Characters: Darrurz & Mazun
NPC: Dr. Aegzgorr
Location: A hospital in a city
System: Tagan
From Darrurz's perspective:
Darrurz pushes open the door to his room to take a look at his roommate, who is
sitting up in bed using the monitor. Darrurz looks him up and down, noting that
he was startled by his arrival. The human appears to be of average height and
build, early 40's in age. Darrurz takes in his scent and in Galanglic says,
"Morning."
From Mazun's perspective:
Mazun is busy reading the library data on Tagan Pack worlds, when, without
warning, his door bursts open. A short, seasoned male vargr wearing what looks
to be light, non-descript clothing strides in. An old, faded scar runs across
the left side of his snout and up to his cheek. He sizes up Mazun, sniffs the
air, and says in perfect Galanglic, "Morning."
Mazun looks at the newcomer straight in the eye and says "Good morning to you
too."
Now we merge the two and proceed onward:
Dr. Aegzgorr follows Darrurz into the room and sniffs the air. "Darrurz, this
is Mazun. Mazun, Darrurz." She addresses Darrurz, "Mazun was forced into a
cryoberth against his will by corsairs in 1122 in Lishun sector." She then
addresses Mazun, "Darrurz says that he was frozen in 1126." Her tail wags. She
appears to be watching to see how the two new roommates react to one another.
Mazun nods, says, "Hi, doc," and stands up. He offers his hand to Darrurz.
"Pleased to meet you. More exactly, my name is Mazun Contreras, starship's
engineer and former Imperial scout."
Darrurz takes Mazun’s hand in his paw and shakes it. "I'm just Darrurz, a
merchant. I worked for Shiishirnii in Lishun before heading out on my own. I
piloted my ship before losing it to corsairs. I ended up trading through Vland
before being shot and dosed with slow on Ugarun in Vland sector during the year
1126 by some of the same lot that took my first ship. I guess they put me in a
berth shortly after that.
"Count yourself lucky that you missed the Black War. It was bad. Lucan pretty
much killed anything he could, and the rest just followed his lead. It didn't
take much for the Vilani to get back to their ruthless ways, but at least they
were trying to defend their borders when I dropped out of time."
Mazun nods. "I hope you'll find the time to tell me about those years all the
same. Can't believe it's all gone...It's the strangest thing, I am glad I did
not have to live through the rest of the war, but I still feel cheated out of
it." He shakes his head and breaths in.
After a pause, Mazun adds, "I've been doing some reading about this brave new
universe we've woken up to. It's going to need some getting used to, don't you
think?"
Darrurz replies, "We'll adapt. Vargr always do. We're probably better at
adapting than humans are. Having said that, humans are far better at providing
stability and longevity than we seem to be." Darrurz's left ear picks up a
little as he turns to Zan and asks in Gvegh, "Has the Tagan Pack had the good
sense to include humans at the top level of its government?"
Mazun seems somewhat amused. He smiles slightly (remembering not to show his
teeth) and looks at the doc.
"Oh yes," she answers in Gvegh. "There's Inis Ariigi, who's the Director of
Refugee Affairs, and Hamilton Montague, who's the Secretary of the Treasury."
She breaks eye contact and looks over at Mazun. She whimpers for a second then
repeats Darrurz's question and her answer in Galanglic for his benefit.
Her tail wags. "Well, I see that the two of you are getting along. Unless you
need me for something else, I have to get back to work. She checks her datapad.
"I'm sure that Nurse Aegazae will be by soon with lunch." With that she departs
the room leaving the two cryotube refugees alone.
Mazun gives Darrurz time to settle back into his bed or chair. Once he seems
comfortable he says, "Have you been allowed outside already? All I've seen of
the Tagan Pack so far is this room and the view from the window. I hope I can
get a look at their starships soon."
From the chair by his bed, Darrurz says, "Same here. I've only seen out the
window and the physio room. I think we need to impress our good doctor to
progress to where they might be going next. I expect that they might want you
for your experience with high tech engines. Not sure what they will want from
me. I wouldn't expect too much from their ships though. What are you used to
working on?"
