0123. The Starjammer arrived in its homeport system after being in space for over two standard years, returning via Leriss, Kench, and Nakiim. Located on the Walpurgian Main, the Kline stellar system consisted of the dim red dwarf primary star Pemami, and its smaller, dimmer red dwarf far companion, Megishi.
The Kline mainworld was a poor, dry, and cold hellworld tidally locked to Pemami; the world had a thin oxygen-nitrogen atmosphere tainted with pollutants. Kline orbited well inside the 100-diameter limit of Pemami, completing its orbital period in a little more than 125 standard days. Kline had a narrow habitable band approximately 1,000 kilometers wide along the twilight zone separating the permanent day and night sides of the planet. Most Kline settlements were built underground along this band and were connected by an extensive high-speed subway network.
Kline was the heavily industrialized capital of its subsector, an economically important world located on a main trade line connecting Magyar with the Solomani Rim. Kline had a Class A starport with a sprawling highport to support the accompanying traffic.
1431. Captain Wayne Masada maneuvered the Starjammer into its assigned berth at the highport.
1910. After clearing customs, Dr. Howard Bererra, the ship’s surgeon and purser, advanced the crew their monthly salaries. Captain Masada issued shore leave, ordering the crew to return to the ship on 256-1104.
1140. Howard received new supplies and recharged the life support system.
1800. First Officer and Chief Engineer Richy Jamoor completed monthly maintenance.
0700. Howard checked the planetary data net for potential jobs.
0804. Captain Masada received a message from Sir Virgilio Khan, seneschal to Duchess Shanika Kerana Adelbert of Walpurgis, requesting a meeting.
0828. Captain Masada recalled the android owner aboard, Bodyguard 3185D31A, “Sonny,” and all Starjammer officers from shore leave.
1300. Sonny, Captain Masada, Chief Engineer Jamoor, Dr. Bererra, and Sensor Operator Ronald Gill arrived at Highport Bay 33, where a private shuttle was waiting. Attendants, dressed in the Duchess’s livery, ushered the group into the shuttle, offering complimentary drinks.
1334. The shuttle bypassed the downport entirely and proceeded directly to the subsector administration offices. The group was brought through a great hall into the offices of the senechal.
The emblem of the Blackriver clan, said to represent the Great Black River of Kusyu and its major tributaries.
1355. Sir Virgilio greeted the group and quickly moved to the point of the meeting. Duchess Shanika required the Starjammer’s crew to escort a visiting Aslan noble, the new envoy from the Blackriver (Syoisuis) clan, the single largest and third-most powerful clan in the Aslan Hierate. A handful of great clans appointed diplomatic representatives to Imperial subsector governments in Magyar, Daibei, and Reaver’s Deep. On Kline alone the Blackrivers were joined by envoys from the Firstdawn (Yerlyaruiwo), Strongtower (Khaukheairl), Redsail (Tralyeaeawi), and Farseeker (Tlerlearlyo) clans.
The Blackrivers, Sir Virgilio explained, were considered a mysterious and aloof clan by other clans in the Hierate. They kept their own counsel and studiously avoided alliances and entanglements. The Blackrivers were widely respected and not a little feared for producing the finest spies and assassins among the Aslan.
Their appointed envoy, Speaks-with-Care, was scheduled to tour seven local Imperial worlds over five months before returning to the newly-constructed Blackriver clan house on Kline. The Duchess was anxious about the Envoy's visit, for anti-Aslan sentiment had been running high due to a sensationalistic documentary that had recently been released.
The Ravage of Rindnoir was a lurid and exploitative holovid detailing a massacre of human colonists by Aslan raiders. Sir Virgilio noted that while the Kline Security Directorate could not confirm the veracity of any claims made by the documentary, its analysts were confident that the work was agitprop engineered by the Solomani government, and that resultant anti-Aslan protests had been instigated by SolSec operatives. Further, the Directorate anticipated that Solomani assets would attempt to stir up trouble during the Envoy’s tour to embarrass the Imperium.
Sir Virgilio reminded the group that the Starjammer had been loaned from the Duchess with the understanding it would be made available should its service be needed by the subsector. In addition to paying for a standard charter, each member of the crew would receive a Cr2000 bonus each at the successful conclusion of the assignment.
After a quick conference with the Starjammer’s officers, Sonny accepted the assignment. Sir Virgilio then called in Marc Vachon, an agent of the Security Directorate detailed to the Aslan envoy. Agent Vachon shared a detailed dossier on the Blackriver delegation as well as an itinerary for the tour. The Envoy would be accompanied by his older sister, Starwind, who served as advisor, as well as two bodyguards, Firekeeper and Steadyshot, veterans of the Blackriver Ground Forces. Sir Virgilio pointed out that while the Envoy and his sister spoke passable Galangic, the two bodyguards do not.
Agent Vachon explained that the Blackriver delegation was expected to arrive on Kline within the next 72 hours. Sir Virgilio noted that the Duchess would hold a state dinner to welcome the Aslan within 48 hours of their arrival, and that the Starjammer owner and officers would be invited to attend, allowing formal introductions to the Envoy and his retinue to be made. Agent Vachon pointed out that the Starjammer would then be expected to depart on 266-1104, nine days away. The governments of all seven worlds on the tour would receive an advance copy of the itinerary and should be prepared to extend Imperial hospitality to the Envoy.
The agent said that all crew members would be issued special diplomatic credentials, allowing them to wear armor and carry weapons that might otherwise be considered illegal on some of the visited worlds. Finally, the agent requested to be allowed to conduct his own security inspection of the Starjammer prior to departure.
Sir Virgilio provided Wayne with nine diplomatic pouches. He explained that should the captain ever need to send any word back to Kline he should place the message in one of the pouches, activate the secure seal, and deposit the pouch at any Imperial express boat office.
1000. Following a crew briefing about the upcoming tour, the resident entertainer Daren Rigby-Gardner downloaded a copy of The Ravage of Rindnoir from an illicit netfeed. The documentary claimed that over 2,000 human colonists—many drawn from Imperial worlds in Magyar sector—had been brutally murdered by Aslan marauders on Rindnoir (Dark Nebula 2201 E9487A6-5), a low technology agricultural world in Ruih subsector.
Daren proclaimed the work to be both amateurish and aesthetically execrable, but after cracking the holovid file confirmed that the documentary had indeed been produced inside the Solomani Confederation.
