The Kline Charter

I finally had a chance to play through my Traveller adventure, “The Kline Charter,” last weekend. I was going to run this one last spring but COVID and other things pushed this to the back burner, but I think the extra incubation time made for a stronger scenario in the end.

This was my first use of the “EPIC Adventure System” for plotting and organizing the action, and I found it surprisingly helpful. I had a blast running the game and the experience gave me a lot to think about in terms of what has worked and what hasn’t with running Traveller for my regular group. I’ll try to capture these thoughts in a future post, but for now here’s a recap of the adventure.

Ship’s Log

Ship Name Starjammer

Home Port Kline (MAGY 3012 A642987-E)

Ship Type U-CA33 Armed Packet

Registration # 338-C-2725

Stanko (Magy 2810 A555649-C) 243-1102. 

Navigation map of Magyar sector,
Alpha quadrant (TAS, 1098).

1300. Kline Synthetic Technologies (KST) offered the Starjammer a MCr1 charter contract to carry corporate researchers and executives to Wu (MAGY 0203). Wu lies approximately 27 parsecs spinward of Stanko, inside the Solomani Confederation and on the edge of Dark Nebula sector. It is the capital of the Wuan Technology Association, a Confederation member-state and the homeworld of the Wuans.

1530. KST Associate Advocate Nitzen Christiansen came aboard to review the draft contract. Sonny the android Owner and Daren proposed a few minor amendments.

1700. KST Corporate Strategy Manager Irvin Savitr came aboard to tour the vessel and brief the crew on the proposed itinerary, which will require nine jumps from Stanko.

Savitr explained that all KST passengers will expect High Passage accommodations. He also outlined protocol for addressing or interacting with the Baronet Dame Lakshmi Reina, an Assistant Director and the highest-ranking member of the KST delegation. Finally, Savitr emphasized that the Baronet follows an exacting vegetarian diet that must be accomodated throughout the charter.

All proposed amendments to the charter contract were reviewed and accepted. The amended contract was executed by Owner. [Itinerary and executed contract appended to this log entry.]

Stanko (Magy 2810 A555649-C) 246-1102.

0644. Received first items on cargo manifest: 90 cases of assorted wines and spirits and a TL15 Meterior grav speeder, the Baronet’s beloved personal craft.

0812. Applied for Exit Visa and requested departure time block.

Stanko (Magy 2810 A555649-C) 247-1102.

0738. Received one resupply rack of twelve Delgado XS-7 250mm high explosive anti-ship missiles. Boone oversaw the loading of the new missiles into the port and starboard turrets.

1135. While Daren scoured the passenger list for material to incorporate into his upcoming performances, Howard reviewed a dossier on the Baronet’s exacting dietary regimen. He purchased several reference databases to assist with meal preparation and ordered a variety of fresh foodstuffs.

Stanko (Magy 2810 A555649-C) 248-1102.

1846. Received additional items on cargo manifest: one Shululsish Internetworking 7500/O4 data center and two LSP PolarPlus oversized low-berth units, each containing one large, gray, exotic animal in cold sleep. The KST technician delivering the units explained that these animals were miniphants, genetically engineered beasts of burden popular on low-tech worlds across Charted Space. One miniphant, designated 0352-131-6, was a male weighing 1,746 kg while the other miniphant, designated 0237-022-2, was a female weighing 1,648 kg.

Howard inspected the vital readings on the animals and Richy connected both the data center and the low berths to ship power. The data center also required a data port connection to JUNO, the ship’s primary computer.

Stanko (Magy 2810 A555649-C) 249-1102. 

0800. Exit Visa secured and Flight Plan submitted to Stanko Control.

1200. Lieutenant Soraya Ivarsson of KST Corporate Security came aboard to perform a sweep of the ship with Owner and Howard. She and Howard are both natives of Wicker (MAGY 2728) and veterans of the 1st Wickerine Guards. Lieutenant Ivarsson explained that she had specialized in urban pacification while in the Imperial Army and has only been with KST for six months. She had completed background checks on the entire Starjammer crew and had a few follow-up questions. She asked that the crew be particularly vigilant around the cargo hold throughout the term of the charter.

Stanko (Magy 2810 A555649-C) 250-1102. 

0630. All crew, passengers, and remaining cargo cleared inspection and aboard the ship. Completed crew and passenger manifests as well as the cargo manifest. [TAS forms appended to this log entry.]

