Ship's Log

157-1105 - Dinomn/Lanth (1912)

The crew is sitting in the bar of the Planetfall Liberty, a middle of the range hotel-restaurant on the orbital starport around Dinomn (not to be confused with Dinom the mining company site). They have successfully seen off their passengers, executives from Dinom unhappy with the changes implemented by Zheng Streen, and are discussing various options for making money on this world.

Captain Jellico and Ed Mosley talked in excited tones about interacting with the indigenous population, survivors of the Long Night still distrustful of off-worlders (who they call The Abandoners) after more than 700 years since re-discovery. The Marquis Chevalier and Dom Tan are talking about whether the indigenes or the more recent settlers are the best market for the cargo or firearms they've brought with them from Dinom. Brigid, Emilana and Pandora are simply enjoying the local beer and the chance to relax with no chores to do on-ship.

Ed notices the name of an old IISS (Imperial Interstellar Scout Service) service buddy in a flyer of guest information on the table. Solon Ekuna, once a Chief Contact Specialist, is looking for people to man a safari into the wilds of Dinomn (the current world, not the mining camp they left one parsec behind). "Perfect," shouts Jellico. "Invite the man over and buy him a drink."

"Not possible," says Solon. He's on-planet making last minute arrangements for his safari party, Baronet Ushmi Tomas of Rhylanor and his three retainers. Everything is ready to go but the locals refuse to crew the expedition since they found out that the planned route takes the safari through an area of pre-collapse ruins. The Baronet wants to bag himself a Tecpatl or land shark, a 400kg eating machine with a bad temper. Surely his old service buddy can help Ekuna out of a tight for, say, Cr10,000 for the week?

The crew meet Solon and his party at the downport and after finalising arrangements for the week, depart in-country. Baronet Tomas is known as a traditionalist and historian of pre-collapse civilisations. He's a collector and academic. He's not noted for being adventurous but hunting is a traditional noble past-time. Solon Ekuna is definitely known for his penchant for the adventurous lifestyle and now runs an adventure tours business catering to the idle rich. Hunting of Tecpatl used to be the marker of manhood among the Dinomnians and although this practise has diminished in the last 300 years hunting is still considered the mark of a man.

It takes a few days travel to leave behind the farms and villages and enter the wilderness, vast sweeping plains of grassland and low rolling hills. Emilana's cooking and campfire management impress everyone, even the two nobles, Lawrence Chevalier and Ushmi Tomas, whose games of social one-up-man-ship are becoming increasingly intense. Solon and Ed reminisce over several bottles of local wine over tales of adventure and intrigue in the Scout Service.

Around the middle of the fourth day, the group comes across a rusted spire sticking out of the hillside. "Ruins!" shouts Jellico and charges forward followed closely by Ed and the rest of the crew. The spire is the plas-steel corner bracing of a once towering octagonal building now reduced to little more than rubble. The spire is ringed with large mounds some metres in diameter which Baronet Tomas recognises as multiple grave sites known as barrows. This method of burial started during the Long Night, he says, and the locals still bury their dignitaries in this manner today.

Exploring the ruins shows the decline of civilisation after the world lost contact with the rest of the empire: copper wire has been stripped from the walls, shelters have been jury-rigged from other materials, 'cave art' shows rich and fat people sitting in the sky while the people in the ground are skinny and dying. Solon shows a distinct lack on interest in the whole proceedings.

By late afternoon, the group has finished sight-seeing at the ruins and has set up camp nearby. While Emilana and Ed manage the campsite, the nobles and their followers trek to the nearby watering hole to prepare for when the local wildlife comes down to drink - a perfect time, they believe, for the Tecpatl to appear. Baronet Tomas' retainer set up a hide for him near the water. Brigid and Pandora prepare one for Marquis Chevalier.

They wait.

At precisely sun-down, herds of Calli, a small fleet-footed animal with spiralling horns and reputedly very tasty meat, emerge from the long grass to drink. They move slowly along the bank of the watering hole nibbling at the grass shoots push out through the mud.

Suddenly, a huge beast - a great razor-teethed mouth on two muscular legs -- stands up out of the grass where it must have been lying for hours and grabs one of the fleeing Calli and throws it high in the air over its thickly sinuous neck. It strides forward and does the same to another Calli before allowing the rest to escape and returning to finish the wounded, screaming animals.

