Chapter 1: Ring of Fire

Seally nods her understanding to him, letting the others ask the pertinent questions. She has had some scientific training, a curiosity of her youth, and understands the principles if not the specifics.

She's more concerned with the leverage that Greener has over them, and how much negotiating room they have.

Fallon accepts the whisky and swishes it in her mouth, savoring the flavor. She grimaces a little at the burning sensation. She had been a carouser in her early career and was used to the cheaper and less potent drinks that would stay with you the whole night. But she couldn't deny it was a smooth burn.

Her brow furrows as he mentions surveys and volcanoes. This was completely out of her area of expertise. She'd be little more than a documentarian on this outing. Nevertheless, it didn't hurt to learn all she could.

"We don't exactly have a ship. We hitched a ride here, hoping we would be leaving with the Wayward Wind. If you want to show us the location now and turn it back over to us, we could use it to do this survey for you." Fallon offered.

"I did," Zunia answers to the question of his being trained by IISS and doing his best not to pump out his chest too much. But he is wary of this A. Greener who is essentially blackmailing them with their ship's location.

"If my friends here agree we might do it but how about you sweeten the pot with some extra creds in addition to those salvage rights which we actually don't need since as Seally said we already own through her family?"

Zuni figured if the guy wasn't such a jerk who wouldn't try to extract money from him but since it appeared that he needed them as much as they needed him it was worth a shot.

Salvage rights, my ass. The ship is ours, he thinks as he nods emphatically at Fallon when she mentions turning the ship back over to them.

Seally does the sums in her head. Once they have the ship, then even if he doublecrosses them, they have what they came for. It would be better to get out of this cleanly, and it is a beautiful port to have as a place to return to.

"We would be fools to turn down your offer, Mr. Greener, and fools we are not." She offers her hand. "Once the Wayward Wind is space worthy, we'll be looking for additional work. We look forward to the first of many exercises together. "

"And firearms are prohibited, right, even when working as government contractors?" Seally smiles charmingly, as she wonders where the prior crew went, and figures they'll not want to give up a several MCr ship without a protracted fight. They're getting closer, they have a sighting, if not confirmation that it is still there. Her dreams of galactic adventure draw closer!

She records the information provided into her mobile comm, and asks what specifically is prohibited, and assuming there are no powered flight options allowed, she says to the others, "Perhaps we can rent climbing equipment."

The task itself wouldn't be too difficult as Zuni had experience with seismic charges, tunnels and caves. The extra creds were a boon he didn't expect. They must really need this job done.

"That's a tall order, carrying those charges up a steep slope, even if we use a grav vehicle for some of the ascent, and I'm sure at the very least we will need respirators. Why can't we make an exception with the grav vehicles and get that limiter removed? I mean if you want us to succeed, give us the best chance. Someone around here can surely override the law in this case, yes?"

"Everything’s already up there, waiting for us. The only thing we need to get up to the top… is ourselves. Have I got that right?"

Alerio asked flatly. She was setting her mind to the task at hand. A problem to be solved; an investigation to be carried out. Work. And when it came to work, she was all business.

"Only thing I can think of is gear for the temperature. Not sure we are equipped for volcanic surveys as is."

"We'll be in touch when we have a report."

Seally stands, the meeting over. "Mr. Greener, it's been a pleasure."

Seally leaves and takes some more notes out of site in the hallway.

»Type 7-14 grav veh inhib chip, Dashi Combine

"Yes, a pleasure," Zuni says to Mr. Greener as he follows Seally out into the hallway. "You got that about the grav vehicle I see. Good. You going to hack in?"

Alerio stands, and nods to the man. Spinning on her heel, she follows the others.

"So maybe we do need to go shopping? When do we want to head out?"

Fallon holds her hand out in farewell. "I'm glad we could reach a beneficial agreement for both of us. Hopefully this is over quickly and your fears will be unfounded. This place is too nice to be wiped out by a volcano or an earthquake." She turns and leaves with the others.

Alan Greener bids you good luck as you part, and initiates your accommodations upgrade. When you return to The Walston, Deborah is there to greet you. "Well well, things are looking up for you folks. With Minister Greener picking up your tab, you'll be getting the full treatment. The staff is standing by to help you move your things to the penthouse."

As cozy as your quad was, it's nice to get a big space to live in, especially since living space is always at such a premium in interstellar travel. The luxury of the suite isn't bad even by Seally's standards.

There are two spacious sleeping quarters which are big enough to be their own suites.


The living room is big as a cargo hold. Even sleeping on the couch will be a joy.


Even both bathrooms are wide-open and modern.


In addition, there is a fully-stocked wet bar, hot tub, plush robes and slippers, expansive terrace with outdoor seating, a dining area, and an integrated audio system (which is playing nature sounds from Terra softly in the background when you arrive).

Looking up the details on the Type 7-14 grav inhibitor ship, Seally finds the necessary wiring diagrams and opcodes one would need to remove one from the grav vehicle. You notice that they have tamper-proofing as an option that will disable the whole vehicle if tampering is detected. You estimate:

- Very difficult task (12+)
- Electronics (Computer) check (EDU/INT)
- Will take ~20 minutes, but you can gain a +2 modifier for taking double the time.
- The opp codes and wiring diagram will serve as a Boon for this (roll 3D and drop the lowest die).

"Oh...my...stars," Fallon breathes. "This is gorgeous! Its bigger than anything I've ever lived in. I think I could just move in here and never leave." She wanders through the rooms, running her hands over the plush sofa and soft robes, taking off her boots and wiggling her toes on the velvety rug. Even the smooth and clean floors feel great under foot. Eventually she throws her bag on the bed and collapses next to it with a big grin.

Seally tosses her jacket into a chair and plops onto the sofa. "Two beds, is it? Maybe we can draw straws for matchup." She grins at her device.

"I think we can do this. And by we I mean Fallon. These things aren't easy to disable, but these plans make it look straightforward." She sends the grav inhibitor schematics to Fallon, and then closes her eyes.

"So close. We only need to jump in a volcano and we should be able to see it." In her mind she imagines the sexy bird rising out of the caldera, steam and flame lighting the shiny crimson and gold paint job, with silvery lines on the trailing edges. Nah, too flashy.

Zuni had never seen accommodations such as this .. ever. Dropping his bags, and striding to the sofa, he fell back into it and gazed up at the view, arms stretched wide across the sofa back. "This is like a dream. It is a dream!

But he doesn't dwell there. Jumping up, he checks out the other rooms stopping short at the bathroom, whistling loudly.

"Holy meteorites, have you seen the bathroom girls? A shower and tub with a view. I could spend hours in here."