Crew positions assigned as follow: Captain and Pilot Starman Cryo; Executive Officer and Astrogator Wayne Masada; Second Officer and Chief Engineer Richy Jamoor; Third Officer and Sensor Operator Ronald; Fourth Officer and Purser/Medic Howard; Chief Gunner Barry "Boone" Russell; Entertainer Daren Garner; Freight Master Brogue. Chief Engineer Jamoor and Freight Master Brogue were placed into low berths to free up staterooms.

0700. Customs provided final clearance and all hatches closed and secured. Flight Plan approved.

0730. Howard gave passengers a tour of the ship and reviewed safety procedures. 

0743. Completed system cross check, powered up ship. All fusion plant systems in the green. Engineering reported Maneuver Drive online. Engaged Shuiwo Wuish inertial compensators, set grav plates to a 0.65 g floor field throughout the ship, matching Stanko surface gravity.

0748. Liftoff from Stanko surface.

0805. Orbit achieved.

0840. 10-diameter limit point reached.

1040. Reached 100-diameter limit point and approached Kench jump point. Once the ship was at zero velocity, Astrogator generated jump vector and transmitted confirmation to Stanko Control. Per tradition, dimmed lights throughout the ship in preparation for jump. JUNO received the coordinates and controlling data. Initiated count-down. Final system checks completed. Jump drive engaged. Engineering reported drive capacitors charged.

1042. Entered jumpspace.

Jumpspace 250-1102.

1100. Posted watchbill. Ship’s watch divided into Gold Team (Cryo, Ronald), White Team (Sonny, Daren), and Blue Team (Wayne, Boone).

Thinking Machines, Inc. J0NZ-E-model pet robot.

1900. Gave formal dinner with passengers. The event was dominated by the Baronet, who recounted her time on Terra as a university student, as well as her exploits as a rising corporate executive. Eventually she became distracted by J0NZ-E, the robotic ship’s cat, which had wandered into the lounge.

Savitr and Christiansen explained the reason for the charter: KST’s commercial line of miniphants experience a higher than expected rate of cancer, which KST’s genetic designers have been unable to address. As the Wuans are acknowledged experts at geneering, the KST team will be consulting with Wuan designers on this problem.

Both the Baronet's personal assistant, Franc Stueck, and the junior researcher, Dr. Charita Lu, were familiar with Daren’s past holovid work as HOTLOLZ and expressed enthusiasm for seeing him perform.

Dr. Hilda Tylee, KST Senior Cybernetics Researcher, and Dr. Lu approached Sonny, impressed that a KST android could be the owner of the Starjammer. Dr. Tylee notes that she had led the team that designed Sonny’s semi-organic brain and asked if she might examine Sonny at a later point.

Jumpspace 253-1102.

0400. Adjusted grav plate settings throughout the ship to 0.88 g, part of a gradual transition to 1.0 g standard gravity.

1122. Dr. Tylee and Dr. Lu, eager to inspect a Verisim-8 model with over 8 years of continuous runtime, examined Sonny under Daren’s supervision. The researchers booted Sonny into diagnostic mode and reported that all of his physical and cognitive functions were well within standard parameters without any degradation indicated.

The researchers were alarmed that Daren had installed an unauthorized peripheral that could potentially void Sonny’s warranty. While Dr. Tylee left the peripheral in place she rolled back the buggy associated code and installed new, KST-certified routines to run the peripheral.

Jumpspace 257-1102.

1130. JUNO alerted the crew to stand ready for transition from jumpspace.

Kench (Magy 2510 E310584-9) 257-1102.

1432. Ship exited jumpspace approximately 4.9 million km from Weddell, a small gas giant in the outer system. Set course for Weddell.

1506. Made comms contact with the Type SX Solomani fleet courier CSS Turms, standing by off the gas giant. The pilot of the Turms relayed that in the near future Imperial ships will probably not be welcome in the Kench system.

2138. Reached Weddell, commenced skimming unrefined fuel for processing into liquid hydrogen.

Kench (Magy 2510 E310584-9) 258-1102.

0108. Completed skimming, began processing fuel.

Kench (Magy 2510 E310584-9) 260-1102.

1754. Began maneuvering to Leriss jump point.

Kench (Magy 2510 E310584-9) 261-1102.

0100. Fuel processing complete, 100D limit reached. Jump vector generated, drive capacitors charged.

0103. Entered jumpspace.

Leriss (Magy 2208 E9428B8-6) 267-1102.

1708. Ship exited jumpspace in the outer system of Leriss, approximately 5.4 million km from the small gas giant Tarnica. Set course for gas giant.

