K-001: Previously on Dominion Space
Module 1: Debut Queue
Debut Queue – A series introduces the main cast by adding them one at a time in sequential episodes, chapters, and/or story arcs. Usually a tactic by writers to get everyone collected before having any real plot started, and the audience feels they can start paying attention.
– TV Tropes
Live Session [211.146]
Minor Vizier Richard Dicard 
is invited by Minor Vizier Frederick Salfield 
to lead a project team, a list of names has been prepared for him, comprising:
- Oliver Star (AHE Cyber Security)
- Personal Security Specialist Chris Uddin
- Erin Malan (AHE Starship Engineering)
- Victor Fromm (AHE Medicine & Surgery)
- Operations Under Commander Alan Halcyon (Rtd) – Legion liaison specialist
The team members are mostly living on Aaran’s Pride in Octant 6 when they are recruited by the Vizierate using a combination of duress (Oliver, Chris, Alan) and ‘last chance’ psychology (Erin and Victor). They are issued a small ship – Snark 416 – 
and told to report to the GRRAS facility in Octant 5.
Module 2: …and no Fetch Quests!
GM: “What would you guys like to see in a sci-fi game?”
Torren Robson (Dicard): “Spaceships, ripoffs of Light Sabers and no Fetch Quests!”
Live Session [~211.204]
The team arrive at the GRRAS research facility in the Riddle System. They meet Vizier Frederic and his Office Manager, Vizant Melody Landmark 
. They meet Victor – the only member who was not originally on Aaran’s Pride and get a little time to explore the facility. Then the are briefed by Vizier Frederick:
Their mission is to travel to the planet Pristine in Octant 3 and fetch obtain a specific notebook from a man named Willard Argyle and return it to Minor Vizier Frederick. They have been given a very large sum of Money with which to purchase the Notebook.
They travel to Pristine, (Standard Route: Riddle -> Witnish -> Zargonia -> Argyropoulos -> Pristine, total distance 85.5 light years.)
During the long trip, they generally come to the conclusion that no-one likes each other very much.
Erin and Victor remain aboard the ship while the rest of the team do the mission. They travel around and ask questions of the locals, which includes a trip to an operating mine site and a touristy-type hunting lodge. They drive hired crawler vehicle to a much more isolated and smaller hunting lodge to speak with a local character, but he is not there and they find Argyle 
instead, but he refuses to sell his notebook. They are now outside the lodge in the crawler, having been threatened with internal defence turrets, and Willard has retreated inside.
Module 3: The Argyle Notebook
Pristine [211.295] 3-001 to 3-247
The team are initially discouraged, and return to town, but then decide to try and get inside Argyle’s place. They fly back in a rented AeroStat instead of the crawler. They discover that Argyle has abandoned the place and left booby traps behind. Oliver and Chris are injured and their rented air vehicle damaged, but Alan limps it back to the ship having recovered items such as Argyle’s computer and a library of his journals.
Module 4: Return to GRRAS
Pristine [211.300] 4-001 to 4-023
After the exploratory team have a rest aboard the ship and Fromm returns from whatever dodgy premises he’s been inhabiting while they’re away, he proved that he is a competent medico if an unpleasant one and treats Chris and Oliver while Dicard visits the local Vizirate offices. When everyone is fit, the ship leaves Pristine to return to GRRAS. Oliver begins what will be a long process of exploring Argyle’s materials and journals.
Argyropoulos [211.316] 4-024 to 4-040
Stopping at Argyropoulos, the ship is subjected to an unusually vigorous customs inspection, especially for a Vizierate vessel. Particularly unusual, a Legion Commissar is present. It turns out, Commissar Commander Usher 
, incidentally knew Oliver’s mother 
, who is herself a Legion Officer.
Snark 416 arrives in the Zargonia system. Oliver tries something nefarious with a public terminal and winds up being interviewed in a Legion Cast at Zebulon Station by none other than Commissar Usher, who convinces Oliver to make contact with a Legion member stationed at GRRAS and that, perhaps, something is not all above-board with the Vizierate project.
Released from the Cast, Oliver goes shopping and has to locate Chris so the ship can leave; Chris has gone on a bender.
Module 5: Lying in the GRRAS
Riddle System, GRRAS [211.346] 5-001 to 5-024
Snark 416 docks with GRRAS in the cavernous multi-ship docking bay and everyone heads for the Vizierate offices. Vizier Frederick holds a debriefing 
at which he is dismissive of the team and handed over future operations to Minor Vizier Lilith Saden-Ejder 
– known as ‘Nanny’. They all get their backpay and are assigned quarters. Oliver goes exploring.
Oliver heads to the Legion Cast to follow up on Usher’s request where he meets Under Officer Felicity Lazar-Opes 
– the contact mentioned by Commissar Usher during Oliver’s interview. Felicity puts Oliver through a series of aptitude tests and determines that he is most suited to becoming a Commissar were he to become a Legion member – and he agrees to become a Special Recruit and an informer for the Legion placed inside the Vizierate.
Oliver settles into a routine, mostly working on his studies. On 211.350 Erin calls him and they meet to have dinner, where he learns about the hold the Vizierate have over her.
GRRAS, Vizierate Offices [211.351] 5-183 to 5-195
The team is called back to the Vizierate Offices. Nanny considers that Oliver’s research into Argyle’s activities revealed Argyle to be a substantial security threat to the Dominion and instructs the team to return to Pristine to pick up Argyle’s trail and recover his Notebook; said Notebook was apparently not among the materials the team had recovered. Nanny advises them that they will travel as far as Zargonia on a Vizierate Research ship to follow up on a lead before heading back to Pristine.
