"As long as it isn't something that's going to get the Imperial Navy chasing after us for delivering it, and it doesn't sound like computer parts would be, I don't think there will be a problem doing that. The Vultan is meant for that sort of thing!" Zhouth smiled, restraining his penchant for broad gestures to the extent of merely swirling one hand in the general direction of the hangar where the ship in question was being worked on. "But I don't think that anyone likes Oghman raiders, and I don't think they'd give us much choice but to blast them to bits if we did run into them. Well, unless they've got their hands on a much bigger ship than us, in which case we might have to come back later. So... no problem with that part either?"

His ears perked up a bit as he returned to a resting pose. "You happen to know anything about the ships themselves, or the people that were in charge of them? We think that there were three here, but maybe not all in the same squad. That matches what happened on Clarke?"

"Fair enough," Symone replies.

"Two pirate ships landed and attacked, killing everyone present before blasting the door off the warehouse and looting the place. From the warehouse records, they stole primarily recovered computer parts; these parts could be salvaged by a TL14+ culture, which the Florian Empire is known to do."

"The pirate ships consisted of a Type-S Scout and a Far Trader, both refitted with extra weapons. Not exactly a terrifying fighting force--if these are the same ships that attacked Torpol, then there must have been a third ship, one with a lot more firepower."

"The Psychopomps of Clarke had already visited the attack site, and there are now a half dozen fresh carbon-foam monoliths preserving the dead who might still be saved. I was only able to revive one of the less injured because an eye-witness could have been important. Not sure if it was, but I did get some information. She said the pirates were led by a young man in what looked like an Imperial naval uniform. She also mentioned that the scout ship filled its hold first and departed several hours ahead of the free trader."

"Although the pirates thought they'd killed everyone, it never occurred to them to destroy the equipment. Low tech, probably thought it wasn't worth the effort. However, the scavengers' radio system recorded several messages broadcast by the pirates. The messages were encrypted, but I was able to break the encryption."

"They revealed that the pirate leader was named Ferrik, and there was also a woman called Miria commanding a ship that remained in orbit, and a third captain called Krrsh."

"Not really much to go on there. Names can be changed as often as underwear, and almost as easily. The pirates feel superior in their well-armed ships so they don't take enough precautions. Like Oghmans, they select more primitive targets... what they consider cheap and easy victories. I can't imagine they got enough from Clarke to even buy fuel, which is probably why they headed straight for Torpol. There was bound to be a communication lag--no X-boats out of Clarke, so it would have depended on independents to pass the word on."

"Clarke may have been a trial run to see how smoothly things went, with Torpol being the main target all along."

"Anything else?"

Zhouth took it all in attentively, and shook his head when prompted. "No, not unless there's anything else that you can think of! All of that helps a lot, actually. That chemical tank that they took from here would be worth their trouble, even with the low-pay test run they did first. Just have to figure out who they'd try to sell that to." He drummed his fingers on the table for a moment, then finished his thoughts. "Okay, send that crate to the Vultan and we'll deliver it when we get to Borite. Well, unless the raiders did something terrible there with all of the chemicals!"

"They weren't those types of chemicals," Symone responds. "Besides, you only have an indication that the Scout ship went to Borite. It certainly wasn't carrying the chemicals."

"I'll have the cargo transferred immediately. It was nice meeting you. I've never met a scholarly Vargr before."

She continues to sit there for awhile after Zhouth leaves.

Later, on the Vultan:

"...so she seemed to know what we'd been looking into, but the information is still good, and all it costs us is taking one crate of parts to a place that we're going anyway, and blowing up ships that we'd probably have to blow up anyway if we met them!" Zhouth concluded cheerfully, and then almost immediately crashed down to a forlorn look. "I'm still not happy about the shooting and killing part, but I suppose that the Oghmans are that bad."

In reply to Zhouth (msg # 403):

"Good job Zhouth, so, do we go to Borite next then? They may be using it as a base of operations, moderate population with a low tech level though if I remember correctly, will have to look it up on the computers Library data."

In reply to Theodore McFarlane (msg # 404):

     "Plague take it, we can't just blast Oghman ships whenever we encounter them!" Varca growls, "Those bastards are Slavers!  There could be prisoners on any given Oghman ship.  We gotta board them!"