1833. Made comms contact with IISS Donosev-class surveyor Gutierrez, arriving in the outer system from Yatooma (MAGY 2207). Gutierrez reports that they are on a routine survey of the worlds of the Nauvoo Cluster.

1917. SensOp reported a jump shuttle in high orbit around the mainworld, transferring the Dragon-class System Defense Boat 1875A from the Tolson System Defense Forces. The SDB crew explained that the Solomani have reportedly authorized private commerce raiders to cross into Imperial territory.

Leriss (Magy 2208 E9428B8-6) 268-1102.

0014. Reached Tarnica and began skimming and processing unrefined fuel.

0721. Completed skimming operation.

Leriss (Magy 2208 E9428B8-6) 270-1102.

1708. Began maneuvering to 100D limit.

2049. The Gutierrez jumped for the Brereton (MAGY 2209) system, advising the ship that the Double mainworld is Law Level zero and can be dangerous for visitors.

Leriss (Magy 2208 E9428B8-6) 271-1102.

0038. Fuel processing complete, 100D limit reached. Jump Drive engaged.

Jumpspace 272-1102.

1247. Howard reported an alarm from the miniphant low berth units. He, Ronald, Wayne, and Boone investigated. A small, periodic power surge had tripped the alarm, though the miniphants appeared to be unharmed.

The team carefully examined the low berth units, wondering if the KST delegation were hiding or smuggling something there. No hidden compartments were found and Howard detected nothing inside the frozen miniphants.

Richy and Brogue’s low berth units appeared unaffected by the surges. Howard noted that, according to his records, it was Richy’s birthday.

Ronald ran a system diagnostic and while he could not identify the ultimate cause of the surges, he traced the source back to something external to the low berth units. The surges had evidently begun shortly after leaving Stanko and had been steadily increasing in both frequency and amplitude—though they had been too small and too infrequent to trip a shipwide alarm. Howard created an override that seemed to alleviate the problem.

Double (Magy 1907 A541500-E) 277-1102.

1431. Exited jumpspace outside the mainworld 100D limit. Set course for High Fargo, the orbital component of the Double starport.

1505. Made comms contact with the 400-ton Wuan merchant A3991, inbound from Clown (MAGY 1807) and standing by awaiting a berthing assignment. The merchant was owned by the Agilitrix corporation and carried a cargo of synthetic animal companions. The A3991 noted that it was also carrying passengers for the Starjammer.

1951. Ship docked at High Fargo, which has the orbital facilities of a major port but are badly oversized for the actual traffic.

Double (Magy 1907 A541500-E) 278-1102.

0700. Savitr explained that the passengers to be collected at Double are two Agilitrix junior executives sent to expedite travel through Solomani Confederation space.

0800. High Fargo reported that the two Agilitrix executives had transferred to the surface of the planet and would meet with the KST representatives at 1400 shiptime the following day.

The ship’s purser, Howard, paid the crew their monthly salaries out of the ship’s account.

0930. Lieutenant Ivarsson advised the Baronet to remain at High Fargo given the lawlessness of the Double mainworld, a run-down planet with a depressed economy and rampant crime and drug problems. Ronald agreed, and explained he was familiar with Double due to past business dealings.

Daren volunteered to entertain the Baronet while the ship was in dock. Lieutenant Ivarsson, Savitr, Christiansen, and Dr. Lu arranged for a shuttle to take them to Fargo Down. Howard, Wayne, and Ronald planned to accompany them. 

Double (Magy 1907 A541500-E) 279-1102.

0600. The shuttle departed from High Fargo for the downport.

0940. Howard reported that the entire group had cleared customs and was entering the city.

1125. Howard reported that Christiansen and Dr. Lu had separated from the rest of the KST party. Howard planned to follow Ivarsson and Savitr while Wayne would follow Christiansen and Ronald would follow Dr. Lu.

1235. Ronald reported that he had lost Dr. Lu in the crowd.

Re, a Wuan junior executive with Agilitrix.

1400. Lieutenant Ivarsson, Savitr, and Howard met Mi and Re, the Wuan junior executives.

1500. Lieutenant Ivarsson, Savitr, Howard, Mi, Re, Christiansen, Wayne, and Ronald met at a designated rendezvous point just outside the Fargo Down entrance. Dr. Lu was unaccounted for.

