The Phoenix Comes Home

The crew of the Phoenix milled around the bridge, watching the forward display as Tobian maneuvered the ship to it's designated docking station. The magnetic locks engaged with a resounding pulse that could be felt throughout the ship. Lerys, the odd but capable captain made the announcement. "Crew, we have arrived on Nexus. I invite everyone to enjoy some much needed shore leave but as always, check in frequently." Given that the entire crew was currently situated on the bridge, his use of the ship's comm system was unnecessary. Lerys had a flare for the dramatic and an air of self-importance, quirks his shipmates had become used to in their travels together.

"What do you say gentlemen? How about we see about collecting some payment for our troubles."

Deckard, not known for being incredibly verbose, simply nodded. Tobian offered an ambivalent "Alright." Syrel added an enthusiastic, "Agreed Sir!".

Lerys brought out his comm device and contacted Modock to setup a meeting. Modock suggests they meet in the Platinum district where he was conducting other business. They left Jax, the Phoenix's system officer, aboard to run diagnostics in preparation for their departure and made their way for the Platinum district. They find Modock accompanied by his two goons, one holding a parasol to shield his boss from the light drizzle.

"Welcome back, boys! It's good to see you in good health. I'm busy today and have much to attend to but needless to say you did what you said and so have I. The payment has been transferred. I'm sure you have need of some relaxation but come see me when you are ready for more work. You have proved to be men of your word and that's a commodity in and of itself."

Lerys thanked Modock for the payment and assured him they would contact him again soon. They talked amongst themselves and decided to give Traish a visit. In their line of work, keeping on frequent terms with willing clients ensured a steady stream of income for their burgeoning enterprise.

Upon arriving at Traish's habitat and exchanging pleasantries, the crew was all business, a quality Traish appreciated. He had several jobs for them but the conversation quickly gravitated towards a gig spying on a ship in the UES system. They had not been back in UES space since their daring prison break a year ago. As far as they knew, they were assumed dead, a status that afforded them some relief. Going back to UES space could mean attracting attention they didn't need.

What they did need was money and this job paid a lot. 50,000 credits to be exact. In the end, there wasn't much of a discussion. They agreed to take the job and Traish gave them the details. A client of his wanted them to track down and reckon the UES Harlow. The ship was to be found deep in UES space. The only information he had on the vessel was that it was last docked in the Juliard System and has since gone silent after traveling to the Osiris System.

Before the group left to prepare for their departure, Deckard took Traish aside to ask him to keep on the lookout for information on the Wayland-Yutani corporation. He was interested in BioWeapons research programs and in particular, the executives and senior staff responsible for overseeing them. Traish chuckled and said that if they returned safely from their current mission he would be happy to divulge any information he could manage to scramble up.

Since it was usually a good idea to have a reason for being in UES space, Deckard asked if there were any legitimate missions they could use as a cover. Deckard reciprocated saying that he did indeed have a number of workers that required transport to the Juliard system. Traish made a quick call and arranged for the workers to assemble for transport.

They again exchanged pleasantries and left as quickly as they arrived, again impressing Traish with their matter-of-fact attitude. Deckard made the suggestion that given the clandestine nature of their current operation, investing in some sensor dampening technology would be a wise upgrade. The group agreed and managed to purchase a reasonably priced system before leaving dock.

On route to the Juliard system, Tobian spent time getting to know their cargo. Deckard mostly kept to himself, experimenting with different power management strategies for the integrated dampening system. Lerys spent his time on the bridge, commanding Jax to perform various diagnostics and Syrel presumably passed the voyage in his quarters doing whatever it was Syrel did.

Upon arriving at the Juliard system, a quick scan revealed a massive space station in orbit of the yellow star. This was the last known dock the UES Harlow had been logged at and the destination for their cargo shipment. Deckard stared at the station as they approached, noting it's size and energy signature.

Deckard turned to face Lerys. "Captain, I don't think this is an observational station. It's far too large and it's consuming a lot of energy. If I were a betting -he was- I'd say this is some kind of weapons research platform."

"Agreed", quipped Lerys.

After docking and offloading the workers, Lerys asked the dockmaster if it would be permissible for the crew to stretch their legs and grab a drink. The dockmaster looked Lerys up and down. "Well, I'm not sure if it's, umm, modest enough for your comfort but there is a recreational area on deck 4 for station crew to unwind and have a drink." Lerys didn't like him but managed a smile and a nod.

