Iita shows up on the bridge, and manages a sensor technicians backup team, to re-parameter the sensors designed for scanning space and spaceships. Together they push the algorithms to the limits : their Marines colleagues could fall into an ambush, or be hit by an IED! The blips positions and moves have to be precise, as the maps of the dilapidated sections.

Also Iita is careful to always offer an escape route to the enemy - nothing is worse than a desperate enemy with its back to the wall.

Iita Tsetsegma rolled 6 using 2d6+1.  Int/Sensors

Hrolf doesn't find his experience with deep space ship combat of particular use in this situation but still works to guide the massive cruiser down into the atmosphere and then into a hovering presence over the center of the star port.  He watches the combat play out.

"Captain, we can probably use ship's weapons on the derelict houses as the only inhabitants are criminal gangs.  A few blasts from our laser turrets will provide very localized damage.  We can redeploy the bulk of our troops using the small craft to cut off any retreat while Jacqueline works on them to surrender."

Between Jacqueline's Diplomacy and the crew's supporting Advocate...

Jacqueline's efforts to discuss the matter with the rebels is complicated by their lack of any central coordination and the relatively chaotic nature of their withdrawl into the derelict sections. Some of them seem inclined to simply quit and take their chances if allowed to do so - and indeed, scans of the area show a few people making tracks from the starport on foot or in light vehicles - several of them raise the point that if they simply quit the starport without any leverage, most of them will wind up being executed by the planetary government... unless perhaps the navy is willing to intercede on their behalf.

The planetary government would be well within its rights to do just that, so talking them out of it - if Thenroy is even inclined to do so - could be troublesome. Trying to arrest the entirely of the rebel force under Imperial jurisdiction would be theoretically possible but logistically challenging; arresting just the leaders would be more practical, and perhaps give the crew more leverage over the outcome.

The no-frills approach of pounding the derelict sections until everyone gives up and flees is still an option, of course. The potential complications would come later.
This message was last edited by the GM at 11:32, Sat 19 Dec 2020.

Jacqueline closed her eyes for a moment to steady herself and try to calm her nervousness. She speaks up, although her voice is soft. "It looks like the rebels aren't going to surrender without some assurances that they won't be executed by the local government. That would be the worst possible outcome-nothing creates martyrs like mass executions. There'd be a million rebels tomorrow, and they'll fight to the death if they think surrender means execution.
I think perhaps we could arrange a formal surrender to us. The rebels are on Imperial property at the spaceport and the government here formally requested our intervention, so that should give us the authority. If we disarm and parole the rebels as part of the surrender, arrest their leaders under imperial authority, that should preclude further action against them.."

The Baron nods at Yune to patch him through.

"Rebels threatening the Imperial starport. This is Baron Thenroy Reziilka, Captain of the Sharshana. You will cease conducting any aggressive operations on Imperial property or we will be respond with lethal force. As you are committing crimes against Imperial property if you would prefer to surrender to the Imperial Navy we you can set down your weapons and proceed, unarmed, to the landing pad at <coordinates> where our marines will take you into custody for processing.

You have one hour to either withdraw or surrender before we open fire."

Hrolf nodded in agreement with Jacqueline's idea. "I think that best Captain.  We might be able to arrange an exile for the leaders and take them to one of our next port calls.  That would get them off the planet."

"Should we draw up formal terms of surrender, sir?" Jacqueline asked

In the end, the strategy worked. At least for the most part.

Between the choice of being brought to trial by the navy, or being brought to trial - if one happened at all - by the planetary government, most of the rebel forces reluctantly chose the former. A few more people scattered and some were undoubtedly still hiding out in the derelict sections, but the majority were soon under marine guard in the landing area; the remainder were too few to pose a threat to the starport authority.

The only problem in all of this was that there were well over a hundred of them. While directly arresting and putting the leadership (such as it was) in the brig would be simple enough, cramming them all onto the Sharshana was out of the question; some would have to either be kept on-site and under guard until a transport could arrive to pick them up, or let go... or turned over to the planetary authorities with some sort of terms in place.

"The Engineer Corp can build a detention center in the derelict parts of the starport, Captain. I assume you wanted to stay on Beaxon at least a couple of weeks anyway, rebuilding the port and bringing back prosperity (and lower local tensions)"
This message was last edited by the player at 05:32, Sat 02 Jan 2021.

