En route to Hyperion IX


Nat nimbly scooted up the ladder and slowly lay down, big spoon, to the pilot's tight form.  She lay a long arm over Ace's torso, and extended a splayed hand in search of Petra's own, but only offered it, letting the more petite brunette decide for herself whether to accept. Please take my hand...

She spoke softly, but loud enough for Hugh to hear  -  as was her intent  -  her breath warm on the back of Petra's head, her words a soft vibration on the skin.  "On my world, where I grew up among the Churg and Churg culture, it is natural and commonplace that the different types of comfort  -  emotional, social, physical, romantic  -  are each their own thing, and are not conflated, or associated with each other, blindly or automatically.  And  -  as I've mentioned before  -  the concept of 'Consent' is built into our communication, and into the society.  Nor do we have the same, uh, 'limits,' on relationship structures and dynamics that so many on predominantly Human worlds have developed, having embraced some of the more traditional aspects of our race's history."

She paused, both letting the words sink in, and to slow her own breathing and her racing heart. "We also tend to be pretty direct, because consent cannot be conveyed by convolution."  A long pause, but one with momentum and moment.

"We've all been through a lot, and honestly, I think we *all* could use some grounding and affirmation..." the 'all' somehow managing to be directed at Hugh, despite their distance.  "And while I find I am developing some pretty significant feelings for you, Petra  -  this, here, isn't about that, and I don't want you to think that I am, in any way, trying to take advantage of you, now, in your distress.  That isn't what this is, and if that makes you uncomfortable in any way, indicate or say so, and I'll stop.  But, we've just realized we've had our minds fucked with, and that is unsettling to an unspeakable degree, and it is my experience, and my opinion, that we could all"  -  again, somehow including Hugh but also herself  -  "use a lot of grounding, and assurances that we are still who we are."   And a whisper then, for only Petra's ears:  "And that someone cares for us."

---

On Hyperion IX


Nat hefted her pack and watched Quirrel hustle Lev out the cargo ramp and toward the more robust facilities of the planetary hospital, admiring his focus and dedication, but with a sadness at not getting a chance to see him off.  Perhaps they'd meet again, on another assignment, and she'd get a chance to get to know him better.

Not unkindly, Nat acknowledged the Captain's words with small, wry grin.  "Yah...I've got a 'Debrief' for her to pass along to Rach."  She placed a hand on the Captain's shoulder and gave a light squeeze.  "And we're grateful you were there to get us.  Thank you."  She watched as Petra and Hugh disembarked.  "The trip home gave us some time to...talk."

---

Nat nods at the newcomer, and wonders at his presence, as he wasn't part of their 'experience.'  Maybe he's an associate of Jewel's?  Her eyes narrow slightly, then she turns back to the issue of the debriefing itself.

Nat waits a moment, to see which chair Ace was going to claim, then plops herself down in the chair next to her that allows her the best view of the room, takes out her comm and her pad, and checks to make sure she's got all the notes she made on the trip back, as well as a full record of the text communications.  She's all business, and focused on the upcoming debriefing  -  while one foot lightly rests next to Petra's, the barest of touches but the deepest of grounding.

Hugh glances at the spinner, then back at Vesperos. "I think she might be insulted at being called a common anything, but I suspect you're right, for certain meanings of 'all,' since we don't have any idea who she's expecting. You, I don't know, what's your role here."

Hugh's armor and weapon loadout say a lot about his own role.

Ves waggled his fingers at Hugh. "Oooh, you're funny one, I like that! I dislike overly serious people. Me? I'm a troubleshooter I guess, though  more emphasis on the trouble and less on the shooter."

He smiles at the other newcomers as well. "Howdy!"

He seems young, and cheery, and maybe a tad naive.

En route to Hyperion IX
Petra's long fingers interweaved with Nat's as she took the Professor's proffered hand in her own.  With her eyes closed the lithe pilot simply let her companion's words wash over her, savoring the feeling.  The warmth and closeness of Natakkoa's breath were a thrilling and welcome comfort.

