Session 2
After scavenging weapons and equipment from the dead and patching up Jamelia so she can at least move the group sneak and bluff their way back towards the docks. Not quite being as stealthy as they’d like they find the docks heavily locked down but luckily managed to find a back passage onto the dock itself and sneak up to the entrance gate to the Anne Bonney.
Bally uses the pad to open up only to be confronted with a dead crewman floating in the microgravity quickly followed by the rest of the crew bound and killed on an obvious mass execution. The ship itself looks like it has been completely tossed. Using the access codes the group check the ship over as well as strap down any floating equipment/body parts less they become projectiles if they have to pull any high G’s. Jamelia finds the ship in working order but the locking clamps engaged and an apparent list of outstanding docking fees.
Despite Jenson's natural instincts Bally managed to convince him to not just blast open the docking bay doors and fly out guns blazing. Instead they decide to hold position on the basis that whoever tipped the ship either found what they wanted (probably the sample) or didn’t and know not to come back. Better to wait until the lockdown is listed.
After a few hours though a well dressed inner turns up at the airlock security camera. Bally, who happened to be monitoring them at the time, speaks to her and she introduces herself as a Diana. She seems curiously well informed about their situation and, after being invited on board, offers to make the groups problems “go away” in exchange for transport to Mars. With few options the group agree and she leaves informing she will be back in 8 hours. During that time deckhands arrive to full reprovision the ship including plenty of that grey gunk Jenson loved from The Bounty.
As well as supplies all the docking fees are suddenly paid and legal documents arrive in the message buffer transferring ownership of the Anne Bonney to the group all as equal owners. To mark the occasion the group decide to renamed the ship to the Cerberus, mostly at Jensen's request since no one else really had much of an opinion. 8 hours elapse and Diana returns in time for their departure.
A week or so later, Jamelia now fully healed, the group are passing through the Jovian system when Diana advises them of a news story she spotted on the Pyramid News Network. Normally PNN is known for it’s conspiracy theories, lack of actual news and is almost considered light entertainment rather than factual by most but this one story seems to have too many details of their own encounters with the sample to be completely random. The story reports that the sample was taken to a secret base within a few days travel of their current location and Diana wants to investigate in case there is any money in it.
Making their way to the Moon Himalia they find an abandoned mining base but there are signs of some recent activity. Landing the group, Diana in tow at Jensen's insistence, head towards to the main Airlock to find power completely down. Opening the outer lock without issue Jensen stops Bally just in time before he set off the trap on the inner lock. Bravely going outside the group leave Jamelia in the lock on her own to disable the trap successfully before heading inside to find the place completely deserted seemingly in a hurry.
There are clear signs of people recently and once they locate the command centre they power up a terminal to find a message from a few days ago advising them of the base being compromised and to evacuate. This coincided with the breaking PNN news article.
With nothing else to note the group head back to the ship their only lead now PNN and their curiously accurate report. With some deft computer skills Colin manages to triangulate the source of the PNN broadcast (notoriously hard to find as they move around) to a satellite relay nearby. Heading there in the hopes of following the signal back further they find the satellite but also a belter ship called, according to it’s transponder, The Rockhound, currently docked to it.
Despite attempts at communication and threats from Jensen the situation deteriorates and as they start to undock weapons are bought online...