(3) [Traveller] Voyages of the R.e.d. Dusk

Game Master mdt

pilot: 2d6 + 1 ⇒ (5, 5) + 1 = 11

Alison, you're up.

Ok, Botting Alison

Astrogation: 2d6 + 2 ⇒ (5, 3) + 2 = 10

Both ships arrive, finally, at Ansana <===TRADE DATA LINK

The system is a K3 V star, a burning orange cinder. About 80% the size of Sol, and about 80% as hot, so the liquid water zone is around the same AU as Venus

While the star is not overly impressive, the rest of the system is. There are two asteroid belts, three gas giants, and judging from the comms chatter, thousands of ships, bases, and shuttles flying around in the system. A quick update from a local comm buoy, set up near the major hyperspace exit points, gives them information about the system. There are no less than 3 private ship yards advertising, and a state owned military shipyard.

Starport Info __ Downport __ Highport
Berthing Cost
_ _ _ _To Dock....... 4,000 ....,,,... 2,000
_ _ _ _Per day......... 500 ........... 500

Not going to roll random encounters in this place for the flight in, you can assume you get hailed and checked by two or three patrol craft

The planet is an astounding marble, a vivid blue with fluffy white clouds. Ansana is a water world, with 99.97% of it's surface covered with water. The settlements are all sub-surface, with vast colony's spread out over the shallow portions of the seas. The crew can either land in Highport or Downport, however, a quick check finds that the Imperial Enclave is on the planet's surface, so no matter what they choose, they'll be taking the pinnace from their landing area to the Imperial Enclave.

The Imperial Enclave is 2500 square kilometers of ocean floor. The entire enclave is below water, in one of the deeper portions of the ocean, per the information brief. Landing a private shuttle at the enclave requires a 500 credit landing fee, and an additional 50 credits per hour. Alternately, seats are available at regular intervals on contracted shuttles for a flat rate of 100 credits per round trip.

The space stations around the planet are massive, with it actually taking 3 stations to service all the ships, with two military stations situated at the L4 and L1 Lagrange points. Two of the civilian space stations orbit the planet directly, while a third is in the L2 Lagrange point, and is primarily operates as a way station for cargo going to the 15 orbital colonies that inhabit the L2 Lagrange point.

Fortunately, the planet has no moon and no axial tilt, so the weather at the surface is smooth and stable year round. The planet on the inside of the liquid water band, and so the planet has liquid water at both poles. The temperatures at the poles are in the teens Celsius, and at the equator are in the mid 70's. Fortunately, temperatures drop rapidly under the water, but it is strongly advised for most sophants to not be on the surface without an environmental suit within 40 degrees of the equator, due to extreme health risks due to heat. Temperatures in Celsius, so equator is in the 160's F for the US folks

"Phoenix, this is Kektys. Recommend we all go down to the Downport. The crews could use R&R."

Getting off the intership comms, the little droyne whistles and clicks, which his translator renders as "Mister Elrick. Take us down if you please."

GM - the spreadsheet is not up to date with the things we bought and sold at Inudak. Do you want me to keep that up, or will you?

Either/Or at the moment. If you can do it for now, I'd appreciate it

Also, what is our projected route from here, so I can plot my purchases? Tibushi next?

That's something the group has to decide on, probably after a good bit of RP dealing with Imperial Bureaucracy.

"Phoenix, this is Kektys. At your soonest opportunity, I'd like a briefing on where in the Imperium you intend to travel. I understand that several of you are from Ley Sector. That is 120 parsecs away."

"The most direct route out of the Ruler of Five and towards Imperial space leads us to Varson subsector and the subsector capital of Varkugo and on into the Opposition Alliance and the Antares Pact. I recommend that we learn all we can about those polities before proceeding any further in that direction."

"If those prove to be unsavory options, it is not too late to turn Trailing/Rimward for The Confederation of Bammesuka and the Julian Protectorate, though I do not know much more about those."

"More immediately, any of those options take us next to Rrotoe, which is a Red Zone system. We need to find out whether transit of the system and refueling is permitted. If not, we will need to plot a course down through Tibushi and Kongheks. I'll need to know our route in order to help coordinate our cargo."

The Traveller Map can plot the shortest course between any two systems at a given Jump. A route back to the Frontier Worlds leads generally Rimward and slightly Trailing through the Opposition Alliance and Antares Pact. Ansana to Saramid (in Frontier Worlds subsector, where you started) is 70 jumps at Jump 2. The Imperium frontier is 27 jumps away from Ansana along the shortest route.

If we can trade at Rrotoe, I'll make one set of plans. If not and we're headed to either Tibushi or Kughurr, I'll make another set of plans. Finally, if we need to avoid either the Opposition Alliance or the Antares Pact, we'll need to head more directly trailing and into the Julian Protectorate. If that's the case, our route will take us through Rrotoe, Oezoethun and Khikollang. So that's a completely different set of trade priorities.

