Last time we had the chance to see how Clara fixed a business deal with a Vargr with ease. Quk has now everything to build the device Clara needs to shield herself from the Blacksand Widow Network. If you ask me, this can’t go wrong … right?
Let’s take a look at what is happening on New Königsberg!
Scene #7 – Fiddling around
As the Nibelungen’s thrumming thrusters lifted them from New Königsberg’s dust-choked surface, a palpable sense of relief washed over the crew. Zane’s muttered comment captured their collective sentiment—a world they were glad to leave behind.
“In about three hours,” he announced, steering their course towards the jump point, “we’ll be diving into jumpspace.” His eyes met Clara and Quk’s, seeking acknowledgment for their next crucial task.
Clara offered a nod of understanding; the urgency tempered by their cautious optimism. Quk, ever the precise engineer, glowed faintly—a subtle indicator of his internal processes gearing up for the delicate assembly ahead.
“I shall commence immediately,” Quk declared in his measured tone, the promise of safety and progress lending a rare calm to his usual focused intensity. “The construction will require days, but within jumpspace’s protection, we’ll have the necessary serenity.”
With those words hanging in the air, Zane felt a sliver of hope solidify. The Nibelungen surged forward, a ship once more carrying its crew away from danger and towards an uncertain yet vital future. In the vacuum of space, among stars and shadowy jump points, they found not just escape but a fleeting sanctuary—time to breathe, plan, and build upon their fragile thread of survival.
Zane’s knuckles whiten around the control panels as he finalizes the jump calculations. Clara strides into the bridge like a shadow of doubt, her voice slicing through the hum of electronics, “Zane? Do you really believe this will pan out? We’re risking my mind here—coincidentally or otherwise.” Her eyes drill into him, reflecting the weight of their gamble.
Zane meets Clara’s anxious stare with a grim resolve. “Listen,” he grates out, “I’m an engineer for a reason. If anything stinks, I’ll be ready. Trust me, I won’t let that sophon fry your brain. Promised.” The words hang heavy between them as she nods, retreating to avoid knowing the exact system they’re jumping into.
With Clara gone, Zane inhales deeply, relishing the momentary reprieve from her skepticism. As the Nibelungen slips into jumpspace, he allows himself a brief satisfaction; their path forward might be treacherous, but at least for now, they’d escaped immediate confrontation.
Days blur into nights in the Nibelungen’s cramped corridors, but finally, Quk emerges from his labyrinthine den with a declaration, “The device is complete.” Zane eyes him warily, skepticism etched deep as he demands, “You’re sure it will work?”
Quk offers what might pass for a nod in his alien frame. “Absolutely, Zane!”
With that dubious assurance, Zane strides to Clara’s quarters and taps the door signal. Her voice filters through, tinged with cautious readiness, “Come in, I’m dressed … of course.”
He smirks inwardly at her dry humor before entering. “Quk says he’s ready,” he announces, a flicker of excitement cutting through his usual stoicism. Clara nods, determination hardening her features as she follows him.
They traverse the dim, metallic passages to Quk’s cluttered workspace, where the engineer awaits with an unnerving air of confidence. The trial begins, tension palpable in every shadowy corner.
Quk positioned the alien device snugly against the nape of Clara’s neck, its touch a jolt of pain she stifled with a gritted hiss. Zane’s eyes never wandered far from Quk’s deft movements, ready to intervene at any flicker of trouble. His fingers, slender yet precise, danced over the device’s interface where faint lights pulsed in an almost hypnotic rhythm. A decisive click reverberated softly before Quk turned to Zane with a curt “Ready.”
Zane leaned closer, genuine concern etched on his face. “Clara, how are you holding up? Any discomfort? How many fingers?” Clara’s response was immediate, a sharp kick against Zane’s shin paired with her biting retort, “Six, of course … idiot!” She shifted her gaze to Quk, voice dripping sarcasm. “Feeling no different here.”
