Fragments - Session 3: Maresfield Shootout

Session 3 happened Friday, September 30, 2011.

This campaign uses the Hero System, 5th Edition, with much Traveller material grafted on. I am making use of the Hero Traveller books published by ComStar Games. Sadly, these books went out of print when Mongoose Publishing purchased the rights to produce all things Traveller. Mongoose is doing good things, so no hate mail.

PCs:
The Company:
Maxwell Sloan (male human, communications and sensors specialist)
Nomen Fire-eyes (male human hybrid, negotiator)
Oscar Dougray (male human, salvage expert)
Ro Owen (female human, team security expert)
Braddock Grar, Lector (male Low Waldi, archivist)

NPCs:
The Crew:
Echo Salazar, Ship’s Captain (female human)
Ted Yahn, Ship’s Navigator (male human)
Albertha Trufin, Ship’s Engineer (female human)
Dr. Quinton Picknell, Ship’s Doctor (male human)

Maresfield Trade Representative:
Deadra Pagenkopf, Maresfield Trade Liaison (female human)


Week 3, Day 3:
The Just Lucky arrived in Maresfield system. After properly identifying itself to the Maresfield orbital authorities, the ship received an updated System Map for the Adab subsector and J2 System Survey Report from the Maresfield Scout Service. Most of the day is spent moving from the jump point to planetary orbit.

Week 3, Day 5:
Phoenix Salvage [the players] receives payment from Maresfield government for shipment of red gold made by the Just Lucky. Phoenix Salvage decided to keep 2 bars of red gold for their use. With a great deal of credit in the company’s accounts, the Just Lucky was put into dock for routine maintenance.

Week 3, Days 6 and 7:
Phoenix Salvage starts purchasing items they found they needed on their first outing. Orders were placed for 4 body sleeves, lightweight armor with some environmental support capabilities. Ro was also able to secure a fiber optic intrusion camera for Grar’s use.

Grar also requested updated body armor (to ballistic cloth) from the Order of Sacre Illuminae. While talking with his superior in the Order, Grar related that the Just Lucky would next travel to the Caraturth system. In exchange for the armor upgrade, Grar was provided a pile of scrolls containing the history of the Order on Maresfield over the last 90 years and asked to deliver it to the Founding Monastery on Caraturth.


Week 4, Day 1:
Cyrano compiled a list of components he needs in order to start building McGuffins for Phoenix Salvage’s use. In order to avoid the notice of the Maresfield government, he needed the other members of Phoenix Salvage to secure several of the items. Ro, Grar, and Oscar agreed to help.

Oscar located sources for several of the more technical components and secured a supply of them. Grar went to his Low Waldi contacts while Ro, taking the single mundane item on the list (several spools of fiber optic circuitry) simply went shopping for it. After checking a few places, Ro ended up in a technically-oriented bodega where few questions were asked if payment was in cash. She waited at the front counter while the owner was putting together her order (the FO circuitry was kept behind the counter). Waiting in the back of the bodega for his contact to show, entirely by coincidence, was Sherwood Switch, head of a pirate gang and sworn enemy or Ro. As far as he knew, Ro Owen died on the island he marooned her on several years ago.

Imagine his surprise when one of his flunkies pulls him aside and points to the front of the shop. His exact words were, “Ro Owen?! What the hell?!”

Ro recognized the voice and spun, pulling her automatic pistol, and started shooting at her blood enemy. Switch responded in kind with his 9 mm magnum pistol, ordering his two flunkies to start shooting. This started a shootout down the length of the store (and the chips and soda aisle). Ro took cover by flipping over the sales counter while Switch stepped partially behind a display of canned foods at the end of the aisle.

In the storage area in the back, Grar was talking with his contact (and cousin), working out the details of getting the components he was asked to get. His cousin (and contact) immediately fled the building when the gunshots started ringing out. Grar, curious by nature, moved around and into the cold locker so he could see out through the beer shelves. Seeing that Ro and several unknown assailants were evenly matched, he cautiously moved to a point where he was flanking the guy who seemed to be the leader and waited for an opportunity.

This opportunity came when one of the other customers of the bodega took offense at some of the remarks the flunkies were making and started beating down the flunky trying to flank Ro. Unaware of this, the second flunky moved forward to get a better shot at Ro, leaving Switch along in the back. Grar silently opened the cooler door and squeezed through the shelves, flanking Switch and covering the man with his gauss pistol. In a calm voice he ordered Switch to drop his weapon.

Switch, surprised to find a Low Waldi with a pistol behind him, attempted to push over the display of cans onto Grar. Grar pulled the trigger first, firing multiple flechettes through Switch’s torso, dropping him. Ro, seeing this happen, hopped the counter and ran up to Switch, intent on killing him with the same gun switch killed her last lover – only to find that she had not brought that pistol with her today. So she kicked him in the head and stalked out.

During her run up to Switch, the flunky who was mid-aisle attempted to shoot Ro in the back and missed. When he realized Switch was down and there was another shooter in the store, one who might have killed his boss, the flunky ran out the front of the store. The other flunky was pummeled into unconsciousness by the offended patron, despite having a gun in hand. He would not wake up until the police were there arresting him.

Grar took off out the back, slowing down only long enough to grab the security tapes from the store security cameras. Hopefully there was not a second set of recorders up at the front of the store.

Both Ro and Grar decide to lay low until the ship finishes its maintenance.


Week 4, Day 4:
Cyrano, using other channels, finally acquires the rest of the components he needs to start making Phoenix Salvage-brand McGuffins.


Week 4, Day 6:
Maintenance on the _Just Lucky_ completed and the members of Phoenix Salvage re-board.

*End of Session 3*