A light smile touched her lips as Nat spoke of her homeworld.  "Where I am from," Petra noted quietly, her tone flat - though not without emotion or depth. "most of the couplings are strictly arranged.  Bloodlines are cultivated and sanctioned lineages traced back hundreds, if not thousands, of years."

"It... It's one of the reasons that I am not still there." she noted, but said no more about that.

Her head turned slightly, as Natakkoa lowered the volume of her voice.  Petra murmured back quietly, "Consent freely given."  As it was unqualified, she left it open to broad interpretation - like her heart.

---

On Hyperion IX
Upon entering the conference room, Petra simply noted the presence of Vesperos nodding to him as she followed Hugh around the table and then sat.  She placed herself two seats over - off of Hugh's left with a seat open between them.  It gave her a view of the new guy as well as being slightly closer to the displays

She introduced herself casually when Vesperos mentioned his name and greeted the three of them, "Petra Jelinek.  Pilot."  But didn't say much more while waiting for the moment.  Her demeanor wasn't too serious, but rather reserved ... and perhaps a touch disappointed that Jewel wasn't already present.  Even if that was expected, since they were the hired help.

When Nat's foot touched hers, Petra's own leg simply shifted slightly making the contact more ... pressing.

En route to Hyperion IX
"Oh...oh no, no..." escaped Nat in response to, what was to her, the horrors of arranged, pro-creative focused relationships, and the toll that culture must have taken on her strong-willed friend.

Her hand accepted by Petra's fingers, she gripped them in empathy and camaradarie, and drew both close to the pilot's chest, feeling that heartbeat through the fabric, through her fingertips.  Secure, protected  -  safe; and curled around her tight, pressing the slow rhythm of her own breathing into the other's back, aligning hearts.

"You are free to be, and love, whoever you want.  For now, let us rest.  You are safe here.  We'll deal with Rach in due time." She gave Petra a full-body squeeze that....didn't really end, until the breathing of one or both evened out in peacefulness.

---

On Hyperion IX

At Petra's introduction, Nat glanced up from her screens and gave the new guy a short nod  -  although her fingers never stopped making annotations. "Natakkoa Tukumpeh. Nat." she stated. "Planetary science nerd.  Pissed to have been included on this most recent venture.  Although," her elbow tapped the pilot next to her, and a soft smile passed briefly over her stern features, "it has not been without its rewards."

Nat maintained the pressure, letting the assurance of presence ground her, and help her regulate her seething. Can't *wait* to hear what this Lieutenant of Rach's has to say about this fuck-up....

"Well, if I can call you Nat, then you can call me Ves!", he exclaimed at Natakkoa, doing that little finger-wagging and winking at the same time. It was almost flirtatious, but more of in a playful kind of way. After that, his fingers went to the spinner again, idly playing with it as he tried to formulate his thoughts.

He was dying to ask why these people were here... but given the locale and his associates, discretion was a newly-acquired virtue that he had come to rely on, so he kept his mouth shut.

Jewel Coz* knocks on the door before entering, looks at the four seated around the table, then walks to the end by the monitors and sits down.  "This is a debriefing on the mission you three recently completed," she says in an even and neutral tone, indicating Natakkoa, Petra and Hugh.  "This man may have relevant skills based on the captain's report.  Please proceed with a description of the mission and the events as they unfolded," she indicated Vesperos, then folded her hands on the desk to wait.

---

* image and brief description of Jewel in the People thread.

Knowing full well how annoying his fidgeting can be, Ves pocketed the spinner and mustered all his self-discipline to sit there, paying attention and with a minimum of his legs fidgeting or moving around or not being able to stand still for a moment.

His interest was piqued, however, at the mention of the debriefing, so at least his attention would not waver. Hopefully.