We also need to learn what the tarriff/crossing fee/importation tax/forbidden cargo situations are at the various borders.

All in all, we need to do some serious investigation of interstellar politics before we head into danger. And/or buy a boatload of the wrong stuff. Who's good at that sort of thing?

RoF Public Infoterminal

Opposition Alliance : The Opposition Alliance formed from multiple independent worlds during the initial phases of the Post Millieu time period. At the time, the nascent Antares Pact worlds and the original Seven Clans (predecessor state of the Ruler of Five) were both expanding, using both diplomatic and military force. Caught between the two nascent hegemonies, the Opposition Alliance managed to force a stalemate, which led to the Great Shearing, a civil war within the Seven Clans Hegemony, which gave birth to the Ruler of Five as it exists today. In modern times, the Opposition Alliance has cordial, if not friendly, interaction with both the Ruler of Five and the Antares Pact. The Opposition Alliance has peaceful interaction with the Empire.

Antares Pact : The Antares Pact formed from two surviving colonies within the Antares Nebula during the initial phases of the Post Millieu time period. The Alsatha and the Kalvass Vargr who had fought for most of the Millieu were finally able to put their feud aside only when their worlds were both attacked by pirates, an early scourge after the Millieu. The Pact, as part of exterminating pirate bands, began to forcefully pacify worlds near them.
The Pact continued expanding, using both diplomatic and military force. The Pact soon encountered the Seven Clans Hegemony, and began a combat that raged for decades. The conflict birthed the Opposition Alliance, and the three way war exhausted the resources of the Pact, which eventually led to an armistice. In modern times, the Antares Pact has cordial, if not friendly, interaction with both the Ruler of Five and the Opposition Alliance. The Antares Pact has, at best, rocky relations with the Empire, due to raiding activity by their young nobles. All merchants and traders are warned to avoid Pact space.

Rrotoe : The system Rrotoe contains an M class world that is a Garden World. There is an emerging Sophant species on the planet which has technological levels of class 7 bordering on class 8. Entry into the system is forbidden by Intergalactic Treaty A7R389. Any ship entering this system will be punished to the fullest extent of Ruler of Five law, including confiscation of ship and cargo, and a prison sentence between 10 and 50 years standard.

'Intend to travel? Oh s*** I haven't even thought about that. Where am I supposed to go?'

Elrick thinks for a moment but realizes that he actually has no plans for what he supposed to do now that he's been thrown out of time. It takes him a moment to finally speak into the comms. "We can talk about our plans once the ships are docked."

"Phenoix here. We will follow you down and park her wherever they have space. After that, I am off to the Imperial Consulate. Anyone who wants to join me is welcome, but I have questions I need answered...'

"Dev, I will join you. It appears I will be some time in Imperial space. I should have my papers in order."

______________________________________________________________

Hokay... So we can't go through the Antares Pact and we can't go through Rrotoe at all, even to transit the system. So that requires us to really re-calibrate our route. Maybe even to back up.

Investigating alternative routes to the Imperium and Ley Sector specifically, Moyasmedsev accesses the Public Infoterminal data on:

1) Khongeks. Why is it an Amber Zone? Do we need to avoid the whole system or just the planet?

2) The First Fleet of Dzo and the non-aligned worlds between it and the Imperium (There a half-dozen mains that could bridge that small gap.)

3)The Confederation of Bamesuka.

4) The Sarkan Constellation.

5) The Julian Protectorate

With each of these, he wants to know its attitude towards merchants and the polities it neighbors, as well as the danger of pirates in the non-aligned worlds on its borders through which we might have to pass.

I'm leaning towards a route through the Opposition Alliance and the First Fleet of Dzo if that is safe, and considering alternate routes through either the Confederation of Bamesuka or the Sarkan Constellation and then on to the Julian Protectorate and finally into the Imperium.

RoF Infoterminal

First Fleet of Dzo : The Vargr Protectorate was established by Imperial Conquest in the year 785, as an attempt to stop Vargr Raids into Imperial space. Admiral Alsatia Al'Dzo, a human Rear Admiral, cleansed the area of all major raiding Corsair groups in a bloody war that took 25 years. Admiral Al'Dzo was then placed as Governor by the Imperial Court. After 50 years of Imperial Rule, Admiral Al'Dzo withdrew the area from Imperial Rule after being ordered to disband the local fleets by the new Emperor. Instead, she began building the Fleets up, and retook command of the First Fleet. Imperial forces descended on the area, and a short bloody 5 year battle ensued. The Imperials were driven off due to the cost of trying to take over the area again. The Admiral died in the final battle when her bridge took a direct hit from a torpedo. In her honor, the inhabitants of the Protectorate christened their alliance 'The First Fleet of Dzo'. The First Fleet of Dzo's Navy is a disparate but heavily armed mesh of many different ship types taken from throughout Vargr and Imperial Space. The First Fleets are very prideful, and quick to assume insult. In the intervening years, First Fleet Corsairs have re-established themselves, however, they raid other Corsair bases, not independent ships. As a result, the First Fleet of Dzo has uneasy relations with it's Vargr Neighbors, but cordial if frosty relations with the Empire.

