1.07: The Feast

Dates: 11/13/1999

Chronicle Day 33-57:  1 yr. Pre-ANH

Location: In-route to Vycynth’s Moon, Vilhon

Orbital Hunting Lodge over Vilhon

Raphie Kragar and Tarsus Jarnak were busy at a small stakes sabacc game, while Pyre smoked another cigara in the lounge of the liner. Janice Marks stood at the bar, watching Pyre fume, amused at the situation. Marks seemed to enjoy it when a arrogant noble is frustrated.

“Can’t seem to get away from the damn woman!! She won’t even let me smoke in the room. I will get those guys for this.” Pyre fumed. His newly betrothed was finally getting on his last nerve. “She almost broke my nose!!” She had expressed her jealousy of his fraternizing with Ms. Annora Calandra.

Pyre wasn’t settling into the engaged-life well. Baroness Gracious Hadala Gree was a woman to be reckoned with. Her jealous rage was only over shadowed by her annoying way she scream “Iggie!” when she saw Pyre.

His sabacc buddies were going to pay. They had arranged this as part of a joke on him, after one night he had complained about not having a court and an entourage. They arranged for the last daughter of the Gree family to be wed to Pyre, through his family, without his knowledge.

Pyre was not about to wed this woman, no matter how much of a court she brought with her.

The entire trip, he played a game of dodge and sneak with this woman, but unfortunately, she was better at the game. He used his talents as best he could to manipulate the situation, but it was wearing him out. Arrival at the Vor Cal site brought new challenges, because she proved to be an expert at court etiquette and general “rubbing-elbows” with the nobility. This year it was held on an orbital hunting lodge/station around the jungle moon of the gas giant Vycynth. The jungle world was a well-known hunting ground for House Barnaba.

The Liner docked, and soon the group had disembarked. Baroness Gree seemed to know everything about the Vor Cal. She wouldn’t stop talking about it, and how she looked forward to meeting all the lords and ladies involved. She seemed to know quite a few with them, and despite her betrothal, was willing to flirt with anyone of the lords.

Every house was present except Pelagia. Kragar had to hide his house affiliation because they were not welcome at the hunt after boycotting it for so many years. Kragar posed as part of Pyre’s entourage.

House Mecetti was represented by Lady Damara Decrilla, who was apparently not pleased to be there.  Rumor was she had made rude comments about the hunt to a powerful Lord, who subsequently sent her here to put her in her place.  She was accompanied by a large staff and a couple of apprentice “hunters”.

House Melantha’s hunter was Lord Vaskell Savill, a extravagantly handsome man, but ruthless to the bone.  He was a well-known hunter and the only hunter that chose to use an archaic cross-bow rather than a hunting blaster.

House Calipsa sent the proud and young Lord Corel Muntique, with his domesticated vornkr beast.  He was known to be a very serious hunter and was obviously looking forward to this hunt.

House Reena sent Lord Quinn Sheffield, an old hunter who has been here seven times before with out a kill.  He seemed quite sociable and unconcerned of his underdog status.

House Barnaba, expressing their true disinterest in “romping around in the jungle, getting filthy while hunting a dangerous beast”, sent a commoner from the freeworlds – Casimir Everard, a bounty hunter.  He seemed gruff and short to everyone.

Also in the hint were Calandra representing the Mining Guilds, and Kyla Latrel, representing the interests of Tampson Consolidated.  A Dr Arkeld was also there to represent the Mrlsst University.

Baron Brendaron was there to represent House Cadriaan.

****

Once settled into the space station available lodgings, the hunters were all invited to the Pre-Hunt Gala in the main hall. There was rumor about that a special guest would be arriving.

It was a grand occasion, set in the Great Hall of the station where many past hunt trophies decorated the walls.  At the Gala, Pyre made it easy for Baroness Gree to get lost in all her “elbow-rubbing” while he sought to further influence Annora Calandra.   Sir Jarnak sought to speak with his House-comrade, who proved to be somewhat interesting but not all together helpful.  Marks approached the House Reena representative as well, with similar results.  It wasn’t until Jarnak inadvertently insulted and then was subsequently insulted back by the Barnaba representative, did things get interesting.

The end result of the altercation with Casimir Everard was a challenge in the shooting range at midnight.  Tarsus looked forward to it.

Pyre, creating his own version of havoc, hob-knobbed with the lords and ladies trying to find out who the special guest was.  It didn’t take long into the evening before his answer came.  Moff Laird Gustavu arrived with an entourage of noble advisors and Imperial stormtrooper guard.  Apparently, in his younger years, he had a taste for the hunt.

The remainder of the night was filled with celebration and mumblings of questions of why the Empire was there at the gala.  Pyre worked his way to the people closest to the Moff but could never seem to get a word in.  He had the idea that he could perhaps gain the support of the Moff to stop this plot against the Torpedo Sphere now orbiting Tallaan.

Later that evening, Pyre was invited to a sabacc game, where many others of the hunt were playing.  He graciously accepted and the evening ended in many disgruntled players and a very rich Baron Ignatius Pyre.

Marks and Remmy sought on their own, to bug Calandra’s quarters while she was away.   In the process, they stumbled across a third party that had an interest in Calandra.  Remmy patched into the Station security scanners, and watched the interlopers while they went through her room, apparently planting listening devices in several different locations. Remmy was able to lock on to the frequency of those devices with a  little work.

Marks later that evening went into the room to search for something – a cylindrical device.  he had reason to suspect that Calandra was using a Mecrosa assassin marker to arrange for the deaths of people that got in her way.  He was unable to find it, which means she had it.

Marks, returning to his quarters in the commoner’s section, walked by a room that had a small burn mark in the door.  His toned troubleshooter-senses also noticed a familiar smell of blood.  He opened the door to find 4 individuals strung up from the ceiling and their throats cut.  These individuals were the same who were in Calandra’s room earlier.  A note was left on one body, with “Rebel scum” scribbled onit.   Later checks with the Archive verified that these were Rebel agents.

The shooting range was a small version of a imperial military training range, set up with holographic dodging targets and an automated scoring system.  Jarnak had practiced on this before.  The match went on until the early hours of the morning, with a tie between them for most of the game, until one fatal mistake knocked Everard   out of the race.  He stormed off, angered by the embarrassment.

Pyre saved the last dance for Calandra, once Lady Gree was unconscious from overindulging.  He noticed, while dancing with her, that there was soemthing warm in her pocket.  He used his talents to distract her while reaching into her dress pocket to find the source.  It was a cylinder – some kind of laser cutting tool.  It had a series of runes written up it’s shaft – runes that seem oddly familiar.   Realizing what it was, he placed it back – it was a Mecrosa marking device and it had just been used.  He made plans to get Calandra “overindulged” enough that Remmy could have time to reprogram the device to output meaningless scribblings.   This happened later that evening when evereyone had gone to their quarters.

The morning was greeted with security being alerted of a murder.  Because they were “station staff”, the nobility weren’t bothered with the details.   Commoners were questioned, but no one was arrested.  The matter was simply swept under the rug.

The hunt had to go on.