Prison Pit

Sales Pitch

Stansky Downport, Inversar, Inversar/Flavin, 15:15 local time 149/1106

DM Note: Just Aimo and Gord again this week, so Alice and Manx were back in the driving seat.

Zugh

Alice and Manx glanced at each other dubiously. If Zugh had spread the word, or the message had been sent to other corporate contacts, all the Maximillian employees on Inversar would be looking for them. If that were the case, would it be best to kill these doggies to stop them spreading the word? It might make sense - and might be the solution Gripper and Martha might leap to - but for Alice and Manx, despite the KCr500 bounty on their heads, killing was never the first option.

Manx put a companionable arm around Zugh, who was only too aware of the danger he was in; his ears and tail were down. "Look," he said convincingly, "This doesn't have to end badly for anyone. We have, as you already know, some information which Maximillian won't pay for, that we want to sell to one of these three companies..." As he unfolded his proposal - that the Vargr could act as their go-between - Zugh's panic began to recede and his ears perked a bit. "I've a good contact in Tallis," he offered, "should be able to get you a meeting set up. Viator I've never dealt with, but they'll be contactable; they have an office in Serafil. I dealt with Bronx once but - ahem - things went a bit urzongorrg and they have a price on my head in some parts of this sector." His mouth opened in a Vargr smile. Alice grinned. "Let's go to your office, real friendly-like, and make a call," she suggested. Zugh nodded eagerly and he and his erstwhile bodyguard followed Manx back down the ramp. Alice hung back a little, updating Martha and Gripper in swift sentences. Martha grimaced, not much impressed. "There's someone on their bridge," she commented, nodding at the Vargr ship. Alice glanced over. "So there is," she commented, nodding thanks to Martha before following the others down the ramp.

As he walked through the arch of the side door, Zugh looked around. "You want to lose this crate, ya know," he commented. "The message from Koutala described it quite as well as it did you. Just saying, you know."

Paul Highsmith

Back in the grubby office, Zugh bent over the comm, while Alice gestured the worried bodyguard to a corner as far from the Vargrs' weapons as possible. Looking up, Zugh looked slightly worried. "He's out," he said, "but I've left a message." Ten minutes later the screen lit up and a face appeared, a young salesman type who looked utterly brickable. Alice and Manx moved carefully out of view. "Zuggy Baby!" the caller cried in greeting, "Long time no see! Whatcha up to, old hound?" Zugh winced slightly. "Mister Highsmith," said Alice from off-camera, "Zugh here is calling on our behalf. I and my associates want to talk to you about some tecnical information of great interest to your R&D division." Without waiting for an answer, she held the sheet of Martha's one-page teaser for Tallis up in front of the camera for thirty seconds and then removed it.

When Highsmith came back into view, his face was pale. "Where did this come from?" he asked quietly. Alice grinned to herself. "Where did we all come from?" she asked philosophically. "Well, if this was obtained the same way, someone got fucked in the process," replied the salesman crisply. All the fake bonhomie was gone, and the man was deadly serious. He pleaded the need to check with the planetary directors, and promised to call back as soon as he could. The screen went dead, and Alice turned to Zugh. "Relax. You're going to come out of this alive and very rich if you do what you're told."

Stansky Downport, Inversar, Inversar/Flavin, 17:03 local time 149/1106

Alice under cover

DM Note: Any Port in a Terminology Starports are the major ports of a planet, usually near to or in the capital city, rated A to E in order of size and quality. A & B class usually have an orbital facility and shipyards, while E is a marked piece of rock and X means no port at all. Spaceports are smaller facilities, found in smaller cities on the mainworld and on other planets in the star system. They are rated F to H, with Y indicating no spaceport. A mixture of airport and spaceport, they generally cater to local traffic and subordinate craft rather than starships.

After a spot of lunch, the two decided to head off to Serafil, a city a couple of hours north, to sound out the representatives of Viator, leaving Zugh and his minder aboard the IVP under Martha's rather un-nerving eye. Both had made an effort to be less recognizable; Alice in sunglasses with her hair tucked under a large hat and Manx with a coat over his electric-blue suit.

Alice had obtained a couple of local pay-as-you-go handcoms which she dropped in a pocket. Both had light weapons with them aboard the IVP's launch, although they knew it wasn't likely they'd get away with trying to smuggle them out of the spaceport at Serafil.

