Date: March 31, 2012
Game date: November 14th, EY217
Location: Providence system, Beck
Previous events: Jillian's secrets revealed, Bishop becomes King of the Grobs
Everyone keeps a low profile for the next few days while they wait for Bishop to return or the ship to be paintable, whichever comes first. The only real events of any note are Malcolm finally being done with therapy on the 15th and a new suit arriving at an upscale store for Bishop, or at least they assume it's for Bishop; the woman who calls from the store can't quite get her tongue around his Ubuntan name.
On the 17th the ship is almost ready to fly and definitely ready to be painted. Everyone heads over to the shipyard and puts in a full day of painting the base coat with powerful paint sprayers and by the time night falls they feel really good about the progress that they've made. Tired and hungry, they decide to try another place to eat and end up at The Missing Bolt. Most of its crowd is mechanics instead of the engineers at The Manifold and it's much louder with food that's not quite as good as its upscale rival, but it's nothing to complain about.
Jillian and Malcolm drink but not nearly as much as on their last outing and neither one ends up drunk. Volkova drinks too, falling off the wagon with a thud. She drinks twice as much as Jillian and Malcolm combined but still stays sober. When they get back home Jillian and Volkova go to sleep while Malcolm decides to ride around on his motorcycle some more.
At around one that night Jillian is woken from her sleep by a noise coming from downstairs. Someone's in the house! Whomever it is isn't going to any great lengths to keep quiet. After the break-in she's not willing to take any chances and grabs her shotgun, loading in a few shells as quietly as possible. She weaves unsteadily down the hallway -- good thing those dizzy spells are almost gone! -- and quietly wakes Volkova, who arms herself with Khnuta They then stealthily head back to the stairs. Suddenly the light to the stairs comes up and Bishop shambles up into sight. Everyone breathes a sigh of relief. Bishop looks like he's had a rough time -- his clothes are torn and filthy and he's covered in innumerable small scratches. He's also got a strange metal ring on his head.
Everyone heads into the kitchen and Jillian makes some coffee while Bishop writes what he's been up to with the Resplendent Dragon and how the Grob hold him in such high regard that they gave him a crown. It's a lot of writing but worth it to keep Hoax in the dark, assuming that the place is bugged. Malcolm shows up halfway through the process and is greeted with a pile of papers to read to get up to speed.
Before everyone has been filled in on the plan regarding Seo Bishop gives Inspector How a call using the personal number that she's given the Hummingbird's crew. He wants to call them as soon as possible and keep them off balance. The goal is to keep Hoax off-guard and he hopes that she's keeping similar hours to what Mechanicville is so that she'll be woken up and -- judging from the bleary sound to her voice -- he's right. He breathlessly tells her to say that the "football" has been pinging him from a location on Beck's surface. The inspector tells him that she'll be heading down as soon as she can but that it will still take about two hours. She'll get a flight booked from the Mechanicville spaceport and on the shuttle down she'll call them to tell them when to meet her at the spaceport. When she asks if they're still staying at the same house he takes the opportunity to get in some jabs about how yes, they are still staying at the same place that Hoax broke into and stole their money from. How ignores his comments and hangs up.
Since they have some time before they need to be at the spaceport they can get a bit more rest. Bishop starts to write some more detailing the plan with Seo but soon everyone tires of the slow pace of all this and they end up packed in the bathroom carrying on a whispered conversation with the shower going. Once that's done Bishop shoos everyone else out of the bathroom and takes a proper shower himself. Once he's done he hides the Grob egg and his crown in the hidden compartment in Jillian's footlocker, figuring that if Hoax couldn't find it before they likely won't now. He also puts a note in the safe reading "Stop stealing our money" and then joins everyone else in napping.
Inspector How calls them a while later and tells them to get to the spaceport in half an hour. They make it there in plenty of time and are greeted by the suit-wearing but generally schlubby-looking Inspector Wen, who mostly ignores their questions and hustles them on a small plane. There are two goons on the plane with How. There are no introductions.
Once they are airborne How interrogates Bishop in the back of the plane in a makeshift office made from two pairs of facing seats, Wen sitting across the aisle and listening. The two goons sitting in seats farther up act like a wall to keep the rest of the Hummingbird's crew away from Bishop.
How begins the questioning by putting the small abstract sculpture on the fold-out table. Bishop eyes it warily and, seizing a chance, tries to get up and sweep it off the table as if by accident, but How is too protective of it and snatches it up, placing it on the empty seat next to her. She spends the next while asking Bishop questions about where he's been and pumping him for details about his communications with the aliens. He replies truthfully that he's been with Olivia Bow of the Resplendent Dragon and tries to keep as close to the truth about the "football" while still staying close to his story. He also continues his plan to keep Hoax off-balance by blatantly and masterfully flirting with How. She's almost three times his age and his behaviour is convincing enough to throw her off and prevent her from being anywhere as efficient as she usually is. Frustrated, she sends him back to his crewmates and talks quietly with Wen.
