Jacqueline was startled by Iita's communication. "Um, yes, that makes sense Lieutenant" she said. "I'll make sure we pull the data." At the mention of 'pilot', she glanced over at Hrolf. She started working on the trajectories on her tablet, then paused; that was what she most wanted to do, but not what she should probably start with. She put on her headset and contacted the planet, preparing to request the traffic data.

Several things come to the bridge crew's attention in short order.

The first is that the local star has recently unleashed a large flare, and while it isn't heading toward the mainworld, the outflow of plasma makes it difficult to get any readings in that area. On the other hand, it's unlikely that any but specially-designed ships could take advantage of it to hide without being at severe risk themselves. Still, the science department - tiny though it is - will certainly want to take a closer look before you leave.

There are already at least four ships in the inner area of the system (fortunately, none in the direction of the flare): the corporate-registered scout ship that's currently in transit away from the mainworld appears to be of little immediate concern, but the others are of more interest: the salvage hauler puttering around in the middle of an asteroid cluster some distance out also seems to be running silent, and there are two vessels out by the nearest gas giant, both of vargr design and Extents registry; a passenger liner and armed merchant, the former engaged in a fuel skimming run while the other remains in orbit.

A salvage vessel refitted for mining wouldn't be too unusual in itself, but the lack of a transponder response suggests that it doesn't wish to be noticed (and wouldn't have been without the Sharshana's powerful sensor arrays) as it goes about what is otherwise unremarkable work. The vargr ships don't appear to be doing anything unusual either, and their transponders do answer the Sharshana's ping (even if some of the data might be hard to verify), but that particular armed merchant class is thought to be better suited to raiding than to trading.

There's only a slight amount of interference from the flare as robust greetings and an invitation to visit is received from the main world. Endup is amber zoned for a reason: the planet's atmosphere is mildly toxic at lower elevations, where most of the very low-tech population lives, and the higher-tech religious clique that controls the place reserves the (clean-aired) upper elevations for visiting gods from the stars - a role that naval personnel would be expected to play along with, whatever they think of it.

In reply to Gvoellaekh (msg # 7):

[INTRA-SHIP COMM-TEXT MESSAGE]

Fr: Sharshana Space Traffic Control, Lieut. Kimpasherki
Re: Traffic Records
   Lieut. Yune, I'm requesting Communications acquire a download of the local starport's Traffic Logs.  I want to see if any ship registered to Rosax Security has passed through here at any time.
   The local port is a Class-D, by Imperial standards, being run by a pre-Gravitic Techno-Religious Dictatorship, so I'm not holding out hope for much in the way of traffic records from them, but we should still make the attempt, yes?  Just in case.
    Also, there is an Imperial Count, and the Count's Household, in residence of this system, so also have Communications contact the Household, just in case they happen to keep track of traffic in the system.

My Gratitude, and Respects,
   Kimpasherki

[INTRA-SHIP COMM-TEXT MESSAGE]

Fr: Ishakhi
Re: Follow-up
   Jacqueline, you should send a text to the XO and alert him to the presence of an Imperial Count in this system.  Just that.  Inform him there is a Count, here.
   Then leave it to the XO to remind the Baron about his Imperial Obligation -- that he should at least say Hello to the Count.
   The XO will then owe you one!

Got Your Six,
   Ishakhi

In reply to Ishakhi Kiikag Kimpasherki (msg # 9):

[Sharshana Local Space Traffic Control Center, 2nd Bridge]

     Ishakhi taps out a command on his tablet, then reaches up and activates his headset,

     "Marine Commander, this is Small Craft Operations.  Requesting Marine Landing Shuttle for use in Stealth Reconnaissance mission.  Please assemble a Boarding Team as soon as possible, and have them report aboard.  Navy personnel will handle the piloting and signal stealth, for this mission."

