Following their meeting with Jellik Fulsom, the party follows the colonist through the woods on a circuitous route to Madelon's Landing and Aibretta's junk shot. Fulsom tells them he's trying to avoid the detection equipment the Azlanti have placed in the forest. It takes an hour to cover the half kilometer, but eventually they reach the back of a large building. Fulsom walks them to a section of the building, and shows them how to activate a concealed panel to access the junkyard's interior.
The junkyard itself is made of three large shipping containers assembled in a u-shape, with chainlink fencing around the property and large piles of junk hazardly placed around the yard, obscuring the view of the inner courtyard. Fulsom takes them to the easternmost building, which are Aibretta's private quarter.
 |
| Aibretta |
Aibretta does not look surprised to see Jellik, merely disappointed. She welcomes the new arrivals, and informs them of what has happened over the last 20 days, retellling a similar story to that Jellik told them earlier in the morning. She then inquires if they came to Nakondis because their plea for help was heard. Unfortunately, none of the four had heard of the assault before they came here on a merchant transport.
Gryfinda tells Aibretta she is looking for someone. Beric confirms that he too seeks someone. They explain that their ship was shot down, and, seeing the lights in the night sky, made their way to Maledon's Landing. Trevian introduces himself, and asks if per chance she knows what was discovered in the wreck of the ancient Azlanti ship. Aibretta doesn't know, and Cedona, the android who discovered the ship, was immediately arrested and imprisoned inside the garrison following the Azlanti's landing. All others on the trek were arrested or shot, leaving no other witnesses. Gryfinda reveals that her deity has sent her here to free Cedona.
Aibretta questions them on their encounters with the Azlanti, and they assure her that they covered their tracks very carefully, and that the Azlanti don't know they are here. Aibretta considers this a very good thing. As leader of the local rebellion, she knows of several ways to hit at the Azlanti short of assaulting the garrison. One, the town is often infested by hobgars, and the townsfolk built a trap to catch the apes. It is currently full, but the Azlanti have not allowed it to be empty. Second, the Azlanti have forced water rationing, so freeing the water collector would be a boost to the inhabitants' morale. Finally, she's worried about Rendell Tace, who is the storehouse clerk and who hasn't been seen since an Aeon cadet was posted there two days ago.
Trevian, Altronus and Beric discuss how to neutralize the Azlanti surveillance that has bee strategically placed around Madelon's Landing. Since all the guards wear the same uniform, it's difficult to arrive at an actual number, but Aibretta believes there are three dozen soldiers here. She has not seen more than 12 at a time, however. She identifies Olaraja as the local commander, while Sharu is in overall command and was the only soldier seen without a face plate when she first occupied the town. Whereas Olaraja wears a distinctive armor, Sharu has not been spotted in town since the Azlanti's first landing 20 days ago.
The discussion then turns to the cause of the planet-wide jamming signal. Gryfinda speculates that the source of the jamming could be at the crash site. Trevian offers that it could be a system set up in space. Either way, they realize they have no way of effectively dealing with it at the moment.
Eventually, they begin considering their options. Altronus volunteers to monitor the town at night by sitting on the natural ridge that acts as an antenna after dark. Gryfinda is concerned that her Kasatha colleagues will stick out. Even though she could pass as an Azlanti, she is not very stealty. Aibretta lends night vision goggles to Altronus, and confirms that the Azlanti confiscated all of the weapons following their arrival.
Beric excitedly explores the junkyard. He questions Aibretta about the water collector. She tells him it is composed of a large array of fins that collects the moisture from the air and drips it in four large tanks, that then feed into a systems of pipes for delivery to the residences in town. The Azlanti have shut the valve down, and there are reports that it is protected by a ghost, even though there are no guards posted there.
After the Gap - May 2, 317 @ 21:00
Following night fall, Altronus and Beric climb on the ridge and watches the garrison. There is a shift change around 22:00, but aside from a strange beam of light that is focused into space from the roof of the building, nothing of interest happen. Beric determines that a glider could drop them on the roof, and the cameras' are positioned to cover the grounds, but not the air.
Gryfinda decides to explore the storehouse. At this time of night, there are no guards, and the large bay door is opened. She checks the small office door, but it is locked. She enters the storeroom. Taking a peek through the inside office door, she finds a sleeping man in the office, with Aeon Guard armor and equipment next to him. She casts mind thrust at him, and debilitates him. Coming closer, she realizes that he does't look like a soldier and is in fact dressed like the colonists. She gags and binds him. Searching the warehouse, she finds the dead body of an Aeon cadet. Returning to the office, Gryfinda heals Rendell and he tells her about how he accidentally killed the guard the first day he showed up, and he has been impersonating him ever since. She tells him to continue keeping guard for a few days while they devise a plan, and he reluctantly agrees. Gryfinda then returns to the junkyard.
Beric climbs down the ridge and also returns to the junkyard and begins work on a two-person glider. Beric's current plan is to land someone on the roof with a plasma cutter, cut a hole in the roof and infiltrate the garrison building.
After the Gap - May 3, 317 @ 6:09
As the dawn approaches, Altronus witnesses another change of guards. Two patrols, one of three and one of two, begin a rotation around town and take the trail that passes by the cemetery, away from prying eyes.
After the two-persons patrol goes by, they lay in ambush, and when the three-persons patrol shows up they attack. Surprised, the Azlanti cadets fight to the death. Gryfinda and Trevian clear all signs of combat, while Altronus and Beric bury the bodies, and they reset the trap. Less than half an hour later, the next patrol enters the path next to the cemetery, and meet a similarly grizzly end.
Having collected the salvageable gear, they return to Aibretta and bring her three suits. She outfits three townsfolk, and ask them to continue patrolling. With the five Azlanti killed on the trail, the dead one in the storehouse, five more dead and buried in the cemetery, and another five away at the wreck of the ancient Azlanti ship, this leaves approximately 20 Azlanti soldiers in town, with at least one patrol out in the forest. Gryfinda, Trevian, Altronus and Beric regroup at the junk yard and plan their next step ...
No comments:
Post a Comment