Re: Aramanx
In reply to Marc hault-Oberlindes, Baron Feri, (msg # 766):
Fastened on the front of the brooch are four gems in a line along
its longer axis. The largest is zircon, cut with many facets. The
two smaller stones flanking it are also zircon. The oval stone
is polished obsidian. None of the gems is of any great value.
Inlaid under the topmost of the small zircons is a sheet of some
greenish material, which fluoresces under ultraviolet light. At
the back is a clasp for pinning the brooch to clothing and a small
loop for attachment to a chain. Very careful examination will
reveal two small compartments within the brooch. One is opened
by twisting the clasp counter-clockwise to reveal a shallow
depression that could carry a small slip of paper or microfilm.
The other is opened by squeezing the silver framework while
holding down the chain loop end and is a deeply drilled hole.
Gvoudzon knows of the shallow depression; the deep hole is
unknown but could be discovered by experiment with a Very
Difficult Intelligence check. Check once per 15 minutes of
experimentation.
These compartments are diversions and serve no actual
purpose. A radiation counter will register slight radioactivity
emanating from a small area of the metal framework; this is
also a misdirection.
The back of the brooch is polished smooth. Neatly stamped on
the surface is the number 86 and no other identifying marks.
The brooch exhibits fine workmanship and is worth perhaps Cr.
2,500 as a piece of jewellery.
Aran Ashkashkur is a high-level employee of the
megacorporation Tukera Lines; he is the Aramis subsector head
of the Vemene, Tukera’s covert security agency. As such, he has
tremendous authority and plans to use it to make himself rich.
Ashkashkur’s chance comes when the Imperial Navy contracts
with Akerut, a Tukera subsidiary, to carry a pair of naval meson
guns and the computers used to control them from the Navy’s
base at Inthe to its base at Aramis. He arranges for the ship
carrying the cargo, a Hercules class transport called the Titan,
to pass through Zila on its way to Aramis; he also arranges for a
Vemene agent to be on board as chief engineer, using the name
Jelika Chan. On arrival at Zila, Chan declares the Titan’s jump
drives unsafe for further service (having previously sabotaged
them). The cargo is moved into an Akerut warehouse unti1
another ship can be found to take it to Aramis.
Meanwhile, Ashkashkur goes as planned; the man has been
busy on Zila. He has purchased a large quantity of electronic
parts from a local company and packaged them in crates that
are close duplicates of the crates carrying the meson guns.
Forging the exterior documentation and security seals is easy
for someone of Ashkashkur’s talents; it is only necessary that
they merely be able to pass a casual examination by warehouse
and ship crews. Then he has placed these crates inside slightly
larger crates marked as farming implements and addressed
to Ozarr on Lablon (later changed to Jesedipere for security
reasons, explained later), which he then consigns to Akerut for
shipment. When the meson guns arrive on Zila, Ashkashkur
breaks into the warehouse (an easy job for the head of the
Vemene) and, using a load lifter, switches the covering crates
from the dummy meson guns to the real ones.
The next day, another Hercules class transport, the Mammoth,
arrives on Zila and is detailed to carry the meson guns.
Ashkashkur arranges to have the Mammoth’s chief engineer
waylaid and severely injured by Vemene thugs. A replacement
is needed and the only qualified engineer available is Jelika
Chan of the now grounded Titan. Her new assignment is to
sabotage the Mammoth’s manoeuvre drive upon entry into the
atmosphere of Aramis, causing the ship to crash (Chan is no
fanatic – there is plenty of time for the crew to escape in the
ship’s pinnace). All goes as planned; the Mammoth is almost
totally destroyed by the combination of re-entry heat, impact
with the ground and exposure to Aramis’ corrosive atmosphere.
Even careful analysis of the wreckage fails to show that the
supposed remains of the meson guns are Ashkashkur’s
electronic junk. Thus, no theft is ever suspected.
By the time of the crash, another Akerut freighter is well on its
way to Jesedipere with a cargo of ‘farm implements’. Ashkashkur
was contracted to sell the meson guns to a Vargr corsair band,
the Kforuzeng, for MCr500 in cash. The Kforuzeng, however,
will take some time to raise the money (they are also spending
heavily to construct a ship, called the Ozarr, to mount one of
the weapons) and the guns will have to wait for some time in a
warehouse on Jesedipere before delivery.
Ashkashkur plans to get the cash and depart immediately. In
his personal starship for the Imperial core and a life of extreme
luxury under a new name.
This message was last edited by the GM at 14:39, Sat 03 Dec 2022.