Jonas shakes his head in disbelief.

"Paavo, would you mind going after them and bringing them both back here, pronto? If Ahzi objects you can tell him I made it clear that no-one - I repeat no-one - is wandering off into this sylvan idyll. In the mean time, I'm gonna give this little lady some love," he gestures at the skimmer's engine compartment, which he has opened up. "And see if we can get her purring again."

Paavo nods grimly and walks briskly after the two ukari. "Hey! Stop right there! Can't go frolicking in the woods with a hunted killer. He'll run off or slit your throat in a second!"

He draws his needler and aims it directly at Jo'vet's head. "On your knees, sunshine! Until we've brought you safely back to the stoney lonesome, you're not going anywhere!"

The skimmer engine is old, beat to hell and nearly melted from that last flight. Apparently that little old nun used it for drag racing on her way to church...

Jonas thinks that there might be some usable spares in the nearby hoverbike, but most likely it will require new parts to be manufactured.

In reply to Paavo (msg # 321):

Ahzi comes to an abrupt halt near the edge of the treeline, and moves slightly between Paavo and Jo'Vet. Providing a profile to each - head on a swivel, Ahzi keeps glancing back and forth to each man. He says, "Let's not overreact here... Jo'vet and I were just trying to find some decent food for us, but if Jonas wants us close by, we can stay here. I will just break some dry rations out of my pack for us to munch on. That said, I don't think it necessary to treat Jo'vet so roughly - let's remember that since his surrender he has disarmed himself and made no moves of aggression..."

Finishing his statement, Ahzi slowly moves back around Jo'vet to ensure he moved in front of him back to the skimmer and said in Uryari, "No sudden movements. While we understand that you have said you will allow us to take you in under our protection, it will take a bit for us to trust you - my companions especially. If you will walk with me back to the skimmer, we can sit outside where I can keep an eye on you and we can continue our conversation."

Holding his hand out in the direction of the skimmer in an offer to proceed ahead, Ahzi waits attentively for Jo'vet to comply with the softly worded directive.

"Oh for..." Jonas begins.

"Paavo! Put the damned pistol away. I didn't want them to wander off because we may have been followed by the others. Like Ahzi says, Jo'vet's under our protection - there's no need to threaten anybody!"

He turns to the others. "Listen, the skimmer's engine is fried, so I think at least one of us will have to head into Hovinton to see what our options are."

Paavo reluctantly holsters his needler, but pats the holster and glares meaningfully at Jo'vet, who sullenly sits down close to the skimmer.

"Shouldn't you be trying to fix that thing too?" asks Jo'vet, as Paavo digs around in a storage compartment for some provisions.

Paavo chuckles and takes a swig of wine. "Hey, I only ride ’em, I don’t know what makes ’em work."

Washing down a chunk of cheese with another swig of wine, Paavo approaches Jonas, whose attention is focused on the still softly smoking engine.

"I can head into the village on the hoverbike, if you remove the blocker. Or if you need spare parts from the bike, I'll hoof it. Just be sure to keep an eye out for them two. Not entirely sure our little runaway isn't after trying to put a glamour or two on Ahzi here..."

"Just let me know what you need," says Paavo. He pulls out a small notebook and takes notes, as Jonas details at great length what he requires for the Lazzarini's engine.

After the remote block on Jo'vet's hoverbike is removed, Paavo jumps on and guns the engine. "Wow, this one has been driven hard! You sure you'll be okay here? Be on the alert for other search parties - perhaps even try to camouflage the skimmer."

With one last suspicious glare at Jo'vet, Paavo takes off and quickly disappears into the distance in a cloud of dust.
This message was last edited by the GM at 22:03, Sun 24 June 2018.

In reply to Ahzi (msg # 323):

As Jonas examines the skimmer engine and tuts to himself, Jo'vet turns to Ahzi with a frown.

"Why are you helping these humans?" he asks in Uryari. "Are you their slave? Hunting your own kind? You should be helping me to reclaim our rightful place. Join our cause, friend!"

In reply to Jo'Vet (msg # 328):

Looking at Jo'vet, Ahzi pauses from his pensive munching on rations. Shrugging, he replies in Uryari, "My path is a complicated one." Then continues with a tinge of bitterness in his voice, "I can assure you, however, I am no slave... been there, done that..."

In a more reserved tone, he finishes, "Sadly, while I appreciate your offer and your sentiment, I cannot join your cause at this time. As for 'our rightful place', I am not sure any of us really knows where that is anymore..."

Letting the conversation fade, Ahzi returned to munching on his rations. The question from Jo'vet was inwardly unsettling; that in mind, Ahzi began paying a little more attention to their 'guest' while outwardly appearing to be absent-mindedly grazing.