Module 7: An Illuminating Journey
Illuminator, enroute to Witnish [211.352] 7-001 to 7-021
The team, with Nanny coming along, departs GRRAS and travells aboard the Vizierate Research Ship Illuminator as far as Zargonia. Nanny hands out assignments, mostly intended toward personal development, and which the team actually appears to enjoy. The exception being Oliver, who is mostly expected to get on with the mission on his own.
Illuminator, Meeting Mallory [211.371] 7-054 to 7-122
Oliver has a romantic encounter with Minor Vizier Mallory Harrison 
, a Vizierate expert on alien races who cautions him about working with her fellow Viziers Nanny and Frederick.
It turns out that Nanny’s opinion of Mallory is mutually poor and Nanny sends Dicard to scold him for associating with her, which turns into a session closer to Oliver giving Dicard some counselling and convincing him to get a bigger ship when they reach Zargonia to help with his space-sickness.
Illuminator, Disciplinary Dicard [211.371] 7-140 to 7-164
Oliver continues his work. Nanny calls a meeting prior to arriving at Zargonia where she briefs everyone:
- She will be leaving them mostly on their own from here on
- Dicard will get his new ship and an extra crewmember to help run it
- Oliver is to lead the investigation on Zargonia – starting with a visit to a man named Alec Bronze-Stepping, who is believed to be a former associate of Argyle’s
Chris suggests they all have a drink together to celebrate the end of their trip.
Illuminator docks at Zebulon Station and they catch a shuttle downworld to the city of Purpleton.
Bronze-Stepping’s Apartment [211.379] 7-201 to 7-236
Bronze-Stepping is a former member of the Overlord’s Household, who Nanny said apparently knew Argyle. However, Bronze-Stepping informed the team that he knew an identical looking man named Abbas Lozenge-Sok 
who died some time ago in a vehicle crash.
The interview done, the team headed to Dataton where Lozenge-Sok used to work.
Dataton, MaPaCoA [211.380] 7-236 to 7-307
In Dataton they meet Vizier Kahn-Serf, ViC of Cyber Security at MaPaCoA who oversees the joint agreement on operation of the facility in conjunction with his Advisory Board. They raise the issue of Lozenge-Sok. Kahn-Serf notes that Lozenge-Sok worked for his predecessor, Vizier Sardo Ohare. In discussions with the MaPaCoA security board (comprising representatives from the Vizierate, Overlord’s Household, Legion and Planning Bureau) substantial evidence came out that Willard Argyle is a fake identity of Lozenge-Sok, who’s death was apparently faked as well. There are some questions from the Board about the project team, including Legion Liaison, and the Board is advised of Alan’s liaison role; the Legion Board Representative, Staff Commissar Over Commander Vanna Bush, notes that information is restricted and is directed to Operations Staff Commissar Marshall Bock in Octant 6.
Settlement, Planning Bureau [211.382] 7-307 to 7-341
Following up on Lozenge-Sok’s earlier history, Oliver and Fromm travel to Settlement to meet with the Planning Bureau Board representative Undercrat Grade 2 Theo Holm-Nelson. However, Holm-Nelson doesn’t tell them anything they don’t already know and seems more interested in trying to quiz them about the project and why Fromm appears to know of Marshall Bock.
Returning to Purpleton, Oliver attempts to follow up on Argyle/ Lozenge-Sok’s ex-girlfriend, discovering that she moved to Four-Two not long after his apparent death.
It is then time to leave for Pristine, Dicard, Alan and Erin having spent the time while Oliver’;s team were away acquiring a new ship – the sloop Maldemar 732.
Nanny remains on Zargonia.
Module 9: A Threat’s Shadow
Maldemar 732, enroute to Argyropoulos [211.386] 9-001 to 9-032
Oliver and the Vizierate’s Project team’s directive is clear: Locate the Argyle/Lozenge-Sok’s Notebook, anything he was working on, and preferably the man himself, and return them to Vizier Frederick. Initially, the team will have to pick up the trail at Pristine.
To reach Pristine, they must travel via Way Station Argyropoulos. The crew are initially being careful with the new ship. They get to know their new crew member, mechanic Ahbineet Downer 
. Erin notes privately to Oliver that he’s a competent but utterly unimaginative mechanic, having been chosen by Dicard for his security reliability first and engineering competence second.
Oliver spends most of the time working on the Argyle materials, including:
- Finding Argyle’s stash of vid movies, some of which are restricted. He begins watching some of them.
- Uncovering one project that Argyle was working on that seemed to be focussed on hiding and sending undetectable messages within the Dominion’s network, and which Argyle apparently abandoned as too hard. However, building on Argyle’s work, Oliver believes he has figured out how to do it. Oliver tells no-one about this discovery.
Oliver continues working on the Argyle materials, and watching his vids. Oliver meets with Dicard about future plans and invites Erin to join him for watching the vids, and she becomes something of a sounding board for his Argyle discoveries.
Presently the ship arrives at Pristine and the team take a shuttle down to the planet, leaving Erin and Downer on the ship.
Pristine [211.415] 9-087 to 9-193
Dicard has learned a few things since he was last here, and this time the visit begins with a trip to the Vizierate complex and requisitioning a crawler from the Admin Bureau rather than a commercial rental, though Dicard seems grumpy for some reason. The team travels to the hunting lodge they visited previously where they speak with Peyton Gless and Wu, neither of whom have seen Argyle since the last time the team were there.
Moving on to Argyle’s lodge, they find it damaged and cleaned out, abandoned except for an AlpCow sow that attacks and injures Dicard before Oliver and Chris deal with it. Oliver finds evidence of a Legion raid before they return to Clement Basin to get Dicard to a hospital.
