In reply to Harriet Lynch (msg # 153):

We’re going to be underwater.  We are using fish Mechs and a fish transport.  The whole Immigrants Song is submersible.  One of the doors even has a water repellent static field.”

”Oh” Harry said with a grimace as she heard what exactly the specialist equipment was ”Getting that sort of stuff down is going to be tricky to get down there undetected” she said with her suspecting that they couldn’t even dismantle the mechs and submersibles and take them down in pieces ”we could cut a deal with one of the larger crime families…they would have the resources and connections to pull that kind of thing off…but…it would cost us” she said with not even Harry sounding convinced that it was a good idea.

  Stoly  went to the Lead Pilot  of the Hellraisers.,You get to the  Hermes, You find   SM Spencer. You give this to him, and only him, Da?

The  Pilot  nodded,Of Course Captain, it will  alredy be  done...hopes for the Motherland   go with you..

 they gripped forearms,No Alexiv, Hopes  for the Human race... there is not use in countries  anylonge, they are only serving   the  Angels now...The very  race we fought aga8nt and  helped the Humans to The Black, is noiw our enemy once more. and the enemy of our enemy?

Alexiv grins,Is  our Comrade!... He took the  package , jogging to the  ship the Hellraisers were on.

  Stoly Mounted up.....Take us  home. New York, or  england,  but come in from  Merury or Venus vector, da!

 You Betcha  Captain,  already done... be  good  to put some of them traitor folks in the ground...

 Stoly  buckled into the bench seat..New york has many fancy places to eat... we have to  check thier menus, gibe them burned hearts, if wrong things are listed.

 the   Shuttle took off  dark flying low over the  struggling 'forests' and covered lakes before taking to the air  on the Dark side.

Garrett had seen Stoli off, but was pacing near the map table. He comes to a decision, coms his crew to meet him there, including Harry.
This message was last edited by the player at 16:58, Tue 24 Jan 2023.

The crew members start to show up including two Naragran from the rafters.  In the other room Joseph looks at his wrist com and then up to Harry. Well, looks like there’s no rest for the wicked.
This message was last edited by the player at 21:20, Tue 24 Jan 2023.

”There never is” Harry sighed as she tucked her own comm away and awkwardly got to her feet with a hiss of pain as her leg started to protest.

Following Joe, she would enter the other room and lean up against the back wall away from the rest of the crew, with her still being seen as Garrat’s merc friend rather than a member of the crew, and silently wait for Garrat to begin.

The table map is now watching the progress of the sky hag towards ESN holdings.  The time is flexed a little too right after Stoli he had taken off.

   “I’m worried about the demons catching those kids in transit.  How much would it take to launch some ships to be in range to help in the event of an emergency.”

“ too much” Joseph said “ you’ve done everything you can for them, sending anyone after them with only draw attention to them. We can, however, prepare for next time by filling space with the ships going to and fro, so that in the group is in radio range of support.”

”So how do we do that? Harry would ask in response to Joe’s suggestion that they fill the area with ships so they could hide other ships in amongst them ”…without drawing attention to ourselves that is”

Joseph looks at her and winks, “Same way you suggested we get to earth.  We’re a shipping company that smuggles in things occasional contraband.  I imagine Ge-Fi would love a good Burian wine at his table.  I also imagine him and his cronies would pay handsomely for it just as Americans used to pay for illegal Cuban Cigars.  Who knows, we might be able to make that supply chain you mentioned with the surface, but that will take time.”   He thinks a bit, “the question is what on earth other than human fodder would demons be willing enough to buy that they would overlook other activities on our part.”

Kolane frowns then speaks up: “We should probably keep in mind that in the next day or two, a stranger is going to arrive in town and start asking questions just to make sure Stoli didn’t come this way. There will probably be one in every small settlement across Mars“

”Really? You know we’re going to have to set up an office somewhere and someone to run it…or at least the legitimate side of things anyway” Harry said, glad that she had been able to help even if it had only been a suggestion. At the mention of how to cater for the Demons without betraying their own kind Harry would pause to think about it for a moment, unsure as to how many Demons on Earth and thus needed placating ”Same thing you sell any soldier on tour…home comforts…non-sentient food, drink and goods from the Empire, as to what they are or how we get them…” she said with a gesture that betrayed her general ignorance on Demon culture and cuisine, though she did know of a certain Demon that might be able to point them in the right direction.

As Kolane voiced his concerns about people coming to look for Stoly and the children, Harry would give Joe an “I told you so” look before speaking up ”The way I see it they’re going to know he’s been here, the guy turned up with an entire fighter escort for crying out loud, so I suggest we get our people out in the towns and bars and start seeding our own rumours of who they were, what they were doing, and where they went…with any luck we’ll make the trail will be too damn muddy to follow” she suggested, with them also needing to hide the shuttles and fighters they’d left behind.

