Baron Thenroy was used to dealing with important people and people who just thought they were important. One of the many social skills needed to navigate in the noble circles that translated quite well to command. It was one among several reasons why Thenroy had always viewed the nobility as just better equipped to handle upper command.

"Apologies for the delay but we have credible intelligence that smugglers and pirates are operating out of this sector. As I am sure you understand this is Imperial space and as such you are subject to inspections as deemed appropriate by the Imperial Navy."

He shifted from his pleasantry voice to one with a little more sinister undertones. Nothing outright threatening but just putting a little iron in the edge so that the vargr would understand exactly how Thenroy was ranking her and her delays against him and his duty.

"That is to say that your inspection will proceed under my discretion until I am satisfied no laws are being broken. If you have nothing to hide then you have nothing to fear. If, however, there is anything...unusual that I should be aware of your cooperation would be noted in the logs and taken into consideration during sentencing."

He paused, letting the iron lift a little. A nice little "good Baron Captian, bad Baron Captain, Good Baron Captain" game. It was an obvious ploy but frankly these kinds of discussion were like a dance to Thenroy. Everyone knew the steps and what to expect next.

"Now then we noticed some irregularities in the fuel tanks. Some smugglers have been known to hide contraband in the tanks letting the fuel hide its presence. This is why we are draining and inspecting as we speak. When our inspection is done your ship will be refueled...free of charge of course, and you will be sent on your way. Assuming we don't find anything, of course. And of course we won't find anything but protocols must be followed. I'm sure you understand."

In reply to Baron Thenroy Reziilka (msg # 31):

Seeing how the Captain-Baron is terribly off to a bad start, Iita nudges Yune and whispers in her ear : "introduce yourself to the female Vargr, and then ask her who she is, diplo"

This message was deleted by the player at 23:28, Wed 09 Feb 2022.

Storm clouds gathered across the vargr leader's brow as Thenroy spoke, and her arms slowly gathered forward to fold across her chest. "What I have just heard is a thinly-veiled accusation that we are a smuggling operation because we are vargr." she stated bluntly and with a hint of ice. "You'll be disappointed. I won't have it, and my crews know that there's an airlock waiting for anyone who disobeys."

Given the tone, that didn't come across as an idle threat toward the disobedient - or a bluff. "I will choose to ignore the insult," she continued, the frost fading from her words. "Because in many cases you'd be right. And, in fairness, our disposition does look odd if you're hunting."

Her hand slowly returned to their behind-the-back clasp, and her tone turned matter-of-fact. "Since you are a Captain of the Imperial Navy, I will trust that you are not also a traitor to the Imperium. I am bringing a cargo under diplomatic seal to the Duke of Zeng. I don't know what's in it, but I do understand that there are interests that would prefer that it not reach its destination. Interests that are hostile to the Imperium, or perhaps merely the Duke. Regardless, a back path seemed like a more prudent approach than traveling well-known routes."

She paused for a single beat, as if considering whether to say more, then did so, the fleeting shadow of a smile playing across her lips, though it was difficult to gauge just what it signified. "I've no indication that they're related, but there does seem to be another hostile interest at work in this area. Rosax Security. An ironic name, considering what we've heard of them, to say nothing of the frank exchange we had with a few of their vessels not long ago."

Iita had worked a lot on the authentication of the seals. She had called an AI on this. She had upgraded the DB of the scanners of the inspection team. Now what she expected was that the scanners would upload an image of the seals "signature", and the AI would compare it to any other diplomatic seals in the sector, and bring back info about time, provenance, and content it protected, and possibly if someone had broken it before.

So Iita brought her wrist with her communicator to her lips and whispered to the away team : "Lt Tsetsegma here. Why does it take so long to scan the seals? Prioritize it over the fuel exchange!"

The mention of Zeng caught the attention of the Chief Engineer. Since the Sharshana also came from Zeng, some info about that mysterious mission could be buried in her DBs, orders, memos, or else... if the Vargr voyage is regular, that is. From her micro-terminal attached to her forearm, Iita started an extensive search on all DBs and news outlet from Zeng - granted, they were 133 days old -, with the keywords "Vargr, diplomatic or espionnage, Duke of Zeng"
This message was last edited by the player at 17:37, Thu 10 Feb 2022.

Two prideful people, each determined not to give an inch; it reminded Jacqueline of her father and mother, although she was probably already closer to this Vargr she had never met than she was to her mother. She squirmed a little at Iita's words; the last thing she wanted to do was get in the middle of this, but she stepped forward anyways. "Sub-lieutenant Yune, Navigator" she introduced herself softly. "If there's anything you or your crew could share about your interactions with Rosax Security or this other threat, I could attempt to identify their possible areas of operation, captain..." That seemed right, focus on what everyone could agree upon. She let the last part linger, an opportunity for the Vargr to introduce herself if she wished.
This message was last edited by the player at 14:10, Sat 12 Feb 2022.

