"Oh, the air/raft can handle 6 easily, Anzha" Yuri replies. "The concern was about shuttling our new guests back to the starport--couldn't have done it in one trip."

"You're here, Bannacor. Might as well go along for the joyride."

As soon as everyone was aboard, Yuri took the air/raft up to 100 feet and headed out of the starport. Outside, the starport, he took the craft up to 1000 feet. It was only at that point that he engaged the GPS locator and checked the map to see where he was going. He steered a course somewhat off of that.

One by one, he turned to his 'crew' and addressed each with a question.

"So, Anzha, have you ever tried to read an Aslan before?" he asked. "Mostly, we're just looking for any hostility or signs of betrayal."

"I've got an Aslan translator on my comm now, Bannacor. Do you happen to know how accurate they are? I can't imagine it screwing up anything radical, but nuances and idioms can be tricky."

"Oscar and Carmichael... I'll drop below radar at some point, then change course to the destination. I'll drop to contour flying then, and drop you two off maybe half a mile from the estate. You do recon in the area and the estate. Mostly, you're looking for any sort of trap, either by the Aslan or by the authorities, in case our patron was setting us up."

"We'll maintain radio silence here, but you can report to us if you find anything. I'll acknowledge with just a single bip."

"Keep in mind two things as you go. Aslan hearing and sense of smell, so try to stay downwind. Death Squads--don't know if any are in the area, but you'd have a hard time explaining what you are doing out here... though you could say you're hunting Aslan for the bounty."

"Once I drop you off, I'll retrace the flight path, head back up to altitude, continuing course, stop at some point when it seems likely I've missed my destination, and then fly straight back to the estate. That should take about an hour. Is that going to be sufficient time for  you to do your recon?"

"Anyone have any questions or suggestions?"

"I don't recall having ever read an Aslan, hopefully the experience is not too jarring," Anzha replies, settling into the air raft for a long ride.  She took the opportunity early in the flight to meditate some and focus her mind, calming any anxiety or excitement.

"Sounds like a good plan to me," Carmichael answered.

"Planning's not me strong suit. I'm much better at getting the job done."

"Depending on what the terrain is like, that sounds like sufficient time."

"I think my concern is that whoever owns this estate, are they going to have guards there? It would be prudent to keep the Death Squads and bounty hunters at bay. Probably have alarms, too."

"The Aslan are going to feel kind of cramped up, even if they've only been there for a few days. Can't go out or risk being spotted by satellite."

In reply to Carmichael (msg # 10):

"Works for me too."

In reply to Oscar 'Grouch' Henson (msg # 11):

Bannacor gets in the shuttle in the back with Anzha. Grouch can ride in the middle and Carmichael up front with Yuri.

He settles back for the ride in the air raft, not sure how long it would take. He hoped Yuri knew where they were going!

Unless something happens to keep him from doing so, Yuri will follow the plan he already outlined. Once he was a few miles out from the starport, he took the air/raft up to a level where he could get a view of the surrounding terrain.

As he'd expected, the area around the estate was extensively wooden. It was about the only way Aslan could have remained hidden well enough to make it to the estate. Unless they were driven there.

"Okay, Oscar and Carmichael. We're coming up onto your drop point," Yuri said. "Does that small clearing look good for you?"

It was barely large enough to accommodate the air/raft, but the gravitic drive made it an easy landing.

"Half an hour. Once you give us the all clear, we'll land at the estate, and then have them let you in, so you don't need to storm it or sneak in. Watch out for traps and snares, the headhunters and possible security."

"If you get compromised by the headhunters, remember I'm here to look at some art. Tell us to bring it in if it's not safe."

"So, Oscar," Carmichael asks as he disembarks from the air/raft, "any preference for how you do recon? You want to stick together, or come at the estate from both sides?"

"The wall is mostly to keep out animals. Shouldn't be a problem scaling it if we have to. I'm more concerned about the security it may have. Sensors are going to get us more so than cameras. Besides, we aren't supposed to go in, just scout the perimeter."

"But as my old Sarge used to say, 'no plan survives contact with the enemy'. It's all well and good to expect them to react a certain way, but don't be surprised if they do something completely different. More precisely, be prepared for it when they do."

"I'm good either way--solo or tandem."

"I didn't see any one out on the golf course when we flew by, but it still seems to be maintained. Probably by robots. I'd say one of us take the south side and one of us circle around to the north, avoid the golf course over on the east altogether."

In reply to Carmichael (msg # 14):

"Up to you. I can go either way."

"Okay, then... we're about evenly matched," Carmichael replies to Oscar. "I think I might have a slight edge on recon, though, so I'll circle around to the north and you can approach from the south."

