Freelance Traveller
This adventure was originally posted to the pre-magazine Freelance Traveller website in 2002, and reprinted in the March/April 2017 issue.
Glisten is one of the Jewels of the Marches—a hundred worldlets, circling around their sun, connected by the silver threads of gigs, shuttles and mass-driven cargos, a system alive in a dance of commerce.
Two subsectors away lies Mire, capital of the Imperial Ally State of the Darrians—a proud, ancient civilisation who are carefully hauling themselves back from the fiery abyss of the Maghiz.
Seven jumps. Twenty-one parsecs. The gateway to the experience of a lifetime.
Egypt : Glisten 1737 BAC6567-7 Fl Ni 521
After leaving the busy system of Glisten, the first port of call is Egypt. Please be aware of local atmospheric conditions, and contact the Purser or a Steward regarding an escort and suitable protective clothing if you wish to make a tour of the surface. Suitably experienced persons with TAS insurance packages may wish to engage in hang-gliding, although an exposure of thirty minutes or less is strongly recommended.
Mertactor : District 268 1537 B262732-B Cp 610
Our second destination is Mertactor, the Provisional Subsector Capital of District 268. Blessed with a sweet-smelling atmosphere, bareback or saddled poni rides and a Rebor hunt are scheduled for our two-day planetfall. Fly fishing trips can also be arranged upon request—as always, feel free to contact our Purser or a Steward. A further high point of the visit is dinner with a local art expert, Mr Ganidiirsi Meszaros, whose work in organising the purchase of a number of pieces from Lakou for the Members Room of the Glisten Polo Grounds was recognised by a Candidate Membership in that association.
Passengers are reminded that we are leaving Imperial space on lifting from Mertactor, so contact our Purser regarding Declarations of Attorney and appropriate financial arrangements at least 24 hours before liftoff, if these services will be required.
(Author’s Note: A profile of Mr Meszaros (a.k.a. “The Fat Man”) can be found in the sidebar on p.90 of GURPS Traveller: Far Trader)
Tarkine : District 268 1434 C466662-7 Ag Ni Ri O:1435 (Dallia) Amber Zone
Tarkine is truly one of the most beautiful worlds of the District, with its magnificent mountain valleys and marked level of biodiversity. Passengers are advised to take care with decontamination procedures, as the local administration engages in ongoing dialogue with its citizens about the most appropriate way to achieve balance between development and environmental objectives.
Local political issues aside, we have arranged for a number of sightseeing, diving and tours in the quaint propeller aircraft of local construction.
Squallia : District 268 1133 C438679-9 320
From Tarkine we go to Squallia, an extra-Imperial world of noted charm. A world renowned for its sunsets, a walking tour of the Tarkine Uplands and Mount Edanos will be conducted by a team of researchers from the Tarkin Teknic-Schule.
For the less active passenger, a day stay with a Squallian family in their underground residence can be arranged by a Steward or the Purser.
Finally, the purser can arrange for suitably qualified personel to have airtime as a pilot or navigator on a genuine Squallia Self Defense Force Wasp-class light atmospheric fighter. Passengers should be aware that this will be a private arrangement between themselves and the Squallia Social Navigation Collective, and persons interested in such should contact the Purser to make arrangements.
Asteline : District 268 0931 B7A7402-A 210
From Squallia we head to Asteltine, site of several ground engagements during the recent Frontier War. A veteran of the Asteltine Landings will be available to guide a tour in sealed ATVs of a site of fighting between elements of the Sword World Confederation Marines and the Asteline Volunteers. Passengers should note that Asteltine is a world with a low level of social control, even by frontier standards.
While Asteline’s belt does not compare with Glisten or even the nearby Bowman system for mineral richness, it does have a number of working claims, and subject to local security conditions at the time of visit, the Company may be able to arrange a visit to a genuine working belter colony.
Ator : Darrian 0729 D326258-6 821 (N.B. ship only visits Gas Giant)
From Asteline we will go to Ator V, where we will be met by a courtesy escort from the Darrian Navy. As a standing invitation exists for Captains of Darrian Navy ships to dinner on board Company ships, passengers will be able to experience first hand the courtesy and artistic flair of this ancient civilisation.
Mire : Darrian 0527 A665A95-B 110
After refuelling from a Darrian Navy oiler, we will again go into jumpspace for our final jump of the tour, at which point we will help you clear customs, and then give you a fond farewell at the carefully-tended garden world of Mire, the political capital of the Darrian Confederation.
That’s the advertising brochure. This is a short list of what could go wrong, to help the crew earn their pay.
- Egypt:
- Hang gliding in an Insidious atmosphere. Did the guys at HQ read the UWPs?
- Mertactor:
- Huntin’, shootin’, and skinnin’—the first 2 should be pretty safe, but count your fingers and toes after sitting down to talk art with “the Fat Man”. It is almost inevitable he has something just precisely right to sell you.
- Tarkine:
- A 2 day tour in Cessnas on a planet that is infinitesimally short of a shooting war.
- Sqallia:
- Touring a live volcano with a bunch of guys paid for by the Sword Worlds. Are you sure they don’t think you are INS? Plus homestays. Can you spell “Drug the Impie Spy to the eyeballs and interrogate them?”. Or maybe we will play “Let’s kill the Impie Spy by the Old Exploding Engine in the Rented Fighter” trick.
- Asteline:
- Gov zip. Law 2. Pop 4. TL A. 4 parsecs from Narsil. And we’re heading to the Asteroid Belt to visit miners. This is prime pirate country. And let’s see how much of the old ordnance on the old battlefield is still active—you know, like drone missiles with californium warheads.
- Ator:
- So we’re jumping to the fringes of a barely-controlled system, in the expectation of meeting up with the Darrian Navy. Uhuh. I’m sure.