Second Session B
When Phaedra arrives at the Hrulthgar's planetoid, Shine is doing something weird with this tube he carries around. She doesn't really pay attention, because using the computer, she's noticed something else quite worrying about the Galliard folks that are here. There's at least one interdiction cruiser - an official part of the military fleet - and a whole lot of other semi-armed ships as well.
The station's maintenance folks are coming to the hatch...
Hrulthgar himself is the one who greets people at the airlock; and he is the one that, surprisingly, recognizes Phaedra as a Coriad. He immediately broadcasts station-wide, "Phaedra Coriad has arrived to bid at the auction!" He asks, and despite some reluctance, takes Phaedra by the hand away from the Magnum Opus, as his personal guest.
The bar she was led into, through a series of convoluted twists, turns, and back and forths, turns out to be on the ship Supremacy, the Galliard naval interdiction cruiser. Phaedra attempts to form a coalition of purchases to outbid any other bidder as a group. Canapes and chatting, and several hours of talk and several consortium promises later... they've already made a consortium. Hrulthgar Half-Beard's disarming and really obsequious welcome may have led her into a trap - one which she's finding very difficult to get out of. He looked like a genuine pirate, and he acted like he owned the place too. Now she's not sure what to think. And on top of that, this Galliard naval vessel isn't neutral in politics; it's a Woten-managed ship, although not everyone on board is necessarily of that grouping; (the Coriads are securely of the Esten grouping).
A speck in one of Phaedra's tasty finger sandwiches catches her eye. In miniscule print, it reads "Get out. You're in danger." She ate it quickly, hopefully before anyone else could notice.
Every time Phaedra had tried to reach one of the dumb terminals in the bar, or communicate on her own devices, someone comes up with a clever ruse, excuse, or story to keep her from doing it. They have so far made it impossible to depart politely.
She got one break: There was a sudden, emergency alert from the planetoid's biohazard we-are-about-to-die system. Although, weirdly, the message was from Hrulthgar Half-Beard! He said, "You Galliard bastards are cheats! The auction is called off! If you want to buy any of my artifacts, you have to come to me directly!"
There was some tsk, tsking in the bar. One of the military officers commed someone, "You want me to handle this, Captain?" "Yes, arrest the bastard, won't you?"
There was some general movement around; you managed to park yourself by a dumb terminal. Sadly, the interdiction cruiser had exceptional information security. A while later, Phaedra managed to get a signal to the Magnum Opus about whether she should bid on the artifacts or not. Knowing she was being monitored, she hoped they would somehow catch on that she was in trouble. They reply with, "Only as much as you think you can afford to pay." She managed to convince someone on the ship - but she thought Hrulthgar ran the planetoid? - to reinstate the auction, and she was allowed to put a few bids on the three (?) artifact items up for sale. The rock, some sort of skull, and a book. She did it evenly so as not to tip her hand. And then she was cut off from even that.
Andre Syracuse Woten, the Captain of the Supremacy, has begun pressing hard to stay on his ship. Andre Woten is no heir to any fortune. He's some sort of far-off Woten cousin, who was, Phaedra heard, "not CEO material" for some reason. (She remembers one of her relatives saying, "he's sort of like you, except military instead of art-y.")
He and his men have Phaedra cornered at the bar. He probably knows something about what's going on, but he's also trying to keep you on "for safety reasons" in one of the private cabins here. While her mother would be appalled if you accepted such a proposal, she's not really sure it's something that would be beneficial to her long-term freedom, either.
Phaedra says, "If you wish to speak with me, you may escort me back to my ship, the Magnum Opus. I am not going to be corralled here any longer. I only came to the station to research pirates for a play, anyway."
Social combat begins, and it's Colimba Chastity Masr Wotan, who says she is Andres' wife, that starts. Giving her cocktail to one of the cadet officers, she sidles over, grasping Phaedra's forearm in concern.
"Really, you would be much more comfortable here, with all the modern amenities available on a new Galliard-built ship. And who knows? You can change your mind tomorrow. Think of it as a favor to me, please?"
"Being an artist isn't about comfort and amenities, but about experience. I've had enough Galliardian experience to write 20 novels, now is my time for something new. New ship, new crew, new experiences!" Phaedra responds.
She does score a point against Colimba, but unfortunately Colimba's not alone.
A few more hours later, and most of the escorts of the military officers have retired for the night. Phaedra's managed to hold them off, somehow, but she's exhausted and increasingly realizing she might not win. Finally, Andre, himself, begins trying to seal her fate. "After all," he says, "It's not like you can fight your way out. By which, of course, I mean you're so much safer here with these armed soldiers around. You deserve no less. And I am the Captain of a Galliard military vessel and you are a Galliard civilian."
Why does Wotan have so much invested here? What are these resources being put here for? Even piracy control doesn't quite make sense. They surely were not here on the random hope Phaedra would appear!
She has managed to squirrel herself into a corner of the bar by the exit. Someone must have tipped your friends off, because she's relieved to see two people you recognize from the Magnum Opus, Othis and Graf Linus, accompanied by a man you don't recognize. She's relieved to be quiet and rest for a moment, to let them do the work. The stranger does some sort of "I am a dumb Old Terran" act to distract the other bar patrons. Othis "accidentally" (and quite convincingly. Maybe he has acting chops to him?) spills a drink so near her that she can get up and try to slip out the door of the bar.
Graf Linus von Schultz and Andre Syracuse Wotan have an argument, where it's implied that both Andre and Linus have ulterior motives. Her mother's opinion of things is cited as an authority (although this might be one case where she agree with her mother, for once). Linus eventually concedes in a face saving way, that "he only had Phaedra's interests at heart." And she's glad to slip back on the Topiary ship, to have a few moments of privacy to compose herself.
