Session 1.9 Index Session 1.11
We check into our 50Cr per night hotel in Osoku City, then decide what to do for the evening while we wait to be contacted by people who want to buy the Calico Weapon. There is a concert hall in the city, and there is a performance tonight.
Ozymandias checks anagathic-related patents listed on the Kingdom of Osoku internet, ones files by SuSAG and anyone else, too. There are not many there; most patents are ones local to Osoku and Inthe; there are not many Imperium-wide patents listed, and few of them are at all relevant. We decide it would be better to let a profession do this, as there may be information which is not on the internet. We contact the Haraldson Legal Practise, and for a fee of 100Cr they agree to perform a patent search for us and get back to us.
Then we jointly decide to go out and practise our combat skills.
Ozymandias thinks we need to hone our fighting skills, just in case, so we check the internet and find the address of a nearby shooting range. We take the tram there, and hire a range. We blaze away at the targets for a while. Scarlett is the best of us all, certainly at rifles and such things. Prettywell is best at handguns. The rest of us are all about as good as one another.
We would like to practise with grenades, too, but they are illegal everywhere on Inthe, so we buy some cans of soft drink, go to a park (well, an open space, given Inthe's polluted atmosphere) and practise throwing them around for a while.
Then we look for martial arts dojos, preferably ones teaching the likes of kick-boxing. Mumu wants one that teaches Nikowakodachido, but there doesn't seem to be one of those in the city, or indeed on Inthe as a while. We find one of these, fairly nearby, and go there. The man on reception tells us about the martial arts they teach there, and tell us the Master Naboru will assess us. We go into the main training room, which has padded walls and floor, and Master Naboru joins us there. He is not at all oriental-looking, in his forties, wiry and tough-looking. He tells us learning the skills he teaches will not be easy or quick. We want to learn as much as we can in the next few days (i.e. before we leave Inthe). He says he will asses us first, and has us attack him one at a time.
Ozymandias goes first, and, although he finds that he seems to know a bit about brawling, Naboru knocks him down quite easily. He does the same with Ak, who does not seem to know anything about unarmed combat, and to Mumu, who likewise seems ignorant of these things. Scarlett, however, also seems good at this kind of thing, and does manage to hit Master Naboru (who seems somewhat impressed) before he knocks her down.
Naboru repeats that he can't teach us much in a few days. We say we want him to give us pointers, then we will practise among ourselves while we travel. Master Naboru looks sceptical, but does not let this stop him from selling us several copies of his book on the marital art he teaches. We leave the dojo.
Ozymandias splits from the rest of us to go to the opera; he is determined to like opera. Scarlett and Ak want to go off to find somewhere to drink. Prettywell, who has found a copy of the Proceedings of the 5th Imperial Conference on Anagathic Technology, decides to go back to the hotel to continue his research. Mumu finds a public internet terminal and uses it to look up Nikowakodachido, but there are no references to it on the Inthean internet. He wanders off to find some Imperial Scouts. The rest of us are dubious about Mumu going off on his own, so Ak reluctantly follows him instead.
Mumu uses the internet to find the location of the branch of the Scouts Veteran's Association clubhouse in Osoku City, and goes there with Ak.
Scarlett does not fancy following Mumu about so buys food and drink, then returns to the hotel to bother Prettywell instead.
The Scouts Veteran's Association clubhouse turns out to be a small one-room place with five people plus a barman in it. It turns out you cannot get a drink without Scout Service Identity papers. Mumu claims he has lost his. One of the other people there shouts to the barman to let them drink, and signs the two of them in as guests, inviting them to join him. His name is Theodore. He regales Mumu and Ak with tales of his exploits, which Ak can tells are mostly (but not entirely) bullshit. Mumu tells some tales too, and pumps Theodore for information on buying and selling ships on Inthe.
At the hotel, Scarlett talks to Prettywell about Mumu and his treatment. Prettywell is clearly frustrated at this, as he wants to look into the anagathics research, but Scarlett doesn't let this bother her. Eventually Prettywell goes into his room and locks Scarlett out. She goes and surfs through the many TV channels available in the hotel.