1000. Dr. Bererra walked the entire crew through a refresher of social protocols to be observed when dealing with Aslan. While previous Aslan passengers had been drawn from clans living outside the Hierate—and thus more familiar with human customs—the Blackrivers were an old and prominent clan from within the Hierate, and potentially much less tolerant of human behaviors.
Traditional Aslan culture observed strict division of gender roles, with male interests being primarily fighting, personal honor, and territory, while female interests focused on management, commerce, and science. Females generally handled all money.
Captain Masada and Sonny were equipped with translation wafers allowing them to speak and understand Trokh, the difficult language used by the Aslan.
Howard reminded all crew members to be careful about smiling around the Aslan, since showing teeth was normally a hostile act in their culture. Finally, Howard noted that if a crew member inadvertently offended an Aslan—easy to do, given the culture’s strict code of honor—they should never refuse a challenge, as this would cause even more loss of face than losing a duel.
1732. Sonny, Wayne, Richy, Howard, and Ronald took a commercial shuttle from the Kline highport to the downport on the planetary surface. Sonny wore a business suit while his companions wore their formal Starjammer dress uniforms, which had been designed by Daren.
1804. After being quickly moved through customs, the Starjammer representatives were escorted outside the starport to a waiting gravcar bound for the Duchess’s residence in Sorg, a city of approximately 200 million.
1927. Following a security check the crew members were brought by Sir Virgilio himself directly to the front of the receiving line, where they were introduced to Duchess Shanika as well as her husband, Baron Erasmo Iiken haut-Hinton, and their son, Sir Charles Adelbert. The Duchess was a tall, athletically-built woman in her late 50s with golden toned skin, dark eyes, and long, dark hair worn up. She wore a ceremonial military uniform of the Duchy of Walpurgis, gray with gold embroidery and patches displaying the emblem of her house: a white horse, rampant, on blue and gold.
Baron Erasmo, in contrast, was somewhat shorter than the Duchess and balding, with a friendly, plump face. Although the databases listed his age as 71, he appeared to be in his early 60s—likely due to the use of anagathics, the precious rejuvenating drugs sometimes employed by Imperial nobility. He wore a smart business suit and a bright orange Aslan-style sash. Baron Erasmo noted that the Starjammer’s itinerary will take them to Sterchi, where his own family estate was located. He pointed out that his chief of staff, Sir Abdullah Said, was eager to extend all courtesies to the Aslan delegation.
Sir Charles Adelbert, a young man of some 19 years, wore the uniform of a cadet enrolled in the Imperial Military Academy at Shululsish. The future Duke of Walpurgis was tall, trim and golden-skinned, more resembling his mother than the baron.
Sir Charles introduced the group to Colonel Aja Seward, commander of the 8627th Drop Infantry Regiment, the Duchess’s own huscarles, or personal guard. Next to Colonel Seward was Chief Magistrate Victoria Blom, who led the World Court of Kline and was thus the head of the planetary government.
The crew were then introduced to the Blackriver envoy, Speaks-with-Care, and his sister, Starwind. Brief pleasantries were exchanged before the crew members were whisked on to the reception hall, where Sonny was accosted by a group of executives from Kline Synthetic Technologies, who fawned over him, declaring him to be a credit to the entire Verisim-8 line of androids. Meanwhile Captain Masada found himself trapped in conversation with a vice president of Allied Prefabricated Ships and Vessels, who claimed to have worked on the joint venture that built the Starjammer. He asked the captain detailed questions about the ship’s performance over the last few years.
After a series of toasts and a brief speech from the Duchess welcoming the Blackriver delegation to the Imperium, the crew were seated with Agent Vachon and endured a rather long and tedious state dinner.
0700. Ronald filed a flight plan, itinerary, and passenger manifest with the Kline Starport Authority.
0801. Agent Vachon came aboard with three other agents of the Security Directorate. They carefully swept the entire ship for surveillance devices, trackers, or other potential threats. He asked permission to access JUN0, then used a secret backdoor to review her entire file structure.
0830. Howard received delivery of medical supplies tailored for Aslan passengers, including Kusyuan antivirals, anti-bacterials, and food supplements that would allow Aslan to eat Terran meats. Agent Vachon verified the seals on all medical packaging were intact.
0900. Captain Masada purchased updated library databases and nav charts covering worlds to be visited on the tour.
A Syo, native to the equatorial region of Kusyu but exported throughout the Aslan Hierate, where they are a valued source of meat (from Jenil Kezon’s A Trader’s Guide to Aslan Domestic Animals. Tobia: Reach Publications, 1086.)
1033. Daren began researching the Blackrivers in preparation of a holovid celebrating the long history and mighty deeds of the clan. The Blackrivers dominated Rastaban (Staihaia’yo) sector, with the clan stronghold being the stormy water world of Alaoa (Staihaia’yo 2228 B79AA85-B), lying over a 100 parsecs spinward of Kline. While the official clan motto is “From Knowledge Flows our Strength,” more common Aslan aphorisms associated with them include “The waters of the Black River run dark and deep” and “The Blackrivers hath no allies but many vassals.”
1000. Howard and Richy reconfigured one of the staterooms into a Shrine of Heroes, a private space for Aslan to meditate and contemplate the teachings of their ancestors.
1100. Howard received delivery of eight Aslan-sized vacc suits and several Aslan filter masks.
1520. Howard, knowing that Aslan were almost exclusively carnivores and preferred their meat relatively fresh and nearly raw, arranged to bring on board a small flock of syo, flightless animals vaguely resembling wizened, naked turkeys with long snouts full of tiny, razor-sharp teeth. Syo are lean, muscular animals with tough but flavourful meat, notoriously temperamental and aggressive. Cargomaster Brogue Enyo assembled a series of enclosures in the cargo hold to contain the nasty animals.
0500. All Starjammer crew were aboard and accounted for.
0658. The Aslan delegation arrived aboard along with Agent Vachon. While passengers were normally required to submit all weapons and armor for secure storage in the ship’s locker, Captain Masada instead announced that the two Aslan bodyguards and Agent Vachon were clearly such honorable figures that they would never endanger themselves or others, and so they would not be asked to relinquish their arms or armor. Starwind voluntarily handed over her own gauss pistol, whispering to the captain that he had managed a potentially awkward situation quite deftly.