Hugh largely remains silent and leaves Petra and Nat their emotional space. His breathing is steady as he lies on his back and stares at the ceiling, keeping his mind as quiet as possible.

---

On Hyperion IX


"Hugh, you can call me Hugh, I guess. It's hard to shorten."



Hugh suppresses a chuckle and fixes his eyes on Jewel.

"I don't mean to sound difficult, but we can't do that exactly. Why don't you start by telling us what the mission was and we can tell you how it went. I'll give you the brief version first, if you want: everyone was dead, there was something there that maybe we killed. Don't know where there is, don't know what we killed, but it looked like a machine and acted like an alien of unknown configuration."
This message was last edited by the player at 18:08, Sat 27 Apr.

En route to Hyperion IX
Petra's fingers that were interlaced with Nat's tightened, even as the rest of her body relaxed.  The Professor's breath on her neck and ear triggered a cascade of warm colors to flood the thin pilot's sensory cortex.  A few moments later, her breathing steadied and fell into a light, even rhythm.

---

On Hyperion IX - Mission Debriefing with Jewel
Her eyes darted towards Vesperos, when Jewel referred to him as person outside the mission but relevant.  Petra's lips pressed into a thin white line for a moment.

Petra let Hugh have his say then stated simply, "For the record, I have no recollection of events from approximately thirty minutes before a scheduled meeting with Rach - presumably, the initial briefing for this mission," and she rattled off a date and time, "until a few hours before the captain ... " and she again related the name and captain of their extraction vessel, "... arrived to pick us up."  Her hands were laced in front of her, her forearms resting on the polished conference table.

"During the time we spent on that station, which we deduced to be both Colosian by the dead personnel and a TBD relay by the electronics, we discovered two unknown - seemingly mechanically-based - anthropomorphs attempting to escape the dying station by shunting the remaining power to some device or vessel."  The lithe pilot nodded to Hugh, acknowledging that these were the mechanical aliens that Hugh had referred to.  "While subduing the first alien, Lev was injured." seemingly referring to an individual that was not present.  Her tone was flat and even, almost deadpan, but her knuckles whitened slightly as she spoke.

"Though the station was seemingly devoid of other human life," Petra related, "There was one other entity we 'encountered' ..." and somehow the young woman was able to put the word in air-quotes without moving her hands, "that identified herself as 'Illone'.  She said she was disembodied or trapped, as if in a game, and communicated with us only for a short time after my memory on the station started and before falling silent.  I am unaware of the state or status of either that entity or the second mechanical-based alien we encountered."

Petra shrugged slightly, "As far as I am aware, the station self-destructed."

"Given the state of my gear," she continued, "I am unaware of any of my personal resources having been used during the missing mission time.  There was no extra equipment present, so I cannot say what if anything was mission-allocated was expended nor if any mission-targeted technologies were encountered and/or lost."  Petra finally concluded, "During the time that I am aware of, my skills as a pilot and driver were not utilized."  And with that she was done with her summary.
This message was last edited by the player at 08:20, Sun 28 Apr.

Jewel nods as Petra fills in more details.  "Fifteen days ago* we received a request for a specific set of skills for a mission.  The client communicated through an intermediary, as is quite common, and discretion was considered paramount.  The geologic skills required were unavailable here and we proposed a planetologist as a substitute, which was accepted," she nods towards Natakkoa at that point.  "The mission involved transport to Akaisha Outstation, where the intermediary was located, for rendezvous with the client, and your retrieval was at the Colosian TBD station.  We have no further information on the nature of the mission or the identity of the client.  The intermediary was reported dead by a previously unknown heart condition, deemed natural causes by Akaisha Medical.  Rach was concerned about the various ambiguities in the mission and ordered the recovery ship to proceed ahead of schedule.  The creature you killed, based on the holographs the ship's crew delivered, seems to be a nano-colony robot, that material that looked like ferrofluid was the nanites leaking out of the containment.  I will also stress that mind wipe or alteration was not part of any agreement, nor would we have agreed to it.  Finally, the client paid half up front, and from that I can give you your fee," she finishes, and produces from a belt pouch three pouches with 1,000 Devonian monits each.