Ozymandias returns to the hotel from the Opera. He and Scarlett eat, drink and engage in small talk. Then they spar in hand-to-hand combat for a bit, doing some damage to the room. Scarlett wins. Then they go back to watching TV.
Eventually Ak abandons Mumu, finds a public internet booth, and looks into which dangerous sports are available in Osoku. There is a bit of base-jumping which goes on, and bungee-jumping too, from bridges. However, none are available this late at night. He goes and finds a bar and drinks heavily.
Mumu and Theodore chat further, both of them bullshitting horribly, until they fall unconscious.
The next day, everyone wakes up back in the hotel. Mumu and Ak have no idea how they got back, but they have. Somehow.
We have breakfast, and check for messages. We seem to have three:
We call them all back. Apparently the professor is interested in a ship which can be used for scientific research. We arrange for them to view the ship at 10AM. Adeira Lalchyme, when we ring her, says she wants the ship for a 'business venture'. We arrange for her to view the ship at midday. The third group has a viewing arranged for 3PM.
That done, Mumu is does up with sanity-enhancing drugs. Once he has taken them her says he wants to be checking on how his teams have been doing with their work on the ship. Damn.
We all return to the Calico Weapon to prepare for the arrival of our potential buyers.
And at 10AM, the ship's doorbell rings. Checking the cameras we see a group of four people outside with a middle-aged dark-skinned, red-haired woman who is obviously in charge. She is accompanies by Two younger blonde men and a younger brunette woman. All are armed with snub pistols. Ak lets them into the ship, but insists on disarming them before we proceed. They grudgingly do this, and we show them about. Apparently the Professor wants the ship to conduct research into stellar physics of some kind. They definitely seem interested in the ship, and we say we will get back to them after the other groups have viewed the ship.
At midday, a car pulls up outside the ship and a smartly-dressed average-looking woman in her thirties, with brown hair, gets out and approaches the ship. She rings the bell, and again Ak lets her on board. This is Adeira Lalchyme. She is armed with a large revolver, which, again, she grudgingly hands over before being allowed on board. She looks over the ship, and like the other group seems interested. Once we have shown her everything, she offers us 26MCr - if we do it right now, and if no other offers are even considered. She wants the ship now. We discuss this among ourselves, then accept. She looks pleased, gets back in her car, and drives away...
We go to pack our things. Mumu packs some spare parts.
From the ship, we contact Tukera Lines and book Low Passage for us all to Rhylanor on the ship which leaves tomorrow (the 'Equus'). So we have one last night in Osoku City before we leave.
Mumu wants to give up, take the money, and sink into obscurity. Ozymandias points out how dull our former lives seem to have been, and how much better it is for us to have a quest and purpose now. Hmmm...
We hire a bonded pod to transport all of our illegal weaponry and so on to Rhylanor (and so that they can be taken out of the ship), and pack it.
With all of our stuff off the ship, we call Adeira to tell her everything is ready for her. Her car drives up a few minutes later. The various requisite papers are brought out and money and ship change hands. Once this is done, she tells us we would have regretted it if we had not accepted her offer... "A pleasure doing business with you," she says. "Now get the hell away from my ship."
Oh well. "Yes, ma'am." Off we go.
We leave the Calico Weapon behind, but our various belongings into storage on the Osoku City spaceport, and go back to the hotel. Then we go for our last night out in Osoku City.
Mumu, Ozymandias and Scarlett go to the Bad Rock Scoffarooney for food and drink. Mumu tries to escape the others, but fails. He then proceeds to bore them senseless until they shoot him with tranq rounds and knock him out...
The next morning, we all wake and take the tram to the spaceport. There is a small shuttle craft waiting on the pad, which we and various other passengers board. Out luggage is also loaded. And we take off, with no feeling of acceleration or wavering of gravity.
Before long, the shuttle craft docks with the orbiting liner, and all the passengers file on board into a lobby area. Two stewards lead off the high and middle passage passengers, while a single steward takes the low-berth passengers (ourselves and a couple of others) off into the bowels of the ship.
We are led into a room lined with low berths, where we pack our things in the base of the low-berth unit and change into coveralls (changing rooms are provides to one side). Then we each climb into a low berth. The lid closes, a needle pricks each of our necks, and we drift off to sleep...