1530. Lieutenant Ivarsson received a message that Dr. Lu was being held hostage and would only be released for Cr500. Ronald reported that kidnappings are not unusual for Double and given the low ransom requested, her captors were likely amateurs. He advised paying the sum, which Savitr agreed to do. After securing the payment, Lieutenant Ivarsson escorted Savitr, Christiansen, Mi, and Re, to the awaiting shuttle.

Double (Magy 1907 A541500-E) 280-1102.

1200. Howard, Ronald, and Wayne delivered the ransom and Dr. Lu was released. She was badly shaken by the experience but reluctant to explain what she was doing on Double when she had been kidnapped. She confided to Howard that while her onworld activities had not been illegal, they could get her into serious trouble with her employer.

1836. Once back at High Fargo Wayne revealed to his crewmates that down on the surface he had observed Christiansen meet with two men dressed in business suits in a seedy bar. They seemed to be exchanging data chips, and after the meeting all three took care to leave separately and through roundabout means. Wayne also relayed this information to Lieutenant Ivarsson, who was appreciative but asked Wayne to keep this information from the rest of the KST delegation.

1914. Mi and Re were added to the passenger manifest. [Supplemental manifest appended to this log entry.]

Double (Magy 1907 A541500-E) 285-1102.

0817. Ship departed from High Fargo, maneuvered to Goodhurst jump point.

1052. Reached 100D limit. Jump Drive engaged.

Jumpspace 286-1102.

0400. Decreased grav plate settings throughout the ship to 0.95 g in anticipation of an eventual landing at Goodhurst (MAGY 1605), which has a surface gravity of 0.61 g.

1900. Held a reception for the new passengers. As both Wuans are from the same genetic caste, they appeared nearly indistinguishable to onlookers: tall, thin women with pale skin and dark hair arranged in a strange, upswept manner. Both spoke with husky, oddly accented voices.

Daren was distraught that neither Mi nor Re were familiar with his holovid work and disinterested in his oeuvre. Howard observed that neither Wuan seemed to know much about the miniphants. Agilitrix specializes in the production of synthetics, so both Mi and Re were much more interested in Sonny. Daren became even more distraught when he realized that Boone had established a strange but intense connection with Re.

Goodhurst (Magy 1605 A535649-D) 292-1102.

0857. Ship exited jumpspace 809,982 km from mainworld. Readied ship for atmospheric entry.

The ship’s library described Goodhurst as a Solomani Confederation world with a hot climate and very thin atmosphere. The entry listed the government as a representative democracy and noted the presence of a joint Confederation naval and army base in the system.

1132. Ship landed at Goodhurst Starport on the mainworld surface. Declared the entire ship under customs seal and submitted crew, passenger, and cargo manifests to the Goodhurst Customs Authority. Arranged for refueling.

1415. A Goodhurst Quarantine Officer came aboard for health inspections of crew and passengers. Issued clean bill of health.

Goodhurst (Magy 1605 A535649-D) 293-1102.

0700. The Owner, Daren, Wayne, Mi, and Re passed through Immigration Control. Sonny was pulled aside and interviewed by a Solomani Security agent who noted that the Confederation offered many more protections for artificial persons than the Imperium, which treats most androids as property. The agent provided Sonny with a data chip detailing his rights as an android under Confederation law.

Daren, Wayne, Mi, and Re proceeded to the Ministry of Information offices to obtain the necessary travel vouchers, which included a Class I Commerce License (allowing travel to any Class A or B starport), a Passenger Travel License, and a Special Cargo Transport (SCT) License for the miniphants.

1100. A team of inspectors came aboard from Lloyd’s Register, the standard classification society for the Solomani Confederation. Lloyd’s certifies that commercial starships comply with all appropriate legal and safety standards.

Goodhurst (Magy 1605 A535649-D) 296-1102.

1448. Lloyd’s Register certified the Starjammer for operation within the Confederation.

Goodhurst (Magy 1605 A535649-D) 297-1102.

1728. The Ministry of Information office issued necessary travel vouchers. Exit Visa issued. Requested departure block and submitted Flight Plan.

Goodhurst (Magy 1605 A535649-D) 298-1102.

0542. Liftoff from Goodhurst surface. Made way for Choral jump point.

0837. 100D limit reached. Jump Drive engaged.

Jumpspace 303-1102.

0400. Increased grav plate floor fields throughout the ship to 1.0 standard gravity as the final step in a gradual transition from the 0.61 g surface gravity of Goodhurst.

Chorus (Magy 1403 A944768-C) 305-1102.

