Traveller - Star Trader: part 4

Day 98

arrived back at Fpozz/Foreven (2933 D000320-9 As Lo)

Quiet trip towards the starport. Wonder what we'll find when we get there...

. . .

Got everything unloaded just fine. Need to find a buyer soon. Whilst I was dealing with the paperwork for the warehouse, I had Orneev call the Hekabe to see how Diula and the Doc were getting on. When I was done with the necessaries, Orneev come up to me with a funny look on his face. "What?" I asked him. "I talked to Diula," he says,  and according to her...

[Why not another complications table? 1d6:
1. "Everything's fine."
2. "Everything's, ummm, fine. Just fine."
3. "There's some good news, and there's some bad news."
4. "You are not going to believe what happened. I thought that maniac would be the end of me!"
5. "The Doc is missing. I'm getting worried."
6. "Next time, we all go..."

1d6=5]

...the Doc is missing and she's worried. Great. Just what we need, is problems in a system we can't all leave!

. . .

Rushed back to the ship via the first available shuttle. Diula was waiting in the lounge, looking a bit nervous, sweating more than usual.

[Inty and Orneev need to roll 10+ to notice anything amiss in the lounge. She gets a +1 for having INT of 10; rolls are 5+0, 8+1; they don't notice any of the nicks in the bulkhead from the gunfire. The only thing they do notice, is...]

The lounge was spotless, though. Orneev's jaw fell practically fell open when he saw it. When he mentioned it, though, Diula bit his head off. I guess she cleans when she's stressed. Note to self, maybe illegal cargo is a good idea from now on. Won't have to fight over dirty dishes no more!

So the Doc's been missing nearly 2 weeks. He didn't take any of his stuff that she could tell, and hasn't tried to contact her. Plus there've been no demands for ransom or anything. She changed the passcodes for the external hatches and slept near the intercom, but there hasn't been a sign. She figures he musta run into some old enemy or something. He did have a pretty chequered past, what with getting booted out of the navy and all. And he was picked for the Imperial Academy of Science and Medicine, too, so you know he must a messed up big time if the old boys network couldn't of saved him.

So we were all pretty low about the Doc being missing, probably dead, but I had to ask about the money we left, because maybe he took it and run. Diula brightened at the mention of it. "Well," she says, "I spent about 90% of it. But let me show you what I got in the hold!"

She led us to the hold and I nearly had a heart attack. It was empty, or nearly so. Then she pointed to a pile of beat up old crates in a corner on a single shipping pallet. I thought she must be starkers, spending all our credit with nothing to show for it. But she leads me straight over and lifts opens one of the containers. I have a look inside, and Diula's just standing there smiling. "Combat drug," she says.

"Oh, shit," I say.

"I know," she replies. "Just imagine how much this is worth!"


Day 100

Things are finally back to normal after my argument with Diula about the two tons of contraband sitting in the hold. I will concede that it is worth a small fortune, but without a working ship there is no way we can smuggle enough of it into the Imperium, or anywhere else for that matter, to ever realise a profit on it.  I think she gets it, but sometimes I just can't read that woman. She said she's at least going to try to figure out a good market ahead of time. Just as long as she can do it without letting the whole system know we're sitting on the stuff!

. . .

Orneev just got back, and found a buyer for the ammo, and for the fruit. The fruit was much more popular [sold at 400% of base price due to +3 broker and +1 bonus from the Star Trader event] but I think the ammunition was far more lucrative.

Cr605611 cash on hand

  +17900 Diula's leftover cash
 +312000 sold ammo
 +140000 sold fruit
    -200 berthing fees
 -275729 mortgage
--------
cr799582 new ship's fund

Still less than a tenth of what we need for repairs.


Day 101

[Port Event: Warehouse has cargoes available for auction in order to get rid of them: 3t body armour @ Kcr25/tonne. bid 60% of price; need 9+ to win auction; roll 8, fail]

Went out looking for more cargo. A lot of body armour was being auctioned off, but I didn't bid high enough. Was also offered a lot of crystals, but they were way overvalued [rolled 150% base price on the Actual Value table]. This week is going to be a long one...

Day 106

Bought 10t silver @ Kcr63/tonne.

Day 108

Dammit. Need some sort of permit to move the silver. Customs here are sporadic and insane. [Port Event: Red Tape - just made an admin roll exactly; no specific guidelines in Star Trader, so I figured 1d6x100cr] Cr300 out-of-pocket, but at least we're allowed to ship the stuff now.

Day 109

My darling Orneev said he could get the best price for the silver on an industrial world. And there's a Far Trader willing to travel to Pa'trix. I really feel uncomfortable with letting him go there, alone no less. But he says not to leave Diula alone, he doesn't trust her. And to line up more cargo for when he gets back. No choice, really. Dammit. No tearful embarrassing scene when he ships out, just a quick kiss for good luck. And, oh boy, three weeks to myself with just Diula for company...

cr799582 ship's fund

 -630000 silver
    -300 export permit
    -900 berthing fees
  -10000 high passage to Pa'trix
  -10000 10t cargo space
--------
cr148382 new ship's fund




. . .

[Pa'trix  (Pa'trix/ Foreven 2734 A7C0A9E-D De Hi In) is the worst planet I've ever created / rolled up. It's a high population, totalitarian state with a Venus-like atmosphere, and is classified as an Amber zone simply because of its high Law Level (and is also the homeworld of one of my favourite old characters, but that's another story entirely). Somewhere I have a few planets written up, including Pa'trix, which I should post as 'Library Data'.

I also need to decide if there's going to be any fallout with the murder. Really, there's only one good way to do this, and that's with a d6.

1. She is enough of a sociopath that she never lets on a thing, and no one is ever the wiser.
2. Orneev suspects her but can prove nothing. He keeps schtumm.
3. Orneev suspects her but can prove nothing. He confides in Inty.
4. Orneev suspects her and confronts her about it. (1-3 she calls his bluff as there's no evidence. 4-6 there's another murder attempt...)
5. The Doc was an unpleasant sort, really, and no one  minds his absence.
6. Diula has a crisis of conscience and breaks down, confessing everything.

Orneev secretly hates Diula (according to the relationship table roll), so is naturally suspicious towards her. I figure Inty is too distracted by a combination of Orneev going on a trip to Pa'trix and the ever-present threat of financial ruin to think too much about Diula.

to be continued...]