[ Chapter Four Outline ]

4.1 - Aphelion

• Serafin attends Aphelion.
• Serafin has fleshed out his explanation of the conspiracy, and hopes to share it with someone. He has dressed this up with an academic paper he is using as cover.
• Serafin has a conversation with someone that provides the seed for Serafin Solutions.
• Serafin attends a panel or two, searching for his targets. [Not sure what panel Serafin should attend. Good opportunity for some quick world-building.]
• Serafin isn’t having much luck.
• Serafin meets with Ramani, a former SIS man who now works for one of the main branches of the Bennett Concern. Serafin agrees to a meeting.

4.2 - The Offer

• The Bennetts were one of the major beneficiaries of the Space Race, and hold considerable sway in the Corporative.
  • Currently the Concern has no CEO; it is overseen by a caretaker until succession is resolved.
  • Bennett-Crescentum is overseen by Ibrahim, one of the many sons of the founder. Ibrahim is unpleasant, paranoid, and has replaced most of his staff with robots.
• Ibrahim has a problem:
  • Othman Bennett, one of his many sons, has gone missing.
  • Ibrahim is a potential candidate for CEO.
  • Ibrahim has several concerns:
    • Othman has made some indecorous public statements recently, and there is concern he might escalate.
    • Othman knows a great deal of sensitive information about the branch.
    • Oh yeah also Othman’s safety or whatever, sure.
• Ibrahim initially asked Continuum Security for help, but they’ve made a complete hash of the situation. They’re good at protecting people and shooting people, not tracking people down who don’t want to be found.
• Serafin isn’t here because of his paper — he’s here because Ibrahim saw him on Copernica 24. The big famous hush-man who was on the news.
• Ibrahim talked to the assistant director of SIS about Serafin.
• They want Serafin to recover Othman and find out what’s going on with his lover.
• Serafin is resistant. The job is beneath him.
  • But he needs money, and they’re offering an eye-watering amount.
  • And not just that: he needs access to power and resources and connections. Which Bennetts can provide.
• He agrees, reluctantly, although he insists on using his own people.
• The Bennetts provide Serafin with a high-end spaceship for his own use.
• Alman, Othman’s cousin, is on board.
• Alman has another offer. It’s very simple: make sure Othman’s partner doesn’t come home, and double your money.
• Serafin says he’ll consider it.

4.3 - The Search

• Serafin digs in, makes calls, gets some leads.
• Serafin hires a young DCS agent named Murr, to help him run down Othman.
• Talk to some of Othman’s friends.
• Convince Othman’s fiance to help.
• Pretty soon concludes the couple is still in Luna space, likely Collins Station.

4.4 On Approach

• On Luna, Serafin visits a mercenary outpost to hire some help.
  • Connects with Cahill Qiddaya, a highly skilled former Tiger Team operator, on the recommendation of by Sal Resiner.
    • Qidd helps Serafin pick out some guys for the job:
      • Atom Rossingham
      • Thumper
    • Offers to tag along, but conditional: willing to go partway, but ultimately wants to head into the black zone. Declines to explain why. Discounts his services accordingly.
• Team assembles, off to Collins.
• Collins is not easy to get into, but Serafin contacts an old associate, Evan Karek, for help.
  • Karek provides access visas, but because of Serafin’s current status, he can’t provide proper legends. But he does connect Serafin with a private service that can help provide him with a false identity, good for anything short of state-level security checks.
• Serafin and his team meet with the station governor.
• Governor is an unpleasant, arrogant man who relaxing by beating his enemies to death in his own personal torture chamber instance. He agrees to let them in, but warns them not to stir up the locals. And if they go into the black zone? They’re not coming back out.

  4.5 - Collins

• Outside Camp Midnight, Serafin expects to hire someone he knew as a guide, but they’re dead. Ilya Jabbar is offered as a substitute.
• Ilya and team venture into Collins.
• Situation on the station is very bad:
  • No consensus.
  • Essential systems overloaded.
  • Hundreds of thousands sick and slowly dying.
  • High degree of dissatisfaction and unrest. Power keg.
• Ilya is somewhat obnoxious, but does a decent job.
• The team spends a night in a local hotel, which is comprised of retro-fitted escape pods.
• The next day, they venture deeper in, searching for Othman.
• Team encounters skitters, small machines from the black zone that roam freely. Disturbing, but harmless as long as you don’t threaten them.
• With Ilya’s help, they learn Othman met with someone. Go to meet but…
• … interrupted by some locals, who don’t like outsiders and also don’t like Ilya.
• Serafin’s team would prefer violence, but Serafin manages to talk them out of it.
• They head into the russkiye sector to meet with a source. Ilya says the source is paranoid, so needs to be just him and Serafin.
• They go into the restaurant for the meet.
• Suddenly Ilya disappears.
• █ █████ █████ ████████
• ███████ ██████ █████████
• ███ ██ █████ █████████ ████ ███ ████████ █████ ██ ███████████ ████████ ████████
• ██ ███