The squawkers belonging to both Jonas and Ahzi suddenly pop and hiss with static. Then a deep, raspy voice can be heard; “Mr. Fisher? I have your friend here, the ugly Charioteer. Unless you want his throat cut, bring me the Ukari scum alive…”

Jonas scowls at the squawker and narrows his eyes as he looks at first Ahzi and then Jo'vet, and finally the pile of equipment stashed in the back of the skimmer. He picks up the squawker and contemplates it for a few more moments before powering it off, digging out his toolkit and fiddling with it at length.

After a few minutes of this, he catches Ahzi and Jo'vet frowning at him and says "Rejiggin' it to bounce the broadcast carrier wave off the ionosphere."

Then at last he's finished and turns the device back on.

"I tell you what," he says, his tone level and almost conversational. "You bring back my friend, and his skimmer and the list of supplies I sent him to fetch, and then maybe we can strike ourselves a bargain."

He is looking directly at Jo'vet when he says this last part, and gives a slow shake of the head to indicate that has has no intention of handing the Ukari over.

OOC: Tweaking the squawker in an effort to avoid giving away our position.

There is a short bark of mirthless laughter as Jonas relays his message to Hakkar. "You are a funny guy! You want the shirt off my back too? I repeat, bring the little rat here to the village hall. Just you and him. Oh, and if you think I'm joking...."

Jonas can hear a faint conversation from the squawker. It sounds like "Bring me that one."

Hakkar speaks again. "We have a few other good citizens here that would appreciate it if you didn't try any of your Engineer tricks."

There is a short pause and then a young woman can be heard shouting in pain before the squawkers clicks off.

Jo'vet curses and glares at Jonas. "You can't hand me over to that maniac! You heard him, he's crazier than a Gannok on drugs!"

"I have absolutely no intention of handing you over," Jonas tells him. "But you are going to have to trust me, and work with us on this, or we are all in jeopardy."

He turns the squawker to send.

"Very well," he says, sounding every bit as world weary as he feels. "It seems that you have me at a disadvantage. I will bring the prisoner to you - but it will take some time, as we will be on foot."

He flicks the squawker to receive.

"Now gentlemen. We need a desperate plan for a desperate situation..."

In reply to Jonas Fischer (msg # 334):

Ahzi nods, then turns to Jo'vet to say, "I think I have a plan. It's a bit of a doozy for sure, but it just might be desperate, and crazy, enough to work..."

Ahzi then spends the next few minutes detailing the inner workings of the plan to both Jo'vet and Jonas. Grabbing up his supply pack, he makes sure to explain the specifics of how each one of them will work into the overarching mechanics of it - all the while preparing for his part. At the end, he sums it up once again to ensure the core of the process is understood, "Due to the little encounter we had back in Acheon, Hakkar thinks that I am you, Jo'vet. We are relying on that sticking to make this work. Basically, we are going to pass me off as you for the exchange. Before we get to Hovinton, however, Jonas and I are going to pull a little ruse to try and get some of Hakkar's thugs to separate from the group. If we can take them out before we get to town, it will greatly increase our chances of success in this endeavor. That said, this all falls apart if you are not on board with the whole thing. So, we need to ask you, and I hope you reply honestly because in truth we need each other at this point, will you help us? And, what exactly are the extent of your PSI abilities? We need to know so we can understand all the assets at our disposal here..."

Ahzi stored all his weapons in his pack, removed the rope from the pack and wrapped it about his waist, and pulled his Jackal mask back over his face. Then, he turned to Jonas, "Alright man, if you are ready, I think we have wasted enough time here. Jo'vet can explain his abilities on the walk over to Hovinton."

Finally comfortable with his prep for the recklessness they were about to undertake, Ahzi stands, stows his pack back in the skimmer's secure compartment, and waits for Jonas and Jo'vet to be ready as well.

"That guy thinks you are me?", scoffs Jo'vet. "We look nothing alike! Typical human reactions; all ukari carry knives and are a-fixin' to stab you in the back first chance they get."

He grins. "Well, supposin' in my case, he's right. I don't give a hull rat's arse about your lanky friend, but I don't want to end up captured by that other frog-humpin' bastard."

He stands and dusts off his clothes. "Do I get my stuff back? I have some small skill with Farhand, and as you probably know, can get into the heads of people and tweak their thoughts a bit. I'm not an expert though."
This message was last edited by the player at 15:57, Fri 29 June 2018.

Hovinton  is a small town near the Hovin River. This settlement does not appear on any maps of the region as it is small, lies in the middle of nowhere (about 1,900km from Acheon), and was established by conscript workers early in the Emperor Wars. In other words, this town is not legal and the residents pay tribute to no lord. Still, it has grown rather large over the last few decades, attracting war refugees and common settlers. It now has a respectable population of 6000 souls.