Pristine, Clement Basin [211.415] 9-193 to 9-261
The hospital is visited by Vizierate Wardens 
to ensure Dicard is OK, and Oliver is invited to come and speak with the ViC of the Vizierate on Pristine. The Vizier decides their mission is important and appoints Oliver as a Vizant 4 to take over in Dicard’s absence, pointing out to Oliver that the Legion will be more respectful of him if he has that status.
Oliver and the team visit the Legion Cast, where it is confirmed that, yes, the Legion raided Argyle’s lodge – and fell afoul of Argyle’s booby traps. Some legionnaires were killed when a huge anti-vehicle mine detonated in the driveway. They are given access to all the recovered materials, discovering that Commissar Usher now has the chip emulator Nanny wanted recovered, and a fragment of a note from Argyle’s desk, to the effect that Patron = Contact. An obscure reference to the journals that Oliver has been reading about who Argyle’s contacts are, this referencing the death of his ‘Contact’. Oliver decides to visit the mine where Argyle worked sometimes, and where said Contact/ Patron was apparently located.
Pristine, Mine Site One [211.417] 9-261 to 9-385
The team travel in the Crawler to the mine, passing the line of ore buckets on their way to the spaceport refinery as they do.
At the mine site office they speak to Joel Cagnotti, a chain-smoking member of the mine’s personnel department who brings up the death file on the worker, Cagnotti noting that he took the man in question’s job. Cagnotti notes that the Legion said it was a suicide. The team visit the site of the suicide and note that it occurred completely out of anyone’s view with said suicide having to climb a safety fence. There seem to be easier ways; Argyle’s journals make it clear he thinks the man was murdered.
They visit the local Public Safety Office and after a potentially acrimonious exchange with the local commandant are able to access the video surveillance files, where they spot Argyle arriving at the mine not long after their last visit and trace his snow-mobile back to… Cagnotti. A brief chase ensues, which Cagnotti claims was only because it didn’t occur to him that the Legion could be after him. Cagnotti admits that Argyle gave him the snow-mobile before walking off toward the front gate and that was the last time Cagnotti saw him.
Oliver examines the mine’s computer logs, notes an anomaly, and determines that Argyle took control of the ore bucket system and used it to sneak into the spaceport, to which they follow the lead.
Pristine, Downport [211.418] 9-385 to 9-442
At the Downport they receive assistance from the Legion and a helpful Legion tech, 
determining that Argyle left the planet with the help of a cargo brokerage firm called Icehearts aboard a tramp freighter. Said freighter is currently at Zarg’s World.
They return to the medical centre where Dicard is now awake.
It’s agreed that Fromm will stay on Pristine with Dicard while he recovers from his injuries, and check out the Icehearts lead, while Oliver will lead the rest of the team to Zarg’s World in pursuit of the freighter.
Module 12: Chasing the Goose
… and the rest of the team 
to Zarg’s World, the most current known location of the ship on which they believe Argyle left Pristine.
The journey is sped somewhat when their Adal customs check is done via a customs pinnace operating off a carrier near the system’s safe jump limit.
Oliver continues to watch vids with Erin and discuss the mission. Approaching Zarg’s World his research into the Argyle materials is almost complete.
Zarg’s World Highport [211.440] C-140 to C-153
Arriving at Zarg’s World Highport in the Maldemar 732, it is a simple matter for Oliver to locate the ship he was seeking, the merchant freighter Spanial 
, and he and Alan pay a visit to the ship at its dock, in company with a couple of local customs officers.
Vizant 4 Oliver Starr , with Under Commander Alan Halcyon ‘assisting’,
interview Captain Karmen Intuveker 
and Cargo Master Lia Silver-Rose 
about the whereabouts of Willard Argyle .
Oliver convinces Karmen to reveal the truth of what Spanial had done, which was to take Argyle into Separatist Space – specifically the Nonoop System – where he was picked up by Separatist ship.
Alan indicates he is not able to fly into Separatist space, and Oliver returns to Maldemar 732, perhaps feeling somewhat disheartened.
Zarg’s World Highport [211.440] C-194 to C-222
Oliver returns to the sloop, spends some time thinking, then moves into action. He sends a number of messages: Including to Dicard, Felicity, Nanny and Frederick. He visits the local ViC of the Vizierate to help him go undercover, and orders Maldemar 732 back to GRRAS.
Then he returns to Spanial and puts his proposal to Karmen: She is to take him to Separatist Space, he will make sure there are no repercussions for Spanial and its crew for the activities with Argyle and Icehearts.
. Module 14: Baggage
Zarg’s World [211.441] E-001 to E-470-Lia and E-470-Oliver
Oliver is inducted into the basics of Spanial’s Comms and Scan systems by Ipan, who seems somewhat resentful of his presence but was none the less, acting professionally. The crew had already decided to take part of their Dock Leave together and visit Circus Galacta, currently on Zarg’s World and arrangements are made. Oliver is invited.
Oliver gradually meets the rest of the ship’s compliment:
- Reintroduced to Prrri, who seemed cautiously accepting in his alien way;
- Kort, who seems suspicious and perhaps dismissive (and is not being told about Oliver’s true reason for being aboard);
- Gregar, accepting but so far too busy to do more than superficialities;
- Kwint, who seemed actively trying to be friendly; and,
- Jennie, who was professional and somewhat welcoming.
Oliver doesn’t have a great time at the Circus Sideshow, perhaps nervous about fitting in he was distracted and under-performing. Lia acquired a large AlpCow plushie from Kort. They tried the VIP lounge, where Oliver had a portrait done 
.
The crew watches the circus Big Show, which is utterly spectacular. Afterwards some of the crew party on, Jennie, with Oliver co-piloting fly the shuttle back up to the Highport. They chat on the way, and she also gives him his first job – to check the Hopper’s computer systems.