Quk’s thin lips twitched in what passed for a reassuring smile. “Good sign, Clara. The device seems operational as anticipated.”
Zane pushed further, the practical gears of his mind grinding into motion. “So, this means Blacksand can’t access her anymore, but we still connect to their system? Right?” Quk managed another nod, tentative yet affirmative. “I’ll try it, Zane,” Clara interjected, her tone now one of anxious curiosity. “What’s the target?”
Zane hesitated a heartbeat before replying, the weight of potential unknowns clear in his voice. “Egran. Now we wait, hope for smooth sailing out of jumpspace. No surprises… no unexpected visitors.”
Scene #8 – Prototype
As the Nibelungen breached jumpspace with a shudder, Zane’s eyes flicked over the sensor readouts. “Clear,” he muttered, almost too hopeful. Clara peered out into the void, her relief palpable in that single murmured “At least something.”
The calm was shattered by a screeching alarm, an intruder materializing like phantoms on their radar. “What the fuck?” Zane barked, his hands flying to the controls, instinct guiding him back to the pilot’s seat.
Clara strapped herself in, her face taut with urgency. “Why haven’t they been detected? Sensors should’ve …”
Zane cut her off, his voice a strained mix of confusion and defiance. “Don’t know! They just appeared out of nowhere!”
A crackling transmission broke the tension, an unmistakable voice slicing through static. “Mr. Douglas, Mrs. Clara … what a fortunate encounter,” Tahon Rez’s high-pitched menace filled the cockpit.
Zane’s shock mirrored in his wide eyes as he glanced at Clara, who merely shrugged her shoulders, equally baffled but resolute.
“Starting to become a nuisance,” Rez continued, his tone almost conversational despite the threat hanging over them.
With deft motions, Zane manipulated the ship’s systems, turning their bow towards Rez’s vessel, lasers trained like an unblinking stare of defiance. “Make way or else …” he growled into the comm.
Rez’s laughter echoed coldly back. “Do you truly believe you have a chance, Mr. Douglas?”
Zane’s reply was pure venom and steel. “I give a shit about chances, Rez. We won’t surrender to your twisted schemes.” His fingers tightened on the controls, the Nibelungen a ship ready to spit defiance into the void, with no room for fear or retreat.
“Mr. Douglas,” Rez says, “don’t we want to be reasonable?” Zane hisses his reply, “I don’t think that you are in the position to talk about reasonable actions.” Clara turns on her chair towards Zane and say, “They are readying their weapons, too!”
Zane wrenched the Nibelungen into a perilous dive beneath Rez’s ship, firing a wild salvo that missed its mark by mere meters. Rez retaliated with a swift maneuver, arcing his vessel and unleashing a barrage that shredded through their defensive systems. “Shit!” Zane cursed, frustration bleeding into each syllable.
A tense exchange of fire saw both sides narrowly missing lethal blows, the cockpit alive with the hum of strained engines and the beeps of damage reports. Seizing an opening, Zane aimed true for Rez’s weaponry and landed a decisive hit, rendering his adversary’s offensive capabilities null.
For a fleeting moment, it seemed Rez might attempt escape, but Zane’s relentless pursuit brought another precise strike—this one crippling their enemy’s maneuverability entirely.
“Rez … we end this here,” Zane declared over the comms, voice cold with resolve.
“Mr. Douglas, you have no idea what you’ve entangled yourself in,” Rez’s reply came, tinged with desperation. “Release me and I’ll offer a favorable word on your behalf.”
Zane’s laugh was sharp, devoid of humor. “A good word? To whom?”
Rez sighed audibly before dropping the bombshell. “You don’t understand—Mrs. Clara wasn’t my … acquisition, per se. I was ordered to transport her. She’s more than just a Blacksand Widow clone; she’s a prototype—a new generation.”
Zane’s eyes darted back to Clara, seeking an explanation amidst the chaos but finding only silence. “What do you mean by prototype?” he demanded of Rez.
