Chapter 1: Ring of Fire

Some things you'll notice at the beach!

* There is no intertidal zone, owing to the fact that this planet has no moons and therefore no tides.
* The water doesn't seem to get deeper than 1 metre. If there is a drop-off, it is too far out enough to see.
* You see some fish that mimic the kaleidoscope effect of the disturbed sand* swimming among blue-green water plants. They're fairly small and seem harmless.

After a ten minutes or so, your swim is disturbed by a loud crack and a few seconds of rumbling. Looking back to Startown, you see the buildings swaying slightly. A few kayaks that were stacked against the wall of a shed topple over. Seems like some kind of seismic activity.

People start coming out of their houses and shops. You see there are a mix of both Vargr and human residents, who seem to keep be keeping to their own kind, with a few exceptions. The chatter registers somewhere between annoyed and nervous, and you over hear an incredulous "Did you feel that?" and an alarmed "Second time this week!"

The people mill around a bit, and the discussion starts turning to the newly-arrived off-worlders. Mutters of "Hope they're better than the last group," and a suspicious "Where'd they get to, anyhow?"

---

* - If you ask around, you'll find the locals refer to them as 'rainbow trout.'

Alerio, who has been content to just mill around the beach, wetting her feet on the water lapping around her ankles, calls to some of the closest inhabitants.

"Anything we need to worry about?"

She motions to her companions in the water; an indication that she’s asking if they need to get out.

"What was that?" she follows up with.

Seally stands up in the water, the water halfway up her hips. She pushes the water from her hair, and looks out to sea, wondering if there will be a big wave from the tremor, but mainly looking for signs of a meteor impact, or an industrial operation.

"This water is gorgeous, did you see those fish? But I'm going to go dry off."

She splashes Zuni once more and walks back to shore.

Zuni's enormous smile was wiped off his face after the tremor. Suddenly naked women were of no importance. He ignores Seally's playful splash and exits the water too.

"Fish? Uh ... no ... and I'm right behind you."

"Oh, I'm sure you're BEHIND her, all right. Look at that view! And don't be so worried, it's probably just an earthquake. Have you ever heard of the quakes on Ksandi? Strong enough to crumble mountains!" Seeing everyone continue to leave the water, Fallon sighs and splashes toward the shore and her clothes.

"Nothing gets by you, Fallon, does it?" Zuni chuckles as he relaxes a little, feeling a tad silly.

Nothing like a bit of humor to dampen frayed nerves though, he thinks. Ships move, planets aren't supposed to and he doesn't like it much.

"I wouldn't be a good journalist if they did," she smiles at him reassuringly.

After a moment, the crowd dissipates. Several folks decide to stay outside, and a few take notice as you take towels out of your kit bags and get your clothes back on*. Most politely avert their gaze, but there's definitely some gossip going on.
Seally sees no sign of either.

---

* - Fortunately, space boxers are woven with an insta-dry fabric.

Upon being ignored by the crowd, Alerio turns and makes a face at her companions.

"Not a helpful lot, are they?" she says then.

"All eyes and no mouth around here. I think we’d better see about the ship before that… whatever it was… happens again. I don’t want to be stuck planetside if an ash cloud kicks up."

"Agreed. We aren't geologists. Well at least I'm not. It's interesting no one here seems to know what's causing it though..." she trails off in thought as she pulls on her clothes. "But that's secondary to why we're here. We should go back and ask about the ship at the space port. That guard with the beat-up face said something about it being strange we were here looking for a ship. That makes it sound like a ship hasn't been left here in a long while."

"That is definitely alarming." Zuni pulls on his clothes, thankfully for his high-tech insta-dry boxers™. "But look. I'd like to check out that sand museum. Those fish kind of mimicked the strange colors in it. Maybe it's related to the tremors in some way. Also, the visitor center seems like a place we might want to check out."

Seally dainitly gets dressed as if public nudity is entirely unremarkable. Inside, however, she's shaking a little at the daring-do they've each exhibited. Exhibited, that's funny!

Her administrator training comes in, and she considers the bureaucracy. "We should ask around, yes, and perhaps the spaceport customs officials maintain an inventory of prior landings. If we can track down the ship by it's legal status, then we might have a place to start."

DOWNPORT CUSTOMS: FALLON & SEALLY

---

After getting their clothes back on, Fallon and Seally head back to the downport to make inquiries about Wayward Wind. On their way, they get some strange looks from a few locals. Four more security guards have congregated in the main plaza. Still on the process of strapping on their flak jackets as if they were responding to an impromptu call for duty. They flash you looks as you walk past that you figure they mean to say "watch your step."

When you arrive in the sterile concourse of the downport, you see the mechanics have just cleared through security and are heading toward Autumn Gold - maybe the ship needed more work than Captain Keller's initial assessment. The beat-up guard you spoke to earlier is doing some paperwork (literally - with an old fashioned ink pen on yellow sheets of paper), but nods as the two of you approach.

Seeing your damp hair, he says "So, how was the swim?" with a grin that is leaning towards dirty but stays mostly on the friendly side.