"Once we reach the wall, but stay out of sight of any cameras, circle around to the west and we'll meet in the middle... say, 100 yards out... and compare notes."

"Ready to head out when you are."

In reply to Carmichael (msg # 16):

Oscar nods and grunts, he ready then lopes out in the direction of the estate to do his assigned recon. He goes carefully around the wall unobserved after he reaches it and is not spotted. He notes where the cameras and guards are and any other sensors he sees. He meets Carmichael at the designated point, arriving first and waiting on the other.

Carmichael heads out in the opposite direction from Oscar. Having a longer distance to cover, it's no wonder Oscar has to wait for him to show up.

It takes him another few minutes to find Oscar amid the trees, which is a good thing, since it probably means others would have had a hard time finding him as well.

He gives Oscar an 'OK' signal as he approaches.

"Same here. The only cameras I saw were on the main gate. Probably some on the gate to the golf course, too," he compares notes with Oscar.

"I think I spotted a few sensors, but can't be sure. I didn't see any guards, not even at the gate, but it's automated. I didn't find any signs of the Death Squads being in the area, nor of anyone lying in wait to ambush us. But then, those'll probably be on the inside."

"There's actually a road to the estate, which is why there's a main gate and how  you get to it, but the canopy covers it pretty thoroughly, which is why it wasn't visible from the air. Nice drive in the day time, but it'd be pretty creepy at night."

"It all looks clear to me."

He wasn't sure if he was supposed to maintain radio silence, though that was probably only if there had been a problem.

He activated his comm: "Looks all clear to us. Come on in."

After that, he and Oscar head closer to the gate. Out here in the 'wilderness', there was plenty of room to spread out, which is why the main building wasn't all that large... maybe 20 rooms... needed some place to put the guests that came out to play golf... but the area inside the wall was rather sprawling... a lot of grassy space for the guests' vehicles to park. There'd be no problem with landing the Old Lady's Hope in the 'front yard'.

In reply to Carmichael (msg # 18):

"Landing on the golf course?" Bannacor asked Yuri.
This message was last edited by the player at 12:28, Wed 19 May 2021.

"No, land it inside the wall," Yuri replied. "Just leave enough room for the ship to land. Program the autopilot to return the air/raft to the rental agency. We'll activate it once the ship lands, but put a 10 minute delay on it, just in case."

Bannacor nods understanding. This ship confuses me. With the captain and the old lady both giving orders, who do we listen to?" he asks Yuri.

"You're kind of right on that account," Yuri said as Bannacor landed the air/raft in the courtyard off to the side.

"It depends on the function and the intent of orders. The Captain is responsible for the safety of the ship and its crew, so if his orders are about that, then he's the one you listen to. If Beto doesn't like that, she can always get a new captain that will kowtow to her."

"Once we're on a planet, or on  station at an orbital starport, and the orders involve business, then that's Beto's province."

"I realize that the two of them still haven't found the proper balance--that ever-shifting line that each shouldn't cross, but then, they haven't been together all that long. No matter how long they've known each other, the years alone change a person, not just what they've been through."

He turned then to Anzha.

"You've been awful quiet so far. Worried?"

"I don't know how your abilities work or what you can do, though I do realize that not all psions can do the same things, but can you get any sense of threat to us?"

"Bannacor can be explained as my pilot. You should probably be my assistant. Just for the purpose of picking up our guests, you understand."

After Anzha answered, he decided it was safe to exit.

The estate certainly didn't look deserted or abandoned, but then he hadn't expected it to be.

"Go ahead and set the autopilot for an hour delay. If we're not back in it by then, it won't matter one way or the other," he told Bannacor.

Since no one came out to greet them or threaten them, he walked up to the door. There wasn't any sign of a doorbell nor even a camera, just an old-fashioned doorknocker. It was consistent with the neo-pseudo-gothic revival architecture of the place. Not his taste--he preferred modern. But, he was here to 'buy an antique' so it was at least consistent with that.

He knocked on the door using the knocker. Generally, he though, no one would have made it this far without being seen, identified and greeted.

Anzha nearly jumped out of her skin when Yuri addressed her directly, then blushed a bit at her reaction.  "I don't have any precognitive ability, and I'm not accustomed to speaking about my talents publicly outside the Consulate; there is so much prejudice.  But I can scan for life and see how many are waiting for us.  Give me a minute," she says climbing out of the vehicle.  She closes her eyes to focus, but then opens them as she looks towards the estate proper.