NextCycle, Oliver purchases a replacement for the Hopper’s onboard manuals, going straight back to the ship afterwards. Lia and Karmen return to the ship later.
In Green Shift, a speculative cargo of radioactives arrives and is loaded aboard by Lia. In Blue, Karmen convened a communal meal where everyone eats a delicious Kwint-dish and Karmen dealt with some housekeeping and the rough plan ahead.
After the meal, Oliver is invited to watch the undocking procedure from Control. He and Jennie chat some more before Spanial left dock to head for the jump point to Mundo Zargo.
Module 15: Choices
Spanial, enroute to Mundo Zargo [211.442] F-001 to F-002
- Spanial leaves dock from Zarg’s World and heads out to the jump point
- Oliver meets with Gregar
- There is some initial nerd-bonding over Oliver’s glasses project
- Oliver installs the software update in the Hopper while Gregar looks on
- Oliver slips leaving the Hopper but Gregar steadies him and he avoids a potentially nasty fall.
- Gregar confesses to Oliver that he’s unhappy about letting Oliver access Spanial’s computer systems
- Oliver indicates, without discussing specifics, that he’s not working for the Vizierate by choice
- Oliver finds a storage widget in the ‘busted box’
- Oliver extracts and views the video file from the widget he found
- Which is a video from a vacc suit camera showing a combat aboard a ship with the alien Yarg
- Oliver completes his work on IT Project #72
- Oliver discovers that the ships’ systems have several modifications that allow the crew to do things without leaving an audit trail however, this comes at a cost of a huge security hole
- It turns out the crew are not fully aware of the capabilities or risks of what they have had put into the ship
- Oliver works on a security fix for their backdoor, coming up with a dongle-based approach
- Karmen asks him to see if he can crack the Money Card reader she salvaged
- Oliver decrypts the data from Argyle’s Project #72 – details of organised crime on Pristine
Spanial, Mundo Zargo System [211.451]
- Spanial arrives in the Mundo Zargo system
- Jennie asks for Oliver’s help with sitting watches
- During their first watch change, she tells him of some research work
she’s doing into a specific problem with Hyperspace navigation and Oliver helps her analyse her data and she believes she’s found something about how to plot safer jumps under certain circumstances - Oliver checks his messages, discovering correspondence from his parents and from Dicard
- Oliver notes that his mother is currently stationed at Captree
- Oliver researches Argyle’s music data blob searching the music files for hidden data, when it occurs to him he hasn’t done the same with the vid files
- He checks them and finds nothing, seeking Gregar and Prrri as sounding boards for ideas on a hunch
- Assisting him with his thinking, he focusses on Sundown on Starmist as the only vid file that shows obvious signs of Argyle working on it
- Gregar says he hasn’t seen it and Prrri remarks casually that there is already a copy on the ship’s entertainment system
- Oliver checks out said file and… discovers within it a copy of the Argyle Notebook for which he has been searching – Huzzah!
- Having celebrated in Olivery style (ie not at all) he returns to work; Jennie expresses concerns about not having heard from Karmen
Spanial, Mundo Zargo Highport [211.454]
- Spanial arrives at Mundo Zargo Highport
- Oliver tries to get in touch with the shuttle, only to be advised that Grasslands Down is in security lock down
- Oliver discusses the matter with Jennie, Gregar and Prrri, the others note that Lia has had the most contact with their employer; Oliver messages Lia.
Crystal Coast resort [211.455] F-550 to F-649
- Lia returns to the ship on receiving the message
- She tries her help-line number (despite Glover having warned her not to use it while on Mundo Zargo) and is shortly connected directly to Zayaire
- Zayaire offers to expedite the Spanial crew out of the facility if Lia and Oliver – who he knows of from Kort – do a favour for him, and he asks them to come to the Crystal Coast Resort
- They agree and, bringing Prrri along to act as lookout, make their way to the resort
- On the way they stop to buy some suitable clothes for Oliver, with Lia advising – it’s possible Oliver has never looked so well-dressed in his life
- There are a number of travel options and they opt for a tour aerostat, which freaks Prrri out when it flies over the ocean, however, he is able to control himself
- Arriving at the resort, Lia and Oliver meet with Zayaire,
, leaving Prrri looking somewhat confused in the conference centre area - Zayaire’s proposal is as follows:
- There is an Overlordly Envoy
on Mundo Zargo who will decide the successful candidate as the next Governor 
, Zayaire’s name has been proposed, but he is in a fix: He doesn’t want to be Governor but he can’t risk turning down a nomination for political reasons - If Lia and Oliver will agree to try and find out what the Envoy is thinking, he will expedite Karmen and the crew’s way out of the Grassland facility
- If they come up with actual hard data, he will reimburse them and provide a bonus if they can prove they influenced a decision in his favour
- There is an Overlordly Envoy
- Oliver and Lia accept Zayaire’s offer.
Module 16: The Judgement of Solomon
Crystal Coast Resort [211.455] G-001 to G-019
They begin their heroic mission to infiltrate the Envoy’s security by… checking into the resort and going to bed. Oliver is given room 308 and Lia room 429 – room allocations may become important. They both decide to sleep until they are fully rested.
Unusually and pleasantly, Oliver sleeps soundly and solidly until next Green.
Over the next little while they will get a sense of the resort’s layout and their rooms.
They decide to discuss plans over breakfast (noting it is dark in local time) and decide on the underwater garden room at Ranulf’s On-The-Water. They briefly consider investigating the Lockdown at the Grasslands Facility, but decide to focus on their assigned task.
Crystal Coast Resort – The Live Session – [211.455] G-020
They eventually settle on a plan of Lia attempting to feign a casual meeting with the Envoy, possibly utilising his interest in Chak, while Oliver looked for options for electronic surveillance.
