Traveller - Star Trader: part 10

Date: 221-1106

We're back aboard the Hekabe and underway! Nearly had a heart attack yesterday when we showed up and they said the ship wasn't ready yet. I was so sure they'd found something wrong with one of the other major systems and we we're going to be stuck here like we were at Fpozz. But it was just that the head tech had to knock off early that day to take his zinchid to the vet and so couldn't sign it over to us properly. Came back early today, did a walk through inspection, and that was that. We're reunited!

Got everyone settled in their staterooms. Heldamin passed out almost immediately. I gather she had another late night. Bval found one he liked, Caidro said he didn't really care which was his.

Heldamin had given him charge of the cargo, so we went to one of the few orbital warehouses to pick it up. There were just three containers, 5t, 10t, and 15t. I didn't ask what was in them. Caidro's a mercenary though, so I didn't really have to.

Nice quiet trip out to the jump point. Dimmed the lights, hit the switch. It worked.

This is a well chuffed Captain Intramana Liljingiv, signing off. From jumpspace!


Date: 229-1106

arrived at Oothoom/Foreven (3135 A79A643-B Ni Wa)

It was a real quiet trip [jump event: Typical trip, with highs and lows]. Maybe I got out of the habit of making log entries, maybe we all spent a little too much time listening to Heldamin's stories, and taking turns carrying her back to her stateroom when she'd had enough. Bottomless pit, that one. The new medic sure is a quiet one. I wonder if we're what he was expecting. Or hoping for. Caidro spends a lot of time checking the cargo. Diula spends even more in engineering. I don't think she trusts the ship to stay fixed. She blew up when Orneev said we won't really know until we emerge from jumpspace and see if we're still in the right galaxy or not. But she stormed off and Heldamin went and talked to her back in engineering and she was actually contrite about getting mad and saying things to Orneev she didn't mean. Now those two have a betting pool going as to how far off course we'll actually be!

. . .

Later: Got a hail from another far trader heading outsystem. Responded, all friendly, and they suddenly cut and run, accelerating away from us at top speed!

[ship encounter- 200t far trader: Thinks you are a pirate, based on rumour
Q: Is there a naval ship in comm range? 50/50: 44, Yes +Event
Decrease / Fame - NPC negative - Caidro]

I thought that was odd, and then 20 minutes later a system defence boat is coming at us, saying to maintain our course and prepare for boarding, and that any resistance would be met with deadly force. That made everybody real nervous! No one could think of a reason that the Imperial Navy would be interested in us like that. Bval thought maybe they were corsairs, and were intent on robbing us, and that we should run, or prepare to fight. Diula very patiently that pointed out that we were so outgunned it wasn't even funny, and that no self-respecting corsair would be using a ship that lacks both cargo space and a jump drive.

They weren't, of course, pirates. But the other far trader thought we were, and reported us, so they were duty-bound to check it out. A bunch of marines boarded us, and did a really half-arsed job of looking round the ship. Then the captain came on and apologised to me personally. Seems there IS a pirate ship that was spotted in the system, which happens to be a far trader called the Hecuba. The other ship made a little mistake. "You can see how it's almost funny," said the SDB captain. "Yeah," I says, "almost."

. . .

Later: Orneev told me something when we were turning in that night. Whilst I was on the bridge going over our manifest with the Imperium's bravest, him and Bval and Caidro were sitting in the common area. One of the passing marines did a double-take when he saw Caidro sitting there. He said, "Hey, Captain. Didn't expect to run into you here. How'd the court martial go? Rumour round the base was you got done for dereliction of duty. I'm surprised they didn't add fuckwittery to the charges. But I guess that ain't a Imperial crime." Caidro didn't say nothing but went and locked himself in his stateroom. I guess there's a reason why he's a private contractor now and not still in the corps.


Date: 231-1106

No fallout from the marines' visit, happily. At least none anyone can see. Caidro's been quiet. But then he's quiet anyways, from what I've known of him. Him and Heldamin went down to the surface to do some boating, and she said we could do merchant-y stuff if we wanted. And sorry for monopolising the cargo hold. We stayed at the highport, since getting clearance to land on one of the floating cities is more trouble than it's worth.

Found a load of textiles woven from some sort of seaweed fibres. There were 50 tonnes on offer, but they let us take just 16t without even charging the usual fee for splitting an order.

[They really only waived the fee because I forgot to apply it, and had already played past 2 more accounting sessions before getting round to the proper write-up. But it's less than 200 credits, so not really a big deal.
cargo search 2 days: textiles 50t @ cr1200/tonne (-3 NI, rolled 5-3=40%)]


cr440,421 ship's fund
  -19,200 textiles
---------
cr421,221 new ship's fund


Textiles will sell better on Mingiz [Ri = +3 sale DM], so our next course is obvious. I'd rather we didn't have to go through there, but oh, well. I'll live. We ship out in 2 days.

[no port events, no ship encounter on the way out]


Date: 233-1106

In jumpspace. That's twice in a row. Maybe we should always get our maintenance & repairs done at Uloryy. The refined fuel that Heldamin's been treating us too can't hurt either.