Mazun replies, "Pretty much everything, but the bigger the better. I used to be
Chief Engineer on large ships and scout bases. During the war it seems the ships
we had to work with shrank constantly, though." He sighs. "Somehow I don't
expect the Tagan Pack will have a 10,000 dton escort handy. Which kind of ship
did you have?"
"Personally a Garu class and an Angrorghag class, but I've flown
stuff up to 10,000 tons when I was in Shiishirnii. I couldn't get a berth on any
of the mega-freighters, but then that's not really my area of expertise. I'm a
broker and a trader. I follow the markets and know when to trade and with whom.
Piloting ships was just something to do while getting to the next market and a
job to fall back on if needed.
"If it comes down to it, if they don't need me for anything, I can always play
the markets here to earn a living or set up a brokerage."
"I wouldn't know the first thing about that, I've spent all my life in the scout
service. Come to think of it, I figure all my savings are gone. Anyway, it
seems Pack Security wants to talk to us soon. Sounds to me like they have a
proposal in mind. Apparently they did not wake up everybody they found."
Darrurz looks at Mazun, and his ears go up while his head tilts slightly to
left. His tail is still but twitches slightly. "Now thaat my friend is
intereestiing neeewwwwws." His head tilts to the right and he looks away from
Mazun and in Gvegh he asks himself out loud, "But then how did they know I
wasn't a corsair?" Looking back to Mazun he asks in Galanglic, "Did they tell
you any information that was on your low berth? They said on mine all they had
was my name." Darrurz's ears go back and his nostrils flair a little to take in
Mazun's scent as he waits for him to answer.
Mazun thinks back for a minute, then says, "Funny. Doctor Aegzgorr said that the
fact I was an engineer and a technician was listed on my pod next to my name.
Makes sense, after all the pirates who captured me wanted to sell me, and
somehow I doubt it was for my good looks. She also said that the military
decided who they wanted revived, so I deduce they did not pick up everybody. She
added that they hoped I would agree to help them against this...Vakh. Sounds
to me they have something specific in store for us. I mean, all this doesn't
come cheap, right?"
Darrurz's ears pick back up and in Gvegh says, "Then why me?" and to Mazun in
Galanglic, "I can see that they would want your expertise. You'll be good at not
only running ships but identifying what might be still working and thus worth
having. They probably don't have much expertise in Imperial level tech out here.
Zan mentioned salvage teams entering the 'Wilds' bringing back what they think
is useful and that survivors were always considered useful. Low berths go into
quarantine, and then someone decides that those inside should be revived.
"That they want you to help them against the Vakh is natural. You're human, and
that makes you loyal and dependable. Less likely to cut and run. More likely to
stay the course. If you agree to help them that pretty much guarantees that you
will.
"As for the cost, this," Darrurz indicates the hospital room with a sweep of his
paw, "is marginal to a normal medical infrastructure unless this is a specific
institution set up just for those like us. The presence of Zan might indicate
the latter. The payoff would be the salvage of the berths themselves and the
expertise of the people in them." Darrurz indicates Mazun with his paw. "With
the priority being the sophonts inside. Otherwise they would just turn them off
and let those inside die and not choose those they wish to revive while leaving
others in their berths.
"My guess is that we were 'salvaged' from a corsair or from a pirate base as
that would fit both of our pasts, and that there are probably a number of
corsairs...sorry, pirates, among those that were salvaged with us. They revived
us while keeping those they suspect as pirates in their berths.
"The question, my friend, I have to ask myself is 'How did they know I wasn't a
corsair?' and 'What use to them am I?'"
Mazun lets Darrurz speak, nodding now and then. "Good points, and good questions
too. Maybe they do not care what you were. I doubt they would have left me
frozen if my pod had said 'pirate engineer'. Maybe the doc got it mixed up and
your pod did say you were a pilot. I don't think they have many people who knew
how to pilot 'relic' ships. Or maybe they just did some random sampling on the
pods without info. We'll find out soon enough I guess."
Mazun breaths slowly, then adds, "What do you make of that Vakh story? Sounds
pretty wild. Do you think they are exaggerating a bit?"