Howard then provided the standard safety briefing before showing the passengers to their staterooms. Starwind, on behalf of her brother, requested a meeting with all passengers and crew members as soon as possible so that the Envoy could perform a necessary ritual before getting under way.
0900. All aboard assembled in the lounge on A Deck. At the direction of Starwind, the group took hands and formed a circle before sitting on the floor, cross-legged. The Envoy, flanked by his sister and bodyguards, directly faced Captain Masada, who was flanked by the Starjammer officers.
In heavily accented Galangic, Speaks-with-Care thanked the captain for his hospitality and protection, and asked permission to present his credentials. With the captain’s consent, the Envoy produced a rectangular object made of dark, oiled wood, roughly 40 centimeters long, 24 centimeters broad, and 14 centimeters deep. The object was smooth, with no sharp edges or obvious seams. An inscription was written around the perimeter in the flowing, cursive script used by male Aslan.
Starwind explained that this was her brother’s honor chest, which held objects of great personal significance to the Envoy that collectively would illustrate his character and deeds. The inscription, translated, read “Better silence than a hasty word,” the personal credo of the Envoy.
At a touch a cunningly designed lid popped up from the honor chest and was set aside. With a flourish the Envoy removed a round silken cloth, gray with silver trim and a cascading symbol at its center, which Starwind explained was the emblem of the Blackriver clan.
The Envoy placed this silk on the deck before him, and upon it set a white length of cloth adorned with gold. Starwind explained that the sash had been worn by both the Envoy, his father, and his father’s father during their Rites of Passage. The design on the sash showed they were worn by the first born men of the Stillwater pride.
Next the Envoy produced a smooth stone some six centimeters in diameter and pale ochre in color. As this was placed upon the silk Starwind explained that the stone had been gathered from the seashore landhold of their family, which was found upon the Aslan world of Iale (Iwahfuah 3239 B728883-B) in distant Zodia sector. The stone represented the Envoy’s family and his birthworld.
The Envoy then removed a golden ear-ring and placed this upon the stone. Starwind said this piece of jewelry was a gift from their three mothers to commemorate the completion of Speaks-with-Care's training as a clan envoy.
Finally, the Envoy drew a length of wood roughly ten centimeters long, three centimeters wide, and planed to make a smooth, flat surface. The wood has clearly been split in half, down its length from one end to the other. Starwind explained that this was the foil end of an Aslan tally-stick (taei). These sacred memory aids were used to record debts of honor and obligation between male Aslan. As males have no concept of money, such debts were described in writing upon a tally-stick made of harlyerl wood, a common shrub originating on Kusyu, the Aslan homeworld. The stick recorded the nature of the obligation and the identity of both the debtor and the debt-holder. The stick was then broken, with the debtor being given the shorter, foil end and the debt-holder being given the longer, stock end.
When the debt had been honored the two halves were rejoined: if the wood-grain and break matched the debt was declared fulfilled and the stick destroyed. Speaks-with-Care’s tally stick represented his commission as clan envoy. The head of the Stillwater pride held the stock end.
Speaks-with-Care then asked the honorable Captain Masada if he accepted the credentials presented to him, and Wayne, using his translation wafer, answered in Trokh that he did indeed accept the credentials of the honorable Envoy Hlyeasai from Iale, of the Wyohea pride, of Clan Syoisuis.
1144. An Imperial Starport Authority customs officer came aboard for a final check.
1210. All Starjammer hatches were closed and secure.
1237. The Starjammer detached from Kline highport and began maneuvering for the 100 diameter limit.
0456. The Starjammer reached the Pemami 100D limit.
0509. The Starjammer entered jumpspace.
1900. Captain Masada convened a formal dinner with the officers, Agent Vachon, and the Aslan delegation. Howard and Brogue were able to successfully slaughter, process, and present a syo without a serious injury, despite the animal’s worst efforts. While the Aslan took their syo al fresco the human diners were served their portions broiled with a wine reduction. Each diner was asked to share an interesting story for the amusement of the fellow diners.
2122. For entertainment Daren screened the first installment of Dark and Deep, his frenetic holovid celebrating the glorious history of the Blackriver clan.
2357. The male Aslan declared Dark and Deep a triumph.
0001. Per ship tradition, the Starjammers gathered on the bridge for a toast to celebrate Richy’s thirty-sixth birthday. Wayne noted that Richy was the youngest human crew member.
0256. The Starjammer emerged from jumpspace just outside Kanamsa’s 100 diameter limit. This ancient world had been first surveyed by the Vilani First Imperium thousands of years earlier, but never extensively settled. By 1100 Kanamsa remained a low population world located on the Walpugian Main, a node in the vital Xboat network connecting Magyar with the Solomani Rim.
This low gravity planet appeared lush from orbit, located well inside the habitable zone of its warm yellow sun and blessed with abundant water oceans. However, the vibrant biosphere was largely incompatible with Terran-based life. The standard oxygen-nitrogen atmosphere was tainted with native microbials that required use of a breathing filter; long-term exposure was said to be invariably lethal.
0548. The Starjammer reached orbit around Kanamsa. Also in orbit was a Purcell-class express boat tender, two 1,000 ton freighters registered out of Kline, and one 2,000-ton freighter registered out of Shululsish. As almost all traffic in the system was purely pass-through, relatively few ships ever made planetfall. With no highport, lighters hauling refined fuel up from the planet’s surface moved back and forth alongside shuttles and small repair craft. Captain Masada ordered the crew to make ready for atmospheric entry.
0617. The Starjammer landed at Kanamsa’s Class B starport. Almost the entire world population was clustered around the starport, with most inhabitants working at the facility in one capacity or another.
0645. The Starjammer was contacted by Dame Soja Neyast, the Imperial representative and ruler of Kanama. She welcomed the ship and invited the crew and the Aslan delegation to a formal dinner at her residence the following day. She noted that 1900 ship time would be roughly high noon on Kanamsa.
1900. Dame Soja’s residence was relatively small but well kept. She was a short, plump woman with curly gray hair and a friendly demeanor. Even with a small staff she did an admirable job of observing Aslan customs. The main course consisted of braised Aslan walrus, an air-breathing aquatic animal native to Kusyu but imported, she noted, from nearby Grendel. Although the Aslan clearly enjoyed the dish, the humans found it horrifically gamey, made worse by the heavy use of some spice redolent of both cinnamon and pepper.
