Destination: Coventry
((OOC: Everyone can continue posting in the Destination: Invermory thread if you want.))
The week-long vacation in J-space ends soon enough by dumping you out into Coventry space. There were three coded vectors tight-beam transmitted to the ship's computer once the Longshot was in space heading to the jump point. This was to prevent interception and someone else knowing how to approach Coventry at this particular time. Yes, the Invermory government is quite paranoid.
It's only a vector once you leave Jump-space. The actual astrogation is left to the ship, since the astrogator might be good or excellent, and the captain of the ship might have his own preferences for how to approach.
The three vectors are apparently based on both the specified drop site as well as the particular day/week of delivery, set up a month in advance. Any 'serious' deviation from the vectors can trigger a military response from the Overwatch ships, one of which is always in orbit around Coventry. Their exact schedule has not been revealed to Vonon or Walter.
There is a map of Coventry, but it's an old map. Nothing more recent than a hundred years ago is available. For security reasons. There are six communities indicated on the map, all within a 100-mile diameter area. The drop site coordinates are also within that diameter, near the perimeter. Unless more recent communities have been established, it should take observers about 6 hours to reach the drop site... more than enough time to unload the cargo pallets and leave.
As it turns out, the orbital gunship circles the planet every six hours. Thus, if you land, you'll be observed within 6 hours, and if you are still there after another six hours, the schrapp will hit the fan. Expect to be bombarded from orbit! No excuses are accepted. While this was never explained to you at the time, it is in the 'fine print' on the contract... Section 5, Clause 9, Paragraph 27, Sub-paragraph 12...
The assumption is either that you are waiting for a prisoner to join you or your ship has been overrun.
There's no exact determination of your fuel consumption, so if you wanted to or needed to refuel at the gas giant, that would probably be okay.
The coordinates of the Iltharan 'ruins' show it to be located on a land mass equivalent to Earth's Greenland, near the southern tip though not quite on it. There's no clear reason for this location, and the map shows the island to be covered in a glacier.
Without a flying vehicle, or at least a fast boat, there is no way the prisoners could reach it inside of a week or longer.
The actual time of your landing at the drop site will depend on the speed you make getting to the planet, as well as the point you exit J-space, which can be intentionally or accidentally farther away.
Likewise, the departure vector from the planet will depend on how long you remain there, where you head when you leave, and the actual rotation of the planet as well as where it is in its stellar orbit.
Once you exit J-space, your ship automatically transmits the standard transponder codes: name of ship, captain of record, medical clearance, engineering clearance, destination, purpose and, in this case, clearance code. It only takes a few seconds to get a response from the orbiting ship; several minutes before you get a second confirmation from the base that's out on the moon of the gas giant.