Rim Space Campaign

040807 (7.Aug.2004)          Of Admirals and Aliens

(EPs: 0, total: 6; Art: 0, total 5)

Answers to last run's questions:
Re: Jannisett's native planet.

• It is an assumption by the Imperials that Sam's disappearance is tied to the disappearance of the Imperial evacuation ship. The evacuation was not exactly an up-front order.
• However, it is clear that the Imperials are or have been working on a cross-jurisdictional alliance with the Rangers. (This is obvious if only for the fact that the Ranger station passed on information about Jannisett to the Imperial shuttle.) The Imperials were deliberately hazy about the connection.
• A rogue Imperial unit carried out the razing of the planet. Their orders, too, were behind the back and illegal.
• Nonetheless, the evacuation unit managed to report in a couple of times before they disappeared. That is how the current Imperials know "the gold ones are really strong, the blue ones, really scary."

Re: the Keats.
Shepherd and Jamie both apparently mentioned Ranger Grey's ship in the interrogation processes by the Imperials. The fact that Grey had recorded therein information about Jannisett's native planet and its controlling corporation was mentioned when the need for evidence to prosecute EEI came up.

Re: Technology
Eddie informed the group that, now that he'd had a chance to examine the Imperial monitors, he could say with certainty that the monitor on New Ranch West (that Ferdinand the Bull had stepped on) had been Imperial in origin.

Re: James Grey's actions
Before he left to recover the Keats, James Grey was confronted by a puzzled Jannisett. "Did you take the Ranger station beeper? Why did you take the beeper?"
Grey: "Yes, I took it. I intended to meet the people coming to the station - to wait and see who came and then meet them - and I thought it best if I had with me the beeper intended to arrange that meeting."
Jannisett: "Why did you send me away? Why did you think it best that I not be part of that meeting?"
Grey: "You don't have the experience I do dealing with this sort of people. You know you don't. I thought I could act - more freely - if you were not there."
Jannisett: "But I am good in a fight. I could have protected you."
Grey: "I know you're good. But these people use guns."
Jannisett: "Sam told me that he uses guns when he intends to kill people."
Grey nodded.
Jannisett continued: "What kind of guns? Energy beam weapons? I can stop an energy beam."
Grey: "I don't know. Maybe. Are you saying you can stop light?"
Jannisett: "I have done so." She gestured her left hand in demonstration.
Grey took out a flashlight an proceeded to prove to them both that the blue girl could not, in fact, deflect energy bolts (and, by implication, bullets) save by physical interposition, up close and personal. [No missile deflection.]

Jannisett and Shepherd, in their own ways, followed through with the subject of divisions in the Imperium as a whole amongst the Imperial guards and Lady Juri's guards available. Shepherd noted that at least half of the guards had had considerable military training. Jannisett encountered mostly "I can't answer that" but did learn that the Core knew "different groups want different things."

Next morning
Jannisett answered a knock on the suite door and admitted Lady Juri and three guards including the one whom Shepherd had been avoiding. That guard clearly noticed Shepherd.
Juri: "I have some news. I found out who is coming." Then she went on to request a demonstration of Jannisett's skills against one of her guards; he was the one who had recognized Shepherd.
Jannisett, reluctantly: "Sometimes soft people get hurt when I fight them."
Juri smiled. "Chauncy is not soft."

The demonstration took place. Eventually Jannisett failed to control her punch and hit Chauncy in the head [12 body], clearly stunning him. However, while he was still stunned and before Jannisett could react again, he struck back. Juri jumped into the fight and blocked her bodyguard with her arm. Jannisett was amazed that the slight, un-augmented women could still be standing. Still Chauncy attacked again [in 8] before Jannisett was prepared to defend. Jamie drew her gun.
Juri: "He should be ok in a moment. I won't let him hurt her."
Jannisett tried to prepare herself to protect Juri, but the latter touched a spot on her clothing and a bright force field flared up around her, separating Chauncy from Jannisett.