Confederation of Bammesuka : The Confederation of Bammesuka is a weak, decentralized interstellar state left over from the collapse of the Second Empire of Gashikan. In many respects, the culture here parallels that of the Commonwealth of Mendan; however, the Confederation government does not have the resources to exercise control of the area, and the little control that it does exercise is undermined by corsairs based in the Confederation and by raids conducted by other corsairs based in the Sarkan Constellation, the Zuugabish Tripartite, and Meshan Sector.

Sarkan Constellation : The Sarkan Constellation is a remnant of the Hormine League, a former medium sized state in Mendan Sector which collapsed due to racial tensions. The majority of the inhabitants of the Constellation are Vargr, but the government, such as it is, is firmly in the hands of Humans. For the most part, the government of the Sarkan Constellation is unable to enforce its will on its member planets. Its association with the Julian Protectorate is in name only, and it is not unknown for corsair bands based here to raid Julian shipping.

Julian Protectorate : See Web Page Link - Check the Millieu 1000 material, to get an idea of where it is now. You have not yet reached the 1116 rebellion. If I remember correctly, you're in 1025 right now, so it's a 80 something years away.

RoF Infoterminal

Khongeks : Khongeks is a class F4 V class main sequence star, a yellow-white dwarf. The primary produces significantly more UV radiation within the liquid water zone than most Sophonts are evolved for, and extreme caution must be taken when on the planet surface. The planet is otherwise an ideal 'garden world' and produces much agriculture. It's orbit is 3.1 AU from the star, giving the planet a year that is 4.4 standard years long. The planet has an eccentric orbit, resulting in 1 standard year of cold temperatures at -10 C, and 1 standard year of hot temperatures averaging 45 C. Travellers are advised to determine the time of year before landing to ensure proper equipment and survival gear is used.

Basically, it's an amber because it's a weird planet, and you can seriously burn your skin up or die of hypothermia or heat stroke if you are stupid.

AT ANSANA

ACCOUNT - We have 352,650 credits.

* Docking fees = 8,000 credits
* Berthing Fees for 1 week = 7,000 credits

* I’m sure there will be fuel and repair charges and the like - we’ll deal with them later.

* Income for delivering freight - 188,800 credits

Subtotal: 526,450 credits.

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

SELLING SPECULATIVE CARGO

We are currently carrying the following:

* 18 tons of Personal computers (price: 7,000 credits/ton; carried 2 jumps)
* 13 tons of Pre-packaged Food and Drink (price: 3750 credits/ton; carried 2 jumps)
* 14 tons of Basic Machine Parts: Engine Components (price: 5,500 credits/ton; carried 1 jump)
* 25 tons of Basic Machine Parts: Engine Components (price: 7,000 credits/ton; carried 1 jump)
* 5 tons of Beryllium (price: 16,250 credits/ton; carried 1 jump)
* 12 tons of Tracked Repair Components (price: 7,500 credits/ton; carried 1 jump)
* 10 tons of Wheeled Components (price: 12,750 credits/ton; carried 1 jump)
* 2 tons of VR Computer and Sensor Packages (price: 67,500 credits/ton; carried 1 jump)

So let’s see what the locals want:

* We can sell Personal Computers at 10,000 credits/ton. Technically that’s a profit for us, but after two jumps, we would have been better off carrying freight. I say we cut our losses and sell. Add 180,000 credits to the account. (This deal is 6.25% worse than freight.)

* Pre-Packaged Food and Drink is worth less here than we bought it for. However, I say we cut our losses and sell. Like Lando Calrissian on a unicycle, this deal keeps getting worse. We’ll sell those for 45,500 credits.

* We can sell Engine Components for 10,000 credits per ton. We sell our 39 tons for 390,000 credits. (This deal is 221% better than freight.)

* We can sell Beryllium for 22,500 credits/ton. We sell our 5 tons for 112,500 credits. (This deal is 390% better than freight).

* We can sell Tracked Repair Components for 8500 credits per ton. That’s substantially less than I’d hoped, though it is still a profit. Recommend we hold onto those.

* We can sell Wheeled Components for 12,750 credits per ton. Also substantially less than I’d hoped. That’s the same price for which we bought them. We’ll hold onto those.

* Likewise, VR Computer and Sensor Packages are on deep discount here at Ansana, so we can’t sell those without losing a bundle. Sigh.

