{"id":2370,"date":"2015-11-19T04:54:11","date_gmt":"2015-11-18T18:54:11","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blog.olympusrpg.org\/?p=2370"},"modified":"2016-05-26T05:01:25","modified_gmt":"2016-05-25T19:01:25","slug":"gurps-traveller-the-new-deal-session-2-1","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blog.olympusrpg.org\/?p=2370","title":{"rendered":"GURPS Traveller, \u201cThe New Deal\u201d Session 2.1"},"content":{"rendered":"

<\/p>\n

Duty Roster:<\/h3>\n

Ella Stanbridge<\/a> (Melissa)
\nErtrane \u201cBuck\u201d Buckner<\/a> (Herodian)
\nHenri Haank Makruus<\/a> (Gigermann)
\nIbrahim \u201cAbe\u201d Nouri-Abbood<\/a> (Rigil Kent)
\nSam Turner<\/a> (Winston)
\nSae Rraetheg<\/a> (CommJunkee)<\/p>\n

\n

Fallout Shelter<\/h3>\n

There was no freight or passengers bound for their next destination of Pirema\u2014a population of less than a hundred\u2014and no more information to be gathered regarding their quarry, the missing Valerie Vaskor. So, with their business on Kkirka concluded, the Spinward Star<\/em> broke orbit and headed for Kkirka V, the nearest gas giant, to refuel; a trip of three days, cut down a few hours by some masterful navigation-plotting by Sam. Refueling operation completed, they immediately jumped outbound for Pirema. The week in jumpspace passed without incident, and they used the time to get in some Judo training in the empty hold.<\/p>\n

They arrived and entered orbit around Pirema II on schedule. There was a bit of a delay before ground control responded to their request for landing clearance, to no one\u2019s surprise\u2014the pad was just a clear spot on the ground, and monitoring of traffic for a colony this small would not usually be a high priority, for obvious reasons.<\/p>\n

\"trav2-epatterson\"
Elijah Patterson<\/a><\/div>\n

As they exited the airlock, the Crew was welcomed at the site by the Port director, Elijah Patterson, accompanied by his two grandchildren, all wearing sealed environment suits to protect them from the heat, and the radioactive dust that clouded the otherwise breathable atmosphere. The older girl, Kaylii, was fascinated by the ship, and asked many questions, hinting at some actual familiarity. The younger boy, Owin, was fascinated with the Vargr, having never met a non-human before\u2014Sae answered his questions matter-of-factly, as if he expected this sort of thing. Elijah was very friendly, and invited the Crew back to their facility, a half-mile drive away, to take their ease and get something to eat\u2014he indicated that the food here was particularly good. Buck and Jones remained behind at the ship to keep watch and do regular ground maintenance, as the others took up their host\u2019s offer.<\/p>\n

\"trav2-piremacolony2\"<\/a><\/p>\n

At the colony, their suits had to be decontaminated before entering. Inside, the facility was functional and well-kept, but definitely not designed for aesthetics. They followed their host to the mess hall, and were treated to a fine meal, as advertised; pictures were taken and sent back to the ship to taunt those who remained behind\u2014Jones took off on foot across the half-mile of desert to join them. As they were finishing eating, when shown the last-known image of Valerie Vaskor, said he had indeed encountered her, as she had spent nearly a month at the colony, helping the local doctor and otherwise making herself useful while the Black Star<\/em> was under repair, but he did not know the current status of the Black Star<\/em>\u2014though he could find out.<\/p>\n

They were interrupted as Elijah received some news that obviously caused him concern. The Crew expressed their willingness to help with whatever-it-was, and he reluctantly admitted that the colony had occasional problems with \u201coutlaws\u201d raiding supplies, sometimes doing damage to the facility or causing minor injuries, though there had been at least one death at their hands, recently. The Crew offered their assistance.<\/p>\n

\"trav2-piremacity\"<\/a><\/p>\n

\"trav2-cducote\"
Chas Ducote<\/a><\/div>\n

Elijah gathered up the Crew and drove them out to the old \u201ccity,\u201d Ifogi, the center of population when they had some to speak of, which remains the center of the colony\u2019s tiny, yet overly-officious government. As they traveled, the Crew called back to the ship to have Buck gather up their combat gear from the arms locker and bring it to the city in the air\/raft, in case they needed to get to it in a hurry. At the near \u201cghost town\u201d of Ifogi, they were escorted to Government Tower, where they were introduced to the colony\u2019s President\/Mayor\/Minister of Defense\/General of the Army\/Chief of Police\/Lead Detective, Chas Ducote, who went into more detail regarding the raids\u2014perpetrated by a mix of off-worlders and former colonists\/employees believed to be hiding out in one of the abandoned mine complexes that littered the nearby environs, the specifics of which the colony had been unable to determine thus far. Ducote then produced a standard Imperial mercenary ticket form\u2014Haank was very familiar with these from his mercenary days, but Buck sorted through it all with ease that suggested some familiarity of his own\u2014and the documents were reviewed, conditions agreed upon (outlaws were to be brought in alive to face local justice, for 150,000 credits), signatures made, and hands shaken. With that settled, the Crew went back to the Spinward Star.<\/em><\/p>\n

The ship was taken up as high as they could go while still able to see well enough through the dusty atmosphere. They scanned the abandoned facilities indicated by Ducote as possible bases; one mining complex in particular showed hot on thermal scans, indicating it was probably in use\u2014that would be the one. Sam guided the ship in a stealthy approach to the facility, hugging the terrain, and as he crested over the nearby mountain, stuck the landing like a prize-winning Olympic gymnast. Jones remained aboard to man the ship\u2019s laser turret and monitor the security cameras, as the rest exited the ship to approach.<\/p>\n

The Crew stood on open desert ground between the ship and the dilapidated structure that presumably housed the mine shaft and observed for a moment. Haank spotted a glint in the shadows under the structure, but couldn\u2019t make out what it was. Ella called out to whomever it was to surrender themselves, as the others flanked her and kept watch on the nearby rocks for an ambush. A voice on a PA system responded that they would not, and had the Crew surrounded, and demanded they lay down their arms. Ella demanded to see with whom it was she was dealing, and the PA-man stepped out of an upper platform door to the structure; he did not appear \u201cmilitary\u201d at all, just a thug to their reckoning. Sam spotted another outlaw behind them, creeping into position. Ella continued to threaten force, but the PA-man continued to refuse to capitulate, offering no excuse or mitigation\u2014he claimed that the reported \u201cmurder\u201d was the fault of the victim, who attempted to resist. Ella had mostly run out of solutions and patience, and Sam had started to fall back to the ship\u2019s airlock, when the itch in Sae\u2019s trigger-finger was about to get the better of him, and his muscles tensed in preparation to realign his weapon toward the PA-man. To be continued\u2026<\/strong><\/p>\n

\n

Notes<\/h3>\n