After completing their mission for Henna Calder, the characters meet back up with German Reade and his assistant Jarred Desai in the atrium of Arges Security Sector 2E. They are accompanied by another Helios employee, Ethan Kingston (Greg’s player character). German informs them that he’s met with his boss, Nolan Malik, who wants a team to go the planet Pratt (Old Expanses, 2039) to retrieve a lost item. Malik doesn’t care who Reade sends, and since the characters are here on Arges they are offered the job. According to Reade, Malik didn’t say what the item was, only that their contact on Pratt, Vissi Rovane, would tell them when they got there. Pratt is a very long way from Pryden and the travel expenses for the characters through the Pryden ERB are not insubstantial. Since the Helios company has operations in the Old Expanses, Reade speculates that this must be something Malik is personally interested in, or just doesn’t want that branch of Helios involved.
Regardless of motives, Reade hands each character, Kingston included, papers that will get them all the way through to Pratt. A shuttle will take them to the “Sebe Courier” which is preparing to make the jump to Veraq (Old Expanses, 1306) in about 6 days. From there they are to transfer to the “Gaime Clipper” that will take them through the Veraq Class-C ERB to Peart (Old Expanses, 1834). After that they will be met by Piotr Racine on the Peart ERB transfer station who will take them on his ship to Pratt via normal Jump.
The shuttle to the “Sebe Courier” will take nearly 5 days and the jump from Peart to Pratt will take 2 weeks. Travel through the ERBs is nearly instantaneous, however the transfers take a few days. In all the trip will take around 3 ½ weeks, a short period of time compared to the nearly 36 weeks it would take going directly from Pryden at Jump-6 (including re-fueling).
The characters meet Racine, who seems agreeable enough and claims only to have been anonymously hired to take them to Pratt and wait for them there until they’re ready to go back. He’s on per-diem so after dropping them off on Pratt in the main city of Tammuz and checking in with customs, he tells them to call when they’re ready to leave again, then heads off.
Pratt is basically a backwater agricultural planet on the edge of the Imperium and the Solomani Confederation. The entire planet is operated by Carthen-Si Consolidated, which runs several plantations scattered in the coastal jungle regions of the main continent. There was once also a small mining operation in the highland desert which has been abandoned for about 5 years. Residents of Pratt all work for Carthen-Si Consolidated and the character’s contact, Vissi Rovane, is the plantation manager for the entire planet.
Once introduced, Vissi informs them that the lost item is the “Likhamii Sapphire”, a rare gemstone. According to Vissi, a ship crash landed on Pratt months earlier and that when his security went to investigate, they found both the pilot and the sapphire. Rovane recognized the value of the sapphire and ordered it returned to him along with the presumed thief. Unfortunately, the security caravan was attacked on the way back to Tammuz and the sapphire was lost. The thief was “interrogated” but revealed nothing of his intent, although Vissi is convinced he was headed for sanctuary in the Solomani Confederation.
The thief, unfortunately, expired while under interrogation. Vissi claims that the attack on the caravan was carried out by the “Burchamites”, a group of renegades, former employees that have made an independent colony for themselves somewhere in the jungle, and for whom Vissi has no small amount of contempt. He claims that he simply doesn’t have the resources to go looking for the sapphire, but at the same time seems offended that Malik hasn’t trusted him with its recovery. He speculates that the Burchamites have taken the sapphire to the abandoned mine for safekeeping and suggests the characters search for it there. He is willing to outfit the characters for the expedition – charging the to Malik of course – and directs them to Sibyl Kehoe in the motor-pool who will provide them with a vehicle for the nearly 1-week overland journey to the mine. With that Vissi takes his leave.
Sibyl is brusque, but cooperative after she confirms the characters are working for Vissi. Her disdain for Rovane is apparent and she chafes at having to send one of her working vehicles out into the wild, but she nevertheless provides the characters with what equipment she has available. Her view of the Burchamites is a bit more forgiving than Rovane’s. Led by Derrick Burcham, the so-called Burchamites do often raid for supplies, but very rarely kill any of Carthen-Si’s employees[1]. While loading the truck, Kehoe warns them of the “Grungs” which are some of the planet’s native inhabitants and who live in the jungle. Grungs are frog-like reptiles slightly larger than chimpanzees, and every bit as strong if not stronger. They come in different varieties, some of which are poisonous. She gives them some anti-venom just in case.
The characters let Racine know their estimated return time, then depart Tammuz for the abandoned mine. The roads are good for the first part of the journey and the characters make good time. As they get deeper in the jungle, however, road conditions deteriorate, and the going is much slower as they wind their way along muddy pathways out to the mine. Driving uphill alongside an embankment, Skyburn sees an ATV pass across the road in front of them. The driver is going fast and does not appear to have seen them. When safe, they climb the hill with the truck and notice several tracks headed back toward the East as well as a thin column of smoke above the treeline. Jack and Fred go on foot to investigate while Ethan and Nevada remain with the truck.
Moving off the road through the jungle the Jack and Fred find a thatched roof encampment with two guard towers sporting heavy weapons as well as a few armed guards on patrol. As the encampment appears to be well defended, they approach in hopes to parlay with the encampment’s inhabitants. The guards are quick to train their weapons on the interlopers, and to demand that they raise their hands and explain who they are and why they’re here. Jack and Fred explain to the best of their ability and the guards call their leader. A bearded, stocky and shabby looking man in a wide brimmed hat and tattered military fatigues approaches and introduces himself as Derrick Burcham, leader of the so called “Burchamites.” Jack and Fred once again explain the situation, and though suspicious that they’re working for Rovane, accepts their story.
Ethan and Nevada join the group and Burcham invites them back to his hut where Jack shares some of his whiskey. Burcham claims never to have heard of the Likhamii Sapphire and was not involved in its theft from Rovane. Burcham acknowledges that Rovane would like additional resources to stamp out the Burchamites but cannot directly ask his corporate superiors as that would invite increased scrutiny of his operation. Nevertheless, he doubts that Rovane is trying to acquire the Sapphire for himself, as he would have no place to sell it on Pratt and wouldn’t trust anyone to take it to Peart or Veraq. It’s more likely that Rovane is trying to curry favor with Helios and collect any reward money by simply returning it. Nevada asks about the ship crash that Rovane had told them about, and while Burcham has no knowledge of it, his wiry gofer Xeno, tells them in broken Imperial that he has heard of a ship crash off to the Northwest of Tammuz and the Burchamite camp, confirm that part of Rovane’s story.
[1] This is consistent with Rovane’s story in that none of the security personnel in the caravan were killed when the sapphire was taken.