So having sold all of that, we add 728,500 credits to our account. We still have:

* 12 tons of Vehicles: Tracked Repair Components
* 10 tons of Vehicles: Wheeled Components
* 2 tons of Advanced Electronics: VR Computer and Sensor Packages

Subtotal: 1,254,950 credits.

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Of the 231 tons of cargo space in Phoenix and Kektys (which I previously misstated as 227 tons), that leaves us 207 tons free for the jump to Ansana. I’m beginning to think our 2:1 rule (our ratio of Freight to Speculative Cargo) should be closer to 1:1 when headed to a big market, but as we’ll see, possibly not for this next run.

Since we’re forbidden to move through Rrotoe space, our route must take us to Tibushi, Khongeks, and Uegotheke. From there we’ll turn Rimward to Thaegz or Trailing to Kughurr. The only other possible route takes us far out of our way to Spinward from Tibushi to Arzekhous. The upshot is, no matter where we’re going, our next stop is Tibushi.

Tibushi has an E starport and 0 population (0 in Traveller means less than 100, so maybe there is a mining colony or a trading post). Nonetheless there appears to be at least -some- trade there and plenty of freight contracts. Whoever is trading at Tibushi seems to most want Basic Machine Parts, Basic Manufactured Goods and (ugh) Live Animals.

Ansana has lots of good deals. Let’s take a look:

There are no good deals on Basic Machine Parts, Basic Manufactured Goods or Live Animals. Not looking like the greatest of runs. But if we can make some good purchases we can sell them on down the line.

* The best deal on the Ansana market is 3 tons of Cybernetics: Cyber-Prosthetics at 45% off. At 137,500 credits per ton, we don’t have to make much of a profit to beat the Freight rate. We can pick those up for 412,500 credits.

* 17 tons of Advanced Machine Parts: Atmospheric Filters can be had for a 40% discount. At 30,000 credits per ton, they are a lot more affordable than the cybernetics without being cheap. That’s a steal.

* There are some good deals on Personal and Commercial Computers and Medical Uniforms at 35% off, but both of those are low-cost items. If we can’t sell them at the first stop, we could take a loss, so I rule those out.

* There are a few good deals on high-cost items, so let’s make that our final focus: 17 tons of Advanced Manufactured Goods: Survival Equipment are available for 30% off. At 70,000 credits per ton (1,190,000 credits), that’s more than we should be risking. But nothing says we can’t buy a few tons of it. Say, 5 tons for 350,000 credits.

* 3 tons of Advanced Vehicles: Raft Components can be had at 30% off. At 126,000 credits per ton, that’d be 378,000 credits.

* Or perhaps you’d like 7 tons of Medical Supplies: General Medical Equipment at 25% off. At 37,500, we’d spend 262,500 credits.

On the assumption that we don’t wish to spend all our money on Speculative Cargos, I’m going to recommend we spend no more than 700,000 on this. Diversification is a good idea, so we’re going to spread our money around:

1) 1 ton of Cybernetics: Cyber-Prosthetics. Cost: 137,500 credits.
2) 1 ton of Advanced Vehicles: Raft Components. Cost: 126,000 credits.
3) 10 tons of Advanced Machine Parts: Atmospheric Filters. Cost: 300,000 credits.
4) 2 tons of Advanced Manufactured Goods: Survival Equipment. Cost: 140,000 credits.

Oh, how I wish we could afford more of each, but we need to leave a reserve for crises.

Total Cost: 703,500 credits.
Account Balance After Purchases: 551,450 credits.

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Of our 231 tons, we will now have 193 tons free for Freight. Looking at the Freight headed from Ansana to Tibushi, we’ll easily be able to take on that load.

We’ll take the following Freight contracts:

1) 60 tons of Platinum/Uranium Ores
2) 50 tons of Exotic Foods/Rare Desserts/Rare Liquor
3) 40 tons of Air Vehicle Components/Raft Components
4) 30 tons of Rare Clothing/Home Decorations
5) 5 tons of Insulation/Polyurethane Foam
6) 4 tons of Aniseed/Curry/Fennel/White Pepper
7) 3 tons of Furniture-Grade Timber/Rare Grades
8) 1 ton of Workable Alloys

Wow. If we were ever to go pirate, this would be the time. There’s 10,000,000 credits worth of Scout and Sensor Drones as well as 7,500,000 credits worth of “superweapon-grade plutonium isotopes” available. :-)

Anyway, those contracts should net us 308,800 credits.

Yes, you need to pay for the maintenance and life support on both ships, and you need to pay your crew, same as before. This means another 5000 and 6000 for the two new PCs. BTW: Expect to lose most of not all of your crew now that you've made it to the Sector Capital. Most of them can get a free ticket back to Imperial Space on a major liner.

