010-1104 – Tobia Naval Base
The party arrived in Tobia: the Spinward terminus for the Riftliners that cross Reft sector between Gushemege and the Domain of Deneb. Tobia is a marvel of the Trojan Reach: the vastly rich, incredibly high-tech capital and the seat of the sector duke.
Here, they were met by Commander James Kazowich, an Imperium Naval Intelligence handler who turns out to belong to the INI faction who believe that the Hierate pose a grave risk to Imperium Spinward holdings, and who seek to strengthen potential buffer states to slow the Aslan advance.
This was not delivered as a monologue, but this was the thrust of the conversation:
“You’ve done the Imperium a service with the Perfect Stranger, and the Navy has expressed its… formal gratitude as promised. However, official channels are currently too ‘bright’ for our next objective. I represent a significant faction within the Imperium Naval Intelligence service who feel that we need to bolster the neutral systems to Spinward to create a buffer against the Aslan Hierate’s expansion.
My department’s assessment is that Drinax is the key; King Oleb XVI – the current monarch – has ambitions to reclaim the lost worlds of his kingdom, and while the Imperium cannot officially support a frankly borderline piratical king, we find his goals align perfectly with our need for a localized power to blunt and slow the Aslan advance while we push for greater naval funding in the region.
Drinax probably won’t be more than a speedbump, but it is two hundred years since the Aslan destruction of the Kingdom of Drinax, and the cost for the Hierate clans involved was so high that they are only now returning to their pre-885 strength. Indeed, their expansion was redirected to Spinward and the war on the Glorious Empire as a result.
Should you accept this mission, we will arrange for the ship you purchased to be deposited at Pryme and we will ship you there separately. We will have ‘greased the wheels’ through an underworld contact to ensure a Drinaxian recruiter named Sal Dancett will be present in-system for a lucrative cargo and we will arrange for her to notice you when you pick up your ship.
Your objective, which Dancett will think she is introducing you to, will be to assist a woman named Lady Ada Wishart in her efforts against the incumbent Senlis Foederate government. By helping her, you secure Drinax’s flank and earn the trust of Princess Rao. Play your parts as independent spacers looking for work; the less the Drinaxians know about your history with Naval Intelligence, the longer you’ll stay alive.”
046-1104 – Pryme Lowport
The party having agreed, they were shipped to Pryme system. As promised, Sal Dancett had been subtly made aware of the presence of a group of largely ex-Drinaxian and Drinax-adjacent spacers with mainly military or paramilitary backgrounds, on the system.
The party had not been warned of what would happen – to the planners of Imperium Naval Intelligence, an injury or death would have lent the scenario extra verisimilitude – and so were genuinely surprised by an attack in their ship hangar by a local, anti-Imperium terrorist group just as Sal Dancett was nearby. The party dealt with the attack swiftly and efficiently – although not without suffering injuries – and Dancett witnessed the interaction, noting the professional response of the party. This confirmed her in her opinion that she had found the right candidates.
And so the party were recruited by Sal Dancett to help Lady Ada Wishart. Dancett tells the party only that they are to perform a heist of a valuable object on Albe. The party knows that they are, in fact, working for Princess Rao, even though Dancett did not share this information. And unknown to Dancett, the party are in fact working for INI as double agents!
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