Subcommander Rekar and I found ourselves incarcerated in the Caranam town jail. We were kept on ice for a couple of hours before Almak (from the Cafe Remus) arrived. The Romulan security chief seemed most unhappy at his arrival and appeared to be shouting at Almak. Almak listened calmly and then gave the security chief an order. Almak then left the jail. A few minutes later the security chief released us and told us that he never wished to see them again.
After our release, we went straight to the Cafe Remus to learn more about Almak and his motives. We didn't press him too hard, but he appeared be some kind of Romulan agent, probably Tal Shiar or former Tal Shiar. He was most concerned that we get into the Blue Zone to find out what is happening inside and why no-one has been permitted entry for the last month or so. He was also able to identify the deceased Romulan as Q'Taral (our contact). He didn't know much abour K'ren, but explained that she was a relative newcomer who worked in a shop in town. Almak also explained that access to the Blue Zone was controlled by Telus who issued passes.
Following our interview, we regrouped with the rest of the crew on board the RSE Mercator. We decided to attack the problem on multiple fronts:
Track down K'Ren
Check the entrance point to the Blue Zone
Visit Telus with a view to gaining access to the Blue Zone
A small team went to the shopping district to look for K'Ren. They discovered that she worked in a local butcher's shop but that it was her day off and she was not present.
The team next went to the north of Caranam to investigate the entrance to the Blue Zone. A long, narrow bridge extended over the sulphorous water. The bridge ended with two very bored Romulan guards and a computer terminal. The team discovered that the guards were lax. The guard duty was considered a punishment duty rather than a key part of the defense of the Blue Zone. The team were easily able to scan the force field. It appeared to be a high power field that would be able to withstand an orbital bombardment! The console appeared to be a simple card reader / communications device which the guards had little control over.
I led a small team to the office of Telus, the chief archaeologist. The guards admitted us with trouble after we claimed that we had an appointment with him.
As we entered Telus' office, he was finishing a call with Senator Kranock. Telus was complaining that he had insufficient power to meet his needs. Kranock did not appear sympathetic. We surveyed the office. Telus' desk was a mess of datapads all piled up. As we sat down, he finished his call and knocked some of them on to the floor.
I tried to bully talk Telus by spinning him our story about Doomsday Machines and an imminent threat to Romulus. Sadly, as an academic, he didn't seem to understand, believe or care about the story. He seemed more bewildered than convinced and she summoned the guards.
As they arrived we changed tack and asked him if we could get access to the Blue Zone if we fixed his power problem. His demeanour immediately changed and he waived away the guards. We agreed that if we could increase his power allocation he would give us access.
Keeping up our cover of trading in smuggled Federation replicators, we visited the local Power Generator. Security was tight, but when we explained that we had wares to show, we were admitted and introduced to the Security Chief of the Power Generator. When we mentioned Telus' name, he rolled his eyes and commented that the archaeologist was the bane of his existence. We hatch a comedic plan between us to increase Telus' power allocation for a few days and then suddenly reduce it back to standard levels. In return, we gave the Chief one of our replicators.
Following this, we returned to Telus' office to find him overjoyed. He gave us the pass as promised and we prepared ourselves to journey into the Blue Zone.
And the adventure continues...