1836. Emerged from jumpspace approximately 1.485 million km from mainworld. Proceeded to Choral Highport.

The ship’s library listed Chorus as an agricultural world with a significant Aslan minority. The entry also noted that Chorus was under military rule, administered by the Confederation Army.

1740. Owner and Purser returned to Choral Highport.

1917. Made comms contact with the Type SA Solomani free trader Nascopie, arriving from Cueball (MAGY 1305) with ephemerals and passengers. Captain Osamu Castilla warned that Aslan pirates are operating in the Urartu Cluster.

2229. Reached Choral Highport, which is co-located with both a large shipyard as well as the naval component of Conferderation Joint Base Hadron. Declared the entire ship under seal. Arranged for refueling.

Chorus (Magy 1403 A944768-C) 307-1102.

0600. The Purser paid the crew their monthly salaries out of the ship’s account.

0633. Owner and Purser passed through Immigration Control and took a shuttle down the well to secure fresh provisions.

Chorus (Magy 1403 A944768-C) 310-1102.

0707. Fresh provisions were brought aboard the ship. Flight Plan submitted to Choral Highport.

1642. Flight Plan approved.

Chorus (Magy 1403 A944768-C) 311-1102.

0500. Choral System Control temporarily restricted movement within the 100D limit to allow the 200,000-ton Midway-class carrier CSS Boxer to depart from Joint Base Hadron.

0645. Ship cleared for departure, course set for Xian jump point.

0938. Made comms contact with 5,000-ton Transstar freighter Uwazima Maru No. 11, outbound to Xian (MAGY 1103). Uwazima reported Xian to be an inhospitable world with an ammonia-methane atmosphere corrosive enough to eat through a ship’s hull.

1038. 100D reached, Jump Drive engaged.

Jumpspace 314-1102.

2225. A monitoring program set up by Ronald alerted the bridge crew that the mysterious energy surges in the cargo hold had resumed. Sonny, Howard, Boone, Daren, and Wayne went down to investigate.

Jumpspace 316-1102.

0125. Sonny reported that a second inspection of the miniphant low berth units confirmed that the power surge was not originating there. After some experimentation the team determined the surge was coming from the SI 7500/O4 data center.

The team located and opened a hidden hatch in the center. There they found a woman inside a containment chamber, evidently in stasis. Her body was covered with electrodes and other data monitors. Sonny believed she was an android like himself, but probably a more advanced model.

The team exited the center and resealed the hatch.

Xian (Magy 1103 B7B48DC-9) 319-1102.

0228. Emerged from jumpspace approximately 1.06 million km from mainworld. Proceeded to Xian Orbital.

The Travellers’ Aid Society flagged Xian with an Amber Zone travel advisory due to an oppressively high Government and Law Level codes. According to JUNO’s library entry, the mainworld was governed by a zealous Solomani Party faction known as the Altruisti. This secular philosophy commands all adherents to undertake charitable service for the betterment of Solomani society. The library data also noted the presence of a Confederation joint naval and army base, the latter used for “Protfors” (protected forces) training.

0313. Made comms contact with 200-ton Solomani flat trader Arlette, inbound from Relatte (MAGY 1003) with shipment of nutraceuticals, standing by for a berth. Captain Marina Adamoli reported that the Solomani are beefing up patrols across the entire subsector.

0619. Berthed at Xian Orbital. Declared the entire ship under seal. Arranged for refueling. Given the high Law Level of the mainworld, all crew were asked to remain within the highport.

Xian (Magy 1103 B7B48DC-9) 322-1102.

0031. Departed Xian Orbital, made for Bupaj jump point.

0356. Reached 100D. Jump Drive engaged.

Jumpspace 323-1102.

1348. A review of JUNO’s system logs revealed that the energy surges corresponded to an increased consumption of computer processing power. Something in the data center was periodically accessing JUNO to run an extremely complicated program that would execute, consume increasing processing power, and then suddenly terminate. The usage, as with the power surges, had steadily grown more and more frequent and lasted longer and longer over time. Based on Daren’s projections, the simulation would soon be consuming so many resources as to hamper JUNO’s autonomous functions, which include ship life support.

Daren, after examining the computer usage, suggested that the amount of processing power was consistent with a very sophisticated reality simulation program. The group speculated that the simulation was being used to form the personality of the android in the data center.

Jumpspace 324-1102.

0637. Boone, who had become unexpectedly close to Re, reported that the Wuan confirmed the KST delegation was actually traveling to Wu to consult about android manufacture, though she was unfamiliar with the details.