After dinner Dame Soja explained that the current starport had been built upon the site of the first known Vilani settlement, when the world was used merely as a refueling outpost. Nearby a University of Kline archeological excavation had uncovered the foundations of structures well over 4,000 years old. During the Long Night, when many human worlds fell into economic and technological collapse, Kanamsa became an important waystation for interstellar trade moving between the Solomani Rim and Magyar, first for Terrans and then later the Aslan, until Reaver activity brought much of that commerce to a halt.
Dame Soja noted that several Aslan artifacts had been recovered from the area, including a small cache of Aslan pennies (iyweahataau), a tiny archaic coin formerly minted by the Redsail clan and widely distributed during the first few centuries of the Aslan Age of Expansion. She produced a few samples for the delegation to marvel at, explaining that the University had dated these coins to approximately -1400.
1300. As day began to break on Kanamsa the crew and the Aslan delegation took up Dame Soja’s invitation to join her in some sport shooting on her estate. Neither the Envoy nor Starwind elected to shoot but enjoyed the walk. Although several Starjammers were much better marksmen than the two Aslan bodyguards, everyone was careful not to embarrass Firekeeper or Steadyshot. Daren joined in with his ridiculously large and loud revolver and only barely avoided shooting one of his companions.
0600. The Starjammer left the orbit of Kanamsa and proceeded to the 100D limit.
0857. The Starjammer entered jumpspace.
1247. The Starjammer emerged from jumpspace into the Shululsish system, which lay on the Xboat network at the intersection of several main trade routes connecting Magyar with markets throughout the Solomani Rim.
Ronald reported a flood of incoming radio traffic as several dozen commercial ships, including at least two colossal megafreighters, moved in and out of the 100 diameter limit. Shululsish hosted one of the largest Scout Service bases in the region, which berthed three Donosev-class survey ships, four express boat tenders, and over a dozen Suleiman-class scout/couriers.
JUN0 reported that an entire battle squadron of Kokirrak-class dreadnoughts were deployed throughout the system. These 200,000 ton dreadnaughts were one of the oldest TL15 designs still in Imperial service in 1104, with the first examples built just after the Solomani Rim War.
The Starjammer made way for the system’s mainworld, a high population, high technology planet and the Imperial capital of Alderamin subsector.
1539. The Starjammer reached the enormous Shululsish highport, orbiting above the glittering mainworld. Although Shululsish was smaller and considerably younger than Terra, the planet had a similarly diverse biosphere and thick oxygen-nitrogen atmosphere.
1911. After clearing customs the crew and Blackriver delegation took a shuttle down to the surface of Shululsish. The world had first been settled by the Vilani First Imperium, and emerged from Long Night as an industrial and scientific power in the region. In 1104 Shululsish had a population over 30 billion and represented a mature TL15 world, more technologically advanced than any in Magyar or the entire Aslan Hierate. Two Imperial megacorporations had significant onworld presences: General Products, a major heavy industry company, and Naasirka, manufacturer of robots and computers.
As the visitors moved through the starport an anti-Aslan demonstration broke out, with some two dozen protestors holding signs depicting the images and names of slain Rindnoir colonists. Outside the starport a gravcar waited, having been sent by subsector Duke Iwoahlarko to carry the visitors to his residence.
Agent Vachon performed a security check of the car, over the protestations of Speaks-with-Care. Underneath the car a bomb was discovered with only just enough time to clear the area before the device exploded, scattering debris in a wide area. Only a few members of the crew received minor injuries, and all members of the Aslan delegation were unhurt.
Local security forces quickly responded to the scene but seemed overmatched and overwhelmed by the chaos that they found. The Starjammers sprang into action, searching the stunned crowd for signs of the would-be assassin and identifying a suspicious figure in dark clothes and binoculars on a nearby rooftop. When the figure realized they had been spotted they began to back away from the edge, but not before Ronald fired off a round from his gauss rifle.
The Starjammers broke into two teams, with most staying behind with the delegation and a smaller team rushing to the building where the suspicious figure had been seen. This group took an elevator to the roof, where they found the spotter, killed by Ronald’s headshot. She had been dressed in black fatigues and carried a simple radio communicator and pair of electronic binoculars. Although she had no identification, she did have a small Solomani cross tattoo and a keycard to a nearby hotel.
Back down on the street the Starjammers found that control of the scene had been taken over by military figures dressed in the uniforms of Duke Iwoahlarko. A tall, thin, and balding man introduced himself as Gil Gentri, the head of the duke’s security. He commended Agent Vachon and debriefed the crew, who omitted any mention of the figure on the roof. Following the interrogation Gentri indicated he would take the Aslan delegation on to the ducal residence. While some Starjammers accompanied the Blackrivers, a smaller group headed to the hotel matching the keycard.
The hotel team quickly figured out which room matched the keycard, and inside they found that the room had been tossed and a dead man was lying on the floor. He had been shot in the back of the head while apparently packing a bag of personal belongings. He had a communicator and a remote control that probably acted as the trigger for the bomb. He also had no identification and another Solomani cross tattoo.
2100. The hotel team reached the ducal residence, which was under heavy guard. After their identities were verified the stragglers were brought to their rooms for the night.
1124. Daren scoured the Shululsish information web for chatter about The Ravage of Rindnoir, and discovered several pro-Solomani forums where the documentary was popular. After further digging he noted that all such posts were less than a week old. After hacking into some illicit forums he discovered that the initial copy of Ravage had been uploaded by a user named Terra4EvA871.
1451. Working backward, Daren identified the real address of Terra4EvA871 and sent an anonymous tip to Gil Gentri.
2000. The local news feeds reported that security agents working for Duke Iwoahlarko had raided the apartments of an unidentified suspect in the attempted bombing of the Blackriver car.
2022. Daren relayed that the suspect was an unemployed male, Ert Ziron, age 27, who lived with his mother and had no record of prior criminal activity.