“He turned up at sunset while everyone was battening down for the evening winds and we had only the trusted employees about.  This ain’t our first rodeo as you would say.  That said we are going to have to dig a hole and bury them unless we can build an add on to a hangar and install a false back

”Fair enough…but it still might be good idea to send some people into the local towns to listen for rumours” Harry suggested before grimacing when told they would have to bury the fighters, already picturing having to sift all of the dirt and sand from the intakes and electrical systems, with her being a little precious when it came to aircraft ”We’re going to need a hangar or two for this freight company idea, but I doubt we’d get them built quickly enough…do not have any shipping containers we could stash them in?” she said more out of hope than anything else.

“They won’t fit unless we disassemble them. Besides, shipping containers are the first thing they’re going to be inspected, throwing a tarp over them and bearing them in the sand is the best bet for quick solution. In the meantime, we can start building the hangers. These hangers are made of cargo containers stacked on top of each other and welded together in a hole we dug.  Much like what you see around you. That way we scoop sand over the top of them and unless someone sees the entrance they don’t know they’re there.”
     “I have some things to say to you, and to show you in the morning, but after that, the Delilah has been left behind, you might, as will get some more experience on that ships.  That way you can spread some rumors as you like as you visit some of the local settlements. Let’s be very specific about what we choose to spread.

Although she wasn’t keen on her babies getting dirty she would bow down to Garrat’s knowledge and reluctantly agree to the idea to bury the fighters, with her then listening to his plan on how to construct the hangars with it sounding like it was also well in hand.

Upon hearing that the Deliah was available for her to fly, Harry would visibly perk up at the prospect of flying again, not to mention the fact that it would get her out of the base for a while and possibly give her the chance to visit a bar. When the subject of the rumours came up she would pause for a moment before saying ”I would suggest mercenary company on a supply run before heading out to Astra” she suggested before looking to see if anyone had any other ideas.

In reply to Harriet Lynch (msg # 169):

  Kolane looks uncomfortable “ Rumors are difficult. Mercs tend to keep to themselves, so If you volunteering information, people are going to know you are planting it.  Now don’t get me wrong.  Every organization has a bracket or two he says a little too much at the Cantina.  But anyone who takes that position will not be taken seriously in business. I think we need people to take you seriously Harry,  Your best bet here is probably to go on at a recruiting run and let the information come out in conversation.”

    Garrett scratches his chin, “and it’s going to have to be male.  And this humanoid dominated environment, a drunk female won’t be pumped for information, they’ll just have every male trying to get in their pants. Doesn’t seem to happen with males most of the time.”

Amos Kincaid speaks up, “I’ll be the informant, I can hold a lot of booze and act like I don’t. I’m also learning how to fly shuttles so in time I’ll be able to go off on my own. I’ll have to a company people on business deals, so it looks like I’m in on the inner circle but that should work out”

Needless to say there were concerns on how exactly they were going to go about spreading the rumours, with Kolane first pointing out that they didn’t want Harry to lose her credibility followed by Garrat pointing out that a lone drunk woman was more likely to attract the wrong kind of attention. It was as Amos was volunteering to be their plant that Harry would interject ”I think the first thing we need to do is find out if anyone saw anything…because if Garrat’s right and no one saw anything we may not have to do this”

“They’re more ways to spread rumors little one. You will be very valuable for overheard conversations that and Amos still needs training on shuttles. Do you think you are strong enough to handle a shuttle with him on your own?
This message was last edited by the player at 16:47, Fri 03 Feb 2023.

There would be a nod to Garrat’s observation, more than willing to agree that there was more than one way to skin a cat, with him then asking whether she could handle a shuttle ”seriously? I could fly it blindfolded Gar!” Harry replied with an arrogant grin. Had it been anyone else she would have left it at that, but she knew that Garrat would see through her arrogance and bravado and want to know the truth, and so after a brief pause she would lose the cocksure tone and continue to speak ”I’ll take a shot tonight before bed then I’ll be good to go in the morning” she said referring to her infusions. She tried to use them sparingly as they were expensive and hard to come by this far from APF territory not to mention the fact that they effectively put her out of commission for several hours with her preferring to use a cocktail of tablets instead. However once the infusion was in her system she would be right as rain for the next few weeks ”when and where do you need me to go?”
This message was last edited by the player at 22:58, Fri 03 Feb 2023.

“I never doubt your skills Harry, but your strength is another matter.  We are going to need you running at full capacity soon.  The dark of the moon is coming.  That’s the best time to head for Earth and we have a lot of ground to cover before we do.  Which reminds me we need to continue to modulate the Largan energy shield to reduce our energy signature as much as possible.”

(Corrected previous post.  Please read.)

Joseph addressed Harry. “Garrat and I were talking about a factor to manage the Martian base last night.  As you brought it up today I’ll send a message to Gresh and see if he can find us a likely candidate.”
This message was last edited by the player at 23:14, Fri 03 Feb 2023.

”I’ll be alright Gar, the shot will see me right for a couple of weeks” Harry replied, uncertain as to when, or even if, she would be back to normal with the possibly unfounded fear that she would need cybernetic limbs still hanging over her head like the sword of Damocles ”I’ll be more than able to train Amos here in a shuttle” she continued with a touch of her usual swagger returning to her voice.
This message was last edited by the player at 22:18, Sat 04 Feb 2023.