Starforged - Mina the lore keeper: Session 2, Searching for new leads

I spend the next couple of hours on my day job. Places like this are always looking for some of the more exotic raw materials and little luxuries that they can't get through their big trade contracts. And there is absolutely no one in this galaxy who won't buy coffee. I don't have a hauler, so smaller loads of more luxurious items are my stock-in-trade. I sell out most of my stock of alloys and a decent amount of fresh food.

This settlement is a weapons manufactury so in return I pick up some small arms and riot control gear - strictly non-lethal. Rumour has it that one of the other founding factions is stirring up internal trouble. The opressive and unqeual society of the Veiled Keepers is brittle and vulnerable to rebellion if given a spark. Other factions see their militaristic and expansionist tendencies and make a point of setting that spark every now and then to keep the Keeers busy and inward facing.

I'm not thrilled about the idea of selling weapons to local mercenary forces in the pay of the Oligarchs, but it's a necessary part of keeping my trading privileges and allows me to keep visiting these territories in search of precursor tech. I placate my conscience by not buying or selling lethal weaponry. And I am open to the idea of a crate falling off the back of the ship into the hands of local rebels if it can be arranged safely.

[D6 Fortune roll: 2]

With rebellion in the air outsiders like myself can't get hold of the good stuff. Basic body armour is fine, but for offensive weaponry nothing more advanced than ancient pattern hand-held tasers. I don't really care - someone will buy it, and in this region of space it's all just cover for my real goal.

Finally I hear the shift change announcements begin over the tannoy and I know the spaceport bar will be starting to fill up. I summon E.R.I.C, my protocol bot, to meet me at the off-ramp and together we walk toward the bar. On the way I explain that my first priority, if Eveline shows up, is to see if I can get her to spill any information on other notable characters in this station who might have... needs... that are difficult to fulfil in this locked-down environment. If she doesn't show, which is likely, I'll be listening out for opportunities to make a new contact. E.R.I.C points out that off-worlders might be as valuable as workers and employees. They're less likely to have useful clearance or authority, but much more likely to talk and since their personal finances arn't being monitored, much more amenable to bribes.

We arrive and I grab a table in a booth - not so good for overhearing conversations, but essential if I want to avoid being overheard.

Ask the Oracle: Will Eveline show up at the bar?
[Unlikely: 56. No]

I finish my first drink with no sign of Eveline and decide she's probably in a virtual stupour in her quarters. I'm not entirly disappointed, I have a strong feeling that overlooking the occasional bit of contraband is probably going to be the limit of her usefulness as a contact.

I leave my table and find a standing space near the bar where I can be closer to the centre of things. Sipping my drink I tune into the converstions around me.

Gather Information
[Miss: 1 + 2 + 0 = 3 vs 10 | 9]
Pay the Price: You are delayed or put at a disadvantage
Action: Surrender / Theme: Authority

My first mistake of the evening. I'm so focused on what people are saying, I fail to hear trouble walking up behind me. It's only when I feel the clap of a hand on my shoulder that I realise something has gone very wrong.

A space opens up around me as I turn and see one of the station guards standing there holding a datapad. He double checks my face and puts it away. "Come quietly please ma'am, we have some questions for you." There are two more guards at the bar entrance, these ones standing casually but with batons drawn. I realise there's no wriggling out of this. It's not a case of 'what have I done?', but 'what have they found out about?'.

I put down my drink, signal to E.R.I.C, and follow the guard out of the bar. His colleagues fall in behind us as we walk away, out of the publically accessible areas and deeper in the facility. I'm taken to a featureless room with a stark overhead light and a few uncomfortable looking chairs around the walls. "Wait here". I'm left in silence to consider my position, a deliberate tactic I'm sure but not ineffective. My protocol bot remains quiet, an unusual occurence but I suspect it's probably the right move. There is nothing to be gained by talking here, however innocuous the conversation. Silently, we wait.

Starforged - Mina the lore keeper: Session 1, Landing at Larissa settlement

 As I power down my ship, I walk down the off-ramp and submit to the usual security inspections. As an arms manufactory for the Veiled Keepers the inspections are tight and the guards can't be bribed. At least, not with cash.

I spot Eveline at the head of the inspection team and walk over, pulling out a datapad and putting on a show of trying to make small-talk as we walk back toward the ship until we're out of earshot of her team.

"Anything on board I should be worried about?" she says in a low voice as we feign a detailed inspection of the contents of the pad. I shake my head and she raises a hand into the air and motions toward the ship. With her other hand she keys her comm. "Secure the cargo area, download the nav logs for the last journey, I'll be there in a second". She side-eyes me and gestures at my pad, "If you'll be so kind...?". I give a wry grin and navigate to the ship functions, unlocking the logs for the most recent journey. This isn't my first visit to this place, and I made sure my starting point for this trip was above suspicion.

As her team board the ship I turn so that I'm facing away from the security cameras (at least, the ones I'm aware of) and ask "you have news? About Forlorn?" A sharp intake of breath and she growls "don't say that name here. It's not safe". I bow my head in apology and she composes herself. "You have something for me first?"

[Action: Suppress / Theme: Humanity. Sounds like an escapist thing to me. Drugs or illegal Simsense.]

 I nod and say "I'll leave it in the usual place. What have you got for me?".

Swear an Iron Vow: Find out what they are working on in the secret archaeological settlement known as Forlorn
[Weak Hit: 4 + 3 + 1 = 8 vs 10 | 5]

"A data stick. Air gapped. Coordinates. And an old security code. It's be best I can do, they run searches. I tried to get you something current but it's locked up tight. You'll find it in the drop."

Mark Progress [**________]

Coordinates is something, but it doesn't do me much good if I get blown to bits the second I get within sensor range. I need more information, but Eveline's the first person on this station with even moderate influence that I've been able to find any kind of leverage over. I don't like being on the wrong side of the law, but as a trader in Veiled Keeper space, just existing is borderline criminal.

We play out the rest of the inspection without any further conversation. I have what I need from her. Even if this lead doesn't work out, we're now bound by a shared secret - she knows I've smuggled illegal materials into the base and I have concrete evidence that she's passed military intelligence onto an unauthorised 3rd party. I know which of us comes off worse if this gets out.

I need another angle. If Eveline can't deliver me the clearance I need, maybe she can deliver me someone who can. Or maybe I should give up this fool's errand and leave Veiled Keeper space. The whole faction gives me the creeps.

Later that day as I drop off and collect Eveline's stuff from the drop point I leave her an old fashioned paper note saying I'll be in the bar this evening if she finds herself off-duty. I don't expect that she'll show up when the alternative is several hours uninterrupted time with a new Simsense, but I'll need to be here for a couple of days doing mundane trades if I want to keep my cover and with the toxic spillover making outdoors a no-go zone this is a particularly boring place to be stuck, and she's still the only person I know.