1847. Daren used an AI tool to build a botnet to flood the elicit forums and disrupt all pro-Solomani discussions.
1700. The Starjammers attended a reception dinner for the Blackrivers hosted by Duke Iwoahlarko, the senior Imperial noble in Alderamin subsector. The duke was an Aslan with two completely different roles in the subsector’s affairs. As Duke of Alderamin, he spent most of his time on Shululsish. As leader of the clan Iwoahlar, he held wide lands and was quite influential among the Aslan population on his birthworld of Sarmaty (Solomani Rim 0217 A889877-D). Aslan had settled on Sarmaty over 2,500 years earlier during their Age of Expansion. Under Solomani rule the Aslan population was repressed and Iwoahlarko’s grandfather led an insurgency campaign during the Solomani Rim War. Once the Imperium reclaimed Sarmaty, Iwoahlarko’s family was rewarded with an Imperial title of nobility.
Aslan from the Hierate, such as the Blackriver delegation, often viewed “Imperialized” Aslan with wariness, as many such clans had adopted human customs and developed unorthodox views of honor. The Iwoahlar, fortunately, still kept the old ways and spoke impeccable Trokh.
The dinner was a long and highly ritualized affair, featuring astounding quantities of meats punctuated by interminable bouts of storytelling and Aslan poetry. Starjammers able to understand Trokh gathered that the Duke and the Envoy were deeply engaged in discussions of how a strong relationship between the Imperium and the Blackrivers would greatly benefit both parties.
The Blackrivers seemed to fully enjoy the feast, and were delighted to be served bitter-root tea, a beverage mildly intoxicating to Aslan. Although widely popular in the Hierate, the tea was rarely found outside its borders. The Starjammers found the drink so bitter as to be almost entirely unpalatable, and only Boone was able to imbibe the tea without betraying its terrible taste.
0800. As none of the Starjammers had ever been on such a technologically advanced world as Shululsish, most spent the day exploring the markets and public spaces. Despite the enormous population the world was surprisingly clean, orderly, and peaceful—not dissimilar to distant Wu (Magyar 0203 B66A99A-E). Sonny made arrangements to be upgraded at a local metahuman clinic with subdermal armor.
Computer technologies connected the planet’s population into a seamless web of intercommunication. Uniquely, Shululsish had no representative sovereignty: all legislative decisions were made by the citizens themselves in a form of computer-assisted direct democracy. This distinctive form of government had instilled a sense of egalitarianism throughout the society.
The General Products logo.
1900. The Blackriver delegation attended a dinner with representatives from the General Products megacorporation. The event was held at an open air rooftop restaurant that commanded a spectacular view of Shululsish at night.
Three young General Products executives, each speaking impeccable Trokh, greeted the Blackrivers. The executives presented the Envoy with a scale model of an Aositaoh-class cruiser, a common Aslan starship built for small-scale clan troop transport and combat operations. The egg-shaped model was painted with the clan colors of the Blackrivers, but with a tiny General Products logo on the stubby wings. One executive produced a small fob and at a touch the model flew into the air, powered by miniature gravitic drives. With a swish of the fob the model was sent zipping around the night skies of Shululsish, much to the delight of the Aslan.
After dinner the executives and the Envoy and Starwind engaged in a deep conversation while the Aslan bodyguards played with the model starship. Those Starjammers able to speak Trokh were able to follow much of the conversation: General Products offered to provide the Blackrivers with advanced starship hulls and drives at a great discount in exchange for access to new markets in the Hierate.
1800. The Starjammers and the Aslan delegation attended a dinner hosted by the Naasirka megacorporation at their gleaming corporate tower. A grav car carried the visitors directly from the ducal residence to a docking platform on the penthouse level.
Inside a standard corporate boardroom had been transformed into a palatial Aslan chamber, decorated with Kusyuan plants and Aslan tapestries and furniture. Robot servants, painted in Blackriver colors, hovered about on gravitic plates, refilling glasses and bearing platters of small canapés topped with various raw meats.
Two older, gray-haired executives welcomed the visitors on behalf of Naasirka. Both men clearly used a sophisticated translator device that produced flawless Trokh when they spoke. Each member of the delegation was presented with a small glass globe the size of a large marble. At a touch the marble emitted a detailed hologram of Erloiryo, the walled city on Kusyu that was in ancient times the stronghold of the Blackriver clan. By rolling the marble one could zoom in and around the hologram to view the city from different angles.
At the close of the meal the two executives placed a small, disk-shaped device on the table. With a touch the item generated a zone of silence around them, allowing them to speak secretly with the Envoy and his sister. Although none of the Starjammers could hear the conversation, Naasirka appeared to be offering the Blackrivers access to advanced computer technology, some of which may have been prohibited from export outside the Imperium.
The Starjammers did take advantage of the open bar provided by Naasirka, making several toasts with expensive, exotic liquors in honor of Cargomaster Brogue’s forty-fourth birthday.
1309. The Starjammer, with the Blackriver delegation aboard, entered jumpspace.
0509. The Starjammer emerged from jumpspace at the 100-diameter limit of Sterchi, a low-gravity agricultural world orbiting a warm yellow sun. Sterchi was notable for its native Droyne population, which had lived onworld for at least 6,000 years and potentially far longer. As was common throughout the First Imperium, initial Vilani explorers mistook these Droyne for a new minor species that they named the Garaki; they would not be recognized as Droyne until the 800s.
Some 400 years ago the human population of Sterchi embraced the Solomani Confederation and placed harsh restrictions on the Droyne population. Since the conclusion of the Rim War Sterchi had been under military rule and carried an Amber Zone travel advisory. The world was occupied by the Shugammiir 2,615th Lift Infantry Regiment. Sterchi also contained an Imperial naval base supporting the 109th Fleet. The Imperial representative to the world was Baron Erasmo Iiken haut-Hinton, the husband of Duchess Shanika.
0836. The Starjammer landed at the Sterchi starport on the surface of the planet.
1140. The visitors cleared customs and were met by Sir Abdullah Said, the chief of staff to Baron Erasmo. Sir Abdullah welcomed the Blackriver delegation to Sterchi and led the group to a waiting line of ground cars for transport to the Baron’s estate, some 30 minutes outside the starport.
Sir Abdullah reviewed the itinerary for the week on Sterchi. On 315 he would host a reception dinner for the Blackrivers, which would be attended by Colonel Khai Kagarshu, commander of the Shugammiir 2,615th, as well as Commodore Ilya Sarker, commander of the naval base. On 317 the delegation would meet with Exhyalk, the leader of the onworld Droyne community.
0700. Howard purchased six highland cattle, large animals native to ancient Terra, and arranged for their transport to the Starjammer. Brogue began setting up the cargo hold to accommodate the large beasts as well as their large amount of feed.
