An A/R cargo carrier would be better than a straight passenger  model.  How many days out there you reckon ??  The professor needs to look over that dig site, she may be able to narrow down our search area too.

He ponders his coffee for awhile, Any chance we could listen in on their transmissions ??  Or are they military encrypted now ??  Be nice to know what craft are sitting on their L/Z too.  Have to listen to any in-system comm traffic.

Ken listened to the discussions.  "It would be easier to sneak in with an air raft or a grav cargo carrier if we can manage.  If not we could fly the ship in close and park her in a lake while we head to the site."  He looked to Blake.  "Good idea about listening to in-system chatter.  I'm not sure how disciplined they are but we can try.  Does anyone have any skill at that kind of snooping?"

"Hmmm. It looks like we need some more transport," comments Ollie as he lounges on a comfortable seat. "I can ask around. There must be something available."

In reply to Blake Renfield (msg # 6):

"I'll see if we can monitor their comms. It might be encrypted, but it'll probably be older. The Hegemony forces on Qarant are not terribly advanced, Desaeke's basic technological base is barely starflight capable, although they do have some newer Zhodani gear."

Lorain also looked at the map.

"I hate to mention this but we need to find out what Kalamanru knows.

"We just don't have enough data to suggest a starting point for a search. That means we're going to need to infiltrate the Hegemony camp. Plus if we could get evidence the Hegemony is interfering with League citizens like myself or Dumar, the Free Suns would have a reason to intervene. Their camp is where they'd hold Dumar, if he's still alive.

"They do patrol the treaty border by air. I don't think a ship could slip through that way. But an air/raft could do it."

In reply to Prof. Lorain Messandi (msg # 10):

"Ha! If we had the sensors, we could infiltrate by going up the river, underwater. But we don't have sonar. Just Radar and Ladar."

Sonar ...  Blake looks at Ollie, raises his eyebrows, questioning ...

Tell us more about this river ...  Blake makes the rounds topping off cups.

Ken listened to his crew with growing interest and excitement.  "Definitely let's see if we can hack into their communications.  It would be helpful to at least track what their patrols are doing." He turned to Lorain; "Well, we'll sneak into the camp.  We know from Dumaer's map where their HQ is at.  I want to try to rescue Dumaer if he is alive.  And the personnel at the League camp can probably help us somewhat with intelligence."

"The river is the Zenatar. The city site is about 121km west from the Zenatar gulf, to the east. It was probably pretty deep at one time, back when the city was founded it was navigatable down to the gulf. I don't know if it is anymore, over thousands of years it could have changed course in major or minor ways a hundred times."

She held up her cup for another pour.

"Building a sonar from scratch in a few hours is a bit beyond me, but I could jury-rig an existing one into our sensor suit if we could find one," interjected Ollie. "But, what worries me about going up river in this bird is the bridge. The old bird is nearly 20 meters across and we have no idea how that bridge is built and if we could fit under it."

Has the expedition ever done underwater searching Professor ??  They might have boats & such.  That would also be a legitimate disguise.

Then Blake stares into space, so to speak ...  I would also assume the Hedge has spies in the workforce as well.  We will need a 'public consumption' story as well.

Neva listened to what everybody said and had to agree with Ollie.  "Hey if Ollie says it can't be done then it can't be done.  Going into the river again?  Isn't that what got us in trouble the last place we went rescuing people?"

Neva smiled but there was some logistical problems with all the plans.  "So is that our only option?  We aren't the best at sneaking in from what I've seen.  Not wanting to be a nay sayer but just want to be sure which way we are going so we can commit to it and not be split."

Ken shook his head.  "I don't think that turning submarine and sneaking up the river is a good idea.  There may be shallows and obstructions.  I think our best bet would be to contact the League forces and see if we can use an air raft from the base."

"Official or unofficial, I'm sure we can find an air raft somewhere around here," laughed Ollie.