The others may have recognized that Chauncy's augmentation must have included some sort of zombie mode; Jannisett, however, did not. She was undeniably impressed with her erstwhile opponent.
Chauncy shook his head to clear it and Juri spoke sternly: "You should have turned that off before this. You are on report." The lady insisted on sending the guard away and apologizing for the incident. Then she turned back to the others: "I'm not sure that I did you a favour by not having Admiral Altair come. Instead, you will get one who is competent but not bright. It would be interesting to see who he brings with him to actually conduct the negotiation."
Jamie: "Maybe he was picked by someone who wants the mission not to succeed."
Juri reproved: "I said he was not incompetent. But he's not the right man for this job. Still he has a great deal of pull. He's Grand Admiral A'gis."
Jamie, not recognizing either title or name: "Is that an honourary title?"
Juri: "Oh, no. He's very much in charge of the navy - at least his version of it."

Jamie asked about the Empire's "change of heart."
Juri: "I'd like to say it was an attitude change from the top down. But that would not be correct. It is a change for the better. Do you need to know more to do your job? You won't like the strictures that go with that information."
Jamie: "I need to know that those who set up this policy won't just as abruptly change their minds."
Juri: "I shouldn't say this ... but, there is no one who gives orders to the person who gave these orders."

On Admiral A'gis, Juri advised: "Deal with him in a straight forward manner. Don't be tricky. Don't try to read anything between his lines. He's undoubtedly seen the same psyche profile on you," she nodded at Jamie, "that I've seen; he you'll say yes. So don't say you won't do it unless you mean it. He'll simply go to the next person in line. I believe that person doesn't have nearly as much chance of succeeding as you do." She continued, "The admiral will have access to things I don't. Maybe he'll even have footage of the aliens."

Juri mused, "I'm contemplating not being here when he arrives, so whom do I give this to?" She looked around as she held out a communication device. "I'm sure you'll want to check it out." Shepherd nodded in Eddie's direction and Juri handed the machine to the engineer. "I'll still be where you can contact me."
Eddie: "This has an encryption. You can't trace the signal one way or another."
Shepherd: "See if the encryption can be reversed engineered."
Juri: "Please wait till you are done using it before you try."

Jannisett was puzzled about why the lady had wanted a demonstration of her fighting.
Juri: "It was not for me. It was so that he could report back to his superiors. I'm glad no one was hurt."
Both Jamie and Jannisett offered the lady medical assistance but she insisted that she had not been much hurt and refused their concern.

Juri: "Hopefully we'll meet again. If not, be well. I still would like to meet Art. Tell him that I send him greetings from the Imperial Family." She turned slightly towards Shepherd. "It was rude of you to leave last evening without saying goodbye. Goodbye."

Two Days Later.
Shepherd's research had determined that there was no such position as Grand Admiral and no such person as A'gis.

Orders went out over the Station that ships should land to clear the space lanes; a full quarter of the station was being official reserved. "For the Navy's admiral, no question," Shepherd observed. , thus, landed and Art and Banker rejoined the Party at the hotel.

Jamie told the alien about Lady Juri and he agreed to meet her. Jannisett accompanied Art and they were admitted into the lady's new quarters by the now familiar Chauncy. Jannisett was delighted and engaged the guard in conversation. After apologizing for the 'incident,' Chauncy told her the name of the root martial art on which her fighting style seemed based. Jannisett expressed her admiration for his skills. Chauncy: "I'm not naturally faster than you. There are only a few in the entire galaxy who are modified like me. I probably won't be allowed to spar with you again. Lady Juri was not pleased."