The question hung unanswered as a deafening explosion silenced their enemy mid-sentence. A well-aimed shot from the Nibelungen had breached Rez’s power core, incinerating his ship in a blinding flash. Zane whipped around to confront Clara, fury and confusion intermingling. “Clara, what the hell were you doing?!”
In a heartbeat, he caught a fleeting hint of blue—an otherworldly glow in her eyes—but it was gone before he could fully register its meaning.
“One problem less,” she responded flatly, as if the act had been no more significant than swatting an insect. Zane’s frustration surged. “He was going to tell us more! You …”
Clara cut him off, her voice a blend of certainty and cold pragmatism. “He wouldn’t have said anything useful, Zane. Men like Rez only sell lies for their lives.”
His fist struck the console in impotent rage as the Nibelungen navigated through the debris field, a grim reminder of their lethal intervention. In that tense silence, Zane grappled with truths obscured and decisions made beyond his reach, realizing Clara’s actions were rooted in a knowledge he could only begin to fathom.
Zane’s voice thundered through the confined space, a blend of command and exasperation. “We are going to talk about that, little princess!” Clara’s retort was sharp as a blade, her eyes blazing with defiance. “Don’t treat me like I’m a child, Zane! I just ensured Rez isn’t breathing threats anymore.”
From the shadows of the cockpit, Quk observed the unfolding drama, his presence a silent testament to the tension simmering within their ranks. Clara’s question snapped at him, dripping with impatience. “What?”
Zane interjected before things spiraled further, his tone a warning layered with weariness. “Don’t start on him now. At least he didn’t pull such stunts.”
With a shared sense of urgency and mutual grievances momentarily set aside, the Nibelungen adjusted its course for Egran’s High Port. Zane’s gaze lingered briefly on the star-strewn void ahead, his thoughts a cocktail of relief and grim determination.
Fixing the ship was paramount, but so was finding solace in a drink—alone, away from the echoes of recent decisions and lingering secrets.
Scene #9 – We? No, we have no marital difficulties!
Zane burst from the Nibelungen’s hold barely allowing the ramp to fully extend before hitting the ground at a sprint. “YOU WAIT HERE!” he roared back, his tone sharpened for Clara but softened fractionally for Quk’s benefit. The cargo bay echoed with Clara’s acidic retort, “Oh look, Captain No-Trust is back in action … wonderful … do you realize you make us look like an old couple?” Zane’s hand flicked dismissively in her direction without a glance, his focus already snagged by the mission at hand.
He returned after securing a sizable haul for Kishimaa. The mechanics were still sweating under their visors, tinkering to breathe life back into their ship’s defenses. A few swigs of something strong had smoothed Zane’s edges, enough to face Clara with an intention of mending words. He aimed straight for her quarters, his call met with silence. Frustration flared.
“Quk,” he barked, “where is Clara?” The Tlyetrai responded predictably, “Mrs. Clara is in her cabin, sir. I personally ensured she has all necessities …” Zane cut him off mid-sentiment, “Ok, thank you … very mindful of you!”
Reaching her door again, he signaled. Nothing but the hum of silence. Overriding the lock with his command, the door slid open to reveal Clara seated in shadows, only a chilling blue glow from her eyes piercing the gloom.
“CLARA!” Zane’s shout sliced through the darkness. She turned slowly, those eerie lights fixed on him, and spoke in a voice that was not her own, “Hallo, Zane! Welcome back.” Her smile was unsettlingly serene, head tilting with an otherworldly elegance.
To be continued …
That’s it for today! I hope you liked the story so far and that you will come back for the next part of the adventure.
See you soon & fly save, Traveller! o7
Sources used:
– Traveller Core Rulebook 2022 Update (Mongoose Publishing Ltd.)
– Traveller Companion 2024 Update (Mongoose Publishing Ltd.)
– Traveller The Trailing Frontier (Mongoose Publishing Ltd.)
– T20 Gateway to Destiny (QuickLink Interactive Inc.)
– Mythic GME 2nd Edition (Word Mill Games)