While Brigid prepares her weaponry in case they don't bring down the beast but only make it angry, the Marquis takes careful aim with his rifle. Just as he is about to take his shot, Baronet Tomas' rifle cracks across the grasslands. The bullet takes the beast in the neck but doesn't put it down. It looks around and starts charging for the Marquis' hide.

Brigid urges the Marquis to run and protect himself. The Marquis continues to aim carefully and wait for the right moment to pull the trigger. Crack! The Marquis' bullet smacking to the beast's chest. It tumbles and slides forward coming to rest at the base of the Marquis hide.

The Baronet and retainers come running over to see the beast thrashing in agony on the ground before the Marquis. The Marquis, having proved his bravery, surrenders the right of the kill to the Baronet who puts the Tecpatl down with a single shot into the top of its skull.

Brigid and Pandora dismember the carcass, keeping the head as a trophy, as the celebrations start back at camp. After several Tecpatl steaks and copious quantities of alcohol, they all bed down for the night. Or do they?

Pandora wakes sometime after midnight to the sound of cheering in the distance which is soon hushed by whomever is in charge. She crawls from her tent to explore these nocturnal goings-on.

There's a light on a barrow mound on the far side of the of the spire from the encampment. Four people stand around with picks and shovels while another climbs out of a hole in the top of the grave mound. She checks the tents of the Baronet, his retainers and Solon Ekuna. All stand empty.

The next morning, the crew rise and notice that Pandora cannot be found. Neither the Baronet nor his retainers know anything about her whereabouts until one of the retainers remembers her walking off in the early hours of the morning towards the waterhole and the scene of last night's Tecpatl kill. Search parties of two spread out in that general direction to find her. Sie Mosley and Dom head in the opposite direction and find her body, shot three times but still alive - barely - hidden under an umbrella-tree root system in a gully a couple of hundred metres away.

Dom and Mosley get Emilana to Pandora to perform first aid. Pandora is in bad shape, she needs medical attention. They call in medical help from the starport, who agree to send a medic on an air/raft to pick her up.

Mosley subtly informs the Marquis and Brigid of the situation while Dom discovers Jellico poking around in the dug open ruins one of the grave mounds. Dom gives Jellico a rifle and sets him up as a sniper in case anything goes wrong.

The Marquis and the Baronet sit down to play cards and wait for the air/raft with paramedics from the starport.

During the card game, Brigid sense the Baronet's men are very edgy and nervous. Mosley and Dom sense the same thing. All three preare for trouble. Brigid and Mosley ready their weapons. Dom makes for the ATV.

The Marquis challenges the Baronet to play for his and his retainers' lives for double-crossing them. They object and are about to make their move when seemingly from nowhere a rifle cracks and a bullt punches a neat hole through the ace of spades held by the Baronet.

'Move or die,' they think and start bringing up their weapons. Dom guns the engine of the ATV and runs down the Baronet. The retainers make their move and Mosley and Brigid take care of them. One surrenders and becomes the crew pet - at least until they are all safely off-world.

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# These figures include the jumps from Dinomn =>
# Wypoc, Wypoc => Rech
#
Starting Credit: 85,320 Cr
Passenger Fees:  50,000 [5 High Passage]
                 32,000 [4 Mid Passage]
Cargo Carried:   50,000 [50 ton, haulage]
Other Income:    10,000 [Charter: Safari crew]
                    600 [2 ton, CO2 absorbant seed, on spec]
                 15,000 [20 ton, scrap metal, on spec]
                 81,000 [45 ton, frozen meats, on spec]
                108,000 [10 ton, tin ingots, on spec]
Outlays:        -47,000 [Fuel and Life Support]
                -27,000 [45 ton, frozen meats, on spec]
                -63,000 [10 ton, tin ingots, on spec]
                -10,000 [20 ton collapsable fuel tanks]
Loan Repayment: -74,160 [Ship Repayment - 178-1105]
Closing Credit: 210,760 Cr
Credit Owing:         0
#
# Collapsable fuels tanks use 20 ton of cargo space when
# full and 2 ton of cargo space when empty reducing the
# size of the hold to 62 tons and 80 tons respectively.