On greeting Art, Lady Juri courteously asked, "May I know your native name?" Four and a half minutes later (minutes of syllables interspersed with clicks, hums, and gargles), she asked, with exquisite courtesy, "Is there a short version?"
Art: "That is the short version."
The lady settled in for what seemed likely to be a long question and answer session. It did not take long before Art decided that here was someone with a broader concept of the universe than he had encountered heretofore amongst humans. She was, however, unfamiliar with the Rim and had no immediate knowledge of the alien races to be encountered there.
Art: "What is human? What makes Jannisett, for instance, different from 'humans'?"
Juri: "There is no difference." She gave a succinct description of the manner in which some humans "label" other people.
Art: "Is the division between the Rim and the Core necessary?"
Juri: "It is unnecessary. It is a way of thinking built around old power structures that are no longer intact."
Art: "What do you study?"
Juri disclaims her own education. She was never a student at the University. "One might say that I only have a social function in the Imperium. Sometimes I think that I am a walking personal buffer field."
Jannisett thought to herself that it seemed that Juri was some form of asim - social, perhaps, rather than mostly physical -- but for whom. The emperor?

Art: "How do you assess the collapse of the Core?"
Juri, astounded: "Collapse?"
Art, explaining: "It is old, broken, and parts of it you say are now defunct. Therefore, how long will it be before the collapse of the Core?" It continued to explain, "I have heard of schisms in the A.I.s and in the Power Structure you don't serve.... Part of those has been doing things without letting other parts know; that is a crack in the structure. An A. I. gave illegal orders..."
Juri, in shocked amazement: "A rogue A.I.? You must be misinformed. Who told you this? It is very important!"
Art: "My information came from Shepherd. He said that it was given to us in confidence."
The lady's interest in philosophical discussions with the alien completely vanished as she realized that she could get no better information on this matter. Still politely but clearly seeking an end to the interview, she turned to Jannisett. "Was there something in particular that you came to talk with me?"
Jannisett: "Eddie has told me that the Imperial military put the monitor on the place where my little sister is staying. I would not want the military to take my sister. I would much rather you knew where she was. Jinan is living on Sam's ranch on New Ranch West."
Juri: "I thought so. What do you want me to do?"
Jannisett: "I want Jinan to be happy."
Juri: "I cannot guarantee that. But I can guarantee her safety if you allow me to take her away. You will have to prepare a recording so that it is known that you authorize her removal. Think about it." She rose and indicated that audience was ended.
Jannisett: "If there is anything I can do for you, let me know."

There were, of course, stringent security checks to pass before reaching the appointment with the admiral. Shepherd (and others) turned over their regular weapons at the first checkpoint on the floor below theirs. However, a scan found a hidden gun on Shepherd. "Oh, I forgot," was his comment.
Eddie commented: "That was really weird walking through that scanner."
Jannisett observed that his steps through had been as though he had been somewhat drunk.

The group was ushered into a Spartan-like room, a considerable contrast to the rugs, tapestries, and elegant furnishings that, apparently, Lady Juri had brought with her to these rooms. Admiral A'gis projected a considerable Presence. His shape alone was unusual, being tall with an elongated head. As the Admiral greeted them, Eddie looked around the room frequently, a gesture that led several in the Party to believe that the area was still under electronic surveillance. The military entourage of eight then left and the Admiral invited his guests to sit. When it was apparent that Art could not sit, the Admiral remained standing. He treated each of his guests as equals.

Admiral to Jamie: "Your books will be arriving in two days." He handed her a data pack. "You can view these here or take them with you. It is all the visual interactions with the alien race that I have, including all reports from Professor Nordstrom before he disappeared."
Jannisett: "How did he disappear?"
Admiral: "He and his assistant, one Jim Rodrick, went to a meeting with the aliens and never returned. No one was seen leaving the place."
Shepherd: "Do the aliens have the ability to teleport themselves great distances?"
Admiral: "Yes - and with others, too. The professor disappeared from what was thought to be a Very Secure area."
Shepherd: "Are there any other important people who are missing who shouldn't be?"
Admiral: "Not to my knowledge. No one of vital interest has been kidnapped by the aliens."

