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| Precursor ship |
disappeared from the sensors. The E-drive had automatically begun recycling while she had been busy, so she got up and went back to the lounge.
Janya is too new as a courier to risk delay exploring this find now, but will come back here as soon as she can!
"I have a confession to make Harrow," Janya said, as she entered the lounge. "I'm just as new at this Courier-thing as you are at being a Datacourier. I should have sworn on my shard to take you to Kalen's Folly and I didn't!" She sat at the table.
"Let me rectify that now," she continued, "I swear upon this iron shard of an ancestor-ship that I will deliver Harrow to Kalen's Folly."
Swear an Iron Vow: "I will deliver Harrow to Kalen's Folly", troublesome; +Heart; 2 +2 vs. 1 | 3 => strong hit => +2 momentum now +10
Reach a Milestone: "I will deliver Harrow to Kalen's Folly", progress now 3/10
"I should have asked you to do that ..." said Harrow in a downcast voice. "Let's not bother anyone with such a minor detail, hey?" he finished, sharing a laugh with the sisters.
It wasn't long before Harrow retired, saying he'd been travelling for a while and was dead-tired. They let him go and Janya finally had the opportunity to share her discovery with Hayla. Somehow she had the patience to wait a whole five minutes after Harrow had left.
Hayla wanted to investigate the ship right now, saying that it might not be here when - or if - they came back, but eventually gave in to janya's argument that needed more time to investigate properly and it would definitely be better when no-one else was around.
They were still looking at the sensor data, trying to locate a possible entry point - although the distance to the ship meant the data did not have the resolution to identify an airlock - when the ping that announced the E-drive recycling had finished sounded. Leaving Hayla to supervise the jump and then keep the watch, Janya went to her cabin to get some needed shut-eye.
Undertake an Expedition: 'Travel to Sheraton' troublesome; +Wits +1 Sidekick Pilot; 2 +3 +1 vs 2 | 8 => weak hit => waypoint, progress now 6/10, Suffer Move: -2 momentum now +8
Space Sighting (Terminus): Planetside settlement
The Edward Fegen jumped back to normal space and Hayla began monitoring the standard sensor sweeps the ship immediately began. "Hmmm," she hummed quietly to herself. They had, as expected, arrived in the Neoma system. Neoma City - a notoriously unco-operative settlement - was on the sole occupied planet (also unoriginally named after the system) and they sent a hail demanding that the Fegen submit to customs inspections. Eventually, Hayla was able to get them to admit that a Heralds' ship was exempt and as they were transiting the system, there was no need for inspection anyway.
She could have just ignored them and jumped as soon as the E-drive had recycled, but they didn't know if, or when, they might need to come back here, so a delay was worth not having a warrant out on them.
Undertake an Expedition: 'Travel to Sheraton' troublesome; +Wits +1 Sidekick Pilot; 3 +3 +1 vs 5 | 1 => strong hit => waypoint, progress now 9/10
Finish an Expedition: 'Travel to Sheraton' troublesome; progress 9 vs 4 | 5 => strong hit => 1 tick on Discoveries legacy track
Reach a Milestone: "I will deliver Harrow to Kalen's Folly", progress now 6/10
Make a Connection: with Severinus 'Harrow' Jemison; +Heart; 6 +2 vs 6 | 4 => strong hit => connection made, Datacourier, troublesome
Soon enough though, the final jump to the Sheraton system was behind them and they had begun the slog to the planet.
By now Janya and Harrow had returned to the bridge, while Hayla had taken her turn to sleep. Janya and Harrow chatted amiably as they gradually approached the ocean world, Nimbus, and the smoldering red star Sheraton, grew bigger and bigger in the bridge window.
They eventually reached the orbital path given to them by Nimbus-control and prepared their ship to land on the island where Kalen's Folly was. Kalen's Folly was - as settlements in Terminus went - small (its population was only in the hundreds) and so was its spaceport. Added to that fact that on Nimbus, islands moved about floating on the surface of the ocean, it all amounted to a challenging landing. Hayla was up for it, though, and looking forward to the test of her skill. They could have used the command pod to land, but the incessant rainfall and strong winds meant that the added mass of the entire ship made for a more stable and safer trip into the atmosphere.
Hayla had been running simulations for a couple of hours and was entirely confident that her skill would be up to the challenge.
Secure an Advantage: expertise, +Wits +1 Sidekick Pilot; 6 +3 +1 vs 5 | 9 => strong hit => +2 momentum now +10, +1 on next move
Set a Course: +Supply +1 Sidekick Pilot +1 SaA; 1 +5 +1 +1 vs 7 | 7 => strong hit w. opportunity, +1 momentum now +10 (max)
For the opportunity, lacking any inspiration, I'll mark progress on connection with Harrow for the shared experience, progress now 3/10
Hayla was definitely up to the test and made the landing with aplomb, putting the Fegen down exactly in the centre of their landing pad.
Reach a Milestone: "I will deliver Harrow to Kalen's Folly", progress now 9/10
Fulfill Your Vow: "I will deliver Harrow to Kalen's Folly", troublesome; progress 9 vs 5 | 7 => strong hit => 1 tick on Quests
Harrow had already packed his gear and, with promises to stay in touch, he was wished 'Safe Passage' by the sisters and he left the ship as the custom inspector came onboard. The inspector was delighted to see the polymers that Hayla had brought and gave her the contact details for a buyer. Hayla took them down and as soon as the inspector had departed, began her own enquiries, suspecting that the details were for whoever had paid off the inspector.
Resupply: barter +Heart; 4 +2 vs 2 | 4 => strong hit => +2 Supply taken as Cargo now 3; Nimbus' projects were rolled as Agriculture, Hunting, so cargo found is food
Is there a Heralds' job waiting for them? Ask the Oracle: Unlikely <= 25 yes, roll 86
To her surprise, Hayla found that the inspector had given her the details for the merchant making the best offer, so she accepted it and managed to fill their hold with preserved food harvested from the oceans of Nimbus.
While they waited for the cargo to be delivered, the sisters restored the data to the ship that Janya had deleted and removed her order to ignore the precursor ship. Then they made their plans and plotted a course to return to it, eager to learn what secrets it hid...