Darrurz replies, "Sounds like it was the ultimate end to the Black War. When
your navy starts nuking high population worlds so they are no longer high
population worlds, and taking out civilian infrastructure to deny it to the
enemy, it's bad. Really bad. The complete destruction of the universe by its own
computer infrastructure? We'll have to see. Maybe we'll get to see it
firsthand."
Mazun shudders. "Not a happy thought. I guess many starship systems run in
manual mode now. Checklists a parsec long. Gonna be fun."
Character: Mazun
NPC: Unksarga
Location: A hospital in a city
System: Tagan
After a surprisingly delicious lunch, a female vargr nurse arrives to escort
Mazun to physical therapy. She brings him some navy blue clothes that are
obviously designed for exercising. Mazun pulls a curtain over for some privacy
and puts on the clothes. They fit well.
After professing he's ready, the nurse escorts Mazun to physical therapy.
The physical therapist, a middle-aged, sturdy-looking vargr woman named Unksarga,
guides him into the small gym. It has various low impact equipment and several
elderly vargr and even a couple humans are present. Unksarga puts him through a
series of exercises directing him with her basic Galanglic. She pushes him just
enough, but notes that Mazun pushes himself harder.
Mazun pays close attention and tries to find out the specific purpose of the
exercises (target muscle group etc), showing interest and politely asking
Unksarga. His objective is to be able to continue the program on his own a bit
after he is deemed fit, which he suspects might be a bit on the early side.
Unksarga is pleased that Mazun is showing interest in the exercise routines and
explains to him what he can do.
By the end of the workout, Unksarga praises Mazun for his efforts and tells him
that he's made great progress. "Tomorrow we make hard you work."
The nurse escorts Mazun back to his room and shows him the bathroom. Darrurz is
not there. After she leaves, Mazun takes a shower.
Mazun decides to go back to the computer to complete his investigations. He
knows Darrurz will come back. The first thing he looks up are the most recent
reports he can find about the state of Imperial space. He sadly suspects that it
will be very quick, but is proven wrong.
Most of what he finds are video interviews with people who fled the Imperium.
Each talks about desperate escapes as starships fire upon other starships or
cities until stripped of their weapons and then ramming them. Mazun notes that
the interviews are conducted in Galanglic with Gvegh subtitles. And they match.
One guy tells the tale of his ship's arrival at an orbital habitat only to
discover all of the airlocks open to space. Another woman tells a tale of
witnessing starships and orbital habitats falling from the sky. When asked how
she escaped, she explains that the communications array was shut down for a
remod and the ship's transponder was being swapped out by the Vilani authorities.
"The captain saw that all hell was breaking loose, and he just took off. He
figured it was preferable risking the wrath of a Vilani naval patrol than
sticking around watching the sky fall down on our heads."
There are some declassified Tagan Security reports that list the status of
Imperial factions, Vargr states and the nations of other alien races. Most state
"unknown" with negative outlooks. The testimonies of many of the survivors is
used as evidence to back many claims. Of note, the Julian Protectorate was
listed as "definitely lost" by several verified accounts by 1140.
The Domain of Deneb's survival likelihood is "possible" with reference to a
rumored (but unsubstantiated) "Quarantine". Included in the report is a message
from the DoD claiming that it was sealing itself off from the former Imperium.
War gamers within Pack Security have suggested that the DoD might be able to
pull it off due to low exposure to the War and the astrography of Corridor.
Mazun notes that the dates of the reports are from 1140 with decadal updates.
However, in each update, he sees a familiar refrain: "No new data. No change in
assessment." Each is signed by a Pack Security Intelligence (PSI) officer. Mazun
sees that sometimes the officer had a human name.
There are also recent unsubstantiated rumors (sources withheld) that the Vilani
Empire has recovered from the Vakh Attack and is reclaiming its old worlds.
Despite its rumor status, they wanted the listing anyway so that they can plan
for this contingency.
Intrigued, Mazun tracks down the rumor to one text transcript of an interview.
Apparently the interviewee declined to be identified in the report. The
interview was conducted in 1195 and both PSI officers who conducted the
interview (a human and a vargr) believed that the interviewee was truthful.