     "Sending you mission parameters ... now." Ishakhi swipes the file off to the Marine Commander,

     "Captain-the-Baron has greenlighted the mission, Marine Commander, so have your gang hustle.  Small Craft Command, Over To You."

As the ship shifted position to intercept the vargr craft the Baron gave the nod for a tightbeam communication to be sent their way.

"This is the I.N.S. Sharshana. We are conducting routine patrols and inspections in the area. Please adjust course to these coordinates and prepare for inspection. Transmit your manifest and flight path along this channel. We have no reason to suspect you of conducting illegal operations in the area, please do not give us any reason to re-evaluate that assessment."

One of the transport shuttles soon sets out under protocols of extreme discretion. If the salvage hauler-presumed-miner doesn't leave in the meantime, it's still going to be at least a two-day trip, given the distances and orbits. Thrusting at full power would cut that down considerably, but it would make the shuttle highly noticeable.

Whether it's noticeable or not, there's the added potential for complications if the hauler turns out to be armed. The transport could easily outdistance it if it proves to be hostile - but only if it doesn't get blasted to bits in the meantime.

Hopefully the uniform shirt wasn't red today.




The distance involved to the vargr ships is much smaller, but still large enough to cause a short communication delay. The expression of the comm officer on duty implies that the response is taking a little bit longer than that, but soon enough they stir and respond to whoever is on the other side of the comm channel. "The merchant ship is deferring to the liner, sir. They're still returning from their fuel dive." There's another period of awkward silence before the conversation, stacatto though it is, resumes, the liner having re-achieved orbit.

Then the comm officer makes a face despite trying really hard not to, betraying a certain level of amusement and a touch of disbelief as they turn in their seat to address Thenroy. Their tone illustrates what they think of things a bit more openly as they state, with only slightly-exaggerated emphasis, "Apparently, we have permission to conduct a respectful inspection, captain."
This message was last edited by the GM at 03:08, Thu 21 Oct 2021.

"Comm-officer [name], did the Vargr send what the captain requested? Their manifest and flight path? Oh, we know what their flight path is, don't we, from the transponder? No? (checks the log) Oh, just that their last stop was at Zyedi! Does that match their flight plan?

The manifest. Make a copy for me please. We've elaborated a new algorithm. Oh my, by the Emperor, my engineers are such a bunch of geniuses. We compare the manifest with an average of volume/mass ratio, and the known... what is the word... mensurations of their ship, with all the visible alterations - like more sandcasters - , and we can deduce if they may have any hidden compartments. Also, we're working with long historical economic data of exports, so if their last stage was from an agricultural world, how could they have loaded, say, electronics? Oh, we just have to feed the computer with that manifest and it shall do the reconciliation, and point out the discrepancies. This algorithm is still in trial of course, and mostly we've done some machine learning on past customs inspections - comparing statements, then forecasts, with the actual inventory - so much that we've lost the perspective on how the computer actually reasons and ponders all factors. But as long as it's working...", the Chief-Engineer offloads with passion.
This message was last edited by the player at 14:54, Fri 29 Oct 2021.

Baron Reziilka skewed up his face and leaned back in the command chair, quickly adopting a sarcastic tone.

"Oh we have permission do we. Well I'm sure we can thank the accomodating captains by being extra thorough with our inspections to really showcase the importance we place on security in the region."

Jacqueline sees the message from Ishaki, but she first contacts the starport in an attempt to get their traffic data. [Thank you, I'll take care of it] she sends back. She smiled softly to herself at the assistance; Jacqueline did not make friends easily, but she dared to hope Iita and Ishaki might be her friends.

During the wait for news from the shuttle, Jacqueline contact the XO. "There's an Imperial Count on this world, sir" she mentioned. It took her a long moment before she added, softly and almost reluctantly. "Let me know if I can be of any assistance. I have a, a bit of experience with those kinds of situations"

The inspection shuttle departs once the Sharshana has drawn near (relatively speaking) to the two vargr vessels, which have adopted a high orbit around the gas giant, awaiting your arrival.

