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--- game_systems:traveller:starlightdrifter:adventure_journal [2025/08/23 13:34] – [Last Muster] Bryan Stephens
+++ game_systems:traveller:starlightdrifter:adventure_journal [2025/10/11 14:35] (current) – [Leaving Ramiva by Firefight] Bryan Stephens
@@ Line 753: / Line 753: @@
 ==== Staying a Spell ====
-{{ :game_systems:traveller:npcs:marquis_calvon.png?400|}}
+{{ :game_systems:traveller:npcs:marquis_calvon.png?300|}}
 Sharri is invited by their high passanger, [[game_systems:traveller:starlightdrifter:npcs:Virelle Darvon|Lady Virelle Darvon]]
@@ Line 781: / Line 781: @@
 ==== Last Muster ====
+{{ :game_systems:traveller:places:lastmuster.png?300|}}
 At the edge of the Highport’s mercenary concourse, beneath flickering holos of recruitment boards and cargo tallies, a heavy armored door slides open to reveal The Last Muster.
@@ Line 815: / Line 815: @@
 Both men are in agreement that Trivane may be behind many things. The size and scope of the piracy now is quite alarming and points to significant outside help for the pirates. Sir Alec notes he will look for a possible spot ships could be serviced and refueled within the solar system. This will be hard as Ramiva has little control off planet. He asks Viktor to relay a message for him when they go to Trin, with the Marquis personal mark. Viktor agrees, both hoping that a more personal delegation might help. Both also know that Viktor is likely to see if something is off. Not for the first (or last) time does Viktor ponder the fact that he is retired, but still in service to the Imperium.
+{{ :game_systems:traveller:places:1048b1e7-de35-4fe5-86dc-dd6cdd62c883.png?400|}}
 Back in the city, Sharri has run into a problem. In her eagerness to get the show up and running, she has tried the usual tactics of securing companionship for Rally. Female companionship. These has been easy in more metropolitan worlds. And it is not that she is looking for sex workers per say, just where she could find women eager to come to a party with Rally. This is still seen as solicitation of sex, and Sharri is unlucky enough to be arrested for it. She calls Hanson before her comm is taken.
@@ Line 832: / Line 834: @@
 Her brooding is interrupted by a summons by the guards. She is taken to out processing and meets her lawyer.
-//”Hello, Captain Duncan. I was hired by a friend to come get you out. Your bond has been paid, at Cr50,000 of course, in Imperial credits. I will help you with this misunderstanding.”
+//”Hello, Captain Duncan. I was hired by a friend to come get you out. Your bond has been paid, at Cr50,000 of course, in Imperial credits. I will help you with this misunderstanding.”//
 //”Excuse me but who are you and what friend?”// this seems faster than she expected from her phone call.
@@ Line 840: / Line 842: @@
 Sharri gets his card, //how quaint// and then calls Hanson to say she is out. They head to meet her, while Hason gets a call from Vinmark.
 //”Your friend is already out. Fastest I have ever seen that happen. Bond paid too.”//
 Hanson thanks him and says to keep the retainer. That was paid in good faith. Vinmark is happy to have Imperial credits and agrees. Viktor, Sharri, Rally, and Hanson meet at the hotel. Who in hades is Songhime, and what is going on?
+==== Rally is Famous ====
+|Game Date|9/14/25|
+|Campaign Dates|1099, 187-190|
+=== What do we do without Sharri?===
+{{ :game_systems:traveller:npcs:sharritoknight.png?400|}}
+The three men and their captain arrive back at their hotel, the Imperial. They are met by two men dressed in the uniforms of the Imperial Marines. They present identification and ask Sharri to come with them to answer questions about the piracy attack to Sir Alec. It is immediately clear to Viktor this is a maneuver to get Sharri out of the jurisdiction of Ramiva, and into Imperial control. He makes a note to thank Sir Alec for the favor, but out loud he jokes,
+//”Remember, if they put you in a cell, attack the biggest one to assert dominance!”//
+Sharri is gently escorted to a grav car, rare on this world, and flown back to Sir Alec’s tower.