Jamie: "What is the aim of the proposed negotiations with the aliens?"
Admiral: "Peace with the aliens."
Jamie: "What is desired, though: no contact, limited contact, trading contract...?"
Admiral: "We want no one in our society to be further damaged by these aliens and none of the aliens to be destroyed by us. We want a sustainable peace. If there are choices about greater contacts, we will make the choices when they come up. But we won't cede an inhabited planet. We don't know what they want. They seem untrustworthy and dangerous - hostile. The professor was confident that he'd arranged a true parley. He may have been mistaken. But I must assume that he did not choose not to return. The aliens have been aggressive; I can verify that we've sustained civilian loses."
Shepherd: "The Imperial Military used to wipe out alien races. What caused this attitude change?"
Admiral: "That is none of my business."
Shepherd then asked about the Rogue Unit that had razed the EEI planet, naming its unit number.
Jamie: "That situation may be unrelated to this with the aliens."
Shepherd went on talking about the razed planet. It didn't ring a bell with the Admiral which, in turn, sent Shepherd's paranoia flags up. He thought to himself, "If anything would stay in the memory of a man in charge of the entire Navy, I would think it would be an illegal order by an A.I. to a unit operating in the Fringe where it is illegal for the Imperial Navy to be."
Admiral: "That battle group has been involved in the destruction of a Rim planet?"
Jamie, flatly: "They did it."
Admiral: "Odd. Where?"
Shepherd gave the co-ordinates.
Admiral: "I would have to think you're mistaken."

Jamie and the Admiral started going over the data pack display. In a quick view-through Jamie determined that, despite the missing professor's analysis (which had taken a couple of months), the alien's language had considerable non-verbal components, some possibly off-frequency, others including the use of body patch colour flashes.

In appearance, the aliens have 4 legs equidistantly connected to the (outside) middle of a spherical lower body; an oval upper torso with 4 evenly spaced 'arms' (2 face 'frontish' and 2 'backish'); a smallish head with sensory apparatus facing back and front and no visible mouth. Average height of top of head is about 7 feet or, if the legs were straight, more like 8 and 1/2 feet or so. They had feet like circular hooves with 4 claws (2 front, 2 back) and circular but slightly cupped hands with 4 clawed finger/thumbs all 90 degrees apart
Art thinks that they are probably engineered and, from what he sees, it is a low percent chance that the 'uplifting' was natural.

• The aliens use H-t-H weapons and hand-held energy projectors.
• There was no observable cycle, but the aliens had hit some Core planets repeatedly.
• A complex language did not seem to imply civilized behaviour.

Next morning.
Jamie asked for another meeting with the Admiral and, while the officer was a little stiff, he was not completely unyielding. The meeting went more satisfactorily.
Jamie listed her requirements:

• Gadgets and parts on a list compiled by Eddie and Shepherd.
• No dollar figure, save that each of her group was to be "independently wealthy".
• Jannisett's evacuated people found. And a planet for them to settle.
• A sample of the alien's tissue.
• EEI was to "pay big".

The Admiral replied: "Parts, ships, equipment, all that is understood and will be provided. Also a sample of the alien skin that we have. I understand that you will allow the monetary stipend to be at my discretion. I cannot promise an entire planet; but those people will be allocated a continent, an island, whatever is necessary, when the time comes. We need to understand what you mean by 'pay big'."
Jamie: "I want them shut down."

One stumbling block still seemed the fact that the aliens were hitting Core planets.
Admiral: "There is no problem getting you into the Core. You are a citizen albeit not a voting one. But we will have to talk to some of your people. Am I correct that, from what you've reported, Art is not technically a male?'
Jamie: "The term for Art is 'it'."
Admiral: "We'll need to speak to all in your group who are non-female, non-citizens, one at a time."
Jamie: "Why not females?"
Admiral: "I could interview everyone, if you like?" Jamie shook her head and he summed up, "We need to speak to Croy and Eddie. And Eddie must wear a neural inhibitor due to his unregistered nano-technology. It's too dangerous to be let loose in the Core without being thoroughly analyzed."

Next day.
Jamie's requested books showed up.

Eddie reported that the Sorcerer was under surveillance and scan. He was not happy about it. The group discussed making a "hands off" policy part of Jamie's "pay" but, as the linguist pointed out, "Making the Sorcerer off-limits will just increase their interest in her. Banker's pretty sure that no one can make off with her. We should just let it go for now."