Oliver takes a trip into Crystal Town to pick up some extra electronics gear for surveillance purposes – some of it quite illegal.
At the start of Blue Shift, Lia goes for a quick recce, and happens to chance onto what appeared to be the Envoy’s security shift change and the Envoy heading out with ‘The Little Guy’.
She signals Oliver and follows the Envoy and his guard to the elevator.
Splitting up…
Lia – Following the Envoy
In the elevator, Chak book poking suggestively from the top of her bag, she finds her plan to engage the Envoy’s attention not working as hoped. Most unusually, the Envoy ignors her, Lia’s perception of people suggesting to her that he was tense and pre-occupied. She overheard the Envoy telling the Little Guy that he had booked a private room in the Outdoor Area and would be spending some time there.
Lia takes advantage of knowing where the Envoy was heading to stop at a terminal and send some messages, including one to Oliver telling him where she is heading.
Then she goes to the Outdoor Area and is able to determine the approximate location of the Envoy’s room. Skirting the perimeter corridor, she is surprised to spot the Envoy, wearing a change of clothes, slipping out through a service door and heading for the vehicle park.
Lia follows, apparently managing to avoid being noticed. The Envoy dons a respirator and heads out into the night, made his way back to the front of the resort and hails a cab. Lia is able to use the line, with another cab and follows the Envoy’s to Crystal Town, where his cab drops him off next to a park in the centre of town. Lia had her cab pull up a distance behind and watch from a nearby cafe as he sits on a bench, and waits.
Soon a man arrives from deeper within the park and sits next to him. Lia observs what appears to be the Envoy surreptitiously handing off a small item to the man. Shortly after that, the man leaves back the way he came, and the Envoy returns to the street.
Lia observed the man was wearing casual pants, a T-shirt and jacket of average or below-average quality. He was aged about 10, average looks, well built and moved easily.
Lia follows the Envoy back up the block where he boards a taxi and returns to the resort, having the cab drop him off in the vehicle park out the front of the Parking Office. He returns to his private room through the same service tunnel that he used to leave.
About four Tasks later she follows the Envoy and his security back to 402.
Lia – Back in her Room
Returning to her own room, Lia discovered no sign of Oliver but the items he dumped from his backpack to replace with tools.
Oliver – Trying to break into the Envoy’s Room
With Lia having spotted the Envoy, Oliver decides there is no point in continuing to hack the cameras. He dons the coverall he purchased in Crystal Town and leaces Lia’s room. The floor is quiet. Approaching the Envoy’s room 402 and about to knock or check out the lock, he spots a small camera placed up high on the door frame. He decides to continue on and knocks on 403 instead.
After a pause the door is opened by a sleepy-looking woman: Light tan skin with light brown hair in a short bob, grey eyes, aged about 12, 170 cm tall, who Oliver quickly realises is part of the Envoy’s security detail.
Oliver leaves, noting as he turned that on the table behind her was a laptop with camera views of the corridors.
Debating what best to do, he returns to his room to consider his next steps and see if he will be arrested.
In Oliver’s Room
Lia goes to Oliver’s room and they recount their adventures. Realising they need to cover their tracks, Oliver hacks the Resort’s system and Lia composes an email to insert into the system to cover Oliver’s appearance. Oliver and Lia then discuss next steps, without coming to a firm conclusion on how to proceed…
Oliver’s Room – Back to PBP – G-021 to G-045
They are joined by Jonathan, who delivers some extra information. Lia tells Jonathan about the Envoy’s strange behaviour, noting this may suggest corruption and so make the Envoy amenable to bribes. The widget has some details about the Envoy’s past – a secret trip to Octant 5 – and notes he will be meeting with the Legion soon. Jonathan notes they’ve already met once with the Legion, so perhaps what they want to discuss is important? Oliver and Lia agree that he will hacking into the Envoy’s Net messages while she tries a breakfast meeting.
Lia – Crystal Coast Resort G-046-Lia to G-050-Lia
Lia returns to her room, checked messages and eventually returns to Oliver.
Oliver – Oliver’s Room G-046-Oliver to G-054-Oliver
Oliver begins hacking into OverNet to read the Envoy’s messages. Succeeding initially in pretending to be an OverNet message server and then in obtaining a long list of the Envoy’s messages, but not their content – that has to be decrypted message-by-message. He begins the task, noting that while his intrusion raised an alert, the subsequent deception appears to have worked – and further messages reveal the Envoy is actively trying to prevent anyone from Household Security following up on it.
Oliver has just decrypted a message about there being a parcel for the Envoy at reception when Lia arrives.
Crystal Coast Resort G-055 to G-069
They recap what they know, and are about to head to bed when Zayaire calls. Jonathan has delivered Lia’s intel and Zayaire is wondering if they have anything extra, or anything that might tell him what motivates the Envoy. He asks them to look into the odd behaviour if they have the opportunity, and notes that just learning what they have learned gives him a good edge for his upcoming meeting.
They discuss checking out the park where the meeting took place, eg for cameras, but decide they don’t have time. Both head to bed.
Lia – Crystal Coast Resort [211.456] G-070-Oliver to G-151-Oliver
On waking, Lia heads to breakfast and spies the Envoy heading across the lobby with one of his security detail. She follows and sees he is going to The Rotunda – a glassed-in outdoor area where one can eat or relax. She wrangles an invite to the Envoy’s table. She establishes trust and rapport with him – he appreciates her perfume – and then slips in a gently disparaging story about Zayaire.
The Envoy explores whether he can actually act in her defence, but she puts him off, leaving him with just the impression of a wronged damsel-in-distress – perhaps he will avenge her?