+With Sharri gone, Viktor calls Galen down to the planet with a terse //”We need you.”//. All four men sit at their suite at the Imperial and plan next steps. Fortunately, Sharri already has a venue set up, a place for the meet and greet and afterparty, and has made the arrangements with the High Speaker’s office. Equipment is another matter. That will fall to Rally.
+Viktor updates the crew on the backend dealings he suspects are from former Minister of Oversight, Trivane. He feels certain Trivane is connected to the pirates, as they are being directly used to smear the reputation of the High Speaker. He asks Galen about the logistics, and Galen is convinced there is no way this can be supported locally.
+//”They have to be getting off world money and support. And crew. There is no way to support these ships here,”// the former pirate notes. //”They might have a base someplace in system, but that still needs modern supplies. They are not getting that from Ramiva.”//
+Hanson, thinking about their last concert on Fornice, is concerned about the safety and security of the venue. He says he wants to meet with the locals and provide support. Rally needs to check the systems so that is where they head. Galen and Viktor decide to tail them to see if anyone is following them. This leads to two fascinating discoveries. First, much to their surprise, there is no tail at all. And second, while Ramiva is TL8, the security for the High Speaker is much more sophisticated. Even off world tech would be hard pressed to penetrate the security services that will be in place since he will be attending the concert. Hanson relaxes a great deal.
+Rally is used to using old equipment with his interest in history. He is more than able to work his guitar into the system and gets the sounds correct for the concert in two nights. He is able to locate some back up players through the venue and even rehearses with them some. Frankly, as fans of his music AND good musicians they play it better than he does.
+=== Shari-less Shenanigans ===
+{{:game_systems:traveller:pcstuff:galenat_bar.png?350 |}}
+Viktor and Galen end their shadowing of their crewmates and seek out a place to get more information on the pirates. After some good discussion on their walk, Viktor looks up the less reputable Mercenary companies. He is able to single out three in a close area in the City, all of whom tend to use the same bar, The Spent Casing.
+It’s tucked down a side street near the freight docks, a squat ferrocrete box with a cracked neon sign of a falling cartridge that never lights up the same way twice. Inside, the air is thick with recycled smoke and machine oil. The bar itself is armored plating welded over an old ammo crate line, with spent brass casings set under the resin top like a promise of what happens when jobs go wrong.
+The men enter at different times. The place hums with low laughter and sharp edges. At one table, two men in patched flak vests slam their fists in rhythm, daring the other to keep drinking; casings clatter in the ashtray with every glass set down. A woman with a buzzcut and a half-burned throat sips something the color of coolant. Another pair lean close in a booth, muttering about a job that smells like a setup, but the pay’s better than starving.
+Galen grins. His people. After a year with playing it straight, it’s good to be back. Galen wades into the fray and is soon fully engaged. He buys some drinks with Imperial credits (the sign of success of mercenaries of Ramiva), and engages in the typical wild storytelling. Some of the stories are even true!. As the hours pass, Galen manages his liquor well enough to stay on top, and old trick from running the casino.
+What he finds is both enlightening and a dead end. There are some stories of people being hired on to be heavies for ships that could match the pirates. Of note, none of those people have yet come back from work. Not that long trips are out of the ordinary, transit times being what they are. It is clear to Galen that some locals have been used, but it does not generate any information about who is behind it. It does confirm his ideas on off world money.
+Viktor is not in his element. Trying to get information like this, is not his style. His style is more a captive, a low voice, and a very sharp blade. Mostly he ends up getting ignored, drinking quietly. However, this does mean he spots a man noticing Galen. It is clear he recognizes Galen and he immediately goes to talk to someone else. Viktor muses he should get some sort of listening device, and has to satisfy himself with a surreptitious picture on his comm. Now he waits.
+Galen is having a good time and does not notice he has been “made”. He leaves to walk back to the hotel, and Viktor watches a man follow him out. Like a shadow merging with the night, Viktor follows them both, completely unnoticed. Galen, however, does notice his tail, and sneaks a text to Viktor that he is being followed. Viktor sends a thumbs up and Galen proceeds normally.