The two ships get into a landing queue, and are chivvied around the very busy planetary orbit by ground control. The wait isn't too terribly long. As the two ships are in queue though, they see what pings as several Imperial ships in an orbit around the planet all by themselves.

ISS Novacore is a stupendously massive heavy carrier that masses in the upper 400,000 metric tons. The ship could physically run into both your ships and not even notice it.

Buzzing like flies around a massive carcass, dozens of auxiliary tankers hold station along with the carrier.

Coming in for a landing on the planet is disconcerting, the ship lands on a flat circular pad that sticks up only 30 feet above the water. Then the platform begins to sink, taking the ship down into the ocean. Once it's dropped down 400 ft, the platform stops, and automated systems drag the two ships to waiting bays, next to each other.

Once the ships are settled in, your Vargr crewman takes his pay, and thanks you, and then goes and gets his bag and heads off the ship, obviously quitting, although he didn't say anything. Cheaper to be paid to go to the Sector/RoF Capital than booking a ticket there!

WHICH WAY TO GO?

Moyasmedsev consults with Dev and any other crewmembers present.

"All three remaining routes to the Imperium cross into some sort of raider territory," he says. "The Opposition Alliance and the Julian Protectorate are largely safe, but the border regions are less so. We will have to risk the First Fleet of Dzo, the Bammesuka Confederation or the Sarkan Constellation all present a risk of pirates. For this reason I believe we ought to travel directly Rimward until we enter the Imperium after passing through the First Fleet of Dzo. It is at least the shortest route through potentially hostile territory."

"We will not reach that point for nearly a year and it allows us the possibility of arranging for an armed escort across the short border region. The First Fleet territory should be safe enough - it is the six or seven parsecs between Dzo and the Imperium which most likely present a problem. We should be able to afford an armed escort by then if we make careful preparations. Or perhaps we can find and join a convoy heading into the Imperium."

"For now, I propose this route:"

He lays out the route:

1) Ansana
2) Tibushi
3) Khongeks
4) Oungrarr
5) Thaegz
6) Oungaenogh
7) Ugaza(enter Verson subsector)
8) Siisharemmir
9) Uerrsegha
10) Omoysheb
12) Highball
13) Ugolahks
14) Vakhugo (subsector capital)
15) Ironside
16) Ghaekhngo (entering both the Opposition Alliance and the Maremar subsector)

"And so on generally down to Aerth (2345 Elso/Meshan) and then Rimward through the First Fleet, arriving on the Imperial border at Unnakaa (2705 Criideu/Lishun). Twenty-eight jumps, only two of them in non-aligned and therefore potentially dangerous) territory."

"Well let's hold off on planning any further at the moment. I want to get to the consulate and see if there is anything waiting in the Imperium for me. Who knows what has happened over the last few hundred years. Let's just sit tight until we get some more information."

Once they have landed and taken care of the port fees and such, Dev will catch a transport to the Consulate, bring with him all the paperwork he can find, as well as information on the world they were trapped on, all the list of names from the ruined ships and anything else he can to help prove that he is who he says he is.

Jenni chooses to accompany Dev.

"Yeah that sounds like a good idea. I need to check what's waiting for me to, if there's anything waiting for me."

"But there is something I want to bring up," Elrick says as he holds up his credit stick, "I know it probably isn't my place to say but we need to do something about our ships. The last time we came across a pirate only ended well because we got the one who didn't shoot first. Now 50/50 odds of success when fighting back when it's two to one is not good odds for the two."

I'm assuming since you have most of two ships worth of people who need to make contact with the Imperial Enclave, you are going to take your pinnace over and park it, rather than paying for tickets for everyone.

The flight from Downport Sal'sa'na (one of 8 downports) to the Imperial Enclave takes a couple of hours at atmospheric speeds, but it's easier to stay in atmosphere than get clearance to pop up and over via suborbital.

Landing the Pinnace is similar to landing the ship was, except for the platform not riding down inside the massive 1000 meter wide opening. Pinnace and ship's boats and grav cars go zooming in and out of the enclave entrance in orderly streams that are controlled by the Enclave's traffic control system, each vessel taken over by remote by the computer.

The ship lands and docks against a wall, magnetic clamps activating, and the cred stick being reduced automatically. The Enclave is open 24/7 due to how much traffic is in the system, so there's no down time and so any time you show up you can find someone to talk to.

Upon exiting the pinnace, the group encounters a very advanced and humanoid appearing android colored white with green trim. It has a strong feminine appearance, which is made stronger by it's vocoder. "Greetings Sophonts, welcome to the Imperial Enclave at Ansana, in the Ruler of Five. Please provide your identity chits and provide a brief description of the purpose of your visit, so this unit can direct you to the correct department." Choose the Windows Zira Desktop voice and paste the text above into the box to hear how she talks to you. I would have used the Google US or UK female, but both were way too good and didn't sound artificial enough. :)

Warren moves to the front of the group in front of the android and addresses it, "My name is Warren Connery. We are the survivors of the Verdant Dawn. Unfortunately, in our escape from being shipwrecked we came forward a few hundred years. We need to re-establish ourselves in the Imperial Systems." He then shows the android his identity chit.

