Session 2 Report

General Summary

It would take six days to jump to the Mudaros System, so the crew of the Mirage had time to get fully familiar with their ship. They searched it over, checked its inventory, found the smuggling compartments, and deduced which bunks belonged to whom by the personal items stored in their trunks. When it came to rediscovering the nooks and crannies of the ship, it was less like they were remembering, and more like they just knew.   Checking the ship’s computer, they learned that the day they “awoke” was September 15, 7328. The next day, on September 16, 7328, they discussed calling their contacts. They settled on messaging Solario Vescovo. Their approach would be to tell him they had run into trouble on their last run, but were looking for more work. They came up with a script and Emerton Pax rehearsed it some before they recorded the message and sent it. They knew it would take at least one day for Solario to receive it, and then it would take at least another day for a return message to reach them. On September 18, 7328, they received that message.   “I must admit I am rather surprised to hear from you. Regardless, you had better be bringing me my goods or the 500,000 credits I paid for them. Let’s hope it’s the former, and not the latter. That way we can discuss how much I will dock your pay for your tardiness. If it’s the latter, I appreciate you returning my money, and it should go without saying that your services will no longer be required, but at least, you will still be alive.”   They were happy they did not decide to jump to the Ithos System. The Duke, Solario Vescovo did not appear very happy with them. Moreover, they owed him a lot of money, which they did not have. Their plan was now to seek work when they reached the Mudaros System. Hopefully, Gael Towers would be more welcoming. But they would not message him until they reached the system, not wanting to alert him ahead of time, in case they were not welcome there either.   For the next few days, they further acclimated to life in space. It came natural to them, finding they were used to it.   They reached the Mudaros System on September 21, 7328. Nikos Breton manned the comms station and did his best to cloak the ship from any active or passive sensors, hoping to stay hidden from anyone who might be looking. Valentina Nightingale set a course to fly into the system, heading somewhere in between the planet Solat and Constellation Alpha, which based on the planet’s current revolution, placed to the two locations on opposite sides of solar system. Then Emerton messaged Gael Towers.   Being in the same solar system, message transmittal was much faster. They received a response in few minutes. Gael Towers did appear to be more welcoming than Solario Vescovo, saying, “I wasn’t sure if I’d ever hear from you again after what I’d heard in the news feed about your trouble with authorities in the Anga System. But I’m glad you contacted me. I have a job for you. If you’re interested, come see me at Constellation Alpha.”   Valentina then changed the ship’s course and they flew to the space station on the other edge of the system. When they reached the station, they were allowed to dock without issue. They noted the security guards present, as well as the security bots. But there was no trouble. Gael Towers’ assistant, Nestor Gorman, as they learned was his name, greeted them. It was evident that he knew them, and they noticed a light pause in his manner when they asked him a question he obviously thought they should already knew the answer to. But Nestor Gorman did not seem to make anything further of it.   He took them to a waiting room informing them that Mr. Towers was finishing up an important meeting. He offered them refreshments and hoers d'oeuvres. The crew then sat waiting, enjoying the food and drink while checking out the décor in the room and the new feeds playing on the wall screen. One thing of note was the mention of the Red Star Alliance. So they were a real thing, and not just from the Heart of Embril game.   Nestor Gorman eventually returned and took them to Mr. Towers’ office further within the station. It was a rather well-appointed office, furnished with a bar on the side. Gael Towers was quick to offer them a drink and Nestor Gorman served as the bartender. Gael Towers made some small talk and the crew was careful not to let on too much about their situation. They were keen to keep their memory loss secret, not wanting to give away any advantages to those that might use it against them. After chatting for a bit, though, Gael Towers got down to business.   He offered them a job. He wanted them to steal the schematic and research on Project Quasar from Valcon Technologies, a top weapons manufacturing megacorporation, and a major competitor to Constellation Corporation. Project Quasar was being developed at Mathisi I, a research station in deep orbit around Touthas. Gael Towers warned them that the station would be heavily guarded and that they would shoot first and ask questions later. He offered them 5,000 credits up front, and 5,000 more upon delivery. Mathisi I should also have other things of value that the crew could use, including Antiqui parts. He only wanted Project Quasar. Anything else would be their haul to profit on as they saw fit. He also suggested that he would prefer it appear to be a simple, if ambitious, robbery, and less like industrial espionage. He hoped this would shift suspicion away from rival megacorps, like Constellation.   The crew asked for some time to discuss the matter privately. He offered them dinner, in the station, stating they could have their private discussion in the dining room. The crew agreed and Nestor Gorman led them to a dining area. They were fed a fine steak dinner accompanied by wine. They talked the job over while they ate. Emerton believed that they were being lowballed, claiming that Project Quasar was worth much more than 10,000 to Gael Towers. They all agreed and decided to ask for Mr. Towers to include the repairs to their ship in the deal. Even though it felt like they could still ask for more, they settled on only that, preferring not to push their luck just yet.   After dinner, Nestor Gorman took them back to Mr. Towers’ office. Gael accepted their terms and invited them to stay as guests on the station while his engineers fixed their ship. It should only take a day or two. They all agreed and shook on it. Nestor handed the crew a 5,000 credit chip and the arrangements were made to get their ship repaired.