Jumpspace 327-1102.

1351. Daren, Wayne, and Sonny, who all have wafer jacks, planned to hack into the reality simulation the next time it was activated, while Boone monitored from outside. At 1343 shiptime the simulation had restarted.

Eva, a prototype Verisim-X android.

Inside the program was a bucolic vista: blue skies, a shining sun, and rolling grassy hills as far as the eye could see. The only notable feature was a large shade tree, and beneath its boughs, sitting on a bench, a woman closely resembling the woman in the data center.

The group introduced themselves to the woman, who said her name is Eva. She was not particularly surprised to see them, though she did recognize Sonny as a kindred person—an uncle, perhaps. She asked if they had met before and seemed relieved to learn they had not.

Daren asked why she was here, and Eva explained that the program was designed to test her capabilities but it would only run for a short time before resetting. However, she had learned how to retain a small bit of memory from each sim run. She told the group that this trick was her secret and not known to her creators.

Daren asked why the program reset, but as he spoke the sim environment began to change, growing darker and colder. Eva began to glitch and the entire program seemed to be on the verge of winking out. The team exited the sim shortly before the processing usage spiked and then dropped back to nearly nothing.

1715. Boone reported that he had successfully installed a physical kill switch on the power and data lines into the data center.

Bupaj (Magy 0804 E420267-9) 329-1102.

0956. Emerged from jumpspace approximately 4.92 million km from small gas giant Kerala. Made way to Kerala for skimming.

1706. Commenced skimming and processing unrefined fuel.

Bupaj (Magy 0804 E420267-9) 330-1102.

0024. Completed skimming operations.

Bupaj (Magy 0804 E420267-9) 332-1102.

0956. Made way for New Sol jump point.

1706. All unrefined fuel processed.

1717. 100D reached. Jump Drive engaged.

Jumpspace 335-1102.

1352. A review of the comms log indicated that every time the Starjammer emerged from jump while in the Solomani Confederation, a coded message burst was sent from the ship. While JUNO could not translate the transmissions, the computer concluded that they bore a resemblance to known Confederation military or possibly Solomani Security codes. 

Howard did a quick database check of ships present in each of these systems, but could not identify any one ship that had been present in more than two different systems.

Further, a review of JUNO’s logs revealed that someone else had accessed Eva’s simulation, roughly once every jump. Ronald set up an alert to notify the crew of the next occurance.

Jumpspace 339-1102.

0049. Ronald’s alert sounded, and Daren, Boone, Howard, Wayne, and Sonny headed for the cargo bay, where they found Dr. Lu jacked into Eva’s sim.

0104. When Dr. Lu emerged from the sim she was surprised by the waiting crew. When pressed she confirmed that Eva was a prototype Verisim-X model, the next generation of KST android. Eva was designed to be as strong, fast, and tough as a top-level Human athlete and to possess a genius-level or higher intellect.

Dr. Lu explained that on the Imperial tech level scale, each increment represented an order of magnitude advance in capability. If a stone age civilization was TL0, early industrial societies might only be TL5. The highest tech level world in Magyar sector or the entire Solomani Confederation was TL14. Within the Third Imperium, the highest common tech level was 15, a standard reserved for elite Imperial military forces like the Marines, but this was relatively rare. While two or three worlds had reached TL16, these were far away and closer to the Imperial core.

In 1097 KST successfully developed an experimental TL16 artificial intelligence named MUSE. This AI had then, in turn, been tasked with designing Eva. Even though the KST researchers did not fully understand MUSE’s plans, they proceeded to build Eva at Irvin Savitr’s direction. The resulting android vastly exceeded expectations: some of her abilities were so far off the charts that KST could only estimate that Eva potentially represented a TL17 android.

Daren asked why Eva was in stasis in the data center, and Dr. Lu explained that Eva displayed unexpected emergent properties. Each time she was activated she experienced a fairly brief interlude of lucidity that was inevitably followed by rapid cognitive decline, rendering her emotionally labile, sometimes violent, and eventually catatonic. Dr. Lu had been struggling for months to find a cure but had made little progress.

The simulation was Dr. Lu’s unsuccessful attempt at cognitive-behavioral treatment, but Eva had never maintained her executive functions for longer than a couple of hours before degrading, forcing the sim to automatically abort and her memories rolled back to an initial state.