The jump logs provided by the vargr ships follow the same route, meandering down in a generally trailing-rimward path from their designated departure point of Dhaengae in the Spurl subsector. The only obviously unusual thing about it is that they've stayed off of the major shipping routes, including making use of deep space jumps. Likewise, many of their jumps have been to the gas giants of various systems rather than to the mainworlds, although there have been a few mainworld visits too, spaced out enough to imply that they were supply stops rather than trading ventures.

The cargo manifest for the two vessels is also surprisingly small. There's next to nothing in the way of trade goods accounted for on either manifest. That isn't particularly surprising when it comes to the liner, which has very little cargo space to begin with, but the armed merchant apparently isn't doing much in the way of merchanting either. Supplies enough to cover a long interval before stopping (or at least what remains from the last stopover), yes, and judging by the numbers it's covering for the packet as well.

Aside from that, and a couple of crates of trade goods - seemingly incidental mixed cargo - most of the manifest is for unspecified "sealed diplomatic goods", the listed destination for which is Zeng.

That still leaves a lot of space unaccounted for, but the comms dialogue indicates that that space has largely been converted into additional tankage to support the deep space jumps. It seems that the merchant has undergone some refits for the sake of its assigned escort duty - getting the packet and the "sealed diplomatic goods" to Zeng.

It's not clear what said "sealed diplomatic goods" actually are, but apparently the primary passenger on the packet - and individual in charge of the operation - is someone high up in Rraegnaell Oukh, a vargr shipping concern...

...and that's when Intel urgently points out that Rraegnaell Oukh is known as an interface line - its headquarters is very close to both the Imperial and Zhodani borders, and its main business is trans-shipping things (in both directions) that would be illegal to trade directly. That trans-shipping is not in itself inherently illegal, but it's potentially fraught.

The fact that they seem to be quietly heading for Zeng would be strange (or suspicious) enough on its own. The claim that they're diplomatic goods is even stranger, and might well be a ruse, but if it is true then it could be politically fraught as well.


The sensor readouts to support the modifications and cargo manifest, notwithstanding the unspecified nature of some of the cargo and the fact that at least one of the ships is nonstandard. The mass definitely isn't evenly distributed within that space, though - whatever it is, it's not all the same thing.
This message was last edited by the GM at 04:41, Wed 03 Nov 2021.

Lieutenant Yune, make contact with the local Imperial nobility for our traditional meeting and to see if there are any concerns or requests they might have for the Imperial Navy."

He mouthed open to continue speaking but then paused. This business with diplomatic seals was troubling. They could put in a request with the Vargr to see if these are authorized or not but he figured the Vargr government would never turn its own people over to the Empire. Would he risk a diplomatic incident to break the seal?

The answer was probably not. Instead he directed Intelligence to quietly continue investigation and to secure as much information as possible from the cargo and the flight logs. He would not be the one to break up a Vargr smuggling ring operating with fake seals, at least not today. But he would definitely set up the Imperium to catch these smugglers the next time they try this same tactic.

"Let's put in a formal request with the Vargr government anyway. We will detail that they are operating in the area of known smuggling activity and we respectfully wish to verify that the diplomatic seals we see are not counterfeit or invalid. Who knows, perhaps fate will be on our side for once."

Jacqueline nodded. "Yes sir, I'll make the arrangements for the meeting." She appreciated that the captain trusted her, even if doing this mean going outside her comfort range.

The response from the local nobility is brief and mostly consists of formalities. Given the eccentricities of the local government there isn't much of relevance planetside (and one gets the impression that they have as little to do with said local government as possible). The attached documentation is largely a set of analyses of the Starport data and system scans and logs, the latter rendered relatively sparse by the out-of-the-way nature of Endup. There has been a noticeable increase in traffic in the last few months, not all of which has stopped at the starport, and there's a quiet request at the end for an equally-quiet meeting.