0800. At Sir Abdullah's suggestion, the Blackwater delegation and several Starjammers prepared for a hunt on the Baron’s personal estate, which was well stocked with a variety of Terran animals. The Baron’s gamekeeper had scouted a large stag that should prove a nice trophy to the Aslan.
Neither Speaks-with-Care nor Starwind carried firearms, content to roam the Baron’s landhold on a fine summer day. The Aslan marveled at the great expanses of open land on Sterchi.
While a few Starjammers stayed with the Blackrivers, others, led by Agent Vachon, hung back.
1035. A small drone was spotted flying just above the treeline, following the Aslan hunters. Richy quickly rigged up a radio set that allowed him to hack into the drone’s systems. The drone was transmitting video and audio data back to a hidden operator, and Richy was able to pinpoint the operator’s location: a residential tenement building a few kilometers away.
1123. The tenement building was a shabby concrete structure located in a poor part of town. A Starjammer team entered the building and located the apartment where the drone commands were being transmitted. The Starjammers broke down the door and quickly subdued the occupants, two brothers with a small command console. A second drone was on a floor, and it was quickly discovered to contain an explosive device.
The drone operators were clearly drugged out amateurs who claimed to have no knowledge of the explosives; they said they believed it was just a second camera drone. With relatively little pressure, they explained they had been hired by a woman named Suzah Marchus, who gave the brothers Cr500 to capture video of the Aslan delegation. She had claimed that they would get another Cr500 once the video was submitted; if the video was particularly “juicy” she could pay them a bonus of up to Cr1000.
1904. Richy and Agent Vachon scoured all available surveillance feeds around the tenement building and picked out a woman who visited the brother’s apartment four days earlier with a parcel evidently containing the drones. Her movements could be traced all the way back to the Shululsish starport. She had debarked from a Kline-flagged armed packet, the Spirit of 871, that had arrived in-system on 303 from Shululsish and had departed on 310 for Grendel, shortly before the Strajammer emerged from jumpspace. Howard pointed out that the number “871” was significant as the year the Solomani Confederation declared independence from the Third Imperium.
Sonny pointed out that “Suzah Marchus” clearly knew the delegation’s itinerary and was staying one step ahead of the Starjammer. He suggested cutting the Sterchi visit short and jumping immediately to the next destination, the water world of Grendel.
2143. After a quick conference with Sir Abdullah, Agent Vachon prepared a diplomatic pouch for Kline, relating everything that had been discovered. Arrangements were made for all Starjammers and Blackrivers to convene at the Sterchi starport as soon as possible for immediate departure.
0415. The Starjammer entered jumpspace.
0215. The Starjammer emerged from jumpspace on the far side of the Grendel system’s innermost gas giant, shielded from the local sensor net. The mainworld orbited the system’s bright F4 V star at 2.07 AU; the gas giant orbited at 3.28 AU. The two bodies were relatively close to perihelion, separated by some 1.75 AU.
Richy, with the sanction of Commodore Sarker, had disabled the ship’s transponder. Captain Masada made for Grendel at best speed, putting the new stealth hull to the test. Although the gas giant and its many moons were patrolled by dozens of Dragon-class system defence boats, none seemed to spot the Starjammer.
0436. The Starjammer reached the halfway point to Grendel, still nearly 437 light-seconds away, with a maximum velocity of 2.78 million meters/second—almost 0.93% of the speed of light. Captain Masada ordered JUN0 to commence deceleration.
0404. The Starjammer reached the 100 diameter limit of Grendel, some 4.78 light-seconds from the mainworld.
0406. Grendel traffic control hailed the unidentified vessel approaching the mainworld.
0408. Richy reactivated the transponder. Ronald transmitted a message that the Starjammer’s electronics systems were experiencing technical difficulties.
0421. Ronald reported that a small vessel had undocked from the Grendel highport and was moving on an intercept course with the Starjammer.
0425. Grendel traffic control hailed the new ship, the Spirit of 871, which did not respond.
0440. Captain Masada had JUN0 sound general quarters. All aboard were ordered into vacc suits and all passengers were ordered to their staterooms. Ronald announced that the Spirit of 871 was roughly 2.84 light-seconds out and closing, and would be within weapons range in approximately 35 minutes. Agent Vachon had Ronald transmit a coded message to traffic control explaining that the Starjammer was on an urgent diplomatic mission and required assistance.
0446. Six Dragon-class system defense boats left the starport and began accelerating toward the Spirit, which ignored commands to heave to.
0449. Chief Gunnery Officer Boone entered the weapons station of Dasher, the ship’s dorsal triple turret mounted with Delgado M3C 25-megajoule pulse lasers, and began his weapons check.
0514. Having closed to a distance of roughly 1 light-second, the Spirit of 871 fired its triple turret beam lasers and two triple turret pulse lasers, missing the Starjammer. Boone returned fire with Dasher but also missed.
0528. The Spirit fired its lasers again and missed. Ronald was able to obtain a sensor lock on the incoming ship, helping Boone score a hit with Dasher.
0534. The Spirit’s beam lasers finally struck home, but the Starjammer’s bonded superdense armor absorbed most of the weapon’s energy. Richy reported minimal damage.
Diagram of a standard anti-ship missile. From Naval Architect’s Handbook. General Shipyards Information Office (Libert: 1099).
Boone missed with Dasher, and JUN0 suggested she fire Donder and Blitzen, the port and starboard Delgado S2A semi-automated missile launch racks. At Boone’s command JUN0 launched two salvos of three Delgado XS-7 250mm high explosive anti-ship missiles, which accelerated toward the Spirit. JUN0 announced the smart missiles had obtained target locks on the enemy ship.
0540. The two ships closed to less than 5,000 km. The Starjammer was raked by the beam laser and one of the pulse lasers. Richy reported that hull integrity had been reduced to 90%.
Boone fired Dasher, striking the Spirit. Almost immediately after the first missile salvo from Donder struck true, damaging the Spirit’s Maneuver-drive. The second salvo from Blitzen also hit, further damaging the wounded packet.
JUN0 launched two more salvos and announced 247 seconds to target impact.
