In reply to Walter Zeller (msg # 160):

"And...a couple of Customs Officers also stopped by the ship." Vonon added, after Walter, "They were really apologetic about being sent out to roust us for what they believed was a bogus smuggling charge. They said somebody they called 'The Baroness' had sent them out."

Vonon drops his lower jaw in a Vargr grin, "Excellency...did you go and diddle some local aristo, make promises you weren't going to keep, and then slip out on the first ship headed off-station? Hmm?" he asks, obviously amused.

Sam raised an eyebrow when she saw the others.

"So all roads lead here? Interesting. Maybe we can get this sorted, now. Though I'll leave it to you too" she said nodding towards Darrel and Walter

"I don't recall any Baroness from Outpost, but, who knows...and that would imply an imperial involvement, maybe? Since we still seem to be at a loss for information, let's play nice (nods towards Pablo) until we get a better understanding of what's going on."

Enters Starport authority, looking for the senior duty officer.

When you walk into the Starport Authority, it's not a very large room, but it's circular, with view screens on all the walls. There are four people in here--3 humans and one Vargr.

Apparently the people are supposed to be monitoring the screens. As near as you can tell, the screens are quartered into sections, with each section showing images from a particular quadrant of the starport. A few of the screens flash between different cameras, while some are fixed on particular points.

The Vargr stands up and approaches.

"Ah, Count Cromwell! I was wondering when you'd get in touch. What can I do for you?"

Pablo doesn't, quite, step in the Vargr's way, but he does make very sure that the guy knows Darrel has his pack with him, so to speak. In truth, he finds the whole thing a bit hilarious, but it never hurts to establish certain boundaries.

  Contrary to Khea's supposition, Kaengarr had no intention of trying to hold off an armed assault by the spaceport authorities if it came to that. His concerns were more subtle, and twofold: that there'd be other attempts at subterfuge - the 'inspection' and word from those who'd ventured out were enough to warrant that - and that third parties might attempt to take advantage of the situation - they were berthed in a nearly-unused, nearly-unpatrolled, and effectively lawless area of the station.

  Hence, both Valeska and Gregory found themselves drafted into locking down the ship both physically and electronically and maintaining a vigilant watch over the ship and its surroundings by way of both monitoring from the bridge and physical patrols around it.

  If he had his way, the herd of terran cats would make its way back with the problems solved and nothing would happen in the meantime. Which, judging by recent turns, meant that something was bound to go wrong.

"It seems that there was a spurious claim that I was a smuggler, and my ship and staff have been waylaid by someone here, due to some supposed protocol. So, what you could do for me, is to establish unrestricted communications/access to the net for my people, get whatever administrative blocks removed and get my ship out of some crappy wayside hangar....And, get the chief of operations here. Now."

Turns to Walter and Sam, "Anything else?"
This message was last edited by the player at 21:19, Sat 16 July 2016.

In reply to Darrel Cromwell (msg # 167):

"Actually, there is." Vonon responds, looking first to Darrel, then at the Administrator, "I'm familiar with station life, and this Port is still small enough that most folks can keep clued in to what going on in town, so...how about giving us the name of this 'Baroness' that's throwing her weight around; messing with the Count, here?

"Pursuant to Article 7, Paragraph 5 of the trade agreement between the Imperium and Drexilthar Subsector, is there anything on record by the Starport Authority that would preclude our vessel from unloading our cargo or anything that prevents myself, Dr. Sir Walter Zeller, Imperial Broker license WZ2357812A from selling said cargo? If so, who authorized it?" he said, being as diplomatic as possible.

00:11, Today: Walter Zeller rolled 9 using 2d6+2 with rolls of 1,6.  Diplomacy 1 Social Status+1.

Sharik listened to Darrel's summary, offering and adding detail to the discussion.  She was very precise - often using either transcripted or recorded information from the interview with the Grand Poobah to demonstrate any point she made.

It was also conspicuous, that the diminutive socialite didn't directly contradict anything that the Count had to say.  Perhaps she was still in her executive assistant role.  Or perhaps there was something else in mind; which was definitely possible, since they were still in a public place and there had been implications that there were surveillance cameras abound.  Coupled with the fact that they'd been targeted, harassed and potentially followed.

