2525-2 Haven Tales

Shepherd Derriel Book's old community on Haven has been left largely unoccupied since the events of 2518. Now a group of Shepherds and their apprentices from Southdown Abbey on Persephone are interested in reopening the old place as a memorial and shrine to Shepherd Book, and to pray for victims of Reavers. But in the seven years since then, a number of squatters have taken it over, and are unwilling to share. This particular band of desperadoes are deserters from the Union (Sihnon) who have been puttering around since the war, robbing banks and moving on. Bounties can be found if they are searched. When they went to reclaim the site, the squatters fired on the Shepherds, killing one of them and kidnapping two others.

The delegation, currently stuck in Cairo, ask for help recovering the body of their deceased friend. They are unwilling to use force to clear the place out, but they do want to retrieve their dead and missing.

The squatters are determined to stay on the site because of the existing water and power supplies (well and geotap), but they were drawn by rumors of a mine. The rumors are true, there are heavy metal deposits near the surface. The squatters are also ranchers, having acquired a small herd of cattle. They do a side business as a safe haven for a group of pirates. The shepherd and initiate are locked in a room while the squatters debate on what to do. There is a single old and battered militarized scout craft hidden under a tarp in a nearby valley. It'll fly, but only barely. The squatters also have a range mule like the Songbird.