  4.6 - The Deal

• ███████ ███ ████ ███████ ██ ███ █████████ ███████
• ███ █████ ██ ███ ████████ ██ █████ ███████ ██ ███ █████ ██ ███████ ████ ███ ██████ ███████ █████
• █████ █ ████████ ███████████████████████ ███████ ███ █████ ███ ██ ██████
  • ████ █████ █████ ████ ████ ████ ████ ███ ██████ ███ █████ ████ ██████████ ███ ████ █████████ ████ ███████
  • ███ ███ ███████ ███ ████ ██████ ████ ███████ █████ █████ ████ ██ ██████
  • ████ ██ █ ████ ████ █████ ███ █████ ████ ███ ██████████ ███ █████
  • ███ ███ ████ ██ ██ ██ ████ ██ ███ █████ ████ ████ ██ ██ ████ ███
  • ██████ ███████ ████ ██ ██ ████ ██ ██ ████ ██ ██ ███ ████ ███ ███████ ███ ███████ ██ █ ███ ████ ██ █ ███ ███████
  • █████ ████ ████ █████ ███ ███ ███ █████████ ████████
• ███████ ████████ ████████ ███ ████████ ███████ ███ ████████
• ██████ ███ ███ ████████ ██ ███████ █████ ██ ███ █████ █████
• ███████ ████ ████ █████ ████ ███ ██████ ██████
• ███ ████ ██████ ████ ██ ████ ████ ███ ██ ███ ██████ ███ ███ ████████ ███████ ████ ███████ ████ ████ ██ ███ █████ █████ ██ ████ ███ ████ ██ █████ ████████ ████ █████ ████ ██ ████ █████
• ██ ████████ ████ █ ██████
• ███████ █████ █████ ███ ███████ ███ █████████
• Highly concerned about what has just occurred, Serafin decides he needs to move fast. He regroups with the team.
• But there’s more problems: Continuum is on the scene.
• Continuum doesn’t know where Othman is, but they do know where Serafin’s ship is. Someone in the Bennett Concern is playing games.
• That said, it’s not simple:
  • Continuum is despised on Collins because they’re contracted for riot suppression. If they’re not careful, the locals will kill them.
  • The strike force also has problems because Continuum is a highly fractious corporation that encourages internal rivalry. Local Continuum has absolutely no interest in helping the strike force, only in keeping the peace.
• Serafin sees an opportunity. He heads to the local Continuum office and explain the situation. We just want Othman. You let us get him quiet, you save yourself a real headache, and embarrass the strike force.
• Local office likes that.
  • “You’ve got one hour.”

4.7 - Othman

• Serafin goes in and finds Othman and partner, urges them to come in.
• He hears their side: Othman’s partner was a mole, but they fell in love. They just want to escape the company and find a new life.
• Serafin believes it, even if he thinks it’s stupid and naïve.
• Othman offers to pay Serafin to help them out.
• Serafin accepts.
• Gunfire outside. The strike force has entered the sector. Serafin is not getting his full hour.
• Serafin helps fend off the strike force with cunning and violence, but that’s not going to be enough.
• Qidd attacks the strike force, distracting them and riling them up. They give chase, but he retreats into the black zone.
• Serafin devises a clever way to escape.
• Good, but the job’s not done: they still need to get off Collins.

4.8 - Extraction

• Initially, Serafin decides it would be better to lay low, wait for a gap, slip out quiet.
• But Karek manages to get a message through: if you are on Collins, you need to leave immediately.
• Serafin thinks fast. He contacts Ilya, offers him a seat on the ship in exchange for Ilya getting in touch with local media through the local network. Ilya eagerly agrees.
• When they’re gathered, Serafin pounces: he immediately drags Othman out, spinning a story about how Othman has come to survey Collins and is shocked and outraged by conditions. Othman wants to help, but Continuum is interfering!
• Massive spectacle. The locals are stirred up. Continuum is furious, but don’t want to do anything in front of the media.
• Riot.
• Serafin successfully makes it to the extraction point. They get on board.
  • Sorry Ilya, maybe next time.
• Othman is upset when he realizes Serafin lied and is taking him back to his family. Serafin doesn’t give a shit, he’s ready to be done with all this already.
• But what is to be done with Othman’s partner?

  4.9 - Aftermath

• On the way back to Bennett HQ, Serafin learns why Karek warned him: uprisers have declared independence on several stations in local space. Collins is completely locked down only hours after their escape.
• Serafin realizes, with mounting horror, that this is almost certainly connected to the conspiracy. He doesn’t have enough insight into Luna to be sure, but all the signs are there.
• Back to the Bennetts.
• Ibrahim is happy to have Othman back, but he is irritated they didn’t bring back the partner.
• Serafin points out that wasn’t the deal. He was just supposed to find out. So he found out.
• Alman seems pleased, until Serafin reveals he let the partner go.
• Alman says no matter, I’ll just contract Continuum.
• Serafin points out that would be a bad idea: Serafin has officially gone through channels and made the partner an SIS source. If something bad happens, the Intelligence will come sniffing around. Don’t want that, do you?
• Alman suggests he might not give a shit.
• Serafin escalates: the partner wasn’t hired by a rival corporation, but by Alman. [Work on motive.]
• Alman denies it, but it’s too plausible. The meeting plunges into chaos.
• Serafin leaves, disgusted.
• Ramani takes him aside: it got a little messy, yes, but Serafin pulled it off, and managed to weave through it without compromising his principles.
  • Ramani promises to make sure Serafin gets compensated properly.
  • And if you’d like more work, there’s a position open….
• Serafin firmly declines. This is not what he wants to do, this is not what he should be doing, and he definitely doesn’t want to do it for the Bennett Concern.
  • And even if he did, they don’t seem too happy with him. He did refuse to play along….
• Ramani says that’s fine — he actually prefers employees with ideals. A man who works for money will quit if the money runs out, but a man who works for a principle will fight to the bitter end. Much cheaper.
• Ramani offers enough money to make it tempting.
• Serafin refuses again.

[Note: not sure how to end this chapter. Original ending moved to 5.1.]

Last updated: December 14, 2025

View version history →