Tales of the John Henry

Tales of the John Henry

With armed station security and detectives at the door, the crew is wondering what’s up. Jaxon Kane and Jason Flanders brace for the worst when the detectives mention that they’re here to seize contra-ban. Strangely enough, the boarders have (digitally) signed permission from the Captain to enter the John Henry. Even stranger, they demand to see Omega’s cabin and the med-bay.

With a little hacking from Jaxon, they open Omega’s room to discover that he’s been making a clone. But not any clone, it appears to be a youngster that’s a chimera of the crew’s DNA. Flanders notices that the facial features most favor him. A silent wave of creepiness goes through most of the crew.

The detective scan the crime scene with a zero-G drone and collect all the evidence. They never mention the subject in the tank as a person. We introduce the other members of the medical staff; Patty is a clever blonde woman with large solid black eyes. Pascal looks like a teenager, but he’s in his 30’s. Both of them come from clans that believe in gene-engineering themselves. Technically, they’re not clones, but they’re not baseline humans either.

Shortly thereafter, Captain Trask calls ALL the crew to Jenna Sitaaraputr’s office. She’s the station administrator and essentially the governor the Marsk system. She’s also pissed off. Oh, Omega and some of the rowdy engineers including Juanita and Taylor are also there… wearing big black taser-cuffs. One of the engineers has his arm in a sling. Station security is nearby with the shock controls. Both Captain Trask and Sitaaraputr look disappointed as she reads off the charges:

Suspicion of trafficking goods

Suspicion of clandestine activity

Operating under false identity

Public indecency

Under the influence of controlled substances

Drunk and disorderly conduct

Selling alcohol without a license

Brawling

Inciting a riot

Resisting arrest

Attempt to create an illegal clone

The crew is dressed down and brow-beaten. Jenna looks at Trask with something like sadness in her eyes, “Get off of my station within the hour.” They crew is escorted to the dock. Their cuffs are removed. It is unspoken, but Flander’s electronics and Omega’s clone are not returned to the crew.

It’s a small surprise that there are a hand full of passengers waiting to ship out with them. They had previously booked passage to Elliot’s Hope and had to scramble to catch their ride out system (the John Henry was not scheduled to leave for several days.) Down in the med bay, Febe confronts Omega and his staff. There are heated words and it almost comes to blows but Patty and Pascal manage to hold the normally unflappable Omega back. They part but not on friendly terms.

Jaxon and Omega both investigate the passengers using their specialties and discover some anomalies in their history. But, it’s too late to kick anyone off the ship before they have to head out. The John Henry is about an hour out when something happens and engineering / systems alarms start ringing all over the ship. The crew is shocked to see something terrible has happened to Marsk Station.

Captain Trask orders an immediate emergency deceleration and Flanders starts plotting a path to avoid the worst of the debris for their return to the station.

http://i265.photobucket.com/albums/ii221/zircher/marsk_disaster_zpsmp0j7kr1.png

http://i265.photobucket.com/albums/ii221/zircher/marsk_disaster_zpsmp0j7kr1.png