2. Digging in Sand

You make your way back to the gang's hideout, the one where they were going to take the weapons, and find out where Byron is. Turns out to be easy as he's in the back, making dinner for the now too small crew.

You find him chopping the head off a lizard, ready to butcher it for the stew pot. He's got short, curly black hair and a thin beard, with pale cracked skin. He says over his shoulder, "Three hours to soften this shuteater up. If you're hungry, there's a Harkonnen street rat selling spiced kababs around the corner."

Star Cobra is there too, Artemi will tell you. You can leave Byron alone for now and consult the mercenary leader.

You find him in the back, doing maintenance on an air car. "Ah, the investigators return. Did you learn anything from the attack site?"

"We found a local who was on the receiving end of my brand of persuasion," Rook says smirking as he cleans an imaginary piece of food from between his teeth with his dagger.

"The man admitted that the attackers were disguised as Fremen, Stillsuits and all, but their eyes gave them away. Marcus was able to identify Senjin Draig, a mercenary with the Void Banner. Big bounty hunters that group are, and possible spies for the emperor."

"It certainly is a possibility. At the risk of speculation, perhaps the Emperor doesn't trust the Harkonnens. Then again, who would. The Void Banner could be a means to ensure that the Baron is being completely forthright with him. Or perhaps, the Emperor wishes to goad the Baron into hastening the pace at which he executes the Emperor's will or meets quota on spice production. Politics aren't my strong suit." He turns to face Hural. "I would defer to Hural's analytical mind to tie these threads together."

"It is difficult to say at this point," Hural says, "I agree that much would be speculation at this point. We do have other concerns we hoped to discuss with you, particularly as to how your movement of the cargo was identified and intercepted. We believe someone within your ranks slipped the information, even helped stage things. We'd like to talk to the man, with your leave."

Rook's eyebrows arch at the idea of more questioning. He nods in agreement with both Marcus and Hural.

"That's agreeable," Hural says with a nod, "I was going to suggest the same. We saw Byron when we came in, he was working in the kitchen, had a blade on him. Might I suggest you call him in here, under the guise of something mundane?"

Rook closes the door, peering put the other side before doing so and then takes up a position in front of it until the decision is made whether to call Byron in or not.

Marcus nods in agreement with the mercenary leader.

Opening the door, Star Cobra leans out and yells for Byron. "Byron, you got a moment? Need your experience on some intel I just got."

He steps back and examines the tools that he had laid out for his repairs.

Moments later, Byron comes in and walks up to Star Cobra. "What ya get?"

The merc leader looks at Hural. "Tell him."

Hural looks to Marcus and gestures with his eyes to the door, silently asking him to bar the exit.

"Byron, hello. We wanted to ask some questions about your affiliations outside of Star Cobra's group. Particularly, the Void Banner." He cocks his head slightly, watching the man's eyes and hands with equal care. He searches for signs of a weapon, or of worry.

Byron looks in surprise at Hural and bolts. He turns and runs out of the room, dodging through the hideout and out into the street.

Spending two points of Threat for Byron to act first. This presumes that you were ready for him to bolt, hence the cost.

Let's do this as a chase scene. What are the rules for a chase scene? Good question. You will have to "defeat" Byron by successfully achieving successes in chasing him. Your target is 6, and a successful Skill plus drive with an applicable focus roll gains you 2 points plus the quality of an asset used for the attempt. What is an asset? It's gear or another asset on your sheet that you'll use to make the attempt. If you don't have such an asset, your legs are an asset of 0 quality.

Rook sprints after the man, pistol drawn in one hand, knife in the other. Good at reading crowds from years of stealthily meandering around them, he follows Byron and attempts to close the distance between them. He has faith in himself to get the job done and the moral imperative to do so for Myra. He also knew that lady luck was often on his side.

Ashamed that Byron got past him, Marcus gives chase. It was his duty to catch this man, but he had to move stealthily through the crowd in order to avoid being seen by Byron.

Hural moves swiftly to follow Byron, offering only a slight look to Star Cobra that speaks volumes in and of itself. Guilt - only a guilty man would run such as this.

He pulls his maula pistol and uses his near-perfect memory of the area from their multiple visits to this location in order to plot an efficient path to cut Byron off, intending to take a shot at his leg if he gets within sight.

You run out after him, and as a trio working together, drive him into Marcus' waiting trap. He stops, eyes on Marcus' armaments.

Skidding to a halt, "Let me go," he hisses, looking over his shoulder. "it's bigger than you can imagine."