It isn't quite clear whether there's concern over the data or the local nobles are simply desperate for a non-government social event. All things considered, it's probably both.


As for the legalities of breaching the seals: if they're legitimate seals then breaching them would be a major, well, breach, and could bring down several forms of wrath upon the Captain - as CO, he would bear ultimate responsibility. If they're clearly fake, on the other hand, then it would be perfectly valid to ignore them. If they're questionable... that's where it gets more dicey.


Breaching seals that appear to be genuine but for which the circumstances are dubious (which this appears to be) allows for some level of discretion, but breaching the seals would still be considered on the extreme end of the scale unless there's no other option (and probably still draw ire regardless, especially if the seals themselves are clearly legitimate). Confiscation and delivery to an appropriate authority would be the typically-expected response, but this could just as easily mean detaining the ships involved and sending them along (if they're uncooperative) or escorting them (if they're not uncooperative), since they are, by implication, something illegal may be going on, whether or not the ships/crews themselves are aware of (or acknowledge) that.

The practicality of this currently runs up against your mission of dealing with the Rosax problem and the threat to the race, and there's also the diplomatic consequences of the action to take into account, notwithstanding the seals themselves. The standing and reputation of the ships/crews involved has to be taken into account (since detaining the retinue of a foreign noble or equivalent will cause issues separate from those associated with the seals).

The thin engineer gathered all the images found by a search with the keywords "diplomatic seals"+"Vargr", appointed an AI to it, and downloaded it into the video scanners of the inspection team. Thus, by scanning the seals, the AI could tell if the seals were of the right size and composition - in a word, if they were genuine.

Which would lead to another question : if they were genuine, who could prove they weren't stolen by the Vargr smugglers?

The Baron came down to the Inspection team to give them their orders personally. This was not a normal circumstance and the iron in his backbone and the severe look on his face spoke volumes that what he was about to say might as well have been carved into stone tables and delivered from whatever higher power one might believe in. In this room, in this moment, Thenroy was god and these were his commandments.

"As you know we have captured a group of vargr smugglers. Whatever crimes they are committing against the Imperium must be stopped and you will be the spear through which we pierce their deception. They believe that by using false diplomatic seals that they have discovered a loophole through which they can sneak illicit goods in and out of the system.

You are not foolish enough to fall for such deceptions. We will not be made fools of. You will find the evidence we need to prove that the seals are false, you will then break the seals to uncover whatever crimes are being committed and afterwards you will be decorated as heroes for finally stopping a criminal operation that has been going on far too long.

Do I make myself clear? Good. Dismissed and carry out your orders."

There was no actual pause for questions of course. With his aggressive stance including several gestures of a closed fist hitting his palm to punctuate his point the mere thought of asking a question should have left the inspection team weak in the knees. He was clearly laying out the result and charging his men to figure out how to reach that goal.

The inspection shuttle docks first with the modified armed merchant - between the two, it's the more typically suspicious class of vessel, although if the vargr crew are pirates or smugglers, they certainly don't look or act the part on first impression. While they aren't exactly in uniform - if 'eclectic' isn't part of the dress code, it might as well be - there's nothing inherently shifty or menacing about the crew (including the ship's captain) who meet the inspection team at the airlock; they seem quite professional, in fact, and the corporate insignia is notable in a few places, both on the walls and on said captain's tasseled epaulets.

There certainly aren't any caricatured eye patches or peg legs. Shoulder-mounted parrots are completely out of the question.

Cargo isn't the only thing worthy of an inspection (especially on a ship like this), and the team, no doubt inspired by Thenroy's exhortations, begins conducting a very thorough one. The vargr seem to have expected this, are perhaps even a bit resigned to it, and their captain gamely accompanies the team and provides access as needed.