Hrolf tracked the progress of the rebellion and the number of rebels captured. "Can we stuff the rebels into emergency low berths?  Each one will take up to four individuals. That could allow us to handle the excess."

After consultation with the ship's legal consul and chiefs the captain issues his decree.

The rank-and-file are going to be given a very stern warning and slapped on the wrist. Whether that means some minimum fine for trespassing or damages caused is determined on a case-by-case or completely arbitrary purpose. The overall point is that the bulk of the rebels are quietly released to slink back to whatever lives they had left behind.

The officers and leadership of the rebels, are formally arrested and detained in the brig. Messages are sent to planetary leadership and Naval high command about the arrests and the Baron will have his XO make arrangements about whether they would drop the prisoners off at the next Naval base on their patrol or rendezvous with a prison transport.

Either way their brig was full and the matter was resolved, at least according to Reziilka.

Jacqueline closed her eyes sighed and sagged against her chair in relief. "Thank God that's over." she said quietly. It looked like as few people as possible would die today. "Should I assist with the surrender, sir, or return to my regular duties?" she asked. She did have advocate training, and she wanted to make sure the captured rebels were treated fairly, but part of her wanted to forget the whole matter and bury herself in her mathematics again.

Iita felt her team was starting to have pins and needles in their legs. She called the captain on the Officers' Reunion conference.

"I suggest we stay a few more days around, so the rank-and-file do not reinvest the starport when we move. Captain, requesting permission for the Engineering Corps to go down, search the facilities, list the damage done, uncover weapon- or any other kind - caches and repair the bare necessities? Good job Commander Dinsha, by the way, for the swift Marines operation!"

Then she turned in the direction of the Lieutenants Standarsson's and Yune's avatarq
"Oh by the way, is anybody interested in visiting the officers of the civilian ships before they leave the starport? Exchanging news and stories about pirate activities and the like? This might be useful to set our next destination", she added, excitedly. Information! More information! More data to consider and allow for an elaborate guess!
This message was last edited by the player at 09:03, Sat 09 Jan 2021.

Hrolf spoke up.  "I'd be interested in talking to the civilian ship crews.  I've done some patrolling work on previous assignments.  We could learn a great deal."

The Baron waved his hand dismissively at Tsetsegma.

"So long as it does not compromise operational efficiency of the ship we can deploy our marines and a detachment of engineers to put a report together while we continue our patrol within the system.

We have a duty to the entire star system, not just port so we need to resume standard patrol and refueling operations but yes, while we are transferring prisoners if you would like to reach out to the civilian ships for information that is permissible."

The Baron raises an eyebrow when Yune raises her question and Reziilka shifts to giver her his full attention.

"Sublieutenant Yune, if I recall correctly you have a background in legal matters and someone needs to take charge of all the logistics involved in processing prisoners so where do you think you could best be of service to the Imperium?"

Once again he had delivered a "test" for the young officer.

Jacqueline was distressed and fidgeted nervously; because of her shyness she did not want to take the lead in such a way, but she did not have much of a choice now that she was on the spot. "I, I think it would be most helpful if I took the lead in arranging that" she replied, although she certainly didn't feel that way.

Iita also had the urge to get a breath on a planet, so she transported down with some Marines changeover and a team of Engineers.

She offered Hrolf to join the shuttle : "hey, why don't you talk to the civilian's ships' crews face to face? With a few Marines, we could also turn this visit into an inspection. You can imagine that with a derelict starport as this one, it's an open avenue for smugglers..."

She extended the invitation to Kimpasherki. She wanted to flex her diplomacy muscle, but also keep in constant contact with the engineers, so she gladly took second place in the interactions.

Hrolf nodded.  "Let's definitely take the marines along as they'll be helpful if we do find anything odd.  I'd guess that there may be rebels trying to flee the system as well as those looking to smuggle things inbound.  Still, we'll have to tread lightly or the civilian captains will clam up if we show too much force."

The Sharshana spends the remainder of the week carrying out patrol duties within the Beaxon system; if there was any hope for excitement in the doing, it's quickly dashed: word of the uprising made it out before the Sharshana arrived, and it'll be another week or two before ships start to return this way.