     Varca scowls for a few seconds--then breaks into a grin,

     "Of course, I was planning on doing that, all along.  Find Oghman ships, board'em, free the prisoners, space the Oghmen, then send the Prize Ship back to Drinax.  And there's nobody in this entire subsector that'll complain about us doing it."

     "So we won't be able to keep that promise to blow away every Oghman we meet.  But hopefully Captain Syngularity will be satisfied with us teaching the Oghmen we do meet, how to breathe vacuum."

     Varca nods at Theo,

     "While I'm not sure that Borite is the Raiders base--I certainly wouldn't have picked it for such!--I do think that between what Captain Vlaw and Captain Syngularity have told us, we have a good chance to catch a ship that, if not actually one of the Raiders, it's at least associated with them."

     "So yes, Theo--as soon as the repair yard signs off on the turret install, you should set a course for Borite.  We'll go see if we can find that scoutship, and pull some answers out of this Captain Krrrsh."

     Varca again flashes his feral grin,

     "We'll be sure to give Krrrsh Captain Vlaw's compliments!  Heh-heh."

     "Will we have the credits to buy fuel at Borite--wait!--that's right, Borite doesn't have a starport!  At best, we might be able to land at an airport, so we better plan on wilderness refueling.  Luckily, Borite has plenty of water on it."

A look of concern crossed Zhouth's face. "We let their prisoners go, right? Unless they really want to become ship's crew, I mean." Then he brightened. "And we're doing all of this as the Vultan, so everyone can say 'How nice of King Oleb to help out like this. We'll remember it when other trouble comes our way, or if he needs a little favor done sometime.'"

"Ahh, there it is, agricultural world with ideal environment. Food for Drinax to trade for? Tech for food would be a good deal, just need to keep Oghma out. Maybe sell weapons there too"
This message was last edited by the player at 21:12, Thu 18 Feb 2021.

In reply to Theodore McFarlane (msg # 407):

     "Right you are, Zhouth!" Varca agrees, "Us freeing folks taken by the Oghmans--and the related kicking of Oghman asses--will be us playing the part of 'Heroes', rather than 'Pirates'."

     When Theodore mentions possibly tightening relations between Borite and Drinax, Varca gets a thoughtful look,

     "Yeah, Star Guard Command looked into that--that's why there were Scout missions to there.  If I remember the report correctly, while such an association would be of huge benefit to Drinax--the population of Borite is large enough to produce a massive amount of produce that Drinax wants--the only things that Drinax could offer in return would be knowledge.  Drinaxi manufacturing capacity only barely covers our own needs, so we wouldn't be able to send weapons in any significant numbers to the Borites.  And if we did so anyways, that would just draw the attention of the Oghmans that the Borites had 'new tech', and the Oghmans would likely make some massive raids."

     "No, if Drinax were to establish relations--even simple trade relations--with Borite, part of the deal would have to be for Drinax to provide military protection of the planet.  And as much as I'm sure that Fat Oleb would love to put an iron fist in a velvet glove around Borite, the Star Guard forces just aren't up to it, yet."

     An 'evil gleam' suddenly comes to Varca's red eyes...

     "Although...if we were to go ahead and spread word of such a deal in the works, anyway...then we hid out in the system...we could jump any Oghman ships that show up.  Of course, the planet would be completely undefended whenever we left the planet."

     Varca shrugs his shoulders indifferently.

"We'd have far too many of them showing up at once if we did that! We've only got one little ship right now. Maybe later, when we've got a fleet to ambush them with?" A dramatic poke at an imaginary eye accompanied Zhouth's words. "I suppose that protecting Borite and Marduk, and conquering Oghma somehow, would be a good way to start building up an empire out here, but unless Toprol is okay with it, there'd be a supply line problem between them and Drinax. Good thing that we're about to make friends with Torpol by dealing with these other raiders!"
This message was last edited by the player at 15:12, Fri 19 Feb 2021.

"A fleet? You think we'll be that successful? Teddy asked questioningly, looking to each face.

