Ship's Log

004-1106 - Regina/Regina (1910) - A New Hope: The Argon Gambit

Dom and Ed are watching domestic dramas on the tri-vid in their apartment in what is euphemistically called the 'low rent' district of Regina City. The sound of law enforcement and ambulance sirens in the background no longer disturb them. Bursting through the front door comes the new lean and sober merchant captain Jellico Jones grinning from ear to ear.

"Our luck has changed lads! Not only have I found us two new crew members but I've got us a job that pays -- wait for it -- not one but a choice of two ships. Admittedly, they need a bit of work to make them flyable but we're gonna have a ship again."

On questioning, Jellico's 'a bit of work' turns out to be a little more than anticipated and Dom and Ed begin to worry about the nature of the job he's found. There are two hulks, one a yacht and the other a safari ship, lying in the scrap yard at General Shipyards. They are both lacking drives and other major pieces of equipment. Jellico describes them as 'fixer-uppers.'

Waiting for Jellico in the bar of the local Travellers' Aide Society facility is Benito Corleone, a large man in an ill-fitting suit who has had a very chequered past, and Serena "Hal" Hallahan, another drop-out from the intensely competitive merchant service. The crew welcomes them on board and Jellico ushers them all to meet their new client.

They meet Jason Grant, an agent for a high ranking member of the Solomani Party on Regina who is being blackmailed. Grant wants the documents relating to the lineage of Arlen Samuelson, his boss, recovered from a small-time hoodlum, Gani Kashkunan, who has somehow acquired them. Grant wants the documents recovered rather than just destroyed because they may point to other similarly damaging documents which need to be recovered. Grant is hesitant to use his own agents in they are traced back to Samuelson. Using Jellico's team provides a layer of protection between his boss and Kashkunan. The ransom for the documents is MCr10 of which MCr1 has been paid to stall the final pay off for four days.

After the meeting they discuss the deal. It's quite amusing that the leader of the Solomani Party, with its emphasis on perceived racial purity, doesn't meet his organisation's own criteria in the matter. Mosley checks out the ships with the thug. Either, even in their current state, is worth the ransom if sold. None have interior fitting other than the bulkheads of the hulls' shell. The safari ship has a power plant and maneuver drive installed but no jump drive, avionics or life support. The yacht has avionics and life support but no power plant, maneuver drive or jump drive. Checking into the owners registry at the Port Authority confirms thast the hulks are owned by the Solomani Party.

Now very suspicious about this whole deal, the others delve into the backgrounds of Arlen Samuelson, Jason Grant and Gani Kashkunan, the racketteer.

Serena dig around the news-nets and discovers that Arlen Samuelson is the current leader of the steering committee of the Solomani Party. He has a block of six votes on the thirteen member committee. Laura Chin is the second most powerful with five votes. Cedric Zimmermann holds the balance of power with the remaining two votes. Traditionally, Zimmermann votes with Samuelson. If Samuelson was somehow taken out of the picture, one article hypothesises, his votes would probably be evenly split between the two remaining contenders. Chin would be a shoe-in to control the Party.

Dom talks to a fellow bootlegger in the diner of the local Travellers' Aid Society. Kashkunan, the guy says, is a small-time racketeer into illegal gambling, protection rackets and assisting others with insurance fraud if the price is right. He has done some time in a correctional facility early in his career but has obviously learned to cover his tracks well. The barman, overhearing Dom's conversation says that there's a rumour doing the rounds that Laura Chin is out to get Kahkunan for double-crossing her. The barman doesn't believe the tale because why, he asks, would a Solomani separatist have dealings with a Vilani thug?

Kashkunan has a villa on a hillside estate overlooking the bay - a very wealthy and posh area. The crew pose as a production team from "Lives and Homes of Notable People," a very popular tri-vid program, and call the secretary at one of Kashkunan's legitimate businesses. Their calls are not returned. Not surprisingly, Kashkunan values his privacy.

Ed Mosley gets cornered by the type of person and Scout worth his salt likes least, a drunk Naval Lieutenant-Commander, who overheard him asking about Jason Grant. The officer once met him on board a ship during exercises nearly twelve years ago, he manages to slur in Ed's direction. He wasn't called Grant then but the officer can't remember his name. He ran into Grant recently and said hello. Grant pretended not to notice but the officer says it was obvious that Grant knew who he was. He has a nose for such things, he says before running to the fresher to involunarily loose his load of fast food and alcohol.

Grant meets with them on the third day to discuss their progress. They refuse to tell him much except that the mission is underway. They point out that Grant wanted to keep Samuelson at arm's length from the deal and keeping quiet is the best way they know to do it. Grant tries to appear reassured but cannot quite manage it. He is obviously used to being in control of the situation. The crew assure Grant that they will have the documents to him by the deadline stated at the start of this deal. Grant says that he'll be happy with that.

To be continued...

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