Unlike the fairly relaxed Gravla, Inversar's flight control were entirely unwilling to let offworlders fly small craft around at random. A flight plan had to be filed and approved, and the launch's flight computer beeped as it was returned with detailed instructions. All Manx had to do was lift off and slot into the 'tube'; after that the autopilot did the rest.

An hour into the flight, Alice connected to the local PAN network and looked up the details of Viator's operation in Serafil. The avatar - still Martha's fairy - located the details, made the initial call, and arranged a call back in ten minutes. A little after that, Alice and Manx - both off screen - were talking to the Technical VP (Inversar) of Viator inc, one Kevin Sheridan.

While Sheridan was still glancing around looking for his callers - it's rather bad manners to make a vidcall and not appear - Alice slapped the Viator version of the teaser over the camera for him to think about. "Would you like to meet to discuss this?" she asked. "You're not the only bidder." Sheridan's face was slightly pale. "I'd heard Max was working on something like this, some major jump breakthrough," he said. "Yes, I would like to talk about this. Let's meet in the city park here in Serafil." Alice tried to get him to come to the spaceport, but "I like to discuss secrets in wide open spaces. It makes it harder for people to listen around corners." Alice conceded this. "I assume you'll be alone?" she said. Sheridan smiled slightly. "There are two of you, aren't there?" he said. "I'll be bringing ... an aide."

Serafil Spaceport, Inversar, Inversar/Flavin, 19:29 local time 149/1106

Alice Shows a Leg

An hour later, the launch put down at Serafil's spaceport; a little bumpily - Manx's takeoffs were better than his landings. An SPA ground crew appeared at the pad and asked if they wanted any services; Alice declined and they slouched off again. She'd carefully shelved every one of her weapons, but Manx had quietly slipped his new plastic pistol into his abdominal pouch, fairly confident that the bulk of the torso rebuild would shield the nonmetallic weapon. His spare ID and a few thousand credits were also stashed there - standard practice for him in case things went seriously south.

The spaceport was unexceptional as such things went, but as they headed for the exit, the SPA security handed them a fair-sized booklet each. "Local laws - you'll need 'em!" This became apparent as they waded through the planetary security on the other side of the XT line. Every detail of their ID and business was checked, looked into and recorded. Alice described herself as 'an apple saleslady' and flourished one of the Gravla apples from time to time. The Tolthril security officers shot several disapproving glances at her slashed skirt, but said nothing. Manx, of course, made the detectors light up like an Imperium Day tree, but Benkin had done his job well and his papers properly showed his torso rebuild. Eventually, they were released to emerge into the streets of the city and hail a grav cab.

The streets of the city, like all the streets of all the cities of Inversar, were numbered into a grid, and directions were easy - MacArthur Park was 23.2 by 56.8 and off they went. The city was pretty large, with a population in the millions, but it took only half an hour or so to get to the park, and as they pulled up Alice said, "How much?" "Eight creds," the cabbie grunted. "Here's fifty," said Alice, handing over a banknote, "please wait for us." The cabbie glanced at the note and realized it was Imperial currency, not local. His face lit up. "Sure!" he averred, and the pair got out.

Linking arms, they pair strolled like a couple for a while, eyeing the other park-goers. It wasn't hard to pick out Sheridan and his companion, a whipcord-lean man of average height with don't mess written all over him for anyone with eyes to see. They were feeding the duckoid life forms of this particular world (with government-approved feed of course). Alice and Manx wandered up to them.

"What kind of ducks are those?" Manx asked. Sheridan glanced speculatively at them. "Kelasril Eider," he said calmly. "Your voices are familiar; I think we have a meeting planned."

Viator Logo

Kevin Sheridan

Sheridan started negotiations, but it was instantly apparent that his preferred approach was to pay a retainer while the process was set up and tested, followed by a percentage of the profits as sales developed. Manx shook his head firmly. "No; we can't hang around - we want a lump payment," he insisted. Sheridan shook his head. "I can't offer you more than a fraction of what it's worth as an upfront lump," he said. Alice said nothing.

