"Ships in the Night" | The gang's in Pernambuco and with a convient bit of backroom bribery manage to move their authorized departure time a bit ahead of schedule. Things take a turn for the worst however when, as they ascend into the night sky, another zeppelin appears literally out of nowhere and collides with them. They manage to land and face repair expenses they cannot cover, to make matters worse they cannot find the craft they collided with... and some character seems interested in some of the debris from the other zeppelin embedded in their own craft.
In reality, the characters have unknowingly stepped into the middle of a top-secret weapons test gone awry. Months earlier, Nikosia purchased lightweight carbon-fiber supports, electric engines, and cloth impregnated with color-alteration abilities from Cutirick. They used this to create a "stealth zeppelin", quiet and able to blend in with the night sky. The characters attempts at bribery didn't actually work... the corrupt traffic controller is a Nikosia agent that simply sent them out to be a practice target for the incoming zeppelin to test it's capabilities. Unfortunately, it was still limited to Chariot navigation technology and the captain managed only to collide with it. Now Nikosian agents struggle to "clean up" the situation, the zeppelin is hovering nearby... it's new technology making it very hard to fix quickly, and Cutirick, sensing things are about to blow up is trying to grab the incriminating wreckage stuck in the character's own craft to co! ver his tracks. Suspecting a connection between the mysterious wreckage guy and the airship, the gang eventually ambushes him and he talks. Realizing that they are in way over their heads the group cuts a deal with Constable Russel Mackay. Together, the gang is able to lure out and ambush the other Nikosian spies. The constable takes the bulk of the credit (advancing his position), Jake Cutirick offers advice that allows the local navy to hunt down and destroy the zeppelin, and the characters get a hefty reward (which allows them to barely cover costs of staying in Nikosia after you factor in repair costs to the Higher Aspiration). |