April 2011
Zeph explores the city and discovers that the Black Dragon Cult have fed a couple of criminals to the fishes – a local delicacy resembling a giant and aggressive piranha. He checks out the areas where the gangs don’t go and after talking to the freelancers who shelter under the cult’s protection he discovers three of their operations… A legit fish factory… A deep sea fishery rig… A semi derelict cannery… Zeph decides to check out the latter and discovers that the cult has a guest… Mai Tai…
MaiTai chats amiably with Cairech aware that the piranhas are hungry and the bucket of offal thrown into the water hasn’t helped…
Zeph warns the party about the fish and watches as spiders start scuttling over the roof…
Rossi gets a call from Oscar Pieterson (the fighter pilot plot) and has to duck out of the raid to discuss air combat tactics (the kind that involve taking stuff out in hangers) while the rest of the team move into position.
Updated by Zeph, Fallon plants false intelligence linking certain party members with the Tarja Nielsson faction. The Goons start questioning Mai Tai. Cairech is present but soon leaves after Mai Tai confesses to links with the Government. By complete fluke the false intelligence matches Mai Tai’s government link. Zeph follows Cairech to a transport boat. The remaining Goon leader tells Mai Tai “your people were told to stay out of this”.
The party decides to go for the direct approach. The van crashes through doors of fish factory while Fallon shoots the goon at the security station. Fallon dives in boxes of fish as the leader lays down fire with an SMG (his body-armor proves to be a good investment). Aphrodite tries to dive bomb goon leader but fails and activates the internal security – crashing into the offal bin (00). Palmer neutralises 2 Goons with flash bang and sets about dealing with the turrets. Ma iTai breaks free and kills her minders by kicking them into to the tank of Giant Piranhas. Palmer and Fallon neutralise internal defenses then capture the Goon leader. Palmer downloads factory data and party leave with two prisoners.
Zeph travels on the container boat with Cairech – there is a brief field configuration change before the transport reaches the destination. The boat goes to a vast fish processing rig but Cairech has disappeared. Zeph boards the factory ship and acts the part of a worker (Klaus Hergesheimer gambit). Skilful exploration (using one of the suits that renders you invisible to the piranhas) reveals an old exploration submarine beneath the ship being used as a base for the criminal gang. Zeph escapes and rejoins the party (exiting using a stolen pass).
The party question prisoners. The junior goon reveals several arms dump locations. Targets are passed to the Light Carrier in orbit and the marines begin preparing for a surprise party. After Fallon demonstrates interrogation techniques, the goon leader reveals there are 5 leaders of the criminal gang. Cairech is one of the five.
All have nanotech dragon tattoos and these activate the tattoos worn by junior members of the cult. Detailed research by Alysin’s team reveals that a similar tattoo has in past been associated with Operatives of the Concordium but this is not enough to prove their direct involvement. Fallon correlates the evidence and he and Alysin agree that the Black Dragon Cultists are in contact with both sides – it is clear that they want to create chaos in the Mellasuâtar Sector… MaiTai suggests that Tarja’s followers are less organised than Erikki’s so they may be acting without her knowledge… Intriguingly, Tarja vanished behind the lines for a month during the Fury of the Gods campaign – was she turned or is this Erikki’s paranoia?
The party set out to infiltrate the submarine discovered by Zeph. Aphrodite notes that it is an old design and downloads the deck-plans. Aphrodite gains control of the fish transport barge and the Party head out on it. Using Cairech’s technique, the party are dropped off in the perfect position to get to the submarine. Palmer deactivates the airlock security on the emergency access hatch and the party enter. Party head to unused section of ship – a reserve reactor and Aphrodite accesses the ships records.
The Party head off undetected but are blocked by a “Lister and Rimmer” Engineering team. Palmer almost disturbs an officer by opening one of the doors, but Lister and Rimmer get the blame and then move off. The Party cover their tracks and head off through airlock (carefully wiping the safety log). They are picked up by the robot barge.
Information acquired from the download:
Includes video of the five gang leaders visiting the sub – revealing information on their identities that adds to the descriptions given by the goons:
o Lem Kain: A ruthless senior detective in Erikki’s organisation.
o Yuri Maran: A Professor of Politics in Tarja’s faction.
o Piotr: “The tramp” Possibly the leader of the cult…
o Jan Haikainen: a squadron leader in Oscar Pieterson’s mercenary air force
o Cairech: “Biker Babe” the facilitator of the group
A schedule of arms deliveries made by the underwater transports from the sub.
Quantities and locations of shipments indicate that both factions are being supplied. Shipments are clearly collected by both sides…
Data is passed to the Imperial carrier hidden in Orbit.
The factory burns down that evening…
Fallon, checking through police records, notices that Erikki has ordered observation of Tarja’s ex-lover, Lars Nikulainen; monitoring of the security-net shows that the Black Dragons also have him under surveillance. This leads to the theory that Lem Kain has planted suspicions of a conspiracy in Erikki’s mind. An assassination of Tarja’s ex-lover would almost certainly implicate Erikki’s by showing his interest in Lars and thus ‘kick start’ the civil war. An attack on Erikki’s faction is also a possibility.
The Party discuss options to take their plan forward.
~~~~~~~~~~~
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
Miss Yi – Tatooist specialising in sub-dermal poly-memetic tattoos
Lars Nikulainen – an old comrade of Tarja
The Five (leaders of the Black Dragon Cult)
1/ Lem Kain: A ruthless senior detective in Erikki’s organisation.
2/ Yuri Maran: A Professor of Politics in Tarja’s faction.
3/ Piotr: “The tramp” Possibly the leader of the cult…
4/ Jan Haikainen: a squadron leader in Oscar Pieterson’s mercenary air force
5/ Cairech: “Biker Babe” the facilitator of the cult