the-internet-vagabond-dot-com/_drafts/WeOwnTheSky.txt

We Own the Sky

Idris is a gas giant, about twice the size of Jupiter from the Sol system,
sporting 12 moons, 8 of which are inhabited. The giant itself is home to several
significant and successful corporate air colonies; masses of metal platforms and
tubes seemingly floating on the seas of gas. One of these colonies in particular
was the cause for my visit to Idris, and was owned by Twin Suns Trading and
Fabricators. Twin Suns was primarily an interstellar trading company, before it
cornered the moon and colony specific trading around Idris, and had made a good
fortune doing so. Recently, they've reinvested much of that fortune into
fabrication, providing the smaller corp colonies with accessible parts,
prototypes, and cheaper transportation through bundled deals. Long story short,
Twin Suns has made many enemies, and many profits around Idris. I was about to
add to the list of the former.

This job was called in specifically for the third Suns colony, gravity-locked to
the lower-left quadrant of the giant. It was their newest establishment, built
primarily with the highest spec'd parts they could fab, and outsourcing a few
parts to ensure the best tech. Suns was promoting it as their next-generation
R&D lab, focused on low-energy propellants for their trading ships. My client
isn't convinced. According to them, an unusually high number of shipments were
being received, unscheduled and unmarked, at the lab.  Reports from inside
sources say the shipments contain some kind of living thing, making almost human
noises. One source swears he heard someone crying for help.  That was enough to
pique my interest, but the client was also offering a good sum to investigate
these shipments, and find not only their contents, but the source. Considering
Termus, Idris' 4th moon, was reknown for their fab parts for my ship model, a
Tesserell CR22 Templar, I accepted the job and made for the system.

After dropping off Warden, my ship, for parts, I made my way to Vermus, Idris'
third moon. Covered in bars and clubs, Vermus had my best chance of finding some
information about the Suns' new colony. I tried a few places before finding
Gemini, a not-so-clever allusion to Twin Suns, and packed with Suns employees,
old and new. After a bit of watching, and a bit of questions, and too many
drinks, I was able to get some information out of two recently retired Suns
workers. They had finished their careers on the new colony, and were let go with
generous pensions, so long as they kept what they saw to themselves. Once they
said that, they realized they were breaking that promise, but not before I got a
few other details. The colony is for R&D, they said, but not only for
propellant. One said they saw some animals being shipped onto the colony, and
the other swore he heard human crying coming from one of the wings. After they
finished talking, I made for the door, feeling my welcome was very much over. I
had gotten a few blocks away by the time the three goons from the bar made their
move. Hired muscle from the Suns is much like hired muscle from anywhere else:
big, intimidating, maybe an implant here or there. The trick with muscle, of any
variety, is to avoid letting them use it.

"Something I can help you fine gentlemen with?", I said, trying to dress up my
voice as a bit less sober than I was.

"We saw you talking with our boys. What you want, off-worlder? Why you snoopin'
around our bar?", the smallest of the three said. The other two, equally as
meaty, postured intimidatingly. Or tried to, at least.

"Hey, man, I'm just drinking and seeing sights! They felt like talking, so I
listened! Nothing more to it. Now, I've got a date with this hottie I met at
Pisces, and I don't wanna miss out on that!", I replied, slurring and stumbling
a bit backward. Part bluff, part feint, I used the opportunity to activate my
stun-gun, and start charging it. To take out any of them would take a full
charge, about 15 seconds worth. Luckily, my ruse seems to have made a point.

"We don't want to see you around our parts no more, got it?", he said, "Or me
and the boys'll have to make sure you don't come around our parts no more. Got
it?"

I stumbled a bit more and dropped to ground, pretending to slip. My right hand
finding the grip of my stun-gun, still hidden. The two meat sacks laughed.
Three, feeling his job was complete, turned and led the trio back towards
Gemini. I stood up, and made towards the shuttle.

===

Back to Termus
     - reclaim ship, fly to Formus, second moon
     - meeting with client for first time in person
          - client is attractive woman, focus on eyes
     - second run-in with Twin Suns merc force, first fight
     - escape from Formus, chase through city and atmosphere, into space

Idris Colony, Twin Suns 3
     - break into colony, find unmarked shipment, full of people
     - small fight with Twins Suns security force
     - third run-in with Twin Suns merc force, client gets captured
     - attempted escape from colony, shot down into planet

Captured client gets interrogated, tortured, thrown in with rest of shipment

Client escapes colony structure, gets stuck on external loading dock
Client is forced from the dock, but it caught by Warden and Soldier
Soldier and Warden rise to dock, and lock-down the colony