+After Galen enters, Viktor takes a picture of the man making a phone call, and using his advanced comm, records the signal. He can decode that later. He enters the hotel after Galen, and tells him what happened. Galen recognizes the first man, the one who spotted him. An old enemy, former Sgt. Grimes.
+//”He was bad at poker, and I took him for everything he had,”//
+Viktor has more class than to ask about the honesty of the game. It seems that this Grimes is a mercenary now, actually part of a B Teir group as a former Marine, but maybe he has friends in low places.
+{{ :game_systems:traveller:pcstuff:viktor_city.png?350|}}
+Hanson and Rally return from their day, and Rally is nonplussed the other two men have been out to “party”, despite it being work. He badgers Hanson into going to a club, and they head to the concierge at the Imperial for advice. A fan who knows Rally, he suggests a club where upon arrival, Hanson is dismayed to find out it is a strip club, the Golden Pony. Rally says,
+//”Look, mate, we can score something extra for me to take tomorrow, since we can’t get it off the ship. You know, more than just booze”//
+//”Absolutely, not!”// comes the terse reply as they enter.
+The two men have Imperial credits and the money to spend, so they get both attention and action. Rally just happens to notice news on the TV and is startled to see himself. This is not a concert ad. He checks his comm and discovers several medial outlets are tying the High Speak to Rally, subtly implicating the High Speaker with a loose lifestyle. Not good.
+//“And not anything I can do about it.”// and he puts up his comm to enjoy the evening.
+Later, as Hanson is enjoying the attention of a young woman in his private VIP room, he is hit with the sudden realization:
+//Rally is on his own!//
+The Sgt. charges our of his room and into the one with Rally, who in that moment is using a straw to snort up something from the stripper’s body. Unashamed, Rally simply offers some to Hanson.
+For the rest of the evening, the rocker is always in his friend’s line of sight. Rally’s attempt to smuggle out drugs comes to naught.
+When they return to the hotel, Viktor has managed to decode the phone call he intercepted. He is just finished telling Galen the contents. Clearly, Grimes is tracked them to here. They have no idea what might but up, but maybe Rally has the answer. Rally tells the others what he saw on the news. They all take a look, and Viktor is shaking his head. Rally’s phone rings. It is Sharri!
+//”What are you doing! A strip club? On the news?”// Viktor moves the call to his comm to calm her down. Rally looks, and sure enough, somehow their escapade at the Golden Pony is already news. It seems Rally was with one Sindee. Rally is aghast.
+//”Damnit! That is so wrong! It was Sinnimen!”// He goes to actually comment on the newsfeed and Hanson slaps his comm from his hand.
+//”No! No comments!”//
+//”But they got it wrong”// cries Rally.
+He might have argued more had Viktor not handed Hanson a hypo.
+Ssssssssss
+Hanson put his friend to bed.
+=== Playing the Roll of Rally ===
+{{:game_systems:traveller:places:rally.png?400 |}}
+Nothing untoward happens during the next day. Sgt. Hanson keeps an eye and a strong arm on Rally until the meet and greet that evening. Because the High Speaker is attending, no one has any weapons. The security is very complete. No one may come or go while he is there. Rally is in his element. The guests, including several lovely women Sharri did secure among fans are in attendance. This is VIP. The High Speaker arrives and Rally goes to work.
+It is while Rally is showing his crossbow to the High Speaker that Viktor grows concerned. Two of the young women seem to be taking pictures a salaciously as possible, always with an eye towards making the High Speaker look more engaged with them than he is. He knows a scheme when he sees one. Tabloid types, perhaps.
+Unlike carousing in a bar, this is what Viktor does. He grabs two flutes of champagne and affects a stagger. The two women are the recipients of a trip and splash on their dresses. Both women react with anger, but do not make a secne. Viktor is profusely apologetic and escorts them to a fresher. In the process, stumbling some, trying to clean them. He easily takes the comms of the redhead but blonde takes a bit of extra misdirection.