Wellllll; we could go as high as a million then," said Sheridan cautiously. Alice turned away. "Have a nice life," she said dismissively. "We didn't come here to haggle or bicker. It cost us nearly that to get it here." "Tallis are likely to pay more," added Manx. Alice continued, "Having the jump - no pun intended - on the competition when it comes to cornering the terbium market will put the buyer in a supreme position. We're insulted, and we're going now." Sheridan looked crestfallen. "I can talk to some people," he said urgently, "where can I reach you?" Alice glanced at him. "We'll call you, in seven hours, for your real bid," she said, and the pair left.

When they reached the gates of the park, they were disconcerted to discover that their taxi was surrounded by Tolthril security guards. A plain grey van was pulled up behind it and grey-uniformed guards were checking in and under it while another took notes as he spoke to the pale-faced cabbie, apparently for parking illegally. Fortunately they'd spotted this before the cabbie spotted them, and angled sharply back into the park away from the scene.

Crossing the park, they emerged on the other side and hailed a different cab back to the spaceport. It flitted through the streets without incident, although at one point along the way they were treated to an example of what life on Inversar could be like. Two more of the plain grey vans were parked outside, and Tolthril heavies were systematically ransacking the shop - it looked like a bookshop. Two of the staff were pinned to the ground by guards holding pistols to the back of their necks, while several more were being slung into the back of one of the vans, battered and only part-conscious. The citizens passing by didn't give the event a second glance; in fact, not a first if they could help it, choosing rather to pass by on the other side of the street as quickly as possible. The air was thick with intimidation and fear. "This place is ripe for a rebellion," said Manx quietly. Alice nodded thoughtfully. "Maybe a job for the future, Manx," she said.

Back at the spaceport they had once more to run the gauntlet of the Tolthril security, big brutal men in grey uniforms armed with heavy pistols. Their main objective seemed to be to check for Inversaran citizens trying to leave without the proper papers - which were presumably tough to come by. Once back over the Line, both Manx and Alice relaxed perceptibly, stopping for a meal at a port eatery before going to reclaim their launch.

Stansky Downport, Inversar, Inversar/Flavin, 23:43 local time 149/1106

Rosalie Wallis

A short while after their return to the Stansky Starport, a return call came in from a Rosalie Wallis of Tallis, introducing herself as the Planetary Business Director. She and her fellow directors had discussed the proposal, and once again she returned to the fact that everyone would get a better deal if Alice and Manx were to contract for a share of the profits. Alice turned this down again. "Very well," said Wallis, "I'm prepared to offer you a single payment of five million for the entire process and all the experimental data. You are invited to the company's private island, Shelnat, to conclude the negotiations, five-star, all expenses paid." "Nice opening gambit," said Alice, "we'll call you back in two hours."

Another call to Viator elicited a revised offer of MCr 7, and Alice and Manx called Wallis back for the co-ordinates of Shelnat island. Carefully, no-one mentioned the fact that they were taking the entire starship instead of just the launch. Getting a flight plan out of Flight Control proved less easy but eventually they were prepared. Taking Zugh and his bodyguard along to keep an eye on them, they lifted the IVP and headed out to sea towards the island group known as The Shoal.

Shelnat island, Inversar, Inversar/Flavin, 02:21 local time 149/1106

Nightflight - click it for larger image!

Ten miles from the island a glow became visible, rapidly resolving itself into a red holographic warning sign half a mile high projected into the air to warn off casual visitors to Shelnat. Manx identified them, and it shifted to an inviting green long enough for them to fly past it. A few moments later the island came into view below them, thickly covered in dense jungle except for the cleared areas of the Tallis base. The landing pad was lit up - perched on the edge of a cliff, Manx noted nervously, no pressure then - and he delicately guided the IVP down onto it. As they landed he noted the subtle security, ground-defence turrets in place around the pad.

Once landed, a ground crew appeared and hooked fuel and life-support feeds up to the ship, apparently prepared to resupply her 'on the house'. Alice, Martha, Gripper and Manx armed themselves with various handguns, presuming that Inversar's planetary law level probably wouldn't apply on private property. Zugh they left unarmed. As they disembarked, a welcoming comittee was already approaching; Wallis and Highsmith plus four suits and two security guards. Wallis came to a halt at the ramp, looking up at them. "Welcome to Shelnat," she said warmly.

	Session Date: 6th June 2011 (188/-2507 Imperial)