According to the ship's listed modifications, most of the cargo hold and several secondary facilities, such as the irregularly spacious brig, has been converted into extra tankage, and that certainly appears to be the case. Of course, hiding things in the fuel tanks is always a possibility, but if anything is in there, it can't be much different in density than raw gas, since the Sharshana's sensors aren't picking up anything unusual. The claim of being a modified escort-tender appears to hold up... and the minimal cargo space remaining doesn't hold anything with diplomatic seals.

The inspection team takes a look inside several crates, but nothing there appears to be particularly out of the ordinary. Much of it is simply shipboard supplies and provisions, along with a selection of manufactured goods that might aptly be considered (and are in fact listed as) product samples from various worlds and interests. While some of it might be illegal (or at least restricted) for open use in Imperial space, none of it appears to be illegal as sealed cargo. The only borderline case is a consignment of potent wines from Zhodani space that occupies a gray zone (more for political reasons than legal ones) and could be considered for seizure.

Aside from the wines and some minor tickets for things out-of-place, it isn't exactly a stunning success in terms of Thenroy's ambitions, but then the packet seems to be the command vessel of the pair, and it's also the one purportedly carrying the diplomatic cargo. That's their next stop - with or without some seized wine cases, per whatever instructions they receive on that point.
This message was last edited by the GM at 14:04, Wed 15 Dec 2021.

Jacqueline noted the local's request for a meeting and made preperations. The situation with the Vargr was outside her experience, but she was sure the others knew what they were doing.

Thenroy eyes the unusually large fuel tanks and starts tapping out commands.

"I know it is possible to create secret storage compartments in the fuel tanks. Make a note of their current levels and then empty their fuel tanks and do a thorough inspection of the interior. We can always return the fuel to them afterwards. Something still doesn't feel right."

Maybe that feeling was a hunch that Thenroy was acting on, or maybe he was just starting to grasp at straws in order to justify his excessive search. In his mind they had nothing but time to kill until they found the pirates scanning the system anyway.

"Captain, all senior officers", Iita broadcasted

"This is my preliminary report. The sensor readings appear to align with what the inspection team saw and the Vargr themselves stated : somebody with a budget - the company logos in various places imply who - took what is a dubious class of vessel and retrofitted it as an escort/tender. That included removing the more dubious elements, such as the concealed section, the brigs, and grapples; even the original cargo area has been converted into open cargo and tankage spaces to feed the Jump drive upgraded to 3 Ps/J [Parsecs/Jump] to match the packet. Add that the fuel autonomy for many jumps through deep space."

Iita swiped to the next notes. "Also the standard breaching apparatus has been replaced by an UNDREP system as well [Underway Replenishment. Resupply during flight - like the Sharshana had on mission first step]

Though the armaments and armor don't appear to have been changed, the thing would pack a mean punch against any minor vessel, and be quick enough to outpace most civilian ones. The downside? Over half of its tonnage is fuel. There's no space to haul any loot around. It's not a pirate ship, and what this secret ship is transporting must be of fantastic value...

...for the Vargrs, since the vessels are adapted to their physiology and the crew is entirely Vargr. Tsetsegma over

Oh, also, I upgraded the seals scanners of the inspection crew.", she hastily added.
This message was last edited by the player at 22:15, Fri 24 Dec 2021.

It it perhaps unsurprising that the demand for the escort vessel to vent its fuel tanks is met with a certain level of exasperation on the part of its crew, but the mildly heated exchange over it (more specifically, the unreasonableness of it) is soon cut off as the vargr who have been showing the inspection team around receive an instruction from elsewhere - just where isn't quite clear. While they clearly aren't happy about it, they begin preparations.

It won't be a quick process. Venting all of the fuel won't take too long in its own right, but doing so necessitates a complete shutdown of the power plant, and that in turn means shutting down everything else first, along with the precautions involved in securing everything and getting the crew into vacc suits - the inspection team, fortunately, has some waiting in their shuttle.


The comms officer speaks up a couple of minutes later, addressing Thenroy. "Sir, we've received a message from the Packet. Their, err, leader wants to talk to you directly. By comms or in person."