"We're going to need to get one somehow!" Zhouth threw his arms up and to the sides. "We can't do all of this empire-building and threaten a trade route with one tiny little raider, no matter how good it is!" One hand went down, the other remained up, palm out, "Though maybe we don't actually have to do any pirating ourselves."

Both hands were out in front, palms-up now. "Okay, think about this: we hit a few of these Oghman raiders, or other types that no one will mind us going after. Not all at once, of course, because the point of this is to capture the ships and send them back to Drinax, or at least somewhere else, where they can be crewed and released to fly under our command, just not on paper. They're independent pirates and raiders as far as anyone official is concerned, and we don't even need to spend all of our time overseeing them, just having check-ins now and then. Maybe they can capture a few more ships that no one will miss too, and we get a bigger fleet as time goes on."

"Meanwhile, the Vultan is a completely legitimate courier ship that does work for that nice King Oleb to help out his neighbors. We don't even need to use the winkle thing this way! We just happen to be secret pirate admirals on the side. No need for a place like Theev to make it happen, right? All the better is that it gives King Oleb what he wants without him having to actually acknowledge it, even when he's talking to us!"

It was Zhouth's turn to shrug and look around to gauge the others' reactions. "Okay, yes, this will take a while to set up, and a lot of work to keep going, but it lets us stay plausibly deniable along with King Oleb. We can even help places out by chasing away those annoying pirates that have nothing to do with us sometimes!"
This message was last edited by the player at 17:43, Fri 19 Feb 2021.

Peeking in after triple checking the turret Rayjay noticed the trio speaking about future plans, listening in a bit to catch himself up on the conversation he cleared his through before suggesting. "If t'e plan is to crew captured vessels, why not just train up t'e Borites? Boriteans? Might take a while, but if you rescue t'em, I suspect few would be against learning 'ow to defend t'emselves, and most would be 'appy enough to 'unt down ot'er pirates once t'ey are sure t'eir home is safe. If not'ing else, could crew t'e vessels wit Star Guard, and train to Boriteans as Marines." He suggested, knowing full well just how long it could take to train up a competent crew, but also realizing plausible deniability usually indicated getting others to do the work for you as well.
This message had punctuation tweaked by the player at 03:04, Sat 20 Feb 2021.

In reply to Rayjaynul Brown (msg # 412):

     "That's a good idea, Rayjay, but not for Borite--at least, not yet." Varca says, "Before we left Drinax, I made a couple of suggestions for actions that can take place at home, which will support our activities out here, without seeming to have any connection to us."

     "The first suggestion--similar to your idea, Rayjay--was to our Sponsor, suggesting she spearhead the creation of a kind-of 'Peace Corps' on planet Asim.  The primary function of this Corps is to begin setting up schools where the Asimites can start learning Drinaxi technology.  Get them better educated, and then introduce more advanced Drinaxi technology to them--even set up a few small manufactories.  The population of Asim is only several hundred thousand, and most of them are involved in agro-production and the associated infrastructure--so it'll be a while before a significant portion of that labor force can switch over to doing other things."

     "But!" Varca raises a finger upwards, "With a Drinaxi-level education, the Star Guard will be able to begin recruiting from the Asim population.  And if the Star Guard can recruit them, then so can we!  So, if we just happen to have a few ex-Pirate ships tucked away, somewhere...maybe your idea, Zhouth, of us operating a small Flotilla, out here, might be a viable one."

     "Moreso if we succeed at getting the Reward for these Raiders." Varca adds, "If it's as large as advertised, we'll skim a chunk off the top for our expansion operating costs...and send a large enough chunk back to the Damned King to make him happy."

     Varca raises his arm and waves it around--pointing back-and-forth between everyone listening,

     "I did not just say that, got it?!  You did not hear me say we'd short-change King Oleb!"

     Varca grins one of his feral grins,

     "Technically, we'll be re-investing Oleb's profits from this venture, back into the venture--we'll just be doing it before he concludes what a good idea it is!"

     "Although....you also make a good point, Rayjay, about the Borites--whose major industries are Farming and Mining--possibly making good Ship Troops.  We should look into that, when we get there."

