Following the dramatic destruction of a planet to rebuild the ConFed sensor net the crew took some time to dig deeper into their new ship.
The More You Know
Glack probed the tactical sub systems and discovered an index of common Dominion fleet ships. Essential configurations, typical personnel compliments and tactical capabilities are among the data.
Strig took a more serious look at the ships navigational sub systems and discovered archived routes and systems undiscovered by the Pact Worlds. Most of the systems are located well outside the current galaxy. Of note the ship’s ‘home’ system is also the core of the Mi-Go species that engineer the machines of war for the Dominion.
Bosho explored the medical bay records only to discover a strangely comprehensive list of species that apparently serve the Dominion. Each species profile is accompanied by a genetic level pathogen analysis.
Finally, Strig dug into the engineering sub system and discovered that the experimental fungal drive currently installed in the ship has passed all diagnostics and is considered fully functional.
Mop Up for Fun and Profit
The Confederation is still running cleanup operations throughout the system. Tracking the Dominion ships has proven difficult due to natural camouflage and the tenacity of the pilots to inflict damage. The crew decides to assist.
The bomber still detects Dominion vessels as friendly and, for now, reads as friendly. Running an active scan presents a cluster of three Grioth Fighters floating inactive in the edge asteroid field.
The crew transits near the ships and gets hailed. The translator outputs to text as the Grioth acknowledge the bombers arrival.
“Greetings Plague-Bringer, we await your direction.”
After some discussion the crew decide to invite the three Grioth pilots aboard for disposal, leaving their ships as easy salvage.
The Grioth exit their ships and glide over to the main bomb bay. As the creatures board and the bay seals, the ship vents atmosphere laced with a volatile toxin. No sooner do the Grioth take a breath then they begin trembling and screeching in pain. They collapse to the deck and then their bodies liquify leaving only their alien skeletons in bubbling puddles of disgusting goo.
Strig accesses the starfighter computers and slaves their nav systems to the bomber for transport. How to profit off these liberated fighters?
Crew reaches out to the Banshee mercenaries still in the confederation space. Their asking price was more than the Mercs were willing to spend so they decide to look for an alternative buyer.
The crew decide to contact Commander Sawyer on the Terminal with their offer. After some back and forth an agreement is reached and the ships are delivered to the Vigilant Cruiser for return to the Terminal.
During the delivery Bosho recieves a notice from the underground bounty boards. Apparently, the criminal syndicate in the Confederation placed a sizable bounty on the crew. They blame them for the destruction of their assets on and around Ulara, the planet sacrificed to rebuild the sensor net.
A Bad Ride
Bosho receives a message from the Caretaker that the requested vehicle has been fabricated and is ready for pickup. The crew returns to the Moon of Mazik.
The Caretaker meets them on the surface.
“Greeting sentients. We have taken your criteria into consideration and constructed this vehicle for your use.” A large vehicle emerges from a lift tube. It hovers about three feet off the platform on a suspensor field of some type.
“The vehicle is capable of traversing both terrestrial and aquatic terrain and should provide suitable cover in hostile environments. The onboard systems are also more conventional avoiding conflicts with your… starship.”
“We trust that this will satisfy your immediate needs.”
Administrative Briefing
As the sensor net is reconstructing the crew is recalled to the Terminal.
The Administrator has received reports of Dominion activities across the sector. More concerning locally, they have noted increased reports of missing persons among the Oryx facilities throughout the STX system. On occasion the individuals return or are found in strange places and return to their duties after a full medical examination. There are five individuals fitting that description on the Terminal. In addition, the remains of the Jeweler that provided the interrogation device to the Colonel on Z3 were discovered in Violet Sector, Subsection 11. The time of death was established to be before the crew interacted with him.
The crew asks to interview one of these individuals concerned these might be some residual Dominion influences. The Administrator assigns one of the individuals, a dock tech, to the crew’s hangar making them available for observation and questioning without alerting them to the plan.
Commander Sawyer grants the crew permission to use passive sensors on their ship to scan for known Dominion species on the station. Strig activates a scan on returning to the ship and discovers no ‘friendly’ signatures on the station.
In addition, the only facility that has escaped the strange losses is Z3 Outpost. Currently home to the TP Guild, it has reported no strange losses of personnel and are operating efficiently.
Cashing in your chips
Glack and Kallie’Dar decide to see if Nelari might be interested in purchasing some of the data harvested from their ship.
On the way to the casino Glack notices someone that seemes to be shadowing them through the common area of Blue Sector.
Arriving at the casino Kallie’Dar spots Nelari in the high roller section and catches his attention. Excusing himself from the group Nelari guides the duo toward a private booth. Once seated the privacy screen activates and negotiations begin. After reviewing the data Nelari is interested in the species and fleet data. The star systems are too far out to be profitable. They agree to a price and part company.
On the way back to the hangar Glack, once again, notices the figure shadowing them through the more crowded public areas before they reach a lift and return to the lower docking ring.
Just a Regular Tech, sure
The next shift begins and technicians arrive at the hangar bays. The tech of interest arrives and begins his assigned tasks. Glack observes from near the ship while Strig keeps an eye on the passive scanners.
Glack reaches out to tentatively sense the tech’s surface thoughts and starts sifting through the general noise of the station and other minds in the area. After a few moments he senses two streams of consciousness. The second lies deep under the surface thoughts occupied by the tasks being performed. More disturbin is it seems to be locked behind an unknown language. It’s almost as if there were another channel of communication open in the tech’s subconscious.
Finally, Glack invites Drax to accompany him as he approaches the technician.
After some idle discussion it’s obvious the technician is either annoyed or concerned with the increased attention.
Strig decides to do an active scan on the technician as all of Glack’s attempts to gain information are being met with polite but firm resistance even with Drax hovering over the little man. As the scanner goes active the tech suddenly experiences a pain of some sort and insists, he must report his illness and visit the infirmary. Glack offers the ship’s med bay as a closer and better equipped alternative but still the tech resists and suddenly uses an ability to momentarily daze both Glack and Drax giving him a head start to run out of the hangar.
Strig decides to intervene directly and manages to critically shoot the retreating tech in the leg halting his exit. Drax picks up the nearly unconscious tech who appears to be bleeding green and hauls him into the ship’s medical bay. The ship’s med scanners begin analyzing the tech while the crew move to restrain him. Finally, the tech stops struggling and goes limp as foam begins bubbling out of his mouth. The ship alerts the crew to an airborn toxin and begins to vent the med bay. The crew manages to exit the room as the containment fields lock down the room and they observe the tech shift from human to reptillian. At this point the ship’s medical scanners lock onto the species and report the technician is part of a shapeshifting species known only as Reptoids. This species are master shape shifters known to work with whomever can pay their price.
A review of the sensor logs and the biology of the imposter indicates that a strange organ in the abdomen was severely irritated by the resonance of the active sensor scan.
The crew reports their findings. Commander Sawyer puts out an order to apprehend the other four individuals on the station. Reports come back that the individuals apparently vanished about the time the crew apprehended the technician.