So What Happened to the Lost Treasure of Amazonas Galacticus?

    Alistair's quest for the lost treasure of Amazonas Galacticus has led to the icy planet of Dichelles

Captain's Log

Ship's Log, Interstellar Yacht Inconceivable, Capt. Alistair Valentine recording. I know now what happened to the ship carrying the treasure of that asshole, Chuff Betsos, founder of Amazonas Galacticus, and my old employer. And I am tempted to just walk away. Let the pirates right here on Dichelles keep their ill-gotten gains! Because if any of this treasure is recovered, Mr. Billions is going to employ every legal means to regain it. Shit! On the other hand, these pirates tried to kill us. And who's to say they'll forget their grudge now that we know their dirty little secret? Not bloody likely, right? Plus, they killed all the innocent people on both the treasure ship and Seon's vessel. Murderers like that don't deserve to be left undisturbed to enjoy treasure. At least that's how I am going to pitch it to the crew. We'll see if they go along..."

    Capt. Alistair Valentine of the Interstellar Yacht, Inconceivable

 

Decision in the Briefing Room

"Now that you're all gathered here, Gunny, tell everyone what you and Cephvarx Hul found out from our captive, and what Doc was able to investigate and deduce from it." The Inconceivable crew sat around their briefing room aboard the ship. The wounded survivors of the Galactic Defense force that had ambushed them were bound and locked up in the cargo compartment. The dead from that force were also in the compartment, and had been left out for their viewing pleasure as they'd been interrogated.

Gunny McBride began, "The trooper that Cephvarx captured was not the commander of the detachment -- but he was an NCO. So, I figured it was likely he knew something. I pulled a few tricks from my time in the Galactic Marines -- and Cephvarx added a little intimidation -- to loosen his tongue and tell his tale." Everyone's attention was riveted on the grizzled retiree of the galaxy's most storied fighting force.

Doc Mecrosus chimed in, his voice clipped and clear through environmental suit's speakers. "I've accessed the files of the planet Dichelles' news organizations, as well as some publicly accessible information on companies and organizations on this planet. I also did a thorough investigation of the five suspected pirates and their families. It confirms everything Gunny is going to tell you -- 100%. This is conclusively what happened to the lost treasure of Amazonas Galacticus."  

    Second in command, former Galactic Marine Gunny McBride

Gunny nodded. "The pirate ship was a five-man crew. All five were residents of Dichelles, who ranged abroad in the intergalactic space outside of Dichelles systems, and a couple neighboring ones. They preyed upon ships, stole what was worth stealing, then jettisoned the captives into space. They got lucky with the Amazonas treasure ship. Once they realized what they'd found, Seon's ship had blundered within tracking range, and had likely detected them, too. First, they knocked out her communications without so much as hailing her or trying to use trickery. Next, they blasted her to space dust, with Seon's escape pod likely being the only one not spotted and destroyed.

"Next, they must have discussed what to do with all their loot. Chuff Betsos and his employees would come looking for it. They decided to give up pirating, sell their ship, and lay low. Act like nothing had happened. Once a year, each of the five would go off-world and live the life of a billionaire. Part of their spendings off-world were to hire diggers and remodelers to renovate each of their houses back on Dichelles with underground expansions. Up top they looked like ordinary citizens, but in their secret basements, they lived in luxury. They used their money to bribe their way into control of the local politics, military, communications, and every aspect of Dichelles life. These five pirates and their families are the kingpins of Dichelles."

    An immunity disease forces Doc Mecrosus to always wear an environmental suit

Doc brought up several images and silent video clips on the video screen which illustrated what the ex-marine was saying. "I have to say, I admire their discipline. Ruthless bastards, yes, but utterly non-descript on the surface. All of their spendings were near-untraceable. They allow themselves only one month a year to go off in secret and enjoy their billionaire status, where nobody knows them. Let loose."

Captain Valentine tapped the briefing table. "So the question is, what do we do about it? I see two options. One, we say we're done -- mystery solved! We don't tell anyone about it (Option 1A) because we don't want Betsos to get his money back. 'One B' is to let select news organizations off-world know, and let Amazonas Galacticus and the pirates fight it out. Option One will likely be the safest route. Blast off immediately, and we don't risk a showdown with five families whose money likely controls this planet. I can't ask you, my crew and friends, I hope, to risk your lives for my silly quest -- especially when the mystery is solved."

Zorina chuckled. "Um, sir, we've been risking our lives ever since we signed on with you! If that was a big deterrent, I don't think we'd still be here..."

    Green-skinned Zorina is of the Valkeeri race, and adds youthful enthusiasm to the team

The captain saluted her, smiled. He continued, "Option 2. The riskier one. We pick the pirate's home who controls the Dichelles media and -- as Gunny would say -- go in with guns blazing. Our goal would be to capture him, recover his portion of the treasure, and use his access codes to break the news. Then, assuming we're happy with the amount of treasure we've snagged, we dust off of this planet and let the people fight it out amongst themselves. Sure, that bastard Chuff's people will hear about it, but his money will counteract the pirates' money, and Dichelles will have to make its own call what to do with their new celebrity criminals."

Almost as one, the others sat back in their chairs. Alistair could see the look of contemplation on their faces, well, everyone except Doc's, which was hidden behind the mask of his environmental suit. Alistair added, "Take some time to think about it, if you need. But by now, at least one of the pirates knows his ambush didn't work. And he knows where the Inconceivable is docked."

Seon cleared his throat, and spoke up. "I've been with your guys the shortest amount of time, so I know my word here means the least. But those bastards killed my friends and crewmates, and almost got me. They stole 20 years from my life! I vote Option 2." Across from him, Zorina raised her fist, then slowly uncurled two fingers. Doc held up a gloved hand, two fingers upraised.

    Cephvarx Hul is a fearsome alien from the Varx race, fiercely loyal to Alistair

Cephvarx voice rumbled, "Varxian honor demands Option 2...for me." 

Gunny chucked, leaned forward, holding up his two fists. He slowly uncurled his two middle fingers and said, "Looks like this is our message to the pirates!" Nervous laughter broke out around the table as they all realized they had committed themselves to the most dangerous path. However, for Captain Valentine's crew, that wasn't necessarily something new...!

In Between Turns

I know it has been three months since I visited my Five Parsecs from Home campaign. However, I wanted to ponder the final mission of the Alistair and the Inconceivable's quest. Now, it is time, though. Time to pull up my log and roll up Campaign Turn 6. Will this be the final turn? I have certainly enjoyed my first ever solo campaign.

I decided in light of the storyline to have this fight be an indoor one. It will be located in the spacious secret area underneath one of the pirate's deceptively normal looking homes. I think I will use my silver space station floor mats and my Sci-Fi scatter or buildings for the "terrain" in the rooms. I've seen others run indoor games, so it only makes sense for this one to be similar. For the "bad guys," I rolled up Hired Muscle. Since the fewer people who know the true extent of the pirates' wealth, the better in their eyes, I think I will use my 3-D printed "Terminators" as the hired (or purchased) guns. 

    Asleep in an escape pod for 20 years, Seon Vogalia is the crew's most recent addition

Once again, I rolled up that two members of my crew would be delayed until I roll well enough to bring them on. Once again, I decided that the security bot would stay back guarding the ship, since he could control the ship systems best and be able to fight off any preemptive attack by the pirates or their goons. So, I rolled randomly and it will be Seon and Zorina who will be delayed. I will rationalize that they are "upstairs" establishing control of the upper public quarters of the house while the rest of the crew takes out its security forces below. 

I will likely get a chance to play this one out within the next week. So, keep an eye out for that AAR!