Throughout her tone is emotionless though not robotic.  Any empathy that comes across however is always in reference to Rach, as though he cared and she perhaps does not, but whether she does is irrelevant to her; Rach cares, so she acts.

---

*You woke up and the chronometers told you it had been seven days since you left for the briefing.  It took about seven days to get back to Hyperion IX on the ship sent to recover you.  Presumably it took Rach's people a day or so to hammer out the details and contact everyone.
This message was last edited by the GM at 02:22, Sat 04 May.

In reply to Game Master (msg # 32):

Hugh looks like he is very tightly controlling his movements as he reaches out and collects his pay.

"That doesn't leave much time for us to have done any kind of mission. Our insertion at the relay makes no sense whatsoever. I don't remember if Quirell gave us a time of death estimate, but based on what I saw and how the station was cooling, we were either 'asleep' or inserted after the crew was killed. If you don't mind my asking, was I just sent as a gun hand or for any other particular skill?"

En route to Hyperion IX


Later, nap and emotional needs met for the moment, and the memory of her presence and her permission creating an unseemly bounce in the planetologist's step, Nat slid a chair over to Hugh's bunk.  "We met under extremely unusual circumstances, and there's a decent chance we'll work together again, so I was wondering:  what should we," her gaze darted to where Petra was sitting, "know about you, and what would you like to know about me," her brown cheeks acquired a ruby undertone and her eyes dropped briefly to the floor, "that you don't already know?"


On Hyperion IX - Mission Debriefing with Jewel


Nat offered a flat return gaze, reminiscent of one watching a vid-clip of some 2-year old mugging for the camera: desperately seeking attention, and possessing limited experience in how to attain it. "Not 'can call me Nat,' Ves  -  will."  Her eyes danced to the chair next to her.  "Unless earned otherwise."


Nat listened, then, as Petra outlined the events of the station with the efficiency and attention of a pre-flight check, well aware of the emotional toll the re-telling extracted.  Mid-way through, Nat lay her tablet on her lap and placed her hand on the pilot's back, gently, just above the chair-back at the base of the neck, lending an awareness and support in soft, slow movements.

As she finished, Nat took a breath to add her perspective, but Rach's officer lumbered in with the Official Company Statement  -  answering as many questions as it raised.

When Jewel had seemed to finish, and had presented the bags of monits as the period to her statement, Nat cleared her throat.  "So, correct me if I have this wrong  -  by 'discretion' you mean: 'we don't ask any questions and have little to no idea about the safety of our operatives,' 'we don't ask any questions about the need for or usefulness of secondary or tertiary skill-sets' like, oh, I dunno, let's say 'Zero-G' experience, and 'we don't ask any questions and have no idea what the actual mission entails or Who It's Even For.' AND" her voice rising, "we end up nearly being annihilated by a Von Newman Event.  Which, granted, I don't lay at your feet...unless it's somehow connected to the client you don't know and the job you didn't know."  She eyed the monit bag in front of her.  "In any case...I don't know that I've 'earned' that job-'completion' fee OR," she stressed,"that 1000 monits covers the hazards and utter deliquency with which you handled this operation."

She continued looking at the bag, then over to Jewel, her eyes blacker even than their normal dark brown, conduits of pure energy.  "Let's talk about fucking with someone's mind and memory against their will first, and then we can discuss 'payment.'

I have many, many concerns about the way you do business and the way you treat your contractors  -  or, in the ignorance borne of 'discretion,' how you allow your contractors to be treated by your clients."

If Ves had popcorn, he would be halfway through it by now. What he was listening to was so interesting, that he was actually still and immobile for a (rather welcome) change, taking in all the information presented. He clearly had no idea what was happening, but he was catching on fast, and slowly the pieces clicked into place.

