Ark discovers there may be a common origin between life on K3 and K1. Conrad wonders if there is any relation between the newly encountered Underdwellers and the extinct Scournge. He also worries whether Ark’s father may be a figure from his past but has not yet asked for a name. The Convoy travels from Spiderhole to Polytroika. Gus makes a friend on the Momotaro (sort of) en route.
Delivery to 2253
The Deadlock is leaving the system just as the convoy arrives. Captain Victoria Harwood declines to share any scans from their just completed survey until she delivers her report to the Concord Survey Service. The convoy’s crews share a fresh meal with Aya Betsui and the system’s handful of other inhabitants on The Sister’s Jewel. A crashed shuttle on Jewel’s moon leads to an abandoned mining site in The Cloud; information which is shared with the outpost’s small mining team. Leaving on good terms with everyone, the convoy suffers the worst possible recharge times between jumps, starrising in Vieron 25 days later on 2499-07-01.
Nest
Shortly after crossing the orbit of one of Vieron’s distant gas giants, the convoy is attacked by a small spherical craft. It’s semi-organic nature immediately leads to comparisons with klick technology. A coordinated response destroys the attacker, though not before the Seishimi takes significant damage. The Sparrow goes to investigate a brief distress signal from the moon the vessel appeared to come from. The Momotaro, which suffered some minor hull damage, stands by in orbit. The Seishimi proceeds to Corazón de Fuega, where it will make planetfall at Tavira, which hosts the system’s only spaceport.