But then his face turned serious. "I think we should have a cover story if we get stopped at the border. I assume they don't have a shoot first policy yet."

"Research, of course," offered Linus. "The Institute wanting to check up on what is happening here, wondering if there is scope for some of their people to come and work here..."

Lorrain made a "kind of, yes?" expression.

"I think we should plan for avoidance of Desaekhe patrols if at all possible.

"Two Institute air/rafts were attacked without warning on different occasions for straying across the border. About a dozen people were killed, all told.

"There won't be a border guard post as such, but if we're detected in the Hegemony zone I expect they will shoot first and enquire afterwards.

"The Travellers Aid Society considers the entire Hegemony zone to be an Amber Zone. Basically travel at your own risk!"

In reply to Prof. Lorain Messandi (msg # 21):

"I have an idea.  Why not drop Ken and I a day's walk from the outpost with an encrypted comms unit, so we can prep some information on the site.

Then we can send info back to help the planning for whatever happens next.

I'm pretty sure that he can keep up with an old man, like me."

[OOC:  Hawk's not in favor of this plan, because it breaks up the party, creates too much chaos for the GM, etc.  Also increases odds of Walker and Ken getting whacked and giving away the rest of the party.  If we're going to give away the party, best to have all the guns in one place.  :)  I am, however willing to do it if the party wants it.

Walker, on the other hand, is used to being in the rough, and stalking.  It's something he would have looked at as a viable option.  ROLEPLAYING!  :) ]

Hmmm, easily done, especially if we stop by a sizable lake or such.  We could always drop down for a water test & use the ship to shield anyone slipping off.  Or take the time to tank up - with people wandering all over, a couple could 'get lost.'

Blake ponders things a while, then Of course, our approach could skirt the boundary while the cameras run when coming in from orbit ...

In reply to Blake Renfield (msg # 23):

"You think we should land on a lake in the League Zone, then drop off a party to try and covertly cross into the Hegemony Zone? OK, that's not too difficult.

"As for Thomas' suggestion of dropping him and Ken off, that would mean penetrating deep into the Hegemony Zone. I assume you mean the drop off would be via Air/Raft and not the ship?"

Mariel looked at the map, picking out lakes in the League Zone that could serve the purpose.

Ken considers.  "I think that a recon is a good idea but I'm not sure we can get the ship across the border or land directly in the Hegemony side without being detected.  If we're going to go across the border in air rafts, and we'll need two I think, then best to go straight in.  We can land nearby and do a scan with binoculars I imagine."

In reply to Ken Jenkins (msg # 25):

Lorain interjected,

"I haven't been to the dig on Qarant. But as it fell under my department I know they did do some underwater research. Not sure if it was with a sonar we could mount on the ship, but there were some towed arrays for bottom scanning. They have a number of air/rafts we could borrow at the Institute's base."

In reply to Ken Jenkins (msg # 25):

"The problem is balancing speed vs stealth.  They are highly unlikely to find two people in the woods.  An Air/Raft is more easily spotted than the two of us, on foot.  On the plus side, if we can get in, and out without being spotted, then the next part of whatever we choose to do next will still have the advantage of surprise."

Lakes on our side of the border.  Their side would require an in-flight emergency, not an option I would easily take too.  I would also change the transponder codes & ship name since mr K probably knows about us & the ship's name.

In reply to Blake Renfield (msg # 28):

"Good call on the transponder codes! This ship can do that. It's a legacy of when Kalamanru used it for smuggling after her hijacked it from the Institute. And we took it back."

"It's not the final walk in from the LZ that's the problem. It's penetrating a hundered kilometers into the Hegemony zone to get to that point.

"That "bound" from the League zone would need to be via air/raft or ground vehicle. I don't recommend the ship do it, although we could try. The problem is Kalamanru outfitted this ship as a contraband smuggler, not a blockade-runner. We don't have the speed, NOE maneuverability or stealth."