Zhouth's ears shot up, then flattened, accompanied by a look of... not quite alarm, but something close. "We shouldn't need to cut his cut. It's only what, ten percent that he wants? And if he's going to put that peace corps together, well, guess how he'll be paying for it?"

"Besides, the amount that we get paid will be all over the news. Even if it takes a while to get there, he'll find out about that one. I really don't think it's a good idea to put our account records in the galley stores."
This message was last edited by the player at 17:21, Sat 20 Feb 2021.

"I wouldn't be thinking of a fleet just yet. I'd settle for us getting this ship back into shape"

In reply to Zhouth (msg # 414):

     "Actually, Zhouth, our deal with Fat Oleb has us getting only 10-percent--after repair and maintenance costs--and the rest goes to him...uh...that would be the Royal Treasury." Varca says,

     "That's how I understood it, at any rate.  I'm not sure, but I think that he thinks, that we'll be out here just rampaging around, de-stabilizing the region, and sending all the profits back to him--then, when he has enough credits, he'll just buy a Fleet, then go around Showing the Flag.  That'll be our cue to disappear, and Fat Oleb gets to claim he's chased off the Pirate Threat and brought back stability.  In his addled brain, he probably thinks all the Old Kingdom planets will just throw themselves at his feet, and he'll proclaim a New Kingdom of Drinax."

     "It's Princess Rao who's asked us to try and spread some Drinaxi Goodwill.  And, it's my opinion that Lord Wrax hates this plan because he doesn't believe the Star Guard can ramp itself up to any such force levels--even if Fat Oleb can buy the ships he wants.  I tend to agree with the High Admiral."

     At Ingrid's admonition, Varca smiles and nods in agreement.

     "You're right, of course, Ingrid.  Getting Vultan in the best possible shape must come before all else.  I'm just spit-balling ideas for the future--the future that Princess Rao wants to create, not what Fat Oleb wants."

     Varca loses the smile and turns to Theo,

     "Not meaning to change the subject, but...Theo, back when we visited the Floating Palace, did you get to visit your family?  What's your relationship with your father, The Baron, like, these days?"

     "And Rayjay--I think I've asked this, but--since you were born on the Floating Palace, you must hold some kind of Title, yes?  What is it?  And, do you have any influential relatives, back at Home?"

"I didn't go see them, we are on the outs."

"I think you are missing a few points," Viridian chimes in as he joins the group and only hearing the tail end.

"Oleb already has a fleet. We found it for him. Sure, those ships need repair, but if we're going to wherever it was to get the Vultan fixed, all we need to do is get a few dozen extra spare parts and bring them back. Of course, they'll still need a crew."

"Second, once we start doing all these heroic 'good deeds', there'll be others that want to join us. 'Nothing succeeds like success.' For that matter, if we get really good at hunting pirates, a few of those pirates will suddenly realize that it's better for their life expectancy to be with us rather than against us."

"Third, you're talking about taking on the sector with overwhelming force. Rao's and Oleb's plan isn't to upset the applecart but to create a stable area here between the big powers. They're aiming for a balance of power. That's not going to happen by having a bigger and badder fleet that both the Aslan and the Imperium."

"We don't have to overpower the pirates or any other force--we only need to out-think them. Hit them where they aren't, go where they aren't expecting us to go, and divide and conquer. Taking out Oghman as a single entity would be tough for the Imperium, and the Aslan would turn it into another Drinax. But Oghman is a bunch of clans that don't get along at best. Stir things up and they'll fight themselves. And we only have to take them on one clan at a time. If we take out one clan's ship and claim it was by another clan, we could get some retaliation if we're lucky."

"And here's another thought. If we get the holographic hull fixed, we can pretend to be Oghman ships and start attacking the interstellar shipping. That will turn everyone else against them. So, we won't have to fight them alone."

"They have that many?" Zhouth uttered in surprise. "Well, okay then, but it still works. We take some of their ships one by one, get them to blame each other, and use them for our little fleet, making it looks like a bunch of Oghman raiders are out there. No one can blame Drinax, we get our pirating done to bring in more money and make the trade route seem unsafe, and if anyone decides to respond to it, they'll blow up Oghma and remove one of our problems for us!" The expansive arm-spreading with wiggling fingers implied a detonation encompassing more than just the surface of the planet.