The whole time that this has been going on Volkova's been waging her own brand of psychological warfare against the goons. Sitting in the seats just in front of them she takes her boots off and puts her stinky feet up, glad that she didn't take a shower after a day of painting in Beck's heat. To assault their other senses she continuously blows her nose -- loudly -- and makes a show of examining and verbally describing her handkerchief's contents. The goons wrinkle their noses but do their best to act impassive. The rest of her friends sit as far forward as they can and catch up on missed sleep.
Norquist is over two hours flight from Mechanicville and they arrive there as the sun is coming up. Hoax has arranged for two off-road vehicles to be waiting for them. How makes Bishop travel with the Hoax crew in one to give directions; it's a tight fit for him in the back seat between the broad torsos of the goons.
Malcom takes the wheel of the other utility vehicle and once he notices that Inspector Wen, driving the other one, is a mediocre driver at best decides to drive in the most obnoxious manner possible. He zooms past Wen and doubles back, he swerves, he drives on the shoulder to kick up dust into Wen's path... the drive takes two and a half hours but for everyone but Bishop in the crowded Hoax vehicle it feels much, much longer. Bishop makes a show of focusing on the "football" to hide his grin and is happy that the goons who are hemming him in also prevent him from being bumped around.
Bishop starts giving more detailed directions when he recognizes that they're near where Seo Yee should be and the two vehicles are soon off-roading, Wen's lack of skill behind the wheel all the more evident here. It's not long before they find Seo, sitting on her travel bags in the shade of an overhang, looking bored and drinking from a squeezy bag. She's obviously relieved to see the Hummingbird's crew as they get out of their vehicle and just as obviously wary of the Hoax personnel. As everyone takes the opportunity to stretch a bit Malcolm notices that Wen is glaring at him.
The drive back to Norquist is uneventful. How takes Seo into her vehicle and Bishop gets to ride with his friends, laughing about Wen's swearing on the ride up. Malcolm decides to take it easy on Seo and doesn't pull any of his tricks this time.
Back in Norquist the plane has been refuelled and is ready to go. The vehicles are left behind, one much filthier than the other, and the goons act as a fleshy wall in the plane again. Volkova takes her position just in front of them and repeats her previous performance. On the trip back Seo is the one interrogated in the back by Inspector How. Bishop notes from the front of the plane that How has once again placed her sculpture on the table and is disappointed that Seo doesn't make an attempt to break it.
The plane lands in Mechanicville early in the afternoon and now that Seo is back How takes the "football" from Bishop, as he expected. The Hummingbird's crew is bluntly dismissed and subsequently ignored. Seo is led away by the goons to Hoax's big black car; she glances back with a frightened look as the door closes and the car drives off. Malcolm drives everyone else back home, the mood in the minibus solemn.
Bishop calls How the next day to see when Seo is to be released. It turns out that Seo is still being debriefed with no solid release date. He's understandably worried; when he brings up his concerns with the rest of the crew all they can do is try to get the word out about her to whatever contacts they have to bring some pressure on Hoax to let her go.
While Bishop, Malcolm, and Volkova spend the day painting the ship Jillian tries to find a way to get the military involved in freeing Seo. Cristofer Dniessa, her friend from the military who lives in Mechanicville, can't do much and that's pretty much it for Mechanicville; there just isn't a big enough military presence here to even have a military bar. She decides to write several letters to people, mostly ones she knows, in Aiscapo. Jinjing Wei will get a package of several letters to pass on to Professor Rolf Fisher, the Principal, and Seo's supervisor (whose name Jinjing will have to find out), all at Aiscapo University There is also a copy of the letter to Jinjing in the package. Maurice Clegman will get a copy of the letter sent directly to him as well.
The letters summarize the Steel Hummingbird's meeting the Grob on Ingraham, Seo being there as part of the team from Aiscapo University, that she briefly traveled with the aliens and was then taken away from Hoax upon her return. It expresses the worries that Jillian has for Seo and details the names and descriptions of the Grob as well as the fact that they're friendly. It also mentions the dangers of the D'vor.
Jillian's plan is to meet Roberta Kirshner on the Eggen Observatory in person, since they still have to discuss the space drive modifications. It's unlikely that the team there will be able to do much to help Seo so she'll wait until they visit to bring that situation to their attention. Besides, she's not sure her aching hand has enough in it to write another copy of the letter. She also calls and arranges a meeting with Vice Admiral Egan, who makes space in her schedule for her. She uses the voucher system to get another flight up to Colt and discusses the matter of Seo's return and subsequent abduction with the Vice Admiral in person. Neither of them have much to offer in the way of new information, though the Vice Admiral is obviously annoyed with Hoax to begin with; they've seconded one of her frigates, "not surprisingly" the Crocodile. She'll keep an eye on things and bring whatever resources she has to bear on getting Seo free.
By the time Jillian makes it back down to the planet the day is over and the rest of the gang have almost finished with painting the ship. The modifications are also done, so they finally have full run of the ship. It's been a busy day for everyone and they stay in for the night.