+That taken care of, Viktor notes both women are on the afterparty list. Well, were. After the High Speaker leaves, the rest of the quests go as well. Once safely back in the Imperial, Viktor easily cracks the phones while he tells the others what happened. Rally is disappointed as he was looking forward to having both of them. //”At the afterparty, I mean.”//
+The phone have the images and no contacts or histories.
+//”These were professionals. Good work. Just not as good as me”// Viktor says mostly to himself.
+Everyone gets a good sleep. Tomorrow afternoon is the concert.
+And it goes off without a hitch. Mostly sober, and certainly not high, Rally does not deliver his best performance. Still, his fans are happy, and who cares with the critics say. The High Speaker was most delighted and sent a note saying as much.
+The afterparty goes quite well. Under Viktor’s sober watch, Rally and Hanson have a fantastic time, staying up the whole night. Galen, however, only manages two assassinations before succumbing to the booze. Viktor makes sure his night on the couch is safe.
+In the morning, Viktor is still quite awake.
+//Long nights fueled by caffeine used to be easier// the older man muses. Still, he kept his watch on his friends. With staff help he gets the visitors off for the morning and makes sure the suite is secure. A call to Sharri helps settle her nerves.
+On the balcony of the suite, Viktor takes in the vast cave that is Ramiva city. The “sunlight” is slowly increasing. Not to different from an archology on Mora. The air in here is better that Mora. He would like a drink, but that will come later. Today they need to get safely back to the //Starlight Drifter//.
+====== 12 Trinbulations ======
+|Game Date|10/5/25|
+|Campaign Dates|1099, 191-198|
+==== Leaving Ramiva by Firefight ====
+{{:game_systems:traveller:npcs:elden_sarvik.png?300 |}}
+Sharri takes a shuttle up to highport to wait for the party as the lights of the great cavern start to brighten in the artificial morning of Ramiva’s day. The men gather to head to the downport. They would not allow them their grav vehicle in the city, so Tangie has been waiting there with it. They will take the Imperial Hotel’s Shuttle to the downport.
+Varis Wagner is their driver. He is a retired mercenary, who did not get rich or make it “big”. He works as a driver for Imperial and they are happy to have him. He is licensed to carry and has acted as security on more than one occasion. Rally was insistent that his crossbow //”not be squashed, mate.”//. Varis made sure it was packed in the seat. Both were about to become useful.
+Sgt. Hanson and Galen are already in the van in the back seat, and Viktor is closing up the doors, while Rally is boarding and Varis is standing by the driver’s door. This is when a black SUV comes pulling up. Viktor and Galen immediately are on guard: something is up. Viktor pulls his gun as he moves to the left side door taking cover. Galen simply fires out the back window, shattering it to make for the ability to target. Hanson struggles to exit the vehicle, climbing over the seats as Rally leapt into the van. Both men knew where they wanted to be.
+Galen takes aim at the driver, but his shot does not penetrate the windshield. Viktor aims and waits. Three doors open, and three men get out, leaving only the driver inside. Viktor fires into the man on the left as Rally grabs and loads his crossbow. Hanson emerges, only to be caught center mass by a stunner. To the amazement of the crew assaulting them, the former marine just grins. He feels the effects, but that one shot is not enough to bring him down, even with his limited armor. Hason grins and returns fire.
+Varis joins the fray, striking Viktor’s target, while Galen also hits Hanson’s target, the front passenger side. The man is not down thanks to his armor. At least until Rally puts a bolt through his eye. At this point the driver has had and enough and accelerates forward, smashing the driver side of the van. Viktor and Varis both leap inside the van as the SUV knocks off both doors.
+That leaves one man standing, his ride gone. Stunned, when he Hanson demands he surrender he does. As he sits up, Viktor yells,
+//”Get in him inside and let’s go! We don’t want any police!”//
+As Varis sits up, Rally jokes,
+//”Driver, we are heading on.”//
+As Varis makes for the downport, Viktor and Hanson use the zip ties on their captive to bind his hands. This is Elden Sarvik. From an old ID, he used to work for the Ministry of Oversight. Despite Viktor’s efforts, he refuses to talk. Viktor contacts Sir Alrec and notifies him of what happened and their plans. Hanson gets the bright idea to try to read his mind but fails. However, Tangie is at the downport.
