Back on the Ship
Grendel removed the object from his pocket. It was a plain, generic data
transfer drive. Alex created a sandbox and loaded the drive. It was heavily encrypted and would take several hours. The rest of the crew rested.
Grendel infromed the captain of the surreptitious DNA extraction, and suggested using that as an entry to see what he could learn about what was happening on Estra.
Grrr scanned the on planet internet for information about the attack. All that was reported was that there was “an incident.” The speculation was that someone had tried to steal some artwork and was caught.
The Data
Eventually, Alex broke the encryption, though he thought it ought to have been encrypted more. It was notes about genetics. There were several projects on the drive, but they were all in code.
Most of it dealt with human and other terrestrial DNA. It was noteworthy that Heffalump DNA had the same base pairs as humans. There was also a project involving canine DNA.
Further investigation revealed that it was illicit research into creating super-soldiers. The crew would have to hand deliver the data to headquarters as there was so much. Alex copied the data to his data banks.
Returning to the Planet
Grendel had left his weapons in the weapon check, so they went back to the planet to collect them. He was not the only one to leave checked belongings, so it would not be suspicious.
They planned for Grendel to meet with the geneticist who had approached him while under surveillance.
There was a line at the claim check, but the geneticist was not in it, so they looked him up in the planetary directory. There was no physical address provided. People on Estra valued their privacy. There was a contact number and Grendel left a message indicating that he was available if they wanted to speak again.
In the Network
Alex sent a fresh maintenance droid so he could attempt to infiltrate their network again. It wandered around purposefully through the complex until if found an innocuous data port and plugged in. He managed to get past the monitors, and received a greeting. Alex made it echo back, and it stopped.
Alex searched for anything related to the super-soldier projects. He found a project that had a lot of activitty and copied it. He also found the address of the secret lab. Alex learned that the woman who had put the drive in Grendel’s project had been moved a facility near the secret lab. He then scrambled all the door security codes.
Alex identified that he was up against another AI. He disconnected abruptly.
They returned to the ship.
Spare Parts
Alex planned to build a hyperdrive for one of the shuttles to make it into a runabout. There was a very good shipyard on one of the outer planets that specialized in making hot rod style ships.
Meeting the Geneticist
Grendel got a dinner invitation at a station above one of Estra’s poles. It was at a posh restaurant. The station was like a palace in space. The entire station spoke money. There were two yachts and a racing ship docked there. Grendel knew he was not rich enough to be there.
There was no visible security. Grendel went to the restaurant where he was informed that his party was already present. He was escorted to a table. Grrr was offered a seat at the bar between an Antari and a green-skinned humanoid woman. He ordered a drink and monitored Grendel’s audio and video, successfully circumventing the counter surveillance measures.
Onboard the Ship
Bletherin was data mining when a Gfrar ship jumped in hot and docked. The crewman watching the airlock informed him that a group of Gfrar on station were running toward the new arrival.
At the Bar
The green-skinned humanoid got up and went to another table. The Antar was quite intoxicated and was babbling to his other neighbor about flying on one of the yachts and a loose woman that had been travelling on it. The other patron, who was an Antar as well, was ignoring him. The bartender refused to serve the inebriate anymore and suggested that he leave. The drunk became beligerent.
Grrr joined the green-skinned woman at her table to get away from the drunks and made small talk. She was from Tabria. Alex provided details to Grrr to enhance the conversation. They make small talk and she is happy to tell him all about her world.
Talking Research
Grendel learned that the research was being conducted on this station to take advantage of off world expertise. They were also using Estra as a source of funding.
At the Bar
Grrr started a bar fight with an Antar. It ended with him being bought a drink by a Warrior Harth to prevent them calling security. Grendel collected him at closing.
In the Docking Bay
Grendel noted the three new Gfrar ships, two of which were repairing battle damage.
To the Med Bay
They took Grrr to the on station Med Bay to learn what happened to the Gfrar ships. They learned that there was a mutiny, and the mutineers were apparently in control. A lesser Gfrar matriarch was in hospital. While Grrr was treated for an unknown ailment, Grendel inserted a bug in the Gfrar treatment room.
It was apparent that the Gfrar had a coup. The Matriarch was probably dead. The Gfrar at the station were part of the mutiny. House Horusca may have lost their Gfrar allies.
Scanning the Media
Alex learned from the local net that there was going to be a slave auction in a week. The catalog identified two of the missing Garlan. They sent an FTL message to their contracts in order to insert an undercover buyer.
He also learned that the Estra AI was doing a high volume of trading on the stock market, though this could be innocuous, self-serving, or dealings for House Horusca.
Chain of Command
- Bletherin – Garlan (scaled hexapeds, with the front set of limbs equating to arms with four fingers, and
the second and third having cloven hooves) Captain of the CEP Alex Murphy - Grrr (aka Snarl) – atypical Harth (furred mammals that resemble semi-anthropomorphic dogs) Head of Security on the CEP Alex Murphy
- Alex – the CEP Alex Murphy AI
- Grendel – Heffulump (alien with multiple tactile appendages) Engineer of the CEP Alex Murphy
- Kovak – Human Pilot of the CEP Alex Murphy