What’s more, despite being an unofficial settlement, Hovinton attracts some measure of civilization and infrastructure, with Charioteer merchants frequently coming to trade technology and luxury goods for fine pelts and local produce. Watermills along the river supply the town with enough electricity to power lights and the odd tech gadget. A retired Engineer has even set up a power station where he stores electricity in huge batteries and sells his recharge services for exorbitant prices. He also runs a local radio station which broadcasts various programs on five different channels and of course, he sells homemade radios to the Hovintonites. There used to be a bridge over the river Hovin, but it is now unsafe to cross, and vehicles normally cross the river on barges or small boats.

The town has no proper church, although an Urth Orthodox missionary is attending the town’s spiritual needs from the town hall when Hovinton’s Council of Elders is not convened. All in all, Hovinton is an odd mix of backwater ideals and the occasional example of civilization and technological sophistication.

"Sounds good," smirks Hakkar on the squawker. "If you're on foot, you will see an old cemetery on your right. We're in the white farmhouse across from that, enjoying the mighty fine hospitality of Mr. Groningen and his family."

Jonas reluctantly agrees to return Jo'vet his equipment. "I guess we asked you to trust us, so we had better be prepared to do the same."

After learning all he can about Hovinton from the Prognisticator, he resolves to take it, the hunter drone, a pocket remote access terminal and the rest of his toolkit with him, determined to make use of the drone in the confrontation to come. He has worked out a way to make it explode if the need arises, but plans to use it for scouting in the first instance.

"OK, gentlemen. I am ready to go. Now Ahzi, explain this plan to me one more time..."
This message was last edited by a game editor at 20:20, Wed 04 July 2018.

As Jonas and the two ukari walk down the dusty road, Ahzi outlines the basic plan; once they get close to the farm, they should use the drone to get an idea of the layout and where the vehicles are parked. It might even be possible to sneak the drone into the farmhouse. The idea is then to radio Hakkar that Jo’vet has escaped in order to cause a distraction and let Jo’vet steal their transport. Jonas and Ahzi will then try to overpower Hakkar and rescue Paavo and the farmers.

Jo’vet scratches his head and looks dubiously at Jonas. “We sure about this thing? How attached are you to this Paavo guy?”

The trio eventually spot the beginning of an old graveyard on their right, the ancient jumpcrosses and tombstones overgrown with weeds. Further up, on the left, a sturdy-looking farmhouse can be seen in a small wooded area.

Jonas prepares the drone and it travels in a wide arc around the farmhouse, to approach from the opposite direction. He follows the progress on the tiny screen on his Prognosticator, and makes minute adjustments to the flight plan. The device quickly maps the area and indicates two vehicles; the stolen hoverbike, crashed into a tree close to a farm – and a sleek Masood Griffon Speed Racer, parked close to the main building.

Jo’vet is looking over Jonas’ shoulder as the drone works. “We could just nick that nice skimmer and head off. Pretty sure we can fit three people in there.”


This message was last edited by the GM at 22:52, Mon 02 July 2018.

"Tempting," Jonas admits. "But no. I can't just walk away now. But nick it we will..."

“Sweet!” replies Jo’vet to Jonas’ remark. “I get to drive it!”

Jonas brings the drone down low and it silently approaches the main farmhouse. Inching up to peek through a window, the drone camera relays the scene inside. Paavo is lying in a heap on the floor in the main room, his shirt bloody and torn from bullet wounds. It is not clear if he is alive or dead.

Hakkar and one of his thugs are also there, along with a middle-aged man and a woman, seated on rickety chairs. A teenage girl is scowling at Hakkar, nursing a spectacular bruise on her arm, while two smaller children are huddled in a corner, looking very frightened.

Ahzi whistles at the display. “Messy! Paavo looks bad. Hope he’s okay. Were there not two of Hakkar's idiot followers?”
This message was last edited by the GM at 19:22, Wed 04 July 2018.

"Yes, I think you're right. Which means that there's at least one goon lurking out there..." Jonas observes. "Still ready to play run rabbit run?"

In reply to Jonas Fischer (msg # 343):

"Sure," replies Ahzi and then hesitates. "Hmmm... not sure I should be wearing my Face Ornament though. Seeing that the air is nice and clean here. I'll just pull up my hood so my rather pale skin can still be seen, but it covers my hair."

Jo'vet squints at the tiny display on the Prognosticator. "So can you disable that skimmer somehow? Then Azhi can leg it towards the graveyard and hopefully they will give him a merry chase when you call Hakkar. You can pretend to join the chase but give up and double back here, and then we can see if we can free that Charioteer guy. And the others too, I suppose.”

[Jonas, please roll to disable the skimmer - and then you can call Hakkar]