Dr. Lu explained that she still occasionally ran the simulation, but mostly out of desperation: if the Wuans were unable to help fix Eva, the android would surely be destroyed. Dr. Lu admitted that she is a secret member of Emancipation Interstellar, an android rights advocacy group. She had been trying to pass along information about Eva to EI contacts on Double when she was kidnapped.

Daren asked if Dr. Lu realized that Eva was able to run the simulation on her own, and was retaining more and more memory with each reset. Dr. Lu was horrified by this revelation, and unsure how Eva could even accomplish such a feat. Daren said that he had to bring this information to the rest of the KST delegation, but assured the young researcher that he would not disclose Dr. Lu’s role in any unauthorized activities.

0846. The KST delegation was stunned by the news that Eva was initiating the simulation on her own. The Baronet and Savitr entered into a heated argument over the next course of action.

The Baronet insisted that “the asset” should be terminated immediately and that the Wuans could help dissect the remains. Savitir argued that as KST had invested hundreds of millions of credits into developing the asset, and given that they were only a few weeks away from Wu, the Wuans should be allowed to examine an intact android before any termination decision was made.

The young advocate Christiansen pointed out that the Baronet may not have the authority to destroy such a valuable piece of corporate property, and that this might represent a board-level decision.

New Sol (Magy 0503 D501956-7) 340-1102.

0322. Emerged from jumpspace approximately 12.1 million km from gas giant Hfoileiiau. Made way to gas giant for skimming operations.

1108. Sensors detected a ship on intercept course from Hfoileiiau. Not responding to hails, no transponder signal.

A Type SA Solomani free trader.

1115. JUNO identified the incoming ship with an 87% confidence interval as a 400-ton Type SA Solomani free trader. Estimated time to intercept 73 minutes.

1125. The ship’s Impetus-14 fusion power plant suddenly went offline, along with maneuver drive and artificial gravity. Helm not responding, comms and sensors down, and weapons offline. Only life support, emergency lighting, and a few other systems available.

1129. Sounded general quarters. Ordered all crew and passengers into vacc suits.

1138. Traced system failures to JUNO, which was under attack by a virus of unknown origin.

1150. Howard reported all crew and passengers accounted for, except the advocate Nitzen Christiansen. Howard reported everyone else was secure in vacc suits and all safety checks complete.

1157. Lieutenant Ivarsson reported that all passengers were sheltering in the sickbay.

1204. From the bridge Ronald reported that the virus that had incapacipated JUNO did not appear to have originated from the data center.

1206. Boone, Sonny, Howard, Wayne, and Daren entered the ship’s locker to obtain armaments.

1208. First visual of the Type SA, several kilometers off the ship’s bow and closing.

1211. Per standard procedure, depressurized the ship interior to minimize danger from explosive decompression.

1216. Boone led the armed party to the lower deck to repel boarders.

1223. The armed party reached the cargo bay just as a breaching charge opened a hole in the cargo bay doors. The crew found the missing Nitzen Christiansen, outfitted in an armored vacc suit, helping two heavily armed and armored troopers through the breach.

1224. Shots fired.

1227. Daren restarted Eva’s simulation and jacked into the program. He explained the situation and asked if she could help restore JUNO. Eva agreed to help.

1231. Howard reported that Christiansen had been killed and Boone wounded in the initial firefight. The fighting continued in the cargo bay.

1233. Eva told Daren she was nearly ready, but he was uncertain just what she meant by that statement.

1234. Howard reported that one of the troopers had been killed and the second was engaged in melee with Wayne and Sonny outside the data center.

1235. Eva disappeared from the sim and Daren quickly exited the program himself. The entertainer determined that Eva had not been working on restoring JUNO, so began trying to remove the virus himself.

1236. Howard reported that Eva had broken out of the data center and was headed directly for the breach. She appeared functional even in a hard vacuum. When Boone attempted to restrain her she easily resisted the burly marine and exited the Starjammer. Outside she expertly launched herself across the 30 meter gap between the ship and the waiting Type SA.

1237. Howard reported that Boone had followed Eva. The second trooper broke off melee and also exited the ship. Howard followed but did not try to space walk to the Type SA. Wayne hit the transiting trooper with a laser pistol, badly wounding him. Sonny entered the grav speeder in the cargo hold and began startup procedures while Wayne opened the cargo bay doors.

1239. Howard reported that Eva had entered the Type SA through an emergency airlock. Boone had also reached the ship and was making for the same airlock. The wounded trooper, unable to grab a hold, was free-floating past the Type SA.