Her job done, she spends some time enjoying the resort and asks Oliver to meet her in the Outdoor area.
Oliver – Crystal Coast Resort [211.456] G-070-Lia to G-116-Lia
On waking, Oliver continues with the Net messages. The messages reveal the Envoy organising interviews with candidates and other stakeholders at Mundo Zargo, and also working on his other role as assisting with the itinerary for the upcoming visit of the Name Heir to Mundo Zargo.
Oliver is able to get a lot of background, and may be able to make some inferences about what the Envoy is thinking, but there is no ‘smoking gun’ – either for his Governor decision nor his odd behaviour with the secret meeting.
Lia – Crystal Coast Resort G-124-Oliver to G-151-Oliver
With nothing else pressing her, Lia enjoys the band in the Outdoor area and goes shopping.
Oliver – Crystal Coast Resort G-124-Lia to G-126-Lia
Which he does. He explores the conference area, disables the alarms on the emergency exit doors to approach without being seen by the cameras. He picks the lock on the Envoy’s door, enters the room, finds it empty, breaks into the Envoy’s laptop and finds a draft memo on the Envoy’s decision-making.
It reveals:
- The Envoy is an Envoy in multiple capacities, though it’s not clear what the other might be
- The Envoy either hasn’t made a decision, or at least hasn’t written it down
- It’s likely going to be between Under Secretary Schwanda (who Zayaire doesn’t want) and some dude from Mundo Zargo who won’t stick around long
- The Envoy will put Markov-Wrikster in the Governor’s slot as a temporary measure, but not permanently, because the Legion have been lobbying to be let off the leash regarding local piracy and they don’t like the current leadership
- The outgoing Governor apparently didn’t think much of Markov-Wrikster either
- The Envoy is impressed by Zayaire, but not as Governor – he’s thinking of dragging Zayaire off to Zargonia
- It’s unclear what Zayaire might think about that
While he’s there he discovers some data that may or may not have related to the Envoy’s secret meeting – the Name Heir’s draft itinerary and security information.
Oliver returns to his room, where Lia eventually joins him.
Crystal Coast Resort [211.456] G-152 to G-175
Lia calls Zayaire and he has Jonathan set up a late meeting. They give him the information thay have recovered. Zayaire asks a couple of questions and is complimentary to their work. A call is put through, presumably to Samuel Kort, regarding assisting the Spanial crew out of the Facility. He says:
“Both of you please let me know in future if you should be open to further engagements. Though I understand, Emerald, that you may have prior obligations that prevent that; do please give her my regards.”
And he has Jonathan hand Oliver and Lia ʄ110,000 in unauthorised Money cards.
Lia purchases a carry case and Oliver carries the payment back to Spanial in it, placing the case in his cabin on his arrival and goes to bed.
Karmen and co actually beat them back to Spanial and a prodigal Prrri’s returns shortly afterwards.
Spanial leaves dock heading for Captree and, eventually, Separatist space. A small courier ship shadows them out of dock.
Module 18: Transport
Spanial, enroute to Captree via Roseman [211.457] I-001 to I-003
Oliver and Lia are both quite tired and Karmen excuses them any immediate duties while they rest. She calls a debriefing meal for what will be Oliver’s breakfast when the ship is in Hyperspace.
Oliver sets his mind to returning to his routine, and with most of the main work on the Argyle analysis complete, decides to focus on his EMP grenade project.
Oliver and Lia meet to divvy up their payment from the Envoy job, and agree to an even split. Lia says she’s going to split hers with the crew, Oliver says he’s not.
Spanial, enroute to Captree via Roseman, Common Room [211.458] I-004 to I-027-Oliver
At the meeting, Karmen says she wants to get everyone on the same page given the ‘interestin’ times of late’. She opens the agenda for other items and Jennie says she wants to confirm Watch schedules, Lia says she’ll brief everyone on what she and Oliver have been up to, which she does – possibly in more detail than Oliver might have preferred.
Karmen recounts the stay at the facility, but it basically amounts to being stuck in their rooms because of an ‘Emergency in the Research Labs’. She notes they did get paid though.
Lia puts her share of the Envoy job payment on the table and Karmen and Oliver discuss and agree on his remuneration. Karmen distributes cash and Karmen notes that Oliver’s work on the Money Card Reader might give them an opportunity for another such payment meeting.
Karmen moves to the next item on her agenda – the route. She says it’s Roseman to Captree, where they’ll drop Lia off and sell the speculative cargo of Radioactives. That’s an estimated 19 Cycles. At Captree Karmen will pick up another cargo to use as cover, then they sneak outside the Dominion Sphere to Nonoop, about 8 Cycles trip time. They drop Oliver off and return to Dominion space.
Karmen grills Lia about the length of her stay on Capree and Oliver about arrangements to keep the Vizierate off Spanial’s back. Neither have any solid answers for her.
There’s a brief discussion of watches – Oliver is excused to work on the Money Card Reader for Karmen.
Oliver leaves the table as soon as business is done and it turns social.
Spanial, enroute to Captree via Roseman, Common Room [211.459] I-028-Oliver to I-039-Oliver
On 211.459 Jennie approaches Oliver and asks if he would be interested in collaborating on a paper she’s planning to write on the results of the hyperspace navigation work they did previously.
Oliver agrees to assist on the condition he’s not attributed, which seems to offend Jennie’s sense of fair-play, but she agrees and appreciates his help.
Later, she sends him a draft copy for his approval, on which he provides feedback.
Oooh, sweets, overlord yes!
– Oliver’s Internal Monologue (I-075)
It is Ipan’s birthCycle – there is cake.
Spanial, enroute to Captree via Roseman, Karmen’s Cabin [211.462] I-038-Oliver to I-040-Oliver
On 211.462 Oliver presents Karmen his initial results of the Money Card Reader – he advises her of the limitations of what he has so far, and she asks him to go back and do a bit more, which he does.
