Wanderer transitions smoothly into hyperspace, and the log updates to show their intended destination.

OOG: Brent can choose to refuel on the main world, or at one of the three gas giants in the system. According to the navigation charts, there was a Class D starport on the planet's surface.

Brent will refuel at the middle of the three gas giants and then boost to the planet. That will give them time to scan for activity.

Since a boost-only flight from the gas giant to the planet would take about 18 days, the ship's AI suggests a micro jump to a point where they can survey the planet from a light-second away, and then approach if it's safe. The flight to the surface would then take about ten hours, plus the five days for the micro jump.

Brent nods at the suggestion. "Okay, let's do that. We can also take measurements from the gas giant as well before we commit to jumping in."

346-1402 0750 - Bikar System - Gas Giant Arrival

Wanderer translates back into normal space with nary a bobble. The passive sensors immediately begin gathering data, showing nothing but the system's primary and other natural bodies. Joxe sits back in her seat and sighs audibly. "I think this has been the hardest thing for me to get used to. There's just no one around but us." She shakes her head. "I know that will change, but it's still unnerving."
This message was last edited by the GM at 14:17, Thu 16 May.

Brent puts a hand on Joxe's shoulder as the passive readings come back negative. "I can't imagine when all of this was swarming with activity and people. It was all burned down to the roots and worse." His voice is low and sympathetic. "I also cannot imagine how this must make you feel except that I am here for you and we have our family and our lives to make together."

Joxe nods jerkily, and, after a moment, takes a deep breath. "Yes, you're right. We are starting over." She consults her display. "Do we refuel here, or jump to the main world?"

"All I can offer is a bright future in tribute to those you lost." Brent's hand rests on her stomach. "I say we remain careful and refuel here first before jumping to the main world even though everything seems quiet."

OOG: Moving ahead to the main world arrival...

352-1402 1400 - Bikar System - Bikar Arrival

Wanderer rejoines the rest of the universe one hundred one point two diameters from Bikar, three kilometers from the charted arrival corridor's centerline.

"A bit up and to the right," Joxe observes in obvious pleasure. "This astro-nav system is better than anything I've seen." She sobers when she looks at her sensors display. "We've not nothing active out there. No beacons, no navigation signals, and nothing emitting."

The fuel they'd taken on at the gas giant has been refined, so there is enough fuel for a three-parsec jump, plus maneuvering fuel for landing and departing from the white and blue planet ahead.

Brent has the following data on the library display:

Bikar is a low-population water world, which has 90% or more of its surface covered in an ocean of water and a population of less than 10,000 sophonts.

The inhabitants of this world live on the roughly 10% of exposed land mass, in underwater colonies, on city ships, or similar arrangements.
It is a member of the Third Imperium in the Khulam Subsector of Diaspora Sector in the Domain of Sol.

Bikar, as a member world of the Third Imperium has a member of the Imperial Nobility overseeing the world.
It holds the estate of an Imperial knight.
This message was last edited by the GM at 14:18, Thu 16 May.

Brent nods in satisfaction. "A 1% deviation on even a short jump like this done in a system without a recent navigational survey is damn good. I'm getting to like this Imperial level technology. He grows more grim as the planet comes up dark even though they expected nothing active. "I we land near larger population centers on the dryland. Looking for underwater cities or oceanborne nomads is going to be too difficult."

352-1402 2000 - Bikar System - Bikar

After a careful approach, Wanderer settles into a low orbit over the eerily quiet planet. A huge, swirling storm covers some ten percent of the visible surface area, churning up the skies over the planet's southern hemisphere. The sensors report that the storm packs three-hundred kilometer winds and twenty-meter waves at the storm's center.

"I vote we stay away from that," Joxe says with a shudder.

They had detected several satellites in what were probably uncorrected geostationary orbits, while the planetary navigation net seemed to have deorbited. The planet had only a down port on the other side of the planet from the storm, but it was in the planet's night zone. According to the local information, it would be daylight there in five hours, or 0100 ship's time. "I forgot to reset our shipboard clock for the main world's port time," Joxe admits. "Oops."

Brent shuddered at the sight of the big storm. "I guess with so little land they can grow awfully big. I am all for avoiding that storm!" He looked at the data for the planet and remaining satellites. "It looks like the vampires and the black war may have spared the system a bit given that there are still intact if defunct satellites in orbit." Brent smiled at Joxe. "Don't worry about the time. Let's take a nap and plan on landing at the down port just after daybreak."

