Introduction
The people of Foxglove, by all accounts, are just a few millennia away from being their own species of human, adapted to high radiation and low gravity. Homo Asterodae. Homo Cosmidae. Well, it certainly won’t be me naming them.
The conspiracy theory is that Zijin knew this was going to happen to the colony. They discussed it. Expected it. And made the conscious decision to do it anyway, in the hopes it would breed a slave race in all but name.
Considering the resourcefulness of the Foxglove people and their contributions during the Unification War, you’d think the plan backfired. But look out at Sunrise Bay and see the Zijin megafreighters, hauling the fruits of belter labor to the rest of The Reach, and ask yourself how Zijin’s plan is going.
-The Memoirs of “Gentleman” Jack Cartwright
5-7 August, WY602 – Sunrise Bay, Foxglove
Gibson and Lee come aboard for an inspection, but after seeing the miserable shape of the crew, offer to put a seal on San Orestes until midday the following day in order to let everyone rest. Dirk signs a standard release to that effect, and the crew retires to a business-class hotel reserved by Jack. They enlist Kevin to guard the ship overnight.
That evening, after a shower and a meal, some of the crew go out to get the lay of the land. Everyone finds that the station is under martial law by well-armed WDF Marines. In some areas there is sign of petty vandalism in the name of the Foxglove Liberation Party.
Aiden accompanies Jack to an upscale establishment for a quiet drink where they celebrate the successful salvage operation. Aiden feels like Jack is a little spooked by all the attention it’s getting. Angelica and Daniel head to a bar sympathetic to the Council, where Daniel drinks and games with some Marines. By and large, the occupation is peaceful, but rarely does a month go by without a WDF soldier disappearing mysteriously. He also hears rumor that Solace is no longer reachable by jump. While it had been a restricted system for decades, the fact that it can no longer be reached via jump drive is as curious as it is unlikely. Dirk and Din find a business-class establishment, where Dirk manages to hook-up and Din makes contacts with people willing to buy and sell illegal goods. He also discovers that Vickers-Maxim Manufacturing & Defense is still producing small arms in Foxglove, but frequently comes up short on inventory. The name Reinhardt is mentioned. Dirk also gets the impression that Divyash Shaw is the real deal and not just a populist blow-hard. Additionally, everyone gets the impression that Jack is quite revered by the belters of Foxglove. After some digging, it’s revealed that several years ago he ran food and medical supplies on Hamster past a particularly brutal Council blockade and rapidly gained popularity.
Everyone takes the following morning off and meets back up again at the ship shortly after midday, relieving a very tired Kevin. The inspection takes several hours, during which the Bureau agents take note that the ship’s computer and dive capacitor are custom and the cannons are the same as the ones being sold by the Desert Rats on Korolev. They also state that the Navy has asked to buy back the legacy supplies and munitions from the ship at market value, which is a deal for the crew. The remainder of the inspection is spent pulling data cores from around the ship that could hold military secrets.
After the inspection, Jack invites the crew to dinner. Since the refit is scheduled to last several months, the crew is free to pursue whatever they wish - though there’s a suggestion that making good on their promise to Benny might be wise. After dinner, the crew recruits a small private security firm to monitor the ship during the refit, and resolve to pursue the various trails from Benny starting the next day.