The mention of being on mission to the Duke of Zeng caused Thenroy's eyebrow to twitch. His mask mask of authority was practice and might as well have been stamped like iron on his face but there were still people that could make even the Baron Captain flinch and the Duke of Zeng was one of them.

If the vargr were on diplomatic mission to the Duke then this whole operation was about to be wrapped up very quickly.


"The Duke you say? Very well I understand the importance of your mission then. I will send a communique ahead to let him know you are en route safe and sound."

OOC: ...assuming that doesn't rattle her at all...

With a nod Baron Thenroy turned to Chief Engineer Tsetsegma and began barking out orders.

"Chief Engineer, halt the draining process and begin refueling the escort. All security checks passed, no signs of criminal activity or contraband...of course."

He gives a slight nod to the vargr. He wasn't sure if she knew the questionable legality of the wine they had found but he wasn't about to cross the Duke over something so trivial. He turned back to the vargr and gestured towards Sublieutenant Yune.

"We are aware of the threat that Rosax Security presents and are currently hunting them down. If you have any information about their sightings please deliver them to my subordinate. Thank you for your time and apologies for the inconvienance."

His voice was still stern, he wasn't the kind that would turn into a simpering bafoon just because a powerful noble's name was dropped but as a member of the nobility himself he offered considerable leeway towards the Imperium aristocracy and their associates. He was internally thankful he had put off breaking the diplomatic seals until the last possible moment as that would avoid any uncomfortable conversations with the man that basically gave Thenroy his command, even if indirectly.

Iita steps forward, salutes, and introduces herself. Then she holds a pad in front of the Vargr : "For the fuel transfer record, could you please state again your full name, titles and position? The Captain-Baron also needs those information to announce ahead, so you may be... less... bothered by the Navy"

Of course she'll have those info immediately checked by the security AIs.

The vargr leader showed no sign of being troubled by Thenroy's intent to announce her travels; she merely favored him with a very slight bob of her head and that same shadow of a smile as she replied, "Thank you, Baron-Captain. I will commend your diligence to him."

The repeated prompting for her name - somehow it seemed to have been skipped amidst the communications with the vargr ships - and inquiries after her position and information pertaining to Rosax operations resulted in a slow turn to face the chief engineer and astrogator. "Anarraea, Emissary of Rraegnaell Oukh." Apparently that was the sum total of her titles; then again, in vargr eyes they probably said everything. "Dhoeghzaengull and Khefoeth are the ships under my command."

"I believe that I can do better than describe our interactions." The smile, though still faint, was now clear to see. "Given our mission, we've had good reason to monitor who and what was going on around us. I feel that your intelligence department will make good use of our sensor logs, along with our incident summaries relating to Rosax and others. You'll be in-system for at least a short while to receive them?"

Baron Thenroy gave a nod at the vargr emmisary.

"For security reasons I cannot confirm that but yes, if you transmit them we will receive them. Combined with our own intelligence on the sector perhaps it will be actionable and we can eliminate yet another threat for the Imperium...and the greater galactic community of course."

He wasn't racist (or speciest) by nature, but to the Baron the nations outside of the Imperium would all one day become mere footnotes of history, pushed to the margins so that the grand story of the Empire of humanity could be told in its full and unabridged glory.

During the talk, the engineer had entered the name information on the search engine, and apparently come to some sort of conclusion.

Iita took a deep breath, because she was going to push herself above her status. She crossed her hands behind her back and slid between the emissary and the officer.

"Emissary Anarraea. We know that your mission is both secret and diplomatic, and all in all you wish we hadn't controlled you. However, it may be of interest to you that all the officer presents have a security clearance of 3SC*. The captain-baron Reziilka has a clearance level of US-DSC***, soon to be UMSISC****. So may be you would want a private place, away from prying eyes and indiscrete ears, to confide to the captain-baron only, some sensitive information about your shipment and the role of Rraegnaell Oukh far from the border..."

* Secret - Subsector Security Clearance (3SC)
** Top Secret - Sector Security Clearance (T3SC)
*** Ultra Secret - Domain Security Clearance (US-DSC)
**** UtMost Secret - Imperial Security Clearance (UMSISC)

And Iita encompassed with the arm the width of the flight bay; implying that if they were in a hurry, they could find a discreet corner. "...or you would be welcomed by the captain's office, a very secure place, for the discussion".