But he stayed quiet for now, letting Jewel ask the questions- and more importantly, deal with whatever frustration these people had with her and their boss. I mean, what did they expect, dental treatment and a pension?
This message was last edited by the player at 10:56, Mon 29 Apr.

Petra made no motion to take the proffered money at this moment in time.

With her lips pursed, they whitened a touch before she let out a steady exhalation.  With Nat getting worked up, Petra's hands unlaced and one of them moved to steady her friend - first open, to have her stop for a moment.  And then wrapped around her friends, wrist and thumb.  She gave them a gentle squeeze to try and get Nat to refocus for a moment.

"You surely understand," Petra addressed Jewel quietly, if with some urgency, "that we have some difficulty reconciling what has happened to us with your assurance that Rach was does not condone or find it conscionable."

"I believe," and the lithe pilot glanced at the planetologist and then armsman companions in turn, "that we are more concerned with what can be done to help us recover what has been lost."  Her gaze returned to Jewel, "And what resources Rach and his organization may be utilizing to ensure that such an unfortunate circumstance doesn't befall his personnel in the future."  She couldn't see working on another such sortie without some additional support; and she couldn't see how this mission was a success in any way for Rach.

Unless, the man really did want find them fully expendable and that they weren't supposed to have survived the mission.  In which case, then it didn't matter what was said or done here;  they were damaged goods and the burn notices would have already been issued.  But that made no sense, if Rach wanted them dead, then the station pickup would never have happened; the Captain would simply have observed and then given proof of obliteration.  Petra kept her tone neutral and even, knowing that everyone getting too upset would only cause more problems (both short- and long-term) than would be worthwhile.  Often enough, passion might be key to success; but not right here, not right now.

When Petra wrapped her hand gently around Nat's wrist, the planetologist gave her a quick look, and a knowing smile.  While there was both volume, and force, behind the scientist's words, there was also the sense of a very measured control  -  raising one's voice is not the same as 'shouting,' or 'raging,' despite what some Old World societies would have one believe about women.  This wasn't some emotionally driven outburst, this was a focused and calculated analysis using emotional components as tools.  With that smile, Nat was telling her: 'I'm the bad cop, and I'm Ok.'

Nat place her own other hand over the pilot's and when Petra proceeded to cooly, calmly, elucidate their concerns, she gave her friend's hand a squeeze of her own, acknowledging all that went unspoken.

Words from her Therapist came back to her, from her early years of therapy, and a time shortly after...that event...before she'd mastered her emotional states:  'Unfettered passion holds no space for awareness, or learning  -  it is little more than a hammer.  But *guided* passion is an engine that can drive knowledge.'

She squeezed the pilot's hand again in agreement as '...recover what has been lost' was mentioned, then turned back to Jewel, a casual, unflinching look that would brook no prevarication  -  smile still firmly in place.

Jewel listened dispassionately to the responses without a hint of discomfort.  "Your ire is understandable but misdirected.  Nevertheless, I am not responsible for your understanding or reaction, and personally don't care if you are offended or otherwise emotional about this.  Rach asked me to convey his regrets and to bring the monetary compensation.  He also told me to offer limited support if you wished to track down the original client.  Finally, this individual," points to Vesperos.  "Is one of the few, known, telepaths on the island and though he may not have the specific talents required, I introduce you as a potential avenue to further determine what occurred," she said.

"Will you attempt to find the client and if so, what support would you request?" She asked after the briefest of pauses.

---

This is not necessarily the lead into another adventure.  We are moving into a semi-sandbox mode, if you want to pull this thread I will accommodate.

At the mention of his name, Ves simply winces and raises his hand awkwardly, but waits until Jewel is done talking. "Yeah, umm, what you said really sounds weird and interesting, and I'd love to tackle it if Rach says it's ok. Would be great putting it in my resume!", he said, clicking his tongue and wagging a finger nonchalantly.