Well, perhaps Sharik's paranoia wasn't unwarranted.

Her demeanor changed into something more casual, once topic of information gathering and finding out more about 'the Baroness' came up.  She nodded to Vonon's assessment, "Aye, Vo."  Pulling from one of her pockets (no mean feat, given the rather tight, tailored fit of the jacket she was wearing) a small liquor flask with a light, bluish-tinged libation in it, Shar took a swig of the Sylean brandy, savoring its light, sweet taste on her palette.

Then she offered the flask to the others assembled - even the Administrator they were interacting with.  "As you say, most people should know something of her," she mused aloud, "surely, she's famous around here, presumably ... "  She winked conspiratorially at the man behind the counter to punctuate her point.  Sharik knew that she could be charming without being flirtatious (though the latter could get interesting results as well) - and she'd had plenty of past experience in the 'Art of Conversation'.  Perhaps she could get him to talk more freely about things happening at the station; a man in his position would have to be privy to plenty of the various goings on...

The twinkle in the cosmopolitan socialite's eye was pretty easy for her companions to read - perhaps some bar-hopping was in order later, as well.  After testing the more official channels, of course.

Starting to get angry and itching for a fight Khea kept rubbing her hands and claw sheat waiting to see how they responded to Walters question, hopefully in a way that would warrant a duel.

"So you want the Chief of Operations, hey? That would be Mutt Talbek. And that would be me!" the Vargr says to the Count.

"This is the first I've heard of your problems, Sir."

He turns to one of the others, who is already busy tapping at his computer. A moment later, data appears on one of the screens.

"Yes, his ship was designated as a Class 3 potential threat, so it was sidelined to one of the outer ring docks," the man said.

"Who reported the threat, Marko? And authorized the blackout?" Mutt asks.

"That would be... Kenzi, on both counts," Marko replied.

"Well, that explains it. Can't do anything about the blackout now. It's being processed through the system. Even she can't override it any more. You just have to wait for the report to cycle through the system."

"I'm assuming that your ship has been inspected by now... and found empty? I'll see if I can grease the wheels a bit."

"As for the Baroness, the only Baroness on Outpost... that I'm aware of... would be Baroness Twyla Elgin... the commander of the Imperial Starbase."

"And as for your trade credentials, Sir Walter... there is no unified authority within the Drexilthar subsector, so I have no idea what agreement you are referring to. There is nothing preventing you from off-loading your cargo, but the Threat status of the ship has automatically frozen any of your trading credentials."

He turns to one of the other persons in the Ops Center.

"Tisa... issue them an emergency comm set... how many comms do you need, Count? You just won't be able to use your own identities on the comms."

In reply to Mutt Talbek (msg # 172):

Vonon turns to Darrel with a twinkle in his eye.

"You diddled - and pissed off - an Imperial Baroness?" he asks with amusement, "And one who commands a Naval Base, too? Should we expect a surprise visit from an Imperial Marines Tactical Assault Team...hurr-hurr...your Excellency?"

OOC:I'm checking with the GM about that, who knows?

"And again, I want to thank you for your fine help and it is greatly appreciated. I tell you what, why don't we meet up later at our ship for a drink and I'll mix you up a crew special called the White Heart." 
This message was last edited by the player at 16:34, Thu 21 July 2016.

AS Mutt introduced himself Sam raised an eyebrow but said nothing, but began paying closer attention tot eh conversation and the Vargr himself

"The comms are personally encoded. Only those on the system can communicate," Mutt explains. "We use them for tactical operations, visiting envoys, etc. Not all comms are compatible with ours, which, of course, are Imperial built."

"Ah, yes, Falko. How's he doing these days? I don't get over that way much any more. Too busy with Ops here. A lot of trade comes through Outpost now. It's one of the reasons we have the protocols set up the way we do."

"Kenzi didn't create them; she inherited them from her predecessor. But so far, they haven't caused any problems."<darkgreen>

He checked his computer again, tapped at it, and another bunch of stats popped up on one of the screen, including a camera view of the Long Shot.

"Hmmm. Well, you still have full access to base resources. You'd have had to have been classified as Threat-1 for that to happen. SOP from the anti-terrorist playbook. There's nothing wrong with that bay, although I see one of the cameras is out. It doesn't get used very often... in fact, you're the first ship in that bay in 4 years."