+They arrive and are waved in. Safe on Imperial territory, they slow and head for their vehicle. Some of the Knight’s men move towards them. Viktor takes Tangie aside and asks her to read his mind. She gives in and does so. By the time the Knight’s men arrive, Viktor is pretending he is talking to a contact on his comm. Sarvik cannot believe what he is hearing. This man knows //everything//. Sarvik is ready to confess to the Knight’s men.
+Rally wants to make sure that Varis will be OK, and the Knight’s men assure him it will be taken care of. The four men then climb into their grav car with Tangie and Viktor takes them straight to the Highport. It is time to leave. With little ceremony, they leave the highport and head for jump distance. As soon as they hit jump space, Viktor crashes to sleep on a table in the medbay.
+==== Getting to Trin ====
+Sharri does not know why, but she can see that Tangie is upset. She takes her into her quarters, a first for any of the crew. Tangie, like Sharri was, is amazed and the painting of Sharri’s Great Aunt. Tangie admits what she did and how uncomfortable it made her. Scanning passengers surface thoughts for safety on her own is one thing; reading the mind of a captive for information is another. Sharri is livid. She calls the men into the mess and dresses them down, making it clear her displeasure. Galen makes a point to apologize to Tangie afterwards. The rest of the week passes normally, with the crew mostly relaxing. With no passengers and no cargo, there is room to run around the hold, and no one to worry about. Sharri, every the caretaker, makes sure everyone is doing well.
+=== Trin ===
+{{ :game_systems:traveller:places:trin.png?400|}}
+Trin itself is a marvel. Colonized not long after Mora, Trin is the ‘back door to the Marches’. It can be reached from Deneb by an easy jump-2 route through well-developed worlds, with good ports in the Gulf subsector. This creates a lucrative trade run into Trin, from where it is possible to head coreward and join the Spinward Main or spinward towards Glisten. Large quantities of goods move through Trin’s excellent highport, which has many brokerages and commercial dispute resolution firms. Most ships are larger types; corporate freighters and liners rather than small, privately-owned ships but Trin’s shipyards are used for refits by many smaller operators - at least, those who can afford the fees.
+Trin Highport also hosts a very large independent merchant academy, the Imperial Trin Institute of Commerce (ITIC). ITIC trains merchant spacer crews but also offers courses in related areas such as brokerage and business law. Many of the personnel on the ‘spacer’ side of the institute also undertake Naval Reservist training at the Imperial Navy base in the system. This serves as headquarters for the subsector fleet and a base for heavy squadrons of the Sector Fleet. Trin’s system defenses are commanded from a ground installation on Trin itself but many of the system defense vessels berth at the naval base. Trin also has a small scout base to serve the communications network.
+There is one other major facility in the Trin system, the world of Ling Standard Products Spinward, named for the corporate facility built on it in the early years of corporate expansion into the area. Originally planned to take over as regional headquarters from the facility at Mora, it instead became a manufacturing site with a side line in researching improved industrial techniques.
+Trin itself is a medium-sized world with a dense, tainted atmosphere and low water coverage. There are no moons, although Trin had one in the past. The cloud of reflective debris that makes dawn and sunset so spectacular on Trin is the remnant of this satellite, which broke up due to gravitational stresses.
+Trin is at the peak of technology in the Imperium, and “cutting edge” developments come from this world. The world’s population numbers in the tens of billions. As with many high population worlds, Trin’s people are concentrated in very large cities surrounded by agricultural areas. Even with such a large population, there is plenty of land and well-regulated agriculture, using high-technology methods, is capable of feeding Trin’s billions without resorting to bulk food imports or low-quality subsistence rations. Indeed, Trin is a strong contender for one of the best places to live in Charted Space; the cities are not crowded and very well-designed by a civilization that has had gravitic transportation since the world was colonized. Buildings are characteristically tall, with wide spaces between them filled with parks and recreation facilities. Most Trin residents are used to thinking in three dimensions when getting about, the idea of being stuck at ground level is foreign to them.