0545. JUN0 updated the progress of the salvos: 43 seconds to impact. Ronald reported the Spirit was sending a broadcast transmission and relayed the feed for the bridge and Boone to hear. The static-filled transmission was confused, with several different voices shouting amidst unidentified tumult in the background. Suddenly one male voice cried out “Hail Terra!” as the Solomani anthem played.
The transmission abruptly cut out as two bright flashes burst in the vicinity of the Spirit. The third salvo breached the hull of the doomed starship, and the Spirit disintegrated just as the superfluous fourth salvo detonated.
0555. Long-range cameras captured a shot of a tumbling wing section in the debris field with the clearly legible name Spirit of 871. Ronald, having detected no signs of vacc suits or emergency beacons in his sensor sweeps, declared that any survivors of the Spirit would be very unlikely.
0557. Ronald reported that the Starjammer was within 50,000 km of Grendel, accompanied by two of the dispatched Dragon SDBs. Grendel was a high population, high technology water world with a warm climate and standard oxygen-nitrogen atmosphere. Two small and irregularly-shaped moons, neither larger than 150 km in diameter, orbited the world at roughly 14,300 km and 21,500 km respectively.
Although few physical traces of the Ancients have been found on Grendel, many species apparently indigenous to the planet have been shown to originate from other worlds, including both Terra and Kusyu. Also, a number of Grendel’s higher animal forms show unmistakable signs of having been genetically altered sometime around 300,000 years ago.
0644. The Starjammer reached Grendel Highport, which orbited above the mainworld.
0730. A team of Starport Authority officers came aboard the Starjammer to review the logbooks, flight records, and manifests. Quarantine doctors performed full physical inspections of all passengers, crew, and cargo.
0900. The Blackriver delegation was released into the custody of Dame Klikikik, an advisor to Count Nur Shashgamsud, the Imperial representative to Grendel. Dame Klikikik was an uplifted dolphin who arrived in a dolphin sled, which was essentially a large grav bike with a special sprayer system to keep her delicate skin from drying out, and a pair of waldo arms.
Agent Vachon and the crew were then subjected to extensive interrogation about Suzah Marchus, the Spirit of 871, and recent Solomani activities.
1822. Agent Vachon and the crew were released from custody and allowed to join the Blackrivers at the residence of Count Nur, a gravitic building that hovered just above the surface of the Grendel world-ocean. Grendel security warned the group that the Spirit of 871 had not filed a passenger or crew manifest, so it was unclear who exactly was on board the ship when it was destroyed. Suzah Marchus had somehow slipped the expansive Grendel surveillance net shortly after her ship docked at the highport and could still be at large.
0600. Richy, Boone, and Wayne donned vacc suits to perform an EVA inspection of the docked Starjammer. Boone pointed out the long, darkened lines along the hull where the Spirit’s beam lasers had traversed the surface, as well as the blackened craters where the higher energy pulse lasers had blasted the hull. Richy was dismayed by the extent of the damage, which he estimated would require some MCr0.5 in spare parts and more than a day in dock to address.
1300. Starwind, having heard about the damage assessment, told Captain Masada that the Blackriver clan was most thankful for his crew’s exemplary service protecting the Envoy. As a token of thanks her clan would pay for repairs to any damage the Starjammer suffered in action with the Spirit as well pay for replacement missiles.
1000. Count Nur had ordered his residence to make a wide sweep of Grendel’s ocean, showcasing the highly varied forms of aquatic life. A pod of Terran humpback whales was sighted near twilight.
1900. The Count held a reception for the Blackrivers, attended by Dame Klikikik and several representatives of the dolphin community.
1400. The Count’s gravitic house reached a series of shoals that were dominated by Kusyuan aquatic lifeforms, including—to the astonishment of the Blackrivers—a large colony of Kuzu walruses. Dame Klikikik explained that the walruses were genetically distinct from native populations found on Kusyu, having been modified to allow for greater lung capacity and deeper diving.
0933. The Count’s house reached an area dominated by greenmats, floating patches of photosynthetic plant life native to Bellerophon (Solomani Rim 1519 A88A986-E). The mats teemed with skreekers, pseudo-crustaceans also native to Bellepheron and quite edible to humans and Aslan alike.
0700. Richy and Wayne began repairs on the Starjammer’s damaged hull.
0700. Richy and Wayne completed repairs and performed the monthly maintenance on the ship.
0601. The Starjammer entered jumpspace.
Iddamakur, former Solomani prison planet.
1551. The Starjammer emerged from jumpspace at the Iddamakur 100-diameter limit and began making way for the highport. The system lay on one of the few Xboat routes leading into Ultima subsector and its primary source of income was a newly constructed Class A starport built with Imperial development funds and loans from the banking megacorporation Zirunkariish. Iddamakur linked the more prosperous worlds of Basil and Darrukesh to the rest of the subsector, and also served as a gateway into the Imperium-occupied portion of neighbouring Magyar.
1859. The Starjammer arrived at the newly constructed highport. The mainworld below was a high population, industrial world with a population of some 3 billion. The planet was considered only marginally habitable, as the high oxygen content of the atmosphere caused lung irritation and metabolic problems.
During the Solomani era Iddamakur was administered by the Confederation’s Ministry of Justice as a planetary prison for undesirable elements of the sector, including many Aslan. Different populations of dissidents were distributed among the planet’s twelve small continents and numerous archipelagos. Use of technology higher than pre-industrial was forbidden, as was sea travel between regions.
The Solomani Rim War liberated the prisoners and although Iddamakur transitioned to self-rule under the Imperium, the world remained poor and struggled to purchase the advanced technology required for economic development. Given this history, Iddamakur was probably more violently anti-Solomani and pro-Imperial than almost any other world in the sector. Many of the planet’s inhabitants were ethnic Solomani, but they had rejected the Solomani Cause and were likely to mob anyone preaching racist theories.
1800. The Blackriver delegation was fêted by Lord Protector Toshiro II, the head of the world government. The Lord Protector ruled with the enthusiastic support of the populace. His personal bodyguard was a regiment of Imperialized Aslan. Among the many planetary dignitaries attending the event was Ieaktoirko, the clan lord of one of the largest onworld clans.
0900. The Blackrivers met with Igashma Gubigalum, the Subsector Director for the Zirunkariish megacorporation, which specialized in banking and investments. Director Gubigalum spoke at length with Starwind about potential investment opportunities inside the Imperium, and suggested that her company would be willing to provide lines of credit to Starwind’s clan in exchange for access to Blackriver territories.
