The Voyage of the Joyous Venture

Part 28

Elmer Goldberg, Karelia Bengtsson, where is Hulk 14?

Sunday 27^th March 03.00 hrs GMT, mid-morning in Colonie D'Argent:

We spend the morning shopping so we can be presentable when we meet Elmer Goldberg at Silverado's but we're still on time. However, there's no sign of him so we order drinks and wait.

Just as we're getting bored and thinking of ordering another drink, a 'heavy' appears from the rear and sends a waiter to summon us to an inner room. There, Elmer, two heavies and a smartly dressed woman assistant are waiting.

Elmer was vice-CEO of Trilon about ten years ago. Now he looks fat, old and seedy; he looks like he's got a problem with his anagathics and cosmetics. He invites Andi and Miho to sit.

Elmer claims he was forced off the Trilon board by Komiko while Daisy M'Dinka was assassinated by Zhou di Savoia, her exec. This was not a promotional ploy but the result of a 'breakdown'. Zhou had been vetted many times previously and there was nothing in his medical records to suggest any insanity but he began showing instability after meeting Komiko. Elmer claims to know of half-a-dozen case histories of people meeting Komiko and subsequently being invalided dirtside with fits or mental illness. Obviously he wants revenge but he also feels we should be warned about her.

Elmer is sure that GalCarb knew more about her. The CEO of GalCarb at the time of the collapse was Carl Bengtsson. He died during the collapse; murder or suicide, no one knows. His family are on Gaia in OVM's colony of Savannah and Elmer believes they may have more information.

Elmer offers a private commission for the crew of the Joyous Venture to track down Bengtsson's family and find what they can about Komiko, offering cash and the benefit of his influence. He gives us two hours to decide before meeting for lunch.

06.30 hrs GMT, mid-afternoon in Colonie D'Argent.

The team decide not to accept Goldberg's commission but don't think they'll get off planet easily by saying 'no' to him. So they agree to go to Savannah, intending to leave from the spaceport ASAP. They catch the first direct flight.

12.00 hrs GMT, late afternoon in Savannah

We arrive in Savannah to find we've an hour before our shuttle up to the OVM (Offworld Venture Mercantile) OTS. With a little time to kill, we decide it can do little harm to try and track Bengtsson's family. We contact Karelia Bengtsson; the daughter of Carl and minor local politician. She's a little shaken up but tells us that after his death she and her mother made new lives in Savannah (the GalCarb colony, Gustavusadolphusfjord, being too dangerous for the family of the CEO responsible for GalCarb's demise). She doesn't know much about how he died and tells us little that we don't already know.

13.00 hrs GMT, early evening in Savannah

As we attempt to board the shuttle, Andi's card causes a hold and it turns out that Karelia wants to ask a few questions. We meet in one of the nearby lounges, her PA working on his laptop nearby. She asks why we're asking after her background and we tell her that we're investigating GalCarb's collapse. Goldberg's name comes up and she comments on rumours that he's involved in illegal immigrants from Savannah and elsewhere in to Colonie D'Argent, many of whom just vanish.

She tells us that her father had a mistress called 'Shammy' and that fact obviously alienated her mother, Ingrid, who has now changed her name, but Karelia still has fond memories of her father. Just before he sent her and her mother dirtside, some time before the collapse, he mentioned that if anything ever happened to him they could find enough on his yacht (also named 'Karelia') to keep them both comfortable. Bengtsson lived out of his space yacht, unfortunately it fell in to the hands of GalCarb's creditors when OVM, Segetov and Trilon took over GalCarb's Asterion possessions and Karelia never had a chance to find out what her father meant. She would like to know more about him, if the team can uncover anything – assuming there is anything left to uncover.

Having missed the shuttle, the team have to sleep overnight before catching the morning flight.

Monday 28^th March

02.00 hrs GMT, mid-morning in Savannah:

We catch the shuttle up to the OTS. While waiting for our connection to the Trilon OTS, Andi hacks in to the OVM system and locates the GC Karelia. It was appropriated by a consortium of the other three Asterion corporations: OVM, Segetov and Trilon, but was assigned to OVM. They considered refurbishing it but have never got around to it. It's been mothballed in a circular parking orbit at 90° to the ecliptic as OVM Hulk 14.

08.00 hrs GMT

Once back on board the Joyous Venture with an ephemeris for OVM Hulk 14, we decide to pay it a visit and see what we can find.