Session 4 Summary
While on the slow path back to Zerzi, Jim Dade and Dohpaz Vito discuss things. Jim learns that Dohpaz Vito thinks that the contents of the case that he acquired on Cuthbert Station from the small frog-like alien would be a game changer in the market of astronautics, and allow him to start selling to the Zerzi military, bringing his business up to the next level. Dohpaz Vito learns that Jim Dade does not act like other vat clones.
Reunited on the Dire Straits, the crew discuss whether the Dohpaz’s very valuable case would be worth more to the crew than their payment for delivering him and his case to his research complex.
Chris advocated taking the case from Dohpaz Vito now, because obviously it is very valuable, if people are ready to kill for it.
The others are concerned about whether that would just make them a target, if they would even be able to leverage the contents to their advantage, and if it was right to just drop their current job and their payment.
They finally settle on delivering him to his destination.
As the Dire Straits continues towards Zerzi, proximity sensors are triggered by the approach of the Jitterbug, a courier ship, operating without a transponder, on a course travelling from Zerzi toward Cuthbert Station. The Jitterbug is captained, as usual, by Delano Mack. He sends a low power message to Chris in the Dire Straits using code words indicating he has a message from the Syndicate for Chris, hand delivery only. He docks to and boards the Dire Straits and passes a data card to Chris.
Before Delano Mack can return to his ship, the Dire Straits’s proximity sensors again detect an approaching ship, the destroyer ZSN Tenacious, en route from Cuthbert to Zerzi. They have a few minutes before the Tenacious’s sensors know the Dire Straits is there. Dohpaz Vito freaks out and wants them to do something so he will not be discovered. Jim Dade quickly suggests that he, Dohpaz Vito, and Delano Mack jump into the Jitterbug and head out to Zerzi in Dire Straits’s sensor shadow. Everyone agree to this, and while Jim, Dohpaz, and Delano hop into the Jitterbug, Steve, Jithal, and Chris hide the strange alien specimens and weapons in nooks and crannies of the Dire Straits.
The Tenacious hails the Dire Straits requesting them to maintain acceleration and prepare to be boarded for inspection. The crew of the Dire Straits do so, Chris heading to Chrysalis, Jithal finishes up hiding the specimens and gear, and Steve meeting the boarding party at the airlock.
Steve, Chris, and Jithal manage to convince Lt. Craln, in charge of the ZSN boarding party that they were just going slowly to work out the kinks in the new power coil regulator they installed at Zerzi Station. The Tenacious continued on their retrograde patrol of the systems’ slipstream strait points.
The Dire Straits continued its journey to Zerzi to rendezvous with the Jitterbug in orbit on the far side of Zerzi from Zerzi Station.