"It's not a 'pretty' bay, by any means... sorry about that."

"As for Kenzi lying to you, did she actually say she wasn't the one to issue the threat alert? 'Cause she's the only one that can set the threat level."

"There are others, but that's only under special circumstances, like Base Alert. Heck, under Code: Red, even I can set the threat level... assuming it isn't already high enough."

"She is friends with the Baroness. That only makes sense, as the two of them are the only starport commanders on Outpost. I believe the Baroness has a lieutenant commander, but Kenzi has no second."

"Yeah, I can see it. If the Baroness pushed one of Kenzi's buttons, Kenzi could have acted on her behalf. Did you do something to piss off the Baroness, Count? Dueling is illegal here on Outpost. Not sure what the status on the Starbase is, but if I were you, I'd avoid the Starbase like the plague. Just in case, mind you. I'm not saying anything untoward would happen, but there's no upside to screwing with what you don't know."

"Sure. I'm off duty in about 3 hours. I can join you out on the Long Shot for a drink, but only if you let me buy you dinner here on the starport."

He gives no indication that the White Heart has any meaning for him.

"So, do you need anything else out in the bay? I'll send an engineering crew out there right away to fix that broken security camera and I'll have them clean up the place a bit."

"Are you staying Outpost long? Oh, and to answer your other question about trade goods, part of the problem is the black flag put on any inquiries about you. So none of the local traders, and few of the transients, will touch your cargo. However, I can alleviate that a bit. I can add a yellow flag to it, which means that you've been tentatively cleared, and can make 'speculative' arrangements."

"Anything else I can do for you, Count?"

Sams alert posture softened and she smiled at Mutt "Free chow? I've never been known to turn that down, so I'll accept that offer at least." She stepped forward slightly and offered her hand introducing herself "Samantha Kilgore"

After shaking hands she stepped back out of the conversation, but continued to listen in. Sam also takes a good look round ops as she does so - trying to get a sense of the place and the personnel working there - does it seem tense, relaxed, is the gear new, old etc

"Pleased to make your acquaintance, Ms. Kilgore," Mutt replies, taking the offered hand.

He waited to see if the Count had anything else to say.

In reply to Mutt Talbek (msg # 179):

"I think we're good for now, We'll head back to our ship since we've been without comms they are probably wondering what is going on. I'll look forward to seeing later. thank You."

OOC:At this point, we all go back to the ship?

"Lets head back and figure out what our next step is then." Sir Walter said "If we are allowed comms, we can get everyone paid and see about the cargo. However, I would rather get that cleared up before they do so as many traders will not touch suspected cargo. If they do, it is a really bad trade deal for us."

In reply to Walter Zeller (msg # 182):

(On the way out of the Control Center)

"So, your Excellency," Vonon says to Darrel, "Maybe you could bring the rest of us up to speed on Baroness Twyla Elgin? And, maybe, why she's so pissed at you she's willing to accept civilian collateral damage..." Vonon indicates everyone else in the group with a wave of his hand, "...when she takes pot-shots at you?"

Frowns, "Honestly Vonon, I don't have a clue, as far as I know, there's no relationship/events/anything that links us. I just automatically assumed it was about me, you know, but maybe it's not. Another crewmember, or maybe even the ship itself? I wish I knew the answer, but until we get everyone together, talk it over and check some records...I'm in the dark as much as you."

Sharik shrugged as she listened to Darrel and Vonon postulate a bit.  She took another sip from her flask before it disappeared into her bolero-style jacket, which must have contained an extra-dimensional space given the size of the flask, the form-fitted nature of the garment, and how closely it appeared to hug her body in places.

The diminutive socialite appeared crestfallen for only the briefest of moments when it was decided that returning to the ship was the most prudent.  Her demeanor appeared to be only for show, as she understood the gravity of the situation and how they would not be able to speak or act freely in a public forum presumably.

She cudgeled her brain for a bit on the walk back to the Long Shot trying to see if the name of Baroness Elgin meant anything to her.  Well, beyond having a listing in her Who's Who database subscription ...  Sending her intelligent agent combing through that thing was the easy part.