Thenroy was hopeful that a full vent wouldn't be necessary. Smugglers typically want their hidden cargo compartments accessible without a complete shutdown but the fact that he was being summoned before the other leader made him think they were along the right tracks. Everything before this had been the standard dance to make sure nothing felt off. Now they were getting to the heart of the matter. If there was anything to be found he would find it.

"Understood. I think this is a matter to be resolved in person. Chief Engineer, oversee the fuel transfer so we can search their fuel tanks for hidden compartments as quickly as possible. Sublieutenant Yune, with me as attendant. They will likely make some noise about flight schedules and I will need your analysis and insight."

The issue with being the Chief Engineer is, you quickly get to think that you are the most intelligent person on board.

Especially with a captain like the Baron. Iita had explained that whatever the Vargr were transporting was right before their eyes : the precious "diplomatic sealed" cargo. There wouldn't be anything hidden anywhere else, and not in the tanks.

However, the captain wrote the appreciations on her, so she had to obey the orders. However, Iita took her time to organize the fuel transfer : since the captain would be presented his own sorry ass by the Vargr leader, she was basically waiting for the counter-order.
This message was last edited by the player at 22:53, Thu 20 Jan 2022.

Jacqueline looked dismayed, not eager for confrontation. But she smoothly saluted. "Yes sir. I'll have the answers". The Captain had faith in her and she would justify it.
She gathered up her tablets. She'd have her mathematics with her, and that was a comfort. She looked at her reflection in a piece of metal and tried to fix her uniform.
She briefly put her hand to her earpiece and broadcast to Iita "The things I could do if over half our tonnage was fuel."
This message was last edited by the player at 09:34, Sun 23 Jan 2022.

With the meeting approved, a passenger shuttle swiftly departed the Packet's flight bay and made for the Sharshana's, just as Thenroy and Jacqueline were doing - and the ship's Master-At-Arms and a small detachment of ship's security, though they'd keep their presence discreet unless the situation (or Thenroy's orders) dictated otherwise. There was ample time for the crew to arrange themselves to receive the shuttle given the distance involved.

The absence of two of the Sharshana's own vessels ensured that there was clear space in the flight bay, and the shuttle entered and landed without incident. The shuttle's visual design was... eye-catching, to put it politely, with the logo of Rraegnaell Oukh prominent on each facing. It was also well-maintained and spotless; even the pickiest naval officer would have trouble finding fault with the way the vargr crew had kept it!

It took less than a minute past touchdown for the crew to hear the signature hiss of the shuttle's airlock in action, and it opened but a moment later, revealing a trio of canine figures.

The foremost was a snowy-furred vargr woman wearing a shimmering blue suit and a varicolored cape that was fastened over one shoulder by an ornate brooch cut in a stylized rendition of the company logo; beneath this and traversing in the opposite direction was a heavily-tasseled yellow-green sash, embroidered with what looked like abstract runic designs.

Wasting no time, she strode straight out of the airlock and up to Thenroy, her movements both purposeful and serene in the stateliest fashion, and very much confident in her place, as if she owned the Sharshana, not the Navy. The other two - honor guard in slightly less prominent garb, apparently - followed in tow. The expression that she wore was just as telling as her attire: reserved and imperious, yet also cultured and polite. If she'd been wearing a navy uniform, one would have been forgiven for thinking that they were receiving a skeptical admiral on an inspection rather than a suspected smuggler.

"Baron-Captain Thenroy Reziilka," she greeted him formally as she clapsed her hands behind her back, her voice ringing soft but steely - like the one she was addressing, this was a person accustomed to giving commands and having them obeyed. As it turned out, she was also straight to the point, looking him straight in the eye without trouble or concern - despite being a full foot shorter than he was - as she continued without pause, "You are harassing my escort vessel, and I would like to know why."
This message was last edited by the GM at 14:02, Sun 06 Feb 2022.