LogStormlight-Jacko-12

Game log for the 2021/03/01 session of Impulse Drive: Stormlight, as taken by Jacko

The crew spends some of their down time, due to delays at the spaceport, figuring out just where to go next. Ember reveals her desire to find more people like her to help them, though Kyruss notes that finding out who made her to stop them would be more important. Franco thinks that'd carry a high body count but no one seems to mind.

Since they're still in port, the crew spends the rest of their time finishing up projects, like Janus' agriculture future research. She discovers there appears to be a second version of Benevolence operating behind the scenes and manipulating things. Kyruss discovers there's a bounty on Drix, issued by the Long Watch.

Franco meets his Duzan contact for the hand off and they have a short conversation concerning Ember and how the Duzan Combine may sway her to work with them. They need to evaluate her power and task Franco with surveilling her for further research. Ember believes she could find more of her kind in the Estrypso system and there's some terrible presence there, watching, and apparently, waiting.

Drix tries to find more information on this Benevolence split, dubbing the second version 'Malevolence' at Kyruss' suggestion. His leads come to dead ends as he keeps finding the same result in his searches, but it's a communications address. He dials it up and has a conversation with Benevolence, who recommends finding out more about Jericho's operation on Asrir. He can utilize the same address for further communications.

Janus finds a milk run contract to Estrypso system and the Stormlight gets into drillspace. Drix and Ember have a conversation about helping her with her quest but Ember rejects his offer of guidance. He leaves Ember to her own devices. Janus finds him and asks him about his findings with the Benevolence/Malevolence dichotomy and he tells her that they should head to Asrir to impede Jericho's operations. Stopping the Long Watch would insure Ember's safety, after all.

Some time later, Kyruss reports to Janus and informs her that Drix has a bounty on his head from the Watch. She fills him in on Drix's contact with the 'real' Benevolence and he wonders if they can trust it. He also wonders if turning in Drix might no be a bad idea after all.

The Stormlight makes it to Estrypso and find that the paperwork here is horrendous. She tries to offer a bribe, which isn't well received, and tries to move things along. Kyruss steps in, showing his legal authority as a Federal Marshall, but it doesn't seem to get recognized. There's more paperwork about quarantining the crew but Kyruss puts a vibro blade to the throat of the port official.

Ember knows that there's a Tempest on this planet and she consults the Abyss which tells her that the Tempest is tens of kilometers in a certain direction. The crew decline to log a flight plan for their shuttle and take the subway in that direction. Drix opens his mind to the Abyss as well and feels strong emotions from their target; she's angry, looking for revenge, and obsessed with space-pop music.

Franco tries to hack into the police systems to look for open cases that might relate to Tempest sort of crime. The systems here aren't what he's used to, however, and he has to back out quickly, unsure if he's left any incriminating evidence. The crew soon gets to the right neighborhood, full of tenements and arcologies that Ember described, and Drix knows they're in the right place. Drix begins listening for the right music while Ember tries to follow her feelings. Franco stays in the lobby and begins hacking the residential security system while Kyruss takes up an overwatch position.

Franco is able to find an apartment, newly rented, that's been playing space-pop for 12 hours a day. Ember knocks on the door of the apartment and asks to come in to partake of the space-pop. She hears something heavy move on the other side of the door before it opens and the resident asks who the creep is, meaning Drix. The resident will let Ember in but not him. She's grilled about space-pop by the resident, who bears more than a passing familiarity to Ember.

The resident is from an orphanage in Volnulia, which is the same system Ember's orphanage was, but she seems wary. Drix gets a feeling that there's something very bad happening in the apartment, like a storm moving in. He warns Kyruss moments before the resident attempts to use her own Tempest powers on Ember, but she's able to deflect them.

Franco sees that there are calls being made to the cops and warns Kyruss. He interrupts the terse, tense conversation between the resident and Ember but the resident is already packing up to leave. Ember gives her the name of the ship and tells her to contact them, which gets a scoff and a joke about what she'd name her bear. Ember confirms she has a bear and the resident reveals she has one of the very same. She jumps out the window with her backpack before the crew hightails it. A few moments later, a huge thunderclap rocks the building and alarms start going off everywhere. They run into the security forces on their way out, who ask for ID. Drix is able to suggest they focus elsewhere and they make their escape to the ship.

Franco goes in pursuit of the resident and it's quite a slog to track her and keep up. She eventually heads into a cafe and digs out a portable terminal to go online. He sets up surveillance of the resident and informs the crew. Ember seems to trust that she'll reach out. The resident eventually gets up and leaves, heading into an alleyway that forces Franco to stay well back before heading for a hotel. Soon enough, the crew at the ship get a call.

Ember and the resident talk about Volnulia, how there might be more of them. She'll exchange info but she isn't going with Ember under any circumstances. Ember gets frustrated enough to lash out, screaming at the other crew members to get away from her and let her talk. She tries to implore with the resident but doesn't find much of any common ground and she eventually hangs up.

Franco continues his surveillance while Janus warns Kyruss that she doesn't want another Ember on her ship. They agree to try to convince Ember to get the information she wants and then leave the resident here. They're taking care of the cargo when a cutter bearing the same signature as Captain Kamal contacts them.