+In short, this is close to industrialized paradise as exists in the Imperium.
+=== Arrival ===
+{{:game_systems:traveller:starlightdrifter:kdv.png?400 |}}
+Upon arriving in any system, it is common to transmit your intentions for flight plans. Some place like Trin, with is crowded spaceways is it a necessity. As they finish the normal handoffs, the crew is surprised to have a message from Kestrel–Deveraux Veilworks , the very place that outfitted //Starlight Drifter//.
+//”Starlight Drifter, this is Kestrel–Deveraux Veilworks. Welcome Home.”//
+Sharri blinks and is startled but she issues a response directly, //”This is Captain Sharri Duncan. Thank you. We would like to put in for repairs.”//
+The response is swift, //”Captain Duncan we would love you bring your ship home to be repaired. We are, as we always have been, in Slip A-19 on the “Crown Spindle” Ring. “//
+Galen enters the flight path, and the //Drifter// is guided into a dock.
+Kestrel–Deveraux Veilworks (KDV) are boutique TL-15 outfitters known for refitting small traders for long-range, low-signature work. Ex-Navy engineers moonlight here; they’re discreet and pricey. Sharring knows that they are responsible for the //Drifter’s// Veil-Tuned™ fusion plant calibration, Shadow Weave™-radar-absorbent skin panels, upgraded Harrier™ jump-capacitor bank, and the Veil-Lock™ Signature Signet access system (their DNA-pricking rings).Founded by Merek Deveraux and Tarek Kestrel, it is now run by Tarek and Merek’s daughter Sana.
+After docking, Sharri is met by Sana and Tarek. Sharri is ready for Tarek’s remarks,
+“//You look just like Anne//” he says, referring to the original owner of //Starlight Drifter// Sharri’s Great Aunt, Anne Troja.
+//”I get that a lot. I never knew her, but always dreamed of doing this. Here I am.”//
+//”Well, we will get to work. This is Qin Haro,”// Tarek introduces a young man, //”Best in hull coatings around. And looking at that … particle beam damage…”//, Tarek guesses correctly, //”You coating is going to need some work”//.
+//”The power plant too. They would not touch it at Ramiva”// says Hanson, //”I just made sure it would get us here”//.
+Tarek nods. As they stand here, a young man, clearly related to the elder Kestrel comes up and kisses Sana on the cheek. He gets introduced as Avin Kestrel, Terek’s son. Sharri and Galen go with the KDV crew to talk what needs to be done and survey the ship. Afterwards, they host them for dinner.
+Viktor announces he is headed for the Travaller’s Aid Society club. He is ready for a break, and suspects a TAS hostel on a Tech Level 15 world will be outstanding. Tangie approaches him and asks if he can sponsor her into TAS membership. This will cost the megacredit she was paid by the Imperium after her kidnapping.
+//”That is quite a lot of money. Are you sure?”// he asks of her
+//”Viktor, I am younger than all of you. I don’t know if I am going to do this forever. TAS membership gives me passages every other month and places to stay. It is an investment in my future. Sharri pays me well enough each month and I have no real expenses on the ship. “//
+//”Da, I understand. It will be my pleasure.”//
+While a single megacredit stick ought to raise an eyebrow, the staff at TAS act as if it is nothing. Tangie is given a membership card and chooses to get a room there as well to enjoy the luxury of it.
+For Viktor, this is the nicest TAS facility he has seen, even better than the one on Mora, which is much more … ostentatious. This is the TAS of a world that is totally secure in its place. And all the rooms are oriented to have spectacular views of the rings. Viktor requests an appointment with the Director, and is told it may take some days. He shrugs at the bureaucracy and enjoys his day.
+Sgt. Hanson and Rally want to go shopping. They immediately head down to Trin itself. It is time to see what they can find. And maybe what trouble they can get into.

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