Fallon and his team are Seconded by the mysterious Janissary Order.
Arrival at Kalevala… A cold, heavily forested, lake strewn, rocky T-Class world in the Western Sector… Capital, Vaasa is on the main continent… Smuggler captain from colony world. Weapons from Golgotha.
Tarja is likely to be the person who attempted to obtain the weapons…
The palace is in a vast cliff cave.
Monitoring the current investigation suggests that Erikki Nielsson (or someone highly placed on his staff) is manipulating the records to conceal the crisis…
Fallon checks Timo’s files suspecting that there is another heir. Transferring Marci Hendrici results in a check by his godfather, Oscar Pieterson. Pieterson is bugged (the first of many spider deployments) and it appears that he gets regularly contacted by a ‘controller’. Pieterson informs his controller that the ‘reserve’ is out of the picture and is told to ‘continue as instructed’. The phone is a disconnected commercial line to an open cast mine control facility.
Satellite photographs confirms visits that coincide with Oscar Pieterson’s phone records. A Ducatti bike arrives and leaves on the dates and vanishes into the ‘Old Quarter’ of the capital… Police cameras locate the vehicle and the car park is owned by Mr Dien… Wei investigates and it appears that Mr Dien is a frightened man… There are three suspects.
Dien demeanour seen to change with 3 people: Dracaur = Urgas, Businessman = Japanese called Mr Kaito, Human – Young Woman from Baltic states. The latter two are later identified as Yakusa (Japanese) and the lady as Cairech…
Mei checks them out and thinks that Urgas is ‘mostly harmless’ (unless he’s hungry) but Kaito is the nastier character…
The team check out a number of Dien’s locations… One has a powerful power source, another has multiple military grade sources and the third (a tattoo parlour) is shielded… Palmer arranges for Pieterson and Joro to be bugged (additional spiders ordered)…
Pieterson is patron of a veteran’s flying club – the cover for a collection of mercenary pilots and four squadron’s of ships. Home defenses = 1 squadron on Mellasuâtar, 1 in orbital station and one more covering the D-Gang nexus. Scattered colonial marine units. Rossi finds himself taking part in a WWI dogfight… Spad vs DVII… A narrow victory that demonstrates that Pieterson is still formidable... Rossi conducts some counter planning if the club goes ‘operational’ but realises that everything hinges on when the old man dies…
Mai follows one of Cairech’s contacts after seeing a sub-dermal poly-memetic tattoo… A reptile tail than hides when the guy’s sleeve pulls back)… Interview with Marci Henricki reveals he had little knowledge other than he had an important patron.
Flotten-etappendienst (NavInt) is updated and confirms ‘Op Seawitch enabled’ to Palmer (see Morbian notes = ballistic approach by light carrier)…
Tarja appears to be aware of the potential of a coup and is coordinating with the opposition leader, Tuula Aikas… She has military experience but has woefully underestimated the preparations being made by the conspiracy… Both sides are reluctant to use overt violence as they don’t want the Council of Nine to become involved… Palmer discovers that the police are also monitoring Joro (spider hunt)…
The team check out Madame Yi’s parlor and find a sub-dermal poly-memetic tattoo machine (inserts nano devices into the capillary system)…
Aphrodite bugs Cairach’s bike and follows her but she destroys the device at an isolated settlement before heading back to Vaasa…
Mai spots man collecting package and follows him to Tattoo parlour. Party bugs tattoo parlour and discovers nano tech moving tattoo being done 30+ customers. She spots person tailing her and heads for the restaurant bathroom… She is intercepted by a knife-missile (00)… She is drugged and bundled out of the tradesman’s entrance… Fallon picks up Cairech heading back into town and Aphrodite intercepts only to lose Cairech again in the factory district (Fallon doesn’t blame Aphrodite as Cairech is clearly skilled in ‘tradecraft’)…
Fallon asks Aphrodite to assist in pursuit of Mai’s kidnappers… The party follow at discrete distance (Mei has sub-dermal locator)… The van arrives at a herring processing factory in the harbour area… Where is Zeph?
Aphrodite deposits spider bugs on fish factory roof.
Cast
Agent Fallon
Zeph
Aphrodite
Richard Palmer
Giovanni Rossi
MaiTai
Kalevala – Capital world of Mellasuâtar Sector
Timo Nielsson – Wolf of Mellasuâtar, retired feldmarschal and dictator of the Mellasuâtar sector. Veteran of the First War. Respected but
Marshal Eduard Viehrs – Minister of the Imperial Territories
Tarja Nielsson - Timo Nielsson’s granddaughter (father killed in action during the last war). Ex military. A potential moderniser. Linked to smuggled weapons.
Joro Nielsson - Timo Nielsson’s grandson (younger brother of Tarja) Dissolute youth.
Erikki Nielsson - Timo Nielsson’s younger son. Head of Interior Ministry and Minister of Police. Karja’s political enemy.
Flottenkapitän Dõna Teresa de Vela – Flag Captain IBC III Strasbourg and Sector Chief of the Flotten-etappendienst (NavInt) cell – Dõna Teresa is Home Fleet (military Contact)
Alysin Bryce – Imperial Tribune (Janissary Order). Investigating Officer – Macedon. (Police Contact)
Marci Hendrici – Timo Nielsson’s illegitimate son. Promising pilot assigned to carrier wing on the Western Border (now re-assigned to command and tactics school on T-III)
Oscar Pieterson – Veteran Pilot. Godfather of Marci Hendrici. Owner of palatial dacha and collector of historic aircraft - patron of the ‘Mellasuâtar Fighter Combat Re-Enactment Club’
Kaisa Haataunen - Timo Nielsson’s No.2
Tuula Aikas – Opposition Leader and Tarja’s ally
Fan Dien – Vietnamese entrepreneur (currently working for the Dragon cult as a storage facilitator)
Urgas – 18ft tall Dracaur battle-comrade of Timo
Mr Kaito – Yakusa enforcer
Cairech – Mysterious figure behind the Dragon Cult…
Miss Yi – Tatooist specialising in sub-dermal poly-memetic tattoos
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