Date: 236-1106

In addition to keeping his own business pretty quiet, it looks like Caidro wants to find out everybody else's. He was snooping around the ship when everyone else was on watch or asleep, and managed to get into the stateroom we been using to store the blue valonaise. He must have a real taste for the stuff. He drank three whole bottles, and wandered into the bridge being violently sick. Orneev was on watch, so he ran to get the medic. Bval kind of freaked out a little at the sight of it, and I guess Caidro was getting a bit abusive every time he came round. So Orneev sends Bval to wake ME up, and me and Orneev had to take him to his stateroom and clean him up. Orneev stayed to make sure he didn't fall asleep on his back. It was near enough my watch, so I ended up cleaning up all the sick on the bridge. I'm so glad Diula bought all that cleaning stuff. I had my doubts about her, but she's a real treasure after all.

Heldamin slept through it all, but we couldn't not tell her why Caidro wasn't at breakfast. I swear Bval looked worried when Orneev explained the night's events, but Heldamin just laughed it off.

[the preceding entry was the Star Trader jump event: There is an incident amongst the crew and they turn to the PC for help. Mythic defined the incident as: Activity / The spiritual -- It's a lame old joke but the first thing I thought of was the crates of spirits sitting in a stateroom. The rest was then obvious.]


Date: 239-1106

arrive at Mingiz/Foreven (3137 A668887-C Ri Cp)

There's hurricanes absolutely slamming Giskana Province. Worst it's been since 983. Half the continent is on disaster alert, the other half are buckling down in case it turns. The storms aren't supposed to go south, so that's a relief. But Arlistin downport is shut, and all traffic is being diverted to Omgusud and Khaharilga. Maybe we'll just stay at the highport.

[No ship encounter, and the port encounter was of no consequence.

World event: Local crisis; bush-fire, earthquake, hurricane, rioting. If you have a cargo of particular use in the crisis you can sell for 3x the rolled price.

Inty's from Mingiz. Her only remaining relative is her younger sister who lives with her husband and three spoilt children in Port Celst, in the northern Sarenth Prefecture, which is south of Giskana Province. There was no way to include this information in her log without it being an "As you know, Bob..." moment. Inty and her sister don't really get on, and she hates the husband and kids. She sends them an e-card every New Years (usually via x-boat), and occasionally remembers birthdays but never anniversaries. Her sister has never forgiven her for running away to join the merchants, and especially not for missing both their parents funerals. They bicker whenever they meet in person, and it seems to only get worse as time passes.

But this is Traveller, not Eastenders, so enough of that.]


Date: 241-1106

Orneev and Diula went out to handle the cargo and ship's business. I been glued to the news reports and having a crisis of conscience. But there's no way I could ever get down for a visit, and the worst passed them by. Piscelle doesn't even check the port listings any more, so it'll be like I was never here. Maybe if I would of thought to bring presents from Oothoom or something...


Date: 242-1106

They came back late last night and smelling of cheap beer, but they found an importer interested in picking up some off-world fashions. They also managed to find three decent (TL9 I think) long-range communicators. Diula says she already picked out a shelf for them in the ship's locker, though if she can find the right tools she wants to mount them on a rack on the inside of the door. I told her that, as ship's engineer, she should feel free to buy whatever tools she needs to keep the Hekabe running. I think she's making a wishlist now.

[selling the cargo wasn't great, but Inty is preoccupied in spite of herself.
roll: 6+3(broker)+3(rich world)=170% 5,100 x 16 = 81,600]

cr421,221 ship's fund

  +81,600 sell textiles
 -275,729 mortgage
   -2,000 Bval's salary
   -1,500 communicators
 +100,000 charter
---------
cr323,592 new ship's fund

The mortgage came due in jumpspace on 235-1106. Next due 265-1106.
Charter money also came due in jump on 237-1106. It's actually only cr95,400, but Heldamin insists on round numbers. It's her government footing the bill, after all.


Date: 244-1106

Orneev and Diula went out again trying to find a decent cargo, but there was nothing on offer except a consignment of ship's computers, which we can't even pretend to afford. Heldamin said we should probably ship out now, that there'd be better pickings on Yk, and she is paying us after all. She's right on both counts, and I don't really wanna be here any more, so we put out immediately. She'd already taken care of refuelling & life support refresh, so there was nothing standing in our way.

[no encounters en route to jump point
jump event: Crewman has a crisis of doubt, failure of duty. He/she shuts down.
1-2 Diula, 3-4 Orneev, 5-6 Bval; 1d6=5]


Date: 247-1106

Found Caidro in another alcoholic stupor. Heldamin said he took seeing his old squadmate pretty hard, and this is just how he decompresses,and that he'd be fine in another jump or so. I sent Bval to look after him, and he came out of the stateroom an hour later practically in tears saying he did not agree to this shit when he signed on. Now he won't come out of his stateroom.

Great, I hired a useless medic...