353-1402 0100 (0615 local) - Bikar Down Port - Bikar

Joxe had elected to bring Wanderer into a grav-augmented reentry, using the planet's atmosphere to brake, while keeping the hull heating down by using the grav lifters at reduced power settings. The down port area was blanketed in a thick overcast with scattered thunderstorms. The trader rocked in strong high altitude winds that abated somewhat as they entered the clouds. Now, they are down to a thousand meters, ten kilometers from the down port.

"It's still pretty choppy," Joxe observes as she struggles to maintain altitude. The primary radar has clearly mapped the down port, which sits atop a plateau a hundred meters above sea level. "I'm not getting anything on lidar, and thermal is pretty much blocked. I can keep us out of the thunderstorms by plotting lightning strikes, areas of wind shear and precipitation." She points to the secondary radar display, which she's configured as a weather display. "Sucks that we don't have a navnet here."

Brent helps Joxe with the reentry and approach as best he can. "I'm glad you have experience flying in this kind of junk. I'm still getting used to the intricacies of atmospheric flying. It's much different but similar in some ways to skimming a gas giant." He looks over the displays and shrugs. "At least we are out of that big storm. Do you think it is safe to attempt a landing?"

"Landing isn't the problem," Joxe replies. "It's that we can't see much after we land, if this mess is all the way to the ground. On the other hand, no one else can see us, either."

Brent shakes his head. "Isn't the weather supposed to change? I've never had much experience with it.

Joxe checks the system's data. "According to the historical weather advisories, the down port could be at zero visibility in fog for days at a time during the planet's fall season, which it is now."

Brent shudders. "Who needs all this weather stuff anyway. Let's set down and see what we can make out through the fog."

'And this is why I prefer starships," Joxe says with a laugh. She guides Wanderer approach using every sensor the ship has, using the old down port map as a reference. They spot what appears to be another ship on one of the landing pads, and they are finally able to see the ground when they reach fifty feet altitude. This is enough to ensure that their landing site, another marked landing pad, is clear of obstructions.

Wanderer settles onto her landing legs, whereupon Joxe powers down the grav lifters and the thrusters. "Okay, we're here," Joxe reports. "The weather outside sucks." She pulls up the relevant sensors data and sets a display for meteorological output. "Five degrees temperature, moderate rain showers, and visibility fifty feet in fog. Oh, and twenty-knot winds. Cold, foggy, windy, and rainy." She makes a face and sticks out her tongue. "The good news is that we can breathe the atmosphere without a mask. The pressure is over standard, but I'm not reading anything harmful."

Brent shares Joxe's view on the weather. "Better to make a rough gas giant skimming run than this mess." He double checks the controls and then nods. "We might as well start with the ship that we saw on the way down. With no power it's not a direct threat but it may not be empty." He makes to get ready in foul weather gear, night vision equipment, portable toolkit and weapons.

"We can take the gee carrier with two of the armed robots," Joxe suggests as she gathers matching gear.

Brent nods in agreement as he goes to activate two of the armed robots as well as to set the ship anti-hijack software to protect the ship while they were gone. He met Joxe back at the grav carrier

A few minutes after releasing the hold downs and opening the rear cargo ramp, Joxe backed the grav carrier down to the down port apron. She turned the vehicle in place and moved off toward the other ship. The two robots followed, one on each side at ten meters' distance. Rain pelted the forward windows, and Joxe activated the electrostatic cleaners to keep them clear.

Brent notes the grass and other vegetation has broken though the ceramacrete surface at the expansion joints. The tough material is far too strong to break after only two hundred fifty years, but nature is relentless.

The vehicle moved ahead a hundred meters, and then another starship appeared out of the gloom. "There it is," Joxe says at the same moment.

Brent gazed around through the rain at the gloomy terrain. "No sign of maintenance whatsoever. It really doesn't look good." When the starship loomed out of the rain and fog Brent leaned forward to try and identify the type. "I wonder if anyone is home after all these years."

The ship is larger than the Wanderer, and is of a type that Brent can't identify. The bulbous nose features a cargo ramp in the underside, covered by large clamshell doors that flap in the wind. A ramp extends to the ground from the nose, leaning off to the side from the ship's flat tires, and, on the left wing side, a deflated oleo strut.

A string of barely legible blue characters stand out on the faded white and red paint, but Brent can't read it.

Joxe's hand flashes across the G carrier's computer terminal keyboard. "That's a Spirit Lines Type R trader. They are - were - a Solomani registered line that operated all over this area. That one is the Spirit of Boston. Says that she was based in Possin, which is the coreward end of this main."