Plot Threads

Fallon's week produces some leads:

* You do find record of a previous visit to Walston by the Wayward Wind 6 months ago. It escorted another ship from the Trexalon Trade Consortium (TTC). It's listed as a diplomatic/trade mission. Greener confirms the TTC dealt directly with the Loudermilks, he had no interaction with them or the old Wayward Wind crew.

* The planets of Trexalon and Collace are the two major political forces local to this subsector. Trexalon vehemently opposes joining the Imperium, while Collace whole-heartedly supports it. Collace accuses Trexalon of fanning the flames of Imperial hatred and using strongarm tactics, while Trexalon accuses Collace of selling out to their Imperial masters.

* Records identify the captain of the Wayward Wind as Salvor Dreks. There were three other crew members, names unlisted. Through eye-witness accounts you manage to produce a composite sketch:



* You suspect they abandoned the ship due to the malfunctioning M-drive. If they didn't have any spare plasma coils like you did, they wouldn't have been able to get it back in the air.

*The ship they hijacked was called Princess of Avalon, 200 DTon far trader with Jump-2 capabilities.



* You heard a rumour from Simi that the ship they stole had cargo on board that belonged to Kimber destined for the Elixabeth system. But, Kimber received payment, so it is likely that the crew of the Princess of Avalon eventually managed to retake their ship. It is possible they are imprisoned there, if they are still alive.

* You possess a damaged data core that may still contain information from the time before the Wayward Wind was in your possession.

* From the Sword Worlders in Elixabeth, you learned that personal weapon sales are booming.

* From the Imperial Navy in Elixabeth, you procured a data dump regarding pirate operations in District 268.

* You now possess gigabytes of sensor data on Alo'hei, which may be worth a lot of money to the right people.

Imperial Navy Data Dump on Piracy in District 268
The Navy data dump is a collection of statistical data from agencies across District 268 that profiles pirate attacks, as well as log data from captured corsair vessels. Some important conclusions can be drawn from this data:

Pirate Bases
indicates three systems are the most likely havens for pirates:

1. Tarkine: Tarkine's government has long been suspected of consorting with corsairs and raiders. Logs indicate corsairs striking out from and returning to this system on a regular basis. The data dump also indicates that Imperial and other independent freighters are 10 times more likely to be preyed upon by pirates. This makes it statistically likely that Tarkine has some protection agreement with many pirates. Captured pirates have confessed to giving a percentage of profits in exchange for no-questions-asked port access for repairs and refuelling. Its central location in the subsector makes it perfect for striking the pro-Imperial shipping lanes that extend from Elixabeth to Collace and beyond (known as the Collace Arm).

2. Trexalon: Trexalon is a vocal adversary of the Imperium in District 268. Coincidentally, the majority of pirates are outfitted with ships and weaponry from the Trexalon Trade Consortium, but it cannot be proven that Trexalon is knowingly arming corsairs for the purpose of attacking Imperial interests. The fact remains that the TTC has a lot to lose from competition from Imperial MegaCorporations.

3. Bowman: Bowman is situated right in the middle of the Bowman Arm, a burgeoning trade route that extends from Elixabeth to Flammarion. Bowman contains the Spinward Marches' largest asteroid belt - an incredible swath of mineral-rich asteroids that takes up five planetary orbits. There is so much space to hide in Bowman that it is impossible to patrol. It is known to be more connected with the Sword World Confederation than with Trexalon, but the data dump suggests cooperation between the two factions.The Wayward Wind
In the past five years, the Wayward Wind has been identified in more than fifty piracy events ranging across District 268, and was likely involved in many more that left no record. The majority of attacks have been along the Collace Arm, clustered in the systems within 2 parsecs of Tarkine and Trexalon. Often Imperial or neutral targets, but not exclusively. There are also examples of the Wayward Wind being involved in attacking other pirates as well.