The ex-grunt Baker still escorted Jamie, as her bodyguard, wherever she chose to go.

Jannisett and Banker checked out a local dojo because the blue girl wanted to find more out about her type of martial art. No one had even heard the word Chauncy had told her.

Back with the group, Jannisett begged Jamie to ask Juri if it would be possible to train with Chauncy.
Juri: "I will see if he is in the mood to help. I suppose I am in no hurry to leave this station."
Not long thereafter Jannisett received a call from the bodyguard; he was willing to come over immediately and work with her all she wanted. Although "pulling one's punches" wasn't one of his specialties, he was able to work with her on overall control of her level of fighting.

A week later.
Jamie had been finding the non-verbal parts of the alien language easier to master than the verbal parts. Upon viewing the records, Art agreed that a full-spectrum recording would probably have revealed more.

During a break in her workout with Chauncy that day, Jannisett saw Shepherd come into the sparring room and take Chauncy off onto a balcony. A shield field shimmered around them as they talked. Jannisett reflected that Chauncy was a good instructor (she didn't recognize that he was also harsh; she was too familiar with that) and he had certainly helped her get control of her killing attacks. He had not gone robot-berserk again either, even when she'd lost control and clocked him again.

Back with the group:
Banker: "Should we actually split up the group?"
Jannisett: "An escort would not keep up with our ship."
Jamie: "We have not yet told them the capabilities of our ship. They don't have a transport here big enough to carry it. We can't use the ship and still conceal its abilities. Let them take you guys while I stay; they can provide a pilot to get Jannisett's ship back." She turned to the blue girl. "What will you do if the rumor is true?"
Shepherd: "It didn't happen. I don't believe it for a minute."
Jannisett was silent for a long moment. "Let Annie know. Take his body."
Banker: "I hate to leave the Sorcerer."
Shepherd: "What should we do? Wait weeks?"
Jannisett: "No. We should go and check out the rumor."
Jamie: "The Admiral said he would provide a ship 'faster than we're used to.' Perhaps he meant a military ship with its own internal StarGate?"
Shepherd: "What if we get there and we can't find out if he's dead or not dead? If there's no body to recover?"
Jamie: "That's the likeliest case."
Jannisett, trying hard to keep her voice from quivering: "I need to recover my ship. I have told the Imperials that they may borrow it. We will leave a message for James and bring the ship."
Banker: "It will take a long time to bring the Keats here. Why not let the Imps go and get it themselves? We can't afford the time to investigate."
Banker calculated: "If the Imp ship is fast, it'd be a quarter day to the StarGate, then 2 to 3 days to Neon Pig, then 1 - 2 days to refuel. And then they'd head back. Little less than two weeks."
Jannisett: "If I go, I must investigate."
Shepherd: "She's said it herself: if she goes. So she doesn't go. None of us go."
Jannisett: "You all may stay. I will go with the Imperials and release my ship to them. I will find Grey."
Banker: "Janni, it's likely this so-called news originated before James even left here."
Shepherd: "For the record, I'm opposed to the plan to send Jannisett with the Imps back to Neon Pig. It'll delay us. Jannisett might be lured even further out. How did this information get here anyway? It seems targeted at us. It's a set-up. Fly into it - and it's a trap!"
Banker: "If it's a trap, who's it aimed at?"
Shepherd: "Jannisett."
Banker: "But Jamie, too, has expressed in no uncertain terms her interest in Jannisett's planet and people."
Shepherd: "It could be that Medusa person's people. They're out for Jannisett."
Banker: "They'd have to have inside people on the Imperial transport for it to be a trap."
Shepherd: "There's poison. Even an Imp transport can be poisoned."
Jannisett: "Jamie still has work to do here. There's still time; I could go with the Imperials and it won't delay us."
Jamie: "You are far too easy to manipulate and ambush, Jannisett. The Imps can investigate better than you."
Shepherd: "They'll kill you on that planet."
Jannisett: "But he'd come to me; James Grey won't come to the Imperials."
Jamie, with a touch of scorn: "We're not trying to call him like a puppy."
Jannisett: "If he was alive, why would he let us believe he was dead? He volunteered to bring us the ship; why would he not keep his word?"
Banker: "Even if he's alive, there's no way James could possibly have gotten back to this station any time soon. A reasonable ETA would still be more than 2 weeks in the future."
Shepherd: "There's a price on his head. That's why the bounty hunter wanted him. He knows that if he does not bring the ship, the Imps will see that we get it anyway. This way is safer for him."
Jannisett turned away.