1200. The Blackrivers were received by Duchess Baimme Lapauu, the Imperial representative to Iddamakur. Duchess Baimme was descended from an old Vilani family that had been imprisoned on Iddamakur as political dissidents during the Solomani period.
2015. The Starjammer entered jumpspace, outbound for the Stansifer system.
1158. The Starjammer emerged from jumpspace in the Stansifer system, located on a spur of the Walpurgian Main. The mainworld was actually a large asteroid belt circling a bright white A0 V primary, a star known to the ancient Terrans variously as Okab or Zeta Aquilae among many other names. The dense, metal-rich Stansifer Belt orbited at roughly 10 AU and was approximately 3 AU wide.
The population of the Stansifer Belt numbered a little over one million, with most of these people living on Yuè Station, which was built on and within one of the larger asteroids in the belt, which was 2,144 km in diameter. The Imperial representative to the station was Sir Pablo Arshad.
2300. Each year of the Imperial calendar began with a special day called Holiday, designated day 001. The night before Holiday, Holiday’s Eve, was traditionally a time of parties and celebrations in honor of the emperor and the Imperium. Although Sir Pablo had only limited resources at his disposal, he held a rather merry affair for the Blackriver delegation, featuring many toasts to the health of his Imperial Majesty Strephon Aella Alkhalikoi, forty-third emperor of the Third Imperium.
0800. By tradition Holiday was one of the occasions when the Emperor on Capital (Core 2118 A586A98-F) issued a list of new patents of nobility, called the Holiday List. From this tradition came the term “holiday noble,” which referred derisively to nobles serving no real administrative function in the Imperium.
While the contents of the Holiday List would likely not be known on Stansifer for nearly six months, it was common for Imperial citizens on distant border worlds to eagerly speculate about which citizen might be issued a new patent of nobility.
1223. The Starjammer jumped out of the Stansifer system, bound for Stanko.
1113. The Starjammer emerged from jumpspace in the Stanko system, located on the Walpurgian Main in Anise subsector. The M1 V primary, Dot, had a very close M9 V companion, Dash, which orbited Dot at 0.04 AU every four days. The rest of the system orbited this stable binary pair.
The mainworld was a wet, temperate, medium-sized agricultural world with a thin oxygen-nitrogen atmosphere, circling Dot and Dash in a resonant orbit at 0.23 AU with an eccentricity of 1.12 and an orbital period of 60.6 days. Each day on Stanko was 121.2 standard days in length.
The 100-diameter limit of Dot was 0.47 AU, and a notable secondary world, Unkishi (HCAA524-7), a frozen glacier planet, orbited just outside this limit at 0.62 AU with an orbital period of 262 days. Ships looking for wilderness refueling usually opted for Makinis, the innermost of the system’s five gas giants, which orbited at 0.95 AU.
Captain Masada began maneuvering toward the mainworld.
0251. The Starjammer reached orbit around Stanko, which was known as Ishisi to the Vilani. The INS Anash, an Ershur-class battleship, stood off station in high orbit, serving as a guard ship for the strategically important world. The Anash transmitted greetings and salutations to the arriving Blackriver delegation.
Stanko had no natural magnetosphere and no known native life; consequently the planet was only lightly settled until the Third Imperium era. In 733 a magnetic dipole shield was deployed at the Stanko L1 Lagrangian point. This shield protected the mainworld from solar wind and radiation, allowing the planet to become an agricultural producer.
The growing planetary population had never expressed much interest in the nascent Solomani Movement, and Stanko embraced the Imperium following the Solomani Rim War. Since then the mainworld grew into a representative democracy with a population of 3.28 million, a high law level, and average Imperial tech. Most of Stanko’s inhabitants lived in and around the numerous small cities that ring the Sweitny Ocean.
Captain Masada ordered the crew to prepare for landing at the starport.
0311. The Starjammer touched down at the Stanko class A starport, which had no orbital component, just a large downport located outside the planetary capital of Racimir. The capital city had a population of some 141,000. The shipbuilding firm Allied Prefabricated Ships and Vessels owned and operated the adjacent shipyard, which primarily serviced small merchant vehicles.
The Lady Leonila Folse, Baroness of Stanko.
1900. The current Imperial representative to Stanko, the Baroness Leonila Folse, held a reception for the Blackriver delegation at Stafford, her family estate on the outskirts of Racimir. The Baroness was a tall, thin woman in her late 40s, with an attractive if somewhat wan appearance.
Over two years earlier the Starjammers had been hired by Dr. Silvio Medved, the officious tutor to Baroness Leonila’s son, Lord Rush. At the time the boy’s stepfather, the scoundrel Crawford Folse, was taking advantage of the baroness—spending his days carousing, gambling, and philandering in the company of other wastrels. The intervention of the Starjammers led to Folse’s abrupt departure from Stafford.
Both Dr. Medved and Lord Rush were at the Blackriver reception. The son had grown into a pale, priggish man of eighteen.
Also at the reception were several of the hanger-ons and idlers who had plagued Stafford back when Folse was the man of the house. A small knot of new suitors were crowded around the Baroness, though she seemed to pay them little heed.
2000. Following the reception was a great feast, the centerpiece being a roasted Hoofmeat (aua), a large Kusyuan herbivore that looked like a cross between a rhinoceros and a cow. Hoofmeat had been hunted and consumed by Aslan since time immemorial, and under most circumstances were quite docile. This individual animal had been imported courtesy of Duke Eneri Urkenim of Gadarur and presented as a gift on behalf of Anise subsector to the Blackwaters.
1100. On the Starjammer’s last full day on Stanko, the crew undertook an epic bar crawl through Racimir to celebrate the incept date of Sonny, who had been activated eleven years earlier.
0621. The Starjammer left the Stanko mainworld, bound for Dot’s 100-diameter limit.
2159. The Starjammer entered jumpspace.
0001. The Starjammers, along with Agent Vachon, Speaks-with-Care, Starwind, Fireseeker, and Steadyshot gather on the bridge to celebrate both Daren’s forty-first birthday as well as the near end of a very eventful tour.
0023. All Starjammers not assigned to middle watch retired with the passengers to the lounge to continue the celebrations, which seemed to cheer up an unusually morose Daren.
0059. The Starjammer emerged from jumpspace and began making for the Kline Highport.
