5-April-2019

4 XP awarded

Session Notes:

The session began just after the Dog jumped in-system. Their inbound eta to Berertovsk colony was 4 hours. En route, they used passive scanners to search for the Raven. Mr. Misu's skill with sensors enabled them to not only spot the Raven, but also to note that its auxiliary craft had launched. Shortly after that launch, the boat disappeared, apparently after activating some sort of cloak.

 

After about an hour, the Raven docked with Berertovsk Highport. They decided to follow the Raven into the station. A vessel like the Dog has little legitimate business in a corporate owned system such as this. They chose resupply as their ostensible purpose.

 

Once docked, Mr. Misu was able to use his superlative hacking skills to obtain security feed of the Raven's docking bay. Station security prevented most weapons and armor, which included placing a “blocker” in the cell-port of Hallgrim's plasma weapon. Irving had more luck smuggling in a couple of minor weapons along with a slew of drugs.

 

Once inside, they tracked one member of the Raven's crew who had left the vessel. They identified her as Kae Akaki, the ship's engineer. She went to an odd place called Kenjak's Ladel, which server many types of soup as well as liquor. Ms. Akaki went to the bar and began drinking.

 

The party took turns watching her from the inside, while the rest lurked in an indoor park which provided a decent view of the entrance to Kenjak's Ladel. After 3 hours, Halgrimm decided to approach her.

 

Halgrimm tried a series of terrible pick-up lines which seemed somehow increasingly endearing to her. They shared a couple of drinks, and a handful of even worse lines, before she asked Halgrimm back to her ship. As a show of being tough, he removed the “blocker” on his cell-port and replaced the cell once they had passed through security.

 

Halgrimm then endured what he considered to be somewhat unpleasant sex; Kae seemed satisfied, however. Afterward she fell asleep. He drugged her to ensure she remained that way. He then scoped out what appeared to be the main living area, where he found a room with 4 nano-stasis chambers. He dragged Kae to one and put her into stasis.

 

He then found a trio of doors. The center, he reasoned, was the access port to the bridge. After trying the single button without success, he decided to blast a hole in it. Very shortly thereafter, a bot came to repair the damages.

 

Meanwhile, the crew of the Dog headed to the Raven. They breezed through security and decided to take the ship. After a brief battle – in which they disabled two heavy combat robots and removing the ship's AI physically – they had the ship. Without hesitation, they took off.

 

As they debated whether or not to go after the crew, the aux craft hailed them – it was returning from “a successful mission.”

That is where the session ended.

Berertovsk

Location	Allegiance	Starport	Climate	Atmosphere	Hydro %
(4.06, 7.7, 5.62)	Mittelsohn	IV	Infernal	Very Thin	71%
Gravity	Diameter	Moons	Avg. Orbit R	Stars	Day Length
0.76	6,027	None	0.88	G1 V	22 h
Population	Government	CR	TL	Resources	Year Length
200 million	Corporate	5	11	Average	295 d

Languages

Amerish, Esperanto

Background

Berertovsk was passed over during the initial waves of expansion as various long-settled systems began searching for worlds to colonize. With its very thin atmosphere and extreme temperatures, it would take centuries to terraform, and its resource value simply did not justify the expense in either time or resources. That was until a sizable pocket of relatively accessible radioactives was found.

The mining interests on Beretovsk were claimed over 200 years ago by a small prospector. They quickly sold out to the highest bidder, which happened to be Mittelsohn. Mittelsohn wasn’t simply interested in the radioactives, but also in the native flora. They used the mining income to fund research into potential agricultural and pharmacological uses for the local flora.

Settlement of Berertovsk was divided into two colonies. The first and oldest is the mining colony of Trevolia. The second is the research colony of Purgatorio. While Trevolia is filled with offworlders of many origins, Purgatorio is inhabited mostly by Berertovsk Lightworlders.

The Berertovsk Lightworlders, or “Lizzies,” were genetically engineered to survive on the surface of Berertovsk to aid with the research mission of Purgatorio. They are a mixture of local, reptile, and human DNA.

The Lizzies are a dull gold and silver scaled humanoids with long tails. Their faces resemble a cross between a human and a spiny lizard, with independently focusing eyes and sharp teeth. Their fingers and toes end in nimble blunt claws. Some of them work in the mines, but most remain in their home “gardens.”

In recent years, there have been labor disputes between miners in Trevolia and Mittelsohn. There is also an underground movement to free the Lizzies known as the Bright Sun, which has been blamed for a number of recent terrorist attacks. It is not clear as to whether Bright Sun is connected with the labor disputes.

Port of Berertovsk (Class IV)

The Port of Berertovsk is really three separate installations. The first, and most commonly visited, is the high port. It is typical of corporate run ports: ships with business on Berertovsk are asked few questions beyond those required to collect duties and point them in the correct

direction. Ships without any obvious business are treated with suspicion and closely watched, as are their crews.

The second installation is the busy downport in Trevolia. Transport vessels are constantly coming and going. Trevolia itself is the startown, as it is the central hub of, and eponym for, the colony. Passenger traffic is low, as is usual for a corporate-run facility. For most residents (employees), travel must be authorized by the company.

The amenities in Trevolia cater more to the rough-and-tumble stereotype of miners; Trevolia is not a tourist destination. Brothels, saloons, etc., are common. However, there are also several fine dining establishments, decent hotels, dance clubs, theaters, and the like, in sufficient quantity to meet the demands of the locals and offworlders combined.

The third installation is at Purgatorio. It is restricted to Mittelsohn traffic, though there are sufficient exceptions made for there to be accommodations for offworlders. It is fairly utilitarian in nature, serving local needs only.

Government

Berertovsk is run by Mittelsohn, AG. Locally, administration is broken down from SOO (System Operations Officer), VP in charge of Trevolia, and the VP in charge of Purgatorio. The official corporate offices, and therefore the seat of government, are in Trevoilia.

Religion

Mittelsohn has no corporate or official religion. They are very tolerant of individual choice in religion (so long as that religion isn’t too vocal about any objections it might have to Mittelsohn, its policies, or its actions). As a result, there are houses of worship for most major faiths. It is also rumored that the Lizzies have developed a religion of their own, though little is known about it at this time.