In the body of the interview, the interviewee claimed that the Vilani were
vengeful, intent upon restoring the original Ziru Sirka and crushing anyone who
got in their way.
At this point, Darrurz returns to the room.
Character: Darrurz
NPC: Dr. Ann Patel & Nurse Aegazae
Location: A hospital in a city
System: Tagan
After a delicious lunch, the pretty nurse escorted Mazun away for physical
therapy. Shortly after they left, there came a knock at the door.
"Enter," Darrurz barks.
A human female of straight dark hair and medium complexion enters the room. She
wears a white lab coat with a photo ID badge attached to her lapel and glasses
on her face. She appears to be in her 50's and is about 1.6 meters in height
with an average build. In Gvegh, she says, "Hello, Darrurz. I'm Dr. Ann Patel.
How do you do?"
Darrurz's head turns slightly to the left and his right ear picks up. As he
takes in her scent, he says, "I've not been asked that question in a long time,
Ann. I'm doing quite well, thank you for asking. How do you do?" He notes that
there's a hint of spice to her. He thinks it's curry.
"I'm good, thank you. Do you mean that in light of your time spent in the
cryoberth or were you referring to your life before?"
"My life before. It's a very particular phrase not often in common usage."
She nods her head and continues, "As Dr. Aegzgorr explained, there was little
data about you in the cryoberth computer. Do you know why that is?"
"I don't. I wish I did, but I don't."
"To help you adjust to this new world you've woken up in, we'd like to know a
little more about you, like, what was your occupation and what your skills are.
We have a job placement program for refugees and knowing this would help us find
some potential employers for you."
She pulls out her datapad and taps its screen a few times and listens to what
Darrurz has to say.
Darrurz’s head returns to its normal position as does his ear. “I went to
business school and ended up working for Shiishirnii where I applied myself and
put the effort in to find a shipboard role. I learnt to pilot starships while
working on my brokerage and trading skills."
Ann is looking at her datapad when she asks him, "Shiishirnii was a Vilani
trading company, correct?"
"Yes."
"Please continue."
"With the Rebellion I was put to work on cross border trading which was when I
made Shiishirnii a fortune. They promoted me to captain and with my own trading
made enough money to head out alone. I went into partnership with my good
friend, Hazel Zaanirin. We were doing well. It was the Black War period and we
were plugging the gaps that the majors were withdrawing from. We were shipping
the goods that the worlds needed that our competitors had moved out of. We were
looking at expanding in fact when we were jumped by a couple of Corsairs. It
wasn't pretty. I was the only one left alive, and they gave me this." Darrurz
points at the scar on his left cheek.
Ann shudders in sympathy.
"The world I was hospitalized on, Naloz, didn't have re-gen technology so they
weren't able to re-grow my fur. After that I drifted a little until I landed a
job as a trader on a vilani registered free trader with a merc's license. We
headed into Vilani space because the other side of the border was going
downhill."
"So you were in Lucan's territory?"
"That is correct. I made them quite a bit of money before we had to take on a
merc job looking for a couple of lost Sharurshid ships and crew. The captain and
I had some differences of opinion, and we parted ways after destroying a
corsair base in the Gamgilebo system where I collected the debt that the
corsairs owed me by claiming one of their ships. I 'inherited' a couple of crew
from the corsairs who then decided that it was better that I was no longer
captain. I was shot, dosed with slow, and then apparently frozen."
Ann's eyes go wide after hearing the news of Darrurz's betrayal.
"76 years later and I'm here. Although for me it was two days ago. I'm not dead.
I don't seem to be in imminent danger, although the universe seems to have gone
down the pan. You're in need of help, with the Vakh at your door. Hazel used to
use a human saying that is quite apt," Darrurz changes to Galanglic, "Out of
the frying pan, into the fire?"
"Oh my, yes, it would seem so. I certainly hope that your life here in the Pack
will be better than the one you've just left. Despite the death of friends and
betrayal of your last crew, you're holding your own remarkably well. On top of
that, your old life is gone. Most humans, even many vargr, would be struggling
to cope with those events." Darrurz thinks he hears a note of admiration in her
voice.