Waiting his turn, Dev hands over all his information to the android.

"One moment please, Mr. Connery." The android's eyes change color rapidly in a cycle, likely a visual cue to alert users that it is doing something and not just ignoring them. After a minute, the eyes return to being green. "Yes, the Imperial Enclave has received communications from the Ruler of Five concerning the Verdant Dawn, and it's survivors. We have been expecting several hundred. You are the first to have arrived, we are expecting the others within the next few weeks. If you'll please wait here, the Enclave will dispatch a drone lift for your party, to ensure you reach the correct agency." The droid finally responds. "Are there any within your party who are not among those reclaimed by the Verdant Dawn survivors?"

Moyasmedsev chirps and hoots. "I am Moyasmedsev, their lawyer. I'm a citizen of the Ruler of Five, but I wish to accompany my clients to the Imperium. Also, I'm bored. So if you could hurry this up, that'd be swell."

The eyes flicker again. "Mr. Myasmedsev, you'll need to go to a different section of the Enclave to get a VISA to travel into the Imperium. I will, in an effort to reduce your wait time, request a second transport for anyone else who is not Imperial Citizenry. To apply for a VISA, you'll need either an Attestation from an Imperial Employer for a business VISA, or 3 personal references from Imperial Citizens for an extended VISA. Recreational VISA's with a maximum duration of 6 months are available if neither can be obtained."

Three automated carts show up, whirring up on electric motors. Two park to one side, and one to the other. "Non-Imperial citizens here please." The droid motions to the single car. "Purported Imperial Citizens here." It motions to the two cars. "Thank you for visiting the Imperial Enclave. Your vehicle will be watched to keep it safe."

Once everyone gets in the two cars (Tam, Moyas, and Allison are non-Imperials), the three carts take off, with the two containing the Imperials turning off down a tube while Moyas and the other non-Imperials continue straight and then go through a different tube.

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IMPERIAL

The two carts finally pull up at a drop off point in an area that's filled with a majority Human population. A small flying bot the size of a soccer ball floats down from several dozen waiting near the drop off. "Greetings Sophonts. Please follow me. Your requests and destination are pre-received, and facial recognition complete." The bot then begins to float off at a slow pace, stopping if anyone lags behind.

The small bot is actually very useful, as trying to follow all the signage would have rapidly led anyone to get lost. Finally, the bot leads them down a hallway, and into a small waiting area. There are three other people already there. Two humans and an Aslan. "Please take a seat, your numbers have been pre-assigned based on your exit out of your vehicle upon arrival." As the group takes a seat in the chairs, a panel on the chair arm lights up with a number. Dev is 4, Glitch is 5, Warren is 6, Elrick is 7, the young girl is 8, and the other two Imperial crew are 9 and 10.

On the wall of the room is a sign indicating that this is the 'Unusual Cases' office. Under the sign is a list of things the office handles (it's not very long).

Lost Relics
Temporally Displaced Imperial Citizens
Non-Dead Imperial Citizens
Unknown Species
Extra-dimensional Entities
Unregistered Uplift Sophonts

Once everyone is seated, the bot flies off.

Approximately a minute later, one of the doors against the back wall turns from red to green, and opens, allowing a Vargr to exit. The Aslan's chair dings and the arm turns green. The Aslan stands, nods at one of the humans, and enters the green door, which turns red.

Giving you guys a chance to talk amongst yourselves, or ask questions of the NPCs if you want to

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Non Imperials

The cart takes Moyas and the others off into a tangle of underwater complexes, finally letting them out in a large area with thousands of other non-Imperial citizens.

Another bot just like the previous bot takes their information again, and directs Alison and Tam to follow a small floating round bot the size of a melon. See link above

Moyas is directed to a mundane line waiting to talk to an Immigration Agent. Based on the line, Moyas suspects he has about 2 hours worth of standing in line before he gets to see anyone.

Pausing to see if Moyas wants to do anything beyond plod through the line

Dev sits nervously tapping his papers against his knee while constantly looking up at the back wall.

Turning to the unknown human beside him, Dev nervously starts up a conversation.

"So..umm..what brings you here?"

Cut to montage of Moyasmedsev's unsuccessful attempts to get to the front of the line:

He pins a note on his lapel that says "Important VIP Big Shot" and tries walking to the front of the line, but gets sent back. Cut to the same note, only now he is wearing glasses and a mustache. He is sent back. Cut to the droyne in a wheelchair, pretending to be blind. He get sent back. Cut to Moyasmedsev in drag, complete with blonde wig and lipstick with two comically large plunger heads under his tunic as breasts. The guards point to the back of the line without even looking up.