Spanial, docked at Roseman Downport [211.468] I-100-Oliver to I-104-Oliver
Spanial arrives at Roseman, a small and airless world where the gravity is low enough that the freighter can dock at the Downport. There’s nothing Oliver particularly wants to do there and he stays on the ship for the duration of the stay.
Spanial, enroute to Captree, Karmen’s Cabin [211.470] I-105-Oliver to I-120-Oliver
On 211.470 Oliver returns to Karmen 
having enabled the card reader to be used anonymously (or at least, with a different ID) to transfer funds.
Karmen pulls out a stack of cards she has ‘acquired’ over time from various sources, and they find there is quite a haul there. Karmen notes that it takes quite a float to run a tramp freighter with speculative cargo – she seems to have acquired a fellow captain’s float from somewhere. The talk turns to his share of the loot, and she gives him a quick lesson in spaceship economics.
Oliver offers Karmen some of his share as a down payment on a possible ‘come get me’ job to Separatist space in future.
Later that Cycle, Spanial jumps for Captree.
To be clear, Oliver did not actually wear a party hat while shirtless.
Karmen calls another crew meeting over a meal, this one for Oliver’s dinner time; there is more loot to distribute.
At the end of the meal, Jennie rises from her seat, goes to the Galley, and returns with a pink-and-purple-iced cake on a plate that she has apparently prevailed on Kwint to bake. She announces that it is Oliver’s birthCycle.
There is some gentle ribbing at Oliver’s obvious discomfort with the spotlight, but he enjoys the very sweet cake.
Then Karmen distributes the latest bonus to the crew, which profits Oliver about ʄ75k.
Spanial, enroute to Captree [211.472 to .477] I-159-Oliver
Oliver spends the remaining time in hyperspace doing research on Argyle and working on his EMP Grenade project.
Interlude – What have Dicard and Fromm been up to?
Oliver departed Pristine on 211.419, leaving Dicard to recover from his injuries and he and Fromm to follow-up the Icehart’s Brokerage lead. They have presumably been doing things in the interim…
Whatever Dicard has been up to, he rolled 13, 7 and 14 to do it.
Spanial, Captree system [211.477] I-160-Oliver to I-163-Oliver
Spanial comes out of hyperspace in the Captree system on 211.477. Oliver checks his messages and finds a number of responses have caught up with him:
From: Minor Vizier Lilith Saden-Ejder – endorsing his trip to Separatist space
From: Minor Vizier Richard Dicard – advising Oliver he is seeking advice
From: Minor Vizier Richard Dicard – in response to a message from UCR Alan Halcyon where Alan says he’s stuck at Zarg’s World because the ship has insufficient crew, to ask the Vizierate for another crew member, then come and pick him up from Pristine
From: Minor Vizier Frederick Salfield – also endorsing his trip to Separatist space and issuing instructions to Nanny and Dicard
From: Ian Oliver – Friendly chat from an older message; Oliver’s dad made the semi-final in his local bul-bowl club
From: CDR Marissa Starr – a cryptic reference to her being contacted by Commissar Usher
From: CDR Marissa Starr – exhorting Oliver to make her proud on his dangerous mission.
Oliver messages his mother, and finds she is in the same system, with a response coming back in moments rather than dekaCycles; they arrange to meet at the Highport when the ship docks.
Captree Highport, Commercial Dock Concourse [211.480] I-163-Oliver to I-217-Oliver
Arriving at Captree Main Orbital Highport, Oliver’s mother is waiting for him and they have breakfast together in a café.
His mother drops a fuzzer on the table and quizzes Oliver about the ‘dangerous’ mission he’s mentioned in his previous message. Oliver tells her he’s chasing someone over the border into Separatist space; she offers to check with the Legion’s intel section and share anything unclassified with him. They speculate on the attitude of the Separatist government to his quarry.
They continue to talk cryptically – Oliver hints to his mother that he’s working undercover as a Commissar 
investigating the Vizierate for Usher . She speculates – purely hypothetically, of course – that if someone suspected foul play inside the Vizierate, they just might ask a Commissariat Operative such as Usher to look into it.
Marissa shares some of her experience with the Commissariat, its strengths and weaknesses, noting Oliver’s maternal grandmother was also a Commissar. During the conversation, she determines that she will take action on something she has been considering, and submit her own application to be a double-class Operations Commissar.
She notes that she has a temporary assignment off her battlecruiser – Special Duties Officer with a Task Group. Essentially, to stop illicit trade between Octants 3 and 7, because the Primary Fleets of those Octants can’t or won’t work effectively together. They briefly discuss the Mundo Zargo Governorship and its possible effect on Marissa’s operation, and vice versa.
They chat about their respective hobbies – both of which sound a lot like their day jobs. Oliver mentions he actually fired his weapon in a real situation. Marissa comments that Oliver has been having interesting times.
Oliver apologises for his previous sudden disappearance.
His mother asks the inevitable mother question Have you met anyone special? Though it appears in this case that she’s actually acting as a proxy for his father. The conversation segues into a comparison of parenting with military command.
We complete the scene with mother and son giving each other a warm, mutual ‘performance review’, both perhaps fearing that this is the last time they might see each other.
Spanial, docked at Captree Highport [211.480] I-218-Oliver
Returning to Spanial, Oliver finds his LDA has updated with a message from Felicity, 
in which she fills him in on what she’s found at her end; lots of links back to to one Marshal Raziah Bock of Octant 6 intelligence and some involvement with deceased Minor Vizier Sardo Ohare.
