Completing Operation Green Steamroller

[**Mechanical note**: *I realised that, because I finished late, I hadn’t rolled for the impact of my vow to Medwyn. This is a note to remind myself to do that when I come to work on it, and to work this into the narrative.*] As I was loading my cargo into the *Skirl* I thought about the vow I’d made to Medwyn. Since Dropbox 17 Gamma protocol involved a drop on Boreas I decided I would put that rescue on the back burner unless it literally fell into my lap. In fact, I had no need to lay over in Boreas on the way in, the brandy wouldn’t go off after all. The journey to Boreas itself was quick and easy, almost routine if any trip across multiple sectors can be described as routine. The only thing out of the ordinary was a report back from Phipps’ Phaetons, the mercenary platoon that were part of the distraction for my mission. They were about a day ahead of me and reported that on the route between Boreas and Animus was being patrolled. Whoever was doing it had remained right at the limit of their scanners, but it was two small ships, clearly afraid to tangle with two squads travelling in formation. I decided to press on but fire up the stealth technology. I did notice the two ships, they came a little closer to me than they had to the Phaetons, it looked like fast raiders, probably one or two person ships that could easily prey on a small lone trader like me, but the stealth technology meant they couldn’t find me! Result. I recorded everything I could find and added it to my logs for Conductor. It wasn’t directly my problem but they were in a better position to decide what to do with it than I was. I landed without issue and bartered my relays away. The acid environment has some interesting effects on minerals, so I bartered for some of those. It didn’t go quite as well as I wanted, I’m taking a passenger too and they want to leave in two days time. That puts a time limit on my mission, unless I go and come back which I’d rather not do. Apparently the crystals I’m transporting require precise environmental conditions and my passenger is a technician who will monitor them. I’m 90% sure this is bullshit, but they have the right documentation, and a contract with the person at the other end so I’m now on the clock. I guess tonight to scout out the premises, tomorrow to execute the retrieval. I spent an hour around lunchtime quickly surveying the area with the office I’ve got to enter. It’s part of a small commercial dome so there will be no need to wear a full environment suit. While it looks like most of the buildings are offices they all have food outlets attached and they are all open until late. I make sure I learn the layout of the buildings, heights and so on, where the hiding spots are likely to be, where the exits are. Local fashion is baggy and layered, with pastels. This kind of surprises me, I’d expect something tight to fit easily under an environment suit but I guess these are people who are flaunting that they don’t have to go out into the junk that passes for an atmosphere. Another hour of shopping and I have clothes that will pass for fashionable but let me blend into shadows fairly well. Back on the skirl, I prepare all my gear, double checking everything, then take a rest until late evening. I want to hit the dome when a chunk of the food outlets are still open so I can mingle. I’m packing my environment suit under my trendy new clothes, just in case I need to use one of the airlocks but the hood is tucked down. I head off and luck is with me. The restaurant in the building with the office I’m after is having a party. I take a little time to assess it, it looks like a retirement party, but it’s certainly drawing a huge crowd and people are going in and out of the crowd from the streets and in out of the building proper, but only on the ground floor. The office I’m after is on the third floor. With all this attention I should be able to access the third floor tonight and complete my task. I look around and climb the fire escape of the building opposite, checking everything for alarms. It’s amazing how often people don’t put alarms on their fire escapes, this building is no exception. Moments later I’m on the roof, looking across at the third floor of the building I want to get into. Much to my surprise they have a cable running across the street between the buildings. I can’t pass up on this, and I suck it, remember my training and swing under the cable, making my way across. Moments later I’m on the fire escape and, best I can tell actually outside the offices I’m after. Time to get inside! There’s a horrible moment when my scanner doesn’t start up. I stop, hit the reboot sequence and thirty seconds later I’m looking at the pattern of sensors and alarms for the window and room. It takes a bit of trickery, spoofing their software to make it believe nothing it moving, but they have no dumb alarms, which are actually harder to fool, and two minutes later, I’m standing in front of the console. Time to start hacking! The first layer of the hack goes well - I find a user name and password in a diary. The files open up. As I’m starting to search for the files I’m on mission to uncover, I find something potentially much worse. At first glance the accounts I’m looking at seem to be funding for Honshu funded plan to undermine the AWJ military and start a new war. It’s encrypted like crazy and copy protected but I really should try to get to it. I decide to leave it open and get what I was tasked to do first, then get this if I can and if it’s still safe. I can at least report seeing it. I’m a bit distracted by the implications of what I found, but still proceed with hunting for the Green Steamroller files. Still distracted, I’m buried deep in the files as a guard on patrol approaches the office. I quickly toss a cloth over the display to hide the light and hide, instinctively drawing the shadows of the veil around me. That, at least goes well and the guard moves on, never realising that he didn’t actually look into this office. I relax, refocus, and return to my hacking. It took a long, long time to find the file I was after, it was buried pretty deep. Looking at the data architecture it appears they moved it yesterday - someone is suspicious that the arrival of the Phaetons is related to their experiments I think. Good call but I was patient enough. However, the long period I spent tracking this file down and then unpicking the relatively minimal defences - they’d gone for security by obscurity. I know think I’ve got a decent chance of getting the secret war documents out too. Another twenty minutes and both documents are downloaded, no alarms ringing, no traces in the local computer, nor in the Weave. I give myself ten minutes to take a sip of water and quite bite to eat. Then it’s back out of the window and reset the alarms. The party is dying down and so it’s down the fire escape, and mingle with the crowd and back to the *Skirl*. Retieval successful. I spend the next day composing a report that mentions the raiders patrolling, the second set of accounts that I’d found, and eating out. The next day I load up my cargo, including the technician and set course for Boreas. It turns out the raiders are much more interested in ships *leaving* Animus than those arriving *at* Animus. My stealth technology is up to the job but I have to practically crawl and take evasive action which slows me down. Fortunately the technician doesn’t notice anything unusual or if she does, she doesn’t say anything. The landing at Boreas and offloading the Brandy goes smoothly. Offloading the gems and technician is a little slower, but goes well enough. Leaving the information in the dropbox goes well. I have barely completed the security measures when Conductor contacts me and “rewards” me. Well done with both sets of data you retrieved. We didn’t expect to find anything about Operation Orange Watchtower. We’re going to read you in, and since you’re already in Sector 7 Alpha Bravo, send you to Torrid to investigate a lead there. The data will come by courier to you on Boreas, so you’ve got a few days. [*Mechanically I got a weak hit, which says I don’t know my path forward, this seems more fitting narratively.*] I decide to press on with rescuing Steffon, in the next session.