WttSS session 16: 'Alliances and Enemies'

General Summary

Conversations with Bakhtiyar

  The party had a conversation with Bakhtiyar in the quiet of the evening and traded information.   Sabah's anger
The spy Sabah, like her parents before her truly believed in the colony's desire for true independence but, like many other colonists, has since lost all hope of achieving it. A notable contignent of the Inner Council now actively, if naively, believes the colony can treat with the Consortium on its own terms and sees a possible future partnership. Few but the privileged would likely see real benefit. Worse the pro-independence faction lead by Bakhtiyar over the years has tried to please everyone and made one too many compromises for the old vision to have meaningfully survived. Add to that the execution of Sabah's parents 'for the cause', and the increasing entrenchment of the Factions throughout Ghodar, and quickly all that remains within people like Sabah is a resignation to the old way of fighting for the best you can get in a broken Horizon.   Sabah's tabula found
Retracing the spy's steps, the party found the household tabula that she was using during whilst watching them and Bakhtiyar. A little delicate hacking revealed that she was recording the dinner conversation, trying to determine the details of any alliance that may be forming. Comms history on the tabula showed that she was in contact with someone from the palace, most likely a member of the Inner Council.  

Information shared by Bakhtiyar

  The upcoming vote on the future of the colony
He is waiting for the next council meeting to be called, which could happen at any time, entirely dependent on it being called by Khamzi. There is to be a vote on whether the colony will throw its lot in with the Consortium or not. Bakhtiyar leads a smaller group of councillors who have compromised their desire for true independence, in favour of joining the Free League - still suffering Faction influence but perhaps the lesser of two devils that will allow some freedom.   Inspiration from despair
Bakhtiyar is loathe to punish Sabah too heavily, as she is an example of lost hope in the colony. Her example has instead convinvced him that he must take stronger action in the upcoming vote.   Khamzi was not always a shah but the colony's best hope
Khamzi was once an inspired visionary and the dream of independence from the Factions was hers but her health has declined steadily since arrival on Ghodar.   Khamzi's decline
There was a strange time for the city after Khamzi's 'Long Walk' - a trip into the Nekatra Mountains - from which she returned, blessed by the knowledge of the Star Singer, with a great understanding of the planet that allowed the colony to build its current scientific wonders. She has only ever shared technology with her people and never the science behind it. The people have tried to cure Khamzi's mental decline over the years, even trying exorcism on her, but nothing has helped and she is now a shadow of her future self.   A blessing and a curse
Many people truly believe that Khamzi is blessed by the Star Singer but not a small number also fear that this has come at a cost: of the palace being cursed. For as long as the palace has existed objects have mysteriously broken there for no reason.   The marmosets that were intrigued by Khalil are biosculpted in-house
The strange atmosphere of Ghodar has many intriguing properties. Though the colonists are forbidden by Khamzi from investigating the technology she has given them, they are free to experiment on the planet itself. One of their discoveries was the effect of the atmopshere on some animals that could be harnessed by biosculpts, in this case to give the marmosets an attraction to Portal Builder energies. Originally pursued to help expeditions find abandoned First-come technology, the clear inspiration the precursor technology must have had on older human science means the marmosets are attracted to First-come tech but excited by true Portal Builder items.  

Information 'shared' by the PCs

  ...where some information was actively shared but some may have rather slipped out in conversation...

• The extensive Legion operation across Ghodar, including the secret base
• The party having had some interaction with the ruins of the Abouelkassem scientists that once had science expeditions and facilities on the planet - Bakhtiyar will know the family's dark history but didn't pursue the PCs' adventures for fear of putting a needed ally on the spot

 

Bakhtiyar's request: help me against the Colonial Agency

  Blackmail will affect the vote
He suspects that two councillors are beign blackmailed by the Colonial Agency to vote for Jibek Adbulin's position on joining the Consortium:

• Nuha Mifsud has been discovered giving assistance to the desert people - somthing that will notbe popular with the city locals
• Ghalib Qureshi - Khamzi's main doctor - could be accused of purposefully failing to help the city's ruler

  Will the PCs find and destroy the damning evidence?
Bakhtiyar believes the kind nature of Nuha Mifsud means it is likely she is helping the desert people and that the suggestion of video and accounting evidence will be true. He thinks it unlikely that Ghalib Qureshi has failed Khamzi on purpose but knows full well that the Colonial Agency has easy access to ways to be fabricate evidence. He asks the party to make a run on the Agency to find and destroy all the evidence. He cannot act on it himself for fear of being accused by the Council of influencing the colony's future without their consent.   PC request: can he help find the 'Black Sparrow'?
As a show of good faith, and happy to help the party who might help him in return, Bakhtiyar offers the intelligence of his household to track down the Black Sparrow - the operative of their nemesis that caused the party trouble over the Nekatra Mountains.  

A time of great planning

  The party accepted Bakhtiyar's request for help and made 3 plans.   The day of The Founding
The day after the Yazdan household excitment is the day of The Founding. Though the First-come will still spend the day in prayer, praising friends and benefactors and passing judgment on liars and traitors, the Colonial Agency Zenithians will be even more distracted...  

Masruq and Khalil will 'visit' the palace

  They plan to scout the Colonial Agency tower suite
Scaling the palace walls and breaking into the Agency's compound seeming a little risky, Masruq gets himself an invite to the palace through the party's celebrity: his poetry scores him 1 manipulation success against Khamzi's court's reputation of 10, allowing a polite visit with no real access to anyone important. This will give them a lower-profile access with which to sneak around, and could cause less fuss that a full state visit but will mean they'll need to sneak or break into any of the more private places. Expecing to be searched for weapons and dangerous items, Khalil entrusts the Portal Builder orb to Kerman.   Khalil builds another box of dark energy binding
Using the Abouelkassem family's science, Khalil builds another box to trap spirits (3 successes). The Yazdazn household gives him a drone, to which Khalil straps the box. He then sends the box into the mountains beyond the palace, ready to be called in. On the off chance that he and Masruq stumble across a chance to exorcise the Abouelkassem sorcerer spirit they suspect is plaguing Khamzi, the box will be ready to entrap it.  

Murad and Zarzur check out the Divine Algebra

  Murad and Kerman scout out the ship at The Oasis spaceport
Very early in the morning they find Agents and Rangers patrolling the landing space around this Colonial Voyager craft. Increased guard rotations that allow the Zenithians a chance to complete their full Founding prayers and observations, combined with a good turnover of staff on Ghodar reveals that not all the Colonial Agency operatives know each other. Also, during the bright sun of Ghodar noon, most operatives will have to lower their helmet visors to complete their guard duties.   Kerman tags in Zarzur, who brings some fabricated Colonial Agency uniforms
The Yazdan household makes up some Agency uniforms for Murad and Zarzur to wear. With these and way to blag their way into the Agency landing space, they plan to scout the Divine Algebra and look for a way to corrupt, destroy or steal the blackmail evidence that will be in the Agency's palace and ship databanks. (Should they need them, the other PCs have Agency uniforms made up for them too.)  

Kerman gets ready to help both teams

  The Cantina is about halfway between the palace and space port isn't it?
Setting himself up in The Cantina, Kerman waits for the good news that neither of the other ventures have gotten in to any trouble...