Solaria - Arc Resolution

 

A lot happened in the final session on Solaria, which was dominated by the resolution of both the "corporate shenanigans" and the "biowar agents" story arcs, which wound up being combined into a single action. Additionally, a bit of speculative trade was done, some money was made, and the hold is partly full of quality wines and liquors. At the end of the session, the attending players unanimously decided it was time to move onto the next planets, Janus and Kaldos. 1XP was also awarded. 

Biowar Agents: The PC's dispatched an away team consisting of Dr. Furia in lead, gunner Medved as assistant medtech, and troopers Kakki and Wardams as security. They took the air raft out to the rural district of Krossteon at the behest of a local Sindali politician, and unknown to the ruling Auld Tyrian lord. The away team discovered that local peasants were dying or seriously ill because of exposure to leaking toxins. Further investigation led them to the wreck of an old Tyrian Strike Bomber with a payload of TL14 biowar missiles. The away team reported this to Captain Baker, while Dr. Furia rendered assistance and saved as many of the villagers as possible. 

XO Corey Krider, a naturally shifty and cunning fellow, realized that this presented an opportunity for the MV Ruby Costa. He theorized that the news that an old Tyrian genocide weapon was killing Sindali peasants would be "bad optics". This is because of the ethnic tensions on Solaria and its war-torn past. The MV Ruby Costa could then use this as leverage when negotiating with the Solarian government on behalf of BT. With this in mind, the command crew used Blackbird Jack's acquaintance with a local warrior to arrange a meeting with one of the ruling elite, Lord Bruckberren. Negotiations then commenced.

The deal that was eventually struck was mutually advantageous. The MV Ruby Costa would gather up the remaining warheads and destroy them in space, and then use her weaponry to destroy the wreckage on the ground. This would all be done as quietly as possible, and the local Sindali would not be informed about what was really happening (assuming that Dr. Furia said nothing about the true origin of the illness to locals). The government would stifle any news and rumors, and the MV Ruby Costa would go away. In exchange, the Solarian government would allow the establishment of a Baraccai Technum factorate on the planet, staffed (not coincidentally) by Lord Bruckberren's nephew Anselm Bruckberren. McClellan Factors would be frozen out... this arrangement won't last forever, but it will hold up long enough for BT to dominate trade with Solaria. 

Corporate Shenanigans: While most off-duty crewmembers were either enjoying the amenities of the resort hotel or prowling around town, oft-overlooked NPC trooper Hristi Sala was quite busy. Thanks to some good rolls he succeeded where trooper Ted Melton failed... he managed to acquire the amorous attentions of MT Representative Andreya Atkins. After a bit of cavorting, he stealthily contacted XO Krider on the MV Ruby Costa while Atkins was showering. Trooper Sala had managed to get into Atkins computer somehow and connected it to the local network. Krider was able to hack in and do a quick data dump, gaining access to a limited version of the MV Marluc Ghisli's (MT's big merchant cruiser in the region) itinerary as it traveled into the Trojan Reach. 

This excellent plan went awry when Andreya Atkins came out early, and Sala failed to bluff his way out of it. MT security agents got involved, and the whole thing turned into a jolly foot race through the halls of the resort hotel. With his comms still on, Hristi Sala dodged stunner fire like a champ and called for aid. Fortunately, troopers Jula Enkin and Paora Smets were down by the pool, and Blackbird Jack raced to the hotel on a swooper. For his part, XO Krider called in the equivalent of an Uber for exfiltration. After a tense standoff in the hotel lobby and a bit of hand-to-hand, the party was able to escape before the police arrived. While they were identified as the crew of the MV Ruby Costa, their BT connections remain on the down-low, as the whole thing was easily dealt with by Lord Bruckberren and a few bribes. 

MV Marluc Ghisli (rival McClellan Factors merchant cruiser) Itinerary: 

The MV Marluc Ghisli passed through several systems on the way through: 

• Kaldemar: Already under MF influence, MF factorate established. Too small to be worth much effort.
• Nabeth: Receptive to trade, an MF factorate was established here with the local government. Excellent place to do shady business due to the cheerfully amoral flea-market atmosphere. 
• Gollere - Receptive to trade, an MF factorate was established here with the local government. Some potential for food exports to elsewhere on the J-3 route.
• Belgard - Suspicious of outsiders, but in dire need of new equipment and technology. Samples were left with the local rulers, as well as offers of technical upgrades, but the trip was not especially promising. Belgard could be a deal-breaker if they are inclined to interfere with commerce. 
• 985-373 - Noted as a difficult system to travel through due to the extensive debris fields, erratic orbits, and ancient minefields. In addition to the two stars and numerous small planets, a gravitational anomaly poses a potential jump hazard in the outer system’s otherwise safe area. The innermost world is noteworthy - listed as a “dead world” with an IISS warning beacon, it is capable of supporting life and maybe commercially exploitable in the future. No gas giant, but the numerous ice worlds present a useful fueling alternative. 
• Velscur - Conducted some basic trade negotiations with a local clan during the refueling period, but nothing of particular consequence. They encountered a stranded Belgardian Lancer in the system and rendered assistance in hopes of making a favorable impression. 
• Odin - Already open to commerce, an MF factorate was established as a matter of routine business. Odin will be critical as a J-3 link to the Florian League systems to Spinward, such as Trossachs.
• Solaria - The system is a breadbasket and could serve as a food source for all of the worlds in the local cluster, assuming the local elites could shuck off their reactionary ways. 

After Solaria, they are planning to go to Dpres and then Yggdrasil, and then into the Florian Main. Whichever company secures this trade would benefit greatly and MF knows that. Even worse, MF is trying to establish a J-3 route through Odin to Mertactor. It is important that the MV Ruby Costa prevent MF from establishing itself here first.