Most ships, that is. An x-boat makes its way through the system, undertaking a routine circuit of the cluster. A single subsidized merchant, the Aldyssar's Fancy, puts in an appearance at the gas giant, having planned to refuel and jump onward to Noghon; they're out of position for a stopover this time, but the captain expresses some relief at the fact that they won't have to bypass Beaxon on the way back.

Nevertheless, the Sharshana's presence might well be what keeps the situation planetside relatively... stable. How long that will last once it has departed is anyone's guess, but smart money would say not long.

The starport's functioning areas suffered relatively little structural damage during the attack since it was mostly a matter of small-arms fire. Broken windows and battered siding are relatively easy to replace. The extensive dilapidation beyond that core would take more than a small team of engineers with limited stores to deal with, but it's clear that nothing much has been done about the place despite the ducal relief package, and the staff (somewhat quietly) confirm as much: a few halfhearted and quickly-abandoned attempts at repairing a building or two, a few new pieces of personal equipment... either the aid was far more token than announced, or too many tokens ended up 'misdirected' en route.

The staff and the crew of the merchant ships are at least able to give a full accounting of the attack, complete with logs and records; the only cargo on any of their manifests that's worthy of a raised eyebrow was a small shipment of heavy weapons... destined for the armories of the government of Beaxon. Legal, yes, at least in the hands of a planetary government, although the price tag associated with it must surely be in excess of everything spent on the starport's "upgrades". Fortunate, too, that the rebels never managed to seize it, or things might have  turned out very differently.

Piracy? Not especially problematic in this system - especially of late, Beaxon is in such a mess that it and its shipping don't present a tempting target - but between them the spacers' comments about recent events in the area validate the admiralty's concerns about increased lawlessness: in the last month there have been several raids by small but heavily-armed spacecraft, seemingly targeting isolated vessels in outsystems, or small communities, monitoring stations, and the like; targets that starport-based system defense forces can't quickly reach.


I made the relevant checks rather than delaying things any further by asking everyone to roll them; you had a reasonable level of success - and the Sharshana's stay definitely made an impression on people.

Jacqueline did not much enjoy helping process the prisoners. Dealing with the law was an interesting mental challenge, it was true. But she found it difficult to actually deal with the prisoners, and the responsibility made her nervous. If she had to actually speak to prisoners, she made sure to be very polite and respectful and not let her shyness show. She could only hope she was doing right and impressing the Captain.

Iita writes a report on the corruption of the local government, based on:
- the engineers' report on the starport
- interviews with the prisoners (crosschecked)
- talk with the staff and crew of the merchant ships (the regular visitors, not the first timers)
- local medias (incl. those of the opposition)
...and personal deductions and elaborations.
She sees the economy like just another kind of machine to fix, especially when she examines the input/output grand table. Thus she can determine what imports Beaxon is lacking, and what exports still are rotting on the docks...

She sends the report to the Captain, so he could beef up the report to the Duke.
This message was last edited by the player at 22:13, Tue 19 Jan 2021.

The Baron spends his time during patrols socializing with other nobility and high command. He spends a large amount of time spending and receiving communiques, especially looking for opportunities to "spin" the suppression of the rebellion into something grander than it really turned out to be.

Otherwise he was focused on their next stop and looking to see the route in place that would put them in line with real piracy and not just general lawlessness.

Hrolf will participate in patrols in the small craft and interviews with what ship's crews are available.  Otherwise he'll train on piloting and astrogation.

"Captain, requesting permission to interview the prisoners, with some officers who volunteer. This should be a 'sweet' questioning, since I'd like to know what their reproaches towards the government are. Of course I shall then sort the true from the propaganda... but what we learn from protesters may end up in a report I intend to write and submit to you", Iita explained laboriously.

Between dealing with the prisoners and her ordinary duties Jacqueline is very busy. But when she can find the time she offers to help Iita write her report, although she probably won't sign it.
She helps teach Hrolf about Astrogation when she can spare the time, although it's not always easy to keep up with her she talks about it; she is quite talented in her field. Jacqueline is much more relaxed and less shy when she talks astrogation; it's all an interesting intellectual puzzle for her. Still, Hrolf gets the feeling that she is a little nervous he might be better than her in her field.