"That also makes Borite and Marduk safer, right? And we can have our ships protect them under the pretense of being Oghmans running a racket! Just like corsair bands do it!" It wasn't quite clear from his expression whether he thought that this was an even better idea than his last one, but he certainly appeared to think that it was good!

"And, umm, we're giving King Oleb a tithe. That means that he gets one-in-ten and we keep nine, not the other way around! Unless you want to give up on this whole peace corps idea, and have the palace fall out of the sky for lack of maintenace, and him to be upset with us for holding back in the meantime, it's a really bad idea to try to short-change him for that small a share."
This message was last edited by the player at 04:31, Mon 22 Feb 2021.

With a nod Rayjay responded to Igrind. "Of course Miss Sigar, but one must always 'ave plans for after one's current needs are met, 'elps keep t'e mind focused on what's important lest doubt creep it's way in." Rayjay said with a slight bow and flourish of arms in some cordial gesture.

Smirking at Varca as he stood back up straight Rayjay stroked his chin thoughtfully. "Well assuming my title wasn't claimed by anot'er I do believe it was t'e Knight of Lakes. Given to me for my ability to swim, quite t'e rarity I assure you, ha-ha-ha-heh!" Rayjay said not entirely in jest to tease the Vespexer.

"As for relatives, not terribly so, my mot'er is a Traveller, my fat'er died s'ortly before my return, a stroke in t'e night. T'ough t'e rest of t'e family are civic engineers, wit' t'e odd vessel engineer 'ere and t'ere." Informed Varca, not really certain any of them had any more considerable pull then the son of a Duke.

In reply to Rayjaynul Brown (msg # 420):

     Varca frowns at Zhouth,

     "Yeah, we gotta give Fat Oleb a big chunk of the loot!" Varca grumbles, "That's what I said...isn't it?"

     "But, anyway..." Varca continues, waving away the issue of who-gets-how-much, "Putting the blame for some of our activities onto the Oghmen was always in my plans, Viridian." Varca says, "But your idea of, maybe, getting a Clan-or-two on our side...that's an interesting idea...which I hadn't even considered.  We'll need to put some thought into how we'd do that."

     Varca nods, as he responds to Zhouth,

     "Yeah, there's dozens of Oghman Clans, Zhouth, and they all have at least one starship in their control--the Major Clans have several.  Totaled up, that's a few dozen armed Raiders--but thankfully, the Oghman Clans rarely work together."

     "I'm curious about the current status of any Titles you guys hold," Varca says to Theo and Rayjay, "Because they might be something we can use to add a degree of legitimacy to any dealings we make, out here.  Y'know, we use the two of you--with your Drinaxi Titles--and Ingrid, as a Sword Worlder business woman, as the Front-Persons for any business investments we make--while Zhouth, with his Imperial Scholar credentials, will be the Front-Man for the technical innovations we disperse."

     "Theo--I hated asking you use your Father's title, but you saw how just calling you 'The Baron' got us a little more attention than we might have got, otherwise.  I don't suppose that you hold any Titles or Noble Rank, yourself, do you Theo?"

     "And Rayjay, you said your father was recycled, not too long ago?  So, then, did you inherit his Title--is Knight of Lakes your Family Title, or something only you hold?"

     Varca pauses for a moment, as a puzzled frown comes over his face,

     "For that matter, I'm not familiar with the Knightly Order of Lakes--is that a Palace Water Management title?  Theo--you ever heard of the Knights of Lakes?"
This message was last edited by the player at 05:39, Mon 22 Feb 2021.

"I am knighted, but it is simply a court knight, Knight of the Cross, because I was from the palace. I never heard of the Knight of Lakes, but that doesn't mean anything on Drinax. Most everyone is knighted.

"You can use my fathers title any time you want to, whether he likes it or not, I inherit it some day as the only son."

"You really think it's a good idea to try to cheat him on the deal?" Zhouth's ears were flat, his voice was quiet, and he was wringing his hands in a way that suggested he was somewhere just short of having a nervous breakdown over the prospect. "You really think that Rao will approve and intervene for us when he gets angry about it?"