Cut to Moysmedsev fuming at the back of the line (far behind where he started) while not noticing the completely empty line labelled "non-human applicants". Just as he notices the line, an entire extended family of Vegans enters and gets in line.

Warren looks at the sign and then asks the rest of his group "I've narrowed it down to three, Non-Dead Imperial Citizens, Temporally displaced Imperial citizen, or Lost Relics. I'm not sure which is most correct." He then laughs and looks at the two humans in line before them, "So which do you belong to?"

After they answer he then turns serious and his face shows concern on it. He turns to the girl and in a gentle voice says, "What happens to you now, Eryckah?"

The red haired human snorts. "I'm undead. My ship got hit by raiders, all hands lost. Or so the reports went. That was 3 years ago, I was in an escape pod, got picked up, sold as a slave. Got lose, stole a ship, and headed to the nearest Enclave." He says with a shrug.

The dark haired just shakes his head silently, indicating he isn't going to discuss why he's here. Not that it matters, another door turns green, and his chair arm dings.

He moves forward, clutching a bag protectively and enters the green room, which promptly turns red.

"Guesing lost relic with that one. Didn't say 2 words the last hour." The red head opines.

Eryckah shakes her head. "I dunno, all my family is gone. I'll probably end up in an orphanage, unless maybe my cousins grandkids take me in or something." She says, with a sigh. Obviously the 14 year old had had a lot of time to think about it.

"Hm, Well at least you have some relatives that might be alive," Elrick says as he starts scratching his chin. "I'm probably the last member of my family alive. I was an only child and my parents were too old to have kids by the time I got frozen. I don't remember any of them talking about any aunts or uncles."

"Same, Elrick. My mother and father are probably long-dead, and I have no other family. The upside is, I'm still here and in one piece."

Dev keeps quiet about his family. Being poor and turning to a life of thievery in his youth is not something he wants to share or relive. The thought of children does peak his interest for he has been with a number of women and perhaps one of them...No! Might as well not get his hopes up that anyone he might have known would still be around, or their grand or great-grandchildren.

He silently sits and awaits his turn, wondering what might have happened to his ship and all that money he had saved in the bank....

Things get quiet after that, until another door dings green, and the man who was a prisoner and reported dead takes his place.

Going to speed things up a bit

Dev's arm turns green first. When he enters the room on the other side of the door, a human in business attire, a woman in her 30's or 40's, motions to the chair in front of her. "Mr. Vorn? Please have a seat. I'm afraid I'll need to ask for blood and tissue samples, as well as your original ID, if you have it. Just a formality you understand?" She gestures to the arm of the chair. "If you'll just slide your arm into the sleeve, it will take the blood and tissue samples, mostly painless. And then use the optical scanners on the pull down arm to do a retinal scan?"

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A minute or two later, the arm of Glitch's chair turns green as well as a door. Entering, she finds a well dressed Vargr male sitting behind the desk. "Greetings Ms. Everson, please take a seat. The formality of taking blood and tissue samples, as well as retinal scans, must be completed. The process is safe and relatively painless. Your arm must go into the pressure sleeve on the arm of the chair, and then the optical scanner arm simple pull down to scan your retinas. Your original Imperial ID is also required."

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Another couple of minutes and another door turns green, and Warren steps in. He finds a human man in his 20's, with close cropped black hair and bright green eyes. "Hello, Dr. Connery, please take a seat. I'm afraid we have to take samples, blood and tissue, as well as take some retna scans. The sample taking will involve a small pin prick, but it's safe. The retina scanners on the descending arm are painless at least. Do you still have your original Imperial ID?"

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Then Eryckah is taken back, and finally Elrick's turn to go. He finds an Aslan female in a smart looking jacket that's almost military. "Good afternoon, Mr. Moy-Na-Han, please forgive if pronunciation is not perfect. It is my duty to ensure you are who you claim to be. I will need blood samples, tissue samples, and retina scans. I will also need your original Imperial ID, if you still have it." She motions to the chair. "Please sit, insert arm into sleeve. Once samples are taken, then retina scans can be made."

After nearly 4 hours into a 2 hour wait, exacerbated by his continued attempts to skip the line, Moyas finally gets to see someone. A droyne with well kept green skin and violet eyes looks over her desk at him. "Moyasmedsev. Legal Advocate. You wish to emigrate to the Empire. Do you have an attestation from an employer, or 3 recommendations from Imperial Citizens in good standing?"

Dev nods in agreement and goes ahead and places his arm in the sleeve. He next looks into the retinal scanner and finally shows all the various papers he had collected over his career showing who he is and what he did.