The bulk of the next day is spent finishing up the paint job on the Steel Hummingbird and preparing to finally leave Beck. The house is cleaned and packed, accounts closed, damage deposit lost, and everything they own in the house driven to the ship. Bishop picks up his new snappy suit: acceptably fashionable at last! Malcolm and Volkova also spend some time working out the new controls and mechanics of the ship and performing various checks to make sure that the installation has been done properly. Everything seems fine; they do good work in Mechanicville. Malcolm flies the Hummingbird to a spot at the spaceport. There's a good chance that Hoax hasn't really paid too much attention to the details of what's been going on with the Hummingbird and with the new silhouette and paint job there's a good chance that the shadowy government organization won't even recognize her for a while.
Everyone wants to talk to the Resplendent Dragon's crew and so in the early evening they head over armed with several bottles of alcohol. When they get there it's obvious from the smells and apron that Neet's been cooking before he opened the door. Olivia and Xao are in the living room hunched over a game; Olivia's wearing her old gunnery helmet and apparently trouncing Xao, who's nervously switching his eyepatch from side to side as he comments with shock that she's sunk his battleship.
Greetings are exchanged and bottles handed over. Reunited, the two crews talk about what they've been up to: aliens and painting. Xao has some contacts in the business world and promises to get the word out about Seo. Jillian apologizes for leaving the Dragon out of the loop about things and Xao accepts her apology. She's still trying to feel him out now that Bishop's revealed that Xao's interested in her and is trying to think about how to let him down gently.
The Resplendent Dragon and the Steel Hummingbird officially decide to make the trip together to Olberman with the Grob and spend some time there. There is still some business to deal with here first, though, including a trip to the Observatory and a trip to the Big Boom firing range.
While the others are talking Bishop and Neet put together a meal in the kitchen. With an extra four people to feed Neet needs some help and Bishop works with what's in the fridge as best he can. They have their own conversation and Bishop quickly realizes that Neet's intimidated by him. He worms out that Neet looks up to Bishop's social skills, long list of conquests, and fashion sense and in many ways wishes he could be more like him. Bishop offers to help bring Neet out of his shell by teaching him the ways of the world (and beyond) and the tall pilot quickly agrees.
Bishop doesn't have the ingredients that he's used to and his style of meal doesn't mesh too well with that of Neet but the food is good nonetheless. Everyone eats and socializes. When Xao brings up the need to talk about dates Jillian freezes for a second until she realizes that he's talking about timing, not romance. They plan to go to the Big Boom firing range the next day. Nugent, the tiny hamlet that the firing range supports, has no airstrip so the Resplendent Dragon crew usually drives there, but if everyone's going to be heading there's no reason that they can't all climb into the Steel Hummingbird and use the trip as a shakedown cruise. Jillian tells the Dragons the Hummingbird's location and everyone goes to sleep in their own beds. For the Hummingbird's crew this means
The next day the Dragons show up and are terribly impressed with the Steel Hummingbird. Her larger frame works aesthetically and the paint job is spectacular. They also have nothing but good things to say about the interior now that it's not so cramped. On the brief 20-minute flight over to the firing range Olivia stays with Volkova in engineering and the two talk about the Hummingbird's specs, though Olivia's not especially interested in the new space drive.
Having VTOL capacities means that you can land wherever you want and so they land next to the Big Boom parking lot. Olivia's a member and gets Bishop in free while everyone else has to pay a fee that's exorbitant for several hours activity but reasonable for firing heavy weapons. This is Olivia's favourite firing range on the planet not just because of the caliber of the tools available but because no children are allowed, unlike most of the others.
Bishop and Neet head to the crossbow range; Bishop sees the range as a waste of resources whereas crossbow bolts can be reused. It's also the quietest area by far. The two of them talk about women, Bishop the master and Neet the student.
Olivia and Volkova head straight to the grenade launchers and Olivia spends some time making sure that Volkova knows how to use one properly. They also spend some time on bazookas and heavy machine guns to round out Volkova's heavy weapons training. They talk about their approach to engineering; Olivia would like to see Volkova's "hitting" technique; she sometimes hits things to get them running but it's not her standard way of going about things. She admits that she's never got the hang of maintaining space drives; she considers them and their physics-violating ways voodoo that she's never managed to get her head around. Volkova in turn reveals that Bishop thinks that he may have slept with her when they first met and he got completely hammered; Olivia finds this hilarious.
Jillian, Malcolm, and Xao spend their time at the rifle range. Malcolm manages to lure Jillian into a betting match and trounces her, though she does improve over the course of their time there as she remembers the specifics of how to handle a rifle instead of her trusty shotgun; a rifle is too dangerous to use on board a ship so she's drastically out of practice. Xao's a mediocre shot with a pistol and doesn't really know his way around a rifle all that well. He opts to get some lessons and is none too subtly mocked of for his lack of skill and his outfit. He fumes at the ridicule but keeps his cool.
After several hours everyone's ears are ringing a bit despite the protection, with the exception of Bishop and Neet.
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Bishop's Bedpost Notch Count: 0 (running total: 13)
Volkova's Bedpost Notch Count: 0 (running total: 1)