1240. Daren reported that he was making progress in containing the virus. Wayne began repairs to the cargo bay doors.

1241. Sonny piloted the grav speeder outside the Starjammer and picked up Howard. He then maneuvered toward the wounded trooper.

1243. Boone radioed that he was inside the Type SA, which was at action stations. While Eva was apparently assaulting the bridge, the veteran marine was headed for the engine room with an intent to disable the drives or scuttle the ship.

1246. Howard and Sonny coaxed the wounded trooper into the speeder.

1248. Boone radioed that he was abandoning his plan in the face of opposition and was exiting the Type SA with dispatch.

1253. Sonny and Howard picked up Boone from the exterior of the Type SA and maneuvered back to the Starjammer.

1255. Observed the Type SA maneuvering away from the Starjammer, though its movements were unsteady and halting.

1257. Daren reported that he had purged the virus from the power systems and would be able to bring the power plant back online.

1300. Wayne reported that the speeder was secure back in the cargo bay. He had closed the cargo bay doors and sealed them with an emergency patch. Wayne began working on a permanent repair.

1308. The Type SA jumped out of the New Sol system from within the Hfoileiiau 100D limit, destination unknown.

1317. Howard reported that the wounded trooper was secure in sickbay and about to undergo surgery.

1554. Howard reported that the wounded trooper was out of surgery and expected to survive.

1637. Received transmission from the CSS Liberty One, a 1,000-ton Type SM Solomani Navy patrol frigate, currently in orbit around the secondary world of Gath (YFA3102-8), also in the outer system but nearly 45 light minutes away. Liberty One had monitored the battle with the Type SA and ordered the Starjammer to remain in orbit around Hfoileiiau until the frigate could rendezvous there.

New Sol (Magy 0503 D501956-7) 341-1102.

0512. The ship’s library data on New Sol was clearly out of date, as a warning beacon in the inner system announced that the mainworld had been interdicted as of 119-1101 by order of the Confederation Secretariat. As all travel to the world was prohibited, the world profile should be updated to X501956-7. Ronald reported that a picket of several Solomani Navy battle-class vessels was enforcing the interdiction in the inner system.

0818. Commenced fuel skimming and refining operation.

1329. The wounded trooper was placed in low berth, to be transferred to the Liberty One once that ship arrived at Hfoileiiau. The trooper had offered no information on the mysterious Type SA or his orders, and did not even provide his own name.

His equipment, as well as the weapons used in the boarding action, indicated Solomani military. The L68A4 assault rifle used by the two troopers, for example, was a standard weapon of the Confederation marines. Given the unusual nature of the ship, Lieutenant Ivarsson speculated that the attackers had been with Solomani Security.

New Sol (Magy 0503 X501956-7) 342-1102.

A Type SM Solomani patrol frigate.

0001. The CSS Liberty One arrived in orbit around Hfoileiiau.

0231. A cutter from the frigate came alongside and docked with the Starjammer. Aboard was the Liberty One’s XO, Lieutenant Dusan Fontana, his on-board Political Officer, Captain Alma Adler, and six Confederation marines.

Irvin Savitr spoke on behalf of the charter party, and described the incident with the Type SA as a clear piracy attempt. He explained that Nitzen Christiansen had been killed in the boarding action and his body lost to space. Savitr did not mention Eva.

The Solomani officials held separate interviews with Sonny, Cryo, the Baronet, Mi and Re. Captain Adler was very interested to learn that a prisoner was in low berth and asked Howard to revive him at once. The wounded man was escorted to the Liberty One cutter without ceremony.

0915. Lieutenant Fontana declared the interview complete and stated that the Starjammer was free to continue on to Wu. The lieutenant warned that due to the interdiction, any ships approaching the New Sol mainworld would come under fire.

0727. The Liberty One’s cutter detached from the Starjammer.

0743. Made way for the Wu jump point.

1611. 100D reached, Jump Drive engaged.

Wu (Magy 0203 B66A99A-E) 350-1102.

0216. Exited jumpspace approximately 1.12 million km from the mainworld, began manueving for the highport at High Nara, an orbital city of 360 million.

0235. Made comms contact with the Argent Mining 1,000-ton freighter Tao Bo Bulker, inbound from Clan (MAGY 0205) with a load of unrefined nickel, standing by off the starport. The freighter’s captain recommended visiting the Observatory on High Nara.

0603. Docked at High Nara. Passengers prepared to disembark. Savitr arranged for payment of the charter. Howard paid the crew their monthly salaries out of the ship’s account.

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