With the situation on Petain becoming more unstable, and thanks to the tip from the recently rescued agent that their crew would be targeted by sanctions and fines, it was time to leave the planet and make for their next destination. With all their preparations complete, the Bug-out left from the landing pad at Duplantier's Entry and flew up into the sky.
It was a quiet travel through the void. Everyone onboard took the time to reflect about how far they'd come, and where still they might go. Recently having prevented a major invasion by the Converted certainly felt like a big win, even if they hadn't brought the person responsible for planning it out to justice. But there was still a feeling like some more good needed to be done, more criminal elements to remove from the board.
To that end, Matt noticed that they were near the world of Danilov. Back in the day, it used to be a big fuel mining world, but as the mines dried up, it became a shell of it's former wealth and now was home to several crime syndicates and cartels. That was where they could make a difference. Matt adjusted their course and they rocketed towards Danilov.
As they reached the world of Danilov, Sebastian negotiated for the Bug-out to land at Larsen's Drift, the main colony center on the planet. As the ship landed, and it's gang plank descended to the ground, the crew were struck with how barren the world was. There were urban areas, but beyond that a barren wasteland greeted them out to the horizon. There were no plants or any growth to speak of. There was also little in terrain features. Far in the distance, the old mining facilities stuck out like knives stuck in the surface.
Shortly after landing, the crew were greeted by one of the dock workers who passed them a data pad with local notices. The most noticeable was that Danilov was currently experiencing a fuel shortage. Otherwise, it noted that 2 criminal factions were currently at odds with each other. Matt advised everyone to stay sharp.
Everyone began to break off to begin their task for the day. Lucas asked A-113 if they'd spar with him to practice some new close quarters combat techniques he'd picked up chatting with a buddy of his back on Petain. A-113 agreed and was eager to see these techniques.
Sebastian took Jeb out to the markets to see what there was to offer. It was pretty slim pickings, and Jeb soon realized that they might be better off selling any extra equipment and cargo. It didn't take long to find a shop looking to buy up anything interesting. Jeb made a compelling offer to sell off Bishop's old crystalline horticulture sets from Shard's End. While moving the cargo over, the shop owner provided Sebastian with a hot tip about some criminal on-goings in the area and passed him some extracted data files he'd acquired.
Tyris and Linda had come to help deliver the cargo and then planned to do a little more exploring afterwards. The shop keeper's brother noticed how capable the crew were, especially Tyris as a K'Erin warrior and offered him a promising opportunity. There was a package that they needed delivered into the heart of the residential area, but many of the locals were too scared of the crime syndicate that ran all the operations down there. Tyris said he'd bring it up with his captain and let them know.
After completing the delivery, the crew began to wander around to explore the neighborhood. Linda slowed down to stop and take a look at a window display of a nearby merchant. Sebastian, Tyris, and Jeb had continued to wander away leaving Linda separated from the group. It didn't take long for a group of thugs to capitalize on this and swarm her while she was isolated. Linda put up a good fight, but she was out numbered and overwhelmed. The others came running back after hearing the commotion, but not before one of the thugs made off with Linda's beam pistol. The team carried her back to the ship to get patched up. She would be have to recover for a while.
Meanwhile, Matt wandered over to the local government's office to see if they had any jobs that needed to be done. The lady running the reception desk handed him a data rod and said there was some information on the rod for an entry level job that freelancer's could carry out. Matt took the offered rod and nodded, then made his was back to the ship. Once he got back, he noticed Linda was laying in the medbay getting patched up by Jeb. Jeb told him what had happened and then Tyris came by and told Matt about the parcel delivery.
Matt decided that they would do the delivery as he didn't want the thugs and criminal elements on Danilov to start thinking they were pushovers. He asked Jeb and Sebastian to come with him for the mission. Matt figured it was best at the moment if they left some muscle behind to guard the ship.
The trio swung by the merchant's shop to grab the parcel and then made their way to the habitation block. Knowing ahead of time that the area would be crawling with crime syndicate goons, Matt reasoned that they split up and arrive from different angles. Sebastian would carry the parcel and work his way through the alley system while Jeb would support Matt to clear out the area around the apartment complex to allow Sebastian to deliver the package without disruption.
As they drew near to the complex, Sebastian hung back to wait for the signal. Jeb began to work his way towards the complex but about a half a block away was ambushed by a journalist. They were looking to get the scoop from off worlders about what they thought about Danilov. Jeb had little interest in being interviewed and ducked into a crowd to lose the reporter. The reporter was persistent and it kept Jeb too occupied to go and help Matt.
Matt saw what had happened to Jeb and decided to go it alone. As he drew closer to the building, he caught the glimpse of a shady character ducking into the building. One of the syndicate goons stopped him as he got closer to the building and told him to move along. Matt decided this was the time to set an example and shot the goon in the foot with his plasma rifle.
This alerted the other goon who called for help, but before they could take a shot at Matt, the shady character from before unloaded his pistol into the goon. The shots bounced off the armor and the goon turned to the attacker and returned fire, dropping them dead at the building entrance.
Matt took advantage of the distraction to take out another goon. He then took up a defensive position at the apartment entrance and proceeded to take out 3 more goons before the street appeared clear. He then gave the signal to Sebastian who deployed his distraction drone as an extra precaution while he delivered the package.
The delivery done, Matt signaled Jeb to exfiltrate and meet back at the shop. Jeb slipped unnoticed by the reporter out the back of a building and left the area. He did spy a Unity battle sight in the buildings backroom on his way out, so picked that up to bring to the ship.
After a bit of time, the three crew members arrived at the shop. They confirmed the package's delivery and collected their pay. They also made some more agreements to sell off some extra cargo and do a little weapon shopping on the side.
This whole ordeal since landing on Danilov made Jeb feel a deep melancholy. How could such a world be so brutal and desperate. Even his difficult upbringing on Jacob's Reach had not seen as much ill as what he had experienced in a day here. He decided it might be best if he stayed on the ship for a bit. Matt acknowledged Jeb's feelings and reminded him that this is why they were going out to make the universe a better place. For Matt, their work was only just beginning here.