Now there was a shibboleth if there ever was one. If the Emissary was more than a middleman transporter, if she had some skill in spycraft, AND knowledge of the Imperial security protocols, all this military parlance would be familiar, and she'd reply, sniggering "UMSISC?! Is this a joke? Surely your captain must be the Duke's favorite if he has already attained TS-2SC!***".

The result was a moment of silence, just barely long enough to start being awkward, as the Emissary regarded Iita with an expression that, on a human, would have constituted ever-so-slightly raised eyebrows.

"Your clearances notwithstanding," she began slowly, choosing and pronouncing the words with deliberate care, before regaining her previous, still considered cadence. "I've told you everything that I reasonably can. I'm not privy to the details behind or the contents of the shipment, only the necessity of it."

Then she refocused her attention on Thenroy. "I will include everything from our point of entry into Imperial space, Baron-Captain. Some of it may be beyond your immediate jurisdiction, but I'm sure that it will be useful nonetheless." Then she brought her hands around front just long enough to tap the flats of her fingers together as she offered him a formal nod before turning and returning regal-strided to her shuttle, her honor guard first parting and then following in practiced fashion.

"Thank you. I'll do everything I can to analyze them." Jacqueline said. The logs and incident summaries were more than she had hoped for, and she felt more confident and comfortable now that she once again had data to analyze and work with. "That seemed to go well" she said quietly to Iita.

In reply to the Emissary :

The Chief Engineer took a step back, did the regulatory salute and went her way to communicate with her crew, cancelling the orders to empty the Vargr ships' tanks - which she hadn't given - and making sure that, on the contrary, they were refueling the Vargr.

Once the orders were given, and she was merely just controlling it, she wondered how the head of a corporate mission could ignore what she was transporting... At least, she should have received hidden instructions. Processes to read in case of emergency, over the risk of loss of the cargo, or control, or someone wanting to break the seals.

Oh, the Vargr, so alien... She shook her head in disbelief.

"Jacqueline," Iita hailed over the private channel, "our job as senior officers is to provide the captain with reports, expose him the various choices, and advise on which one to pick.

Obviously our next interest is the miner. But we don't know enough about it. Will you contact Endup's SSDC*, give them the miner's coordinates and ask when they first detected the miner, and its past trajectories? It may be barely detectable now, next to some 'roids, but it has arrived out of the belt, and thus was detected at some time in the past, and has exchanged info.

Mind you, it could be that it does not respond to our call because all people aboard are dead...

Of course, please use the D6** with Endup. And for their reply, tell them to send a conic signal, to make sure they'll reach us at this distance."

*System Space Defense Command,
**the familiar name for DSECS - Directional Signal Encrypted Communication System

"I'll take care of it" Jacqueline replied. "I've got data to run from what the Vargr gave me, but the more to work with the better it will be. I'm always up to run some numbers."

"Drifting ship with the crew all dead? I think I saw a movie like that when I was young.  I just hope this doesn't end with me crawling through some air vents in my underwear, while chased by a spiky creature from outer space." Jaquline joked, giggling gently in a manner few had seen her do before.

So, to be clear, Jackie is sending a beamed message to Endup, which says "what do you know about that miner ship at such coordinates?". Of course, the back and forth lasts a few hours.

This probably means that Lt Yune is going to the captain, and proposing :
- either that the cruiser now sets sail for the planet Endup, which would mean that the boarding ship is left to himself...
- or that the cruisers makes a show of conducting patrol operations - like heading toward some other object and then suddenly come about - which will get it into a position that conveniently cuts short the transit time to the miner, without making it obvious.

Both trajectories may be subjected to change once Endup answers.

Jacqueline, is that what you're doing ? :)

After namedropping the Duke, Baron Thenroy transformed into a most gracious host for the visiting diplomat.

"While we refuel your ship our facilities are at your disposal. If there is anything you need don't hesitate to ask."

He knew that she would be polite enough not to overstay her welcome on a military ship but it was all part of the dance the nobility had to perform. Making offers of aid that would never be fulfilled was part and parcel for navigating the upper echelons of society. Those of lesser birth might view it under the expression that it was the though that counts but those of higher bloodlines understood it was tradition. Tradition was what kept the universe turning and protection of the hearth was as ancient a tradition as they came, even if it didn't make much sense in the current millennia.

Thenroy took his leave as soon as he politely could and then made a direct march towards the Intelligence department. They were being handed a treasure trove of information and he expected the information from the envoy to help fit the missing pieces together and secure the location and plans of the pirates they were hunting.

When Thenroy arrived at Intelligence he didn't even bother to knock. He strode right in and started firing out demands like a machine gun.

"We are are receiving intelligence from a traveling Vargr envoy. This is to be treated as your highest priority and integrated with the intel we currently have on Rosax Security. I want their base of operations and I want it yesterday!"