In the rec area, Deckard spotted a terminal. A passing glance at his omni tool informed Deckard that hacking it would be trivial. Not wanting to alert whoever it was that was surely monitoring them, he instructed his comrades to engage the locals in conversation to direct as much attention from him as possible. Deckard pretended to engage in small talk between quick taps on his omni tool. He was able to bypass the security protocols quickly. Just as quickly, he was able to download a tremendous amount of data before eyeing Tobian, Lerys, and Syrel to let them know it was time to go.

Back on the ship and at a safe distance from the station, Deckard began probing his ill gotten files. Most had ridiculous amounts of encryption, another sure sign that the station was more than just an observational platform. He happened upon some sensor logs indicating the Harlow had been docked at the station for about a week and departed 14 days ago.

Continued research indicated the UES Harlow was a Frigate class military vessel, several times the size of the Phoenix with an equally large weapons compliment. It appears that it had been making regular trips into the Osiris system. After it's latest trip, several communications were sent but the station received no response. Deckard briefed the others on his findings and suggested caution was warranted.

They made several jumps and as they approached the jump gate to the Osiris system they received an automated message informing them that they were about to enter restricted space and should turn back immediately. They turned the ship around, engaged the sensor dampeners, and made another pass towards the gate. They received no message. Either a fleet of ships was en route to escort them to the nearest military facility or the dampeners worked. There was not reason to wait around.

They made the jump and began passive scans of the system. The were 4 star systems in the vicinity. They were in the furthest system around an A-Class star. The system consisted of 4 planets and as far as Deckard could tell, they were alone.

The Phoenix began making passes of the planets. There was nothing atypical about the first two except for the fact the second had pot marks all over the surface, a probable indication of mining activities. Around the third planet, however, they found a small debris field that had the signature of a small ship, probably UES given it's properties. The fourth planet was ringed and as they approached they noticed a Frigate class starship nestled within the ring of the planet.

A closer inspection revealed the ship to be the UES Harlow. With the go ahead from Lerys, Deckard activated a full scan of the ship. It was heavily damaged and missing a huge chunk of the hull. There were no indications of weapons damage. It appears a blast had originated from within the ship. The ship was emitting no energy signature and there were no life signs.

Tobian deftly maneuvered the Phoenix in parallel orbit with the Harlow. Deckard, Lerys, Syrel, and Tobian suited up in preparation to board the Harlow. Tobian suggested they bring the Plasma Cutter in case the power loss prevented entry to any areas of the ship. They boarded the ship and decided to head to engineering first. It was necessary to use the Plasma Cutter to gain access. What they found were several dead crew members and indications of weapons fire. The terminals were badly damaged but Deckard was able to restore power and life support.

They each lifted their visors, talked about their next move, and collectively decided to make their way to the bridge. Finding a nearby lift, the away crew instructed the computer to take them to the bridge. A moment later, the door opened, and a rush of air nearly pulled them out of the lift. Their visors slammed down to protect them from the vacuum. The front half of the bridge where the forward display would normally be found was gone leaving a hole that looked out upon open space. Half the bridge was gone.

Deckard walked to the nearest terminal (thanks to his grav boots enabling along with the visor). After a quick bypass of the security system, he had gained root access to the ship's systems and began downloading the data. Scanning the ships logs he found that the primary mission of the Harlow was as an exploratory mining vessel. It had been probing and mining the planets to determine if a larger mining operation would be fiscally viable for the UES.

He found several notes regarding strange and ancient looking archaeological sites on some of the planets in the system. About three weeks ago, the Harlow was attacked by an enormous ship of unknown origin. The ship appeared to have the same architectural properties of the planetary sites they discovered. As quickly and mysteriously as the ship appeared, it was gone and the Harlow was left heavily damaged. The crew was still making repairs when the mysterious vessel once again returned and opened fire. The last entry in the ship log was a mayday transmission.

As Deckard was looking over the data, Tobian caught a glimpse of something approaching from within the ring. An enormous ship that looked quite unlock anything he had seen before.

"Umm. Guys? That doesn't look good."

Lerys looked up and saw the vessel approaching. Jax's voice could be heard through his suit's comm system.

"Captain. It looks like…"

"Yeah, we see it," interrupted Lerys. "We're leaving now"

They quickly ran to their entry point on the ship and jumped to the side airlock of the Phoenix. They witnessed the vessel opening fire on the Harlow as the door closed and a pneumatic swoosh filled the room's atmosphere. Lerys quickly pulled out his comm device and yelled for Jax to "Get the hell out of here!"

The odd vessel (Lerys later named it the Enigma when retelling his stories of heroism and conquest) began pursuit. The Phoenix made it to the jump gate in record time. It did not appear as though the Enigma followed it through the gate. Nonetheless, the Phoenix maintained it's sense of urgency from jump gate to jump gate until it was back in the Nexus system.