Endgame

[Pher 0]

As far as I know, the Endgame has always been Minos aboard QoB, QoB well away, Minos tells his people on Tranquility to stand down, then we take Minos. As I understand it, this was originally your idea. As Joe tells it anyway, you guys originally blackmailed him into trying something that was no way his idea.

 

Problem is, Joe didn't like your way of getting in touch with Minos. He had to get Minos his way, which involved getting his hands on LaHaye and some paperwork LaHay had stowed away in a bank vault. He has been going for the same endgame all along, so far as I can tell. He just had to do it his way, and he wanted his way badly enough to tick you guys off badly along the way.

 

Minos had a similar end game, with him on QoB and away. He was going at it another road, though. Step one, his girl, the Deltan Redera, took our XO Nickles, dosed him up on honey dust, and tried to pry enough command codes out of him to steal the ship. Don't really know how far she got with that, except she dosed him up real good. He's going to be in withdrawal therapy for a good long while. That you'll be able to verify that in about another six to ten hours when Nickles starts to get very very horny.

 

My role? Joe gave me a bunch of 'little' things. First, I was supposed to get Nickles back. Did it, too. Picked up a trace of Deltan Dust, and tracked it to Redera. Not sure if we were damn lucky or if she wanted us to pick him up. I'd guess it was the latter. Anyway, I dragged him back and started the withdrawal therapy.

 

Next up, with Redera maybe having the control codes to lift the QoB, we pulled a few critical parts so they couldn't take her. I handled that. Your people at the port can verify that. We went in quite openly.

 

Next up, I took LaHaye to a bank to get that paperwork. You had some people at the door, so we tried to get in from the service tunnels. Bout the time we were ready to go to the safety deposit box, Redera popped up, supposedly to rob the bank, but got herself cornered by your people. I'm not sure she was really after money. She might have wanted LaHaye's papers too. I decided on some mission creep. I was pissed at Redera, we needed a way to contact Minos, and there she was for the taking. We took her. If you found any money missing from the bank, it was your people who took it. We grabbed Redera and the contents of LaHaye's box and got out the low road.

 

Next step was to set up the Endgame. Redera took us to see her boss. He's got the same disease as Joe. He so loves to double cross people, to use his men in high risk ways, that by the time Endgame came along he doesn't have enough friends left to pull it off. Tried to screw off Joe, the guy with the ship he wants out on. We left screwing Joe as a last minute option, and agreed on a rendezvous point. We're supposed to get aboard QoB and pick him up. He's going to have his people creating distractions soon, but didn't like the idea of joining the steal the QoB part of this op. We're supposed to be doing that ourselves.

 

Now, as far as I'm concerned, this is your Endgame. We aren't pulling it off without you. We have no leverage to force anything. I don't know if you want to try to pull it off without us, though. Anyway, I'll give you my thoughts, three options. Feel free to make up your own option.

 

Plan 1. I give you the rendezvous, you surround it with your people, and rush in. You get him, probably. Tranquility burns, certainly.

 

Plan 2a. We get a crew aboard QoB, make the rendezvous, and don't try to take him until he gives his all clear. This assumes he intends to give an all clear. He so loves the double cross, I wouldn't bet either way.

 

Plan 2b. You fake a coup. Someone takes over the Guardians by force, 'killing' you, and declares all ships can fly. Your successor caves. Your successor releases the blockade. This makes our getting the QoB up more believable. This reduces the rioting. This makes it believable that we manage to get out through the blockade. We still execute the 2a Endgame, we still take him captive once we're well clear of the planet, but maybe the burn the city countdown has already been stopped.

 

If you want me along for the ride, I'll come. I think you want a good number of QoB people showing their faces to get them aboard ship. You want enough people who know the ship to fly it.

 

OK. That's the base of what I've got. I'll answer questions, but if this is going to happen, it wants to happen fast. None of this is fancy. None of it requires elaborate planning. None of it requires clever. KISS clever. Just make your call, and roll the dice.