Darrurz changes back to Gvegh. "As I've had not much else to do I've been
looking at your economy and stock market. It seems to be the grain harvest is
upon us in a few weeks, and while that doesn't register with Vargr too much
because it's only mainly animal feed to us, to humans it's a more important
staple. The harvest looks to be quite a good one by all accounts. The Agree
stocks..."
"The what?"
"Agree, it's a term in my profession used for Agricultural stocks."
"Oh, I see."
"Anyway, the Agree stocks have already picked up because of it so there’s only a
little profit to be make there, however there’s a processed food company called
Gregor’s that will benefit from the cost reduction, and is picking up market
share. The Human traders seem to have picked up on this as people has been
purchasing stock in the last day or two, but not enough to push the price up.
The Vargr traders will pick up on this in the next day or two as there is more
stock take-up and they realise they've missed a trick. If I had any money I
would be buying Gregor's stock and looking for about a 5% return in the next day
or two, and about a 20% return when the harvest results are officially released
in the next two weeks, following which the stock will dip by about 10% due to
profit taking."
Ann is following Darrurz's words, clearly interested in what he's saying.
"I tell you what. As I have no money. You buy Cr10,000 of Gregor's stock now,
and we’ll split the profits. We’ll sell half of them in two days time for the
initial bounce, and then the rest an hour after the harvest announcement in two
weeks. If it all goes wrong and the stock doesn't go the way I've just described
and we lose money I'll pay you back the losses."
"Oh my. I don't have that kind of money lying around. However, I'll talk to my
husband. Maybe we can do something smaller."
Darrurz replies, "Don’t wait too long to make the decision because the window of
opportunity is only a small one. Also the amount is important because the
percent change is only significant in the short term. If you have only a small
amount to invest the fees will likely take too much of the profit to make it
worthwhile for day trading. Having said that Gregor’s seems like a good medium
term investment. You should get good value for the stock now, and a good
dividend yield and stock growth over 5 years.
"Ok, then. I won't delay." She nods then says, "So besides your obvious
expertise in trading, are there other skills that you have?"
"As I said, I pilot a starship and run the bridge position, comms, sensor ops,
and I was studying the Imperial Navigation’s course for the last few weeks. I
can shoot a laser rifle, teach a little I understand the basics of legal systems
and can fill in forms and run office procedures adequately. Other than that,
nothing."
She chuckles. "That's quite a list in its own right. Would you be interested in
taking a standardized test to ascertain your level of skill in the piloting,
communications, and sensor operations areas?
Darrurz replies, "Yes, I’d be happy to."
"Good," she says with a closed mouth smile. "Fae, bring up the starship pilot
test."
The monitor displays a form on its screen.
"Fae will guide you through the testing process. Some of the questions will
simply require a verbal response. There's an interactive simulation. Your
movements will be read by Fae who will then translate those onscreen so that you
can get some visual feedback. Once the test is complete, Fae will send me your
raw data which I will forward on to the test evaluators. If you don't like the
results of the test, you can always re-take it at a proper testing facility.
"Once you're done, I'll see to it that you get some time outside in the
courtyard for some fresh air. Ok?"
Darrurz replies, "Ok, no problem."
------------------------------------------------------
Three hours of testing on piloting, sensor operations, and communications
technology later, Darrurz is finished. Nurse Aegazae knocks before entering and
explains that she's hear to escort Darrurz outside for some fresh air.
The pair walk along in silence; Darrurz catching the many scents of others
beneath the cloak of disinfectant.
Once they enter the courtyard, a 15-meter square of green grass and flower beds,
Darrurz's nose delivers a wondrous bouquet of life. He can't help but wag his
tail. Behind him, the hospital rises up on two sides, but the other sides are
only one-story high. Darrurz can see mountains in the distance.
Aegazae interrupts his moment of tranquility. In Gvegh she asks, "What was it
like?"
"What?"
"The Human Imperium. What was it like? My uncle said that when it wasn't all
warfare it was an oppressive, monolithic monument to human domination over
space."