A gesture which, given the nature of the issue so far, was quite graceless.

In reply to Vesperos Willbrand (msg # 39):

"While I'm all for tracking down whoever's responsible, if we don't have a plan more than that I don't see the point. Whoever it is has resources, though perhaps not a lot of people working for them." Hugh pauses, "If it's only one person and we can bring them back for justice, that's maybe different."

En route to Hyperion IX

Hugh looks at Nat and takes a deep breath before speaking. "Indeed, not the standard way of meeting."

He looks down for a moment before looking back at her. "I am not accustomed to talking about myself, it is one of the few ways where I am still like most of those from my home. I am still figuring this life out, since it is not what I was expected to do and trained for. It is like, did you have childhood friends and when you became adults they suddenly wanted whatever their family wanted and all of the things you grew up wanting were supposed to go away?"

En route to Hyperion IX

Nat spun the chair around and sat down, resting her long arms across the back, forcing herself to not reach out and lay a comforting hand on the warrior's arm  -  as much as it was her inclination to do so.  She didn't know him, at all, and didn't know his triggers, his boundries, and so her natural impulses, clarified and refined by two decades among the Churg would, for now, take a back seat to the training and therapy she'd received from them during that same time.

"Most people aren't comfortable with it," she smiled, "and frequently, those who seem to be often don't know themselves well enough to do so efficaciously.  Which is another way of saying that often, the louder and more 'outgoing' one seems to be, the less time they've spent trying to understand who they truly are.  Your question," she continued, "has already indicated your willingness and ability to look at yourself, and while perhaps your culture didn't encourage or reward talking about oneself, it's obvious that you've spent time *thinking* about yourself, and your goals and dreams."  She resisted putting a hand up to High-5 him, ...keep it slow..., but her face began to light up as she talked about 'knowing oneself,' and about people connecting  -  as if this were not only a deep, but a very personal, interest of hers.

She glanced again over at the bunk where Petra was, and a silly grin engulfed her face.  "We can't always predict what we'll find, or what we'll like, but we can do our best to try be open to it when it arrives."

Looking back to Hugh, she continued.  "We'll circle back to the whole 'childhood friends' in moment.  Don't let me forget, ok?"  Her dark eyes stayed on him, but her head dropped slightly in camaradarie.  "Two-part question, related:  what did you, as a child, *want* do or be when you grew up and, second, what did you train for, or expect to be doing?"

On Hyperion IX - Mission Debriefing with Jewel

Petra's calm, logical approach helped to moderate Nat, and her breathing began to slow, letting the pilot's soothing energy flow through their touch to even out her own.  And reminding her what was truly important, and what wasn't....

"Ever the stereotypcial businessman..." Nat rolled her eyes in acknowledgment of Jewel's disavowal of responsibility, then tipped her head close to Petra in quiet deliberation.  "We're not going to get any real help here.  I've collected enough data on the hydrogeological aspects of this planet to get me started on my project, and I'm about ready to be gone from here, whatever that takes."  A quiet, heavy sigh. "Even if that means we let Rach shunt us off-planet to Akaisha Outstation, or the nearest planet to it.  Maybe we'll get lucky and find a clue to what happened to our missing memories?"

Hoping that she's read Petra's body language correctly, and the subtext of her comments, Nat straightens up and turns back to face Jewel.

Then reaches out and casually, smoothly, flicks her bag of monits into an open pocket  -  the decision made, for her at least.  "Sure."  A very level look.  "I would very much like to look into this fiasco, and would like to accept Rach's offer of 'limited support,' assuming that, at the very least, that means transportation to a potentially useful destination?"

On Hyperion IX - Mission Debriefing with Jewel
Her hazel eyes flicked towards Ves, then Hugh, and then Natakkoa as they spoke in turn with respect to their dispositions on the situation and Rach's offer.  The edges of her burgundy lips curled up slightly as her gaze returned to Jewel.  She summarized, "It sounds as though pursuing some modicum of justice here is the desired course."  The dark-haired flyer paused just enough to allow anyone to interject if they desired.

