Introduction
As one would expect, I’ve been asked many times why I did it. Why I ended it. Why I crippled the ability for Grove and the others to resist. I always respond by saying that I was trying to save Cara and her Marines, or that I wanted to avoid an eternal siege like Demeter. But that’s not why I did it. I did it because I understood the resolve of my superiors - more so I think than most, including my wife. They weren’t going to sit back and wait the separatists out. They were going to make them pay.
I did it, because I saw what they did to Canto.
-The Memoirs of “Gentleman” Jack Cartwright
7-11 August, WY602 – Sunrise Bay, Foxglove
During breakfast the next day, a woman arrives at the hotel restaurant carrying a large case. She introduces herself to Aiden as Polly Chatterjee, the chief engineer of Sunrise Bay. She thanks them enthusiastically for the opportunity to work on such a historic project and informs the crew that the Navy came by and formally decommissioned San Orestes that morning and they’re ready to go to work. She feels that the estimates of a ten week refit remain accurate. Her case contains the new transponder for the ship, and together they encode it as IBI Legitimate Salvage.
Over the next several days, the crew conducts an investigation electronically and in the corridors of Sunrise Bay. A summary follows.
- Once connected at both ends, the trail of Nadine’s money spans decades, and there were large surges that could coincide with the attempt on the Eriksson Station Elevator and the recent uprising on Grove.
- The chain that received Nadine’s funds over time is anonymous but certified at the Foxglove Prospector’s Bank.
- The transactions themselves were extremely varied and designed to look like legitimate business trades. They were conducted consistently by two couriers:
- Ramon Tyree, a Canto native and owner/operator of ITC Fine Till You Came Along. The captain and his small trader takes on work from all over. He has a bit of a rap sheet, mostly smuggling and general trouble-making with numerous arrests across the Reach. He seems to consistently avoid fines and convictions in Foxglove.
- Victor Chambers, a Demeter native and owner/operator of ITC Killing Time, an ore freighter that has been operating a consistent route between Whistler and Foxglove for decades. He keeps his nose clean, though there is a very hold history of an arrest on Trinity protesting the Unification War. The crew discovered an additional filing with the ITC, noting that all of Chambers’ estate was bequeathed to St. Anna’s of The Belts upon his death.
- A brief investigation of St. Anna’s of The Belts reveals an organization that has always attempted to protect the humanitarian interests of Foxglove’s inhabitants - and almost certainly protects and harbors members of the resistance. It is said that if you need to hide from The Council, St. Anna’s can help. In additional bit of history, St. Anna’s is where Jack delivered food and medical supplies during the blockades the last ten years.
- Aiden discovers evidence that BioGen has since closed his former SAR lab.
- Angelica briefly looks into Andrea Cargill and finds it to be extremely difficult. All digital evidence of Cargill seems to be being actively scrubbed from the moment she was hired by the Republic of Jericho. If they hadn’t met in person, there’d be no evidence at all that Cargill was on Demeter at Hotel Artemis.
- Cara comes to believe that Felicity Randall is indeed active in the Children of Liberty and a figure in the separatist movement.
- The term Sons of the Reach is overheard, but there is little context.
- The crew makes a few long-range data requests:
- Din reaches out to Erica Lieu to see if she can authorize a records release for the chain from Foxglove Prospector’s Bank. As this is all related to the Eriksson plot, he feels she’ll be motivated to help.
- Angelica sends cryptic messages to the two couriers, informing them she’d like to discuss a sensitive matter (insinuating a job).
- Angelica sends an update to Benny and inquires if he’s got any additional information.
- Aiden sends a communique to Divyash Shaw thanking him for his hospitality.
During the week, Dirk somehow manages to enter into an extremely steamy illicit relationship with Chief Chatterjee.
During dinner on the 11th, the restaurant the crew is dining at is slowly and quietly drained out and they observe a security detail beginning to cover the room, then an older man arrives in an aging spacer’s suit and has a seat at the table. He’s immediately served a drink by the waitstaff. He doesn’t introduce himself, but it’s clear he is Divyash Shaw.
Divyash asks the crew straight out if they’re law enforcement, or still Bureau, or why otherwise they are asking the questions they’ve been asking. When the crew tells him they’re simply trying to trace the people who were trying to kill them, he repeatedly responds with “You have the murderer, you have the woman who paid him, what more do you want?”. He tells them a little bit about Nadine, about how her family was killed on Canto at the start of the war and she was in the orphan refugee system for a time. She was later adopted by wealthy parents from Demeter and continued to “share her success” with the less-fortunate. He tells them that many people will be sad that Nadine can no longer help. “But this is how these things work, sometimes.”
Shaw asks the crew straight out if they have a “monkey on their back” and if they need a name. He says he’s willing to give them a name if they need. When no one takes him up on the offer, he thanks the crew again for letting Foxglove be a part of the San Orestes story and takes his leave.
A short time later, Harrington calls in from Peach, having just arrived in-system.