VISITORS CENTER AND MUSEUM: ALERIO & ZUNI

Alerio and Zuni head back to the plaza and make their way to the Visitor's Center to make inquiries about Wayward Wind and learn more about the planet's odd sand. On their way, they get some strange looks from a few locals. Four more security guards have congregated in the main plaza, still on the process of strapping on their flak jackets as if they were responding to an impromptu call for duty. They flash you looks as you walk past that you interpret as meaning "watch your step."

When you enter the Visitors Center, you find yourselves alone in lobby that is a kaleidoscope of shifting colors. A chandelier adorned with the same kind of prismatic glass that Seally's new earrings are made of. They paint the otherwise plain white walls and white plastic furniture in rainbows.

There are a few computer terminals that look like are there to book tours. You see you can charter a fishing boat expedition, or take some vehicles out into the desert for sand sports and a tour of Walston's now-defunct sand harvesting plant. There's also a place to buy tickets for a train to head to other towns on the island, and a place to book accommodations.

There's also a door that takes you to the museum side of the building. After a moment, a Vargr woman with a name tag that reads "Simi" comes through the door and greets you. "Oh, hi there! You must be the new travellers. Sorry, the tremors did a number on one of my displays, and they're already in such a sorry state! How can I help you?"

Fallon flips her wet hair over her shoulder. "The good news is you don't have to shoot anyone," she smiles. "Nobody bothered us at all. However refreshing it was though it wasn't long enough. There was some kind of earthquake that seemed to startle everyone and cut our swim shorter than I would have liked. But now that it's over, we are looking for some information on a ship." Fallon gives the guard the basic info on the Wayward Wind.

Alerio keeps her face blank, though another Vargr had her back up even further. It wasn’t something she was proud of… not when this sector was probably some other gang’s playground anyway. But she couldn’t help it. Instinct.

"Yeah, what was that? I asked around outside but everyone was pretty tight lipped!"

Seally smiles at the guard as if she's intrigued by his dirty look. "I never asked earlier about your bruised eye. Were you dong something manly, like playing double-G kickboxing?"

She'll add to Fallon's info the last know transponder ID and other technical identifiers they have for the Wayward Wind.

"You are presuming that they will give us access to that landing log. I wouldn't count on it. Something is off. Why are the inhabitants here so blase about these quakes? Anyway, I'll see what I can find out at the visitors' center. Good luck you finding stuff out, wish us luck."

Zuni ruminates about the quakes and the prismatic theme of the planet while he and Aliero head over to the visitors' center. He notices Alerio's response to the Vargr with a frown as he has no such feelings for them one way or the other.

"No need to apologize but some explanations would be helpful. What's with the kaleidoscope theme around here and the funky sand, fish, jewelry and so forth? Also, a minor detail but we came here to pick up a ship. Have you heard anything about a ship called Wayward Wind?"

DOWNPORT CUSTOMS: FALLON & SEALLY

---

"Yeah, couldn't help but notice that little shake-up myself," he says with a chuckle. "That's two in the last week. But you take the good with the bad. Folks settled on this island because of the volcanic vents all around the island - they keep things warm, keep the fish coming back. A few shake-ups is a small price to pay for slice of paradise."
"Did you say Wayward Wind?" The guard grimaces and his back stiffens at the name. "Yeah, I remember that ship alright. About 7 weeks back. Why are you asking?" You can tell something is up in the way his demeanour has abruptly changed.
Your concern for his eye is well-timed.

"Turned out the crew of the Wayward Wind was a huge bunch of assholes. Started out just rude, looking down their noses at our little planet. Then they tore up a hotel room. They came back a few days later, went on a joyride through our town, shot up the museum. A few folks got hurt before we chased them off. If folk are more wary of off-worlders than usual, then that's why."

VISITORS CENTER AND MUSEUM: ALERIO & ZUNI

---

Simi downplays the tremor. "Oh, that's just our island. Don't worry, nothing dangerous - just the volcanic vents acting up. They're off-shore and keep this corner of Walston warmer than the rest. You wouldn't want to go skinny-dipping in the ocean elsewhere! Oh, did that come off as judgy? It's totally fine by me if you and your friends want to get your fur wet. I mean ... skin? I mean ... I didn't look or anything."

Siri's ears start turning down, the Vargr equivalent to blushing.
Thankful for a way out of that awkwardness, Simi leaps into full-blown museum guide mode. "So glad you asked! You see, Walston's sands are blessed with a special kind of silica, a kind of naturally-forming prismatic crystal. Delgado Trading used to mine Walston sand to use across the sector in sandcasters. They'd ship it by the kiloton! Everyone wanted Walston sand - did a better job than regular particulates. That is, until x-ray frequency lasers became the norm and our sand become a worthless commodity that nobody wanted. The megacorp packed up shop and everyone was out of a job."

"A few folk stuck around, though. And Walston still attracts artists and sculptors, mind you. My own people crash-landed a cruiser during the Third Frontier War. The people of Walston helped us out, and a lot of us decided to stay. It's so beautiful here, don't you think?"

"You can still visit the old wrecked cruiser - us Vargr do it every year to pay homage to our ancestors. And the old sand mines are quite something to see, if you're interested."

When you ask about the Wayward Wind, she clams up a bit, and her lips curl slightly, showing teeth. "Oh dear, that ship? I wish it had never come here! Why do you want to know?"