Darrurz laughs and smiles an amusing smile at Aegazae. "It might have looked
like that, but it was nothing of the sort.
"The Imperium was basically a big trade federation. All the Imperium was mostly
worried about was the free flow of trade between the systems. On the planets
themselves and within the systems they were allowed to do as they please to an
extent. It was only when you went between the systems themselves when the
Imperium got involved. 'Ruling the space between the stars' they used to say.
"The Human cultures were diverse and different with all the sorts of systems of
government and ways of living that you can think of in the many different star
systems. There was conformity in places, around Vland the Vilani had a large
cultural area where societies were similar, and there were others as well."
He pauses for a moment thinking before continuing, "What was it like? Full of
opportunity and stable. One thing that Humans do is bring stability. They don’t
change dynamically like we do. It means that if a company is working and is good
at what it does it's likely to still be there year after year. If the
government works they keep it. The agreement you made with someone for a
three-year contract lasts those three years.
"Don't get me wrong, companies go bust, governments change, and stuff happens
much like it does with us, but it's harder to break it and takes a long time to
reach tipping point. The problem is when it goes wrong it usually does it big
style. Like the Rebellion.
"Humans and Vargr work well together when we work out how to."
Aegazae nods attentively and wags her tail while Darrurz reminisces. She says,
"We do work well together here on Tagan, though my uncle says that's because
we're in charge. I think he's wrong. The humans I've met don't seem pre-occupied
with taking over. They seem to be just as loyal to us as their own."
"Humans don’t change loyalties like we do; they seem to be much more stubborn
about it. They seem to stay loyal even if their leader loses Charisma, even if
their cause is lost, even if they don't have contact with their leader or
government for years at a time, and even if they are alone." Darrurz shudders at
the thought of being on his own for any extended period of time. "Humans seem
just to stay loyal. Can you imagine a Vargr Government the size of the Imperium
lasting for over a millennia?"
"No, I can't. I remember from history class that there was the Empire of
Varroerth that lasted several centuries. It was beginning to break up during the
humans' war. But that was an exception."
[...Later...]
Aegazae says, "I better get you back to your room. They're going to be taking
dinner orders soon." With that she walks Darrurz back to his room.
Characters: Darrurz & Mazun
NPC: Dr. Aegzgorr
Location: A hospital in a city
System: Tagan
Mazun is engrossed in his research at the monitor when Darrurz returns to the
room. Darrurz sniffs the air, noting that Mazun has showered.
Darrurz nods to Mazun and in Gvegh says, “How was your day?”
Mazun greets Darrurz and answers, "Fine, physical training and some reading. And
yours?"
Darrurz replies, “Pilot, Sensor Ops and Comms tests mostly. Their simulation was
a bit clunky and there seemed to be a lack of integration that was annoying. I
got to go outside into a courtyard, escorted. Every new planet has its smell and
this one seemed ok. The mountain ranges looked inviting, but they didn’t let me
loose out of the grounds.”
Mazun nods. "Yeah, I know what you mean. Some people called me a spacer, but I
really miss a long, quiet hike without having to worry whether orbital
bombardment will start any minute."
Both monitors flash a message, "Please put in your dinner order now so that we
may have it ready for you in a timely manner."
Mazun and Darrurz pore over the wide menu selection and make their selections.
Mazun is impressed by the breadth of human-oriented meals to choose from.
Shortly after they place their orders, there's a knock on the door. After
permission has been granted, Dr. Aegzgorr enters.
"Good afternoon, gentlemen," she says in Galanglic.
Darrurz ears pick up as he takes in her scent and in Gvegh replies, “It is now,
Zan.”
She smiles sheepishly, apparently embarrassed by the complement.
Mazun greets the doc, "Good afternoon!"
Zan addresses Mazun in Galanglic, "Did you know a man named Arthur McClendon?"
"Yes!"
"I revived him today. All of his vitals are good. If he is up to it, you can
meet with him tomorrow."
"That's great news! Yes, I would like to. And, knowing him, I would be surprised
if he was not up to it."
"Good. I'll let him know when he wakes up." She changes topics and asks both of
them the next question. "Has your physical therapy been going well? Any aches or
pains?"
