.

Immediately the comms console bursts to life, instructing ship into a holding pattern and advising of a delay.  Garreth  negotiates to get his cargo marked received after command and control advises him this is a safety precaution as the station is about to be set spinning ….  at that moment, the enormous space station under construction starts to move, almost immediately followed by the skeletal structure collapsing on it’s self ….

C&C scrambles to take control of the situation.  The gate being locked down, communications channels being locked, all ships ordered to dock and take boarding investigators.

 

So we leave our intrepid investigators, sitting in a tin can, with suspicious mis-labled cargo and an unwilling alien stowaway, waiting for the authorities to see to them …..

 

Up and at ’em!!

Waking for departure, our newly minted team heads to the shuttle dock berth assigned to “No Strings Attached” to find the ship there, but it’s captain, a man named Gareth Noir.  Waiting for his arrival, the party is disturbed when their pilot/captain does not show up, the freight sits by the pad waiting to be loading.

They set off to locate Gareth, assuming that they should start at the only hotel in the settlement right now.

Attempting to convince the desk manager to give out information on other guests proves to be challenging.  Landow manages to secure the Penthouse suite instead of bribing the manager.  Mistakenly thinking that the suite he had been given was where Gareth was, the group went too the room, finding it empty.

The group harasses Landow about the mistake, and sends him down to find the information needed.  Kelly goes with him to ensure that there are no more mistakes.  The EMT and William remain in the room, utilising the minibar.  At the front desk, Landow closes out the room booking, discovering the minibar usage and being unhappy.  Then asks again about Gareth, giving Kelly a chance to gather the information – Directly from the manager’s MIND!!

Third floor ….  They head up, the other team, being locked out of the minibar by the close of account, they head downstairs.

Arriving at the room, the door is locked.  Trying to work out how to see if Gareth is in the room, he does not appear to be answering his door.  GoodKnight looses his patience and kicks the door in, panicking the sleeping occupant.  A tense beginning settles to grumpy passengers and a put out pilot.  Gareth appears hungover, and makes his way toward the shuttle-port, Gareth starts working on loading his cargo.  Painfully slow for the investigators, and stopping for breakfast, much to the annoyance of our group.  It is 0900 by the time loading and pre-flight is done and liftoff.

As the group settles into their cabins, Gareth sets the autopilot for the jumpgate, and heads back to check the cargo.

A little while later, the Lieutenant hears a strange sound from the cargo section aft of the passenger compartment.  Heading back to check, William checks each hold, until poking his head into a darkend hold.  Phased Plasma splashes off the bulkhead by his head, causing him to dive back into the hallway.

Summoning help from the team, they split into 2 groups, entering the hold from both doors, and after a tense standoff, Kelly manages to end the situation without a shot fired.  It turns out the trouble was a stowaway.  To be more specific, a narn who does not know why he is there or how he got there.  She is able to stun him with a well placed use of an electro-stunner from behind.

The captain is re-awakened just in time for the alarm from the cockpit indicating their arrival at the jumpgate and requiring the pilot’s input.  Gareth goes to work in the cockpit while the group checks the cargo.

Touchdown and Takeoff March 10, 2250.

We meet our group of intrepid investigators as they travel to what was planned to be, by their employer, their home base of operations.  The new frontier colony of Tau Ceti IV.

The settlement is a battered enviro-dome made with salvaged and second hand parts.  The harsh and deadly weather of the planet is never forgotten as the storms whip at the dome, causing it to creak and move alarmingly.

The appearance of the ‘city’ is dusty and destitute.  Almost akin to the basic ‘Wild West’ frontier towns of the late 19th and early 20th century.

After arriving a little early, each of our adventurers explores what little amenities Tau Ceti IV settlement has to offer, these are sparse and poor, having yet to be established, and industry of some kind yet to be settled on for the planet.

Our characters first meet each other at their appointment with their employer.  A bare office.  They are alone.

The well dressed man who obviously does not look to belong in such a tedious and under-developed place is Landow, a businessman from one of Earth’s moon colonies.  He is statuesque, hansome, and looks for all the world like a modern interpretation of a 1940’s mobster.

Kelly, an earth born woman, dressed in casual attire, and most recently hailing from Armstrong settlement on earth’s moon, presents a strange anomaly in the group.  While appearing to be little more than a low budget tourist, Kelly sells herself as a private investigator.

Second Lieutenant William GoodKnight. A battle scarred, heavily muscled man.  He wears the uniform of Earth Alliance military ground forces.  He moves with the casual attitude and calculated carelessness of a killer. He is by far the most well travelled of the group.

……..   A rugged and fit man, with a sure step.  He wears the uniform jumpsuit of an Earth EMT/Paramedic organisation, and has a pack shouldered which he sits close by his feet.

Our unlikely group meets each other, squaring off and making initial judgements.

There is a racket in the hallway, running feet, the unmistakable sounds of commanders managing an emergency.  The EMT is on his feet looking out the door, and without a word grabs his pack and heads down the corridor.

the others look out the door and see Earth Alliance personnel rushing about, many carrying stretchers.  On those stretcher are bodies of injured and dead, these bodies are not human.  While humanoid, they are distinctly reptilian.  Although Lieutenant GoodKnight is the only member of the group that has even acknowledged to having seen any aliens in person.  All recognise the features of the Narn species from ISN broadcasts.  The Lieutenant sneers.  Kelly seems surprisingly non-plussed, and Landow watches with interest.  An Earth alliance captain stops at the door, insisting that everyone pitch in and help.  He explains that a Narn transport was attacked by bandits, there were many dead and wounded, and every hand would be needed in cleaning up the debris from the ship and helping triage the wounded.  GoodKnight immediately leaps at the chance to work on the ship.  The others happily volunteer to help with Triage and first aid.  It is clear that this is what the EMT has done as they see him after arriving at the Triage staging area.

With over 30 wounded, and many more dead, there is a lot of work to do.  And it is late in the day when the group gets back to the meeting room.  They are called by Viddy from their contact.  Or rather, Lt GoodKnight is.  Commander Samuel Masters instructs GoodKnight to take command of the group of contracted help and travel to Epsilon Erdani III where they will receive further orders.

An 0500 flight has been booked with an independent transport pilot, on the ship “No Strings Attached”

The group returns to the local motel to sleep.