Previous episode: The Warlock Karla

En route to Velke, Karla had a chat with Kelda, the sniper. She suggested that there would be an opportunity to eliminate the leading Imperial diplomat on Velke, if Kelda was interested. Kelda agreed - not because it would help the Guild by eliminating a major Imperial intelligence source, but because it was an Imperial. Karla would provide the required information on arrival at Velke.

Velke is a world that orbits quite far from its primary, but it is kept warm by the thick atmosphere of carbon dioxide. It is a very carbon-rich world, and is a centre of electronics manufacturing (most electronics being built on a substrate of graphene). Most of the planet is covered in heavy jungle, with domed cities. It is impossible to survive outside the domes without breathing apparatus. There were several space stations in orbit, including a major starport.

The Mystic Shark arrived at Velke and docked at the starport. Kelda, Noumalia and Karla took the shuttle down to the surface of the planet, where Karla took her leave of the crew with a warning - she was being hunted, and therefore those who were hunting her would also be very interested in talking with the crew of the Shark to find out what they knew about her. She handed over a chip to Kelda with the promised information, and vanished.

Relena and Noumalia set about selling their cargo and looking for a new one - something that would be suitable for frontier worlds - they didn't plan on visiting heavily populated areas for a while. Relena secured a cargo of electronic equipment, which was plentiful on Velke and much sought after on the frontier. Meanwhile, Unity got a week-long internship at the starport's hospital. He noticed a man in an Immaculately Tailored Suit hanging around the area. He didn't appear to be doing anything in particular.

Noumalia, doing routine maintenance on the ship, discovered a component which she believed to be a shield generator, but it was damaged and disconnected. She was unable to repair it, so Relena decided that they needed the help of a Draca. She learned that Draca sometimes frequent a particular sports bar - the Ranatorium, which was decorated for the local zero-g hockey team, the Mighty Frogs. They went to the bar, but there were no draca there at the time - although there was a man in an Immaculately Tailored Suit, talking with a woman with asian eyes.

Relena had an idea. She approached the bartender and registered interest in having her team play a friendly game of zero-g hockey. The bartender agreed to have them meet with the owner/manager of a local hockey field, who could arrange a game. The owner turned out to be a draca named Akkmakk-Ka, who was able to readily arrange a game for the following day, with another beginner team, the Salamanders.

Unity was recalled, and the team spend the rest of the afternoon learning the rules of zero-g hockey and practicing zero-g manoeuvres in the cargo bay.

The following afternoon, they were ready. Unity had arranged to acquire uniforms, and they met the opposing team - four anthropos and one male zin-shee. They managed to win the game, three-one. Ka was very impressed with their performance, and readily agreed to assist Noumalia to repair the shields on their ship. Together over the next few days they managed to repair the shields and bring them online. They also found what appeared to be a severely damaged cloaking mechanism. This would require complete replacement. Fortunately the connections to the ship's control systems were present and undamaged.

During this time, Kelda went planetside for her "mission". The ambassador was scheduled to meet with the Cabinet (the government of the planet), and there would be a window of opportunity between him getting out of the car and entering the Capitol building. Kelda found a position atop a nearby building and carried out the assassination with no difficulty, escaping unseen.

On the ship, Noumalia picked up on the Captain's agitation, and when the news broke, she surmised what had happened and offered this advice - "you're playing a very dangerous game, Captain."

There were still a few days to kill before Unity's internship ended. During this time, the men in Immaculately Tailored Suits appeared more and more often. They didn't appear to be following the group, exactly - when they were present at all, they were already in the places that members of the crew arrived at. They never appeared to pay particular attention to the team. Other people (including the bartender at the Ranatorium) said that they'd never been seen previously, and no-one knew who they were or what they wanted. They also were very rarely seen at any place that Relena's crew were not.

On their final day before leaving, Relena and Noumalia were walking down a thoroughfare on the spaceport, when a group of five anthropos wearing the uniforms of security guards rounded a corner in front of them. They were being led by a woman with asian eyes, who pointed at the pair. The security guards raised their billy clubs and made for them. Relena attempted to talk to them, but they were not interested and beat her unconscious. However, at that moment a group of six men in Immaculately Tailored Suits started firing at the security guards, and Noumalia was able to revive Relena by zapping her in the brainstem. They beat a hasty retreat from the brawl, returning to the ship and leaving the system.

Who are the Men In Immaculately Tailored Suits? Who is the Woman With Asian Eyes? Where are the Warlocks? Some of these questions may be answered in the next episode!

Bluebook: After the Hockey Game

Bluebook: A New Hiding Place

Next Episode: Mr Smith

Quote of the session:

Noumalia: You're playing a very dangerous game, Captain.