---

18:45, Today: Anzha rolled 6 using 2d6.  Life Sense.  Difficulty is Easy with a +4, +1 for her Telepathy skill for an 11 total.  She will spend 3 points to go to 500 m and using the full minute to get a 360 degree sense.

In reply to Anzha (msg # 23):

You sense your crewmates outside the estate, making their way in. In the house you recognize 4 adult humans, two children and 5 alien minds you assume to be the Aslan. They seem excited.
This message was last edited by the GM at 11:55, Sat 22 May 2021.

"Eleven sophonts besides us; four human adults, two human children, five aliens I presume are the Aslan, I've never read them before, no baseline.  They are excited, however," she reports to Yuri.  "No others within a 500 m radius."  She stretches out her full height and then settles back down to a casual stance, ready to follow Yuri's lead.

When the door opens, Yuri introduces himself: "Hello. My name is Yuri Argonov. I called ahead. I apologize if I'm intruding, but I heard that you might have a certain antique item which might be for sale."

He'd used the code word that he and his contact had agreed on.

"Ah, yes, Mr. Argonov, we've been expecting you," the man who answered the door replied. "I'm Clade Hagan. Welcome to my estate. Come on in."

"Thank you. This is my assistant, Anzha, and my pilot Bannacor," Yuri responded as the three of them entered the house.

Once the door closed behind him, he relaxed. No one was holding a gun on them. His prior service had taught him to maintain the pretense for as long as he could.

"I don't suppose our unexpected passengers have any antiques?" he asked humorously. "I've got about a 20 minute window, which seems appropriate to conclude our arrangement."

With than, Hagan gestures to someone out of sight off to the left. Yuri hears a door open, and a few seconds later, five Aslan step into view.

"Hello. I am Yuri. I made the arrangements to give you passage to Iryao. Is there anything I need to know before I signal my ship to come pick us up?"

He looks to Bannacor to translate what he said in case the Aslan didn't speak Terranglic.

In reply to Yuri Argonov (msg # 26):

Not unexpectedly, the Aslan were armed to the teeth, including a couple of tactical weapons. On the other hand, they didn't look all that menacing, though the obvious leader had his gauss rifle at the ready.

"Why are you doing this? Why are you willing to help us? Why should we trust you?" the leader says in heavily-accented Terranglic.

"There are many answers to those questions," Yuri replies after thinking for a few moments.

"Not all Humans are that barbarically aggressive. Despite the 'war', most of us are willing to let bygones be bygones. What's done is done; we can't change that now. What we can do is learn from it and do our best to see that it doesn't happen again."

"We might be passive, but we still don't think hunting you Aslan down is a good thing. If it was up to me, I'd grant you all amnesty and let you leave Nora'a to go wherever you want."

"Mostly, though, I'd say it's because the ship's owner-on-board hopes that helping you get safely to Iryao will reflect favorably on her trade efforts there. She's a trader at heart."

"Now that I understand! She's looking for more territory!"

"Very well. We accept your offer!"

"We have two scouts just outside the gate. Would you please let them in?" Yuri then says to Clade.

Once he agrees, he sends the OK signal to the ship.
This message was last edited by the player at 04:09, Wed 26 May 2021.

Anzha taps along on her compad at appropriate times, playing up the assistant part, as she scans the Aslan minds.

---

19:52, Today: Anzha rolled 5 using 2d6 +3 = 8.  Check for Telepathy.

I can edit this post once I have results of her scan.

In reply to Anzha (msg # 29):

There are 4 males and a female The leader appears old and the female is apparently his mate. She is not young either, they may be a family unit or there may be a family unit among them.

Anzha gave him the 'okay' signal, which meant she didn't detect anything hostile or duplicitous from the Aslan, so the scenario still seemed genuine.

A minute or so later, Carmichael and Oscar were escorted in.

"So, our ship will land outside in the courtyard," he explains to the others after introductions were made. "The plan is to land as close to the house as possible... hopefully not actually hitting the house."

"I'm thinking we should have some sort of cover between the front door... or whatever door we use... and the ship. Maybe I'm sounding paranoid, but I don't put it past the government to have orbital satellite surveillance over this area. However, they can't act if they can't see anything."

"The best I've been able to come up with is to turn on the sprinklers as if there's a malfunction and they go out under umbrellas, even if they are only makeshift umbrellas. We aren't supposed to be picking up any passengers here, just crew and possibly some artwork. That's my cover for being here."

The ship slowed while approaching the estate, and pinged Yuri

(if memory serves, the code is the following ;
- Yuri addresses to the captain : "everything OK"
- if Yuri addresses to Beto : "problem, come and save us"
- if Yuri addresses to Daphne : "everything is lost, call the army")