Darrurz replies in Galanglic, "No physical aches or pains. I'd like to run,"
Darrurz snarls very slightly, "and not on the treadmills," before relaxing again
at the memory of the smells of the courtyard, "but through the plains, and
those mountains look inviting. I haven't felt snow on my paws for a long time."
"Good! Vargr need to run. And you, Mazun?"
Mazun says, "All is fine, thanks, though I'm a little tired from today's
physical therapy. I'd really like to complement it with some long walks."
"Well, you'll be pleased to know that we have a ten square kilometer mixed
terrain park just outside of the city. The hospital has access to it for
rehabilitation. I can get you two signed up to head over there tomorrow for a
couple of hours. There's a shuttle bus that will take you there and bring you
back."
"Great," both say.
"Ok then. Do not stay up too late tonight. The bus leaves right after breakfast.
When you get back, Pack Security wants to meet with you to discuss job
opportunities with them. I gave my permission that both of you were healthy
enough to discuss those matters. Good night!" With that she leaves.
About thirty minutes later, both meals are brought to the room. Each meal
continues to be a treat for Darrurz. Mazun is impressed by the quality of his
meal.
Mazun savors the meal, trying to identify the spices.
Darrurz asks, "Who is Arthur McClendon?"
Mazun replies, "An Imperial Marine officer in my former unit. He must have been
captured as I was. Tough combat specialist."
Darrurz rolls his head. "O great, a Jarhead! One of the last ones I knew was
called Vladgorkfeg. He was Vargr but an Imperial Marine. He'd had enough of
killing the wrong people and left the military.
"Well at least you'll have someone familiar to talk to.
"Find anything interesting in your reading?"
Mazun replies, "Actually, yes. It seems most major states collapsed a long time
ago, but the Domain of Deneb seems to have attempted a quarantine of sorts. They
survived at least until 1140. More interesting, I traced an interview dated
just seven years ago reporting that the ol' Vilani Imperium might have made it
through all this. The interviewee apparently considered them rather xenophobic,
if I got it right."
Darrurz says, "I expect that the continued bombardment by the Vakh would make
anyone xenophobic. I expect the Vilani had to adapt to survive the onslaught,
which is so much against their nature I can't think what they are like now.
"We traded through Vilani space before I was made a popsicle. They were ok back
then. They were introducing more paperwork of course, but there were still
opportunities, and the one thing you have to give the Vilani is that it all ran
like a well oiled machine.
"It's all gone now of course, even the great Imperium falls. The first, the
second, and the third. I wonder if there will ever be a fourth? Looks like
Tsaerrgae was right more than he could possibly know. Not sure about the new era
of prosperity though.
"I hope the Tagan Pack survives long enough to make a difference. Sometimes I
think it would be better if we Vargr were more like Humans, I mean sometimes
stability is a good thing. I hope I can be of help.”
Darrurz thinks to himself, "I hope I can live up to the expectations of
Llallaeknuez."
After dinner, Mazun tells Darrurz he wants to keep looking for information on
the Vakh and the Tagan Pack and listen to Darrurz's plans. He does not mind
Darrurz watching, although if they could somehow split research tasks it might
be quicker and more efficient.
Darrurz says that he will check out the markets and companies of the Tagan pack,
and where the government is spending its money and expending its effort in an
effort to try and understand the complexities of the Pack.
Characters: Darrurz & Mazun
Location: A hospital in a
city
System: Tagan
Mazun learns that a vakh is a palm-sized arthropod native to Tagan's swampy
areas. It attaches to its host along the spine and uses its hollow pincers to
inject a local anesthetic so the host is unaware of its presence. As the vakh
feeds on the blood of its host it secretes a virus into the bloodstream that
targets the brain, making it susceptible to the primal suggestions of the vakh.
These are no more than impulses such as "eat" and "fight."
OOC: Parts of this appeared in Survival Margin and Out of the
Darkness.
