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| General Shipyards of Tortuga |
DRAMATIS PERSONNAE
Navy Lieutenant Raj Kundra - 4 terms - UPP 758C8C
Mechanical-1, Pilot-1, Medical-1, Jack-o-T-1
Other Durjam Hammill - 3 terms - UPP A69467
Gambling-3, Forgery-1, Brawling-1, Shotgun-1
Army Lieutenant Bill Fisker - 1 term - UPP C643C9
Rifle-1, SMG-2
Navy Lieutenant Alex Kurigane- 2 terms - UPP AB8579
Vacc Suit-3, Ships Boat-1, Sword-1
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While sitting around a grubby startown bar after mustering out on Tortuga [2126], the characters are approached by a gentleman dressed in a finely cut suit, flashy waistcoat and a bolo tie. He notes the characters look like just the type of folks he needs to do a special job for him. The characters decline to discuss in public, so he invites them to his room at the nearby Travelers Aid Society hotel.
Meet with the gentleman (who declines to give his name) in his suspiciously unlived-in looking hotel room. Tells them he represents Tschadi Shipyards of Rastafar [1827], who are interested in gathering some commercial intelligence from General Shipyards on Tortuga. Looking for technical information on Kinunir class battlecrusier. Specifically: the actual measured fuel capacity, location of the jump drive fittings, size and configuration of the maneuver drive/power plant couplings, and location of black globe generator fittings. Baron Kundra has served as an aide-de-camp aboard a Kinunir class cruiser so he understands what the man is looking for. He needs the actual data, not the publicly available information. And needs at least two corroborating statements for each fact. He will pay 50000Cr for each item of corroborated information. Payment will be by bank transfer from an anonymous account or in the form of plasticredits if preferred. Characters decline to take the job right away; need time to discuss. He concurs, and tells them to meet him at a restaurant in Tortuga city the next night if they wish to take the job.
Once they leave the still-nameless gentleman, the party splits up to try learning who he really is and who he really represents before taking the job:
- Mr Hammill heads to an an appropriately seedy startown dive to play some cards with the local rift-raft and inquire about the mystery man. He wins quite a few credits gambling, and learns the man had been in the bar a few days ago. Seemed to be sizing people up while siting quietly at the bar; didn't recall him talking to anyone at the time.
- Baron Kundra does a public computer search to find information on Tschadi Shipyards. Seems the company went out of business about 25 years ago at a time of political upheaval on Rastafar. No one has made jump capable starships on Rastafar since (hence the 'B' classification of the starport). No other useful information available on the public network, and efforts to hack into the registry of joint stock companies network (see below) to get more information is unsuccessful.
- Mr. Fisker heads for the office of the registry of joint stock companies to get information on Tschadi Shipyards. Lucks out, as it seems one of the shareholders in the company lives on Tortuga. Normally the local planetary government would not have information of extra-planetary companies. The stockholder, a lady by the name of Aya Cheung, is apparently still alive and kicking though well into her nineties now. A later computer search reveals two children; a daughter Silvia who does not seem to have anything to do with the family business, and an older son Jordan who runs the business on his mothers behalf. Information filed away for future use.
- Mr Kurigane meanwhile sits in the lobby coffee shop at the TAS hotel to watch for the mystery man. After an hour or so he comes down to the desk and speaks a few words, then writes something down and passes this to the clerk. Then goes out to the taxi shelter to await a cab. An air/raft cab arrives shortly and the mystery man heads into Tortuga city. Mr Kurigane notes the cab number and tries to hail one so he can follow, but it takes too long for the cab to arrive.
Characters get back together to compare notes. Decide to question the cab driver to see where the mystery man went. Calls cab company to request the same cab. Cab arrives, Baron tries to sweet talk the young lady cabbie into divulging said information, but she refuses and takes off.
In the end, characters decide to take the job and continue investigation into their employer later. Meet with the mystery man as previously arranged and close the deal. He still refuses to give his name or even a location where he could be contacted. Instead gives them a locker number and combination at the starport where they can leave a message if they need to reach him. Meanwhile, Mr Fisker snaps a picture of the man with his hand computer. Baron Kundra uses that image to do a later computer search. He gets a hit on a newsreel about 5 years old, showing raiders from the Iagonn Suzerainty. It would appear their mystery man is part of the personal entourage of one of the Sky Dukes of Heilithium, the semi-piratical, rampaging and raiding rulers of the Suzerainty. So they have been hired not so much to perform commercial espionage as treasonous espionage. All good ...
Still going ahead with the job, everyone decides to apply for a job at General Shipyards so they can get inside and poke around. Everyone except Mr. Kurigane get Mr. Hammill to whip up some forged ID papers for them first. In the end, Mr. Kurigane gets hired by Security and Baron Kundra gets a job with industrial safety. Both jobs allow them some freedom to roam unquestioned about the shipyard. Baron Kundra notes that there is no Kinunir class ship on the ship ways; not a surprise as the Concordance is suffering a shortage of the necessary high technology items required for such construction. He does note a pair of merchant vessels under construction (a 200ton free trader and a 400ton subsidized merchant) as well as a nearly compete 200ton yacht on one of the final workup pads. There is also a 300ton close escort under construction for the Navy.