In serendipitous timing with his recent conversation with his mother, Felicity confirms his promotion has come through and he is now confirmed as a Commissar Under Officer with the Dominion Legion attached to the Dominion’s 19th Fleet.
In response Oliver advises Felicity that Argyle skipping across the border has stirred up the Vizierate, and makes it clear that he hasn’t given them the Notebook yet, planning to say he got it from Argyle when he returns from Separatist space. He did, however, send a copy to Felicity.
Spanial, enroute to Nonoop, approaching jump point [211.481] I-219-Oliver to I-230-Oliver
Point of No Return
Once Spanial enters hyperspace for Separatist space Oliver will be out of touch with the Dominion unless and until he can find a way to return or communicate. You should complete any outstanding business or side quests before continuing.
- Oliver will confirm he is ready and has no other major business to attend prior to leaving.
- Wait! I just need to…
Spanial leaves dock and approaches the jump point to Nonoop. An unexpected hiccough appears when a Net Packet jumps in just as they are about to jump out, potentially meaning they could be tracked.
Oliver shows them how to spoof the jump signature using the ship’s active array to prevent the ship’s destination being tracked, and they jump out for Nonoop as planned.
Just before the ship jumped there was a Message Net update – possibly from the very Net Packet they were trying to spoof. Oliver has mail, and reads a final message from his dad as he leaves Dominion space.
Spanial, enroute to Nonoop [211.481] I-219-Oliver
Oliver decides to focus on his grenade project in his time during the trip.
Spanial, enroute to Nonoop [211.486] I-231-Oliver to I-249-Oliver
On 211.486, Jennie comes to see Oliver in his cabin. She offers to tell him what she knows about Separatist space.
Leading him to Control, she shows him a star map with distances, and a list of Separatist systems.
Oliver asks her what she knows of their culture and she shares the following:
- They don’t have an Overlord, they’re ruled by some group called the Parliament.
- Their equivalent of the Legion Navy is called the Space Militia
- The security she’s seen at Gateway is called the Ground Militia
- Their tech feels ‘kind of bulky’ compared to Dominion technology
- Where we’d call each other ‘Mer’ they refer to us as ‘Stranger’, though they tend to use our titles when they know them, to be polite.
- They refer to each other as ‘Elector’
- Oliver knows that to a Dominion Mer, an un-titled Separatist would be referred to as ‘Ax’ in the Dominion context
- At Gateway, other than the Ground Militia, they all look like civilians and even their government people feel like private Mers
- They don’t have ID tags
- At Gateway she observed they were cautious of Dominion Mers, but wanted to sell her something
- If you have obvious tech on you they’ll sometimes offer to trade for it.
Jennie says this is Spanial’s sixth trip into Separatist space, with the single passenger runs being unusual – usually they have a hold full of passengers in life support pods.
Oliver and Jennie chat about their life choices, she comments that she’s enjoyed getting to know him and that in another life they might have enjoyed being permanent crew together.
Spanial, enroute to Nonoop [211.490] I-250-Oliver
A little before dinner on 211.490, Oliver believes he has a working prototype for his EMP grenade, although testing it aboard ship could, at the minimum, make Karmen and Gregar very annoyed.
Spanial, Nonoop System, Control [211.490] I-251-Oliver to I-268-Oliver
On 211.490, after Oliver’s dinner, Spanial arrives in the Nonoop system. Ipan quickly picks up a signal from a navigation buoy, and they set course for it.
While the ship is travelling to the buoy, Oliver says his farewells to the crew.
When he farewells Karmen she wants to chat, to make sure Oliver’s holding up his end of the bargain. Oliver leaves her with his Vizierate undercover reactivation code and a message to her in the ship’s local comm buffer stating she’s assisting him.
Spanial is still a way from the Nav Buoy when they detect and are hailed by a Separatist Space Militia vessel, the Stoutly Exploring, which, after they identify themselves as a commercial Dominion registry and scanning them (presumably to ensure they’re telling the truth about being commercial), advises them to watch out for possible Legion Navy ships in the system.
They continue to the Nav Buoy, and Ipan detects it and another ship sitting nearby.
Spanial hails it and the Separatist independent ship Welcome Wagon agrees to trade – they’ll take Oliver and some electronic parts that Karmen appears to have with her in exchange for entertainment vids and stories from the Separatist side of the border.
Spanial and Welcome Wagon link up, and the cargo exchange is made.
Karmen offers – and Oliver accepts – a respirator and a pair of gecko overshoes and climbs along Spanial’s cargo hold to the Separatist ship.
Module 20: Separated
Now…
Independent Cargo/Passenger Transporter Welcome Wagon
Oliver completes his traverse of Spanial’s red-light-lit cargo hold. On the far side of Spanial’s large forward cargo doors, is the cargo hold of the Separatist ship. The Separatist cargo hold is well-lit with white lights. A figure in a vacc suit is standing just inside the doors. The suit’s face plate is open and the wearer looks to be a woman aged in her early twenties. As Oliver approaches, he can see three other suited figures further back in the other cargo bay, he can see that all three of the figures in the hold are openly armed, though they’re mostly holstered sidearms. One man down the back of the hold is carrying some sort of rifle, it’s pointing down at his side though, not at Oliver.
Oliver is wearing a set of gecko overshoes to help him grip surfaces and a respirator mask with a tube connecting to a small belt unit – it compresses oxygen from thin atmospheres and raises the partial oxygen pressure to an easily breathable level. I assume he’s carrying his backpack with his usual gear, and presumably his share of the payments from the Envoy job and the Money Card Reader hack – his pack will be quite full.
The woman at the front beckons – come through.
Is there anything you or Oliver would like to do, prepare, ask or clarify? What will he do?
Is conversation audible in this environment?
Oliver will accept the beckon and move through.