The term "Vakh" is slang for the AI computer virus that originated in the former
Third Imperium. In its initial form, it made use of the Deyo transponder suite
which was required for all ships wishing to operate in Imperial space. The Deyo
transponder suite utilizes dormant Cymbeline chips, a silicon life form native
to Cymbeline (Solomani Rim 2527). The computer virus awakens the chips and
imprints instructions upon them. Building on the Cymbeline chips ability to cut
their own circuit pathways, the virus thus can exist in software and embedded
in hardware.
While there was a learning curve to overcome when moving to vargr systems free
of the Deyo transponder suite, ultimately silicon is silicon and code is code.
Over time, the computer virus mutated and adapted to its new surroundings. Just
as our bodies process the prey we eat to make sex cells for reproduction, so too
does the AI computer virus use silicon to make new copies of itself. That steak
you ate doesn't know how to be a vargr, but your body uses some of it as the
raw material to spawn pups of your own.
As there is considerable code involved, only large computer systems can be
infected. Equipment below tech level 9 has proven to have insufficient capacity
for full blown infection but are carriers of "eggs", code that has been
condensed for storage but is incapable of operation until presented with ample
space to operate.
Mazun re-reads the material looking for holes and making sure he understands
what's been discovered. He is pretty amazed at the description of the Cymbeline
chips. He passes the info to Darrurz and comments, "I guess transponders are not
in use anymore."
He adds, "If that Virus was able to infect all the wildly varying systems in the
Extents, it has to be pretty resilient. It's amazing the Tagan Pack has held
out."
Darrurz discovers that the largest companies on Tagan are in the agricultural
sector, with only small ones in manufacturing. Much larger manufacturing
companies are on Igodosakfell. Studying the history of the markets on these two
worlds, both were terribly depressed for decades following the collapse of
interstellar trade. Tagan corps showed modest growth starting in the 1160s of
around 1% with banner years of 3%. Once Tagan opened up to interstellar trade
again, growth of 5-10% was more common. ROI's for companies assisting in the
rebuilding of Igodosakfell were great.
Igodosakfell's economy was stuck in recession, with bouts of depression, for
decades, but once nations begin signing on to Kaelthaen's peace accord, the
economy stabilized itself, fluctuating between modest growth and mild recessions.
Once Tagan contacted them and offered humanitarian aid and assistance in the
form of capital investment, a boom period returned. Igodosakfell's economy
surpassed Tagan's in the early 1190's.
The government of the Tagan Pack spends its money on humanitarian assistance and
defense. After expeditionary forces have secured a world, humanitarian groups
move in to provide the survivors with their basic needs. Investment companies
are then permitted to provide capital for development projects in return for a
percentage of the profits (or interest on loans to governments). The Pack taxes
the investment firms and funnels those revenues into the budgets for defense and
humanitarian aid. The Pack acts as mediator in disputes between the investors
and the recovering worlds. It regulates the investors, watching out for
exploitative contracts.
It discourages its citizens from leaving Pack space and entering the Wilds. It
can not guarantee their safety. Also, trafficking in merchandise of non-Pack
origin, and which has not been proven virus free, is a capital offense.
Penalties range from confiscation of all one's possessions to jail time and even
the death penalty. The courts have free reign to punish according to the level
of the offense. While no one has ever been executed (there have been no deaths
from infected equipment brought back from the Wilds), 10-year prison terms have
been common.
To encourage the use of safety inspections, the government provides this service
free of charge. It also offers "Scrounger Licenses". After paying a fee and
taking some classes, the licensed individual can be hired to venture into the
Wilds to find things. The government's rationale here is that it can't stop
people from entering the Wilds to find stuff, but it can educate them about the
dangers of infected equipment. Licensed Scroungers are given prevalence in
safety inspection lines and typically command higher prices for their services
(OOC: higher charisma too).
Speculation on the capital investment market is that the Pack will expand
rimward towards Tsougak (Windhorn 3020), the former subsector capital, and
trailing to Kir (Meshan 0316) and Kfothoeghuel (Meshan 0513), the former capital
of the Kfothoeghuel Concordat.
After sharing these discoveries, the pair talk a while then head off to sleep.
Neither wants to miss the opportunity for the trip to the park by oversleeping.
Next: Mazun and Darrurz Meet Joe