"Ideally," Petra posited, "We'll need transport to Akaisha.  And probably beyond as Akaisha was only a jumping off point obviously ..." they'd wound up on Colosian TBD station after all; so there was no way Akaisha was their final destination in the contract, "so, ideally, a ship that we can crew."  Even though she knew that was highly unlikely to be supplied gratis - after all space craft didn't grow on trees.  But, it didn't necessarily hurt to ask - and now was the time to find out what 'limited support' meant.

"Perhaps we can work something out." Petra brainstormed aloud, the train of thought building steam, "We'll need some cover." the lithe pilot ventured, "Especially if we are supposed to be dead on arrival there."  Petra looked thoughtful for a moment, "Working passage on one of Rach's couriers or some such can afford us at least that; there must be some goods and personnel going to Akaisha."

"If Rach can find the means to grant us the latitude and means to pursue this thread," the thin Jokull pilot offered, "we would naturally continue to be at his disposal and keeping his varied and sundry interests alive throughout the sector."  Naturally, they'd have to continue to work for him.

"Lastly," Petra posited, "Information.  We are going to need information.  To be re-briefed on the entire scope and all of the players with respect to the original mission.  All available data and particulars on the contract, contact, and objectives as were known."  They needed a lead.  A clue.  A codename.  Something.  She was willing to do the legwork, but it needed to be directed.  Her tone was kept even, if insistent, "Nothing personal, but you'll understand if we believe that there may be something overlooked in some small detail somewhere - especially with 'known ambiguities'; so, all available information would be required."  Otherwise, it was the old Terran axiom:  Garbage in, Garbage out.

En route to Hyperion IX

Hugh squirms almost imperceptibly, then takes a deep breath and focuses his attention on Nat. "Growing up, I don't know that I wanted anything from the future. I lived in the moment and knew that the future would take care of itself, or, I guess, was already taken care of. Maybe I should have thought about it more and maybe I would have learned to follow the rules a little more, given the expectations people had of me. I never really finished training to be a Trade Marine, but I was good at the physical part. Perhaps I will have time to hone the mental part while I am out here far from home."

---

On Hyperion IX - Mission Debriefing with Jewel


Hugh looks at Petra and Nat and smiles.He then turns towards Jewel, "Clearly we, along with Yom and Quirrell and the others, were selected for this mission for a reason. I would love to know what the client's pitch was that requires that particular collection of skills. It would certainly help narrow down what we were expected to do. Also, the captain who brought us home said he came back early and, given the travel times, the entirety of the mission would have had to have occurred during whatever time he skipped out. I appreciate that Rach had him on standby, but his having done so tells me that there was something important for Rach in all of this. I don't expect him to tell us what, but maybe he has more insight than the nothing you implied."
This message was last edited by the player at 05:09, Wed 15 May.

"Tawny and Argo decided to remain here on Hyperion.  I can arrange passage to Akaisha for the rest of you," Jewel said, referring to Quirell and Yom.  "The specifics are, unfortunately, vague.  The contact was one Baelix Ferion, he resided on the station and was a broker for clientele requiring discretion.  His record until now was satisfactory.  He requested a set of skills that his client required:  geologist, pilot, some security support, medical support, and Mr. Argo's specific set of skills*.  The team was to rendezvous with Ferion on Akaisha and proceed with the mission from there.  We understood it to be a move against the Colosian TBD system as the pick-up point arranged was at the station; such missions have been carried out before on behalf of some of the Great Houses," Jewel explained about the mission.  "As for the early arrival, Rach prefers early over late and often builds such contingencies in his contracts," she said.

---

* By this she doesn't mean Yom was requested by name, only that his specific set of skills, that is, thievery.  By offering passage she is clearly turning down lending a ship.  No worries, that will come in (hopefully) a short time.