Once on
Mariposa, Commander Argyle nervously briefs the two. The Mariposans are
led by Prime Minister Wilson Granger, while the Bringloidi were led by
Danillo O'dell. Unfortunately, Danillo had a stroke a month ago and
died. Negotiations have been taken over by Brenna O'dell, Danillo's
headstrong daughter. To solve the replicative fading problem, each
Mariposan woman needs to have children by three Bringloidi men.
Although the Bringloidi were all for that, the societal strains have
resulted in brawls and other violence, so the Bringloidi have suspended
the arrangement.
Krystal and Beltana first visited Brenna. The Bringloidi camp was a
mess. The Bringloidi are a low tech people and there are children,
pigs, goats, sheep and other animals roaming loose. In the main hall a
group of Bringloidi men are trying to fix the still while the rest of
the people are harranguing Brenna O'dell. Heated words fly from all
sides and the mood may turn violent at any time. Brenna calls on
Krystal to reassure the Bringloidi that the Federation is here to help
them.
Here is an opportunity for the characters to interact with the crowd,
try to gather information without inciting a riot. Krystal does all the
talking and gets some clues. She also talks to Brenna privately and
gets the Bringloidi point of view. The Bringloidi want equal
representation in the new government (among some other things), which
the Mariposans refuse to give. Krystal also discovers that Brenna and
Wilson have some sort of relationship.
Next the two visit Prime Minister Granger. Wilson Granger seems to be a
bit sick. Krystal and Beltana break a few protocols by surreptitiously
scanning Granger after he has explicitly asked them not to bother. But
they find out that he has some sort of Klingon disease, rop'ngor. It
can be deadly if not treated. Granger explains to the Starfleet duo
that the Bringloidi are a simple people, clearly not suited to have a
lot of say in the new government. The Mariposans are technologically
savvy and should have a greater voice.
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While Krystal
and Beltana try to decide how to cure Granger without alerting him to
their faux pas, Granger keels over. Beltana swiftly springs into action
and is able to cure him. But how could Granger contract a Klingon
disease? One clue is that Danillo O'dell liked to drink imported
chuk-leth, a Klingon drink. But Danillo died a month ago and rop'ngor
incubates in a few days. Krystal and Beltana suspect Klingon
involvement, though unlikely due to the civil war that the Klingons are
embroiled in.
They go back to Brenna. Yes, Danillo drank that vile chuk-leth. The
remaining stock was buried with her da. They go to the grave and scan
the chuk-leth and Danillo while they're at it. No rop'ngor virus there.
And Danillo did die of a stroke. Nothing there, though in truth they
didn't check for the right things. Still, back to Granger's office.
Talk to his administrative assistant. Who has he been in contact with?
Nobody that doesn't check out. Any other appointments? He did start
taking long drives every few days, starting a couple of months ago. Any
idea where he went? No. Check the freight area where supplies are
transported down. Yes, chuk-leth was regularly delivered each month.
Looks like the last couple of months were double shipments, each enough
for one man for one month. Granger took one of the shipments, the other
went to Danillo. The last shipment to Danillo is missing, signed off by
the Deputy Prime Minister, Wallace Granger.
Wallace has no idea what happened to the shipment. Sort of looks like
his handwriting, but it must be a forgery. Why would he be at the
O'dell house? Go talk to Granger. No, have no idea what happened to
that shipment. The country drives were just to help him think, he
didn't meet anyone. Krystal detects that Granger is lying, but can't
nail him based on her psi powers.
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