"I hope this is enough..I did kinda travel about a bit, but that should not matter too much...right??"

Elrick gets out everything he brought for identification before putting his arm through the sleeve then uses his free hand to sort through everything. "Alright let's see, this is my Imperial ID, these are my tags from the Navy, and this is my TSA membership."

After nearly 4 hours into a 2 hour wait, exacerbated by his continued attempts to skip the line, Moyas finally gets to see someone. A droyne with well kept green skin and violet eyes looks over her desk at him. "Moyasmedsev. Legal Advocate. You wish to emigrate to the Empire. Do you have an attestation from an employer, or 3 recommendations from Imperial Citizens in good standing?"

Moyasmedsev sighs at not having to wait for the translator and fires off a rapid-fire chirping. "Define 'good standing'. I have arrived with several human relics from three centuries ago. All are Imperial citizens and... Is that... is that qoynip I smell?" He inhales deeply. "Qoynip! You've had real droyne qoynip to eat! Do you know where I can get some? I haven't had qoynip since I went to live with the Vargr. Do you know what its like to eat red meat all day every day? I'd forsake my own oynprith for some fresh-stewed qoynip."

Jenni takes her seat and bares her arm cooperatively and presents her ID, TAS Membership, and her Navy dog tags.

DEV

"Yes, it appears you did sir." The official takes the ID and begins processing it. There's a sharp pain in Dev's arm, that fades quickly, as tissue samples are taken. The samples are whisked away via pnuematic tube, as are the blood samples. "This will take approximately 10 minutes. While we are waiting for the samples to be processed, please describe your life in as much detail as you can, so I can try to match."

Elrick

Elrick turns over everything, and then also gets a sharp pain in the arm. "Time must be spent discussing your background while your samples are being processed. Please provide maximum detail to the best of your ability about who you are, and what you remember of your life. I will attempt to verify your statements with my records."

Jenny

"Thank you Ms. Everson." The vargr says as a sharp pain stings Glitch's arm. "Now, please, with as much detail as possible, your life describe, while I attempt to match it to records."

"My eating habits are not important, Mr. Moyasmedsev." The droyne responds. "If you are hungry, I suggest you leave now and go eat. As to Imperials, an Imperial in good standing is a citizen who is not one with a criminal record, and who is not currently under investigation for any felony."

”Oh yes. Most of my traveling oytrip is comprised of Imperial citizens. They’re in one of those rooms over there. I believe I am the only resident of the Ruler of Five in our group.”

Warren nods to the man, "Of course I've used similar equipment. Here is my ID." Warren hands over his ID and puts his arm in the cuff.

Moyas

"And you have a sworn affidavit from three or more of these Imperial Citizens? I'll need them now." She holds out her hand.

Warren

Much like the others, a sharp pain in the arm, and then the samples are taken. "Thank you Dr. Connery. Now, please describe as much of your life as you can, in as much detail as you can remember. Dates and places are especially important, while I try to confirm you are who you say you are, per the data, while we wait for the results of the DNA and tissue scans."

"Well, let's see. I grew up on the planet Scrum and kicked around for a few years before joining the Imperial Navy. I had wanted to join the scouts, so after my first term with the navy, I transferred to the Scout Service. I spent a number of years working with them, but unfortunately was let go after an incident where I was lost for a time in an uncharted area of space. After leaving the Scouts, I joined a merchant's vessel, but that was not really the life I was looking for, so I left and was on my way to looking for a new career when our ship was sucked into some sort of vortex and we landed on a strange planet. The rest I have already told you. I also have the id tags from a military unit we discovered on the planet. All were dead, but we gathered up their tags to return to the Imperial Military for identification and processing. Hope to give the poor soldier's a proper burial."

"Well, I grew up the daughter of a belter, Garret, and Amedia Everson. I'm originally from a little rock called Gandr. You've probably never heard of it. Anyway, a Navy recruiter broke down in-system and I jumped planet to join the Naval Academy.

"I spent 14 years in the Navy, doing various jobs. Let's see, I was assigned to the Nova Flare, then I did 4 years aboard the Twilight Ghost, and my last assignment was the Silver Star doing border patrol. That's when the accident happened.

"I was put into cold storage for the journey home, but somebody messed up and I ended up with neurological damage. It took me six months to get the feeling back in my left arm. I swore then that I would never go back into the freezer. Anyway...

"I was a passenger aboard the Verdant Dawn when it was sucked into a... I don't know... some kind of vortex? The ship broke apart and we barely made it to the planet's surface. The planet and system seemed to be a junkyard, with the remains of ships that were drawn into the vortex. There were vessels from all eras there. In fact, we brought back some dog tags from the soldiers' remains that we found. I think that Dev has them. We finally escaped the planet by scavenging from other vessels in the region and went back through the vortex. And here we are!"