Crime and politics part 2 (07/04/3304)
09 Apr 2018Archived
Previously in James' LogbookJames arrived in San Tu and started doing jobs for Dragons of San Tu, a criminal organisation running the system, as well as some Federal groups that could have some shady deals with the pirates. And quickly a disturbing pattern has begun to emerge...
Deep Space
Pangluya System (Independent)
The ship shook violently. Red alarm lights started flashing.
“Under attack”
“I can’t fucking believe it!” - James quickly zipped the suit, detached his mag boots and pushed himself through the small entrance of the Eagle’s head. He jumped out of supercruise in a middle of nowhere but forgot to power down the systems before going to the loo... and in that short span of time somebody managed to track him?
He made it back to the pit just in time to see the last ring of shields flicker and fade away.
“Taking damage”
“Damn it Betty, maybe you could shoot back or at least evade instead or of complaining?!” - James shouted as he buckled up. He pressed the boost even before pushing the throttle, at the same instance engaging the FSD. Quick glance at the scanner - the assailant was ranked Dangerous and flew a Fer-de-Lance. Too much to handle with shields already gone… A nerve-wrecking battle with time has begun: the FSD was slowly charging, while the hull integrity was rapidly going down.
“Module malfunction. Canopy breach”
“Shit!” - James quickly reached for his flight helmet.
“Jumping in 4..3...2..1.. engaged”.
***
Parsons Settlement
Ross 1057 System (Federation)
“So, what have you found?” - there was some static behind the voice of Matt Horner, but otherwise the long range connection was fine - “any news on who killed my uncle?”
“Not exactly, lad. It is too early. But I did find some interesting stuff. In his last recorded message Blasius said that he discovered information about involvement of Federal entities with the criminal organisations here, in San Tu - and he passed his findings up the chain of command. Now without someone with high clearances we won’t be able to find what it was, it would require us to go to Sol anyway… but I think I could figure out what it was by getting close to both the Dragons and the Federal companies operating here. And I already have some leads…” - he glanced at the screen in front of him and compilation of decrypted data from several runs he has already taken. The evidence was there, right before his eyes.
The content of the messages had several layers of encryption, but the intended addressees were clear. The intel was going back and forth between several criminal and Federal groups, but it seemed that the one most active on the Federal side was a corp named San Tu State Network.
“Well, but that doesn’t tell us anything, does it?”
“Not directly lad, no. But I think once they trust me enough - I mean both the Dragons and the Feds - they might start giving me some more…delicate tasks. I might also ferry some important passengers for them and get interesting news that way. Though squeezing a passenger cabin on the Imperial Eagle is kinda.. difficult”.
“Alright. And how do I fit into the picture?”
“You can come to help me, but it’s your call, it is not exactly.. safe here” - James looked outside the window at the planetary dry dock where mechs were replacing large chunks of hull and equipment of the ‘White Wolf’.
“Alright. I would like to help, but I will need to get a better ship. What would be best?”
“A Cobra. It is cheap, it is common and it can fit a decent passenger cabin and some good weapons on top of that. Let me know when you get one and when you’re ready. And I will keep myself busy with making Dragons and Feds happy around here. Not that I like it, but I guess I don’t have much choice…”
“OK, I will. James.. take care of yourself. I have learned a lot from you already. I wouldn’t like to loose you too”.
“I will, yeah. Don’t you worry, lad”.
***
Deep Space
Vincity of Pangluya 5
Pangluya System (Independent)
“There you are! You’re not going to escape me for the third time!” - the voice was full of anger. And for good reasons. Fer - de - Lance pilot that almost killed James around 10 hours before was on his tail again. Barrett managed to escape the interdiction a few minutes earlier, but now he was in a gravitational well of a planet and rapidly slowing down. No way he could get out of this one… unless....
He quickly changed the course and went towards the nearby checkpoint. If he’s lucky, he will drop before the FDL gets him, wait it out and then jump to a different system. Suddenly, his HUD changed colour to the characteristic blue tint of the interdiction. In exactly the same moment ‘Winter Wolf’ passed the 1Mm mark from the destination and ‘safe to disengage’ message appeared. Without giving it a second thought, James instantly disengaged the FSD.
They both tumbled out of supercruise in the middle of a patrol consisting of four authority vessels. FDL pilot must have been 100% focused on James, because he deployed the hardpoints and started to shoot. Few moments later police responded in force. Even outnumbered 5:1, he still managed to get through the shields of the ‘White Wolf’ and inflict some damage to the hull. Maybe 30 seconds later his ship disappeared in a bright ball of fire…
No doubt he was after some of the data carried by James for the Dragons. Or perhaps the encoded military plans scooped close to the nearby planet for the Federal corporation.. One thing was certain: if things continue to go this way, this investigation will be very interesting. Way too interesting for James’ tastes.