There'd been a total of 5 planet reports; 3 had been hit once, one had been hit 8 times, one had been hit 13 times, for a total of 24 known incursions. These planets were not in any sort of "straight line", they were not particularly close to the Rim, they were encompassed by some 100 StarGate jumps

The original pattern had been: alien individuals appeared on a planet, killed or kidnapped people, and teleported away. Other facts:

• The Imperials have never seen an alien ship.
• There have never been more than 20 aliens sighted at once.
• There was no special effect to the teleport; the records showed a frame with the alien; the next frame was empty.
• There was a record of 6 aliens teleporting out simultaneously.
• The aliens were still when they teleported in; otherwise, they seemed to be constantly in motion.
• There was no footage of humans defending themselves; they were always taken by surprise.

Art speculated that the aliens might have a "hive mind" as they had displayed co-ordination without the obvious engagement of sensory apparatus. His people had never explored a sentient hive mind.
Shepherd: "Is it possible that the aliens can see through walls?"
Jamie: "They could be telepathic."
Jannisett: "Maybe they are chipped - like you."

Further observations of the aliens:

• They do not wear clothes.
• They have no obvious sexual dimorphism.
• They do not move as though their native gravity is radically different from that on the planets they hit.
• The colour flashes always appear about the same size and in about the same places on their bodies.
• There was one recorded example of an alien not using colour flashes. It sneaked up on a household pet and eviscerated the creature before going on to do the same to its owners.

Jannisett: "Even if we go to a planet where the aliens have been, how do we find them if they appear in groups no larger than 20 and with surprise?"
Jamie explained what her further research had shown:

• On every planet, the aliens had appeared no more than 5-degrees away from the Equator.
• Records have only been made in populated areas on the known accessed human planets; it is not known if the aliens have visited wilderness areas or unsettled planets.
• There have been a random number of casualties per alien; more people were killed than went missing. At least once, no one was killed or kidnapped. The professor staked out that particular place 4 months ago. Since the aliens returned and left with the Prof, aliens have not re-visited that planet.
• The violence perpetrated by the aliens has tapered off since the first recorded encounters.
• They all appear in a spot go off and do things come back and leave from the about the same spot they came in from (2 of 2 examples 'confirm' this)
• None of the people taken were verifiably dead

Jamie started the discussion on how to go to one of the alien-contact planets. "Do we use our ship or an Imperial ship? If we use our ship, we're back to having to tell him of our speed."
Eddie: "Couldn't some of you go with the Imps and we shadow them with the Sorcerer?"
Jamie: "This is the Core. There's a satellite watching every inch of space. They'll know you're there."
Jannisett: "If we do not take, you simply add a codicil to your agreement with the Admiral. Make him personally responsible for the Sorcerer as well as the Keats."
Jamie: "However, using our ship means we'd have autonomy and flexibility."

Jamie maintained that the Sorcerer was the best ship for her purpose and that meant that she must tell the Admiral about it. Additionally, she would have to tell the Admiral about Eddie's unique capabilities if only because the neural inhibitors required would, probably, interfere with Eddie's mechanical affinity thus putting the Sorcerer and the mission at risk. In addition, if the aliens were using technology (albeit Art did not think they were) for their teleport, she wanted Eddie available to identify said technology.

Eddie: "Is there a 100% chance they'll let me go when they're done examining? And if they don't like the nanites, won't they just not let me into the Core at all, mission or no mission?"

Art: "If Eddie has nanites, then how is it that the Imperials say that Shepherd also has nanites? I have noticed no such thing in my experiments. The two samples are not at all similar. I do not understand this."