In reply to Iita Tsetsegma (msg # 48):

The second one. She was also analyzing its trajectory to learn what she could

Once the Vargr ship was set for release, Baron Thenroy reviewed the flight plans submitted and gave a nod at Yune as he tapped the second path.

"Let's try and cut them off then. Set a course for a parallel objective and then we'll cut across at full speed once the boarding ship is in place."

He gave a nod and smiled at the thrill of the hunt.

"We will conduct full sweeps keeping their sensors alive with our presence so there is no question that the cruiser isn't heading in their direction. With any lucky their crew lacks discipline and equipment needed to see the dagger ready to plunge into their back while their attention is focused elsewhere."

Endup Starport responded with only slightly more than the expected delay due to distance, presumably for the sake of calibrating their response to reach the Sharshana alone. They were aware that a ship had jumped in near the outer belt (as opposed to the near one that the Sharshana detected the prospector in) but had had no contact with it since. It was too far out for reliable communication or even tracking, though there was no distress signal or the like to indicate trouble. That was a week and a half ago; it's conceivable that it managed low-powered flight into its current position without registering on Endup's sensors, but it's unlikely to have coasted there accidentally. A data set of Endup's sensor and communication logs related to the ship's arrival follow soon after, more or less confirming their statement and allowing the ship's Astrogators to work out its likely route.


It takes a couple of hours to begin, but the Sharshana receives a far more voluminous quantity of information from the Packet; it's a mix of raw data, log entries, and astrographical calculations that appear to cover the entirety of the Packet's route since leaving Dhaengae; it's clear that the crew has paid special attention to other ships that were operating 'off road', including their own intelligence assessments.

Combing through it all will take some time, but the Sharshana's own Intel department is, suffice it to say, thrilled to get their hands on this.


It turns out that the prospector ship is far from 'dead' - as the Sharshana comes about, with the shuttle nearing its location, the ship suddenly goes very much live and its engines roar to full power, quickly propelling it clear of the field - and then it jumps.

If that wasn't an obvious cut-and-run, it's hard to imagine what would be. And that thing had the Rosax signature.

Two things quickly become clear about this: the jump signature is slightly wobbly in a way that suggests a bad jump (though probably not a catastrophic misjump), and analysis quickly pinpoints its intended destination: somewhere in 0538 - deep space.

Maybe there's something out there. Maybe it's a setup, or a possibly-suicidal attempt to lead you on a wild goose chase. Maybe someone really goofed.

The Sharshana might manage to catch up if it collects its shuttle and jumps after it, but there's a high likelihood that it would be gone by then (if it isn't stranded). You may not need to chase it, though: if the assessment of Rosax was correct, then a second jump from there would take it to Taomina... where the 'security' company's ships are expected to be gathering. Two jumps versus one: the Sharshana could easily beat it there.
This message was last edited by the GM at 02:11, Sat 19 Mar 2022.

Thenroy's lip curled up in a sneer as he watched the pirates flee. He had them and yet the distraction with the Vargr had given the scum of the Imperium the chance to slip through his fingers. He was in a foul mood for hours giving control of the ship to his XO while he "prepared his report".

His mood flipped completely around once ship's Intelligence had delivered their report and he stormed onto the bridge.

"Sub-lieutenant Yune, prepare a jump for the Taomina system. We're going to wipe this scum right off the face of the map."

He sat down into his chair and activated the comms down to engineering.

Chief, get the ship ready for a jump as quickly as possible."

He looked over at his XO and gave the Vargr commander a nod of confidience.

"Rotate the crew rosters so everyone is fresh for battle. We're about to bring the light of the Imperium to burn away the darkness. We need to be ready for a fight just in case the pirates finally decide to stand their ground instead of fleeing before us."

For all that his size and laconic style could create an ominous first impression, Gvoellaekh was, in practice, both more businesslike and far less prone to incendiary outbursts than the Captain. That did not preclude him keeping everything running on time (if not just ahead of it), even if it was achieved more by way of silent expectation than by Thenroy's preference for overheated rhetoric.

"Understood," was therefore his initial response to Thenroy, followed by a moment's silence, then then an addition. "I will plan contingent watches in case we precipitate early or late."

Which, of course, meant that everyone's leisure time would also be contingent during the last day or so of jump travel. Still, that was probably better than everyone facing the prospect of an eruption from the Captain's chair because the wrong people were asleep (and awake) upon arrival.

Jacqueline saluted. "Yes sir. I'll have the solution momentarily" She began working right away, only slightly regretting that she missed the opportunity to navigate a jump into deep space. She picked up one of her tablets and began working, immersing herself in the numbers she loved so much. Combat didn't really suit her, but she couldn't deny there was a certain thrill of the chase. "They won't get away."