Recap of last Run.
While comet-chasing the Archimedes II detected a derelict starship, sliced in half and spewing organic fuel molecules into the universe. The molecular breakdown indicates that the ship is of some antiquity and a back plot indicates that it could have passed through Earth's orbit approximately 2050 years ago. The marking and ergonomics of the ship are alien but the power crystal and other technology seems quite similar to that known to humans. Found in a storage area by our boarding party: unic, sandals, Semitic statue, Roman coins, Aramaic books and a body of a male in his early 40s with broken legs and abraded wrists. In another section of the derelict, hidden behind a panel was as silvery sphere similar to that on display behind the bar of the Dejah Thoris back on Mars.
Meanwhile an APS main fleet "on maneuvers" speeded up in our direction within the time lag requisite for the transmission of the finding of the derelict. A second fleet - NAF - left Neptune headed our way, a time lag after the space walk/derelict retrieval.
The derelict is secured to the nose of the Archimedes II and all speed is made to return to the Warp Research Center before contact is made with either of the two aggressive fleets. We are successful although enroute our one contact amongst the shipboard security guards is found murdered in Engineering. The remaining guards take the professor, his grad students and the artifacts from the derelict onto the Research station. The ship is then boarded by a phalanx of station security guards, at least one each for every person left on board the Archimedes II. [A timer showing 20 minutes appears in the meta screen.]
Run Synopsis.
Robert a.k.a. Jordan is escorted under guard to a small room on the station. [The timer starts ticking.]
Shortly, under individual guard, he is joined by Katherine a.k.a. Teresa, Melissa a.k.a. Chantal, and Lyle a.k.a. Val. All but one guard leaves and the wall screen flickers to reveal Sam in a dark room with flickering lights. With some urgency Robert breaks in to warn Sam that the most likely scenario to blow up the Warp Research Center is to seed bait for a well-known scientist and then chase him back to base. Robert urges that the Archimedes II be immediately detached and moved from the vicinity of the base.
About this point Boris a.k.a. Ivan is brought into the room. Then a fuller report and an inventory of the items already brought on board the station is made. We realize suddenly that the evidence we found in the APS Mars base included broken plaster that had been used to cast a statute: and the Semitic statue had been brought aboard by the professor's students!
Utilizing Sam's "twain clearance" (wherein we hear in passing Sam addressed as "admiral"), we discover that the statue was brought to a separate examination room and place on a magician's table (one belonging to the professor) by one Jason Brigham. We immediately discover the hole in the floor (and in the base of the statue) hidden by the deceptive table. Robert and Teresa immediately head down into the ducts via that hole. Lyle utilizes the computers to give them plans and instructions. Chantal and a guard hasten to Jason's quarters. The base commander's voice is heard over the intercom ordering the evacuation of the station.
Down in the power area, Robert finds an APS bomb, timer running. Teresa locates the nearest escape pod and finds it has been utilized. (In Jason's quarters Chantal and guard find evidence of hasty packing; the bird has obviously flown.) The bomb is rigged with a motion-sensing device. Robert spends tense seconds disable said device (with the relayed assistance of Sam who has the blueprints from the devices we dealt with on Mars) while Boris rushes down to provide muscle and Teresa readies the next available escape pod. Available grad students are drafted into forming a bucket brigade - but, as Robert and Boris exert their strength and heave the still-ticking bomb towards the pod - the students are superfluous; the aim is perfect! Quickly Teresa closes the door and ejects the pod! The silence is anticlimactic.
Calmly the commander orders all hands back to duty: the bomb has been safely detonated at 400 meters from the hull. Later the ejected capsule is found half-melted and Jason Brigham is missing and presumed dead in the explosion of his own bomb threat.
During debriefing, Jennifer and Caesar express amazement that Boris was one of the undercover agents; they'd figured Teresa/"Kitten" for one, but not him. Other info:
Sam awards the team 2.5 months of vacation. Boris decides that he is going to spend it in New Zealand as a quiet vacation spot out of NAF and APS spheres of influence. Teresa and Robert are taken by the idea and persuade Chantal to make a 4th. Chantal decides that the opportunity to learn speed water skiing and wear stunning clothes is too good to pass up. It's a posh vacation. Somewhen therein Robert asks for swimming lessons from Chantal (and other favours, if Will is to be believed. Chantal's answer has yet to be determined.)
A week or so into the vacation, a limo drives up to the resort where Our Heroes are lounging. An obviously well-to-do man steps out escorted by a couple of lush pieces of feminine eye-candy ("trophy bimbos"), one carrying his cane and the other --- a large silvery sphere like that displayed behind the bar at the Dejah Thoris.
EPs: 2; Brownie Points: 4.
Chantal's Proposed expenditures:
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